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Silicate melt inclusions (SMI) containing several daughter minerals, residual glass, and a CO2 bubble were analyzed to constrain the composition and evolution of the metasomatic melt present in the upper mantle beneath the Nógrád-Gömör Volcanic Field (NGVF), northern Hungary to southern Slovakia. The SMI were analyzed with a combination of Raman spectroscopy, FIB-SEM, and LA-ICP-MS to identify phases and obtain their volume proportions and major- and trace-element geochemistry. Slicing through the entire volume of the inclusions and collecting geochemical information at each slice with FIB-SEM allowed us to model the 3D appearance of the phases within the SMI and to use this information to calculate bulk major-element compositions.The partially crystallized SMI are hosted in clinopyroxene in a lherzolite xenolith that shows evidence of a metasomatic event that altered the lherzolites to produce wehrlites. Based on bulk compositions, the SMI trapped the metasomatic melt linked to wehrlite formation in the NGVF. The melt is enriched in Fe and has an OIB-like trace-element pattern, which suggests an intraplate mafic melt similar to the host basalt, but with slightly different chemistry. Pre-entrapment evolution and reaction with the lherzolite wall rock produced an intermediate melt composition. Petrogenetic modeling indicates that the melt was generated as a result of a very small degree of partial melting of a garnet lherzolite source. Following entrapment, a volatile bubble exsolved from the residual melt during ascent to shallow depths as suggested by consistent densities of CO2 in vapor bubbles. Small crystals, including sulfates and mica, that formed at the boundary of the bubble and the glass indicate that the exsolved fluid originally contained S and H2O, in addition to CO2.

The Bakony-Balaton Highland Volcanic Field (BBHVF), where Neogene alkali basalts and their pyroclasts host a great number of upper mantle xenoliths, is situated in the western part of the Pannonian Basin. One of the barely investigated xenolith localities of the BBHVF is Mindszentkálla. In the BBHVF, most of the xenoliths have lherzolitic modal composition, however, the Mindszentkálla locality is dominated by harzburgites. In addition to the homogeneous coarse-grained harzburgite xenoliths, we collected composite and multiple composite (with more than two different domains) xenoliths that represent small-scale heterogeneities. Harzburgite, interpreted as the host rock, is crosscut by dunitic, orthopyroxenitic, apatite-bearing websteritic, and amphibole-phlogopite-bearing veins.To understand the evolution of the conspicuously complex mantle beneath Mindszentkálla, in situ major and trace element analyses were carried out on all rock-forming minerals. The major element chemistry of silicate minerals in the harzburgite wall rock and dunite veins show lower basaltic element (Fe, Mn, Ti, Na) contents with respect to the orthopyroxenitic and websteritic veins. The rare earth elements display flat or spoon-shaped patterns in the harzburgitic clinopyroxenes, whereas the websteritic clinopyroxenes and the amphiboles of the amphibole-phlogopite vein are enriched in light rare earth elements.The observed textural and geochemical features indicate that the Mindszentkálla xenoliths could have gone through significant mineralogical and compositional modifications in at least two events. During the first event, the lherzolitic mantle was metasomatized most likely by a silica-rich melt, which could have resulted in orthopyroxene-rich peridotitic lithology. The metasomatizing Si-rich melt is likely related to a former subduction event.The second metasomatic event led to the formation of dunite, orthopyroxenite, apatite-bearing websterite, and amphibole-phlogopite-bearing veins. These lithologies are likely the products of interactions between volatile-enriched, asthenosphere-derived basaltic melts and the peridotite wall rock, or they represent the high-pressure crystallization of such melts. The ascent of these mafic melts may have happened shortly before the xenolith entrapment during the Neogene basaltic volcanism.

