Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Highly siderophile element concentrations (HSE: Re and platinum-group elements (PGE)) are presented for gabbros, gabbroic eclogites and basaltic eclogites from the high-pressure Zermatt-Saas ophiolite terrain, Switzerland. Rhenium and PGE (Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd) abundances in gabbro- and eclogite-hosted sulphides, and Re-Os isotopes and elemental concentrations in silicate phases are also reported. This work, therefore, provides whole rock and mineral-scale insights into the PGE budget of gabbroic oceanic crust and the effects of subduction metamorphism on gabbroic and basaltic crust. Chondrite-normalised PGE patterns for the gabbros are similar to published mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), but show less inter-element fractionation. Mean Pt and Pd contents of 360 and 530 pg/g, respectively, are broadly comparable to MORB, but gabbros have somewhat higher abundances of Os, Ir and Ru (mean: 64, 57 and 108 pg/g). Transformation to eclogite has not significantly changed the concentrations of the PGE, except Pd which is severely depleted in gabbroic eclogites relative to gabbros (similar to 75% loss). In contrast, basaltic eclogites display significant depletion of Pt (>= 60%), Pd (>85%) and Re (50-60%) compared with published MORB, while Os, Ir and Ru abundances are broadly comparable. Thus, these data suggest that only Pt, Pd and Re, and not Os, Ir and Ru, may be significantly fluxed into the mantle wedge from mafic oceanic crust. Re-Os model ages for gabbroic and gabbroic eclogite minerals are close to age estimates for igneous crystallisation and high-pressure metamorphism, respectively, hence the HSE budgets can be related to both igneous and metamorphic behaviour. The gabbroic budget of Os, Ir, Ru and Pd (but not Pt) is dominated by sulphide, which typically hosts >90% of the Os, whereas silicates account for most of the Re (with up to 75% in plagioclase alone). Sulphides in gabbroic eclogites tend to host a smaller proportion of the total Os (10-90%) while silicates are important hosts, probably reflecting Os inheritance from precursor phases. Garnet contains very high Re concentrations and may account for >50% of Re in some samples. The depletion of Pd in gabbroic eclogites appears linked, at least in part, to the loss of Ni-rich sulphide. Both basaltic and gabbroic oceanic crust have elevated Pt/Os ratios, but Pt/Re ratios are not sufficiently high to generate the coupled Os-186-Os-187 enrichments observed in some mantle melts, even without Pt loss from basaltic crust. However, the apparent mobility of Pt and Re in slab fluids provides an alternative mechanism for the generation of Pt- and Re-rich mantle material, recently proposed as a potential source of Os-187-Os-186 enrichment.
ISSN: 0016-7037

hal-00420072
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420072
DOI : 10.1016/j.gca.2008.11.036

