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The occurrence of phlogopite and amphibole in mantle ultramafic rocks is widely accepted as the modal effect of metasomatism in the upper mantle. However, their simultaneous formation during metasomatic events and the related sub-solidus equilibrium with the peridotite has not been extensively studied. In this work, we discuss the geochemical conditions at which the pargasite-phlogopite assemblage becomes stable, through the investigation of two mantle xenoliths from Mount Leura (Victoria State, Australia) that bear phlogopite and the phlogopite + amphibole (pargasite) pair disseminated in a harzburgite matrix. Combining a mineralogical study and thermodynamic modelling, we predict that the P–T locus of the equilibrium reaction pargasite + forsterite = Na-phlogopite + 2 diopside + spinel, over the range 1.3–3.0 GPa/540–1500 K, yields a negative Clapeyron slope of -0.003 GPa K–1 (on average). The intersection of the P–T locus of supposed equilibrium with the new mantle geotherm calculated in this work allowed us to state that the Mount Leura xenoliths achieved equilibrium at 2.3 GPa /1190 K, that represents a plausible depth of ~ 70 km. Metasomatic K-Na-OH rich fluids stabilize hydrous phases. This has been modelled by the following equilibrium equation: 2 (K,Na)-phlogopite + forsterite = 7/2 enstatite + spinel + fluid (components: Na2O,K2O,H2O). Using quantum-mechanics, semi-empirical potentials, lattice dynamics and observed thermo-elastic data, we concluded that K-Na-OH rich fluids are not effective metasomatic agents to convey alkali species across the upper mantle, as the fluids are highly reactive with the ultramafic system and favour the rapid formation of phlogopite and amphibole. In addition, oxygen fugacity estimates of the Mount Leura mantle xenoliths [Δ(FMQ) = –1.97 ± 0.35; –1.83 ± 0.36] indicate a more reducing mantle environment than what is expected from the occurrence of phlogopite and amphibole in spinel-bearing peridotites. This is accounted for by our model of full molecular dissociation of the fluid and incorporation of the O-H-K-Na species into (OH)-K-Na-bearing mineral phases (phlogopite and amphibole), that leads to a peridotite metasomatized ambient characterized by reduced oxygen fugacity.

A petrological study of two mantle xenolith suites from Northern Victoria Land (NVL) have been carried out in order to characterize a large portion of the lithospheric mantle beneath the West Antartict Rift System from Mt. Melbourne (74°21¿S 164°42¿E) to Handler Ridge (HR) (72°31¿ 167°18¿E). Samples are anhydrous lherzolites, although few harzburgites and wehrlites are also found. GP peridotites vary from protogranular to porphyroclastic in texture, while in HR medium to coarse or fine-grained equigranular texture prevails. Based on mineral major and trace element petrological modeling, this mantle domain may represent a residuum after ~10 to 20% of partial melting. Overprinted on this event at GP there are evidence for the percolation of a tholeiitic and an alkaline melts, most probably affecting the mantle domain in different times. The first event increases the Al2O3 content in opx and cpx and modifies the REE content in cpx, leaving a garnet signature. The good matching with trace element content in cpx phenocryst from Ferrar and Karoo tholeiites allow to ascribe this refertilization event to Jurassic time. The second event is associated with the alkaline Cenozoic magmatism related to the WARS opening and it is responsible for the presence of rare, LREE-enriched, secondary cpx and alkali-rich glassy patches. The mg# values (mg# ol=87.5-91.0) and the high variable cpx HREE contents (YN=1.76-11.45) of the HR reflect a fertile to moderate residual mantle segment. The presence of SiO2-rich glass and rare, trace element-enriched secondary cpx suggest that HR population was also affected by melt interaction, most probably of alkaline affinity. Both HR and GP peridotites are thermal constrained at 950-980 °C, with redox conditions close to the QFM buffer, and the tendency for GP population towards more reduction conditions (~ -1.04 log units below QFM, on average). Compared with hydrated mantle xenoliths from nearby localities, GP and HR xenolith suites present higher T and comparable oxidized conditions.

