Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Publication
    Open Access
    The noble gas signature of the 2021 Tajogaite eruption (La Palma, Canary Islands)
    Here, we characterize the temporal evolution of volatiles during the Tajogaite eruption by analyzing the elemental (He-Ar-CO2-N2) and isotopic (He-Ar-Ne) composition of fluid inclusions (FI) in phenocrysts (olivine+ pyroxene) identified in erupted lavas. Our 2021 lava samples identify substantial temporal variations in volatile composition. We show that, during the 2021 Tajogaite eruption, the He-CO2-N2 concentrations in FI increased since October 15th; this increase was accompanied by increasing 40Ar/36Ar ratios (from ~300 to >500), and paralleled a major shift in bulk lava chemistry, with increasing Mg contents (Mg#, from 47 to 52 to 55–59), CaO/Al2O3 (from 0.65 to 0.74 to 0.75–0.90), Ni and Cr, and decreasing TiO2, P2O5 and incompatible elements. The olivine core composition also became more forsteritic (from Mg# = 80–81 to Mg# = 84–86). Mineral thermobarometry and FI barometry results indicate that the eruption was sustained by magmas previously stored in at least two magma accumulation zones, at respectively ~6–12 km and 15–30 km, corroborating previous seismic and FI evidence. We therefore propose that the compositional changes seen throughout the eruption can be explained by an increased contribution - since early/mid-October - of more primitive, less degassed magma from the deeper (mantle) reservoir. Conversely, Rc/Ra values (3He/4He ratios corrected for atmospheric contamination) remained constant throughout the whole eruption at MORB-like values (7.38 ± 0.22 Ra, 1σ), suggesting an isotopically homogeneous magma feeding source. The Tajogaite He isotope signature is within the range of values observed for the 1677 San Antonio lavas (7.37 ± 0.17Ra, 1σ), but is more radiogenic than the 3He/4He values (>9 Rc/Ra) observed in the Caldera de Taburiente to the north. The 3He/4He ratios (6.75 ± 0.20 Ra, 1σ) measured in mantle xenoliths from the San Antonio volcano indicate a relatively radiogenic nature of the mantle beneath the Cumbre Vieja ridge. Based on these results and mixing modeling calculations, we propose that the homogeneous He isotopic signatures observed in volatiles from the Tajogaite/San Antonio lavas reflect three component mixing between a MORB-like source, a radiogenic component and small additions (6–15%) of a high 3He/4He reservoir-derived (>9Ra) fluid components. The simultaneous occurrence of high 3He/4He (>9Ra)- and MORB-like He signatures in northern and southern La Palma is interpreted to reflect small-scale heterogeneities in the local mantle, arising from spatially variable proportions of MORB, radiogenic, and high 3He/4He components.
      45  41
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    Geochemical evidence for a lithospheric origin of the Comoros Archipelago (Indian Ocean) as revealed by ultramafic mantle xenoliths from La Grille volcano
    Petrology and fluid inclusions (FI) geochemistry are increasingly used in tandem to constrain the compositional features and evolution of the lithospheric mantle. In this study, we combine petrography and mineral chemistry with analyses of noble gases (He, Ne and Ar) and CO2 in olivine, orthopyroxene- and clinopyroxene-hosted FI, as well as radiogenic isotope (Sr-Nd-Pb) systematics of ultramafic xenoliths collected at La Grille volcano in Grande Comore Island, aiming at better characterizing one of the most enigmatic and controversial portions of the western Indian Ocean lithospheric mantle. Xenoliths have been divided in three groups on the basis of their textural features: Group 1 (Opx-bearing), Group 2 (Opx-free) and Group 3 (Cumulate). Overall, petrographic observations and mineral phase compositions indicate that the sampled lithospheric portion experienced variable degrees of melting (from 5% to 35%), recorded by Group 1 most refractory harzburgites and lherzolites, as well as modal metasomatic processes as evidenced by the crystallization of cpx at the expense of opx in Group 1 fertile lherzolites and wehrlite and by Group 2 xenoliths. Crystallization of