Geochemical and isotopic data are presented for ~ 32 Ma-old high-K andesites and dacites from the Alpine Chain. The samples consist of plagioclase, amphibole, titanomagnetite and rare biotite and quartz. Geochemical and isotope data indicate that slab-derived fluids, sediment melts and presumably AFC processes involving continental crust played a key role in the petrogenesis of the high-K rocks. A contribution of fluids is suggested based on the overall enrichment of large-ion lithophile elements and related high Ba/La, Ba/Zr, Ba/Th, Ba/Nb and Pb/Nd, sometimes distinctively higher than average continental crust. Positively correlated Ba/Nb–Th/Nb relationships, low Ce/Pb, low Nb/U and a negative correlation of Pb isotopes with Ce/Pb and Nb/U and positive ∆ 7/4 and ∆ 8/4 values similar to GLOSS imply the additional involvement of a sediment-derived melt. Negatively correlated Nb/Ta–Zr/Hf ratios at overall low Nb/Ta (13–7.5) are best explained by parental magma differentiation involving amphibole and biotite in a continental arc system. The samples have moderately unradiogenic Nd (εNd: – 2.0 to – 6.7) and radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr isotope compositions (0.7085–0.7113), moderately radiogenic Pb isotope compositions (206Pb/204Pb: 18.50–18.72; 207Pb/204Pb: 15.59–15.65; 208Pb/204Pb: 38.30–38.67), and elevated δ18O values (+ 6.5 to + 9.1 ‰). Epsilon Hf isotope values range from + 2.5 to – 4.0. Negative εHf(t) and εNd(t) values and 206Pb/204Pb ratios are correlated with elevated K2O abundances that indicate enrichment in K2O is related to AFC processes. The offset of εHf at a given εNd points to involvement of aged garnet-bearing crustal lithologies. The latter feature is qualitatively consistent with modification of unexposed primary basaltic andesites by AFC processes involving deep crustal material. In conclusion, in an Alpine context, inferred unexposed primitive high-K basaltic to andesitic melts are generated in the mantle wedge through fluid infiltration from the descending slab where fluids may have caused also partial melting of sedimentary rocks that mixed with evolving andesite–dacite compositions towards shallow-level intrusive and extrusive rocks. High-K and related trace element and isotope features thus result from a combination of already elevated values with participation of fluids and melts and probably AFC processes.

Stishovite is a key mineral for understanding the deep Earth water cycle because of its potential as a main carrier for water into the transition zone and lower mantle. During subduction-related metamorphism of basaltic oceanic crust, stishovite stabilizes at 8–9 GPa and comprises 10–25 vol% of the bulk mineralogy, with some experimental studies indicating that stishovite can accommodate 3.5 wt% H2O or more in the transition zone and upper lower mantle. This large water solubility has been explained by a hydrogarnet substitution mechanism (1Si4+ ↔ 4H+) and/or the incorporation of interstitial molecular water. To investigate water speciation and hydrogen isotope behavior, we synthesized partially deuterated hydrous stishovite at 9 GPa and 450 °C in a multi-anvil press (MA). The hydrous stishovite contains on average 1.69 ± 0.05 wt% water, which is consistent with earlier MA studies but is significantly lower than the 3.5 wt% reported from in situ diamond anvil cell (DAC) studies made at higher pressures and temperatures. 1H MAS NMR spinning sideband characteristics suggest a high abundance of interstitial molecular water in hydrous stishovite, while the presence of a hydrogarnet defect cannot be ruled out. Unit-cell volumes and deuterium enrichment in the quenched hydrous stishovite indicate that ~ 45% of the water is lost from the stishovite upon quenching and decompression of the experiment, consistent with a higher solubility. This implies that the pristine water contents of a P–T–fO2 equilibrated hydrous stishovite cannot be quenched to 1 atm and room temperature from classical MA experiments. We further present a capillary-based recovery method for fluid from experimental capsules, allowing direct determination of the D/H ratio of the experimental fluid and indirect determination of the hydrous stishovite. Using Rayleigh modeling to account for the quench-related water loss, we find that, at 450 °C and 9 GPa, deuterium is 3.5–4.5 times enriched in hydrous stishovite relative to coexisting aqueous fluid. This is opposite of what is commonly observed for mineral–fluid pairs above 300 °C, rendering hydrous stishovite a potential sink for deuterium and decreasing the D/H ratio of coexisting aqueous fluids. Partial decomposition (30–60%) of hydrous stishovite during mantle upwelling and production of primary basaltic melts could be accompanied by high-temperature D/H fractionation, decreasing the hydrogen isotope composition of such melts towards “mantle-like” δD values between −75 and −220‰.