This study analyzes the microstructures and deformational characteristics of spinel peridotite xenoliths from the Nógrád-Gömör Volcanic Field (NGVF), located on the northern margin of a young extensional basin presently affected by compression. The xenoliths show a wide range of microstructures, bearing the imprints of heterogeneous deformation and variable degrees of subsequent annealing. Olivine crystal preferred orientations (CPOs) have dominantly [010]-fiber and orthorhombic patterns. Orthopyroxene CPOs indicate coeval deformation with olivine. Olivine J indices correlate positively with equilibration temperatures, suggesting that the CPO strength increases with depth. In contrast, the intensity of intragranular deformation in olivine varies as a function of the sampling locality. We interpret the microstructures and CPO patterns as recording deformation by dislocation creep in a transpressional regime, which is consistent with recent tectonic evolution in the Carpathian-Pannonian region due to the convergence between the Adria microplate and the European platform. Postkinematic annealing is probably linked to percolation of metasomatism by mafic melts through the upper mantle of the NGVF prior to the eruption of the host alkali basalt. Elevated equilibration temperatures in xenoliths from the central part of the volcanic field are interpreted to be associated with the last metasomatic event, which only shortly preceded the ascent of the host magma. Despite well-developed olivine CPOs in the xenoliths, which imply a strong seismic anisotropy, the lithospheric mantle alone cannot account for the shear wave splitting delay times measured in the NGVF, indicating that deformation in both the lithosphere and the asthenosphere contributes to the observed shear wave splitting., The authors would like to thank the people who contributed to this work. We owe thanks to Fabrice Barou and David Adams for their help with EBSD-SEM analyses at Geosciences Montpellier and at CCFS Macquarie University, respectively. L?szl? Aradi is acknowledged for his help with field work, petrography and MTEX application. We are grateful for the constructive criticism of Sandra Piazolo and Jacques Pr?cigout and two anonymous reviewers, as well as for the editorial handling of Stephen Parman. Our research received financial support from a Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant (grant NAMS-230937), a postdoctoral grant (grant PD101683) of the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA), and a Bolyai J?nos Postdoctoral Research Fellowship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to I. J. K., as well as from the Lend?let Pannon LitH2Oscope Research Group (Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences). N. L. received support from Macquarie University international PhD scholarship and project and travel funding from ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (CCFS). K. H. acknowledges funding from Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO, Spain) and the State Research Agency (AEI, Spain; grants FPDI-2013-16253 and CGL2016-81085-R). Instruments used at Macquarie University are funded by DEST Systemic Infrastructure Grants, ARC LIEF, NCRIS/AuScope, industry partners, and Macquarie University. The data used in this paper are listed in the references, tables, and supporting information. The raw EBSD data are available from the corresponding author upon request. This is the 92nd publication of the Lithosphere Fluid Research Lab (LRG), contribution 1361 from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (www.ccfs.mq.edu.au) and 1320 from the GEMOC Key Centre (www.gemoc.mq.edu.au).

International audience; In this study, three clinopyroxene-enriched upper mantle xenoliths, petrographically classified as wehrlite,were investigated from the Nógrád–Gömör Volcanic Field with the use of X-ray microtomography. Our main goal was toquantify the volume of the glass phase and the vesicles to reveal their three-dimensional distribution. Among the studiedwehrlite xenoliths, one is weakly and two are strongly metasomatized. The two latter wehrlite xenoliths are characterizedby higher modal amount of glass and vesicles, which suggests a genetic connection between glass and concomitantvesicles, and the metasomatic agent. The glass, which was a melt at mantle conditions, forms an interconnected network.This may explain the presence of the electromagnetic anomaly with high electrical conductivity beneath the study area.Our study contributes to the better understanding of melt migration and its metasomatic effect in the lithospheric mantlebeneath monogenetic volcanic fields

