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Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior

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A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Geochemistry and Geochronology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2018) | Viewed by 52051

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Shoji Arai

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Guest Editor

Department of Earth Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan
Interests: mantle petrology; ophiolite genesis; chromite ore genesis; geochemistry and mineralogy of mantle-derived rocks
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mantle-derived rocks have been very important for us as a source of direct information about chemistry and processes in the deep part of Earth. Geochemistry and mineralogy of these materials especially provide us with excellent tool to unravel mantle processes including partial melting, melt extraction, melt-rock interaction, metallogeny, metasomatism and metamorphism. The mantle igneous processes produce various rocks such as peridotites and chromitites, which are modified to various degrees by subsequent metasomatism and metamorphism. Those deep processes keenly vary in response to the difference in tectonic settings. The mantle-derived rocks and their metamorphic equivalents are quite complicated and we need to accumulate high-quality observations and data to decipher the enigmas that happen in the deep part of Earth. Serpentinization processes of the mantle peridotites have been also attracting interests of geochemists, seismologists, and even biologists. The information from the mantle materials has been thus getting increasingly more important! This special issue aims at timely publication of original data and ideas obtained from the mantle minerals and rocks (especially peridotites, serpentinites and chromitites). We encourage any scientists of these disciplines to publish their results in this Special Issue on this occasion.

Prof. Dr. Shoji Arai
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Peridotites
Mantle minerals
Chromitites
Serpentinites
Partial melting
Peridotite–melt reaction
Ophiolites
Xenoliths

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 194 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Editorial for Special Issue “Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior”

by Shoji Arai

Minerals 2019, 9(3), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/min9030151 - 02 Mar 2019

Viewed by 1954

Abstract

This Special Issue contains nine articles [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior)

Research

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27 pages, 5472 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Abyssal Peridotite as a Component of Forearc Mantle: Inference from a New Mantle Xenolith Suite of Bankawa in the Southwest Japan Arc

by Shoji Arai, Akihiro Tamura, Makoto Miura and Kazuma Seike

Minerals 2018, 8(11), 540; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8110540 - 21 Nov 2018

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6657

Abstract

Lithology and petrologic nature of the forearc mantle have been left unclear due to the very limited sampling to date. Here, we present petrological data on a forearc peridotite suite obtained as xenoliths in an alkali basalt dike (7.5 Ma) from the Bankawa area in the Southwest Japan arc for our better understanding of the forearc mantle. The host alkali basalt is of asthenosphere origin, and passed through a slab window with slight chemical modification by the slab-derived component. The Bankawa peridotite suite is comprised of lherzolites, which contain various amounts of secondary phlogopite and were metasomatized to various degrees. The least metasomatized lherzolite exhibits Fo₉₁ of olivine, Cr/(Cr + Al) = 0.3 of chromian spinel, and depletion of middle to light rare-earth elements in clinopyroxene, and is overall similar to an abyssal lherzolite. It had originally formed at the proto-Pacific Ocean and then was trapped at a eastern margin of Eurasian continent by initiation of subduction. The forearc mantle peridotite formed as a residue of proto-arc magma formation is depleted harzburgite as represented by the peridotites obtained from the forearc seafloor, but can be less depleted abyssal peridotite if being devoid of partial melting or reaction with magmas after entrapment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior)

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18 pages, 9161 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Petrology of Chromitites in the Higashi-Akaishi Ultrahigh-Pressure (UHP) Peridotite Complex, Japan: Toward Understanding of General Features of the UHP Chromitites

by Makoto Miura, Shoji Arai, Tomoyuki Mizukami, Vladimir R. Shmelev and Satoko Ishimaru

Minerals 2018, 8(11), 525; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8110525 - 11 Nov 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4446