Melt viscosity is one of the most critical physical properties controlling magma transport dynamics and eruptive style. Although viscosity measurements are widely used to study and model the flow behavior of magmas, recent research has revealed that nanocrystallization of Fe–Ti-oxides can compromise the reliability of viscosity data. This phenomenon can occur during laboratory measurements around the glass transition temperature (Tg) and lead to the depletion of iron and titanium in the residual melt phase, with a significant increase in viscosity. Accurate viscosity measurements play a crucial role in determining the reliability of empirical models for magma viscosity, which are used to evaluate eruptive scenarios in hazardous areas. Here, we quantify the reliability of empirical models by elaborating a new viscosity model of Stromboli basalt that relies exclusively on viscosity data obtained from nanocrystal-free samples. We show that empirical models so far used to estimate melt viscosity at eruptive conditions overestimate Stromboli viscosity by a factor ranging between 2 and 5. In the context of numerical modelling of magmatic processes at Stromboli volcano, we analyse and interpret this finding. Based on our findings, we draw the conclusion that Stromboli basalt is anticipated to ascend from the storage area to the vent at a faster rate than previously hypothesized.

The Tso Morari terrane within the Himalayan orogenic belt underwent ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) coesite-eclogite metamorphism due to northward subduction of the Indian continent under the Eurasian continent during the early Eocene. The Tso Morari UHP terrane has been intensely studied petrologically, mineralogically, and geochemically over the past several decades. However, the fluid history (e.g., phases and pressure–temperature conditions, fluid compositions and sources, and processes of fluid–rock interactions) and thermal structure during exhumation remain unresolved. To address these issues, we sampled a traverse from the center of an eclogite boudin out into the host orthogneiss. Three major fluid evolution stages (FESs) were identified and characterized using petrography, mineral and bulk-rock chemistry, and thermodynamic modeling. FES 1 constrained mineral dehydration and hydration reactions during prograde metamorphism before reaching peak pressure at 29.0 ± 0.8 kbar and 591 ± 9 °C by modeling garnet growth in the eclogites. FES 2 constrained mineral reactions in the eclogite matrix due to destabilization of internal hydrous minerals. This FES caused the formation of epidote at 22.8 ± 0.6 kbar, amphibole core domains (glaucophane) at 19.0 ± 0.4 kbar, amphibole rim domains (barroisite) at 14.5 ± 1.0 kbar, and symplectite at 9.0 ± 1.0 kbar, during isothermal decompression (600–650 °C). FES 3 caused amphibolization of eclogite at the boudin rim at 625 ± 50 °C and 9.0–14.0 kbar. Metasomatism resulted in increased K2O, CO2, and bulk-rock Fe3+/ΣFe in the amphibolized eclogites. Large ion lithophile elements (LILE) (e.g., K, Rb, Cs, Sr, Ba) and trace element ratios of Ba/Rb and Cs/Rb are also elevated relative to the eclogite core. The fluid most likely originated from dehydrating host orthogneiss and/or metasediments. Thermodynamic modeling also predicts that the Tso Morari complex was exhumed through a low-temperature (< 650 ± 50 °C) regime in the subduction channel.

The Hokuroku region of north-eastern Japan is endowed with important volcanic-hosted massive sulphide Zn–Pb–Cu deposits, which are considered the archetype of Kuroko (black ore) deposits worldwide. The bimodal, felsic-dominated volcanic succession that hosts the ore was deposited in a continental rift formed during continental extension in the final stages of the Miocene back-arc opening that led to the formation of the Japan Sea. In this study, we define some of the fundamental intensive parameters of this volcanism (temperature, pressure of crystallisation, fluid saturation, fO2) based on rock textures, and analyses of whole-rock samples, minerals and melt inclusions. Based on the melt inclusion analyses, we assess the behaviour of metals during magma evolution and degassing, and evaluate the possible implications for ore deposition. Plagioclase-melt geothermometry in felsic tuff and lava samples collected from both the units underlying and overlying the Kuroko indicates temperatures of 880–940 °C, and Fe–Ti oxide equilibrium indicates oxygen fugacity of ca. FMQ + 1.5. Melt inclusions have high-SiO2 rhyolite compositions (> 75 wt%, on an anhydrous basis), and the plot of normative mineral compositions in the granitic triplot indicates low pressure of magma stalling and crystallisation (< 1 kbar) at cotectic compositions. Melt inclusion metal contents plotted vs incompatible element Y suggest contrasting behaviour of different metals during fractionation and degassing. Zinc was mostly retained in the melt during crystallisation, whereas other metals, such as Pb, Cu, Sn and Mo, were released to an exsolving fluid phase. The latter may have thus been transferred to the hydrothermal system from a degassing magma. Shallow storage of relatively hot magma would have induced vigorous hydrothermal circulation on the seafloor, a precondition for ore deposition.

