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SDLRC - Scientific Articles all years by Author - Mar-Mh
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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American Mineralogist, Vol. 105, pp. 1662-1671. pdf
Mantle
melting
Abstract: Zircon is the most frequently used mineral for dating terrestrial and extraterrestrial rocks. However, the system of zircon in mafic/ultramafic melts has been rarely explored experimentally and most existing models based on the felsic, intermediate and/or synthetic systems are probably not applicable for prediction of zircon survival in terrestrial shallow asthenosphere. In order to determine the zircon stability in such natural systems, we have performed high-temperature experiments of zircon dissolution in natural mid-ocean ridge basaltic and synthetic haplobasaltic melts coupled with in situ electron probe microanalyses of the experimental products at high current.
Taking into account the secondary fluorescence effect in zircon glass pairs during electron microprobe analysis, we have calculated zirconium diffusion coefficient necessary to predict zircon survival in asthenospheric melts of tholeiitic basalt composition. The data imply that typical 100 micron zircons dissolve rapidly (in 10 hours) and congruently upon the reaction with basaltic melt at mantle pressures. We observed incongruent (to crystal ZrO2 and SiO2 in melt) dissolution of zircon in natural mid-ocean ridge basaltic melt at low pressures and in haplobasaltic melt at elevated pressure. Our experimental data raise questions about the origin of zircons in mafic and ultramafic rocks, in particular, in shallow oceanic asthenosphere and deep lithosphere, as well as the meaning of the zircon-based ages estimated from the composition of these minerals. Large size zircon megacrysts in kimberlites, peridotites, alkali basalts and other magmas suggest the fast transport and short interaction between zircon and melt.The origin of zircon megacrysts is likely related to metasomatic addition of Zr into mantle as any mantle melting episode should obliterate them.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 79, pp. 431-442.
South America, Brazil
craton
Abstract: The study of the crust using receiver functions can provide valuable geological information, such as average crustal composition, its formation dynamics and the tectonic evolution of a region, as well as serve as an initial reference for the generation of seismic wave velocity models to improve earthquake location. To fill in gaps in information on the crust of the Amazonian Craton and adjacent provinces in Brazil, we used receiver functions and H-k stacking to estimate crustal thicknesses and the VP/VS ratios. The results indicate that the crust of the study region is predominantly felsic, with an average VP/VS around 1.73 and an average thickness of 38.2 km, with a range of 27.4-48.6 km. Minimum curvature interpolation of the crustal thickness values has made it possible to delimitate of the Amazonian Craton, which corresponds to the area with an average thickness equal to or greater than 39 km. In addition, it was possible to identify its potential cratonic blocks, as well as the Paranapanema Block of Paraná Basin. The geometry of the craton, defined by its crustal thickness, is corroborated by the distribution of natural seismicity that accompanies its edges. These are related to suture zones between the Amazonian, São Francisco/Congo and Paranapanema paleocontinents. The sedimentary basins that have undergone rifting processes have a thinner crust, usually less than 37 km thick. Due to the great variability of the results, it was not possible to determine a characteristic value of c
Abstract: Field evidence from the Pilbara craton (Australia) and Kaapvaal craton (South Africa) indicate that modern tectonic processes may have been operating at ca. 3.2 Ga, a time also associated with a high density of preserved Archaean impact indicators. Recent work has suggested a causative association between large impacts and tectonic processes for the Hadean. However, impact flux estimates and spherule bed characteristics suggest impactor diameters of <100 km at ca. 3.5 Ga, and it is unclear whether such impacts could perturb the global tectonic system. In this work, we develop numerical simulations of global tectonism with impacting effects, and simulate the evolution of these models throughout the Archaean for given impact fluxes. We demonstrate that moderate-size (?70 km diameter) impactors are capable of initiating short-lived subduction, and that the system response is sensitive to impactor size, proximity to other impacts, and also lithospheric thickness gradients. Large lithospheric thickness gradients may have first appeared at ca. 3.5-3.2 Ga as cratonic roots, and we postulate an association between Earth’s thermal maturation, cratonic root stability, and the onset of widespread sporadic tectonism driven by the impact flux at this time.
Diamond exploration in the Peace River Arch, Alberta
The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin (CIM Bulletin) , Annual Meeting Abstracts approximately 10 lines, Vol. 86, No. 968, March POSTER ABSTRACT p. 68.
Devriese, S.G.R., Corcoran, N., Cowan, D., Davis, K., Bild-Enkin, D., Fournier, D., Heagy, L., Kang, S., Marchant, D., McMillan, M.S., Mitchell, M., Rosenkjar, G., Yang, D., Oldenburg, D.W.
Magnetic inversion of three airborne dat a sets over the Tli Kwi Cho kimberlite complex.
SEG Annual Meeting Denver, pp. 1790-1794 extended abstract
Fournier, D., Heagy, L., Corcoran, N., Devriese, S.G.R., Bild-Enkin, D., Davis, K., Kang, S., Marchant, D., McMillan, M.S., Mitchell, M., Rosenkjar, G., Yang, D., Oldenburg, D.W.
Multi-EM systems inversion - towards a common conductivity model for Tli Kwi Cho complex.
SEG Annual Meeting Denver, pp. 1795-1798. Extended abstract
Devriese, S.G.R., Corcoran, N., Cowan, D., Davis, K., Bild-Enkin, D., Fournier, D., Heagy, L., Kang, S., Marchant, D., McMillan, M.S., Mitchell, M., Rosenkjar, G., Yang, D., Oldenburg, D.W.
Abstract: The magnetic and electromagnetic responses from airborne systems at Tli Kwi Cho, a kimberlite complex in the Northwest Territories, Canada, have received considerable attention over the last two decades but a complete understanding of the causative physical properties is not yet at hand. Our analysis is distributed among three papers. In the first, we find a 3D magnetic susceptibility model for the area; in the second, we find a 3D conductivity model; and in the third paper, we find a 3D chargeability model. Our goal is to explain all the geophysical results within a geologic framework. In this first paper, we invert three independent airborne magnetic data sets flown over the Tli Kwi Cho kimberlite complex located in the Lac de Gras kimberlite field in Northwest Territories, Canada. The complex consists of two kimberlites known as DO-27 and DO-18. An initial airborne DIGHEM survey was flown in 1992 and AeroTEM and VTEM data subsequently acquired in 2003 and 2004, respectively. In this paper, we invert each magnetic data set in three dimensions. Both kimberlites are recovered in each model, with DO-27 as a more susceptible body than DO-18. Our goal is to simultaneously invert the three data sets to generate a single susceptibility model for Tli Kwi Cho. This project is part of a larger, on-going investigation by UBC-GIF on inverting magnetic, electromagnetic, and induced polarization data from the Tli Kwi Cho area.
Fournier, D., Heagy, L., Corcoran, N., Cowan, D., Devriese, S.G.R., Bild-Enkin, D., Davis, K., Kang, S., Marchant, D., McMillan, M.S., Mitchell, M., Rosenkjar, G., Yang, D., Oldenburg, D.W.
Abstract: The magnetic and electromagnetic responses from airborne systems at Tli Kwi Cho, a kimberlite complex in the Northwest Territories, Canada, have received considerable attention over the last two decades but a complete understanding of the causative physical properties is not yet at hand. Our analysis is distributed among three posters. In the first we find a 3D magnetic susceptibility model for the area; in the second we find a 3D conductivity model; and in the third we find a 3D chargeability model that can explain the negative transient responses measured over the kimberlite pipes. In this second paper we focus upon the task of finding a conductivity model that is compatible with three airborne data sets flown between 1992 and 2004: one frequency-domain data set (DIGHEM) and two time-domain systems (AeroTEM and VTEM). The goal is to obtain a 3D model from which geologic questions can be answered, but even more importantly, to provide a background conductivity needed to complete the 3D IP inversion of airborne EM data. We begin by modifying our pre-existing 1D frequency and time domain inversion codes to produce models that have more lateral continuity. The results are useful in their own right but we have also found that 1D analysis is often very effective in bringing to light erroneous data, assisting in estimating noise floors, and providing some starting information for developing a background model for the 3D EM inversion. Here we show some results from our Laterally Constrained Inversion (LCI) framework. The recovered conductivity models seem to agree on the general location of the kimberlite pipes but disagree on the geometry and conductivity values at depth. The complete 3D inversions in time and frequency, needed to resolved these issues, are currently in progress.
Devriese, S.G.R., Corcoran, N., Cowan, D., Davis, K., Bild-Enkin, D., Fournier, D., Heagy, L., Kang, S., Marchant, D., McMillan, M.S., Mitchell, M., Rosenkjar, G., Yang, D., Oldenburg, D.W.
Abstract: The magnetic and electromagnetic responses from airborne systems at Tli Kwi Cho, a kimberlite complex in the Northwest Territories, Canada, have received considerable attention over the last two decades but a complete understanding of the causative physical properties is not yet at hand. Our analysis is distributed among three papers. In the first, we find a 3D magnetic susceptibility model for the area; in the second, we find a 3D conductivity model; and in the third paper, we find a 3D chargeability model. Our goal is to explain all the geophysical results within a geologic framework. In this first paper, we invert three independent airborne magnetic data sets flown over the Tli Kwi Cho kimberlite complex located in the Lac de Gras kimberlite field in Northwest Territories, Canada. The complex consists of two kimberlites known as DO-27 and DO- 18. An initial airborne DIGHEM survey was flown in 1992 and AeroTEM and VTEM data subsequently acquired in 2003 and 2004, respectively. In this paper, we invert each magnetic data set in three dimensions. Both kimberlites are recovered in each model, with DO-27 as a more susceptible body than DO-18. Our goal is to simultaneously invert the three data sets to generate a single susceptibility model for Tli Kwi Cho. This project is part of a larger, on-going investigation by UBC-GIF on inverting magnetic, electromagnetic, and induced polarization data from the Tli Kwi Cho area.
Fournier, D., Heagy, L., Corcoran, N., Cowan, D., Devriese, S.G.R., Bild-Enkin, D., Davis, K., Marchant, M., McMillan, M.S., Mitchell, M., Rosenkjar, G., Yang, D., Oldenburg, D.W.
Abstract: The magnetic and electromagnetic responses from airborne systems at Tli Kwi Cho, a kimberlite complex in the Northwest Territories, Canada, have received considerable attention over the last two decades but a complete understanding of the causative physical properties is not yet at hand. Our analysis is distributed among three posters. In the first we find a 3D magnetic susceptibility model for the area; in the second we find a 3D conductivity model; and in the third we find a 3D chargeability model that can explain the negative transient responses measured over the kimberlite pipes. In this second paper we focus upon the task of finding a conductivity model that is compatible with three airborne data sets flown between 1992 and 2004: one frequency-domain data set (DIGHEM) and two time-domain systems (AeroTEM and VTEM). The goal is to obtain a 3D model from which geologic questions can be answered, but even more importantly, to provide a background conductivity needed to complete the 3D IP inversion of airborne EM data. We begin by modifying our pre-existing 1D frequency and time domain inversion codes to produce models that have more lateral continuity. The results are useful in their own right but we have also found that 1D analysis is often very effective in bringing to light erroneous data, assisting in estimating noise floors, and providing some starting information for developing a background model for the 3D EM inversion. Here we show some results from our Laterally Constrained Inversion (LCI) framework. The recovered conductivity models seem to agree on the general location of the kimberlite pipes but disagree on the geometry and conductivity values at depth. The complete 3D inversions in time and frequency, needed to resolved these issues, are currently in progress.
Moscow University Geology Bulletin, Vol. 72, 5, pp. 299-304.
Mantle
perovskite
Abstract: Semi-empirical and quantum chemical studies of Al atom energy in CaSiO3 and MgSiO3 with the perovskite-type structure at pressures and temperatures of the Earth’s mantle are reported. The phase diagram for CaSiO3 is reproduced and refined. Probable mechanisms of Al incorporation in the structures studied are considered. According to the results of the calculations, Al is preferably incorporated into MgSiO3, rather than into CaSiO3. Evaluation of the isomorphic capacity of perovskite phases in relation to Al shows that the Al content in MgSiO3 may reach 2.4 mol % at 120 GPa and 2400 K. CaSiO3 cannot be a source of Al atoms in the Earth’s mantle.
Abstract: Trace elements play a significant role in interpretation of different processes in the deep Earth. However, the systematics of interphase rare-earth element (REE) partitioning under the conditions of the uppermost lower mantle are poorly understood. We performed high-pressure experiments to study the phase relations in key solid-phase reactions CaMgSi2O6 = CaSiO3-perovskite + MgSiO3-bridgmanite and (Mg,Fe)2SiO4-ringwoodite = (Mg,Fe)SiO3-bridgmanite + (Mg,Fe)O with addition of 1 wt % of REE oxides. Atomistic modeling was used to obtain more accurate quantitative estimates of the interphase REE partitioning and displayed the ideal model for the high-pressure minerals. HREE (Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu) are mostly accumulated in bridgmanite, while LREE are predominantly redistributed into CaSiO3. On the basis of the results of experiments and atomistic modeling, REE in bridgmanite are clearly divided into two groups (from La to Gd and from Gd to Lu). Interphase REE partition coefficients in solid-state reactions were calculated at 21.5 and 24 GPa for the first time. The new data are applicable for interpretation of the trace-element composition of the lower mantle inclusions in natural diamonds from kimberlite; the experimentally determined effect of pressure on the interphase (bridgmanite/CaSiO3-perovskite) REE partition coefficients can be a potential qualitative geobarometer for mineral inclusions in super-deep diamonds.
Abstract: The phases of CaAl2O4 and Ca2Al6O11 were synthesized at 15 GPa and 1600 °C. Microprobe data gave formulae Ca1.003Al1.998O4 and Ca2.05Al5.97O11, on the basis of 4 and 11 oxygen atoms. The crystal structures have been refined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Orthorhombic unitcell parameters for CaAl2O4 are a = 8.8569(10) Å; b = 2.8561(4) Å; c = 10.2521(11) Å; V = 259.34(5) Å3; Z = 8 (space group Pnma). The Ca2Al6O11 phase was obtained for the first time. It crystallizes with a space group P42/mnm and has lattice parameters a = b = 11.1675(4) Å; c = 2.83180(10) Å; V = 353.16(2) Å3; Z = 2. A Raman spectrum was obtained for a new phase for the first time. Our results suggest that both studied phases are stable under the condition of the transition zone and can be considered as potential aluminum concentrators in the Earth's deep geospheres.
Persistence of mantle lithospheric Re-Os signature during asthenospherization of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle: insights in situ sulphides....
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 159, 3, pp. 315-330.
Gonzalez-Jimienez, J.M., Marchesi, C., Griffin, W.L., Gutierrez-Narbona, R., Lorand, J-P., O'Reilly, S.Y., Garrido, C.J., Gervilla, F., Pearson, N.J., Hidas, K.
Transfer of Os isotopic signatures from peridotite to chromitite in the subcontinental mantle: insights from in situ analysis of platinum-group and base metal minerals (Ojen peridotite massif, southern Spain.
Comptes Rendus Geoscience, in press available 11p.
Africa, Morocco
Peridotite
Abstract: The Beni Bousera peridotite contains a diversity of pyroxenite layers. Several studies have postulated that at least some of them represent elongated strips of oceanic lithosphere recycled in the convective mantle. Some pyroxenites were, however, ascribed to igneous crystal segregation or melt-rock reactions. To further constrain the origin of these rocks, we collected 171 samples throughout the massif and examined their variability in relation with the tectono-metamorphic domains. A major finding is that all facies showing clear evidence for a crustal origin are concentrated in a narrow corridor of mylonitized peridotites, along the contact with granulitic country rocks. These peculiar facies were most likely incorporated at the mantle-crust boundary during the orogenic events that culminated in the peridotite exhumation. The other pyroxenites derive from a distinct protolith that was ubiquitous in the massif before its exhumation. They were deeply modified by partial melting and melt-rock reactions associated with lithospheric thinning.
Journal of Petrology, Vol. 57, 11-12, pp. 2251-2270.
Africa, Morocco
Deposit - Beni Bousera
Abstract: Correlations between major and minor transition elements in tectonically emplaced orogenic peridotites have been ascribed to variable degrees of melt extraction and melt-rock reaction processes, leading to depletion or refertilization. To elucidate how such processes are recorded in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle, we processed a large geochemical dataset for peridotites from the four tectono-metamorphic domains of the Beni Bousera orogenic massif (Rif Belt, northern Morocco). Our study reveals that variations in bulk-rock major and minor elements, Mg-number and modal mineralogy of lherzolites, as well as their clinopyroxene trace element compositions, are inconsistent with simple partial melting and mainly resulted from different reactions between melts and depleted peridotites. Up to 30% melting at <3 GPa and cryptic metasomatism can account for the geochemical variations of most harzburgites. In Grt-Sp mylonites, melting and melt-rock reactions are masked by tectonic mixing with garnet pyroxenites and subsolidus re-equilibration. In the rest of the massif, lherzolites were mostly produced by refertilization of a refractory protolith (Mg-number = 91, Ol = 70%, Cpx/Opx = 0.4) via two distinct near-solidus, melt- rock reactions: (1) clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene precipitation and olivine consumption at melt/rock ratios <0.75 and variable mass ratio between crystallized minerals and infiltrated melt ®, which are recorded fairly homogeneously throughout the massif; (2) dissolution of orthopyroxene and precipitation of clinopyroxene and olivine at melt/rock ratios <1 and R = 0.2-0.3, which affected mainly the Arie` gite-Seiland and Seiland domains. The distribution of secondary lherzolites in the massif suggests that the first refertilization reaction occurred prior to the differentiation of the Beni Bousera mantle section into petro-structural zones, whereas the second reaction was associated with the development of the tectono-metamorphic domains. Our data support a secondary, refertilization-related origin for most lherzolites in orogenic peridotite massifs.
Abstract: The Beni Bousera peridotite contains a diversity of pyroxenite layers. Several studies have postulated that at least some of them represent elongated strips of oceanic lithosphere recycled in the convective mantle. Some pyroxenites were, however, ascribed to igneous crystal segregation or melt–rock reactions. To further constrain the origin of these rocks, we collected 171 samples throughout the massif and examined their variability in relation with the tectono-metamorphic domains. A major finding is that all facies showing clear evidence for a crustal origin are concentrated in a narrow corridor of mylonitized peridotites, along the contact with granulitic country rocks. These peculiar facies were most likely incorporated at the mantle–crust boundary during the orogenic events that culminated in the peridotite exhumation. The other pyroxenites derive from a distinct protolith that was ubiquitous in the massif before its exhumation. They were deeply modified by partial melting and melt–rock reactions associated with lithospheric thinning.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 232, pp. 303-328.
Africa, Morocco, Europe, Spain
UHP
Abstract: We present an integrated geochemical study of ultra-high pressure (UHP) garnet pyroxenites from the Ronda and Beni Bousera peridotite massifs (Betic-Rif Belt, westernmost Mediterranean). Based on their Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopic systematics, we classify UHP garnet pyroxenites into three groups: Group A pyroxenites (Al 2 O 3 : 15-17.5 wt. %) have low initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, relatively high ? Nd , ? Hf and 206 Pb/ 204 Pb ratios, and variable 207 Pb/ 204 Pb and 208 Pb/ 204 Pb. Group B pyroxenites (Al 2 O 3 < 14 wt. %) are characterized by high initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and relatively low ? Nd , ? Hf and 206 Pb/ 204 Pb ratios. Group C pyroxenites (Al 2 O 3 ~ 15 wt. %) have depleted radiogenic signatures with relatively low initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and 206 Pb/ 204 Pb, high ? Nd and ? Hf , and their 207 Pb/ 204 Pb and 208 Pb/ 204 Pb ratios are similar to those of Group B pyroxenites. The major and trace element and isotopic compositions of UHP garnet pyroxenites support their derivation from ancient (1.5-3.5 Ga) oceanic crust recycled into the mantle and intimately stirred with peridotites by convection. However, the genesis of these pyroxenites requires also the involvement of recycled continental lower crust with an isotopic composition akin to the lower crustal section of the lithosphere where these UHP garnet pyroxenites now reside in. These oceanic and continental crustal components were stirred in different proportions in the convective mantle, originating pyroxenites with a more marked geochemical imprint of either oceanic (Group A) or continental lower crust (Group B), or hybrid compositions (Group C). The pyroxenite protoliths likely underwent several melting events, one of them related to the formation of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle and continental crust, generating restitic UHP garnet pyroxenites now preserved in the Ronda and Beni Bousera orogenic peridotites. The extent of melting was mostly 3 controlled by the bulk Mg-number (Mg#) of the pyroxenite protoliths, where protoliths with low Mg# experienced higher degrees of partial melting than sources with higher Mg#. Positive Eu and Sr anomalies in bulk rocks, indicative of their origin from cumulitic crustal gabbros, are preserved mostly in high Mg# pyroxenites due to their higher melting temperatures and consequent lower partial melting degrees. The results of this study show that the genesis of UHP garnet pyroxenites in orogenic peridotites requires a new recipe for the marble cake mantle hypothesis, combining significant recycling and stirring of both oceanic and continental lower crust in the Earth's mantle. Furthermore, this study establishes a firm connection between the isotopic signatures of UHP pyroxenite heterogeneities in the mantle and the continental lower crust.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 232, pp. 303-328.
Mantle
deposit - Ronda, Beni Bousera
Abstract: We present an integrated geochemical study of ultra-high pressure (UHP) garnet pyroxenites from the Ronda and Beni Bousera peridotite massifs (Betic-Rif Belt, westernmost Mediterranean). Based on their Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopic systematics, we classify UHP garnet pyroxenites into three groups: Group A pyroxenites (Al2O3: 15-17.5?wt.%) have low initial 87Sr/86Sr, relatively high ?Nd, ?Hf and 206Pb/204Pb ratios, and variable 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb. Group B pyroxenites (Al2O3?14?wt.%) are characterized by high initial 87Sr/86Sr and relatively low ?Nd, ?Hf and 206Pb/204Pb ratios. Group C pyroxenites (Al2O3???15?wt.%) have depleted radiogenic signatures with relatively low initial 87Sr/86Sr and 206Pb/204Pb, high ?Nd and ?Hf, and their 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios are similar to those of Group B pyroxenites. The major and trace element and isotopic compositions of UHP garnet pyroxenites support their derivation from ancient (1.5-3.5?Ga) oceanic crust recycled into the mantle and intimately stirred with peridotites by convection. However, the genesis of these pyroxenites requires also the involvement of recycled continental lower crust with an isotopic composition akin to the lower crustal section of the lithosphere where these UHP garnet pyroxenites now reside in. These oceanic and continental crustal components were stirred in different proportions in the convective mantle, originating pyroxenites with a more marked geochemical imprint of either oceanic (Group A) or continental lower crust (Group B), or hybrid compositions (Group C). The pyroxenite protoliths likely underwent several melting events, one of them related to the formation of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle and continental crust, generating restitic UHP garnet pyroxenites now preserved in the Ronda and Beni Bousera orogenic peridotites. The extent of melting was mostly controlled by the bulk Mg-number (Mg#) of the pyroxenite protoliths, where protoliths with low Mg# experienced higher degrees of partial melting than sources with higher Mg#. Positive Eu and Sr anomalies in bulk rocks, indicative of their origin from cumulitic crustal gabbros, are preserved mostly in high Mg# pyroxenites due to their higher melting temperatures and consequent lower partial melting degrees. The results of this study show that the genesis of UHP garnet pyroxenites in orogenic peridotites requires a new recipe for the marble cake mantle hypothesis, combining significant recycling and stirring of both oceanic and continental lower crust in the Earth’s mantle. Furthermore, this study establishes a firm connection between the isotopic signatures of UHP pyroxenite heterogeneities in the mantle and the continental lower crust.
Abstract: Subduction-Transform Edge Propagator (STEP) faults are the locus of continual lithospheric tearing at slab edges, resulting in sharp changes in the lithospheric and crustal thickness and triggering lateral and/or near-vertical mantle flow. However, the mechanisms at the lithospheric mantle scale are still poorly understood. Here, we present the microstructural study of olivine-rich lherzolite, harzburgite and wehrlite mantle xenoliths from the Oran volcanic field (Tell Atlas, NW Algeria). This alkali volcanic field occurs along a major STEP fault responsible for the Miocene westward slab retreat in the westernmost Mediterranean. Mantle xenoliths provide a unique opportunity to investigate the microstructures in the mantle section of a STEP fault system. The microstructures of mantle xenoliths show a variable grain size ranging from coarse granular to fine-grained equigranular textures uncorrelated with modal variations. The major element composition of the mantle peridotites provides temperature estimates in a wide range (790-1165?°C) but in general, the coarse-grained and fine-grained peridotites suggest deeper and shallower provenance depth, respectively. Olivine grain size in the fine-grained peridotites depends on the size and volume fraction of the pyroxene grains, which is consistent with pinning of olivine grain growth by pyroxenes as second phase particles. In the coarse-grained peridotites, well-developed olivine crystal preferred orientation (CPO) is characterized by orthorhombic and [100]-fiber symmetries, and orthopyroxene has a coherent CPO with that of olivine, suggesting their coeval deformation by dislocation creep at high-temperature. In the fine-grained microstructures, along with the weakening of the fabric strength, olivine CPO symmetry exhibits a shift towards [010]-fiber and the [010]- and [001]-axes of orthopyroxene are generally distributed subparallel to those of olivine. These data are consistent with deformation of olivine in the presence of low amounts of melts and the precipitation of orthopyroxenes from a melt phase. The bulk CPO of clinopyroxene mimics that of orthopyroxene via a topotaxial relationship of the two pyroxenes. This observation points to a melt-related origin of most clinopyroxenes in the Oran mantle xenoliths. The textural and geochemical record of the peridotites are consistent with interaction of a refractory harzburgite protolith with a high-Mg# melt at depth (resulting in the formation of coarse-grained clinopyroxene-rich lherzolite and wehrlite), and with a low-Mg# evolved melt in the shallow subcontinental lithospheric mantle (forming fine-grained harzburgite). We propose that pervasive melt-peridotite reaction - promoted by lateral and/or near-vertical mantle flow associated with lithospheric tearing - resulted in the synkinematic crystallization of secondary lherzolite and wehrlite and played a key effect on grain size reduction during the operation of the Rif-Tell STEP fault. Melt-rock reaction and secondary formation of lherzolite and wehrlite may be widespread in other STEP fault systems worldwide.
Abstract: The highly siderophile elements (HSE: Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd, Re, Au) exist in solid solution in accessory base-metal sulfides (BMS) as well as nano-to-micron scale minerals in rocks of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). The latter include platinum-group minerals (PGM) and gold minerals, which may vary widely in morphology, composition and distribution. The PGM form isolated grains often associated with larger BMS hosted in residual olivine, located at interstices in between peridotite-forming minerals or more commonly in association with metasomatic minerals (pyroxenes, carbonates, phosphates) and silicate glasses in some peridotite xenoliths. The PGM found inside residual olivine are mainly Os-, Ir- and Ru-rich sulfides and alloys. In contrast, those associated with metasomatic minerals or silicate glasses of peridotite xenoliths consist of Pt, Pd, and Rh bonded with semimetals like As, Te, Bi, and Sn. Nanoscale observations on natural samples along with the results of recent experiments indicate that nucleation of PGM is mainly related with the uptake of HSE by nanoparticles, nanominerals or nanomelts at high temperature (> 900?°C) in both silicate and/or sulfide melts, regardless of the residual or metasomatic origin of their host minerals. A similar interpretation can be assumed for gold minerals. Our observations highlight that nanoscale processes play an important role on the ore-forming potential of primitive mantle-derived magmas parental to magmatic-hydrothermal deposits enriched in noble metals. The metal inventory in these magmas could be related with the physical incorporation of HSE-bearing nanoparticles or nanomelts during processes of partial melting of mantle peridotite and melt migration from the mantle to overlying continental crust.
Abstract: Impact cratering was a dominant geologic process in the early Solar System that probably played an active role in the crustal evolution of the young terrestrial planets. The Earth’s interior during the Hadean, 4.56 to 4 billion years ago, may have been too hot to sustain plate tectonics. However, whether large impacts could have triggered tectonism on the early Earth remains unclear. Here we conduct global-scale tectonic simulations of the evolution of the Earth through the Hadean eon under variable impact fluxes. Our simulations show that the thermal anomalies produced by large impacts induce mantle upwellings that are capable of driving transient subduction events. Furthermore, we find that moderate-sized impacts can act as subduction triggers by causing localized lithospheric thinning and mantle upwelling, and modulate tectonic activity. In contrast to contemporary subduction, the simulated localized subduction events are relatively short-lived (less than 10?Myr) with relatively thin, weak plates. We suggest that resurgence in subduction activity induced by an increased impact flux between 4.1 and 4.0 billion years ago may explain the coincident increase in palaeointensity of the magnetic field. We further suggest that transient impact-driven subduction reconciles evidence from Hadean zircons for tectonic activity with other lines of evidence consistent with an Earth that was largely tectonically stagnant from the Hadean into the Archaean.
Abstract: The presence and speciation of volatile C-H-O elements in the silicate systems play an important role in the genesis of magmas on the Earth’s mantle, due to the fact that these elements, mainly in the form of H2O, CO2, CH4 and CxHy, decrease the solidi temperatures of source rocks, making magmatism possible in Earth’s present day thermal conditions [1]. Among those elements, carbon is the only element that changes its valence according to the oxygen fugacity (fO2) conditions of the environment, resulting in different speciation, as: CO3 -2, CO2, Cgraphite/diamond, CH4 or heavier hydrocarbons. In the present work, we are determining phase stability of minerals, water, CO2 and CH4 in the system Nefeline-Kalsilite-Diopside. Our experiments are conducted under 4.0 GPa and temperatures up to 1300°C, using a 1000 tonf hydraulic press coupled with toroidal chambers. Preliminary experiments performed at 1300°C and 4.0GPa (initial composition in the Olivine-Quartz- Kalsalite/Nepheline system: 40mol% Ol90, 40mol% Nph50Kls50 and 20mol% Qz, PH2O,CO2=Ptotal) resulted in the formation of forsterite (Fo90) in equilibrium with phlogopite (Phl), melt and volatile phases (CO2 and CH4). Closer to the Diopside vertice, the addition of CO3 to the sample resulted in a imisibility of a carbonatitic and a silicatic melt, in which the carbonititic melt is enriched in sodium, while the silcate melt is enriched in potassium. Appart from that, experiments in different parts of the diagram suggest compositions from nephelinite-kalsilitite to lamproites composition for the silicate melt in equilibrium with diopside (solid solution with omphacite) and phlogopite. This work is a continuation of previous work in the anhydrous diagram and future works will provide the addition of CH4 as the volatile phase
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 506, pp. 1-7.
Mantle
geodynamics
Abstract: We present a theoretical investigation, based on ab initio calculations and the quasi-harmonic approximation, on the stability properties of magnesium (MgCO3) and calcium (CaCO3) carbonates at high temperatures and pressures. The results indicate that those carbonates should be stable in the Earth's lower mantle, instead of dissociating into other minerals, in chemical environments with excess of SiO2, MgO, or MgSiO3. Therefore, considering the lower mantle chemical composition, consisting mostly of the MgSiO3 and MgO minerals, calcium and magnesium carbonates are the primary candidates as carbon hosts in that region. For the thermodynamic conditions of the mantle, the results also indicate that carbon should be primarily hosted on MgCO3, contrasting with what was found by other theoretical studies, which neglected temperature effects. Finally, the results indicate that carbon, in the form of free CO2, is unlikely in the lower mantle.
Geochemical Perspectives Letters, Vol. 17, pp. 33-38. pdf
Mantle
diamond inclusions
Abstract: Diamond inclusions sample the otherwise inaccessible archive of Earth’s deep interior. The geochemical and petrological diversity of diamond inclusions reflects either pre-metasomatic upper mantle heterogeneity or metasomatism coeval with diamond formation. We focus on the origin of lithospheric garnet and clinopyroxene inclusions by simulating metasomatic reactions between eclogitic fluids and mantle peridotites at 5 GPa, 1000 °C, and across a range of redox conditions (logfO2?=??1 to ?6 ?FMQ). Our results demonstrate that fluid-rock interaction can result in the formation of eclogitic, websteritic, and peridotitic silicates from a single fluid during a single diamond-forming metasomatic event. Ergo, the petrogenesis of diamond and their inclusions can be syngenetic, and the petrological diversity of diamond inclusions can reflect metasomatism coeval with diamond formation. Furthermore, during the metasomatism, refractory peridotite can be converted to fertile websterite which could become a pyroxenitic mantle source for oceanic basalts.
Lithospheric detachment and slab breakoff under the Variscan collisional orogen: keys to the origin of diamond bearing crustal rocks in the Bohemmian Massif.
18th. International Mineralogical Association Sept. 1-6, Edinburgh, abstract p.218.
Modification of mineral inclusions in garnet under high pressure conditions: experimental simulation and application to carbonate silicate rocks of Kokchetetav
Russian Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 50, 12, pp. 1153-1168.
Abstract: Heat flow and heat production data complement seismic information and provide strong constraints on crustal composition, thickness and evolution. They have helped understand the nature of the Mohorovicic discontinuity and the variations in seismic velocities below the Moho. Notably, heat flow studies have delineated the vertical distribution of heat producing elements throughout the crust and in the upper most mantle lithosphere. Analysis of global data sets on heat flow and crustal thickness demonstrate that there is no correlation between these two variables. This is due to the large spatial variations in crustal composition and heat production that exist within a single geological province. For a given crustal thickness, the Moho temperature varies within a wide range (? 300 K) depending on surface heat flux and crustal heat production. Thus one cannot use generic models based on a “type” crustal column to calculate crustal geotherms. In stable regions, lower crustal temperatures depend on the amount and vertical distribution of heat producing elements in the crust. These temperatures determine the conditions of crustal stability and impose a limit on the maximum thickness of a stabilized crust.
Geochemistry International, Vol. 56, 13, pp. 1289-1321.
Mantle
geophysics
Abstract: The generation of crustal material and the formation of continental crust with a thickness of ?40 km involve different physical mechanisms operating over different time-scales and length-scales. This review focusses on the building of a thick crustal assemblage and on the vertical dimension where the consequences of gravity-driven processes are expressed most clearly. Continental crustal material is produced by a sequence of crust and mantle mlelting, fractionation of basaltic melts and sinking of dense mafic cumulates. The repeated operation of these mechanisms over tens of million years leads to a thick stably stratified crust. We evaluate the main mechanisms involved from a physics perspective and identify the key controls and constraints, with special attention to thermal requirements. To form magma reservoirs able to process significant magma volumes and to allow the foundering of mafic cumulates, melt must be fed locally at rates that are larger than that of average crustal growth. This requires the temporary focussing of magmatic activity in a few centers. In some cases, foundering of dense cumulates does not go to completion, leaving a deformed residual body bearing tell-tale traces of the process. Crust must be thicker than a threshold value in a 30-45 km range for mafic cumulates to sink into the mantle below the crust. Once that threshold thickness has been reached, further additions lead to increase the proportion of felsic material in the crust at the expense of mafic lithologies which disappear from the crust. This acts to enhance radiogenic heat production in the crust. One consequence is that crustal temperatures can be kept at high values in times of diminished melt input and also when magmatic activity stops altogether, which may lead to post-orogenic intracrustal melting and differentiation. Another consequence is that the crust becomes too weak mechanically to withstand the elevation difference with neighbouring terranes, which sets a limit on crustal thickening. The thermal structure of the evolving crust is a key constraint on the overall process and depends strongly on radiogenic heat production, which is surely one of the properties that make continental crust very distinctive. In the Archean Superior Province, Canada, the formation of juvenile continental crust and its thermal maturation 2.7 Gy ago can be tracked quite accurately and reproduced by calculations relying on the wealth of heat flow and heat production data available there. Physical models of magma ascent and storage favour the formation of magma reservoirs at shallow levels. This suggests that crustal growth proceeds mostly from the top down, with material that gets buried to increasingly large depths. Vertical growth is accompanied by lateral spreading in two different places. Within the crust, magma intrusions are bound to extend in the horizontal direction. Deeper down, lateral variations of Moho depth that develop due to the focussing of magmatic activity get relaxed by lower crustal flow. This review has not dealt with processes at the interface between the growing crust and the mantle, which may well be where dikes get initiated by mechanisms that have so far defied theoretical analyses. Research in this particular area is required to further our understanding of continental crust formation.
Abstract: The initial stage of Rodinia supercontinent break-up occurred at about 750?Ma. It preceded formation of the Irkutsk and Franklin Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs)at 712 ± 2?Ma to 739 ± 8?Ma. These LIPs were emplaced within the formerly connected Laurentian and Siberian cratons. The Kingash massif is located in the Precambrian Kan terrane in direct contact with the Siberian Craton at its southwestern boundary. It has been linked to an important suite of mafic-ultramafic intrusions which border the southern margin of the Siberian craton, and which have been inferred to belong to the Irkutsk LIP. The massif is also significant, because it hosts PGE-Cu-Ni rich mineralization and is the only large deposit in the region. However, despite numerous dating attempts, the age of the massif had not been resolved. A significant difficulty is post-magmatic recrystallization at amphibolite facies that affected the rocks of the massif. In this study we used U-Pb dating of zircon, titanite and apatite from rocks of the Kingash massif and cross-cutting granite and monzonite veins. The oldest igneous zircon grain of the Kingash massif analysed by LA-ICPMS yields an age of c. 750?Ma, taken as a tentative age of magmatism. Dating of multiple grains of metamorphic zircon by CA-ID-TIMS yielded 564.8 ± 2.2?Ma, which is in agreement with LA-ICPMS titanite ages 557 ± 19?Ma, 565 ± 35?Ma and 551 ± 17?Ma. Apatite of two different samples showed ages of 496.4 ± 7.9?Ma and 497.0 ± 1.8?Ma (LA-ICPMS), which are interpreted as the time when the terrane cooled below the closure temperature of apatite. Using our new data we suggest that at the time of the Irkutsk-Franklin LIP event the Kan terrane was a part of Rodinia, then it separated from either Siberia or Laurentia during the break-up of Rodinia and finally collided with Siberia at 560?Ma; the time of regional amphibole facies metamorphism.
Geochemical Perspectives Letters, Vol. 18, pp. 11-15. pdf
Russia, Siberia
carbonatite
Abstract: For the last two decades, the end of the voluminous phase of eruptions of the Siberian Traps large igneous province has been constrained by a U-Pb date of discordant baddeleyite collected from the Guli carbonatite intrusion with the assumption that the discordance resulted from unsupported 207Pb. In this study we have re-analysed baddeleyite from the same intrusion and found two types of discordance: (1) due to 207Pb-excess, and (2) radiogenic lead loss from high U mineral inclusions. The former implies that baddeleyite is an efficient scavenger of protactinium during crystallisation, leaving the magma depleted in this element. Together with a published high precision U-Pb date of 252.24?±?0.08 Ma for the Arydzhansky Formation, our new date of 250.33?±?0.38 Ma for the Guli carbonatite constrains the total duration of the voluminous eruptions of the Siberian Traps LIP at 1.91?±?0.38 million years. The lower intercept of the (231Pa)/(235U) corrected discordance line yields a date of 129.2?±?65.0 Ma, which points to the widespread Early Cretaceous rifting in East and Central Asia.
Geochemical Perspectives Letters, Vol. 18, pp. 11-15. pdf
Russia, Siberia
deposit - Guli
Abstract: For the last two decades, the end of the voluminous phase of eruptions of the Siberian Traps large igneous province has been constrained by a U-Pb date of discordant baddeleyite collected from the Guli carbonatite intrusion with the assumption that the discordance resulted from unsupported 207Pb. In this study we have re-analysed baddeleyite from the same intrusion and found two types of discordance: (1) due to 207Pb-excess, and (2) radiogenic lead loss from high U mineral inclusions. The former implies that baddeleyite is an efficient scavenger of protactinium during crystallisation, leaving the magma depleted in this element. Together with a published high precision U-Pb date of 252.24?±?0.08 Ma for the Arydzhansky Formation, our new date of 250.33?±?0.38 Ma for the Guli carbonatite constrains the total duration of the voluminous eruptions of the Siberian Traps LIP at 1.91?±?0.38 million years. The lower intercept of the (231Pa)/(235U) corrected discordance line yields a date of 129.2?±?65.0 Ma, which points to the widespread Early Cretaceous rifting in East and Central Asia.
Abstract: Permian dikes, sills, and diatremes in southern Illinois and northwestern Kentucky (the Omaha, Wildcat Hills, Cottage Grove, Will Scarlet, Williams, Grant, and Clay Lick intrusions) share similar geochemistry and are classified as ultramafic lamprophyres. Major element compositions are 30-35 wt% SiO2, 6-7% Al2O3, 12-14% FeOt, 16-19% MgO, 3-5% TiO2, 11-16% CaO, 0.1-0.7% Na2O, 1.2-2.7% K2O, and 0.4-1.3% P2O5. The Grant Intrusive Breccia is an exception, with lower SiO2, Al2O3, FeOt, MgO, TiO2, and higher CaO. Typically, these rocks are fine grained, with phlogopite, serpentinized olivine ( Fo88), diopside, perovskite, Fe-Ti-spinel, apatite, and calcite. Blocky and lath-shaped pseudomorphs in some samples probably represent melilite, which would make the rocks alnöites. The Grant and Williams diatremes contain sedimentary and igneous clasts (including amphibole megacrysts) within a carbonate-rich matrix. The Grant exhibits pelletal lapilli and is characterized as a lamprophyre?carbonatite tuffisite. Trace element patterns exhibit enrichment of LREE, strong REE fractionation, and relative depletions of K, Sr, Zr, and Hf, closely matching those of the mela-aillikites of Aillik Bay, Labrador. The Grant Intrusive exhibits even greater REE enrichment and notable peaks at Nb, La, and Ce. Geochemical characteristics, including distributions of 143Nd/144Nd and 87Sr/86Sr, are consistent with near-primary melts from a metasomatized peridotite source containing phlogopite-rich veins. Derivation of the lamprophyres from carbonate-rich parental melts similar to the Grant Intrusive could be achieved by separation of carbonatite. A narrow range of initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.70301-0.70449), and initial ?Nd (3.7-5.1), suggests a uniform mantle source close to Bulk Earth. T-depleted mantle model ages range from 540 to 625 Ma, and might correlate with timing of enrichment of a lithospheric mantle source during the breakup of Rodinia.
Mineralogy and geochemistry of perovskite- rich pyroxenites
Geological Association of Canada (GAC)/Mineralogical Association of Canada (MAC) Vancouver 90 Program with Abstracts, Held May 16-18, Vol. 15, p. A83. Abstract
Symposium on critical and strategic materials, British Columbia Geological Survey Paper 2015-3, held Nov. 13-14, pp. 65-74.
Global
Carbonatite
Abstract: For nearly 50 years, carbonatites have been the primary sources of niobium and rare earth elements (REEs), particularly the light REEs including La, Ce, Pr, and Nd. In addition, carbonatites may be enriched in other critical elements and have the potential to be future sources. Currently, only fi ve of the more than 500 known carbonatites in the world are being mined for REEs: Bayan Obo (Inner Mongolia, China); Maoniuping (Sichuan, China); Dalucao (or Daluxiang, Sichuan, China); and Mountain Pass (California, USA), and the carbonatite-derived laterite at Mount Weld (Australia). To achieve ore-grade REE enrichment, initial carbonatitic magmas require an adequate endowment of REEs and need to evolve in ways for these elements to concentrate in REE-bearing mineral phases. Radiogenic isotope studies of carbonatites clearly point to a mantle origin, but a wide range in isotopic compositions has led to contrasting views about the specifi c mantle reservoir(s) that sourced carbonatites. In this study we use the neodymium and strontium isotopic compositions of a suite of mineralized carbonatites to establish the nature of the source magmas. We examine samples that span a wide range in age (~23 Ma to 1385 Ma), Nd concentrations (3720 to 32,900 ppm), and Sr concentrations (2290 to 167,900 ppm). Our Nd and Sr isotopic data include multiple samples from Mountain Pass (USA; ?Nd i = -3.1 to -5.4, Sri = 0.70512 to 0.70594), Elk Creek (USA; ~?Nd i = 1.7, Sri = 0.7035), and Maoniuping (China; ?Nd i = -4.1 and -4.2, Sri = 0.70627 and 0.70645), and one sample each from Bear Lodge (USA; ?Nd i = 0.1, Sri = 0.70441), Kangankunde (Malawi; ?Nd i = 3.3, Sri = 0.70310), Adiounedj (Mali; ?Nd i = -0.1, Sri = 0.70558), and Mushgai Khudag (Mongolia; ?Nd i = -1.3, Sri = 0.70636). Isotopic data from two producing carbonatite REE deposits (Mountain Pass and Maoniuping) have broadly similar isotopic compositions (?Nd i = -3.1 to -5.4 and Sri = 0.7051 to 0.7065), and these compositions point to a carbonated source in the lithospheric mantle. Mineralized but unmined carbonatites have higher Nd initial isotopic compositions (?Nd i = -1.3 to 3.3) and a wider range in Sr isotopic compositions (Sri = 0.70310 to 0.70637), but these data are consistent with a lithospheric mantle reservoir.
Mineralogical Magazine Open access special publication Critical metal mineralogy and ore genesis, Vol. 82 (S1) pp. S115-S131.
Europe, Norway
carbonatite
Abstract: The Fen Complex in Norway consists of a ~583 Ma composite carbonatite-ijolite-pyroxenite diatreme intrusion. Locally, high grades (up to 1.6 wt.% total REE) of rare-earth elements (REE) are found in a hydrothermally altered, hematite-rich carbonatite known as rødbergite. The progressive transformation of primary igneous carbonatite to rødbergite was studied here using scanning electron microscopy and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry trace-element analysis of 23 bulk samples taken along a key geological transect. A primary mineral assemblage of calcite, dolomite, apatite, pyrite, magnetite and columbite with accessory quartz, baryte, pyrochlore, fluorite and REE fluorocarbonates was found to have transformed progressively into a secondary assemblage of dolomite, Fe-dolomite, baryte, Ba-bearing phlogopite, hematite with accessory apatite, calcite, monazite-(Ce) and quartz. Textural evidence is presented for REE fluorocarbonates and apatite breaking down in igneous carbonatite, and monazite-(Ce) precipitating in rødbergite. The importance of micro-veins, interpreted as feeder fractures, containing secondary monazite and allanite, is highlighted. Textural evidence for included relics of primary apatite-rich carbonatite are also presented. These acted as a trap for monazite-(Ce) precipitation, a mechanism predicted by physical-chemical experiments. The transformation of carbonatite to rødbergite is accompanied by a 10-fold increase in REE concentrations. The highest light REE (LREE) concentrations are found in transitional vein-rich rødbergite, whereas the highest heavy REE (HREE) and Th concentrations are found within the rødbergites, suggesting partial decoupling of LREE and HREE due to the lower stability of HREE complexes in the aqueous hydrothermal fluid. The hydrothermal fluid involved in the formation of rødbergite was oxidizing and had probably interacted with country-rock gneisses. An ore deposit model for the REE-rich rødbergites is presented here which will better inform exploration strategies in the complex, and has implications for carbonatite-hosted REE resources around the world.
Abstract: The São Francisco Craton, in Brazil, together with adjacent orogenic systems formed during Gondwana assemblage, are well-suited for the study of crustal growth processes. The region's geological history is marked by a series of complete tectono-metamorphic cycles, from the Archean to late Neoproterozoic, comprising arc-related magmatism followed by continental collisions and ultimately post-tectonic igneous events and rifting. In this contribution, a comprehensive isotopic database was compiled from the literature, composed mainly of high-quality U-Pb magmatic and metamorphic ages (ca. 1000), together with Lu-Hf (ca. 1300) and Sm-Nd (ca. 300) data. Using this database, combined with a tectonic/geochemical synthesized review of the region, it is possible to test which of the available contending models can better explain the apparent periodicity in the formation of the continental crustal. Some interpreted the peaks and troughs in the crustal age record as periods of increased magmatic production, controlled by periodic mantellic events. Another hypothesis is that subduction-related rocks are shielded from tectonic erosion after continental amalgamation, the peaks thus reflecting enhanced preservation potential. The latter hypothesis is favored, as the variability regarding the timing of arc-related peak magmatic production (U-Pb age peaks) from different tectonic provinces around the globe and in the considered regions, coupled to the fact that peak arc-production is always closely followed in time by major continental amalgamations (supercontinent formation), precludes a unified global causation effect, such as mantellic overturns or slab avalanches, and supports the preservation bias hypothesis. Furthermore, the worldwide (including the São Francisco Craton) occurrence of plume-related magmatism is concentrated during the periods of supercontinent break-up (i.e. after major collisions), which better relates to a top-down control on mantle convection and opposes most of the models that advocate for the primary periodicity of magmatic production, which predict enhanced plume activity slightly prior or concomitant to supercontinent formation events.
Abstract: Using IR-Fourier spectrometry (FTIR) and simultaneous thermal analysis combined with quadrupole mass spectrometry of thermal decomposition products (STA + QMS), olivines and clinopyroxene from xenolites of spinel and garnet lherzolites contained in kimberlites and alkaline basalts were studied to confirm the occurrence of hydrogen and carbon within the structure of the minerals, as well as to specify the forms of H and C. The presence of hydroxyl ions (OH-) and molecules of crystal hydrate water (H2Ocryst) along with CO2, CH, CH2, and CH3 groups was detected, which remained within the structures of mantle minerals up to 1300°C (by the data of both techniques). The total water (OH-and H2Ocryst) was the prevailing component of the C-O-H system.
The Extractive Industries and Society, Vol. 4, pp. 172-179.
Africa, Zimbabwe
artisanal mining
Abstract: The deployment of soldiers’ in diamond mining areas in Zimbabwe is beginning to receive much scholarly attention, partly because scholars researching on such issues are mainly driven by the meta-narratives of ‘artisanal miners’, popularly known as "magweja" in the Zimbabwean context. In many cases soldiers are presented as perpetrators of violence within deployed areas, with magweja and villagers, as victims of military deployment. While this is not untrue, this article explores the ways in which soldiers developed mutual relationships with magweja, friendships and interactions with villagers, including sexual relationships in the communities surrounding the diamond area. However, we assert that these relationships were always implicitly characterised by unequal power dynamics in which the authority of deployed soldiers was ominously present and fear sometimes informed the actions of villagers. Soldiers’ power was always materially represented by the authority vested in them by a powerful demagogic state. It was visibly represented through their combat uniforms, and the gun as part of their daily standing orders, including other soldiering routines such as patrols, and guard duties. We argue that even beyond these circumscribed conditions of relations building, the people behind the combat uniforms had their own agencies that never always resonated with that of the state. Their actions were informed by the chain of command and the consequences wrought by failing to abide by standing orders. In this article, we illuminate those hidden narratives and expose the manner in which the dictatorial state instrumentalises its armed forces despite the disparate personal agencies of those soldiers which are suppressed by the very nature of military service. The paper is based on interviews with soldiers, "magweja" and villagers.
Abstract: Our discovery of moissanite grains in a peralkaline syenite from the Água de Pau Volcano (São Miguel, Azores Islands, Portugal) represents the first report of this mineral in present day oceanic geodynamic settings. Raman spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction show the presence of both the 6H and 4H polytypes with the predominance of the first one. The distribution of trace elements is homogeneous, except for Al and V. Azorean moissanite often hosts rounded inclusions of metallic Si and other not yet identified metallic alloys. A process involving a flushing of CH4-H2 ultra-reducing fluids in the alkaline melts might be considered as a possible mechanism leading to the formation of natural SiC, thus calling for strongly reducing conditions that were locally met in the crust-mantle beneath the São Miguel Island.
African Journal of Marine Science, Vol. 44, 1, pp. 49-60.
Africa, Namibia
mining
Abstract: Coastal diamond mining in southern Namibia involves constructing seawalls to hold the sea at bay, and seaward accretion of the shoreline by up to 800 m opens what was previously the surf zone for excavation and extraction of bedrock alluvial diamonds. This has created large coastal wetland ponds of up to 380 000 m2 as the sea overtops the seawalls or seeps into the excavated areas. The ages of these ponds span 1-38 years. We investigated physical conditions in the ponds to determine whether they can function as saline wetlands equivalent to blind estuaries. Water temperatures were 6-10 °C higher than in the sea, as expected of shallow enclosed waterbodies. Dissolved oxygen was 82-137%, peaking at midday owing to photosynthesis, and the ponds were never hypoxic. Correlated with oxygen levels, pH values spanned 7.7-8.3, and always exceeded the pH of seawater. Chlorophyll a concentrations matched or exceeded the levels in seawater, reaching 76 µg l?1. The southern and central ponds had salinities close to those of seawater, but the salinity of northern ponds exceeded 80 after ?15 years, thus limiting their capacity to support wetland communities. Apart from this, these ponds are viable habitat that can support flora and fauna typical of saline wetlands, a habitat that is scarce along this arid coastline.
African Journal of Marine Science, Vol. 44, 1, pp. 61-68.
Africa, Namibia
mining
Abstract: Coastal diamond mining in southern Namibia involves constructing seawalls to hold the sea at bay, and seaward accretion of the shoreline by up to 800 m opens what was previously the surf zone for excavation and extraction of bedrock alluvial diamonds. This has created large coastal wetland ponds of up to 380 000 m2 as the sea overtops the seawalls or seeps into the excavated areas. The ages of these ponds span 1-38 years. We investigated physical conditions in the ponds to determine whether they can function as saline wetlands equivalent to blind estuaries. Water temperatures were 6-10 °C higher than in the sea, as expected of shallow enclosed waterbodies. Dissolved oxygen was 82-137%, peaking at midday owing to photosynthesis, and the ponds were never hypoxic. Correlated with oxygen levels, pH values spanned 7.7-8.3, and always exceeded the pH of seawater. Chlorophyll a concentrations matched or exceeded the levels in seawater, reaching 76 µg l?1. The southern and central ponds had salinities close to those of seawater, but the salinity of northern ponds exceeded 80 after ?15 years, thus limiting their capacity to support wetland communities. Apart from this, these ponds are viable habitat that can support flora and fauna typical of saline wetlands, a habitat that is scarce along this arid coastline.
Abstract: Recent advances in core scanning technologies allow for fast and non-destructive chemical and mineral profiling of rock samples for mineral services and oil and gas exploration. The aim of these automatic core scan methods is to obtain valuable information for profiling drill core cuttings with minimum sample preparation at relatively high speed. In the last decade, a core logging system using an automated infrared-based hyperspectral line-profiling system, Hylogger, has progressed to become an effective standard for the Australian mineral exploration industry. Its results are used to rapidly obtain mineralogical information allowing the characterisation of different geological formations in near real-time. The interpretation of Hylogger data can be challenging for certain complex mineral mixtures. Here we solve this issue by augmenting the Hylogger interpretation with elemental analysis using the Itrax core scanner equipped with an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer. The Itrax core scanner produces high-resolution elemental data of major, minor and trace elements in one dimension. We analyse and compare the Hylogger and Itrax data, with each dataset independently cross-checked using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thin-section petrology and propose a workflow harvesting the mutual strengths of each method. The recommended workflow consists of rapid screening using Hylogger and XRF analysis, providing new insights into the mineralogy based on comparative multiscale element-mineral analysis. The workflow is tested on four different types of volcanic rock samples, where infrared spectra of individual minerals overlap. We tested tuffaceous ash, basaltic, dolerite, and basaltic-andesitic rocks. Our study shows that embedding Itrax core scanner data into the workflow provides a solution to the challenges of interpreting Hylogger data in complex mineral samples. The proposed workflow provides a total system for multiscale, high-resolution petrophysical analyses and rock property modelling.
Transactions Indian Institute of Metallurgy, Vol. 74, 8, pp. 1969-1977. 9p. Pdf
India
deposit - Panna
Abstract: During diamond mining at Panna Mines [India], a huge amount of tailing (Kimberlite) is generated. About 6 Million Tonnes is accumulated and stored near mine site and about 0.9 Million Tonnes of tailings are further being generated each year. Till now, no established method is available for utilization of this material, effective utilization is essential for sustainable diamond mining. The Kimberlite contains about 32% [MgO?+?CaO] and 2% Al2O3, and rest are primarily silica, iron oxide [Fe2O3] and LOI. Initially, attempts were made to utilize Kimberlite as flux in iron ore pellet making; however, during green pellet making, it was observed that strength of pellets improved with higher dosages of Kimberlite. Accordingly, further studies were taken to replace conventional binder bentonite with binder prepared from Kimberlite. The iron ore pellet produced with Kimberlite-based binder have exhibited better physical and metallurgical characteristics than pellets produced with conventional binders (Bentonite).
Marker, A., Friedrich, G., Carvalho, A., Melfi, A.
Control of the distribution of Manganese, Cobalt, Zinc, Zrirconium, Titanium and REEs during the evolution of lateritic covers above ultramafic complexes
Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Special Publications Geochemical, Vol. 40, No. 1-3, pp. 361-384
Abstract: Engineering coherent systems is a central goal of quantum science. Color centers in diamond are a promising approach, with the potential to combine the coherence of atoms with the scalability of a solid-state platform. We report a color center that shows insensitivity to environmental decoherence caused by phonons and electric field noise: the neutral charge state of silicon vacancy (SiV0). Through careful materials engineering, we achieved >80% conversion of implanted silicon to SiV0. SiV0 exhibits spin-lattice relaxation times approaching 1 minute and coherence times approaching 1 second. Its optical properties are very favorable, with ~90% of its emission into the zero-phonon line and near -transform-limited optical linewidths. These combined properties make SiV0 a promising defect for quantum network applications.
Marks, M.A.W., Rudnick, R.L., McCammon, C., Vennemann, T., Markl, G.
Arrested kinetic Li isotope fractionation at the margin of the Ilimaussaq complex: evidence for open system processes during final cooling peralkaline igneous rocks
Marks, M.A.W., Neukirchen, F., Vennemann, T., Markl, G.
Textural, chemical and isotopic effects of late magmatic carbonatitic fluids in the carbonatite syenite Tamazeght complex, High Atlas Mountains, Morocco.
Kohler, J., Schonenberger, J., Upton, B., Markl, G.
Halogen and trace element chemistry in the Gardar Province, South Greenland: subduction related mantle metasomatism and fluid exsolution from alkalic melts.
Mangler, M.F., Marks, M.A.W., Zaitsev, A.N., Eby, G.N., Markl, G.
Halogens (F, Cl and Br) at Oldoinyo Lengai volcano ( Tanzania): effects of magmatic differentiation, silicate, natrocarbonatite melt seperation and surface alteration of natrocarbonatite.
Abstract: Textural and compositional variations of apatite from four intrusions with different characteristic features of the rift-related alkaline Gardar Province were investigated: dyke rocks that belong to the most primitive rocks of the Province (Isortoq), nepheline-syenites associated with a carbonatite (Grønnedal-Ika), SiO2-saturated and SiO2-oversaturated syenites (Puklen) and nepheline-syenites displaying the transition from miaskitic to agpaitic mineral assemblages (Motzfeldt, Fig.1). Additionally, apatites from these intrusions were compared with other apatites of the Gardar Province. These include apatites from the Older Giant Dyke Complex, the Younger Giant Dyke Complex (both from the Tugtutôq region) and a narsarsukite-bearing trachytic dyke (Igdlutalik), as well as apatites from the Kûngnât, the North Qôroq and the Ilímaussaq intrusive complexes. This results in a complete overview of rift-related magmatites of the Gardar Province, ranging from primitive to highly evolved rocks. Backscattered electron images reveal the presence of various types of apatite textures including (i) growth zonation (concentric and oscillatory) that formed during magmatic differentiation and (ii) overgrowth and secondary textures (rounded cores, patchy zonation and overgrowth rims) due to fluid/melt induced metasomatic overprint and intracrystalline diffusion (Fig.2). Additionally, apatite compositions were analyzed with wavelength-dispersive electron microprobe analyses. During the crystallization history of the different intrusions, as well as within samples (documented by zoning patterns), increasing concentrations are observed for Si, REE, Na and F, whereas Cl shows a decreasing trend. However, for F, Cl and Na these trends are only observed in dyke rocks. Compositional variation of the investigated apatites is mainly due to substitution of Ca and P by variable amounts of Si, Na and REE. This study reveals that variations in the chemical composition of apatite are useful tools to obtain geochemical information about the host magma and its magmatic evolution. Here, Si and REE were found to be reliable petrogenetic indicators, whereas Na, F and Cl are only applicable in fast cooling systems to avoid redistribution of those elements.
Abstract: The 2060 Ma old Palabora Carbonatite Complex (PCC), South Africa, comprises diverse REE mineral assemblages formed during different stages and reflects an outstanding instance to understand the evolution of a carbonatite-related REE mineralization from orthomagmatic to late-magmatic stages and their secondary post-magmatic overprint. The 10 rare earth element minerals monazite, REE-F-carbonates (bastnäsite, parisite, synchysite), ancylite, britholite, cordylite, fergusonite, REE-Ti-betafite, and anzaite are texturally described and related to the evolutionary stages of the PCC. The identification of the latter five REE minerals during this study represents their first described occurrences in the PCC as well as in a carbonatite complex in South Africa. The variable REE mineral assemblages reflect a multi-stage origin: (1) fergusonite and REE-Ti-betafite occur as inclusions in primary magnetite. Bastnäsite is enclosed in primary calcite and dolomite. These three REE minerals are interpreted as orthomagmatic crystallization products. (2) The most common REE minerals are monazite replacing primary apatite, and britholite texturally related to the serpentinization of forsterite or the replacement of forsterite by chondrodite. Textural relationships suggest that these two REE-minerals precipitated from internally derived late-magmatic to hydrothermal fluids. Their presence seems to be locally controlled by favorable chemical conditions (e.g., presence of precursor minerals that contributed the necessary anions and/or cations for their formation). (3) Late-stage (post-magmatic) REE minerals include ancylite and cordylite replacing primary magmatic REE-Sr-carbonates, anzaite associated with the dissolution of ilmenite, and secondary REE-F-carbonates. The formation of these post-magmatic REE minerals depends on the local availability of a fluid, whose composition is at least partly controlled by the dissolution of primary minerals (e.g., REE-fluorocarbonates). This multi-stage REE mineralization reflects the interplay of magmatic differentiation, destabilization of early magmatic minerals during subsequent evolutionary stages of the carbonatitic system, and late-stage fluid-induced remobilization and re-/precipitation of precursor REE minerals. Based on our findings, the Palabora Carbonatite Complex experienced at least two successive stages of intense fluid–rock interaction.
Abstract: Pyrochlore from the Kaiserstuhl volcanic complex (SW Germany) shows textural and compositional differences between various coarse-grained calcite-carbonatite bodies (Badberg, Degenmatt, Haselschacher Buck, Orberg) and extrusive carbonatites (Henkenberg, Kirchberg). Oscillatory-zoned F-rich pyrochlore with up to 69?wt% Nb2O5 is common in all coarse-grained calcite-carbonatite bodies and probably formed during magmatic conditions. However, only in some of the samples from the Badberg, partly resorbed U- and Ta-enriched pyrochlore cores with up to 22?wt% UO2 and 9?wt% Ta2O5 have been identified, which are interpreted as being inherited from underlying nosean syenites. Pyrochlore data from a drill core penetrating the Badberg indicate increasing contents of REE, U, and Ta with depth, while Nb, F and Na contents decrease. This may reflect the combined effects of fractional crystallization and assimilation (AFC) or indicates a multi-stage emplacement of the carbonatitic magma. Patchy-zoned ceriopyrochlore and REE- and Th-enriched pyrochlore with up to 19?wt% total REE2O3 and 6.5?wt% ThO2 is largely restricted to samples from the Orberg and probably formed during hydrothermal conditions. This can be related to the relatively evolved character of the Orberg carbonatites, based on their relatively high whole-rock Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf mass ratios. This study demonstrates that the textural and compositional variation of pyrochlore in carbonatites is a powerful tool to distinguish magmatic, hydrothermal and weathering processes in carbonatitic systems.
Abstract: A detailed electron microprobe study has been carried out on the compositional variations of mica and apatite from carbonatites, phoscorites and associated pyroxenites (and fenites) of the Loolekop deposit, Palabora Carbonatite Complex (South Africa). Mica in pyroxenites and fenites is Mg-rich biotite, whilst micas in carbonatites and phoscorites are compositionally diverse including phlogopite, Ba-rich phlogopite (up to 30% kinoshitalite component), IVAl-rich phlogopite (up to 30% eastonite component) and tetraferriphlogopite. The various types of phlogopites are interpreted as orthomagmatic phases, whereas tetraferriphlogopite precipitation was a late-magmatic to hydrothermal process that additionally introduced REE into the system. Orthomagmatic apatite is generally REE- and Sr-poor fluorapatite and does not show large compositional differences between rock types. Apatite associated with the late-stage tetraferriphlogopite mineralization reaches higher levels of REE (up to 4.9?wt%), Si (up to 1.5?wt% SiO2), Sr (up to 2.6?wt% SrO) and Na (up to 1.0?wt% Na2O). The compositional variation of micas and apatites, which is affiliated with distinct rock types, reflects the multi-stage evolution of the Loolekop deposit and provides detailed insight into the relationships of the carbonatite-phoscorite assemblage. The obtained data support the separation of phoscorite and carbonatite by immiscibility from a common parental magma, which may happen due to a decrease of temperature and/or pressure during the ascent of the magma. This results in a density contrast between the carbonatitic and phoscoritic components that will lead to descending phoscorite accumulations at the outer zones of the magma channel and a jet-like ascent (further promoted by its extremely low viscosity) of the carbonatite magma. The genetic model deduced here explains the peculiar association of carbonatites, phoscorites and silicate rocks in many alkaline complexes worldwide.
