E. Salvioli-Mariani

“Nanogranite” and glassy inclusions: The anatectic melt in migmatites and granulites

Using as a case study a granulite from the Kerala Khondalite Belt, India, we show that a former anatectic melt can be preserved as tiny (<25 μm) droplets within refractory minerals, in this case garnet. The melt is either fully crystallized as a Qtz-Ab-Kfs-Bt cryptocrystalline aggregate (“nanogranite”), or completely glassy in inclusions <15 μm. Both nanogranite and glassy inclusions have a peraluminous, ultrapotassic granitic composition that, in this case, does not correspond to a “minimum melt” and points to high melting temperatures, in agreement with the ultrahigh-temperature origin of the rock. This discovery indicates that peritectic minerals, growing during incongruent melting reactions, act as hosts for inclusions of anatectic melt, and that in the general case of slow cooling of the crust these inclusions will occur as nanogranite. Exceptionally, in the smallest inclusions, glass may be present due to inhibition of crystallization. Our results extend the frontiers of petrological and geochemical research in crustal melting, as the composition of natural anatectic melts can be directly analyzed rather than assumed.

Crustal anatexis and melt extraction during deformation in the restitic xenoliths at El Joyazo (SE Spain)

Abstract The dacite of El Joyazo contains abundant metapelitic xenoliths. These can be divided into two main types: garnet-biotite-sillimanite and spinel-cordierite xenoliths. In the xenoliths the widespread occurrence of rhyolitic glass as interstitial films, foliation-parallel layers and primary melt inclusions in all mineral phases indicates that these assemblages developed in the presence of a melt phase, i.e. during anatexis. The composition of the interstitial glass is comparable to that of the melt inclusions, suggesting that melt was locally produced. Phase equilibria indicate that anatexis occurred at P−T conditions of 5−7 kbar and 850±50°C . Several microstructural lines of evidence show that melt extraction was assisted by deformation during foliation development, and that on the scale of the xenoliths (up to 50 cm) melt escaped mainly by flow along foliation planes. The development of a syn-anatectic foliation also suggests that metapelitic rocks were involved in high-grade metamorphism and partial melting prior to fragmentation and dispersion in the host dacite. Mass balance calculations, based on the chemical composition of interstitial glass and melt inclusions in minerals, the bulk xenoliths and representative samples of potential pelitic sources support a model wherein the xenoliths represent restites after the extraction of 30 to 55 wt.% melt from graphitic metapelite protoliths similar to the rocks constituting the surrounding Alpujarride metamorphic complex.

Cordierite-anorthoclase hornfels xenoliths in Stromboli lavas (Aeolian Islands, Sicily): an example of a fast cooled contact aureole

High-grade hornfels xenoliths in the 60 ka old calcalkaline basaltic andesite lava flows of Stromboli (Omo lavas; Paleostromboli II period) consist of fine- to medium-grained holocrystalline rocks. Feldspar (mainly anorthoclase) and cordierite represent ca . 85 vol% of the modal mineralogy. Aluminiferous spinel (hercynite), sillimanite, ± corundum, ± ilmenite, ± chlorapatite are also present. Major and trace element compositions, together with Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic data, indicate that the source rocks are metapelites compatible with upper continental crust-derived materials. According to common petrogenetic grids for pelitic rocks ( e.g. NaKFMASH), a pressure range of 2–3.5 kbar and a peak temperature close to 800° C can be inferred for the mineral assemblage. A honeycomb texture and wide, high-T compositional range of the ternary feldspars (Ab 35–70 Or 3–63 An 2–49 ) suggest incipient melting followed by quenching. Accordingly, the xenoliths may well represent contact metamorphosed rocks (contact aureole), compatible with metapelites belonging to the continental crust basement of Stromboli. TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) observations of alkali-feldspar showed the presence of a cross-hatched pattern oriented parallel to (010) and (001), and of albite twinning in the orthoclase-enriched and -depleted samples, respectively. Both textures are related to a monoclinic to triclinic phase transition in a highly disordered feldspar. A highly disordered Al-Si configuration is also corroborated by cell parameters. Incipient decomposition textures, but no exsolution lamellae, are present in the intermediate alkali-feldspars. These results support a fast cooling of the hornfels xenoliths, of the order of degrees per hour. The high-T feldspar textures were preserved because the xenoliths, stoped into the uprising basaltic andesite host magma, were rapidly transported to the surface shortly after they reached the contact aureole peak temperature.