The partitioning behavior of Fe and Mg between olivine and basalt melt is of key importance to the study of terrestrial and extraterrestrial basalts. Olivine-melt partitioning studies generally focus on near-equilibrium crystallization conditions. Recent works highlight the tendency for both experimental and natural olivine to grow rapidly, possibly under non-equilibrium conditions. To better understand whether kinetic effects (e.g. boundary layer formation) can influence Fe–Mg partitioning and the development of zoning during rapid crystal growth, we use series of rapid cooling experiments involving a natural Hawaiian tholeiite as starting composition. Experimental charges were held at superliquidus conditions and cooled rapidly to final temperatures corresponding to undercoolings of 10–100 ºC. Overall, we find that within the parameter space of our experiments, rapid growth has largely negligible effects on both Fe–Mg partitioning and zoning patterns. These results are most applicable to relatively crystal-poor natural magmas undergoing a sudden thermal or chemical perturbation. We combine all experiments performed on natural Hawaiian tholeiites to propose a revised MgO-in-glass thermometer applicable to the temperature range T = 1060–1500 ºC: T (ºC) = 21.2 × MgO (wt.%) + 1017 ± 13. The Fe–Mg olivine-melt distribution coefficient obtained by combining the different experimental datasets on Hawaiian basalt is \(K_{D}^{{Fe^{2 + } - Mg}}\) = 0.335 ± 0.01, confirming recent conclusions that \(K_{D}^{{Fe^{2 + } - Mg}}\) is higher than the canonical value of 0.3. Kinetic models of boundary layer formation indicate that the geometry of the propagating crystal-melt interface (infinite planar, spherical, skeletal tip) partly controls olivine zoning or lack thereof. Skeletal branching generally leads to less zoning because boundary layers are more easily dissipated. We also show that crystal nucleation style (continuous vs. instantaneous) after a thermodynamic perturbation may dictate the capacity for individual crystals to develop strong or weak Fe–Mg zoning.

Meteorite impact processes are ubiquitous on the surfaces of rocky and icy bodies in the Solar System, including the Moon. One of the most common accessory minerals, zircon, when shocked, produces specific micro-structures that may become indicative of the age and shock conditions of these impact processes. To better understand the shock mechanisms in zircon from Apollo 15 and 16 impact breccias, we applied transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and studied nano-structures in eight lunar zircons displaying four different morphologies from breccias 15455, 67915, and 67955. Our observations revealed a range of shock-related features in zircon: (1) planar and non-planar fractures, (2) “columnar” zircon rims around baddeleyite cores, (3) granular textured zircon, in most cases with sub-µm-size inclusions of monoclinic ZrO2 (baddeleyite) and cubic ZrO2 (zirconia), (4) silica-rich glass and metal inclusions of FeS and FeNi present at triple junctions in granular zircon and in baddeleyite, (5) inclusions of rutile in shocked baddeleyite, (6) amorphous domains, (7) recrystallized domains. In many grain aggregates, shock-related micro-structures overprint each other, indicating either different stages of a single impact process or multiple impact events. During shock, some zircons were transformed to diaplectic glass (6), and others (7) were completely decomposed into SiO2 and Zr-oxide, evident from the observed round shapes of cubic zirconia and silica-rich glass filling triple junctions of zircon granules. Despite the highly variable effect on textures and Zr phases, shock-related features show no correlation with relatively homogeneous U–Pb or 207Pb/206Pb ages of zircons. Either the shock events occurred very soon after the solidification or recrystallization of the different Zr phases, or the shock events were too brief to result in noticeable Pb loss during shock metamorphism.