Abstract: A detailed electron microprobe study has been carried out on the compositional variations of mica and apatite from carbonatites, phoscorites and associated pyroxenites (and fenites) of the Loolekop deposit, Palabora Carbonatite Complex (South Africa). Mica in pyroxenites and fenites is Mg-rich biotite, whilst micas in carbonatites and phoscorites are compositionally diverse including phlogopite, Ba-rich phlogopite (up to 30% kinoshitalite component), IVAl-rich phlogopite (up to 30% eastonite component) and tetraferriphlogopite. The various types of phlogopites are interpreted as orthomagmatic phases, whereas tetraferriphlogopite precipitation was a late-magmatic to hydrothermal process that additionally introduced REE into the system. Orthomagmatic apatite is generally REE- and Sr-poor fluorapatite and does not show large compositional differences between rock types. Apatite associated with the late-stage tetraferriphlogopite mineralization reaches higher levels of REE (up to 4.9?wt%), Si (up to 1.5?wt% SiO2), Sr (up to 2.6?wt% SrO) and Na (up to 1.0?wt% Na2O). The compositional variation of micas and apatites, which is affiliated with distinct rock types, reflects the multi-stage evolution of the Loolekop deposit and provides detailed insight into the relationships of the carbonatite-phoscorite assemblage. The obtained data support the separation of phoscorite and carbonatite by immiscibility from a common parental magma, which may happen due to a decrease of temperature and/or pressure during the ascent of the magma. This results in a density contrast between the carbonatitic and phoscoritic components that will lead to descending phoscorite accumulations at the outer zones of the magma channel and a jet-like ascent (further promoted by its extremely low viscosity) of the carbonatite magma. The genetic model deduced here explains the peculiar association of carbonatites, phoscorites and silicate rocks in many alkaline complexes worldwide.
Abstract: Alkaline complexes consist of variable mantle-derived silicate rocks, ranging from primitive alkali basalts, melilitites, nephelinites and basanites towards tephrites and more evolved phonolites, respectively their plutonic equivalents. This lithological variance is also expressed by a wide range of redox conditions that vary by several log units around the synthetic fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ) buffer. However, only some of these complexes are characterized by the occurrence of carbonatites which must be related to specific formation conditions. Based on textural, mineralogical and geochemical observations, we calculated the redox conditions of carbonatites and associated silicate rocks for seven alkaline complexes (Kaiserstuhl, Sokli, Kovdor, Palabora, Magnet Cove, Oka, Jacupiranga) which are considered to represent typical carbonatite-alkaline silicate rock associations. In combination with a comprehensive literature review, we demonstrate that carbonatite-bearing alkaline complexes formed under highly oxidized conditions and hence, belong to the most oxidized alkaline rocks at all. This is consistent with the prerequisite of a carbonated mantle as the source region for carbonatite complexes, which requires redox conditions distinctively above that for mean lithospheric or asthenospheric mantle. Carbonatitemetasomatized peridotites also show high redox conditions and might not only reflect an interaction between peridotite and carbonatitic melts/fluids, but at least partly represent the carbonated mantle source for crustally emplaced carbonatite complexes. We therefore suggest that the oxidation state of carbonatites and associated silicate rocks provides direct information about an extraordinary oxidized parental mantle source.
Abstract: A detailed electron microprobe study has been carried out on the compositional variations of mica and apatite from carbonatites, phoscorites and associated pyroxenites (and fenites) of the Loolekop deposit, Palabora Carbonatite Complex (South Africa). Mica in pyroxenites and fenites is Mg-rich biotite, whilst micas in carbonatites and phoscorites are compositionally diverse including phlogopite, Ba-rich phlogopite (up to 30% kinoshitalite component), IVAl-rich phlogopite (up to 30% eastonite component) and tetraferriphlogopite. The various types of phlogopites are interpreted as orthomagmatic phases, whereas tetraferriphlogopite precipitation was a late-magmatic to hydrothermal process that additionally introduced REE into the system. Orthomagmatic apatite is generally REE- and Sr-poor fluorapatite and does not show large compositional differences between rock types. Apatite associated with the late-stage tetraferriphlogopite mineralization reaches higher levels of REE (up to 4.9?wt%), Si (up to 1.5?wt% SiO2), Sr (up to 2.6?wt% SrO) and Na (up to 1.0?wt% Na2O). The compositional variation of micas and apatites, which is affiliated with distinct rock types, reflects the multi-stage evolution of the Loolekop deposit and provides detailed insight into the relationships of the carbonatite-phoscorite assemblage. The obtained data support the separation of phoscorite and carbonatite by immiscibility from a common parental magma, which may happen due to a decrease of temperature and/or pressure during the ascent of the magma. This results in a density contrast between the carbonatitic and phoscoritic components that will lead to descending phoscorite accumulations at the outer zones of the magma channel and a jet-like ascent (further promoted by its extremely low viscosity) of the carbonatite magma. The genetic model deduced here explains the peculiar association of carbonatites, phoscorites and silicate rocks in many alkaline complexes worldwide.
Abstract: Contamination of carbonatites with crustal or cogenetic intrusive rocks is generally not considered to play an important role during carbonatite magmatism, because carbonatitic melts have low densities and viscosities, enabling them to rapidly ascend. Potential contamination by silicate rocks in carbonatites cannot easily be detected by means of radiogenic isotope data (such as Sr, Nd and Pb isotope data) as carbonatites often show high concentrations of these elements and their isotope systems are thereby “buffered” against contamination with silicate rocks. Textural, mineralogical and geochemical observations in carbonatites from the Kaiserstuhl (Germany) provide evidence for the interaction of carbonatitic magma with previously emplaced nosean syenites. This caused replacement of alkali feldspar by haüyne and recrystallization of garnet and clinopyroxene in the xenoliths, which released larger amounts of K, Al, Si and Fe. As a result, blackwall-like mica seams around the xenoliths formed and and compositionally distinct mica and clinopyroxene crystallized in the surrounding carbonatite. Moreover, the local increase of silica activity during contamination enabled strong REE enrichment in apatite via a coupled substitution involving Si, which demonstrates the potential influence of Si contamination on REE mineralization in carbonatites. We further suggest that the presence and composition of clinopyroxene and mica in carbonatites may be useful indicators for contamination processes during their emplacement. Mass-balance calculations based on experimental constraints for the solubility of Al and Si in carbonatitic magmas suggest that only minor amounts of mica can form from carbonatitic melt. Therefore, larger amounts of mica and mica-dominated lithologies (glimmerites) as observed in many carbonatite complexes suggest that some Si and Al in carbonatites may be sourced from surrounding host rocks. We hypothesize that assimilation and contamination processes in carbonatites may be the rule rather than an exception.
Abstract: Studies on fluid inclusions in carbonatitic rocks are essential to understand the physicochemical processes involved in carbonatite-related hydrothermal ore mineralization. Although little is known about the composition of carbonatite-derived fluids. We investigated fluid inclusions in the Kaiserstuhl carbonatites, SW Germany [1,2] and identified four different types typically known from carbonatitic systems worldwide [3]: (I): Vapor-poor H2O-NaCl fluids with <50 wt.% salinity. (II): Vapor-rich H2O-NaCl-CO2 fluids with <5 wt.% salinity. (III): Multi-component fluids with high salinity and CO2. (IV): Multi-component fluids with high salinity, no CO2. Homogenization temperatures (156 to 530°C) of all fluid types generally show a wide range [this study, 2]. Primary type I fluid inclusions occur in early magmatic olivine/monticellite, as well as paragenetically later apatites and calcites [2]. This indicates a ubiquitous existence of a saline brine, which does not reach saturation with respect to halite, during early to late crystallization stages. Liquidus surface modelling based quantifications for fluid type III suggest that carbonatite melts predomonantly exsolve Na-K-sulfate-carbonate/bicarbonate-chloride brines (type III or IV, respectively). Such fluid inclusions, with type III (CO2-free) on one side and type IV (and II, both CO2-rich) on the other side, may represent immiscible fluids that were trapped after segregation by boiling from a parental highly saline brine (type I). Fluid boiling, in turn, is probably triggered by a rapid pressure release during “pneumatic hammer-like,” discontinuous melt ascent.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 533, 11p. Pdf
Mantle
carbonatite
Abstract: A detailed investigation on seven carbonatites and associated alkaline rock complexes (Kaiserstuhl, Sokli, Kovdor, Palabora, Oka, Magnet Cove, Jacupiranga), together with a world-wide comparison between carbonatites, alkaline silicate rocks and mantle xenoliths, implies peculiar redox conditions for carbonatite-bearing alkaline complexes: Carbonatites and associated alkaline rocks in continental settings crystallize from relatively oxidized magmas, on average 1.4 log units () and 1.3 log units () above the synthetic fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ) buffer. In contrast, alkaline rocks in continental settings that lack associated carbonatites reveal rather reduced conditions (mean ; ). The calculated redox conditions for carbonatites and associated silicate rocks demonstrate that these crystallize from relatively oxidized mantle-derived melts compared to the general range found for alkaline rocks in continental settings.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 277, pp. 224-242. pdf
Europe, Germany
carbonatite
Abstract: Studies of fluid inclusions in carbonatitic rocks are essential for understanding physicochemical processes involved in carbonatite-related hydrothermal ore mineralization and fenitization. However, the composition of many carbonatite-derived fluids is challenging to quantify, which hampers their detailed interpretation. Here, we present a systematic study of microthermometry of fluid inclusions found in carbonatites from the Kaiserstuhl (SW Germany), and a simple numerical model to estimate the compositions of such fluids, which are typical of numerous carbonatites worldwide. Four types of fluid inclusions have been identified in the Kaiserstuhl carbonatites: (I) vapor-poor H2O-NaCl fluids with <50?wt.% salinity; (II) vapor-rich H2O-NaCl-CO2 fluids with <5?wt.% salinity; (III) multi-component fluids with high salinity and high CO2 contents; and (IV) multi-component fluids with high salinity but little to no CO2. At present, it is only possible to quantify fluid compositions for types I and II. For the complex types III and IV, we conducted predictive modeling of the liquidus surface based on the Margules equations. The results suggest that carbonatite melts predominantly exsolve Na-K-sulfate-carbonate/bicarbonate-chloride brines (types III or IV). Such fluid inclusions may represent immiscible fluids that were trapped after segregation by boiling from a parental highly saline brine (type I). Fluid boiling, in turn, was probably triggered by a rapid pressure release during melt ascent. The present model enables quantification of fluid compositions associated with carbonatitic magmatism.
Abstract:
This study reports halogen contents (F and Cl) of amphibole and phlogopite derived from mantle xenoliths and one peridotite massif, for amphibole and phlogopite megacrysts and ultramafic magmatic cumulates (hornblendites) found in alkaline volcanic rocks from 12 localities in Europe and Africa. Amphibole and phlogopite contain more F than Cl with F/Cl ratios reaching about 160 in phlogopites and 50 in amphiboles. Phlogopites are higher in F (median of 3400 ?g/g) than amphibole (median of 1000 ?g/g), while median Cl contents are higher in amphibole (290 ?g/g) compared to phlogopite (180 ?g/g). The Cl contents and the F/Cl ratios in amphibole and phlogopite from mantle xenoliths exhibit large differences between samples of the same region, recording very large variations of halogen contents in the continental lithosphere. We suggest that the halogen content in such samples largely depends on the initial composition of percolating melts and fluids in the continental lithosphere. During reaction of these agents with peridotitic wall-rocks, Cl is preferentially retained in the fluid as it is much more incompatible compared to water and F. This desiccation effect continuously increases salinity (Cl content) and decreases the F/Cl ratio in the agent with time, causing variable Cl contents and F/Cl ratios in amphibole and phlogopite at a specific locality. Subsequent partial melting processes may then sequester and re-distribute, especially Cl among amphibole, phlogopite and melts/fluids as a result of its strong incompatibility, whereas F is much less affected as it behaves slightly compatible. The impact of even small amounts of amphibole and mica on the total halogen budget in the continental lithosphere is significant and both minerals can effectively contribute to the high halogen contents typical of alkaline melts.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 277, pp. 224-242. pdf
Europe, Germany
deposit - Kaiserstuhl
Abstract: Studies of fluid inclusions in carbonatitic rocks are essential for understanding physicochemical processes involved in carbonatite-related hydrothermal ore mineralization and fenitization. However, the composition of many carbonatite-derived fluids is challenging to quantify, which hampers their detailed interpretation. Here, we present a systematic study of microthermometry of fluid inclusions found in carbonatites from the Kaiserstuhl (SW Germany), and a simple numerical model to estimate the compositions of such fluids, which are typical of numerous carbonatites worldwide. Four types of fluid inclusions have been identified in the Kaiserstuhl carbonatites: (I) vapor-poor H2O-NaCl fluids with <50?wt.% salinity; (II) vapor-rich H2O-NaCl-CO2 fluids with <5?wt.% salinity; (III) multi-component fluids with high salinity and high CO2 contents; and (IV) multi-component fluids with high salinity but little to no CO2. At present, it is only possible to quantify fluid compositions for types I and II. For the complex types III and IV, we conducted predictive modeling of the liquidus surface based on the Margules equations. The results suggest that carbonatite melts predominantly exsolve Na-K-sulfate-carbonate/bicarbonate-chloride brines (types III or IV). Such fluid inclusions may represent immiscible fluids that were trapped after segregation by boiling from a parental highly saline brine (type I). Fluid boiling, in turn, was probably triggered by a rapid pressure release during melt ascent. The present model enables quantification of fluid compositions associated with carbonatitic magmatism.
Earth Science Reviews , Vol. 215, 103509, 27p. Pdf
Mantle
magmatism
Abstract: Carbonatites are formed from volatile-rich melts, commonly associated with a characteristic hydrothermal footprint. However, studies of their fluid inclusions are relatively scarce and heterogeneous in terms of detail and completeness of the data presented. Here, we review and discuss comprehensively the results of previous studies and derive a general model for the formation and properties of fluids associated with carbonatitic magmatism. Worldwide, four types of fluid inclusion occur in carbonatites: (type I/HS) vapour-poor H2O-NaCl fluids with up to 50 wt% salinity; (type II/HC) vapour-rich H2O-NaCl-CO2 fluids with <5 wt% salinity; (type III/DS) multi-component fluids with high salinity and without CO2; and (type IV/CDS) multi-component fluids with high salinity and high CO2. This global dataset suggests continuous fluid release from deep to shallow-level intrusions. Modelling of the liquidus surface indicates that carbonatite magmas generally exsolve a saline brine (type I/HS). This brine separates/evolves into a Na-K-sulfate-carbonate/bicarbonate-chloride brine with or without CO2 (types III/DS and IV/CDS), trapped together with low salinity CO2-rich fluids produced by immiscibility. Fluid immiscibility is related to rapid pressure release during fast, forceful and discontinuous magma ascent, which we envisage as a "pneumatic jackhammer" model for carbonatite ascent and emplacement. In this model, cyclic and progressive fluid flux via pressure build-up and subsequent catastrophic pressure release results in a self-sustaining crustal ascent of the buoyant, low-viscosity magma. This process allows for rapid and efficient magma ascent, in particular above the brittle-ductile transition zone, where pressures that prevailed during apatite crystallization have been estimated in numerous complexes. Moreover, this model provides an explanation for the apparent absence of shallow carbonatite magma chambers (in a classical sense) and identifies fenitization as a phenomenon induced by both fluids released during magma ascent and residual fluids.
Russian Journal of Pacific Geology, Vol. 12, 5, pp. 408-418.
Russia, Kamchatka
picrites
Abstract: The mineral and chemical compositions of the layered subvolcanic ultrabasic rocks formed through fluid-silicate (liquid) separation of the ultrabasic magma into high-potassium and low-potassium fractions are characterized by the example of the layered picritic sill from the Late Cretaceous ultrabasic volcanic complex of Eastern Kamchatka. It is determined that the main potassium concentrator in the picrites from the high-potassium layers is a residual volcanic glass containing up to 8-9 wt % K2O, which is unique for ultrabasic melts.
Society of Economic Geology Geoscience and Exploration of the Argyle, Bunder, Diavik, and Murowa Diamond Deposits, Special Publication no. 20, pp. 425-
Earth Science Reviews , Vol. 215, 103509, 27p. Pdf
Mantle
magmatism
Abstract: Carbonatites are formed from volatile-rich melts, commonly associated with a characteristic hydrothermal footprint. However, studies of their fluid inclusions are relatively scarce and heterogeneous in terms of detail and completeness of the data presented. Here, we review and discuss comprehensively the results of previous studies and derive a general model for the formation and properties of fluids associated with carbonatitic magmatism. Worldwide, four types of fluid inclusion occur in carbonatites: (type I/HS) vapour-poor H2O-NaCl fluids with up to 50 wt% salinity; (type II/HC) vapour-rich H2O-NaCl-CO2 fluids with <5 wt% salinity; (type III/DS) multi-component fluids with high salinity and without CO2; and (type IV/CDS) multi-component fluids with high salinity and high CO2. This global dataset suggests continuous fluid release from deep to shallow-level intrusions. Modelling of the liquidus surface indicates that carbonatite magmas generally exsolve a saline brine (type I/HS). This brine separates/evolves into a Na-K-sulfate-carbonate/bicarbonate-chloride brine with or without CO2 (types III/DS and IV/CDS), trapped together with low salinity CO2-rich fluids produced by immiscibility. Fluid immiscibility is related to rapid pressure release during fast, forceful and discontinuous magma ascent, which we envisage as a "pneumatic jackhammer" model for carbonatite ascent and emplacement. In this model, cyclic and progressive fluid flux via pressure build-up and subsequent catastrophic pressure release results in a self-sustaining crustal ascent of the buoyant, low-viscosity magma. This process allows for rapid and efficient magma ascent, in particular above the brittle-ductile transition zone, where pressures that prevailed during apatite crystallization have been estimated in numerous complexes. Moreover, this model provides an explanation for the apparent absence of shallow carbonatite magma chambers (in a classical sense) and identifies fenitization as a phenomenon induced by both fluids released during magma ascent and residual fluids.
Marks, M.A.W., Rudnick, R.L., McCammon, C., Vennemann, T., Markl, G.
Arrested kinetic Li isotope fractionation at the margin of the Ilimaussaq complex: evidence for open system processes during final cooling peralkaline igneous rocks
Marks, M.A.W., Neukirchen, F., Vennemann, T., Markl, G.
Textural, chemical and isotopic effects of late magmatic carbonatitic fluids in the carbonatite syenite Tamazeght complex, High Atlas Mountains, Morocco.
Mangler, M.F., Marks, M.A.W., Zaitsev, A.N., Eby, G.N., Markl, G.
Halogens (F, Cl and Br) at Oldoinyo Lengai volcano ( Tanzania): effects of magmatic differentiation, silicate, natrocarbonatite melt seperation and surface alteration of natrocarbonatite.
Abstract: Textural and compositional variations of apatite from four intrusions with different characteristic features of the rift-related alkaline Gardar Province were investigated: dyke rocks that belong to the most primitive rocks of the Province (Isortoq), nepheline-syenites associated with a carbonatite (Grønnedal-Ika), SiO2-saturated and SiO2-oversaturated syenites (Puklen) and nepheline-syenites displaying the transition from miaskitic to agpaitic mineral assemblages (Motzfeldt, Fig.1). Additionally, apatites from these intrusions were compared with other apatites of the Gardar Province. These include apatites from the Older Giant Dyke Complex, the Younger Giant Dyke Complex (both from the Tugtutôq region) and a narsarsukite-bearing trachytic dyke (Igdlutalik), as well as apatites from the Kûngnât, the North Qôroq and the Ilímaussaq intrusive complexes. This results in a complete overview of rift-related magmatites of the Gardar Province, ranging from primitive to highly evolved rocks. Backscattered electron images reveal the presence of various types of apatite textures including (i) growth zonation (concentric and oscillatory) that formed during magmatic differentiation and (ii) overgrowth and secondary textures (rounded cores, patchy zonation and overgrowth rims) due to fluid/melt induced metasomatic overprint and intracrystalline diffusion (Fig.2). Additionally, apatite compositions were analyzed with wavelength-dispersive electron microprobe analyses. During the crystallization history of the different intrusions, as well as within samples (documented by zoning patterns), increasing concentrations are observed for Si, REE, Na and F, whereas Cl shows a decreasing trend. However, for F, Cl and Na these trends are only observed in dyke rocks. Compositional variation of the investigated apatites is mainly due to substitution of Ca and P by variable amounts of Si, Na and REE. This study reveals that variations in the chemical composition of apatite are useful tools to obtain geochemical information about the host magma and its magmatic evolution. Here, Si and REE were found to be reliable petrogenetic indicators, whereas Na, F and Cl are only applicable in fast cooling systems to avoid redistribution of those elements.
Abstract: The 2060 Ma old Palabora Carbonatite Complex (PCC), South Africa, comprises diverse REE mineral assemblages formed during different stages and reflects an outstanding instance to understand the evolution of a carbonatite-related REE mineralization from orthomagmatic to late-magmatic stages and their secondary post-magmatic overprint. The 10 rare earth element minerals monazite, REE-F-carbonates (bastnäsite, parisite, synchysite), ancylite, britholite, cordylite, fergusonite, REE-Ti-betafite, and anzaite are texturally described and related to the evolutionary stages of the PCC. The identification of the latter five REE minerals during this study represents their first described occurrences in the PCC as well as in a carbonatite complex in South Africa. The variable REE mineral assemblages reflect a multi-stage origin: (1) fergusonite and REE-Ti-betafite occur as inclusions in primary magnetite. Bastnäsite is enclosed in primary calcite and dolomite. These three REE minerals are interpreted as orthomagmatic crystallization products. (2) The most common REE minerals are monazite replacing primary apatite, and britholite texturally related to the serpentinization of forsterite or the replacement of forsterite by chondrodite. Textural relationships suggest that these two REE-minerals precipitated from internally derived late-magmatic to hydrothermal fluids. Their presence seems to be locally controlled by favorable chemical conditions (e.g., presence of precursor minerals that contributed the necessary anions and/or cations for their formation). (3) Late-stage (post-magmatic) REE minerals include ancylite and cordylite replacing primary magmatic REE-Sr-carbonates, anzaite associated with the dissolution of ilmenite, and secondary REE-F-carbonates. The formation of these post-magmatic REE minerals depends on the local availability of a fluid, whose composition is at least partly controlled by the dissolution of primary minerals (e.g., REE-fluorocarbonates). This multi-stage REE mineralization reflects the interplay of magmatic differentiation, destabilization of early magmatic minerals during subsequent evolutionary stages of the carbonatitic system, and late-stage fluid-induced remobilization and re-/precipitation of precursor REE minerals. Based on our findings, the Palabora Carbonatite Complex experienced at least two successive stages of intense fluid–rock interaction.
Abstract: Carbonatites and alkaline-silicate rocks are the most important sources of rare earth elements (REE) and niobium (Nb), both of which are metals imperative to technological advancement and associated with high risks of supply interruption. Cooling and crystallizing carbonatitic and alkaline melts expel multiple pulses of alkali-rich aqueous fluids which metasomatize the surrounding country rocks, forming fenites during a process called fenitization. These alkalis and volatiles are original constituents of the magma that are not recorded in the carbonatite rock, and therefore fenites should not be dismissed during the description of a carbonatite system. This paper reviews the existing literature, focusing on 17 worldwide carbonatite complexes whose attributes are used to discuss the main features and processes of fenitization. Although many attempts have been made in the literature to categorize and name fenites, it is recommended that the IUGS metamorphic nomenclature be used to describe predominant mineralogy and textures. Complexing anions greatly enhance the solubility of REE and Nb in these fenitizing fluids, mobilizing them into the surrounding country rock, and precipitating REE- and Nb-enriched micro-mineral assemblages. As such, fenites have significant potential to be used as an exploration tool to find mineralized intrusions in a similar way alteration patterns are used in other ore systems, such as porphyry copper deposits. Strong trends have been identified between the presence of more complex veining textures, mineralogy and brecciation in fenites with intermediate stage Nb-enriched and later stage REE-enriched magmas. However, compiling this evidence has also highlighted large gaps in the literature relating to fenitization. These need to be addressed before fenite can be used as a comprehensive and effective exploration tool.
Abstract: Pyrochlore from the Kaiserstuhl volcanic complex (SW Germany) shows textural and compositional differences between various coarse-grained calcite-carbonatite bodies (Badberg, Degenmatt, Haselschacher Buck, Orberg) and extrusive carbonatites (Henkenberg, Kirchberg). Oscillatory-zoned F-rich pyrochlore with up to 69?wt% Nb2O5 is common in all coarse-grained calcite-carbonatite bodies and probably formed during magmatic conditions. However, only in some of the samples from the Badberg, partly resorbed U- and Ta-enriched pyrochlore cores with up to 22?wt% UO2 and 9?wt% Ta2O5 have been identified, which are interpreted as being inherited from underlying nosean syenites. Pyrochlore data from a drill core penetrating the Badberg indicate increasing contents of REE, U, and Ta with depth, while Nb, F and Na contents decrease. This may reflect the combined effects of fractional crystallization and assimilation (AFC) or indicates a multi-stage emplacement of the carbonatitic magma. Patchy-zoned ceriopyrochlore and REE- and Th-enriched pyrochlore with up to 19?wt% total REE2O3 and 6.5?wt% ThO2 is largely restricted to samples from the Orberg and probably formed during hydrothermal conditions. This can be related to the relatively evolved character of the Orberg carbonatites, based on their relatively high whole-rock Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf mass ratios. This study demonstrates that the textural and compositional variation of pyrochlore in carbonatites is a powerful tool to distinguish magmatic, hydrothermal and weathering processes in carbonatitic systems.
Abstract: A detailed electron microprobe study has been carried out on the compositional variations of mica and apatite from carbonatites, phoscorites and associated pyroxenites (and fenites) of the Loolekop deposit, Palabora Carbonatite Complex (South Africa). Mica in pyroxenites and fenites is Mg-rich biotite, whilst micas in carbonatites and phoscorites are compositionally diverse including phlogopite, Ba-rich phlogopite (up to 30% kinoshitalite component), IVAl-rich phlogopite (up to 30% eastonite component) and tetraferriphlogopite. The various types of phlogopites are interpreted as orthomagmatic phases, whereas tetraferriphlogopite precipitation was a late-magmatic to hydrothermal process that additionally introduced REE into the system. Orthomagmatic apatite is generally REE- and Sr-poor fluorapatite and does not show large compositional differences between rock types. Apatite associated with the late-stage tetraferriphlogopite mineralization reaches higher levels of REE (up to 4.9?wt%), Si (up to 1.5?wt% SiO2), Sr (up to 2.6?wt% SrO) and Na (up to 1.0?wt% Na2O). The compositional variation of micas and apatites, which is affiliated with distinct rock types, reflects the multi-stage evolution of the Loolekop deposit and provides detailed insight into the relationships of the carbonatite-phoscorite assemblage. The obtained data support the separation of phoscorite and carbonatite by immiscibility from a common parental magma, which may happen due to a decrease of temperature and/or pressure during the ascent of the magma. This results in a density contrast between the carbonatitic and phoscoritic components that will lead to descending phoscorite accumulations at the outer zones of the magma channel and a jet-like ascent (further promoted by its extremely low viscosity) of the carbonatite magma. The genetic model deduced here explains the peculiar association of carbonatites, phoscorites and silicate rocks in many alkaline complexes worldwide.
Abstract: A detailed electron microprobe study has been carried out on the compositional variations of mica and apatite from carbonatites, phoscorites and associated pyroxenites (and fenites) of the Loolekop deposit, Palabora Carbonatite Complex (South Africa). Mica in pyroxenites and fenites is Mg-rich biotite, whilst micas in carbonatites and phoscorites are compositionally diverse including phlogopite, Ba-rich phlogopite (up to 30% kinoshitalite component), IVAl-rich phlogopite (up to 30% eastonite component) and tetraferriphlogopite. The various types of phlogopites are interpreted as orthomagmatic phases, whereas tetraferriphlogopite precipitation was a late-magmatic to hydrothermal process that additionally introduced REE into the system. Orthomagmatic apatite is generally REE- and Sr-poor fluorapatite and does not show large compositional differences between rock types. Apatite associated with the late-stage tetraferriphlogopite mineralization reaches higher levels of REE (up to 4.9?wt%), Si (up to 1.5?wt% SiO2), Sr (up to 2.6?wt% SrO) and Na (up to 1.0?wt% Na2O). The compositional variation of micas and apatites, which is affiliated with distinct rock types, reflects the multi-stage evolution of the Loolekop deposit and provides detailed insight into the relationships of the carbonatite-phoscorite assemblage. The obtained data support the separation of phoscorite and carbonatite by immiscibility from a common parental magma, which may happen due to a decrease of temperature and/or pressure during the ascent of the magma. This results in a density contrast between the carbonatitic and phoscoritic components that will lead to descending phoscorite accumulations at the outer zones of the magma channel and a jet-like ascent (further promoted by its extremely low viscosity) of the carbonatite magma. The genetic model deduced here explains the peculiar association of carbonatites, phoscorites and silicate rocks in many alkaline complexes worldwide.
Abstract: Security of supply of “hi-tech” raw materials (including the rare earth elements (REE) and some high-field-strength elements (HFSEs)) is a concern for the European Union. Exploration and research projects mostly focus on deposit- to outcrop-scale description of carbonatite- and alkaline igneous-associated REE-HFSE mineralization. The REE-HFSE mineral system concept and approach are at a nascent stage, so developed further here. However, before applying the mineral system approach to a chosen REE-HFSE metallogenic province its mineral system extent first needs defining and mapping. This shifts a mineral system project’s foundation from the mineral system concept to a province’s mineral system extent. The mapped extent is required to investigate systematically the pathways and potential trap locations along which the REE-HFSE mass may be distributed. A workflow is presented to standardize the 4-D definition of a REE-HFSE mineral system at province-scale: (a) Identify and hierarchically organize a mineral system’s genetically related sub-divisions and deposits, (b) map its known and possible maximum extents, (c) name it, (d) discern its size (known mineral endowment), and (e) assess the favorability of the critical components to prioritize further investigations. The workflow is designed to generate process-based perspective and improve predictive targeting effectiveness along under-evaluated plays of any mineral system, for the future risking, comparing and ranking of REE-HFSE provinces and plays.
Abstract: Alkaline complexes consist of variable mantle-derived silicate rocks, ranging from primitive alkali basalts, melilitites, nephelinites and basanites towards tephrites and more evolved phonolites, respectively their plutonic equivalents. This lithological variance is also expressed by a wide range of redox conditions that vary by several log units around the synthetic fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ) buffer. However, only some of these complexes are characterized by the occurrence of carbonatites which must be related to specific formation conditions. Based on textural, mineralogical and geochemical observations, we calculated the redox conditions of carbonatites and associated silicate rocks for seven alkaline complexes (Kaiserstuhl, Sokli, Kovdor, Palabora, Magnet Cove, Oka, Jacupiranga) which are considered to represent typical carbonatite-alkaline silicate rock associations. In combination with a comprehensive literature review, we demonstrate that carbonatite-bearing alkaline complexes formed under highly oxidized conditions and hence, belong to the most oxidized alkaline rocks at all. This is consistent with the prerequisite of a carbonated mantle as the source region for carbonatite complexes, which requires redox conditions distinctively above that for mean lithospheric or asthenospheric mantle. Carbonatitemetasomatized peridotites also show high redox conditions and might not only reflect an interaction between peridotite and carbonatitic melts/fluids, but at least partly represent the carbonated mantle source for crustally emplaced carbonatite complexes. We therefore suggest that the oxidation state of carbonatites and associated silicate rocks provides direct information about an extraordinary oxidized parental mantle source.
Abstract: A detailed electron microprobe study has been carried out on the compositional variations of mica and apatite from carbonatites, phoscorites and associated pyroxenites (and fenites) of the Loolekop deposit, Palabora Carbonatite Complex (South Africa). Mica in pyroxenites and fenites is Mg-rich biotite, whilst micas in carbonatites and phoscorites are compositionally diverse including phlogopite, Ba-rich phlogopite (up to 30% kinoshitalite component), IVAl-rich phlogopite (up to 30% eastonite component) and tetraferriphlogopite. The various types of phlogopites are interpreted as orthomagmatic phases, whereas tetraferriphlogopite precipitation was a late-magmatic to hydrothermal process that additionally introduced REE into the system. Orthomagmatic apatite is generally REE- and Sr-poor fluorapatite and does not show large compositional differences between rock types. Apatite associated with the late-stage tetraferriphlogopite mineralization reaches higher levels of REE (up to 4.9?wt%), Si (up to 1.5?wt% SiO2), Sr (up to 2.6?wt% SrO) and Na (up to 1.0?wt% Na2O). The compositional variation of micas and apatites, which is affiliated with distinct rock types, reflects the multi-stage evolution of the Loolekop deposit and provides detailed insight into the relationships of the carbonatite-phoscorite assemblage. The obtained data support the separation of phoscorite and carbonatite by immiscibility from a common parental magma, which may happen due to a decrease of temperature and/or pressure during the ascent of the magma. This results in a density contrast between the carbonatitic and phoscoritic components that will lead to descending phoscorite accumulations at the outer zones of the magma channel and a jet-like ascent (further promoted by its extremely low viscosity) of the carbonatite magma. The genetic model deduced here explains the peculiar association of carbonatites, phoscorites and silicate rocks in many alkaline complexes worldwide.
Abstract: The mineralogy and mineral chemistry of the four major sövite bodies (Badberg, Degenmatt, Haselschacher Buck and Orberg), calcite foidolite/nosean syenite xenoliths (enclosed in the Badberg sövite only) and rare extrusive carbonatites of the Kaiserstuhl Volcanic Complex in Southern Germany provide evidence for contamination processes in the carbonatitic magma system of the Kaiserstuhl. Based on textures and composition, garnet and clinopyroxene in extrusive carbonatites represent xenocrysts entrained from the associated silicate rocks. In contrast, forsterite, monticellite and mica in sövites from Degenmatt, Haselschacher Buck and Orberg probably crystallized from the carbonatitic magma. Clinopyroxene and abundant mica crystallization in the Badberg sövite, however, was induced by the interaction between calcite foidolite xenoliths and the carbonatite melt. Apatite and micas in the various sövite bodies reveal clear compositional differences: apatite from Badberg is higher in REE, Si and Sr than apatite from the other sövite bodies. Mica from Badberg is biotite- and comparatively Fe2+-rich (Mg# = 72-88). Mica from the other sövites, however, is phlogopite (Mg# up to 97), as is typical of carbonatites in general. The typical enrichment of Ba due to the kinoshitalite substitution is observed in all sövites, although it is subordinate in the Badberg samples. Instead, Badberg biotites are strongly enriched in IVAl (eastonite substitution) which is less important in the other sövites. The compositional variations of apatite and mica within and between the different sövite bodies reflect the combined effects of fractional crystallization and carbonatite-wall rock interaction during emplacement. The latter process is especially important for the Badberg sövites, where metasomatic interaction released significant amounts of K, Fe, Ti, Al and Si from earlier crystallized nosean syenites. This resulted in a number of mineral reactions that transformed these rocks into calcite foidolites. Moreover, this triggered the crystallization of compositionally distinct mica and clinopyroxene crystals around the xenoliths and within the Badberg sövite itself. Thus, the presence and composition of clinopyroxene and mica in carbonatites may be useful indicators for contamination processes during their emplacement. Moreover, the local increase of silica activity during contamination enabled strong REE enrichment in apatite via a coupled substitution involving Si, which demonstrates the influence of contamination on REE mineralization in carbonatites.
Abstract: Contamination of carbonatites with crustal or cogenetic intrusive rocks is generally not considered to play an important role during carbonatite magmatism, because carbonatitic melts have low densities and viscosities, enabling them to rapidly ascend. Potential contamination by silicate rocks in carbonatites cannot easily be detected by means of radiogenic isotope data (such as Sr, Nd and Pb isotope data) as carbonatites often show high concentrations of these elements and their isotope systems are thereby “buffered” against contamination with silicate rocks. Textural, mineralogical and geochemical observations in carbonatites from the Kaiserstuhl (Germany) provide evidence for the interaction of carbonatitic magma with previously emplaced nosean syenites. This caused replacement of alkali feldspar by haüyne and recrystallization of garnet and clinopyroxene in the xenoliths, which released larger amounts of K, Al, Si and Fe. As a result, blackwall-like mica seams around the xenoliths formed and and compositionally distinct mica and clinopyroxene crystallized in the surrounding carbonatite. Moreover, the local increase of silica activity during contamination enabled strong REE enrichment in apatite via a coupled substitution involving Si, which demonstrates the potential influence of Si contamination on REE mineralization in carbonatites. We further suggest that the presence and composition of clinopyroxene and mica in carbonatites may be useful indicators for contamination processes during their emplacement. Mass-balance calculations based on experimental constraints for the solubility of Al and Si in carbonatitic magmas suggest that only minor amounts of mica can form from carbonatitic melt. Therefore, larger amounts of mica and mica-dominated lithologies (glimmerites) as observed in many carbonatite complexes suggest that some Si and Al in carbonatites may be sourced from surrounding host rocks. We hypothesize that assimilation and contamination processes in carbonatites may be the rule rather than an exception.
Abstract: Studies on fluid inclusions in carbonatitic rocks are essential to understand the physicochemical processes involved in carbonatite-related hydrothermal ore mineralization. Although little is known about the composition of carbonatite-derived fluids. We investigated fluid inclusions in the Kaiserstuhl carbonatites, SW Germany [1,2] and identified four different types typically known from carbonatitic systems worldwide [3]: (I): Vapor-poor H2O-NaCl fluids with <50 wt.% salinity. (II): Vapor-rich H2O-NaCl-CO2 fluids with <5 wt.% salinity. (III): Multi-component fluids with high salinity and CO2. (IV): Multi-component fluids with high salinity, no CO2. Homogenization temperatures (156 to 530°C) of all fluid types generally show a wide range [this study, 2]. Primary type I fluid inclusions occur in early magmatic olivine/monticellite, as well as paragenetically later apatites and calcites [2]. This indicates a ubiquitous existence of a saline brine, which does not reach saturation with respect to halite, during early to late crystallization stages. Liquidus surface modelling based quantifications for fluid type III suggest that carbonatite melts predomonantly exsolve Na-K-sulfate-carbonate/bicarbonate-chloride brines (type III or IV, respectively). Such fluid inclusions, with type III (CO2-free) on one side and type IV (and II, both CO2-rich) on the other side, may represent immiscible fluids that were trapped after segregation by boiling from a parental highly saline brine (type I). Fluid boiling, in turn, is probably triggered by a rapid pressure release during “pneumatic hammer-like,” discontinuous melt ascent.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 533, 11p. Pdf
Mantle
carbonatite
Abstract: A detailed investigation on seven carbonatites and associated alkaline rock complexes (Kaiserstuhl, Sokli, Kovdor, Palabora, Oka, Magnet Cove, Jacupiranga), together with a world-wide comparison between carbonatites, alkaline silicate rocks and mantle xenoliths, implies peculiar redox conditions for carbonatite-bearing alkaline complexes: Carbonatites and associated alkaline rocks in continental settings crystallize from relatively oxidized magmas, on average 1.4 log units () and 1.3 log units () above the synthetic fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ) buffer. In contrast, alkaline rocks in continental settings that lack associated carbonatites reveal rather reduced conditions (mean ; ). The calculated redox conditions for carbonatites and associated silicate rocks demonstrate that these crystallize from relatively oxidized mantle-derived melts compared to the general range found for alkaline rocks in continental settings.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 277, pp. 224-242. pdf
Europe, Germany
carbonatite
Abstract: Studies of fluid inclusions in carbonatitic rocks are essential for understanding physicochemical processes involved in carbonatite-related hydrothermal ore mineralization and fenitization. However, the composition of many carbonatite-derived fluids is challenging to quantify, which hampers their detailed interpretation. Here, we present a systematic study of microthermometry of fluid inclusions found in carbonatites from the Kaiserstuhl (SW Germany), and a simple numerical model to estimate the compositions of such fluids, which are typical of numerous carbonatites worldwide. Four types of fluid inclusions have been identified in the Kaiserstuhl carbonatites: (I) vapor-poor H2O-NaCl fluids with <50?wt.% salinity; (II) vapor-rich H2O-NaCl-CO2 fluids with <5?wt.% salinity; (III) multi-component fluids with high salinity and high CO2 contents; and (IV) multi-component fluids with high salinity but little to no CO2. At present, it is only possible to quantify fluid compositions for types I and II. For the complex types III and IV, we conducted predictive modeling of the liquidus surface based on the Margules equations. The results suggest that carbonatite melts predominantly exsolve Na-K-sulfate-carbonate/bicarbonate-chloride brines (types III or IV). Such fluid inclusions may represent immiscible fluids that were trapped after segregation by boiling from a parental highly saline brine (type I). Fluid boiling, in turn, was probably triggered by a rapid pressure release during melt ascent. The present model enables quantification of fluid compositions associated with carbonatitic magmatism.
Abstract:
This study reports halogen contents (F and Cl) of amphibole and phlogopite derived from mantle xenoliths and one peridotite massif, for amphibole and phlogopite megacrysts and ultramafic magmatic cumulates (hornblendites) found in alkaline volcanic rocks from 12 localities in Europe and Africa. Amphibole and phlogopite contain more F than Cl with F/Cl ratios reaching about 160 in phlogopites and 50 in amphiboles. Phlogopites are higher in F (median of 3400 ?g/g) than amphibole (median of 1000 ?g/g), while median Cl contents are higher in amphibole (290 ?g/g) compared to phlogopite (180 ?g/g). The Cl contents and the F/Cl ratios in amphibole and phlogopite from mantle xenoliths exhibit large differences between samples of the same region, recording very large variations of halogen contents in the continental lithosphere. We suggest that the halogen content in such samples largely depends on the initial composition of percolating melts and fluids in the continental lithosphere. During reaction of these agents with peridotitic wall-rocks, Cl is preferentially retained in the fluid as it is much more incompatible compared to water and F. This desiccation effect continuously increases salinity (Cl content) and decreases the F/Cl ratio in the agent with time, causing variable Cl contents and F/Cl ratios in amphibole and phlogopite at a specific locality. Subsequent partial melting processes may then sequester and re-distribute, especially Cl among amphibole, phlogopite and melts/fluids as a result of its strong incompatibility, whereas F is much less affected as it behaves slightly compatible. The impact of even small amounts of amphibole and mica on the total halogen budget in the continental lithosphere is significant and both minerals can effectively contribute to the high halogen contents typical of alkaline melts.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 277, pp. 224-242. pdf
Europe, Germany
deposit - Kaiserstuhl
Abstract: Studies of fluid inclusions in carbonatitic rocks are essential for understanding physicochemical processes involved in carbonatite-related hydrothermal ore mineralization and fenitization. However, the composition of many carbonatite-derived fluids is challenging to quantify, which hampers their detailed interpretation. Here, we present a systematic study of microthermometry of fluid inclusions found in carbonatites from the Kaiserstuhl (SW Germany), and a simple numerical model to estimate the compositions of such fluids, which are typical of numerous carbonatites worldwide. Four types of fluid inclusions have been identified in the Kaiserstuhl carbonatites: (I) vapor-poor H2O-NaCl fluids with <50?wt.% salinity; (II) vapor-rich H2O-NaCl-CO2 fluids with <5?wt.% salinity; (III) multi-component fluids with high salinity and high CO2 contents; and (IV) multi-component fluids with high salinity but little to no CO2. At present, it is only possible to quantify fluid compositions for types I and II. For the complex types III and IV, we conducted predictive modeling of the liquidus surface based on the Margules equations. The results suggest that carbonatite melts predominantly exsolve Na-K-sulfate-carbonate/bicarbonate-chloride brines (types III or IV). Such fluid inclusions may represent immiscible fluids that were trapped after segregation by boiling from a parental highly saline brine (type I). Fluid boiling, in turn, was probably triggered by a rapid pressure release during melt ascent. The present model enables quantification of fluid compositions associated with carbonatitic magmatism.
Chmyz, L., Azzone, R.G., Ruberti, E., Marks, M.A.W.
Olivines as probes into assimilation of silicate rocks by carbonate magmas: unraveling the genesis of reaction rocks from the Jacupiranga alkaline-carbonatite complex, southern Brazil.
Abstract: Palaeogeography is the representation of the past surface of the Earth. It provides the spatial context for investigating how the Earth evolves through time, how complex processes interact and the juxtaposition of spatial information. In hydrocarbon exploration, palaeogeographies have been used to map and investigate the juxtaposition, distribution and quality of play elements (source, reservoir, seal and trap), as boundary conditions for source-to-sink analysis, climate modelling and lithofacies retrodiction, but most commonly as the backdrop for presentations and montages. This paper demonstrates how palaeogeography has been and can be used within an exploration workflow to help mitigate exploration risk. A comprehensive workflow for building palaeogeographies is described which is designed to provide a standard approach that can be applied to a range of tasks in exploration and academia. This is drawn from an analysis of the history of palaeogeography and how it has been applied to exploration in the past and why. Map applications, resolution and content depend on where in the exploration and production (E&P) cycle the map is used. This is illustrated here through three case studies, from the strategic decisions of global new ventures exploration to the more detailed basin and petroleum analyses of regional asset teams evaluating basins and plays. Through this, the paper also addresses three commonly asked questions: (1) How can I use palaeogeography in my workflow? (2) How reliable are the maps? (3) How do I build a palaeogeography?
Abstract: The West African Craton is highly endowed in minerals, and their spatial and temporal distribution varies from single to multi-phase mineralization events. They are broadly related to three major tectono-metallogenic elements and formed during distinct mineral epochs: (1) In both Archean Shields (Kénéma-Man and Reguibat) and Paleoproterozoic domains (Baoulé-Mossi, Eglab). These are characterized by giant iron ore deposits that formed between ca. 2.5-2.3 Ga, nearly all gold, porphyry copper, lead-zinc and sedimentary manganese ore that developed between 2.2 and 2.1 Ga, and primary diamonds that formed between two intervals at ca. 2.2-2.0 Ga and in the Mesozoic. (2) Across Pan-African and Variscan belts. These are distinguished by major Precambrian IOCG's, copper-gold that formed at ca. 2.1 Ga and approximately 680 Ma, and Neoproterozoic sedimentary iron ore and phosphate deposits. (3) Within intracratonic and coastal basins. These include the development of Cenozoic lateritic bauxites over Mesozoic dolerites, Tertiary/Quaternary mineral sands deposits, oolitic iron ore and sedimentary phosphate deposits. Geological, spatial and temporal correlations using the multi-commodity West African Mineral Deposit Database highlight that gold and non-gold commodities formed in multiple phases. This commenced in the Liberian Orogeny (2.9-2.8 Ga) with the enrichment of iron ore, nickel sulphides, diamonds and gold in the earth's crust. The pre-Eburnean or Tangaean-EoEburnean-Eburnean I Event yielded gold, and the major Eburnean Orogeny yielded gold, iron ore, manganese, diamonds, magmatic nickel sulphides, copper-gold, lead-zinc, and REE minerals. Throughout the Pan-African event sedimentary manganese deposits, lead-zinc, REE minerals, sedimentary phosphates, and again gold were formed. Primary diamonds and magmatic nickel sulphides are related to the break-up of Gondwana, followed by an intense lateritic weathering period that formed bauxite deposits along the craton margin.
Abstract: The West African Craton hosts major resources of gold, iron ore, aluminium ore, diamonds, phosphates and manganese. This portfolio of ore deposits is linked to the formation of Archean -Paleoproterozoic greenstone belts, Jurassic rifting and extended periods of Mesozoic to Cenozoic weathering and erosion. We give a brief overview of the temporal and spatial distribution patterns of West African ore deposits with emphasis on the main commodity types. The oldest ore forming processes generated major resources in iron ore and gold in the Kénéma -Man and Reguibat Shields during the Neo-Archean. The majority of gold, porphyry copper, lead -zinc and sedimentary manganese deposits formed during the Paleoproterozoic, dominantly within the Baoulé-Mossi domain. At the same time diamond-bearing kimberlites developed in Ghana. Another distinct diamond event has been recognized in the Mesozoic of the Kénéma -Man shield. Isolated occurrences of IOCG's as well as copper -gold and gold formed in Pan-African/Variscan belts. During the Neoproterozoic, the majority of mineralization consists of sedimentary iron ore and phosphate deposits located within intracratonic basins. During the Phanerozoic aluminium ore, phosphates and mineral sands concentrated along the margins of the coastal and intracratonic basins.
Abstract: Diamonds form from fluids or melts circulating at depth in the Earth's mantle. Analysis of these fluids is possible if they remain entrapped in the diamond during its growth, but this is rarely observed in gem-quality stones. We provide the first evidence that typical mineral inclusions in gem-quality diamonds from the Siberian and Kaapvaal cratons are surrounded by a thin film of hydrous silicic fluid of maximum thickness 1.5 ?m. The fluid contains Si2O(OH)6, Si(OH)4, and molecular H2O and was identified using confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron-based X-ray tomographic microscopy. As the solid mineral inclusions have both peridotitic and eclogitic affinities and occur in two cratonic regions, our results demonstrate the strong connection between water-rich fluids and the growth of gem-quality lithospheric diamonds. The presence of the fluid films should be taken into account for a proper evaluation of H2O contents in the mantle based on H2O contents in solid inclusions and for a robust assessment of diamond formation pressures based on the residual pressures of the inclusions.
PluS One, Vol. 13, 8, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0200351
Asia, Thailand
garnets
Abstract: Garnets from disparate geographical environments and origins such as oxidized soils and river sediments in Thailand host intricate systems of microsized tunnels that significantly decrease the quality and value of the garnets as gems. The origin of such tunneling has previously been attributed to abiotic processes. Here we present physical and chemical remains of endolithic microorganisms within the tunnels and discuss a probable biological origin of the tunnels. Extensive investigations with synchrotron-radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) reveal morphological indications of biogenicity that further support a euendolithic interpretation. We suggest that the production of the tunnels was initiated by a combination of abiotic and biological processes, and that at later stages biological processes came to dominate. In environments such as river sediments and oxidized soils garnets are among the few remaining sources of bio-available Fe2+, thus it is likely that microbially mediated boring of the garnets has trophic reasons. Whatever the reason for garnet boring, the tunnel system represents a new endolithic habitat in a hard silicate mineral otherwise known to be resistant to abrasion and chemical attack.
Abstract: Super-deep diamonds (SDDs) are those that form at depths between ?300 and ?1000 km in Earth’s mantle. They compose only 1% of the entire diamond population but play a pivotal role in geology, as they represent the deepest direct samples from the interior of our planet. Ferropericlase, (Mg,Fe)O, is the most abundant mineral found as inclusions in SDDs and, when associated with low-Ni enstatite, which is interpreted as retrogressed bridgmanite, is considered proof of a lower-mantle origin. As this mineral association in diamond is very rare, the depth of formation of most ferropericlase inclusions remains uncertain. Here we report geobarometric estimates based on both elasticity and elastoplasticity theories for two ferropericlase inclusions, not associated with enstatite, from a single Brazilian diamond. We obtained a minimum depth of entrapment of 15.7 (±2.5) GPa at 1830 (±45) K (?450 [±70] km depth), placing the origin of the diamond-inclusion pairs at least near the upper mantle-transition zone boundary and confirming their super-deep origin. Our analytical approach can be applied to any type of mineral inclusion in diamond and is expected to allow better insights into the depth distribution and origin of SDDs.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 174, p. 29- 13p.
Russia, Siberia
deposit - Udachnaya
Abstract: We have studied by X-ray diffractometry the crystallographic orientation relationships (CORs) between magnesiochromite (mchr) inclusions and their diamond hosts in gem-quality stones from the mines Udachnaya (Siberian Russia), Damtshaa (Botswana) and Panda (Canada); in total 36 inclusions in 23 diamonds. In nearly half of the cases (n?=?17), [111]mchr is parallel within error to [111]diamond, but the angular misorientation for other crystallographic directions is generally significant. This relationship can be described as a case of rotational statistical COR, in which inclusion and host share a single axis (1 df). The remaining mchr-diamond pairs (n?=?19) have a random COR (2 df). The presence of a rotational statistical COR indicates that the inclusions have physically interacted with the diamond before their final incorporation. Of all possible physical processes that may have influenced mchr orientation, those driven by surface interactions are not considered likely because of the presence of fluid films around the inclusions. Mechanical interaction between euhedral crystals in a fluid-rich environment is therefore proposed as the most likely mechanism to produce the observed rotational COR. In this scenario, neither a rotational nor a random COR can provide information on the relative timing of growth of mchr and diamond. Some multiple, iso-oriented inclusions within single diamonds, however, indicate that mchr was partially dissolved during diamond growth, suggesting a protogenetic origin of these inclusions.
Diamonds and Related Materials, in press available 36p. Pdf
Africa, Ghana
deposit - Akwatia
Abstract: Magnetic mineral inclusions, as iron oxides or sulfides, occur quite rarely in natural diamonds. Nonetheless, they represent a key tool not only to unveil the conditions of formation of host diamonds, but also to get hints about the paleointensity of the geomagnetic field present at times of the Earth's history otherwise not accessible. This possibility is related to their capability to carry a remanent magnetization dependent on their magnetic history. However, comprehensive experimental studies on magnetic inclusions in diamonds have been rarely reported so far. Here we exploit X-ray diffraction, Synchrotron-based X-ray Tomographic Microscopy and Alternating Field Magnetometry to determine the crystallographic, morphological and magnetic properties of ferrimagnetic Fe-oxides entrapped in diamonds coming from Akwatia (Ghana). We exploit the methodology to estimate the natural remanence of the inclusions, associated to the Earth's magnetic field they experienced, and to get insights on the relative time of formation between host and inclusion systems. Furthermore, from the hysteresis loops and First Order Reversal Curves we determine qualitatively the anisotropy, size and domain state configuration of the magnetic grains constituting the inclusions.
Abstract: Magnetic mineral inclusions, as iron oxides or sulfides, occur quite rarely in natural diamonds. Nonetheless, they represent a key tool not only to unveil the conditions of formation of host diamonds, but also to get hints about the paleointensity of the geomagnetic field present at times of the Earth's history otherwise not accessible. This possibility is related to their capability to carry a remanent magnetization dependent on their magnetic history. However, comprehensive experimental studies on magnetic inclusions in diamonds have been rarely reported so far. Here we exploit X-ray diffraction, Synchrotron-based X-ray Tomographic Microscopy and Alternating Field Magnetometry to determine the crystallographic, morphological and magnetic properties of ferrimagnetic Fe-oxides entrapped in diamonds coming from Akwatia (Ghana). We exploit the methodology to estimate the natural remanence of the inclusions, associated to the Earth's magnetic field they experienced, and to get insights on the relative time of formation between host and inclusion systems. Furthermore, from the hysteresis loops and First Order Reversal Curves we determine qualitatively the anisotropy, size and domain state configuration of the magnetic grains constituting the inclusions.
Alvaro, M., Mazzucchelli, M.L., Angel, R.J., Murri, M., Campmenosi, N., Scambelluri, M., Nestola, F., Korsakov, A., Tomilenko, A.A., Marone, F., Morana, M.
Abstract: Metamorphic rocks are the records of plate tectonic processes whose reconstruction relies on correct estimates of the pressures and temperatures (P-T) experienced by these rocks through time. Unlike chemical geothermobarometry, elastic geobarometry does not rely on chemical equilibrium between minerals, so it has the potential to provide information on overstepping of reaction boundaries and to identify other examples of non-equilibrium behavior in rocks. Here we introduce a method that exploits the anisotropy in elastic properties of minerals to determine the unique P and T of entrapment from a single inclusion in a mineral host. We apply it to preserved quartz inclusions in garnet from eclogite xenoliths hosted in Yakutian kimberlites (Russia). Our results demonstrate that quartz trapped in garnet can be preserved when the rock reaches the stability field of coesite (the high-pressure and high-temperature polymorph of quartz) at 3 GPa and 850 °C. This supports a metamorphic origin for these xenoliths and sheds light on the mechanisms of craton accretion from a subducted crustal protolith. Furthermore, we show that interpreting P and T conditions reached by a rock from the simple phase identification of key inclusion minerals can be misleading.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 111, 10p. Pdf
South America, Brazil
geophysics - seismics
Abstract: The crustal thickness in South America has been mostly determined using seismological techniques. However, because these techniques provide point constraint or profile-specific results, the crustal thickness maps become especially dependent on both the number and spatial distribution of seismological stations. In the Amazonian Craton, the extensive forest cover restricts the number of existing stations, not allowing to elaborate a solely seismological crustal thickness model with homogeneous data coverage. Therefore, to overcome this difficulty, this work proposes a crustal thickness model for the Amazonian Craton developed based on the Parker-Oldenburg method and the Global Geopotential Model called GECO, considering the relationships between wavelengths and depths of the investigation sources. Furthermore, the developed iterative process allowed to determine the average depth of the crust-mantle interface, the density contrast at the interface, and the minimum and maximum frequencies used in the signal filtering process, making the model more robust for defining the used constants. The average crustal thickness of the Amazonian Craton was estimated as 40.25 km, with a standard deviation of the differences of 4.91 km, compared to crustal thickness defined by the seismological data. The estimated model shows great consistency with the data set used while allowing important inferences about craton compartmentation. Also, the geological provinces displayed an N-S connecting trend under the Amazonas, Solimões, and Acre basins, correlating the Guyana Shield with the Central Brazil Shield. Additionally, we observed various tectonic cycles acting on the craton while significantly modifying the structure of the provinces, possibly removing cratonic roots and rejuvenating the crust in older provinces.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 498, pp. 77-87.
Mantle
geophysics - seismic
Abstract: Earth's transition zone at depths between 410 km and 660 km plays a key role in Earth's deep water cycle since large amounts of hydrogen can be stored in the nominally anhydrous minerals wadsleyite and ringwoodite, . Previous mineral physics experiments on iron-free wadsleyite proposed low seismic velocities as an indicative feature for hydration in the transition zone. Here we report simultaneous sound wave velocity and density measurements on iron-bearing wadsleyite single crystals with 0.24 wt-% . By comparison with earlier studies, we show that pressure suppresses the velocity reduction caused by higher degrees of hydration in iron-bearing wadsleyite, ultimately leading to a velocity cross-over for both P-waves and S-waves. Modeling based on our experimental results shows that wave speed variations within the transition zone as well as velocity jumps at the 410-km seismic discontinuity, both of which have been used in previous work to detect mantle hydration, are poor water sensors. Instead, the impedance contrast across the 410-km seismic discontinuity that is reduced in the presence of water can serve as a more robust indicator for hydrated parts of the transition zone.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 498, pp. 9-16.
Mantle
water
Abstract: Ringwoodite, the dominant mineral at depths between 520 km and 660 km, can store up to 2-3 wt.% of water in its crystal structure, making the Earth's transition zone a plausible water reservoir that plays a central role in Earth's deep water cycle. Experiments show that hydration of ringwoodite significantly reduces elastic wave velocities at room pressure, but the effect of pressure remains poorly constrained. Here, a novel experimental setup enables a direct quantification of the effect of hydration on ringwoodite single-crystal elasticity and density at pressures of the Earth's transition zone and high temperatures. Our data show that the hydration-induced reduction of seismic velocities almost vanishes at conditions of the transition zone. Seismic data thus agree with a wide range of water contents in the transition zone.
Abstract: Majoritic garnet has been predicted to be a major component of peridotite and eclogite in Earth's deep upper mantle (>250 km) and transition zone. The investigation of mineral inclusions in diamond confirms this prediction, but there is reported evidence of other majorite-bearing lithologies, intermediate between peridotitic and eclogitic, present in the mantle transition zone. If these lithologies are derived from olivine-free pyroxenites, then at mantle transition zone pressures majorite may form monomineralic or almost monomineralic garnetite layers. Since majoritic garnet is presumably the seismically fastest major phase in the lowermost upper mantle, the existence of such majorite layers might produce a detectable seismic signature. However, a test of this hypothesis is hampered by the absence of sound wave velocity measurements of majoritic garnets with relevant chemical compositions, since previous measurements have been mostly limited to synthetic majorite samples with relatively simple compositions. In an attempt to evaluate the seismic signature of a pyroxenitic garnet layer, we measured the sound wave velocities of three natural majoritic garnet inclusions in diamond by Brillouin spectroscopy at ambient conditions. The chosen natural garnets derive from depths between 220 and 470 km and are plausible candidates to have formed at the interface between peridotite and carbonated eclogite. They contain elevated amounts (12-30%) of ferric iron, possibly produced during redox reactions that form diamond from carbonate. Based on our data, we model the velocity and seismic impedance contrasts between a possible pyroxenitic garnet layer and the surrounding peridotitic mantle. For a mineral assemblage that would be stable at a depth of 350 km, the median formation depth of our samples, we found velocities in pyroxenite at ambient conditions to be higher by 1.9(6)% for shear waves and 3.3(5)% for compressional waves compared to peridotite (numbers in parentheses refer to uncertainties in the last given digit), and by 1.3(13)% for shear waves and 2.4(10)% for compressional waves compared to eclogite. As a result of increased density in the pyroxenitic layer, expected seismic impedance contrasts across the interface between the monomineralic majorite layer and the adjacent rocks are about 5-6% at the majorite-eclogite-interface and 10-12% at the majoriteperidotite-boundary. Given a large enough thickness of the garnetite layer, velocity and impedance differences of this magnitude could become seismologically detectable.
Nature , Vol. 603, pp. 276-279. 10.1038/s41586-021-04378-2
Mantle
perovskite
Abstract: Cubic CaSiO3 perovskite is a major phase in subducted oceanic crust, where it forms at a depth of about 550 kilometres from majoritic garnet1,2,28. However, its rheological properties at temperatures and pressures typical of the lower mantle are poorly known. Here we measured the plastic strength of cubic CaSiO3 perovskite at pressure and temperature conditions typical for a subducting slab up to a depth of about 1,200 kilometres. In contrast to tetragonal CaSiO3, previously investigated at room temperature3,4, we find that cubic CaSiO3 perovskite is a comparably weak phase at the temperatures of the lower mantle. We find that its strength and viscosity are substantially lower than that of bridgmanite and ferropericlase, possibly making cubic CaSiO3 perovskite the weakest lower-mantle phase. Our findings suggest that cubic CaSiO3 perovskite governs the dynamics of subducting slabs. Weak CaSiO3 perovskite further provides a mechanism to separate subducted oceanic crust from the underlying mantle. Depending on the depth of the separation, basaltic crust could accumulate at the boundary between the upper and lower mantle, where cubic CaSiO3 perovskite may contribute to the seismically observed regions of low shear-wave velocities in the uppermost lower mantle5,6, or sink to the core-mantle boundary and explain the seismic anomalies associated with large low-shear-velocity provinces beneath Africa and the Pacific7-9.
Abstract: Cubic CaSiO3 perovskite is a major phase in subducted oceanic crust, where it forms at a depth of about 550?kilometres from majoritic garnet1,2,28. However, its rheological properties at temperatures and pressures typical of the lower mantle are poorly known. Here we measured the plastic strength of cubic CaSiO3 perovskite at pressure and temperature conditions typical for a subducting slab up to a depth of about 1,200?kilometres. In contrast to tetragonal CaSiO3, previously investigated at room temperature3,4, we find that cubic CaSiO3 perovskite is a comparably weak phase at the temperatures of the lower mantle. We find that its strength and viscosity are substantially lower than that of bridgmanite and ferropericlase, possibly making cubic CaSiO3 perovskite the weakest lower-mantle phase. Our findings suggest that cubic CaSiO3 perovskite governs the dynamics of subducting slabs. Weak CaSiO3 perovskite further provides a mechanism to separate subducted oceanic crust from the underlying mantle. Depending on the depth of the separation, basaltic crust could accumulate at the boundary between the upper and lower mantle, where cubic CaSiO3 perovskite may contribute to the seismically observed regions of low shear-wave velocities in the uppermost lower mantle5,6, or sink to the core-mantle boundary and explain the seismic anomalies associated with large low-shear-velocity provinces beneath Africa and the Pacific.
Abstract: Diamonds form from fluids or melts circulating at depth in the Earth's mantle. Analysis of these fluids is possible if they remain entrapped in the diamond during its growth, but this is rarely observed in gem-quality stones. We provide the first evidence that typical mineral inclusions in gem-quality diamonds from the Siberian and Kaapvaal cratons are surrounded by a thin film of hydrous silicic fluid of maximum thickness 1.5 ?m. The fluid contains Si2O(OH)6, Si(OH)4, and molecular H2O and was identified using confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron-based X-ray tomographic microscopy. As the solid mineral inclusions have both peridotitic and eclogitic affinities and occur in two cratonic regions, our results demonstrate the strong connection between water-rich fluids and the growth of gem-quality lithospheric diamonds. The presence of the fluid films should be taken into account for a proper evaluation of H2O contents in the mantle based on H2O contents in solid inclusions and for a robust assessment of diamond formation pressures based on the residual pressures of the inclusions.
Abstract: In this study, we report the first direct evidence for water-bearing fluids in the uppermost lower mantle from natural ferropericlase crystal contained within a diamond from São Luíz, Brazil. The ferropericlase exhibits exsolution of magnesioferrite, which places the origin of this assemblage in the uppermost part of the lower mantle. The presence of brucite-Mg(OH)2 precipitates in the ferropericlase crystal reflects the later-stage quenching of H2O-bearing fluid likely in the transition zone, which has been trapped during the inclusion process in the lower mantle. Dehydration melting may be one of the key processes involved in transporting water across the boundary between the upper and lower mantle.
Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, Vol. 45, 2, pp. 139-172.
Mantle
olivines
Abstract: Interfaces in rocks, especially grain boundaries in olivine dominated rocks, have been subject to about 40 years of studies. The grain boundary structure to property relation is fundamental to understand the diverging properties of polycrystalline samples compared to those of single crystals. The number of direct structural observations is small, i.e. in range of 100 micrographs, and the number of measurements of properties directly linked to structural observations is even smaller. Bulk aggregate properties, such as seismic attenuation, rheology and electrical conductivity, are sensitive to grain size, and seem to show influences by grain boundary character distributions. In this context we review previous studies on grain boundary structure and composition and plausible relations to bulk properties. The grain boundary geometry is described using five independent parameters; generally, their structural width ranges between 0.4-1.2 nm and the commonly used 1 nm seems a good approximation. This region of enhanced disorder is often enriched in elements that are incompatible in the perfect crystal lattice. The chemical composition of grain boundaries depends on the bulk rock composition. We determined the 5 parameter grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) for polycrystaline Fo90 and studied structure and chemistry at the nm-scale to extend previous measurements. We find that grain boundary planes close to perpendicular to the crystallographic c-direction dominate the grain boundary network. We conclude that linking grain boundary structure in its full geometric parameter space to variations of bulk rock properties is now possible by GBCD determination using EBSD mapping and statistical analyses.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 498, pp. 9-16.
Mantle
water
Abstract: Ringwoodite, the dominant mineral at depths between 520 km and 660 km, can store up to 2-3 wt.% of water in its crystal structure, making the Earth's transition zone a plausible water reservoir that plays a central role in Earth's deep water cycle. Experiments show that hydration of ringwoodite significantly reduces elastic wave velocities at room pressure, but the effect of pressure remains poorly constrained. Here, a novel experimental setup enables a direct quantification of the effect of hydration on ringwoodite single-crystal elasticity and density at pressures of the Earth's transition zone and high temperatures. Our data show that the hydration-induced reduction of seismic velocities almost vanishes at conditions of the transition zone. Seismic data thus agree with a wide range of water contents in the transition zone.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pnas.org/cgi/doi.10.1073 /pnas.2004269117 7p. Pdf
Mantle
diamond inclusions
Abstract: The recent discovery in high-pressure experiments of compounds stable to 24-26 GPa with Fe4O5, Fe5O6, Fe7O9, and Fe9O11 stoichiometry has raised questions about their existence within the Earth’s mantle. Incorporating both ferric and ferrous iron in their structures, these oxides if present within the Earth could also provide insight into diamond-forming processes at depth in the planet. Here we report the discovery of metallic particles, dominantly of FeNi (Fe0.71Ni0.24Cu0.05), in close spatial relation with nearly pure magnetite grains from a so-called superdeep diamond from the Earth’s mantle. The microstructural relation of magnetite within a ferropericlase (Mg0.60Fe0.40)O matrix suggests exsolution of the former. Taking into account the bulk chemistry reconstructed from the FeNi(Cu) alloy, we propose that it formed by decomposition of a complex metal M oxide (M4O5) with a stoichiometry of (Fe3+2.15Fe2+1.59Ni2+0.17Cu+0.04)? = 3.95O5. We further suggest a possible link between this phase and variably oxidized ferropericlase that is commonly trapped in superdeep diamond. The observation of FeNi(Cu) metal in relation to magnetite exsolved from ferropericlase is interpreted as arising from a multistage process that starts from diamond encapsulation of ferropericlase followed by decompression and cooling under oxidized conditions, leading to the formation of complex oxides such as Fe4O5 that subsequently decompose at shallower P-T conditions.
Contribution to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 176, 99 16p. Pdf
Mantle
olivine
Abstract: We report experimental measurements of volume and grain boundary diffusion of 26Mg in Mg2SiO4 bi-crystals at asthenosphere temperatures as a ground reference for olivine. By analysis of literature and combination with previous data, we provide Arrhenius laws D = D0 exp(- E/RT) at ambient pressure for volume diffusion of Mg in Mg2SiO4 in the intrinsic regime along the three crystallographic axes as well as grain boundary diffusion.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 575, 12p.
Mantle
redox
Abstract: The Earth's mantle hosts a variety of reduced and oxidized phases, including iron-bearing alloys, diamond, and sulfide and carbonate melts. In the upper mantle, increasing pressure favors the stabilization of reduced iron-bearing phases via disproportionation of ferrous iron into ferric and metallic iron. Pressure-driven disproportionation is thought to continue into the transition zone, based on the extrapolation of experiments conducted at lower pressures. To test this hypothesis, we performed high-temperature and high-pressure experiments on basaltic and peridotitic compositions at pressures of 10 to 20 GPa, buffered at different oxygen fugacities. Under these conditions, majoritic garnet is the dominant ferric-iron bearing phase. We analyze our experimental run products for their ferric iron concentrations with EELS and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Contrary to expectations, results show that at iron saturation, ferric iron content of majorite peaks in the upper transition zone and then decreases between 500 and 650 km depth, destabilizing and resorbing reduced phases. This peak can be explained by decreases in the effective volume of ferrous minerals in transition zone assemblages. We also show that natural diamond-hosted majorite inclusions that equilibrated in the sublithospheric mantle grew from variably reduced fluids. These results are consistent with the idea that these diamonds formed during progressive reduction of an originally carbonatitic melt.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 80, pp. 1-17.
South America, Brazil
carbonatite
Abstract: We present results of U-Pb dating (by MC-ICP-MS) of zircons from samples that cover all of the known lithotypes in the Seis Lagos Carbonatite Complex and associated lateritic mineralization (the Morro dos Seis Lagos Nb deposit). The host rock (gneiss) yielded an age of 1828 ± 09 Ma interpreted as the crystallization time of this unit. The altered feldspar vein in the same gneiss yielded an age of 1839 ± 29 Ma. Carbonatite samples provided 3 groups of ages. The first group comprises inherited zircons with ages compatible with the gneissic host rock: 1819 ± 10 Ma (superior intercept), 1826 ± 5 Ma (concordant age), and 1812 ± 27 Ma (superior intercept), all from the Orosirian. The second and the third group of ages are from the same carbonatite sample: the superior intercept age of 1525 ± 21 Ma (MSWD ¼ 0.77) and the superior intercept age of 1328 ± 58 Ma (MSWD ¼ 1.4). The mineralogical study indicates that the ~1.3 Ga zircons have affinity with carbonatite. It is, however, a tendence rather than a well-defined result. The data allow state that the age of 1328 ± 58 Ma represents the maximum age of the carbonatite. Without the same certainty, we consider that the data suggest that this age may be the carbonatite age, whose emplacement would have been related to the evolution of the K'Mudku belt. The best age obtained in laterite samples (a superior intercept age of 1828 ± 12 Ma) is considered the age of the main source for the inherited zircons related to the gneissic host rock.
Sanatmaria-Perez, D., Ruiz-Fuertes, J., Pena-Alvarez, M., Chulia-Jordan, R., Marquerno, T., Zimmer, D., Guterrez-Cano, V., Macleod, S., Gregoryanz, E., Popescue, C., Rodriguez-Herandez, P., Munoz, A.
Abstract: Calcium carbonate is a relevant constituent of the Earth’s crust that is transferred into the deep Earth through the subduction process. Its chemical interaction with calcium-rich silicates at high temperatures give rise to the formation of mixed silicate-carbonate minerals, but the structural behavior of these phases under compression is not known. Here we report the existence of a dense polymorph of Ca5(Si2O7)(CO3)2 tilleyite above 8 GPa. We have structurally characterized the two phases at high pressures and temperatures, determined their equations of state and analyzed the evolution of the polyhedral units under compression. This has been possible thanks to the agreement between our powder and single-crystal XRD experiments, Raman spectroscopy measurements and ab-initio simulations. The presence of multiple cation sites, with variable volume and coordination number (6-9) and different polyhedral compressibilities, together with the observation of significant amounts of alumina in compositions of some natural tilleyite assemblages, suggests that post-tilleyite structure has the potential to accommodate cations with different sizes and valencies.
The Mozambique Belt in northern Mozambique: Neoproterozoic 1100-850 Macrustal growth and tectogenesis and superimposed Pan-African 800-550 MatectonisM.
Precambrian Research, Vol. 62, No. 1-2, April pp. 1-60
Abstract: Early and Late Cretaceous alkaline and alkaline-carbonatitic complexes from southern Brazil are located along the main tectonic lineaments of the South America Platform. Calcium-, magnesium-, and ferrocarbonatites are well represented and frequently associated even in the same complex. Primary carbonates present significant variations in C-O isotopic compositions, which are mainly due to isotope exchange with H2O-CO2-rich hydrothermal fluids, whereas fractional crystallization or liquid immiscibility probably affects the ?18O and ?13C values by no more than 2?‰ Our isotope exchange model implies that the most significant isotopic variations took place in a hydrothermal environment, e.g., in the range 400-80°C, involving fluids with the CO2/H2O ratio ranging from 0.8 to 1. Sr-Nd-Pb isotope systematics highlight heterogeneous mixtures between HIMU and EMI mantle components, similar to the associated alkaline rocks and the flood tholeiites from southern Brazil. In spite of the strong variation shown by C-O isotopes, Sr-Nd-Pb-Os isotopic systematics could be related to an isotopically enriched source where the chemical heterogeneities reflect a depleted mantle "metasomatized" by small-volume melts and fluids rich in incompatible elements. These fluids are expected to have promoted crystallization of K-rich phases in the mantle, which produced a veined network variously enriched in LILE and LREE. The newly formed veins (enriched component) and peridotite matrix (depleted component) underwent a different isotopic evolution with time as reflected by the carbonatites. These conclusions may be extended to the whole Paraná-Etendeka system, where isotopically distinct parent magmas were generated following two main enrichment events of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle at 2.0-1.4 and 1.0-0.5?Ga, respectively, as also supported by Re-Os systematics. The mantle sources preserved the isotopic heterogeneities over a long time, suggesting a nonconvective lithospheric mantle beneath different cratons or intercratonic regions. Overall, the data indicate that the alkaline-carbonatitic magmatism originated from a locally heterogeneous subcontinental mantle.
Heibron, H. et al. eds. Sao Francisco Craton, eastern Brazil, Regional geology reviews., Chapter 3, pdf
South America, Brazil
Geology
Abstract: We overview the Archean tectonic framework the São Francisco craton based on geologic constraints, integrated geochronologic interpretation and isotopic-geochemical evidence of basement rocks. U-Pb provenance studies of Archean and Paleoproterozoic supracrustal sequences are also used to provide additional inferences about the geodynamic scenario. The Archean rocks crop out mainly in two large areas in the southern and northern portions of the craton, surrounded and/or in tectonic contact with Paleoproterozoic orogenic belts. The ancient substratum is essentially composed of medium- to high-grade gneissic-migmatitic rocks including TTG suites and coeval granite-greenstone associations that collectively provide an isotopic record as old as 4.1 Ga. The combined U-Pb and Sm-Nd TDM age peaks coupled with U-Pb inherited ages in detrital zircons from the supracrustal sequences indicate that very ancient continental crust (?3.5 Ga) exist, particularly in the northern portion of the craton. Mesoarchean events are episodic between 3.6-3.3 and 3.2-2.9 Ga, as for the Neoarchean (2.8-2.6 Ga) in both cratonic portions. This isotopic record indicates a protracted Archean history for the São Francisco craton, highlighted by peculiar tectonic-metamorphic histories of the basement rocks. From a tectonic point of view the compiled data concur with a diachronic evolution from Paleo- to Neoarchean times by means of juvenile accretion/differentiation events characterized by multiple TTG plutonism in genetic association with greenstone belts, coupled with partial melting events of earlier-formed material. All ancient basement complexes and/or continental blocks assembled diachronically during the Late Neoarchean by convergence-related processes akin to plate dynamics. Late-tectonic K-rich granitoids, mafic-ultramafic complexes and mafic dikes collectively mark the Neoarchean thickening and final cratonization of the continental crust.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 175, 107, 17p. Pdf
Russia
deposit - Udachnaya
Abstract: The formation of diamonds within eclogitic rocks has been widely linked to the fate of carbon during subduction and, therefore, referred to conditions of pressure, temperature, and oxygen fugacity (fo2). Mantle-derived eclogite xenoliths from Udachnaya kimberlite pipes represent a unique window to investigate the formation of carbon-free, graphite-diamond-bearing and diamond-bearing rocks from the Siberian craton. With this aim, we exploited oxy-thermobarometers to retrieve information on the P-T-fo2 at which mantle eclogites from the Siberian craton equilibrated along with elemental carbon. The chemical analyses of coupled garnet and omphacitic clinopyroxene were integrated with data on their iron oxidation state, determined both by conventional and synchrotron 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The calculated fo2s largely vary for each suite of eclogite samples from 0.10 to ? 2.43 log units (?FMQ) for C-free eclogites, from ? 0.01 to ? 2.91 (?FMQ) for graphite-diamond-bearing eclogites, and from ? 2.08 to ? 3.58 log units (?FMQ) for diamond-bearing eclogites. All eclogite samples mostly fall in the fo2 range typical of diamond coexisting with CO2-rich water-bearing melts and gaseous fluids, with diamondiferous eclogites being more reduced at fo2 conditions where circulating fluids can include some methane. When uncertainties on the calculated fo2 are taken into account, all samples essentially fall within the stability field of diamonds coexisting with CO2-bearing melts. Therefore, our results provide evidence of the potential role of CO2-bearing melts as growth medium on the formation of coexisting diamond and graphite in mantle eclogites during subduction of the oceanic crust.
Science, Vol. 369, 6507, pp. 110-1113. doi. 10.1126/ science.aba.1948
Mantle
water
Abstract: The abundances of Earth's chemical elements and their isotopic ratios can indicate which materials formed Earth. Enstatite chondrite (EC) meteorites provide a good isotopic match for many elements but are expected to contain no water because they formed in the hot inner Solar System. This would require Earth's water to be from a different source, such as comets. Piani et al. measured hydrogen contents and deuterium/hydrogen ratios (D/H) in 13 EC meteorites (see the Perspective by Peslier). They found far more hydrogen than is commonly assumed, with D/H close to that of Earth's mantle. Combining these data with cosmochemical models, they show that most of Earth's water could have formed from hydrogen delivered by EC meteorites.
Canadian diamond exploration.. high risk.. high reward. Background-historical and overview of current northwest Territories play to date June 11, 1993.
Bunting Warburg Inc. Research Report, June 11, 23p.
Abstract: In this study, we show how veined lithospheric mantle is involved in the genesis of ultrapotassic magmatism in cratonic settings. We conducted high pressure experiments to simulate vein + wall rock melting within the Earth's lithospheric mantle by reacting assemblages of harzburgite and phlogopite-rich hydrous mantle xenoliths. These comprised a mica-, amphibole-, rutile-, ilmenite-, diopside (MARID) assemblage at 3-5 GPa and 1325-1450 °C. Melting of the MARID assemblages results in infiltration of melt through the harzburgite, leading to its chemical alteration. At 3 and 4 GPa, melts are high in K2O (> 9 wt%) with K2O/Na2O > > 2 comparable to anorogenic lamproites. Higher pressures and temperatures (5 GPa/1450 °C) lead to increasing MgO contents of the melt and to some extent lower K2O contents (5-7 wt%) at equally high K2O/Na2O ratios. Our experiments provide insights into the role of alkalis in nickel-partitioning (DNi) between olivine and ultrapotassic melt. We observe that the high contents of Na, K, and Al are indicative of high DNi values, implying that the melt polymerization is the dominant factor influencing the olivine/melt nickel partitioning. The change of DNi as a function of melt composition results in a pressure independent, empirical geothermometer: Element oxides represent the composition of the glass (in wt%), and DNi is the liquid/olivine Ni-partitioning coefficient. We propose that this geothermometer is applicable to all natural silicate melts that crystallized olivine in a temperature interval between 1000 and 1600 °C. Application to glass-olivine pairs from calc-alkaline settings (Mexico), MORB (East Pacific Rise), and OIB (Hawaii) yielded reasonable values of 996-1199 °C, 1265 °C, and 1330 °C, respectively.
Abstract: Alkaline lavas occur globally in subduction-related volcanic arcs. Conventional models for the origin of these lavas typically invoke a multi-stage process in which mantle wedge peridotite, enriched in phlogopite and/or amphibole due to prior metasomatism, partially melts during infiltration by fluids and melts derived from subducted oceanic lithosphere. However, geochemical systematics in the majority of subduction-related alkaline lavas require physical mixing of subducted components and peridotite prior to partial melting. This can be explained by the mélange diapir model, which predicts the generation of arc magmas during advection of buoyant material from the slab-wedge interface into the mantle wedge below arcs. Here we report results from experiments in which natural mélange materials were partially melted at upper mantle conditions to produce alkaline magmas. Partial melts produced in our experiments have trace-element abundance patterns that are typical of alkaline arc lavas, such as enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and depletion in Nb and Ta. These results favor generation of alkaline magmas in the arc and backarc regions of subduction zones by partial melting of mélange materials rather than previously metasomatized peridotite.
Abstract: Diamonds growing in the Earth’s mantle often trap inclusions of fluids that are highly saline in composition. These fluids are thought to emerge from deep in subduction zones and may also be involved in the generation of some of the kimberlite magmas. However, the source of these fluids and the mechanism of their transport into the mantle lithosphere are unresolved. Here, we present experimental results showing that alkali chlorides are stable solid phases in the mantle lithosphere below 110 km. These alkali chlorides are formed by the reaction of subducted marine sediments with peridotite and show identical K/Na ratios to fluid inclusions in diamond. At temperatures >1100°C and low pressures, the chlorides are unstable; here, potassium is accommodated in mica and melt. The reaction of subducted sediments with peridotite explains the occurrence of Mg carbonates and the highly saline fluids found in diamonds and in chlorine-enriched kimberlite magmas.
Abstract: Across much of North America, the contact between Precambrian basement and Paleozoic strata is the Great Unconformity, a surface that represents a >0.4 b.y.-long hiatus. A digital elevation model (DEM) of this surface visually highlights regional-scale variability in the character of basement topography across the United States cratonic platform. Specifically, it delineates Phanerozoic tectonic domains, each characterized by a distinct structural wavelength (horizontal distance between adjacent highs) and/or structural amplitude (vertical distance between adjacent lows and highs). The largest domain, the Midcontinent domain, includes long-wavelength epeirogenic basins and domes, as well as fault-controlled steps. The pronounced change in land-surface elevation at the Rocky Mountain Front coincides with the western edge of the Midcontinent domain on the basement DEM. In the Rocky Mountain and Colorado Plateau domains, west of the Rocky Mountain Front, structural wavelength is significantly shorter and structural amplitude significantly higher than in the Midcontinent domain. The Bordering Basins domain outlines the southern and eastern edges of the Midcontinent domain. As emphasized by the basement DEM, several kilometers of structural relief occur across the boundary between these two domains, even though this boundary does not stand out on ground-surface topography. A plot of epicenters on the basement DEM supports models associating intraplate seismicity with the Midcontinent domain edge. Notably, certain changes in crustal thickness also coincide with distinct changes in basement depth.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 481, pp. 223-235.
United States, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky
geophysics - seismics Reelfoot Rift
Abstract: Seismic discontinuities between the Moho and the inferred lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) are known as mid-lithospheric discontinuities (MLDs) and have been ascribed to a variety of phenomena that are critical to understanding lithospheric growth and evolution. In this study, we used S-to-P converted waves recorded by the USArray Transportable Array and the OIINK (Ozarks-Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky) Flexible Array to investigate lithospheric structure beneath the central U.S. This region, a portion of North America's cratonic platform, provides an opportunity to explore how terrane accretion, cratonization, and subsequent rifting may have influenced lithospheric structure. The 3D common conversion point (CCP) volume produced by stacking back-projected Sp receiver functions reveals a general absence of negative converted phases at the depths of the LAB across much of the central U.S. This observation suggests a gradual velocity decrease between the lithosphere and asthenosphere. Within the lithosphere, the CCP stacks display negative arrivals at depths between 65 km and 125 km. We interpret these as MLDs resulting from the top of a layer of crystallized melts (sill-like igneous intrusions) or otherwise chemically modified lithosphere that is enriched in water and/or hydrous minerals. Chemical modification in this manner would cause a weak layer in the lithosphere that marks the MLDs. The depth and amplitude of negative MLD phases vary significantly both within and between the physiographic provinces of the midcontinent. Double, or overlapping, MLDs can be seen along Precambrian terrane boundaries and appear to result from stacked or imbricated lithospheric blocks. A prominent negative Sp phase can be clearly identified at 80 km depth within the Reelfoot Rift. This arrival aligns with the top of a zone of low shear-wave velocities, which suggests that it marks an unusually shallow seismic LAB for the midcontinent. This boundary would correspond to the top of a region of mechanically and chemically rejuvenated mantle that was likely emplaced during late Precambrian/early Cambrian rifting. These observations suggest that the lithospheric structure beneath the Reelfoot Rift may be an example of a global phenomenon in which MLDs act as weak zones that facilitate the removal of cratonic lithosphere that lies beneath.
Symposium on critical and strategic materials, British Columbia Geological Survey Paper 2015-3, held Nov. 13-14, pp. 251-264.
Technology
Rare earths
Abstract: Fluorite (CaF2) belongs to the isometric system, with a cubic, face-centred lattice. Fluorite commonly forms cubes or octahedrons, less commonly dodecahedrons and, rarely, tetrahexahedrons, trapezohedrons, trisoctahedrons, hexoctahedrons, and botyroidal forms. Fluorite is transparent to translucent, and has vitreous luster. It occurs in a variety of colours including purple, green, blue, or yellow, however it can also be colourless, and can exhibit colour zoning, (Staebler et al., 2006). Fluorite from many localities is fl uorescent (Verbeek, 2006). Fluorite density varies from 3.0-3.6 g/cm3, depending to a large extent on inclusions and impurities in the crystal lattice (Staebler et al., 2006), and its hardness is 4 on Mohs scale (Berry et al., 1983). Many single fl uorite crystals display sector zoning, refl ecting preferential substitution and incorporation of trace elements along successive crystal surfaces (Bosce and Rakovan, 2001). The Ca2+ ion in the fl uorite crystal structure can be substituted by Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Fe2+,3+, Zn2+, Sr2+, Y3+, Zr4+, Ba2+, lanthanides ions, Pb2+, Th4+, and U4+ ions (Bailey et al., 1974; Bill and Calas, 1978, Gagnon et al., 2003; Schwinn and Markl, 2005; Xu et al., 2012; Deng et al., 2014). Concentrations of these impurities do not exceed 1% (Deer, 1965) except in yttrofl uorite (Ca,Y)F2-2.33 and cerfl uorite (Ca,Ce)F2-2.33 (Sverdrup, 1968). Fluorite occurs in a variety of rocks, as an accessory and as a gangue mineral in many metalliferous deposits and, in exceptional cases, as the main ore constituent of economic deposits (Simandl, 2009). Good examples of fl uorite mines are Las Cuevas, Encantada-Buenavista (Mexico); St. Lawrence pluton-related veins and the Rock Candy Mine (Canada); El Hamman veins (Morocco) and LeBurc Montroc -Le Moulinal and Trebas deposits (France) as documented by Ruiz et al. (1980), Grogan and Montgomery (1975), González-Partida et al. (2003), Munoz et al. (2005), and Fulton III and Miller (2006). Fluorite also commonly occurs adjacent to or within carbonatites and alkaline complexes (Kogut et al., 1998; Hagni,1999; Alvin et al., 2004; Xu et al., 2004; Salvi and Williams-Jones, 2006); Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) Pb- Zn-F-Ba deposits; F-Ba-(Pb-Zn) veins (Grogan and Bradbury, 1967 and 1968; Baxter et al., 1973; Kesler et al., 1989; Cardellach et al., 2002; Levresse et al., 2006); hydrothermal Fe (±Au, ±Cu) and rare earth element (REE) deposits (Borrok et al., 1998; Andrade et al., 1999; Fourie, 2000); precious metal concentrations (Hill et al., 2000); fl uorite/metal-bearing skarns (Lu et al., 2003); Sn-polymetallic greissen-type deposits (Bettencourt et al., 2005); and zeolitic rocks and uranium deposits (Sheppard and Mumpton, 1984; Cunningham et al., 1998; Min et al., 2005). Ore deposit studies that document the trace element distribution in fl uorite are provided by Möller et al. (1976), Bau et al. (2003), Gagnon et al. (2003), Schwinn and Markl (2005), and Deng et al. (2014). The benchmark paper by Möller et al. (1976) identifi ed variations in the chemical composition of fl uorites according their origin (sedimentary, hydrothermal, or pegmatitic). Recently, Makin et al. (2014) compiled trace-element compositions of fl uorite from MVT, fl uorite-barite veins, peralkaline-related, and carbonatite-related deposits. They showed that fl uorite from MVT and carbonatite deposits can be distinguished through trace element concentrations, and that the REE concentration of fl uorite from veins is largely independent of the composition of the host rock. Based on the physical and chemical properties of fl uorite, its association with a variety of deposit types, and previous studies, it is possible that fl uorite can be used as a proximal indicator mineral to explore for a variety of deposit types. Unfortunately, the compilation by Makin et al. (2014) contained chemical analyses performed at different laboratories using different analytical techniques (including laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), electron microprobe, neutron activation, and ICP-MS), and precision and accuracy varied accordingly. As an orientation survey, herein we present data from fi ve deposits, with two samples from the Rock Candy deposit (British Columbia), and one sample from each of Kootenay Florence (British Columbia), Eaglet (British Columbia), Eldor (Quebec), and Hastie quarry (Illinois) deposits (Table 1). The main objectives of this study are to: 1) assess variations in chemical composition of fl uorite in the samples and deposit types; 2) evaluate relations between analyses made using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry on individual grains [LA-ICP-MS(IG)], and those made using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry on fused beads [LA-ICP-MS(FB)] and X-ray fl uorescence (XRF); 3) test the use of stoichiometric Ca content as an internal fl uorite standard, such has been done by Gagnon et al. (2003) and Schwinn and Markl, (2005); 4) select the elements that are commonly present in concentrations above the lower limit of detection of LA-ICP-MS and available for constructing discrimination diagrams; 5) consider if our results agree with the preliminary discrimination diagrams of Makin et al. (2014).
Abstract: Plutons associated with a 1.4 Ga magmatic event intrude across southwestern Laurentia. The tectonic setting of this major magmatic province is poorly understood. Proposed melting models include anorogenic heating from the mantle, continental arc or transpressive orogeny, and anatexis from radiogenic heat buildup in thickened crust. Re-Os analyses of refractory mantle xenoliths from the Navajo volcanic field (NVF; central Colorado Plateau) yield Re depletion ages of 2.1–1.7 Ga, consistent with the age of the overlying Yavapai and Mazatzal crust. However, new Sm-Nd isotope data from clinopyroxene in peridotite xenoliths from NVF diatremes show a subset of xenoliths that plot on a ca. 1.4 Ga isochron, which likely reflects mantle melt production and isotopic resetting at 1.4 Ga. This suggests that Paleoproterozoic subcontinental lithospheric mantle was involved in the 1.4 Ga magmatic event. Our constraints support a subduction model for the generation of the 1.4 Ga granites but are inconsistent with rifting and anorogenic anatexis models, both of which would require removal of ancient lithosphere.
Abstract: Subducting serpentinized lithosphere has distinct ?D and ?18O values compared to normal mantle. Slab-derived fluids that infiltrate the mantle wedge can alter its oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition, raising or lowering the ?18O and ?D values depending on the nature of the subducted components. Hydrous minerals in peridotite xenoliths from the Colorado Plateau (southwestern USA) have ?D values (up to ?33‰) much higher than average mantle (?80‰), but similar to ?D values of olivine-hosted melt inclusions within arc basalts, suggesting a slab-derived fluid source. Oxygen isotope ratios of olivine from these xenoliths are similar to average mantle, yet display a strong negative correlation with clinopyroxene Ce/Sm, a proxy of metasomatism. This correlation is most simply explained by metasomatism from fluids derived from the serpentinized portion of the Farallon slab. Although ?18O values of mantle minerals span a narrow range, integration of stable isotope data with other geochemical tracers can provide new constraints on modern and ancient subduction-related processes, potentially providing a method for probing Archean lithospheric mantle for evidence of early subduction.
Abstract: The H/C ratio in earth’s exosphere is higher than it is in the source region of primitive basalts, suggesting an enriched carbon reservoir in the mantle[1]. A plausible explanation is that subduction of carbon may have enriched the mantle in recycled carbon over time. Average basaltic crust contains ~ 2 wt.% CO2 [2], and modeling of slab devolatilisation suggests that subducted carbonate may survive to be transported deeper into the mantle [3]. Carbonated oceanic crust should melt in the transition zone along most subduction geotherms due to a deep trough in the carbonated basalt solidus, and mineral inclusions in superdeep diamonds testify to carbonate melt in their formation [4]. Along cool subduction geotherms carbonate may subduct into the lower mantle, potentially enriching the deep mantle in carbon. Here we report on laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments in the CaO-MgO-SiO2-CO2 and FeO-MgO-SiO2-CO2 systems at lower mantle pressures where we investigate the stability of carbonate in oceanic crust, and test for decarbonation and diamond forming reactions involving carbonate and coexisiting free silica. We find that carbonate reacts with silica to form bridgmanite ± Ca-perovskite + CO2 at pressures in the range of ~50 to 70 GPa. These decarbonation reactions form an impenetrable barrier to subduction of carbonate into the deeper lower mantle, however, slabs may carry solid CO2 (Phase V) into the deeper lower mantle. We also identify reactions where carbonate or CO2 dissociate to form diamond plus oxygen. We suggest that the deep lower mantle may become enriched in carbon in the form of diamond over time due to subduction of carbonate and solid CO2 and its eventual dissociation to form diamond plus oxygen. Release of oxygen during diamond formation may also provide a mechanism for locally oxidizing the deep mantle.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 499, pp. 219-229.
United States, Colorado Plateau
metasomatism
Abstract: In magmatic settings, water behaves as an incompatible species and should be depleted during melting and enriched during metasomatism. Previous studies have identified correlations between nominally anhydrous mineral (NAM) water content ([H2O]) and indices of metasomatism or melt extraction, seemingly confirming this behavior in the mantle. However in detail, these correlations are ambiguous and do not reflect robust controls on NAM [H2O]. We measured orthopyroxene (opx) and clinopyroxene (cpx) [H2O] in variably hydrated and metasomatized peridotite xenoliths from the Navajo volcanic field (NVF) that sample the Colorado Plateau subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM), an endmember of SCLM hydration and metasomatism. These xenoliths span a wide range of pyroxene [H2O] (opx from 50 to 588 ppm wt. H2O; cpx from 38 to 581 ppm wt. H2O), but NAM [H2O] does not correlate with either indices of melt depletion or metasomatism. Growth of hydrous minerals suggests higher water activity than in anhydrous peridotites, and therefore hydrous-mineral-bearing xenoliths and anhydrous xenoliths should have different NAM [H2O] and water activities. However, when the two groups are compared no significant differences can be found in either NAM [H2O] or water activity. We propose that the high diffusivity of hydrogen in the mantle allows for equilibration of water activity in the mantle over sub-kilometer length scales over geologic time. Such diffusive equilibration reduces water activity variability and results in the blurring and destruction of correlations between NAM [H2O] and indices of metasomatism or melt extraction. As a result of diffusive equilibration of water, there is a large difference in the variability of concentration between NAM [H2O] (spanning ?2 orders of magnitude) and similarly incompatible elements such as Ce in the same peridotites (spanning ?4 orders of magnitude). This difference in behavior explains why H2O/Ce ratios in mantle peridotites are highly variable relative to those of basalts.
Resource estimation and valuation of alluvial diamond deposits.
Proceedings of the 10th. International Kimberlite Conference, Vol. 2, Special Issue of the Journal of the Geological Society of India,, Vol. 2, pp. 281-288.
De Wit, M., Bhebhe, Z., Davidson, J., Haggerty, S.E., Hundt, P., Jacob, J., Lynn, M., Marshall, T.R., Skinner, C., Smithson, K., Stiefenhofer, J., Robert, M., Revitt, A., Spaggiari, R., Ward, J.
Abstract: From the discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1866 until the end of 2013, Africa is estimated to have produced almost 3.2 Bct out of a total global production of 5.03 Bct, or 63.6% of all diamonds that have ever been mined. In 2013 African countries ranked 2nd (Botswana), 3rd (DRC), 6th (Zimbabwe), 7th (Angola), 8th (South Africa), and 9th (Namibia), in terms of carat production and 1st (Botswana), 4th (Namibia), 5th (Angola), 6th (South Africa), 7th (Zimbabwe), and 9th (DRC), in terms of value of the diamonds produced. In 2013 Africa produced 70.6 Mct out of a global total of 130.5 Mct or 54.1%, which was valued at US$ 8.7 billion representing 61.5% of the global value of US$ 14.1 billion.
Abstract: Alluvial diamond and other gemstone deposits have, typically, been exploited by small artisanal operations with little or no geological control. Over the last decade, however, alluvial deposits have become more interesting to larger (often listed), mid-tier companies wishing to benefit from the higher incomes generated by high-quality stones. The difficulties associated with evaluation and valuation of such alluvial diamond/gemstone deposits are widely known but, regrettably, often not widely understood - leading to several misconceptions over what can and cannot be expected from such deposits. Fortunately, there is a reasonably well-established body of knowledge on alluvial diamonds that has resulted in accepted industry-standard practices of how to evaluate these deposits. The 2016 version of the SAMREC Code includes several sections specific to the requirements of secondary diamond and gemstone deposits, both alluvial and marine. Consequently, it is possible to define Diamond/Gemstone Resources in accordance with the major international Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO) type codes. This paper outlines some of the requirements and some of the pitfalls that need to be appreciated while estimating Diamond/Gemstone Resources and/or Reserves on such deposits.
IN: Deep carbon: past to present, Orcutt, Daniel, Dasgupta eds., pp. 237-275.
Mantle
carbon
Abstract: This chapter provides a summary of the flux of carbon through various oceanic volcanic centers such as mid-ocean ridges and intraplate settings, as well as what these fluxes indicate about the carbon content of the mantle. By reviewing methods used to measure the carbon geochemistry of basalts and then to estimate fluxes, the chapter provides insight into how mantle melting and melt extraction processes are estimated. The chapter discusses how the flux of carbon compares with other incompatible trace elements and gases. From there, the chapter discusses whether the budget of carbon in the ocean mantle can be explained by primordial carbon or whether carbon recycling is required to balance the budget.
Gems & Gemology, Vol. 56, 2, summer pp. 230-257. pdf
South America, Columbia
deposit - Chivor
Abstract: The history of the Chivor emerald mine in Colombia is a saga with countless twists and turns, involving parties from across the globe. Indigenous people initially exploited the property, followed by the Spanish in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, before abandonment set in for 200 years. The mine was rediscovered by Francisco Restrepo in the 1880s, and ownership over the ensuing decades passed through several Colombian owners and eventually to an American company, the Colombian Emerald Syndicate, Ltd., with an intervening but unsuccessful attempt by a German group organized by Fritz Klein to take control. With the Colombian Emerald Syndicate succumbing to bankruptcy in 1923, the property was sold and then transferred in 1924 to another American firm, the Colombia Emerald Development Corporation. Under the new ownership, stock market speculation played a far more prominent role in the story than actual mining. Nonetheless, periods of more productive mining operations did take place under managers Peter W. Rainier and Russell W. Anderton. Yet these were not enough to prevent the company, renamed Chivor Emerald Mines, Inc. in 1933, from entering insolvency in 1952 and being placed into receivership. Leadership by Willis Frederick Bronkie enabled the firm to regain independence in 1970 and shortly thereafter to be sold in a series of transactions, with Chivor gradually being returned to Colombian interests.
Abstract: The history of the Chivor emerald mine in Colombia is rife with legend and adventure. The tale traces from early exploitation by indigenous people, to work by the Spanish in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, to 200 years of abandonment and jungle overgrowth. The story then picks up with rediscovery near the turn of the twentieth century by the Colombian mining engineer Francisco Restrepo using clues from a historical manuscript. Still the saga continued, with repeated shortages of investment funds driving multiple ownership changes and little progress toward mining the largely inaccessible deposit. The German gem merchant Fritz Klein, in cooperation with Restrepo, pursued limited mining activities with a small number of workers for a few months prior to the outbreak of World War I. After the war, the American company Colombian Emerald Syndicate, Ltd., took ownership, and mining operations resumed under the new leadership. Ownership changed yet again in the 1920s, followed by multiple cycles of expanding and shrinking mining activity, interrupted by completely unproductive periods.
Abstract: The Nonacho Group comprises six formations of continental clastic rocks that were deposited between 1.91 and 1.83?Ga. The Nonacho Group is part of a broader assemblage of conglomerate and sandstone that was deposited atop the Rae craton in response to the amalgamation of Laurentia and supercontinent Nuna, but the details of its tectonic setting are contentious. This paper documents an outlier of Nonacho Group rocks ?50?km east of the main Nonacho basin. Field observations and LA-ICPMS (laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology are integrated with previous studies of the main basin to better understand the group’s depositional history, provenance and tectonic setting. The lithology and detrital zircon age spectra of the outlier allow for its correlation to the upper two formations of the Nonacho Group. CA-ID-TIMS (chemical abrasion isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry) analyses of two fragments of the youngest detrital zircon provide a maximum depositional age of 1901.0?±?0.9?Ma. A felsic volcanic cobble dated at ca. 2.38?Ga provides evidence of volcanism during the Arrowsmith orogeny. Detrital zircon dates recovered from the outlier (ca. 3.4-3.0, 2.7, 2.5-2.3 and 2.0-1.9?Ga) are consistent with derivation from topography of the Taltson and/or Thelon orogens on the western margin of the Rae craton. Taltson-Thelon (2.0 to 1.9?Ga) aged detritus is only abundant in the upper two formations of the Nonacho Group, marking a change in provenance from the lower formations. This change in provenance may have coincided with a period of renewed uplift and the unroofing of Taltson-Thelon plutons. The detrital zircon provenance and depositional age of the Nonacho Group is consistent with models that link its deposition to the Taltson and/or Thelon orogens. However, tectonism associated with the 1.9 to 1.8?Ga Snowbird and Trans-Hudson orogens to the east could also have affected basin formation or the change in provenance from the lower to upper Nonacho Group. This study highlights the importance of CA-ID-TIMS in establishing accurate and precise maximum depositional ages for sedimentary successions.
Abstract: The Trans-Hudson Orogen (THO), formed from the convergence between the Superior craton and the composite Churchill Upper Plate (CUP), is one of the best-preserved examples of a collisional orogen in the Paleoproterozoic. Similar to modern collision systems such as the Himalayan orogen, it is characterized by a composite upper plate in which terrane accretion established a continental plateau that was tectonically and magmatically active for >100 myr. Our study presents new petrological and geochronological data for four samples collected in three lithotectonic domains of the south Rae craton (one of the CUP terranes). The results presented here allow us to re-define the previously proposed extent of THO reworking in the CUP and afford the opportunity to study and compare the evolution of various fragments that illustrate differing levels of a collapsed plateau in the CUP hinterland. The new data indicate that the south Rae craton locally preserves evidence for burial at 1.855-1.84 Ga with peak metamorphic conditions at approximately 790 °C and 9.5-12.5 kbar followed by rapid cooling and decompression melting (P < 6 kbar) at ca. 1.835-1.826 Ga. These results, which provide important and so far missing Pressure-Temperature-time (P-T-t) constraints on the evolution of the south Rae craton in the Northwest Territories at Trans-Hudson time, coupled with existing regional geochronological and geochemical data, are used to propose an updated model for the post-1.9 Ga THO collision and extensional collapse. Our results reveal that: i) initial thickening in the upper plate started at Snowbird time (ca. 1.94 Ga), then continued via Sask collision (with high-grade metamorphism recorded in the south Rae craton, ca. 1.85 Ga), and ended with Superior collision (ca. 1.83 Ga); ii) the extent of the THO structural and metamorphic overprint in the SW CUP is much broader across strike than previously recognized, and iii) T-t data in the south Rae are indicative of relatively fast cooling rates (8-25 °C/Ma) compared to other known Precambrian orogens. We suggest that the Paleoproterozoic THO represents the first record of a major ‘modern-style’ orogenic plateau collapse in Earth’s history.
International Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 109, 4, pp. 1487-1500.
Africa, Madagascar
tectonics
Abstract: This study uses gravimetric data integrated with recent seismic data published on south Madagascar to investigate geometry of crust-mantle interface. The regional tectonic framework of Madagascar is characterised by anastomosing network of up to 15-km-wide, 600-km-long and north-oriented high-strain zones, which originated during Neoproterozoic convergence. The studied Bouguer anomalies obtained from the International Gravimetric Bureau were high-pass filtered to emphasise short-wavelength gravimetric variations (shorter than 200 km). The Pan-African high-strain zones coincide with the positive gravimetric anomalies suggesting a link with deep seated high-density material. Considering the present-day thickness of the crust (35 km) and its seismic velocity record, the gravimetric anomalies can be visualised as narrow vertical tabular bodies located at the base of the Moho. Modelling further confirmed that such narrow vertical bodies could be stable over geologic time scale since these structures are relatively small (10 to 30 km wide). The vertical tabular bodies possibly reflect material transfer such as vertical motion of sub-crustal weak and possibly partially molten mantle along vertical deformation zones. It is proposed that these structures were initiated by folding of weak mantle-crust interface characterised by low-viscosity contrast between weak mantle and stronger granulitized lower crust during bulk pure shear-dominated horizontal shortening. It is proposed that the cuspate-lobate "mullion-type" geometry mimics rheological inversions of mafic and felsic rocks and shape of folds of variable scale observed in southern Madagascar. The formation of such mega-mullion structures is possibly an expression of "crème brulée" rheological model, where the deformation of the lithosphere is governed by stronger granulitic lower crust and weaker partially molten and/or hydrated mantle.
Feneyrol, J., Giuliani, G., Demaiffe, D., Ohenstetter, D., Fallick, A.E., Dubessy, J., Martelet, J-E., Rakotondrazafy, A.F.M., Omito, E., Ichangi, D., Nyamai, C., Wamunyu, W.
Abstract: The genetic model previously proposed for tsavorite- (and tanzanite-) bearing mineralization hosted in the Neoproterozoic Metamorphic Mozambique Belt (stretching from Kenya through Tanzania to Madagascar) is refined on the basis of new Sm-Nd age determinations and detailed Sr-O-S isotope and fluid-inclusion studies. The deposits are hosted within meta-sedimentary series composed of quartzites, graphitic gneisses, calc-silicate rocks intercalated with meta-evaporites, and marbles. Tsavorite occurs either in nodules (also called “boudins”) oriented parallel to the metamorphic foliation in all of the deposits in the metamorphic belt or in quartz veins and lenses located at the hinges of anticlinal folds (Lelatema fold belt and Ruangwa deposits, Tanzania). Gem tanzanite occurs in pockets and lenses in the Lelatema fold belt of northern Tanzania. The Sm-Nd isotopic data for tsavorites and tanzanites hosted in quartz veins and lenses from Merelani demonstrate that they formed at 600 Ma, during the retrograde metamorphic episode associated with the East African Orogeny. The tsavorites hosted in nodules do not provide reliable ages: their sedimentary protoliths had heterogeneous compositions and their Sm-Nd system was not completely rehomogenized, even at the local scale, by the fluid-absent metamorphic recrystallization. The initial 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratios of calcite from marble and tanzanites from Merelani fit with the strontium isotopic composition of Neoproterozoic marine carbonates. Seawater sediment deposition in the Mozambique Ocean took place around 720 Ma. The quartz-zoisite O-isotopic thermometer indicates a temperature of formation for zoisite between 385 and 448 °C. The sulfur isotopic composition of pyrite (between –7.8 and –1.3‰ V-CDT) associated with tsavorite in the Lelatema fold belt deposits suggests the contribution of reduced marine sulfate. The sulfur in pyrite in the marbles was likely derived from bacterial sulfate reduction which produced H2S. Fluid inclusion data from tsavorite and tanzanite samples from the Merelani mine indicate the presence of a dominant H2S-S8±(CH4)±(N2)±(H2O)-bearing fluid. In the deposits in Kenya and Madagascar, the replacement of sulfate by tsavorite in the nodules and the boron isotopic composition of tourmaline associated with tsavorite are strong arguments in favor of the participation of evaporites in garnet formation.
Society of Economic Geology Geoscience and Exploration of the Argyle, Bunder, Diavik, and Murowa Diamond Deposits, Special Publication no. 20, pp. 379-402.
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Vol. 357, pp. 68-91.
Mantle
volcanism
Abstract: Volcanic stratigraphy is a fundamental component of geological mapping in volcanic areas as it yields the basic criteria and essential data for identifying the spatial and temporal relationships between volcanic products and intra/inter-eruptive processes (earth-surface, tectonic and climatic), which in turn provides greater understanding of the geological evolution of a region. Establishing precise stratigraphic relationships in volcanic successions is not only essential for understanding the past behaviour of volcanoes and for predicting how they might behave in the future, but is also critical for establishing guidelines for exploring economic and energy resources associated with volcanic systems or for reconstructing the evolution of sedimentary basins in which volcanism has played a significant role. Like classical stratigraphy, volcanic stratigraphy should also be defined using a systematic methodology that can provide an organised and comprehensive description of the temporal and spatial evolution of volcanic terrain. This review explores different methods employed in studies of volcanic stratigraphy, examines four case studies that use differing stratigraphic approaches, and recommends methods for using systematic volcanic stratigraphy based on the application of the concepts of traditional stratigraphy but adapted to the needs of volcanological environment.
Role of iron and reducing conditions on the stability of dolomite + coesite between 4.25 and 6 GPa - a potential mechanism for diamond formation during subduction
European Journal of Mineralogy, Vol. 23, 1, pp. 5-16.
Martin, A.M., Laporte, D., Koga, K.T., Kawamoto, T., Hammouda, T.
Experimental study of the stability of a dolomite + coesite assemblage in contact with peridotite: implications for sediment-mantle interaction and diamond formation during subduction.
Martin, A.M., Laporte, D., Koga, K.T., Kawamoto, T., Hammouda, T.
Experimental stidy of the stability of a dolomite + coesite assembalge in contact with peridotite: implications for sediment-mantle interaction and diamond formation during subduction.
Abstract: The lithospheric mantle beneath West Antarctica has been characterized using petrology, whole-rock and mineral major element geochemistry, whole-rock trace element chemistry and Mössbauer spectroscopy data obtained on a suite of peridotite (lherzolite and harzburgite) and pyroxenite xenoliths from the Mount Morning eruptive centre, Southern Victoria Land. The timing of pyroxenite formation in Victoria Land overlaps with subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific plate beneath the Gondwana margin and pyroxenite is likely to have formed when fluids derived from, or modified by, melting of the subducting, eclogitic, oceanic crustal plate percolated through peridotite of the lithospheric mantle. Subsequent melting of lithospheric pyroxenite veins similar to those represented in the Mount Morning xenolith suite has contributed to the enriched trace element (and isotope) signatures seen in Cenozoic volcanic rocks from Mount Morning, elsewhere in Victoria Land and Zealandia. In general, the harzburgite xenoliths reflect between 20 and 30% melt depletion. Their depleted element budgets are consistent with Archaean cratonization ages and they have mantle-normalized trace element patterns comparable with typical subcontinental lithospheric mantle. The spinel lherzolite mineral data suggest a similar amount of depletion to that recorded in the harzburgites (20-30%), whereas plagioclase lherzolite mineral data suggest <15% melt depletion. The lherzolite (spinel and plagioclase) xenolith whole-rocks have compositions indicating <20% melt depletion, consistent with Proterozoic to Phanerozoic cratonization ages, and have mantle-normalized trace element patterns comparable with typical depleted mid-ocean ridge mantle. All peridotite xenoliths have undergone a number of melt-rock reaction events. Melting took place mainly in the spinel peridotite stability field, but one plagioclase peridotite group containing high-sodium clinopyroxenes is best modelled by melting in the garnet field. Median oxygen fugacity estimates based on Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements of spinel and pyroxene for spinel-facies conditions in the rifted Antarctic lithosphere are -0·6 ?log fO2 at Mount Morning and –1·0 ± 0·1 (1?) ?log fO2 for all of Victoria Land, relative to the fayalite-magnetite-quartz buffer. These values are in good agreement with a calculated global median value of -0·9 ± 0·1 (1?) ?log fO2 for mantle spinel-facies rocks from continental rift systems.
Abstract: We present the first regional in-situ zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopic data from metaigneous and metasedimentary rocks from the Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic Rio Apa Terrane (RAT), a crustal fragment outcropping in the central-western Brazil and north-eastern Paraguay. These new ages and Hf isotopic data delineate three magmatic events, which record the construction of the temporally and isotopically distinct Western and Eastern Terranes of the RAT. The Western Terrane comprises the 2100-1940 Ma Porto Murtinho Complex and the 1900-1840 Ma Amoguijá Belt, which both define a crustal reworking array in ?HfT-time space evolving from a precursor source with Hf TDM age of ca. 2700 Ma. The 1800-1720 Ma Caracol Belt constitutes the Eastern Terrane and yields suprachondritic ?HfT signatures up to +7.1, indicating significant juvenile input. The metasedimentary Amolar Group and Rio Naitaca Formation in the Western Terrane have maximum depositional ages of 1850-1800 Ma and subchondritic ?HfT signatures down to ?5.7, similar to the underlying basement of the Amoguijá Belt. In the Eastern Terrane, the Alto Tererê Formation has a maximum depositional age of 1750 Ma and mostly suprachondritic ?HfT signatures, similar to magmatic rocks of the underlying Caracol Belt. Together, the new igneous and detrital zircon age and Hf isotopic data record a temporal and spatial transition from 2100 to 1840 Ma crustal reworking in the west to more juvenile magmatism at 1800-1720 Ma in the east. This transition is interpreted to reflect convergent margin magmatism associated with periods of subduction zone advance and retreat in an accretionary orogenic setting. Comparison of the ?HfT-time signature of the RAT with the Amazonian Craton suggest penecontemporaneous development, with the Western and Eastern Terranes of the RAT being correlative with the Ventuari-Tapajós and Rio Negro-Juruena Province of the Amazonian Craton, respectively. Our new data also reveal that the ?HfT signatures of the RAT are distinct from the Maz terrane, which refutes the MARA Block hypothesis.
Earth-Science Reviews, Vol. 211, doi.org/10.1016 /j.earscirev.2020 .103413 17p. Pdf
Global
cratons
Abstract: Long-lived (800?Ma) Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic accretionary orogens on the margins of Laurentia, Baltica, Amazonia, and Kalahari collided to form the core of the supercontinent, Rodinia. Accretionary orogens in Laurentia and Baltica record predominately radiogenic zircon ?Hf(t) and whole-rock Pb isotopic compositions, short crustal residence times (ca. 0.5?Ga), and the development of arc-backarc complexes. The accretionary orogenic record of Laurentia and Baltica is consistent with a retreating accretionary orogen and analogous to the Phanerozoic western Pacific orogenic system. In contrast, the Mesoproterozoic orogens of Amazon and Kalahari cratons record unradiogenic zircon ?Hf(t) values, ca. 0.8?Ga crustal residence times, and more ancient whole-rock Pb isotopic signatures. The accretionary orogenic record of Amazonia and Kalahari indicates the preferential incorporation of cratonic material in continental arcs of advancing accretionary orogens comparable to the Phanerozoic eastern Pacific orogenic system. Based on similarities in the geodynamic evolution of the Phanerozoic circum-Pacific orogens peripheral to Gondwana/Pangea, we suggest that the Mesoproterozoic accretionary orogens formed as peripheral subduction zones along the margin of the supercontinent Nuna (ca. 1.8-1.6?Ga). The eventual collapse of this peripheral subduction zone onto itself and closure of the external ocean around Nuna to form Rodinia is equivalent to the projected future collapse of the circum-Pacific subduction system and juxtaposition of Australia-Asia with South America. The juxtaposition of advancing and retreating accretionary orogens at the core of the supercontinent Rodinia demonstrates that supercontinent assembly can occur by the closure of external oceans and indicates that future closure of the Pacific Ocean is plausible.
Abstract: Moissanite (SiC) occurs in mantle and mantle-generated rocks from different tectonic settings. SiC is stable only at low oxygen fugacity (ƒO2) ?IW. Israeli SiC is assiociated with corundum, Fe globules, native V and other phases in Cretaceous pyroclastic rocks from Mt Carmel and associated alluvial deposits[1]. The SiC grains contain inclusions of Si metal, FeSi2, FeTiSi2, FeAlSi2 and CaSi2+xSi2-x, which were liquids before being trapped during SiC crystallization. SiC has been found included in corundum, associated with Fe-Ti silicides, connecting the formation of SiC, reduced melts in corundum and conrundum itself. All grains are of the 6H polytype. ?13C ranges from - 32.1 to -24.5‰ and ?30Si from -0.68 to +1.42‰. These SiC grains are one product of the interaction of basaltic magma and mantle methane in a volcanic plumbing system. SiC crystallized from metallic melts that became immiscible during the reduction of the magma. Its low ?13C may reflect Rayleigh fractionation under reduced conditions; the variation in Si isotopes may reflect fractionation between SiC and immiscible metallic melts. SiC samples from the Udachnaya and Mir kimberlite pipes contain inclusions of Si metal, FeSi2, FeSi, FeTiSi2, Si(N,O). The SiC has ?13C ranging from -28.5 to -24.8‰, and ?30Si from -1.72 to +1.42‰. SiC from harzburgites, chromitites and pyroxenites of the Tibetan Zedang ophiolites have inclusions of Si metal and unmixed Fe-Ni-Ti-Si alloy. Their ?13C ranges from -30.6 to -24.7‰ and ?30Si from -0.85 to +1.26‰. SiC samples from these different settings show very similar characteristics, implying that they may be formed in similar mantle conditions, where the flux of mantle methane gradually reduces magmas and interacts with them to produce different reduced phases at different stages.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 497, 1, pp. 181-192.
Mantle
metasomatism
Abstract: At convergent margins fluids liberated from subducting slabs metasomatise the overlying mantle wedge, enriching it in volatiles, incompatible elements and possibly ore-forming metals. Despite the genetic link between this process, the genesis of arc magmas, and formation of porphyry Cu-Au deposits, there is currently little understanding of the behaviour of chalcophile and siderophile elements during subduction-related mantle metasomatism. In this study, we report sulfur isotopic compositions and PGE concentrations of sulfides in a suite of garnet peridotites from the Western Gneiss Region of Norway, sampling mantle wedge from ?100 to ?250 km depth. Sulfides hosted in metasomatised samples have deviated from typical mantle values, ranging between ?10.0 and +5.4‰, indicating derivation of sulfur from subducted crust. Sulfides in pervasively metasomatised samples have atypical PGE signatures, with strong enrichment in Os and Ru relative to Ir, whereas channelised fluid flow produced sulfides extremely enriched in Pd, up to 700 times the concentration found in non-metasomatised samples. These signatures are reconcilable with a high oxidation state of the metasomatising agents and demonstrate that subduction can recycle chalcophile and siderophile elements into and within the mantle, along with sulfur. We further show that because the solubility of Os and Ru in fluids is redox sensitive, and Pd is more soluble than the I-PGE, ratios such as Os/Ir, Ru/Ir plotted against Pd/Ir can be used to trace the metasomatic oxidation of mantle samples, mantle-derived magmas and porphyry Cu±Au deposits. This geochemical insight is used to show that Au-rich porphyry Cu deposits are derived from more oxidised mantle wedge than Au-poor porphyry deposits.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 557, doi.org/10.1016/ j.epsl.2020.116730 9p. Pdf
Europe, Greenland
meteorite
Abstract: Large meteorite impacts have a profound effect on the Earth's geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. It is widely accepted that the early Earth was subject to intense bombardment from 4.5 to 3.8 Ga, yet evidence for subsequent bolide impacts during the Archean Eon (4.0 to 2.5 Ga) is sparse. However, understanding the timing and magnitude of these early events is important, as they may have triggered significant change points to global geochemical cycles. The Maniitsoq region of southern West Greenland has been proposed to record a ?3.0 Ga meteorite impact, which, if confirmed, would be the oldest and only known impact structure to have survived from the Archean. Such an ancient structure would provide the first insight into the style, setting, and possible environmental effects of impact bombardment continuing into the late Archean. Here, using field mapping, geochronology, isotope geochemistry, and electron backscatter diffraction mapping of 5,587 zircon grains from the Maniitsoq region (rock and fluvial sediment samples), we test the hypothesis that the Maniitsoq structure represents Earth's earliest known impact structure. Our comprehensive survey shows that previously proposed impact-related geological features, ranging from microscopic structures at the mineral scale to macroscopic structures at the terrane scale, as well as the age and geochemistry of the rocks in the Maniitsoq region, can be explained through endogenic (non-impact) processes. Despite the higher impact flux, intact craters from the Archean Eon remain elusive on Earth.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available, 19p.
Africa, South Africa, Canada, South America, Brazil
deposit - Lac de Gras, Paranaiba
Abstract: Kimberlites are the deepest melts produced on Earth that are erupted at the surface and can therefore provide unique insights into the composition and evolution of the mantle. Radiogenic isotopes provide ambiguous evidence for the occurrence of recycled crustal material in kimberlite sources. Oxygen isotopes can fractionate significantly only in the shallow crust, and thus represent a powerful tracer of subducted material in the sources of kimberlite. To constrain the oxygen isotope composition of kimberlite melts, we have examined olivine grains in eleven Cretaceous to Eocene archetypal kimberlites from southern Africa, Lac de Gras (Canada) and Alto Paranaiba (Brazil), which exhibit radiogenic isotope evidence for recycled crustal material in their sources including highly radiogenic Pb isotopes and Nd-Hf isotope compositions deviating below the mantle array. Olivine grains are commonly zoned between a mantle-derived xenocrystic core and one or more magmatic overgrowths, i.e. occasional internal zones, ubiquitous rims and rare rinds (moving outward from the core). The oxygen isotope composition of different olivine zones was determined in situ within separated olivine grains by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) after point selection using back-scattered electron (BSE) images combined with major and minor element analyses. With the exception of a few cores, the ?18O values of different olivine zones do not deviate from typical mantle olivine values of 5.18?±?0.28‰ (Mattey et al., 1994). There are no correlations between oxygen isotopes and major/minor element compositions for internal zones and rims from individual localities or in the entire dataset. This indicates that the oxygen isotope composition of kimberlite melts is not affected by melt differentiation to the point of olivine rim crystallisation. However, olivine rinds from the Koala kimberlite (Canada) display an inverse correlation between ?18O and Mn-Ca concentrations, with ?18O values extending below the mantle range, which is probably due to carbonate fractionation, CO2 degassing and/or assimilation of serpentine-rich material after kimberlite emplacement in the upper crust. The mantle-like ?18O composition of olivine internal zones and rims suggests that assimilation of mantle material and liberation of a CO2-rich phase during ascent in the mantle do not significantly modify the original ?18O signature of kimberlite melts. Modelling of oxygen isotope fractionation shows that up to 15 wt% of CO2 can be lost by kimberlites en route to the upper crust. Our results combined with mass balance calculations indicate that only a limited amount (<5-10 wt%) of recycled crustal material could occur in the source of kimberlites from southern Africa, Lac de Gras and Alto Paranaiba, or that the recycled material had an oxygen isotope composition similar to the mantle.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 306, pp. 143-170. pdf
Europe, Italy
subduction
Abstract: The volatile transfer in subduction zones and the role of sulfate as a vector for the mobilization of oxidized components from down-going slabs remain hotly debated issues. Orogenic spinel and garnet peridotite lenses from the Ulten Zone (Eastern Alps, Italy), exhumed as part of felsic metamorphic terranes in continental collision zones, bear witness to mass transfer processes in these pivotal environments. In this study, we carried out a multi-method investigation of mantle sulfides coexisting with four generations of carbonates, indicating coupled sulfur and carbon mobility throughout the peridotites’ metamorphic evolution as part of the Variscan subduction architecture. Detailed petrography, bulk rock measurements, in situ chemical and geochemical analyses of sulfides as well as Sr isotope analyses of associated clinopyroxene and amphibole are combined with the aim to constrain the origin, nature and effect of multiple C-O-H-S-bearing fluids and melts the peridotites interacted with. The first, pre-peak, metasomatic pulse (Stage 1) is represented by an H2S-CO2-bearing melt from the subduction-modified hot mantle wedge, which formed a pyroxenite layer hosting matrix pentlandite with ?34S of +2.77‰. Matrix carbonates occasionally occur in the coarse-grained peridotite under eclogite-facies conditions (Stage 2), with heavier ?34S (up to +3.43‰), radiogenic Sr (87Sr/86Srclinopyroxene > 0.7052) and elevated Pb abundances. These are ascribed to interaction with isotopically heavy melts carrying recycled crustal component, permissive of, but not requiring, involvement of oxidized S species. Conversely, isotopically lighter matrix pentlandite (?34S = ?1.62 to +0.67‰), and radiogenic Sr in amphibole (87Sr/86Sr = 0.7056) and associated dolomite (published data) from fine-grained garnet-amphibole peridotites may point to involvement of H2S-CO2-bearing crustal fluids, which variably equilibrated with the mantle before interacting with the peridotites. The post-peak Stage 3 marks the entrapment of peridotites into a tectonic mélange. Here, kelyphitization of garnet is catalyzed by further ingress of a S-bearing fluid (?34S = ?0.38‰), while carbonate veining with occasional sulfides bear witness to channelized fluid flow. Sulfide and amphibole grains in retrogressed spinel peridotites reveal the highest contents of fluid-mobile elements (As, Sb) and 87Sr/86Sramphibole up to 0.7074, suggesting late interactions with isotopically heavy crustal fluids at high fluid-rock ratios. Textural observations indicate that, during Stage 4, serpentinization of peridotites at low ƒS2 played an active role not only in CO2 release by conversion of dolomite to calcite + brucite intergrowths, but also in local removal of 32S during the final exhumation stage. Late channelized sulfur remobilization is evidenced by the serpentine + magnetite (±millerite ± calcite) vein carrying > 300 ppm S. Overall, the relatively narrow range of sulfur isotope composition (?34S = ?1.62 to +3.76‰) is indicative of limited interaction with isotopically heavy crustal liquids, and points to a subordinate role of subduction-derived sulfate throughout the extended fluid(melt)/rock evolution of the Ulten Zone peridotites, first in the mantle wedge and then as part of a tectonic mélange.
Abstract: Pyrochlore from the Kaiserstuhl volcanic complex (SW Germany) shows textural and compositional differences between various coarse-grained calcite-carbonatite bodies (Badberg, Degenmatt, Haselschacher Buck, Orberg) and extrusive carbonatites (Henkenberg, Kirchberg). Oscillatory-zoned F-rich pyrochlore with up to 69?wt% Nb2O5 is common in all coarse-grained calcite-carbonatite bodies and probably formed during magmatic conditions. However, only in some of the samples from the Badberg, partly resorbed U- and Ta-enriched pyrochlore cores with up to 22?wt% UO2 and 9?wt% Ta2O5 have been identified, which are interpreted as being inherited from underlying nosean syenites. Pyrochlore data from a drill core penetrating the Badberg indicate increasing contents of REE, U, and Ta with depth, while Nb, F and Na contents decrease. This may reflect the combined effects of fractional crystallization and assimilation (AFC) or indicates a multi-stage emplacement of the carbonatitic magma. Patchy-zoned ceriopyrochlore and REE- and Th-enriched pyrochlore with up to 19?wt% total REE2O3 and 6.5?wt% ThO2 is largely restricted to samples from the Orberg and probably formed during hydrothermal conditions. This can be related to the relatively evolved character of the Orberg carbonatites, based on their relatively high whole-rock Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf mass ratios. This study demonstrates that the textural and compositional variation of pyrochlore in carbonatites is a powerful tool to distinguish magmatic, hydrothermal and weathering processes in carbonatitic systems.
Sr Na REE titanates of the crichtonite group from a fenitized megaxenolith, Khibin a alkaline complex, Kola Peninsula, Russia: first occurrence and implications.
European Journal of Mineralogy, Vol. 18, 4, August pp. 493-502.
Abstract: A prominent dike of camptonite cuts the Middle Ordovician Tétreauville Formation of the Trenton Group in the Montréal-Est quarry operated by Lafarge Canada Inc. The “Lafarge” dike is strikingly porphyritic, with largely anhedral macrocrysts of unzoned calcic amphibole up to 13 cm across. The macrocrysts are rimmed with ferri-kaersutite resembling the amphibole in the fine-grained matrix of the camptonite. The magnesio-hastingstite macrocrysts have virtually the same composition as the matrix; they thus grew without much of a boundary layer. The magma crystallized in a disequilibrium way as a pseudo-unary system. The macrocrysts are unusually enriched in Fe3+ (approximately 44% of the total iron), yet locally enclose globules of immiscible sulfide melt. The magma became oxygenated owing to preferential loss of hydrogen upon the dissociation of aqueous gas bubbles. The amygdaloidal macrocrysts have a relatively high ?D value because of this loss of H2; the values of ?18O are typical of an upper mantle source. Camptonite dikes are very common on Mont Royal. Like the Lafarge dike, they likely arose by the disequilibrium crystallization of batches of the parental melt of asthenospheric origin.
