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SDLRC - Scientific Articles all years by Author - N
The Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation
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 announcementscalled 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 Resource Center
Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation - Scientific Articles by Author for all years
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Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, in press available pdf 20p.
Global
geodynamics
Abstract: The relative significance of various geodynamic mechanisms that drive supercontinent breakup is unclear. A previous analysis of extensional stress during supercontinent breakup demonstrated the importance of the plume-push force relative to the dragging force of subduction retreat. Here, we extend the analysis to basal traction (shear stress) and cross-lithosphere integrations of both extensional and shear stresses, aiming to understand more clearly the relevant importance of these mechanisms in supercontinent breakup. More importantly, we evaluate the effect of preexisting orogens (mobile belts) in the lithosphere on supercontinent breakup process. Our analysis suggests that a homogeneous supercontinent has extensional stress of 20-50 MPa in its interior (<40° from the central point). When orogens are introduced, the extensional stress in the continents focuses on the top 80-km of the lithosphere with an average magnitude of ~160 MPa, whereas at the margin of the supercontinent the extensional stress is 5-50 MPa. In both homogeneous and orogeny-embedded cases, the subsupercontinent mantle upwellings act as the controlling factor on the normal stress field in the supercontinent interior. Compared with the extensional stress, shear stress at the bottom of the supercontinent is 1-2 order of magnitude smaller (0-5 MPa). In our two end-member models, the breakup of a supercontinent with orogens can be achieved after the first extensional stress surge, whereas for a hypothetical supercontinent without orogens it starts with more diffused local thinning of the continental lithospheric before the breakup, suggesting that weak orogens play a critical role in the dispersal of supercontinents.
Dyke Swarms of the World: a modern perspective, Srivastava et al. eds. Springer , pp. 263-314.
Africa, West Africa, South America
geochronology
Abstract: Eight different generations of dolerite dykes crosscutting the Paleoproterozoic basement in West Africa and one in South America were dated using the high precision U-Pb TIMS method on baddeleyite. Some of the individual dykes reach over 300 km in length and they are considered parts of much larger systems of mafic dyke swarms representing the plumbing systems for large igneous provinces (LIPs). The new U-Pb ages obtained for the investigated swarms in the southern West African Craton (WAC) are the following (oldest to youngest): 1791?±?3 Ma for the N010° Libiri swarm, 1764?±?4 Ma for the N035° Kédougou swarm, 1575?±?5 for the N100° Korsimoro swarm, ~1525-1529 Ma for the N130° Essakane swarm, 1521?±?3 Ma for the N90° Sambarabougou swarm, 915?±?7 Ma for the N070° Oda swarm, 867?±?16 Ma for the N355° Manso swarm, 202?±?5 Ma and 198?±?16 Ma for the N040° Hounde swarm, and 200?±?3 Ma for the sills in the Taoudeni basin. The last ones are related to the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) event. The Hounde swarm is oblique to the dominant radiating CAMP swarm and may be linked with the similar-trending elongate Kakoulima intrusion in Guinea. In addition, the N150° Käyser swarm (Amazonian craton, South America) is dated at 1528?±?2 Ma, providing a robust match with the Essakane swarm in a standard Amazonia-West African craton reconstruction, and resulting in a combined linear swarm >1500 km by >1500 km in extent. The Precambrian LIP barcode ages of c. 1790, 1765-1750, 1575, 1520, 915. 870 Ma for the WAC are compared with the global LIP record to identify possible matches on other crustal blocks, with reconstruction implications. These results contribute to the refinement of the magmatic ‘barcode’ for the West African and Amazonian cratons, representing the first steps towards plausible global paleogeographic reconstructions involving the West African and Amazonian cratons.
Hetenyl, G., Cattin, R., Brunet, F., Bollinger, L., Vergne, J., Nabalek, J.L., Diament, M.
Density distribution of the India plate beneath the Tibetan plateau: geophysical and petrological constraints on kinetics of lower crustal eclogitization
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 264, 1-2, pp. 226-244.
Petrogenesis of Archean lamprophyres in the southern Vermilion graniticcomplex, northeastern Minnesota, with implications for the nature of their mantle source
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 104, No. 4, pp. 439-452
Strain heating as a mechanism for partial melting and ultrahigh temperature metamorphism in convergent orogens: implications of temperature dependent thermal
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 115, B 12 B12417
Abstract: Carbonatites (sensu stricto) are igneous rocks typically associated with continental rifts, being emplaced at relatively shallow crustal levels or as extrusive rocks. Some carbonatites are, however, related to subduction and lithospheric collision zones, but so far no carbonatite has been reported from ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic terranes. In this study, we present detailed petrological and geochemical data on carbonatites from the Tromsø Nappe—a UHP metamorphic terrane in the Scandinavian Caledonides. Massive to weakly foliated silicate-rich carbonate rocks, comprising the high-P mineral assemblage of Mg-Fe-calcite?±?Fe-dolomite?+?garnet?+?omphacitic clinopyroxene?+?phlogopite?+?apatite?+?rutile?+?ilmenite, are inferred to be carbonatites. They show apparent intrusive relationships to eclogite, garnet pyroxenite, garnet-mica gneiss, foliated calc-silicate marble and massive marble. Large grains of omphacitic pyroxene and megacrysts (up to 5?cm across) of Cr-diopside in the carbonatite contain rods of phlogopite oriented parallel to the c-axis, the density of rods being highest in the central part of the megacrysts. Garnet contains numerous inclusions of all the other phases of the carbonatite, and, in places, composite polyphase inclusions. Zircon, monazite and allanite are common accessory phases. Locally, veins of silicate-poor carbonatite (up to 10?cm across) occur. Extensive fenitization by K-rich fluids, with enrichment in phlogopite along contacts between carbonatite and silicate country rocks, is common. Primitive mantle-normalized incompatible element patterns for the carbonatite document a strong enrichment of light rare earth elements, Ba and Rb, and negative anomalies in Th, Nb, Ta, Zr and Hf. The carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of the carbonatite are distinctly different from those of the spatially associated calc-silicate marble, but also from mantle-derived carbonatites elsewhere. Neodymium and Sr isotope data coupled with the trace element distribution indicate a similarity of the Tromsø carbonatite to orogenic (off-craton) carbonatites rather than to anorogenic (on-craton) ones. U-Pb dating of relatively U-rich prismatic, oscillatory-zoned zircon gives an age of 454•5?±?1•1?Ma. We suggest that the primary carbonatite magma resulted from partial melting of a carbonated eclogite at UHP, in a deeply subducted continental slab.
Proceedings of National Academy of Science USA, Vol. 113, 40, pp. 11127-11130.
Mantle
Iron
Abstract: We performed laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments combined with state-of-the-art electron microanalysis (focused ion beam and aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy) to study the distribution and valence of iron in Earth’s lower mantle as a function of depth and composition. Our data reconcile the apparently discrepant existing dataset, by clarifying the effects of spin (high/low) and valence (ferrous/ferric) states on iron partitioning in the deep mantle. In aluminum-bearing compositions relevant to Earth’s mantle, iron concentration in silicates drops above 70 GPa before increasing up to 110 GPa with a minimum at 85 GPa; it then dramatically drops in the postperovskite stability field above 116 GPa. This compositional variation should strengthen the lowermost mantle between 1,800 km depth and 2,000 km depth, and weaken it between 2,000 km depth and the D” layer. The succession of layers could dynamically decouple the mantle above 2,000 km from the lowermost mantle, and provide a rheological basis for the stabilization and nonentrainment of large low-shear-velocity provinces below that depth.
Proceedings of National Academy of Science USA, Vol. 113, no. 40, pp. 11127-11130.
Mantle
UHP
Abstract: We performed laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments combined with state-of-the-art electron microanalysis (focused ion beam and aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy) to study the distribution and valence of iron in Earth's lower mantle as a function of depth and composition. Our data reconcile the apparently discrepant existing dataset, by clarifying the effects of spin (high/low) and valence (ferrous/ferric) states on iron partitioning in the deep mantle. In aluminum-bearing compositions relevant to Earth's mantle, iron concentration in silicates drops above 70 GPa before increasing up to 110 GPa with a minimum at 85 GPa; it then dramatically drops in the postperovskite stability field above 116 GPa. This compositional variation should strengthen the lowermost mantle between 1,800 km depth and 2,000 km depth, and weaken it between 2,000 km depth and the D" layer. The succession of layers could dynamically decouple the mantle above 2,000 km from the lowermost mantle, and provide a rheological basis for the stabilization and nonentrainment of large low-shear-velocity provinces below that depth.
Earth and Planteray Science Letters, Vol. 489, pp. 84-91.
Mantle
carbonate
Abstract: Carbonate minerals are important hosts of carbon in the crust and mantle with a key role in the transport and storage of carbon in Earth's deep interior over the history of the planet. Whether subducted carbonates efficiently melt and break down due to interactions with reduced phases or are preserved to great depths and ultimately reach the core-mantle boundary remains controversial. In this study, experiments in the laser-heated diamond anvil cell (LHDAC) on layered samples of dolomite (Mg,?Ca)CO3 and iron at pressure and temperature conditions reaching those of the deep lower mantle show that carbon-iron redox interactions destabilize the MgCO3 component, producing a mixture of diamond, Fe7C3, and (Mg,?Fe)O. However, CaCO3 is preserved, supporting its relative stability in carbonate-rich lithologies under reducing lower mantle conditions. These results constrain the thermodynamic stability of redox-driven breakdown of carbonates and demonstrate progress towards multiphase mantle petrology in the LHDAC at conditions of the lowermost mantle.
Nature Communications, doe:10.1038/ s41467-018- 030808-6 6p. Pdf
Technology
ureilite
Abstract: Planetary formation models show that terrestrial planets are formed by the accretion of tens of Moon- to Mars-sized planetary embryos through energetic giant impacts. However, relics of these large proto-planets are yet to be found. Ureilites are one of the main families of achondritic meteorites and their parent body is believed to have been catastrophically disrupted by an impact during the first 10 million years of the solar system. Here we studied a section of the Almahata Sitta ureilite using transmission electron microscopy, where large diamonds were formed at high pressure inside the parent body. We discovered chromite, phosphate, and (Fe,Ni)-sulfide inclusions embedded in diamond. The composition and morphology of the inclusions can only be explained if the formation pressure was higher than 20?GPa. Such pressures suggest that the ureilite parent body was a Mercury- to Mars-sized planetary embryo.
Abstract: Carbonatite and alkaline magma constitute one of the principal resources of rare metals (REE, Nb, Ti, Zr). Carbonatite rare metals enrichment is mainly considered as the result of hydrothermal or supergen processes. However, the magmatic processes linked to carbonatites genesis and differentiation are still debated and whether these processes can significantly impact on the rare metal concentrations remains unclear. Experimental studies have shown that immiscibility processes between carbonate and silicate melts can lead to both REE enrichments and depletions in carbonatites. Anionic species (F, Cl, P or S) and water may impact both melt compositions and expand the immiscibility gap. Morever, anionic species are assumed to play an important role in REE behaviour in carbonate melts [1]. Indeed, halogens may occur in carbonatites as immiscible salt melts in melt inclusions [2] and primary REE- fluoride minerals have been identified as magmatic phases in carbonatites. Such occurrences thus question on the role of salt (carbonate, phosphate, fluoride and chloride) melts in REE and other rare metals partitioning. F, Cl, P and also H2O may all significantly increase the window of primary REE enrichment in carbonatites. Here we present high pressure and high temperature experiments made in piston-cylinder (850 to 1050°C, 8kb) simulating the immiscibility between carbonate and differentiated alkaline melts. We added F, Cl, P and H2O in order to assess the effect of salts and water on the immiscibility gap and on the rare metals partitoning between carbonatite and evolved silicate melts. The partitioning data are analysed using LA-ICP-MS, nano-SIMS, FTIR and RAMAN. The characterization of rare metal partition coefficients allow to determine the relative importance of F, Cl, P and H2O on carbonatites rare metal enrichments at evolved magmatic stage.
Abstract: uncommon type of magmatic rocks dominates by carbonate, are broadly enriched in rare earth elements (REE) relative to the majority of igneous silicate rocks. While more than 500 carbonatites are referenced worldwide [1], only a few contain economic REE concentrations that are widely considered as resulting from late magmatic-hydrothermal or supergene processes. Magmatic pre-enrichment, linked to the igneous processes at the origin of carbonatites, are, however, likely to contribute to the REE fertilisation. Field observations [1] and experimental surveys [2, 3] suggest that a large part of the carbonatite melts can be produced as immiscible liquids with silicate magmas. Experimental constraints reveals that such immiscibility processes can lead to both REE enrichments and depletions in carbonatites [2, 3], making the magmatic processes controlling REE enrichments unclear. Here we present results of high-pressure and hightemperature experiments, simultaneously addressing crystal fractionation of alkaline magmas and immiscibility between carbonate and silicate melts. The experimental data reveal that the degree of differentiation, controlling the chemical composition of alkaline melts is a key factor ruling the REE concentration of the coexisting immiscible carbonatites. The parameterization of the experimental data together with the compilation of geochemical data from various alkaline provinces show that REE concentrations similar to those of highly REE enriched carbonatites (SREE > 30000 ppm) can be produced by immiscibility with phono-trachytic melt compositions, while more primitive alkaline magma can only be immiscible with carbonatites that are not significantly enriched in REE.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available 57p. Pdf
Mantle
carbonatite
Abstract: Rare earth element (REE) enrichments in carbonatites are often described as resulting from late magmatic-hydrothermal or supergene processes. However, magmatic pre-enrichment linked to the igneous processes at the origin of carbonatites are likely to contribute to the REE fertilisation. Experimental constraints reveals that immiscibility processes between carbonate and silicate melts can lead to both REE enrichments and depletions in carbonatites making the magmatic processes controlling REE enrichments unclear.
We link REE contents of carbonatites to the magmatic stage at which carbonatites are separated from silicate magma in their course of differentiation. We present results of experiments made at pressure and temperature conditions of alkaline magmas and associated carbonatites differentiation (0.2-1.5 GPa; 725-975?°C; FMQ to FMQ?+?2.5), simultaneously addressing crystal fractionation of alkaline magmas and immiscibility between carbonate (calcio-carbonate type) and silicate melts (nephelinite to phonolite type). The experimental data shows that the degree of differentiation, controlling the chemical composition of alkaline melts, is a key factor ruling the REE concentration of the coexisting immiscible carbonate melts. In order to predict carbonate melt REE enrichments during alkaline magma differentiation, we performed a parameterisation of experimental data on immiscible silicate and carbonate melts, based exclusively on the silica content, the alumina saturation index and the alkali/alkaline-earth elements ratio of silicate melts. This parameterisation is applied to more than 1600 geochemical data of silicate magmas from various alkaline provinces (East African Rift, Canary and Cape Verde Islands) and show that REE concentrations of their potential coeval carbonatite melts can reach concentration ranges similar to those of highly REE enriched carbonatites (?REE?>?30 000?ppm) by immiscibility with phonolitic/phono-trachytic melt compositions, while more primitive alkaline magmas can only be immiscible with carbonatites that are not significantly enriched in REE.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 282, pp. 297-323.
Africa, East Africa
carbonatites
Abstract: Rare earth element (REE) enrichments in carbonatites are often described as resulting from late magmatic-hydrothermal or supergene processes. However, magmatic pre-enrichment linked to the igneous processes at the origin of carbonatites are likely to contribute to the REE fertilisation. Experimental constraints reveals that immiscibility processes between carbonate and silicate melts can lead to both REE enrichments and depletions in carbonatites making the magmatic processes controlling REE enrichments unclear.
We link REE contents of carbonatites to the magmatic stage at which carbonatites are separated from silicate magma in their course of differentiation. We present results of experiments made at pressure and temperature conditions of alkaline magmas and associated carbonatites differentiation (0.2-1.5 GPa; 725-975?°C; FMQ to FMQ?+?2.5), simultaneously addressing crystal fractionation of alkaline magmas and immiscibility between carbonate (calcio-carbonate type) and silicate melts (nephelinite to phonolite type). The experimental data shows that the degree of differentiation, controlling the chemical composition of alkaline melts, is a key factor ruling the REE concentration of the coexisting immiscible carbonate melts. In order to predict carbonate melt REE enrichments during alkaline magma differentiation, we performed a parameterisation of experimental data on immiscible silicate and carbonate melts, based exclusively on the silica content, the alumina saturation index and the alkali/alkaline-earth elements ratio of silicate melts. This parameterisation is applied to more than 1600 geochemical data of silicate magmas from various alkaline provinces (East African Rift, Canary and Cape Verde Islands) and show that REE concentrations of their potential coeval carbonatite melts can reach concentration ranges similar to those of highly REE enriched carbonatites (?REE?>?30 000?ppm) by immiscibility with phonolitic/phono-trachytic melt compositions, while more primitive alkaline magmas can only be immiscible with carbonatites that are not significantly enriched in REE.
Abstract: Magmatic volatiles are critically important in the petrogenesis of igneous rocks but their inherent transience hampers the identification of their role in magmatic and mineralization processes. We present evidence that magmatic volatiles played a critical role in the formation of the 1894 Ma Paleoproterozoic Montviel alkaline-carbonatite complex, Canada, and the related carbonatite-hosted REE-Nb deposit. Field and drill core relationships indicate that lithological units of the complex were emplaced in the following order: clinopyroxenites, melteigites, ijolites, melanosyenites, leucosyenites, granites, lamprophyric silicocarbonatites, rare magnesiocarbonatites, calciocarbonatites, ferrocarbonatites, late mixed carbonatites, kimberlitic silicocarbonatites and polygenic breccias. Magmatic minerals within these units were systematically metasomatized. In undersaturated silicate rocks, augite recrystallized to aegirine–augite and aegirine, plagioclase recrystallized to albite, and nepheline recrystallized with analcime, cancrinite and albite. Primary biotite was replaced by secondary, REE-rich metasomatic biotite, particularly along fractures and alteration pockets. In carbonatites, liquidus phases consisted of calcite and dolomite and were recrystallized to ferroan dolomite, ankerite, siderite, barytocalcite, witherite and strontianite, which are intimately related to the REE-bearing carbonates and fluorocarbonates. Biotite is common to all lithologies, ranges in REE concentrations from 1.5 to 230 ppm and yielded subsolidus crystallization temperatures ranging from 770 °C to 370 °C. Sm-Nd isotope analyses from biotite and aegirine-augite yield a range of eNd values (+ 3.4 to - 3.0) that suggests mixing of fluids from three sources during the crystallization of the Montviel magmas. The clinopyroxenites to melteigite, ijolites and melanosyenites crystallized augite and biotite with initial eNd value = 3.4 and these minerals were metasomatized by a 1st fluid, lowering their eNd to values comprised between 0.8 and 3.4. Silicocarbonatites and carbonatites subsequently crystallized aegirine-augite and biotite with initial eNd value = 2.6 and a 2nd fluid metasomatized the minerals to lower ? values. Both the 1st and the 2nd fluids eventually mixed with a 3rd recrystallizing aegirine-augite and biotite and lower their eNd values down to - 3.0. The results presented herein suggest that the mantle magmas evolved through 4 distinct mantle pulses by fractional crystallization, mixing of depleted mantle fluids with crustal fluids, and metasomatism. Some of the silicate rocks also show evidence of assimilation of wall rock as part of their petrogenetic evolution. During the last stages of its evolution in carbonatites, the fluid source transited from the depleted mantle to the crust and we speculate that this resulted in a violent explosive eruption creating the diatreme-shaped, HREE-rich polygenic breccia.
Abstract: Alkaline and carbonatite rocks are relatively rare but offer the opportunity to study the contribution of fluids in the genesis of mantle and crustal rocks because they are commonly affected by metasomatism. Carbonate minerals represent versatile archives of mantle and crustal magmatic-hydrothermal processes because they can have magmatic, metasomatic or hydrothermal origins and because they host the trace elements, stable and radiogenic isotopes required to unravel their petrogenesis. Previous studies have shown that the 1894 Ma Montviel alkaline-carbonatite complex was emplaced through four injections of volatile-saturated, mantle magmas which evolved through fractional crystallization, mixing of mantle and crustal fluids and metasomatism. Trace element analyses and d18O, d13C, 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd isotope compositions of metasomatic and hydrothermal carbonates further support that each magma injection was accompanied by a volatile phase. Variations in trace element concentrations suggest that the carbonatite might have exsolved from a metasomatized mantle or hybrid silicate-carbonatite magma, and that the fluid composition evolved towards higher REE and lower HFSE with increasing degree of segregation of the carbonatite magma and the silicate source. A strong correlation between the C-O-Sr isotopic systems show that mantle fluids mixed with crustal fluids, increasing the 87Sr/86Sr from mantle to crustal values, and driving the C and O isotopic ratios towards respectively lighter and heavier values. The Sm/Nd isotopic system was weakly coupled with the other isotopic systems as depleted mantle fluids mixed with crustal fluids and metasomatized the crystallizing magmas, thereby redistributing the REE and affecting their Sm/Nd ratios. The Nd isotopes suggest that the mixed mantle/crustal fluids redistributed the rare earth elements, producing ultra-depleted (eNd = + 10), normally depleted (eNd = + 4) and slightly enriched (eNd = - 2) isotopic compositions.