Trace-element partitioning between gregoryite, nyerereite, and natrocarbonatite melt is primordial for understanding trace-element distribution and fractionation in alkali-rich carbonatites. However, trace-element data are scarce for gregoryite and nyerereite. Here, we provide the first partition coefficients and lattice strain model parameters for trace-element partitioning between these carbonate minerals and natrocarbonatite at Oldoinyo Lengai (Tanzania). Nyerereite and gregoryite phenocrysts crystallize within a shallow magmatic reservoir (< 3 km depth, ~ 600 °C), and gregoryite continues to crystallize during magma ascent at lower pressures. At these low-temperature and pressure conditions, trace elements behave incompatibly in both gregoryite and nyerereite. Trace-element partitioning is characterized by a parabolic fit between the partition coefficients and ionic radii that is explained by a lattice strain model in which the site radius (r0) decreases with increasing charge from r01+ = 1.1 Å to r04+ = 0.75 Å. We observed different partition coefficients in gregoryite (Ggy) and nyerereite (Nye): those in nyerereite are greater than those in gregoryite for REEs (\({D}_{Nd}^{Nye}\)= 0.58 vs. \({D}_{Nd}^{Ggy}\) = 0.21; \({D}_{La}^{Nye}\) = 0.27 vs. \({D}_{La}^{Ggy}\) = 0.12), Sr (\({D}_{Sr}^{Nye}\)= 0.92 vs. \({D}_{Sr}^{Ggy}\) = 0.5), Ba (\({D}_{Ba}^{Nye}\)= 0.22 vs. \({D}_{Ba}^{Ggy}\) = 0.1), and Rb (\({D}_{Rb}^{Nye}\)= 0.35 vs. \({D}_{Rb}^{Ggy}\) = 0.26), but lower for HFSEs (e.g., \({D}_{Hf}^{Nye}\) = 0.13 vs. \({D}_{Hf}^{Ggy}\) = 0.28; \({D}_{Nb}^{Nye}\) = 0.02 vs. \({D}_{Nb}^{Ggy}\) = 0.08). Because all trace elements are incompatible, their concentrations increase in the melt during differentiation and the crystallization of both gregoryite and nyerereite. Due to their different partition coefficients, we can constrain the shallow crustal crystallization history of natrocarbonatite melts at Oldoinyo Lengai: the crystallization of roughly equal proportions of gregoryite and nyerereite can produce aphyric natrocarbonatite compositions from a typical natrocarbonatite composition. The late-stage crystallization of gregoryite alone during magmatic ascent and eruption can significantly impact the concentrations of key elements, such as increasing LREE contents and LREE/HFSE and LILE/HFSE ratios in the residual melt. Our results also highlight that natrocarbonatite melt crystallization during the 2019 eruption proceeded at temperatures from 600 °C to as low as 300 °C.

IODP Expedition 357 drilled 17 shallow sites scattered over ~ 10 km in the west to east spreading direction across the Atlantis Massif oceanic core complex (OCC, MAR, 30 ºN). Mantle exposed in the footwall of the Atlantic Massif OCC is nearly wholly serpentinized (80–100%) harzburgite and subordinate dunite. A recent whole-rock chemistry study by Whattam et al. (Chemical Geology 594. 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2021.120681, 2022) subdivides Atlantis Massif peridotites into: Type I fluid–rock dominated serpentinite, which exhibits almost nil evidence of melt-impregnation or silica metasomatism; Type II melt–rock dominated, mafic melt-impregnated serpentinite; and Type III melt–rock dominated Si-metasomatized serpentinite. In this study, on the basis of EPMA, three kinds of Cr–spinel are distinguished in Expedition 357 serpentinite: (I) primary, unmetamorphosed mantle array, (II) low-Ti metamorphosed, and (III) high-Ti melt reacted. All Cr–spinel of western site Type I serpentinite is unmetamorphosed (n = 34) and comprises 68% of all unmetamorphosed Cr–spinel. Metamorphosed Cr–spinel (n = 100) are the most abundant and occur in the central and eastern site Type II and Type III serpentinite, whereas melt-reacted Cr–spinel and chromite are restricted to the central sites and occur predominantly in serpentinized dunite. Estimates of the degree of melt extraction of Type I serpentinite using F = 10ln(spinel Cr#) + 24 are ~ 9–17%. Fugacity calculations of primary, unmetamorphosed Cr–spinel yield Δlog(fO2)FMQ of − 1.7 to + 1.0 and calculations using olivine–spinel Mg–Fe exchange thermometry yield a mean closure temperature of 808 ± 39 °C. Mafic melt-impregnation resulted in Cr–spinel with anomalously high TiO2 of 0.27–0.68 wt.% and production of Ti-rich chromite (up to 1.23 wt.% TiO2). Greenschist facies metamorphism (< 500 °C) resulted in Mg–Fe2+ exchange between Cr–spinel and forsterite and anomalously low Cr–spinel Mg#; higher degrees of amphibolite facies metamorphism (~ 500–700 °C) also resulted in anomalously high Cr# due to Al–Cr exchange. As has been previously established, significant Al loss from chromite cores above 550 °C is the result of equilibration with fluids in equilibrium with chlorite, which may be valid for our samples. On the basis of Cr–spinel vs. whole-rock compositions, a clear relationship exists between melt-impregnation and metamorphism of central and eastern serpentinite, which we postulate to be the result of heat associated with magma injection and subsequent localized contact metamorphism. To our knowledge, such a relation between mafic melt-impregnation of peridotite and metamorphism (of peridotite) has not previously been established in general and specifically for the Atlantis Massif peridotite. Closure temperatures of 440–731 °C of metamorphosed Cr–spinel approximate greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions.