Abstract: We have investigated a locality very well known to mineral collectors, the Yates U-Th prospect near Otter Lake, Québec. There, dikes of orange to pink calcite enclose euhedral prisms of fluorapatite, locally aligned. Early investigators pointed out the importance of micro-inclusions in the prisms. We describe and image the micro-inclusions in two polished sections of fluorapatite prisms, one of them with a millimetric globule of orange calcite similar to that in the matrix. We interpret the globule to have been an inclusion of melt trapped during growth. Micro-globules disseminated in the fluorapatite are interpreted to have crystallized in situ from aliquots of the boundary-layer melt enriched in constituents rejected by the fluorapatite; the micro-globules contain a complex jigsawed assemblage of carbonate, silicate, and sulfate minerals. Early minerals to crystallize are commonly partly dissolved and partly replaced by lower-temperature phases. Such jigsawed assemblages seem to be absent in the carbonate matrix sampled away from the fluorapatite prisms. The pressure and temperature attained at the Rigolet stage of the Grenville collisional orogeny were conducive to the anatexis of marble in the presence of H2O. The carbonate melt is considered to have become silicocarbonatitic by assimilation of the enclosing gneisses, which were also close to their melting point. Degassing was important, and the melt froze quickly. The evidence points to a magmatic origin for the carbonate dikes and the associated clinopyroxenite, rather than a skarn-related association.
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Vol. 354, pp. 87-101.
Mantle
magmatism
Abstract: Volcanic eruptions are fed by plumbing systems that transport magma from its source to the surface, mostly fed by dykes. Here we present laboratory experiments that model dyke ascent to eruption using a tank filled with a crust analogue (gelatine, which is transparent and elastic) that is injected from below by a magma analogue (dyed water). This novel experimental setup allows, for the first time, the simultaneous measurement of fluid flow, sub-surface and surface deformation during dyke ascent. During injection, a penny-shaped fluid-filled crack is formed, intrudes, and traverses the gelatine slab vertically to then erupt at the surface. Polarised light shows the internal stress evolution as the dyke ascends, and an overhead laser scanner measures the surface elevation change in the lead-up to dyke eruption. Fluorescent passive-tracer particles that are illuminated by a laser sheet are monitored, and the intruding fluid's flow dynamics and gelatine's sub-surface strain evolution is measured using particle image velocimetry and digital image correlation, respectively. We identify 4 previously undescribed stages of dyke ascent. Stage 1, early dyke growth: the initial dyke grows from the source, and two fluid jets circulate as the penny-shaped crack is formed. Stage 2, pseudo-steady dyke growth: characterised by the development of a rapidly uprising, central, single pseudo-steady fluid jet, as the dyke grows equally in length and width, and the fluid down-wells at the dyke margin. Sub-surface host strain is localised at the head region and the tail of the dyke is largely static. Stage 3, pre-eruption unsteady dyke growth: an instability in the fluid flow appears as the central fluid jet meanders, the dyke tip accelerates towards the surface and the tail thins. Surface deformation is only detected in the immediate lead-up to eruption and is characterised by an overall topographic increase, with axis-symmetric topographic highs developed above the dyke tip. Stage 4 is the onset of eruption, when fluid flow is projected outwards and focused towards the erupting fissure as the dyke closes. A simultaneous and abrupt decrease in sub-surface strain occurs as the fluid pressure is released. Our results provide a comprehensive physical framework upon which to interpret evidence of dyke ascent in nature, and suggest dyke ascent models need to be re-evaluated to account for coupled intrusive and extrusive processes and improve the recognition of monitoring signals that lead to volcanic eruptions in nature.
Methods and Applications in Flouresence, Vol. 8, 1, 01404 htpp:dx.doi.org/10.1088/2050-6120/ab4eac
Global
luminescence
Abstract: We report a multidimensional luminescence microscope providing hyperspectral imaging and time-resolved (luminescence lifetime) imaging for the study of luminescent diamond defects. The instrument includes crossed-polariser white light transmission microscopy to reveal any birefringence that would indicate strain in the diamond lattice. We demonstrate the application of this new instrument to detect defects in natural and synthetic diamonds including N3, nitrogen and silicon vacancies. Hyperspectral imaging provides contrast that is not apparent in conventional intensity images and the luminescence lifetime provides further contrast.
Recovery of non-magnetic minerals with a gravity magnetic seperator
American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) Preprint, Annual Meeting held Phoenix Arizona Feb. 24-27th. 1992, Preprint No. 92-65, 6p
Mangas, J., Perez-Torrado, F.J., Reguilon, R., Martin-Izard, A.
Geological characteristics of alkaline rocks and carbonatites of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain) and their rare earth elements (REE) ore potential.
Terra Abstracts, IAGOD International Symposium on mineralization related to mafic, Vol. 5, No. 3, abstract supplement p. 32.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 94, 102208 13p. Pdf
South America, Brazil
carbonatite
Abstract: Carbonatites are peculiar igneous rocks, consisting mainly of greater than 50% carbonate minerals, which arouse an economic interest due to the potentiality of high phosphate content and Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE) associated with their occurrence. The Passo Feio Carbonatite (PFC) is located 17?km Southwest of Caçapava do Sul city and constitutes NW dipping body, which is interposed with Passo Feio Formation metamorphic rocks. The PFC varies texturally from massive to foliated, being mainly composed of calcites and dolomites and on a smaller scale by apatites, phlogopites and tremolites. The opaque minerals correspond to hematites, magnetites, pyrites and barites, while the accessory minerals are represented by zircons, monazites- (Ce) and aeschynites- (Ce). Probably those REE mineral phases correspond to a hydrothermal stage, with the REE remobilization from apatites into those latter REE-rich mineral phases - this hypothesis is corroborated by geochemistry, mineral chemistry and microtextures found. Considering the results of mineral chemistry and taking into account the textural criteria, it was possible to classify carbonatite as an alvikite, with geochemical patterns that do not indicate economic potential for REE. However, soil geochemistry showed an important enrichment in REE, reflecting a probable concentration of monazites- (Ce) and aeschynites- (Ce), and because of this, it was possible to establish a zone in which the Passo Feio Carbonatite would probably be extended. In the stable isotope analyzes, the ?13C values varied between ?4.14 and ?3.89‰ while those of ?18O between 10.01 and 11.32‰ which can be attributed to the cooling of the magma itself, without suggesting metamorphic processes or subsequent changes. The deformation found in this carbonatite was probably developed in late-magmatic conditions, guided by tectonics associated with horizontal movements in shear zones. Thus, this work suggests that this carbonatite was the product of the reactivation of mantle sources, within a post-collision magmatic context of the Sul-Riograndense Shield.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 100, 10.1016/j.jsames.2020.102583 7p. Pdf
South America, Brazil, Rondonia
deposit - Carolina
Abstract: In this study, we characterize pectolite that occurs in a Carolina kimberlitic intrusion from the Pimenta Bueno Kimberlite Field (PBKF). The PBKF is the only kimberlite field of Permo-Carboniferous age in Brazil and is found on the southern Amazonian Craton. Pectolite, an Na-Ca-silicate usually identified in alkaline rocks as a primary mineral, is not common in the mineral paragenesis of kimberlites and is described here for the first time in Brazil. The genesis of pectolite in kimberlite has been well-studied and can be interpreted as a primary or secondary mineral resulting from the infiltration of an Na-rich fluid into metasomatic reactions. In the rocks from the PBKF, pectolite mainly occurs as fibrous and radial aggregates enriched in K2O that grow between olivine partially altered to serpentine and phlogopite. The results of field and petrographic observations suggest that the PBKF pectolite is of secondary origin, having formed during the hydrothermal alteration of the Carolina kimberlitic intrusion.
Abstract: The subduction of carbonates beyond 250-300?km, where redox conditions favour the presence of metallic iron (Fe), will result in redox reactions with the Fe dispersed in the silicate rocks. Here, we studied the effect of water on the carbonate-Fe interaction in the hydromagnesite-Fe system at 6, 8 and 16?GPa and the peridotite-CO2-H2O-Fe system at 8?GPa, using a multianvil apparatus. In all of the studied samples, we observed the formation of magnesiowüstite, graphite and carbide. Additionally, in the peridotite-CO2-H2O-Fe system, magnesiowüstite reacted with pyroxenes, resulting in olivine enrichment. Kinetic calculations performed at 8?GPa showed that, at the pressure-temperature (P-T) parameters of the ‘hot’, ‘medium’ and ‘cold’ subduction, about 40, 12 and 4?vol% of carbonates, respectively, would be reduced in the hydrous system within 1 Myr, assuming direct contact with Fe. Based on the present results, it is suggested that carbonates will largely be consumed during the characteristic subduction time to the mantle transition zone by reaction with the reduced mantle in the presence of hydrous fluid.
Martirosyan, N., Yoshino, T., Shatskiy, A., Chanyshev, A., Litasov, K.
Kenetic study of Ca- carbonate - iron interaction. ( global geodynamic processes - diamond formation)
V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences International Symposium Advances in high pressure research: breaking scales and horizons ( Courtesy of N. Poikilenko), Held Sept 22-26, 2p. Abstract
Martirosyan, N., Yoshino, T., Shatskiy, A., Chanyshev, A., Litasov, K.
Effect of water on the stability of magnesite in the mantle under reduced conditions.
V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences International Symposium Advances in high pressure research: breaking scales and horizons ( Courtesy of N. Poikilenko), Held Sept. 22-26, 2p. Abstract
Abstract: The fate of subducted carbonates in the lower mantle and at the core-mantle boundary was modelled via experiments in the MgCO3-Fe0 system at 70-150 GPa and 800-2600 K in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell. Using in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and ex situ transmission electron microscopy we show that the reduction of Mg-carbonate can be exemplified by: 6MgCO3 + 19Fe = 8FeO +10(Mg0.6Fe0.4)O + Fe7C3 + 3C. The presented results suggest that the interaction of carbonates with Fe0 or Fe0-bearing rocks can produce Fe-carbide and diamond, which can accumulate in the D’’ region, depending on its carbon to Fe ratio. Due to the sluggish kinetics of the transformation, diamond can remain metastable at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) unless it is in a direct contact with Fe-metal. In addition, it can be remobilized by redox melting accompanying the generation of mantle plumes.
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 45, 16, pp. 8214-8222.
Europe, Greenland
plumes
Abstract: Heat escaping from the Earth's interior provides important clues about areas of geology and geodynamics. In addition, where a region is covered by an ice sheet, such as Greenland, variations in the heat supplied from the Earth's interior can potentially influence how the ice flows, and hence its future changes. Unfortunately, in ice covered regions direct measurements of heat flow are limited to sparse boreholes, meaning this important quantity is poorly understood. In this study we used variations in the Earth's magnetic field to map out the variations in the amount of heat being supplied to the base of the Greenland Ice Sheet from the Earth's interior. Ice sheet models incorporating these new and improved results will help better constrain future predictions of ice sheet evolution. Overall, the new map not only shows less extreme variations than previous studies, but also reveals a previously unseen band of warmer than expected rock stretching northwest to southeast across Greenland. This band, together with lithospheric models derived from gravity data, is interpreted to be the scar left as the Greenland tectonic plate moved over a region of hot upwelling mantle (the material beneath the tectonic plates), which now underlies Iceland.
Nitrogen and its (Biogeocosmo) chemical cycling: nitrogen isotopes and mantle geodynamics: the emergence of life and the atmosphere-crust-mantle connection.
Mollex, G., France, L., Furi, E., Bonnet, R., Botcharnikov, R.E., Zimmermann, L., Wilke, S., Deloule, E., Chazot, G., Kazimoto. E.O., Marty, B., Burnard, P.
Abstract: Cognate xenoliths that have been emitted during the last sub-plinian eruption in 2007-08 at Oldoinyo Lengai (OL) represent a unique opportunity to document the igneous processes occuring within the active magma chamber. Detailed petrographic descriptions coupled to a thermobarometric approach, and to the determination of volatile solubility models, allow us to identify the melt evolution at magma chamber conditions, and the storage parameters (P, T). Results indicate that a fresh phonolite melt (~1060°C) was injected into a crustal magma chamber at 11.5 ±3.5 km depth, in agreement with geophysical surveys performed during the eruption. The phonolite contains high volatile contents: 3.2 wt.% H2O and 1.4 wt.% CO2. The liquid line of descent highlights an evolution to nephelinite compositions by cooling down to 880°C. Our results support previous results related to this eruption, and are similar to the historical products emitted during the whole volcano history, allowing us to suggest that no major modification in the plumbing system has occured during the OL evolution. New noble gas results show that: i. fumaroles display constant He isotopic signature since 1988; ii. Cognate xenoliths documenting the active magma chamber and fumaroles display similar He isotopic values (6.58±0.46RA, and 7.31±0.40RA, respectively); iii. OL He isotopic composition is similar to that of other silicate volcanoes of the Arusha region, and comparable to the typical subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) range (5.2 to 7.0 RA); iv. Ne isotopic ratio of OL is following the MORB signature. Those results are interpreted as showing that 1/ no major modification in the hydrothermal system architecture has occured since 1988 despite major modification of the summit crater morphology, 2/ no contamination by either the atmospheric gases, or crustal material assimilation has occured between the magma chamber and the surface, and 3/ the source of OL and of the other silicate volcanoes in the Arusha region is a SCLM metasomatized by asthenospheric fluids.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 232, pp. 82-100.
Mantle
geochemistry
Abstract: We have analyzed ancient atmospheric gases trapped in fluid inclusions contained in minerals of Archean (3.3?Ga) to Paleozoic (404?Ma) rocks in an attempt to document the evolution of the elemental composition and isotopic signature of the atmosphere with time. Doing so, we aimed at understanding how physical and chemical processes acted over geological time to shape the modern atmosphere. Modern atmospheric xenon is enriched in heavy isotopes by 30-40‰ u?1 relative to Solar or Chondritic xenon. Previous studies demonstrated that, 3.3?Ga ago, atmospheric xenon was isotopically fractionated (enriched in the light isotopes) relative to the modern atmosphere, by 12.9?±?1.2 (1?) ‰ u?1, whereas krypton was isotopically identical to modern atmospheric Kr. Details about the specific and progressive isotopic fractionation of Xe during the Archean, originally proposed by Pujol et al. (2011), are now well established by this work. Xe isotope fractionation has evolved from 21‰ u?1 at 3.5?Ga to 12.9‰ u?1 at 3.3?Ga. The current dataset provides some evidence for stabilization of the Xe fractionation between 3.3 and 2.7?Ga. However, further studies will be needed to confirm this observation. After 2.7?Ga, the composition kept evolving and reach the modern-like atmospheric Xe composition at around 2.1?Ga ago. Xenon may be the second atmospheric element, after sulfur, to show a secular isotope evolution during the Archean that ended shortly after the Archean-Proterozoic transition. Fractionation of xenon indicates that xenon escaped from Earth, probably as an ion, and that Xe escape stopped when the atmosphere became oxygen-rich. We speculate that the Xe escape was enabled by a vigorous hydrogen escape on the early anoxic Earth. Organic hazes, scavenging isotopically heavy Xe, could also have played a role in the evolution of atmospheric Xe. For 3.3?Ga-old samples, Ar-N2 correlations are consistent with a partial pressure of nitrogen (pN2) in the Archean atmosphere similar to, or lower than, the modern one, thus requiring other processes than a high pN2 to keep the Earth's surface warm despite a fainter Sun. The nitrogen isotope composition of the atmosphere at 3.3?Ga was already modern-like, attesting to inefficient nitrogen escape to space since that time.
Abstract: The exchange of volatile species—water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and halogens—between the mantle and the surface of the Earth has been a key driver of environmental changes throughout Earth’s history. Degassing of the mantle requires partial melting and is therefore linked to mantle convection, whose regime and vigour in the Earth’s distant past remain poorly constrained1,2. Here we present direct geochemical constraints on the flux of volatiles from the mantle. Atmospheric xenon has a monoisotopic excess of 129Xe, produced by the decay of extinct 129I. This excess was mainly acquired during Earth’s formation and early evolution3, but mantle degassing has also contributed 129Xe to the atmosphere through geological time. Atmospheric xenon trapped in samples from the Archaean eon shows a slight depletion of 129Xe relative to the modern composition4,5, which tends to disappear in more recent samples5,6. To reconcile this deficit in the Archaean atmosphere by mantle degassing would require the degassing rate of Earth at the end of the Archaean to be at least one order of magnitude higher than today. We demonstrate that such an intense activity could not have occurred within a plate tectonics regime. The most likely scenario is a relatively short (about 300 million years) burst of mantle activity at the end of the Archaean (around 2.5 billion years ago). This lends credence to models advocating a magmatic origin for drastic environmental changes during the Neoarchaean era, such as the Great Oxidation Event.
Abstract: Nitrogen is the main constituent of the Earth’s atmosphere, but its provenance in the Earth’s mantle remains uncertain. The relative contribution of primordial nitrogen inherited during the Earth’s accretion versus that subducted from the Earth’s surface is unclear1,2,3,4,5,6. Here we show that the mantle may have retained remnants of such primordial nitrogen. We use the rare 15N15N isotopologue of N2 as a new tracer of air contamination in volcanic gas effusions. By constraining air contamination in gases from Iceland, Eifel (Germany) and Yellowstone (USA), we derive estimates of mantle ?15N (the fractional difference in 15N/14N from air), N2/36Ar and N2/3He. Our results show that negative ?15N values observed in gases, previously regarded as indicating a mantle origin for nitrogen7,8,9,10, in fact represent dominantly air-derived N2 that experienced 15N/14N fractionation in hydrothermal systems. Using two-component mixing models to correct for this effect, the 15N15N data allow extrapolations that characterize mantle endmember ?15N, N2/36Ar and N2/3He values. We show that the Eifel region has slightly increased ?15N and N2/36Ar values relative to estimates for the convective mantle provided by mid-ocean-ridge basalts11, consistent with subducted nitrogen being added to the mantle source. In contrast, we find that whereas the Yellowstone plume has ?15N values substantially greater than that of the convective mantle, resembling surface components12,13,14,15, its N2/36Ar and N2/3He ratios are indistinguishable from those of the convective mantle. This observation raises the possibility that the plume hosts a primordial component. We provide a test of the subduction hypothesis with a two-box model, describing the evolution of mantle and surface nitrogen through geological time. We show that the effect of subduction on the deep nitrogen cycle may be less important than has been suggested by previous investigations. We propose instead that high mid-ocean-ridge basalt and plume ?15N values may both be dominantly primordial features.
Multiple growth events in diamonds with cloudy Micro inclusions from the Mir kimberlite pipe: evidence from the systematics of optically active defects.
Russian Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 56, 1, pp. 330-343.
Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Physics ** IN ENG, Vol. 80, 1, pp. 74-77.
South America, Brazil
Diamond formation
Abstract: Luminescence kinetics in the temperature range of 80 480 K and the red region of the spectrum is studied for Brazilian diamonds. Components with decay time constants of 23 and 83 ns are observed at room temperature after being excited by laser radiation with wavelengths of 375 and 532 nm, which differs considerably from the data published earlier for the luminescence kinetics of NV 0- and NV -centers.
Low temperature eclogites and eclogitic schists in Mn-rich metabasites in Ward Creek, California: Mn and iron effects on the transition blueschist andeclogites
Journal of Petrology, Vol. 32, No. 2, April pp. 275-302
Generation of hydrous plumes in the mantle transition zone linked to the tectonic erosion of continental crust.
V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences International Symposium Advances in high pressure research: breaking scales and horizons ( Courtesy of N. Poikilenko), Held Sept. 22-26, 3p. Abstract
Abstract: Geological observations indicate that there are only a few rocks of Archean Earth and no Hadean rocks on the surface of the present-day Earth. From these facts, many scientists believe that the primordial continents never existed during Hadean Earth, and the continental volume has kept increasing. On the other hand, recent studies reported the importance of the primordial continents on the origin of life, implying their existence. In this paper, we discussed the possible process that could explain the loss of the primordial continents with the assumption that they existed in the Hadean. Although depending on the timing of the initiation of plate tectonics and its convection style, subduction erosion, which is observed on the present-day Earth, might have carried the primordial continents into the deep mantle.
Gondwana Research, doi.org/10.1016 /j.gr.2013.03.013 21p. Pdf
Africa, Mozambique
tectonics
Abstract: The birth of modern life on Earth can be linked to the adequate supply of nutrients into the oceans. In this paper, we evaluate the relative supply of nutrients into the ocean. These nutrients entered the ocean through myriad passageways, but primarily through accelerated erosion due to uplift. In the ‘second ecosystem’, uplift is associated with plume-generation during the breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent. Although the evidence is somewhat cryptic, it appears that the second ecosystem included the demospongia back into the Cryogenian (~ 750 Ma). During the Ediacaran-Cambrian interval, convergent margin magmatism, arc volcanism and the closure of ocean basins provided a second pulse of nutrient delivery into the marine environment. A major radiation of life forms begins around 580 Ma and is represented by the diverse and somewhat enigmatic Ediacaran fauna followed by the Cambrian Explosion of modern phyla during the 540-520 Ma interval. Tectonically, the Ediacaran-Cambrian time interval is dominated by the formation of ultra-high pressure (UHP), high pressure (HP) and ultra-high temperature (UHT) orogenic belts during Gondwana orogenesis. Erosion of this extensive mountainous region delivered vast nutrients into the ocean and enhanced the explosiveness of the Cambrian radiation. The timing of final collisional orogeny and construction of the mountain belts in many of the Gondwana-forming orogens, particularly some of those in the central and eastern belts, post-date the first appearance of modern life forms. We therefore postulate that a more effective nutrient supply for the Cambrian radiation was facilitated by plume-driven uplift of TTG crust, subsequent rifting, and subduction-related nutrient systems prior to the assembly of Gondwana. In the outlined scenario, we propose that the birth of the ‘second ecosystem’ on our planet is plume-driven.
Abstract: In ore processing, electric-pulse disaggregation (EPD) is used for the liberation of mineral crystals from host rocks. Since 2019, EPD technology has been used exclusively to recover emeralds produced from the Kagem mine in Zambia. This article compares the differences in the recovery of emeralds from micaceous schist host rock at the Kagem mine by EPD technology versus the conventional hand-cobbing method. The amount of emeralds obtained using both methods was similar, but EPD had numerous advantages in terms of liberation speed, ease of performing the process and the characteristics of the liberated emeralds.
Botswana Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 7, pp. 1-2. pdf
Africa, Botswana
deposit - Orapa
Abstract: I feel tremendously honoured and privileged to be invited to attend the 50thanniversary celebrations of the Orapa discovery. Thank you, Leon Daniels and Debswana. This will be a very emotional and exciting experience for me to return to Orapa after 50 years, where early in the morning of the 21st of April 1967 my team of twelve Motswana explorers and I stepped onto a low calcrete hill littered with kimberlitic indicator minerals. This was not entirely unexpected, as some months earlier Dr Gavin Lamont (the exploration manager) and Jim Gibson (the senior geologist) had detected such minerals during a road sampling survey into this isolated region south of the Makgadigadi Pans. However, what was unexpected was the enormous size of this kimberlite pipe that was destined to become the world-class Orapa diamond mine.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 174, 7, pp. 6625-6652.
United States
geophysics - seismic
Abstract: The Southeastern United States is an ideal location to understand the interactions between mountain building, rifting, and magmatism. Line 2 of the Suwannee suture and Georgia Rift basin refraction seismic experiment in eastern Georgia extends 420 km from the Inner Piedmont to the Georgia coast. We model crustal and upper mantle VP and upper crustal VS. The most dramatic model transition occurs at the Higgins?Zietz magnetic boundary, north of which we observe higher upper crustal VP and VS and lower VP/VS. These observations support the interpretation of the Higgins?Zietz boundary as the Alleghanian suture. North of this boundary, we observe a low?velocity zone less than 2 km thick at ~5?km depth, consistent with a layer of sheared metasedimentary rocks that forms the Appalachian detachment. To the southeast, we interpret synrift sediments and decreasing crustal thickness to represent crustal thinning associated with the South Georgia Rift Basin and subsequent continental breakup. The correspondence of the northern limit of thinning with the interpreted suture location suggests that the orogenic suture zone and/or the Gondwanan crust to the south of the suture helped localize subsequent extension. Lower crustal VP and VP/VS preclude volumetrically significant mafic magmatic addition during rifting or associated with the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. Structures formed during orogenesis and/or extension appear to influence seismicity in Georgia today; earthquakes localize along a steeply dipping zone that coincides with the northern edge of the South Georgia Basin and the change in upper crustal velocities at the Higgins?Zietz boundary.
Journal of the Geological Society , https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2020-171
Europe, Turkey
carbonatite
Abstract: Unusual carbonate dykes, which have a thickness of up to 4 m, cross-cut the amphibolites from the high-grade metamorphic rocks in the Armutlu Peninsula (NW Turkey). They are described as carbonatites on the basis of their petrographic, geochemical and isotope-geochemical characteristics. The carbonatites, which commonly show equigranular texture, are composed of calcite and clinopyroxene with other minor phases of plagioclase, mica, garnet, K-feldspar, quartz, epidote, titanite and opaque minerals. They contain abundant xenoliths of pyroxenite and amphibolite. The geochemical characteristics of the carbonatites are significantly different from those of mantle-derived carbonatites. They have remarkably low incompatible element (e.g. Ba, Th, Nb) and total REE (11-91 ppm) contents compared with mantle-derived carbonatites. The high 87Sr/86Sr(i) (0.70797-0.70924) and low ?Nd(t) (?8.08 to ?9.57) of the carbonatites confirm that they were derived from the continental crust rather than from a mantle source. Mica from carbonatite was dated by the 40Ar/39Ar method, yielding a Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous age (148-137 Ma). This is significantly younger than the age of adjacent amphibolites (Upper Triassic). All data from field studies, as well as petrographic, geochemical and geochronological observations, suggest that these carbonatites were formed from anatectic melting of a carbonated source area in the continental crust.
Journal of the Geological Society, Vol. 178, 10.1144/jgs2020-171
Asia, Turkey
deposit - Armutlu
Abstract: Unusual carbonate dykes, which have a thickness of up to 4 m, cross-cut the amphibolites from the high-grade metamorphic rocks in the Armutlu Peninsula (NW Turkey). They are described as carbonatites on the basis of their petrographic, geochemical and isotope-geochemical characteristics. The carbonatites, which commonly show equigranular texture, are composed of calcite and clinopyroxene with other minor phases of plagioclase, mica, garnet, K-feldspar, quartz, epidote, titanite and opaque minerals. They contain abundant xenoliths of pyroxenite and amphibolite. The geochemical characteristics of the carbonatites are significantly different from those of mantle-derived carbonatites. They have remarkably low incompatible element (e.g. Ba, Th, Nb) and total REE (11-91 ppm) contents compared with mantle-derived carbonatites. The high 87Sr/86Sr(i) (0.70797-0.70924) and low ?Nd(t) (?8.08 to ?9.57) of the carbonatites confirm that they were derived from the continental crust rather than from a mantle source. Mica from carbonatite was dated by the 40Ar/39Ar method, yielding a Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous age (148-137 Ma). This is significantly younger than the age of adjacent amphibolites (Upper Triassic). All data from field studies, as well as petrographic, geochemical and geochronological observations, suggest that these carbonatites were formed from anatectic melting of a carbonated source area in the continental crust.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 584, doi 10.1016/j.espl.2022.117480
Africa, Mali, Mauritania
craton
Abstract: Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) are exceptionally voluminous magmatic events frequently related to continental break-up, global climate changes and mass extinctions. One interesting aspect of many LIPs is their spatial proximity to cratons, begging the question of a potential control of thick lithosphere on their emplacement. In this study, we investigate the relationship between the emplacement of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) and the thick lithospheric mantle of the Precambrian cratons that formed the central portion of Pangea and are currently located on the continents surrounding the Central Atlantic Ocean. CAMP outcrops are frequently located over the margins of the thick cratonic keels, as imaged by recent tomographic studies, suggesting a role of lithosphere architecture in controlling magma genesis and emplacement. Here we focus on CAMP dykes and sills from the Hank, Hodh, and Kaarta basins in North-Western Africa (NW-Africa, Mali and Mauritania) emplaced at the edge of the Reguibat and Leo-Man Shields. The investigated intrusive rocks show compositions similar to most CAMP magmas, in particular those of the Tiourjdal geochemical group, limited to NW-Africa, and of the Prevalent group, occurring all over the CAMP. Geochemical modelling of CAMP basalts requires a Depleted MORB Mantle (DMM) source enriched by recycled continental crust (1-4%) and melting beneath a lithosphere of ca. 80 km in thickness. On the contrary, melting under a significantly thicker lithosphere (>110 km) does not produce magmas with compositions similar to those of CAMP basalts. This suggests that CAMP magmatism was likely favoured by decompression-induced partial melting of the upwelling asthenospheric mantle along the steep lithospheric boundaries of stable cratons. The architecture of the pre-existing lithosphere (i.e., the presence of stable thick cratonic keels juxtaposed to relatively thinner lithosphere) appears to have been a critical factor for localizing mantle upwelling and partial melting during extensive magmatic events such as in the CAMP.
Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, in press available 10p.
Technology
Impact diamond
Abstract: High-resolution transmission electron microscopy was applied for the detailed nanostructural investigation of Popigai impact diamonds with the aim of revealing the nature of the amorphous carbon of the matrix. The successful application of two complementary specimen preparation methods, focused ion beam (FIB) milling and mechanical cleavage, allowed direct imaging of nanotwinned nanodiamond crystals embedded in a native amorphous carbon matrix for the first time. Based on its stability under the electron beam, native amorphous carbon can be easily distinguished from the amorphous carbon layer produced by FIB milling during specimen preparation. Electron energy loss spectroscopy of the native amorphous carbon revealed the dominance of sp2-bonded carbon and the presence of a small amount of oxygen. The heterogeneous size distribution and twin density of the nanodiamond crystals and the structural properties of the native amorphous carbon are presumably related to non-graphitic (organic) carbon precursor material.
Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, Vol. 43, 9, pp. 661-670.
Russia
Impact diamonds
Abstract: High-resolution transmission electron microscopy was applied for the detailed nanostructural investigation of Popigai impact diamonds with the aim of revealing the nature of the amorphous carbon of the matrix. The successful application of two complementary specimen preparation methods, focused ion beam (FIB) milling and mechanical cleavage, allowed direct imaging of nanotwinned nanodiamond crystals embedded in a native amorphous carbon matrix for the first time. Based on its stability under the electron beam, native amorphous carbon can be easily distinguished from the amorphous carbon layer produced by FIB milling during specimen preparation. Electron energy loss spectroscopy of the native amorphous carbon revealed the dominance of sp2-bonded carbon and the presence of a small amount of oxygen. The heterogeneous size distribution and twin density of the nanodiamond crystals and the structural properties of the native amorphous carbon are presumably related to non-graphitic (organic) carbon precursor material.
Journal of Metamorphic Geology, https://doi.org/10.1111/jmg.12470
China
coesite
Abstract: To understand the preservation of coesite inclusions in ultrahigh?pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks, an integrated petrological, Raman spectroscopic and focused ion beam (FIB) system-transmission electron microscope (TEM) study was performed on a UHP kyanite eclogite from the Sulu belt in eastern China. Coesite grains have been observed only as rare inclusions in kyanite from the outer segment of garnet and in the matrix. Raman mapping analysis shows that a coesite inclusion in kyanite from the garnet rim records an anisotropic residual stress and retains a maximum residual pressure of approximately 0.35 GPa. TEM observations show quartz is absent from the coesite inclusion-host kyanite grain boundaries. Numerous dislocations and sub?grain boundaries are present in the kyanite, but dislocations are not confirmed in the coesite. In particular, dislocations concentrate in the kyanite adjacent to the boundary with the coesite inclusion, and they form a dislocation concentration zone with a dislocation density of ~109 cm?2. A high?resolution TEM image and a fast Fourier transform?filtered image reveal that a tiny dislocation in the dislocation concentration zone is composed of multiple edge dislocations. The estimated dislocation density in most of the kyanite away from the coesite inclusion-host kyanite grain boundaries is ~108 cm?2, being lower than that in kyanite adjacent to the coesite. In the case of a coesite inclusion in a matrix kyanite, using Raman and TEM analyses we could not identify any quartz at the grain boundaries. Dislocations are not observed in the coesite, but numerous dislocations and stacking faults are developed in the kyanite. The estimated overall dislocation density in the coesite?bearing matrix kyanite is ~108 cm?2, but a high dislocation density region of ~109 cm?2 is also present near the coesite inclusion-host kyanite grain boundaries. Inclusion and matrix kyanite grains with no coesite have dislocation densities of ?108 cm?2. Dislocation density is generally reduced during an annealing process, but our results show that not all dislocations in the kyanite have recovered uniformly during exhumation of the UHP rocks. Hence, one of the key factors acting as a buffer to inhibit the coesite to quartz transformation is the mechanical interaction between the host and the inclusion that lead to the formation of dislocations in the kyanite. The kyanite acts an excellent pressure container that can preserve coesite during the decompression of rocks from UHP conditions. The search for and study of inclusions in kyanite may be a more suitable approach for tracing the spatial distribution of UHP metamorphic rocks.
The Journal of the Southern African Insitute of Mining and Metallurgy, Vol. 119, Feb. 10p. Pdf
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Cullinan
Abstract: In 2017, Petra Diamonds completed the construction and commissioning of a modern, fit-for-purpose diamond processing plant at Cullinan Diamond Mine (CDM). The design of CDM's milling circuit is unconventional in that it comprises an autogenous (AG) mill with a grate discharge with large ports, low-revolution jaw crushers, and high-pressure grinding roll crushers with large operating gaps. In this paper we review the design to provide guidance on what is expected from the milling circuit and to demonstrate how the design aims to address challenges experienced in the old plant, which was based on staged crushing technology. We assessed the performance of the CDM AG milling circuit from commissioning and early production stages to examine its impact along multiple dimensions. In the assessment we sought to understand the lessons from our milling circuit regarding diamond liberation, energy consumption, and the future of diamond processing as a whole.
Cawthorn, R.G., Maske, S., de Wit, M., Groves, D.I., Cassidy, K.
Mineralogical geochemical indicators of the formation conditions of apatite bearing carbonatites of the Arbarastakh Massif,Southern Yakutia (USSR).(Russian)
Diamond & Related Materials, Vol. 89, pp. 101-107.
Mantle
boron
Abstract: Influence of growth medium composition on the efficiency of boron doping of carbonado-like diamond at 8-9 GPa was studied by diluting the C-B growth system with metallic solvents of carbon, Co and Ni. Addition of these metals to the original system leads to a decrease in the synthesis temperature, degree of doping with boron and suppression of superconductivity in diamond. According to XPS analysis, content of substitutional boron is equal to 0.07, 0.16 and 0.39 at.% in diamonds obtained in Co-C-B, Ni-C-B and C-B growth systems, respectively. Metallic behavior at normal temperatures and superconductivity below 5 K in diamond, synthesized in C-B system, change to semiconducting character of conductivity down to 2 K in diamonds obtained in the diluted systems; a faint hint of superconducting transition at 2 K was detected in the case of diamond grown in Ni-C-B system. By comparing phase composition of the inclusions and the doping efficiency of the diamonds, we are able to suggest that high chemical affinity of boron to boride-forming metals hinders the boron doping of diamond. The heavily boron-doped carbonado-like diamond compacts demonstrate high electrochemical activity in aqueous solutions and can be used as miniature electrodes in electrosynthesis and electroanalysis.
Earth & Environment Communications, 10.1038/s43247-021-00145-3 16p. Pdf
United States, Hawaii
magmatism
Abstract: Volcanoes represent one of the largest natural sources of metals to the Earth’s surface. Emissions of these metals can have important impacts on the biosphere as pollutants or nutrients. Here we use ground- and drone-based direct measurements to compare the gas and particulate chemistry of the magmatic and lava-seawater interaction (laze) plumes from the 2018 eruption of K?lauea, Hawai’i. We find that the magmatic plume contains abundant volatile metals and metalloids whereas the laze plume is further enriched in copper and seawater components, like chlorine, with volatile metals also elevated above seawater concentrations. Speciation modelling of magmatic gas mixtures highlights the importance of the S2? ligand in highly volatile metal/metalloid degassing at the magmatic vent. In contrast, volatile metal enrichments in the laze plume can be explained by affinity for chloride complexation during late-stage degassing of distal lavas, which is potentially facilitated by the HCl gas formed as seawater boils.
Abstract: Several interstellar environments produce 'anomalous microwave emission', with brightness-peaks at tens-of-gigahertz frequencies. The emission's origins are uncertain - rapidly-spinning nano-particles could emit electric-dipole radiation, but polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons proposed as the carrier are now found not to correlate with Galactic signals. The difficulty is to identify co-spatial sources over long lines of sight. Here we identify anomalous microwave emission in three proto-planetary discs. These are the only known systems that host hydrogenated nano-diamonds, in contrast to very common detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Spectroscopy locates the nano-diamonds close to the host-stars, at physically-constrained temperatures. Developing disc models, we reproduce the emission with diamonds 0.75-1.1 nanometres in radius, holding less than or equal to 1-2 per cent of the carbon budget. The microwave-emission:stellar-luminosity ratios are approximately constant, allowing nano-diamonds to be ubiquitous but emitting below detection thresholds in many star-systems. This can unify the findings with similar-sized diamonds found within solar system meteorites. As nano-diamond spectral absorption is seen in interstellar sightlines, these particles are also a candidate for generating galaxy-scale anomalous microwave emission.
Depletion and enrichment processes in the lithospheric mantle beneath the Kola Peninsula ( Russia): evidence from spinel lherzolite and wehrlite xenoliths.
Abstract: We present an extensive study of rehomogenized olivine?hosted melt inclusions, olivine phenocrysts, and chromian spinel inclusions to explore the link between geodynamic conditions and the origin and composition of Pliocene-Quaternary intraplate magmatism in Anatolia at Kula, Ceyhan?Osmaniye, and Karacada?. Exceptional compositional variability of these products reveals early and incomplete mixing of distinct parental melts in each volcanic center, reflecting asthenospheric and lithospheric mantle sources. The studied primitive magmas consist of (1) two variably enriched ocean island basalt (OIB)?type melts in Kula; (2) both OIB?type and plume mid?ocean ridge basalt (P?MORB)?like melts beneath Toprakkale and Üçtepeler (Ceyhan?Osmaniye); and (3) two variably enriched OIB?type melts beneath Karacada?. Estimated conditions of primary melt generation are 23-9 kbar, 75-30 km, and 1415-1215 °C for Kula; 28-19 kbar, 90-65 km, and 1430-1350 °C for Toprakkale; 23-18 kbar, 75-60 km, and 1400-1355 °C for Üçtepeler; and 35-27 kbar, 115-90 km, and 1530-1455 °C for Karacada?, the deepest levels of which correspond to the depth of the lithosphere?asthenosphere boundary in all regions. Although magma ascent was likely facilitated by local deformation structures, recent Anatolian intraplate magmatism seems to be triggered by large?scale mantle flow that also affects the wider Arabian and North African regions. We infer that these volcanics form part of a much wider Arabian?North African intraplate volcanic province, which was able to invade the Anatolian upper plate through slab gaps.
SAXI-XI Inter Guiana Geological Conferene 2019: Paramaribo, Suriname, 6p. Pdf
South America, Brazil, Venezuela
Guiana shield
Abstract: The Guiana Shield records a long history that starts in the Archean, but culminates in the Trans-Amazonian Orogeny between 2.26-2.09 Ga as a result of an Amazonian-West-Africa collision. This event is responsible for the emplacement of a major part of its mineralisations, especially gold, iron and manganese. The diamondiferous Roraima Supergroup represents its molasse. Between 1.86 and 1.72 Ga the Rio Negro Block accreted in the west. The Grenvillian Orogeny caused shearing and mineral resetting between 1.3 and 1.1 Ga when Amazonia collided with Laurentia. Younger platform covers contain placer gold mineralisation. Several suits of dolerite dykes record short-lived periods of crustal extension. Bauxite plateaus cover various rock units.
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: New high-resolution airborne magnetic data of Uruguay allowed constructing new maps concerning the spatial distribution of dyke swarms, main faults and other magnetic bodies, which compose the Uruguayan Shield. We combined geophysical analyses (vertical derivatives, upward continuation, Euler deconvolution), structural analyses of the magnetic maps and previous geological data in order to discriminate the main structural features of the Uruguayan Shield and contribute to a better understanding of its tectonic evolution. The magnetic maps revealed several outstanding features in the Uruguayan Shield. The Paleoproterozoic dyke swarm is larger, denser, more widespread and complex than originally thought, suggesting a possible plume origin. In addition, a new Mesozoic dyke swarm, as complex as the previous one, was identified crosscutting the Paleoproterozoic dyke swarm and the Neoproterozoic orogenic structures. Moreover, this swarm is connected to volcanic calderas in the Merín basin, and shows displacements along Neoproterozoic shear zones, in the magnetic maps, revealing its brittle reactivation during Mesozoic times. The new observations clarify how Proterozoic basement structures controlled the development of the Mesozoic rift. Paleoproterozoic dyke swarms were reactivated as normal faults and Neoproterozoic structures hindered the rift growth, deflecting the deformation in transcurrent movements. Meanwhile, the Mesozoic dyke swarm was developed in a perpendicular direction to the Neoproterozoic structures. Moreover, these findings contradict the current rift model for Uruguay and rise a new model in which the Mesozoic rift developed as two rift basins connected by a central transfer zone, generated by the reactivation of Dom Feliciano Belt structures, between the Sierra Ballena and Sarandí del Yí Shear Zones.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 435, 1, pp. 31-35.
Russia
Deposit - Udachnaya
Abstract: The study of diamond and its solid inclusions is of paramount importance to acquire direct information on the deepest regions of the Earth. However, although diamond is one of the most studied materials in geology, the diamond-inclusion relationships are not yet understood: do they form simultaneously (syngenesis) or are inclusions pre-existing objects on which diamond nucleated (protogenesis)? Here we report, for the first time, adhesion energies between diamond (D) and forsterite (Fo) to provide a crucial contribution to the syngenesis/protogenesis debate. The following interfaces were investigated at quantum-mechanical level: (i) (001)D/(001)Fo, (ii) (001)D/(021)Fo, and (iii) (111)D/(001)Fo. Our data, along with the ones recently obtained on the (110)D/(101)Fo interface, revealed an unexpected thermodynamic behaviour, all interfaces showing almost equal and low adhesion energies: accordingly, diamond and olivine have an extremely low chemical affinity and cannot develop preferential orientations, even during an eventual epitaxial growth. Combining these results with those of our previous work concerning the morphology constraints of diamond on its inclusions, we can state that the two main arguments used so far in favour of diamond/inclusions syngenesis cannot be longer considered valid, at least for olivine.
Abstract: This paper provides a review of the Geological exploration of the Angola Coast (from Sumbe to Namibe) from pioneer's first geological descriptions and mining inventory to the most recent publications supported by the oil industry. We focus our attention on the following periods: 1875-1890 (Paul Choffat's work, mainly), 1910-1949 (first maps at country scale), 1949-1974 (detailed mapping of the Kwanza-Namibe coastal series), 1975-2000, with the editing of the last version of the Angola geological map at 1:1 million scale and the progressive completion of previous works. Since 2000, there is a renewal in geological fieldwork publications on the area mainly due to the work of university teams. This review paper thus stands at the frontier between geology, natural resources and the history of geology. It shows how geological knowledge has progressed in time, fueled by economic and scientific reasons.
Abstract: At the beginning of continent-continent collision the descending plate dehydrates. The influence of this dehydration on the adjacent lithospheric mantle was studied. For this reason, pressure (P), temperature (T) and T-H2O pseudosections were calculated for an average mantle composition using the computer software PERPLE_X. These pseudosections were contoured by isopleths, for instance, for volumes of amphibole, chlorite, and serpentine. In addition, P-T pseudosections were considered for four psammopelitic rocks, common in the upper portion of the continental crust, in order to quantify the release of H2O in these rocks during prograde metamorphism. At pressures around 1 GPa, a maximum of slightly more than 10 vol.% chlorite, almost 20 vol.% amphibole, and some talc but no serpentine forms when only 1.8 wt.% H2O is added to the dry ultrabasite at temperatures of 600 °C. For example, hydrous phases amount to about 35 vol.% serpentine and 10 vol.% each of chlorite and amphibole at 1 GPa, 550 °C, and 5 wt.% H2O. The modelled psammopelitic rocks can release 0.8-2.5 wt.% H2O between 450 and 650 °C at 0.8-1.4 GPa. On the basis of the above calculations, different collisional scenarios are discussed highlighting the role of hydrated lithospheric mantle. In this context a minimum hydration potential of the front region of the descending continental plate is considered, which amounts to 4.6 × 1016 kg releasable H2O for a 1000 km wide collisional zone, due to a thick sedimentary pile at the continental margin. Further suggestions are that (1) the lower crustal plate in a continent-continent collisional setting penetrates the lithospheric mantle, which is hydrated during the advancement of this plate, (2) the maximum depths of the subduction of upper continental crust is below 70 km and (3) hydrated mantle above the descending crustal plate is thrust onto this continental crust.
Abstract: Intergranular coesite is extremely rare in, and bears crucial information on the formation and preservation of, ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) rocks. Here, we report the first occurrence of intergranular coesite in a metasedimentary rock, which occurs in the Ganjialing area in the Dabie Shan, east-central China, and contains abundant coesite inclusions in both garnet and dolomite. We investigated the content of structural water in these minerals with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Our new results undermine the ubiquity of the “pressure-vessel” model and highlight the role of reaction kinetics in preserving coesite due to the availability of water in UHP rocks.
Abstract: Three types of polyphase solid-inclusions (PSIs) with distinct mineral assemblages and micro-structures were found in garnet of an ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) eclogite-vein system from the Dabie Shan, east-central China. Type-1 PSI contains variable volumes of quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase ± other phases, whereas Type-2 PSI contains variable volumes of quartz, calcite ± other phases. Both types display shapes that are compatible with those of euhedral coesite inclusions. Type-3 PSI always contains a rutile core that is surrounded by plagioclase ± quartz and generally displays the morphology of the rutile core. Variable amounts of K-feldspar are embedded within the plagioclase of Type-3 PSIs. The three PSI types developed fluid-mediated microstructures that include wedge-like offshoot and protrusion textures and inclusion-garnet interfaces controlled by the crystallographic structure of garnet. PSIs in peak minerals of UHP rocks have been previously thought to represent primary supercritical fluid or melt inclusions. Here we propose that the studied PSIs were formed under high-pressure (HP) eclogite-facies conditions during exhumation and represent reaction products between an enclosed mineral, such as coesite and rutile, and external fluids infiltrating the host garnet along fractures that have been healed later on. Two immiscible aqueous fluids (i.e., a siliceous and a carbonaceous) were involved in the formation of these PSIs. The siliceous fluid was rich in various large ion lithophile elements like Cs, Rb, Ba, K, Pb, Li, and Sr, whereas the carbonaceous fluid was rich in Pb and Sr. The new PSI formation mechanism proposed in this study brings significant implications for tracing fluid evolution and post-entrapment modifications of mineral inclusions in HP and UHP metamorphic rocks.
Russian Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 59, 11, pp. 1389-1409.
Russia
craton
Abstract: Precambrian cratons cover about 70% of the total continental area. According to a large volume of geomorphological, geological, paleontological, and other data for the Pliocene and Pleistocene, these cratons have experienced a crustal uplift from 100-200 m to 1000-1500 m, commonly called the recent or Neotectonic uplift. Shortening of the Precambrian crust terminated half a billion years ago or earlier, and its uplift could not have been produced by this mechanism. According to the main models of dynamic topography in the mantle, the distribution of displacements at the surface is quite different from that of the Neotectonic movements. According to seismic data, there is no magmatic underplating beneath most of the Precambrian cratons. In most of cratonic areas, the mantle lithosphere is very thick, which makes its recent delamination unlikely. Asthenospheric replacement of the lower part of the mantle lithosphere beneath the Precambrian cratons might have produced only a minor part of their Neotectonic uplifts. Since the above mechanisms cannot explain this phenomenon, the rock expansion in the crustal layer is supposed to be the main cause of the recent uplift of Precambrian cratons. This is supported by the strong lateral nonuniformity of the uplift, which indicates that expansion of rocks took place at a shallow depth. Expansion might have occurred in crustal rocks that emerged from the lower crust into the middle crust with lower pressure and temperature after the denudation of a thick layer of surface rocks. In the dry state, these rocks can remain metastable for a long time. However, rapid metamorphism accompanied by expansion of rocks can be caused by infiltration of hydrous fluids from the mantle. Analysis of phase diagrams for common crustal rocks demonstrates that this mechanism can explain the recent crustal uplift of Precambrian cratons.
Earth-Science Reviews, Vol. 210, doi.org/10.1016 /j.earscirev.2020. 103356 27p. Pdf
Mantle
UHP, geodynamics
Abstract: Eclogites are witnesses of geodynamic processes that are commonly related to subduction of oceanic crust. Information on the part of these processes that refers to the burial of this rock type is rarely published but stored in the eclogitic garnet core and inclusions therein. To better understand general aspects of the burial process, a literature search on the chemical characteristics of garnet in worldwide occurrences of eclogite was undertaken. In most cases extended garnet cores show either a prograde growth zoning with increasing Mg, starting at a few percent of pyrope component, and decreasing Mn contents (type I eclogite) or a (nearly) constant chemical composition frequently with pyrope contents significantly above 10 percent (eclogites of types II and III). Only in minor cases, it is difficult to assign the reported garnet core to an eclogite type. The growth zoning of garnet was thermodynamically modelled for the chemical composition of a basalt following different burial paths. These paths are characterized either by a trajectory along a low geothermal gradient (type I eclogite), as expected for the subducting upper portion of oceanic crust, or a one characterized by nearly isothermal burial at temperatures above 500 °C reaching peak pressures up to 2.1 GPa (type III eclogite), as possibly due to crustal thickening during continent-continent collision, or more (type II eclogite) when basic rocks are tectonically eroded from the overriding continental plate before deep subduction. In addition, diffusion modelling was undertaken on mm-sized garnet demonstrating that the characteristics of the core zoning are not fully obliterated even during residence at temperatures of 800-850 °C within 10 million years. The scrutiny of more than 200 eclogites reported in the literature led to the following result: about half of them are type II eclogites; a third and a sixth can be related to type I and type III, respectively. Among type III are almost all of the few Proterozoic eclogites considered. To demonstrate the benefit of our study, we link the core zoning of eclogitic garnet from various (ultra)high-pressure terranes in Phanerozoic orogenic belts to the geodynamics shaping corresponding orogens. The eclogites in these belts are dominated by type II. Thus, we propose that some of the material of the lower portion of the overriding continental crust was tectonically eroded by a subducted oceanic plate and brought to great depth. Afterwards, this material was exhumed first in a deep subduction channel and then in an exhumation channel during continent-continent collision where a contact with the upper continental plate was re-established. Furthermore, we suggest that type II eclogite can also occur in extrusion wedges as far as oblique subduction took place.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 584, 14p. 117475
Mantle
subduction
Abstract: Melting experiments undertaken with finely ground powder of phengite-bearing eclogite yielded solidus temperatures of about 970 °C at 4 GPa and 1250 °C at 9 GPa. Additional experiments with a rock powder of psammopelitic composition established a solidus at 9 GPa at a temperature of 1350 °C. Initial melts produced from both rocks are rich in potassium. The melts generated from eclogite tend to become richer in Na and Ca with rising temperature due to increasing decomposition of clinopyroxene. At the maximum temperatures of the experiments with eclogite, up to 450 °C above the solidus at 4 GPa, this phase is still present in the restite together with abundant garnet. In the temperature interval of 1100-1300 °C, when 22-30% of the studied eclogite was melted, the melts are quartz monzonitic in composition. According to the reported experimental results, we suggest that partial melting of oceanic crust is unlikely in a subduction zone. However, ascending melange diapirs, composed of material from the upper portion of a deep-seated subducted oceanic slab, can partially melt in the hot mantle wedge. The thus generated melts further ascend to contribute to lavas of magmatic arc systems.
Abstract: Carbon dioxide and water, being present in the Earth's mantle at concentration levels of tens to hundreds of ppm, greatly lower the peridotite solidus temperature and drastically modify the composition of produced melts. The presence of CO2 produces silica-poor, carbonate-rich liquids at the onset of melting, and these liquids shift toward silica rich compositions as the degree of melting increases. Numerous geochemical observations and experimental studies have revealed the complexity of the transition between carbonate-rich and silicate-rich melts. It is characterized by a strongly non-linear evolution and, under specific conditions, by immiscibility. To better constrain this transition, we have used the thermodynamic activity of silica as a probe of the mixing properties between molten carbonate and molten silicate. The activity of silica (aSiO2(l))aSiO2l was calculated for a large number of experimental liquids from two equilibria: olivine-orthopyroxene-melt and immiscible silicate-rich melt-carbonate-rich melt (491 data points ranging from 1 to 14 GPa and 1090 to 1800 °C). We modelled aSiO2(l)aSiO2l during incipient melting of the peridotite in presence of CO2 with a generalized Margules function. Our model reproduces well the silica activity-composition relationships of the experimental database, and can be used to predict the silica content of the melts coexisting with olivine and orthopyroxene. We show that water content and Ca/Mg ratio in the melts have an important influence on the aSiO2(l)aSiO2l. In contrast to a recent empirical model (Dasgupta et al., 2013), the analysis of the experimental database reveals that the transition from carbonate to silicate melt with decreasing depth should occur abruptly in oceanic mantle. Our model predicts that carbonatitic melts with ~ 5 wt.% SiO2 can be stabilized from ~ 150 km depth, at the onset of incipient melting by "redox melting", up to ~ 75 km, above which the liquid evolves abruptly to a carbonated silicate composition (> ~ 25 wt.% SiO2). In the cratonic mantle lithosphere, our model predicts that carbonatitic melts are prevailing up to shallow depth, and conflicts the recent model (Russell et al., 2012) of CO2-saturation triggered by orthopyroxene assimilation during kimberlite ascent.
Abstract: Carbon dioxide is the most abundant volatile in kimberlite melts and its solubility exerts a prime influence on the melt structure, buoyancy, transport rate and hence eruption dynamics. The actual primary composition of kimberlite magma is the matter of some debate but the solubility of CO2 in kimberlitic melts is also poorly constrained due to difficulties in quenching these compositions to a glass that retains the equilibrium CO2 content. In this study we used a range of synthetic, melt compositions with broadly kimberlitic to carbonatitic characteristics which can, under certain conditions, be quenched fast enough to produce a glass. These materials are used to determine the CO2 solubility as a function of chemical composition and pressure (0.05-1.5 GPa). Our results suggest that the solubility of CO2 decreases steadily with increasing amount of network forming cations from ~ 30 wt.% CO2 at 12 wt.% SiO2 down to ~ 3 wt.% CO2 at 40 wt.% SiO2. For low silica melts, CO2 solubility correlates non-linearly with pressure showing a sudden increase from 0.1 to 100 MPa and a smooth increase for pressure > 100 MPa. This peculiar pressure-solubility relationship in low silica melts implies that CO2 degassing must mostly occur within the last 3 km of ascent to the surface having potential links with the highly explosive nature of kimberlite magmas and some of the geo-morphological features of their root zone. We present an empirical CO2 solubility model covering a large range of melt composition from 11 to 55 wt.% SiO2 spanning the transition from carbonatitic to kimberlitic at pressures from 1500 to 50 MPa.
Abstract: Geophysically detectible mid-lithospheric discontinuities (MLD) and lithosphere-asthenosphere boundaries (LAB) beneath cratons have received much attention over recent years, but a consensus on their origin has not yet emerged. Cratonic lithosphere composition and origin is peculiar due to its ultra-depletion during plume or accretionary tectonics, cool present-day geothermal gradients, compositional and rheological stratification and multiple metasomatic overprints. Bearing this in mind, we integrate current knowledge on the physical properties, chemical composition, mineralogy and fabric of cratonic mantle with experimental and thermodynamic constraints on the formation and migration of melts, both below and within cratonic lithosphere, in order to find petrologically viable explanations for cratonic mantle discontinuities. LABs characterised by strong seismic velocity gradients and increased conductivity require the presence of melts, which can form beneath intact cratonic roots reaching to ~ 200-250 km depth only in exceptionally warm and/or volatile-rich mantle, thus explaining the paucity of seismical LAB observations beneath cratons. When present, pervasive interaction of these - typically carbonated - melts with the deep lithosphere leads to densification and thermochemical erosion, which generates topography at the LAB and results in intermittent seismic LAB signals or conflicting seismic, petrologic and thermal LAB depths. In rare cases (e.g. Tanzanian craton), the tops of live melt percolation fronts may appear as MLDs and, after complete lithosphere rejuvenation, may be sites of future, shallower LABs (e.g. North China craton). Since intact cratons are presently tectonomagmatically quiescent, and since MLDs produce both positive and negative velocity gradients, in some cases with anisotropy, most MLDs may be best explained by accumulations (metasomes) of seismically slow minerals (pyroxenes, phlogopite, amphibole, carbonates) deposited during past magmatic-metasomatic activity, or fabric inherited from cratonisation. They may accumulate as layers at, or as subvertical veins above, the depth at which melt flow transitions from pervasive to focussed flow at the mechanical boundary layer, causing azimuthal and radial anisotropy. Thermodynamic calculations investigating the depth range in which small-volume melts can be produced relative to the field of phlogopite stability and the presence of MLDs show that phlogopite precipitates at various pressures as a function of age-dependent thermal state of the cratonic mantle, thus explaining variable MLD depths. Even if not directly observed, such metasomes have been shown to be important ingredients in small-volume volatile-rich melts typically penetrating cratonic lithospheres. The apparent sparseness of evidence for phlogopite-rich assemblages in the mantle xenolith record at geophysically imaged MLD depths, if not due to preferential disaggregation in the kimberlite or alteration, may relate to vagaries of both kimberlite and human sampling.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 484, pp. 1-14.
Mantle
kimberlite, origin, magmatism
Abstract: Kimberlite magmatism has occurred in cratonic regions on every continent. The global age distribution suggests that this form of mantle melting has been more prominent after 1.2 Ga, and notably between 250-50 Ma, than during early Earth history before 2 Ga (i.e., the Paleoproterozoic and Archean). Although preservation bias has been discussed as a possible reason for the skewed kimberlite age distribution, new treatment of an updated global database suggests that the apparent secular evolution of kimberlite and related CO2-rich ultramafic magmatism is genuine and probably coupled to lowering temperatures of Earth's upper mantle through time. Incipient melting near the CO2- and H2O-bearing peridotite solidus at >200 km depth (1100-1400?°C) is the petrologically most feasible process that can produce high-MgO carbonated silicate melts with enriched trace element concentrations akin to kimberlites. These conditions occur within the convecting asthenospheric mantle directly beneath thick continental lithosphere. In this transient upper mantle source region, variable CHO volatile mixtures control melting of peridotite in the absence of heat anomalies so that low-degree carbonated silicate melts may be permanently present at ambient mantle temperatures below 1400?°C. However, extraction of low-volume melts to Earth's surface requires tectonic triggers. Abrupt changes in the speed and direction of plate motions, such as typified by the dynamics of supercontinent cycles, can be effective in the creation of lithospheric pathways aiding kimberlite magma ascent. Provided that CO2- and H2O-fluxed deep cratonic keels, which formed parts of larger drifting tectonic plates, existed by 3 Ga or even before, kimberlite volcanism could have been frequent during the Archean. However, we argue that frequent kimberlite magmatism had to await establishment of an incipient melting regime beneath the maturing continents, which only became significant after secular mantle cooling to below 1400?°C during post-Archean times, probably sometime shortly after 2 Ga. At around this time kimberlites replace komatiites as the hallmark mantle-derived magmatic feature of continental shields worldwide. The remarkable Mesozoic-Cenozoic ‘kimberlite bloom’ between 250-50 Ma may represent the ideal circumstance under which the relatively cool and volatile-fluxed cratonic roots of the Pangea supercontinent underwent significant tectonic disturbance. This created more than 60% of world's known kimberlites in a combination of redox- and decompression-related low-degree partial melting. Less than 2% of world's known kimberlites formed after 50 Ma, and the tectonic settings of rare ‘young’ kimberlites from eastern Africa and western North America demonstrate that far-field stresses on cratonic lithosphere enforced by either continental rifting or cold subduction play a crucial role in enabling kimberlite magma transfer to Earth's surface.
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 (?REE > 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.
Researchgate , DOI: 10.1017/ 9781108677950.007 26p. Pdf
mantle
carbon
Abstract: Significant investment in new capacities for experimental research at high temperatures and pressures have provided new levels of understanding about the physical properties of carbon in fluids and melts, including its viscosity, electrical conductivity, and density. This chapter reviews the physical properties of carbon-bearing melts and fluids at high temperatures and pressures and highlights remaining unknowns left to be explored. The chapter also reviews how the remote sensing of the inaccessible parts of the Earth via various geophysical techniques - seismic shear wave velocity, attenuation, and electromagnetic signals of mantle depths - can be reconciled with the potential presence of carbon-bearing melts or fluids.
Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, doi.org/10.1016/ j.pepi.2020.106638 51p. Pdf
Mantle
geophysics - magnetics
Abstract: Decompression melting of the upper mantle produces magmas and volcanism at the Earth's surface. Experimental petrology demonstrates that the presence of CO2 and H2O enhances peridotite melting anywhere within the upper mantle down to approximately 200-300?km depth. The presence of mantle melts with compositions ranging from carbonate-rich to silicate-rich unavoidably affects the geophysical signals retrieved from Earth's mantle. Geochemical investigations of erupted intraplate magmas along with geophysical surveys allow for constraining the nature and volume of primary melts, and a sound formalism is required to integrate these diverse datasets into a realistic model for the upper mantle including melting processes. Here, we introduce MAGLAB, a model developed to calculate the composition and volume fraction of melts in the upper mantle, together with the corresponding electrical conductivity of partially molten mantle peridotites at realistic pressure-temperature conditions and volatile contents. We use MAGLAB to show how the compositions of intraplate magmas relate to variations in lithosphere thickness. Progressive partial melting of a homogeneous peridotitic mantle source can in theory create the diversity of compositions observed among the spectrum of intraplate magma types, with kimberlite melts beneath thick continental shields, alkaline magmas such as melilitite, nephelinite and basanite beneath thinner continents and relatively old plus thick oceanic lithospheres, and ‘regular’ basalts beneath the youngest and thinnest oceanic lithospheres as well as beneath significantly thinned continental lithospheres. MAGLAB calculations support recent experimental findings about the role of H2O in the upper mantle on producing primary kimberlitic melts in addition to CO2. We demonstrate the robustness of MAGLAB calculations by reproducing the compositions of erupted melts as well as associated mantle electrical conductivities beneath the Society hotspot in the Pacific Ocean. A comparison of our simulations with magnetotelluric surveys at various oceanic settings shows that the heterogeneities in electrical conductivity of Earth's upper mantle are related to variations in volatile content via the presence of small (generally <<1?wt%) and heterogeneously distributed fractions of CO2-H2O-bearing melts.
Tappe, S., Massuyeau, M. , Smart, K.A., Woodland, A.B., Gussone, N., Milne, S., Stracke, A.
Sheared peridotite and megacryst formation beneath the Kaapvaal Craton: a snapshot of tectonomagmetic processes across the lithosphere-asthenosphere transition.
Abstract: The cratonic lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary is commonly invoked as the site of sheared peridotite and megacryst formation, a well-recognized petrological assemblage whose genetic relationships—if any—remain poorly understood. We have undertaken a comprehensive petrology and Sr-Nd-Hf-Ca isotope study of sheared peridotite xenoliths and clinopyroxene megacrysts from the c. 1150 Ma Premier kimberlite pipe on the central Kaapvaal craton in South Africa. New textural and mineral trace element evidence suggests that strong tectonic and magmatic overprinting affected the lower cratonic mantle over a vertical distance of ?50 km from the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary located at ?200-225 km depth. Although modification of the central Kaapvaal cratonic mantle is commonly linked to the c. 2056 Ma Bushveld large igneous event, our thermobarometry, mantle redox, and Sr-Nd-Hf-Ca isotope data support a model in which volatile-rich low-volume melts and associated high-density fluids refertilized the lithosphere base shortly before or during asthenosphere-derived kimberlite and carbonatite magmatism at around 1150 Ma. This episode of lithospheric mantle enrichment was facilitated by exceptionally strong shear movements, as are recorded in the plastically deformed peridotites. We argue that stress-driven segregation of percolating carbonated melts contributed to megacryst formation along, or in close proximity to, shear zones within the cratonic mantle lithosphere. Integration of our results from the Kaapvaal craton and modern petrological concepts allows for the identification of a lithosphere-asthenosphere transition zone between ?150 and 225 km depth. This horizon is defined by intersections of the ?40-42 mW m-2 Premier paleogeotherm with (1) CO2-H2O-present solidus curves for peridotite (upper bound), and (2) typical mantle adiabats with potential temperatures between 1315 and 1420 °C (lower bound). At Premier, the most strongly deformed sheared peridotites occur mainly between ?160 and 185 km depth, firmly within the lithosphere-asthenosphere transition zone. Contrary to many previous models, we suggest that sheared peridotite formation occurs in localized deformation zones spaced out across the entire width of the lithosphere-asthenosphere transition zone, rather than being restricted to a single thin layer at the craton base where mantle flow causes viscous drag. Hence, plate-tectonic stresses acting on the lower cratonic lithosphere may be accommodated by extensive networks of shear zones, which provide transient pathways and sinks for percolating volatile-rich melts, linking the formation of megacrysts and sheared peridotites.