Abstract: The Geological and Geodiversity Mapping binational program along the Brazil-Guyana border zone allowed reviewing and in- tegrating the stratigraphy and nomenclature of the Roraima Supergroup along the Pakaraima Sedimentary Block present in northeastern Brazil and western Guyana. The area mapped corresponds to a buffer zone of approximately 25 km in width on both sides of the border, of a region extending along the Maú-Ireng River between Mount Roraima (the tri- ple-border region) and Mutum Village in Brazil and Monkey Mountain in Guyana. The south border of the Roraima basin is overlain exclusively by effusive and volcaniclastic rocks of the Surumu Group of Brazil and its correlated equivalent the Burro-Burro Group of Guyana.
Anais Do 15 Simposio Geologia da Amazonia, Belem , Dec. 5p. Abstract pdf
South America, Guiana
craton
Abstract: The Orocaima Igneous Belt (OIB) is a huge plutono-volcanic belt at the central part of Guiana Shield, consisting mainly of 1.99-1.96 Ga volcano-plutonic rocks with high-K calc-alkaline, A-type and shosho-nitic geochemical signatures. Three A-type granitic bodies from the central part of the OIB have been dated using U-Pb SHRIMP and LA-ICPMS methods. A 1985±11 Ma age was calculated for the Macucal Mountain Granite of the Saracura Suite (Brazil) and ages of 1977±3.9 Ma and 1975±5 were calculated for the alkaline riebeckite granites respectively of the Lontra (Brazil) and Makarapan (Guyana) bodies. These ages are in the same range of those reported for the Aricamã A-type granitoids and the results indicate that different A-type magmatism took place in the 1.993-1.975 Ma interval along the OIB, coeval to high-K calc-alkaline and shoshonitic magmatism. This scenario fits well to a post-collisional setting.
Brazilian Journal of Geology, Vol. 47, 1, pp. 43-57.
South America, Brazil, Guyana
craton
Abstract: The Geological and Geodiversity Mapping binational program along the Brazil-Guyana border zone allowed reviewing and in- tegrating the stratigraphy and nomenclature of the Roraima Supergroup along the Pakaraima Sedimentary Block present in northeastern Brazil and western Guyana. The area mapped corresponds to a buffer zone of approximately 25 km in width on both sides of the border, of a region extending along the Maú-Ireng River between Mount Roraima (the tri- ple-border region) and Mutum Village in Brazil and Monkey Mountain in Guyana. The south border of the Roraima basin is overlain exclusively by effusive and volcaniclastic rocks of the Surumu Group of Brazil and its correlated equivalent the Burro-Burro Group of Guyana.
Brazilian Journal of Geology, Vol. 41, 1, pp. 43-57.
South America, Brazil, Guyana
Guiana shield
Abstract: The Geological and Geodiversity Mapping binational program along the Brazil-Guyana border zone allowed reviewing and integrating the stratigraphy and nomenclature of the Roraima Supergroup along the Pakaraima Sedimentary Block present in northeastern Brazil and western Guyana. The area mapped corresponds to a buffer zone of approximately 25 km in width on both sides of the border, of a region extending along the Maú-Ireng River between Mount Roraima (the triple-border region) and Mutum Village in Brazil and Monkey Mountain in Guyana. The south border of the Roraima basin is overlain exclusively by effusive and volcaniclastic rocks of the Surumu Group of Brazil and its correlated equivalent the Burro-Burro Group of Guyana.
Diamond & Related Materials, Vol. 109, 108045, 9p. Pdf
Russia
deposit - Aikhal
Abstract: The diversity of the defects in the collection (50 samples) of diamonds from the Aikhal pipe (Yakutia) has been studied with IR, PL, and EPR spectroscopy. The specific features of crystals have been established; the obtained information leads to the discussion about the diamond formation and growth conditions. One of the specific features observed is a high concentration of platelets. According to the platelet behavior, most of the crystals are regular suggesting the growth temperature to be 1100-1200 °C. The concentrations of A and B defects have been evaluated and the same temperature conditions have been obtained according to the Taylor diagram. Using the EPR spectroscopy, the C and N3V centers have been found in many crystals suggesting the aggregation of nitrogen during residence in the mantle at high temperatures. An interesting feature has been observed in the PL spectra. For most crystals, the spectrum with ZPL at 563.5 nm is very intensive. The structure of the observed defect is remaining unknown, the spectrum disappears as a result of annealing at 600 °C indicating the interstitial-vacancy annihilation mechanism.
Diamond and Related Materials, Vol. 109, 108045, 9p. Pdf
Russia
deposit - Aikhal
Abstract: The diversity of the defects in the collection (50 samples) of diamonds from the Aikhal pipe (Yakutia) has been studied with IR, PL, and EPR spectroscopy. The specific features of crystals have been established; the obtained information leads to the discussion about the diamond formation and growth conditions. One of the specific features observed is a high concentration of platelets. According to the platelet behavior, most of the crystals are regular suggesting the growth temperature to be 1100-1200 °C. The concentrations of A and B defects have been evaluated and the same temperature conditions have been obtained according to the Taylor diagram. Using the EPR spectroscopy, the C and N3V centers have been found in many crystals suggesting the aggregation of nitrogen during residence in the mantle at high temperatures. An interesting feature has been observed in the PL spectra. For most crystals, the spectrum with ZPL at 563.5 nm is very intensive. The structure of the observed defect is remaining unknown, the spectrum disappears as a result of annealing at 600 °C indicating the interstitial-vacancy annihilation mechanism.
Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, In press available 16p.
South America, Brazil, Mato Grosso
Deposit - Juina area
Abstract: Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) were used for the first time to characterize properties of superdeep diamonds from the São-Luis alluvial deposits (Brazil). The infrared measurements showed the low nitrogen content (>50 of 87 diamonds from this locality were nitrogen free and belonged to type IIa) and simultaneously the extremely high level of nitrogen aggregation (pure type IaB being predominant), which indicates that diamonds under study might have formed under high pressure and temperature conditions. In most cases, PL features excited at various wavelengths (313, 473, and 532 nm) were indicative of different growth and post-growth processes during which PL centers could be formed via interaction between vacancies and nitrogen atoms. The overall presence of the 490.7 nm, H3, and H4 centers in the luminescence spectra attests to strong plastic deformations in these diamonds. The neutral vacancy known as the GR1 center has probably occurred in a number of crystals due to radiation damage in the post-growth period. The 558.5 nm PL center is found to be one of the most common defects in type IIa samples which is accompanied by the EPR center with g-factor of 2.00285. The 536 and 576 nm vibronic systems totally dominated the PL spectra of superdeep diamonds, while none of "normal" diamonds from the Mir pipe (Yakutia) with similar nitrogen characteristics showed the latter three PL centers.
Physics and chemistry of Minerals, Vol. 42, 9, pp. 707-722.
South America, Brazil
Sao-Luis alluvials
Abstract: Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) were used for the first time to characterize properties of superdeep diamonds from the São-Luis alluvial deposits (Brazil). The infrared measurements showed the low nitrogen content (>50 of 87 diamonds from this locality were nitrogen free and belonged to type IIa) and simultaneously the extremely high level of nitrogen aggregation (pure type IaB being predominant), which indicates that diamonds under study might have formed under high pressure and temperature conditions. In most cases, PL features excited at various wavelengths (313, 473, and 532 nm) were indicative of different growth and post-growth processes during which PL centers could be formed via interaction between vacancies and nitrogen atoms. The overall presence of the 490.7 nm, H3, and H4 centers in the luminescence spectra attests to strong plastic deformations in these diamonds. The neutral vacancy known as the GR1 center has probably occurred in a number of crystals due to radiation damage in the post-growth period. The 558.5 nm PL center is found to be one of the most common defects in type IIa samples which is accompanied by the EPR center with g-factor of 2.00285. The 536 and 576 nm vibronic systems totally dominated the PL spectra of superdeep diamonds, while none of "normal" diamonds from the Mir pipe (Yakutia) with similar nitrogen characteristics showed the latter three PL centers.
Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, Vol. 42, 9, pp. 707-722.
South America, Brazil
Deposit - Sao-Luis
Abstract: Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) were used for the first time to characterize properties of superdeep diamonds from the São-Luis alluvial deposits (Brazil). The infrared measurements showed the low nitrogen content (>50 of 87 diamonds from this locality were nitrogen free and belonged to type IIa) and simultaneously the extremely high level of nitrogen aggregation (pure type IaB being predominant), which indicates that diamonds under study might have formed under high pressure and temperature conditions. In most cases, PL features excited at various wavelengths (313, 473, and 532 nm) were indicative of different growth and post-growth processes during which PL centers could be formed via interaction between vacancies and nitrogen atoms. The overall presence of the 490.7 nm, H3, and H4 centers in the luminescence spectra attests to strong plastic deformations in these diamonds. The neutral vacancy known as the GR1 center has probably occurred in a number of crystals due to radiation damage in the post-growth period. The 558.5 nm PL center is found to be one of the most common defects in type IIa samples which is accompanied by the EPR center with g-factor of 2.00285. The 536 and 576 nm vibronic systems totally dominated the PL spectra of superdeep diamonds, while none of “normal” diamonds from the Mir pipe (Yakutia) with similar nitrogen characteristics showed the latter three PL centers.
Abstract: Diamond crystals from the Istok (25 crystals) and Mayat (49 crystals) placers were studied using the EPR, IR, and luminescence methods. The total content of impurity nitrogen in forms of A, B, and C (P1) centers ranges from 50 to 1200 ppm. According to the EPR spectroscopy, the presence of nitrogen C (P1), N3V and nitrogen-titanium OK1, N3, NU1 impurity centers was established in the investigated crystals. For 18 crystals from the Istok placer, the N3 nitrogen-titanium center was observed in the EPR spectra, but in the luminescence spectra there was no 440.3 nm system, which was previously attributed to the manifestation of the N3 defect. It is more likely that the nitrogen-titanium N3 EPR center corresponds to the electron-vibrational system 635.7 nm, which is observed in the luminescence spectra of these crystals. Crystals from the Istok placer contain the OK1, N3, and NU1 centers, but luminescence attributed to the oxygen-containing centers is absent in the region of 610-670 nm. For the Mayat placer crystals, the reverse situation was observed. The luminescence ascribed to the oxygen-containing centers was detected for 17 crystals, but there were no OK1, N3, and NU1 centers according to the EPR and luminescence. This result contradicts the arguments of a number of authors about the oxygen nature of these defects. For 5 crystals from the Mayat placer, the nickel impurity was registered. This indicates the presence of ultrabasic paragenesis diamond crystals in this placer.
Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, Vol. 47, 4, 7p. Pdf
Russia, Siberia
deposit - Khololmolokh
Abstract: In recent years, despite significant progress in the development of new methods for the synthesis of diamond crystals and in their post-growth treatment, many questions remain unclear about the conditions for the formation and degradation of aggregate impurity nitrogen forms. Meanwhile, they are very important for understanding (evaluating) the origin, age, and post-growth conditions of natural diamonds. In the present work, an attempt was made to analyze the causes of the formation of high concentrations of N3V centers in natural IaB-type diamonds from the Kholomolokh placer (the Northeast Siberian craton). The possibility of decay of B centers during the plastic deformation of diamonds is analyzed and experiments on the high-temperature annealing of diamonds containing B centers are reported. The formation of N3V centers during the destruction of the B centers at high-pressure annealing of crystals has been established by experiment. It is assumed that, in the post-growth period, diamond crystals were exposed to tectono-thermal stages of raising the superplumes of the Earth's crust of the Siberian craton.
An update on Southern Era reosurces Ltd. 2002 diamond exploration program in the Northwest Territories. Yamba Lake, Back Lake, Misty Lake, WO, Monument, Lac de Gras
30th. Yellowknife Geoscience Forum, Abstracts Of Talks And Posters, Nov. 20-22, p. 48,49. abstract
43rd Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum Abstracts, abstract p. 68.
Canada, Northwest Territories
Reclamation
Abstract: Reclamation research in the north over the past 30 years has primarily focused on oil and gas and transportation corridor disturbances. Among industries, disturbances caused by infrastructure and transportation corridors are similar. However, each industry has its unique by products that determine which reclamation methods are most appropriate to achieve end land use goals and the relative ease of reclamation. The purpose of this research program is to develop methods to enhance revegetation of disturbed sites at diamond mines in the north, in particular to create soil like substrates on sites where soil has been removed with the use of onsite and commercial materials and to reestablish a diverse native plant community. Reclamation substrates include by products from the diamond mining process like crushed rock, till/lake sediment, processed kimberlite and various combinations of till/lake sediment and processed kimberlite. Greenhouse experiments were also conducted at the University of Alberta to test a range of substrates and amendments with potential to aid reclamation in the field. In 2013 and 2014, research sites were established at Diavik Diamond Mine using the best performing substrates to determine the effect of micro topography, addition of organic matter and erosion control on native grass and forb establishment; effective moss propagation techniques and; effective lichen propagation methods. Preliminary results and observations from completed greenhouse experiments and the first two growing seasons will be discussed. This research directly enhances knowledge and sustainability of northern regions. It will lead to recommendations for enhanced reclamation protocols to be used by industry and government in the north.
Inetgration of geophysical and geological dat a of kimberlites in Narayanpet-Maddur field, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Proceedings of the 10th. International Kimberlite Conference, Vol. 2, Special Issue of the Journal of the Geological Society of India,, Vol. 2, pp. 229-239.
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, Vol. 183, pp. 43-53.
India
craton
Abstract: oriented, 280?km long profile (from Yellapura to Sindhanur) with 22 magnetotelluric stations. Regional strike directions, estimated were -5° and 13° for the crust and the lithospheric mantle respectively. Our results indicate in western Dharwar craton, presence of low resistivity zones in the crust besides two significant upper mantle conductive features within the highly resistive Archaean lithosphere. We analyze the available geophysical data that include heat flow, seismic tomography and magnetotellurics (MT) from the Dharwar craton. Our inference supports to the existence of a thick lithosphere. A thickness of more than 200?km is estimated for the lithosphere beneath the Dharwar craton by our magnetotelluric model. The study has brought out the presence of lithospheric upper mantle conductive features in the depth range of 100-200?km bounded to the west part of the magnetotelluric profile. Significant variations in conductivity are seen on either side of the Chitradurga shear zone. The conductive feature in the depth range 120-150?km is related with kimberlite melts and the conductive nature in the depth range 160-200?km is explained by refertilization process, as craton passed over the Marion (ca. 90?Ma) hotspot.
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, Vol. 176, pp. 253-263.
India
geophysics - magnetotellurics
Abstract: The vertical extension and structure of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle beneath the Archean Dharwar craton is the main attraction of the work presented here. To delineate the electrical conductivity structure of the Dharwar craton, a magnetotelluric study is carried out. This study comprises magnetotelluric data at 22 stations along a west-east slanting profile. Inter-station spacing is approximately 15?km. This magnetotelluric study is initiated from Dandeli (in the west) to Sindhanur (in the east side). The preferable geoelectric strike directions for the crust and lithospheric mantle are N3°E and N16°E respectively. A 2-dimensional (2-D) resistivity model derived by using the crustal and lithospheric mantle strike azimuths, identified conductive features in the stable continental Dharwar craton. In the crust, prominent conductors are present in the eastern and western part of the profile. A conducting feature is present in the deeper crust associated with the Chitradurga shear zone (CSZ). The study infers a thick lithosphere beneath Dharwar craton as a preserved cratonic nucleus on the eastern and a few conductive anomalies in the western part of the Dharwar craton. The model shows two separate conductors in the depth range of 110-250?km. This study shows, the possibility of presence of kimberlite melt in the western Dharwar craton in the depth range of 110-150?km.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 20, 2, pp. 952-973.
United States, New Mexico
xenoliths
Abstract: Elemental and isotopic compositions of volatile species such as halogens, noble gases, hydrogen, and carbon can be used to trace the evolution of these species in the Earth. Halogens are important tracers of subduction recycling of surface volatiles into the mantle: however, there is only limited understanding of halogens in the mantle. Here we provide new halogen data of mantle xenoliths from intraplate settings. The mantle xenoliths show a wide range of halogen elemental ratios, which are expected to be related to later processes after the xenoliths formed. A similar primary halogen component is present in the xenoliths sampled from different localities. This suggests that the mantle has the uniform halogen composition over a wide scale. The halogen composition in the convecting mantle is expected to have remained constant over more than 2 billion years, despite subduction of iodine-rich halogens. We used mass balance calculations to gain understanding into evolution rate of I/Cl ratio in the mantle. Calculations suggest that, in order to maintain the I/Cl ratio of the mantle over 2 Gyr, the I/Cl ratio of the subducted halogens must be no more than several times higher than the present-day mantle value.
Journal of the Geological Society of India, Vol. 91, pp. 135-146.
India
Alkaline - Prakasam
Abstract: Three distinct alkaline magmas, represented by shonkinite, lamprophyre and alkali basalt dykes, characterize a significant magmatic expression of rift-related mantle-derived igneous activity in the Mesoproterozoic Prakasam Alkaline Province, SE India. In the present study we have estimated emplacement velocities (ascent rates) for these three varied alkaline magmas and compared with other silicate magmas to explore composition control on the ascent rates. The alkaline dykes have variable widths and lengths with none of the dykes wider than 1 m. The shonkinites are fine- to medium-grained rocks with clinopyroxene, phologopite, amphibole, K-feldspar perthite and nepheline as essential minerals. They exhibit equigranular hypidiomorphic to foliated textures. Lamprophyres and alkali basalts characteristically show porphyritic textures. Olivine, clinopyroxene, amphibole and biotite are distinct phenocrysts in lamprophyres whereas olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase form the phenocrystic mineralogy in the alkali basalts. The calculated densities [2.54-2.71 g/cc for shonkinite; 2.61-2.78 g/cc for lamprophyre; 2.66-2.74 g/cc for alkali basalt] and viscosities [3.11-3.39 Pa s for shonkinite; 3.01-3.28 Pa s for lamprophyre; 2.72-3.09 Pa s for alkali basalt] are utilized to compute velocities (ascent rates) of the three alkaline magmas. Since the lamprophyres and alkali basalts are crystal-laden, we have also calculated effective viscosities to infer crystal control on the velocities. Twenty percent of crystals in the magma increase the viscosity by 2.7 times consequently decrease ascent rate by 2.7 times compared to the crystal-free magmas. The computed ascent rates range from 0.11-2.13 m/sec, 0.23-2.77 m/sec and 1.16-2.89 m/sec for shonkinite, lamprophyre and alkali basalt magmas respectively. Ascent rates increase with the width of the dykes and density difference, and decrease with magma viscosity and proportion of crystals. If a constant width of 1 m is assumed in the magma-filled dyke propagation model, then the sequence of emplacement velocities in the decreasing order is alkaline magmas (4.68-15.31 m/sec) > ultramafic-mafic magmas (3.81-4.30 m/sec) > intermediate-felsic magmas (1.76-2.56 m/sec). We propose that SiO2 content in the terrestrial magmas can be modeled as a semi-quantitative "geospeedometer" of the magma ascent rates.
Journal of the Geological Society of India, Vol. 91, 3, pp. 263-272.