A post-rift Aptian magmatism is recorded in a 500-m-thick sequence of basalts interbedded with marls in the Bacalhau oil and gas field in Santos Basin, SE Brazil. This magmatic section is within the so-called pre-salt sequence of Santos Basin that comprises the major oil and gas reserves of Brazil. This is the first publication of systematic petrological and geochronological data for the Aptian magmatism in Santos. Whole-rock Ar–Ar integrated ages obtained for these basalts are 116.93 ± 0.22 Ma, 116.16 ± 0.10 Ma, 115.21 ± 0.13 Ma and 109.95 ± 0.20 Ma and. As such, they are younger than the rift-related Camboriú basalts in Santos as well as the Paraná-Etendeka basalts and related dike swarms. The Santos basalts comprise a low-Ti tholeiitic suite with La/Nbn (2.7–4.2) and La/Ybn (4.2–5.9) ratios typical of continental flood basalt provinces. The basalts vary in MgO content but show no evidence for cogeneticity by differentiation processes. Lithogeochemical data showed that the Aptian basalts in Santos cannot be related with either the low-Ti, Esmeralda and Gramado suites in Paraná-Etendeka or the low-Ti Lumiar, Serrana, and Costa Azul suites in the Serra do Mar Dike Swarm on the basis of lithogeochemical data. No geochemical and isotopic correlation can be done with the Aptian, Alagoas basalts in Campos basin as well. Initial (115 Ma) isotope ratios (Sr: 0.705747–0.706804; εNd: −5.9 to −2.8; 206Pb/204Pb: 17.61–18.67; 207Pb/204Pb: 15.47–15.58; 208Pb/204Pb: 38.17–38.39; εHf: + 0.3 to −8.2) indicate derivation from a EM1 mantle component in the SCLM. Modal batch partial melting modelling showed that melting occurred within the garnet stability zone. We propose a geodynamic model for the Aptian in Santos in which the melting of the SCLM is related with either the presence of the Tristan da Cunha mantle plume in Aptian time below Santos or stretching of different portions of the blob-rich SCLM itself. This stretching is due to the remaining heat advected from Tristan during the voluminous Early Cretaceous magmatism that gave rise to the Paraná-Etendeka CFB.

Laboratory measurements of the electrical conductivity of silicate materials at well-constrained conditions are important for insights into the structure and physicochemical properties of the Earth’s interior, of which the key is an accurate determination of sample resistance with a correctly designed sample assembly. Piston cylinder press is often used for conductivity studies at high-pressure and high-temperature. Many assembly designs have been developed, and the most distinguishable difference is whether or not a metal shielding layer (separating sample from furnace) is applied. The metal shielding might protect samples from likely leakage currents through pressure medium and also electrical interferences from furnace in the assemblies. The assembly designs with and without the shielding may yield different conductivity data. We have carefully addressed this issue by measuring the conductivity of three typical materials, microline and olivine (mineral) and obsidian (quenched rhyolite melt) which are characterized by different electrical properties, over a wide range of temperature (200–1350 °C) at 1 GPa in a piston cylinder press. The conductivity was determined with a Solartron 1260 Impedance/Gain Phase analyser, by sweeping from 106 to 1 Hz. The results demonstrate that, for each material under otherwise comparable conditions, the measured conductivity is essentially the same regardless of the use of the metal shielding in the assembly. This suggests that the metal shielding technique is not necessary for conductivity runs with a piston cylinder press. Two-fold implications are provided from the determined data. First, conductivity experiments by not using a metal shielding in the design can greatly reduce the difficulty in machining the assembly parts, as well as their assembling for the experimental studies. This offers a solid basis for both the design and execution of conductivity experiments. Second, the measured data show that the conductivity of dry olivine under relatively oxidizing conditions in the shallow mantle is actually much higher than previous estimates based on studies under reducing conditions. Olivine itself may cause many conductive regions in the oxidized topmost mantle. This is critical to understanding the electrical structure of the upper mantle and inferring the bulk conductivity of olivine-bearing assemblages (e.g. peridotites) in the oxidized shallow mantle.