Abstract: The cratonic lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary is commonly invoked as the site of sheared peridotite and megacryst formation, a well-recognized petrological assemblage whose genetic relationships—if any—remain poorly understood. We have undertaken a comprehensive petrology and Sr-Nd-Hf-Ca isotope study of sheared peridotite xenoliths and clinopyroxene megacrysts from the c. 1150 Ma Premier kimberlite pipe on the central Kaapvaal craton in South Africa. New textural and mineral trace element evidence suggests that strong tectonic and magmatic overprinting affected the lower cratonic mantle over a vertical distance of ?50 km from the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary located at ?200-225 km depth. Although modification of the central Kaapvaal cratonic mantle is commonly linked to the c. 2056 Ma Bushveld large igneous event, our thermobarometry, mantle redox, and Sr-Nd-Hf-Ca isotope data support a model in which volatile-rich low-volume melts and associated high-density fluids refertilized the lithosphere base shortly before or during asthenosphere-derived kimberlite and carbonatite magmatism at around 1150 Ma. This episode of lithospheric mantle enrichment was facilitated by exceptionally strong shear movements, as are recorded in the plastically deformed peridotites. We argue that stress-driven segregation of percolating carbonated melts contributed to megacryst formation along, or in close proximity to, shear zones within the cratonic mantle lithosphere. Integration of our results from the Kaapvaal craton and modern petrological concepts allows for the identification of a lithosphere-asthenosphere transition zone between ?150 and 225 km depth. This horizon is defined by intersections of the ?40-42 mW m-2 Premier paleogeotherm with (1) CO2-H2O-present solidus curves for peridotite (upper bound), and (2) typical mantle adiabats with potential temperatures between 1315 and 1420 °C (lower bound). At Premier, the most strongly deformed sheared peridotites occur mainly between ?160 and 185 km depth, firmly within the lithosphere-asthenosphere transition zone. Contrary to many previous models, we suggest that sheared peridotite formation occurs in localized deformation zones spaced out across the entire width of the lithosphere-asthenosphere transition zone, rather than being restricted to a single thin layer at the craton base where mantle flow causes viscous drag. Hence, plate-tectonic stresses acting on the lower cratonic lithosphere may be accommodated by extensive networks of shear zones, which provide transient pathways and sinks for percolating volatile-rich melts, linking the formation of megacrysts and sheared peridotites.
Bibliography of the geology and mineral resources of Liberia and Sierra Leone and the adjacent Archean terrains of Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa.
Economic Geology Research Institute, EGRU Wits, Information Circular, No. 342, 67p.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 465, pp. 155-167.
Mantle
Subduction
Abstract: Subduction is integral to mantle convection and plate tectonics, yet the role of the subslab mantle in this process is poorly understood. Some propose that decoupling from the slab permits widespread trench parallel flow in the subslab mantle, although the geodynamical feasibility of this has been questioned. Here, we use the source-side shear wave splitting technique to probe anisotropy beneath subducting slabs, enabling us to test petrofabric models and constrain the geometry of mantle fow. Our global dataset contains 6369 high quality measurements - spanning ?40,000?km?40,000?km of subduction zone trenches - over the complete range of available source depths (4 to 687?km) - and a large range of angles in the slab reference frame. We find that anisotropy in the subslab mantle is well characterised by tilted transverse isotropy with a slow-symmetry-axis pointing normal to the plane of the slab. This appears incompatible with purely trench-parallel flow models. On the other hand it is compatible with the idea that the asthenosphere is tilted and entrained during subduction. Trench parallel measurements are most commonly associated with shallow events (source depth <50?km<50?km) - suggesting a separate region of anisotropy in the lithospheric slab. This may correspond to the shape preferred orientation of cracks, fractures, and faults opened by slab bending. Meanwhile the deepest events probe the upper lower mantle where splitting is found to be consistent with deformed bridgmanite.
Cartigny, P., Farquar, J., Thomassot, E., Harris, J.W., Wing, B., Masterson, A., McKeegan, K., Stachel, T.
A mantle origin for Paleoarchean peridotite diamonds from the PAnd a kimberlite, Slave Province: evidence from 13C, 15N and 34,34S stable isotope systematics.
Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, doi.org/10.1186 /s40645-019-0299-5
Mantle
geophysics - seismic
Abstract: The depth extent of the crustal seismogenic zone is closely related to the size of earthquakes. The mechanisms that control the depth of the lower transition of the seismogenic zone are important issues in seismology and disaster mitigation. Laboratory studies have shown that the mechanism of earthquake nucleation is controlled by the frictional properties of fault materials. We measured the velocity dependences of the steady-state friction of quartz and feldspar, two major components of crustal rocks, under dry and wet conditions at temperatures up to 600?°C. In the presence of water, the temperature range over which the velocity dependence of steady-state friction was negative was wider for feldspar than for quartz, thus indicating that the temperature range of earthquake nucleation is wider for feldspar than for quartz. Considering that temperature increases with depth, our findings indicate that the material properties of feldspar likely play a dominant role in limiting the depth extent of the seismogenic zone.
Yamaguchi, H.,Kudo, Y., Masuzawa, T., Kudo, M., Yamada, Takakuwa, Okano
Combine x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy/ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy/field emission spectroscopy for characterization of electron emmision of diamond.
Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures, Vol. 26, 2, pp. 730-734. American Vacuum Society
Mourao, C., Mata, J., Doucekance, R., Madeira, J., Millet, M-A., Moreira, M.
Geochemical temporal evolution of Brava Island magmatism: constraints on the variability of Cape Verde mantle sources and on carbonatite-silicate magma link.
Mourao, C., Moreira, M., Mata, J., Raquin, A., Madeira, J.
Primary and secondary processes constraining the noble gas isotopic signatures of carbonatites and silicate rocks from Brava Island: evidence for a lower mantle origin of the Cape Verde Plume.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 163, 6, pp. 995-1009.
Ikenne, M., Lahna, A.A., Soderlund, U., Tassinar, C.C.G., Ernst, R.E., Pin, Ch., Youbi, N., El Aouli, EH., Hafid, A., Admou, H., Mata, J., Bouougri, EH., Boumehdi, M.A.
New Mesoproterozoic age constraints for the Taghdout Group, Anti-Atlas ( Morocco): toward a new lithostratigra[hic framework for the Precambrian in the NW margin of the West African Craton.
The First West African Craton and Margins International Workshop WACMA, Held Apr. 24-29. 1p. Abstract
Abstract: The origin of carbonatites—igneous rocks with more than 50% of carbonate minerals—and whether they originate from a primary mantle source or from recycling of surface materials are still debated. Calcium isotopes have the potential to resolve the origin of carbonatites, since marine carbonates are enriched in the lighter isotopes of Ca compared to the mantle. Here, we report the Ca isotopic compositions for 74 carbonatites and associated silicate rocks from continental and oceanic settings, spanning from 3 billion years ago to the present day, together with O and C isotopic ratios for 37 samples. Calcium-, Mg-, and Fe-rich carbonatites have isotopically lighter Ca than mantle-derived rocks such as basalts and fall within the range of isotopically light Ca from ancient marine carbonates. This signature reflects the composition of the source, which is isotopically light and is consistent with recycling of surface carbonate materials into the mantle.
Science Advances, Vol. 6, eaba3269 June 3, 7p. Pdf
Global, Africa, Tanzania
carbonatites
Abstract: The origin of carbonatites-igneous rocks with more than 50% of carbonate minerals-and whether they originate from a primary mantle source or from recycling of surface materials are still debated. Calcium isotopes have the potential to resolve the origin of carbonatites, since marine carbonates are enriched in the lighter isotopes of Ca compared to the mantle. Here, we report the Ca isotopic compositions for 74 carbonatites and associated silicate rocks from continental and oceanic settings, spanning from 3 billion years ago to the present day, together with O and C isotopic ratios for 37 samples. Calcium-, Mg-, and Fe-rich carbonatites have isotopically lighter Ca than mantle-derived rocks such as basalts and fall within the range of isotopically light Ca from ancient marine carbonates. This signature reflects the composition of the source, which is isotopically light and is consistent with recycling of surface carbonate materials into the mantle.
Abstract: Carbonatites are rare volcanic rocks whose carbon/oxygen isotope signatures point towards a mantle origin. However there is still debate on the role of processes such as partial melting or the recycling of sediments for their generation. Carbonatite quadruple sulfur isotope measurements should be useful for deciphering the imprints of Earth’s earliest atmosphere and microbial cycling, two processes isotopically characterized by different slopes in a ?33S-?36S diagram, and thus help to better understand the origin of carbonatites, and the possiblity of sedimentary precursors, in greater detail. We report here multiple sulfur data for a wide range of carbonatite samples: 4 continents, from today to 3Ga, oceanic and continental settings. 80 measurements from 18 localities yielded sulfur in sulfides between 0 to 1wt%, with ?34S ranging from -20‰ to +10‰. The record through time seems to correlate with the sedimentary record albeit with some delay. ?33S varies between -0.1 to 0.4‰. Most of the samples display unequivocal mass-dependent fractionation, characteristic of the sedimentary record. A few samples show mass-independent fractionation. ?33S shows a temporal variation from near zero at 3Ga to positive values until 500Ma and then a broadening with both positive and negative values. This is interpreted to reflect the assimilation of surface derived sulfur in the source of carbonatites. The mixing with mantle sulfur narrows the amplitude of the variation and a crustal imprint could blur the signal as well. However coupled ?34S-?33S point toward two different stages in the sulfur isotopic signature: a long recycling before 900Ma and a much shorter residence time, on the order of 300 Myrs, after. This could be linked with a preferential recycling of sulfides in the early time and a recycling of both sulfides and sulfates later on.
The Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Vol. 119, pp. 97-103.
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Finsch
Abstract: Accurate delineation of the contact between a kimberlite pipe and country rock at production level depths is a challenge due to limited geological data. Geological information is obtained from widely spaced diamond core boreholes which are drilled either from surface or from higher mining levels within the pipe. Kimberlite pipe/country rock contacts are notoriously irregular and variable, further reducing the confidence in contact positions defined by the drill-holes. At Finsch Diamond Mine (FDM), the opportunity arose to further improve the confidence in the contact positions relative to the planned slot (end) positions of each sublevel cave tunnel during the development stage of these tunnels. As a result, the accuracy of the 3D geological model has improved.
The use of diamond drill core for this purpose is expensive due to site establishment requirements. The lengthy time taken during site establishment also delays the development of tunnels and support cycles, thereby extending the completion dates. FDM has reduced delays during development by adopting percussion drilling, in conjunction with gamma ray logging. The S36 drill rig is mounted on a moveable platform and does not require a costly and lengthy site establishment. The holes are generally drilled (0°/flat) on grade elevation, and these holes could also be drilled from the rim tunnels (developed in waste) into the kimberlite pipe. A single-boom production drill rig is normally used to drill holes about 20 m in length. On completion of the contact delineation drilling, gamma logging of the holes is conducted using the GeoVista geophysical sonde (or probe) to log the natural gamma signature of the dolomite/ kimberlite contact. The advantage of this tool is that the readings are continuous within centimetre intervals, and due to contrasting characteristics between kimberlite (rich in clay minerals) and dolomite, the contact position can be determined accurately. The better definition of contact positions also adds value to tunnel stopping distance in terms of developing the tunnel's slot at the optimum distance from the contact (easier blasting of longhole rings, avoidance of contact overbreak and premature waste ingress, and other matters relating to extraction of ore from these tunnels). This method is highly successful and has reduced development costs (on-time completion), improved definition of the pipe's contact position for geological modelling, improved blast design, and mitigated early waste ingress by maintaining the contact's integrity.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi:10.1007/ s00710-018-0568-9 15p.
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Group I, orangeites Group II
Abstract: The West Coast of Namaqualand in South Africa hosts extensive detrital diamond deposits, but considerable debate exists as to the provenance of these diamonds. Some researchers have suggested derivation of the diamonds from Cretaceous-Jurassic kimberlites (also termed Group I kimberlites) and orangeites (also termed Group II kimberlites) located on the Kaapvaal Craton. However, others favour erosion of diamonds from the ca.300 Ma Dwyka Group sediments, with older, pre-Karoo kimberlites being the original source(s). Previous work has demonstrated that 40Ar/39Ar analyses of clinopyroxene inclusions, extracted from diamonds, yield ages approaching the time(s) of source kimberlite emplacement, which can be used to constrain the provenance of placer diamond deposits. In the current study, 40Ar/39Ar analyses were conducted on clinopyroxene inclusions from two similar batches of Namaqualand detrital diamonds, yielding (maximum) ages ranging from 117.5?±?43.6 Ma to 3684?±?191 Ma (2s) and 120.6?±?15.4 Ma to 688.8?±?4.9 Ma (2s), respectively. The vast majority of inclusions (88%) produced ages younger than 500 Ma, indicating that most Namaqualand diamonds originated from Cretaceous-Jurassic kimberlites/orangeites, with few, if any, derived from the Dwyka tillites. The provenance of the Namaqualand diamonds from ca.115-200 Ma orangeites is consistent with Late Cretaceous paleo-drainage reconstructions, as these localities could have been sampled by the ‘paleo-Karoo’ River and transported to the West Coast via an outlet close to the current Olifants River mouth. At ca.90 Ma, this drainage system appears to have been captured by the ‘paleo-Kalahari’ River, a precursor to the modern Orange River system. This latter drainage is considered to have transported diamonds eroded from both ca.80-90 Ma kimberlites and ca.115-200 Ma orangeites to the West Coast, which were subsequently reworked along the Namibian coast, forming additional placer deposits.
Abstract: The Karelian Craton in Finland is host to (at least) two distinct pulses of kimberlite magmatism. Twenty kimberlite occurrences have so far been discovered on the southwest margin of the craton at Kaavi-Kuopio and seven kimberlites are located in the Kuusamo area within the core of the craton. Comprehensive radiometric age determinations (U-Pb, Ar- Ar and Rb-Sr) reveal that all kimberlite activity was restricted to the Proterozoic. The Kaavi-Kuopio field was emplaced over a protracted period from ~610 to 550 Ma and is predated by the Kuusamo cluster that represents a relatively short pulse of magmatism at ~750 to 730 Ma. The emplacement of kimberlites globally has recently been linked to supercontinent reorganisation and we propose a similar scenario for these Finnish occurrences which, at the time of kimberlite emplacement, were situated on the Baltica paleo-continent. This land mass was contiguous with Laurentia in the Proterozoic and together formed part of Rodinia. The breakup of Rodinia is considered to have commenced at ~750 Ma and initiation of the opening of the Iapetus ocean at ~615 Ma. Contemporaneous with Kaavi-Kuopio magmatism, this latter period of Neoproterozoic crustal extension also includes the emplacement of kimberlites and related rocks in areas that were linked with Baltica as part of Rodinia - West Greenland and eastern North America. Both the initial and final periods of Rodinia’s breakup have been linked to mantle upwellings from the core-mantle boundary. We suggest that kimberlite magmatism in Finland was promoted by the influx of heat from mantle upwellings and lithospheric extension associated with the demise of Rodinia. Although both magmatic episodes are potentially linked to the breakup of Rodinia, whole-rock and perovskite radiogenic isotope compositions for the Kuusamo kimberlites (?Nd(i) +2.6 to +3.3, ?Hf(i) +3.1 to +5.6) are distinct from the Kaavi-Kuopio kimberlites (?Nd(i) -0.7 to +1.8, ?Hf(i) -6.1 to +5.2). The spread in Hf isotope compositions for the Kaavi-Kuopio magmas may be linked to variable assimilation of diverse mantle lithologies.
Mineralogy and Petrology, 10.1007/ s00710-018- 0568-9, 15p.
Africa, South Africa
geochronology
Abstract: The West Coast of Namaqualand in South Africa hosts extensive detrital diamond deposits, but considerable debate exists as to the provenance of these diamonds. Some researchers have suggested derivation of the diamonds from Cretaceous-Jurassic kimberlites (also termed Group I kimberlites) and orangeites (also termed Group II kimberlites) located on the Kaapvaal Craton. However, others favour erosion of diamonds from the ca.300 Ma Dwyka Group sediments, with older, pre-Karoo kimberlites being the original source(s). Previous work has demonstrated that 40Ar/39Ar analyses of clinopyroxene inclusions, extracted from diamonds, yield ages approaching the time(s) of source kimberlite emplacement, which can be used to constrain the provenance of placer diamond deposits. In the current study, 40Ar/39Ar analyses were conducted on clinopyroxene inclusions from two similar batches of Namaqualand detrital diamonds, yielding (maximum) ages ranging from 117.5?±?43.6 Ma to 3684?±?191 Ma (2?) and 120.6?±?15.4 Ma to 688.8?±?4.9 Ma (2?), respectively. The vast majority of inclusions (88%) produced ages younger than 500 Ma, indicating that most Namaqualand diamonds originated from Cretaceous-Jurassic kimberlites/orangeites, with few, if any, derived from the Dwyka tillites. The provenance of the Namaqualand diamonds from ca.115-200 Ma orangeites is consistent with Late Cretaceous paleo-drainage reconstructions, as these localities could have been sampled by the ‘paleo-Karoo’ River and transported to the West Coast via an outlet close to the current Olifants River mouth. At ca.90 Ma, this drainage system appears to have been captured by the ‘paleo-Kalahari’ River, a precursor to the modern Orange River system. This latter drainage is considered to have transported diamonds eroded from both ca.80-90 Ma kimberlites and ca.115-200 Ma orangeites to the West Coast, which were subsequently reworked along the Namibian coast, forming additional placer deposits.
Society of Economic Geology Geoscience and Exploration of the Argyle, Bunder, Diavik, and Murowa Diamond Deposits, Special Publication no. 20, pp. 379-402.
Abstract: The origin of intraplate carbonatitic to alkaline volcanism in Africa is controversial. A tectonic control, i.e., decompression melting associated with far-field stress, is suggested by correlation with lithospheric sutures, repeated magmatic cycles in the same areas over several million years, synchronicity across the plate, and lack of clear age progression patterns. Conversely, a dominant role for mantle convection is supported by the coincidence of Cenozoic volcanism with regions of lithospheric uplift, positive free-air gravity anomalies, and slow seismic velocities. To improve constraints on the genesis of African volcanism, here we report the first radiometric and isotopic results for the Catanda complex, which hosts the only extrusive carbonatites in Angola. Apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He and phlogopite 40Ar/39Ar ages of Catanda aillikite lavas indicate eruption at ca. 500-800 ka, more than 100 m.y. after emplacement of abundant kimberlites and carbonatites in this region. The lavas share similar high-? (HIMU)-like Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotope compositions with other young mantle-derived volcanics from Africa (e.g., Northern Kenya Rift; Cameroon Line). The position of the Catanda complex in the Lucapa corridor, a long-lived extensional structure, suggests a possible tectonic control for the volcanism. The complex is also located on the Bié Dome, a broad region of fast Pleistocene uplift attributed to mantle upwelling. Seismic tomography models indicate convection of deep hot material beneath regions of active volcanism in Africa, including a large area encompassing Angola and northern Namibia. This is strong evidence that intraplate late Cenozoic volcanism, including the Catanda complex, resulted from the interplay between mantle convection and preexisting lithospheric heterogeneities.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 177, 4. 10.1007/s00410-022-01910-z
Mantle
water
Abstract: Oxidized fluids in the subduction zone may convert polyvalent elements in the mantle to their higher valence states. The most abundant polyvalent element in the mantle is Fe, a significant part of which is contained in olivine as Fe2+. Results of the study of arc mantle xenoliths, in lab high-pressure-high-temperature experiments, and thermodynamic modeling have shown that at pressures of?~?50-2000 MPa and temperatures of 1000-1250 °C, well above the serpentine stability field, Fe2+ from olivine reacts with free aqueous fluid according to the following simplified reaction: 3Fe2SiO4?+?2H2O???3SiO2?+?2Fe3O4?+?2H2. The resulting ferric iron is preserved in spinel of a certain composition, (Mg,Fe2+)Fe3+2O4, whereas new high-Mg olivine, with magnesium number up to 96 in natural samples and 99.9 in experiments, forms in the reaction zone. SiO2 produced in the reaction either dissolves in the fluid or, with a small amount of water, reacts with olivine to form orthopyroxene as follows: (Mg,Fe)2SiO4?+?SiO2?=?(Mg,Fe)2Si2O6. The released H2 may decrease the oxidation state of polyvalent elements present in the fluid (e.g., S4+, S6+). Traces of high-temperature water-olivine interaction appear as swarms of fluid-spinel inclusions and are ubiquitous in olivine from ultramafic arc xenoliths. The described process is similar to serpentinization but occurs at higher pressure and temperature conditions and yields different reaction products. The reducing capacity of olivine is relatively low; however, given the large volume of mantle (and crustal) peridotites, the overall effect may be significant.
Abstract: The basins and orogens of the Mediterranean region ultimately result from the opening of oceans during the early break-up of Pangea since the Triassic, and their subsequent destruction by subduction accommodating convergence between the African and Eurasian Plates since the Jurassic. The region has been the cradle for the development of geodynamic concepts that link crustal evolution to continental break-up, oceanic and continental subduction, and mantle dynamics in general. The development of such concepts requires a first-order understanding of the kinematic evolution of the region for which a multitude of reconstructions have previously been proposed. In this paper, we use advances made in kinematic restoration software in the last decade with a systematic reconstruction protocol for developing a more quantitative restoration of the Mediterranean region for the last 240 million years. This restoration is constructed for the first time with the GPlates plate reconstruction software and uses a systematic reconstruction protocol that limits input data to marine magnetic anomaly reconstructions of ocean basins, structural geological constraints quantifying timing, direction, and magnitude of tectonic motion, and tests and iterations against paleomagnetic data. This approach leads to a reconstruction that is reproducible, and updatable with future constraints. We first review constraints on the opening history of the Atlantic (and Red Sea) oceans and the Bay of Biscay. We then provide a comprehensive overview of the architecture of the Mediterranean orogens, from the Pyrenees and Betic-Rif orogen in the west to the Caucasus in the east and identify structural geological constraints on tectonic motions. We subsequently analyze a newly constructed database of some 2300 published paleomagnetic sites from the Mediterranean region and test the reconstruction against these constraints. We provide the reconstruction in the form of 12 maps being snapshots from 240 to 0 Ma, outline the main features in each time-slice, and identify differences from previous reconstructions, which are discussed in the final section.
Abstract: The Orapa kimberlite field of Botswana is one of the world’s major diamond producing regions. Within this field, there are several small kimberlite pipes that have not been completely explored in terms of their lateral extent, depth, and diamond potential. Two such pipes, BK54 and BK55, were found during a ground gravity and magnetic survey, and subsequent drilling confirmed the presence of kimberlite material. To determine the physical properties of these pipes, their lateral extent, depth, and thickness were estimated using a gravity and magnetic analysis and 2.5D and 3D modeling. Tilt derivatives of the magnetic data indicated that BK54 has a northwest-trending elliptical shape and BK55 has a roughly circular shape. Residual gravity anomaly maps indicate that BK54 does not have a density anomaly whereas BK55 is associated with a gravity maximum. The 3D gravity and magnetic inversion modeling constrained by magnetic susceptibility measurements indicates that BK54 is smaller in volume than BK55 and that neither pipe is thicker than 125 m. The difference in shape and the lack of a gravity anomaly over BK54 implies a different formation mechanism for each kimberlite pipe. Although several mechanisms are suggested, BK54 may have formed by a more explosive eruption producing more tuffistic material in the crater and diatreme facies. The gravity and magnetic analysis also found that the kimberlite pipes, while small, are larger in extent than was determined by drilling and warrant additional drilling to determine their economic potential.
Journal of African Earth Sciences, Vol. 177, 104154, 16p. Pdf
Africa, Angola
deposit - Bailundo
Abstract: Pyrochlore is a common accessory in carbonatite rocks and its composition can provide useful insights on petrogenetic and post-magmatic metal-enrichment processes, especially those which favour its occurrence and concentration. Comprehensive compositional and textural characterization of a large set of pyrochlores from the Bailundo Carbonatite Complex (SW Angola) and associated surface rocks was the basis to (i) evaluate the main effects of metasomatism and weathering as causes of metal leaching or concentration; and (ii) assess pyrochlore compositions as potential petrogenetic or metallogenetic tools, with particular emphasis on pyrochlore enrichment in economic components, such as Ta, REE, U, Th and Pb, during weathering processes. Unweathered fluor- and hydroxyl-calciopyrochlores from deep-seated carbonatitic rocks (provided by a 600 m-deep drill-core) often present high Ta/Nb ratios, as well as high U and Th contents, and comparatively low overall REE concentrations. Metasomatic effects are not easy to assess, given the extreme compositional variability of these pyrochlores. On the other hand, some systematic trends can be established in pyrochlores from weathered surface rocks: these pyrochlores usually show strong depletion in most A-site cations (e.g., Na, Ca, U), and clear enrichment in Nb and in large-ion metals (e.g., Ba, Sr, Pb) usually absent in unweathered pyrochlores. REE seem to be relatively immobile and to become concentrated during weathering. Along with some REE phosphates and oxides, pyrochlore is often present in several domains of the weathering profile, occurring in the outcropping weathered carbonatite as well as in the regolith immediately overlying the intrusion. Thus, both the Bailundo carbonatite intrusion and its weathering products, concentrated inside the ridge formed by differential erosion of the fenitic aureole, constitute good exploration targets for Nb (±Ta ± REE). However, future exploration work should also include a 3-D understanding of the chemical and geological processes at work in both geological environments.
Communicacoes Geologicas *** in PORT, researchgate 7p. Pdf
Africa, Angola
deposit - Bailundo
Abstract: Pyrochlore group minerals are common accessory phases in alkaline-carbonatitic complexes, and the most important Nb ore worldwide. Its capacity to embody a wide range of compositions can often provide useful insights in Nb occurrence and concentration processes. In the Bailundo Carbonatitic Complex (BCC, Angola), two major sets of pyrochlore can be distinguished: (1) magmatic/metasomatic pyrochlore in deep carbonatitic rocks, often displaying diffuse textures obliterating primary zoning, with slightly low contents in Nb2O5 (average 50 wt%), and in other chemical components (Ta, U, Na); and (2) supergene pyrochlore in the weathering profile, displaying corroded and bleached patches along microfractures (in some cases, with relics of magmatic pyrochlore), that show higher contents in Nb2O5 (up to 73 wt%), Ba and Pb. Compositional and textural variations recorded in pyrochlore crystals illustrate the geodynamic events that took place in the BCC and contributed to high Nb concentration in the weathering profile, thus being quite useful to distinguish different mineralization types and as Nb-exploration tools.
Comminocacoes Geologicas ( Researchgate), July, 7p. Pdf
Africa, Angola
deposit - Bailundo
Abstract: Pyrochlore group minerals are common accessory phases in many rock types of the Bailundo Carbonatite Complex. These minerals record compositional and textural features that provide useful information regarding their genesis and accumulation, monitoring magmatic, metasomatic and weathering events. In drill core samples, primary compositions (significant Ta and U contents, and relatively low Nb and F values) are found in relict cores of strongly metasomatized pyrochlore grains; irregular patches in pyrochlore rims, typically enriched in F, Na and Nb, reflect fluid alteration fronts. At shallower levels, preserved pyrochlores show well-defined concentric zoning and substantially higher values of F and Nb. In the weathering profile, alteration processes include replacement of F, Na and Ca by Ba, Sr, Pb and H2O. These data suggest the possibility of Nb concentration in late-magmatic fluids as fluoride complexes, and its subsequent mobilization and crystallization in the form of pyrochlore at shallower levels of the Bailundo Carbonatite Complex.
Abstract: Google Earth has been part of most geoscientists' computer (and mobile) desktops for a decade, and this year Google Earth Professional has become freely available to all with a universal license key. Many users are still, however, not aware of the full potential that it can offer across a range of teaching and research areas in the geosciences. Here a pragmatic look is taken at some of the current key uses in terms of resources and applications and how they can help in research and training educational roles in the geosciences.
Abstract: Cratons are the ancient landmasses that remain stable for billions of years on Earth but also have experienced episodic events of modification and rejuvenation throughout their history [1]. These alteration processes have modified the cratonic lithospheric mantle roots to different extents, e.g., ubiquitous cryptic/modal metasomatism, partial to entire loss of the mantle roots, to rifting apart of the craton. It remains unclear to what extent a cratonic mantle root can withstand modification and retain its integrity. We attempt to discuss this issue from the perspective of the Slave craton that has experienced the multiple impacts of major circum-cratonic Paleoproterozoic (1.93-1.84 Ga) orogenies and the intrusion of several 2.23-1.67 Proterozoic diabase dyke swarms. We use kimberlite-borne peridotite xenoliths to construct a N-S transect across the craton with an aim of probing the effects of these post-Archean events on the composition, age and depth of the lithospheric root. Chemically, all of these rocks are of typical cratonic refractory composition. P-T calculations and paleogeotherms show that they were derived from thick lithospheric mantle roots (>180 km), consistent with their diamondiferous nature. However, these peridotites exhibit variable N-S variation of modes in their Re-depletion Os model ages (TRD). Neoarchean TRD ages dominate in the Central and Southern Slave mantle. Progressing North there is a decreasing proportion of Archean TRD ages through Jericho to Artemisa in the Northern Slave craton. About 70% of the peridotites at Artemisia give TRD ages within error of the ~1.27 Ga Mackenzie LIP event, with the remaining (~ 30%) close to the Paleoproterozoic orogenic events. Combined with new data from regions to the N and NW of the Slave craton [2], the observed age spectrum in the far North of the craton indicates the likelihood of major new generation of lithospheric roots in both the Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic. Despite its complex history, the Northern Slave craton retains a ‘cratonic-like’ lithospheric root that allowed diamond mineralization.
Society of Economic Geology Geoscience and Exploration of the Argyle, Bunder, Diavik, and Murowa Diamond Deposits, Special Publication no. 20, pp. 403-424.
Nature, doi.org/101038/ s41586-021-03395-5 5p. Pdf
Canada, Northwest Territories
craton
Abstract: Cratons are Earth’s ancient continental land masses that remain stable for billions of years. The mantle roots of cratons are renowned as being long-lived, stable features of Earth’s continents, but there is also evidence of their disruption in the recent1,2,3,4,5,6 and more distant7,8,9 past. Despite periods of lithospheric thinning during the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic eons, the lithosphere beneath many cratons seems to always ‘heal’, returning to a thickness of 150 to 200 kilometres10,11,12; similar lithospheric thicknesses are thought to have existed since Archaean times3,13,14,15. Although numerous studies have focused on the mechanism for lithospheric destruction2,5,13,16,17,18,19, the mechanisms that recratonize the lithosphere beneath cratons and thus sustain them are not well understood. Here we study kimberlite-borne mantle xenoliths and seismology across a transect of the cratonic lithosphere of Arctic Canada, which includes a region affected by the Mackenzie plume event 1.27 billion years ago20. We demonstrate the important role of plume upwelling in the destruction and recratonization of roughly 200-kilometre-thick cratonic lithospheric mantle in the northern portion of the Slave craton. Using numerical modelling, we show how new, buoyant melt residues produced by the Mackenzie plume event are captured in a region of thinned lithosphere between two thick cratonic blocks. Our results identify a process by which cratons heal and return to their original lithospheric thickness after substantial disruption of their roots. This process may be widespread in the history of cratons and may contribute to how cratonic mantle becomes a patchwork of mantle peridotites of different age and origin.
Earth & Environment Communications, 10.1038/s43247-021-00145-3 16p. Pdf
United States, Hawaii
magmatism
Abstract: Volcanoes represent one of the largest natural sources of metals to the Earth’s surface. Emissions of these metals can have important impacts on the biosphere as pollutants or nutrients. Here we use ground- and drone-based direct measurements to compare the gas and particulate chemistry of the magmatic and lava-seawater interaction (laze) plumes from the 2018 eruption of K?lauea, Hawai’i. We find that the magmatic plume contains abundant volatile metals and metalloids whereas the laze plume is further enriched in copper and seawater components, like chlorine, with volatile metals also elevated above seawater concentrations. Speciation modelling of magmatic gas mixtures highlights the importance of the S2? ligand in highly volatile metal/metalloid degassing at the magmatic vent. In contrast, volatile metal enrichments in the laze plume can be explained by affinity for chloride complexation during late-stage degassing of distal lavas, which is potentially facilitated by the HCl gas formed as seawater boils.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 19, 5, pp. 1464-1483.
Mantle
geophysics - seismic
Abstract: SubMachine is a collection of web-based tools for the interactive visualisation, analysis, and quantitative comparison of global-scale, volumetric (3-D) data sets of the subsurface, with supporting tools for interacting with other, complementary models and data sets as listed below. In short, SubMachine is a computational engine (Machine) to visualize models and datasets of the sub-surface (Sub).
Abstract: Obtaining an accurate image of the subsurface still remains a great challenge for the seismic method. Migration algorithms aim mainly on positioning seismic events in complex geological contexts. Multiple reflections are typically not accounted for in this process, which can lead to the emergence of artefacts. In Marchenko imaging, we retrieve the complete up? and downgoing wavefields in the subsurface to construct an image without such artefacts. The quality of this image depends on the type of imaging condition that is applied. In this paper, we propose an imaging condition that is based on stabilized unidimensional deconvolution. This condition is computationally much cheaper than multidimensional deconvolution, which has been proposed for Marchenko imaging earlier. Two specific approaches are considered. In the first approach, we use the full up? and downgoing wavefields for deconvolution. Although this leads to balanced and relatively accurate amplitudes, the crosstalk is not completely removed. The second approach is to incorporate the initial focussing function in the deconvolution process, in such a way that the retrieval of crosstalk is avoided. We compare images with the results of the classical cross?correlation imaging condition, which we apply to reverse?time migrated wavefields and to the up? and downgoing wavefields that are retrieved by the Marchenko method.
Geochemical and kimberlite indicator mineral results for till samples from Nejanilini, Kasmere and Putahow lakes areas, northern Manitoba NTS 64N 64 O 64 P.
Abstract: The Singhbhum Craton is built up by successive pulses of discrete granitic magmatism at ~3.52 Ga, ~3.47-3.43 Ga, and ~3.40-3.35 Ga that produced tonalitetrondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG)-type suites and were followed by younger pulses at 3.32-3.35 Ga, and 3.31-3.28 Ga producing voluminous granitic-granodioritic magma. There is enough evidence to indicate that continental crust building activity started in the Hadean time and continued through Eoarchean. But the rocks of this period were fully recycled to generate the Paleoarchean and younger crust. The different pulses of granitic magmatism during the Paleoarchean were interspersed with the formation of supracrustal rocks which are now preserved as supracrustal belts peripheral to the craton or as internal screens within the craton. Halfnium isotopic record suggests that the Hadean and Eoarchean granitoids were sourced in an enriched reservoir, probably some form of early mafic protocrust. From ~3.6-3.5 Ga a shift in the isotopic composition of Hf is noticed, marked by upward excursion of ?Hf(t) plots towards suprachondritic values, signifying that the early mantle reservoir was serially modified by contamination by a juvenile melt derived from a depleted source. This probably signals a change in the geodynamic scenario, major depletion of the mantle and generation of voluminous TTG melts. There are contending hypotheses of plume-driven and subduction-driven mechanisms of continental crust formation. In the Singhbhum Craton during Hadean and Eoarchean times episodic mantle plumes probably operated in a stagnant lid tectonic setting. Repeated plume activities and the formation of oceanic plateaus might have triggered the onset of subduction which at the initial stages might have been of short duration. The transition from plume-driven tectonics to subduction-driven tectonics might have taken place at about 3.5 Ga. The supracrustal belts of the Older Metamorphic Group (OMG) and the Iron Ore Group (IOG) are thought to have formed in supra-subduction settings. Widespread metamorphism and deformation affected the craton during 3.34-3.26 Ga. By 3.1 Ga the Singhbhum Craton had stabilized and emerged as a landmass. Paleosols developed on the surface; rift basins were formed which were receptacles of siliciclastic sediments and mafic volcanics; anorogenic K-feldspar bearing granites were emplaced. Swarms of mafic dykes of Paleo- to Meso-Proterozoic age intruded the craton marking a tensional regime that was probably related to the initial stage of basin formation in the North Singhbhum Mobile Belt.
Abstract: The Singhbhum Craton is built up by successive pulses of discrete granitic magmatism at ~3.52 Ga, ~3.47-3.43 Ga, and ~3.40-3.35 Ga that produced tonalitetrondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG)-type suites and were followed by younger pulses at 3.32-3.35 Ga, and 3.31-3.28 Ga producing voluminous granitic-granodioritic magma. There is enough evidence to indicate that continental crust building activity started in the Hadean time and continued through Eoarchean. But the rocks of this period were fully recycled to generate the Paleoarchean and younger crust. The different pulses of granitic magmatism during the Paleoarchean were interspersed with the formation of supracrustal rocks which are now preserved as supracrustal belts peripheral to the craton or as internal screens within the craton. Halfnium isotopic record suggests that the Hadean and Eoarchean granitoids were sourced in an enriched reservoir, probably some form of early mafic protocrust. From ~3.6-3.5 Ga a shift in the isotopic composition of Hf is noticed, marked by upward excursion of ?Hf(t) plots towards suprachondritic values, signifying that the early mantle reservoir was serially modified by contamination by a juvenile melt derived from a depleted source. This probably signals a change in the geodynamic scenario, major depletion of the mantle and generation of voluminous TTG melts. There are contending hypotheses of plume-driven and subduction-driven mechanisms of continental crust formation. In the Singhbhum Craton during Hadean and Eoarchean times episodic mantle plumes probably operated in a stagnant lid tectonic setting. Repeated plume activities and the formation of oceanic plateaus might have triggered the onset of subduction which at the initial stages might have been of short duration. The transition from plume-driven tectonics to subduction-driven tectonics might have taken place at about 3.5 Ga. The supracrustal belts of the Older Metamorphic Group (OMG) and the Iron Ore Group (IOG) are thought to have formed in supra-subduction settings. Widespread metamorphism and deformation affected the craton during 3.34-3.26 Ga. By 3.1 Ga the Singhbhum Craton had stabilized and emerged as a landmass. Paleosols developed on the surface; rift basins were formed which were receptacles of siliciclastic sediments and mafic volcanics; anorogenic K-feldspar bearing granites were emplaced. Swarms of mafic dykes of Paleo- to Meso-Proterozoic age intruded the craton marking a tensional regime that was probably related to the initial stage of basin formation in the North Singhbhum Mobile Belt.
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.
Earth Science Informatics, Vol. 14, pp. 521-528. pdf
Mantle
tectonics
Abstract: The spinel group minerals provide useful information regarding the geological environment in which the host rocks were formed, constituting excellent petrogenetic indicators, and guides in the search for mineral deposits of economic interest. In this article, we present the Spinel Web, a web application to visualize the chemical composition of spinel group minerals. Spinel Web integrates most of the diagrams commonly used for analyzing the chemical characteristics of the spinel group minerals. It incorporates parallel coordinates and a 3D representation of the spinel prisms. It also provides coordinated views and appropriate interactions for users to interact with their datasets. Spinel Web also supports semi-automatic categorization of the geological environment of formation through a standard Web browser.
Abstract: The structural depression that occupies the Okavango Basin in southern Africa comprises a depo?centre within the intracratonic Kalahari Basin where sediments of the Cenozoic Kalahari Group have accumulated. The Okavango Basin has been formed due to stretching and subsidence at an area of diffused deformation, southwestwards to the main East African Rift System (EARS). Sediments from two full Kalahari Group sequences, located on opposite sides of the Gumare Fault that forms a major fault within the Okavango Basin, were studied to determine their provenance and chronology. Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclide (TCN) 26Al/10Be burial dating was used to constrain a chronostratigraphical framework, and Pb, Sr, and Nd isotopic ratios combined with geochemical and sedimentological analyses were applied to track the source areas of the sediments.Results indicate the following sequence of basin filling: (a) Accumulation between ca. 4-3 Ma during which the currently downthrown (southern) block received a mixture of sediments mostly from the Choma?Kalomo, Ghanzi?Chobe, and Damara terranes, and possibly from the Lufilian Belt and/or Karoo basalts during earlier stages of deposition. Simultaneously, the upthrown (northern) block received sediments from more distant Archean sources in the Zimbabwe and/or Kasai cratons, (b) Hiatus in sedimentation occurred at both sites between ca. 3-2 Ma, (c) Sediments on both sides of the Gumare Fault share a similar source (Angolan Shield) with minor distinct contributions to the downthrown block from the Kasai Craton and local sources input to the upthrown block, and (d) Regional distribution of aeolian sand since at least 1 Ma. The change in source areas is attributed to rearrangements of the drainage systems that were probably linked to vertical crustal movements on the margins of the Okavango Basin. The tectonically induced morphodynamics controlled the landscape evolution of the endorheic basin where vast lakes, wetlands and salt pans have developed through time.
Abstract: Despite the advanced stage of diamond thin-film technology, with applications ranging from superconductivity to biosensing, the realization of a stable and atomically thick two-dimensional diamond material, named here as diamondene, is still forthcoming. Adding to the outstanding properties of its bulk and thin-film counterparts, diamondene is predicted to be a ferromagnetic semiconductor with spin polarized bands. Here, we provide spectroscopic evidence for the formation of diamondene by performing Raman spectroscopy of double-layer graphene under high pressure. The results are explained in terms of a breakdown in the Kohn anomaly associated with the finite size of the remaining graphene sites surrounded by the diamondene matrix. Ab initio calculations and molecular dynamics simulations are employed to clarify the mechanism of diamondene formation, which requires two or more layers of graphene subjected to high pressures in the presence of specific chemical groups such as hydroxyl groups or hydrogens.
New dat a on the internal structure and formation mechanism of kimberlite hosting fault zones in the Malaya Botuoba region, Yakutian Diamondiferous province
Abstract: Phase relations in the MgSiO3-MgTiO3 and Mg3Al2Si3O12-MgTiO3 systems were studied at 10-24 GPa and 1600 °C using a high-pressure Kawai-type multianvil apparatus. We investigated the full range of starting compositions for the enstatite-geikielite system to derive a P-X phase diagram and synthesize titanium-bearing phases, such as olivine/wadsleyite, rutile, pyroxene, MgTiSi2O7 weberite, bridgmanite and MST-bridgmanite in a wide pressure range. Olivine and pyroxene in run products are characterized by a low titanium content (<0.6 and <0.3 wt% TiO2, respectively) whereas the content of TiO2 in wadsleyite reaches 2 wt% at 12 GPa. The concentration of Ti in MgTiSi2O7 weberite decreases with pressure from 52 wt% TiO2 at 14 GPa to 43 wt% TiO2 at 18 GPa. Two perovskite-type structures (MgSiO3 bridgmanite and Mg(Si,Ti)O3 bridgmanite) were detected in the studied system. MgSiO3 bridgmanite (Brd) is formed at a pressure of >20 GPa and characterized by significant titanium solubility (up to 13 wt% TiO2 at 24 GPa). Mg(Si,Ti)O3 perovskite is formed at a pressure of >17 GPa. The concentration of TiO2 in this phase varies from 29 wt% to 49 wt%. It was found that addition of Ti to the system moves the boundaries of Ol/Wad phase transformations to lower pressures. Addition of Al to the starting material allows us to simulate the composition of natural Ti-rich garnets and bridgmanites. It is important to note that garnet in the Prp-Gkl system is stable throughout a wide pressure range (10-24 GPa). Al incorporation does not affect the distribution of titanium between two types of bridgmanite. It is shown that high contents of Ti stabilize bridgmanite-like compounds at considerably lower pressure than that at the lower mantle/transition zone boundary. Our experiments simulate the composition of natural Ti-rich primary garnet found in eclogite from the Sulu ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) terrane.
Abstract: Phase relations in the MgSiO3-MgTiO3 and Mg3Al2Si3O12-MgTiO3 systems were studied at 10-24 GPa and 1600 °C using a high-pressure Kawai-type multianvil apparatus. We investigated the full range of starting compositions for the enstatite-geikielite system to derive a P-X phase diagram and synthesize titanium-bearing phases, such as olivine/wadsleyite, rutile, pyroxene, MgTiSi2O7 weberite, bridgmanite and MST-bridgmanite in a wide pressure range. Olivine and pyroxene in run products are characterized by a low titanium content (<0.6 and <0.3 wt% TiO2, respectively) whereas the content of TiO2 in wadsleyite reaches 2 wt% at 12 GPa. The concentration of Ti in MgTiSi2O7 weberite decreases with pressure from 52 wt% TiO2 at 14 GPa to 43 wt% TiO2 at 18 GPa. Two perovskite-type structures (MgSiO3 bridgmanite and Mg(Si,Ti)O3 bridgmanite) were detected in the studied system. MgSiO3 bridgmanite (Brd) is formed at a pressure of >20 GPa and characterized by significant titanium solubility (up to 13 wt% TiO2 at 24 GPa). Mg(Si,Ti)O3 perovskite is formed at a pressure of >17 GPa. The concentration of TiO2 in this phase varies from 29 wt% to 49 wt%. It was found that addition of Ti to the system moves the boundaries of Ol/Wad phase transformations to lower pressures. Addition of Al to the starting material allows us to simulate the composition of natural Ti-rich garnets and bridgmanites. It is important to note that garnet in the Prp-Gkl system is stable throughout a wide pressure range (10-24 GPa). Al incorporation does not affect the distribution of titanium between two types of bridgmanite. It is shown that high contents of Ti stabilize bridgmanite-like compounds at considerably lower pressure than that at the lower mantle/transition zone boundary. Our experiments simulate the composition of natural Ti-rich primary garnet found in eclogite from the Sulu ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) terrane.
Genetic classification of glacigenic deposits. Finalreport on genesis and lithology of glacial quartern.deposits of the International Union for QuaternaryResearch
Development of ultrasonic measurement technique under lower mantle conditions.
V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences International Symposium Advances in high pressure research: breaking scales and horizons ( Courtesy of N. Poikilenko), Held Sept. 22-26, 1p. Abstract
Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, Vol. 3, 25, Aug. 22
Mantle
Experimental petrology
Abstract: The Accessible Silicate Earth (ASE) has a higher 142Nd/144Nd ratio than most chondrites. Thus, if the Earth is assumed to have formed from these chondrites, a complement low-142Nd/144Nd reservoir is needed. Such a low-142Nd/144Nd reservoir is believed to have been derived from a melt in the early Earth and is called the Early Enriched Reservoir (EER). Although the major element composition of the EER is crucial for estimating its chemical and physical properties (e.g., density) and is also essential for understanding the origin and fate of the EER, which are both major factors that determine the present composition of the Earth, it has not yet been robustly established. In order to determine the major element composition of the EER, we estimated the age and pressure-temperature conditions to form the EER that would best explain its Nd isotopic characteristics, based on Sm-Nd partitioning and its dependence on pressure, temperature, and melting phase relations. Our estimate indicates that the EER formed within 33.5 Myr of Solar System formation and at near-solidus temperatures and shallow upper-mantle pressures. We then performed high-pressure melting experiments on primitive peridotite to determine the major element composition of the EER at estimated temperature at 7 GPa and calculated the density of the EER. The result of our experiments indicates that the near-solidus melt is iron-rich komatiite. The estimated density of the near-solidus melt is lower than that of the primitive peridotite, suggesting that the EER melt would have ascended in the mantle to form an early crust. Given that high mantle potential temperatures are assumed to have existed in the Hadean, it follows that the EER melt was generated at high pressure and, therefore, its composition would have been picritic to komatiitic. As the formation age of the EER estimated in our study precedes the last giant, lunar-forming impact, the picritic to komatiitic crust (EER) would most likely have been ejected from the Earth by the last giant impact or preceding impacts. Thus, the EER has been lost, leaving the Earth more depleted than its original composition.
Honda, M., Phillips, D., Harris, J.W., Matsumoto, T.
He, Ne and Ar in peridotitic and eclogitic paragenesis diamonds from the Jwaneng kimberlite, Botswana - implications for mantle evolution and diamond formation ages.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 301, 1-2, pp. 43-51.
A Comparative Study of the Composition and Properties of Garnets from The alkali Basalt Pipes of the Minusinsk Basin And kimberlites of Yakutia.(russian)
Mineral. Zhurn., (Russian), Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 18-29
Abstract: We present new major element geochemical data, and review the existing data for ilmenite macrocrysts, megacrysts, as well as ilmenite in mantle xenoliths from four diamondiferous kimberlite fields in the Yakutian province. This combined data set includes 10,874 analyses of ilmenite from 94 kimberlite pipes. In the studied samples we identify various different ilmenite compositional distributions (e.g., “Haggerty's parabola”, or “Step-like” trends in MgO-Cr2O3 bivariate space), which are common to all kimberlites from a given cluster, but the compositional distributions differ between clusters. We propose three stages of ilmenite crystallization: 1) Mg-Cr poor ilmenite crystallising from a primitive asthenospheric melt (the base of Haggerty's parabola on MgO-Cr2O3 plots). 2) This primitive asthenospheric melt was then modified by the partial assimilation of lithospheric material, which enriched the melt in MgO and Cr2O3 (left branch of Haggerty’s parabola). 3) Ilmenite subsequently underwent sub-solidus recrystallization in the presence of an evolved kimberlite melt under increasing oxygen fugacity (ƒO2) conditions (right branch of Haggerty’s parabola in MgO-Cr2O3 plots). Significant differences in the ilmenite compositional distribution between different kimberlite fields are the result of diverse conditions during subsequent ilmenite crystallization in a kimberlite melt ascending through the lithospheric mantle, which have different textures and compositions beneath the studied kimberlite fields. We propose that a TiO2 fluid formed due to immiscibility of an asthenospheric melt with low Cr and high Ti contents. This fluid infiltrated lithospheric mantle rocks forming Mg-ilmenite. These features indicate a genetic link between ilmenite and the host kimberlite melt.
Abstract: We propose to study the Kipawa peralkaline complex, a rare-earth deposit principally composed of eudialyte, mosandrite and britholite. The Kipawa complex is situated in the Parautochton zone of the Grenville Province in the Tesmiscamingue region of Quebec, 55 km south of contact with Superior Province. The complex consists of peralkaline syenites, amphibolites, gneisses that are intercalated with calc-silicate rocks and marble, and overlain by a peralkaline gneissic granite. The Kipawa complex differs geochemically and petrologically from other well-known peralkaline complexes such as the Illimausaq, Lovozero, Thor Lake or Strange Lake complexes. Classic peralkaline complexes are large, circular igneous complexes, with or without volcanism and have an isotopic signature reflecting mantle origin with different degrees of assimilation and crustal contamination (for example Illimausaq is reported with ?Nd values of 0.4 and -5.7). The Kipawa Complex is a thin, folded stack of sheet imbricates between Kikwissi Suite rocks, McKillop Lake sequence and Red Pine Chute gneiss, suggesting a regional tectonic control. Isotopic analyses carried out by other teamsindicate a strong crustal signature (?Nd = -8.7). Several hypotheses are possible: crustal contamination, hydrothermal activity, fluids alteration during formation, metamorphism or dominant crustal origin. Our objective is to characterize the geochemical and isotopic composition of the Kipawa complex in order to improve our understanding of the age and formation of the complex. Analyses of both whole rocks, eudialytes and zircons will be made to obtain isotopic signatures and determine formation ages and/or post-formation processes.
Geological Society, London Special Publication, doi.org/10.1144/SP513-2021-36 49p. Pdf
Europe, Italy, France, Spain, Serbia, Macedonia, Turkey
lamproites
Abstract: High-MgO lamproite and lamproite-like (i.e., lamprophyric) ultrapotassic rocks are recurrent in the Mediterranean and surrounding regions. They are associated in space and time with ultrapotassic shoshonites and high-K calc-alkaline rocks. This magmatism is linked with the geodynamic evolution of the westernmost sector of the Alpine-Himalaya collisional margin, which followed the closure of the Tethys ocean. Subduction-related lamproites, lamprophyres, shoshonites and high-K calc-alkaline suites were emplaced in the Mediterranean region in the form of shallow level intrusions (e.g., plugs, dykes, and laccoliths), and small volume lava flows, with very subordinate pyroclastic rocks, starting from the Oligocene, in the Western Alps (Northern Italy), through the Late Miocene in Corsica (Southern France) and in Murcia-Almeria (South-Eastern Spain), to the Plio-Pleistocene in Southern Tuscany and Northern Latium (Central Italy), in the Balkan peninsula (Serbia and Macedonia), and in the Western Anatolia (Turkey). The ultrapotassic rocks are mostly lamprophyric, but olivine latitic lavas with a clear lamproitic affinity are also found, as well as dacitic to trachytic differentiated products. Lamproite-like rocks range from slightly silica under-saturated to silica over-saturated composition, have relatively low Al2O3, CaO, and Na2O contents, resulting in plagioclase-free parageneses, and consist of abundant K-feldspar, phlogopite, diopsidic clinopyroxene and highly forsteritic olivine. Leucite is generally absent and it is rarely found only in the groudmasses of Spanish lamproites. Mediterranean lamproites and associated rocks share an extreme enrichment in many incompatible trace elements and depletion in High Field Strength Elements and high, and positively correlated Th/La and Sm/La ratios. They have radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd isotope compositions, high 207Pb over 206Pb and high time integrated 232Th/238U. Their composition requires an originally depleted lithospheric mantle source metasomatised by at least two different agents: i) a high Th/La and Sm/La (i.e., SALATHO) component deriving from lawsonite-bearing, ancient crustal domains likely hosted in mélanges formed during the diachronous collision of the northward drifting continental slivers from Gondwana; ii) a K-rich component derived from a recent subduction and recycling of siliciclastic sediments. These metasomatic melts produced a lithospheric mantle source characterised by network of felsic and phlogopite-rich veins, respectively. Geothermal readjustment during post-collisional events induced progressive melting of the different types of veins and the surrounding peridotite generating the entire compositional spectrum of the observed magmas. In this complex scenario, orogenic Mediterranean lamproites represent rocks that characterise areas that were affected by multiple Wilson cycles, as observed in the the Alpine-Himalayan realm.
Geological Society London Special Publication, doi.org/10.1144/SP513-2021-36. pdf
Mantle
lamproite
Abstract: High-MgO lamproite and lamproite-like (i.e., lamprophyric) ultrapotassic rocks are recurrent in the Mediterranean and surrounding regions. They are associated in space and time with ultrapotassic shoshonites and high-K calc-alkaline rocks. This magmatism is linked with the geodynamic evolution of the westernmost sector of the Alpine-Himalaya collisional margin, which followed the closure of the Tethys ocean. Subduction-related lamproites, lamprophyres, shoshonites and high-K calc-alkaline suites were emplaced in the Mediterranean region in the form of shallow level intrusions (e.g., plugs, dykes, and laccoliths), and small volume lava flows, with very subordinate pyroclastic rocks, starting from the Oligocene, in the Western Alps (Northern Italy), through the Late Miocene in Corsica (Southern France) and in Murcia-Almeria (South-Eastern Spain), to the Plio-Pleistocene in Southern Tuscany and Northern Latium (Central Italy), in the Balkan peninsula (Serbia and Macedonia), and in the Western Anatolia (Turkey). The ultrapotassic rocks are mostly lamprophyric, but olivine latitic lavas with a clear lamproitic affinity are also found, as well as dacitic to trachytic differentiated products. Lamproite-like rocks range from slightly silica under-saturated to silica over-saturated composition, have relatively low Al2O3, CaO, and Na2O contents, resulting in plagioclase-free parageneses, and consist of abundant K-feldspar, phlogopite, diopsidic clinopyroxene and highly forsteritic olivine. Leucite is generally absent and it is rarely found only in the groudmasses of Spanish lamproites. Mediterranean lamproites and associated rocks share an extreme enrichment in many incompatible trace elements and depletion in High Field Strength Elements and high, and positively correlated Th/La and Sm/La ratios. They have radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd isotope compositions, high 207Pb over 206Pb and high time integrated 232Th/238U. Their composition requires an originally depleted lithospheric mantle source metasomatised by at least two different agents: i) a high Th/La and Sm/La (i.e., SALATHO) component deriving from lawsonite-bearing, ancient crustal domains likely hosted in mélanges formed during the diachronous collision of the northward drifting continental slivers from Gondwana; ii) a K-rich component derived from a recent subduction and recycling of siliciclastic sediments. These metasomatic melts produced a lithospheric mantle source characterised by network of felsic and phlogopite-rich veins, respectively. Geothermal readjustment during post-collisional events induced progressive melting of the different types of veins and the surrounding peridotite generating the entire compositional spectrum of the observed magmas. In this complex scenario, orogenic Mediterranean lamproites represent rocks that characterise areas that were affected by multiple Wilson cycles, as observed in the the Alpine-Himalayan realm.
Hauser, N., Matteini, M., Omarini, R.H., Pimentel, M.M.
Constraints on metasomatized mantle under central South America: evidence from Jurassic alkaline lamprophyre dykes from the eastern Cordillera, NM Argentina.
Mineralogy and Petrology, 10.1007/ s00710-018- 0589-4, 14p.
Africa, South Africa, Canada, Northwest Territories, Ontario
deposit - Venetia, Voorspoed, Gahcho Kue, Victor, Snap Lake
Abstract: De Beers kimberlite mine operations in South Africa (Venetia and Voorspoed) and Canada (Gahcho Kué, Victor, and Snap Lake) have the potential to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) through weathering of kimberlite mine tailings, which can store carbon in secondary carbonate minerals (mineral carbonation). Carbonation of ca. 4.7 to 24.0 wt% (average?=?13.8 wt%) of annual processed kimberlite production could offset 100% of each mine site’s carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions. Minerals of particular interest for reactivity with atmospheric or waste CO2 from energy production include serpentine minerals, olivine (forsterite), brucite, and smectite. The most abundant minerals, such as serpentine polymorphs, provide the bulk of the carbonation potential. However, the detection of minor amounts of highly reactive brucite in tailings from Victor, as well as the likely presence of brucite at Venetia, Gahcho Kué, and Snap Lake, is also important for the mineral carbonation potential of the mine sites.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available 55p.
Africa, South Africa
Deposit - Roberts Victor
Abstract: Heterogeneous, modally banded kyanite-bearing and bimineralic eclogites from the lithospheric mantle, collected at the Roberts Victor Diamond mine (South Africa), show a reaction texture in which kyanite is consumed. Geothermobarometric calculations using measured mineral compositions in Perple_X allowed the construction of a P-T path showing a steep, cool prograde metamorphic gradient of 2 °C/km to reach peak conditions of 5.8 GPa and 890 °C for the kyanite eclogite. The kyanite-out reaction formed bimineralic eclogite and is probably an integral part of the mineralogical evolution of most archetypal bimineralic eclogites at Roberts Victor and potentially elsewhere. The kyanite-out reaction occured at close to peak pressure (5.3 GPa) and was associated with a rise in temperature to 1380 °C. Mass balance calculations show that upon breakdown, the kyanite component is fully accommodated in garnet and omphacite via a reaction system with low water fugacity that required restricted fluid influx from metasomatic sources. The ?18O values of garnets are consistently higher than normal mantle values. Each sample has its characteristic trend of ?18O variance between garnets in the kyanite-bearing sections and those in the bimineralic parts covering a range between 5.1‰ and 6.8‰. No systematic change in O-isotope signature exists across the sample population. Differences in garnet trace element signatures between differing lithologies in the eclogites are significant. Grossular-rich garnets coexisting with kyanite have strong positive Eu-anomalies and low Gd/Yb ratios, while more pyrope-rich garnets in the bimineralic sections have lost their positive Eu-anomaly, have higher Gd/Yb ratios and generally higher heavy rare earth element contents. Garnets in the original kyanite-bearing portions thus reflect the provenance of the rocks as metamorphosed gabbros/troctolites. The kyanite-out reaction was most likely triggered by a heating event in the subcratonic lithosphere. As kyanite contains around 100 ppm of H2O it is suggested that the kyanite-out reaction, once initiated by heating and restricted metasomatic influx, was promoted by the release of water contained in the kyanite. The steep (high-P low-T) prograde P-T path defining rapid compression at low heating rates is atypical for subduction transport of eclogites into the lithospheric mantle. Such a trajectory is best explained in a model where strong lateral compression forces eclogites downward to higher pressures, supporting models of cratonic lithosphere formation by lateral collision and compression.
Abstract: Heterogeneous, modally banded kyanite-bearing and bimineralic eclogites from the lithospheric mantle, collected at the Roberts Victor Diamond mine (South Africa), show a reaction texture in which kyanite is consumed. Geothermobarometric calculations using measured mineral compositions in Perple_X allowed the construction of a P-T path showing a steep, cool prograde metamorphic gradient of 2 °C/km to reach peak conditions of 5.8 GPa and 890 °C for the kyanite eclogite. The kyanite-out reaction formed bimineralic eclogite and is probably an integral part of the mineralogical evolution of most archetypal bimineralic eclogites at Roberts Victor and potentially elsewhere. The kyanite-out reaction occured at close to peak pressure (5.3 GPa) and was associated with a rise in temperature to 1380 °C. Mass balance calculations show that upon breakdown, the kyanite component is fully accommodated in garnet and omphacite via a reaction system with low water fugacity that required restricted fluid influx from metasomatic sources. The ?18O values of garnets are consistently higher than normal mantle values. Each sample has its characteristic trend of ?18O variance between garnets in the kyanite-bearing sections and those in the bimineralic parts covering a range between 5.1‰ and 6.8‰. No systematic change in O-isotope signature exists across the sample population. Differences in garnet trace element signatures between differing lithologies in the eclogites are significant. Grossular-rich garnets coexisting with kyanite have strong positive Eu-anomalies and low Gd/Yb ratios, while more pyrope-rich garnets in the bimineralic sections have lost their positive Eu-anomaly, have higher Gd/Yb ratios and generally higher heavy rare earth element contents. Garnets in the original kyanite-bearing portions thus reflect the provenance of the rocks as metamorphosed gabbros/troctolites. The kyanite-out reaction was most likely triggered by a heating event in the subcratonic lithosphere. As kyanite contains around 100 ppm of H2O it is suggested that the kyanite-out reaction, once initiated by heating and restricted metasomatic influx, was promoted by the release of water contained in the kyanite. The steep (high-P low-T) prograde P-T path defining rapid compression at low heating rates is atypical for subduction transport of eclogites into the lithospheric mantle. Such a trajectory is best explained in a model where strong lateral compression forces eclogites downward to higher pressures, supporting models of cratonic lithosphere formation by lateral collision and compression.
Open pit mining at Argyle diamond mine, western Australia
The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin (CIM Bulletin) , Annual Meeting Abstracts LESS than approximately 10, Vol. 86, No. 968, March ABSTRACT p. 75.
Abstract: Accurately mapping plate boundary types and locations through time is essential for understanding the evolution of the plate-mantle system and the exchange of material between the solid Earth and surface environments. However, the complexity of the Earth system and the cryptic nature of the geological record make it difficult to discriminate tectonic environments through deep time. Here we present a new method for identifying tectonic paleo-environments on Earth through a data mining approach using global geochemical data. We first fingerprint a variety of present-day tectonic environments utilising up to 136 geochemical data attributes in any available combination. A total of 38301 geochemical analyses from basalts aged from 5-0 Ma together with a well-established plate reconstruction model are used to construct a suite of discriminatory models for the first order tectonic environments of subduction and mid-ocean ridge as distinct from intraplate hotspot oceanic environments, identifying 41, 35, and 39 key discriminatory geochemical attributes, respectively. After training and validation, our model is applied to a global geochemical database of 1547 basalt samples of unknown tectonic origin aged between 1000-410 Ma, a relatively ill-constrained period of Earth's evolution following the breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent, producing 56 unique global tectonic environment predictions throughout the Neoproterozoic and Early Paleozoic. Predictions are used to discriminate between three alternative published Rodinia configuration models, identifying the model demonstrating the closest spatio-temporal consistency with the basalt record, and emphasizing the importance of integrating geochemical data into plate reconstructions. Our approach offers an extensible framework for constructing full-plate, deep-time reconstructions capable of assimilating a broad range of geochemical and geological observations, enabling next generation Earth system models.
Abstract: Accurately mapping plate boundary types and locations through time is essential for understanding the evolution of the plate-mantle system and the exchange of material between the solid Earth and surface environments. However, the complexity of the Earth system and the cryptic nature of the geological record make it difficult to discriminate tectonic environments through deep time. Here we present a new method for identifying tectonic paleo-environments on Earth through a data mining approach using global geochemical data. We first fingerprint a variety of present-day tectonic environments utilising up to 136 geochemical data attributes in any available combination. A total of 38301 geochemical analyses from basalts aged from 5-0 Ma together with a well-established plate reconstruction model are used to construct a suite of discriminatory models for the first order tectonic environments of subduction and mid-ocean ridge as distinct from intraplate hotspot oceanic environments, identifying 41, 35, and 39 key discriminatory geochemical attributes, respectively. After training and validation, our model is applied to a global geochemical database of 1547 basalt samples of unknown tectonic origin aged between 1000-410 Ma, a relatively ill-constrained period of Earth's evolution following the breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent, producing 56 unique global tectonic environment predictions throughout the Neoproterozoic and Early Paleozoic. Predictions are used to discriminate between three alternative published Rodinia configuration models, identifying the model demonstrating the closest spatio-temporal consistency with the basalt record, and emphasizing the importance of integrating geochemical data into plate reconstructions. Our approach offers an extensible framework for constructing full-plate, deep-time reconstructions capable of assimilating a broad range of geochemical and geological observations, enabling next generation Earth system models.