Abstract

Ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) chromitites containing UHP minerals such as coesite and diamond have been reported from some ophiolites in Tibet and the Polar Urals. Their nature, i.e., origin, P-T path and abundance, however, are still controversial and left unclear. Here we describe chromitites in the Higashi-akaishi (HA) ultramafic complex in the Cretaceous Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, Japan, which experienced UHP condition (up to 3.8 GPa) at the peak metamorphism via subduction, in order to understand the nature of UHP chromitites. The HA peridotites typically contain garnets and are associated with eclogites, and their associated chromitites are expected to have experienced the UHP metamorphism. The Higashi-akaishi (HA) chromitites show banded to massive structures and are concordant to foliation of the surrounding peridotite. Chromian spinels in the chromitite and surrounding peridotites were sometimes fractured by deformation, and contain various inclusions, i.e., blade- and needle-like diopside lamellae, and minute inclusions of pyroxenes, olivine, and pargasite. The peculiar UHP minerals, such as coesite and diamond, have not been found under the microscope and the Raman spectrometer. Spinels in the HA chromitites show high Cr#s (0.7 to 0.85), and low Ti contents (<0.1 wt %), suggesting a genetic linkage to an arc magma. The HA chromitites share the basic petrographic and chemical features (i.e., diopside lamellae and arc-related spinel chemistry) with the UHP chromitites from Tibet and the Polar Urals. This suggests that some of the characteristics of the UHP chromitite can be obtained by compression, possibly via deep subduction, of low-P chromitite. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior)

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16 pages, 18873 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mantle Evolution from Ocean to Arc: The Record in Spinel Peridotite Xenoliths in Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines

by Betchaida D. Payot, Shoji Arai, Masako Yoshikawa, Akihiro Tamura, Mitsuru Okuno and Danikko John V. Rivera

Minerals 2018, 8(11), 515; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8110515 - 08 Nov 2018

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 8430

Abstract

A suite of peridotite xenoliths were collected from lahar flow deposits located close to the summit of Mt. Pinatubo. Spinel harzburgite is the most dominant lithology among dunites, pyroxenites and websterites. A rare spinel lherzolite xenolith (P12-7) is also present in this suite. The spinel lherzolite has well-preserved protogranular texture with very minimal presence of secondary amphibole, low Cr# in the chromian spinel, and depleted and hump shaped patterns of chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns for the clinopyroxenes. In contrast, the spinel harzburgites contain abundant secondary amphiboles and orthopyroxenes, higher Cr# in the spinel, and slightly elevated patterns for the chondrite-normalized REE patterns for the amphiboles. The spinel lherzolite also exhibits higher olivine Fo content for a given spinel Cr# compared to the spinel harzburgites. The spinel lherzolite is interpreted as a typical residue from partial melting of abyssal peridotites whereas the spinel harzburgites may have formed via partial melting with subsequent modification during the influx of fluids in the mantle wedge. Our results suggest that fragments of MOR-derived lithosphere exist in the mantle wedge beneath the Philippine island arc. This work provides evidence for the conversion of abyssal to arc peridotites in the mantle wedge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior)

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33 pages, 5173 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Decoding of Mantle Processes in the Mersin Ophiolite, Turkey, of End-Member Arc Type: Location of the Boninite Magma Generation

by Satoko Ishimaru, Yuji Saikawa, Makoto Miura, Osman Parlak and Shoji Arai

Minerals 2018, 8(10), 464; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8100464 - 18 Oct 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4997

Abstract

The Mersin ophiolite, Turkey, is of typical arc type based on geochemistry of crustal rocks without any signs of mid-ocean ridge (MOR) affinity. We examined its ultramafic rocks to reveal sub-arc mantle processes. Mantle peridotites, poor in clinopyroxene (<1.0 vol.%), show high Fo content of olivine (90–92) and Cr# [=Cr/(Cr + Al) atomic ratio] (=0.62–0.77) of chromian spinel. NiO content of olivine is occasionally high (up to 0.5 wt.%) in the harzburgite. Moho-transition zone (MTZ) dunite is also highly depleted, i.e., spinel is high Cr# (0.78–0.89), clinopyroxene is poor in HREE, and olivine is high Fo (up to 92), but relatively low in NiO (0.1–0.4 wt.%). The harzburgite is residue after high-degree mantle melting, possibly assisted by slab-derived fluid. The high-Ni character of olivine suggests secondary metasomatic formation of olivine-replacing orthopyroxene although replacement textures are unclear. The MTZ dunite is of replacive origin, resulted from interaction between Mg-rich melt released from harzburgite diapir and another harzburgite at the diapir roof. The MTZ dunite is the very place that produced the boninitic and replacive dunite. The MTZ is thicker (>1 km) in Mersin than in MOR-related ophiolite (mostly < 500 m), and this is one of the features of arc-type ophiolite. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior)