The Karoo large igneous province has been divided into rift zone and basin-related groups, with picrites from the Luenha river, Mozambique, representing an end-member of the latter. New O isotope, major and trace element data for olivine have been combined with MELTS crystallisation modelling to deconvolve compositional diversity associated with magma differentiation from source-derived heterogeneity. Three olivines populations have been discerned as follows: (1) the ‘main trend’, which records crystallisation from a variety of magma compositions; (2) the ‘low Cu trend’, which is inferred to represent xenocrysts or antecrysts; and (3) the ‘high CaO’ olivines, which record polybaric crystallisation of a primitive, little fractionated magma. The trace element variability in olivine phenocrysts relates partially to sampling of different parts of the same overall magma transport and storage systems, and partly to heterogeneity of parental magmas and their mantle sources. When the measured δ18Oolivine values have been converted into δ18Omelt values, the mean δ18Omelt values for the ‘main trend’ and ‘low Cu’ groups are indistinguishable from each other (5.7 ± 0.1‰, 2σ); however, the mean δ18Omelt value of 6.1 ± 0.1‰ for the ‘high CaO’ group is distinctly enriched. These data record source heterogeneity and suggest contributions from two mantle sources, one with elevated δ18O, and another with more ‘typical’ mantle δ18O. Combining these data with previously reported trace element and Nd and Sr isotope data support derivation from a mantle source similar to non-chondritic bulk silicate earth, but with minor contributions (1–2% for the enriched magmas) from a recycled sedimentary component. This points to the importance of a primitive mantle source for the basin-related successions in Karoo.

Reverse fractionation modeling considering energy-constrained assimilation-fractional crystallization is performed to estimate primary magma compositions, degree of crustal contamination, pressure–temperature of equilibrium with mantle, and potential temperatures for the origin of the Paleoproterozoic (~ 2.37–1.88 Ga) basaltic dikes in central and eastern Dharwar Craton and sills and volcanics in the adjoining Cuddapah Basin, southern India. Mineral thermobarometry indicates that the dikes crystallized at upper crustal conditions (~ 1–6 kbar/ ~ 1120–1210 °C). Hence, the reverse fractionation calculations are performed at low pressures by adding olivine + plagioclase + clinopyroxene, olivine + plagioclase and only olivine in equilibrium with melt, and simultaneously subtracting an upper crustal partial melt in small steps until the melt is multiply saturated with lherzolite at a high pressure. The results indicate that the basalts are 5–30% contaminated, and their enriched light rare earth element (REE) patterns can be attributed to upper crustal assimilation. The upper crust was pre-heated to 665–808 °C during dike emplacement. The primary magmas of all basalts were last equilibrated with spinel lherzolite at 10–16.5 kbar/1291–1366 °C, and they resemble pooled polybaric incremental melts generated along a ~ 1450 °C adiabat. The estimated mantle potential temperatures (1293–1515 °C) are similar to Paleoproterozoic ambient mantle temperatures. All basalts and their primary magmas show lower chondrite-normalized DyN/YbN ratios than the plume-derived mid-Proterozoic Mackenzie dikes of Canadian Shield, and the primary magmas show flat REE patterns indicating spinel lherzolite melting. The low estimated potential temperatures, low DyN/YbN ratios, and a spinel-bearing mantle source are at odds with an origin of the basalts from mantle plumes.

The zircon-bearing Liushuzhuang Peridotite in the Tongbai Orogen provides insights into the composition and evolution of Paleozoic sub-arc lithospheric mantle between the North China and Yangtze cratons. This orogenic peridotite is dominated by clinopyroxene-free spinel facies harzburgite to dunite. The refractory nature is indicated by high olivine Mg# (up to 92.4), elevated spinel Cr# (74–87), and low orthopyroxene Al2O3 (mostly  2.5) coupled with high spinel Cr# of peridotites suggest that they formed within highly oxidizing supra-subduction zone environment. In-situ 87Sr/86Sri amphibole and apatite data indicate that the metasomatic fluids were slightly to moderately radiogenic (0.7032–0.7090) and therefore likely partially derived from the subducted Shangdan oceanic crust that separated the North China and Yangtze cratons. The very low 176Lu/177Hf (mostly < 0.0002) of metasomatic zircon and similar εHf(t) to Tongbai Orogen arc-related magmas implies that zircon grew during modification of sub-arc mantle. Juxtaposition with the host gneisses occurred after 410 Ma and before U–Pb closure during apatite cooling at ~ 340 Ma. The Liushuzhuang Peridotite therefore records intense metasomatism of the Paleozoic sub-arc mantle wedge prior to collision of the North China and Yangtze cratons.

