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The Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation - Scientific and Media Articles based on Major Keyword - Mantle
The Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation is compiled by Patricia Sheahan who publishes on a monthly basis a list of new scientific articles related to diamonds as well as media coverage and corporate announcements called the Sheahan Diamond Literature Service that is distributed as a free pdf to a list of followers. Pat has kindly agreed to allow her work to be made available as an online digital resource at Kaiser Research Online so that a broader community interested in diamonds and related geology can benefit. The references are for personal use information purposes only; when available a link is provided to an online location where the full article can be accessed or purchased directly. Reproduction of this compilation in part or in whole without permission from the Sheahan Diamond Literature Service is strictly prohibited. Return to Diamond Keyword Index
Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation - Scientific Articles by Author for all years
Each article reference in the SDLRC is tagged with one or more key words assigned by Pat Sheahan to highlight the main topics of the article. In an effort to make it easier for users to track down articles related to a specific topic, KRO has extracted these key words and developed a list of major key words presented in this Key Word Index to which individual key words used in the article reference have been assigned. In most of the individual Key Word Reports the references are in crhonological order, though in some such as Deposits the order is first by key word and then chronological. Only articles classified as "technical" (mainly scientific journal articles) and "media" (independent media articles) are included in the Key Word Index. References that were added in the most recent monthly update are highlighted in yellow.
Mantle refers to the portion of the earth's interior between the crust and the outer core which is in a solid to plastic state.
The stability of Zirconium and Phosphorus bearing minerals in peridotite coexisting with alkaline melts. Implications for the storage of Uranium and Thorium in the mantle
Geological Association of Canada (GAC) Annual Meeting, Vol. 11, p. 101. (abstract.)
Sato, H., Sacks, I.S., Murase, T., Muncill, G., Fukuyama, H.
Qp-melting temperature relation in peridotite at high pressure andtemperature: attenuation mechanism And implications for the mech. prop. of The upper mantle
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 94, No. B8, August 10, pp. 10, 647-10, 661
Metasomatized lower crustal and upper mantle xenoliths from North Queensland -chemical and isotopic evidence bearing on the composition and source of fluid phase
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 53, No. 3, March pp. 649-660
lead, neodymium, and Strontium isotopic investigations of kaersutite and clinopyroxene from ultramafic nodules and their host basalts: the nature of the subcontinental mantle
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 54, pp. 3449-3460
Petrology of ODP LED 125: mantle peridotites And related rocks from serpentine diapiric seamounts in the IZU-Ogasawara-Mariana forearc
Geological Association of Canada (GAC)/Mineralogical Association of Canada (MAC) Vancouver 90 Program with Abstracts, Held May 16-18, Vol. 15, p. A63. Abstract
neodymium and Strontium isotopic compositions of lower-crustal xenoliths from northQueensland, Australia: implications for neodymium model ages and crustal growth proc
Chem. Geol, Vol. 83, No. 3/4, June 25, pp. 195-208
high pressure experimental calibration of the olivine ortho pyroxene spinel oxygen geobarometer-implications for the oxidation state of the upper mantle
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 107, No. 1, pp. 27-40
Dunitification of mantle lithosphere below the Society Archipelago:evidence for magma -mantle thermal and chemical transfers through xenoliths From the Papenoo Vall
Journal of Geodynamics, Vol. 13, No. 2-4, pp. 221-252
Evolution of the lithosphere and inferred increasing size of mantle convection cells over geologic time. Planetary evolution: the early earth as anexample
Perchuk, L.L. Progress in metamorphic and magmatic petrology, Cambridge, Chapter 14, pp. 369-386
Unusually large subsidence and sea-level events during middle Paleozoictime: new evidence supporting mantle convection models for supercontinentassembly
Proterozoic mantle under Quesnellia: variably reset rubidium-strontium (Rb-Sr) mineral isochrons in ultramafic nodules carried up in Cenozoic volcanic vents of the s. OminecaBelt
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 28, No. 8, August pp. 1239-1253
Heterogeneity in the thermal state of the lower crust and upper mantle beneath eastern Australia
Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists and Geological Society of Australia, 8th. Exploration Conference in the Bulletin., Vol. 22, No. 2, June pp. 295-298
Enriched and depleted components in early Proterozoic mantle: evidence from neodymium and Sr isotopic study of layered intrusions and mafic dykes eastern shield
Eos Transactions, Vol. 73, No. 14, April 7, supplement abstracts p.338
Strontium, neodymium, lead isotopes in ultramafic xenoliths of Cenozoic volcanic rocks of eastern China: implications for EMI and EMII domains in subcontinental lithosphere
Proceedings of the 29th International Geological Congress. Held Japan, Vol. 2, abstract p. 545
Heterogeneity of the subcontinental mantle: uranium-lead (U-Pb) (U-Pb) and Lu-Hf in megacrysts of baddeleyite and zircon from the Mbuji-Mayi kimberlite
Eos Transactions, Vol. 73, No. 14, April 7, supplement abstracts p.339
CAT scanning the earth... supercomputers are enabling geophysicists to visualize the earth's churning interior - and gain new insights into how itworks
Coupled substitution of Hydrogen and minor elements in rutile and the implications of high OH contents in niobium and chromium rich rutile from the upper mantle.