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23 pages, 5507 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Alternative Scenario on the Origin of Ultra-High Pressure (UHP) and Super-Reduced (SuR) Minerals in Ophiolitic Chromitites: A Case Study from the Mercedita Deposit (Eastern Cuba)

by Núria Pujol-Solà, Joaquín A. Proenza, Antonio Garcia-Casco, José María González-Jiménez, Aleu Andreazini, Joan Carles Melgarejo and Fernando Gervilla

Minerals 2018, 8(10), 433; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8100433 - 01 Oct 2018

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 4860

Abstract

The origin of the assemblage of ultra-high pressure (UHP), super-reduced (SuR) and several crustally derived phases in ophiolitic chromitites is still hotly debated. In this paper, we report, for the first time, this assemblage of phases in ophiolitic chromitites of the Caribbean. We studied the Mercedita chromitite deposit in the eastern Cuban ophiolitic complexes. The mineral phases were characterized using microRaman spectroscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy with a scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDS), X-ray microdiffraction and electron microprobe analyses. Mineral concentrates were prepared using hydroseparation techniques. We have identified oriented clinopyroxene lamellae in chromite, oriented rutile lamellae in chromite, moissanite hosted in the altered matrix of the chromitite, graphite-like amorphous carbon, corundum and SiO₂ hosted in healed fractures in chromite grains, and native Cu and Fe–Mn alloy recovered in heavy-mineral concentrates obtained by hydroseparation. This assemblage may correspond to UHP-SuR conditions, implying recycling of chromitite in the mantle or formation of the chromite grains at deep mantle depths, followed by emplacement at a shallow level in the mantle. However, the chromitite bodies contain gabbro sills oriented parallel to the elongation of the chromitite lenses, and these show no evidence of HP/UHP metamorphism. Therefore, the identified “exotic” phases may not be indicative of UHP. They formed independently as oriented clinopyroxene lamellae in chromite during cooling (clinopyroxene and rutile), in super-reduced microenvironments during the serpentinization processes, and by transference of subducted crustal material to the mantle wedge via cold plumes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior)

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16 pages, 5926 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Petrology of Peridotites and Nd-Sr Isotopic Composition of Their Clinopyroxenes from the Middle Andaman Ophiolite, India

by Tomoaki Morishita, Masako Yoshikawa, Akihiro Tamura, Juan Miguel Guotana and Biswajit Ghosh

Minerals 2018, 8(9), 410; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8090410 - 17 Sep 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4134

Abstract

The Andaman Ophiolite, India, is located at the southeastern end of the Tethyan ophiolites. We examine petrology and mineralogy of two lherzolites and a completely serpentinized dunite associated with lherzolite from the middle Andaman Island. Major and trace element compositions of minerals in the lherzolites suggest their residual origin after low-degree of partial melting with less flux infiltration, and are similar to those of abyssal peridotites recovered from mid-ocean ridges. The dunite with spinels having low-Cr/(Cr + Al) ratio was formed by interaction between peridotite and mid-ocean ridge basalt-like melt. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotopic systematics of clinopyroxenes of the two lherzolites are consistent with MORB-type mantle source. Petrology and light rare earth element (LREE)-depleted patterns of clinopyroxene from the studied lhezolites are the same as those from some of the western Tethyan ophiolites. The age-corrected initial εNd values of the Tethyan lherzolite clinopyroxenes with LREE-depleted patterns are likely to be consistent with the depleted mantle evolution line. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior)

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25 pages, 10047 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dual Geochemical Characteristics for the Basic Intrusions in the Yangtze Block, South China: New Evidence for the Breakup of Rodinia

by Shengyuan Shu, Xiaoyong Yang, Lei Liu, Wei Liu, Jingya Cao and Ergen Gao

Minerals 2018, 8(6), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8060228 - 28 May 2018