Palladium and Pt are present in magmatic sulfide deposits mainly as discrete platinum-group minerals (PGM) closely associated with base metal sulfides (BMS). It is always debated whether these PGM phases are of magmatic or subsolidus origin. The mechanism by which Pt- and Pd-mineral phases form depends on how Pd and Pt are accommodated in magmatic sulfide phases: as cation substitutions or as stable nano Pd- and Pt-ligand particles. To know how Pd and Pt are hosted in magmatic sulfides and how they behave during cooling, we have investigated magmatic monosulfide solid solution (MSS) (quenched from 950 °C) and low-temperature (slowly cooled from 950 to 25 °C) decomposed MSS, both synthesized from PdSb, PdTe2, PdBi2, PtSb2, PtTe2-or PtBi2-saturated CuNiFe-sulfide mixture. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) revealed that at 950 °C, Pd is hosted in MSS as nano Pd-telluride and antimonide melt droplets. Platinum is hosted in MSS as PtTe2 (moncheite), PtS (cooperite) and PtSb2 (geversite) nanocrystals. Moncheite and cooperite nanoparticles are aligned along the (0001) plane, and share one crystallographic plane (hkl) with the host, hexagonal MSS. At 25 °C, the Pd-telluride and antimonide melt droplets crystallized to merenskyite (PdTe2) and Ni-rich sudburyite (Pd(Ni)Sb). The Pt nano phases at 25 °C keep their composition and fabric and show no preference to pyrrhotite and pentlandite. Results imply that Pt and Pd minerals nucleate at magmatic temperature and grow by assembling PGE-ligand nanoparticles, not by exsolution of cationic and anionic metal species from BMS. Results also prove a weak Pd-S chemical affinity at the magmatic stage; Pd atoms are incorporated in MSS and the intermediate solid solution (ISS) when semimetals are not available. During subsolidus transformations of MSS and ISS, Pd preferentially concentrates in pentlandite.

The Paleoproterozoic Bakhuis Granulite Belt (BGB) in Surinam, South America, shows ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism (UHTM) at temperatures of around 1000 °C which, unusually, produced peak-to-near-peak cordierite with sillimanite and, in some cases, Al-rich orthopyroxene on a regional scale. Mg-rich cordierite (Mg/(Mg + Fe) = 0.88) in a sillimanite-bearing metapelitic granulite has a maximum birefringence of second-order blue (ca. 0.020) indicative of a considerable amount of CO2 (> 2 wt%) within its structural channels. SIMS microanalysis confirms the presence of 2.57 ± 0.19 wt% CO2, the highest CO2 concentration found in natural cordierite. This high CO2 content has enabled the stability of cordierite to extend into UHT conditions at high pressures and very low to negligible H2O activity. Based on a modified calibration of the H2O–CO2 incorporation model of Harley et al. (J Metamorph Geol 20:71–86, 2002), this cordierite occupies a stability field that extends from 8.8 ± 0.6 kbar at 750 °C to 11.3 ± 0.65 kbar at 1050 °C. Volatile-saturated cordierite with 2.57 wt% CO2 and negligible H2O (0.04 wt%) indicates fluid-present carbonic conditions with a CO2 activity near 1.0 at peak or near-peak pressures of 10.5–11.3 kbar under UHT temperatures of 950–1050 °C. The measured H2O content of the cordierite in the metapelite is far too low to be consistent with partial melting at 1000–1050 °C, implying either that nearly all of any H2O originally in this cordierite under UHT conditions was lost during post-peak cooling or that the cordierite was formed after migmatization. The high level of CO2 required to ensure fluid saturation of the c. 11 kbar UHT cordierite is proposed to have been derived from an external, possibly mantle, source.

Mafic and ultramafic xenoliths were erupted with hawaiite lavas from a post-shield, Laupahoehoe cinder cone on Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii. Major element compositions of clinopyroxene, olivine, and plagioclase in these xenoliths do not clearly differentiate between parental Hawaiian tholeiitic, transitional, or alkalic magmas. To clarify the parental magma compositions, incompatible trace element concentrations in clinopyroxene were analyzed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The compositions of equilibrium liquids were calculated using published clinopyroxene/basalt partition coefficients. The REE patterns and concentrations of Sr, Ba, Ti, and Zr in most calculated liquids are similar to transitional and alkalic lavas of post-shield Hamakua Volcanics and unlike the younger host lava, the more alkalic Laupahoehoe Volcanics. In contrast, liquids in equilibrium with clinopyroxene in a wehrlite and an olivine gabbro have trace element concentrations similar to tholeiitic shield basalts. Thus, these xenoliths represent cumulates crystallized at depth from the shield stage tholeiitic and post-shield Hamakua magmas and were then entrained in the younger alkalic Laupahoehoe lavas. The composition of the xenoliths and the calculated liquids show that the Hamakua Volcanics and Laupahoehoe Volcanics are not related to one another by deep fractionation, but instead are derived from compositionally distinct sources and different degrees of melting.