India
shonkinite
Abstract: Formation of the fragments of the wall-rock during dyking is one of the important manifestations of instantaneous magmatic events. This process is well documented at shallower depths of Earth’s crust but not at deeper levels. In this paper the in situ xenoliths of host rock nepheline syenite within a micro-shonkinite dyke emplaced at mid-crustal depths is described and the fractal theory applied to evaluate origin of the xenoliths. The nepheline syenite xenoliths are angular to oval shaped and sub-millimetre to ~50 cm long. The xenoliths are matrix supported with clasts and matrix being in equal proportions. Partly detached wall-rock fragments indicate incipient xenolith formation, which suggested that the model fragmentation processes is solely due to dyke emplacement. Fractal analytical techniques including clast size distribution, boundary roughness fractal dimension and clast circularity was carried out. The fractal data suggests that hydraulic (tensile) fracturing is the main process of host rock brecciation. However, the clast size and shape are further affected by postfragmentation processes including shear and thermal fracturing, and chemical erosion. The study demonstrates that dyking in an isotropic medium produces fractal size distributions of host rock xenoliths; however, post-fragmentation processes modify original fractal size distributions.
Sharma, R., Muthry, Ch.V.V.S., Nagaraju, B.V., Gouda, H.C., Singh, R.K.
Interpretation of aeromagnetic dat a of Panna and adjoining areas for evaluating of structural patterns favourable for emplacement of KCRs and depth magnetics
Geological Society of India, Bangalore November Meeting Group Discussion on Kimberlites and Related Rocks India, Abstract p. 121-122.
India, Madhya Pradesh, Aravalli Bundelkhand Craton
International Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 105, 4, pp. 1087-1107.
India
Not specific to diamonds
Abstract: We have carried out radioelemental (232Th, 238U, 40K), petrological and geochemical analyses on granitoids and gneisses covering major rock formations of the Bundelkhand craton, central India. Our data reveal that above characteristics are distinct among granitoids (i.e. pink, biotite and grey granitoids) and gneisses (i.e. potassic and sodic types). Pink granitoid is K-feldspar-rich and meta-aluminous to per-aluminous in character. Biotite granitoid is meta-aluminous in character. Grey granitoid is rich in Na-feldspar and mafic minerals, granodiorite to diorite in composition and meta-aluminous in character. Among these granitoids, radioelements (Th, U, K) are highest in pink granitoid (45.0 ± 21.7 ppm, 7.2 ± 3.4 ppm, 4.2 ± 0.4 %), intermediate in biotite granitoid (44.5 ± 28.2 ppm, 5.4 ± 2.8 ppm, 3.4 ± 0.7 %) and lowest in grey granitoid (17.7 ± 4.3 ppm, 4.4 ± 0.6 ppm, 3.0 ± 0.4 %). Among gneisses, potassic-type gneisses have higher radioelements (11.8 ± 5.3 ppm, 3.1 ± 1.2 ppm, 2.0 ± 0.5 %) than the sodic-type gneisses (5.6 ± 2.8 ppm, 1.3 ± 0.5 ppm, 1.4 ± 0.7 %). Moreover, the pink granitoid and the biotite granitoid have higher Th/U (6 and 8, respectively) compared to the grey granitoid (Th/U: 4), implying enrichment of Th in pink and biotite granitoids relative to grey granitoid. K/U among pink, biotite and grey granitoids shows little variation (0.6 × 104, 0.6 × 104, 0.7 × 104, respectively), indicating relatively similar increase in K and U. Therefore, mineralogical and petrological data along with radioelemental ratios suggest that radioelemental variations in these lithounits are mainly related to abundances of the radioactive minerals that have formed by the fractionation of LILE from different magma sources. Based on present data, the craton can be divided into three distinct zones that can be correlated with its evolution in time and space. The central part, where gneisses are associated with metavolcanics of greenstone belt, is characterized by lowest radioelements and is the oldest component. The southern part, dominated by pink granitoid, is characterized by highest radioelements and is the youngest part. The northern part, dominated by grey and biotite granitoid, is characterized by moderate radioelements.
Current Science, Vol. 114, 6, Mar. 25, pp. 1299-1303.
India
legal
Abstract: Scholarly journals play an important role in maintaining the quality and integrity of research by what they publish. Unethical practices in publishing are leading to an increased number of predatory, dubious and low-quality journals worldwide. It has been reported that the percentage of research articles published in predatory journals is high in India. The University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi has published an 'approved list of journals', which has been criticized due to inclusion of many substandard journals. We have developed a protocol with objective criteria for identifying journals that do not follow good publication practices. We studied 1336 journals randomly selected from 5699 in the university source component of the 'UGC-approved list'. We analysed 1009 journals after excluding 327 indexed in Scopus/Web of Science. About 34.5% of the 1009 journals were disqualified under the basic criteria because of incorrect or non-availability of essential information such as address, website details and names of editors; another 52.3% of them provided false information such as incorrect ISSN, false claims about impact factor, claimed indexing in dubious indexing databases or had poor credentials of editors. Our results suggest that over 88% of the non-indexed journals in the university source component of the UGC-approved list, included on the basis of suggestions from different universities, could be of low quality. In view of these results, the current UGC-approved list of journals needs serious reconsideration. New regulations to curtail unethical practices in scientific publishing along with organization of awareness programmes about publication ethics at Indian universities and research institutes are urgently needed.
Abstract: The hydrogen-isotope [deuterium/hydrogen (D/H)] ratio of Earth can be used to constrain the origin of its water. However, the most accessible reservoir, Earth’s oceans, may no longer represent the original (primordial) D/H ratio, owing to changes caused by water cycling between the surface and the interior. Thus, a reservoir completely isolated from surface processes is required to define Earth’s original D/H signature. Here we present data for Baffin Island and Icelandic lavas, which suggest that the deep mantle has a low D/H ratio (dD more negative than -218 per mil). Such strongly negative values indicate the existence of a component within Earth’s interior that inherited its D/H ratio directly from the protosolar nebula.
Abstract: To study the kinetics of the spinel-to-garnet transformation in peridotite, we conducted reaction experiments in the garnet peridotite stability field (3.2 GPa, 1020-1220 °C, for 0.6-30 h) using a single spinel crystal embedded in monomineralic orthopyroxene powder or in a mixture of powdered orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene. The growth textures observed in the reaction rim between the spinel crystal and the polycrystalline pyroxenes show that the reaction rim grew in both the spinel and pyroxenes directions, suggesting mobility of both SiO2 and R2O3 components (where R is a trivalent cation). Olivine grains formed only in the presence of monomineralic orthopyroxene and were present in some domains without forming reaction rims. Based on a diffusion-controlled growth model, the growth kinetics of the garnet reaction rim can be described by [x(t)]2 = k0 exp(-H*/RT)t, where x(t) is the rim width at time t, R is the gas constant, T is the absolute temperature, and H* is the activation enthalpy of reaction; k0 and H* are, respectively, k0 = 10-19.8 ± 4.9 m2/s and H* = 171 ± 58 kJ/mol. The development of a garnet reaction rim around a spinel core has been observed in alpine-type peridotitic rocks and mantle xenoliths. The reaction rims experimentally produced in this study are characteristic of corona textures observed in natural rocks, and the experimentally measured growth rate of the rims places important constraints on dynamic transformation processes involving spinel and garnet in peridotite. However, to reconstruct the P-T-t history of the corona texture based on these elementary processes, additional detailed studies on the textural evolution and quantitative kinetics of the garnet-rim growth stage are required.
Abstract: The question of whether high-grade metamorphism and crustal melting in the early Archaean were associated with modern-style plate tectonics is a major issue in unravelling early Earth crustal evolution, and the eastern Kaapvaal craton has featured prominently in this debate. We discuss a major ca. 3.2?Ga tectono-magmatic-metamorphic event in the Ancient Gneiss Complex (AGC) of Swaziland, a multiply deformed medium- to high-grade terrane in the eastern Kaapvaal craton consisting of 3.66-3.20?Ga granitoid gneisses and infolded greenstone remnants, metasedimentary assemblages and mafic dykes. We report on a 3.2?Ga granulite-facies assemblage in a metagabbro of the AGC of central Swaziland and relate this to a major thermo-magmatic event that not only affected the AGC but also the neighbouring Barberton granitoid-greenstone terrane. Some previous models have related the 3.2?Ga event in the eastern Kaapvaal craton to subduction processes, but we see no evidence for long, narrow belts and metamorphic facies changes reflecting lithospheric suture zones, and there is no unidirectional asymmetry in the thermal structure across the entire region from Swaziland to the southern Barberton granite-greenstone terrane as is typical of Phanerozoic and Proterozoic belts. Instead, we consider an underplating event at ca. 3.2?Ga, giving rise to melting in the lower crust and mixing with mantle-derived under- and intraplated mafic magma to generate the voluminous granitoid assemblages now observed in the AGC and the southern Barberton terrane. This is compatible with large-scale crustal reworking during a major thermo-magmatic event and the apparent lack of a mafic lower crust in the Kaapvaal craton as shown by seismic data.
Casillas, R., Demeny, A., Nagy, G., Ahijado, A., Fernandez, C.
Metacarbonatites in the Basal Complex of Fuerteventura ( Canary Islands). The role of fluid/rock interactions during contact metamorphism and anatexis.
Proceedings National Academy of Science, Vol. 116, pp. 407-412.
Australia
paleomagnetism
Abstract: Zircon crystals from the Jack Hills, Western Australia, are one of the few surviving mineralogical records of Earth’s first 500 million years and have been proposed to contain a paleomagnetic record of the Hadean geodynamo. A prerequisite for the preservation of Hadean magnetization is the presence of primary magnetic inclusions within pristine igneous zircon. To date no images of the magnetic recorders within ancient zircon have been presented. Here we use high-resolution transmission electron microscopy to demonstrate that all observed inclusions are secondary features formed via two distinct mechanisms. Magnetite is produced via a pipe-diffusion mechanism whereby iron diffuses into radiation-damaged zircon along the cores of dislocations and is precipitated inside nanopores and also during low-temperature recrystallization of radiation-damaged zircon in the presence of an aqueous fluid. Although these magnetites can be recognized as secondary using transmission electron microscopy, they otherwise occur in regions that are indistinguishable from pristine igneous zircon and carry remanent magnetization that postdates the crystallization age by at least several hundred million years. Without microscopic evidence ruling out secondary magnetite, the paleomagnetic case for a Hadean-Eoarchean geodynamo cannot yet been made.
Mineralogical-geochemical criteria for the exploration and prospecting of rocks of ultrabasic alkaline formations and carbonatites and the relatedapatite
Geol. Zhurn., (Russian), Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 102-106
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, Vol. 176, pp. 253-263.
India
geophysics - magnetotellurics
Abstract: The vertical extension and structure of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle beneath the Archean Dharwar craton is the main attraction of the work presented here. To delineate the electrical conductivity structure of the Dharwar craton, a magnetotelluric study is carried out. This study comprises magnetotelluric data at 22 stations along a west-east slanting profile. Inter-station spacing is approximately 15?km. This magnetotelluric study is initiated from Dandeli (in the west) to Sindhanur (in the east side). The preferable geoelectric strike directions for the crust and lithospheric mantle are N3°E and N16°E respectively. A 2-dimensional (2-D) resistivity model derived by using the crustal and lithospheric mantle strike azimuths, identified conductive features in the stable continental Dharwar craton. In the crust, prominent conductors are present in the eastern and western part of the profile. A conducting feature is present in the deeper crust associated with the Chitradurga shear zone (CSZ). The study infers a thick lithosphere beneath Dharwar craton as a preserved cratonic nucleus on the eastern and a few conductive anomalies in the western part of the Dharwar craton. The model shows two separate conductors in the depth range of 110-250?km. This study shows, the possibility of presence of kimberlite melt in the western Dharwar craton in the depth range of 110-150?km.
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, Vol. 183, pp. 43-53.
India
craton
Abstract: oriented, 280?km long profile (from Yellapura to Sindhanur) with 22 magnetotelluric stations. Regional strike directions, estimated were -5° and 13° for the crust and the lithospheric mantle respectively. Our results indicate in western Dharwar craton, presence of low resistivity zones in the crust besides two significant upper mantle conductive features within the highly resistive Archaean lithosphere. We analyze the available geophysical data that include heat flow, seismic tomography and magnetotellurics (MT) from the Dharwar craton. Our inference supports to the existence of a thick lithosphere. A thickness of more than 200?km is estimated for the lithosphere beneath the Dharwar craton by our magnetotelluric model. The study has brought out the presence of lithospheric upper mantle conductive features in the depth range of 100-200?km bounded to the west part of the magnetotelluric profile. Significant variations in conductivity are seen on either side of the Chitradurga shear zone. The conductive feature in the depth range 120-150?km is related with kimberlite melts and the conductive nature in the depth range 160-200?km is explained by refertilization process, as craton passed over the Marion (ca. 90?Ma) hotspot.
Abstract: The incorporation of shallow n-type dopants in diamond is one of the major challenges for its electronic applications. n-Type behaviour in diamond has been observed for substitutional phosphorus and nitrogen, with activation energies of approximately 0.62 and 1.7?eV, respectively. Both nitrogen and phosphorus are deep lying substitutional impurity states in diamond. It has been theoretically found that the substitution of the NO molecule into the diamond lattice forms a stable defect in the band gap and, in the negatively charged state induces a shallow defect below the conduction band edge which may lead to n-type conductivity. In this study, low-temperature photoluminescence measurements using different excitation wavelengths were used to investigate the nature and behaviour of the defects induced by the implantation of NO ions into type IIa Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) diamond samples. Luminescence peaks were observed at 293.3, 297.3, 305.9, 309.8, 314.4 and 556.7?nm on the sample which was implanted by NO ions and annealed at 600?°C. The origin of these peaks is discussed and the mechanism of electronic transitions leading to emission of photoluminescence from these samples is proposed.
Provenance and reconnaissance study of detrital zircons of the Paleozoic Cape Supergroup: revealing the interaction of Kalahari and Rio de la Plat a cratons.
International Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 100, 2, pp. 527-541.
Journal of Earth System Science, Vol. 128, 1, 7p. Pdf
India
minette
Abstract: Lamprophyre dykes within the granitoid and charnockite are reported for the first time from the Western Bastar Craton, Chandrapur district, Maharashtra. It shows porphyritic-panidiomorphic texture under a microscope, characterised by the predominance of biotite phenocrysts with less abundance of amphibole and clinopyroxene microphenocryst. The groundmass is composed more of K-feldspars over plagioclase, amphiboles, clinopyroxene, biotite, chlorite, apatite, sphene and magnetite. The mineral chemistry of biotite and magnesio-hornblende is indicative of minette variety of calc-alkaline lamprophyre (CAL), which is further supported by preliminary major oxides and trace element geochemistry. This unique association of CAL with granitoid provides an opportunity to study the spatio-temporal evolution of the lamprophyric magma in relation to the geodynamic perspective of the Bastar Craton.
SAXI-XI Inter Guiana Geological Conferene 2019: Paramaribo, Suriname, 5p. Pdf
South America, Suriname
Guiana shield
Abstract: The ultramafic rocks of the Marowijne Greenstone Belt in Suriname and elsewhere in the Guiana Shield comprise both intrusive dunite-gabbroic bodies and ultramafic lavas and volcaniclastic rocks. They were emplaced in the early stages of the Trans-Amazonian Orogeny (2.26-2.09 Ga), but their petrogenesis and geotectonic significance have still to be elaborated. They present several economically interesting mineralisations, including chromium, nickel, platinum, gold and diamonds. In Suriname diamonds are found since the 19 th century; possible source rocks show similarities with the diamondiferous komatiitic volcaniclastic rocks in Dachine, French Guiana and in Akwatia in the Birimian Greenstone Belt of Ghana. This might point to a regionally extensive diamond belt in the Guiana Shield and its predrift counterpart in the West-African Craton.
SAXI-XI Inter Guiana Geological Conference, held Paramaribo, Suriname., 5p. Pdf
South America, Suriname
diamond
Abstract: The ultramafic rocks of the Marowijne Greenstone Belt in Suriname and elsewhere in the Guiana Shield comprise both intrusive dunite-gabbroic bodies and ultramafic lavas and volcaniclastic rocks. They were emplaced in the early stages of the Trans-Amazonian Orogeny (2.26-2.09 Ga), but their petrogenesis and geotectonic significance have still to be elaborated. They present several economically interesting mineralisations, including chromium, nickel, platinum, gold and diamonds. In Suriname diamonds are found since the 19 th century; possible source rocks show similarities with the diamondiferous komatiitic volcaniclastic rocks in Dachine, French Guiana and in Akwatia in the Birimian Greenstone Belt of Ghana. This might point to a regionally extensive diamond belt in the Guiana Shield and its predrift counterpart in the West-African Craton.
Journal of Gemmology, Vol. 37, 2, pp. 180-191. pdf
South America, Suriname
deposit - Paramaka Creek
Abstract: Alluvial diamonds have been found in Suriname since the late 19th century, but to date the details of their origin remain unclear. Here we describe diamonds from Paramaka Creek (Nassau Mountains area) in the Marowijne greenstone belt, Guiana Shield, north-eastern Suriname. Thirteen samples were studied, consisting mainly of euhedral crystals with dominant octahedral and dodecahe-dral habits. They had colourless to brown to slightly greenish body colours, and some showed green or (less commonly) brown irradiation spots. Surface features showed evidence of late-stage resorption that occurred during their transport to the earth’s surface. The studied diamonds were predominantly type IaAB, with nitrogen as both A and B aggregates. In the DiamondView most samples displayed blue and/or green luminescence and concentric growth patterns. Their mineral inclusion assemblages (forsterite and enstatite) indicate a peridotitic (possibly harzburgitic) paragenesis.
Abstract: The present study contributes new constraints on, and definitions of, the reconstructed plate margins of India and Madagascar based on flexural isostasy along the Western Continental Margin of India (WCMI) and the Eastern Continental Margin of Madagascar (ECMM). We have estimated the nature of isostasy and crustal geometry along the two margins, and have examined their possible conjugate structure. Here we utilize elastic thickness (Te) and Moho depth data as the primary basis for the correlation of these passive margins. We employ the flexure inversion technique that operates in spatial domain in order to estimate the spatial variation of effective elastic thickness. Gravity inversion and flexure inversion techniques are used to estimate the configuration of the Moho/Crust-Mantle Interface that reveals regional correlations with the elastic thickness variations. These results correlate well with the continental and oceanic segments of the Indian and African plates. The present study has found a linear zone of anomalously low-Te (1-5 km) along the WCMI (~1680 km), which correlates well with the low-Te patterns obtained all along the ECMM. We suggest that the low-Te zones along the WCMI and ECMM represent paleo-rift inception points of lithosphere thermally and mechanically weakened by the combined effects of the Marion hotspot and lithospheric extension due to rifting. We have produced an India-Madagascar paleo-fit representing the initial phase of separation based on the Te estimates of the rifted conjugate margins, which is confirmed by a close-fit correlation of Moho geometry and bathymetry of the shelf margins. The matching of tectonic lineaments, lithologies and geochronological belts between India and Madagascar provide an additional support for the present plate reconstruction.
Abstract: Numerous mafic dykes, sills and laccoliths crop out in the southern part of the Tafilalt basin (Eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco). These rocks intrude the mildly folded Ordovician to Early Carboniferous formations, consisting mainly of lamprophyric dolerites and camptonites with minor gabbros and syenodiorites. Previous geochemical studies have shown that the Tafilalt magmatism of sodic-alkaline affinity has been produced by low degrees of partial melting from an enriched deep mantle source within the garnet stability field. However, the age and the geodynamic context of these rocks were presently unknown since no isotopic dating had so far been made of the Tafilalt dolerites. To resolve this issue, we present here the first 40Ar/39Ar biotite and U-Pb zircon dating from the Tafilalt alkaline magmatism. Three samples (biotite separates) yielded well-defined 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages of 264.2?±?2.7 Ma, 259.0?±?6.3 Ma and 262.6?±?4.5 Ma whereas 206Pb/238U dating of zircon from one of these samples yielded an age of 255?±?3 Ma. These ages coincide within the dating error, and indicate that this magmatism occurred in the late Permian. Considering geochronological and geochemical data, we propose that the Tafilalt magmatism reflects an early-rift magmatic activity that preceded the Triassic rifting heralded by the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. This magmatic activity is recorded in both sides of the future Atlantic Ocean by small-volume alkaline magmatism that started in the late Permian and extends into the Triassic. The alkaline magmas are probably generated in response to an increase in the mantle potential temperature underneath the Pangea supercontinent.
Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, Vol. 284, pp. 36-50.