Abstract: The Earth’s surface inventory of carbon is critical for maintaining the planet’s habitability, yet the majority of Earth’s carbon is likely sequestered in the solid Earth. Understanding how Earth’s shallow carbon cycle evolved requires an assesment of the total carbon accreted, how it was distributed between Earth’s reservoirs, and how these reservoirs continue to exchange carbon. The low carbon content of Earth’s depleted upper mantle has been well constrained by primitive olivine hosted melt inclusions and the CO2/3He ratios of magmatic fluids. Using mass balance constraints we show that either the lower mantle is considerably more carbon rich, or the Earth has lost much of its initial carbon inventory. Distinguising between these scenarios is crucial for understanding the development and maintenance of Earth’s shallow carbon cycle. We assess the carbon content of the lower mantle using new melt inclusion datasets from Iceland, sampling both primordial and recycled mantle material. By comparing carbon concentrations with lithophile element concentrations we find evidence that carbon rich material is transported in the Iceland plume. Furthermore, we demonstrate that such datasets provide only a low bound on the true carbon content of the lower mantle, due to fundamental limits imposed by magma mixing, degassing and inclusion decrepitation. Using a global compilation of melt inclusion analyses we argue these processes occur ubiquitously and are likely to limit our ability to robustly resolve high mantle carbon using melt inclusion datasets. By combining these observations with global mass balance constraints we derive new estimates of the carbon content of primordial and recycled mantle material.
Abstract: The differentiation of Earth ~4.5 billion years (Ga) ago is believed to have culminated in magma ocean crystallization, crystal-liquid separation, and the formation of mineralogically distinct mantle reservoirs. However, the magma ocean model remains difficult to validate because of the scarcity of geochemical tracers of lower mantle mineralogy. The Fe isotope compositions (?57Fe) of ancient mafic rocks can be used to reconstruct the mineralogy of their mantle source regions. We present Fe isotope data for 3.7-Ga metabasalts from the Isua Supracrustal Belt (Greenland). The ?57Fe signatures of these samples extend to values elevated relative to modern equivalents and define strong correlations with fluid-immobile trace elements and tungsten isotope anomalies (?182W). Phase equilibria models demonstrate that these features can be explained by melting of a magma ocean cumulate component in the upper mantle. Similar processes may operate today, as evidenced by the ?57Fe and ?182W heterogeneity of modern oceanic basalts.
Paleomagnetism, U Pb geochronology and geochemistry of Lac Esprit and other dyke swarms, James Bay area, Quebec: implications for Paleoproterozoic deformation
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 44, 5, pp. 643-664.
Nd-Hf isotope systematics of megacrysts from the Mbuji-Mayi kimberlites, D.R. Congo: evidence for a metasomatic origin related to kimberlite interaction with the cratonic lithosphere mantle.
Proceedings of the 10th. International Kimberlite Conference, Vol. 1, Special Issue of the Journal of the Geological Society of India,, Vol. 1, pp. 123-136.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 451, pp. 232-240.
Mantle
Peridotite
Abstract: We present new Zn elemental and isotope data on seventeen fertile and refractory mantle peridotite xenoliths. Eleven fertile peridotites are garnet and spinel lherzolites from Vitim and Tariat (Siberia and Mongolia) and represent some of the most pristine fertile peridotites available. Six refractory peridotites are spinel harzburgites from the Udachnaya kimberlite (Siberian craton) that are nearly pristine residues of high-degree polybaric melting at high pressure (7-4 GPa). Geochemical data suggest that Zn isotopic compositions in the peridotites have not been affected by post-melting processes such as metasomatism, contamination by the host-magmas or alteration. The fertile peridotites have uniform Zn concentrations (59±2 ppm59±2 ppm) and Zn isotopic compositions with ?66Zn (relative to JMC-Lyon-03-0749l)?=?+0.30?±?0.03‰ consistent with the Bulk Silicate Earth estimates of ?66Zn?=?+0.28?±?0.05‰ (Chen et al., 2013). The refractory peridotites have Zn concentrations ranging from 30 to 48 ppm and ?66Zn from +0.10±0.01‰+0.10±0.01‰ to +0.18±0.01‰+0.18±0.01‰ with an average of +0.14±0.03‰+0.14±0.03‰. Our data suggest that the lithospheric mantle has a heterogeneous Zn isotopic composition. Modeling of Zn isotope partitioning during partial melting of fertile mantle suggests that high degrees of melt extraction (>30%) may significantly fractionate Zn isotopes (up to 0.16‰) and that during mantle melting, Zn concentrations and isotopic compositions are mainly controlled by the stability of clinopyroxene and garnet within the melting residue. Because the stability of clinopyroxene and garnet is mainly pressure dependent we suggest that both the depth and the degrees of melt extraction may control Zn isotope fractionation during mantle melting.
Abstract:
Water and iron are believed to be key constituents controlling the strength and density of the lithosphere and, therefore, play a crucial role in the long-term stability of cratons. On the other hand, metasomatism can modify the water and iron abundances in the mantle and possibly triggers thermo-mechanical erosion of cratonic keels. Whether local or large scale processes control water distribution in cratonic mantle remains unclear, calling for further investigation. Spinel peridotite xenoliths in alkali basalts of the Cenozoic Tok volcanic field sampled the lithospheric mantle beneath the southeastern margin of the Siberian Craton. The absence of garnet-bearing peridotite among the xenoliths, together with voluminous eruptions of basaltic magma, suggests that the craton margin, in contrast to the central part, lost its deep keel. The Tok peridotites experienced extensive and complex metasomatic reworking by evolved, Ca-Fe-rich liquids that transformed refractory harzburgite to lherzolite and wehrlite. We used polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to obtain water content in olivine, orthopyroxene (Opx), and clinopyroxene (Cpx) of 14 Tok xenoliths. Olivine, with a water content of 0-3 ppm H2O, was severely degassed, probably during emplacement and cooling of the host lava flow. Orthopyroxene (49-106 ppm H2O) and clinopyroxene (97-300 ppm H2O) are in equilibrium. The cores of the pyroxene grains, unlike olivine, experienced no water loss due to dehydration or addition attributable to interaction with the host magma. The water contents of Opx and Cpx are similar to those from the Kaapvaal, Tanzania, and North China cratons, but the Tok Opx has less water than previously studied Opx from the central Siberian craton (Udachnaya, 28-301 ppm; average 138 ppm). Melting models suggest that the water contents of Tok peridotites are higher than in melting residues, and argue for a post-melting (metasomatic) origin. Moreover, the water contents in Opx and Cpx of Tok peridotites are decoupled from iron enrichments or other indicators of melt metasomatism (e.g., CaO and P2O5). Such decoupling is not seen in the Udachnaya and Kaapvaal peridotites but is similar to observations on Tanzanian peridotites. Our data suggest that iron enrichments in the southeastern Siberian craton mantle preceded water enrichment. Pervasive and large-scale, iron enrichment in the lithospheric mantle may strongly increase its density and initiate a thermo-magmatic erosion. By contrast, the distribution of water in xenoliths is relatively “recent” and was controlled by local metasomatic processes that operate shortly before the volcanic eruption. Hence, water abundances in minerals of Tok mantle xenoliths appear to represent a snapshot of water in the vicinity of the xenolith source regions.
Abstract: The Earth’s mantle is currently divided into the African and Pacific domains, separated by the circum-Pacific subduction girdle, and each domain features a large low shear-wave velocity province (LLSVP) in the lower mantle. However, it remains controversial as to whether the LLSVPs have been stationary through time or dynamic, changing in response to changes in global subduction geometry. Here we compile radiogenic isotope data on plume-induced basalts from ocean islands and oceanic plateaus above the two LLSVPs that show distinct lead, neodymium and strontium isotopic compositions for the two mantle domains. The African domain shows enrichment by subducted continental material during the assembly and breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, whereas no such feature is found in the Pacific domain. This deep-mantle geochemical dichotomy reflects the different evolutionary histories of the two domains during the Rodinia and Pangaea supercontinent cycles and thus supports a dynamic relationship between plate tectonics and deep-mantle structures.
Abstract: The Earth’s mantle is currently divided into the African and Pacific domains, separated by the circum-Pacific subduction girdle, and each domain features a large low shear-wave velocity province (LLSVP) in the lower mantle. However, it remains controversial as to whether the LLSVPs have been stationary through time or dynamic, changing in response to changes in global subduction geometry. Here we compile radiogenic isotope data on plume-induced basalts from ocean islands and oceanic plateaus above the two LLSVPs that show distinct lead, neodymium and strontium isotopic compositions for the two mantle domains. The African domain shows enrichment by subducted continental material during the assembly and breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, whereas no such feature is found in the Pacific domain. This deep-mantle geochemical dichotomy reflects the different evolutionary histories of the two domains during the Rodinia and Pangaea supercontinent cycles and thus supports a dynamic relationship between plate tectonics and deep-mantle structures.
U-Pb zircon geochronology of coesite bearing eclogites from the southern Dulan areas of the North Qaidam UHP terrane, northwestern China: spatially and temporally
Journal of Metamorphic Geology, Vol. 28, 9, pp. 955-978.
Toscani, L., Salvioli-Mariani, E., Mattioli, M., Tellini, C., Boschetti, T., Iacumin, P., Selmo, E.
The pyroclastic breccia of the Cabezo Negro de Tallant ( SE Spain): the first finding of carbonatite volcanism in the internal domain of the Betic Cordillera.
Epidote rich talc kyanite phengite eclogites, Sulu terrane, eastern China: P T fo2 estimates and the significance of epidote talc assemblage in eclogite.
Symposium on critical and strategic materials, British Columbia Geological Survey Paper 2015-3, held Nov. 13-14, pp. 75-82.
Canada, Quebec
Niobium
Abstract: The mineralogy of rare earth element (REE) ore deposits is critical in understanding their petrogenesis but also has signifi cant implications for metallurgy. Like many ore deposits, high-grade rocks do not necessarily equate to positive economic viability and this is especially true for REE deposits. Consequently, knowledge of sample mineralogy acquired early in a project’s life can lead to more effi cient exploration programs through confi rmation of either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ mineralogy. Many REE minerals show fi ne grain sizes and their accumulation can be diffi cult to recognize in hand sample or drill core with an unaided eye. Knowledge of their distribution before sampling can ensure that the best rocks or core lengths are sampled for petrographic or detailed study. REE minerals generally have complex yet diagnostic absorption patterns in visible to shortwave infrared (VNIRSWIR) refl ectance spectra that are driven primarily by REErelated 4f-4f intraconfi gurational electronic transitions. Our recent research (Turner et al., 2014, Turner 2015) has focused on three important mineral classes: REE fl uorocarbonates (bastnaesite, synchysite, and parisite), REE phosphates (monazite, xenotime, and britholite), and REE-bearing silicates (cerite, mosandrite, kainosite, zircon and eudialyte). Refl ectance spectra were acquired in the visible to short wave infrared regions (500 nm to 2500 nm) and samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis. The results of our work and publications from other research groups (e.g., Rowan et al., 1986, Swayze et al., 2013, Hoefen et al., 2014, Boesche et al., 2015) have shown the strong applicability of refl ectance spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging to understanding, exploring, and exploiting rare earth element ore deposits and their associated rocks.
Abstract: The Saint-Honoré alkaline complex located near the Saguenay River (Grenville Province, Québec) has a syenite outer rim and concentric units of calcio-, magnesio- to ferro-carbonatite moving towards the centre. The Mg-carbonatite hosts a niobium deposit, and the Fe-carbonatite hosts a rare earth-rich zone at its centre. The Nb mineralization has a close spatial relationship to the syenite enclaves suggesting that the syenites may have played a critical role in concentrating the pyrochlore (Pcl). There are two forms of Nb mineralization: high- and low-grade. Low-grade mineralization is characterized by highly variable Pcl chemistry with higher U concentrations and a low abundance of fluoroapatite (Ap), whereas high-grade mineralization has a consistent Pcl chemistry (low-U), abundant Ap (with many acicular crystals) and more abundant phlogopite and magnetite. Some of the Pcl crystals have been altered to columbite by hydrothermal processes. It is interpreted that the metamict Pcl (rich in radioactive elements) was altered more readily than the Pcl having undamaged crystal structure. The high-grade mineralization is generally located near the syenite enclaves. Syenite enclaves (from a centimetre scale to several tens of metres in size) reacted with the carbonatite magma to produce a phlogopite rim. Ap is also abundant along the immediate contact between the enclaves and Mg-carbonatite. Large enclaves show hydro-fracturing by the carbonatite suggesting they were crystalline enough to be brittle. There are smaller textures (3-6 mm in diameter) that share many similarities with the syenite enclaves; however, these textures are rounded and could be interpreted as being related to liquid immiscibility. The interaction of carbonatite magma with syenite enclaves is interpreted to have started with abundant crystallization of acicular Ap which depleted the magma in F and lowered the magma's Nb-solubility. Pcl then crystallized in abundance in the vicinity of the syenite enclaves to create the economic Nb-rich zone.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 171, pp. 43-50.
Europe, Cape Verde Islands
Carbonatite
Abstract: The carbonatites of Brava Island, Cape Verde hot spot, allow to investigate whether they represent small mantle melt fractions or form through extreme fractionation and/or liquid immiscibility from CO2-bearing silicate magmas. The intrusive carbonatites on Brava Island are part of a strongly silica-undersaturated pyroxenite, ijolite, nephelinite, nepheline syenite, combeite-foiditite, carbonatite series. The major and trace element composition of this suite is reproduced by a model fractionating olivine, clinopyroxene, perovskite, biotite, apatite, titanite, sodalite and FeTi oxides, all present as phenocrysts in the rocks corresponding to their fractionation interval. Fractionation of ~90 wt% crystals reproduces the observed geochemical trend from the least evolved ultramafic dikes (bulk X Mg = 0.64) to syenitic compositions. The modelled fractional crystallization leads to alkali enrichment, driving the melt into the carbonatite-silicate miscibility gap. An initial CO2 content of 4000 ppm is sufficient to saturate in CO2 at the point where the rock record suggests continuing unmixing carbonatites from nephelinites to nepheline syenites after 61 wt% fractionation. Such immiscibility is also manifested in carbonatite and silicate domains on a hand-specimen scale. Furthermore, almost identical primary clinopyroxene, biotite and carbonate compositions from carbonatites and nephelinites to nepheline syenites substantiate their conjugate character and our unmixing model. The modelled carbonatite compositions correspond to the natural ones except for their much higher alkali contents. The alkali-poor character of the carbonatites on Brava and elsewhere is likely a consequence of the release of alkali-rich CO2 + H2O fluids during final crystallization, which cause fenitization in adjacent rocks. We propose a general model for carbonatite generation during alkaline magmatism, where the fractionation of heavily Si-undersaturated, alkaline parent melts results in alkali and CO2 enrichment in the evolving melt, ultimately leading to immiscibility between carbonatites and evolved Si-undersaturated alkaline melts. Early saturation in feldspathoids or feldspars would limit alkali enrichment preventing the formation of carbonatites. The complete and continuous fractionation line from almost primitive melts to syenitic compositions on Brava underlines the possibly important role of intrusives for hot spot volcanism.
Rapid magma ascent and short eruption durations in the Lake Natron-Engaruka monogenetic volcanic field ( Tanzania): a case study of the olivine melilitic Pello Hill scoria cone.
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Vol. 247-248, Dec. 1, pp. 16-25.
Abstract: The more than 500 fossil Ca-carbonatite occurrences on Earth are at odds with the only active East African Rift carbonatite volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai (Tanzania), which produces Na-carbonatite magmas. The volcano's recent major explosive eruptions yielded a mix of nephelinitic and carbonatite melts, supporting the hypothesis that carbonatites and spatially associated peralkaline silicate lavas are related through liquid immiscibility. Nevertheless, previous eruption temperatures of Na-carbonatites were 490-595 °C, which is 250-450 °C lower than for any suitable conjugate silicate liquid. This study demonstrates experimentally that moderately alkaline Ca-carbonatite melts evolve to Na-carbonatites through crystal fractionation. The thermal barrier of the synthetic Na-Ca-carbonate system, held to preclude an evolution from Ca-carbonatites to Na-carbonatites, vanishes in the natural system, where continuous fractionation of calcite + apatite leads to Na-carbonatites, as observed at Oldoinyo Lengai. Furthermore, saturating the Na-carbonatite with minerals present in possible conjugate nephelinites yields a parent carbonatite with total alkali contents of 8-9 wt%, i.e., concentrations that are realistic for immiscible separation from nephelinitic liquids at 1000-1050 °C. Modeling the liquid line of descent along the calcite surface requires a total fractionation of ?48% calcite, ?12% apatite, and ?2 wt% clinopyroxene. SiO2 solubility only increases from 0.2 to 2.9 wt% at 750-1200 °C, leaving little leeway for crystallization of silicates. The experimental results suggest a moderately alkaline parent to the Oldoinyo Lengai carbonatites and therefore a common origin for carbonatites related to alkaline magmatism.
Abstract: The more than 500 fossil Ca-carbonatite occurrences on Earth are at odds with the only active East African Rift carbonatite volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai (Tanzania), which produces Na-carbonatite magmas. The volcano’s recent major explosive eruptions yielded a mix of nephelinitic and carbonatite melts, supporting the hypothesis that carbonatites and spatially associated peralkaline silicate lavas are related through liquid immiscibility. Nevertheless, previous eruption temperatures of Na-carbonatites were 490–595 °C, which is 250–450 °C lower than for any suitable conjugate silicate liquid. This study demonstrates experimentally that moderately alkaline Ca-carbonatite melts evolve to Na-carbonatites through crystal fractionation. The thermal barrier of the synthetic Na-Ca-carbonate system, held to preclude an evolution from Ca-carbonatites to Na-carbonatites, vanishes in the natural system, where continuous fractionation of calcite + apatite leads to Na-carbonatites, as observed at Oldoinyo Lengai. Furthermore, saturating the Na-carbonatite with minerals present in possible conjugate nephelinites yields a parent carbonatite with total alkali contents of 8–9 wt%, i.e., concentrations that are realistic for immiscible separation from nephelinitic liquids at 1000–1050 °C. Modeling the liquid line of descent along the calcite surface requires a total fractionation of ?48% calcite, ?12% apatite, and ?2 wt% clinopyroxene. SiO2 solubility only increases from 0.2 to 2.9 wt% at 750–1200 °C, leaving little leeway for crystallization of silicates. The experimental results suggest a moderately alkaline parent to the Oldoinyo Lengai carbonatites and therefore a common origin for carbonatites related to alkaline magmatism.
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Vol. 322, pp. 14-25.
Africa, Tanzania
deposit - Oldoinyo Lengai
Abstract: Volcanic ash leachate studies have been conducted on various volcanoes on Earth, but few have been done on African volcanoes until now. Tephra emissions may affect the environment and the health of people living in this area, and therefore we conducted a first tephra (ash and lapilli sized) leachate study on the Oldoinyo Lengai volcano, situated in northern Tanzania. The recent explosive eruption in 2007-2008 provided us with fresh samples from the first three weeks of the eruption which were used for this study. In addition, we also used a natrocarbonatitic sample from the activity prior to the explosive eruption, as the major activity at Oldoinyo Lengai is natrocarbonatitic. To compare the leaching process affecting the natrocarbonatitic lavas and the tephras from Oldoinyo Lengai, the 2006 natrocarbonatitic lava flow was resampled 5 years after the emplacement and compared to the initial, unaltered composition. Special interest was given to the element fluorine (F), since it is potentially toxic to both humans and animals. A daily intake of fluoride (F?) in drinking water of > 1.5 mg/l can lead to dental fluorosis, and higher concentrations lead to skeletal fluorosis. For this reason, a guideline value for fluoride in drinking water was set by the WHO (2011) to 1.5 mg/l. However, surface waters and groundwaters in the Gregory Rift have elevated fluoride levels of up to 9.12 mg/l, and as a consequence, an interim guideline value for Tanzania has been set at 8 mg/l. The total concentration of fluorine in the samples from the natrocarbonatitic lava flow is high (3.2 wt%), whereas we observed a significant decrease of the fluorine concentration (between 1.7 and 0.5 wt%) in the samples collected three days and three weeks after the onset of the explosive 2007-08 eruption. However, the total amount of water-extractable fluoride is lower in the natrocarbonatitic lavas (319 mg/l) than in the nephelinitic tephra (573-895 mg/l). This is due to the solubility of the different F-bearing minerals. In the natrocarbonatites, fluorine exists predominantly in fluorite (CaF2), and in the early tephra as Na-Mg bearing salts such as neighborite (NaMgF3) and sellaite (MgF2). All these three minerals have very low solubility in water (16-130 mg/l). The later nephelinitic tephras contain surface coating of villiaumite (NaF), which is highly soluble (42,200 mg/l) in water and can thus release the fluoride more readily upon contact with water. Although there is still the need for further data and a more precise study on this topic in Tanzania, we can already draw a first conclusion that the intake of water during or directly following the deposition of the tephra is not advisable and should be avoided, whereas the release of fluoride from the lava flow has less influence on the river waters.-
Journal of African Earth Sciences, Vol. 142, pp. 193-206.
Africa, Tanzania
deposit - Oldoinyo Lengai
Abstract: Oldoinyo Lengai, a stratovolcano in northern Tanzania, is most famous for being the only currently active carbonatite volcano on Earth. The bulk of the volcanic edifice is dominated by eruptive products produced by silica-undersaturated, peralkaline, silicate magmas (effusive, explosive and/or as cumulates at depth). The recent (2007-2008) explosive eruption produced the first ever recorded pyroclastic flows at this volcano and the accidental lithics incorporated into the pyroclastic flows represent a broad variety of different rock types, comprising both extrusive and intrusive varieties, in addition to various types of cumulates. This mix of different accidental lithics provides a unique insight into the inner workings of the world's only active carbonatite volcano. Here, we focus on the magnetic mineralogy and the rock magnetic properties of a wide selection of samples spanning the spectrum of Oldoinyo Lengai rock types compositionally, as well from a textural point of view. Here we show that the magnetic properties of most extrusive silicate rocks are dominated by magnetite-ulvöspinel solid solutions, and that pyrrhotite plays a larger role in the magnetic properties of the intrusive silicate rocks. The natrocarbonatitic lavas, for which the volcano is best known for, show distinctly different magnetic properties in comparison with the silicate rocks. This discrepancy may be explained by abundant alabandite crystals/blebs in the groundmass of the natrocarbonatitic lavas. A detailed combination of petrological/mineralogical studies with geophysical investigations is an absolute necessity in order to understand, and to better constrain, the overall architecture and inner workings of the subvolcanic plumbing system. The results presented here may also have implications for the quest in order to explain the genesis of the uniquely natrocarbonatitic magmas characteristic of Oldoinyo Lengai.
Journal of African Earth Sciences, Vol. 147, pp. 374-382.
Africa, Tanzania
deposit - Oldoinyo Lengai
Abstract: The northern Tanzanian sector of the Gregory Rift is an area of an active continental rifting, in which sedimentation processes are strongly affected by volcanism. Due to limited stratigraphic exposure, the volcanic record of the region is rather sparse, and assigning volcanic centres for the individual eruptions is difficult. This study presents new data on the tephrostratigraphy of the sedimentary sequence of Lake Emakat, Empakaai Crater, northern Tanzania. Seven volcanic ash layers are identified and described from a 1.1-m core of lake sediments. Geochemical, mineralogical, petrographic and magnetic analyses show that: (1) all ash layers are products of highly explosive eruptions of melilite-bearing magmas; (2) most of the eruptions originate from a complex magmatic system; (3) all ash horizons are very well preserved in the lake environment; and (4) there are significant fluctuations of the bulk magnetic susceptibility of the lacustrine sediments which is related to microtephra from additional eruptions, the result of detritus, washed from the shore during periods of strong lake level fluctuations or periods of high erosion rates, or simply by the contamination by the material from the ash layers. Based on geochemistry and mineralogy of the seven identified ash layers in Lake Emakat, combined with the eruption ages from ¹?C datings, we can pinpoint Oldoinyo Lengai volcano as the source of these specific layers. The combination of this new data with existing chronological data from Ryner et al. (2007), retrieved from the same core, provides precise ages of the voluminous highly explosive eruptions in this region of East Africa during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 510, pp. 219-230.
Africa, Tanzania
deposit - Oldoinyo Lengai
Abstract: Historic eruptions of Earth's only active carbonatite volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai (Tanzania), have repeatedly switched from low energy carbonatite lava extrusion to highly energetic explosive silicate volcanism, most recently in 1966-67 and 2007-08. The explosive eruptions produce strongly Si-undersaturated peralkaline silicate ashes with unusually high (Na + K)/Al of 3.4-6.3 when compared to the average peralkalinity of ?0.8 in the East African Rift System. A series of experiments in the carbonatite-clinopyroxene system at 750-1150 °C, 0.1 GPa, reveal that augitic clinopyroxene breaks down peritectically at >900 °C yielding strongly peralkaline conjugated silicate- and carbonatite melts. The clinopyroxene-derived silicate melt dissolves (Na,K)2O from the (Na,K)2CO3-component of the carbonatite leading to high peralkalinities and to liberation of excess CO2, since the solubility of carbon dioxide in silicate liquids is ?1 wt.% at subvolcanic pressures. Carbonatite injection into subvolcanic clinopyroxene-rich crystal mushes hence explains the occurrence of strongly peralkaline silicate melts and provides a mechanism for CO2-driven explosive eruptions. The silicate melt compositions mostly depend on the (Na + K)/Ca ratio of the intruding carbonatite, the silicate ashes erupted in 1966-67 and 2007-08 require an interaction of a clinopyroxene-rich crystal mush with a slightly less evolved alkali-carbonatite than presently erupted at Oldoinyo Lengai. The mechanism identified here, where mineral breakdown induced melt hybridization triggers volatile saturation and highly explosive volcanism is generally applicable to igneous systems that involve carbonatites or other low-viscosity CO2-bearing alkaline silicate melts.
Abstract: The Archean (~2.6?Ga) Siilinjärvi carbonatite complex in east-central Finland is crosscut by a few ultramafic lamprophyre dykes, together with a broad array of more evolved mafic dykes that range in composition from foidites to various types of alkali basalts. A possible genetic link between the primitive lamprophyres and the carbonatite complex has previously been hypothesised, but their exact relations have been unclear due to the regional metamorphic overprint (i.e., greenschist facies). Here we focus on the petrology and petrography of the mafic dykes, and integrate the data to present a coherent model that can explain the genesis of the Siilinjärvi carbonatite complex. Field-relations, in combination with petrography and geochemistry, indicate that there are at least three generations of mafic dykes present. The oldest dykes (Generation I) are strongly deformed, and inferred to have been emplaced shortly after the formation of the complex itself. These dykes can be divided into two groups (i.e., ultramafic lamprophyres and Group A), where Group A comprises foidites characterised by low SiO2 (41.4-51.5?wt%) and high alkali (>10?wt% K2O) content. We interpret the foiditic magmas to have evolved from primitive ultramafic lamprophyres by fractionating a clinopyroxene-olivine dominated mineral assemblage that was devoid of feldspar. This fractionation path forced alkali-enrichment in the magmas belonging to Group A, which pushed them into the miscibility gap, and resulted in liquid immiscibility that produced moderately alkaline conjugate carbonatite(s). Subsequent fractionation of the conjugate carbonatite by predominantly calcite and apatite produced the mineralogically homogeneous carbonatite cumulate that is exposed at Siilinjärvi. Younger, less deformed, mafic dykes (belonging to Generations II and III) exhibit trace element characteristics, broadly similar to basaltic dyke swarms in the region. The younger dykes are characterised by the presence of large plagioclase crystals in thin sections. Crystallisation of a feldspar-bearing mineral assemblage resulted in only moderate enrichment of alkalis with increased fractionation, which caused the younger dykes to evolve along the more common basalt-to-trachyte series. Thus, the magmas belonging to Generations II and III at Siilinjärvi never fulfilled the conditions required to produce carbonatites by liquid immiscibility.
Abstract: The more than 500 fossil Ca-carbonatite occurrences on Earth are at odds with the only active East African Rift carbonatite volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai (Tanzania), which produces Na-carbonatite magmas. The volcano’s recent major explosive eruptions yielded a mix of nephelinitic and carbonatite melts, supporting the hypothesis that carbonatites and spatially associated peralkaline silicate lavas are related through liquid immiscibility. Nevertheless, previous eruption temperatures of Na-carbonatites were 490–595 °C, which is 250–450 °C lower than for any suitable conjugate silicate liquid. This study demonstrates experimentally that moderately alkaline Ca-carbonatite melts evolve to Na-carbonatites through crystal fractionation. The thermal barrier of the synthetic Na-Ca-carbonate system, held to preclude an evolution from Ca-carbonatites to Na-carbonatites, vanishes in the natural system, where continuous fractionation of calcite + apatite leads to Na-carbonatites, as observed at Oldoinyo Lengai. Furthermore, saturating the Na-carbonatite with minerals present in possible conjugate nephelinites yields a parent carbonatite with total alkali contents of 8–9 wt%, i.e., concentrations that are realistic for immiscible separation from nephelinitic liquids at 1000–1050 °C. Modeling the liquid line of descent along the calcite surface requires a total fractionation of ?48% calcite, ?12% apatite, and ?2 wt% clinopyroxene. SiO2 solubility only increases from 0.2 to 2.9 wt% at 750–1200 °C, leaving little leeway for crystallization of silicates. The experimental results suggest a moderately alkaline parent to the Oldoinyo Lengai carbonatites and therefore a common origin for carbonatites related to alkaline magmatism.
Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic evolution of the Siberian Craton and adjacent microcontinents: an overview with constraints for a Laurentian Connection.
Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic evolution of the Siberian Craton and adjacent microcontinents: an overview with constraints for a Laurentian Connection.
Neoproterozoic alkaline magmatism and associated igneous rocks in the western framing of the Siberian craton: petrography, geochemistry, and geochronology.
Russian Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 53, 11, pp. 1176-1196.
Fedortchouk, Y., Matveev, S., Charnell, C., Carlson, J.A.
Kimberlitic fluid as recorded by dissolving diamonds and crystallizaing olivine phenocrysts in five Lac de Gras kimberlites, Northwest Territories, Canada.
van den Heuvel, Q., Matveev, S., Drury, M., Gress, M., Chinn, I., Davies, G.
Genesis of diamond inclusions: an integrated cathodluminescence ( CL) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) study on eclogitic and peridotitic inclusions and their diamond host.
European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2017, Vienna April 23-28, 1p. 6564 Abstract
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/10.1007/s00710-018-0634-3 12p.
Africa, Botswana
deposit - Jwaneng
Abstract: To fully understand the implications of the compositional information recorded by inclusions in diamond it is vital to know if their growth was syn- or protogenetic and the extent to which they have equilibrated with diamond forming agents. The current paradigm is that the majority of inclusions in diamond are syngenetic but recently this assumption has been questioned. This study presents an integrated cathodoluminescence (CL) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) study of 8 diamonds containing eclogitic inclusions: 19 pyrope-almandine garnets, 12 omphacitic clinopyroxenes, 4 sulphides, 1 coesite and 1 rutile from the Jwaneng diamond mine, Botswana. Diamond plates were sequentially polished to expose inclusions at different levels and CL imaging and EBSD were performed to constrain the relationship between diamond and inclusion growth. Despite complex growth and resorption, individual diamonds are single crystals with a homogeneous crystallographic orientation. All individual inclusions have homogeneous crystallographic orientation and no resolvable compositional zonation. The combined CL and EBSD data suggest that epitaxial inclusion-diamond growth is rare (none of 24 inclusions) and that the imposition of cubo-octahedral faces on inclusions does not necessarily result in epitaxy. Individual diamonds contain inclusions that record evidence of both syngentic and protogenetic relationships with the host diamond and in one case an inclusion appears syngenetic to the diamond core but protogenetic to the growth zone that surrounds 70% of the inclusion. These findings emphasise that inclusions in diamonds have multiple modes of origin and that in order to validate the significance of geochronological studies, further work is needed to establish that there is rapid chemical equilibration of protogenetic inclusions with diamond forming agents at mantle temperatures.
Melting equilibration temperatures of the CaMgSiO3 Mg3Al2Si3O12 K2 Ca (Co2) system modelling a source composition of carbonate - silicate diamond bearing rocks Kokchetav
18th. International Mineralogical Association Sept. 1-6, Edinburgh, abstract p.242. (poster)
Mineralogy and Petrology, DOI 10. 1007/s00710-015-0401-7
South America, Brazil, Mato Grosso
Juina area
Abstract: Two carbonatitic mineral assemblages, calcite + wollastonite and calcite + monticellite, which are encapsulated in two diamond grains from the Rio Soriso basin in the Juina area, Mato Grosso State, Brazil, were studied utilizing the NanoSIMS technique. The assemblages were formed as the result of the decomposition of the lower-mantle assemblage calcite + CaSi-perovskite + volatile during the course of the diamond ascent under pressure conditions from 15 to less than 0.8 GPa. The oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions of the studied minerals are inhomogeneous. They fractionated during the process of the decomposition of primary minerals to very varying values: ?18O from ?3.3 to +15.4?‰SMOW and ?13C from ?2.8 to +9.3?VPDB. These values significantly extend the mantle values for these elements in both isotopically-light and isotopically-heavy areas.
Contrasting lower crustal evolution across an Archean Proterozoic suture: physical, chemical and geochronologic studies of lower crustal xenoliths in southern Wyoming and northern Colorado.
American Geophysical Union, Geophysical Monograph, No. 154, pp. 139-162.
Abstract: Subduction of oceanic crust generates chemical and lithological heterogeneities in the mantle. An outstanding question is the extent to which these heterogeneities contribute to subsequent magmas generated by mantle melting, but the answer differs depending on the geochemical behaviour of the elements under investigation: analyses of incompatible elements (those that preferentially concentrate into silicate melts) suggest that recycled oceanic crust is an important contributor, whereas analyses of compatible elements (those that concentrate in crystalline residues) generally suggest it is not. Recently, however, the concentrations of Mn and Ni—two elements of varying compatibility—in early-crystallizing olivines, have been used to infer that erupted magmas are mixtures of partial melts of olivine-rich mantle rocks (that is, peridotite) and of metasomatic pyroxene-rich mantle rocks (that is, pyroxenite) formed by interaction between partial melts of recycled oceanic crust and peridotite. Here, we test whether melting of peridotite alone can explain the observed trend in olivine compositions by combining new experimental data on the partitioning of Mn between olivine and silicate melt under conditions relevant to basalt petrogenesis with earlier results on Ni partitioning. We show that the observed olivine compositions are consistent with melts of fertile peridotite at various pressures—importantly, melts from metasomatic pyroxenites are not required. Thus, although recycled materials may well be present in the mantle source regions of some basalts, the Mn and Ni data can be explained without such a contribution. Furthermore, the success of modelling the Mn–Ni contents of olivine phenocrysts as low-pressure crystallization products of partial melts of peridotite over a range of pressures implies a simple new approach for constraining depths of mantle melting.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 478, pp. 203-213.
Mantle
subduction
Abstract: After the onset of continental collision, magmatism often persists for tens of millions of years, albeit with a different composition, in reduced volumes, and with a more episodic nature and more widespread spatial distribution, compared to normal arc magmatism. Kinematic modelling studies have suggested that slab breakoff can account for this post-collisional magmatism through the formation of a slab window and subsequent heating of the overriding plate and decompression melting of upwelling asthenosphere, particularly if breakoff occurs at depths shallower than the overriding plate. To constrain the nature of any melting and the geodynamic conditions required, we numerically model the collision of two continental plates following a period of oceanic subduction. A thermodynamic database is used to determine the (de)hydration reactions and occurrence of melt throughout this process. We investigate melting conditions within a parameter space designed to generate a wide range of breakoff depths, timings and collisional styles. Under most circumstances, slab breakoff occurs deeper than the depth extent of the overriding plate; too deep to generate any decompressional melting of dry upwelling asthenosphere or thermal perturbation within the overriding plate. Even if slab breakoff is very shallow, the hot mantle inflow into the slab window is not sustained long enough to sufficiently heat the hydrated overriding plate to cause significant magmatism. Instead, for relatively fast, shallow breakoff we observe melting of asthenosphere above the detached slab through the release of water from the tip of the heating detached slab. Melting of the subducted continental crust during necking and breakoff is a more common feature and may be a more reliable indicator of the occurrence of breakoff. We suggest that magmatism from slab breakoff alone is unable to explain several of the characteristics of post-collisional magmatism, and that additional geodynamical processes need to be considered when interpreting magmatic observations.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 20, 2, pp. 673-687.
Mantle
Thermometry
Abstract: We reevaluate the effects of slab age, speed, and dip on slab temperature with numerical models. The thermal parameter ? = t v sin ?, where t is age, v is speed, and ? is angle, is traditionally used as an indicator of slab temperature. However, we find that an empirically derived quantity, in which slab temperature T ? log (t?av?b) , is more accurate at depths <120 km, with the constants a and b depending on position within the slab. Shallower than the decoupling depth (~70-80 km), a~1 and b~0, that is, temperature is dependent on slab age alone. This has important implications for the early devolatilization of slabs in the hottest (youngest) cases and for shallow slab seismicity. At subarc depths (~100 km), within the slab mantle, a~1 and b~0 again. However, for the slab crust, now a~0.5 and b~1, that is, speed has the dominant effect. This is important when considering the generation of arc magmatism, and in particular, slab melting and the generation of slab?derived melange diapirs. Moving deeper into the Earth, the original thermal parameter performs well as a temperature indicator, initially in the core of the slab (the region of interest for deep water cycling). Finally, varying the decoupling depth between 40 and 100 km has a dominant effect on slab temperatures down to 140?km depth, but only within the slab crust. Slab mantle temperature remains primarily dependent on age.
Abstract: New and compiled data of zircon U-Pb ages and geochemical-isotopic constraints provide new insights into the orogenic evolution of the Rio Apa Terrane (RAT) and its close affinity with the Amazonia throughout the Proterozoic. Two terranes with distinct evolutionary histories built the RAT. The Porto Murtinho (2070-1940 Ma) and Amoguijá (1870-1820 Ma) magmatic arcs generated the Western Terrane which is mainly composed of short-lived crustal components. Granitoid rocks (1870 Ma) in the distal Corumbá Window indicate that the RAT is much larger in extent. The Caracol accretionary arc (1800-1740 Ma) and the associated Alto Tererê back-arc basin formed away from the Amoguijá belt, being roughly coeval with the adjoining Baía das Garças suite (1776 Ma) and Paso Bravo granitoid rocks (1774-1752 Ma). These tectonic units constitute the Eastern Terrane, whilst the NdHf isotopic constraints indicate derivation from a predominantly juvenile magma source with the minor input of crustal-derived contaminants. The youngest detrital zircon grains from the Alto Tererê samples gave 1740-1790 Ma ages and unimodal age spectra were mainly present. The basin infill was, therefore, most likely concomitant with the exhumation of the Caracol belt. Alto Tererê provenance study also included detritus from passive to active margin settings. The RAT underwent regional cooling between 1.35 and 1.27 Ga, documented mainly by 40Ar39Ar and KAr ages. This age pattern matches a collisional episode that formed the accretionary margin of Amazonia, suggesting that the RAT was a close neighbor at Ectasian times. The geodynamic interplay between them lasted until 1.1 Ga ago, highlighted by some shared-components of a LIP event.
Abstract: One poorly constrained reservoir of the Earth's water budget is that of clinopyroxene in metasomatised, mantle peridotites. This study presents reconnaissance Sensitive High-Resolution, Ion Microprobe–Stable Isotope (SHRIMP–SI) determinations of the H2O contents of (dominantly) clinopyroxenes in rare mantle xenoliths from four different subduction zones, i.e. Mexico, Kamchatka, Philippines, and New Britain (Tabar-Feni island chain) as well as one intra-plate setting (western Victoria). All of the sub-arc xenoliths have been metasomatised and carry strong arc trace element signatures. Average measured H2O contents of the pyroxenes range from 70 ppm to 510?ppm whereas calculated bulk H2O contents range from 88 ppm to 3?737?ppm if the variable presence of amphibole is taken into account. In contrast, the intra-plate, continental mantle xenolith from western Victoria has higher water contents (3?447?ppm) but was metasomatised by alkali and/or carbonatitic melts and does not carry a subduction-related signature. Material similar to the sub-arc peridotites can either be accreted to the base of the lithosphere or potentially be transported by convection deeper into the mantle where it will lose water due to amphibole breakdown.
Abstract: Some seismic models derived from tomographic studies indicate elevated shear?wave velocities (?4.7 km/s) around 120?150 km depth in cratonic lithospheric mantle. These velocities are higher than those of cratonic peridotites, even assuming a cold cratonic geotherm (i.e., 35 mW/m2 surface heat flux) and accounting for compositional heterogeneity in cratonic peridotite xenoliths and the effects of anelasticity. We reviewed various geophysical and petrologic constraints on the nature of cratonic roots (seismic velocities, lithology/mineralogy, electrical conductivity, and gravity) and explored a range of permissible rock and mineral assemblages that can explain the high seismic velocities. These constraints suggest that diamond and eclogite are the most likely high?Vs candidates to explain the observed velocities, but matching the high shear?wave velocities requires either a large proportion of eclogite (>50 vol.%) or the presence of up to 3 vol.% diamond, with the exact values depending on peridotite and eclogite compositions and the geotherm. Both of these estimates are higher than predicted by observations made on natural samples from kimberlites. However, a combination of ?20 vol.% eclogite and ~2 vol.% diamond may account for high shear?wave velocities, in proportions consistent with multiple geophysical observables, data from natural samples, and within mass balance constraints for global carbon. Our results further show that cratonic thermal structure need not be significantly cooler than determined from xenolith thermobarometry.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 19, 7, pp. 2062-2086. doi.org/10/1029/ 2018GC007534
Mantle
geophysics - seismics
Abstract: Some seismic models derived from tomographic studies indicate elevated shear?wave velocities (?4.7 km/s) around 120-150 km depth in cratonic lithospheric mantle. These velocities are higher than those of cratonic peridotites, even assuming a cold cratonic geotherm (i.e., 35 mW/m2 surface heat flux) and accounting for compositional heterogeneity in cratonic peridotite xenoliths and the effects of anelasticity. We reviewed various geophysical and petrologic constraints on the nature of cratonic roots (seismic velocities, lithology/mineralogy, electrical conductivity, and gravity) and explored a range of permissible rock and mineral assemblages that can explain the high seismic velocities. These constraints suggest that diamond and eclogite are the most likely high?Vs candidates to explain the observed velocities, but matching the high shear?wave velocities requires either a large proportion of eclogite (>50 vol.%) or the presence of up to 3 vol.% diamond, with the exact values depending on peridotite and eclogite compositions and the geotherm. Both of these estimates are higher than predicted by observations made on natural samples from kimberlites. However, a combination of ?20 vol.% eclogite and ~2 vol.% diamond may account for high shear?wave velocities, in proportions consistent with multiple geophysical observables, data from natural samples, and within mass balance constraints for global carbon. Our results further show that cratonic thermal structure need not be significantly cooler than determined from xenolith thermobarometry.
Abstract: Some seismic models derived from tomographic studies indicate elevated shear?wave velocities (?4.7 km/s) around 120-150 km depth in cratonic lithospheric mantle. These velocities are higher than those of cratonic peridotites, even assuming a cold cratonic geotherm (i.e., 35 mW/m2 surface heat flux) and accounting for compositional heterogeneity in cratonic peridotite xenoliths and the effects of anelasticity. We reviewed various geophysical and petrologic constraints on the nature of cratonic roots (seismic velocities, lithology/mineralogy, electrical conductivity, and gravity) and explored a range of permissible rock and mineral assemblages that can explain the high seismic velocities. These constraints suggest that diamond and eclogite are the most likely high?Vs candidates to explain the observed velocities, but matching the high shear?wave velocities requires either a large proportion of eclogite (>50 vol.%) or the presence of up to 3 vol.% diamond, with the exact values depending on peridotite and eclogite compositions and the geotherm. Both of these estimates are higher than predicted by observations made on natural samples from kimberlites. However, a combination of ?20 vol.% eclogite and ~2 vol.% diamond may account for high shear?wave velocities, in proportions consistent with multiple geophysical observables, data from natural samples, and within mass balance constraints for global carbon. Our results further show that cratonic thermal structure need not be significantly cooler than determined from xenolith thermobarometry.
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, in press available 10.1016/j.jseaes.2021.105701 46 p. Pdf
India
Craton
Abstract: The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is a fundamental element of the plate tectonic hypothesis that accommodates the differential motion of rigid lithosphere over the weaker asthenosphere. In recent times, various usages have been used to define the LAB, depending on the nature of their measurements. Here, we investigate the lithospheric structure beneath the Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) of the Indian Shield using geochemical, thermal and seismological data sets. We analysed S-receiver functions from the stations deployed in the EDC along with the surface wave dispersion tomography. We also added thermal measurements from 5 different locations and geochemical data from 34 Kimberlite/Lamproite xenolith samples to constrain the nature of the LAB. The seismological measurements using Rayleigh wave dispersion and receiver function analysis indicate the lithospheric thickness of 98-118 and 94-118 km respectively, with sharp transition across the LAB. The P-T results from xenoliths are interpreted in concurrence with the heat-flow measurements suggesting a thick thermal lithosphere of ?200 km for the normal mantle solidus with cold geotherm. To reconcile our observations, we invoke partial melts or enriched in volatiles, which significantly lowers the viscosity of mantle rocks inducing a zone of weakness between the rigid lithosphere (?125km) and the convective asthenosphere. Further, we favour the view that the thick lithosphere beneath the Indian plate has been thinned by a plume during the Gondwanaland breakup at ?130Ma. The presence of younger kimberlites from the Indian shield support that it is further degenerated by the delamination leading to an uneven topography in the LAB.
The structural, metamorphic and temporal evolution of the country rocks surrounding Venetia mine, Limpopo belt: evidence for a single paleoproterozoic event
Precambrian Research, Vol. 186, 1-4, pp. 51-69.
Africa, South Africa
Tectonometamorphic - implications for a tectonic model
Abstract: We report on the quantum yield (?) and decay time (?) measurements at room temperature for the bright red-orange (602 nm) luminescence from new germanium-vacancy (Ge-V) centers in nano- and microcrystalline diamonds synthesized at high pressure and high temperature. The values ? = 3 ± 1% and ? = 6.2±0.2 ns were found. The Stokes shift measured as the energy difference between the maxima of the luminescence and luminescence excitation spectra is negligible. The relative intensity of the zero-phonon line constitutes up to 70% from the total intensity of the luminescence. Results of our ab initio DFT calculations for the ground-state electronic and vibrational structure of (Ge-V)? in diamond are presented and discussed.
Journal of Petrology, Vol. 61, 1, egaa003 42p. Pdf
Australia, Northern Territory
deposit - Nolans Bore
Abstract: Nolans Bore is a rare earth element (REE) ore deposit in the Reynolds Range, Aileron Province, Northern Territory, Australia. It consists primarily of fluorapatite and alteration products thereof, surrounded by a diopside-dominated selvage. Previously considered to form via hydrothermal fluids, we now suggest that the deposit formed by a metasomatic reaction between a mantle-derived carbonatite and granulite-facies felsic host rocks, after peak metamorphism. REE patterns of fluorapatite are strongly light REE (LREE) enriched, convex with maxima at Ce to Nd, and contain a weak negative Eu anomaly. Textural and geochemical properties of the fluorapatite are consistent with its formation from a carbonatite liquid. Sinusoidal REE patterns in diopside along with strong Yb-Lu enrichment relative to coexisting titanite are suggestive of derivation from a Ca-rich carbonatite. Likewise, hyalophane present in the selvages forms by reaction of a BaCO3 component in the carbonatite with K-feldspar in the silicate host rocks. The overall morphology of Nolans Bore is consistent with carbonatite-silicate reaction experiments, with the carbonatite itself migrating elsewhere owing to the open-system nature of Nolans Bore. Ekanite veins in massive fluorapatite zones and allanite-epidote crusts on fluorapatite in contact with the diopside selvages formed by hydrothermal fluids exsolved from the carbonatite. Minor interstitial calcite was not igneous but was the last mineral to crystallize from the carbonatite-exsolved fluid. Y/Ho ratios qualitatively trace the transition from mantle-dominated igneous minerals to later low-temperature hydrothermal minerals. Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd analyses of unaltered minerals (fluorapatite, allanite, calcite) show that the carbonatite had homogeneous initial 87Sr/86Sr???0•7054 and ?Nd???-4 at 1525?Ma, the best age estimate of the mineralization. Fluorapatite-allanite Sm-Nd dating results in an age of 1446?±?140?Ma, consistent with forming soon after the end of the Chewings Orogeny. Neodymium depleted mantle model ages are older than 2?Ga, indicating the presence of recycled crustal material within the source. We suggest that the carbonatite was sourced from a mantle enriched by subduction of LREE-rich oceanic crustal rocks, marine sediments, and phosphorites, potentially from the south, or the Mount Isa area to the east. Nolans Bore represents the root zone of a now-eroded carbonatite. Other Nolans-type deposits (Hoidas Lake, Canada and Kasipatnam, India) are similarly hosted within siliceous granulite-facies rocks in regions with a long tectonic history, suggesting common processes that led to the formation of all three deposits. The REE-rich compositions of the mid-crustal Nolans Bore fluorapatite are the cumulates hypothesized to cause REE depletion in some unmineralized carbonatites. The rocks at Nolans Bore demonstrate that carbonatites, previously thought to be mostly unreactive, can undergo modification and modify the composition of the silicate rocks which they encounter, forming an ‘antiskarn’. At igneous temperatures, the resulting mineral assemblage (other than fluorapatite) consists of diopside and titanite, both of which are common in granulite-facies rocks. Therefore, carbonatite metasomatism can remain unnoticed if the resulting assemblage does not contain distinctively carbonatitic minerals.
Science Advances, Vol. 6, 11p. 10.1126/sciadv.abb6570 pdf
Global
carbonatites, REE
Abstract: Carbonatites and associated rocks are the main source of rare earth elements (REEs), metals essential to modern technologies. REE mineralization occurs in hydrothermal assemblages within or near carbonatites, suggesting aqueous transport of REE. We conducted experiments from 1200°C and 1.5 GPa to 200°C and 0.2 GPa using light (La) and heavy (Dy) REE, crystallizing fluorapatite intergrown with calcite through dolomite to ankerite. All experiments contained solutions with anions previously thought to mobilize REE (chloride, fluoride, and carbonate), but REEs were extensively soluble only when alkalis were present. Dysprosium was more soluble than lanthanum when alkali complexed. Addition of silica either traps REE in early crystallizing apatite or negates solubility increases by immobilizing alkalis in silicates. Anionic species such as halogens and carbonates are not sufficient for REE mobility. Additional complexing with alkalis is required for substantial REE transport in and around carbonatites as a precursor for economic grade-mineralization.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 266, pp. 307-311.
United States, California, Africa, Morocco
metasomatism
Abstract: We investigate the potential to use concentrations and zoning patterns of phosphorus (P) in clinopyroxene as indicators of the rates of igneous and metasomatic processes, comparable to recent applications of P in olivine but applicable to more evolved rocks and lower temperatures of crystallization. Few high-P pyroxenes have been previously reported, and none have been analyzed in detail for the mechanism of P enrichment or the implications for mineral growth kinetics. Here, we report the discovery and characteristics of exotic phosphorus-rich secondary clinopyroxene in glassy pockets and veins in composite mantle xenoliths from the Cima Volcanic Field (California, USA) and the Middle Atlas Mountains (Morocco, West Africa). These glass-bearing xenoliths preserve evidence of melt infiltration events and the contrasting behavior of P in their pyroxene crystals constrains the different rates of reaction and extents of equilibration that characterized infiltration in each setting. We report optical petrography and chemical analysis of glasses and minerals for major elements by electron microprobe microanalyzer and trace elements by laser-ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. The Cima Volcanic Field specimen shows one end-member behavior, with unzoned P-rich clinopyroxene in a melt pocket. We attribute this occurrence to a slow crystallization process that occurred after the melt temperature reached near-equilibrium with the host rock and during which the P concentration in the melt was buffered by apatite saturation. In the Morocco xenolith, by contrast, clinopyroxene exhibits zonation with P increasing all the way to the rim, in contact with the glass. We ascribe this feature to a rapid growth process in which excess P was incorporated into the growing clinopyroxene from a diffusive boundary layer. We demonstrate quantitative agreement between the enrichment of P and other trace elements and their expected diffusion and partitioning behavior during rapid growth. We suggest that P has not been widely reported in clinopyroxene in large part because it has rarely been looked for and that its analysis offers considerable promise as a kinetic indicator both in xenoliths and volcanic rocks.
Deep crustal deformation textures along megathrusts from Newfoundland andOntario: implications for microstructural preservation, strain rates and strength of the li
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 29, No. 2, Feb. pp. 328-337
Abstract: Impact diamonds are technical material with valuable mechanical properties. Despite of a quite long story from their discovery and huge diamond storages at the Popigai astrobleme (Siberia, Russia) they were not involved into industrial production, first of all because of remoteness of objects, complexity of extraction and economically more favourable synthesis of technical diamonds in the seventies of the past century. However, due to the high hardness of impact diamonds and also to the high demand of new carbon materials, including nanomaterials, the interest towards this type of natural diamonds is significantly increased in the recent years. Although the mentioned Popigai astrobleme is situated in a remote part of Russia it has been studied in more details. At the same time, the less known Kara giant meteorite crater (Pay-Khoy, Russia) is situated essentially closer to the industrial infrastructure of the European part of Russia. This astrobleme, similarly to Popigai, is enriched in impact diamonds as well. But, till recent years it was not deeply studied using modern analytical methods. During our studies in 2015 and 2017 at the territory of the Kara meteorite crater we have distinguished and described 5 varieties of impactites - bulk melt impactites which form cover-like and thick dike bodies; melt ultrahigh-pressure vein bodies and at least 3 types of suevites formed after specific sedimentary target rocks. These varieties have typomorphic features regarding the crystallinity and mineral composition. It was found that all of them have high concentration of microdiamonds formed by high-pressure high temperature pyrolysis mechanism from precursor materials like coal and organic relicts. Using a set of modern mineralogical methods we have found two principal types of diamond morphologies within the Kara impactites - sugar-like after coal diamonds and diamond paramorphs after organic relicts. The Kara diamonds have several accompanying carbon substances including newly formed graphite, glass-like carbon and probably carbyne. The studied diamondiferous Kara impactites provide an essentially novel knowledge of impact processes in sedimentary targets.
Proterozoic mantle under Quesnellia: variably reset rubidium-strontium (Rb-Sr) mineral isochrons in ultramafic nodules carried up in Cenozoic volcanic vents of the s. OminecaBelt
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 28, No. 8, August pp. 1239-1253
Chemical Reviews, Vol. 120, 4, 10.1021/ acs.chemrev.9b00578 50p. Pdf
Global
HPHT, CVD, synthetics
Abstract: Nitrogen is ubiquitous in both natural and laboratory-grown diamond, but the number and nature of the nitrogen-containing defects can have a profound effect on the diamond material and its properties. An ever-growing fraction of the supply of diamond appearing on the world market is now lab-grown. Here, we survey recent progress in two complementary diamond synthesis methods: high pressure high temperature (HPHT) growth and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), how each is allowing ever more precise control of nitrogen incorporation in the resulting diamond, and how the diamond produced by either method can be further processed (e.g., by implantation or annealing) to achieve a particular outcome or property. The burgeoning availability of diamond samples grown under well-defined conditions has also enabled huge advances in the characterization and understanding of nitrogen-containing defects in diamond alone and in association with vacancies, hydrogen, and transition metal atoms. Among these, the negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV-) defect in diamond is attracting particular current interest in account of the many new and exciting opportunities it offers for, for example, quantum technologies, nanoscale magnetometry, and biosensing.
Mayer, B., Jung, S., Romer, R.,Pfander, J., Klugel, A., Pack, A., Groner, E.
Amphibole in alkaline basalts from intraplate settings: implications for the petrogenesis of alkaline lavas from the metasomatised lithospheric mantle.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 167, 3, pp. 1-22.
Chemie der Erde, doi.org/10.1016/j ,chemer.2018.09.002 30MB
South America, Brazil
meteorite
Abstract: In the first part of this review of the impact record of South America, we have presented an up-to-date introduction to impact processes and to the criteria to identify/confirm an impact structure and related deposits, as well as a comprehensive examination of Brazilian impact structures. The current paper complements the previous one, by reviewing the impact record of other countries of South America and providing current information on a number of proposed impact structures. Here, we also review those structures that have already been discarded as not being formed by meteorite impact. In addition, current information on impact-related deposits is presented, focusing on impact glasses and tektites known from this continent, as well as on the rare K-Pg boundary occurrences revealed to date and on reports of possible large airbursts. We expect that this article will not only provide systematic and up-to-date information on the subject, but also encourage members of the South American geoscientific community to be aware of the importance of impact cratering and make use of the criteria and tools to identify impact structures and impact deposits, thus potentially contributing to expansion and improvement of the South American impact record.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 124, 12, pp. 13124-131249. ( open access)
South America, Venezuela
geophysics - seismic
Abstract: Northwestern Venezuela is located in the complex deformation zone between the Caribbean and South American plates. Several models regarding the lithospheric structure of the Mérida Andes have been proposed. Nevertheless, they lack relevant structural information in order to support the interpretation of deeper structures. Therefore, a 560?km?long refraction profile across the northern part of Mérida Andes, oriented in a NNW direction, covering areas from the Proterozoic basement in the south, to both Paleozoic and Meso?Cenozoic terranes of northwestern Venezuela to the north, is analyzed in this contribution. Thirteen land shots were recorded by 545 short?deployment seismometers, constraining P wave velocity models from first?arrival seismic tomography and layer?based inversion covering the whole crust in detail, with some hints to upper mantle structures. The most prominent features imaged are absence of a crustal root associated to the Mérida Andes, as the Northern Andes profile is located marginal to the Andean crustal domain, and low?angle subduction of the Caribbean oceanic slab (~10-20°) beneath northwestern South America. Further crustal structures identified in the profile are (a) crustal thinning beneath the Falcón Basin along the western extension of the Oca?Ancón fault system interpreted as a back?arc basin; (b) suture zones between both the Proterozoic and Paleozoic provinces (Ouachita?Marathon?related suture?), and Paleozoic and Meso?Cenozoic terranes (peri?Caribbean suture) interpreted from lateral changes in seismic velocity; and (c) evidence of a deep Paleozoic(?) extensional basin, underlying thick Mesozoic and Cenozoic sequences (beneath the Guárico area).
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 107, 103088, 17p. Pdf
South America, Venezuela
Geophysics - seismics
Abstract: As part of the lithosphere, the crust represents Earth's rigid outer layer. Some of the tools to study the crust and its thickness are wide-angle seismic studies. To date, a series of seismic studies have been carried out in Venezuela to determine in detail the crustal thickness in the southern Caribbean, in the region of the Caribbean Mountain System in northern Venezuela, as well as along the Mérida Andes and surrounding regions. In this study, a review of the wide-angle seismic data is given, incorporating new data from the GIAME project for western Venezuela, resulting in a map of Moho depth north of the Orinoco River, which serves as the basis for future integrated models. Differences in Moho depths from seismic data and receiver function analysis are discussed. From the Caribbean plate, Moho depth increases from 20 to 25 km in the Venezuela Basin to about 35 km along the coast (except for the Falcón area where a thinning to less than 30 km is observed) and 40-45 km in Barinas - Apure and Guárico Basins, and Guayana Shield, respectively. Values of more than 50 km are observed in the Maturín Basin and in the southern part of the Mérida Andes.
Paleomagnetism and geochronology of mafic dykes in south Siberia, Russia: the first precisely dated Permian paleomagnetic pole from the Siberian Craton.
Geophysical Journal International, Vol. 167, 2, pp. 649-658.
A period of global uncertainty ( Blank spot) in the Precambrian history of the southern Siberian Craton and the problem of the transproterozoic supercontinent.
Abstract: We report new geological, mineralogical, geochemical and geochronological data about the Katugin Ta-Nb-Y-Zr (REE) deposit, which is located in the Kalar Ridge of Eastern Siberia (the southern part of the Siberian Craton). All these data support a magmatic origin of the Katugin rare-metal deposit rather than the previously proposed metasomatic fault-related origin. Our research has proved the genetic relation between ores of the Katugin deposit and granites of the Katugin complex. We have studied granites of the eastern segment of the Eastern Katugin massif, including arfvedsonite, aegirine-arfvedsonite and aegirine granites. These granites belong to the peralkaline type. They are characterized by high alkali content (up to 11.8?wt% Na2O?+?K2O), extremely high iron content (FeO?/(FeO??+?MgO)?=?0.96-1.00), very high content of most incompatible elements - Rb, Y, Zr, Hf, Ta, Nb, Th, U, REEs (except for Eu) and F, and low concentrations of CaO, MgO, P2O5, Ba, and Sr. They demonstrate negative and CHUR-close ?Nd(t) values of 0.0…?1.9. We suggest that basaltic magmas of OIB type (possibly with some the crustal contamination) represent a dominant part of the granitic source. Moreover, the fluorine-enriched fluid phases could provide an additional source of the fluorine. We conclude that most of the mineralization of the Katugin ore deposit occurred during the magmatic stage of the alkaline granitic source melt. The results of detailed mineralogical studies suggest three major types of ores in the Katugin deposit: Zr mineralization, Ta-Nb-REE mineralization and aluminum fluoride mineralization. Most of the ore minerals crystallized from the silicate melt during the magmatic stage. The accessory cryolites in granites crystallized from the magmatic silicate melt enriched in fluorine. However, cryolites in large veins and lens-like bodies crystallized in the latest stage from the fluorine enriched melt. The zircons from the ores in the aegirine-arfvedsonite granite have been dated at 2055?±?7?Ma. This age is close to the previously published 2066?±?6?Ma zircon age of the aegirine-arfvedsonite granites, suggesting that the formation of the Katugin rare-metal deposit is genetically related to the formation of peralkaline granites. We conclude that Katugin rare-metal granites are anorogenic. They can be related to a Paleoproterozoic (?2.05?Ga) mantle plume. As there is no evidence of the 2.05?Ga mantle plume in other areas of southern Siberia, we suggest that the Katugin mineralization occurred on the distant allochtonous terrane, which has been accreted to Siberian Craton later.
Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 28, pp. 1385-1401.
Africa, South Africa
geomorphology
Abstract: The application of the onset of supercontinentality, the “Great Oxidation Event” (GOE) and the first global scale glaciation in the Neoarchaean-Palaeoproterozoic as panacea-like events providing a framework or even chronological piercing points in Earth’s history at this time, is questioned. There is no solid evidence that the Kaapvaal craton was part of a larger amalgamation at this time, and its glacigenic record is dominated by deposits supporting the operation of an active hydrological cycle in parallel with glaciation, thereby arguing against the “Snowball Earth Hypothesis”. While the Palaeoproterozoic geological record of Kaapvaal does broadly support the GOE, this postulate itself is being questioned on the basis of isotopic data used as oxygen-proxies, and sedimentological data from extant river systems on the craton argue for a prolongation of the greenhouse palaeo-atmosphere (possibly in parallel with a relative elevation of oxygen levels) which presumably preceded the GOE. The possibility that these widespread events may have been diachronous at the global scale is debated.
Journal of African Earth Sciences, Vol. 174, 104059, 17p. Pdf
Africa, Madagascar
melilitites
Abstract: The olivine melilitites from the southern part of the 6.8 Ma-old Takarindiona volcanic field (Eastern Madagascar) are olivine ± chromite -phyric lavas, with zoned titanaugite, perovskite, melilite, nepheline, monticellite, Ba-Ti-mica and Fe-Ti oxides as microphenocrysts and groundmass phases. The rocks are very primitive, rich in incompatible trace elements (e.g., Ba = 1049 ± 153 ppm, Sr = 1050 ± 167 ppm, Nb = 98 ± 13 ppm; La/Ybn = 41 ± 5; La/Nb = 0.88 ± 0.05), and have restricted ranges of initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.70391-0.70410) and 143Nd/144Nd (0.51272-0.51282). The rocks follow a differentiation trend controlled by ab. 20% removal/addition of phenocryst olivine ± chromite. The olivine melilititic magmas are the product of small degrees of partial melting (1-3%) of a peridotitic source, enriched in highly incompatible trace elements by CO2-, F-, and H2O-rich melts, located within the garnet stability field (3-3.5 GPa and ~100 km depth) of sub-continental lithospheric mantle, where carbonates (dolomite) and possibly phlogopite were stable phases. Mantle xenoliths within the volcanics are mostly spinel harzburgites having mineral modes and chemical compositions suggesting variable degrees of "basalt" melt extraction. Based on textural and chemical evidence, and quantitative thermobarometric estimates, the xenoliths were incorporated at a pressure of ~1.1 GPa (~35-40 km depth), far shallower than the source of the melilititic magmas, and along a predictably cool geotherm beneath Archean continental lithosphere. Highly resorbed orthopyroxene xenocrysts mantled by augite indicate that the melilitites may have also entrained lower crustal materials or underplated subalkaline rocks. The mantle sources of the lavas and mantle xenoliths of the Takarindiona district indicate stratification of the lithospheric mantle, and help constraining the lithospheric features and the magmatic history of the Eastern Madagascar craton.