slightly oversaturated basic silicate melts seems also to have occurred, as shown by Group 3 xenoliths. A positive trend between temperature and ƒO2 is evident, with Group 2 and 3 xenoliths testifying for hotter and more oxidised conditions than Group 1. The variability of the 4He/40Ar* ratio (0.02–0.39) in Group 1, significantly below typical values of a fertile mantle (4He/40Ar* = 1–5), can be explained by the variable degrees of partial melting coupled to metasomatic enrichment that may account for modifying 4He/40Ar*, as also indicated by the mineral composition. He-Ar-CO2 relationships support the presence of a metasomatic CO2-rich process post-dating the melt extraction and the cumulate formation. The air-corrected 3He/4He isotopic ratios (6.30 to 7.36 Ra) are intermediate between the MORB mantle signature (8 ± 1Ra) and the SCLM (6.1 ± 0.9 Ra). The Ne and Ar isotopic signatures (20Ne/22Ne, 21/Ne/22Ne and 40Ar/36Ar) are consistent with mixing between an air-derived component and a MORB-like mantle, supporting the hypothesis for a lithospheric origin of the Comoros magmas, and arguing against any deep mantle plume-related contribution. This is also corroborated by combining Ne with He isotopes, showing that La Grille ultramafic xenoliths are far from the typical plume-type compositions. Sr-Nd-Pb isotope systematics in opx and cpx from La Grille additionally support a MORB-type signature for the lithospheric mantle beneath the area.
      120  3
  • Publication
    Open Access
    CO2 storage in the Antarctica Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle as revealed by intra- and inter-granular fluids
    The investigation of the role played by CO2 circulating within the mantle during partial melting and metasomatic/refertilization processes, together with a re-consideration of its storage capability and re-cycling in the lithospheric mantle, is crucial to unravel the Earth's main geodynamic processes. In this study, the combination of petrology, CO2 content trapped in bulk rock- and mineral-hosted fluid inclusions (FI), and 3D textural and volumetric characterization of intra- and inter-granular microstructures was used to investigate the extent and modality of CO2 storage in depleted and fertile (or refertilized) Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) beneath northern Victoria Land (NVL, Antarctica). Prior to xenoliths entrainment by the host basalt, the Antarctic SCLM may have stored 0.2 vol% melt and 1.1 vol% fluids, mostly as FI trails inside mineral phases but also as inter-granular fluids. The amount of CO2 stored in FI varies from 0.1 μg(CO2)/g(sample) in olivine from the anhydrous mantle xenoliths at Greene Point and Handler Ridge, up to 187.3 μg/g in orthopyroxene from the highly metasomatized amphibole-bearing lherzolites at Baker Rocks, while the corresponding bulk CO2 contents range from 0.3 to 57.2 μg/g. Irrespective of the lithology, CO2 partitioning is favoured in orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene-hosted FI (olivine: orthopyroxene = 0.10 ± 0.06 to 0.26 ± 0.09; olivine: clinopyroxene = 0.10 ± 0.05 to 0.27 ± 0.14). The H2O/(H2O + CO2) molar ratios obtained by comparing the CO2 contents of FI to the H2O amount retained in pyroxene lattices vary between 0.72 ± 0.17 and 0.97 ± 0.03, which is well comparable with the values measured in olivine-hosted melt inclusions from Antarctic primary lavas and assumed as representative of the partition of volatiles at the local mantle conditions. From the relationships between mineral chemistry, thermo-, oxybarometric results and CO2 contents in mantle xenoliths, we speculate that relicts of CO2-depleted mantle are present at Greene Point, representing memory of a CO2-poor tholeiitic refertilization related to the development of the Jurassic Ferrar large magmatic event. On the other hand, a massive mobilization of CO2 took place before the (melt-related) formation of amphibole veins during the alkaline metasomatic event associated with the Cenozoic rift-related magmatism, in response to the storage and recycling of CO2-bearing materials into the Antarctica mantle likely induced by the prolonged Ross subduction.