Mantle
peridotite
Abstract: Interpretation of melting phase relationships of mantle peridotite and subducted basaltic crust is important for understanding chemical heterogeneity in the Earth’s interior. Although numerous studies have conducted melting experiments on peridotite and mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB), and suggested that the solidus temperature of MORB is lower than that of peridotite at whole mantle pressure conditions, both solidus temperatures overlap within their uncertainties. In this study, we conducted simultaneous experiments on KLB-1 peridotite and normal MORB (N-MORB) at pressures from 25?GPa to 27?GPa and temperatures from 2398?K to 2673?K, to compare the solidus temperatures and their melting phase relations. The experimental results show that the solidus temperature of the N-MORB is nearly identical to the KLB-1 peridotite at 25?GPa but lower at 27?GPa. In addition, we found that the crossover of melt fractions between KLB-1 peridotite and N-MORB occurs at 25-27?GPa. These changes are likely to be attributed to the majorite-bridgmanite transition of MORB. This indicates that the dominant melting component may change depending on the location of the uppermost lower mantle. Our calculation result on the density of partial melts along the mantle geotherm suggests that partial melts of KLB-1 peridotite are gravitationally stable around the top of the transition zone, whereas partial melts of N-MORB are gravitationally stable even at the top of lower mantle. These results suggest that the distribution of partial melts may be different between KLB-1 peridotite and N-MORB in the deep Earth. Our results may be useful for understanding the fate of partial melts of peridotitic mantle and recycled basaltic crust.
Mass transport mechanism between the upper and lower mantle in numerical simulations of thermochemical mantle convection with multicomponent phase changes.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 230, 1-2, pp. 11-27.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: G3, Vol. 16, 10, pp. 3400-3413.
Mantle
Geothermometry
Abstract: We investigate the influence of tectonic mode on the thermochemical evolution of simulated mantle convection coupled to a parameterized core cooling model. The tectonic mode is controlled by varying the friction coefficient for brittle behavior, producing the three tectonic modes: mobile lid (plate tectonics), stagnant lid, and episodic lid. The resulting compositional structure of the deep mantle is strongly dependent on tectonic mode, with episodic lid resulting in a thick layer of subducted basalt in the deep mantle, whereas mobile lid produces only isolated piles and stagnant lid no basaltic layering. The tectonic mode is established early on, with subduction initiating at around 60 Myr from the initial state in mobile and episodic cases, triggered by the arrival of plumes at the base of the lithosphere. Crustal production assists subduction initiation, increasing the critical friction coefficient. The tectonic mode has a strong effect on core evolution via its influence on deep mantle structure; episodic cases in which a thick layer of basalt builds up experience less core heat flow and cooling and a failed geodynamo. Thus, a continuous mobile-lid mode existing from early times matches Earth's mantle structure and core evolution better than an episodic mode characterized by large-scale flushing (overturn) events.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 464, pp. 189-199.
Mantle
Water
Abstract: We investigate the influence of the mantle water content in the early Earth on that in the present mantle using numerical convection simulations that include three processes for redistribution of water: dehydration, partitioning of water into partially molten mantle, and regassing assuming an infinite water reservoir at the surface. These models suggest that the water content of the present mantle is insensitive to that of the early Earth. The initial water stored during planetary formation is regulated up to 1.2 OMs (OM = Ocean Mass; 1.4×1021 kg1.4×1021 kg), which is reasonable for early Earth. However, the mantle water content is sensitive to the rheological dependence on the water content and can range from 1.2 to 3 OMs at the present day. To explain the evolution of mantle water content, we computed water fluxes due to subducting plates (regassing), degassing and dehydration. For weakly water dependent viscosity, the net water flux is almost balanced with those three fluxes but, for strongly water dependent viscosity, the regassing dominates the water cycle system because the surface plate activity is more vigorous. The increased convection is due to enhanced lubrication of the plates caused by a weak hydrous crust for strongly water dependent viscosity. The degassing history is insensitive to the initial water content of the early Earth as well as rheological strength. The degassing flux from Earth's surface is calculated to be approximately O(1013) kg/yrO(1013) kg/yr, consistent with a coupled model of climate evolution and mantle thermal evolution.
Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, Vol. 5, pp. 51- 16p.
Mantle
water
Abstract: Here, we investigate a possible scenario of surface seawater evolution in the numerical simulations of surface plate motion driven by mantle dynamics, including thermo-chemical convection and water migration, from the early to present-day Earth to constrain the total amount of water in the planetary system. To assess the validity of two hypotheses of the total amount of water inferred from early planetary formation processes and mineral physics, we examine the model sensitivity to the total water in the planetary system (both surface and deep interior) up to 15 ocean masses. To explain the current size of the reservoir of surface seawater, the predictions based on the numerical simulations of hydrous mantle convection suggest that the total amount of water should range from 9 to 12 ocean masses. Incorporating the dense hydrous magnesium silicate (DHMS) with a recently discovered hydrous mineral at lower mantle pressures (phase H) indicates that the physical mechanism of the mantle water cycle would not be significantly influenced, but the water storage region would be expanded in addition to the mantle transition zone. The DHMS solubility field may have a limited impact on the partitioning of water in the Earth’s deep mantle.
Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Vol. 47, pp. 41-66.
Mantle
subduction
Abstract: In this review, we address the current status of numerical modeling of the mantle transition zone and uppermost lower mantle, focusing on the hydration mechanism in these areas. The main points are as follows: (a) Slab stagnation and penetration may play significant roles in transporting the water in the whole mantle, and (b) a huge amount of water could be absorbed into the deep mantle to preserve the surface seawater over the geologic timescale. However, for further understanding of water circulation in the deep planetary interior, more mineral physics investigations are required to reveal the mechanism of water absorption in the lower mantle and thermochemical interaction across the core-mantle boundary region, which can provide information on material properties to the geodynamics community. Moreover, future investigations should focus on determining the amount of water in the early planetary interior, as suggested by the planetary formation theory of rocky planets. Moreover, the supplying mechanism of water during planetary formation and its evolution caused by plate tectonics are still essential issues because, in geodynamics modeling, a huge amount of water seems to be required to preserve the surface seawater in the present day and to not be dependent on an initial amount of water in Earth's system.
Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Vol. 47, pp. 41-66.
Mantle
subduction, water
Abstract: In this review, we address the current status of numerical modeling of the mantle transition zone and uppermost lower mantle, focusing on the hydration mechanism in these areas. The main points are as follows: (a) Slab stagnation and penetration may play significant roles in transporting the water in the whole mantle, and (b) a huge amount of water could be absorbed into the deep mantle to preserve the surface seawater over the geologic timescale. However, for further understanding of water circulation in the deep planetary interior, more mineral physics investigations are required to reveal the mechanism of water absorption in the lower mantle and thermochemical interaction across the core-mantle boundary region, which can provide information on material properties to the geodynamics community. Moreover, future investigations should focus on determining the amount of water in the early planetary interior, as suggested by the planetary formation theory of rocky planets. Moreover, the supplying mechanism of water during planetary formation and its evolution caused by plate tectonics are still essential issues because, in geodynamics modeling, a huge amount of water seems to be required to preserve the surface seawater in the present day and to not be dependent on an initial amount of water in Earth's system.
Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Vol. 47, pp. 41-66. pdf
Mantle
water, subduction
Abstract: In this review, we address the current status of numerical modeling of the mantle transition zone and uppermost lower mantle, focusing on the hydration mechanism in these areas. The main points are as follows: (a) Slab stagnation and penetration may play significant roles in transporting the water in the whole mantle, and (b) a huge amount of water could be absorbed into the deep mantle to preserve the surface seawater over the geologic timescale. However, for further understanding of water circulation in the deep planetary interior, more mineral physics investigations are required to reveal the mechanism of water absorption in the lower mantle and thermochemical interaction across the core-mantle boundary region, which can provide information on material properties to the geodynamics community. Moreover, future investigations should focus on determining the amount of water in the early planetary interior, as suggested by the planetary formation theory of rocky planets. Moreover, the supplying mechanism of water during planetary formation and its evolution caused by plate tectonics are still essential issues because, in geodynamics modeling, a huge amount of water seems to be required to preserve the surface seawater in the present day and to not be dependent on an initial amount of water in Earth's system. 1) Slab stagnation and penetration of the hydrous lithosphere are essential for understanding the global-scale material circulation. 2) Thermal feedback caused by water-dependent viscosity is a main driving mechanism of water absorption in the mantle transition zone and uppermost lower mantle. 3) The hydrous state in the early rocky planets remains to be determined from cosmo- and geochemistry and planetary formation theory. 4) Volatile cycles in the deep planetary interior may affect the evolution of the surface environment.
Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, doi.org./10.1186/ s40645-020-00374-8 17p. Pdf
Mantle
geophysics, geothermometry
Abstract: In this review, I provide the current status and future prospects for the coupled core-mantle evolution and specifically summarize the constraints arising from geomagnetism and paleomagnetism on the long-term secular variations of the geomagnetic field. The heat flow across the core-mantle boundary (CMB) is essential for determining the best-fit scenario that explains the observational data of geomagnetic secular variations (e.g., onset timing of the inner core growth, geomagnetic polarity reversals, and westward drift) and should include the various origins of the heterogeneous structures in the deep mantle that have affected the heat transfer across the core-mantle boundary for billions of years. The coupled core-mantle evolution model can potentially explain the onset timing of the inner core and its influence on the long-term geomagnetic secular variations, but it is still controversial among modeling approaches on the core energetics because the paleomagnetic data contains various uncertainties. Additionally, with the coupled core-mantle evolution model in geodynamo simulations, the frequency of the geomagnetic polarity reversals can be explained with the time variations of the heat flow across the CMB. Additionally, the effects of the stable region in the outermost outer core to the magnetic evolution are also crucial but there would be still uncertain for their feasibility. However, despite this progress in understanding the observational data for geomagnetic secular variations, there are several unresolved issues that should be addressed in future investigations: (1) initial conditions—starting with the solidification of the global magma ocean with the onset timing of plate tectonics and geodynamo actions and (2) planetary habitability—how the dynamics of the Earth’s deep interior affects the long-term surface environment change that has been maintained in the Earth’s multisphere coupled system.
Development of a Built in scanning near field microscope head for an atomic force microscope system and its application to natural polycrystalline diamonds
International Mineralogical Association 19th. General Meeting, held Kobe, Japan July 23-28 2006, Abstract p. 114.
Modified ion exchange separation for tungsten isotopic measurements from kimberlite samples using multi-collector inductivity coupled plama mass spectrometry.
Analyst, ( Royal Society of Chemistry), Vol. 131, 3, pp. 434-439.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/10.1007/s00710-018-06174 12p.
Russia, Siberia
deposit - Mirny
Abstract: Here we present new data from a systematic Sr, Nd, O, C isotope and geochemical study of kimberlites of Devonian age Mirny field that are located in the southernmost part of the Siberian diamondiferous province. Major and trace element compositions of the Mirny field kimberlites show a significant compositional variability both between pipes and within one diatreme. They are enriched in incompatible trace elements with La/Yb ratios in the range of (65-00). Initial Nd isotope ratios calculated back to the time of the Mirny field kimberlite emplacement (t?=?360 ma) are depleted relative to the chondritic uniform reservoir (CHUR) model being 4 up to 6 ?Nd(t) units, suggesting an asthenospheric source for incompatible elements in kimberlites. Initial Sr isotope ratios are significantly variable, being in the range 0.70387-0.70845, indicating a complex source history and a strong influence of post-magmatic alteration. Four samples have almost identical initial Nd and Sr isotope compositions that are similar to the prevalent mantle (PREMA) reservoir. We propose that the source of the proto-kimberlite melt of the Mirny field kimberlites is the same as that for the majority of ocean island basalts (OIB). The source of the Mirny field kimberlites must possess three main features: It should be enriched with incompatible elements, be depleted in the major elements (Si, Al, Fe and Ti) and heavy rare earth elements (REE) and it should retain the asthenospheric Nd isotope composition. A two-stage model of kimberlite melt formation can fulfil those requirements. The intrusion of small bodies of this proto-kimberlite melt into lithospheric mantle forms a veined heterogeneously enriched source through fractional crystallization and metasomatism of adjacent peridotites. Re-melting of this source shortly after it was metasomatically enriched produced the kimberlite melt. The chemistry, mineralogy and diamond grade of each particular kimberlite are strongly dependent on the character of the heterogeneous source part from which they melted and ascended.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 20, 2, pp. 952-973.
United States, New Mexico
xenoliths
Abstract: Elemental and isotopic compositions of volatile species such as halogens, noble gases, hydrogen, and carbon can be used to trace the evolution of these species in the Earth. Halogens are important tracers of subduction recycling of surface volatiles into the mantle: however, there is only limited understanding of halogens in the mantle. Here we provide new halogen data of mantle xenoliths from intraplate settings. The mantle xenoliths show a wide range of halogen elemental ratios, which are expected to be related to later processes after the xenoliths formed. A similar primary halogen component is present in the xenoliths sampled from different localities. This suggests that the mantle has the uniform halogen composition over a wide scale. The halogen composition in the convecting mantle is expected to have remained constant over more than 2 billion years, despite subduction of iodine-rich halogens. We used mass balance calculations to gain understanding into evolution rate of I/Cl ratio in the mantle. Calculations suggest that, in order to maintain the I/Cl ratio of the mantle over 2 Gyr, the I/Cl ratio of the subducted halogens must be no more than several times higher than the present-day mantle value.
Abstract: The relative abundance of light elements in the Earth’s core has long been controversial. Recently, the presence of carbon in the core has been emphasized, because the density and sound velocities of the inner core may be consistent with solid Fe7C3. Here we report the longitudinal wave velocity of liquid Fe84C16 up to 70?GPa based on inelastic X-ray scattering measurements. We find the velocity to be substantially slower than that of solid iron and Fe3C and to be faster than that of liquid iron. The thermodynamic equation of state for liquid Fe84C16 is also obtained from the velocity data combined with previous density measurements at 1 bar. The longitudinal velocity of the outer core, about 4% faster than that of liquid iron, is consistent with the presence of 4-5 at.% carbon. However, that amount of carbon is too small to account for the outer core density deficit, suggesting that carbon cannot be a predominant light element in the core.
Abstract: We performed melting experiments on Fe-O alloys up to 204 GPa and 3500 K in a diamond-anvil cell (DAC) and determined the liquidus phase relations in the Fe-FeO system based on textural and chemical characterizations of recovered samples. Liquid-liquid immiscibility was observed up to 29 GPa. Oxygen concentration in eutectic liquid increased from >8 wt% O at 44 GPa to 13 wt% at 204 GPa and is extrapolated to be about 15 wt% at the inner core boundary (ICB) conditions. These results support O-rich liquid core, although oxygen cannot be a single core light element. We estimated the range of possible liquid core compositions in Fe-O-Si-C-S and found that the upper bounds for silicon and carbon concentrations are constrained by the crystallization of dense inner core at the ICB.
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 45, 11, pp. 5336-5343.
Mantle
subduction
Abstract: Rocks on the Earth's surface are cooled, hardened, eventually forming rigid plates that move around relative to one another. When two plates converge, one plate overrides the other, which sinks into the Earth's deep mantle. The sinking plate carries water, which softens rocks and also affects the behavior of the sinking/overriding plates and surrounding mantle flows (“subduction dynamics”). To investigate the role of water in subduction dynamics, 2-D fluid dynamical simulations were performed. The simulations suggest that subduction dynamics change significantly with the level of hydration of the sinking plate, which is represented by the thickness of a hydrous layer. When the hydrous layer is thin, the plate sinks rapidly with a shifting boundary and stagnates above the lower mantle. In contrast, when the hydrous layer is thick, plate convergence is sluggish, the plate boundary remains stationary, and the sinking plate penetrates into the lower mantle. These results indicate that a small amount of water is expected for the northwest part of the Pacific Plate, characterized by the rapid convergence, plate boundary shifting, and stagnation of the sinking plate.
Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Vol. 47, pp. 41-66.
Mantle
subduction
Abstract: In this review, we address the current status of numerical modeling of the mantle transition zone and uppermost lower mantle, focusing on the hydration mechanism in these areas. The main points are as follows: (a) Slab stagnation and penetration may play significant roles in transporting the water in the whole mantle, and (b) a huge amount of water could be absorbed into the deep mantle to preserve the surface seawater over the geologic timescale. However, for further understanding of water circulation in the deep planetary interior, more mineral physics investigations are required to reveal the mechanism of water absorption in the lower mantle and thermochemical interaction across the core-mantle boundary region, which can provide information on material properties to the geodynamics community. Moreover, future investigations should focus on determining the amount of water in the early planetary interior, as suggested by the planetary formation theory of rocky planets. Moreover, the supplying mechanism of water during planetary formation and its evolution caused by plate tectonics are still essential issues because, in geodynamics modeling, a huge amount of water seems to be required to preserve the surface seawater in the present day and to not be dependent on an initial amount of water in Earth's system.
Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Vol. 47, pp. 41-66.
Mantle
subduction, water
Abstract: In this review, we address the current status of numerical modeling of the mantle transition zone and uppermost lower mantle, focusing on the hydration mechanism in these areas. The main points are as follows: (a) Slab stagnation and penetration may play significant roles in transporting the water in the whole mantle, and (b) a huge amount of water could be absorbed into the deep mantle to preserve the surface seawater over the geologic timescale. However, for further understanding of water circulation in the deep planetary interior, more mineral physics investigations are required to reveal the mechanism of water absorption in the lower mantle and thermochemical interaction across the core-mantle boundary region, which can provide information on material properties to the geodynamics community. Moreover, future investigations should focus on determining the amount of water in the early planetary interior, as suggested by the planetary formation theory of rocky planets. Moreover, the supplying mechanism of water during planetary formation and its evolution caused by plate tectonics are still essential issues because, in geodynamics modeling, a huge amount of water seems to be required to preserve the surface seawater in the present day and to not be dependent on an initial amount of water in Earth's system.
Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Vol. 47, pp. 41-66. pdf
Mantle
water, subduction
Abstract: In this review, we address the current status of numerical modeling of the mantle transition zone and uppermost lower mantle, focusing on the hydration mechanism in these areas. The main points are as follows: (a) Slab stagnation and penetration may play significant roles in transporting the water in the whole mantle, and (b) a huge amount of water could be absorbed into the deep mantle to preserve the surface seawater over the geologic timescale. However, for further understanding of water circulation in the deep planetary interior, more mineral physics investigations are required to reveal the mechanism of water absorption in the lower mantle and thermochemical interaction across the core-mantle boundary region, which can provide information on material properties to the geodynamics community. Moreover, future investigations should focus on determining the amount of water in the early planetary interior, as suggested by the planetary formation theory of rocky planets. Moreover, the supplying mechanism of water during planetary formation and its evolution caused by plate tectonics are still essential issues because, in geodynamics modeling, a huge amount of water seems to be required to preserve the surface seawater in the present day and to not be dependent on an initial amount of water in Earth's system. 1) Slab stagnation and penetration of the hydrous lithosphere are essential for understanding the global-scale material circulation. 2) Thermal feedback caused by water-dependent viscosity is a main driving mechanism of water absorption in the mantle transition zone and uppermost lower mantle. 3) The hydrous state in the early rocky planets remains to be determined from cosmo- and geochemistry and planetary formation theory. 4) Volatile cycles in the deep planetary interior may affect the evolution of the surface environment.
Provenance and reconnaissance study of detrital zircons of the Paleozoic Cape Supergroup: revealing the interaction of Kalahari and Rio de la Plat a cratons.
International Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 100, 2, pp. 527-541.
Manya, S., Kobayashi, K., Maboko, M.A., Nakamura, E.
Ion microprobe zircon U Pb dating of the late Archean metavolcanics and associated granites of the Musoma Mara greenstone belt, northeast Tanzania: implications
Journal of African Earth Sciences, Vol. 45, 3, pp. 355-366.
Tang, Y-J., Zhang, H-F., Nakamura, E., Moriguti, T., Kobayashi, K., Ying, J-F.
Lithium isotopic systematics of peridotite xenoliths from Hannuoba, North Chin a Craton: implications for melt rock interaction in considerably thinned mantle lithospheric mantle.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 71, 17, Sept. 1, pp. 4327-4341.
Zhang, H-F., Nakamura, E., Sun, M., Kobayashi,K., Zhang, J., Yang, J-F., Tang, Y-J.
Transformation of subcontinental lithospheric mantle through peridotite melt reaction: evidence from a highly fertile mantle xenolith from the North Chin a Craton.
International Geology Review, Vol. 49, 7, July pp. 658-679.
Multistage melt fluid peridotite interactions in the refertilized lithospheric mantle beneath the North Chin a craton: constrains from the Li Sr Nd isotopic
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 161, 6, pp.
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 45, 11, pp. 5336-5343.