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Despite a relatively 'uniform' fertile composition (Al2O3 = 2 center dot 19-4 center dot 47 wt %; Fo% = 89 center dot 2 +/- 0 center dot 3%; Cr#(Spl) = 8 center dot 9 +/- 1 center dot 5%), the Montferrier peridotite xenoliths show a wide range of S contents (22-590 ppm). Most sulphides are interstitial and show peculiar pyrrhotite-pentlandite intergrowths and low abundances of Cu-rich phases. Sulphide-rich samples are characterized by strong enrichment in the light rare earth elements and large ion lithophile elements without concomitant enrichment of the high field strength elements. Such trace-element fractionation is commonly ascribed to metasomatism by volatile-rich melts and/or carbonatitic melts. S and Se (11-67 ppb), as well as S/Se (up to approximate to 12 000), are correlated with La/Sm. Cu, however, remains broadly constant (30 +/- 5 ppm). These features strongly suggest that the percolation-reaction of such volatile-rich fluids has led to sulphide enrichment with an atypical signature marked by strong fractionation of the chalcophile elements (i.e. S vs Se and Cu). S-rich xenoliths are also characterized by high (Pd/Ir)(N) (1 center dot 2-1 center dot 9; where subscript N indicates normalized to chondrite), (Pd/Pt)(N) between 1 center dot 5 and 2 center dot 2, and (Os/Ir)(N) up to 1 center dot 85. Despite the relative uniform fertile composition of the xenoliths, Re/Os ranges between 0 center dot 02 and 0 center dot 18. Os-187/Os-188 is extremely variable even within a single sample and can be as high as 0 center dot 1756 for the most S-rich samples. Sulphides show highly fractionated and variable abundances of the highly siderophile elements (HSE) [0 center dot 03 (Pd/Ir)(N) < 1283] and Re-Os isotopic composition (0 center dot 115 < Os-187/Os-188 < 0 center dot 172). Such variation can be observed at the thin-section scale. Whole-rock and in situ sulphide data demonstrate that chalcophile and HSE systematics and the Os isotopic composition of the upper mantle could be significantly modified through metasomatism, even with volatile-rich fluids. These features highlight the complex behaviour of the HSE in fluid-rock percolation-reaction models and suggest a complex interplay between sulphide addition (crystallization or sulphidation) and partial equilibration of pre-existing sulphide. The specific fractionations observed in chemical proxies such as S and Se, Os and Ir, and Pd and Pt, as well as the low abundance of Cu-rich sulphides, suggest that sulphide addition may not have occurred via sulphide melts. Rather, we infer that S was present as a dissolved species in a (supercritical) oxidizing, volatile-rich fluid (C-O-H-S +/- Cl) along with other chalcophile and siderophile elements such as Os, Pd, Re and Au. The highly radiogenic Os composition of this fluid ( Os-187/ Os-188 > 0 center dot 17) would imply that such fluids are derived from an uncommon type of mantle source possibly related to carbonatite melts.
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-00644524
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00644524
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egr038

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Spinel lherzolite xenoliths from Mont Briancon, French Massif Central, retain evidence for multiple episodes of melt depletion and melt/fluid infiltration (metasomatism). Evidence for primary melt depletion is still preserved in the co-variation of bulk-rock major elements (MgO 38.7-46.1 wt.%; CaO 0.9-3.6 wt.%), and many samples yield unradiogenic bulk-rock Os isotope ratios (Os-187/Os-188 = 0.11541-0.12626). However, many individual xenoliths contain interstitial glasses and melt inclusions that are not in equilibrium with the major primary minerals. Incompatible trace element mass balance calculations demonstrate that metasomatic components comprise a significant proportion of the bulk-rock budget for these elements in some rocks, ranging to as much as 25%, of Nd and 40% of Sr Critically, for Re-Os geochronology, melt/fluid infiltration is accompanied by the mobilisation of Sulfide. Consequently, bulk-rock isotope measurements, whether using lithophile (e.g. Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd) or siderophile (Re-Os) based isotope systems, may only yield a perturbed and/or homogenised average of these multiple events.;Osmium mass balance calculations demonstrate that bulk-rock Os in peridotite is dominated by contributions from two populations of sulfide grain: (i) interstitial, metasomatic Sulfide with low [Os] and radiogenic Os-187/Os-188, and (ii) primary sulfides with high [Os] and unradiogenic Os-187/Os-188, which have been preserved within host silicate grains and shielded from interaction with transient melts and fluid. The latter can account for >97% of bulk-rock Os and preserve geochronological information of the melt from which they originally precipitated as an immiscible liquid. The Re-depletion model ages of individual primary sulfide grains preserve evidence for melt depletion beneath the Massif Central from at least 1.8 Gyr ago despite the more recent metasomatic event(s). (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0016-7037

hal-00454537
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00454537
DOI : 10.1016/j.gca.2009.09.031

