Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Menu
Find a journal Publish with us
Search
Cart
  1. Home
  2. Petrology
  3. Article

Petrology of the parental melts and mantle sources of Siberian trap magmatism

  • Open Access
  • Published: 24 May 2009
  • volume 17, pages 253–286 (2009)
Download PDF

You have full access to this open access article

Petrology Aims and scope Submit manuscript
Petrology of the parental melts and mantle sources of Siberian trap magmatism
Download PDF
  • A. V. Sobolev1,2,
  • N. A. Krivolutskaya1 &
  • D. V. Kuzmin2,3 
  • 1457 Accesses

  • 103 Citations

  • Explore all metrics

  • Cite this article

Abstract

Based on the investigation of olivine phenocrysts and melt and spinel inclusions in them from the picrites of the Gudchikhinsky Formation and olivine phenocrysts and the whole-rock geochemistry from the Tuklonsky and Nadezhdinsky formations of the Noril’sk region, the compositions and conditions of formation and evolution of the parental melts and mantle sources of Siberian trap magmatism were evaluated. Olivine phenocrysts from the samples studied are enriched in Ni and depleted in Mn compared with olivines equilibrated with the products of peridotite melting, which suggests a considerable role of a nonperidotitic component (olivine-free pyroxenite) in their mantle source. The onset of Siberian trap magmatism (Gudchikhinsky Formation) was related to the melting of pyroxenite produced by the interaction of ancient recycled oceanic crust with mantle peridotite. During the subsequent evolution of the magmatic system (development of the Tuklonsky and Nadezhdinsky formations), the fraction of the pyroxenite component in the source region decreased rapidly (to 40 and 60%, respectively) owing to the entrainment of peridotite material into the melting zone. The formation of magmas was significantly affected by the contamination by continental crustal material. The primitive magmas of the Gudchikhinsky Formation crystallized under near-surface conditions at temperatures of 1250–1170°C and oxygen fugacities 2.5–3.0 orders of magnitude below the Ni-NiO buffer. Simultaneously, the magmas were contaminated by continental silicic rocks and evaporites. The parental magmas of the Gudchikhinsky rocks corresponded to tholeiitic picrites with 11–14 wt % MgO. They were strongly undersaturated in sulfur, contained less than 0.25 wt % water and carbon dioxide, and were chemically similar to the Hawaiian tholeiites. They were produced by melting of a pyroxenite source at depths of 130–180 km in a mantle plume with a potential temperature of 1500–1580°C. The presence of low melting temperature pyroxenite material in the source of Siberian trap magmas promoted the formation of considerable volumes of melt under the thick continental lithosphere, which could trigger its catastrophic collapse. The contribution of pyroxenite-derived melt to the magmas of the Siberian trap province was no less than 40–50%. This component, whose solid residue was free of sulfides and olivine, played a key role in the origin of high contents of Ni, Cu, and Pt-group elements and low sulfur contents in the parental trap magmas and prevented the early dispersion of these elements at the expense of sulfide melt fractionation. The high contents of Cl in the magmas resulted in considerable HCl emission into the atmosphere and could be responsible for the mass extinction at the Paleozoic-Mesozoic boundary.

Download to read the full article text

Working on a manuscript?