      498  34
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    From the Middle Triassic Cima Pape complex (Dolomites; Southern Alps) to the feeding systems beneath active volcanoes: Clues from clinopyroxene textural and compositional zoning
    Crystal zoning plays a fundamental role in modern volcanology as a key to unravel the geometry and the dynamics of plumbing systems. In this study, a detailed textural and compositional study of clinopyroxene crystals entrained in intrusive, hypabyssal and effusive products from Cima Pape (Dolomites) is coupled with thermobarometric-hygrometricmodels to reconstruct the geometry and evolution of the feeding systembeneath Middle Triassic volcanic edifices. Whole-rock major, trace element distribution and Sr-Nd isotopic signature (87Sr/86Sri = 0.7045–0.7050; 143Nd/144Ndi = 0.51223–0.51228) show that the rocks from Cima Pape are SiO2- saturated and have shoshonitic affinity, and likely belong to the acme of the Mid-Triassic magmatismthat shaped the Southern Alps between 239 and 237.6Ma. Highly porphyritic trachybasaltic to basaltic trachyandesitic volcanic rocks contain a large number of concentric-zoned clinopyroxene crystals. Here, high-Mg# and -Cr2O3, REEdepleted bands (Mg# 80–91; Cr2O3 up to 1.2 wt%) with variable thickness grew between relatively low-Mg# and -Cr2O3 (Mg# 70–77; Cr2O3 < 0.1 wt%) augitic cores and rims. In contrast, the gabbroic to monzodioritic 50- to 300-m-thick sill cropping out belowthe volcanic sequences, though to represent a relic of the shallowest portion of the plumbing system, is mostly made up of unzoned clinopyroxene crystals. Thermobarometric and hygrometric models allowed us to define that a small “mush-type” batchwas located beneath the Cima Pape volcano at depths between 7 and 14 km. Here, augitic clinopyroxene formed in equilibrium with a slightly evolved (basaltic trachyandesitic), H2O-rich melt (Mg# = 43–45; T = 1035–1075 °C; H2O = 2.6–3.8 wt%). Periodic replenishments of the magma batch by primitive (Mg# = 65–70), hotter and relatively H2O-poor (T = 1130–1150 °C; H2O = 2.1–2.8 wt%) basaltic magmas led to the formation of diopsidic bands mantling the already formed augitic cores. Later on, re-equilibration of clinopyroxene with the mixed melt resulted in the formation of low-Mg#, LILE- and LREE-enriched rims. The most Mg-poor micro-phenocrystic clinopyroxene in the volcanic rocks and in the sill records the ultimate and shallowest conditions of crystallization, occurring at T of 975–1010 °C and P comprised between 50 and 150 MPa. Based on the presence of similar zoning in clinopyroxene phenocrysts, a comparison between the Mid-Triassic Cima Pape and active volcanoes was put forward to highlight the potential of studying ancient, entirely exposed volcanic systems for interpreting the feeding systemprocesses acting beneath active volcanoes. At a regional scale, this approach represents a new, powerful tool for investigating the evolution of the Mid-Triassic magmatism in the Southern Alps and shedding light on the interactions between mantle-derived melts and differentiated batches ponding in the crust.