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The decay of 187Re to 187Os provides a unique tracer of recycled lithosphere in the Earth's upper mantle, and the radiogenic Os isotope compositions of many mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) have been taken to indicate the presence of recycled oceanic crust in the mantle source. However, others have attributed the data to contamination by seawater or an age effect (due to 187Re decay following igneous crystallisation). This study presents new Re Os, U Th Ra and B isotope data for normal-MORB (N-MORB) glass (including 18 samples analysed previously). The scale of the variation in 187Os/188Os observed here in N-MORB glass ranges from 0.126 to 0.148, with a mean value of 0.133 ± 0.009 (2?). Previously published Os isotope data for MORB is shown to have been affected by an analytical artefact, and in particular the very radiogenic Os isotope compositions reported earlier are now shown not to exist. Nevertheless, some radiogenic Os isotope compositions are still seen in the data obtained here. Coupled Th and Ra excesses appear to rule out an age effect, at least, for those samples studied, however, ?11B covariations with 187Os/188Os are consistent with the assimilation of older oceanic crust (affected by seawater contamination). Individual sulphides (less likely to be affected by such contamination) are always less radiogenic than their glass host, with 187Os/188Os values ranging from 0.123 to 0.131. This indicates that sulphide precipitation occurred prior to contamination of the surrounding melt, but the data also suggest that low-Os sulphides have been affected by contamination through partial equilibration with that melt. Taken together, these indicate that dominant process responsible for the radiogenic Os isotope compositions of N-MORB glass is contamination by older oceanic crust. Although the influence of age effects and the presence of recycled material cannot be completely ruled out, Os-rich sulphides yield sub-chondritic Os isotope compositions which point rather to a long-term depletion in Re in the MORB source likely to have resulted from formation of the continental crust over much of Earth's history.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00320075
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00320075
DOI : 10.1016/J.EPSL.2007.05.014

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Chromitite pods in the Mayarí-Cristal ophiolitic massif (eastern Cuba) were formed in the Late Cretaceous when island arc tholeiites and MORB-like back-arc basin basalts reacted with residual mantle peridotites and generated chromite-rich bodies enclosed in dunite envelopes. Platinum-group minerals (PGM) in the podiform chromitites exhibit important Os-isotope heterogeneities at the kilometric, hand sample and thin section scales. 187Os/188Os calculated at the time of chromitite crystallization (~90 Ma) ranges between 0.1185 and 0.1295 (γOs = −7.1 to +1.6, relative to enstatite chondrite), and all but one PGM have subchondritic 187Os/188Os. Grains in a single hand sample have initial 187Os/188Os that spans from 0.1185 to 0.1274, and in one thin section it varies between 0.1185 and 0.1232 in two PGM included in chromite which are only several millimeters apart. As the Os budget of a single micrometric grain derives from a mantle region that was at least several m3 in size, the variable Os isotopic composition of PGM in the Mayarí-Cristal chromitites probably reflects the heterogeneity of their mantle sources on the 10-100 m scale. Our results show that this heterogeneity was not erased by pooling and mingling of individual melt batches during chromitite crystallization but was transferred to the ore deposits on mineral scale. The distribution of the Os model ages calculated for PGM shows four main peaks, at ~100, 500, 750 and 1,000 Ma. These variable Os model ages reflect the presence of different depleted domains in the oceanic (Pacific-related) upper mantle of the Greater Antilles paleo-subduction zone. The concordance between the age of crystallization of the Mayarí-Cristal chromitites and the most recent peak of the Os model age distribution in PGM supports that Os in several grains was derived from fertile domains of the upper mantle, whose bulk Os isotopic composition is best approximated by that of enstatite chondrites; on the other hand, most PGM are crystallized by melts that tapped highly refractory mantle sources.
ISSN: 0010-7999

hal-00822742
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00822742
DOI : 10.1007/s00410-010-0575-2

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
The western part of the Ronda peridotite massif (Southern Spain) consists mainly of highly foliated spinel-peridotite tectonites and undeformed granular peridotites that are separated by a recrystallization front. The spinel tectonites are interpreted as volumes of ancient subcontinental lithospheric mantle and the granular peridotites as a portion of subcontinental lithospheric mantle that underwent partial melting and pervasive percolation of basaltic melts induced by Cenozoic asthenospheric upwelling. The Re-Os isotopic signature of sulfides from the granular domain and the recrystallization front mostly coincides with that of grains in the spinel tectonites. This indicates that the Re-Os radiometric system in sulfides was highly resistant to partial melting and percolation of melts induced by Cenozoic lithospheric thermal erosion. The Re-Os isotopic systematics of sulfides in the Ronda peridotites thus mostly conserve the geochemical memory of ancient magmatic events in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Os model ages record two Proterozoic melting episodes at similar to 1.6 to 1.8 and 1.2-1.4 Ga, respectively. The emplacement of the massif into the subcontinental lithospheric mantle probably coincided with one of these depletion events. A later metasomatic episode caused the precipitation of a new generation of sulfides at similar to 0.7 to 0.9 Ga. These Proterozoic Os model ages are consistent with results obtained for several mantle suites in Central/Western Europe and Northern Africa as well as with the Nd model ages of the continental crust of these regions. This suggests that the events recorded in mantle sulfides of the Ronda peridotites reflect different stages of generation of the continental crust in the ancient Gondwana supercontinent.
ISSN: 0010-7999

hal-00564508
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00564508
DOI : 10.1007/s00410-009-0429-y

