Hydrous mantle transition zone indicated by ringwoodite included within diamond
D. Graham PearsonFrank E. BrenkerFabrizio NestolaJ. McNeillLutz NasdalaMT HutchisonSergei MatveevKathy A. MatherGeert SilversmitS. SchmitzBart VekemansLászló Vincze
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Ringwoodite
Peridotite
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Abstract— Magnesium-iron olivine in the Sixiangkou L6 chondrite contains abundant fractures induced by plastic deformation during shock metamorphism. This study reports the discovery of lamellar ringwoodite that incoherently nucleated and grew along planar and irregular fractures in olivine. Magnesium-iron interdiffusion took place between olivine matrix and crystallizing ringwoodite at high pressures and high temperatures, which resulted in higher FeO content in ringwoodite lamellae than in olivine. This suggests that a quasi-hydrostatic high pressure lasting for several minutes should have been produced in the shock veins of the meteorite. The intracrystalline transformation of olivine to ringwoodite also has implications for phase transitions in subducting lithospheric slabs because planar and irregular fractures are commonly produced in olivine that suffered plastic deformation.
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The first natural occurrence of ringwoodite lamellae was found in the olivine grains inside and in areas adjacent to the shock veins of a chondritic meteorite, and these lamellae show distinct growth mechanism. Inside the veins where pressure and temperature were higher than elsewhere, ringwoodite lamellae formed parallel to the [101] planes of olivine, whereas outside they lie parallel to the (100) plane of olivine. The lamellae replaced the host olivine from a few percent to complete. Formation of these lamellae relates to a diffusion-controlled growth of ringwoodite along shear-induced planar defects in olivine. The planar defects and ringwoodite lamellae parallel to the [101] planes of olivine should have been produced in higher shear stress and temperature region than that parallel to the (100) plane of olivine. This study suggests that the time duration of high pressure and temperature for the growth of ringwoodite lamellae might have lasted at least for several seconds, and that an intracrystalline transformation mechanism of ringwoodite in olivine could favorably operate in the subducting lithospheric slabs in the deep Earth.
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An investigation into two shock-metamorphosed chondritic meteorites indicates that the intracrystalline transformations from olivine to high pressure polymorphs could take place at relatively low temperature(1000 ℃) in a large pressure regime(14.5 to 23 GPa).The intracrystalline transformation of olivine produced lamellar ringwoodite.No direct intracrystalline transformation from olivine to wadsleyite was observed.The lamellar ringwoodite consisting of crystallite aggregates replaced parent olivine along staking faults and planar fractures.An association consisting of wadsleyite and ringwoodite platelets,respectively,has also been observed in olivine of some meteorites.The wadsleyite was produced by replacing ringwoodite during pressure release as a result of retrograde-metamorphism.This study provides information for understanding geological settings and pressure and temperature conditions for the polymorphic transformation of olivine in the Earth's lithospheric subducting slabs.
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Two types of olivine occur in kimberlites from Greenland, Canada and southern Africa. The first, xenocrystic olivine, displays several different forms. Most distinctive are 'nodules', a term we use to describe the large (1–5 mm), rounded, single crystals or polycrystalline aggregates that are a common constituent of many kimberlites. Olivine compositions are uniform within single nodules but vary widely from nodule to nodule, from Fo81 to 93. Within many nodules, sub- to euhedral asymmetric tablets have grown within larger anhedral olivine grains. Dislocation structures, particularly in the anhedral grains, demonstrate that this olivine was deformed before being incorporated into the kimberlite magma. Olivine grains in the kimberlite matrix between the nodules have morphologies similar to those of the tablets, suggesting that most matrix olivine grains are parts of disaggregated nodules. We propose that a sub- to euhedral form is not sufficient to identify phenocrysts in kimberlites and provide some criteria, based on morphology, internal deformation and composition, that distinguish phenocrysts from xenocrysts. The second type of olivine is restricted to rims surrounding xenocrystic grains. Only this olivine crystallized from the kimberlite magma. Major and trace element data for the rim olivine are used to calculate the composition of the parental kimberlite liquid, which is found to contain between about 20 and 30% MgO. The bulk compositions of many kimberlites contain higher MgO contents as a result of the presence of xenocrystic olivine. The monomineralic, dunitic, character of the nodules, and the wide range from Fo-rich to Fo-poor olivine compositions, provide major constraints on the origin of the nodules. Dunite is a relatively rare rock in the mantle and where present its olivine is persistently Fo-rich. The dunitic source of the nodules in kimberlites lacked minerals such as pyroxene and an aluminous phase, which make up about half of most mantle-derived rocks. It appears that these minerals were removed from the mantle peridotite that was to become the source of the nodules, and the Fo content of the retained olivine was modified during interaction with CO2-rich fluids whose arrival at the base of the lithosphere immediately preceded the passage of the kimberlite magmas. Fragments of the resultant dunite were entrained into the kimberlite, where they were retained both as intact nodules and as disaggregated grains in the matrix.