Amphibole is one of the most abundant ’water’-bearing minerals in the Earth’s upper mantle. Amphiboles occur as interstitial grains, lamellae within pyroxenes or as daughter minerals within fluid inclusions. Most commonly amphibole formation is related to mantle metasomatism, where the agent has a subducted slab (e.g. Manning 2004) or an asthenospheric origin (e.g. Berkesi et al. 2019). After the formation of fluid inclusions, a subsolidus interaction can take place where the H2O content of fluid inclusions may crystallize pargasite (e.g. Plank et al. 2016).Here we present amphibole lamellae formation in mantle xenoliths from the Persani Mountains Volcanic Field that is interrelated to a reaction between fluid inclusions and host clinopyroxene. Newly formed amphibole lamellae occur only in the surroundings of the fluid inclusions and grow within the host clinopyroxene in a preferred crystallographic direction. Studied lamellae do not reach the rim of the host mineral implying that components needed for formation of amphibole lamellae in clinopyroxene could have only originated from the fluid inclusion itself. We measured the major element composition of amphibole lamellae and host clinopyroxene (1) and used Raman spectroscopy and FIB-SEM on fluid inclusion study situated next to the lamellae (2). Results support the hypothesis that chemical components (dominantly H+) migrated sub-solidus from the fluid inclusion into the host mineral after fluid entrapment via subsolidus interaction. Beyond the clinopyroxene-hosted fluid inclusions, fluid inclusions in orthopyroxenes were also studied as a reference. Our study shows that post-entrapment diffusion from a fluid inclusion into the host mineral changes the solid/fluid ratio of the mantle which could modify the rheology of the lithospheric mantle.Berkesi, M. et al. 2019. Chemical Geology, 508, 182-196.Kovács et al. (2017) Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica, 52(2), 183-204.Manning C. E. 2004. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 223, 1-16.Plank, T. A. et al. 2016. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a powerful, yet scarcely used technique when it comes to investigating mantle minerals and fluid inclusions. It is capable to collect structural information of the studied mineral, its precise chemical composition, and makes nanofeatures visible, such as dislocations and nano-inclusions.In this study TEM and STEM (scanning transmission electron microscopy) measurements were carried out on a set of ortho- and clinopyroxene samples from central and marginal localities of Carpathian Pannonian region (CPR), where Plio-Pleistocene alkaline basalt volcanism sampled the lithospheric mantle retrieving lithospheric mantle xenoliths. Objective of the study was to constrain the presence and formation mechanisms of sub-microscopic occurrence of pargasitic amphibole.The detailed investigation of pargasite in the upper mantle is rather timely, because its presence may be the major cause for the rheologic contrast experienced between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere [1], [2]. The nominally anhydrous minerals’ (NAMs, as ortho- and clinopyroxene) structural hydroxyl [3] content or volatiles in fluid inclusions could lead to formation of pargasite [4]. In addition, pargasite could form interstitially during metasomatic intereactions.Our observations so far suggest that hydrous silicate formation as sub-solidus exsolution in the central CPR may not have taken place. Ordering of the Ca forming Ca-rich and Ca-poor domains in an orthopyroxene grain was identified. Precursors of H+ diffusion were also recorded, such as dislocations and nanosized fluid inclusions. Diffusion of H+ could be active in the lattice scale through the disclinations along subgrain boundaries [3], [5] or dislocations in the host mineral along the boundary of nanoscale fluid inclusions [6], [7]. Clinopyroxene-amphibole phase boundary has been prepared by focused ion beam (FIB) milling technique from the marginal area of CPR. The chemical composition of the amphibole lamella provides evidence that the H2O content of the nearby fluid inclusion migrated into the host clinopyroxene producing an amphibole lamella growing along the ‘c’ crystallographic axis [4].Observations of the boundary of clinopyroxene and amphibole confirm that the amphibole octahedral layers penetrate the clinopyroxene structure. The precise nanoscale measurements (STEM mapping) of chemical composition of both the host and the lamellae can lead to profound implications on the original composition of the studied fluid inclusions.[1] Green, D. H., Hibberson, W. O., Kovács, I. J., & Rosenthal, A. (2010). Nature, 467(7314), 448–451.[2] Kovács, I. J., Lenkey, L., Green, D. H., Fancsik, T., Falus, G., Kiss, J., Orosz, L., Angyal, J., Vikor, Zs. (2017). Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica, 52, 183–204.[3] Liptai, N., Kovács, I.J., Lange, T.P., Pálos, Zs., Berkesi, M., Szabó, Cs., Wesztergom, V. (2019). Goldschmidt Abstracts, 2019 1981.[4] Lange, T.P., Liptai, N., Patkó, L., Berkesi, M., Kesjár, D., Szabó, Cs., Kovács, I. J. (2019). 25th European Current Research on Fluid Inclusions (ECROFI) , Abstract Series, 68.[5] Demouchy, S., & Bolfan-Casanova, N. (2016). Lithos, 240–243, 402–425.[6] Bakker, R. J., & Jansen, J. B. H. (1994). Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 116, 7–20.[7] Viti, C., & Frezzotti, M. L. (2000). American Mineralogist, 85(10), 1390–1396.