      36  63
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    Melting and metasomatism in West Eifel and Siebengebirge Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle: Evidence from concentrations of volatiles in fluid inclusions and petrology of ultramafic xenoliths
    The possibility of constraining the composition and evolution of specific portions of the Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) by means of an integrated study of petrography, mineral chemistry, and concentrations of volatiles in fluid inclusions (FI) is a novel approach that can provide clues on the recycling of volatiles within the lithosphere. This approach is even more important in active or dormant volcanic areas, where the signature of the gaseous emissions at the surface can be that of the underlying lithospheric mantle domains. In this respect, the ultramafic xenoliths brought to the surface in West Eifel (~0.5–0.01 Ma) and Siebengebirge (~30–6 Ma) volcanic fields (Germany) are ideal targets, as they provide direct information on one of the most intriguing portions of SCLM beneath the Central European Volcanic Province (CEVP). Five distinct populations from these localities were investigated using petrographic observations, mineral phase analyses and determination of He, Ne, Ar and CO2 contents in olivine-, orthopyroxene-, and clinopyroxene-hosted FI. The most refractory Siebengebirge rocks have highly forsteritic olivine, high-Mg#, low-Al pyroxene, and spinel with high Cr#, reflecting high extents (up to 30%) of melt extraction. In contrast, xenoliths from West Eifel are modally and compositionally heterogeneous, as indicated by the large forsterite range of olivine (Fo83–92), the Cr# range of spinel (0.1–0.6), and the variable Al and Ti contents of pyroxene. Equilibration temperatures vary from 870 ◦C to 1070 ◦C in Siebengebirge, and from ⁓900 ◦C to ⁓1190 ◦C in West Eifel xenoliths, at oxygen fugacity values generally between 􀀀 0.5 and + 1.3 ΔlogƒO2 [FMQ]. In both areas, the FI composition was dominated by CO2, with clinopyroxene, and most of the orthopyroxene had the highest concentrations of volatiles, while olivine was gas-poor. The noble gas and CO2 distributions suggest that olivine is representative of a residual mantle that experienced one or more melt extraction episodes. The 3He/4He ratio corrected for air contamination (Rc/Ra values) varied from 6.8 Ra in harzburgitic lithotypes to 5.5 Ra in lherzolites and cumulate rocks, indicating that the original MORB-like mantle signature was progressively modified by interaction with crustal-related components and melts having 3He/4He and 4He/40Ar* values consistent with those published for magmatic gaseous emissions. The Ne and Ar isotope systematics indicated that most of the data were consistent with mixing between a recycled atmospheric component and a MORB-like mantle, which does not necessarily require the involvement of a lower mantle plume beneath this portion of the CEVP. The major element distribution in mineral phases from West Eifel and Siebengebirge, together with the systematic variations in FI composition, the positive correlation between Al enrichment in pyroxene and equilibration temperatures, and the concomitant Rc/Ra decrease with increasing temperature, suggest that the SCLM beneath Siebengebirge represented the Variscan lithosphere in CEVP prior to the massive infiltration of melts/fluids belonging to the Quaternary Eifel volcanism. In contrast, West Eifel xenoliths reflect multiple heterogeneous metasomatism/refertilisation events that took place in the regional SCLM between ~6 and ~ 0.5 Ma.
      737  2
  • Publication
    Open Access
    The Variscan subduction inheritance in the Southern Alps Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle: Clues from the Middle Triassic shoshonitic magmatism of the Dolomites (NE Italy)
    Although often speculated, the link between theMiddle Triassic shoshonitic magmatismat the NE margin of the Adria plate and the subduction-related metasomatismof the Southern Alps Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) has never been constrained. In this paper, a detailed geochemical and petrological characterization of the lavas, dykes and ultramafic cumulates belonging to the shoshonitic magmatic event that shaped the Dolomites (Southern Alps) was used tomodel the composition and evolution of the underlying SCLMin the time comprised between the Variscan subduction and the opening of the Alpine Tethys. Geochemical models and numerical simulations enabled us to define that 5–7% partial melting of an amphibole + phlogopite-bearing spinel lherzolite, similar to the Finero phlogopite peridotite, can account for the composition of the primitive Mid-Triassic SiO2- saturated to -undersaturated melts with shoshonitic affinity (87Sr/86Sri = 0.7032–0.7058; 143Nd/144Ndi = 0.51219–0.51235; Mg # ~ 70; ~1.1 wt% H2O). By taking into account the H2O content documented in mineral phases from the Finero phlogopite peridotite, it is suggested that the Mid-Triassic SCLM source was able to preserve a significant enrichment and volatile content (600–800 ppm H2O) for more than 50 Ma, i.e. since the slab-related metasomatismconnected to the Variscan subduction. The partialmelting of a Finero-like SCLM represents the exhaustion of the subduction-related signature in the Southern Alps lithosphere that predated the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic asthenospheric upwelling related to the opening of the Alpine Tethys.