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4782

Abstract

Neoproterozoic intraplate magmatic rocks are widespread in the Yangtze Block (YZB). The contrasting interpretations on their petrogenesis and tectonic evolution induce stimulating discussions on the coeval tectonic setting, including the two competing models of rift-related (R-model) and arc-related (A-model). Their main evidence is dominantly from felsic magmatic rocks. In contrast, the less evolved basic rocks are more suitable for tectonic setting discrimination. Here we study the Longtanqing basic intrusions (LTQ) that are exposed to the central part of the N–S trending Kangdian rift in the western YZB, by detailed geochemical and geochronological investigations. Zircon U–Pb dating of the two diabases from LTQ yield identical ages within error of 777 ± 17 Ma and 780 ± 5.3 Ma, respectively. LTQ rocks are characterized by low SiO₂ (49.83–50.71 wt %), high MgO (5.91–6.53 wt %), and Cr (140–150 ppm) contents, supporting the significant mantle affinity. They also display dual geochemical characteristics, including a series of features of continental within-plate basalts (WPB, Ti/V = 37.3–47.5, Zr/Y = 3.4–3.8, Ta/Hf = 0.19–0.23), and the typical signatures of island arc basalt (IAB), such as highly depleted in HFSE and HREE, and enriched in LREE and LILE. Most zircon ε_Hf(t) values are positive (1.6–9.4) while the corresponding Hf depleted mantle model ages (T_DM1) range from 1.0 Ga to 1.3 Ga. In combination with the occurrence of inherited zircons (991–1190 Ma), it is suggested that their sources are dominantly derived from the lithospheric mantle that was reconstructed in the late Mesoproterozoic. Thus, LTQ is mainly formed by partial melting of the enriched lithospheric mantle, and subsequently assimilated by a juvenile crust during upwelling. The melt compositions are controlled by different degrees of the crystal fractionation of the dominant clinopyroxene and plagioclase with minor amphibole under high fO₂ conditions. Combined with previous geochronological and geochemical data in the YZB, our new results support the theory that the R-model can be responsible for the petrogenesis of Neoproterozoic magmatic rocks in South China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior)

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17 pages, 2039 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Oxidation States of Fe in Constituent Minerals of a Spinel Lherzolite Xenolith from the Tariat Depression, Mongolia: The Significance of Fe³⁺ in Olivine

by Terumi Ejima, Yasuhito Osanai, Masahide Akasaka, Tatsuro Adachi, Nobuhiko Nakano, Yoshiaki Kon, Hiroaki Ohfuji and Jargalan Sereenen

Minerals 2018, 8(5), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8050204 - 09 May 2018

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5374

Abstract

The oxidation states of Fe within olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and spinel in a spinel lherzolite xenolith from the Tariat Depression, Mongolia were investigated using ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy to evaluate the redox condition of the upper mantle from which the Tariat spinel lherzolite xenolith was derived. The purity of separated minerals for the Mössbauer spectroscopic analysis was examined using X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Average Fo and Fe contents of olivine at the core part of the xenolith are 89.9(4) mol % and 0.195(3) atoms per formula unit, respectively. The Fe³⁺/ΣFe values of the olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and spinel, determined by Mössbauer spectroscopic analysis, are 0.027(2), 0.15(1), 0.26(3), and 0.34(5), respectively. The Mössbauer spectrum of olivine consists of two doublets assigned to Fe²⁺ at the octahedral sites and one doublet, with I.S. of 0.40(2) mm/s and Q.S. of 0.69(3) mm/s assigned to Fe³⁺ at the octahedral site. Since the Tariat spinel lherzolite xenolith in this study shows no evidence of metasomatism or thermal alteration, the existence of a small amount of Fe³⁺ in olivine and the fairly high Fe³⁺ contents of clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, and spinel imply that the upper mantle under the Tariat area was in a rather oxidized condition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior)

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10 pages, 24119 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Scanning Precession Electron Diffraction in the Transmission Electron Microscope to the Characterization of Deformation in Wadsleyite and Ringwoodite

by Billy C. Nzogang, Simon Thilliez, Alexandre Mussi, Takaaki Kawazoe, Nobuyoshi Miyajima, Jérémie Bouquerel and Patrick Cordier

Minerals 2018, 8(4), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8040153 - 12 Apr 2018

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4883

Abstract

The mantle transition zone represents an important layer in the interior of the Earth that is characterized by phase transformations of olivine polymorphs. Constraining the rheology difference between wadsleyite and ringwoodite is important in determining the viscosity contrast at a depth of 520 km. In this study, we perform a post-mortem by transmission electron microscopy of a wadsleyite + ringwoodite aggregate, deformed at high-pressure and high-temperature, in a deformation-DIA apparatus. From orientation maps acquired by scanning precession electron diffraction, we calculate local misorientations and misorientation-gradients, which are used as a proxy of plastic strain. We show that at 17.3 GPa, 1700 K, the plastic responses of wadsleyite and ringwoodite are comparable, although recovery by subgrain boundary migration is more easily activated in wadsleyite. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Petrology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Mantle as Tools to Read Messages from the Earth’s Interior)

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