American Mineralogist, Vol. 78, No. 11, 12, November-December pp. 1181-1191.
neodymium and Strontium isotope chronostratigraphy of Colorado Plateau lithosphere: implications for magmatic and tectonic underplating of the continental crust.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 116, No. 1/4, April pp. 23-44.
Neodynmium and strontium isotopic and trace element composition of aMesozoic CFB suite from Dronning Maud Land: lithosphere and asthenosphere ...Karoo magmatism
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 62, No. 15, pp. 2701-14.
Wang, Q., Ji, S., Salisbury, M.H., Xia, B., Pan, M., Xu, Z.
Pressure dependence and anisotropy of P wave velocities in ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks from the Dabie Sulu orogenic belt: implications for seismic properties
Distinct mantle sources of low Ti and high Ti basalts from the western Emeishan large igneous province, SW China: implications for plume?? lithosphere interaction
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 228, 3-4, pp. 525-546.
A new method to simulate convection with strongly temperature and pressure dependent viscosity in a spherical shell: applications to the Earth's mantle.
Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, in press available
El Atrassi, F., Brunet, F., Chazot, G., Chopin, C.
Metamorphic and magmatic overprint of garnet pyroxenites from the Beni Bousera Massif ( northern Morocco): mineralogical, chemical and textural records.
Peridotitic and websteritic diamondites provide new information regarding mantle melting and metasomatism induced through the subduction of crustal volatiles.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 107, Apr. 15, pp. 1-11.
Abstract: The asthenosphere—derived from the Greek asthen?s, meaning weak—is the uppermost part of Earth's mantle, right below the tectonic plates that make up the solid lithosphere. First proposed by Barrell 100 years ago (1), the asthenosphere has traditionally been viewed as a passive region that decouples the moving tectonic plates from the mantle and provides magmas to the global spreading ridge system. Recent studies suggest that the asthenosphere may play a more active role as the source of the heat and magma responsible for intraplate volcanoes. Furthermore, it may have a major impact on plate tectonics and the pattern of mantle flow.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 417, pp. 67-77.
Mantle
Core, mantle
Abstract: Deformation-assisted segregation of metallic and sulphidic liquid from a solid peridotitic matrix is a process that may contribute to the early differentiation of small planetesimals into a metallic core and a silicate mantle. Here we present results of an experimental study using a simplified system consisting of a polycrystalline Fo90-olivine matrix containing a small percentage of iron sulphide and a synthetic primitive MORB melt, in order to investigate whether the silicate melt enhances the interconnection and segregation of FeS liquid under deformation conditions at varying strain rates. The experiments have been performed at 2 GPa, 1450?°C and strain rates between 1×10?3 s?11×10?3 s?1 to 1×10?5 s?11×10?5 s?1. Our results show that the presence of silicate melt actually hinders the migration and segregation of sulphide liquid by reducing its interconnectivity. At low to moderate strain rates the sulphide liquid pockets preserved a roundish shape, showing the liquid behavior is governed mainly by surface tension rather than by differential stress. Even at the highest strain rates, insignificant FeS segregation and interconnection were observed. On the other hand the basaltic melt was very mobile during deformation, accommodating part of the strain, which led to its segregation from the matrix at high bulk strains leaving the sulphide liquid stranded in the olivine matrix. Hence, we conclude that deformation-induced percolation of sulphide liquid does not contribute to the formation of planetary cores after the silicate solidus is overstepped. A possible early deformation enhanced core-mantle differentiation after overstepping the Fe-S solidus is not possible between the initial formation of silicate melt and the formation of a widespread magma ocean.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 433, pp. 159-168.