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  • Publication
    Open Access
    Subduction-related melt refertilisation and alkaline metasomatism in the Eastern Transylvanian Basin lithospheric mantle: Evidence from mineral chemistry and noble gases in fluid inclusions
    Calc-alkaline and alkaline magmatic activity is generally separated in space and/or in time. The Eastern Transylvanian Basin in Romania is one of the few places where, during Pleistocene, alkaline eruptions occurred contemporaneously with the calc-alkaline activity. Mantle xenoliths entrained in Perşani Mts. alkaline volcanic products have been studied in order to investigate the interaction of metasomatic agents of different magmatic affinities with the mantle wedge. Based on mineral major and trace element and noble gases in fluid inclusions, two main events have been recognized. The first was a pervasive, complete re-fertilization of a previously depleted mantle by a calc-alkaline subduction-related melt, causing the formation of very fertile, amphibole-bearing lithotypes. This is shown by the a) increased amounts of modal clinopyroxene up to 21.9 % with Al2O3 contents up to 8.16 wt%, higher than what is expected for clinopyroxene in Primordial Mantle; b) 4He/40Ar* ratios up to 1.2, within the reported range for mantle production; c) 3He/4He in olivine, opx and cpx of 5.8 ± 0.2 Ra, among the most radiogenic values of European mantle, below the typical MORB mantle value (8 ± 1 Ra), reflecting recycling of crustal material in the local lithosphere. The second event is related to later interaction with an alkaline metasomatic agent similar to the host basalts that caused slight LREE enrichment in pyroxenes and disseminated amphiboles and precipitation of vein amphiboles with a composition similar to amphiboles megacrysts also found in the Perşani Mts. volcanic deposits. This is highlighted by the 4He/40Ar* and 3He/4He values found in some opx and cpx, up to 2.5 and 6.6 Ra, respectively, more typical of magmatic fluids.
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  • Publication
    Open Access
    Geochemistry of Noble Gases and CO2 in Fluid Inclusions From Lithospheric Mantle Beneath Wilcza Góra (Lower Silesia, Southwest Poland)
    Knowledge of the products originating from the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) is crucial for constraining the geochemical features and evolution of the mantle. This study investigated the chemistry and isotope composition (noble gases and CO2) of fluid inclusions (FI) from selected mantle xenoliths originating from Wilcza Góra (Lower Silesia, southwest Poland), with the aim of integrating their petrography and mineral chemistry. Mantle xenoliths are mostly harzburgites and sometimes bear amphiboles, and are brought to the surface by intraplate alkaline basalts that erupted outside the north-easternmost part of the Eger (Ohˇre) Rift in Lower Silesia. Olivine (Ol) is classified into two groups based on its forsterite content: (1) Fo88.9−91.5, which accounts for a fertile-to-residual mantle, and (2) Fo85.5−88.1, which indicates large interactions with circulating (basic) melts. This dichotomy is also related to orthopyroxene (Opx) and clinopyroxene (Cpx), which show two ranges of Mg# values (87–90 and 91–93, respectively) and clear evidence of recrystallization. CO2 predominates within FI, followed by N2. The d13C of mantle CO2 varies between −4.7‰and −3.1‰, which mostly spans theMORB range (−8‰< d13C < −4‰). The 3He/4He ratio is 6.7–6.9 Ra in Cpx, 6.3–6.8 Ra in Opx, and 5.9–6.2 Ra in Ol. These values are within the range proposed for European SCLM (6.3±0.3 Ra). The decrease in 3He/4He from Cpx to Ol is decoupled from the He concentration, and excludes any diffusive fractionation from FI. The chemistry of FI entrapped in Ol indicates that the mantle is depleted by variable extents of partial melting, while that of Opx and Cpx suggests the overprinting of at least one metasomatic event. According to Matusiak-Małek et al. (2017), Cpx, Opx, and amphiboles were added to the original harzburgite by carbonated hydrous silicate melt related to Cenozoic volcanism. This process resulted in entrapment of CO2-rich inclusions whose chemical and isotope composition resembles that of metasomatizing fluids. We argue that FI data reflect a mixing between two endmembers: (1) the residual mantle, resulting from partial melting of European SCLM, and (2) the metasomatic agent, which is strongly He-depleted and characterized by MORB-like features.
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