It is thought that the first continental crust formed by melting of either eclogite or amphibolite, either at subduction zones or on the underside of thick oceanic crust. However, the observed ...compositions of early crustal rocks and experimental studies have been unable to distinguish between these possibilities. Here we show a clear contrast in trace-element ratios of melts derived from amphibolites and those from eclogites. Partial melting of low-magnesium amphibolite can explain the low niobium/tantalum and high zirconium/samarium ratios in melts, as required for the early continental crust, whereas the melting of eclogite cannot. This indicates that the earliest continental crust formed by melting of amphibolites in subduction-zone environments and not by the melting of eclogite or magnesium-rich amphibolites in the lower part of thick oceanic crust. Moreover, the low niobium/tantalum ratio seen in subduction-zone igneous rocks of all ages is evidence that the melting of rutile-eclogite has never been a volumetrically important process.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The continental crust (CC) and the depleted mantle (DM) are generally assumed to be complementary reservoirs within the Earth. However, the mixture between CC and upper mantle does not generate the ...Nb/Ta and Nb/La ratios of chondrites. A reservoir with superchondritic ratios for Nb/Ta and Nb/La is thus required in the Earth's system. The occurrence of a hidden amphibole reservoir in the lower arc crust has been recently proposed. This, coupled with the capability of calcic amphibole to give rise to a superchondritic Nb/Ta and Nb/La reservoir, led us to determine to what extent amphibole-rich ultramafic rocks can account for the Nb (and Nb/Ta, Nb/La as well) imbalance on Earth. We have considered lower crust mafic and ultramafic amphibole-rich intrusive rocks from collisional settings worldwide. Because CC is considered to have primarily formed in collisional setting these rocks are important for its genetic model. We modeled Nb, Ta and La contents of the hidden Nb reservoir by mass balance calculations between continental crust, depleted mantle and primitive mantle. Modeling shows that amphibole-rich mafic lower crust can solve the so-called Nb paradox if large volumes of materials are supposed to be returned into the mantle during the Earth's history. A possible mechanism is recycling, particularly in Precambrian times, of eclogites that underwent pre-eclogitic melting in the amphibolite facies field and then recrystallized under eclogite-facies conditions.
•Amphibole-rich crust (ARC) can be a superchondritic Nb/Ta and Nb/La reservoir.•ARC solves the Nb paradox if large volumes of materials are returned into the mantle.•The contribution of ARC to the Nb imbalance of the silicate Earth cannot be neglected.•The Nb imbalance on Earth is accounted by a combination of multiple Nb-rich reservoirs.
The Jurassic Pineto ophiolite from Corsica exposes a ~1-km-thick troctolite–olivine-gabbro sequence, interpreted to represent a lowermost sector of the gabbroic oceanic crust from a (ultra-)slow ...spreading system. To constrain the petrogenesis of the olivine-gabbros, minor and trace element analyses of olivine (forsterite = 84–82 mol%) were carried out. Olivine from the olivine-gabbros is depleted in incompatible trace elements (Sc, V, Ti, Y, Zr and heavy rare earth elements) with respect to olivines from associated troctolites. Depleted incompatible element compositions are also shown by olivine (forsterite = 86 mol%) from a clinopyroxene-rich troctolite. The incompatible element compositions of olivine argue against a petrogenetic process entirely driven by fractional crystallization. We propose that melts migrating through an olivine–plagioclase crystal mush chemically evolved by reaction with the existing minerals, changing in composition as it flowed upward. The melt residual from these interactions led to partial dissolution of preexisting olivine and to crystallization of clinopyroxene, generating olivine-gabbro bodies within a troctolite matrix. Reactive flow was the major evolution process active in the ~1-km crustal transect exposed at the Pineto ophiolite, producing lithological variations classically attributed to fractional crystallization processes.