Nominally anhydrous minerals in the lithospheric mantle, such as olivine and pyroxenes can host a small amount (tens to hundreds of ppm) of structurally bound hydroxyl (‘water’). Numerous studies pointed out that water has a strong effect on the rheological properties of the lithospheric mantle, such as melting temperature, electrical conductivity, viscosity and seismic wave propagation speed. Water content of mantle xenoliths can thus be used to estimate such rheological properties which can then be compared with geophysical observations.In this study we present effective viscosities and electrical resistivities calculated with the use of ‘water’ contents of upper mantle xenoliths from the Carpathian-Pannonian region (CPR). The CPR is a young extensional basin in Central Europe, where intraplate alkali basalts sampled the lithosphere in five areas, including locations from both the central and marginal regions. ‘Water’ contents are generally higher in xenoliths from the marginal areas compared with those from the central areas of the CPR, due to significant hydrogen loss during the extension in the Miocene (Patkó et al., 2019). It is demonstrated that due to the different ‘water’ contents, the lithospheric mantle in the central areas can be characterized with higher effective viscosity and electrical resistivity, and thus can be considered as more rigid than the marginal areas. This relative rigidity induced by lithospheric thinning may be a general feature of extensional basin systems worldwide, and can be regarded as a ‘self-healing’ mechanism of the extending lithosphere. References:Patkó, L., Liptai, N., Kovács, I. J., Aradi, L. E., Xia, Q.-K., Ingrin, J., Mihály, J., O’Reilly, S. Y., Griffin, W. L., Wesztergom, V., Szabó, C., 2019. Extremely low structural hydroxyl contents in upper mantle xenoliths from the Nógrád-Gömör Volcanic Field (northern Pannonian Basin): Geodynamic implications and the role of post-eruptive re-equilibration. Chemical Geology, 507, 23-41.

Apart from the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB), mid-lithospheric discontinuities (MLDs) in thick and old continental lithospheres appear to play an important role in global plate tectonics. Initiation of intra-continental subduction, delamination of the lower continental lithospheric mantle and removal of cratonic roots are likely to occur along MLDs. Here we introduce the ‘pargasosphere’ hypothesis which could account for the origin of both boundaries. The observation that pargasitic amphibole is stable even at very low bulk ‘water’ concentration (~a few hundreds ppm wt.) implies that the solidus of the shallow upper mantle (

Sulfides from lherzolite and wehrlite xenoliths from the Nograd-Gomor Volcanic Field (NGVF), located in the Northern Pannonian Basin, were studied to understand the behavior of chalcophile and siderophile elements during mafic melt – peridotite interaction. We applied in situ methods to analyze the major and trace elements, as well as Fe isotope compositions of sulfide minerals. Sulfides are more abundant in wehrlites (~0.03 vol%) and are often enclosed in silicates, whereas in lherzolites, they are scarcer (~0.01 vol%) and predominantly interstitial. Monosulfide solid solution and pentlandite are the most common sulfide phases in the lherzolite xenoliths, whereas in wehrlite xenoliths it is pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. Consequently, wehrlitic sulfides show higher bulk Fe and Cu but lower bulk Ni and Co contents compared to the lherzolitic sulfides. Trace elements with both chalcophile and siderophile character (Ge, Se, Te, and Re) show lower, whereas highly chalcophile elements (Zn, Cd, Sb, and Tl) show higher concentrations in wehrlitic sulfides compared to lherzolitic ones. Highly siderophile elements show no systematic difference between the sulfides of the two xenolith series, which suggests moderate enrichment in these elements in wehrlite bulk rocks due to their higher sulfide content. Sulfide δ56Fe signature indicates variable isotopic composition both in lherzolites (δ56Fe: −0.13 to +0.56‰) and wehrlites (δ56Fe: −0.20 to +0.84‰) relative to the terrestrial mantle (δ56Fe: +0.025 ± 0.025‰; Craddock et al., 2013 ). However, irrespectively of the xenolith lithology, there is a significant difference between the δ56Fe of sulfides from the two sampling localities: NTB /North/: vary from −0.20 to +0.04‰ and NME /South/: vary from +0.56 to +0.84‰. This suggests that the Fe isotopic ratios of sulfides are not modified by the wehrlitization process. Difference in sulfide δ56Fe between the two xenolith localities is probably because of the higher, isotopically heavier (δ56Fe: from +1.28 to +1.60‰; Ciązela et al., 2019 ) chalcopyrite content in sulfides from the NME xenoliths compared to those from the NTB xenoliths irrespectively to their lithology. Our results also indicate sulfide and chalcophile element enrichment resulting from metasomatism in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. We suggest that this process affected the regional metal distribution and has implications for global metal mass balance within the subcontinental lithosphere.

