Abstract
Petrography-controlled laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LAICPMS) analyses of carbonate in fresh shallow level sub-volcanic Polino monticellite calcio-carbonatite tuffisite have been performed to assess the geochemical differences between fresh igneous, epigenetic carbonates and sedimentary accidental fragments. Igneous calcite has consistently high LREE/HREE ratios (La/Yb N , 15–130) due to high LREE (ΣLREE, 425–1,269 ppm). Secondary calcite cements are characterized by progressively lower and more variable trace element contents, with lower LREE/HREE ratios. A distinguishing geochemical feature is progressively increasing negative Ce anomalies observed through coarse secondary calcite that can be related to the surface environment processes. The limestone accidental fragments in the tuffisite have trace element contents almost two orders of magnitude lower than igneous carbonate and low LREE (ΣLREE < 9.5 ppm) with low LREE/HREE fractionation (La/Yb N ratios < 18). The stable isotope composition of different carbonate types is consistent with their formation in different environments. The tuffisitization processes during diatreme formation under high CO2-OH fugacity conditions may account for the differences noted in the igneous carbonates.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bailey DK (1985) Fluids, melts, flowage, and styles of eruption in alkaline–ultra-alkaline magmatism. Trans Geol Soc S Afr 88:449–457
Bailey DK (2005) Carbonate volcanics in Italy: numerical tests for the hypothesis of lava-sedimentary limestone mixing. Periodico di Mineralogia 74:205–208
Barker DS (2007) Origin of cementing calcite in ‘carbonatite’ tuffs. Geol 35:371–374
Bau M, Möller P (1992) Rare earth element fractionation in metamorphogenic hydrothermal calcite, magnesite and siderite. Mineral Petrol 45:231–246
Bell K, Kjarsgaard B (2006) Discussion of Peccerillo A (2004) “Carbonate-rich pyroclastic rocks from central Appennines: carbonatites or carbonate-rich rocks?”. Periodico di Mineralogia 75:85–92
Chakhmouradian AR (2006) High-field-strength elements in carbonatitic rocks: geochemistry, crystal chemistry and significance for constraining the sources of carbonatites. Chem Geol 235:138–160
Chakhmouradian AR, McCammon CA (2005) Schorlomite: a discussion of the crystal chemistry, formula, and inter-species boundaries. Phys Chem Minerals 32:277–289
Compton JS, White RA, Smith M (2003) Rare earth element behaviour in soil and salt pan sediments of a semi-arid granitic terrain in the Western Cape, South Africa. Chem Geol 201:239–255
D’Orazio M, Innocenti F, Tonarini S, Doglioni C (2007) Carbonatites in a subduction system: the Pleistocene alvikites from Mt Vulture (southern Italy). Lithos 98:313–334
Dawson JB, Keller J, Nyamweru C (1995) Historic and recent eruptive activity of Oldoinyo Lengai. In: Bell K, Keller J (eds) Carbonatite volcanism: Oldoinyo Lengai and the petrogenesis of natrocarbonatites. IAVCEI Proceedings in Volcanology, Springer Verlag, Berlin, 4:4–22
Deines P, Gold DP (1973) The isotopic composition of carbonatite and kimberlite carbonates and their bearing on the isotopic composition of deep-seated carbon. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 37:1709–1733
Denniston RF, Shearer CK, Layne GD, Vaniman DT (1997) SIMS analyses of minor and trace element distributions in fracture calcite from Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 61:1803–1818
Elderfield H, Greaves MJ (1982) The rare earth elements in seawater. Nature 296:214–219
Elderfield H, Upstill-Goddard R, Sholkovitz ER (1990) The rare earth elements in rivers, estuaries, and coastal seas and their significance to the composition of ocean waters. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 54:971–991
Green DH, Wallace ME (1988) Mantle metasomatism by ephemeral carbonatite melts. Nature 336:459–462
Hay RL (1978) Melilitite–carbonatite tuffs in the Laetolil beds of Tanzania. Contrib Mineral Petrol 67:357–367
Hay RL, O’Neil JR (1983) Carbonatite tuffs in the Laetolil beds of Tanzania and the Kaiserstuhl in Germany. Contrib Mineral Petrol 82:403–406
Hubberten HW, Katz-Lehnert K, Keller J (1988) Carbon and oxygen isotope investigations in carbonatites and related rocks from the Kaiserstuhl, Germany. Chem Geol 70:257–274
Jeffries TE (2001) Elemental analysis by laser ablation ICP-MS. In: Alfassi ZB (ed) Non-destructive elemental analysis. Blackwell Science, Oxford, pp 115–150
Junqueira-Brod TC, Brod JA, Thompson RN, Gibson SA (1999) Spinning droplets—a conspicuous lapilli-size structure in kamafugite diatreme of Southern Goiás, Brazil. Rivista Brasileira de Geosciencias 29:437–440
Knudsen C, Buchardt B (1991) Carbon and oxygen isotope composition of carbonates from the Qaqarssuk carbonatite complex, southern west Greenland. Chem Geol 86:263–274
Laurenzi M, Stoppa F, Villa I (1994) Eventi ignei monogenetici e depositi piroclastici nel distretto ultra-alcalino Umbro-Laziale (ULUD): revisione, aggiornamento e comparazione dei dati cronologici. Plinius 12:61–65