Europe, Iceland
Mantle - 660 km
Abstract: The presence of a mantle plume beneath Iceland has long been hypothesised to explain its high volumes of crustal volcanism. Practical constraints in seismic tomography mean that thin, slow velocity anomalies representative of a mantle plume signature are difficult to image. However it is possible to infer the presence of temperature anomalies at depth from the effect they have on phase transitions in surrounding mantle material. Phase changes in the olivine component of mantle rocks are thought to be responsible for global mantle seismic discontinuities at 410 and 660 km depth, though exact depths are dependent on surrounding temperature conditions. This study uses P to S seismic wave conversions at mantle discontinuities to investigate variation in topography allowing inference of temperature anomalies within the transition zone. We employ a large data set from a wide range of seismic stations across the North Atlantic region and a dense network in Iceland, including over 100 stations run by the University of Cambridge. Data are used to create over 6000 receiver functions. These are converted from time to depth including 3D corrections for variations in crustal thickness and upper mantle velocity heterogeneities, and then stacked based on common conversion points. We find that both the 410 and 660 km discontinuities are depressed under Iceland compared to normal depths in the surrounding region. The depression of 30 km observed on the 410 km discontinuity could be artificially deepened by un-modelled slow anomalies in the correcting velocity model. Adding a slow velocity conduit of ?1.44% reduces the depression to 18 km; in this scenario both the velocity reduction and discontinuity topography reflect a temperature anomaly of 210 K. We find that much larger velocity reductions would be required to remove all depression on the 660 km discontinuity, and therefore correlated discontinuity depressions appear to be a robust feature of the data. While it is not possible to definitively rule out the possibility of uncorrected velocity anomalies causing the observed correlated topography we show that this is unlikely. Instead our preferred interpretation is that the 660 km discontinuity is controlled by a garnet phase transition described by a positive Clapeyron slope, such that depression of the 660 is representative of a hot anomaly at depth.
Abstract: We report on the Lu-Hf and Re-Os isotope systematics of a well-characterized suite of spinel and garnet pyroxenites from the Gföhl Unit of the Bohemian Massif (Czech Republic, Austria). Lu-Hf mineral isochrons of three pyroxenites yield undistinguishable values in the range of 336-338 Ma. Similarly, the slope of Re-Os regression for most samples yields an age of 327 ± 31 Ma. These values overlap previously reported Sm-Nd ages on pyroxenites, eclogites and associated peridotites from the Gföhl Unit, suggesting contemporaneous evolution of all these HT-HP rocks. The whole-rock Hf isotopic compositions are highly variable with initial ?Hf values ranging from ? 6.4 to + 66. Most samples show a negative correlation between bulk rock Sm/Hf and ?Hf and, when taking into account other characteristics (e.g., high 87Sr/86Sr), this may be explained by the presence of recycled oceanic sediments in the source of the pyroxenite parental melts. A pyroxenite from Horní Kounice has decoupled Hf-Nd systematics with highly radiogenic initial ?Hf of + 66 for a given ?Nd of + 7.8. This decoupling is consistent with the presence of a melt derived from a depleted mantle component with high Lu/Hf. Finally, one sample from Be?váry plots close to the MORB field in Hf-Nd isotope space consistent with its previously proposed origin as metamorphosed oceanic gabbro. Some of the websterites and thin-layered pyroxenites have variable, but high Os concentrations paralleled by low initial ?Os. This reflects the interaction of the parental pyroxenitic melts with a depleted peridotite wall rock. In turn, the radiogenic Os isotope compositions observed in most pyroxenite samples is best explained by mixing between unradiogenic Os derived from peridotites and a low-Os sedimentary precursor with highly radiogenic 187Os/188Os. Steep increase of 187Os/188Os at nearly uniform 187Re/188Os found in a few pyroxenites may be connected with the absence of primary sulfides, but the presence of minor late stage sulfide-bearing veinlets likely associated with HT-HP metamorphism at crustal conditions.