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The formation age of the Siberian cratonic mantle is not well established as yet. Re–Os data on various mantle-derived materials have shown that it contains Archaean components, but the reported Re-depletion ages show a broad variation range (3.4 to 1 Ga) and are commonly ≤ 2 Ga for peridotite xenoliths. We report Hf and Nd isotope data for cpx and garnet separated from nine refractory spinel and garnet peridotite xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite. The cpx from low-opx spinel harzburgites show extremely high εHf values, from + 607 to + 2084, which testify to long-term evolution of these rocks with high Lu/Hf ratios, consistent with their residual origin and near absence of post-melting enrichments in the Lu–Hf system. Such high εHf values are unusual for cpx from other cratonic peridotites and are higher than those reported for depleted cpx in off-cratonic peridotites. The clinopyroxenes from low-opx spinel harzburgites yield Hf model ages from 1.9 to 1.7 Ga while the cpx from high-opx spinel harzburgites yield Hf model ages from 3.0 to 1.9 Ga. When plotted together, they define a Lu/Hf isochron with an age of 1.80 Ga, which we consider as a robust estimate of the formation age (melt extraction event) because it is obtained on residual rocks that show no evidence for HREE and Hf enrichments and because the model ages for three out of four individual samples are similar to each other. The cpx have high εNd of + 94 to + 123, which are inconsistent with their low Sm/NdPM of < 1 and yield no meaningful age estimates. The consistently high, positive εNd in these cpxs can be interpreted in terms of long-term evolution of refractory peridotites with high Sm/Nd, followed by relatively recent LREE enrichments.We infer that a significant part of the lithospheric mantle in the central Siberian craton may have been formed during a major event (or a series of events) at around 1.8 Ga. Older ages reported for the central Siberian craton may refer to less common materials from cratonic or other domains formed in the Archaean that were later incorporated into the cratonic roots. The transition from the “Archaean” to “modern” tectonic regimes in Siberia and possibly elsewhere may have taken place at 1.8–1.9 Ga rather than at ~ 2.5 Ga, i.e. in the second half of the Paleoproterozoic rather than at the Archaean–Proterozoic boundary, at which time the asthenospheric mantle became generally too cold to experience high-degree melting on a large scale. The ~ 1.8 Ga formation age of the Siberian cratonic mantle is coeval with that for a major part of the ancient continental crust in the central Siberian craton. The temporal crust–mantle links may be explained either by the generation of the initial source materials for continental crust in the same melting event that formed the residual peridotites or, alternatively, by subduction and melting of pre-existing proto-lithosphere destabilized by a major mantle upwelling that formed the residual mantle.
ISSN: 0009-2541

hal-01115519
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01115519
DOI : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2014.10.018

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Highly siderophile elements (Platinum-group elements, Au and Re) are currently assumed to reside inside base metal sulfides (BMS) in the convecting upper mantle. However, fertile lherzolites sampled by Pyrenean orogenic peridotite massifs are unexpectedly rich in 0.5-3 mu m large micronuggets of platinum-group minerals (PGM). Among those, sulfides from the laurite-erlichmanite series (Ru, Os(Ir)S(As)2), Pt-Ir-Os alloys and Pt-Pd-Te-Bi phases (moncheite-merenskyite) are predominant. Not only the BMS phases but also the PGM micronuggets must be taken into account in calculation of the PGE budget of orogenic fertile lherzolites. Laurite is a good candidate for equilibrating the whole-rock budget of Os, it and Ru while accounting for supra-chondritic Ru/Ir-N. Textural relationships between PGMs and BMS highlight heterogeneous mixing between refractory PGMs (laurite/Pt-Ir-Os alloys) inherited from ancient refractory lithospheric mantle and late-magmatic metasomatic sulfides precipitated from tholeiitic melts. "Low-temperature" PGMs, especially Pt-Pd bismuthotellurides should be added to the list of mineral indicators of lithosphere refertilization process. Now disseminated within fertile lherzolites, "lithospheric" PGMs likely account for local preservation of ancient Os model ages (up to 2 Ga) detected in BMS by in-situ isotopic analyses. These PGMs also question the reliability of orogenic lherzolites for estimating the PGE signature of the Primitive Silicate Earth.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00486109
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00486109
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2009.11.017

