1. Carbonatite and highly peralkaline nephelinite melts from Oldoinyo Lengai Volcano, Tanzania: The role of natrite-normative fluid degassing
- Author
-
Tibor Guzmics, Enikő Bali, Ábel Szabó, Márta Berkesi, Robert J. Bodnar, Jarðvísindastofnun (HÍ), Institute of Earth Sciences (UI), Verkfræði- og náttúruvísindasvið (HÍ), School of Engineering and Natural Sciences (UI), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland, and Geosciences
- Subjects
Nephelinite ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Geochemistry ,Geology ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,01 natural sciences ,Peralkaline rock ,Eldfjallafræði ,Natrocarbonatite ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Oldoinyo Lengai ,chemistry ,Nepheline ,Carbonatite ,Carbonate ,Phenocryst ,Volcano ,CO2 flux ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Melt inclusions - Abstract
Publisher's version (útgefin grein), Oldoinyo Lengai, located in the Gregory Rift in Tanzania, is a world-famous volcano owing to its uniqueness in producing natrocarbonatite melts and because of its extremely high CO2 flux. The volcano is constructed of highly peralkaline [PI = molar (Na2O + K2O)/Al2O3 > 2–3] nephelinite and phonolites, both of which likely coexisted with carbonate melt and a CO2-rich fluid before eruption. Results of a detailed melt inclusion study of the Oldoinyo Lengai nephelinite provide insights into the important role of degassing of CO2-rich vapor in the formation of natrocarbonatite and highly peralkaline nephelinites. Nepheline phenocrysts trapped primary melt inclusions at 750–800 °C, representing an evolved state of the magmas beneath Oldoinyo Lengai. Raman spectroscopy, heating-quenching experiments, low current EDS and EPMA analyses of quenched melt inclusions suggest that at this temperature, a dominantly natritess-normative, F-rich (7–14 wt%) carbonate melt and an extremely peralkaline (PI = 3.2–7.9), iron-rich nephelinite melt coexisted following degassing of a CO2 + H2O-vapor. We furthermore hypothesize that the degassing led to re-equilibration between the melt and liquid phases that remained and involved 1/ mixing between the residual (after degassing) alkali carbonate liquid and an F-rich carbonate melt and 2/ enrichment of the coexisting nephelinite melt in alkalis. We suggest that in the geological past similar processes were responsible for generating highly peralkaline silicate melts in continental rift tectonic settings worldwide., This study was financially supported by project NRDIO ( National Research, Development, and Innovation Office of Hungary ) K-119535 (to M. Berkesi and T. Guzmics) and by the Betta Üzletlánc Ltd. to Guzmics. In addition, M. Berkesi acknowledges to the ELTE Institutional Excellence Program (1783-3/2018/FEKUTSRAT) supported by the Hungarian Ministry of Human Capacities . We thank Toshiaki Tsunogae for his editorial handling, and Alan Cooper and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments that helped to improve the manuscript.
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF