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Carbonate-rich melt infiltration in peridotite xenoliths from the Eurasian–North American modern plate boundary (Chersky Range, Yakutia)

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Abstract

A suite of mainly spinel peridotite and subordinate pyroxenite xenoliths and megacrysts were studied in detail, enabling us to characterize upper mantle conditions and processes beneath the modern North American–Eurasian continental plate boundary. The samples were collected from 37-Ma-old basanites cropping out in the Main Collision Belt of the Chersky Range, Yakutia Republic (Russian Far East). The spinel lherzolites reflect a mantle sequence, equilibrated at temperatures of 890–1,025 °C at pressures of 1.1–2 GPa, with melt extraction estimated to be around 2–6 %. The spinel harzburgites are characterized by lower P–T equilibration conditions and estimated melt extraction up to 12 %. Minor cryptic metasomatic processes are recorded in the clinopyroxene trace elements, revealing that percolating hydrous fluid-rich melts and basaltic melts affected the peridotites. One of the lherzolites preserves a unique melt droplet with primary dolomite in perfect phase contact with Na-rich aluminosilicate glass and sodalite. On the basis of the well-constrained P–T frame of the xenolith suite, as well as the rigorously documented melt extraction and metasomatic history of this upper mantle section, we discuss how a carbonated silicate melt infiltrated the lherzolite at depth and differentiated into an immiscible carbonate and silicate liquid shortly before the xenolith was transported to the surface by the host basalt. Decreasing temperatures triggered crystallization of primary dolomite from the carbonate melt fraction and sodalite as well as quenched glass from the Na-rich aluminosilicate melt fraction. Rapid entrainment and transport to the Earth’s surface prevented decarbonatization processes as well as reaction phenomena with the host lherzolite, preserving this exceptional snapshot of upper mantle carbonatization and liquid immiscibility.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financed by the FWF grant I201-N22 (PI: Th. Ntaflos). We thank A. Hugh N. Rice for his assistance at the SEM, Franz Kiraly for tuning the microprobe, Eugen Libowitzky for helping us with the Raman spectrometer and Christoph Kurta for his help with the laser ablation system. The constructive reviews by Michael Roden and Michel Gregoire as well as the editorial handling by Jochen Hoefs are gratefully acknowledged. We also would like to thank Hilary Downes for the English-language corrections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Lithospheric Research, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Cornelius Tschegg & Theodoros Ntaflos

  2. North East Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute, Russian Academy of Science, Magadan, Russia

    Vyacheslav V. Akinin

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria

    Christoph Hauzenberger

Authors
  1. Cornelius Tschegg
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  2. Theodoros Ntaflos
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  3. Vyacheslav V. Akinin
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  4. Christoph Hauzenberger
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Correspondence to Cornelius Tschegg.

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Communicated by J. Hoefs.

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Tschegg, C., Ntaflos, T., Akinin, V.V. et al. Carbonate-rich melt infiltration in peridotite xenoliths from the Eurasian–North American modern plate boundary (Chersky Range, Yakutia). Contrib Mineral Petrol 164, 441–455 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-012-0746-4

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