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Abstract The study of shock metamorphism of olivine might help to constrain impact events in the history of meteorites. Although shock features in olivine are well known, so far, there are processes that are not yet completely understood. In shock veins, olivine clasts with a complex structure, with a ringwoodite rim and a dense network of lamellae of unidentified nature in the core, have been reported in the literature. A highly shocked (S5‐6), L6 meteorite, Asuka 09584, which was recently collected in Antarctica by a Belgian–Japanese joint expedition, contains this type of shocked olivine clasts and has been, therefore, selected for detailed investigations of these features by transmission electron microscopy ( TEM ). Petrographic, geochemical, and crystallographic studies showed that the rim of these shocked clasts consists of an aggregate of nanocrystals of ringwoodite, with lower Mg/Fe ratio than the unshocked olivine. The clast's core consists of an aggregate of iso‐oriented grains of olivine and wadsleyite, with higher Mg/Fe ratio than the unshocked olivine. This aggregate is crosscut by veinlets of nanocrystals of olivine, with extremely low Mg/Fe ratio. The formation of the ringwoodite rim is likely due to solid‐state, diffusion‐controlled, transformation from olivine under high‐temperature conditions. The aggregate of iso‐oriented olivine and wadsleyite crystals is interpreted to have formed also by a solid‐state process, likely by coherent intracrystalline nucleation. Following the compression, shock release is believed to have caused opening of cracks and fractures in olivine and formation of olivine melt, which has lately crystallized under postshock equilibrium pressure conditions as olivine.
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Abstract Olivine is the most abundant phase in kimberlites and is stable throughout most of the crystallization sequence, thus providing an extensive record of kimberlite petrogenesis. To better constrain the composition, evolution, and source of kimberlites we present a detailed petrographic and geochemical study of olivine from multiple dyke, sill, and root zone kimberlites in the Kimberley cluster (South Africa). Olivine grains in these kimberlites are zoned, with a central core, a rim overgrowth, and occasionally an external rind. Additional ‘internal’ and ‘transitional’ zones may occur between the core and rim, and some samples of root zone kimberlites contain a late generation of high-Mg olivine in cross-cutting veins. Olivine records widespread pre-ascent (proto-)kimberlite metasomatism in the mantle including the following features: (1) relatively Fe-rich (Mg# <89) olivine cores interpreted to derive from the disaggregation of kimberlite-related megacrysts (20 % of cores); (2) Mg–Ca-rich olivine cores (Mg# >89; >0·05 wt% CaO) suggested to be sourced from neoblasts in sheared peridotites (25 % of cores); (3) transitional zones between cores and rims probably formed by partial re-equilibration of xenocrysts (now cores) with a previous pulse of kimberlite melt (i.e. compositionally heterogeneous xenocrysts); (4) olivine from the Wesselton water tunnel sills, internal zones (I), and low-Mg# rims, which crystallized from a kimberlite melt that underwent olivine fractionation and stalled within the shallow lithospheric mantle. Magmatic crystallization begins with internal olivine zones (II), which are common but not ubiquitous in the Kimberley olivine. These zones are euhedral, contain rare inclusions of chromite, and have a higher Mg# (90·0 ± 0·5), NiO, and Cr2O3 contents, but are depleted in CaO compared with the rims. Internal olivine zones (II) are interpreted to crystallize from a primitive kimberlite melt during its ascent and transport of olivine toward the surface. Their compositions suggest assimilation of peridotitic material (particularly orthopyroxene) and potentially sulfides prior to or during crystallization. Comparison of internal zones (II) with liquidus olivine from other mantle-derived carbonate-bearing magmas (i.e. orangeites, ultramafic lamprophyres, melilitites) shows that low (100×) Mn/Fe (∼1·2), very low Ca/Fe (∼0·6), and moderate Ni/Mg ratios (∼1·1) appear to be the hallmarks of olivine in melts derived from carbonate-bearing garnet-peridotite sources. Olivine rims display features indicative of magmatic crystallization, which are typical of olivine rims in kimberlites worldwide; that is, primary inclusions of chromite, Mg-ilmenite and rutile, homogeneous Mg# (88·8 ± 0·3), decreasing Ni and Cr, and increasing Ca and Mn. Rinds and high-Mg olivine are characterized by extreme Mg–Ca–Mn enrichment and Ni depletion, and textural relationships indicate that these zones represent replacement of pre-existing olivine, with some new crystallization of rinds. These zones probably precipitated from evolved, oxidized, and relatively low-temperature kimberlite fluids after crustal emplacement. In summary, this study demonstrates the utility of combined petrography and olivine geochemistry to trace the evolution of kimberlite magmatic systems from early metasomatism of the lithospheric mantle by (proto-)kimberlite melts, to crystallization at different depths en route to surface, and finally late-stage deuteric or hydrothermal fluid alteration after crustal emplacement.
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Olivine is the dominant component in coherent kimberlite rocks and related pyroclastic rocks. Quantitative characterization of olivine crystals in kimberlite rocks may be used to better understand kimberlite emplacement and eruption. Here, we construct the first complete olivine crystal size distribution (CSD) for magmatic or coherent kimberlite using two-dimensional image analysis techniques with a new method for scale-integration. Crystal size and frequency data are collected from polished slabs and thin sections, normalized to the largest scale of observation, and stereologically corrected to create a complete CSD covering the full range of observed olivine crystal sizes.
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