Abstract: Despite the advanced stage of diamond thin-film technology, with applications ranging from superconductivity to biosensing, the realization of a stable and atomically thick two-dimensional diamond material, named here as diamondene, is still forthcoming. Adding to the outstanding properties of its bulk and thin-film counterparts, diamondene is predicted to be a ferromagnetic semiconductor with spin polarized bands. Here, we provide spectroscopic evidence for the formation of diamondene by performing Raman spectroscopy of double-layer graphene under high pressure. The results are explained in terms of a breakdown in the Kohn anomaly associated with the finite size of the remaining graphene sites surrounded by the diamondene matrix. Ab initio calculations and molecular dynamics simulations are employed to clarify the mechanism of diamondene formation, which requires two or more layers of graphene subjected to high pressures in the presence of specific chemical groups such as hydroxyl groups or hydrogens.
Abstract: The Cana Brava complex is the northernmost of three layered complexes outcropping in the Goiás state (central Brasil). New field and geochemical evidences suggest that Cana Brava underwent hyper- to subsolidus deformation during its growth, acquiring a high-temperature foliation that is generally interpreted as the result of a granulite-facies metamorphic event. The increase along the stratigraphy of the incompatible elements abundances (LREE, Rb, Ba) and of the Sr isotopic composition, coupled with a decrease in ?Nd(790), indicate that the complex was contaminated by the embedded xenoliths from the Palmeirópolis Sequence. The geochemical data suggest that the contamination occurred along the entire magma column during the crystallization of the Upper Mafic Zone, with in situ variations determined by the abundance and composition of the xenoliths. These features of the Cana Brava complex point to an extremely similarity with the Lower Sequence of the most known Niquelândia intrusion (the central of the three complexes). This, together with the evidences that the two complexes have the same age (c.a. 790 Ma) and their thickness and units decrease northwards suggests that Cana Brava and Niquelândia are part of a single giant Brasilia body grown through several melt impulses.
Abstract: The subparallel maflc dykes of the Aorida-Durazno-S.José region (SW Uruguay) trend N60-80W and vary in thickness from 0.6 to 50 m. They are part of the mafic dyke swarms intrudlng granitic-gnelssic basement that were mappecl by BOSSI et ai. (1989), In an ares approximately 200 km In length and 100 km in bresdth. Plagioclass, augite, subcalclc augite (plgeonite) and opaques are the maln components of the dykes. Orthopyroxene and oIlvine are very rare. Blotite and homblende are secondary minerais. Quartz-feldspar Intergrowths occur In the coarser gralnecl dykes. The characterlstlc textures are subophitic and intersertal.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 92, pp. 197-208.
South America, Brazil
craton
Abstract: The Carajás-Rio Maria region, together with the Rio Maria domain of the Central Amazonian province, comprises the eastern margin of the Amazonian Craton with the Neoproterozoic Araguaia belt. This region hosts several basaltic dyke swarms whose UPb baddeleyite ages highlighted three intrusive events at 1882, 535 and 200?Ma. New geochemical and SrNd isotopic data were obtained for the different groups of the Carajás dykes allowing new insights on i) the mantle source composition beneath the Carajás region through time and ii) the geodynamic setting of the intrusive events. The 1882?Ma swarm is coeval to the Uatumã SLIP event which is one of the oldest intraplate events of the proto-Amazonian craton. Trace elements and isotopic values suggest that the dyke parent melt for those dykes have a crustal component derived from a sedimentary source similar to GLOSS (GLObal Subducting Sediment compositions). This is consistent with the emplacement of the dykes in a supra-subduction setting or in a post-collisional setting. Trace and isotopic values of the 535?Ma dyke swarm are consistent with an enriched mantle source from EMII component. These geochemical features suggest an enrichment of the mantle from an oceanic lithosphere poor in sediments, different to that of the 1882?Ma source. The age of this swarm matches magmatic activity during a post-collisional extensive-transtensive event recorded in the marginal Araguaia belt after the amalgamation of the Amazonian Craton to the Western Gondwana during Neoproterozoic. The 200?Ma dyke swarm which is related to the CAMP (Central Atlantic Magmatic Province) and opening of the Atlantic Ocean shows trace element composition similar to Atlantic E-MORB. The coupled isotopic values are consistent with an enriched mantle source with EMII component. These particular geochemical features suggest that the plume activity responsible for the CAMP near the rifting zone has not affected the mantle beneath the Carajás region.
Abstract: We studied a suite of mantle xenoliths carried by Cenozoic volcanism in the Borborema Province, NE Brazil. These xenoliths sample a subcontinental lithospheric mantle affected by multiple continental convergence and rifting events since the Archean. Equilibrium temperatures indicate a rather hot geotherm, implying a ca. 80?km thick lithosphere. Most xenoliths have coarse-granular and coarse-porphyroclastic microstructures, recording variable degrees of annealing following deformation. The high annealing degree and equilibrated pyroxene shapes in coarse-granular peridotites equilibrated at ~900?°C indicate that the last deformation event that affected these peridotites is several hundreds of Ma old. Coarse-porphyroclastic peridotites equilibrated at 950-1100?°C probably record younger (Cretaceous?) deformation in the deep lithospheric mantle. In addition, a few xenoliths show fine-porphyroclastic microstructures and equilibrium temperatures ?1200?°C, which imply recent deformation, probably related to the dykes that fed the Cenozoic volcanism. Chemical and microstructural evidence for reactive percolation of melts is widespread. Variation in textural and chemical equilibrium among samples implies multiple melt percolation events well spaced in time (from Neoproterozoic or older to Cenozoic). Crystal preferred orientations of olivine and pyroxenes point to deformation controlled by dislocation creep with dominant activation of the [100](010) and [001]{0kl} slip systems in olivine and pyroxenes, respectively, for all microstructures. Comparison of xenoliths' seismic properties to SKS splitting data in the nearby RCBR station together with the equilibrated microstructures in the low-temperature xenoliths point to coupled crust-mantle deformation in the Neoproterozoic (Brasiliano) continental-scale shear zones, which is still preserved in the shallow lithospheric mantle. This implies limited reworking of the lithospheric mantle in response to extension during the opening of the Equatorial Atlantic in the Cretaceous, which in the present sampling is restricted to the base of the lithosphere.
Russian Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 56, 1-2, pp. 211-220.
Technology
Diamond inclusions
Abstract: The formation conditions of diamond can be determined from the residual pressure of inclusions trapped within the diamond, as measured at ambient conditions, and the equations of state (EoS) of the mineral inclusion and the host diamond. The EoS parameters of the diamond and the inclusion phase are therefore critical for determining the precision and accuracy of the calculation of formation conditions of diamonds. The questions we address are (i) How precise are these calculations? and, in particular, (ii) Do we know the EoS parameters of diamond to a precision and accuracy which do not contribute significantly to uncertainties in the geological conclusions drawn from these calculations? We present a review of the most recent compressional data, simulations, and direct elastic measurements of diamond and show them to be consistent with a room-temperature bulk modulus of K0T = 444(2) GPa and a pressure derivative K = 4.0. In combination with a thermal-pressure model with parameters aV300,0 = 2.672(3) x 10- 6 K- 1 and a single Einstein temperature 0E = 1500 K, the volume variation of diamond from room conditions to pressures and temperatures exceeding those in the Earth’s transition zone is described to within the levels of uncertainty inherent in both experimental and computational determinations. For the example of olivine inclusions in diamond, these uncertainties in the diamond EoS parameters lead to uncertainties in the entrapment pressures of no more than 0.001 GPa at low temperatures and 0.008 GPa at higher temperatures.
Abstract: Elastic geothermobarometry is a method of determining metamorphic conditions from the excess pressures exhibited by mineral inclusions trapped inside host minerals. An exact solution to the problem of combining non-linear Equations of State (EoS) with the elastic relaxation problem for elastically isotropic spherical host-inclusion systems without any approximations of linear elasticity is presented. The solution is encoded into a Windows GUI program EosFit-Pinc. The program performs host-inclusion calculations for spherical inclusions in elastically isotropic systems with full P-V-T EoS for both phases, with a wide variety of EoS types. The EoS values of any minerals can be loaded into the program for calculations. EosFit-Pinc calculates the isomeke of possible entrapment conditions from the pressure of an inclusion measured when the host is at any external pressure and temperature (including room conditions), and it can calculate final inclusion pressures from known entrapment conditions. It also calculates isomekes and isochors of the two phases.
Abstract: Elastic geobarometry for host-inclusion systems can provide new constraints to assess the pressure and temperature conditions attained during metamorphism. Current experimental approaches and theory are developed only for crystals immersed in a hydrostatic stress field, whereas inclusions experience deviatoric stress. We have developed a method to determine the strains in quartz inclusions from Raman spectroscopy using the concept of the phonon-mode Grüneisen tensor. We used ab initio Hartree-Fock/Density Functional Theory to calculate the wavenumbers of the Raman-active modes as a function of different strain conditions. Least-squares fits of the phonon-wavenumber shifts against strains have been used to obtain the components of the mode Grüneisen tensor of quartz (??m1 and ?m3?) that can be used to calculate the strains in inclusions directly from the measured Raman shifts. The concept is demonstrated with the example of a natural quartz inclusion in eclogitic garnet from Mir kimberlite and has been validated against direct X-ray diffraction measurement of the strains in the same inclusion.
Abstract: Super-deep diamonds (SDDs) are those that form at depths between ?300 and ?1000 km in Earth’s mantle. They compose only 1% of the entire diamond population but play a pivotal role in geology, as they represent the deepest direct samples from the interior of our planet. Ferropericlase, (Mg,Fe)O, is the most abundant mineral found as inclusions in SDDs and, when associated with low-Ni enstatite, which is interpreted as retrogressed bridgmanite, is considered proof of a lower-mantle origin. As this mineral association in diamond is very rare, the depth of formation of most ferropericlase inclusions remains uncertain. Here we report geobarometric estimates based on both elasticity and elastoplasticity theories for two ferropericlase inclusions, not associated with enstatite, from a single Brazilian diamond. We obtained a minimum depth of entrapment of 15.7 (±2.5) GPa at 1830 (±45) K (?450 [±70] km depth), placing the origin of the diamond-inclusion pairs at least near the upper mantle-transition zone boundary and confirming their super-deep origin. Our analytical approach can be applied to any type of mineral inclusion in diamond and is expected to allow better insights into the depth distribution and origin of SDDs.
Abstract: Diamonds and their inclusions are unique fragments of deep Earth, which provide rare samples from inaccessible portions of our planet. Inclusion-free diamonds cannot provide information on depth of formation, which could be crucial to understand how the carbon cycle operated in the past. Inclusions in diamonds, which remain uncorrupted over geological times, may instead provide direct records of deep Earth’s evolution. Here, we applied elastic geothermobarometry to a diamond-magnesiochromite (mchr) host-inclusion pair from the Udachnaya kimberlite (Siberia, Russia), one of the most important sources of natural diamonds. By combining X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy data with a new elastic model, we obtained entrapment conditions, Ptrap?=?6.5(2) GPa and Ttrap?=?1125(32)-1140(33) °C, for the mchr inclusion. These conditions fall on a ca. 35?mW/m2 geotherm and are colder than the great majority of mantle xenoliths from similar depth in the same kimberlite. Our results indicate that cold cratonic conditions persisted for billions of years to at least 200?km in the local lithosphere. The composition of the mchr also indicates that at this depth the lithosphere was, at least locally, ultra-depleted at the time of diamond formation, as opposed to the melt-metasomatized, enriched composition of most xenoliths.
Alvaro, M., Mazzucchelli, M.L., Angel, R.J., Murri, M., Campmenosi, N., Scambelluri, M., Nestola, F., Korsakov, A., Tomilenko, A.A., Marone, F., Morana, M.
Abstract: Metamorphic rocks are the records of plate tectonic processes whose reconstruction relies on correct estimates of the pressures and temperatures (P-T) experienced by these rocks through time. Unlike chemical geothermobarometry, elastic geobarometry does not rely on chemical equilibrium between minerals, so it has the potential to provide information on overstepping of reaction boundaries and to identify other examples of non-equilibrium behavior in rocks. Here we introduce a method that exploits the anisotropy in elastic properties of minerals to determine the unique P and T of entrapment from a single inclusion in a mineral host. We apply it to preserved quartz inclusions in garnet from eclogite xenoliths hosted in Yakutian kimberlites (Russia). Our results demonstrate that quartz trapped in garnet can be preserved when the rock reaches the stability field of coesite (the high-pressure and high-temperature polymorph of quartz) at 3 GPa and 850 °C. This supports a metamorphic origin for these xenoliths and sheds light on the mechanisms of craton accretion from a subducted crustal protolith. Furthermore, we show that interpreting P and T conditions reached by a rock from the simple phase identification of key inclusion minerals can be misleading.
Abstract: Mineral inclusions entrapped in other minerals may record the local stresses at the moment of their entrapment in the deep Earth. When rocks are exhumed to the surface of the Earth, residual stresses and strains may still be preserved in the inclusion. If measured and interpreted correctly through elastic geobarometry, they give us invaluable information on the pressures (P) and temperatures (T) of metamorphism. Current estimates of P and T of entrapment rely on simplified models that assumes that the inclusion is spherical and embedded in an infinite host, and that their elastic properties are isotropic. We report a new method for elastic geobarometry for anisotropic inclusions in quasi-isotropic hosts. The change of strain in the inclusion is modelled with the axial equations of state of the host and the inclusion. Their elastic interaction is accounted for by introducing a 4th rank tensor, the relaxation tensor, that can be evaluated numerically for any symmetry of the host and the inclusion and for any geometry of the system. This approach can be used to predict the residual strain/stress state developed in an inclusion after exhumation from known entrapment conditions, or to estimate the entrapment conditions from the residual strain measured in real inclusions. In general, anisotropic strain and stress states are developed in non-cubic mineral inclusions such as quartz and zircon, with deviatoric stresses typically limited to few kbars. For garnet hosts, the effect of the mutual crystallographic orientation between the host and the inclusion on the residual strain and stress is negligible when the inclusion is spherical and isolated. Assuming external hydrostatic conditions, our results suggest that the isotropic and the new anisotropic models give estimations of entrapment conditions within 2%.
Abstract: Unravelling the physical state and properties of mantle rocks is crucial for understanding both plate tectonics, seismic activity, and volcanism. In this context, the knowledge of accurate elastic parameters of constituent mineral phases, and their variations with pressure (P) and temperature (T), is an essential requirement, that coupled with the thermal state of the lithosphere can provide a better understanding of its petrophysics and thermochemical structure. In this paper, we present an assessment of the thermoelastic parameters [in the form of P-V-T-K Equations of State (EoS)] of orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, spinel and garnet based on X-Ray diffraction data and direct elastic measurements available in literature. The newly developed EoS are appropriate to describe the elastic behaviour of these phases under the most relevant P-T conditions and bulk compositions of the Earth's mantle. In combination with the published EoS for mantle olivine and magnesiochromite, these EoS are suitable to calculate the physical properties of mantle peridotites and their variation with P and T. Thanks to these EoS, we can evaluate how the variations in bulk composition and thermal regimes affect the density structure of the lithospheric mantle. Accordingly, the density structure of fertile and depleted peridotitic systems was calculated along the 35, 45 and 60 mWm?2 geothermal gradients at P comprised between 1 and 8 GPa. Under very cold geothermal gradients, the density of both fertile and depleted peridotitic systems progressively increases with depth, whereas under relatively hot conditions a first downwards decrease from 1 to ca 3 GPa is observed, followed by an increase downward. In mantle sections characterized by intermediate geotherms (45 mWm?2), the behaviour of the two systems differs up to ca 4 GPa, as the density of the depleted system remains nearly constant down to this depth whereas it moderately increases in the fertile system. The results of our simplified parameterisation, in agreement with classical thermodynamic modelling, indicate that the density structure of the lithospheric mantle is predominantly controlled by the P - T gradient variations, with some compositional control mostly arising at cold-intermediate thermal conditions. Integrated by geophysical and thermodynamic modelling, the newly developed and selected EoS could provide an alternative strategy to infer the elastic properties of mineral phases and peridotite rocks, under the most relevant P-T conditions and compositions of the Earth's mantle, without requiring sets of end-member properties and solution models.
Journal of African Earth Sciences, Vol. 179, 104206, 21p. pdf
Africa, Cameroon, Central African Republic
geophysics
Abstract: The Bangui Magnetic Anomaly (BMA) is one of the largest magnetic anomalies in the world whose origin is still not known. This research investigated the crustal thickness, Curie depths and thermal structures in the Central African sub-regions - Cameroon, Central African Republic and adjacent countries - which are largely characterized by the Bangui Magnetic Anomaly. To achieve a better understanding and clearer idea of the location of the possible sources of the BMA, analyses of geothermal structures were conducted. Two potential methods were used: gravity to evaluate the crustal thickness and magnetics for geothermal analysis. Spectral analysis of gravity data shows that crustal thickness range between 14 and 55 km. The highest depths were found in Central African Republic. The lower values of crustal thickness were obtained in South-Chad basin with a minimum of roughly 14 km. Geothermal analysis is carried out using the Curie point depth, thermal gradient and heat-flow evaluations. The results show that the BMA is related to a thick crust of roughly 40 km. Depth to the bottom of possible sources does not exceed the lower crust. The mean Curie point depth estimated is 38 km with an error of ±2 km. Geothermal results also show the difference in the thermal behaviour between the crust in the Pan African and Precambrian domain. The mobile zone which constitutes the Pan African domain is associated with a thin crust of high heat-flow values of 65 mW/m2. However, the Precambrian domain beneath the BMA is associated with a thick crust with lower heat-flow values (roughly 45 mW/m2). The difference between crustal thickness and Curie point depths shows that all the sources of the BMA are crustal. The present results are in favour of a geological origin for the Bangui Magnetic anomaly.
Neoproterozoic inheritance during Cainozoic rifting in the western and southwestern branches of the East African Rift system: evidence from carbonatite alkaline
Tanzanian Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 1, Dec. pp. 29-37.
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 123, 7, pp. 5644-5660.
Africa, east Africa
geophysics - seismic
Abstract: Although the East African rift system formed in cratonic lithosphere above a large?scale mantle upwelling, some sectors have voluminous magmatism, while others have isolated, small?volume eruptive centers. We conduct teleseismic shear wave splitting analyses on data from 5 lake?bottom seismometers and 67 land stations in the Tanganyika?Rukwa?Malawi rift zone, including the Rungwe Volcanic Province (RVP), and from 5 seismometers in the Kivu rift and Virunga Volcanic Province, to evaluate rift?perpendicular strain, rift?parallel melt intrusion, and regional flow models for seismic anisotropy patterns beneath the largely amagmatic Western rift. Observations from 684 SKS and 305 SKKS phases reveal consistent patterns. Within the Malawi rift south of the RVP, fast splitting directions are oriented northeast with average delays of ~1 s. Directions rotate to N?S and NNW north of the volcanic province within the reactivated Mesozoic Rukwa and southern Tanganyika rifts. Delay times are largest (~1.25 s) within the Virunga Volcanic Province. Our work combined with earlier studies shows that SKS?splitting is rift parallel within Western rift magmatic provinces, with a larger percentage of null measurements than in amagmatic areas. The spatial variations in direction and amount of splitting from our results and those of earlier Western rift studies suggest that mantle flow is deflected by the deeply rooted cratons. The resulting flow complexity, and likely stagnation beneath the Rungwe province, may explain the ca. 17 Myr of localized magmatism in the weakly stretched RVP, and it argues against interpretations of a uniform anisotropic layer caused by large?scale asthenospheric flow or passive rifting.
Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Vol. 43, pp. 273-298.
Mantle
Carbon
Abstract: Pyrogenic carbon (PyC; includes soot, char, black carbon, and biochar) is produced by the incomplete combustion of organic matter accompanying biomass burning and fossil fuel consumption. PyC is pervasive in the environment, distributed throughout the atmosphere as well as soils, sediments, and water in both the marine and terrestrial environment. The physicochemical characteristics of PyC are complex and highly variable, dependent on the organic precursor and the conditions of formation. A component of PyC is highly recalcitrant and persists in the environment for millennia. However, it is now clear that a significant proportion of PyC undergoes transformation, translocation, and remineralization by a range of biotic and abiotic processes on comparatively short timescales. Here we synthesize current knowledge of the production, stocks, and fluxes of PyC as well as the physical and chemical processes through which it interacts as a dynamic component of the global carbon cycle.
Journal of Petrology, Vol. 62, 7, 10.1093/petrology/ega036
Canada
deposit - Coldwell
Abstract: Mafic intrusions on the NE shoulder of the Midcontinent Rift (Keweenawan LIP), including Cu-PGE mineralized gabbros within the Coldwell Complex (CC), and rift parallel or radial dykes outside the CC are correlated based on characteristic trace element patterns. In the Coldwell Complex, mafic rocks are subdivided into four groups: (1) early metabasalt; (2) Marathon Series; (3) Layered Series; (4) Geordie-Wolfcamp Series. The Marathon Series are correlated with the rift radial Abitibi dykes (1140?Ma), and the Geordie-Wolfcamp Series with the rift parallel Pukaskwa and Copper Island dykes. U-Pb ages determined for five gabbros from the Layered and Marathon Series are between 1107•7 and 1106•0?Ma. Radiogenic isotope ratios show near chondritic (CHUR) ?Nd(1106?Ma) and 87Sr/86Sri values that range from -0•38 to +1•13 and 0•702537 to 0•703944, respectively. Distinctive geochemical properties of the Marathon Series and Abitibi dykes, such as Ba/La (14-37), Th/Nb (0•06-0•12), La/Sm (3•8-7•7), Sr/Nd (21-96) and Zr/Sm (9-19), are very different from those of the Geordie-Wolfcamp Series and a subset of Copper Island and Pukaskwa dykes with Ba/La (8•7-11), Th/Nb (0•12-0•13), La/Sm (6•7-7•9), Sr/Nd (5-7•8) and Zr/Sm (18-24). Each unit exhibits covariation between incompatible element ratios such as Zr/Sm and Nb/La or Gd/Yb, Sr/Nd and Ba/La, and Nb/Y and Zr/Y, which are consistent with mixing relationship between two or more mantle domains. These characteristics are unlike those of intrusions on the NW shoulder of the MCR, but resemble those of mafic rocks occurring in the East Kenya Rift. The results imply that an unusual and long-lived mantle source was present in the NE MCR for at least 34?Myr (spanning the 1140?Ma Abitibi dykes and the 1106?Ma Marathon series) and indicate potential for Cu-PGE mineralization in an area much larger than was previously recognized.
Integration of COCORP deep reflection and magnetic anomaly analysis in the southeastern United States: implications for origin of the Brunswick and EastCoas
Geological Society of America (GSA) Bulletin, Vol. 100, No. 3, March pp. 436-445
Constraints on the structure and tectonic development of the early Mesozoic south Georgia Rift, southeastern United States; seismic reflection data processing &int
Geophysical studies in central Midcontinent CUSMAP Quadrangles
United States Geological Survey (USGS) Open file, United States Geological Survey (USGS)-Missouri G.S. Symp: Mineral resource potential of, p. 5. (abstract.)
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: G3, Vol. 17, 2, pp. 5036-5055.
Africa, Madagascar
Tectonics
Abstract: Accurate reconstructions of the dispersal of supercontinent blocks are essential for testing continental breakup models. Here, we provide a new plate tectonic reconstruction of the opening of the Western Somali Basin during the breakup of East and West Gondwana. The model is constrained by a new comprehensive set of spreading lineaments, detected in this heavily sedimented basin using a novel technique based on directional derivatives of free-air gravity anomalies. Vertical gravity gradient and free-air gravity anomaly maps also enable the detection of extinct mid-ocean ridge segments, which can be directly compared to several previous ocean magnetic anomaly interpretations of the Western Somali Basin. The best matching interpretations have basin symmetry around the M0 anomaly; these are then used to temporally constrain our plate tectonic reconstruction. The reconstruction supports a tight fit for Gondwana fragments prior to breakup, and predicts that the continent-ocean transform margin lies along the Rovuma Basin, not along the Davie Fracture Zone (DFZ) as commonly thought. According to our reconstruction, the DFZ represents a major ocean-ocean fracture zone formed by the coalescence of several smaller fracture zones during evolving plate motions as Madagascar drifted southwards, and offshore Tanzania is an obliquely rifted, rather than transform, margin. New seismic reflection evidence for oceanic crust inboard of the DFZ strongly supports these conclusions. Our results provide important new constraints on the still enigmatic driving mechanism of continental rifting, the nature of the lithosphere in the Western Somali Basin, and its resource potential.
IN: Cycle Concepts in Plate Tectonics, editors Wilson and Houseman , Geological Society of London special publication 470, pp. 1-17. pdf
Mantle
plate tectonics
Abstract: It is now more than 50 years since Tuzo Wilson published his paper asking ‘Did the Atlantic close and then re-open?’. This led to the ‘Wilson Cycle’ concept in which the repeated opening and closing of ocean basins along old orogenic belts is a key process in the assembly and breakup of supercontinents. This implied that the processes of rifting and mountain building somehow pre-conditioned and weakened the lithosphere in these regions, making them susceptible to strain localization during future deformation episodes. Here we provide a retrospective look at the development of the concept, how it has evolved over the past five decades, current thinking and future focus areas. The Wilson Cycle has proved enormously important to the theory and practice of geology and underlies much of what we know about the geological evolution of the Earth and its lithosphere. The concept will no doubt continue to be developed as we gain more understanding of the physical processes that control mantle convection and plate tectonics, and as more data become available from currently less accessible regions.
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
Complex Zoning of Clinopyroxene in Shonkinites from Mafic Phonolites, Highwood Mountains, Montana: Evidence for Periodic Mixing with a K Rich Bananitic Magma.
Geological Society of America (GSA), Vol. 17, No. 3, P. 187. (abstract.).
Application of simple paramagnetic susceptibility to rapid discrimination of ilmenite compositions in exploration for kimberlite in the Colorado-WyomingProvince, United States
Proceedings of Fifth International Kimberlite Conference held Araxa June 1991, Servico Geologico do Brasil (CPRM) Special, pp. 443-445
Determining the mantle oxidation state through Mossbauer analysis of high pressure phases in the system iron-FeO-MgO-SiO2.
Geological Association of Canada (GAC), Geological Association of Canada (GAC)/Mineralogical Association of Canada (MAC) Annual Meeting, Abstract, Abstract Vol. p. A68.
Marks, M.A.W., Rudnick, R.L., McCammon, C., Vennemann, T., Markl, G.
Arrested kinetic Li isotope fractionation at the margin of the Ilimaussaq complex: evidence for open system processes during final cooling peralkaline igneous rocks
Nimis, P., Goncharov, A., Ionov, D.A., McCammon, C.
Fe3 partitioning systematics between orthopyroxene and garnet in mantle peridotite xenoliths and implications for thermobarometry of oxidized and reduced mantle rocks.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 169, 6p.
Abstract: We describe a new methodology to collect energy domain Mössbauer spectra of inclusions in natural diamonds using a Synchrotron Mössbauer Source (SMS). Measurements were carried out at the Nuclear Resonance beamline ID18 at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (Grenoble, France). We applied this non-destructive approach to collect SMS spectra of a ferropericlase inclusion still contained within its diamond host from Juina (Brazil). The high spatial resolution of the measurement (~ 15 ?m) enabled multiple regions of the 190 × 105 ?m2 inclusion to be sampled and showed that while Fe3 +/Fetot values in ferropericlase were below the detection limit (0.02) overall, there was a magnetic component whose abundance varied systematically across the inclusion. Hyperfine parameters of the magnetic component are consistent with magnesioferrite, and the absence of superparamagnetism allows the minimum particle size to be estimated as ~ 30 nm. Bulk Fe3 +/Fetot values are similar to those reported for other ferropericlase inclusions from Juina, and their variation across the inclusion can provide constraints on its history.
European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2017, Vienna April 23-28, 1p. 16340 Abstract
South America, Brazil
Deposit - Juina
Abstract: We describe a new methodology to collect energy domain Mössbauer spectra of inclusions in natural diamonds using a Synchrotron Mössbauer Source (SMS). Measurements were carried out at the Nuclear Resonance beamline ID18 at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (Grenoble, France). We applied this non-destructive approach to collect SMS spectra of a ferropericlase inclusion still contained within its diamond host from Juina (Brazil). The high spatial resolution of the measurement (~ 15 ?m) enabled multiple regions of the 190 × 105 ?m2 inclusion to be sampled and showed that while Fe3 +/Fetot values in ferropericlase were below the detection limit (0.02) overall, there was a magnetic component whose abundance varied systematically across the inclusion. Hyperfine parameters of the magnetic component are consistent with magnesioferrite, and the absence of superparamagnetism allows the minimum particle size to be estimated as ~ 30 nm. Bulk Fe3 +/Fetot values are similar to those reported for other ferropericlase inclusions from Juina, and their variation across the inclusion can provide constraints on its history.
Abstract: Iron- and aluminum-bearing MgSiO3 bridgmanite is the most abundant mineral in the Earth’s interior; hence its crystal chemistry is fundamental to expanding our knowledge of the deep Earth and its evolution. In this study, the valence and spin state of iron in well-characterized Al-free Fe3+-rich bridgmanite were investigated by means of Mössbauer spectroscopy to understand the effect of ferric iron on the spin state. We found that a minor amount of Fe3+ is in the low-spin state above 36 GPa and that its proportion does not increase substantially with pressure up to 83 GPa. This observation is consistent with recent experimental studies that used Mössbauer and X-ray emission spectroscopy. In the Earth’s deep lower mantle, Fe3+ spin crossover may take place at depths below 900 and 1200 km in pyrolite and MORB, respectively. However, the effect of spin crossover on physical properties may be small due to the limited amount of Fe3+ in the low-spin state.
Abstract: Diamond inclusions are the only samples from the mantle transition zone (410-660 km) and the lower mantle. Majoritic garnet is a rare inclusion, limited to pressures of ~8-20 Gpa with Si content being indicative of depth of re-equilibration. These garnet inclusions can therefore provide information on properties of the transition zone such as oxidation state. In this study, we used Synchrotron Mössbauer Source (SMS) to determine the ferric-ferrous ratios of 13 small (30 to 100 micrometers diameter) majoritic inclusions in diamonds from Jagersfontein. The studied inclusions have pyroxenitic affinities [1], with compositions intermediate between typical peridotite and eclogite. They contain 4.62-11.2 wt% CaO, 0.03-0.34 wt% Cr2O3 and Mg# of 0.65-0.81. Minimum pressures for their equilibration using Beyer and Frost [2] barometer are between 8 and 18 GPa with at least 4 of these inclusions being formed in the transition zone. The Fe3+/Fetotal ratios in the garnets increase from 0.08±0.01 to 0.30±0.03 with increasing pressure. These values define a clear extension of the trend apparent in the data from peridotite xenoliths crystallised at lower pressures. Thermodynamic calculations suggest that these high ferric contents correspond to oxygen fugacities above the FeFeO (IW) buffer, which means that the high Fe3+ contents were not generated by disproportionation of Fe2+ to Fe3+ and Fe0 . It is more likely that carbonate was the oxidising agent responsible for generating the high Fe3+ of these garnets.
Cerantola, V., Bykova, E., Kupenko, I., Merlini, M., Ismailova, L., McCammon, C., Bykov, M., Chumakov, A.I., Petitgirard, S., Kantor, I., Svityk, V., Jacobs, J., Hanfland, M., Mezouar, M., Prescher, C., Ruffer, R., Prakapenka, V.B., Duvbovinsky, L.
Abstract: Some seismic models derived from tomographic studies indicate elevated shear?wave velocities (?4.7 km/s) around 120?150 km depth in cratonic lithospheric mantle. These velocities are higher than those of cratonic peridotites, even assuming a cold cratonic geotherm (i.e., 35 mW/m2 surface heat flux) and accounting for compositional heterogeneity in cratonic peridotite xenoliths and the effects of anelasticity. We reviewed various geophysical and petrologic constraints on the nature of cratonic roots (seismic velocities, lithology/mineralogy, electrical conductivity, and gravity) and explored a range of permissible rock and mineral assemblages that can explain the high seismic velocities. These constraints suggest that diamond and eclogite are the most likely high?Vs candidates to explain the observed velocities, but matching the high shear?wave velocities requires either a large proportion of eclogite (>50 vol.%) or the presence of up to 3 vol.% diamond, with the exact values depending on peridotite and eclogite compositions and the geotherm. Both of these estimates are higher than predicted by observations made on natural samples from kimberlites. However, a combination of ?20 vol.% eclogite and ~2 vol.% diamond may account for high shear?wave velocities, in proportions consistent with multiple geophysical observables, data from natural samples, and within mass balance constraints for global carbon. Our results further show that cratonic thermal structure need not be significantly cooler than determined from xenolith thermobarometry.
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 45, 10, pp. 4725-4732.
Mantle
bridgmanite
Abstract: Seismic heterogeneities in the Earth's lower mantle have been attributed to thermal and/or chemical variations of constituent minerals. Bridgmanite is the most abundant lower?mantle mineral and contains Fe and Al in its structure. Knowing the effect of Fe on compressional and shear wave velocities (VP, VS) and density of bridgmanite at relevant pressure?temperature conditions can help to understand seismic heterogeneities in the region. However, experimental studies on both VP and VS of Fe?bearing bridgmanite have been limited to pressures below 40 GPa. In this study, VP and VS of Fe?bearing bridgmanite were measured up to 70 GPa in the diamond anvil cell. We observed drastic softening of VP by ~6(±1)% at 42.6-58 GPa and increased VS at pressures above 40 GPa. We interpret these observations as due to a spin transition of Fe3+. These observations are different to previous views on the effect of Fe on seismic velocities of bridgmanite. We propose that the abnormal sound velocities of Fe?bearing bridgmanite could help to explain the seismically observed low correlation between VP and VS in the mid?lower mantle. Our results challenge existing models of Fe enrichment to explain the origin of Large Low Shear Velocity provinces in the lowermost mantle.
Abstract: Roots of continental cratons keep a long record of multiple metasomatic events, but their trace is complicated due to the mixed signals left by these events in the composition of mantle silicate minerals. Simple composition helps diamonds to provide a more robust record of the latest metasomatic events which they witnessed. Growth and dissolution features on the diamond surface are sensitive to the composition of the reacting media. In this study we use mantle-derived resorption features on natural diamonds to examine the nature of metasomatic events in diamondiferous mantle lithologies. We use experiments at mantle conditions to examine how the composition of fluids and melts affect diamond resorption. We then compare these results to the features of natural diamonds to determine which of the tested compositions could have acted as metasomatic agents in Earth’s cratonic roots. Diamond dissolution experiments conducted at 6 GPa, 1200 - 1500oC using synthetic MgO-CaO-SiO2-CO2-H2O system examined the effect of CHO fluid, silica-saturated CHO fluid, aqueous and “dry” silica-carbonate and carbonate melts. Results show that the main control of diamond resorption morphology is the state of the reacting media: fluid vs. melt. We compared the experimental results to diamonds with mantle-derived resorption features from two kimberlites from the Orapa kimberlite cluster (Botswana). We identified twelve mantle-derived resorption types, none of which resembled the products of resorption in fluids. Most of the observed resorption types could be produced by dissolution in mantle melts with variable proportions of carbonate and silicate components and in the range of temperatures. The most abundant resorption type resembles the product of diamond dissolution in carbonate melts at temperatures above 1450oC. Our results suggest that fluid-metasomatism is not destructive for diamonds while melt-metasomatism is. The lower hydrous carbonated solidus of lherzolite compared to harzburgite can result in the shift the process from diamond growth in fluids to diamond dissolution in melts due to metasomatic transformation of harzburgite into lherzolite.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 498, pp. 9-16.
Mantle
water
Abstract: Ringwoodite, the dominant mineral at depths between 520 km and 660 km, can store up to 2-3 wt.% of water in its crystal structure, making the Earth's transition zone a plausible water reservoir that plays a central role in Earth's deep water cycle. Experiments show that hydration of ringwoodite significantly reduces elastic wave velocities at room pressure, but the effect of pressure remains poorly constrained. Here, a novel experimental setup enables a direct quantification of the effect of hydration on ringwoodite single-crystal elasticity and density at pressures of the Earth's transition zone and high temperatures. Our data show that the hydration-induced reduction of seismic velocities almost vanishes at conditions of the transition zone. Seismic data thus agree with a wide range of water contents in the transition zone.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 506, pp. 493-506.
Mantle
metasomatism
Abstract: Most diamonds found in kimberlites show complex patterns of growth and dissolution (resorption) surface features. Populations of diamonds from within single kimberlite bodies commonly contain a large diversity of diamond surface forms, some of which are a result of dissolution in kimberlite magma and others are inherited from the mantle. Morphological studies of natural diamonds differentiated features produced during dissolution in kimberlite magma and during mantle metasomatism. The former features were experimentally reproduced at 1 3 GPa and used to infer the presence and composition of magmatic fluid in different kimberlites. However, the mantle-derived resorption features have not been reproduced experimentally and the composition and origins of their formative solvents are unknown. Here we report the results of diamond dissolution experiments conducted in a multi-anvil apparatus at 6 GPa and 1200 to 1500 °C in synthetic CaO MgO SiO2 CO2 H2O system. The experiments produced very different diamond resorption morphologies in COH fluid, in silicate-saturated fluid, and in silicate and carbonate melts. Dissolution in SiO2-free COH fluid developed rounded crystal forms with shallow negative trigons, striations and hillocks, which are commonly observed on natural diamonds and are similar in 6 GPa and in 1 3 GPa experiments. However, silicate-saturated fluid produced very different resorption features that are rarely observed on natural diamonds. This result confirms that natural, SiO2-poor fluid-induced resorption develops under the comparatively low-pressures of kimberlite ascent, because at mantle pressures the high content of SiO2 in fluids would produce features like those from the silicate-saturated experiments. Comparison of the experimental products from this study to natural diamond resorption features from the literature suggests that natural diamonds show no record of dissolution by fluids during mantle metasomatism. Diamond resorption morphologies developed in experiments with silicate carbonate melts closely resemble many of the mantle-derived resorption features of natural diamonds, whose diversity can result from variable SiO2 concentration in carbonatitic melts and temperature variation. The experimental results imply that metasomatism by fluids does not dissolve diamond, whereas metasomatism by melts is diamond-destructive. The repetitive growth-dissolution patterns of natural diamonds could be due to diamond growth from fluids in harzburgitic lithologies followed by its dissolution in partial melts.
Abstract: The oxidation state of iron in Earth’s mantle is well known to depths of approximately 200?km, but has not been characterized in samples from the lowermost upper mantle (200-410?km depth) or the transition zone (410-660?km depth). Natural samples from the deep (>200?km) mantle are extremely rare, and are usually only found as inclusions in diamonds. Here we use synchrotron Mössbauer source spectroscopy complemented by single-crystal X-ray diffraction to measure the oxidation state of Fe in inclusions of ultra-high pressure majoritic garnet in diamond. The garnets show a pronounced increase in oxidation state with depth, with Fe3+/(Fe3++ Fe2+) increasing from 0.08 at approximately 240?km depth to 0.30 at approximately 500?km depth. The latter majorites, which come from pyroxenitic bulk compositions, are twice as rich in Fe3+ as the most oxidized garnets from the shallow mantle. Corresponding oxygen fugacities are above the upper stability limit of Fe metal. This implies that the increase in oxidation state is unconnected to disproportionation of Fe2+ to Fe3+ plus Fe0. Instead, the Fe3+ increase with depth is consistent with the hypothesis that carbonated fluids or melts are the oxidizing agents responsible for the high Fe3+ contents of the inclusions.
Abstract: The Earth’s crust-mantle boundary, the Mohorovi?i? discontinuity, has been traditionally considered to be the interface between the magnetic crust and the non-magnetic mantle1. However, this assumption has been questioned by geophysical observations2,3 and by the identification of magnetic remanence in mantle xenoliths4, which suggest mantle magnetic sources. Owing to their high critical temperatures, iron oxides are the only potential sources of magnetic anomalies at mantle depths5. Haematite (?-Fe2O3) is the dominant iron oxide in subducted lithologies at depths of 300 to 600 kilometres, delineated by the thermal decomposition of magnetite and the crystallization of a high-pressure magnetite phase deeper than about 600 kilometres6. The lack of data on the magnetic properties of haematite at relevant pressure-temperature conditions, however, hinders the identification of magnetic boundaries within the mantle and their contribution to observed magnetic anomalies. Here we apply synchrotron Mössbauer source spectroscopy in laser-heated diamond anvil cells to investigate the magnetic transitions and critical temperatures in Fe2O3 polymorphs7 at pressures and temperatures of up to 90 gigapascals and 1,300 kelvin, respectively. Our results show that haematite remains magnetic at the depth of the transition zone in the Earth’s mantle in cold or very cold subduction geotherms, forming a frame of deep magnetized rocks in the West Pacific region. The deep magnetic sources spatially correlate with preferred paths of the Earth’s virtual geomagnetic poles during reversals8 that might not reflect the geometry of the transitional field. Rather, the paths might be an artefact caused by magnetized haematite-bearing rocks in cold subducting slabs at mid-transition zone depths. Such deep sources should be taken into account when carrying out inversions of the Earth’s geomagnetic data9, and especially in studies of planetary bodies that no longer have a dynamo10, such as Mars.
Abstract: Synchrotron Mössbauer Source (SMS) spectroscopy (ESRF, Grenoble, France) has high spatial resolution (~20 microns) and has been successfully applied to measuring Fe3+ concentrations in diamond inclusions [1,2]. Over the last few decades a number of studies have been conducted on individual minerals from mantle xenoliths in order to determine the oxidation state of the upper mantle [3,4]. These studies were conducted using ?50 mg of handpicked grains as opposed to individual crystals. In this study, we applied SMS to measure ferric iron contents of individual spinels, orthopyroxenes, clinopyroxenes and garnets from 5 spinel peridotite xenoliths and 1 pyroxenite and 2 eclogite xenoliths. Spinel xenoliths derive from Kilbourne hole, Mont Briançon and Ichinomegata. Spinels from these xenoliths were previously analysed by Mössbauer spectroscopy on bulk separates [4]. Eclogite xenoliths (UAS 1055, UAS 1525) and pyroxenite xenolith (UAS 510) were obtained from Udachnaya kimberlite pipe in Siberia. In spinel peridotites measured ratios range between 0.04- 0.14 Fe3+/Fetot for Opx, 0.14-0.19 Fe3+/Fetot for Cpx and between 0.15-0.23 for Spl. These values are broadly in agreement with previous measurements [3]. In eclogites and pyroxenite, the ratios range between 0.05-0.16 for garnet and 0.07-0.17 for Cpx, showing DGrt/Cpx for Fe3+ of 0.8-1.9. Oxygen fugacities derived from the spinel-olivineorthopyroxene oxybarometer are consistent with previous results for the continental lithosphere fO2 of between -1 and +1 log units relative to the FMQ buffer [5]. Nevertheless we observe small differences between our results on individual grains and previous data on bulk separates.
Abstract: Reactions involving carbon in the deep Earth have limited manifestations on Earth's surface, yet they have played a critical role in the evolution of our planet. The metal-silicate partitioning reaction promoted carbon capture during Earth's accretion and may have sequestered substantial carbon in Earth's core. The freezing reaction involving iron-carbon liquid could have contributed to the growth of Earth's inner core and the geodynamo. The redox melting/freezing reaction largely controls the movement of carbon in the modern mantle, and reactions between carbonates and silicates in the deep mantle also promote carbon mobility. The 10-year activity of the Deep Carbon Observatory has made important contributions to our knowledge of how these reactions are involved in the cycling of carbon throughout our planet, both past and present, and has helped to identify gaps in our understanding that motivate and give direction to future studies.
Abstract: As the most abundant material of rocky planets, high-pressure polymorphs of iron- and aluminum-bearing magnesium silicates have long been sought by both observations and experiments. Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that iron oxides form (FeO)m(Fe2O3)n homologous series above ?10 GPa according to laboratory high-pressure experiments. Here, we report a new high-pressure iron-magnesium silicate, recently approved by the International Mineralogical Association as a new mineral (No. 2020-086) and named elgoresyite, in a shock-induced melt vein of the Suizhou L6 chondrite with a chemistry of (Mg,Fe)5Si2O9. The crystal structure of this new silicate is the same as the iron oxide Fe7O9, strongly suggesting that silicates also form ((Mg,Fe)O)m + n(SiO2)n series that are isostructural to iron oxides via (Mg2+,Fe2+) + Si4+ = 2Fe3+ substitution. To test this hypothesis, the phase relationships of the silicates and iron oxides should be further investigated at higher temperature conditions. Newly found iron-magnesium silicate is a potential constituent mineral in rocky planets with relatively high MgO + FeO content.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 570, 117088
Mantle
bridgemanite
Abstract: Water solubility in the dominant lower-mantle bridgmanite phase remains controversial. Discrepancies between previous results highlight the importance of the growth high-quality single crystals of bridgmanite under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions corresponding to the top of the lower mantle. Here we synthesized high-quality single crystals of aluminous bridgmanite up to 300 ?m in size that were saturated with hydrous melt at 24-26 GPa and 1700-1900 K using both stoichiometric and MgO-rich non-stoichiometric hydrous starting materials in a multi-anvil press. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy measurements on clear and pure spots of the single-crystal bridgmanites did not detect any pronounced OH-stretching bands, which were prominent in some earlier studies. The present results support that the lower-mantle dominated bridgmanite is nearly dry, at least at the top of the lower mantle, and that Al3+ and Fe3+ cannot enhance water incorporation into the crystal structure even in the presence of oxygen vacancies. Large partition coefficients of water between transition-zone minerals and dry lower-mantle dominated bridgmanite further support dehydration melting at the top of the lower mantle. We suggest that the majority of the top of a pyrolitic lower mantle is nearly dry based on the dry principal minerals and stability of hydrous phases in this region.
The effect of oxygen fugacity on the olivine to wadsleyite transformation: implications for remote sensing of mantle redox state at the 410 km seismic ...
Abstract: The lithospheric mantle beneath West Antarctica has been characterized using petrology, whole-rock and mineral major element geochemistry, whole-rock trace element chemistry and Mössbauer spectroscopy data obtained on a suite of peridotite (lherzolite and harzburgite) and pyroxenite xenoliths from the Mount Morning eruptive centre, Southern Victoria Land. The timing of pyroxenite formation in Victoria Land overlaps with subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific plate beneath the Gondwana margin and pyroxenite is likely to have formed when fluids derived from, or modified by, melting of the subducting, eclogitic, oceanic crustal plate percolated through peridotite of the lithospheric mantle. Subsequent melting of lithospheric pyroxenite veins similar to those represented in the Mount Morning xenolith suite has contributed to the enriched trace element (and isotope) signatures seen in Cenozoic volcanic rocks from Mount Morning, elsewhere in Victoria Land and Zealandia. In general, the harzburgite xenoliths reflect between 20 and 30% melt depletion. Their depleted element budgets are consistent with Archaean cratonization ages and they have mantle-normalized trace element patterns comparable with typical subcontinental lithospheric mantle. The spinel lherzolite mineral data suggest a similar amount of depletion to that recorded in the harzburgites (20-30%), whereas plagioclase lherzolite mineral data suggest <15% melt depletion. The lherzolite (spinel and plagioclase) xenolith whole-rocks have compositions indicating <20% melt depletion, consistent with Proterozoic to Phanerozoic cratonization ages, and have mantle-normalized trace element patterns comparable with typical depleted mid-ocean ridge mantle. All peridotite xenoliths have undergone a number of melt-rock reaction events. Melting took place mainly in the spinel peridotite stability field, but one plagioclase peridotite group containing high-sodium clinopyroxenes is best modelled by melting in the garnet field. Median oxygen fugacity estimates based on Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements of spinel and pyroxene for spinel-facies conditions in the rifted Antarctic lithosphere are -0·6 ?log fO2 at Mount Morning and –1·0 ± 0·1 (1?) ?log fO2 for all of Victoria Land, relative to the fayalite-magnetite-quartz buffer. These values are in good agreement with a calculated global median value of -0·9 ± 0·1 (1?) ?log fO2 for mantle spinel-facies rocks from continental rift systems.
Journal of Geophysical Research,, Vol. 120, 12, pp. 8259-8280.
Mantle
Ringwoodite
Abstract: Review of recent mineral physics literature shows consistent trends for the influence of Fe and H2O on the bulk modulus (K0) of wadsleyite and ringwoodite, the major phases of Earth's mantle transition zone (410-660?km). However, there is little consensus on the first pressure derivative, K0??=?(dK/dP)P=0, which ranges from about 4 to >5 across experimental studies and compositions. Here we demonstrate the importance of K0? in evaluating the bulk sound velocity of the transition zone in terms of water content and provide new constraints on the effect of H2O on K0? for wadsleyite and ringwoodite by conducting a comparative compressibility study. In the experiment, multiple crystals of hydrous Fo90 wadsleyite containing 2.0 and 0.25?wt?% H2O were loaded into the same diamond anvil cell, along with hydrous ringwoodite containing 1.4?wt?% H2O. By measuring their pressure-volume evolution simultaneously up to 32?GPa, we constrain the difference in K0? independent of the pressure scale, finding that H2O has no effect on K0?, whereas the effect of H2O on K0 is significant. The fitted K0? values of hydrous wadsleyite (0.25 and 2.0?wt?% H2O) and hydrous ringwoodite (1.4?wt?% H2O) examined in this study were found to be identical within uncertainty, with K0? ~3.7(2). New secondary-ion mass spectrometry measurements of the H2O content of these and previously investigated wadsleyite samples shows the bulk modulus of wadsleyite is reduced by 7.0(5)?GPa/wt?% H2O, independent of Fe content for upper mantle compositions. Because K0? is unaffected by H2O, the reduction of bulk sound velocity in very hydrous regions of transition zone is expected to be on the order of 1.6%, which is potentially detectible in high-resolution, regional seismology studies.
Abstract: In this study, we report the first direct evidence for water-bearing fluids in the uppermost lower mantle from natural ferropericlase crystal contained within a diamond from São Luíz, Brazil. The ferropericlase exhibits exsolution of magnesioferrite, which places the origin of this assemblage in the uppermost part of the lower mantle. The presence of brucite-Mg(OH)2 precipitates in the ferropericlase crystal reflects the later-stage quenching of H2O-bearing fluid likely in the transition zone, which has been trapped during the inclusion process in the lower mantle. Dehydration melting may be one of the key processes involved in transporting water across the boundary between the upper and lower mantle.
Abstract: A prominent dike of camptonite cuts the Middle Ordovician Tétreauville Formation of the Trenton Group in the Montréal-Est quarry operated by Lafarge Canada Inc. The “Lafarge” dike is strikingly porphyritic, with largely anhedral macrocrysts of unzoned calcic amphibole up to 13 cm across. The macrocrysts are rimmed with ferri-kaersutite resembling the amphibole in the fine-grained matrix of the camptonite. The magnesio-hastingstite macrocrysts have virtually the same composition as the matrix; they thus grew without much of a boundary layer. The magma crystallized in a disequilibrium way as a pseudo-unary system. The macrocrysts are unusually enriched in Fe3+ (approximately 44% of the total iron), yet locally enclose globules of immiscible sulfide melt. The magma became oxygenated owing to preferential loss of hydrogen upon the dissociation of aqueous gas bubbles. The amygdaloidal macrocrysts have a relatively high ?D value because of this loss of H2; the values of ?18O are typical of an upper mantle source. Camptonite dikes are very common on Mont Royal. Like the Lafarge dike, they likely arose by the disequilibrium crystallization of batches of the parental melt of asthenospheric origin.
Abstract: The composition of Earth’s atmosphere depends on the redox state of the mantle, which became more oxidizing at some stage after Earth’s core started to form. Through high-pressure experiments, we found that Fe2+ in a deep magma ocean would disproportionate to Fe3+ plus metallic iron at high pressures. The separation of this metallic iron to the core raised the oxidation state of the upper mantle, changing the chemistry of degassing volatiles that formed the atmosphere to more oxidized species. Additionally, the resulting gradient in redox state of the magma ocean allowed dissolved CO2 from the atmosphere to precipitate as diamond at depth. This explains Earth’s carbon-rich interior and suggests that redox evolution during accretion was an important variable in determining the composition of the terrestrial atmosphere.
Dorfman, S.M., Potapkin, V., Lv, M., Greenberg, E., Kupenko, I., Chumakov, A.I., Bi, W., Alp, E.E., Liu, J., Magrez, A., Dutton, S.E., Cava, R.J., McCammon, C.A., Gillet, P.
American Mineralogist, Vol. 105, pp. 1030-1039. pdf
Mantle
redox
Abstract:
Electronic states of iron in the lower mantle's dominant mineral, (Mg,Fe,Al)(Fe,Al,Si)O3 bridgmanite, control physical properties of the mantle including density, elasticity, and electrical and thermal conductivity. However, the determination of electronic states of iron has been controversial, in part due to different interpretations of Mössbauer spectroscopy results used to identify spin state, valence state, and site occupancy of iron. We applied energy-domain Mössbauer spectroscopy to a set of four bridgmanite samples spanning a wide range of compositions: 10-50% Fe/total cations, 0-25% Al/total cations, 12-100% Fe3+/total Fe. Measurements performed in the diamond-anvil cell at pressures up to 76 GPa below and above the high to low spin transition in Fe3+ provide a Mössbauer reference library for bridgmanite and demonstrate the effects of pressure and composition on electronic states of iron. Results indicate that although the spin transition in Fe3+ in the bridgmanite B-site occurs as predicted, it does not strongly affect the observed quadrupole splitting of 1.4 mm/s, and only decreases center shift for this site to 0 mm/s at ~70 GPa. Thus center shift can easily distinguish Fe3+ from Fe2+ at high pressure, which exhibits two distinct Mössbauer sites with center shift ~1 mm/s and quadrupole splitting 2.4-3.1 and 3.9 mm/s at ~70 GPa. Correct quantification of Fe3+/total Fe in bridgmanite is required to constrain the effects of composition and redox states in experimental measurements of seismic properties of bridgmanite. In Fe-rich, mixed-valence bridgmanite at deep-mantle-relevant pressures, up to ~20% of the Fe may be a Fe2.5+ charge transfer component, which should enhance electrical and thermal conductivity in Fe-rich heterogeneities at the base of Earth's mantle.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 30, pp. 110-136.
Mantle
redox
Abstract: The chemistry of bridgmanite (Brg), especially the oxidation state of iron, is important for understanding the physical and chemical properties, as well as putting constraints on the redox state, of the Earth’s lower mantle. To investigate the controls on the chemistry of Brg, the Fe3+ content of Brg was investigated experimentally as a function of composition and oxygen fugacity (fo2) at 25 GPa. The Fe3+/?Fe ratio of Brg increases with Brg Al content and fo2 and decreases with increasing total Fe content and with temperature. The dependence of the Fe3+/?Fe ratio on fo2 becomes less steep with increasing Al content. Thermodynamic models were calibrated to describe Brg and ferropericlase (Fp) compositions as well as the inter-site partitioning of trivalent cations in Brg in the Al-Mg-Si-O, Fe-Mg-Si-O and Fe-Al-Mg-Si-O systems. These models are based on equilibria involving Brg components where the equilibrium thermodynamic properties are the main adjustable parameters that are fit to the experimental data. The models reproduce the experimental data over wide ranges of fo2 with a relatively small number of adjustable terms. Mineral compositions for plausible mantle bulk compositions can be calculated from the models as a function of fo2 and can be extrapolated to higher pressures using data on the partial molar volumes of the Brg components. The results show that the exchange of Mg and total Fe (i.e., ferric and ferrous) between Brg and Fp is strongly fo2 dependent, which allows the results of previous studies to be reinterpreted. For a pyrolite bulk composition with an upper mantle bulk oxygen content, the fo2 at the top of the lower mantle is ?0.86 log units below the iron-wüstite buffer (IW) with a Brg Fe3+/?Fe ratio of 0.50 and a bulk rock ratio of 0.28. This requires the formation of 0.7?wt.% Fe-Ni alloy to balance the raised Brg ferric iron content. With increasing pressure, the model predicts a gradual increase in the Fe3+/?Fe ratio in Brg in contrast to several previous studies, which levels off by 50 GPa. Oxygen vacancies in Brg decrease to practically zero by 40 GPa, potentially influencing elasticity, diffusivity and rheology in the top portion of the lower mantle. The models are also used to explore the fo2 recorded by inclusions in diamonds, which likely crystallized as Brg in the lower mantle, revealing oxygen fugacities which likely preclude the formation of some diamonds directly from carbonates, at least at the top of the lower mantle.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 575, 12p.
Mantle
redox
Abstract: The Earth's mantle hosts a variety of reduced and oxidized phases, including iron-bearing alloys, diamond, and sulfide and carbonate melts. In the upper mantle, increasing pressure favors the stabilization of reduced iron-bearing phases via disproportionation of ferrous iron into ferric and metallic iron. Pressure-driven disproportionation is thought to continue into the transition zone, based on the extrapolation of experiments conducted at lower pressures. To test this hypothesis, we performed high-temperature and high-pressure experiments on basaltic and peridotitic compositions at pressures of 10 to 20 GPa, buffered at different oxygen fugacities. Under these conditions, majoritic garnet is the dominant ferric-iron bearing phase. We analyze our experimental run products for their ferric iron concentrations with EELS and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Contrary to expectations, results show that at iron saturation, ferric iron content of majorite peaks in the upper transition zone and then decreases between 500 and 650 km depth, destabilizing and resorbing reduced phases. This peak can be explained by decreases in the effective volume of ferrous minerals in transition zone assemblages. We also show that natural diamond-hosted majorite inclusions that equilibrated in the sublithospheric mantle grew from variably reduced fluids. These results are consistent with the idea that these diamonds formed during progressive reduction of an originally carbonatitic melt.
45th. Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum, p. 4 abstract
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Kelvin, Faraday
Abstract: The Kennady North Project kimberlites are located approximately 280 kilometers east-northeast of Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The unusual geometry and extent of the kimberlite magmatic system is revealed by renewed exploration drilling activities by Kennady Diamonds since 2012. It has become clear that the system comprises multiple intrusive dykes within which several volcaniclastic bodies have developed, all within 11 kilometres of the Gahcho Kué kimberlite cluster and diamond mine. The detailed exploration of the entire system provides unique evidence for subterranean volcanic conduit growth processes that may have scientific and practical exploration benefits. The identified Kennady North Project volcaniclastic bodies are named Kelvin, Faraday 1, Faraday 2 and Faraday 3, and have complex geometries atypical of the more common subvertical kimberlite pipes. Rather, these pipe-like bodies are inclined between 12 and 30 degrees towards the northwest. Kelvin has sharp angular change in trend towards the north. On-going detailed petrographic studies have shown that the pipes contain layers of complex volcaniclastic units with variable volumes of xenolithic fragments, as well as coherent magmatic layers. The pipe textures include evidence for high energy magma and country rock fragmentation processes typically observed in open volcanic systems. The pipes have developed within a shallow 20 degree northwest dipping kimberlite dyke system. Detailed structural geology studies, using fault observations in oriented and unoriented drill core, have identified at least two important fault-fracture trends. The first fault-fracture system is parallel to the dyke segments, and likely related to the intrusion of the dykes and the regional stress tensor during emplacement. The second fault system is subvertical and north-south striking, parallel to the lithological layering within the metasedimentary country rock. The north-south faults match the contact geometry of the Kelvin pipe’s north-south limb exactly. The dykes have been 3-D modelled along with the pipes. Three possible renditions of the dykes have been created, based on different interpretations of dyke segment continuity. The renditions have been labelled “Optimistic”, “Realistic” and “Pessimistic”. The assumptions made have important implications for developing dyke-type mineral resources. The realistic dyke model defines dyke segments that intersect the Kelvin pipe, and those intersections match geometric trends and irregularities in the pipe shape. The coincidental geometries strongly imply that the pipe development interacted with a penecontemporaneous dyke system. The north-south faults also controlled the local trend of Kelvin pipe development, possibly by enhancing fluid permeability, alteration and brecciation along the faults, connecting from one shallow dipping dyke to the next above. Breccia bodies have been observed on similar dipping dykes at Snap Lake mine that intersect fault structures. We conclude that the pipe development geometry and process is governed by a combination of stress, structure and magmatic fluids, and speculate on the nature of the energy required for fragmentation and development of the pipe at some still unknown depth in the crust.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/10.1007/ s00710-018-0621-8 16p.
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Kelvin, Faraday
Abstract: The Kennady North Project kimberlites (Northwest Territories of Canada) comprises multiple shallow dipping dykes and several volcaniclastic bodies that have an unusual shallow plunging geometry and complex "pipe" shapes that are termed chonoliths. The detailed exploration of the entire system provides exceptional evidence for subterranean volcanic conduit growth processes. The possible processes leading to the development of the kimberlite bodies are discussed, with emphasis on the importance of the subsurface intrusive system geometry and the local stress tensor. Emplacement into a locally compressive stress regime (i.e. ?1 and ?2 inclined at a low angle to surface) could change the kimberlite emplacement geometries to that observed at Kennady North. Models are proposed for the development of the chonoliths, to emphasize aspects of the growth of kimberlite systems that are not well understood. The conclusions challenge or evolve current emplacement models and should influence kimberlite exploration and resource definition assumptions.
Detrital Minerals of Mantle Origin in the Green River Basin, Wyoming.
Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME)-American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME)., SYMPOSIUM OUTLINE FALL MEETING DENVER OCTOBER 24TH. P. 13. (
Hunt, L., Stachel, T., Grutter, H., Armstrong, J., McCandless, T.E., Simonetti, A., Tappe, S.
Small mantle fragments from the Renard kimberlites, Quebec: powerful recorders of mantle lithosphere formation and modification beneath the eastern Superior Craton.
Proceedings of the 5th. International Kimberlite Conference, Vol. 2, pp. 78-97.
United States, Arkansas
Microdiamonds
Abstract: The first report of diamond in igneous rock in the United States originated at Prairie Creek, Arkansas. We have examined the morphological, carbon isotope, and inclusion characteristics of diamonds from Prairie Creek, and from the Twin Knobs # 1, #2, Black Lick, and American lamproites. White is the most common macrodiamond color at Prairie Creek (62% of total), with 20% brown and 16% yellow. This contrasts with Australian lamproites where brown predominates, and with other North American localities such as the Sloan, Colorado kimberlites where yellow is rare. Lamination lines indicate ductile deformation at mantle conditions. The macrodiamonds are very resorbed; 82% are equiform or distorted tetrahexahedroida and none are octahedra. Low relief surfaces indicate prolonged and/or intense resorption. Microdiamonds differ dramatically, with octahedra and fragn~ents common and tetrahexahedroida abscnL Serrate laminae, knob-like asperities, pointed plates, ribbing, and non-uniform resorption are the most common surface features. Diamonds from the Twin Knobs # 1 lamproite are similar to microdiamonds with respect to size and surface features. Magnetite and olivine (F093) are the only primary inclusions foqnd in the diamonds, although inclusions of peridotitic and eclogitic parageneses have been reported in previous studies. Carbon isotope B13c values for Prairie Creek macrodiamonds peak at-3.0 to -6.2 %o (ave. -4.7 %o for 19 stones) and -10.3 to -10.6 %o (ave. -10.5 %o for 2 stones). The diamonds with magnetite and olivine inclusions have B13c values of -5.1 %o and -4.0 %o respectively. Microdiamonds from Prairie Creek, Twin Knobs #2, American, and Black Lick are similar to Prairie Creek macrodiamonds ( -0.5 to -7 .8; ave. -4.1 %o for 8 stones). A Prairie Creek and a Black Lick microdiamond have B13c values of -26.1 and -25.2%orespectively, and the latter exhibits non-uniform resorption. Lamination lines on macrodiamonds and xenocrystic surface features on microdiamonds imply that both are xenocrysts in lamproite. Carbon isotopes are characteristic of a peridotitic or primordial carbon reservoir. Two 13cdepleted microdiamonds may be from a subducted carbon source. In comparison to macrodiamond populations from most kimberlites, Prairie Creek macrodiamonds are intensely resorbed, and lamproite may be more corrosive than kimberlite \\ ith respect to diamond resorption. Microdiamonds were probably encapsulated in xenolith material ani.! esca•,)ed resorption. The differences in size and color of Prairie Creek macrodiamonds relative to Sloan kimberlitic diamonds are genetic, and may be related to their formation in lithosphere of differing age and tectonic history.
Tsuji, L.J.S., McCarthy, D.D., Whitelaw, G.S., McEachren, J.
Getting back to basics: the Victor diamond mine environmental assessment scoping process and the issue of family based traditional lands versus reg. traplines
Impact assessment and Project Appraisal, March Vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 37-47.
Tsuji, L.J.S., McCarthy, D.D., Whielaw, G.S., McEachren, J.
Getting back to basics: the Victor diamond mine environmental assessment scoping process and the issue of family based traditional lands versus traplines.
Impact Assessment and Project Aapraisal, Vol. 29, 1, pp. 37-47.
The relationship of remote sensing anomalies to the real world-examples from the midcontinent and the CUSMAP study areas
United States Geological Survey (USGS) Open file, United States Geological Survey (USGS)-Missouri G.S. Symp: Mineral resource potential of, p. 45. (abstract.)