Mantle
subduction
Abstract: Rocks on the Earth's surface are cooled, hardened, eventually forming rigid plates that move around relative to one another. When two plates converge, one plate overrides the other, which sinks into the Earth's deep mantle. The sinking plate carries water, which softens rocks and also affects the behavior of the sinking/overriding plates and surrounding mantle flows (“subduction dynamics”). To investigate the role of water in subduction dynamics, 2-D fluid dynamical simulations were performed. The simulations suggest that subduction dynamics change significantly with the level of hydration of the sinking plate, which is represented by the thickness of a hydrous layer. When the hydrous layer is thin, the plate sinks rapidly with a shifting boundary and stagnates above the lower mantle. In contrast, when the hydrous layer is thick, plate convergence is sluggish, the plate boundary remains stationary, and the sinking plate penetrates into the lower mantle. These results indicate that a small amount of water is expected for the northwest part of the Pacific Plate, characterized by the rapid convergence, plate boundary shifting, and stagnation of the sinking plate.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 20, 2, pp. 952-973.
United States, New Mexico
xenoliths
Abstract: Elemental and isotopic compositions of volatile species such as halogens, noble gases, hydrogen, and carbon can be used to trace the evolution of these species in the Earth. Halogens are important tracers of subduction recycling of surface volatiles into the mantle: however, there is only limited understanding of halogens in the mantle. Here we provide new halogen data of mantle xenoliths from intraplate settings. The mantle xenoliths show a wide range of halogen elemental ratios, which are expected to be related to later processes after the xenoliths formed. A similar primary halogen component is present in the xenoliths sampled from different localities. This suggests that the mantle has the uniform halogen composition over a wide scale. The halogen composition in the convecting mantle is expected to have remained constant over more than 2 billion years, despite subduction of iodine-rich halogens. We used mass balance calculations to gain understanding into evolution rate of I/Cl ratio in the mantle. Calculations suggest that, in order to maintain the I/Cl ratio of the mantle over 2 Gyr, the I/Cl ratio of the subducted halogens must be no more than several times higher than the present-day mantle value.
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 45, 11, pp. 5336-5343.
Mantle
subduction
Abstract: Rocks on the Earth's surface are cooled, hardened, eventually forming rigid plates that move around relative to one another. When two plates converge, one plate overrides the other, which sinks into the Earth's deep mantle. The sinking plate carries water, which softens rocks and also affects the behavior of the sinking/overriding plates and surrounding mantle flows (“subduction dynamics”). To investigate the role of water in subduction dynamics, 2-D fluid dynamical simulations were performed. The simulations suggest that subduction dynamics change significantly with the level of hydration of the sinking plate, which is represented by the thickness of a hydrous layer. When the hydrous layer is thin, the plate sinks rapidly with a shifting boundary and stagnates above the lower mantle. In contrast, when the hydrous layer is thick, plate convergence is sluggish, the plate boundary remains stationary, and the sinking plate penetrates into the lower mantle. These results indicate that a small amount of water is expected for the northwest part of the Pacific Plate, characterized by the rapid convergence, plate boundary shifting, and stagnation of the sinking plate.
Abstract: Establishing relationships between the long-term landscape evolution of drainage basins and the fill of sedimentary basins benefits from analysis of bedrock river terrace deposits. These fragmented detrital archives help to constrain changes in river system character and provenance during sediment transfer from continents (source) to oceans (sink). Thick diamondiferous gravel terrace deposits along the lower Orange River, southern Namibia, provide a rare opportunity to investigate controls on the incision history of a continental-scale bedrock river. Clast assemblage and heavy mineral data from seven localities permit detailed characterisation of the lower Orange River gravel terrace deposits. Two distinct fining-upward gravel terrace deposits are recognised, primarily based on mapped stratigraphic relationships (cross-cutting relationships) and strath and terrace top elevations, and secondarily on the proportion of exotic clasts, referred to as Proto Orange River deposits and Meso Orange River deposits. The older early to middle Miocene Proto Orange River gravels are thick (up to 50 m) and characterised by a dominance of Karoo Supergroup shale and sandstone clasts, whereas the younger Plio-Pleistocene Meso Orange River gravels (6-23 m thick) are characterised by more banded iron formation clasts. Mapping of the downstepping terraces indicates that the Proto gravels were deposited by a higher sinuosity river, and are strongly discordant to the modern Orange River course, whereas the Meso deposits were deposited by a lower sinuosity river. The heavy minerals present in both units comprise magnetite, garnet, amphibole, epidote and ilmenite, with rare titanite and zircon grains. The concentration of amphibole-epidote in the heavy minerals fraction increases from the Proto to the Meso deposits. The decrease in incision depths, recorded by deposit thicknesses above strath terraces, and the differences in clast character (size and roundness) and type between the two units, are ascribed to a more powerful river system during Proto-Orange River time, rather than reworking of older deposits, changes in provenance or climatic variations. In addition, from Proto- to Meso-Orange River times there was an increase in the proportion of sediments supplied from local bedrock sources, including amphibole-epidote in the heavy mineral assemblages derived from the Namaqua Metamorphic Complex. This integrated study demonstrates that clast assemblages are not a proxy for the character of the matrix, and vice versa, because they are influenced by the interplay of different controls. Therefore, an integrated approach is needed to improve prediction of placer mineral deposits in river gravels, and their distribution in coeval deposits downstream.
Diamond and Related Materials, in press available, 16p.
Technology
Synthetics
Abstract: Diamond synthesis and its morphology by in-liquid plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method are investigated in this study. Diamond films were grown on Si substrates from mixed alcohol solution. Very high growth rate of 170 µm/h was achieved by this method. Microcrystalline and nanocrystalline diamond films were formed in different conditions. In the case of microcrystalline film, the shapes of diamond grains depend on the location in the film. All morphological differences in this study can be explained by the same mechanism of conventional gas phase CVD method. It means diamond morphology by in-liquid plasma CVD method can be controlled by process parameters as well as gas phase CVD method.
Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, Vol. 5, pp. 51- 16p.
Mantle
water
Abstract: Here, we investigate a possible scenario of surface seawater evolution in the numerical simulations of surface plate motion driven by mantle dynamics, including thermo-chemical convection and water migration, from the early to present-day Earth to constrain the total amount of water in the planetary system. To assess the validity of two hypotheses of the total amount of water inferred from early planetary formation processes and mineral physics, we examine the model sensitivity to the total water in the planetary system (both surface and deep interior) up to 15 ocean masses. To explain the current size of the reservoir of surface seawater, the predictions based on the numerical simulations of hydrous mantle convection suggest that the total amount of water should range from 9 to 12 ocean masses. Incorporating the dense hydrous magnesium silicate (DHMS) with a recently discovered hydrous mineral at lower mantle pressures (phase H) indicates that the physical mechanism of the mantle water cycle would not be significantly influenced, but the water storage region would be expanded in addition to the mantle transition zone. The DHMS solubility field may have a limited impact on the partitioning of water in the Earth’s deep mantle.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available doi.org/10.1016 / j.gca.2019.06.041 36p.
Africa, Tanzania, Canada, East Africa, Europe, Germany, Greenland
deposit - Oldoinyo Lengai
Abstract: To investigate the behaviour of Ba isotopes during carbonatite petrogenesis and to explore the possibility of using carbonatites to constrain the Ba isotopic composition of the mantle, we report high-precision Ba isotopic analyses of: (1) carbonatites and associated silicate rocks from the only active carbonatite volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania, and (2) Archean to Cenozoic carbonatites from Canada, East Africa, Germany and Greenland. Carbonatites and associated phonolites and nephelinites from Oldoinyo Lengai have similar d137/134Ba values that range from +0.01 to +0.03‰, indicating that Ba isotope fractionation during carbonatite petrogenesis is negligible. The limited variation in d137/134Ba values from -0.03 to +0.09‰ for most carbonatite samples suggests that their mantle sources have a relatively homogeneous Ba isotopic composition. Based on the carbonatites investigated in this work, the average d137/134Ba value of their mantle sources is estimated to be +0.04?±?0.06‰ (2SD, n?=?16), which is similar to the average value of +0.05?±?0.06‰ for mid-ocean ridge basalts. The lower d137/134Ba value of -0.08‰ in a Canadian sample and higher d137/134Ba values of +0.14‰ and?+?0.23‰ in two Greenland samples suggest local mantle isotopic heterogeneity that may reflect the incorporation of recycled crustal materials in their sources.
Abstract: To investigate the behaviour of Ba isotopes during carbonatite petrogenesis and to explore the possibility of using carbonatites to constrain the Ba isotopic composition of the mantle, we report high-precision Ba isotopic analyses of: (1) carbonatites and associated silicate rocks from the only active carbonatite volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania, and (2) Archean to Cenozoic carbonatites from Canada, East Africa, Germany and Greenland. Carbonatites and associated phonolites and nephelinites from Oldoinyo Lengai have similar d137/134Ba values that range from +0.01 to +0.03‰, indicating that Ba isotope fractionation during carbonatite petrogenesis is negligible. The limited variation in d137/134Ba values from -0.03 to +0.09‰ for most carbonatite samples suggests that their mantle sources have a relatively homogeneous Ba isotopic composition. Based on the carbonatites investigated in this work, the average d137/134Ba value of their mantle sources is estimated to be +0.04?±?0.06‰ (2SD, n?=?16), which is similar to the average value of +0.05?±?0.06‰ for mid-ocean ridge basalts. The lower d137/134Ba value of -0.08‰ in a Canadian sample and higher d137/134Ba values of +0.14‰ and?+?0.23‰ in two Greenland samples suggest local mantle isotopic heterogeneity that may reflect the incorporation of recycled crustal materials in their sources.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 278, pp. 235-243.
Mantle
carbonatite
Abstract: To investigate the behaviour of Ba isotopes during carbonatite petrogenesis and to explore the possibility of using carbonatites to constrain the Ba isotopic composition of the mantle, we report high-precision Ba isotopic analyses of: (1) carbonatites and associated silicate rocks from the only active carbonatite volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania, and (2) Archean to Cenozoic carbonatites from Canada, East Africa, Germany and Greenland. Carbonatites and associated phonolites and nephelinites from Oldoinyo Lengai have similar d137/134Ba values that range from +0.01 to +0.03‰, indicating that Ba isotope fractionation during carbonatite petrogenesis is negligible. The limited variation in d137/134Ba values from -0.03 to +0.09‰ for most carbonatite samples suggests that their mantle sources have a relatively homogeneous Ba isotopic composition. Based on the carbonatites investigated in this work, the average d137/134Ba value of their mantle sources is estimated to be +0.04?±?0.06‰ (2SD, n?=?16), which is similar to the average value of +0.05?±?0.06‰ for mid-ocean ridge basalts. The lower d137/134Ba value of -0.08‰ in a Canadian sample and higher d137/134Ba values of +0.14‰ and?+?0.23‰ in two Greenland samples suggest local mantle isotopic heterogeneity that may reflect the incorporation of recycled crustal materials in their sources.
IN: Cycle Concepts in Plate Tectonics, editors Wilson and Houseman , Geological Society of London special publication 470, 21p.
Mantle
Pannotia
Abstract: Disagreement about the existence of the late Neoproterozoic supercontinent Pannotia highlights the limitation of defining supercontinents simply on the basis of size, which, for pre-Pangaean supercontinents, is difficult to determine. In the context of the supercontinent cycle, however, supercontinent assembly and break-up, respectively, mark the end of one cycle and the beginning of the next and can be recognized by the tectonic, climatic and biogeochemical trends that accompany them. Hence supercontinents need only be large enough to influence mantle circulation in such a way as to enable the cycle to repeat. Their recognition need not rely solely on continental reconstructions, but can also exploit a variety of secular trends that accompany their amalgamation and break-up. Although the palaeogeographical and age constraints for the existence of Pannotia remain equivocal, the proxy signals of supercontinent assembly and break-up in the late Neoproterozoic are unmistakable. These signals cannot be readily attributed to either the break-up of Rodinia or the assembly of Gondwana without ignoring either the assembly phase of Pan-African orogenesis and the changes in mantle circulation that accompany this phase, or the reality that Gondwana cannot be a supercontinent in the context of the supercontinent cycle because its break-up coincides with that of Pangaea.
Abstract: There is an emerging consensus that Earth's landmasses amalgamate quasi-periodically into supercontinents, interpreted to be rigid super-plates essentially lacking tectonically active inner boundaries and showing little internal lithosphere-mantle interactions. The formation and disruption of supercontinents have been linked to changes in sea-level, biogeochemical cycles, global climate change, continental margin sedimentation, large igneous provinces, deep mantle circulation, outer core dynamics and Earth's magnetic field. If these hypotheses are correct, long-term mantle dynamics and much of the geological record, including the distribution of natural resources, may be largely controlled by these cycles. Despite their potential importance, however, many of these proposed links are, to date, permissive rather than proven. Sufficient data are not yet available to verify or fully understand the implications of the supercontinent cycle. Recent advances in many fields of geoscience provide clear directions for investigating the supercontinent cycle hypothesis and its corollaries but they need to be vigorously pursued if these far-reaching ideas are to be substantiated.
IN: Cycle Concepts in Plate Tectonics, editors Wilson and Houseman , Geological Society of London special publication 470, pp. 39-64.
Mantle
plate tectonics
Abstract: There is an emerging consensus that Earth's landmasses amalgamate quasi-periodically into supercontinents, interpreted to be rigid super-plates essentially lacking tectonically active inner boundaries and showing little internal lithosphere-mantle interactions. The formation and disruption of supercontinents have been linked to changes in sea-level, biogeochemical cycles, global climate change, continental margin sedimentation, large igneous provinces, deep mantle circulation, outer core dynamics and Earth's magnetic field. If these hypotheses are correct, long-term mantle dynamics and much of the geological record, including the distribution of natural resources, may be largely controlled by these cycles. Despite their potential importance, however, many of these proposed links are, to date, permissive rather than proven. Sufficient data are not yet available to verify or fully understand the implications of the supercontinent cycle. Recent advances in many fields of geoscience provide clear directions for investigating the supercontinent cycle hypothesis and its corollaries but they need to be vigorously pursued if these far-reaching ideas are to be substantiated.
Abstract: Deformed Alkaline Rocks and Carbonatites (DARCs) are markers of suture zones where continents have rifted apart and later amalgamated [1]. Petrological and geochronological data indicates that parts of India and East Antarctica may have been involved in several episodes of collision and breakup during the assembly of past supercontinents [2]. DARCs at the eastern margin of the Eastern Ghats Province (EGP) in India preserve the record of these amalgamation and breakup events. It is thought that the Napier Complex of East Antarctica collided with the Dharwar Craton of India at ca. 1.60 Ga forming the central and eastern Indian shield [3]. New zircon U-Pb ages from DARCs at the EGP margin show that the alkaline complexes (Kamakhyanagar: 1350±14 Ma Rairakhol: 1379±6 Ma; Khariar: 1478±5 Ma; Koraput: 1387±34 Ma; Kunavaram: 1360±5 Ma; Jojuru: 1352±6 Ma) were emplaced in a narrow time interval. The alkaline magmatism marks an episode of rifting in the Indo-Antarctic continental fragment, correlatable with breakup of the Columbia supercontinent. Metamorphic zircon from the alkaline rocks furnish age populations at 917-950 Ma, 792- 806 Ma and 562-569 Ma. The 917-950 Ma ages are correlated with the closure of an oceanic basin between the Ruker Terrane of East Antarctica and the Indian Shield during the assembly of the Rodinia supercontinent. This led to the collision of the Ruker Terrane with the combined India-Napier Complex producing the Grenville-age EGPRayner Complex orogen [2, 3]. The 792-806 Ma ages record the disintegration of Rodinia when Greater India started to break away from East Antarctica [4]. In the early Paleozoic, India reconverged towards Antarctica and Australia during Gondwanaland assembly. The 562-569 Ma zircon ages date the resulting collisions during Pan-African orogenesis.
Abstract: Re-Os and platinum group element analyses are reported for peridotite xenoliths from the 533 Ma Venetia kimberlite cluster situated in the Limpopo Mobile Belt, the Neoarchaean collision zone between the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe Cratons. The Venetian xenoliths provide a rare opportunity to examine the state of the cratonic lithosphere prior to major regional metasomatic disturbance of Re-Os systematics throughout the Phanerozoic. The 32 studied xenoliths record Si-enrichment that is characteristic of the Kaapvaal lithospheric mantle and can be subdivided into five groups based on Re-Os analyses. The most pristine group I samples (n = 13) display an approximately isochronous relationship and fall on a 3.28 ± 0.17 Ga (95 % conf. int.) reference line that is based on their mean TMA age. This age overlaps with the formation age of the Limpopo crust at 3.35-3.28 Ga. The group I samples derive from ~50 to ~170 km depth, suggesting coeval melt depletion of the majority of the Venetia lithospheric mantle column. Group II and III samples have elevated Re/Os due to Re addition during kimberlite magmatism. Group II has otherwise undergone a similar evolution as the group I samples with overlapping 187Os/188Os at eruption age: 187Os/188OsEA, while group III samples have low Os concentrations, unradiogenic 187Os/188OsEA and were effectively Re-free prior to kimberlite magmatism. The other sample groups (IV and V) have disturbed Re-Os systematics and provide no reliable age information. A strong positive correlation is recorded between Os and Re concentrations for group I samples, which is extended to groups II and III after correction for kimberlite addition. This positive correlation precludes a single stage melt depletion history and indicates coupled remobilisation of Re and Os. The combination of Re-Os mobility, preservation of the isochronous relationship, correlation of 187Os/188Os with degree of melt depletion and lack of radiogenic Os addition puts tight constraints on the formation and subsequent evolution of Venetia lithosphere. First, melt depletion and remobilisation of Re and Os must have occurred within error of the 3.28 Ga mean TMA age. Second, the refractory peridotites contain significant Re despite recording >40 % melt extraction. Third, assuming that Si-enrichment and Re-Os mobility in the Venetia lithospheric mantle were linked, this process must have occurred within ~100 Myr of initial melt depletion in order to preserve the isochronous relationship. Based on the regional geological evolution, we propose a rapid recycling model with initial melt depletion at ~3.35 Ga to form a tholeiitic mafic crust that is recycled at ~3.28 Ga, resulting in the intrusion of a TTG suite and Si-enrichment of the lithospheric mantle. The non-zero primary Re contents of the Venetia xenoliths imply that TRD model ages significantly underestimate the true depletion age even for highly depleted peridotites. The overlap of the ~2.6 Ga TRD ages with the time of the Kaapvaal-Limpopo collision is purely fortuitous and has no geological significance. Hence, this study underlines the importance of scrutiny if age information is to be derived from whole rock Re-Os analyses.
Journal of Metamorphic Geology, Vol. 37, 1, pp. 113-151.
India
geology
Abstract: The Central Indian Tectonic Zone (CITZ) is a Proterozoic suture along which the Northern and Southern Indian Blocks are inferred to have amalgamated forming the Greater Indian Landmass. In this study, we use the metamorphic and geochronological evolution of the Gangpur Schist Belt (GSB) and neighbouring crustal units to constrain crustal accretion processes associated with the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Indian Blocks. The GSB sandwiched between the Bonai Granite pluton of the Singhbhum craton and granite gneisses of the Chhotanagpur Gneiss Complex (CGC) links the CITZ and the North Singhbhum Mobile Belt. New zircon age data constrain the emplacement of the Bonai Granite at 3,370 ± 10 Ma, while the magmatic protoliths of the Chhotanagpur gneisses were emplaced at c. 1.65 Ga. The sediments in the southern part of the Gangpur basin were derived from the Singhbhum craton, whereas those in the northern part were derived dominantly from the CGC. Sedimentation is estimated to have taken place between c. 1.65 and c. 1.45 Ga. The Upper Bonai/Darjing Group rocks of the basin underwent major metamorphic episodes at c. 1.56 and c. 1.45 Ga, while the Gangpur Group of rocks were metamorphosed at c. 1.45 and c. 0.97 Ga. Based on thermobarometric studies and zircon-monazite geochronology, we infer that the geological history of the GSB is similar to that of the North Singhbhum Mobile Belt with the Upper Bonai/Darjing and the Gangpur Groups being the westward extensions of the southern and northern domains of the North Singhbhum Mobile Belt respectively. We propose a three-stage model of crustal accretion across the Singhbhum craton - GSB/North Singhbhum Mobile Belt - GC contact. The magmatic protoliths of the Chhotanagpur Gneisses were emplaced at c. 1.65 Ga in an arc setting. The earliest accretion event at c. 1.56 Ga involved northward subduction and amalgamation of the Upper Bonai Group with the Singhbhum craton followed by accretion of the Gangpur Group with the Singhbhum craton-Upper Bonai Group composite at c. 1.45 Ga. Finally, continent-continent collision at c. 0.96 Ga led to the accretion of the CGC with the Singhbhum craton-Upper Bonai Group-Gangpur Group crustal units, synchronous with emplacement of pegmatitic granites. The geological events recorded in the GSB and other units of the CITZ only partially overlap with those in the Trans North China Orogen and the Capricorn Orogen of Western Australia, indicating that these suture zones are not correlatable.