Le Bas MJ (1996) Standard rare earth element compositions for sovitic and alvikitic carbonatites. In: Gupta AK, Onuma K, Arima M (eds) Geochemical studies on synthetic and natural rock systems (Kenzo Yagi volume). Allied Publishers, New Delhi, pp 90–110
Lee WJ, Wyllie PJ (1998) Petrogenesis of carbonatite magmas from mantle to crust, constrained by the system CaO-(MgO+FeO*)-(Na2O+K2O)-(SiO2+Al2O3+TiO2)-CO2. J Petrol 39:495–577
Lupini L, Williams CT, Woolley AR (1992) Zr-rich garnet and Zr- and Th-rich perovkite from Polino carbonatite, Italy. Min Mag 56:581–586
McLennan SM (1982) On the geochemical evolution of sedimentary rocks. Chem Geol 37:335–350
Nelson DR, Chivas AR, Chappell BW, McCulloch MT (1988) Geochemical and isotopic systematics in carbonatites and implications for the evolution of ocean-island sources. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 52:1–17
Panina L, Stoppa F (2009) Silicate–carbonate–salt liquid immiscibility and origin of the sodalite–hayne rocks: study of melt inclusions in olivine foidite from Vulture volcano, S. Italy. Central Eur J Geosci 1(4):377–392
Peccerillo A (2004) Carbonate-rich pyroclastic rocks from central Apennines: carbonatites or carbonated rocks? A commentary. Periodico di Mineralogia 73:165–175
Peccerillo A, Poli G, Serri G (1988) Petrogenesis of orenditic and kamafugitic rocks from central Italy. Can Mineral 26:45–65
Riley TR, Bailey DK, Harmer RE, Liebsch H, Lloyd FE, Palmer MR (1999) Isotopic and geochemical investigation of a carbonatite–syenite–phonolite diatreme, West Eifel (Germany). Mineral Mag 63:615–631
Rollinson H (1993) Using geochemical data: evaluation, presentation interpretation. Longman, London, p 352
Rosatelli G, Stoppa F, Jones AP (2000) Intrusive calcite-carbonatite occurrence from Mt. Vulture volcano, Southern Italy. Min Mag 64:341–361
Stoppa F, Lavecchia G (1992) Late pleistocene ultra-alkaline activity in the Umbria-Latium region (Italy): an overview. J Vol Geotherm Res 52:277–293
Stoppa F, Liu Y (1995) Chemical composition and petrogenetic implications of apatites from some ultra-alkaline Italian rocks. Eur J Mineral 7:391–402
Stoppa F, Lupini L (1993) Mineralogy and petrology of the Polino monticellite calciocarbonatite (Central Italy). Mineral Petrol 49:213–231
Stoppa F, Woolley AR (1997) The Italian carbonatites: field occurrence, petrology and regional significance. Mineral Petrol 59:43–67
Stoppa F, Lloyd FE, Rosatelli G (2003) CO2 as the virtual propellant of carbonatitic conjugate pairs and the eruption of diatremic tuffisite. Periodico di Mineralogia 72:205–222
Stoppa F, Rosatelli G, Wall F, Jeffries T (2005) Geochemistry of carbonatite–silicate pairs in nature: a case history from Central Italy. Lithos 85:26–47
Stoppa F, Jones AP, Sharygin VV (2009) Nyerereite from carbonatite rocks at Vulture volcano: implications for mantle metasomatism and petrogenesis of alkali carbonate melts. Cent Europ J Geoscience 1:131–151
Sun SS, McDonough WF (1989) Chemical and isotopic systematics of oceanic basalts: implications for mantle composition and processes. In: Magmatism in the ocean basins. Geological Society Special Publication 42:313–345
Taylor SR, McLennan SM (1985) The continental crust: its composition and evolution. Blackwell, Oxford
Taylor HP, Frechen J, Degens ET (1967) Oxygen and carbon isotope studies of carbonatites from the Laacher See District, West Germany and the Alno District, Sweden. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 31:407–430
Woolley AR, Church AA (2005) Extrusive carbonatites: a brief review. Lithos 85:1–14
Woolley AR, Kempe DRC (1989) Carbonatites: nomenclature, average chemical compositions, and element distribution. In: Bell K (ed) Carbonatites. Genesis and evolution. Unwin-Hyman, London, pp 1–14
Woolley AR, Bailey DK, Castorina F, Rosatelli G, Stoppa F, Wall F (2005) Reply to: Peccerillo A (2004) Carbonate-rich pyroclastic rocks from central Apennines: carbonatites or carbonated rocks? A commentary. Periodico di Mineralogia 74:183–194
Zaitsev AN, Keller J (2006) Mineralogical and chemical transformation of Oldoinyo Lengai natrocarbonatites, Tanzania. Lithos 91:191–207
Zaitsev AN, Keller J, Spratt J, Perova EN, Kearsley A (2008) Nyerereite–pirssonite–calcite–shortite relationships in altered natrocarbonatites, Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania. Can Mineral 46:843–860
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank John Spratt and Terry Williams for help with electron microprobe analyses, Teresa Jeffries for help with LAICPMS, and Tony Wighton for sample preparation. The paper has been improved with the critical review of Ken Bailey and Alex Teague, who we thank. This research was funded by Synthesis 2006.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by J. Blundy.
G. Rosatelli and F. Wall were formerly with the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rosatelli, G., Wall, F., Stoppa, F. et al. Geochemical distinctions between igneous carbonate, calcite cements, and limestone xenoliths (Polino carbonatite, Italy): spatially resolved LAICPMS analyses. Contrib Mineral Petrol 160, 645–661 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-010-0499-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-010-0499-x