Clinopyroxene-enriched upper mantle xenoliths classified as wehrlites are common (~20% of all xenoliths) in the central part of the Nógrád-Gömör Volcanic Field (NGVF), situated in the northern margin of the Pannonian Basin in northern Hungary and southern Slovakia. In this study, we thoroughly investigated 12 wehrlite xenoliths, two from each wehrlite-bearing occurrence, to determine the conditions of their formation. Specific textural features, including clinopyroxene-rich patches in an olivine-rich lithology, orthopyroxene remnants in the cores of newly-formed clinopyroxenes and vermicular spinel forms all suggest that wehrlites were formed as a result of intensive interaction between a metasomatic agent and the peridotite wall rock. Based on the major and trace element geochemistry of the rock-forming minerals, significant enrichment in basaltic (Fe, Mn, Ti) and high field strength elements (Nb, Ta, Hf, Zr) was observed, compared to compositions of common lherzolite xenoliths. The presence of orthopyroxene remnants and geochemical trends in rock-forming minerals suggest that the metasomatic process ceased before complete wehrlitization was achieved. The composition of the metasomatic agent is interpreted to be a mafic silicate melt, which was further confirmed by numerical modelling of trace elements using the plate model. The model results also show that the melt/rock ratio played a key role in the degree of petrographic and geochemical transformation. The lack of equilibrium and the conclusions drawn by using variable lherzolitic precursors in the model both suggest that wehrlitization was the last event that occurred shortly before xenolith entrainment in the host mafic melt. We suggest that the wehrlitization and the Plio–Pleistocene basaltic volcanism are related to the same magmatic event., This research was financially facilitated by Orlando Vaselli, supported by the Bolyai Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, a Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant (Grant No. NAMS-230937) and a postdoctoral grant (Grant No. PD101683) of the Hungarian Scientific Research Found (OTKA) to I. J. K., as well as a grant of the Hungarian Scientific Research Found (Grant No. 78425) to Cs. Sz. Work done at Virginia Tech was supported by a grant from the U. S. National Science Foundation (EAR-1624589) to R. J. B. L. Patkó was supported by the GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00009 research program. This is the 88 publication of the Lithosphere Fluid Research Lab (LRG).

International audience; The structural hydroxyl content of the nominally anhydrous minerals (olivine and pyroxenes) in the upper mantle is among the important attributes that influence the physical and chemical features of the upper mantle. In this study, we provide detailed Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) data on 63 petrographically and geochemically well-defined upper mantle xenoliths from the Nograd-Gomor Volcanic Field (Pannonian Basin, Central Europe). These xenoliths show extremely low average structural hydroxyl contents (similar to 0, 31 and 185 ppm for olivine, orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene, respectively) compared to values reported regionally and worldwide. The studied xenoliths have anomalous types of FTIR spectra and high structural hydroxyl ratios between clinopyroxenes and orthopyroxenes (an average of similar to 8). Furthermore, there is usually no correlation between the structural hydroxyl content and other physical or chemical properties of the xenoliths. These specific FTIR characteristics suggest that the Nograd-Gomor upper mantle xenoliths were exposed to significant modification of their structural hydroxyl contents, which may be linked to pre- and post-eruptive processes. Decompression during extension leads to lower 'water' activity, which is most likely to have played a key role. However, pre-eruptive mantle metasomatism with an agent having low water activity cannot be excluded either. The post-eruptive cooling can be significant as well, as suggested by the higher structural hydroxyl content in xenoliths hosted in more rapidly cooled volcanic facies (i.e. pyroclastics). Our study reveals how FTIR characteristics may evolve in continental rift settings in young extensional basins. Furthermore, novel applications of our study are the diagnostic features that indicate significant changes in structural hydroxyl properties. This contributes to distinguishing low structural hydroxyl contents linked to the pre-eruptive (i.e., low structural hydroxyl content in pyroxenes, anomalous partitioning and anomalous band characteristic in pyroxenes) or the post-eruptive (completely 'dry' olivines) periods.