Silicate melt inclusions in the cumulate minerals of gabbroic nodules from Stromboli Volcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy): main components of the fluid phase and crystallization temperatures

Abstract The studied gabbroic nodules occurring in the Petrazza pyroclastic rocks consist mainly of plagioclase (An95-87), olivine (Fo83-73) and clinopyroxene (Mg# 90-77), with subordinate opaques (Ti-magnetite) and amphibole (Mg-hastingsite), which constitute the cumulate minerals. Interstitial material has a relatively high, but variable, degree of vesicularity and consists of variable amounts of glass and quenched crystals of plagioclase (An71-55), amphibole, clinopyroxene and rare biotite, olivine and opaques. Silicate melt inclusions are abundant in the cumulate minerals, but complete homogenization to melt has been observed only in the inclusions occurring in clinopyroxene, where the temperatures of homogenization vary from 1134 to 1190ºC. Microthermometric investigations of fluid inclusions and of the shrinkage bubble of the melt inclusions suggest that the magma contained CO2. The apparent scarcity of H2O indicates that this component was strongly partitioned into the magma at the time of crystallization of the investigated minerals; this is further supported by the occurrence of (1) daughter biotite- and amphibole-bearing inclusions which show that the H2O activity in the magma was sufficiently high to allow their crystallization, and (2) calcic plagioclase (An95-87) which can be crystallized from a high-alumina basaltic magma at pressure 42 kbar, temperatures in the range 1050-1100ºC and in the presence of 3-4 wt.% of water (MELTS software simulations). The composition of the melt inclusions suggests that the hosting plagioclase, olivine and clinopyroxene crystallized from slightly different batches of magma. The S content in the melt inclusions of clinopyroxene and olivine is high (up to 0.41 wt.%). The presence of Fe-Cu(-Ni)-rich blebs of sulphide in plagioclase, olivine, amphibole, and locally in the melt inclusions too, further supports the important role of sulphur in the primitive magmas of the investigated gabbros. Small differences in redox conditions or in the Fe content of the melts favoured S mobilization as sulphide.

Raman and micro-thermometric investigation of the fluid inclusions in quartz in a gold-rich formation from Lepaguare mining district (Honduras, Central America)

Fluid inclusions in the quartz crystals present in gold-rich veins from central Honduras have been studied by means of micro-thermometry and micro-Raman spectroscopy in order to provide information on the physico-chemical conditions and chemical composition of the mineralizing fluids. The use of a confocal micro-Raman apparatus allowed to obtain information on the fluid composition, in particular on the gas phase, minimizing the contributions of the host matrix to the Raman signal. The samples studied were collected from an area (Lepaguare mining district, Northern-Central Honduras) rich in ore deposits due to the Cenozoic magmatic activity, where the gold and sulphide mineralization is connected with a system of quartz veins (few decimetres thick) occurring in low-grade metamorphic rocks and produced by hydrothermal fluids. The quartz crystals present in the gold-rich veins often contain fluid inclusions. Four types of fluid inclusions have been observed, but their assemblage in the same clusters and fracture systems, as well as their comparable salinity and homogenization data, suggest that they have the same origin. Micro-thermometry and Raman spectroscopy provide a composition of the mineralizing fluids attributable to the system H(2)O-NaCl-KCl-CO(2)-CH(4), with temperature and pressure intervals of 210-413 degrees C and 1050-3850 bar, respectively. These data agree with an epigenetic origin of the gold deposit (depth < 6 km) related to granitoid or granodiorite intrusions associated to orogenic environments.

Magmatic evolution of the Gaussberg lamproite (Antarctica): volatile content and glass composition

Abstract The lamproite of Gaussberg is an ultrapotassic rock where leucite, olivine and clinopyroxene microphenocrysts occur in a glass-rich groundmass, containing microliths of leucite, clinopyroxene, apatite, phlogopite and rare K-richterite. Abundant silicate melt inclusions occur in olivine, leucite and, rarely, in clinopyroxene microphenocrysts. Raman investigations on melt inclusions showed the presence of pure CO2 in the shrinkage bubbles. On the other hand, the glass of the groundmass is CO2-poor and contains up to 0.70 wt.% of dissolved H2O, as estimated by infrared spectra. It is inferred that CO2 was released at every stage of evolution of the lamproite magma (CO2-rich shrinkage bubbles), whereas H2O was retained for longer in the liquid. At Gaussberg, CO2 seems to have a major role at relatively high pressure where it favoured the crystallization of H2O-poor microphenocrysts; the uprise of the magma to the surface decreased the solubility of CO2 and caused a relative increase in water activity. As a consequence, phlogopite and K-richterite appeared in the groundmass. The glass composition of both the groundmass and melt inclusions suggests different evolutions for the residual liquids of the investigated samples. Sample G886 shows the typical evolution of a lamproite magma, where the residual liquid evolves toward peralkaline and Na-rich composition and crystallizes K-richterite in the latest stage. Sample G895 derives from mixing/mingling of different batches of magma; effectively glasses from melt inclusions in leucite and clinopyroxene are more alkaline than those found in early crystallized olivine. Leucite and clinopyroxene crystallized early from a relatively more alkaline batch of lamproite magma and, successively, a less alkaline, olivine-bearing magma batch assimilated them during its rise to the surface.