Avoid the common mistakes

References

  1. I. M. Artemieva, and W.D. Mooney, “Thermal Thickness and Evolution of Precambrian Lithosphere: A Global Study,” J. Geophys. Res. 106, 16387–16414 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. P. Beattie, “Olivine-Melt and Orthopyroxene-Melt Equilibria,” Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 115, 103–111 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. D. J. Beerling, M. Harfoot, A. Lomax, and J. A. Pyle, “The Stability of the Stratospheric Ozone Layer during the End-Permian Eruption of the Siberian Traps,” Phil. Trans. R. Soc. London Ser. A. 365, 1843–1866 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. I. H. Campbell and R. W. Griffiths, “The Changing Nature of Mantle Hotspots through Time-Implications for the Chemical Evolution of the Mantle,” J. Geol. 100, 497–523 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. L. A. Campbell, G. K. Czamanske, V. A. Fedorenko, et al., “Synchronism of the Siberian Traps and the Permian-Triassic Boundary,” Science 258, 1760–1763 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. D. Canil, “Vanadium in Peridotites, Mantle Redox and Tectonic Environments: Archean to Present,” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 195, 75–90 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. L. V. Danyushevsky, “The Effect of Small Amounts of H2O Crystallisation of Mid-Ocean Ridge and Backarc Basin Magmas,” J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 110, 265–280 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. L. V. Danyushevsky, A. V. Sobolev, and L. V. Dmitriev, “Estimation of the Pressure of Crystallization and H2O Content of MORB and AABB Glasses: Calibration of an Empirical Technique,” Mineral. Petrol. 57, 185–204 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. J. E. Dixon, L. Leist, C. Langmuir, and J.-G. Schilling, “Recycled Dehydrated Lithosphere Observed in Plume-Influenced Mid-Ocean-Ridge Basalt,” Nature. 420, 385–389 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. N. L. Dobretsov, A. A. Kirdyashkin, A. G. Kirdyashkin, et al., “Modelling of Thermochemical Plumes and Implications for the Origin of the Siberian Traps,” Lithos 100, 66–92 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. D. A. Dodin, B. N. Batuev, G. A. Mitenkov, et al., Atlas of the Rocks and Ores of the Noril’sk Copper-Nickel Deposits (Nedra, Leningrad, 1971) [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  12. O. A. Dyuzhikov, V. V. Distler, B. M. Strunin, et al., Geology and Ore Potential of the Noril’sk District (Nedra, Moscow, 1988) [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  13. L. T. Elkins-Tanton, “Continental Magmatism Caused by Lithospheric Delamination,” in Plates, Plumes and Paradigms, Ed. by G. R. Foulger, J. H. Natland, D. C. Presnall, and D.L. Anderson, Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Paper 388, 449–461 (2005).

  14. L. T. Elkins-Tanton and B. H. Hager, “Melt Intrusion as a Trigger for Lithospheric Foundering and Eruption of the Siberian Flood Basalts,” Geophys. Res. Lett. 27, 3937–3940 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. V. A. Fedorenko, P. C. Lightfoot, A. J. Naldrett, et al., “Petrogenesis of the Siberian Flood-Basalt Sequence at Noril’sk, North Central Siberia,” Int. Geol. Rev. 38, 99–135 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. C. E. Ford, D. G. Russel, J. A. Craven, and M. R. Fisk, “Olivine-Liquid Equilibria: Temperature, Pressure and Composition Dependence of Crystal/Liquid Cation Partition Coefficients for Mg, Fe2+, Ca and Mn,” J. Petrol. 24, 256–265 (1983).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Geological Map of the Noril’sk District at a Scale of 1: 200000, Ed. by M. L. Sherman (Roskomitet Geol. Ispol’z. Nedr, Moscow, 1991) [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  18. C. Herzberg and M. J. O’Hara, “Plume-Associated Ultramafic Magmas of Phanerozoic Age,” J. Petrol. 43, 1857–1883 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. M. M. Hirschmann, “Mantle Solidus: Experimental Constraints and the Effects of Peridotite Composition,” Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 1. 2000GC000070 (2000).

  20. A. W. Hofmann, “Chemical Differentiation of the Earth: the Relationship between Mantle, Continental Crust, and Oceanic Crust,” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 90, 297–314 (1988).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. A. W. Hofmann, “Sampling Mantle Heterogeneity through Oceanic Basalts: Isotopes and Trace Elements,” in Treatise on Geochemistry. The Mantle and Core, Ed. by H. D. Holland and K. K. Turekian (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2002), Vol. 2, pp. 61–101.

    Google Scholar 

  22. A. W. Hofmann and W. M. J. White, “Mantle Plumes from Ancient Oceanic Crust,” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 57, 421–436 (1982).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. E. J. Jarosevich, J. A. Nelen, and J. A. Norberg, “Reference Sample for Electron Microprobe,” Geostand. Newslett. 4, 43–47 (1980).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. K. P. Jochum, D. B. Dingwell, A. Rocholl, et al., “The Preparation and Preliminary Characterisation of Eight Geological MPI-DING Reference Glasses for In-Situ Microanalysis,” Geostand. Newslett. 24, 87–133 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. S. L. Kamo, G. K. Czamanske, Y. Amelin, et al., “Rapid Eruption of Siberian Flood-Volcanic Rocks and Evidence for Coincidence with the Permian-Triassic Boundary and Mass Extinction at 251 Ma,” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 214, 75–91 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. O. Kogiso, M. M. Hirschmann, and D. J. Frost, “High-Pressure Partial Melting of Garnet Pyroxenite: Possible Mafic Lithologies in the Source of Ocean Island Basalts,” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 216, 603–617 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. N. A. Krivolutskaya, A. V. Sobolev, V. N. Mikhailov, and I. A. Roshchina, “New Data on the Formational Affiliation of Picritic Basalts of the Norilsk District,” Dokl. Akad. Nauk 403, 67–81 (2005) [Dokl. Earth Sci. 402, 542–546 (2005)].

