The evolution of refertilized lithospheric mantle beneath the northeastern Siberian craton:Links between mantle metasomatism,thermal state and diamond potential

Although the diamond potential of cratons is linked mainly to thick and depleted Archean lithospheric keels, there are examples of craton-edge locations and circum-cratonic Proterozoic terranes underlain by diamondiferous mantle. Here, we use the results of comprehensive major and trace-element studies of detrital garnets from diamond-rich Late Triassic(Carnian) sedimentary rocks in the northeastern Siberia to constrain the thermal and chemical state of the pre-Triassic mantle and its ability to sustain the diamond storage. The studied detrital mantle-derived garnets are dominated by low-to mediumCr lherzolitic(~45%) and low-Cr megacrystic(~39%) chemistries, with a significant proportion of eclogitic garnets(~11%), and only subordinate contribution from harzburgitic garnets(~5%) with variable CrOcontents(1.2–8.4 wt.%). Low-Cr megacrysts display uniform, “normal” rare-earth element(REE)patterns with no Eu/Eu* anomalies, systematic Zr and Ti enrichment(mainly within 2.5–5), which are evidence of their crystallization from deep metasomatic melts. Lherzolitic(G9) garnets exhibit normal or humped to MREE-depleted sinusoidal REE patterns and elevated Nd/Y(up to 0.33–0.41) and Zr/Y ratios(up to 7.62). Rare low-to high-Cr harzburgitic(G10) garnets have primarily “depleted”, sinusoidal REEpatterns, low Ti, Y and HREE, but vary significantly in Zr-Hf, Ti and MREE-HREE contents, Nd/Y(within 0.1–2.4) and Zr/Y(1.53–19.9) ratios. The observed trends of chemical enrichment from the most depleted,harzburgitic garnets towards lherzolitic(including high-Ti high-Cr G11-type) garnets and megacrysts result from either voluminous high-temperature metasomatism by plume-derived silicate melts or recurrent mobilization of less voluminous kimberlitic or related carbonated mantle melts, rather than the initially primitive, fertile nature of the Proterozoic SCLM. Calculated Ni-in-garnet temperatures(primarily within ~1150–1250 ℃) indicate their derivation from at least ~220 km thick Cr-undersaturated lithosphere at the relevant Devonian to Triassic thermal flow of ~45 m W/m^(2) or cooler. We suggest the existence of rare harzburgitic domains in the primarily lherzolitic diamond-facies SCLM beneath the northeastern Siberian craton at least by Triassic, whereas the abundance of eclogitic garnets, predominance of E-type inclusions in placer diamonds and specific morphologies argue for diamondiferous eclogites occurring within a ~50–65 kbar diamond window of the Olenek province by the same time.