Cr-Saturation Arrays in Concentrate Garnet Compositions from Kimberlite and their Use in Mantle Barometry   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

GRUTTER  HERMAN; LATTI  DEWETIA; MENZIES  ANDREW 《Journal of Petrology》2006,47(4):801-820

The spinel–garnet transition in Cr/Al-enriched peridotiticbulk compositions is known from experimental investigationsto occur at 20–70 kbar, within the pressure range sampledby kimberlites. We show that the Cr₂O₃–CaO compositionsof concentrate garnets from kimberlite have maximum Cr/Ca arrayscharacterized by Cr₂O₃/CaO 0·96–0·81, andinterpret the arrays as primary evidence of chromite–garnetcoexistence in Cr-rich harzburgitic or lherzolitic bulk compositionsderived from depth within the lithosphere. Under Cr-saturatedconditions on a known geotherm, each Cr/Ca array implicitlydelineates an isobar inside a garnet Cr₂O₃–CaO diagram.This simplification invites a graphical approach to calibratean empirical Cr/Ca-in-pyrope barometer. Carbonaceous chromite–garnetharzburgite xenoliths from the Roberts Victor kimberlite tightlybracket a graphite–diamond constraint (GDC) located atCr₂O₃ = 0·94CaO + 5·0 (wt %), representing a pivotalcalibration corresponding to 43 kbar on a 38 mW/m² conductivegeotherm. Additional calibration points are established at 14,17·4 and 59·1 kbar by judiciously projecting garnetcompositions from simple-system experiments onto the same geotherm.The garnet Cr/Ca barometer is then simply formulated as follows(in wt %):

if Cr₂O₃ 0·94CaO + 5, then P₃₈ (kbar) = 26·9+ 3·22Cr₂O₃ – 3·03CaO, or

if Cr₂O₃ <0·94CaO + 5, then P₃₈ (kbar) = 9·2+ 36[(Cr₂O₃+ 1·6)/(CaO + 7·02)].

A small correction to P₃₈ values, applicable for 35–48mW/m² conductive geotherms, is derived empirically by requiringconventional thermobarometry results and garnet concentratecompositions to be consistent with the presence of diamondsin the Kyle Lake kimberlite and their absence in the Zero kimberlite.We discuss application of the P₃₈ barometer to estimate (1)real pressures in the special case where chromite–garnetcoexistence is known, (2) minimum pressures in the general casewhere Cr saturation is unknown, and (3) the maximum depth ofdepleted lithospheres, particularly those underlying Archaeancratons. A comparison with the P_Cr barometer of Ryan et al.(1996, Journal of Geophysical Research 101, 5611–5625)shows agreement with P₃₈ at 55 ± 2 kbar, and 6–12%higher P_Cr values at lower P₃₈. Because the P_Cr formulationsystematically overestimates the 43 kbar value of the GDC by2–6 kbar, we conclude that the empirical Cr/Ca-in-garnetbarometer is preferred for all situations where conductive geothermsintersect the graphite–diamond equilibrium. KEY WORDS: Cr-pyrope; chromite; P₃₈ barometer; mantle petrology; lithosphere thickness  相似文献