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Taylor & Francis
Résumé : Modern geochronology has moved beyond the acquisition of dates: the goal is to understand the significance of these numbers for the geodynamic evolution of Earth at all scales. The coupling of the laser-ablation microprobe (LAM) to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers (ICPMS, multicollector (MC)-ICPMS) has revolutionised geochronology and geochemistry over the last 10 years. These systems enable the rapid and precise in situ analysis of trace-element patterns and isotopic systems, while adding information related to microstructural context and major-element composition. The integration of these multiple sources of data is crucial in constraining the origin of the sample and the processes leading to its formation, so that we can understand the meaning of a date in terms of geological events. LAM-ICPMS measurement of U-Pb ages and trace-element patterns in zircon, coupled with LAM-MC-ICPMS analysis of Hf isotopes in the same grains, gives new insights into the processes of magma genesis. Applied to detrital zircons from modern drainages or sedimentary rocks (the TerraneChron approach), it becomes a powerful tool to investigate problems of crustal evolution on scales ranging from single terranes to continents. The in situ analysis (LAM-MC-ICPMS) of Re-Os systematics in single grains of sulfides in mantle-derived peridotites has demonstrated that most mantle rocks contain several generations of Os-bearing sulfides; whole-rock analyses are mixtures reflecting multiple melting and metasomatic events in the lithospheric mantle. These deep-seated events are commonly mirrored in the crust; Os model-age spectra from xenolith suites show age 'peaks' that correspond to the ages of thermal/tectonic events in the overlying crust, suggesting strong linkages between crust and mantle. Integrated studies of the timing and nature of crustal and mantle events, using these techniques, will be important for understanding the large-scale dynamics of the Earth.
ISSN: 0812-0099

hal-00411328
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411328
DOI : 10.1080/08120090802097450

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : The Oman ophiolite consists of several massifs cropping out along a 500 km long band trending NW-SE along the coast of Oman; it is one of the best exposed sections of oceanic crust and mantle in the world. There is a gradient in igneous processes and composition in the ophiolite, with the northern massifs recording a polygenetic igneous history involving an increasingly important subduction component, whereas the southern massifs were formed primarily via a mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like, single-stage process at a submarine spreading ridge. In this study we use geochemical data from Wadi Tayin, which is one of the southern massifs of the Oman ophiolite, to constrain the composition and genesis of oceanic crust and upper mantle. The Wadi Tayin harzburgites are residues of partial melting that are as depleted as the most depleted mid-ocean ridge peridotites. They have low middle- to heavy rare earth element ratios, most probably reflecting melting close to and beyond the exhaustion of clinopyroxene. Like many abyssal peridotites, the Wadi Tayin samples show enrichment in highly incompatible elements, giving rise to U-shaped MORB-normalized trace element patterns. We favor the idea that this is caused by enrichment of highly incompatible elements along grain boundaries in peridotite, which may be the result of near-equilibrium partitioning between grain boundaries and grain interiors, rather than disequilibrium processes. Equilibrium partitioning between crystals and grain boundaries during melting and melt extraction is also our preferred explanation for ubiquitous high Pb contents relative to Ce and La in our samples as well as in most abyssal peridotites. The Wadi Tayin samples record substantial variability in terms of osmium isotopic composition and platinum group element (PGE) concentrations. The more radiogenic nature of the dunites and impregnated peridotites compared with the residual harzburgites may be due to relatively high Os-187/Os-188 in melt transported through the dunites. The presence of residual peridotites with whole-rock osmium isotopic compositions less radiogenic than MORB may be explained by melting of a veined (upwelling) mantle forming mixed melts in which much of the Os derives from veins with high Re/Os in a matrix of previously depleted peridotite. An important result of this study is that the shallowest samples are refertilized (i.e. anomalously enriched in incompatible elements), and record relatively high metamorphic closure temperatures. These observations suggest that migrating melt underwent crystallization during rapid cooling in the uppermost mantle during and immediately after ridge magmatism. A variety of geothermometers all yield the result that the stratigraphically highest harzburgites equilibrated at higher temperature than the deeper ones. The systematic decrease in closure temperature with increasing depth below the Moho transition zone probably reflects systematic variation in cooling rate as a function of depth in the mantle section. We hypothesize that the refertilization and higher closure temperatures recorded by the uppermost mantle samples are linked. More rapid cooling led to higher closure temperatures, and to partial crystallization of migrating melts in the shallowest part of the mantle section, yielding slightly elevated abundances of elements such as Ca and Na, and incompatible trace elements.
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-00456056
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00456056
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egp077