We present new, whole-rock major and trace element chemistry, including rare earth elements (REE), platinum-group elements (PGE), and Re–Os isotope data from the upper mantle peridotites of a ...Cretaceous Neo-Tethyan ophiolite in the Muğla area in SW Turkey. We also report extensive mineral chemistry data for these peridotites in order to better constrain their petrogenesis and tectonic environment of formation. The Muğla peridotites consist mainly of cpx-harzburgite, depleted harzburgite, and dunite. Cpx-harzburgites are characterized by their higher average CaO (2.27
wt.%), Al
2O
3 (2.07
wt.%), REE (53
ppb), and
187Os/
188Os
(
i)
ratios varying between 0.12497 and 0.12858. They contain Al-rich pyroxene with lower Cr content of coexisting spinel (Cr#
=
13–22). In contrast, the depleted harzburgites and dunites are characterized by their lower average CaO (0.58
wt.%), Al
2O
3 (0.42
wt.%), and REE (1.24
ppb) values. Their clinopyroxenes are Al-poor and coexist with high-Cr spinel (Cr#
=
33–83). The
187Os/
188Os
(
i)
ratios are in the range of 0.12078–0.12588 and are more unradiogenic compared to those of the cpx-harzburgites.
Mineral chemistry and whole rock trace and PGE data indicate that formation of the Muğla peridotites cannot be explained by a single stage melting event; at least two-stages of melting and refertilization processes are needed to explain their geochemical characteristics. Trace element compositions of the cpx-harzburgites can be modeled by up to ~
10–16% closed-system dynamic melting of a primitive mantle source, whereas those of the depleted harzburgites and dunites can be reproduced by ~
10–16% open-system melting of an already depleted (~
16%) mantle. These models indicate that the cpx-harzburgites are the products of first-stage melting and low-degrees of melt–rock interaction that occurred in a mid-ocean ridge (MOR) environment. However, the depleted harzburgites and dunites are the product of second-stage melting and related refertilization which took place in a supra subduction zone (SSZ) environment. The Re–Os isotope systematics of the Muğla peridotites gives model age clusters of ~
250
Ma, ~
400
Ma and ~
750
Ma that may record major tectonic events associated with the geodynamic evolution of the Neo-Tethyan, Rheic, and Proto-Tethyan oceans, respectively. Furthermore, >
1000
Ma model ages can be interpreted as a result of an ancient melting event before the Proto-Tethys evolution.
► We report major and trace element geochemistry on bulk-rock and mineral samples of the upper mantle peridotites from SW Turkey. ► SW Turkey peridotites comprise cpx-harzburgites, depleted harzburgites and dunites. ► The cpx-harzburgites represent the restite of ~10–16% melting in MOR setting. ► Depleted rocks formed by remelting of previously depleted mantle in subduction zone. ► Melt-peridotite interaction played an important role in the formation of depleted residues.
High-MgO ultrapotassic rocks are found in four different areas of the Western Mediterranean basin associated in space and time with shoshonitic and calc-alkaline rocks. They represent different ...magmatic events at the active continental plate margin from Oligocene to Pleistocene. These rocks are found within the Western Alps (Northern Italy), in Corsica (France), in Murcia-Almeria (South-Eastern Spain), and in Southern Tuscany (Central Italy). Ultrapotassic terms are mostly lamprophyres, but olivine latitic lavas with a clear lamproitic affinity are also found. Lamproite-like rocks range from slightly silica under-saturated to silica over-saturated, and they are characterised by low Al
2O
3, CaO, and Na
2O contents. They are plagioclase-free rocks, but K-feldspar is abundant beside other K-bearing phases. Shoshonitic and calc-alkaline rocks are invariably space associated to lamproites, and they either precede or follow them. High-Mg ultrapotassic rocks are characterised by strong enrichment of incompatible elements, which prevent further enrichment due to shallow level crustal contamination. K
2O and incompatible element contents decrease passing from high-Mg ultrapotassic to high-Mg shoshonitic and calc-alkaline rocks suggesting that K and incompatible trace elements enrichments are a primary characteristic. Ultrapotassic to calc-alkaline rocks from Western Mediterranean regions, in spite of their different age of emplacement, are characterised by similar incompatible trace elements distribution. Depletion of High Field Strength elements with respect to Large Ion Lithophile elements is observed. Positive spikes at Th, U, and Pb, with negative spikes at Ba, Nb, Ta, Sr, P, and Ti, are common characteristics of ultrapotassic (lamproitic) to high-K calc-alkaline rocks. Ultrapotassic rocks are extremely enriched in radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd with respect to the associated shoshonitic and calc-alkaline rocks. Different isotopic values are distinctive of the different magmatic provinces irrespective of magmatic affinities.