Post-magmatic apatite + hematite + carbonate assemblage in the Jumilla lamproites. A fluid inclusion and isotope study

Abstract The lamproitic rocks of Jumilla (southeastern Spain) consist of magnesian olivine, phlogopite, clinopyroxene, F-apatite, sanidine and analcime in variable amounts, and of Cr-rich spinel (mostly included in olivine and clinopyroxene), K-rich amphibole, Ti-magnetite, ilmenite and late calcite. In a small area, a post-magmatic apatite + hematite + carbonate assemblage occurs in the form of thin veins. F-apatite, hematite and calcite are the dominant phases. Apatite is rich in several generations of fluid (sensu lato) inclusions. The prevalent primary inclusions are filled in part with a solidified saline melt and in part with a very low density gas; the solid/gas volume ratio in the inclusions is not constant suggesting that, at the time of entrapment in apatite, a vapour phase was coexisting with the saline melt. The final melting temperature of the solids contained in the inclusions is mostly in the range 630–700°C, which represents the minimum temperature of entrapment. Other inclusions are concentrated along healed fractures. Some of them are similar to the solid salt inclusions described above, but most of them contain liquid, vapour and, sometimes, abundant daughter minerals. The temperature of initial melting of frozen liquid-bearing inclusions is variable (ca. −54°C, −35/−39°C, ca. −11°C, ca. −2/−3°C) suggesting that aqueous fluids carrying different components were entrapped at different times. The strontium isotope ratios and the high content of fluorine and REE suggest that apatite crystallized from fluids prevalently segregated from the lamproitic magma. Strontium as well as oxygen and carbon isotopes of the carbonates associated with apatite suggest that the parent fluids were poligenic (magmatic and sedimentary components) or of prevalent sedimentary provenance.

Weathering of granodiorite and micaschists, and soil pollution at Mt. Mottarone (northern Italy)

Abstract At the top of Mt. Mottarone a thin level of micaschist, covered by soil, rests on granodioritic rocks. Both rock types underwent weathering with generation of new minerals and variation of the original chemical composition. The weathering produced phyllosilicates and Fe- and Al-hydroxides. Mass balance calculations on the basis of Zr immobility indicate that at least As, Bi, Cd, Mo and Sb were added to the micaschist, whereas the other elements were removed; the soil was also enriched in As, Bi, Cd, Mo and Sb during weathering. Dry and wet pollution was responsible for the addition of the elements listed above. On the other hand, Ca, Na, Mo and Sr were surely removed from the granodiorite during weathering, whereas Bi and Cu were added by percolation from the overlying micaschist. The chemical features of a spring issuing from granodiorite agree well with the element budget as deduced from the rock transformation. This is not the case, however, for a spring issuing from the micaschist.

The Origin and MgCl2–NaCl Variations in an Athalassic Sag Pond: Insights from Chemical and Isotopic Data

The examination of past and new chemical–isotopic data (2H/1H–18O/16O, 11B/10B and 87Sr/86Sr ratios) shows the meteoric origin of the Sawa Lake (Muthanna Governorate, Iraq) and its connection with the local aquifers, which feed the lake via the groundwater emerging from its floor through fault systems. The chemical and isotopic evaporation models are traced by geochemical computer codes by using a different composition of some potential inflows to the lake (e.g., the Euphrates River and Dammam aquifer). The main product of the chemical evaporation models is gypsum, as confirmed by the mineralogical examination of the sediment and the surrounding outcrops. A strong 18O–2H enrichment is a consequence of the evaporation effect in arid regions; δ18O–Cl models and δ11B = + 23.4‰ exclude the contribution of any seawater-derived fluids. This latter value along with 87Sr/86Sr = 0.707989 suggests a mixed origin from the Eocene–Miocene aquifers. The isotope and chemical evaporation paths from the meteorically recharged sources match the lake composition. However, compositional switches from NaCl toward MgCl2 occurred in the last decade and are related to post-drought periods, showing that the interaction of the recharging waters with the local soils (Na–Mg exchange and/or the leaching of the top layer salts) have a role in the chemical composition. This demonstrates that the lake is significantly influenced by climatic variations.