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Cratons represent the oldest preserved lithospheric domains. Their lithosphere (lithospheric mantle welded to overlying Precambrian crystalline basement) is considered to be particularly robust and long-lived due to the protecting presence of buoyant and rigid “keels” made up of residual harzburgites. Although the cratons are mostly assumed to form in the Archaean, the timing of their formation remains poorly constrained. In particular, there are very few datasets describing concurrently the age of both the crustal and mantle portions of the lithosphere. In this study, we report new U–Pb ages and Hf isotope compositions for zircons in crustal xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite in the central Siberian craton; this dataset includes samples from both the upper and lower portions of the crust. The zircon ages agree well with model melt-extraction Re–Os ages on refractory peridotite xenoliths from the same pipe; taken together they allow an integrated view of lithosphere formation. Our data reveal that the present day upper crust is Archaean, whereas both the lower crust and the lithospheric mantle yield Paleoproterozoic ages. We infer that the deep lithosphere beneath the Siberian craton was not formed in a single Archaean event, but grew in at least two distinct events, one in the late Archaean and the other in the Paleoproterozoic. Importantly, a complete or large-scale delamination and rejuvenation of the Archaean lower lithosphere (lower crust and lithospheric mantle) took place in the Paleoproterozoic. This further demonstrates that craton formation can be a protracted, multi-stage process, and that the present day crust and mantle may not represent complementary reservoirs formed through the same tectono-magmatic event. Further, deep cratonic lithosphere may be less robust and long living than often assumed, with rejuvenation and replacement events throughout its history.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-01467648
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467648
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.09.046

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : In situ analysis of major elements, platinum-group elements and Os isotope composition data for 170 grains of Ru–Os–Ir alloys from podiform chromitites in the Luobusa and Dongqiao ophiolites, Tibet, provide new constraints on the sources of the alloy grains, the Os-isotope composition of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic upper mantle, and the timing of melt–rock reactions in the ultramafic peridotites of the host ophiolites. Most alloy grains are osmiridium and iridosmine. Based on elemental and isotopic compositions, two populations can be identified. Group I, found in both ophiolite bodies, has fractionated PGE patterns typical of alloys and homogeneous 187Os/188Os 0.12645 ± 4 (2s; n = 145). Group II alloys from the Dongqiao ophiolites show smooth PGE patterns and 187Os/188Os ranges from 0.12003 to 0.12194 (yielding Re-depletion ages ≥ 1.1 Ga). Both the PGE patterns and the Os isotopic compositions of Group II resemble those of sulfides residual after melting. Group I alloys represent an early cumulate phase during the crystallization of magmas and are interpreted as derived from an asthenospheric melt. In contrast, Group II alloys are inferred to derive from the breakdown of residual sulfides from the mantle section of the ophiolite, which may represent relics of a sub-continental lithospheric mantle. The coexistence of the two groups of alloys in Dongqiao samples reflects interaction between asthenosphere-derived melts and old depleted lithospheric mantle and suggests that the chromitites originated through melt–rock reactions. The data on the Group I alloys support the hypothesis that the Re–Os evolution of the convective oceanic mantle resembles that of enstatite chondrites.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00404967
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00404967
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.05.044