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Plume related kimberlites and carbonatites

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Abstract

The origin of the alkaline magmatism, including kimberlites and carbonatites, is believed to be related to deep-seated mantle plumes. A chondritic Earth’s mantle contains very low amounts of alkaline elements, with Na prevailing over K. Consequently, the source of the alkaline rocks cannot be the ‘chondritic’ mantle and most likely a mantle modified by subducted crustal materials. Alkaline magmas and carbonatites appear first in the Mesoarchean (~ 3 Ga) and possibly coincided with the onset of plate tectonics. Melting and degassing of subducted slabs into the deep mantle caused widespread metasomatism and formation of reservoirs enriched in the alkaline and lithophile trace elements. These served as sources of alkaline and carbonatitic magmas, and from ~ 2 Ga onwards of kimberlite magmas. Theoretical and experimental modeling predict the lower mantle and transition zone to be largely composed of bridgmanite, ferropericlase, Ca-Si-perovskite, ringwoodite, wadsleyite, majorite, NAL (a hexagonal aluminous phase of the lower mantle containing Na, Al and K), breyite and carbonates. The alkaline elements, isomorphic in CaSi-perovskite, bridgmanite and NAL, can be released during the ascent of mantle plume and transferred to the melt/fluid-enriched reservoir of carbonatites and alkaline magmas. At ~ 600 km depth where majorite is stable, an extensive fractionation of K and Na occurs, as the partitioning coefficient of Na is an order of magnitude larger than that of K. This results in K enrichment of the metasomatic melt/fluid that contribute to prospective sources of kimberlitic and other deep-mantle K magmas.

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Fig. 1

(modified from Kogarko 2008)

Fig. 2

(modified from Torsvik et al. 2010)

Fig. 3

Modified from Dorfman (2016)

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Acknowledgements

The author is sincerely grateful to Lalchand (or Lalou) G. Gwalani for many stimulating discussions of various topics related to advanced geochemistry and mineralogy, and his continuing help and support. I will keep a long memory of the wonderful scientist and person – Lalou Gwalani. Thanks are also due to Gerhard Brey, Vadim Kamenetsky, Alan Woodland and Felix V. Kaminsky for many helpful comments and suggestions. Constructive reviews of two anonymous peers and comments by Guest Editor Kirtikumar R. Randive are gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported by Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (grant № 13.1902.21.008, agreement 075-15-2020-802).

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  1. Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    Lia N. Kogarko

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Kogarko, L.N. Plume related kimberlites and carbonatites. Miner Petrol 117, 497–503 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-022-00789-9

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