Search

Mantle xenoliths from Paleogene basanites of East Serbia were studied using EMP and LA-ICP-MS techniques in order to better understand mantle characteristics in this region. Five different mantle lithologies have been distinguished: a dunite/harzburgite/lherzolite (D/HZ/L) group, clinopyroxene-rich lherzolites (CpxL), clinopyroxene megacrysts (Cpx-M), spinel-rich olivine websterites (OW[B.sub.1]) and spinel-poor olivine websterites (OW[B.sub.2]). D/HZ/L xenoliths are the most common and represent 'normal' mantle composed of typical anhydrous spinel peridotites with well equilibrated, unzoned silicates characterized by high Mg# s. Negative correlations between Mg# and Ti[O.sub.2], [Al.sub.2][O.sub.3] and CaO wt% in clinopyroxenes (cpx) and orthopyroxenes (opx) and the Cr-Al trend in spinel (sp) suggest depletion via extraction of basaltic melts. The modal composition of D/HZ/L xenoliths and unusual low-Al opx suggest that the lithospheric mantle underneath East Serbia is more depleted than normal European lithosphere. D/HZ/L xenoliths contain numerous pockets and veins filled by Cr-rich cpx, Ti-rich spinel, altered glass, apatite and rare ilmenite and phlogopite. Petrographic observations, supported by major element contents in sp and cpx, and modelling using trace element contents in cpx, indicate that the pockets and veins formed from infiltration of alkaline melts and reaction with peridotite wall-rock causing opx and spinel replacement. The same alkaline melt-related metasomatism gave rise to the Cpx-L and OWBI mantle xenoliths and Cpx-M xenocrysts. Trace element contents of cpx in these xenoliths show a distinctively concave downwards REE pattern with a HFSE depletion, very similar to cpx megacrysts from the Pannonian Basin and to vein cpx from Eifel. In contrast, the [OWB.sub.2] xenoliths show evidence of precipitation from subduction-related mafic to ultramafic melts, as inferred from their opx-rich lithology and unusual Cr-rich spinels. They are probably related to subduction magmatism during the Late Cretaceous.