    Google Scholar 

  28. P. C. Lightfoot, C. J. Hawkesworth, J. Hergt, et al., “Remobilisation of the Continental Lithosphere by a Mantle Plume: Major-, Trace-Element, and Sr-, Nd-, and Pb-Isotopic Evidence from Picritic and Tholeiitic Lavas of the Noril’sk District, Siberian Trap, Russia,” Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 114, 171–188 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. V. L. Masaitis, “Permian and Triassic Volcanism of Siberia: Problems of Dynamic Reconstructions,” Zap. Vses. Mineral. O-va 112, 412–425 (1983).

    Google Scholar 

  30. E. A. Mathez, “Sulfur Solubility and Magmatic Sulfides in Submarine Basalt Glass,” J. Geophys. Res. 81, 4269–4276 (1976).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. C. Maurel and P. Maurel, “Etude experimentale de 1’equilibre Fe2+-Fe3+ dans les spinelles chromiferes et les liquides silicates basiques coexistants a 1 atm,” C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris. 285, 209–215 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  32. D. McKenzie and M. J. Bickle, “The Volume and Composition of Melt Generated by Extension of the Lithosphere,” J. Petrol. 29, 625–679 (1988).

    Google Scholar 

  33. A. J. Naldrett, P. C. Lightfoot, V. Fedorenko, et al. “Geology and Geochemistry of Intrusions and Flood Basalts of the Noril’sk Region, USSR, with Implications for the Origin of the Ni-Cu Ores,” Econ. Geol. 87, 975–1004 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. M. Pertermann and M. M. Hirschmann, “Partial Melting Experiments on a MORB-Like Pyroxenite between 2 and 3 GPa: Constraints on the Presence of Pyroxenite in Basalt Source Regions from Solidus Location and Melting Rate,” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 108, 2125 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. M. K. Reichow, A. D. Saunders, R. V. White, et al., “Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of Basalts from the West Siberian Basin: An Extension of the Siberian Traps, Russia,” Lithos 79, 425–452 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. E. Roedder, Fluid Inclusions Rev. Mineral. 14 (1984).

  37. A. W. Rudnick, “Composition of the continental crust,” in Treatise on Geochemistry. The Crust, Ed. by H. D. Holland and K. K. Turekian (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2002), Vol. 3, pp. 1–64.

    Google Scholar 

  38. I. D. Ryabchikov, “Mechanisms and Conditions of Magma Formation in Mantle Plumes,” Petrologiya 11, 548–555 (2003) [Petrology 11, 496–503 (2003)].

    Google Scholar 

  39. I. D. Ryabchikov, L. N. Kogarko, and T. Ntaflos, “Juvenile Flow of Carbon Dioxide and Causes of Global Environmental Changes at the Permian-Triassic Boundary,” Dokl. Akad. Nauk 399, 815–817 (2004) [Dokl. Earth Sci. 399A, 815–817 (2004)].

    Google Scholar 

  40. V. V. Ryabov, A. Ya. Shevko, and M. P. Gora, “Magmatic Rocks of the Noril’sk District,” in Petrology of Traps (Nonparel, Novosibirsk, 2000), Vol. 1 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  41. A. E. Saal, E. H. Hauri, C. H. Langmuir, and M. R. Perfit, “Vapour Undersaturation in Primitive Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt and the Volatile Content of Earth’s Upper Mantle,” Nature 419, 451–455 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. M. Sharma, “Siberian Traps,” in Large Igneous Provinces: Continental, Oceanic, and Planetary Flood Volcanism, Ed. by J. J. Mahoney and M. F. Coffin, Am. Geopys. Union Monograph 100, 273–295 (1997).

  43. A. V. Sobolev, “Melt Inclusions in Minerals as a Source of Principle Petrological Information,” Petrologiya 4, 228–239 (1996) [Petrology 4, 209–220 (1996)].

    Google Scholar 

  44. A. V. Sobolev and L. V. Danyushevsky, “Petrology and Geochemistry of Boninites from the North Termination of the Tonga Trench: Constraints on the Generation Conditions of Primary High-Ca Boninite Magmas,” J. Petrol. 35, 1183–1213 (1994).

