Behavior of Siderophile and Chalcophile Elements in the Subcontinental Lithospheric Mantle beneath the Changbaishan Volcano,NE China

The mantle xenoliths in the Quaternary ChangbaishanVolcano in southern Jilin Province contain spinel-facies lherzolites. The equilibration temperatures for these samples range from 902℃ to 1064℃ based on the two-pyroxene thermometer of Brey and Kohler （1990）, and using the oxybarometry of Nell and Wood （1991）, the oxidation state was estimated from FMQ-1.32 to -0.38 with an average value of FMQ-0.81 （n = 8）, which is comparable to that of abyssal peridotites and the asthenospheric mantle. ThefO2 values of peridotites, together with their bulk rock compositions （e.g., Mg#, Al2O3, CaO, Ni, Co, Cr） and mineral compositions （e.g., Mg# of olivine and pyroxene, Cr# [=Cr/ [Cr＋Al]] and Mg# [=Mg/[Mg＋Fe2~] of spinel）, suggest that the present-day subcontinental lithospheric mantle （SCLM） beneath the Changbaishan Volcano most likely formed from an upwelling asthenosphere at some time after the late Mesozoic and has undergone a low degree of partial melting. The studied lherzolite xenoliths show low concentrations of S, Cu, and platinum group elements （PGE）, which plot a flat pattern on primitive-mantle normalized diagram. Very low concentrations in our samples suggest that PGEs occur as alloys or hosted by silicate and oxide minerals. The compositions of the studied samples are similar to those of peridotite xenoliths in the Longgang volcanic field （LVF） in their mineralogy and bulk rock compositions including the abundance of chalcophile and siderophile elements. However, they are distinctly different from those of peridotite xenoliths in other areas of the North China Craton （NCC） in terms of Cu, S and PGE. Our data suggest that the SCLM underlying the northeastern part of the NCC may represent a distinct unit of the newly formed lithospberic mantle.

The longevity of subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath Jiangsu-Anhui Region——The Os isotope model age of mantle-derived peridotite xenoliths

The basalt-borne peridotite xenoliths from Jiangsu-Anhui provinces were analyzed for whole rock Os isotopic compositions in two laboratories of USTC, China and CRPG, France, respectively. The ^(187)Os/^(188)Os ratio of the sample set ranges from 0.119 to 0.129 (25 samples, USTC) and from 0.117 to 0.131 (17 samples, CRPG). The Os isotopic compositions of most samples are less than 0.129 and depleted relatively to the primitive mantle, showing a good correlation with the major element compositions. With the ^(187)Os/^(188)Os-AI2O3 alumichron, the samples yield a model age of 2.5±0.1 Ga (data of USTC) and 1.9±0.1 Ga (data of CRPG), late Archean to early Pro-terozoic. The two samples with the lowest ^(187)Os/^(188)Os ratio (0.119 and 0.117) have the T_(RD) (Re depleted age) of 1.1 Ga (USTC) and 1.4 Ga (CRPG), mid-Proterozoic. The Os isotope model age shows that the peridotite xenoliths from Cenozoic alkali basalt in Jiangsu-Anhui provinces have an old formation age (early- to mid- Proterozoic). They are not newly produced mantle after the Phanerozoic replacement of the lithosphere mantle, but residual fractions of Proterozoic mantle.

Layering of subcontinental lithospheric mantle

Recent seismic studies reveal a sharp velocity drop mostly at^70–100 km depth within the thick mantle keel beneath cratons, termed the mid-lithosphere discontinuity(MLD). The common presence of the MLD in cratonic regions indicates structural and property layering of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle(SCLM). The nature and origin of the MLD, and many issues associated with the layering of the SCLM are essential to understand the formation and evolution of continents, and have become frontier subjects in the Earth sciences.

In situ characterization of forearc serpentinized peridotite from the Sulu ultrahigh-pressure terrane: Behavior of fluid-mobile elements in continental subduction zone

Serpentinized peridotites in the Yangkou(YK),Suoluoshu(SLS) and Hujialin(HJL) areas in the Sulu ultrahighpressure terrane represent the relic of ancient subcontinental lithospheric mantle below the North China Craton.Their protoliths,harzburgite and dunite,were variably hydrated by aqueous fluids released from subducting Yangtze continent.The rocks are enriched in fluid-mobile elements(FME) including Sb(42–333 times the depleted mantle value) and Pb(30–476 times).The degrees of the FME enrichment are comparable to that of the Himalayan forearc serpentinites,and greater than forearc mantle serpentinites from Marianas,suggesting that the degrees of FME enrichment in the forearc serpentinites are greater in continental subduction zones than those in the oceanic subduction zones.Lizardite after olivine in the SLS serpentinite shows higher degrees of enrichment in Sb and As than those for antigorite after both olivine and orthopyroxene in the YK area.The antigorite has highly enriched in Pb,U,Cs,and LREE,but not for the lizardite.The abundance of FME in two different species of serpentine reflects the different temperature of hydration.At temperature lower than 300 ℃,formed lizardite at shallow depths of the mantle wedge incorporates elements that are fluid mobile at low temperatures,such as Sb and As.When the temperature greater than 300 ℃,formed antigorite at a relatively deep mantle wedge incorporate more FME from the subducting continental slab(or fragments),including Pb,U,Cs,LREE as well as Sb and As.The eventual breakdown of antigorite(600–700 ℃) in prograde metamorphism would discharge water as well as FME into the subducting channel and/or the overlying mantle.

The distribution,characteristics and fluid sources of lode gold deposits:An overview

Lode gold deposits are among the most economically important types of gold deposits in the world.Globally,they formed mainly in three time intervals,2.8 to 2.5 Ga,2.1 to 1.8 Ga,and 700 Ma to the present.Sources of ore-forming fluids and other components are of critical importance in a better understanding of the genesis and the geodynamic controls of these deposits.Although ore-forming fluids were mostly derived from devolatization of sedimentary and/or volcanic sequences during greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphism associated with orogenic deformation,magmatic hydrothermal fluids have been increasingly shown to be important in many gold deposits in various regions.In this review paper,we summarize the major features of lode gold deposits,possible sources of ore-forming fluids,and mechanisms of gold mineralization.While we acknowledge the critical role of metamorphically derived fluids in the genesis of such deposits worldwide,we emphasize that mantle-or basaltic magma-derived fluids may have been much more important than commonly thought.We use the Liaodong peninsula of the North China Craton as an example to demonstrate the significance of mantle-derived fluids.Integrating earlier studies and new data,we show that some of the late Mesozoic lode gold deposits in the North China Craton may have formed from magmatic hydrothermal fluids due to the extension and partial melting of the hydrated,metasomatized subcontinental lithosphere mantle,as best exemplified by the Wulong gold deposit.