Balasubramani, S., Sahoo, P., Bhattacharya, D., Rengarajan, M., Thangavel, S., Bhatt, A.K., Verma, M.B., Nanda, L.K.
A note on anomalous concentration of scandium in the Pakkanadu alkaline complex, Salem District, Tamil Nadu, India.
Carbonatite-alkaline rocks and associated mineral deposits , Dec. 8-11, abstract p. 46.
India
alkaline rocks
Abstract: Pakkanadu Alkaline complex (PAC) of Neoproterozoic age is located at the southwestern end of Dharmapuri rift/shear zone on the northern part of southern granulitic terrain in Tamil Nadu, India. PAC mainly comprises carbonatite-syenitepyroxenite suite of rocks. Syenite is the predominant rock exposed on the eastern and western part of the explored area with enclaves of pyroxenite and dunite. The carbonatite (sovite) occurs as thin veins/bands and discontinuous lenticular bodies intrusive into highly deformed biotite schist that is considered as the fenitised product of pyroxenite traceable over a strike length of 1.5 km. Petromineralogical study of the biotite schist, pyroxenite containing carbonatite rock and carbonatite indicated presence of monazite, allanite, sphene and betafite as the main radioactive minerals occurring as inclusion within biotite or as discrete mineral grains. Other ore minerals are apatite, thorite, titanite, rutile and barite. Chloritisation, hematitisation, silicification and calcitisation are the main wall rock alteration observed in pyroxenite and syenite. Sub-surface exploration carried out by Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) in PAC revealed that biotite schist (n=166) contains anomalously high concentration of Scandium (11-1275 ppm, av.161 ppm), REE (67-58275 ppm, av. 14836 ppm,) and V (5-620 ppm, av. 127 ppm, with carbonatite veins and syenite (n=149) contain scandium (10-462 ppm, av.71 ppm,), REE (18-57510 ppm, av. 4106 ppm) and V (1-285 ppm, av. 48 ppm). In these rocks, LREE (12.5-57670 ppm, av. 9617 ppm, n=315) shows enrichment over HREE (7.1-774 ppm, av. 173 ppm, n=315). The concentration of Scandium (Av. 166 and 71 ppm in biotite schist and syenite respectively) is anomalous as compared to its crustal abundance (22 ppm). Geochemical analyses of the rock indicate that the radioactive biotite schist, pyroxenite containing carbonatite veins generally shows higher Sc and REE concentrations as compared to those of the other rocks (syenite). However, there is no significant correlation between REE and Sc. The higher concentration of scandium in PAC is possibly due to selective partitioning of it into minerals like apatite, pyrochlore, allanite, monazite and other REE bearing phases, apart from its concentration in the ferromagnesian minerals. Scandium rarely concentrates in nature as independent ore mineral. The demand for the metal is very high due to multiple high value commercial uses as an alloy with aluminum, specifically in aerospace and automobile industry, besides, in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) in electrical industries. Eight boreholes drilled as part of the preliminary subsurface exploration in PAC, covering an area of 0.05 sq. km, indicated an elevated Scandium content of about 6 times that of the average crustal abundance.
Abstract: We report mineral chemistry and whole-rock major and trace-element geochemistry for a recent find of Mesoproterozoic (~1.4 Ga) lamproites from the Garledinne (Banganapalle) cluster, south-western part of the Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Cuddapah Basin, southern India. The Garledinne lamproites occur as WNW-ESE-trending dykes that have undergone varying degree of pervasive silicification and carbonate alteration. Nevertheless, their overall texture and relict mineralogy remain intact and provide important insights into the nature of their magmas. The lamproite dykes have porphyritic to weakly porphyritic textures comprising pseudomorphed olivine macrocrysts and microphenocrysts, titanian phlogopite microphenocrysts, spinel having a compositional range from chromite to rarely magnesiochromite, Sr-rich apatite and niobian rutile. The Garledinne and other Cuddapah Basin lamproites (Chelima and Zangamarajupalle) collectively lack sanidine, clinopyroxene, potassic richterite, and titanite and are thus mineralogically distinct from the nearby Mesoproterozoic lamproites (Krishna and Ramadugu) in the Eastern Dharwar Craton, southern India. The strong correlation between various major and trace elements coupled with high abundances of incompatible and compatible trace elements imply that alteration and crustal contamination have had a limited effect on the whole-rock geochemistry (apart from K2O and CaO) of the Garledinne lamproites and that olivine fractionation played an important role in their evolution. The Garledinne lamproites represent small-degree partial melts derived from a refractory (previously melt extracted) peridotitic mantle source that was subsequently metasomatised (enriched) by carbonate-rich fluids/melts within the garnet stability field. The involvement of multiple reservoirs (sub-continental lithospheric mantle and asthenosphere) has been inferred in their genesis. The emplacement of the Garledinne lamproites is linked to extensional events, across the various Indian cratons, related to the break-up of the Proterozoic supercontinent of Columbia.
Mineralogy and Petrology, in press available, 25p.
India
Lamproites - Nuapada field
Abstract: We report the mineralogy, bulk-rock geochemistry, 40Ar/39Ar (whole-rock) age and radiogenic (Sr and Nd) isotope composition of an ultrapotassic dyke from Sakri (Nuapada lamproite field) located at the tectonic contact between the easternmost margin of the Bastar craton and Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt, India. The Sakri dyke has a mineralogy which strongly resembles a lamproite sensu stricto (viz.,Ti-rich phlogopite, Na-poor diopside, Fe-rich sanidine, ulvospinel trend and Sr-rich apatite). However, its bulk-rock major element geochemical characteristics (viz., extreme silica-undersaturated nature) resemble sensu lato kamafugite from Toro Ankole, Uganda, East African Rift, and Alto Paranaiba Province, Brazil. The Sakri dyke also displays certain compositional peculiarities (viz., high degree of evolution of mica composition from phlogopite to biotite, elevated titanium and aluminum in clinopyroxene and significantly lower bulk Mg#) when compared to the ultrapotassic rocks from various Indian cratons. 40Ar/39Ar dating gave a plateau age of 1045?±?9 Ma which is broadly similar to that of other Mesoproterozoic (i) lamproites from the Bastar and Bundelkhand cratons, and (ii) kimberlites from the Eastern Dharwar craton. Initial bulk-rock Sr (0.705865-0.709024) and Nd (0.511063-0.511154) isotopic ratios reveal involvement of an ‘enriched’ source region with long-term incompatible element enrichment and a depleted mantle (TDM) Nd model age of 2.56 Ga straddling the Archaean-Proterozoic chronostratigraphic boundary. The bulk-rock incompatible trace element ratios (Ta/Yb, Th/Yb, Rb/Ba and Ce/Y) of the Sakri ultrapotassic dyke negate any significant influence of crustal contamination. Small-degree melting (1 to 1.5 %) of a mixed garnet-facies and spinel-facies phlogopite lherzolite can account for its observed REE concentrations. Whereas the emplacement of the Sakri ultrapotassic dyke is related to the amalgamation of the supercontinent of Rodinia, its overlapping geochemical characteristics of lamproite and kamafugite (also displayed by two other lamproites of the Nuapada field at Amlidadar and Parkom) are linked to the emplacement in a unique geological setting at the craton-mobile belt contact and hence of geodynamic significance.
Mineralogy and Petrology, in press available, 25p.
India
Deposit - Sakri Nuapada
Abstract: We report the mineralogy, bulk-rock geochemistry, 40Ar/39Ar (whole-rock) age and radiogenic (Sr and Nd) isotope composition of an ultrapotassic dyke from Sakri (Nuapada lamproite field) located at the tectonic contact between the easternmost margin of the Bastar craton and Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt, India. The Sakri dyke has a mineralogy which strongly resembles a lamproite sensu stricto (viz.,Ti-rich phlogopite, Na-poor diopside, Fe-rich sanidine, ulvospinel trend and Sr-rich apatite). However, its bulk-rock major element geochemical characteristics (viz., extreme silica-undersaturated nature) resemble sensu lato kamafugite from Toro Ankole, Uganda, East African Rift, and Alto Paranaiba Province, Brazil. The Sakri dyke also displays certain compositional peculiarities (viz., high degree of evolution of mica composition from phlogopite to biotite, elevated titanium and aluminum in clinopyroxene and significantly lower bulk Mg#) when compared to the ultrapotassic rocks from various Indian cratons. 40Ar/39Ar dating gave a plateau age of 1045?±?9 Ma which is broadly similar to that of other Mesoproterozoic (i) lamproites from the Bastar and Bundelkhand cratons, and (ii) kimberlites from the Eastern Dharwar craton. Initial bulk-rock Sr (0.705865-0.709024) and Nd (0.511063-0.511154) isotopic ratios reveal involvement of an ‘enriched’ source region with long-term incompatible element enrichment and a depleted mantle (TDM) Nd model age of 2.56 Ga straddling the Archaean-Proterozoic chronostratigraphic boundary. The bulk-rock incompatible trace element ratios (Ta/Yb, Th/Yb, Rb/Ba and Ce/Y) of the Sakri ultrapotassic dyke negate any significant influence of crustal contamination. Small-degree melting (1 to 1.5 %) of a mixed garnet-facies and spinel-facies phlogopite lherzolite can account for its observed REE concentrations. Whereas the emplacement of the Sakri ultrapotassic dyke is related to the amalgamation of the supercontinent of Rodinia, its overlapping geochemical characteristics of lamproite and kamafugite (also displayed by two other lamproites of the Nuapada field at Amlidadar and Parkom) are linked to the emplacement in a unique geological setting at the craton-mobile belt contact and hence of geodynamic significance.
LREE and Nb multi metal potentiality of the Amba Dongar carbonatite complex, Chhota Udepur district, Gujarat.
Carbonatite-alkaline rocks and associated mineral deposits , Dec. 8-11, abstract p. 43-44.
India
deposit - Amba Dongar
Abstract: Rare earth elements (REE) are used in science innovations, due to their unique magnetic, fluorescent and chemical properties. REE are key components in rnany technological devices, like hybrid rechargeable batteries, catalysts, glass polishing, magnets, lasers, TV colour components, superconductors, ceramics etc. They are in great demand for hybrid cars, CD, cameras and high end defence systems. Similarly, niobium (Nb) finds its usage in diverse high tech applications including atomic energy. With increasing technological applications of REE and Nb, their global demand has enhanced over the years. To keep pace with the current demand, many carbonatite complexes in India including the Amba Dongar were revisited to assess their REE and Nb content. Amba Dongar is a classic carbonatite-alkalic rock complex of the Deccan basalt plateau and is emplaced in close proximity to Narmada rift zone. The main rock types of carbonatite affinity include sovite (calcium carbonatite), ankerite (Fe-Mg•Mn carbonatite), siderite (Fe carbonatite), carbonatite breccia (mixed rock. fragments with carbonate cement) etc. Sovite forms a large ring-dyke (nearly 1.5 km dia.) surrounding an incomplete ring of carbonatite breccia. Plugs of ankeritic carbonatite intrude the sovite. To assess rare metal and REE potential of the carbonatite complex geological and radiometric surveys followed by core drilling were carried out in western part of the complex. Rocks of carbonatite affinity have been intercepted in all the boreholes upto a maximum drilled depth of 150 m. It is for the first time that presence of carbonatite and carbonatite breccia has been reported below central basalt in the Amba Dongar complex. Continuity of carbonatites beyond the drilled depth is inferred. Petromineralogical and X-Ray Diffraction studies indicated presence of REE minerals such as monazite, thorite, cerite, synchisite and bastnasite. Besides, rare earth fluorocarbonates, parisite, florencite, barite, strontianite and columbite have also been reported by earlier investigators. Fairly good amount of pyrochlore (Nb mineral) is also present in all the variants of carbonatite. Detailed chemical analysis core at 1 m interval and of composite samples from every borehole was carried out. The results indicate homogeneity of mineralisation in the entire column upto an explored vertical depth of 120 m. Except a few lean zones, the entire column hosts REE mineralisation of the order of >1% SREE. Some zones have indicated REE mineralisation of the order of >4 % also. Major element analysis of a composite sample representing a small block (400 m x 100 m x 113 m) indicates 14.69% SiO2, 10.57% Fe2O3, 7 21% MgO, 32.23% CaO, 2.77%, Al2O3, 1.48% P2O5, 2.13% MnO, 0.84% FeO, 0.37% TiO2, 0.95% Na2O, 1.35% K2O, and 23.50% LOI. 1.16% LREE (including 161 ppm HREE), 215 ppm Y, 650 ppm Nb, 310 ppm Th and 467 ppm V appear to be of economic significance. Additionally, presence of high content of Ba (2.65%), Sr (0.50%), Pb (530 ppm), F (1.95%) and Zn (1248 ppm) is also important. Taking into consideration these results, resource estimation of a small block of 400 m x 100 m (0.04 sq. km) with an average depth of 113 m was carried out Inferred REE resources ~140000 tonnes contained in 12.00 million tonne ore have been estimated with an average grade of 1.16% REE. Additionally, this block contains 9,600 tonnes Nb2O5 at an average grade of 0 08 % Nb2O5. These values indicate high potential of Amba Dongar carbonatite complex.
Geological Society of London Special Publication: Continent formation through time., No. 389, pp. 135-163.
India
Geotectonics
Abstract: Field and geochemical studies combined with laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) zircon U-Pb dating set important constraints on the timing and petrogenesis of volcanic rocks of the Neoarchaean Kadiri greenstone belt and the mechanism of crust formation in the eastern Dharwar craton (EDC). The volcanic rocks are divided into three suites: tholeiitic basalts, calc-alkaline high-Mg# andesites and dominant dacites-rhyolites. The basalts (pillowed in places) show flat rare earth element (REE) and primordial mantle-normalized trace element patterns, but have minor negative Nb and Ta anomalies. They are interpreted as mantle plume-related oceanic plateau basalts whose source contained minor continental crustal input. The andesites are characterized by high Mg# (0.66-0.52), Cr and Ni, with depletion of high-field strength elements (HFSE) and enrichment of light REE (LREE) and large-ion lithophile elements (LILE). They were probably derived from a metasomatized mantle wedge overlying a subducted slab in a continental margin subduction zone. The dacites-rhyolites are silicic rocks (SiO2 = 61-72 wt%) with low Cr and Ni, K2O/Na2O mostly 0.5-1.1, highly fractionated REE patterns, enrichments of LILE and distinctly negative HFSE anomalies. One rhyolite sample yielded a zircon U-Pb age of 2353 ± 32 Ma. This suite is similar to potassic adakites and is explained as the product of deep melting of thickened crust in the arc with a significant older crustal component. Collision between a continental margin arc with an oceanic plateau followed by slab break-off, upwelling of hot asthenosphere and extensive crustal reworking in a sustained compressional regime is proposed for the geodynamic evolution of the area. This is in corroboration with the scenario of EDC as a Neoarchaean hot orogen as suggested recently by some workers.
Abstract: The Neoarchaean era is characterized by rapid crustal growth corresponding to some fundamental global changes in geodynamic processes. However, the nature of crustal growth including the mechanism and tectonic setting of the Neoarchaean are controversial issues. The eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) exposes widespread Neoarchaean granite-greenstone belts, which provide an opportunity to evaluate the various models proposed for Neoarchaean crustal growth. In this study, we present field, petrographic, and geochemical data and discuss the petrogenesis and significance for crustal evolution for a suite of previously undescribed banded gneisses, TTG (tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite), biotite granites, alkali feldspar granite and gabbro. These rocks are associated with Neoarchaean metavolcanic and metapelites rocks of the Tsundupalle greenstone belt, in the eastern fringe of the EDC. Whole-rock major and trace element geochemical data are consistent with diverse sources, including both crust and enriched mantle in an evolving subduction zone. A convergent orogenic setting is proposed for interpreting the association of various granitoids in the Tsundupalle area. Finally, intrusion of crustally derived, highly silicic, alkali-rich granite, and mantle-derived gabbro emplaced in a post-subduction regime is proposed. Lithospheric delamination and attendant mantle melting are suggested as possible mechanisms for generation of these rocks. The understanding of generation of the different granitoid types along with gabbro provides significant insights into the mechanism of Neoarchaean crustal growth.
Abstract: Last year the diamond pipeline pretty well succeeded in Faking the Diamond Dream. Some of the largest companies discovered that defaulting on debts of hundreds of millions of dollars had become the new source of value. Lenders tried to recover lost value by suing clients - some of whom responded in kind. Court appointed forensic investigators revealed the myriad of fake corporate conduits established to facilitate carefully premeditated roundtripping, money laundering, banking and trading frauds, and schemes to syphon (other people's) money out of the diamond pipeline. Banks en masse were recusing themselves from future participation in the diamond pipeline. Selling undisclosed synthetic diamonds, especially in smaller goods, continues to remain the new source of value for some. This was the year in which De Beers betrayed its own slogans and revealed its ambitions to become a huge lab-grown gem diamond supplier, undercutting competitor pricing well before it sold its very first Lightbox stone. For the squeezed mid-stream of the diamond pipeline to succeed, it needed to fake the diamond dream. Or else. Or else - what? Some exasperated players came to believe that if you are a decent, honest, hardworking player, fully respecting all the treasured ethical, moral and legal norms, when you take pride in honoring commitments to fellow players, clients, suppliers, banks, etc. - then you most likely did not make money and were eroding your equity. Planning one's exit out of the business or "compromise" (and criminalize yourself) by joining the Diamond Dream Fakers too often seem the more viable option.
Abstract: The 2019-2020 period is evolving as a dramatic game changer for the entire world. This is even more so for the diamond industry where a gradual pipeline restructuring process finally matured into an inevitable and, in fact, a most desirable conclusion for the midstream sector - the manufacturers of the rough and the traders of the polished. Finally, this quite squeezed sector from a profitability aspect, began to act purely in their own economic, financial, and commercial self-interest less burdened by producer pressures to “relieve” them of their stocks. Led by the massive Indian diamond sector, the manufacturers put four months break on their rough diamond purchases. In 2019 the producers were faced with considerable resistance to purchase their rough allocation which was met, to quote the CEO of De Beers, with unprecedented flexibility in the way it sold its diamonds to sightholders because of the nature of the market”. In February 2020, well before the pandemic struck the world in full force, the heads of both De Beers and Anglo American announced that they would change their allocation system (sights) and that no buyer will be "unaffected" by the changes in the sight system. The Indian industry didn’t wait to find out what scheme the producer would introduce.
Keepler, H., Dubrovinsky, L.S., Narygina, O., Kantor, I.
Optical absorption and radioactive thermal conductivity silicate perovskite to 125 Gpa at high pressures, silicate perovskite, abundant in Earth's mantle....
Science, Vol. 322, 5907 Dec. 5, pp. 1529-1531.
Mantle
Geothermometry Radioactive heat important in deep Earth
Abstract: The Damara Orogen is composed of the Damara, Kaoko and Gariep belts developed during the Neoproterozoic Pan-African Orogeny. The Damara Belt contains Neoproterozoic siliciclastic and carbonate successions of the Damara Supergroup that record rift to proto-ocean depositional phases during the Rodinia supercontinent break up. There are two conflicting interpretations of the geotectonic framework of the Damara Supergroup basin: i) as one major basin, composed of the Outjo and Khomas basins, related to rifting in the Angola-Congo-Kalahari paleocontinent or, ii) as two independent passive margin basins, one related to the Angola-Congo and the other to the Kalahari proto-cratons. Detrital zircon provenance studies linked to field geology were used to solve this controversy. U-Pb zircon age data were analyzed in order to characterize depositional ages and provenance of the sediments and evolution of the succession in the northern part of the Outjo Basin. The basal Nabis Formation (Nosib Group) and the base of the Chuos Formation were deposited between ca. 870 Ma and 760 Ma. The upper Chuos, Berg Aukas, Gauss, Auros and lower Brak River formations formed between ca. 760 Ma and 635 Ma. It also includes the time span recorded by the unconformity between the Auros and lower Brak River formations. The Ghaub, upper Brak River, Karibib and Kuiseb formations were deposited between 663 Ma and 590 Ma. The geochronological data indicate that the main source areas are related to: i) the Angola-Congo Craton, ii) rift-related intrabasinal igneous rocks of the Naauwpoort Formation, iii) an intrabasinal basement structural high (Abbabis High), and iv) the Coastal Terrane of the Kaoko Belt. The Kalahari Craton units apparently did not constitute a main source area for the studied succession. This is possibly due to the position of the succession in the northern part of the Outjo Basin, at the southern margin of the Congo Craton. Comparison of the obtained geochronological data with those from the literature shows that the Abbabis High forms part of the Kalahari proto-craton and that Angola-Congo and Kalahari cratons were part of the same paleocontinent in Rodinia times.