A petrological study of two mantle xenolith suites from Northern Victoria Land (NVL) have been carried out in order to characterize a large portion of the lithospheric mantle beneath the West Antartict Rift System from Mt. Melbourne (74°21¿S 164°42¿E) to Handler Ridge (HR) (72°31¿ 167°18¿E). Samples are anhydrous lherzolites, although few harzburgites and wehrlites are also found. GP peridotites vary from protogranular to porphyroclastic in texture, while in HR medium to coarse or fine-grained equigranular texture prevails. Based on mineral major and trace element petrological modeling, this mantle domain may represent a residuum after ~10 to 20% of partial melting. Overprintend on this event at GP there are evidence for the percolation of a tholeiitic and an alkaline melts, most probably affecting the mantle domain in different times. The first event increases the Al2O3 content in opx and cpx and modifies the REE content in cpx, leaving a garnet signature. The good matching with trace element content in cpx phenocryst from Ferrar and Karoo tholeiites allow to ascribe this refertilization event to Jurassic time. The second event is associated with the alkaline Cenozoic magmatism related to the WARS opening and is responsible for the presence of rare LREE-enriched, secondary cpx and high alkalies glassy patches. The mg# values (mg# ol = 87.5-91.0) and the high variable cpx HREE contents (YN =1.76-11.45) of the HR reflect a fertile to moderate residual mantle segment. The presence of SiO2-rich glass and rare, trace element-enriched secondary cpx suggest that HR population was also affected by melt interaction, most probably of alkaline affinity. Both HR and GP peridotites are thermal constrained at 950-980 °C, with redox conditions close to the QFM buffer, and the tendency for GP population towards more reduction conditions (~ -1.04 log units below QFM). Compared with hydrated mantle xenoliths from nearby localities, GP and HR xenolith suites present higher T and comparable oxidized conditions.

Magma generation in the Ross Sea system is related to partial melting of strongly metasomatized mantle sources where amphibole most probably plays a crucial role. In this context, metasomatism induced by a mela-nephelinite melt in lithospheric mantle of the Mt. Melbourne Volcanic Province (northern Victoria Land (NVL), Antarctica) was investigated experimentally studying the effects of melt interaction with lherzolite at 1.5-2.0 GPa and T=975-1300 °C, and wehrlite at 1.0 GPa and T=1050-1250 °C. The experiments were designed to induce melt infiltration into the ultramafic rocks. The observed modifications in minerals are compared with those found in mantle xenoliths from NVL. The effects of metasomatic modifications are evaluated on the basis of run temperature, distance from the infiltrating melt and the diffusion rates of chemical components. Both in lherzolite and wehrlite, clinopyroxene exhibits large compositional variations ranging from primary diopside to high-Mg-Cr-(Na) augitic and omphacitic clinopyroxenes in lherzolite, and to low-Mg and high-Ti-Al-Fe-Na augites in wehrlite. Olivine (in wehrlite) and spinel (in lherzolite) are also compositionally modified: the former shows enrichment in Fe and the latter displays a higher Cr/(Cr+Al) ratio. The systematic variations in mineral compositions imply modifications of the chemistry of the infiltrating melt as recorded by the glass veinlets and patches observed in some charges. In experiments involving wehrlite paragenesis, the glass composition approaches that of melt patches associated with both amphibole-free and amphibole-bearing natural samples, and is related to olivine + clinopyroxene crystallization coupled with primary clinopyroxene dissolution at the contact between the metasomatizing melt and the solid matrix. Even if amphibole crystallization was not attained in the experiments, we were able to explain the occurrence of amphibole in the natural system considering that in this case a hot metasomatizing melt infiltrates a cooler matrix.

Magma generation in the Ross Sea system is related to partial melting of strongly metasomatized mantle sources where amphibole most probably plays a crucial role. In this context, metasomatism induced by a mela-nephelinite melt in lithospheric mantle of the Mt. Melbourne Volcanic Province (northern Victoria Land (NVL), Antarctica) was investigated experimentally studying the effects of melt interaction with lherzolite at 1.5-2.0 GPa and T = 975-1300 8C, and wehrlite at 1.0 GPa and T=1050-1250 8C. The experiments were designed to induce melt infiltration into the ultramafic rocks. The observed modifications in minerals are compared with those found in mantle xenoliths from NVL. The effects of metasomatic modifications are evaluated on the basis of run temperature, distance from the infiltrating melt and the diffusion rates of chemical components. Both in lherzolite and wehrlite, clinopyroxene exhibits large compositional variations ranging from primary diopside to high-Mg-Cr-(Na) augitic and omphacitic clinopyroxenes in lherzolite, and to low-Mg and high-Ti-Al-Fe-Na augites in wehrlite. Olivine (in wehrlite) and spinel (in lherzolite) are also compositionally modified: the former shows enrichment in Fe and the latter displays a higher Cr/(Cr+Al) ratio. The systematic variations in mineral compositions imply modifications of the chemistry of the infiltrating melt as recorded by the glass veinlets and patches observed in some charges. In experiments involving wehrlite paragenesis, the glass composition approaches that of melt patches associated with both amphibole-free and amphibole-bearing natural samples, and is related to olivine þ clinopyroxene crystallization coupled with primary clinopyroxene dissolution at the contact between the metasomatizing melt and the solid matrix.