Abstract: We sampled the mid-Ediacaran Saint-Honoré alkali intrusion and related dykes in the Saguenay City region of Québec for paleomagnetic and U-Pb, 40Ar/39Ar geochonologic study. 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of phlogopite separates from carbonatite of the central intrusion return plateau ages with a weighted mean of 578.3 ± 3.5 Ma. Baddeleyite from a phoscorite dyke provides a concordant age of 580.25 ± 0.87 Ma for the crystallization of the dykes associated with the St-Honoré intrusive complex. Paleomagnetic results from the intrusion itself and related carbonatite and lamprophyre dykes exhibit some streaking between higher to moderate inclination directions, even at the site level, after screening to remove a steep, present-day viscous remanence. The predominant St-Honoré mean direction (13 sites), which is primary (baked contact test on the host Lac St-Jean anorthosite), is D = 119, I = 72.3°; ?95 = 9.5°, retained at higher coercivity and to high unblocking temperatures by titanomagnetite. Assuming a geocentric axial dipole, this result places the St. Honoré locality at 57° S at ~ 580 Ma, implying that Laurentia straddled mid-paleolatitudes at that time. Notably, the paleopole location at 27.2° N, 320.7 E (dp = 15°, dm = 17°) is consistent with similar mid-Ediacaran age paleopoles which place Laurentia at mid- to high paleolatitudes. The Saint-Honoré result implies that Laurentia had moved from low latitude in the early Ediacaran to higher southern paleolatitudes by 580-570 Ma, and then back to low paleolatitudes by as early as 564 Ma. Viewed as apparent polar wander (APW), this motion traces an 'Ediacaran loop' that can also be seen in similar-aged paleomagnetic results from at least two other paleocontinents. The similar APW loops suggest a role for true polar wander in Ediacaran geodynamics, and perhaps help to define a longitudinally-constrained global Ediacaran paleogeography.
Russia, South America, Brazil, Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, India, Asia, Sri Lanka
alexandrite
Abstract: The gem and jewelry trade has come to place increasing importance on the geographic origin of alexandrite, as it can have a significant impact on value. Alexandrites from Russia and Brazil are usually more highly valued than those from other countries. In 2016, GIA began researching geographic origin of alexandrite with the intent of offering origin determination as a laboratory service. Unfortunately, collecting reliable samples with known provenance can be very difficult. Alexandrite is often recovered as a byproduct of mining for other gemstones (e.g., emerald and corundum), so it can be difficult to secure reliable parcels of samples because production is typically erratic and unpredictable. The reference materials studied here were examined thoroughly for their trace element chemistry profiles, characteristic color-change ranges under daylight-equivalent and incandescent illumination, and inclusion scenes. The data obtained so far allow us to accurately determine geographic origin for alexandrites from Russia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and India. Future work may help to differentiate alexandrites from other localities.
Indicator mineralogy of kimberlite boulders and sand samples from the Lac Baby and Sharp Lake eskers, Lake Timiskaming field, western Quebec and northeast Ontario
Geological Survey of Canada Open File, No. 5050, 21p.
Sader, J.A., Leybourne, M.I., McClenaghan, M.B., Hamilton, S.
Low temperature serpentinization processes and kimberlite groundwater signature Kirkland Lake and Lake Timiskaming kimberlite fields: implications diamond exploration.
Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, Vol. 7, 1, pp. 3-21.
Geochemistry, Exploration, Environment, Analysis, Vol. 16, pp. 62-84.
Canada, Northwest Territories
Kimberlite - Triple B mentioned
Abstract: In this study, results by direct portable XRF (‘pXRF’) on unsieved till samples were compared with those by established laboratory methods (aqua regia or fusion ICP-MS and ICP-ES) on the <0.063-mm fraction to determine if the application of direct pXRF in the field would serve as an acceptable guide for immediate follow-up work. Four test sites in Canada were chosen: the Halfmile Lake Cu-Pb-Zn VMS deposit; the intrusion-hosted W-Mo Sisson deposit; a Pb-Zn Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposit in the Pine Point district; and the Triple B kimberlite. Unsieved till samples from the GSC archive collection were used for this study and included samples from background areas, immediately overlying, and at various distances down-ice of each deposit. Ziploc® and Whirl-Pak® bags that were used to contain the samples in the field were tested for their properties of X-ray attenuation and contamination. In general, the performance of pXRF in the four test areas was very good where concentrations of elements of interest (indicator or pathfinder elements) were substantially above detection limits by this technique (in the low ppm range for many elements). The following elements, shown to be useful indicator elements (important constituents of the ore/commodity) or pathfinder elements (those associated with the commodity elements) by the established methodology, showed similar patterns by pXRF on the unsieved material: Zn, Cu, Pb, and As at Halfmile Lake; W, Mo, Cu, Zn, Pb, and As at the Sisson deposit; Zn, Pb, and Fe at Pine Point; and Ca, Sr, Cr, and Ni at Triple B. Pathfinder elements whose concentrations were too low for determination by pXRF include: Ag and Sb at Halfmile Lake; Ag and Cd at Sisson; Cd, S, and Se at Pine Point; and Co, Mg, P, U, and Th at Triple B. The high background for Bi by pXRF, equivalent to c. 50?ppm, and its noisy signal precluded its use at Halfmile Lake and Sisson. Elements which tended to show poor precision (three analyses each sample) by pXRF in some samples due to sample heterogeneity include Sn, V, and W. Mercury was erroneously reported for the majority of samples in the low ppm range by pXRF whereas its concentration in fact was in the low ppb range. Several Pb-, Zn- (c. 1% Pb, Zn) and Fe-rich (up to 16% Fe) samples demonstrated spectral interferences by: Pb on As, Th and Se; Zn on Cu; and Fe on Co. Results for six till samples analysed in Ziploc® and Whirl-Pak® bags showed that Ziploc® absorbs fewer low-energy photons and hence is preferable for determining light elements such as Si, K and Ca.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 52, 1, pp. 51-67.
Canada, Alberta
Deposit - Buffalo Head Hills
Abstract: Ice flow of the last glaciation in the Buffalo Head Hills kimberlite field of northern Alberta is reconstructed from landform interpretations and clast orientations for the purpose of aiding kimberlite exploration in the region. The paucity of bedrock outcrop and the absence of preserved striae and other erosional ice-flow indicators on the soft Cretaceous marine sediments inhibit detailed interpretations on glacial flow chronology. Poorly developed bedrock drumlins on the Buffalo Head Hills and erosional ice-flow indicators preserved on the kimberlite outcrops indicate southwestward ice flow during the maximum extent of ice during the last glaciation. During the deglaciation of northern Alberta, later phases of ice flow were controlled by lobes of surging ice, which surged into proglacial lakes. West of the Buffalo Head Hills, the maximum phase of southwest flow was followed by southeastward ice movement of the Peace River ice lobe. Similarly, east of the Buffalo Head Hills, the maximum phase of ice flow was superceded by a south-southwest ice advance of the Wasbasca ice lobe.
Canadian Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 56, pp. 957-969.
Canada, Quebec, Labrador
REE
Abstract: A study of rare metal indicator minerals and glacial dispersal was carried out at the Strange Lake Zr?-?Y?-?heavy rare earth element deposit in northern Quebec and Labrador, Canada. The heavy mineral (>3.2 specific gravity) and mid-density (3.0-3.2 specific gravity) nonferromagnetic fractions of mineralized bedrock from the deposit and till up to 50 km down ice of the deposit were examined to determine the potential of using rare earth element and high fileld strength element indicator minerals for exploration. The deposit contains oxide, silicate, phosphate, and carbonate indicator minerals, some of which (cerianite, uraninite, fluorapatite, rhabdophane, thorianite, danburite, and aeschynite) have not been reported in previous bedrock studies of Strange Lake. Indicator minerals that could be useful in the exploration for similar deposits include Zr silicates (zircon, secondary gittinsite (CaZrSi2O7), and other hydrated Zr±Y±Ca silicates), pyrochlore ((Na,Ca)2Nb2O6(OH,F)), and thorite (Th(SiO4))/thorianite (ThO2) as well as rare earth element minerals monazite ((La,Ce,Y,Th)PO4), chevkinite ((Ce,La,Ca,Th)4(Fe,Mg)2(Ti,Fe)3Si4O22), parisite (Ca(Ce,La)2(CO3)3F2), bastnaesite (Ce(CO3)F), kainosite (Ca2(Y,Ce)2Si4O12(CO3)•H2O), and allanite ((Ce,Ca,Y)2(Al,Fe)3(SiO4)3(OH)). Rare metal indicator minerals can be added to the expanding list of indicator minerals that can be recovered from surficial sediments and used to explore for a broad range of deposit types and commodities that already include diamonds and precious, base, and strategic metals.
The Canadian Mineralogist, Vol. 59, pp. 1261-1276. doi:10.3749/canmin.2000048 pdf
Canada, Ontario
deposit - Kirkland Lake
Abstract: We report new isotopic data for H2 and CH4 gases and Sr for groundwater collected from Jurassic Kirkland Lake kimberlites in northern Ontario, Canada. Groundwaters interacting with kimberlites have elevated pH (up to 12.4), are reducing (Eh as low as the H2-H2O couple), are dominated by OH? alkalinity, and have non-radiogenic (mantle) 87Sr/86Sr values (?0.706-0.707). Most significantly, the highest pH groundwaters have low Mg, high K/Mg, and are associated with abundant reduced gases (H2 ± CH4). Open system conditions favor higher dissolved inorganic carbon and CH4 production, whereas under closed system conditions low DIC, elevated OH? alkalinity, and H2 production are enhanced. Hydrogen gas is isotopically depleted (?2HH2 = ?771 to ?801‰), which, combined with ?2HH2O, yields geothermometry temperatures of serpentinization of 5-25 °C. Deviation of H2-rich groundwaters (by up to 10‰) from the meteoric water line is consistent with Rayleigh fractionation during reduction of water to H2. Methane is characterized by ?13CCH4 = ?35.8 to ?68‰ and ?2HCH4 = ?434‰. The origin of CH4 is inconclusive and there is evidence to support both biogenic and abiogenic origins. The modeled groundwater-kimberlite reactions and production of elevated concentrations of H2 gas suggest uses for diamond-production tailings, as a source of H2 for fuel cells and as a carbon sink.
Ross, P., White, J.D., Lorenz, V., Zimanowski, B., Boettner, R., McClintock, M.
Why lower diatremes in kimberlitic and non-kimberlitic systems are non-stratified, homogenized, and contain steep internal contacts: episodic burst and debris jets.
GAC/MAC/AGU Meeting held May 23-27 Toronto, Abstract only
Abstract: Welcome to the Winter 2019 edition of Gems & Gemology. This issue is special in that it is devoted exclusively to one timely subject: the determination of geographic origin for specific colored stones. Geographic origin determination is one of the most pressing issues facing the industry—a subject with many facets and complexities that should be addressed if the discussion is to be thorough. As part of GIA’s consumer protection mission of ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry, our purpose with this issue is to lay out what we know about determining geographic origin and how we arrive at those opinions. These articles will present every aspect of geographic origin as these authors understand it—including full transparency on the approaches and testing methods typically applied in GIA’s gemological laboratories. We intend for this issue to promote healthy and useful discussion and debate—fueled by our collective interest in bringing more understanding and consistency to the reporting of the geographic origin of colored stones.
Abstract: GIA’s field gemology program was established in late 2008 to support research on geographic origin determination of colored gemstones. By building and maintaining an extensive collection of gem materials with known origins, GIA’s research scientists have been able to study and analyze rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and other gemstones using the best available reference samples. This has led to improved origin determination services while supporting numerous research and education projects. To date the collection has accumulated during more than 95 field expeditions on six continents and currently includes more than 22,000 samples. GIA’s field gemology efforts require a thorough understanding of the gem trade, including the evolution of gemstone deposits and the development of treatments. It is important to recognize potential new deposits and gemstone enhancement procedures immediately because they can change rapidly and leave a lasting impact on the trade. Field expeditions also involve documenting the mines and local conditions. These factors provide context for the gemstones and are becoming increasingly important in the eyes of the public.
Abstract: Over the last several decades, geographic origin determination for fine rubies has become increasingly important in the gem trade. In the gemological laboratory, rubies are generally broken down into two groups based on their trace element chemistry: marble-hosted (low-iron) rubies and high-iron rubies. High-iron rubies are usually a straightforward identification based on their inclusions and trace element profiles. Marble-hosted rubies can be more challenging, with some deposits showing overlap in some of their inclusion scenes. But many marblehosted rubies, especially Burmese stones from Mogok and Mong Hsu, can be accurately identified based on their internal features and trace element profiles. This contribution will outline the methods and criteria used at GIA for geographic origin determination for ruby.
South America, Colombia, China, Europe, Afghanistan, Africa, Zambia
emerald
Abstract: The gem trade has grown to rely on gemological laboratories to provide origin determination services for emeralds and other fine colored stones. In the laboratory, this is mostly accomplished by careful observations of inclusion characteristics, spectroscopic analysis, and trace element profile measurements by laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Inclusions and spectroscopy can often separate Colombian emeralds from other sources (although there is some overlap between Colombian, Afghan, and Chinese [Davdar] emeralds). For non-Colombian emeralds, trace element analysis by LA-ICP-MS is needed in addition to information from the stone’s inclusions. The relative chemical diversity of emeralds from worldwide deposits allows confidence in origin determination in most cases. This contribution outlines the methods and criteria used at GIA for geographic origin determination for emerald.
Fadil, A., Vernant, P., McClusky, S., Reilinger, R., Gomez, F., Ben Sari, D., Mourabit, Feigl, Barazangi
Active tectonics of the western Mediterranean: geodetic evidence for rollback of a delaminated subcontinental lithospheric slab beneath the Rif Mountains, Morocco.
GPS constraints on continental deformation in the Africa Arabia Eurasia continental collision zone and implications for the dynamics of plate interactions.
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111,B5 B05411.
Relinger, R., McClusky, S., Vernant, P., Lawrence, S.
GPS constraints on continental deformation in the Africa-Arabia-Eurasia continental collision zone and implications for the dynamics of plate interactions.
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, B5, May 31, B05411
Nature Scientific Reports, doi.org/10.1038/ s41598-019-46556-3 8p. Pdf
Global
diamond morphology, impact craters
Abstract: Diamond is a material of immense technological importance and an ancient signifier for wealth and societal status. In geology, diamond forms as part of the deep carbon cycle and typically displays a highly ordered cubic crystal structure. Impact diamonds, however, often exhibit structural disorder in the form of complex combinations of cubic and hexagonal stacking motifs. The structural characterization of such diamonds remains a challenge. Here, impact diamonds from the Popigai crater were characterized with a range of techniques. Using the MCDIFFaX approach for analysing X-ray diffraction data, hexagonality indices up to 40% were found. The effects of increasing amounts of hexagonal stacking on the Raman spectra of diamond were investigated computationally and found to be in excellent agreement with trends in the experimental spectra. Electron microscopy revealed nanoscale twinning within the cubic diamond structure. Our analyses lead us to propose a systematic protocol for assigning specific hexagonality attributes to the mineral designated as lonsdaleite among natural and synthetic samples.
Abstract: Diamond is a material of immense technological importance and an ancient signifier for wealth and societal status. In geology, diamond forms as part of the deep carbon cycle and typically displays a highly ordered cubic crystal structure. Impact diamonds, however, often exhibit structural disorder in the form of complex combinations of cubic and hexagonal stacking motifs. The structural characterization of such diamonds remains a challenge. Here, impact diamonds from the Popigai crater were characterized with a range of techniques. Using the MCDIFFaX approach for analysing X-ray diffraction data, hexagonality indices up to 40% were found. The effects of increasing amounts of hexagonal stacking on the Raman spectra of diamond were investigated computationally and found to be in excellent agreement with trends in the experimental spectra. Electron microscopy revealed nanoscale twinning within the cubic diamond structure. Our analyses lead us to propose a systematic protocol for assigning specific hexagonality attributes to the mineral designated as lonsdaleite among natural and synthetic samples.
Nature Materials, doi:10.1038/s4 1563-020-0759-8 7p. Pdf
Global
meteorites, synthetics
Abstract: Meteoritic diamonds and synthesized diamond-related materials contain a wide variety of complex nanostructures. This Comment highlights and classifies this structural complexity by a systematic hierarchical approach, and discusses the perspectives on nanostructure and properties engineering of diamond-related materials.
Nano Letters, doi.10.1021/acs/ nanolett.Oc0556 10p. Pdf
Global
nanodiamond
Abstract: The search for new nanostructural topologies composed of elemental carbon is driven by technological opportunities as well as the need to understand the structure and evolution of carbon materials formed by planetary shock impact events and in laboratory syntheses. We describe two new families of diamond-graphene (diaphite) phases constructed from layered and bonded sp3 and sp2 nanostructural units and provide a framework for classifying the members of this new class of materials. The nanocomposite structures are identified within both natural impact diamonds and laboratory-shocked samples and possess diffraction features that have previously been assigned to lonsdaleite and postgraphite phases. The diaphite nanocomposites represent a new class of high-performance carbon materials that are predicted to combine the superhard qualities of diamond with high fracture toughness and ductility enabled by the graphitic units and the atomically defined interfaces between the sp3- and sp2-bonded nanodomains.
Abstract: China is well known for the generous bonuses it pays scientists who land a peer-reviewed publication in a prestigious research journal. But scientists in many countries are reaping similar bounties. After spotting a discussion on a scholarship listserv about the topic, we dug further to find official documents on such payments from institutions named in the thread. Searching the internet using key terms such as “publishing cash incentives” and “schemes cash publishing” widened our net. We relied mostly on online documents in English, so we surely missed some policies. The numbers in the graphic below represent the maximum amounts we uncovered at a particular institution in a specific country. Even under those constraints, we documented publishing incentives from all corners of the globe, including at a number of U.S. institutions. Awards are primarily cash; some are as small as the $10 that Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, bestows on authors when their papers are cited in the literature. Some institutions designate payments for faculty members, whereas others reward student authors.
Abstract: Geological mapping and zircon U-Pb/Hf isotope data from 35 samples from the central Tanzania Craton and surrounding orogenic belts to the south and east allow a revised model of Precambrian crustal evolution of this part of East Africa. The geochronology of two studied segments of the craton shows them to be essentially the same, suggesting that they form a contiguous crustal section dominated by granitoid plutons. The oldest orthogneisses are dated at ca. 2820 Ma (Dodoma Suite) and the youngest alkaline syenite plutons at ca. 2610 Ma (Singida Suite). Plutonism was interrupted by a period of deposition of volcano-sedimentary rocks metamorphosed to greenschist facies, directly dated by a pyroclastic metavolcanic rock which gave an age of ca. 2725 Ma. This is supported by detrital zircons from psammitic metasedimentary rocks, which indicate a maximum depositional age of ca. 2740 Ma, with additional detrital sources 2820 and 2940 Ma. Thus, 200 Ma of episodic magmatism in this part of the Tanzania Craton was punctuated by a period of uplift, exhumation, erosion and clastic sedimentation/volcanism, followed by burial and renewed granitic to syenitic magmatism. In eastern Tanzania (Handeni block), in the heart of the East African Orogen, all the dated orthogneisses and charnockites (apart from those of the overthrust Neoproterozoic granulite nappes), have Neoarchaean protolith ages within a narrow range between 2710 and 2630 Ma, identical to (but more restricted than) the ages of the Singida Suite. They show evidence of Ediacaran "Pan-African" isotopic disturbance, but this is poorly defined. In contrast, granulite samples from the Wami Complex nappe were dated at ca. 605 and ca. 675 Ma, coeval with previous dates of the "Eastern Granulites" of eastern Tanzania and granulite nappes of adjacent NE Mozambique. To the south of the Tanzania Craton, samples of orthogneiss from the northern part of the Lupa area were dated at ca. 2730 Ma and clearly belong to the Tanzania Craton. However, granitoid samples from the southern part of the Lupa "block" have Palaeoproterozoic (Ubendian) intrusive ages of ca. 1920 Ma. Outcrops further south, at the northern tip of Lake Malawi, mark the SE continuation of the Ubendian belt, albeit with slightly younger ages of igneous rocks (ca. 1870-1900 Ma) which provide a link with the Ponte Messuli Complex, along strike to the SE in northern Mozambique. In SW Tanzania, rocks from the Mgazini area gave Ubendian protolith ages of ca. 1980-1800 Ma, but these rocks underwent Late Mesoproterozoic high-grade metamorphism between 1015 and 1040 Ma. One granitoid gave a crystallisation age of ca. 1080 Ma correlating with known Mesoproterozoic crust to the east in SE Tanzania and NE Mozambique. However, while the crust in the Mgazini area was clearly one of original Ubendian age, reworked and intruded by granitoids at ca. 1 Ga, the crust of SE Tanzania is a mixed Mesoproterozoic terrane and a continuation from NE Mozambique. Hence the Mgazini area lies at the edge of the Ubendian belt which was re-worked during the Mesoproterozoic orogen (South Irumide belt), providing a further constraint on the distribution of ca. 1 Ga crust in SE Africa. Hf data from near-concordant analyses of detrital zircons from a sample from the Tanzania Craton lie along a Pb-loss trajectory (Lu/Hf = 0), extending back to ?3.9 Ga. This probably represents the initial depleted mantle extraction event of the cratonic core. Furthermore, the Hf data from all igneous samples, regardless of age, from the entire study area (including the Neoproterozoic granulite nappes) show a shallow evolution trend (Lu/Hf = 0.028) extending back to the same mantle extraction age. This implies the entire Tanzanian crust sampled in this study represents over 3.5 billion years of crustal reworking from a single crustal reservoir and that the innermost core of the Tanzanian Craton that was subsequently reworked was composed of a very depleted, mafic source with a very high Lu/Hf ratio. Our study helps to define the architecture of the Tanzanian Craton and its evolution from a single age-source in the early Eoarchaean.
New U-Pb SHRIMP ages from the Lubango region, sw Angola: insights into the Paleoproterozoic evolution of the Angolan shield, southern Congo craton, Africa.
Journal of the Geological Society, Vol. 170, pp. 353-363.
Abstract: Carbon isotope compositions and the distribution of nitrogen and hydrogen in diamonds from 18 eclogites from Nurbinskaya kimberlites were studied in situ in polished plates. Cathodoluminescence images show that most of the diamonds have complex growth structures with distinctive cores, intermediate and rim zones. In some diamonds the cores display dissolution features, and intermediate growth zones are separated from the cores by narrow rounded oscillatory zones. At least three crystals show interrupted multistage diamond growth; variations in ? ¹³C of 2–3‰ occur across the contacts between distinct zones. Generally, ?¹³C within the diamond cores varies only by 1–2‰, in rare cases up to 3.3‰. ?¹³C values are usually lower in the intermediate zones and drop further towards the rims by up to 3‰. High-resolution SIMS profiles show that variations in ?¹³C across the diamond growth zones are sharp with no evidence of diffusive relaxation.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 238, pp. 542-562.
Canada, Nunavut, Baffin Island
picrites
Abstract: Young (61?Ma) unaltered picrites from Baffin Island, northeast Canada, possess some of the highest 3He/4He (up to 50?Ra) seen on Earth, and provide a unique opportunity to study primordial mantle that has escaped subsequent chemical modification. These high-degree partial melts also record anomalously high 182W/184W ratios, but their Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotopic compositions (including 142Nd) are indistinguishable from those of North Atlantic mid-ocean ridge basalts. New high precision Fe and Zn stable isotope analyses of Baffin Island picrites show limited variability with ?56Fe ranging from ?0.03‰ to 0.13‰ and ?66Zn varying from 0.18‰ to 0.28‰. However, a clear inflection is seen in both sets of isotope data around the composition of the parental melt (MgO?=?21?wt%; ?56Fe?=?0.08?±?0.04‰; and ?66Zn?=?0.24?±?0.03‰), with two diverging trends interpreted to reflect the crystallisation of olivine and spinel in low-MgO samples and the accumulation of olivine at higher MgO. Olivine mineral separates are significantly isotopically lighter than their corresponding whole rocks (?56Fe????0.62‰ and ?66Zn????0.22‰), with analyses of individual olivine phenocrysts having extremely variable Fe isotope compositions (?56Fe?=??0.01‰ to ?0.80‰). By carrying out modelling in three-isotope space, we show that the very negative Fe isotope compositions of olivine phenocryst are the result of kinetic isotope fractionation from disequilibrium diffusional processes. An excellent correlation is observed between ?56Fe and ?66Zn, demonstrating that Zn isotopes are fractionated by the same processes as Fe in simple systems dominated by magmatic olivine. The incompatible behaviour of Cu during magmatic evolution is consistent with the sulfide-undersaturated nature of these melts. Consequently Zn behaves as a purely lithophile element, and estimates of the bulk Earth Zn isotope composition based on Baffin Island should therefore be robust. The ancient undegassed lower mantle sampled at Baffin Island possesses a ?56Fe value that is within error of previous estimates of bulk mantle ?56Fe, however, our estimate of the Baffin mantle ?66Zn (0.20?±?0.03‰) is significantly lower than some previous estimates. Comparison of our new data with those for Archean and Proterozoic komatiites is consistent with the Fe and Zn isotope composition of the mantle remaining constant from at least 3?Ga to the present day. By focusing on large-degree partial melts (e.g. komatiites and picrites) we are potenitally biasing our record to samples that will inevitably have interacted with, entrained and melted the ambient shallow mantle during ascent. For a major element such as Fe, that will continuosly participate in melting as it rises through the mantle, the final isotopic compositon of the magama will be a weighted average of the complete melting column. Thus it is unsuprising that minimal Fe isotope variations are seen between localities. In contrast, the unique geochemical signatures (e.g. He and W) displayed by the Baffin Island picrites are inferred to solely originate from the lowermost mantle and will be continuously diluted upon magma ascent.
Abstract: Estimates of the volume of the earliest crust based on zircon ages and radiogenic isotopes remain equivocal. Stable isotope systems, such as molybdenum, have the potential to provide further constraints but remain underused due to the lack of complementarity between mantle and crustal reservoirs. Here we present molybdenum isotope data for Archaean komatiites and Phanerozoic komatiites and picrites and demonstrate that their mantle sources all possess subchondritic signatures complementary to the superchondritic continental crust. These results confirm that the present-day degree of mantle depletion was achieved by 3.5 billion years ago and that Earth has been in a steady state with respect to molybdenum recycling. Mass balance modelling shows that this early mantle depletion requires the extraction of a far greater volume of mafic-dominated protocrust than previously thought, more than twice the volume of the continental crust today, implying rapid crustal growth and destruction in the first billion years of Earth’s history.
Using diamond characterization to refine micro and macro diamond processing and recovery.
Vancouver Kimberlite , Jan. 31, 1p. Abstract
Global
microdiamonds
Abstract: Bulk samples for both micro and macro diamond recovery are very costly, and typically only a small amount of quantitative data is collected, this is particularly the case for micro diamonds. Standard practise is to only provide information on the number of diamonds, their sizes, and weight. However, a large amount of quantitative data can be collected for both micro and macro diamonds to understand their unique characteristics. This data can be used to enhance diamond recovery through optimization of standard processes or introduction of appropriate processing equipment. The more information that can be collected in the prefeasibility stage, the more streamlined the diamond recovery circuit can be made, and the less diamond loss will occur. This presentation will provide an overview of standard recovery methods for micro and macro diamonds as well as other test work that can be applied to the parcels. The resulting data can provide information on the unique properties for that parcel in order to customize process flows and optimize recovery. Caustic fusion is a widely accepted method for micro diamond recovery. Thanks to its high liberation efficiency by dissolution, caustic fusion can also be an effective tool for auditing process streams. Any additional diamonds recovered through these audits can be studied to determine if crusher gap or pressure settings are appropriate for optimal liberation or if there are any other properties the diamonds may have that inhibits proper recovery, such as unique fluorescence characteristics, abundant inclusions, coats, etc. Dense media separation (DMS) is currently the most common method of concentration for the recovery of macro diamonds. Process flows can be modified in attempts to optimize plant performance but there can often be sacrifices. Diamond breakage can be assessed to give insight on the type of damage occurring and if the source is mechanical or related to the properties of the diamonds themselves. By considering the diamond breakage, updated size frequency distribution plots can be made, and predictions on the largest diamond expected for the kimberlite tonnage can be made. This information can also be used when determining parameters such as crusher gap settings. In addition, densiometric analyses can provide a useful profile of the predominant mineral background in the DMS process material to determine the appropriate cut point. Once diamonds are recovered, the resulting parcels can have a story to tell in addition to the diamond value. Magnetic susceptibility investigations can provide information on included diamonds and how magnetics could be incorporated into a flow sheet for pre-recovery concentration. Diamond Typing based on their nitrogen content and aggregation states can identify populations of stones that could make recovery less effective. Type II diamonds are commonly known for being large and high value, however, they also exhibit low to no luminescence under conventional x-ray recovery equipment. Luminescence profiles can be measured and provide feedback on the appropriate x-ray thresholds for the recovery equipment. Being able to predict the characteristics of the diamond populations which will be mined can provide information to design a primary ore recovery circuit to recover these stones. There is a wide array of process equipment available for diamond recovery, some very old, and some very new, however there are ways to provide data on what combination will work best.
Isotopic and Geochemical Systematics in Tertiary Recent Basalts from Southeastern Australia and Implications for the Evolution of the Subcontinental Lithosphere.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica ACTA., Vol. 49, No. 10, PP. 2051-2067.
Samarium-neodymium (Sm-Nd) systematics in eclogite and garnet peridotite nodules fromkimberlites: implications for the early differentiation of the earth #1
Proceedings of the Fourth International Kimberlite Conference, Held, No. 16, pp. 285-287
Samarium-neodymium (Sm-Nd) systematics in eclogite and garnet peridotite nodules fromkimberlites: implications for the early differentiation of the earth #2
Geological Society of Australia Inc. Blackwell Scientific Publishing, No. 14, Vol. 2, pp. 864-876
Neodymium-Palladium isotopic characteristics of the Mordor Complex, Northern Territory: Mid-Proterozoic potassic magmatism from an enriched mantle source
Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 36, No. 4, December pp. 541-551
Australia
Potassic rocks, Proterozoic, Mordor Complex, Rare Earth Elements
samarium-neodymium (Sm-Nd) mineral isochron ages of Late Proterozoic dyke swarms in Australia:evidence for two distinctive events of mafic magmatism and crustal extension.
National geochemical Reconnaissance: regional stream sediment and water data: Travaillant Lake area.. analytical, mineralogical kimberlite indicator data
Geological Survey of Canada Open File, 4951, 1 CD May 17, $ 9.10
Preliminary release of kimberlite indicator mineral dat a from National geochemical Reconnaissance stream sediment samples in the Jackpine Lake area Buffalo Head Hills
Geological Survey of Canada Open File, 5267, 23p. 1 CD $ 26.00
Geochemical, mineralogical and kimberlite indicator mineral electron microprobe dat a from sills, heavy mineral concentrates and waters Buffalo Head Hills.
Geological Survey of Canada Open File, No. 5057, 16p.
Stream sediment sampling for kimberlite indicator minerals in the western Canada sedimentary basin: the Buffalo Head Hills Survey, north central Alberta.
Geological Association of Canada Short Course, No. 18, pp. 111-124.
Earth Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 490, pp. 100-109.
Canada
craton
Abstract: Cratons are generally considered to comprise lithosphere that has remained tectonically quiescent for billions of years. Direct evidence for stability is mainly founded in the Phanerozoic sedimentary record and low-temperature thermochronology, but for extensive parts of Canada, earlier stability has been inferred due to the lack of an extensive rock record in both time and space. We used 40Ar/39Ar multi-diffusion domain (MDD) analysis of K-feldspar to constrain cratonic thermal histories across an intermediate (~150-350°C) temperature range in an attempt to link published high-temperature geochronology that resolves the timing of orogenesis and metamorphism with lower-temperature data suited for upper-crustal burial and unroofing histories. This work is focused on understanding the transition from Archean-Paleoproterozoic crustal growth to later intervals of stability, and how uninterrupted that record is throughout Earth’s Proterozoic "Middle Age." Intermediate-temperature thermal histories of cratonic rocks at well-constrained localities within the southern Canadian Shield of North America challenge the stability worldview because our data indicate that these rocks were at elevated temperatures in the Proterozoic. Feldspars from granitic rocks collected at the surface cooled at rates of <0.5°C/Ma subsequent to orogenesis, seemingly characteristic of cratonic lithosphere, but modeled thermal histories suggest that at ca. 1.1-1.0 Ga these rocks were still near ~200°C - signaling either reheating, or prolonged residence at mid-crustal depths assuming a normal cratonic geothermal gradient. After 1.0 Ga, the regions we sampled then underwent further cooling such that they were at or near the surface (<< 60°C) in the early Paleozoic. Explaining mid-crustal residence at 1.0 Ga is challenging. A widespread, prolonged reheating history via burial is not supported by stratigraphic information, however assuming a purely monotonic cooling history requires at the very least 5 km of exhumation beginning at ca. 1.0 Ga. A possible explanation may be found in evidence of magmatic underplating that thickened the crust, driving uplift and erosion. The timing of this underplating coincides with Mid-Continent extension, Grenville orogenesis, and assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia. 40Ar/39Ar MDD data demonstrate that this technique can be successfully applied to older rocks and fill in a large observational gap. These data also raise questions about the evolution of cratons during the Proterozoic and the nature of cratonic stability across deep time.
Abstract: Cratons are generally considered to comprise lithosphere that has remained tectonically quiescent for billions of years. Direct evidence for stability is mainly founded in the Phanerozoic sedimentary record and low-temperature thermochronology, but for extensive parts of Canada, earlier stability has been inferred due to the lack of an extensive rock record in both time and space. We used 40Ar/39Ar multi-diffusion domain (MDD) analysis of K-feldspar to constrain cratonic thermal histories across an intermediate (?150-350?°C) temperature range in an attempt to link published high-temperature geochronology that resolves the timing of orogenesis and metamorphism with lower-temperature data suited for upper-crustal burial and unroofing histories. This work is focused on understanding the transition from Archean-Paleoproterozoic crustal growth to later intervals of stability, and how uninterrupted that record is throughout Earth's Proterozoic “Middle Age.” Intermediate-temperature thermal histories of cratonic rocks at well-constrained localities within the southern Canadian Shield of North America challenge the stability worldview because our data indicate that these rocks were at elevated temperatures in the Proterozoic. Feldspars from granitic rocks collected at the surface cooled at rates of <0.5?°C/Ma subsequent to orogenesis, seemingly characteristic of cratonic lithosphere, but modeled thermal histories suggest that at ca. 1.1-1.0 Ga these rocks were still near ?200?°C - signaling either reheating, or prolonged residence at mid-crustal depths assuming a normal cratonic geothermal gradient. After 1.0 Ga, the regions we sampled then underwent further cooling such that they were at or near the surface (?60?°C) in the early Paleozoic. Explaining mid-crustal residence at 1.0 Ga is challenging. A widespread, prolonged reheating history via burial is not supported by stratigraphic information, however assuming a purely monotonic cooling history requires at the very least 5 km of exhumation beginning at ca. 1.0 Ga. A possible explanation may be found in evidence of magmatic underplating that thickened the crust, driving uplift and erosion. The timing of this underplating coincides with Mid-Continent extension, Grenville orogenesis, and assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia. 40Ar/39Ar MDD data demonstrate that this technique can be successfully applied to older rocks and fill in a large observational gap. These data also raise questions about the evolution of cratons during the Proterozoic and the nature of cratonic stability across deep time.
Canada, Nunavut, Southampton Island, Africa, Kaapvaal
craton
Abstract: Ancient rocks have survived plate tectonic recycling for billions of years, but key questions remain about how and when they were exhumed to the surface. Constraining exhumation histories over long timescales is a challenge because much of the rock record has been lost to erosion. Argon and helium noble gas thermochronology can reconstruct deep-time <350 °C thermal histories by using the distinct temperature sensitivities of minerals such as feldspar, zircon, and apatite, while exploiting grain size and radiation damage effects on diffusion kinetics. Resolution of unique time-temperature paths over long timescales requires multiple chronometers, appropriate kinetic models, and inverse simulation techniques to fully explore and constrain possible solutions. Results suggest that surface histories of ancient continental interiors are far from uninteresting and may merely be misunderstood.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 294. pp. 295-314. pdf
Canada
carbon
Abstract: The recent expansion of studies at hydrothermal submarine vents from investigation of abiotic methane formation to include abiotic production of organics such acetate and formate, and rising interest in processes of abiotic organic synthesis on the ocean-world moons of Saturn and Jupiter, have raised interest in potential Earth analogs for investigation of prebiotic/abiotic processes to an unprecedented level. The deep continental subsurface provides an attractive target to identify analog environments where the influence of abiotic carbon cycling may be investigated, particularly in hydrogeological isolated fracture fluids where the products of chemical water-rock reactions have been less overprinted by the biogeochemical signatures of the planet’s surficial water and carbon cycles. Here we report, for the first time, a comprehensive set of concentration measurements and isotopic signatures for acetate and formate, as well as the dissolved inorganic and organic carbon pools, for saline fracture waters naturally flowing 2.4?km below surface in 2.7 billion year-old rocks on the Canadian Shield. These geologically ancient fluids at the Kidd Creek Observatory were the focus of previous investigations of fracture fluid geochemistry, microbiology and noble gas-derived residence times. Here we show the fracture waters of Kidd Creek contain high concentrations of both acetate and formate with concentrations from 1200 to 1900?µmol/L, and 480 to 1000?µmol/L, respectively. Acetate and formate alone account for more than 50-90% of the total DOC - providing a very simple "organic soup". The unusually elevated concentrations and profoundly 13C-enriched nature of the acetate and formate suggest an important role for abiotic organic synthesis in the deep carbon cycle at this hydrogeologically isolated site. A variety of potential abiotic production reactions are discussed, including a radiolytically driven H, S and C deep cycle that could provide a mechanism for sustaining deep subsurface habitability. Scientific discoveries are beginning to reveal that organic-producing reactions that would have prevailed on Earth before the rise of life, and that may persist today on planets and moons such as Enceladus, Europa and Titan, can be accessed in some specialized geologic settings on Earth that provide valuable natural analog environments for the investigation of abiotic organic chemistry outside the laboratory.
International Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 107, 3, pp. 787-810.
Mantle
geochemistry
Abstract: Archean and Proterozoic subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SLM) is compared using 83 similarly incompatible element ratios (SIER; minimally affected by % melting or differentiation, e.g., Rb/Ba, Nb/Pb, Ti/Y) for >3700 basalts from ten continental flood basalt (CFB) provinces representing nine large igneous provinces (LIPs). Nine transition metals (TM; Fe, Mn, Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) in 102 primitive basalts (Mg# = 0.69-0.72) from nine provinces yield additional SLM information. An iterative evaluation of SIER values indicates that, regardless of age, CFB transecting Archean lithosphere are enriched in Rb, K, Pb, Th and heavy REE(?); whereas P, Ti, Nb, Ta and light REE(?) are higher in Proterozoic-and-younger SLM sources. This suggests efficient transfer of alkali metals and Pb to the continental lithosphere perhaps in association with melting of subducted ocean floor to form Archean tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite terranes. Titanium, Nb and Ta were not efficiently transferred, perhaps due to the stabilization of oxide phases (e.g., rutile or ilmenite) in down-going Archean slabs. CFB transecting Archean lithosphere have EM1-like SIER that are more extreme than seen in oceanic island basalts (OIB) suggesting an Archean SLM origin for OIB-enriched mantle 1 (EM1). In contrast, OIB high U/Pb (HIMU) sources have more extreme SIER than seen in CFB provinces. HIMU may represent subduction-processed ocean floor recycled directly to the convecting mantle, but to avoid convective homogenization and produce its unique Pb isotopic signature may require long-term isolation and incubation in SLM. Based on all TM, CFB transecting Proterozoic lithosphere are distinct from those cutting Archean lithosphere. There is a tendency for lower Sc, Cr, Ni and Cu, and higher Zn, in the sources for Archean-cutting CFB and EM1 OIB, than Proterozoic-cutting CFB and HIMU OIB. All CFB have SiO2 (pressure proxy)-Nb/Y (% melting proxy) relationships supporting low pressure, high % melting resembling OIB tholeiites, but TM concentrations do not correlate with % melting. Thus, the association of layered intrusion (plutonic CFB) TM deposits with Archean terranes does not appear related to higher metal concentrations or higher percentages of melting in Archean SLM. Other characteristics of these EM1-like magmas (e.g., S2 or O2 fugacity) may lead to element scavenging and concentration during differentiation to form ore deposits.
Rogermitchellite, a new mineral species from Mont Hilaire Quebec: description, structure, determination and relationship with HFSE bearing cyclosilicates.
Abstract: The W Horizon, Marathon Cu-Pd deposit in the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent rift is one of the highest grade PGE repositories in magmatic ore deposits world-wide. The textural relationships and compositions of diverse platinum-group mineral (PGM) and sulfide assemblages in the extremely enriched ores (>100 ppm Pd-Pt-Au over 2 m) of the W Horizon have been investigated in mineral concentrates with ?10,000 PGM grains and in situ using scanning electron microprobe and microprobe analyses. Here we show, from ore samples with concentrations up to 23.1 Pd ppm, 8.9 Pt ppm, 1.4 Au ppm and 0.73 Rh ppm, the diversity of minerals (n = 52) including several significant unknown minerals and three new mineral species marathonite (Pd25Ge9; McDonald et al., 2016), palladogermanide (Pd2Ge; IMA 2016-086, McDonald et al., 2017), kravtsovite (PdAg2S, IMA No 2016-092, Vymazalová et al., 2017). The PGM are distributed as PG-, sulfides (52 vol%), -arsenides (34 vol%), -intermetallics of Au-Ag-Pd-Cu and Pd-Ge(10 vol%) and -bismuthides and tellurides (4 vol%). The discovery of abundant (>330 grains) large unknown sulfide minerals with Rh allows us to present analyses three significant potentially new minerals (WUK-1, WUK-2, WUK-3) that are all clearly enriched in Rh (averaging 4.2, 8.5 and 28.21 wt% Rh respectively). Several examples of paragenetic sequences and mineral chemical changes for enrichment of Cu, Pd and Rh with time are revealed in the PGM and base-metal sulfides. We suggest this enhanced metal enrichment formed in response to increasing fO2 causing the oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+ and to a lesser extent, S. Phase relations in the Ag-Pd-S, Rh-Ni-Fe-S, Pd-Ge, Au-Pd-Cu-Ag, Pd-Ag-Te systems help constrain the crystallization temperatures of the majority of ore minerals in the W Horizon at ?500 °C or moderate to high subsolidus temperatures (400–600 °C). Local transport by aqueous fluids becomes evident as minerals recrystallize down to <300 °C. The PGE-enriched W Horizon ores exhibit a complex post-magmatic history dominated by the effects of oxidation during cooling of a Cu-PGE enriched magma source from a deep reservoir.
Journal of Metamorphic Geology, Vol. 38, pp. 593-627.
Australia
geochronology
Abstract: The final assembly of the Mesoproterozoic supercontinent Nuna was marked by the collision of Laurentia and Australia at 1.60 Ga, which is recorded in the Georgetown Inlier of NE Australia. Here, we decipher the metamorphic evolution of this final Nuna collisional event using petrostructural analysis, major and trace element compositions of key minerals, thermodynamic modelling, and multi?method geochronology. The Georgetown Inlier is characterised by deformed and metamorphosed 1.70-1.62 Ga sedimentary and mafic rocks, which were intruded by c. 1.56 Ga old S?type granites. Garnet Lu-Hf and monazite U-Pb isotopic analyses distinguish two major metamorphic events (M1 at c. 1.60 Ga and M2 at c. 1.55 Ga), which allows at least two composite fabrics to be identified at the regional scale—c. 1.60 Ga S1 (consisting in fabrics S1a and S1b) and c. 1.55 Ga S2 (including fabrics S2a and S2b). Also, three tectono?metamorphic domains are distinguished: (a) the western domain, with S1 defined by low?P (LP) greenschist facies assemblages; (b) the central domain, where S1 fabric is preserved as medium?P (MP) amphibolite facies relicts, and locally as inclusion trails in garnet wrapped by the regionally dominant low?P amphibolite facies S2 fabric; and (c) the eastern domain dominated by upper amphibolite to granulite facies S2 foliation. In the central domain, 1.60 Ga MP-medium?T (MT) metamorphism (M1) developed within the staurolite-garnet stability field, with conditions ranging from 530-550°C at 6-7 kbar (garnet cores) to 620-650°C at 8-9 kbar (garnet rims), and it is associated with S1 fabric. The onset of 1.55 Ga LP-high?T (HT) metamorphism (M2) is marked by replacement of staurolite by andalusite (M2a/D2a), which was subsequently pseudomorphed by sillimanite (M2b/D2b) where granite and migmatite are abundant. P-T conditions ranged from 600 to 680°C and 4-6 kbar for the M2b sillimanite stage. 1.60 Ga garnet relicts within the S2 foliation highlight the progressive obliteration of the S1 fabric by regional S2 in the central zone during peak M2 metamorphism. In the eastern migmatitic complex, partial melting of paragneiss and amphibolite occurred syn? to post? S2, at 730-770°C and 6-8 kbar, and at 750-790°C and 6 kbar, respectively. The pressure-temperature-deformation-time paths reconstructed for the Georgetown Inlier suggest a c. 1.60 Ga M1/D1 event recorded under greenschist facies conditions in the western domain and under medium?P and medium?T conditions in the central domain. This event was followed by the regional 1.56-1.54 Ga low?P and high?T phase (M2/D2), extensively recorded in the central and eastern domains. Decompression between these two metamorphic events is ascribed to an episode of exhumation. The two?stage evolution supports the previous hypothesis that the Georgetown Inlier preserves continental collisional and subsequent thermal perturbation associated with granite emplacement.
The geochemistry (platinum group elements (PGE)) in kimberlites and constraints of the nature platinum group elements (PGE) insubcratonic lithospheric mantle.
International Symposium Upper Mantle, Aug. 14-19, 1994, Extended abstracts pp. 73-75.
Maier, W.D., Peltonen, P., McDonald, I., Barnes, S.J., Barnes, S-J., Hatton, C., Viljoen, F.
The concentration of platinum group elements and gold in southern African and Karelian kimberlite hosted mantle xenoliths: implications for the noble metal content of the Earth's mantle.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, available in press 23p.
Africa, Botswana
deposit - Orapa
Abstract: Base metal sulphide (BMS) inclusions in diamonds provide a unique insight into the chalcophile and highly siderophile element composition of the mantle. Entombed within their diamond hosts, these provide a more robust (closed system) sample, from which to determine the trace element, Re-Os and S-isotopic compositions of the mantle than mantle xenoliths or orogenic peridotites, as they are shielded from alteration during ascent to the Earth’s crust and subsequent surface weathering. However, at temperatures below 1100 °C some BMS inclusions undergo subsolidus re-equilibration from an original monosulphide solid solution (Mss) and this causes fractionation of the major and trace elements within the inclusions. Thus to study the subjects noted above, current techniques require the entire BMS inclusion to be extracted for analyses. Unfortunately, ‘flaking’ of inclusions during break-out is a frequent occurrence and hence the risk of accidentally under-sampling a portion of the BMS inclusion is inherent in current practices. This loss may have significant implications for Re-Os isotope analyses where incomplete sampling of a Re-rich phase, such as chalcopyrite that typically occurs at the outer margins of BMS inclusions, may induce significant bias in the Re-Os and 187Os/188Os measurements and resulting model and isochron ages. We have developed a method for the homogenisation of BMS inclusions in diamond prior to their break-out from the host stone. Diamonds are heated to 1100 °C and then quenched to chemically homogenise any sulphide inclusions for both major and trace elements. Using X-ray Computed Microtomography (µCT) we determine the shape and spatial setting of multiple inclusions within a host stone and crucially show that the volume of a BMS inclusion is the same both before and after homogenisation. We show that the homogenisation process significantly reduces the inherent variability of in situ analysis when compared with unhomogenised BMS, thereby widening the scope for multiple methods for quantitative analysis, even on ‘flakes’ of single BMS inclusions. Finally we show that the trace elements present in peridotite (P-type) and eclogitic (E-type) BMS are distinct, with P-type diamonds having systematically higher total platinum-group element (particularly Os, Ir, Ru) and Te and As concentrations. These distinctions suggest that the PGE and semi-metal budgets of mantle-derived partial melts will be significantly dependent upon the type(s) and proportions of sulphides present in the mantle source.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available, 23p.
Technology
diamond inclusions
Abstract: Base metal sulphide (BMS) inclusions in diamonds provide a unique insight into the chalcophile and highly siderophile element composition of the mantle. Entombed within their diamond hosts, these provide a more robust (closed system) sample, from which to determine the trace element, Re-Os and S-isotopic compositions of the mantle than mantle xenoliths or orogenic peridotites, as they are shielded from alteration during ascent to the Earth’s crust and subsequent surface weathering. However, at temperatures below 1100 °C some BMS inclusions undergo subsolidus re-equilibration from an original monosulphide solid solution (Mss) and this causes fractionation of the major and trace elements within the inclusions. Thus to study the subjects noted above, current techniques require the entire BMS inclusion to be extracted for analyses. Unfortunately, ‘flaking’ of inclusions during break-out is a frequent occurrence and hence the risk of accidentally under-sampling a portion of the BMS inclusion is inherent in current practices. This loss may have significant implications for Re-Os isotope analyses where incomplete sampling of a Re-rich phase, such as chalcopyrite that typically occurs at the outer margins of BMS inclusions, may induce significant bias in the Re-Os and 187Os/188Os measurements and resulting model and isochron ages. We have developed a method for the homogenisation of BMS inclusions in diamond prior to their break-out from the host stone. Diamonds are heated to 1100 °C and then quenched to chemically homogenise any sulphide inclusions for both major and trace elements. Using X-ray Computed Microtomography (µCT) we determine the shape and spatial setting of multiple inclusions within a host stone and crucially show that the volume of a BMS inclusion is the same both before and after homogenisation. We show that the homogenisation process significantly reduces the inherent variability of in situ analysis when compared with unhomogenised BMS, thereby widening the scope for multiple methods for quantitative analysis, even on ‘flakes’ of single BMS inclusions. Finally we show that the trace elements present in peridotite (P-type) and eclogitic (E-type) BMS are distinct, with P-type diamonds having systematically higher total platinum-group element (particularly Os, Ir, Ru) and Te and As concentrations. These distinctions suggest that the PGE and semi-metal budgets of mantle-derived partial melts will be significantly dependent upon the type(s) and proportions of sulphides present in the mantle source.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 216, pp. 335-357.
Technology
diamond inclusions - microtomography
Abstract: Base metal sulphide (BMS) inclusions in diamonds provide a unique insight into the chalcophile and highly siderophile element composition of the mantle. Entombed within their diamond hosts, these provide a more robust (closed system) sample, from which to determine the trace element, Re-Os and S-isotopic compositions of the mantle than mantle xenoliths or orogenic peridotites, as they are shielded from alteration during ascent to the Earth’s crust and subsequent surface weathering. However, at temperatures below 1100 °C some BMS inclusions undergo subsolidus re-equilibration from an original monosulphide solid solution (Mss) and this causes fractionation of the major and trace elements within the inclusions. Thus to study the subjects noted above, current techniques require the entire BMS inclusion to be extracted for analyses. Unfortunately, ‘flaking’ of inclusions during break-out is a frequent occurrence and hence the risk of accidentally under-sampling a portion of the BMS inclusion is inherent in current practices. This loss may have significant implications for Re-Os isotope analyses where incomplete sampling of a Re-rich phase, such as chalcopyrite that typically occurs at the outer margins of BMS inclusions, may induce significant bias in the Re-Os and 187Os/188Os measurements and resulting model and isochron ages. We have developed a method for the homogenisation of BMS inclusions in diamond prior to their break-out from the host stone. Diamonds are heated to 1100 °C and then quenched to chemically homogenise any sulphide inclusions for both major and trace elements. Using X-ray Computed Microtomography (µCT) we determine the shape and spatial setting of multiple inclusions within a host stone and crucially show that the volume of a BMS inclusion is the same both before and after homogenisation. We show that the homogenisation process significantly reduces the inherent variability of in situ analysis when compared with unhomogenised BMS, thereby widening the scope for multiple methods for quantitative analysis, even on ‘flakes’ of single BMS inclusions. Finally we show that the trace elements present in peridotite (P-type) and eclogitic (E-type) BMS are distinct, with P-type diamonds having systematically higher total platinum-group element (particularly Os, Ir, Ru) and Te and As concentrations. These distinctions suggest that the PGE and semi-metal budgets of mantle-derived partial melts will be significantly dependent upon the type(s) and proportions of sulphides present in the mantle source.
Nature Communications, doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11065-4 pdf 10p.
Mantle
subduction
Abstract: Ore deposits are loci on Earth where energy and mass flux are greatly enhanced and focussed, acting as magnifying lenses into metal transport, fractionation and concentration mechanisms through the lithosphere. Here we show that the metallogenic architecture of the lithosphere is illuminated by the geochemical signatures of metasomatised mantle rocks and post-subduction magmatic-hydrothermal mineral systems. Our data reveal that anomalously gold and tellurium rich magmatic sulfides in mantle-derived magmas emplaced in the lower crust share a common metallogenic signature with upper crustal porphyry-epithermal ore systems. We propose that a trans-lithospheric continuum exists whereby post-subduction magmas transporting metal-rich sulfide cargoes play a fundamental role in fluxing metals into the crust from metasomatised lithospheric mantle. Therefore, ore deposits are not merely associated with isolated zones where serendipitous happenstance has produced mineralisation. Rather, they are depositional points along the mantle-to-upper crust pathway of magmas and hydrothermal fluids, synthesising the concentrated metallogenic budget available.
Primary melting sequence of a deep ( >250 km) lithospheric mantle as recorded in the geochemistry of kimberlite carbonatite assemblages, Snap Lake dyke system, Canada.
Kimberlite indicator minerals in terrigene sediments of lower part of Mackenzie River Basin, NWT, Canada: evidence of new craton with thick lithosphere.
10th. International Kimberlite Conference Feb. 6-11, Bangalore India, Abstract
Isotopic and Geochemical Systematics in Tertiary Recent Basalts from Southeastern Australia and Implications for the Evolution of the Subcontinental Lithosphere.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica ACTA., Vol. 49, No. 10, PP. 2051-2067.
Dasgupta, R., Hirschmann, M.M., McDonough, W.F., Spiegelman, M., Withers, A.C.
Trace element partitioning between garnet lherzolite and carbonatite at 6.6 and 8.6 GPa with application to the geochemistry of the mantle and mantle derived melts
Chemical Geology, Vol. 262, 1-2, May 15, pp. 57-77.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available 78p.
Mantle
Bulk chemistry
Abstract: The composition of the fine-grained matrix of glacial diamictites from the Mesoarchean, Paleoproterozoic, Neoproterozoic, and Paleozoic, collected from four modern continents, reflect the secular evolution of the average composition of the upper continental crust (UCC). The effects of localized provenance are present in some cases, but distinctive geochemical signatures exist in diamictites of the same age from different localities, suggesting that these are global signatures. Archean UCC, dominated by greenstone basalts and less so komatiites, was more mafic, based on major elements and transition metal trace elements. Temporal changes in oxygen isotope ratios, rare earth elements, and high field strength elements indicate that the UCC became more differentiated and that tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite suites became less important with time, findings consistent with previous studies. We also document the concentrations of siderophile and chalcophile elements (Ga, Ge, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, W, Tl, Bi) and lithophile Be in the UCC through time, and use the data for the younger diamictites to construct a new estimate of average UCC along with associated uncertainties.
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 43, 8, pp. 3693-3697.
Mantle
Melting
Abstract: Seismic tomography models reveal two large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) that identify large-scale variations in temperature and composition in the deep mantle. Other characteristics include elevated density, elevated bulk sound speed, and sharp boundaries. We show that properties of LLSVPs can be explained by the presence of small quantities (0.3-3%) of suspended, dense Fe-Ni-S liquid. Trapping of metallic liquid is demonstrated to be likely during the crystallization of a dense basal magma ocean, and retention of such melts is consistent with currently available experimental constraints. Calculated seismic velocities and densities of lower mantle material containing low-abundance metallic liquids match the observed LLSVP properties. Small quantities of metallic liquids trapped at depth provide a natural explanation for primitive noble gas signatures in plume-related magmas. Our model hence provides a mechanism for generating large-scale chemical heterogeneities in Earth's early history and makes clear predictions for future tests of our hypothesis.
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 43, 8, pp. 3693-3699.
Mantle
Melting
Abstract: Seismic tomography models reveal two large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) that identify large-scale variations in temperature and composition in the deep mantle. Other characteristics include elevated density, elevated bulk sound speed, and sharp boundaries. We show that properties of LLSVPs can be explained by the presence of small quantities (0.3 -3%) of suspended, dense Fe-Ni-S liquid. Trapping of metallic liquid is demonstrated to be likely during the crystallization of a dense basal magma ocean, and retention of such melts is consistent with currently available experimental constraints. Calculated seismic velocities and densities of lower mantle material containing low-abundance metallic liquids match the observed LLSVP properties. Small quantities of metallic liquids trapped at depth provide a natural explanation for primitive noble gas signatures in plume-related magmas. Our model hence provides a mechanism for generating large-scale chemical heterogeneities in Earth's early history and makes clear predictions for future tests of our hypothesis.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems G3, pp. 4326-
Mantle
geophysics
Abstract: Regional characterization of the continental crust has classically been performed through either geologic mapping, geochemical sampling, or geophysical surveys. Rarely are these techniques fully integrated, due to limits of data coverage, quality, and/or incompatible data sets. We combine geologic observations, geochemical sampling, and geophysical surveys to create a coherent 3-D geologic model of a 50 × 50 km upper crustal region surrounding the SNOLAB underground physics laboratory in Canada, which includes the Southern Province, the Superior Province, the Sudbury Structure, and the Grenville Front Tectonic Zone. Nine representative aggregate units of exposed lithologies are geologically characterized, geophysically constrained, and probed with 109 rock samples supported by compiled geochemical databases. A detailed study of the lognormal distributions of U and Th abundances and of their correlation permits a bivariate analysis for a robust treatment of the uncertainties. A downloadable 3-D numerical model of U and Th distribution defines an average heat production of math formula µW/m3, and predicts a contribution of math formula TNU (a Terrestrial Neutrino Unit is one geoneutrino event per 1032 target protons per year) out of a crustal geoneutrino signal of math formula TNU. The relatively high local crust geoneutrino signal together with its large variability strongly restrict the SNO+ capability of experimentally discriminating among BSE compositional models of the mantle. Future work to constrain the crustal heat production and the geoneutrino signal at SNO+ will be inefficient without more detailed geophysical characterization of the 3-D structure of the heterogeneous Huronian Supergroup, which contributes the largest uncertainty to the calculation.
Tsuji, L.J.S., McCarthy, D.D., Whitelaw, G.S., McEachren, J.
Getting back to basics: the Victor diamond mine environmental assessment scoping process and the issue of family based traditional lands versus reg. traplines
Impact assessment and Project Appraisal, March Vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 37-47.
Tsuji, L.J.S., McCarthy, D.D., Whielaw, G.S., McEachren, J.
Getting back to basics: the Victor diamond mine environmental assessment scoping process and the issue of family based traditional lands versus traplines.
Impact Assessment and Project Aapraisal, Vol. 29, 1, pp. 37-47.
Abstract: The majority of natural pink diamonds have a color origin due to absorption from a broad 550?nm band that has been associated with plastic deformation. One consistent feature in the photoluminescence spectra of these pink diamonds is a wide emission band extending from ~600 to 750?nm, with a series of smaller oscillations overlaid on the larger emission band. This "pink emission band" is seen in diamonds colored by the 550?nm absorption band; the absorption band often, but not always, shows similar oscillations at ~600?nm (called the 609?nm system by previous researchers). This emission band served as a proxy for the 550?nm absorption band as we performed spatial mapping to chronicle the differences between the uniform coloration in type IIa pink diamonds and the pronounced banding in type Ia pink diamonds. We also used Raman spectroscopy to identify the internal crystal inclusions present in type IIa pink diamonds and determined that the majority have a sub-lithospheric origin.
Abstract: The Carlsbad laboratory recently examined a 0.70 ct, E-color round brilliant. Infrared spectroscopy showed this to be a type IIa diamond, so we performed a variety of additional spectroscopy and imaging to verify its natural origin. This diamond also had I1 clarity due to a large inclusion under the table (figure 1). Raman analysis of the inclusions verified that this crystal was a metastable composite of the minerals wollastonite (CaSiO3) and CaSiO3-breyite (E.M. Smith et al., “The very deep origin of the world’s biggest diamonds,” Winter 2017 G&G, pp. 388-403), which indicates a sublithospheric origin. These minerals are believed to be the lower-pressure phases of CaSiO3-perovskite. Around these minerals were large disk-like graphitic fractures indicating inclusion expansion as pressures on the diamond reduced during exhumation from the mantle. The other inclusion present was unidentifiable due to its graphitic casing. Recent research of inclusions in other type II diamonds shows that many, if not most, have a superdeep origin (again, see Smith et al., 2017). This stone is one more example of diamonds forming at incredible depths of 360-750 km before being transported to near the surface.
Abstract: Inclusions can tell us a great deal about a diamond’s formation history. Inclusions such as olivine, garnet, and chromite are more common, while others such as kyanite, zircon, and corundum (Al2O3) can be quite rare. Regardless of their rarity, diamond inclusions are often quite fascinating as they trap a small bit of the deep earth that cannot otherwise be sampled.
Diamonds in the rough: a new industry emerging in Canada's North.
Canada Forum: Held Nov. 204, Joint Ventures-Joint Rewards. The resource industry and aboriginal development co, info @canadaforum.com 180p. binder $ 120.00
Abstract: Apatites from the Verity, Fir, Gum, Howard Creek and Felix carbonatites of the Blue River (British Columbia, Canada) area have been investigated with respect to their paragenesis, cathodoluminescence, trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic composition. Although all of the Blue River carbonatites were emplaced as sills prior to amphibolite grade metamorphism and have undergone deformation, in many instances magmatic textures and mineralogy are retained. Attempts to constrain the U–Pb age of the carbonatites by SIMS, TIMS and LA–ICP-MS studies of zircon and titanite were inconclusive as all samples investigated have experienced significant Pb loss during metamorphism. The carbonatites are associated with undersaturated calcite–titanite amphibole nepheline syenite only at Howard Creek although most contain clasts of disaggregated phoscorite-like rocks. Apatite from each intrusion is characterized by distinct, but wide ranges, in trace element composition. The Sr and Nd isotopic compositions define an array on a 87Sr/86Sr vs²Nd diagram at 350 Ma indicating derivation from depleted sub-lithospheric mantle. This array could reflect mixing of Sr and Nd derived from HIMU and EM1 mantle sources, and implies that depleted mantle underlies the Canadian Cordillera. Although individual occurrences of carbonatites in the Blue River region are mineralogically and geochemically similar they are not identical and thus cannot be considered as rocks formed from a single batch of parental magma at the same stage of magmatic evolution. However, a common origin is highly probable. The variations in the trace element content and isotopic composition of apatite from each occurrence suggest that each carbonatite represents a combination of derivation of the parental magma(s) from mineralogically and isotopically heterogeneous depleted mantle sources coupled with different stages of limited differentiation and mixing of these magmas. We do not consider these carbonatites as primary direct partial melts of the sub-lithospheric mantle which have ascended from the asthenosphere without modification of their composition.
International Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 107, 7, pp. 2627-2633.
Africa, Botswana
kimberlites
Abstract: Glassy beads were found in the sand cover associated with known and suspected kimberlites on the Kalahari plateau, Botswana. Morphology and chemistry were examined by ESEM and EDAX. The polymetallic and quartzose "beads", here described for the first time and termed fulguroids, formed at very high temperatures, well in excess of those reached by the kimberlites. They solidified in free fall. We propose that they were melted in the atmosphere by lightning strikes on Kalahari overburden entrained when the kimberlites erupted.
McGee, B., Collins, A.S., Trindade, R.I.F., Jourdan, F.
Investigating mid-Edicaran glaciation and final Gondwana amalgamation using coupled sedimentology and 40 Ar/39Ar detrital muscovite provenance from the Paraguay Belt, Brazil.
Abstract: The Cuiabá Group is the basal part of the sequence of passive margin sediments that unconformably overly the Amazonian Craton in central Brazil. Despite these rock's importance in understanding Brazil's path in the supercontinent cycle from Rodinia to Gondwana and their potential record of catastrophic glaciation their internal stratigraphy and relationship to other units is still poorly understood. The timing of deposition and source areas for the subunits of the Cuiabá Group sedimentary rocks are investigated here using integrated U-Pb and Sm-Nd isotope data. We sampled in the northern Paraguay Belt, a range that developed in response to the collision between the Amazonian Craton, the Rio Apa Block, the São Francisco Craton and the Paranapanema Block. 1125 detrital zircon LA-ICPMS U-Pb ages were calculated and 22 whole rock samples were used for Sm-Nd isotope analysis. The U-Pb ages range between Archean and Neoproterozoic and the main source is the Sunsás Province. Moving up stratigraphy there is a subtle increase in slightly younger detritus with the youngest grain showing an age of 652?±?5 Ma, found at the top of the sequence. The age spectra are similar across each of the sampled units and when combined with the Sm-Nd data, indicate that the source of the detritus was mostly similar throughout deposition. This is consistent with the analysis here that indicates sedimentation occurred in a passive margin environment on the southern margin of the Amazonian Craton. The maximum depositional age of 652?±?5 Ma along with the age of the overlying cap carbonate of the Mirassol d’Oeste Formation suggests that part of this section of sediments were deposited in the purportedly global ?636 Ma Marinoan glaciation, although we give no sedimentological evidence for glaciation in the study area. Compared to the southern Paraguay Belt where no direct age constraints exist, the glacial epoch could be either Cryogenian or Ediacaran. In addition, available data in the literature indicates a diachronous evolution between the northern and southern arms of the Paraguay Belt in the final stages of deposition and deformation.