Abstract: Variations in the temperature of the mantle drive its convective circulation, a process that links the deep mantle with the atmosphere and oceans through volcanic and tectonic activity. Because of this connection, effective models of Earth’s evolution must incorporate the planet’s thermal history, for which a crucial constraint is the mantle’s current temperature. Researchers look at chemistry of Iceland’s newly erupted lava to analyze the temperature of the mantle below. A false-color backscatter electron image of an olivine crystal from Borgarhraun, a lava field in northern Iceland. The crystal contains a spinel inclusion, set in a fine-grained crystalline groundmass. The chemistry of these crystals records the temperatures at which they crystallized. The image is approximately 1.5 millimeters wide. Credit: S. Matthews. Because the mantle’s temperature cannot be measured directly, scientists have devised a number of creative methods to derive this information, but these have produced widely varying results. Now Matthews et al. offer new constraints on this parameter beneath Iceland, one of the few places on Earth where a divergent plate boundary is subaerially exposed because of an anomalously large amount of melting occurring beneath the island. Using a recently developed mineral thermometry technique, the researchers found that lava flows from four different eruptions along Iceland’s Northern Volcanic Zone crystallized at substantially higher temperatures (maximum 1399°C) than average mid-ocean ridge samples that have experienced little melting (maximum 1270°C). Next, the team developed a thermal model of mantle melting and used it, along with other observations such as the local thickness of the crust, to quantify the uncertainties in deriving mantle temperatures from their data. Researchers look at chemistry of Iceland’s newly erupted lava to analyze the temperature of the mantle below. An analysis of fresh lavas from Iceland indicates the mantle below the island is much hotter than beneath other locations on divergent plate boundaries. Credit: Terri Cook and Lon Abbott. Their results indicate that the mantle below Iceland is at least 140°C hotter than that beneath average mid-ocean ridges. This outcome should shed light on the factors that control the extent of melting beneath Iceland, including the ongoing debate about whether the voluminous melting is due to a deep mantle plume and, if so, whether changes in its magma production reflect variations in the plume’s temperature.
Abstract: Mafic rocks comprising tholeiitic pillow basalt, dolerite and minor gabbro form the basal stratigraphic unit in the ca. 2.8 to 2.6 Ga Geita Greenstone Belt situated in the NW Tanzania Craton. They outcrop mainly along the southern margin of the belt, and are at least 50 million years older than the supracrustal assemblages against which they have been juxtaposed. Geochemical analyses indicate that parts of the assemblage approach high Mg-tholeiite (more than 8 wt.% MgO). This suite of samples has a restricted compositional range suggesting derivation from a chemically homogenous reservoir. Trace element modeling suggests that the mafic rocks were derived by partial melting within the spinel peridotite field from a source rock with a primitive mantle composition. That is, trace elements maintain primitive mantle ratios (Zr/Hf = 32-35, Ti/Zr = 107-147), producing flat REE and HFSE profiles [(La/Yb)pm = 0.9-1.3], with abundances of 3-10 times primitive mantle and with minor negative anomalies of Nb [(Nb/La)pm = 0.6-0.8] and Th [(Th/La)pm = 0.6-0.9]. Initial isotope compositions (?Nd) range from 1.6 to 2.9 at 2.8 Ga and plot below the depleted mantle line suggesting derivation from a more enriched source compared to present day MORB mantle. The trace element composition and Nd isotopic ratios are similar to the mafic rocks outcropping ?50 km south. The mafic rocks outcropping in the Geita area were erupted through oceanic crust over a short time period, between ?2830 and ?2820 Ma; are compositionally homogenous, contain little to no associated terrigenous sediments, and their trace element composition and short emplacement time resemble oceanic plateau basalts. They have been interpreted to be derived from a plume head with a primitive mantle composition.
Abstract: Presents the first comprehensive overview of the composition and structure of the Earth’s lower mantleSummarizes geological, mineralogical, experimental and geophysical data on the Deep Earth. Broadens readers’ understanding and presents a compositional model of the lowermost mantle and geodynamic processes at the core/mantle boundary.
Abstract: The origin of diamond-forming carbon in the Earth is unclear [1-3]; sources include subducted organic sediment and primordial mantle carbon. For example, some diamonds contain eclogitic silicate + sufide inclusions and have depleted ?13C (-10 to -30‰), enriched ?15N (+3 to +35‰) values, consistent with subducted crustal material [2-3]. However, some diamonds show mantle-like ?15N (<-5‰) and depleted ?13C values (-10 to -30‰ ) which have been cited as evidence of enstatite chondrite-like primordial C-N sources [1]. The helium isotope composition of mantle rocks are powerful tracers,of Earth’s volatile history because primordial 3He is not recycled back into the mantle. However, there are few He isotope studies of diamond fluids. The 3He/4He of garnetbearing diamondites from the Orapa mine (Botswana) range from 0.1 to 3 Ra [4-5], consistent with a recycled origin. However, our recent work has identified a suite of diamondites with 3He/4He = 0.06 to 8.2 Ra which correlates negatively with ?13C, suggesting that the subduction-related C is associated with mantle 3He/4He ratios. To unravel this complexity we are combining He, C and N isotope analyses in polycrystalline diamond from garnetbearing diamondites from the Orapa mine. These data will also be used to assess the extent to which carbon and nitrogen isotopes are decoupled during diamond-formation [3].