Long period magnetotelluric (MT) data were collected at 14 locations along a ~50 km long NNW-SSE profile in the Nograd-Gomor Volcanic Field (NGVF), which is one of the five mantle xenolith bearing Neogene alkali basalt locations in the Carpathian-Pannonian region. As a result, a low resistivity anomaly (

Incorporation of hydrogen as structural hydroxyl (commonly referred to as water) in nominally anhydrous mantle minerals is known for the ‘hydrolytic weakening’ effect, which decreases the strength and electrical resistivity of the rock. Recent models have provided means of calculating rheological properties from geochemical data of upper mantle xenoliths. In the Carpathian-Pannonian region, upper mantle xenoliths can be found on the surface at five locations, both at marginal and central regions of the basin system. In this study we present a comprehensive overview of water contents in these xenoliths, including previously lacking data from two outcrops (Fuzes-to and Tihany) from the Bakony-Balaton Highland Volcanic Field for the first time. The Tihany xenoliths have significantly higher water contents ( In general, the marginal xenolith locations of the Carpathian-Pannonian region, associated to prior supra-subduction environment, contain more water than xenoliths from central locations (with the exception of Tihany locality) which were significantly affected by extension-related lithospheric thinning. To reveal the differences in rheology inferred from the different water contents, we calculated effective viscosities and electrical resistivities for the xenoliths of the Bakony-Balaton Highland and other locationss in the Carpathian-Pannonian region using previously published data for input. Based on the results, the central locations have higher effective viscosities (1.4∙1020–2.2∙1021 Pa s) and electrical resistivities (48–913 Ωm) compared to the marginal locations (9.3∙1019–6.8∙1020 Pa s and 36–182 Ωm, respectively), suggesting that the lithospheric mantle is more rigid in the former than in the latter areas. This may be a common feature for extensional basins, as the extension leads to the ‘drying’ of the upper mantle, whereas subduction zones keep hydrating their overlying mantle wedge. However, for more accurate estimations, other factors such as regional differences in strain rate or the potential presence of melts or fluids in the mantle need to be considered as well.

Peridotite xenoliths from the Nógrád–Gömör Volcanic Field (NGVF) record the geochemical evolution of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the northern margin of the Pannonian Basin. This study is focused on spinel lherzolites and presents petrography, and major and trace element geochemistry for 51 xenoliths selected from all xenolith-bearing localities of the NGVF. The xenoliths consist of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel ± amphibole. No correlations between modal composition and textures were recognized; however, major and trace element geochemistry reveals several processes, which allow the distinction of xenolith groups with different geochemical evolution. The xenoliths have undergone varying degrees (∼7–25%) of partial melting with overprinting by different metasomatic processes. Based on their Mg#, the xenoliths can be subdivided into two major groups. Group I has olivine Mg# between 89 and 91, whereas Group II has Mg#, Journal of Petrology, 58 (6), ISSN:0022-3530, ISSN:1460-2415

The Nograd-Gomor Volcanic Field (NGVF) is one of the five mantle xenolith bearing alkaline basalt locations in the Carpathian Pannonian Region. This allows us to constrain the structure and properties (e.g. composition, current deformation state, seismic anisotropy, electrical conductivity) of the upper mantle, including the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) using not only geophysical, but also petrologic and geochemical methods. For this pilot study, eight upper mantle xenoliths have been chosen from Barna-Nagykő, the southernmost location of the NGVF. The aim of this study is estimating the average seismic properties of the underlying mantle. Based on these estimations, the thickness of the anisotropic layer causing the observed average SKS delay time in the area was modelled considering five lineation and foliation end-member orientations. We conclude that a 142–333 km thick layer is required to explain the observed SKS anisotropy, assuming seismic properties calculated by averaging the properties of the eight xenoliths. It is larger than the thickness of the lithospheric mantle. Therefore, the majority of the delay time accumulates in the sublithospheric mantle. However, it is still in question whether a single anisotropic layer, represented by the studied xenoliths, is responsible for the observed SKS anisotropy, as it is assumed beneath the Bakony–Balaton Highland Volcanic Field (Kovacs et al. 2012), or the sublithospheric mantle has different layers. In addition, the depths of the Moho and the LAB ( $$25\,\pm \,5, 65\,\pm \,10\,\hbox {km}$$ , respectively) were estimated based on S receiver function analyses of data from three nearby permanent seismological stations.