87Sr/
86Sr
i ranges between 0.71645 and 0.71759 for Western Alps lamproites, between 0.71226 and 0.71230 for Corsica lamproite, between 0.71642 and 0.72259 for Murcia-Almeria lamproites, and between 0.71578 and 0.71672 for Tuscany lamproites. Radiogenic Sr decreases along with K
2O through shoshonitic to calc-alkaline rocks. Conversely
143Nd/
144Nd
i values increase with decreasing K
2O, with the highest value of 0.51243 found for the one samples from Murcia-Almeria. Contrasting trends are observed among initial values of lead isotopes, but all falling well within the field of upper crustal rocks. Different trends of
207Pb/
204Pb
i and
208Pb/
204Pb
i vs.
206Pb/
204Pb
i for samples from the different provinces are observed. Several evidences indicate that most of the magmas of the different provinces have been generated in a depleted upper mantle (i.e., lithospheric) modified by metasomatism, but an asthenospheric component is also recognised in Corsica. At least two different subduction-related metasomatic agents re-fertilised the depleted original upper mantle source. Carbonate-free siliciclastic sediments and carbonate-rich sediments have been recycled within the upper mantle through subduction and partial melting. Assuming that metasomatic component is concentrated in a vein network, in Tuscany and Corsica, time relationships indicate that low degree of partial melting of the pure vein produced lamproitic-like magmas, whereas an increase in the partial melting involve the surrounding upper mantle, then diluting the alkaline component and produced the entire spectra of magma observed. In South-Eastern Spain calc-alkaline magmatism preceded lamproitic ones, and might be generated by partial melting of mantle wedge metasomatised by fluids from oceanic slab prior to collision. Lamproitic magmas followed after melt-dominated metasomatic agents invaded the lithospheric upper mantle domain. Migration of the magmatism with time is the result of eastward migration of subduction with subsequent opening of Balearic, Ligure-Provençal, and Tyrrhenian basins.
An investigation has been performed on three chromitite layers segregated in dunite bodies of the Phlogopite Peridotite mantle unit in the Finero complex (FPP, Ivrea–Verbano Zone, Southern Alps) ...aimed at providing new constraints to their origin and evolution.
Field relationships, the sub-chondritic Hf isotopic composition of the zircons (εHf(188) as low as −5.4), the heavy O isotopic composition of zircons and pyroxenes (δ18O up to 6.9‰), the strict similarity of the trace element composition between the clinopyroxenes and amphiboles from the chromitites and those from the phlogopite harzburgites and pyroxenites forming the typical FPP association, as well as the REE composition of zircons, which approaches equilibrium with the associate clinopyroxene, suggest that the studied chromitites were segregated from melts, highly contaminated from continental crust, during the pervasive cycle of metasomatism recorded by the FPP. An LA-ICP-HRMS survey of chromitite zircon grains has provided Early Jurassic U–Pb ages mostly between 199±3Ma and 178±2Ma, with a pronounced peak at 187Ma. Relevant exceptions are inherited domains of two grains giving Triassic ages of 242±7Ma and 229±7Ma, and a third homogeneous zircon giving 208±3Ma. Our geochronological data and those reported in the literature show that the FPP chromitites have zircon populations with different internal CL textures, but the same sub-chondritic Hf isotopic composition, which define an overall U–Pb age span from ~290Ma to 180. The segregation of the chromitite layers and the main pervasive metasomatism likely occurred in the Early Permian (in a post-collisional, transtensional setting) or before (possibly, in a subduction-related setting). The rejuvenation of the zircon ages was accompanied by a progressive disappearance of the internal zoning, interpreted as the result of a prolonged residence at mantle depths with progressive re-equilibration of the U–Pb system due to thermal perturbations. The age peak at ~187Ma is argued to constrain the timing of FPP exhumation at shallower, crustal levels. This process was characterised by an important reheating event, possibly due to lithospheric hyperextension. The evolution of the FPP appears completely different than that of mantle bodies of the central IVZ (i.e., the Val Sesia-type bodies), which were emplaced within the continental crust, as part of accretionary prisms, at or before the end of the Variscan orogeny.
•Zircon-bearing mantle chromitites formed along with the Finero phlogopite harzburgites.•The Finero phlogopite peridotite was firstly metasomatised in Early Permian or before.•Younger ages record thermal perturbations related to tectono-magmatic events.•The exhumation of Finero phlogopite peridotite occurred in Early Jurassic.•The IVZ exhumation was accompanied by a thermal perturbation at ~187Ma.
