Abstract
Serpentinized peridotites (lherzolite to harzburgite) with relict coarse-grained protogranular and porphyroclastic matrix and locally developed fine-grained spinel–pyroxene microstructures were sampled from a previously unknown tectonic exposure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (17°04′–17°10′ N). The mineral composition of the coarse-grained relics is typical of abyssal residual peridotites and corresponds to 13–14% fractional melting. Fine-grained spinel-pyroxene (spinel–orthopyroxene and spinel–two-pyroxene) intergrowths are regarded as traces left by peridotite interaction with an interstitial melt during the transition to the lithospheric conductive cooling at temperature of 1100–1000°C. The peridotite–melt interaction resulted in the partial orthopyroxene dissolution, local crystallization of spinel ± clinopyroxene, and uneven decrease of Al and Cr contents in both pyroxenes and Cr/Al ratio in spinel. An additional signature of the reaction melt is an overall trend of enrichment in magmatic components: clinopyroxene in REE and spinel in Zn. The inferred interstitial reaction melt was significantly depleted in incompatible elements compared to MORB-type melts. Further lithospheric cooling favored “freezing” of mineral assemblages and small-scale reactional features.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The textural features of the studied peridotites are shown in Figs. ESM_1.pdf—ESM_3.pdf (Suppl. 1) to the Russian and English on-line version on sites https://elibrary.ru/ and http:// link.springer.com/, respectively.
Chemical compositions of minerals and studied peridotites are shown in Tables ESM_4.xls—ESM_7.xls (Suppl. 2) to the Russian and English online versions on sites https://elibrary.ru/ and http://link.springer.com/, respectively.
REFERENCES
Aranovich, L.Ya., Mineral’nye ravnovesiya mnogokomponentnykh tverdykh rastvorov (Mineral Equilibria of Multicomponent Solid Solutions), Moscow: Nauka, 1991.
Aranovich, L.Ya. and Kosyakova, N.A., Garnet–spinel geothermometer for deep-seated rocks, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1980, vol. 254, no. 4, pp. 978–981.
Aranovich, L.Y. and Berman, R.G., Optimized standard state and solution properties of minerals, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 1996, vol. 126, nos 1-2, pp. 25–37.
Aranovich, L.Y. and Berman, R.G., A new garnet–orthopyroxene thermometer based on reversed Al2O3 solubility in FeO–Al2O3–SiO2 orthopyroxene, Am. Mineral., 1997, vol. 82, pp. 345–353.
Asimow, P.D., A model that reconciles major-and trace-element data from abyssal peridotites, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 1999, vol. 169, nos. 3–4, pp. 303–319.
Botazzi, P., Ottolini, L., Vannucci, R., and Zanetti, A., An accurate procedure for the quantification of rare earth elements in silicates, Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry-SIMS IX, Benninghoven, A., Nihei, R., and Shimizu, R., Chichester: John Wiley, 1994.
Brunelli, D., Cipriani, A., Ottolini, L., et al., Mantle peridotites from the Bouvet triple junction region, South Atlantic, Terra Nova, 2003, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 194–203.
Brunelli, D., Seyler, M., Cipriani, A., et al., Discontinuous melt extraction and weak refertilization of mantle peridotites at the Vema lithospheric section (Mid-Atlantic Ridge), J. Petrol., 2006, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 745–771.
Brunelli, D., Paganelli, E., and Seyler, M., Percolation of enriched melts during incremental open-system melting in the spinel field: a REE approach to abyssal peridotites from the Southwest Indian Ridge, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 2014, vol. 127, pp. 190–203.
Dick, H.J., Fisher, R.L., and Bryan, W.B., Mineralogic variability of the uppermost mantle along mid-ocean ridges, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 1984, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 88–106.
Dick, H.J., Abyssal peridotites, very slow spreading ridges and ocean ridge magmatism, Geol. Soc. London. Spec. Publ., 1989, no. 42, pp. 71–105.
D’Errico, ME., Warren, JM., and Godard, M., Evidence for chemically heterogeneous arctic mantle beneath the Gakkel Ridge, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 2016, vol. 174, pp. 291–312.
Falus, G., Szabó, C., Kovács, I., et al., Symplectite in spinel lherzolite xenoliths from the Little Hungarian plain, western Hungary: a key for understanding the complex history of the upper mantle of the Pannonian Basin, Lithos, 2007, vol. 94, no. 1, pp. 230–247.
Gasparik, T., An internally consistent thermodynamic model for the system cao-mgo-al2o3-SiO2 derived primarily from phase equilibrium data, J. Geol., 2000, vol. 108, pp. 103–119.
Ghose, I., Cannat, M., and Seyler, M., Transform fault effect on mantle melting in the mark area (Mid-Atlantic Ridge south of the Kane Transform), Geology, 1996, vol. 24, no. 12, pp. 1139–1142.