Abstract: Comprehensive studies of zircon xenocrysts from kimberlites of the Kuoika field (northeastern Siberian craton) and several kimberlite fields of the eastern Anabar shield, along with data compilation on the age of kimberlite-hosting terranes, reveal details of the evolution of the northern Siberian craton. The age distribution and trace element characteristic of zircons from the Kuoika field kimberlites (Birekte terrane) provide evidence of significant basic and alkaline-carbonatite magmatism in northern Siberia in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic periods. The abundance of 1.8-2.1 Ga zircons in both the Birekte and adjacent Hapchan terranes (the latter hosting kimberlites of the eastern Anabar shield) supports the Paleoproterozoic assembly and stabilization of these units in the Siberian craton and the supercontinent Columbia. The abundance of Archean zircons in the Hapchan terrane reflects the input of an ancient source other than the Birekte terrane and addresses the evolution of the terrane to west (Magan and Daldyn terranes of the Anabar shield). The present study has also revealed the oldest known remnant of the Anabar shield crust, whose 3.62 Ga age is similar to that of the other ancient domain of Siberia, the Aldan shield. The first Hf isotope data for the Anabar shield coupled with the U-Pb systematics indicate three stages of crustal growth (Paleoproterozoic, Neoarchean and Paleoarchean) and two stages of the intensive crustal recycling in the Paleoproterozoic and Neoarchean. Intensive reworking of the existing crust at 2.5-2.8 Ga and 1.8-2.1 Ga is interpreted to provide evidence for the assembly of Columbia. The oldest Hf model age estimation provides a link to Early Eoarchean (3.7-3.95 Ga) and possibly to Hadean crust. Hence, some of the Archean cratonic segments of the Siberian craton could be remnants of the Earth's earliest continental crust.
Abstract: Raman spectral characteristics of a range of diamond-based abrasives (powders and sprays) and drilling and cutting tools, originating from preparation laboratories worldwide, are presented. Some abrasives show strong broadening of the main diamond band [FWHM (full width at half band-maximum) > 5 cm- 1] accompanied by strong band-downshift (View the MathML source?˜ = 1316-1330 cm- 1). Others are characterised by moderate band broadening (FWHM = 1.8-5 cm- 1) at rather regular band position (View the MathML source?˜ = 1331-1333 cm- 1). In addition we found that a "fresh" abrasive and its used analogue may in some cases show vast differences in their Raman spectra. The Raman parameters of diamond-based abrasives overlap widely with Raman parameters of UHP (ultra-high pressure) microdiamond. It is hence impossible to assign diamond detected in a geological specimen to either an introduced artefact or a genuine UHP relict, from the Raman spectrum alone. Raman is an excellent technique for the detection of minute amounts of diamond; however it does not provide conclusive evidence for the identification of UHP microdiamond. The latter requires thorough verification, for instance by optical microscopy or, if doubts cannot be dispelled, transmission electron microscopy.
Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 111, 4, pp. 431-433.
Technology
mineralogy
Abstract: Accessory minerals are a common species in igneous and metamorphic rocks that are not considered characteristic of the host rock and hence do not affect its root name. Accessories tend to be complex in terms of their chemical and isotopic composition and their structural state. In spite of not being major rock constituents, they are, however, of enormous petrologic interest as they contain a record of the formation and post-formation history of their host rock. The study of accessory minerals hence has increased continuously during the past years, and still increases (Fig. 1). Recent progress is driven by new analytical opportunities of (in situ) micro-techniques. More and more the internal textures, that is, elemental, isotopic, and/or structural distribution patterns within individual grains, have come into the focus of researchers; a few examples are compiled in Fig. 2.
Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, http://orchid.org/0000-0002-2701-4635 80p.
Asia, Sri Lanka
geochronology
Abstract: Here we document a detailed characterization of two zircon gemstones, GZ7 and GZ8. Both stones had the same mass at 19.2 carats (3.84 g) each; both came from placer deposits in the Ratnapura district, Sri Lanka. The U-Pb data are in both cases concordant within the uncertainties of decay constants and yield weighted mean ²°6Pb/²³8U ages (95% confidence uncertainty) of 530.26 Ma ± 0.05 Ma (GZ7) and 543.92 Ma ± 0.06 Ma (GZ8). Neither GZ7 nor GZ8 have been subjected to any gem enhancement by heating. Structure-related parameters correspond well with the calculated alpha doses of 1.48 × 10¹8 g?¹ (GZ7) and 2.53 × 10¹8 g?¹ (GZ8), respectively, and the (U-Th)/He ages of 438 Ma ± 3 Ma (2s) for GZ7 and 426 Ma ± 9 Ma (2s) for GZ8 are typical of unheated zircon from Sri Lanka. The mean U concentrations are 680 µg g?¹ (GZ7) and 1305 µg g?¹ (GZ8). The two zircon samples are proposed as reference materials for SIMS (secondary ion mass spectrometry) U-Pb geochronology. In addition, GZ7 (Ti concentration 25.08 µg g?¹ ± 0.18 µg g?¹; 95% confidence uncertainty) may prove useful as reference material for Ti-in-zircon temperature estimates.
Abstract: The application of Raman spectroscopy for the identification and characterization of minerals and related materials has increased appreciably during recent years. Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a most valuable and versatile analytical tool. Successful applications cover virtually all the mineralogical sub-disciplines, and have become more numerous in geochemistry. We present a general summary of present applications, illustrated by selected examples. In addition, we briefly point out several aspects of spectral acquisition, data reduction, and interpretation of Raman results that are important for the application of Raman spectroscopy as a reliable analytical tool.
Das, S., Nasipuri, P., Bhattachaya, A., Swaminathan, S.
The thrust contact between the Eastern Ghats belt and the adjoining Bastar craton, Eastern India: evidence from mafic granulites and tectonic implications.
Geological Magazine, Rapid communication Oct. 14p.
India
Tectonics, geochronology
Abstract: A comprehensive study based on U-Pb and Hf isotope analyses of zircons from gneisses has been conducted along the western part (Babina area) of the E–W-trending Bundelkhand Tectonic Zone in the central part of the Archaean Bundelkhand Craton. 207Pb-206Pb zircon ages and Hf isotopic data indicate the existence of a felsic crust at ~ 3.59 Ga, followed by a second tectonothermal event at ~ 3.44 Ga, leading to calc-alkaline magmatism and subsequent crustal growth. The study hence suggests that crust formation in the Bundelkhand Craton occurred in a similar time-frame to that recorded from the Singhbhum and Bastar cratons of the North Indian Shield.
Abstract: A comprehensive study based on U-Pb and Hf isotope analyses of zircons from gneisses has been conducted along the western part (Babina area) of the E-W-trending Bundelkhand Tectonic Zone in the central part of the Archaean Bundelkhand Craton. 207Pb-206Pb zircon ages and Hf isotopic data indicate the existence of a felsic crust at ~ 3.59 Ga, followed by a second tectonothermal event at ~ 3.44 Ga, leading to calc-alkaline magmatism and subsequent crustal growth. The study hence suggests that crust formation in the Bundelkhand Craton occurred in a similar time-frame to that recorded from the Singhbhum and Bastar cratons of the North Indian Shield.
Heavy mineral geochemical exploration for lamproite
The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin (CIM Bulletin) ., Session on Diamonds at The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Annual Meeting April, Vol. 84, No. 947, March p. 99. Abstract
Abstract: A comprehensive study including new field, petrological and geochemical data is reported on the Jacupiranga alkaline-carbonatite complex (133-131 Ma) which, together with other alkaline complexes, occurs in southern Brazil and is coeval with the Paraná CFB province. It consists of a shallow intrusion (ca. 65 km2) in the Precambrian crystalline basement, and can be subdivided in two main diachronous plutonic bodies: an older dunite-gabbro-syenite in the NW and a younger clinopyroxenite-ijolite (s.l.) in the SE, later injected by a carbonatitic core (ca. 1 km2). An integrated petrogenetic model, based on bulk rock major and trace element analyses, mineral chemistry and Sr-Nd-Pb-C isotopic data, suggests that the two silicate intrusions generated from different mantle-derived magmas that evolved at shallow level (2-3 km depth) in two zoned cup-shaped plutonic bodies growing incrementally from independent feeding systems. The first intrusion was generated by OIB-like alkaline to mildly alkaline parental basalts that initially led to the formation of a dunitic adcumulate core, discontinuously surrounded by gabbroic cumulates, in turn injected by subanular syenite intrusive and phonolite dykes. Nephelinitic (± melilite) melts - likely generated deep in the lithosphere at = 3 GPa - were the parental magmas of the second intrusion and gave rise to large coarse-grained clinopyroxenite ad- to meso-cumulates, in turn surrounded, and partially cut, by semi-annular fine-layered melteigite-ijolite-urtite ortho-cumulates. The available isotopic data do not evidence genetic links between carbonatites and the associated silicate intrusions, thus favouring an independent source from the mantle. Moreover, it may be suggested that, unlike gabbro-syenites and carbonatites, mostly generated from lithospheric mantle sources, the parental magmas of the ijolite-clinopyroxenite intrusion also record the influence of sublithospheric (plume-related?) geochemical components.
Natali, C., Beccaluva, L., Bianchini, G., Siena, F.
Coexistence of alkaline carbonatite complexes and high MgO CFB in the Parana-Etendeka province: insights on plume lithosphere interactions in the Gondwana realm.
Abstract: In order to develop a 4D understanding of the architecture of the entire lithosphere, it is necessary to embrace integration of multi-disciplinary, multi-scale data in a GIS environment. An holistic understanding has evolved whereby geologic, geochemical and geophysical signals are consistent with a subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) dominated by a mosaic of domains of Archean ancestry, variably overprinted by subsequent tectonothermal events. Pristine Archean SCLM is mostly highly depleted (high Mg#), low density, high velocity and highly resistive, and preserves intact Archean crust. There is a first order relationship between changes to these signals and the degree of tectonothermal overprint (by melts, fluids). Continental crust is comprised largely of reconstituted Archean components, variably diluted by juvenile addition, symptomatic of the various overprinting events. These events impart crustal fabrics and patterns dictated by SCLM architecture, influenced by the free surface and crust-mantle decoupling.
Natarajam, R., Savitha, G., Dominiak, P., Wozniak, K., Moorthy, J.N.
Corundum, diamond and PtS metal organic frameworks with a difference: self assembly of a unique pair of 3-connecting D2d symmetric 3,3',5,5' tetrakis(4-pyridyl)bimesity1.
Angewandie Chemie, Vol. 44, 14, March 29, pp. 2115-2119.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/10.1007/ s00710-018-0633-4 13p.
Canada, Quebec
deposit - Renard
Abstract: Renard 65, a diamondiferous pipe in the Neoproterozoic Renard kimberlite cluster (Québec, Canada), is a steeply-dipping and downward-tapering diatreme comprised of three pipe-filling units: kimb65a, kimb65b, and kimb65d. The pipe is surrounded by a marginal and variably-brecciated country rock aureole and is crosscut by numerous hypabyssal dykes: kimb65c. Extensive petrographic and mineralogical characterization of over 700 m of drill core from four separate drill holes, suggests that Renard 65 is a Group I kimberlite, mineralogically classified as phlogopite kimberlite and serpentine-phlogopite kimberlite. Kimb65a is a massive volcaniclastic kimberlite dominated by lithic clasts, magmaclasts, and discrete olivine macrocrysts, hosted within a fine-grained diopside and serpentine-rich matrix. Kimb65b is massive, macrocrystic, coherent kimberlite with a groundmass assemblage of phlogopite, spinel, perovskite, apatite, calcite, serpentine and rare monticellite. Kimb65c is a massive, macrocrystic, hypabyssal kimberlite with a groundmass assemblage of phlogopite, serpentine, calcite, perovskite, spinel, and apatite. Kimb65d is massive volcaniclastic kimberlite with localized textures that are intermediate between volcaniclastic and coherent, with tightly packed magmaclasts separated by a diopside- and serpentine-rich matrix. Lithic clasts of granite-gneiss in kimb65a are weakly reacted, with partial melting of feldspars and crystallization of richterite and actinolite. Lithic clasts in kimb65b and kimb65d are entirely recrystallized to calcite + serpentine/chlorite + pectolite and display inner coronas of diopside-aegirine and an outer corona of phlogopite. Compositions are reported for all minerals in the groundmass of coherent kimberlites, magmaclasts, interclast matrices, and reacted lithic clasts. The Renard 65 rocks are texturally classified as Kimberley-type pyroclastic kimberlites and display transitional textures. The kimberlite units are interpreted to have formed in three melt batches based on their distinct spinel chemistry: kimb65a, kimb65b and kimb65d. We note a strong correlation between the modal abundances of lithic clasts and the textures of the kimberlites, where increasing modal abundances of granite/gneiss are observed in kimberlites with increasingly fragmental textures.
Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, Vol. 39, pp. 136-144.
Africa, Angola
mineral processing
Abstract: Kimberlite is the host rock of diamonds and varies widely in geological and mineralogical features as well as color, processing capability, and dewatering characteristics. This study investigated the dewatering behavior of problematic Angolan kimberlites. The presence of clay minerals in kimberlite causes difficulties in dewatering due to high flocculant demand, poor supernatant clarity, and low settling rates. Identifying critical parameters governing the settling behavior will assist in managing the settling behavior of different kimberlite slurries. The influence of particle size, pH of the kimberlite slurry, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable sodium percentage, and smectite content of the kimberlite on the settling rate were investigated for 18 different African kimberlite samples. The settling rate and slurry bed compaction during natural settling were also measured for the kimberlite slurries. Seventeen different Angolan clay-rich kimberlites and one South African clay-rich kimberlite were tested, and, except for two kimberlites, colloidal stability was experienced during natural settling. The pH values of the kimberlite slurries ranged between 9 and 11, which is similar to the pH band where colloidal stability was found during earlier research. The results indicate that colloidal stable slurries were experienced with kimberlites that had exchangeable sodium percentages as low as 0.7%. The cation exchange capacity of the various kimberlites differentiated more distinctly between colloidal stability and instability. A new model is proposed whereby clay-rich kimberlites with a cation exchange capacity of more than 10cmol/kg will experience colloidal stability if the pH of the solvent solution is within the prescribed pH range of 9-11.
Average compositions of magmas and mantle sources of Mid-Ocean Ridges and intraplate Oceanic and Continental settings estimated from the dat a of melt inclusions
Deep Seated Magmatism, its sources and plumes, Ed. Vladykin, N.V., p.35-78,
Average composition of basic magmas and mantle sources of island arcs and active continental margins estimated from the dat a on melt inclusions and quenched glasses
Vladykin, N.V., Deep Seated Magmatism: its sources and plumes, pp. 22-53.
Chemical composition, volatile components, and trace elements in the magmatic melt of the Kurama mining district, middle Tien Shan: evidence investigation of quartz inclusions
Vladykin, N.V., Deep Seated Magmatism: its sources and plumes, pp. 75-92.
Average compositions of igneous melts from main geodynamic settings according to the investigation of melt inclusions in minerals& quenched glasses of rocks.
Deep Seated Magmatism, its sources and plumes, Ed. Vladykin, N.V., pp. 171-204.
Chemical composition, volatile components, and trace elements in melts of the Karymskii volcanic centre, Kamchatka and Golovnin a volcano, Kunashir Island....
Vladykin, N.V., Deep Seated Magmatism: its sources and plumes, pp. 104-127.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 97, 102416, 7p. Pdf
South America, Brazil, Minas Gerais
carbonatite
Abstract: The Alto Parnaíba Igneous Province (APIP) is a voluminous magmatic province composed of various alkaline-carbonatite complexes emplaced in the Brasilia Mobile Belt during the Cretaceous. Relative timing of emplacement of silicate and carbonate magmas in most of these complexes remains mostly unresolved due to conflicting geochronological results. To determine the duration of magmatism and to test the possible existence of multiple magmatic events, we employ 40Ar/39Ar phlogopite single crystal dating to determine the history of magma emplacement at the Tapira alkaline-carbonatite complex, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The new single crystal data indicate at least two magmatic events during the emplacement of this complex, the first at > 96.2 ± 0.8 Ma and the second at 79.15 ± 0.6 Ma. The first igneous event was responsible for emplacement of the silicate plutonic series, while the second event corresponds to the emplacement of primarily carbonatitic magmas, generating metasomatic phlogopite alteration in bebedourites. The ages of intrusion and cooling of the alkaline-carbonatite complexes in the APIP must be investigated in other complexes to determine if intrusion intervals of ~17 Ma or more are common regionally. Protracted intrusive events, if related to magma generation by passage of South America over a stationary Trindade plume, requires complex ponding and lateral magma flow below a slow-moving continent.
Oliveira, E.P., Talavera, C., Windley, B.F., Zhao, L., Semprich, J.J., McNaughton, N.J., Amaral, W.S., Sombini, G., Navarro, M., Silva, D.
Mesoarchean ( 2820 Ma )high pressure mafic granulite at Uaus, Sao Francisco craton, Brazil, and its potential significance for the assembly of Archean supercraton.
The IR absorption spectrum of water in microinclusion-bearing diamonds.
Proceedings of the 10th. International Kimberlite Conference, Vol. 1, Special Issue of the Journal of the Geological Society of India,, Vol. 1, pp. 271-280.
Abstract: Diamonds originating from the transition zone or lower mantle were previously identified based on the chemistry of their silicate or oxide mineral inclusions. Here we present data for such a super-deep origin based on the internal pressure of nitrogen in sub-micrometer inclusions in diamonds from Juina, Brazil. Infrared spectroscopy of four diamonds, rich in such inclusions revealed high concentrations of fully aggregated nitrogen (average of 900 ppm, all in B centers) and almost no platelets. Raman spectroscopy indicated the presence of solid, cubic d-N2 at 10.9±0.2 GPa (corresponding to a density of 1900 kg/m3). Transmission electron microscopy of two diamonds found two generations of octahedral inclusions: microinclusions (average size: 150 nm, average concentration: 100 ppm) and nanoinclusions (20–30 nm, 350 ppm). EELS detected nitrogen and a diffraction pattern of one nanoinclusion yielded a tetragonal phase, which resembles ?-N2 with a density of 1400 kg/m3 (internal pressure = 2.7 GPa). We also observed up-warping of small areas (~150 nm in size) on the polished surface of one diamond. The ~2 nm rise can be explained by a shallow subsurface microinclusion, pressurized internally to more than 10 GPa. Using available equations of state for nitrogen and diamond, we calculated the pressures and temperatures of mechanical equilibrium of the inclusions and their diamond host at the mantle geotherm. The inclusions originated at the deepest part of the transition zone at pressures of ~22 GPa (630 km) and temperatures of ~1640?°C. We suggest that both generations are the result of exsolution of nitrogen from B centers and that growth took a few million years in a subducting mantle current. The microinclusions nucleated first, followed by the nanoinclusions. Shortly after the exsolution events, the diamonds were trapped in a plume or an ascending melt and were transported to the base of the lithosphere and later to the surface.
Earth Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 491, pp. 134-147.