    Google Scholar 

  45. A. V. Sobolev and A. B. Slutskii, “Composition and Crystallization Conditions of the Parental Melt of the Siberian Meymechites in Connection with the General Problem of Ultrabasic Magmas,” Geol. Geofiz., No. 12, 97–110 (1984).

  46. A. V. Sobolev, V. S. Kamenetsky, and N. N. Kononkova, “New Petrological Data on Siberian Meymechites,” Geokhimiya, No. 8, 1084–1095 (1991).

  47. A. V. Sobolev, A. W. Hofmann, S. V. Sobolev, and I. K. Nikogosian, “An Olivine-Free Mantle Source of Hawaiian Shield Basalts,” Nature 434, 590–597 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. A. V. Sobolev, A. W. Hofmann, D. V. Kuzmin, et al., “The Amount of Recycled Crust in Sources of Mantle-Derived Melts,” Science 316, 412–417 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. A.V. Sobolev, A. W. Hofmann, G. Brügmann, et al., “A Quantitative Link between Recycling and Osmium Isotopes,” Science 321, 536 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. V. S. Sobolev, Petrology of the Traps of the Siberian Platform, Tr. Vsesoyuz. Arkt. Inst. (GY Sevmorputi, Leningrad, 1936), Vol. 43 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  51. J. Tuff, E. Takahashi, and S. A. Gibson, “Experimental Constraints on the Role of Garnet Pyroxenite in the Genesis of High-Fe Mantle Plume Derived Melts,” J. Petrol. 46, 2023–2058 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. R. S. White and D. McKenzie, “Mantle Plumes and Flood Basalts,” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth. 100, 17543–17585 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. R. V. White and A. D. Saunders, “Volcanism, Impact and Mass Extinctions: Incredible or Credible Coincidences,” Lithos 79, 299–316 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. J. L. Wooden, G. K. Czamanske, V. A. Fedorenko, et al., “Isotopic and Trace-Element Constraints on Mantle and Crustal Contributions to Siberian Continental Flood Basalts, Norilsk Area, Siberia,” Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 57, 3677–3704 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. G. M. Yaxley and A. V. Sobolev, “High-Pressure Partial Melting of Gabbro and Its Role in the Hawaiian Magma Source,” Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 154, 371–383 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. V. V. Zolotukhin, A. M. Vilenskii, and O. A. Dyuzhikov, Basalts of the Siberian Platform (Nauka, Novosibirsk, 1986) [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Kosygina 19, Moscow, 119991, Russia

    A. V. Sobolev & N. A. Krivolutskaya

  2. Max-Planck Institute for Chemistry, PO Box 3060, 55020, Mainz, Germany

    A. V. Sobolev & D. V. Kuzmin

  3. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. akademika Koptyuga 3, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    D. V. Kuzmin

Authors
  1. A. V. Sobolev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. N. A. Krivolutskaya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D. V. Kuzmin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. V. Sobolev.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © A.V. Sobolev, N.A. Krivolutskaya, D.V. Kuzmin, 2009, published in Petrologiya, 2009, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 276–310.

Rights and permissions

This article is published under an open access license. Please check the 'Copyright Information' section either on this page or in the PDF for details of this license and what re-use is permitted. If your intended use exceeds what is permitted by the license or if you are unable to locate the licence and re-use information, please contact the Rights and Permissions team.

About this article

Cite this article

Sobolev, A.V., Krivolutskaya, N.A. & Kuzmin, D.V. Petrology of the parental melts and mantle sources of Siberian trap magmatism. Petrology 17, 253–286 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0869591109030047

Download citation

  • Received: 02 December 2008

  • Published: 24 May 2009

  • Issue Date: May 2009

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0869591109030047

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Keywords

  • Olivine
  • Mantle Plume
  • Picrite
  • Olivine Phenocryst
  • Large Igneous Province

Working on a manuscript?

Avoid the common mistakes

Advertisement

Search

Navigation

  • Find a journal
  • Publish with us

Discover content

  • Journals A-Z
  • Books A-Z

Publish with us

  • Publish your research
  • Open access publishing

Products and services

  • Our products
  • Librarians
  • Societies
  • Partners and advertisers

Our imprints

  • Springer
  • Nature Portfolio
  • BMC
  • Palgrave Macmillan
  • Apress
  • Your US state privacy rights
  • Accessibility statement
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Help and support

Not affiliated

Springer Nature

© 2023 Springer Nature