The investigation of the role played by CO2 circulating within the mantle during partial melting and metasomatic/refertilization processes, together with a re-consideration of its storage capability and re-cycling in the lithospheric mantle, is crucial to unravel the Earth's main geodynamic processes. In this study, the combination of petrology, CO2 content trapped in bulk rock- and mineral-hosted fluid inclusions (FI), and 3D textural and volumetric characterization of intra- and inter-granular microstructures was used to investigate the extent and modality of CO2 storage in depleted and fertile (or refertilized) Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) beneath northern Victoria Land (NVL, Antarctica). Prior to xenoliths entrainment by the host basalt, the Antarctic SCLM may have stored 0.2 vol% melt and 1.1 vol% fluids, mostly as FI trails inside mineral phases but also as inter-granular fluids. The amount of CO2 stored in FI varies from 0.1 μg(CO2)/g(sample) in olivine from the anhydrous mantle xenoliths at Greene Point and Handler Ridge, up to 187.3 μg/g in orthopyroxene from the highly metasomatized amphibole-bearing lherzolites at Baker Rocks, while the corresponding bulk CO2 contents range from 0.3 to 57.2 μg/g. Irrespective of the lithology, CO2 partitioning is favoured in orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene-hosted FI (olivine: orthopyroxene = 0.10 ± 0.06 to 0.26 ± 0.09; olivine: clinopyroxene = 0.10 ± 0.05 to 0.27 ± 0.14). The H2O/(H2O + CO2) molar ratios obtained by comparing the CO2 contents of FI to the H2O amount retained in pyroxene lattices vary between 0.72 ± 0.17 and 0.97 ± 0.03, which is well comparable with the values measured in olivine-hosted melt inclusions from Antarctic primary lavas and assumed as representative of the partition of volatiles at the local mantle conditions. From the relationships between mineral chemistry, thermo-, oxy-barometric results and CO2 contents in mantle xenoliths, we speculate that relicts of CO2-depleted mantle are present at Greene Point, representing memory of a CO2-poor tholeiitic refertilization related to the development of the Jurassic Ferrar large magmatic event. On the other hand, a massive mobilization of CO2 took place before the (melt-related) formation of amphibole veins during the alkaline metasomatic event associated with the Cenozoic rift-related magmatism, in response to the storage and recycling of CO2-bearing materials into the Antarctica mantle likely induced by the prolonged Ross subduction.

The possibility of constraining the composition and evolution of specific portions of the Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) by means of an integrated study of petrography, mineral chemistry, and concentrations of volatiles in fluid inclusions (FI) is a novel approach that can provide clues on the recycling of volatiles within the lithosphere. This approach is even more important in active or dormant volcanic areas, where the signature of the gaseous emissions at the surface can be that of the underlying lithospheric mantle domains. In this respect, the ultramafic xenoliths brought to the surface in West Eifel (~0.5–0.01 Ma) and Siebengebirge (~30–6 Ma) volcanic fields (Germany) are ideal targets, as they provide direct information on one of the most intriguing portions of SCLM beneath the Central European Volcanic Province (CEVP). Five distinct populations from these localities were investigated using petrographic observations, mineral phase analyses and determination of He, Ne, Ar and CO2 contents in olivine-, orthopyroxene-, and clinopyroxene-hosted FI. The most refractory Siebengebirge rocks have highly forsteritic olivine, high-Mg#, low-Al pyroxene, and spinel with high Cr#, reflecting high extents (up to 30%) of melt extraction. In contrast, xenoliths from West Eifel are modally and compositionally heterogeneous, as indicated by the large forsterite range of olivine (Fo83–92), the Cr# range of spinel (0.1–0.6), and the variable Al and Ti contents of pyroxene. Equilibration temperatures vary from 870 °C to 1070 °C in Siebengebirge, and from ⁓900 °C to ⁓1190 °C in West Eifel xenoliths, at oxygen fugacity values generally between −0.5 and + 1.3 ΔlogƒO2 [FMQ]. In both areas, the FI composition was dominated by CO2, with clinopyroxene, and most of the orthopyroxene had the highest concentrations of volatiles, while olivine was gas-poor. The noble gas and CO2 distributions suggest that olivine is representative of a residual mantle that experienced one or more melt extraction episodes. The 3He/4He ratio corrected for air contamination (Rc/Ra values) varied from 6.8 Ra in harzburgitic lithotypes to 5.5 Ra in lherzolites and cumulate rocks, indicating that the original MORB-like mantle signature was progressively modified by interaction with crustal-related components and melts having 3He/4He and 4He/40Ar* values consistent with those published for magmatic gaseous emissions. The Ne and Ar isotope systematics indicated that most of the data were consistent with mixing between a recycled atmospheric component and a MORB-like mantle, which does not necessarily require the involvement of a lower mantle plume beneath this portion of the CEVP. The major element distribution in mineral phases from West Eifel and Siebengebirge, together with the systematic variations in FI composition, the positive correlation between Al enrichment in pyroxene and equilibration temperatures, and the concomitant Rc/Ra decrease with increasing temperature, suggest that the SCLM beneath Siebengebirge represented the Variscan lithosphere in CEVP prior to the massive infiltration of melts/fluids belonging to the Quaternary Eifel volcanism. In contrast, West Eifel xenoliths reflect multiple heterogeneous metasomatism/refertilisation events that took place in the regional SCLM between ~6 and ~ 0.5 Ma.