Earth Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 492, pp. 197-205.
United States, Colorado
mantle - discontinuity
Abstract: We analyze teleseismic P-to-S conversions for high-resolution imaging of the mantle transition zone beneath the Colorado Rocky Mountains using data from a dense PASSCAL seismic broadband deployment. A total of 6,021 P-to-S converted receiver functions are constructed using a multi-channel minimum-phase deconvolution method and migrated using the common converted point technique with the 3-D teleseismic P- and S-wave tomography models of Schmandt and Humphreys (2010). The image finds that the average depths of the 410-km discontinuity (the 410) and 660-km discontinuity (the 660) at and respectively. The peak-to-peak topography of both discontinuities is 33 km and 27 km respectively. Additionally, prominent negative polarity phases are imaged both above and below the 410. To quantify the mean properties of the low-velocity layers about 410 km, we utilize double gradient layer models parameterization to fit the mean receiver function waveform. This waveform fitting is accomplished as a grid-search using anelastic synthetic seismograms. The best-fitting model reveals that the olivine-wadsleyite phase transformation width is 21 km, which is significantly larger than anhydrous mineral physics prediction (4-10 km) (Smyth and Frost, 2002). The findings of a wide olivine-wadsleyite phase transformation and the negative polarity phases above and below the 410, suggest that the mantle, at least in the 350-450 km depth range, is significantly hydrated. Furthermore, a conspicuous negative polarity phase below the 660 is imaged in high velocity region, we speculate the low velocity layer is due to dehydration flux melting in an area of convective downwelling. Our interpretation of these results, in tandem with the tomographic image of a Farallon slab segment at 800 km beneath the region (Schmandt and Humphreys, 2010), is that hydrous and upwelling mantle contributes to the high-standing Colorado Rocky Mountains.
European Journal of Mineralogy, Vol. 30, 2, pp. 333-348.
Mantle
pyroxenite
Abstract: Pyroxenites are a diffuse heterogeneity in the upper mantle and represent key lithologies in melting processes and mantle deformation. Mantle peridotites exposed in ultramafic massifs are commonly veined by pyroxenites. The latter experienced the same metamorphic evolution as host peridotite and may develop substantially different phase assemblages in response to the different bulk composition. Although several experimental studies focused on melting relations in pyroxenites, subsolidus phase relations are still poorly known. We provide new experimental constraints on phase stability and mineral chemistry for a natural mantle pyroxenite. Piston-cylinder experiments were conducted from 0.7 to 1.5?GPa, 1100-1250?°C. Al-rich spinel, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and olivine are ubiquitous phases within the whole pressure range investigated. At 1100?°C, plagioclase is stable up to 0.9?GPa; anorthite content [An?=?Ca/(Ca?+?Na)] decreases as a function of pressure from 0.70 at 0.7?GPa to 0.61 at 0.9?GPa. Maximum plagioclase modal abundance of 14?wt% forms at 0.7?GPa; this amount is more than twice as experimentally determined at the same P-T conditions in fertile lherzolite (5-6?wt%). At intermediate pressure (1.0-1.4?GPa), modal spinel is almost constant (4-5?wt%). A pyrope-rich garnet is stable at 1.5?GPa and its modal abundance increases from 5 to 10 wt% when temperature decreases from 1230?°C to 1150?°C, from 1230?°C to 1150?°C. The Al content in pyroxenes varies significantly across the plagioclase-out and garnet-in transitions and is not pressure-dependent in the spinel-pyroxenite field. At 1100?°C, the plagioclase-out boundary occurs at comparable pressures in the pyroxenite and in fertile lherzolites. On the contrary, the garnet-in curve is located at significantly lower pressure than for mantle peridotites.
Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, Vol. 305, 13p. Pdf
Mantle
density
Abstract: The composition of Archean volcanic crust can be characterized by a higher Mg/Si ratio than modern mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB), because of the higher degree melting from the warmer mantle in the Archean. Although modern MORB may become less dense than the surrounding mantle beneath the mantle transition zone (MTZ), the Mg-rich composition of Archean volcanic crust may result in the different density, and therefore different sinking behavior near the MTZ. In order to understand the compositional effect of Archean volcanic crust on the sinking behaviors and the scale of mantle mixing in the Archean, we investigated the mineralogy and density of Archean volcanic crust near the MTZ (470-910 km-depth). We conducted experiments at 19-34 GPa and 1400-2400 K using the laser-heated diamond anvil cell (LHDAC) combined with in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD). The in-situ XRD and the chemical analysis revealed that Archean volcanic crust forms garnet and ringwoodite (84 and 16 vol%, respectively), which gradually transforms to Brg and CaPv (82 and 18 vol%, respectively) at 23-25 GPa and 1800 K. Our in-situ XRD experiments allowed us to measure the volumes of stable phases and to estimate their densities at high pressure and temperature. The results suggest that Archean volcanic crust maintains greater density than the pyrolitic mantle in the Archean regardless of temperature at 20-34 GPa (570-850 km-depth), promoting further sinking into the deeper mantle in the Archean. We also considered the density of the subducting slab in the Archean. The density model showed that the subducting slab is still denser or at least equally dense as the surrounding pyrolitic mantle in the Archean.
Abstract: Eclogite xenoliths, together with garnet pyroxenites and some mafic garnet granulites, found in kimberlites located along the southern margin of the Kaapvaal craton in southern Africa have been analysed by electron microprobe and mass spectrometry techniques to determine their geochemical characteristics. The majority of eclogites are bimineralic with garnet and omphacitic clinopyroxene in subequal proportions, with rutile as the main accessory phase; a few contain kyanite. Based on K2O in clinopyroxene and Na2O in garnet, the eclogites can be classified as Group II eclogites, and the majority are high-Ca in character. Garnet pyroxenites comprise garnet clinopyroxenites and garnet websterites. Major and trace element concentrations and isotope ratios of reconstituted bulk rock compositions of the eclogites and garnet pyroxenites allow constraints to be placed on depth of origin and likely protolith history. Calculated Fe-Mg exchange equilibration temperatures for the eclogites range from 815 to 1000?°C, at pressures of 1•7?±?0•4?GPa as determined by REE partitioning, indicating that they were sampled from depths of 50-55?km; i.e. within the lower crust of the Namaqua-Natal Belt. The garnet pyroxenites show slightly lower temperatures (686-835?°C) at similar pressures of equilibration. Initial 143Nd/144Nd and 87Sr/86Sr ratios (calculated to time of kimberlite emplacement) of both lithologies overlap the field for lower crustal samples from the Namaqua-Natal Belt. Further evidence for a crustal origin is found in the similar REE patterns shown by many of the associated garnet granulite xenoliths. Garnet pyroxenites are interpreted to have a similar origin as the associated eclogites but with the mafic protolith having insufficient Na (i.e. low modal plagioclase) to allow for development of omphacitic pyroxene. Metamorphism of the mafic protoliths to these eclogites and garnet pyroxenites is inferred to have occurred during crustal shortening and thickening associated with the collision of the Namaqua-Natal Belt with the Kaapvaal craton at 1-1•2?Ga.
Ore and Energy Resource Geology, Vol. 7, 100013 12p. Pdf
Russia
mantle fluids
Abstract: P-T- Oxygen fugacity (fO2) conditions and fluid compositions were estimated for the formation conditions of pyrope garnet inclusions in diamonds and xenocrysts from diamond-bearing and diamond-free kimberlites using their total chemical analyses and single oxythermobarometry. Our data indicate that optimal conditions for diamond growth and preservation occur in the presumed water-rich mantle fluids containing the lowest abundance of free atomic carbon. The majority of the calculated C-H-O fluid compositions for diamond formation in peridotite xenoliths from high diamond grade kimberlites correspond to a high hydrogen and low carbon and oxygen atomic fluid percents, while those from the majority of peridotite xenoliths in the low grade diamond kimberlites corresponds to the low hydrogen, high carbon and oxygen atomic percent fluids. This new approach defines the conditions of diamond formation for kimberlitic deposits. It better characterizes diamond grades in kimberlites in comparison to the previous empirical mineralogical Ca-Cr methods and can be used as a more precise mineralogical-petrological method for prospecting for kimberlitic diamond deposits.