Godard, M., Jousselin, D., and Bodinier, J.L., Relationships between geochemistry and structure beneath a palaeo-spreading centre: a study of the mantle section in the Oman ophiolite, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2000, vol. 180, nos. 1–2, pp. 133–148.
O’Hara, M.J., Richardson, S.W., and Wilson, G., Garnet-peridotite stability and occurrence in crust and mantle, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 1971, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 48–68.
Hellebrand, E., Snow, J.E., Dick, H.J., and Hofmann, A.W., Coupled major and trace elements as indicators of the extent of melting in mid-ocean-ridge peridotites, Nature, 2001, vol. 410, no. 6829, pp. 677–681.
Hellebrand, E., Snow, J.E., Hoppe, P., and Hofmann, A.W., Garnet-field melting and late-stage refertilization in residual abyssal peridotites from the Central Indian Ridge, J. Petrol., 2002, vol. 43, no. 12, pp. 2305–2338.
Hofmann, A.W., Chemical differentiation of the earth: the relationship between mantle, continental crust, and oceanic crust, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 1988, vol. 90, pp. 297–314.
Irving, A.J. and Frey, F.A., Trace element abundances in megacrysts and their host basalts: constraints on partition coefficients and megacryst genesis, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 1984, vol. 48, pp. 1201–1221.
Johnson, K.T.M., Dick, H.J.B., and Shimizu, N., Melting in the oceanic upper mantle: an ion microprobe study of diopsides in abyssal peridotites, J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth, 1990, vol. 95, no. B3, pp. 2661–2678.
Karson, J.A. and Lawrence, R.M., Tectonic setting of serpentinite exposures on the western median valley wall of the MARK area in the vicinity of site 920, Proceedings-Ocean Drilling Program Scientific Results.National Science Foundation, 1997, pp. 5–22.
Kelemen, P.B., Shimizu, N., and Salters, V.J.M., Focused flow of melt in the upper mantle: extraction ofmorb beneath oceanic spreading ridges, Mineral. Mag., 1994, vol. A, pp. 466–467.
Komor, S.C., Abyssal peridotite from ODP hole 670a (21°10′ N, 45°02′ W): residues of mantle melting exposed by non-constructive axial divergence, Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, 1990, vol. 106, pp. 85–101.
Kosyakova, N.A., Aranovich, L.Ya., and Podlesskii, K.K., Equilibria of aluminous spinel with orthopyroxene in the system FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2: new experimental data and thermodynamic assessment, Dokl. Earth Sci., 2005, vol. 400, no. 1, pp. 57–61.
Liermann, H.P. and Ganguly, J., Fe2+–Mg fractionantion between orthopyroxene and spinel: experimental calibration in the system FeO–MgO–Al2O3–Cr2O3–SiO2, and application, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 2003, vol. 145, pp. 217–227.
Malaviarachchi, S.P.K., Makishima, A., and Nakamura, E., Melt–peridotite reactions and fluid metasomatism in the upper mantle, revealed from the geochemistry of peridotite and gabbro from the Horoman peridotite massif, Japan, J. Petrol., 2010, vol. 51, no. 7, pp. 1417–1445.
McCaig, A.M., Cliff, R.A., Escartin, J., et al., Oceanic detachment faults focus very large volumes of Black Smoker fluids, Geology, 2007, vol. 35, no. 10, pp. 935–938.
Michael, P.J. and Bonatti, E., Petrology of ultramafic rocks from sites 556, 558 and 560 DSDP, leg 82, Init. Rep. Deep Sea Drilling Project, 1985, vol. 82, pp. 523–528.
Morishita, T. and Arai, S., Evolution of spinel–pyroxene symplectite in spinel–lherzolites from the Horoman Complex, Japan, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 2003, vol. 144, no. 5, pp. 509–522.
Nicolas, A., Structures of Ophiolites and Synamics of Oceanic Lithosphere, Springer Science & Business Media, 2012.
Niu, Y., Langmuir, C.H., and Kinzler, R.J., The origin of abyssal peridotites: a new perspective, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 1997, vol. 152, nos. 1–4, pp. 251–265.
Obata, M. and Ozawa, K., Topotaxic relationships between spinel and pyroxene in kelyphite after garnet in mantle-derived peridotites and their implications to reaction mechanism and kinetics, Mineral. Petrol., 2011, vol. 101, nos. 3–4, pp. 217–224.
Odashima, N., Morishita, T., Ozawa, K., et al., Formation and deformation mechanisms of pyroxene–spinel symplectite in an ascending mantle, the Horoman peridotite complex, Japan: an EBSD (electron backscatter diffraction) study, J. Mineral. Petrol. Sci., 2008, vol. 103, no. 1, pp. 1–15.
Pattison, D.R. and Bégin. N.J., Zoning patterns in orthopyroxene and garnet in granulites: implications for geothermometry, J. Metamorph. Geol., 1994, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 387–410.
Pertsev, A.N., Bortnikov, N.S., Aranovich, L.Ya., et al., Peridotite–melt interaction under transitional conditions between the spinel and plagioclase facies beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: insight from peridotites at 13° N, Petrology, 2009, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 124–137.
