We examined seven ultramafic xenoliths from 1~3 Ma alkali olivine basalt reefs near the Eurasian continent and one sample of the host alkali basalt to identify the mantle wedge material and to constrain the origin and evolution of mantle beneath SW Japan. Six xenoliths are from Kurose and one xenolith is from Takashima, northern part of the Kyushu islands, SW Japan. The Sr and Nd isotopic ratios vary from 0.70416 to 0.70773 and from 0.51228 to 0.51283, respectively. The Kurose and Takashima xenoliths have higher Sr isotopic ratios and lower Nd isotopic ratios than those of the peridotite xenoliths from the other arc settings such as Simcoe and NE Japan.
The Kurose xenoliths have less radiogenic Os isotopic ratios (187Os/188Os = 0.123–0.129) than the primitive upper mantle (PUM) estimate and limited variation compared to the other arc xenoliths. Their Os isotope compositions are rather similar to the ultramafic xenoliths from NE and east China. In addition, the samples of the Kurose and Takashima xenoliths plot along a mixing line between ultramafic xenoliths from SE and NE China and a slab component in Sr–Nd–Os isotopic space. Our results suggest that fragments of continental lithospheric mantle from the China craton may exist beneath Kurose and Takashima after the Sea of Japan expansion when the Japanese islands were rifted away from the Eurasian continent during Miocene. Later magmatism due to subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the SW Japan arc around 15 Ma ago may have introduced fluids or melts derived from slab component, interpreted to be oceanic sediments rather than altered oceanic crust, that possibly modified the original composition of the lithospheric mantle sampled by the peridotite xenoliths from Kurose and Takashima. 相似文献
We estimated metamorphic conditions for the 6 Ma Taitao ophiolite, associated with the Chile triple junction. The metamorphic grade of the ophiolite, estimated from secondary matrix minerals, changes stratigraphically downwards from the zeolite facies, through the prehnite–actinolite facies, greenschist facies and the greenschist–amphibolite transition, to the amphibolite facies. The metamorphic facies series corresponds to the low-pressure type. The metamorphic zone boundaries are subparallel to the internal lithological boundaries of the ophiolite, indicating that the metamorphism was due to axial hydrothermal alteration at a mid-ocean ridge.
Mineral assemblages and the compositions of veins systematically change from quartz-dominated, through epidote-dominated, to prehnite-dominated with increasing depth. Temperatures estimated from the vein assemblages range from 230 °C in the volcanic unit to 380 °C at the bottom of the gabbro unit, systematically 200 °C lower than estimates from the adjoining matrix minerals. The late development of veins and the systematically lower temperatures suggest that the vein-forming alteration was due to off-axis hydrothermal alteration.
Comparison between the Taitao ophiolite with its mid-ocean ridge (MOR) affinity, and other ophiolites and MOR crusts, suggests that the Taitao ophiolite has many hydrothermal alteration features similar to those of MOR crusts. This is consistent with the tectonic history that the Taitao ophiolite was formed at the South Chile ridge system near the South American continent (Anma, R., Armstrong, R., Danhara, T., Orihashi, Y. and Iwano, H., 2006. Zircon sensitive high mass-resolution ion microprobe U–Pb and fission-track ages for gabbros and sheeted dykes of the Taitao ophiolite, Southern Chile, and their tectonic implications. The Island Arc, 15(1): 130–142). 相似文献
The western Pacific region has been refrigerated by the subducting cold oceanic plates since 450 Ma. However, the region is also characterized by the presence of many oceanic microplates less than 1300 km across, as well as active magmatism; the Philippine Sea plate is representative. We have compiled and examined petrochemical characters of drilled basalts of DSDP from the Philippine Sea plate, and conclude that the source mantle for oceanic basalts is rich in water ca. 0.2 wt.%, and is 50–60 °C lower than that for MORB. The extensive melting is due to the high water content in the source mantle.It is well known that some marginal basins apparently have greater depths than the major oceans. We calculated the age–depth correlation based on a model of transient half-space cooling at given parameters of temperatures of mantle and surface, 1280 and 0 °C, and the thermal diffusivity, 1 mm2 s− 1. The calculation shows the correlation of age-residual depth from a mid-oceanic ridge is 367 for the Philippine Sea, consistent with the bathymetric data. Moreover, the mid-oceanic ridge may be relatively deep because this region is underlain by the cooler mantle.Addition of water to the mantle peridotite lowers the solidus temperature and viscosity. Melting experiments of hydrous peridotite show that addition of 0.2 wt.% H2O content lowers the solidus temperature by 150 °C. As a result, the mantle under the region may practically correspond to a ca. 90 °C hotter mantle than normal MORB-source mantle in terms of magmatism and rheology. Numerical simulation for a hotter mantle suggests that many small plates should be formed because of extensive heat release by active magmatism, consistent with many microplates in this region. The presence of many oceanic microplates may be analogous to Archean plate tectonics, characterized by a hotter mantle. 相似文献
We present results of high-resolution bathymetric studies of the extinct intermediate-spreading Parece Vela Basin in the northwestern Pacific, where we have identified an extremely large mullion structure, here termed a giant megamullion. We find that the giant megamullion is nearly an order of magnitude larger than the similar structures in the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge (`megamullions'). The giant megamullion has slightly elevated mantle Bouguer anomaly, and yields serpentinized peridotites and gabbros, suggesting that they are exposing oceanic crust and upper mantle. An off-axis rugged `chaotic terrain' was also identified in the Parece Vela Basin. The terrain consists of isolated and elevated blocks capped by corrugated axis-normal lineations, and associated deeps. We thus interpret it as analogues to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge megamullions. We propose that amagmatic tectonics producing the giant megamullion and the chaotic terrain occupied a significant part in crustal construction in the Parece Vela Basin evolution. 相似文献
The redox state of the surface environment of the early Earth is still controversial, and a detailed and quantitative estimate is still lacking. We carried out in-situ analyses of major, trace, and rare-earth elements of carbonate minerals in rocks with primary sedimentary structures in shallow and deep sea-deposits, in order to eliminate secondary carbonate and contamination of detrital materials, and to estimate the redox condition of seawater through time. Based on the Ce content and anomalies of the carbonate minerals at given parameters of atmospheric CO2 content (pCO2) and Ca content of seawater, we calculated the oxygen contents of shallow and deep seawater, respectively. The results show that the oxygen content of the deep sea was low and constant until at least 1.9 Ga. The oxygen content of shallow seawater increased after 2.7 Ga, but fluctuated. It became quite high at 2.5 and 2.3 Ga, but eventually increased after the Phanerozoic. In addition, the calculation of a high pCO2 condition shows that seawater was more oxic even in the Archean than at present, suggesting a relatively low pCO2 through geologic time.Our detailed calculations from compositions of carbonate minerals in Three Gorge area, south China show a low oxygen content of seawater after the Snowball Earth until the late Ediacaran, an increase in the late Ediacaran, and a significant decrease around the Precambrian–Cambrian and Nemakit/Daldynian–Tommotian boundaries. These variations were possibly caused by global regression and dissolution of methane hydrates. 相似文献