Africa, South Africa
deposit - De Beers-Pool
Abstract: Fluid/melt inclusions in diamonds, which were encapsulated during a metasomatic event and over a short period of time, are isolated from their surrounding mantle, offering the opportunity to constrain changes in the sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) that occurred during individual thermo-chemical events, as well as the composition of the fluids involved and their sources. We have analyzed a suite of 8 microinclusion-bearing diamonds from the Group I De Beers Pool kimberlites, South Africa, using FTIR, EPMA and LA-ICP-MS. Seven of the diamonds trapped incompatible-element-enriched saline high density fluids (HDFs), carry peridotitic mineral microinclusions, and substitutional nitrogen almost exclusively in A-centers. This low-aggregation state of nitrogen indicates a short mantle residence times and/or low mantle ambient temperature for these diamonds. A short residence time is favored because, elevated thermal conditions prevailed in the South African lithosphere during and following the Karoo flood basalt volcanism at ~180 Ma, thus the saline metasomatism must have occurred close to the time of kimberlite eruptions at ~85 Ma. Another diamond encapsulated incompatible-element-enriched silicic HDFs and has 25% of its nitrogen content residing in B-centers, implying formation during an earlier and different metasomatic event that likely relates to the Karoo magmatism at ca. 180 Ma. Thermometry of mineral microinclusions in the diamonds carrying saline HDFs, based on Mg-Fe exchange between garnet-orthopyroxene (Opx)/clinopyroxene (Cpx)/olivine and the Opx-Cpx thermometer, yield temperatures between 875-1080?°C at 5 GPa. These temperatures overlap with conditions recorded by touching inclusion pairs in diamonds from the De Beers Pool kimberlites, which represent the mantle ambient conditions just before eruption, and are altogether lower by 150-250?°C compared to P-T gradients recorded by peridotite xenoliths from the same locality. Oxygen fugacity differs as well. The calculated for the saline HDF compositions (to -1.34) are higher by about a log unit compared with that recorded by xenoliths at 4-7 GPa. We conclude that enriched saline HDFs mediated the metasomatism that preceded Group I kimberlite eruptions in the southwestern Kaapvaal craton, and that their ‘cold and oxidized’ nature reflects their derivation from a deep subducting slab. This event had little impact on the temperature and redox state of the Kaapvaal lithosphere as a reservoir, however, it likely affected its properties along limited metasomatized veins and their wall rock. To reconcile the temperature and oxygen fugacity discrepancy between inclusions in diamonds and xenoliths, we argue that xenoliths did not equilibrate during the last saline metasomatic event or kimberlite eruption. Thus the P-T-gradients they record express pre-existing lithospheric conditions that were likely established during the last major thermal event in the Kaapvaal craton (i.e. the Karoo magmatism at ca. 180 Ma).
Mineralogy and Petrology, 10.1007/ s710-018-0576 -9, 10p.
South America, Brazil
deposit - Sao Luiz
Abstract: Three diamonds from Sao Luiz, Brazil carrying nano- and micro-inclusions of molecular d-N2 that exsolved at the base of the transition zone were studied for their C and N isotopic composition and the concentration of N utilizing SIMS. The diamonds are individually uniform in their C isotopic composition and most spot analyses yield d13C values of -3.2?±?0.1‰ (ON-SLZ-390) and?-?4.7?±?0.1‰ (ON-SLZ-391 and 392). Only a few analyses deviate from these tight ranges and all fall within the main mantle range of -5?±?3‰. Most of the N isotope analyses also have typical mantle d15N values (-6.6?±?0.4‰, -3.6?±?0.5‰ and?-?4.1?±?0.6‰ for ON-SLZ-390, 391 and 392, respectively) and are associated with high N concentrations of 800-1250 atomic ppm. However, some N isotopic ratios, associated with low N concentrations (<400 ppm) and narrow zones with bright luminescence are distinctly above the average, reaching positive d15N values. These sharp fluctuations cannot be attributed to fractionation. They may reflect arrival of new small pulses of melt or fluid that evolved under different conditions. Alternatively, they may result from fractionation between different growth directions, so that distinct d15N values and N concentrations may form during diamond growth from a single melt/fluid. Other more continuous variations, in the core of ON-SLZ-390 or the rim of ON-SLZ-392 may be the result of Rayleigh fractionation or mixing.
Abstract: We report preliminary results of a systematic search for fluid/melt microinclusions in mantle minerals. “Dusty” garnets from xenolith XRV6 [1], a heavily metasomatised Type I eclogite from Roberts Victor mine, SA, carry many microinclusions (<1 µm). FTIR analyses of "dusty" zones indicate the presence of molecular water in the inclusions and hydroxyl groups in the garnet. EPMA analysis of 136 microinclusions constrains the bulk composition of the microinclusions. Compared to the host garnet, they are enriched in TiO2, FeO, CaO, Na2O and K2O and depleted in Al2O3 and MgO. The silica contents seem to be similar to that of the host garnet. Figure 1: a. Backscatter image of the microinclusions in XRV6 garnet. b. K2O vs. MgO of the clear garnet (red) and the microinclusions (+ their surrounding garnet, blue). Most of the elements form compositional mixing arrays of microinclusion+garnet (Fig. 1b). The arrays trend away from the compositions of large melt pools or secondary minerals found in the xenolith. They point towards the array of silicic to low-Mg carbonatitic high density fluids (HDFs) trapped in diamonds, indicating the role of such fluids in mantle metasomatism.
Abstract: Diamonds and the fluids that form them are important players in the deep carbon cycle that transforms carbon between mantle and surface reservoirs. However, the role of the high-density fluids (HDFs) that are found in microinclusions in diamonds is not limited to diamond formation. Examination of literature data on metasomatized rocks suggests that some may have formed by interaction of peridotites and eclogites with HDF-like melts. For example, silicic HDFs can explain the evoltion of an orthopyroxenerich vein in a garnet hartzburgite from Bulfontein,SA [1]. The composition that was added to the harzburgite and turned it into an orthopyroxene+olivine+phlogopite+garnet+carbonate +sulfide vein (green ellipse in the figure) lies at the extention of the array of silicic to low-Mg carbonatitic HDFs found in fibrous diamonds (pink diamonds). A silicic HDF (blue diamond) that contributed the added component would evolve into more carbonatitic compositions (arrow). Saline melts found in diamonds carry chloride, carbonate and silicate components, similar to saline hydrous fluids found in harzburgites xenoliths from Pinatubo, Phillipeens [2]. The higher water content in Pinatubo is, most probably, the result of lower temperatures and shallower level, but it attests for the role of saline fluids in metasomatism at the arc environment. In a companion abstract (Elazar et al., this volume) we report the finding of potassium-rich microinclusions in garnets in an eclogite xenolith from Robert Victor, SA. Their composition falls close to that of silicic to low-Mg carbonatitic HDFs in diamonds. Their lower potassium and higher aluminum content suggests derivation by higher degree of partial melting compared with the diamond forming fluids. All of the above observations support the important role of HDF-like melts and fluids in mantle processes.
Gems & Gemology, Sixth International Gemological Symposium Vol. 54, 3, 1p. Abstract p. 271-2.
Global
diamond inclusions
Abstract: Through research on inclusions in diamonds over the past 50 years, a detailed picture has emerged of the mineralogical and chemical composition of diamond substrates in Earth’s mantle and of the pressure-temperature conditions during diamond formation. The exact diamond-forming processes, however, are still a subject of debate. One approach to constrain diamond-forming processes is through model calculations that aim to obtain the speciation and the carbon content of carbon-hydrogen-oxygen (CHO) fluids at particular O/(O+H) ratios and pressure-temperature conditions (using GFluid of Zhang and Duan, 2010, or other thermodynamic models of fluids). The predictions of such model calculations can then be tested against carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes and nitrogen content fractionation models, based on in situ analyses across homogenously grown diamond growth layers. Based on this approach, Luth and Stachel (2014) proposed that diamond precipitation occurs predominantly from cooling or ascending CHO fluids, composed of water with minor amounts of CO2 and CH4 (which in response to decreasing temperature may react to form diamond: CO2+ CH4 ? 2C + 2H2O). The second approach focuses on constraining the diamondforming medium by studying submicrometer fluid inclusions in fibrous-clouded and, more recently, gem diamonds. Such studies established the presence of four compositional end members of inclusions: hydrous-saline, hydrous-silicic, high-Mg carbonatitic, and low-Mg carbonatitic (e.g., Navon et al., 1988; Weiss et al., 2009). Although these fluid inclusions only depict the state of the diamond-forming medium after formation, they nevertheless provide unique insights into the major and trace-element composition of such fluids that otherwise could not be obtained. The apparent dichotomy between the two approaches—models for pure CHO fluids and actual observation of impure fluids (socalled high-density fluids) in clouded and fibrous diamonds—relates to the observation that in high-pressure and high-temperature experiments close to the melting temperature of mantle rocks, hydrous fluids contain 10–50% dissolved solid components (e.g., Kessel et al., 2015). Although at this stage the impurity content in natural CHO fluids cannot be included in numerical models, the findings for clouded and fibrous diamonds are not in conflict with the isochemical diamond precipitation model. Specifically, the fact that observed high-density inclusions are often carbonate bearing is not in conflict with the relatively reducing redox conditions associated with the O/(O+H) ratios of modeled diamond-forming CHO fluids. The model for the minimum redox stability of carbonate - bearing melts of Stagno and Frost (2010) permits fluid carbonate contents of up to about 30% at such redox conditions. Although additional data need to be obtained to build a thermodynamic model for CHO fluids with dissolved silicates and to better characterize the major and trace-element composition of high-density CHO fluids in equilibrium with typical diamond substrates (the rock types peridotite and eclogite), we already see sufficient evidence to suggest that the two approaches described above are converging to a unified model of isochemical diamond precipitation from cooling or ascending high-density CHO fluids.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 255, pp. 69-87.
Mantle
diamond genesis
Abstract: Eclogites play a significant role in geodynamic processes, transferring large amounts of basaltic material and volatiles (chiefly CO2 and H2O species) into the earth's mantle via subduction. Previous studies of eclogite melting focused on two end member systems: either carbonated or hydrous eclogites. Here we focus on the hydrous carbonated eclogitic system in order to define the position of its solidus and determine the near solidus fluid and melt compositions at 4-6?GPa and 900-1200?°C. Experiments were performed on a rocking multi-anvil press. The total dissolved solids in the equilibrated fluids were analyzed following the cryogenic technique using a LA-ICP-MS. H2O and CO2 content were determined by mass balance calculations. Solid phases were chemically characterized using an EPMA. Garnet and clinopyroxene are present in all experiments, assembling the eclogitic rock. A carbonate phase was detected at all temperatures at 4?GPa and at temperatures below 1200?°C at 5 and 6?GPa. Coesite was observed at all pressures below 1200?°C. The solidus was crossed between 1000 and 1100?°C at 4 and 5?GPa. At 6?GPa we observed a relatively smooth decrease in the H2O and CO2 content of the fluid phase with rising temperature, suggesting the presence of a supercritical fluid. The second critical endpoint is thus defined in this system at ~5.5?GPa and 1050?°C. The composition of fluids and melts reported in this study indicates that the hydrous carbonated eclogite system is a plausible source-rock for high density fluids (HDFs) found in microinclusions in diamonds, specifically for the intermediate compositions along the array spanned between low-Mg carbonatitic HDFs and hydrous-silicic ones. Our results suggest that the whole array reflects melting in a heterogeneous mantle. Melting of water-rich eclogite produces silicic HDFs, carbonate-rich zones will produce carbonatitc HDFs, while source-rocks with varying H2O/CO2 ratios produce intermediate compositions.
IN: Deep carbon: past to present, Orcutt, Daniel, Dasgupta eds., pp. 89-128.
Mantle
geodynamics
Abstract: The science of studying diamond inclusions for understanding Earth history has developed significantly over the past decades, with new instrumentation and techniques applied to diamond sample archives revealing the stories contained within diamond inclusions. This chapter reviews what diamonds can tell us about the deep carbon cycle over the course of Earth’s history. It reviews how the geochemistry of diamonds and their inclusions inform us about the deep carbon cycle, the origin of the diamonds in Earth’s mantle, and the evolution of diamonds through time.
IN: Deep Carbon: past to present. Editors Orcutt, Danielle, Dasgupta, pp. 89-128.
Mantle
geodynamics
Abstract: The science of studying diamond inclusions for understanding Earth history has developed significantly over the past decades, with new instrumentation and techniques applied to diamond sample archives revealing the stories contained within diamond inclusions. This chapter reviews what diamonds can tell us about the deep carbon cycle over the course of Earth’s history. It reviews how the geochemistry of diamonds and their inclusions inform us about the deep carbon cycle, the origin of the diamonds in Earth’s mantle, and the evolution of diamonds through time.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 275, pp. 99-122.
Mantle
carbon
Abstract: Diamonds are unrivalled in their ability to record the mantle carbon cycle and mantle fO2 over a vast portion of Earth’s history. Diamonds’ inertness and antiquity means their carbon isotopic characteristics directly reflect their growth environment within the mantle as far back as ~3.5 Ga. This paper reports the results of a thorough secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) carbon isotope and nitrogen concentration study, carried out on fragments of 144 diamond samples from various locations, from ~3.5 to 1.4 Ga for P [peridotitic]-type diamonds and 3.0 to 1.0 Ga for E [eclogitic]-type diamonds. The majority of the studied samples were from diamonds used to establish formation ages and thus provide a direct connection between the carbon isotope values, nitrogen contents and the formation ages. In total, 908 carbon isotope and nitrogen concentration measurements were obtained. The total d¹³C data range from -17.1 to -1.9 ‰ (P = -8.4 to -1.9 ‰; E = -17.1 to -2.1‰) and N contents range from 0 to 3073 at. ppm (P = 0 to 3073 at. ppm; E = 1 to 2661 at. ppm). In general, there is no systematic variation with time in the mantle carbon isotope record since > 3 Ga. The mode in d¹³C of peridotitic diamonds has been at -5 (±2) ‰ since the earliest diamond growth ~3.5 Ga, and this mode is also observed in the eclogitic diamond record since ~3 Ga. The skewness of eclogitic diamonds’ d¹³C distributions to more negative values, which the data establishes began around 3 Ga, is also consistent through time, with no global trends apparent. No isotopic and concentration trends were recorded within individual samples, indicating that, firstly, closed system fractionation trends are rare. This implies that diamonds typically grow in systems with high excess of carbon in the fluid (i.e. relative to the mass of the growing diamond). Any minerals included into diamond during the growth process are more likely to be isotopically reset at the time of diamond formation, meaning inclusion ages would be representative of the diamond growth event irrespective of whether they are syngenetic or protogenetic. Secondly, the lack of significant variation seen in the peridotitic diamonds studied is in keeping with modeling of Rayleigh isotopic fractionation in multicomponent systems (RIFMS) during isochemical diamond precipitation in harzburgitic mantle. The RIFMS model not only showed that in water-maximum fluids at constant depths along a geotherm, fractionation can only account for variations of <1‰, but also that the principal d¹³C mode of -5 ± 1‰ in the global harzburgitic diamond record occurs if the variation in fO2 is only 0.4 log units. Due to the wide age distribution of P-type diamonds, this leads to the conclusion that the speciation and oxygen fugacity of diamond forming fluids has been relatively consistent. The deep mantle has therefore generated fluids with near constant carbon speciation for 3.5 Ga.
Abstract: Mineral and fluid/melt inclusions in diamonds, which are encapsulated and isolated during a metasomatic event, offer the opportunity to constrain changes in the sub-continental lithospheric mantle that occurred during individual thermochemical events. Fibrous diamonds from the Group I De Beers Pool kimberlites, South Africa (SA), trapped incompatibleelement enriched saline high-density fluids (HDFs) and peridotitic mineral microinclusions. Their substitutional nitrogen resides almost exclusively in A-centers. With regard to the elevated thermal conditions that prevailed in the SA lithosphere during and following Karoo volcanism at ~180 Ma, this low-aggregation state of nitrogen suggests a short mantle residence time, constraining the time of saline metasomatism to be close to the eruption of the kimberlites at ~85 Ma. Thermometry of mineral microinclusions yield temperatures between 875-1080 ºC (at 5 GPa). These temperatures overlap with conditions recorded by touching inclusion pairs, which represent the mantle ambient conditions just before eruption, and are altogether lower by 150-250°C compared to P-T gradients recorded by peridotite xenoliths from the same locality. In addition, the oxygen fugacity calculated for the saline HDF compositions (?log??O2(FMQ) = -2.5 to -1.3) are higher by about a log unit compared with that recorded by xenoliths at 4-7 GPa. We conclude that enriched saline HDFs mediated the metasomatism that preceded Group I kimberlite eruptions in the southwestern Kaapvaal craton, and that their ‘cold and oxidized’ nature reflects their derivation from a deep subducting slab. To reconcile the temperature and oxygen fugacity discrepancy between inclusions in diamonds and xenoliths, we argue that xenoliths did not equilibrate during the last saline metasomatic event or kimberlite eruption. Thus the P-T-??O2 gradients they record express pre-existing lithospheric conditions that were likely established during the last major thermal event in the Kaapvaal craton (i.e. the Karoo magmatism at ca. 180 Ma).
American Mineralogist, Vol. 101, 5, pp. 1129-1134.
Technology
Bastanesite
Abstract: Bastnaesite, [RE-CO3-OH/F] (RE = rare earth) is one of the major sources of rare earth elements found in commercial deposits at Mountain Pass, California, Bayan Obo, China, and elsewhere. Synthetic forms of bastnaesite have been explored for applications including optical devices and phosphors. Determination of thermodynamic properties of these phases is critical for understanding their origin, mining, and processing. We report the first experimental determination of formation enthalpies of several OH and F bastnaesites based on high-temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry of well-characterized synthetic samples. The formation enthalpies from binary oxides and fluorides for all the bastnaesite samples are highly exothermic, consistent with their stability in the garnet zone of the Earth’s crust. Fluoride bastnaesite, which is more abundant in nature than its hydroxide counterpart, is thermodynamically more stable. For both OH and F bastnaesite, the enthalpy of formation becomes more negative with increasing ionic radius of the RE3+ cation. This periodic trend is also observed among rare earth phosphates and several other rare earth ternary oxides. For a given RE, the formation enthalpies from binary oxides are more negative for orthophosphates than for bastnaesites, supporting the argument that monazite could have formed by reaction of bastnaesite and apatite at high temperature. The difference in formation enthalpy of monazite and bastnaesite provides insight into energetics of such reactions along the rare earth series.
Abstract: Manganilmenite is found to be associated with the magnetite ore body of Pokphur area in the Nagaland ophiolites, North East India. There is perhaps no earlier description of the mineral from the Indian subcontinent. It occurs as an accessory mineral with magnetite and Fe-chlorite (chamosite). Electron probe micro-analytical data reveal that the mineral contains 5.6–8.5 wt% MnO and traces of MgO, ZnO and Cr2O3, while the TiO2 content remains within narrow limits of 50–53 wt%. The calculated pyrophanite end-member varies from 13% to 18%. Although the magnetite body of Pokphur has been reasonably proved to be a hydrothermally altered product of basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks, and most of the minerals in the magnetite body are supergene in nature, different end-member compositions of mangan–ilmenite indicate that it has originally crystallized with the basic suite of rocks and has survived the alteration process with only marginal effects. Since manganilmenite has been considered as a diamond indicator mineral and ophiolites are a newly documented host of microdiamonds elsewhere in the world, the presence of manganilmenite in the Pokphur magnetite hints towards occurrence of microdiamonds in the ophiolite suite of rocks of the Indo-Myanmar ranges.
Geology, petrology, geochemistry and mineral chemistry of new kimberlite fields in the Wajrakarur kimberlite field, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh.
National Seminar on Exploration Survey, Geological Society of India Special Publication, No. 58, pp. 593-602.
Abstract: Late Proterozoic-Early Cambrian magmatic rocks that range in composition from mafic to felsic have intruded into the Hour region of the central Iranian micro-continent. The Hour lamprophyres are alkaline, being characterized by low contents of SiO2 and high TiO2, Mg# values, high contents of compatible elements, and are enriched in LREE and LILE but depleted in HFSE. Mineral chemistry studies reveal that the lamprophyres formed within a temperature range of ~1200° to 1300°C and relatively moderate pressure in subvolcanic levels. The Hour lamprophyres have experienced weak fractional crystallization and insignificant crustal contamination with more primitive mantle signatures. They were derived from low degree partial melting (1-5%) of the enriched mantle characterized by phlogopite/amphibole bearing lherzolite in the spinel-garnet transition zone at 75-85 km depth, and with an addition of the asthenospheric mantle materials. We infer the Hour lamprophyres to be part of the alkaline rock spectrum of the Tabas block and their emplacement, together with that of other alkaline complexes in the central Iran, was strongly controlled by pre-existing crustal weakness followed by the asthenosphere-lithospheric mantle interaction during the Early Cambrian.