► New chemical data from Aligoodarz granitoid complex is reported. ► The results are compared with available data from other granitoids of the same zone. ► Magmatic history of a poorly known segment ...of the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone is better clarified.
The Aligoodarz granitoid complex (AGC) is located in the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone (SSZ), western Iran and consists of quartz-diorites, granodiorites and subordinate granites. Whole rock major and trace element data mostly define linear trends on Harker diagrams suggesting a cogenetic origin of the different rock types. (
87Sr/
86Sr)
i
and εNd
t ratios are in the ranges 0.7074–0.7110 and −3.56 to −5.50, respectively. The trace elements and Sr–Nd isotopic composition suggest that the granitoids from the AGC are similar to crustal derived I-type granitoids of continental arcs. The whole rock suite was produced by assimilation and fractional crystallization starting from a melt with intermediate composition likely possessing a mantle component. In situ zircon U–Pb data on the granites with LA-ICP-MS yield a crystallization age of ∼165
Ma. Inherited grains spanning in age from ∼180
Ma up to 2027
Ma were also found and confirm that assimilation of country rock has occurred.
Chemical and chronological data on the AGC were compared with those available for other granitoid complexes of the central SSZ (e.g., Dehno, Boroujerd and Alvand). The comparison reveals that in spite of the different origins that have been proposed, all these granitoid complexes are likely genetically related. They share many chemical features and are derived from crustal melts with minor differences. Alvand granites have the most peculiar compositions most likely related to the presence of abundant pelitic component. All these intrusions are coeval and reveal the presence of an extensive magmatic activity in the central sector of the SSZ during middle Jurassic.
Nutrients that fall on the ground from the atmosphere represent a minor component of the total nitrogen (N) input to soils, especially when compared with agricultural, civil and industrial inputs ...(i.e. sewage treatment plants or sewage systems, fertilizer and manure applications). However, integrating all nitrogen forms, processes and scales can represent a breakthrough challenge for the understanding and the management of the N cycle. A monitoring experiment was set up to collect wet atmospheric depositions in a human-impacted area with multiple land uses, representing different emission sources. Rainwater collection was executed in the surroundings of Milan, in northern Italy, starting from February 2017 to February 2019. The presence of N compounds and their temporal variations in rainwater are consistent with pollution coming from local anthropogenic emission sources of nitrogen oxides and ammonia, mainly related to the use of the heating systems in the cold seasons and the spreading of fertilizers and manure on agricultural fields. Consequently, the total amount of N wet depositions ranges between 14 and about 30 kg/ha yr in the study area. As leaching of N compounds from soils generally increases at deposition rates higher than about 10 kg(N)/ha yr, this work suggests that the N atmospheric input to soils could not be neglected when evaluating the impacts of N sources to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, as well as to groundwater resources. This highlights the need of wisely integrating air, soil and water policies for minimising the risk to deteriorate surficial ecosystems and groundwater.
In this paper we document in detail the transition from the Rosso Ammonitico Lombardo to the Radiolarites outcropping at Alpe Turati (Albavilla, Como) in the Lombardy Basin of the Southern Alps. At ...this location, the Jurassic succession was deposited on a flank of the Corni di Canzo paleohigh: as found on other structural shallow areas, the upper Pliensbachian–Toarcian–Aalenian interval is represented by pseudonodular to nodular marly limestones of the Morbio Limestone and Rosso Ammonitico Lombardo units. In the early Bajocian deposition of biosiliceous sediments is ubiquitously testified by the Radiolarites (Bajocian–Callovian). At Alpe Turati, the interval immediately below the basal green member of the latter unit, consists of a 10 cm thick black shale, pointing to oxygen-depleted bottom waters. Dysoxia persisted during the Bajocian–Callovian as evidenced by dark green stratified cherts. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy indicate an early Bajocian age for the black shale that correlates with the core of a distinct C isotopic negative anomaly also known in various basins outside the Southern Alps. Very dark grey to black lithologies of early Bajocian age have been documented in a few sections from Poland, Corsica and Morocco. We name Gaetani Level the black shale interval in recognition of Maurizio Gaetani’s pioneering and extensive work on Jurassic sedimentary successions of the Lombardy Basin. The association of the Gaetani black shale with a C isotopic anomaly suggests that it could be the sedimentary record of an Oceanic Anoxic Event whose regional to global extension must be ascertained.