Partial melting of a phlogopite-clinopyroxenite nodule from south-west Uganda: an experimental study bearing on the origin of highly potassic continental rift volcanics

Abstract

Melting experiments on a mantle-derived nodule assemblage consisting of clinopyroxene, phlogopite and minor titanomagnetite, sphene and apatite have been done at 20 and 30 kbar between 1,175 and 1,300° C. The nodule composition was selected on the basis of modal and chemical analyses of 84 mantle derived nodules with metasomatic textures from the Katwe-Kikorongo and Bunyaruguru volcanic fields of south-west Uganda. At 30 kbar, 1,225 and 1,250° C, representing 20–30% partial melting, the compositions of glasses compare favourably to those of the average composition of 26 high potassic mafic lavas from the same region. Glasses produced by sufficiently low degrees of partial melting at 20 kbar could not be analysed. Glass compositions obtained for 20–30% melting at 30 kbar have high K₂O (3.07–5.05 wt.%), low SiO₂ (35.0–39.2 wt.%), high K/K + Na (0.54–0.71), K + Na/Al (0.99–1.08) and Mg/ Mg + Fe_T of 0.59–0.62. These results support the suggestion of Lloyd and Bailey (1975) that the nodules represent the source material for the high K-rich lavas of south-west Uganda. If this conclusion is correct it implies that anomalous mantle source of phlogopite clinopyroxenite composition could produced the Ugandan lavas by relatively higher degrees of partial melting than that normally considered for highly alkaline mafic magmas derived from a pyrolitic mantle source. Higher degrees of melting are considered likely from such a different source region, rich in alkalis, water and radioactive elements. Steeper geotherms and increased fluxing of sub-rift mantle by degassing would also produce higher degrees of partial melting.