The Pyroxenite Marker, a thin, orthopyroxene-dominated marker horizon, is observed towards the top of the Main Zone of the Bushveld Complex, where the last voluminous influx of magma into the Bushveld Complex is thought to have occurred. In an attempt to constrain the Nd-isotopic composition of the magma added at the level of the Pyroxenite Marker, a total of 21 whole-rock samples from a borehole (BH7771) drilled on the Central Sector of the Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Complex were analysed for their Sr–Nd isotopic ratios. Modelling suggests that the added magma had a unique Sr (87Sr/86Sri = 0.7063–0.7067) and Nd (ƐNdi on the order of − 5.9) isotopic composition, distinct from any of the rocks constituting the layered sequence below the Pyroxenite Marker. Dispersion of data points around the modelled isotopic (melt–melt) mixing curves is interpreted to reflect the incorporation of minerals derived from either the incoming or resident magmas into individual rock layers occurring across the Pyroxenite Marker interval, either in response to the mixing of minerals settling through a stratified magma column, or potentially through the intrusion and mixing of crystal-laden magmas with unique isotopic compositions from a sub-Bushveld staging chamber.

The Columbia River flood basalts in the northwestern United States are recognized as part of the greater Yellowstone hotspot province, the products of a mantle plume operating at least since the Miocene. Prior geochemical and isotopic studies have identified contributions to flood lavas from plume mantle, depleted asthenospheric mantle, subcontinental lithospheric mantle, subduction-modified mantle, and young and old continental crust. Here, we review major and trace element compositions of lavas and present new analyses of whole rocks and olivines from the early, least evolved Columbia River basalts of the Imnaha, Steens and Picture Gorge formations to identify mantle source lithologies. These lavas exhibit trace element enrichments and depletions, correlated with highly variable Ni contents of olivine phenocrysts that vary systematically by formation and lava chemical type. The variations are attributed to a range in basalt source lithologies from pyroxenite to peridotite. Among Imnaha Basalt flows, these differences correspond to a long-recognized contrast between American Bar and Rock Creek chemical types. The Rock Creek mantle source was richer in pyroxene than that of the American Bar lavas. Olivines in Imnaha lavas show distinct flow-by-flow trends in Ni–Mg-number space, recording distinct mantle source compositions and melting events supplying individual flows during the ramp-up stage of the province. Only later, during production of the voluminous Grande Ronde lavas, were mantle melts processed through a large integrated crustal magma system. The influence of pyroxenite mantle sources decreased with time throughout the flood basalt sequence. The pyroxenite signature is not accompanied by radiogenic isotope indicators of long-term enrichment, hence is constrained to be young. However, its origin is uncertain. Possible contributors to enrichment include entrained, recently subducted basalt derived from the Farallon slab, and pyroxenite produced within and adjacent to the rising plume by melting and freezing during basalt genesis.

The petrochronological records of eclogites in the Scandinavian Caledonides are investigated using EPMA and LA-ICPMS of zircon and apatite for U–Pb geochronology, combined with major and trace element characteristics. Metamorphic zircon from two eclogites from the Lofoten-Vesterålen Complex (Lofoten Archipelago region) collectively yielded a Concordia age 427.8 ± 5.7 Ma and an upper intercept U–Pb age 425 ± 30 Ma. Apatites from the same eclogites provided U–Pb lower intercepts at 322 ± 28 Ma and 354 ± 33 Ma, with the latter also yielding a younger age of 227 ± 24 Ma. Two eclogites from the Lower Seve Nappe (Northern Jämtland) demonstrate different zircon and apatite age records. Metamorphic zircon provided Concordia ages of 467.2 ± 5.9 Ma and 444.5 ± 5.5 Ma, which resolve the age of prograde metamorphism and zircon growth during retrogression, respectively. The lower intercept U–Pb ages of apatites from the same eclogites are 436 ± 18 and 415 ± 25 Ma, respectively. In combination with their geochemical characteristics, they suggest two separate stages of exhumation of eclogite bodies in the Lower Seve Nappe. Zircons from an eclogite from the Blåhø Nappe (Nordøyane Archipelago) yielded a continuum of concordant U–Pb dates from ca. 435 to 395 Ma, which suggests several cycles of HT metamorphism within short intervals. Distinctive trace element characteristics of apatites from the Blåhø Nappe eclogite suggest formation coeval with zircon and garnet during HT metamorphism, but Pb diffusion behaved as an open system until cooling during exhumation of the nappe at 390 ± 12 Ma (lower intercept U–Pb age of apatite). To summarize, this study presents the high potential of coupled zircon and apatite petrochronology of eclogites in resolving their metamorphic evolution, particularly with respect to using trace element characteristics of apatites to constrain the records of their growth, alterations and the meaning of their U–Pb age record.