Laboratoire de Géochimie isotopique, CAESS-CNRS, 35042, Rennes, France

During a first stage of metasomatism the mantle xenoliths were affected by high-temperature reactions at 600 to 925°C. They resulted from the interaction between solid mantle lherzolites and basic melts. The reactions are:

1. (1)those forming orthopyroxene-magnetite simplectite

2. (2)those forming plagioclase-magnetite corona

3. (3)clinopyroxene+spinel I→pargasitic hornblende+spinel II.

Chemical interactions between the upper mantle and oceanic magma chambers occurred as soon as the basic magmas had ascended through the upper mantle. The chemically modified magmas, within oceanic magma chambers, were depleted in Ti, Fe and Na. This could partly explain regional variations of the chemical compositions of primary magmas produced beneath slow-spreading ridges. The breakdown of olivine to orthopyroxene and magnetite participates in the control of the partition of magnetic Fe---Ti oxides between oceanic crust and mantle.

During the second stage, the serpentinization of olivine and the production of talc were superimposed on the products of the first stage. These reactions require large amounts of H₂O. The hydrothermal fluid was probably seawater. It circulated in the brecciated area along the walls and floors of the magma chambers located at shallow depths. Such structural discontinuities thus played the role of penetration channels favoring seawater circulation in the oceanic crust.

All the chemical reactions examined suggest a significant open-system element transfer by infiltrating melts or circulating fluids. The results of this study suggest that caution is required in the interpretation of mineralogical and chemical information provided by mantle xenoliths carried to the surface by ascending magmas.