Petersen, S., Kuhn, K., Kuhn, T., et al., The geological setting of the ultramafic-hosted Logatchev hydrothermal field (14°45′ N, Mid-Atlantic Ridge) and its influence on massive sulfide formation, Lithos, 2009, vol. 112, nos. 1–2, pp. 40–56.
Rampone, E., Romairone, A., and Hofmann, A.W., Contrasting bulk and mineral chemistry in depleted mantle peridotites: evidence for reactive porous flow, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2004, vol. 218, nos. 3–4, pp. 491–506.
Reiners, P.W., Reactive melt transport in the mantle and geochemical signatures of mantle-derived magmas, J. Petrol., 1998, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 1039–1061.
Searle, R.C. Murton, B.J., et al., Life cycle of oceanic core complexes, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2009, vol. 287, nos. 3–4, pp. 333–344.
Seyler, M., Toplis, M.J., Lorand, J.P., et al., Clinopyroxene microtextures reveal incompletely extracted melts in abyssal peridotites, Geology, 2001, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 155–158.
Seyler, M., Cannat, M., and Mevel, C., Evidence for major-element heterogeneity in the mantle source of abyssal peridotites from the Southwest Indian Ridge (52° to 68° E), Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst., 2003, vol. 4, no. 2. https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GC000305
Seyler, M., Lorand, J.P., Dick, H.J., and Drouin, M., Pervasive melt percolation reactions in ultra-depleted refractory harzburgites at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 15°20′ N: ODP hole 1274a, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 2007, vol. 153, no. 3, pp. 303–319.
Shannon, R.D., Revised effective ionic radii and systematic studies of interatomic distances in halides and chacogenides, Acta Crystallogr. Sect. A, 1976, vol. 32, pp. 751–767.
Shimizu, N. and Hart, S.R., Application of the ion microprobe to geochemistry and cosmochemistry, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 1982, vol. 10, pp. 483–526.
Shimizu, Y., Arai, S., Morishita, T., and Ishida, Y., Origin and significance of spinel–pyroxene symplectite in lherzolite xenoliths from tallante, SE Spain, Mineral. Petrol., 2008, vol. 94, nos. 1–2, pp. 27–43.
Smith, D.K., Escartin, J., Schouten, H., and Cann, J.R., Fault rotation and core complex formation: significant processes in seafloor formation at slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 13°–15° N), Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst., 2008, vol. 9, no. 3. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GC001699
Sobolev, A.V., Melt inclusions in minerals as a source of principal petrological information, Petrology, 1996, vol. 4, pp. 228–239.
Stephens, C.J., Heterogeneity of oceanic peridotite from the Western Canyon wall at mark: results from site 920, Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, 1997, vol. 153, pp. 285–303.
Suhr, G., Melt migration under oceanic ridges: inferences from reactive transport modelling of upper mantle hosted dunites, J. Petrol., 1999, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 575–599.
Suhr, G., Kelemen, P., and Paulick, H., Microstructures in hole 1274a peridotites, ODP leg 209, Mid-Atlantic Ridge: tracking the fate of melts percolating in peridotite as the lithosphere is intercepted, Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst., 2008, vol. 9, no. 3. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007gc001726
Sun, S.-S. and McConough, W.F., Chemical and isotopic systematics of oceanic basalts: implications for mantle composition and processes, Magmatism in the Ocean Basins, Saunders, A.D. and Norry, V.J., Eds., Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., 1989, vol. 42, pp. 313–345.
Walter, M.J., Melt extraction and compositional variability in mantle lithosphere, Treatise on Geochemistry, 2003, vol. 2, pp. 363–393.
Wang, J., Zhou, H., Salters, V., et al., Mantle melting variation and refertilization beneath the Dragon Bone amagmatic segment (53° E SWIR): major and trace element compositions of peridotites at ridge flanks, Lithos, 2019, vol. 324, pp. 325–339.
Wood, B.J. and Blundy, J.D., A predictive model for rare earth element partitioning between clinopyroxene and anhydrous silicate melt, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 1997, vol. 129, pp. 166–181.
Yoder, H.S., Generation of Basaltic Magma, Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, 1976.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge L.Y. Aranovich for helpful discussions S.A. Silantyev, G.V. Ledneva, and anonymous reviewer are thanked for critical reviews of the first version of the manuscript.
Funding
This work was made in the framework of the State Task of IGEM RAS (project no. 0136-2018-0025) and was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project nos. 18-05-00861 and 18-05-00691). Expedition works (Cruise 37th of the R/V Professor Logachev) were financed by the Federal Agency on Nature Management, Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated by M. Bogina
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pertsev, A.N., Beltenev, V.E. Small-Scale Reactional Features in Abyssal Peridotites from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 17°04′ to 17°10′ N. Petrology 28, 389–401 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0869591120040062
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0869591120040062