Petrogenesis of Mafic to Felsic Lavas from the Oligocene Siebengebirge Volcanic Field (Germany): Implications for the Origin of Intracontinental Volcanism in Central Europe

Magmatism in the Cenozoic Central European Volcanic Province (CEVP) has been related to two geodynamic scenarios, either extensional tectonics in the north Alpine realm or upwelling of deep mantle material. The Oligocene (∼30-19 Ma) Siebengebirge Volcanic Field (SVF) is a major part of the German portion of the CEVP and consists of erosional remnants of mafic to felsic volcanic edifices. It covers an area of ∼35 km (NW-SE) by ∼25 km (SW-NE) with eruptive centres concentrated near the eastern shore of the Rhine river in the vicinity of the city of Bonn. Mafic rocks in the SVF comprise strongly SiO2-undersaturated basanites to alkaline basalts. Occurrences of alkaline basalts are confined to an inner NW-SE-striking zone, whereas the more SiO2-undersaturated basanites dominate the western and eastern periphery of the SVF. Radiogenic isotope compositions (87Sr/86Sr 0·70335-0·70371; εNd +3·1 to +4·5; εHf +6·5 to +8·0; 206Pb/204Pb 19·46-19·69; 207Pb/204Pb 15·63-15·66; 208Pb/204Pb 39·34-39·62) indicate a common asthenospheric mantle end-member with HIMU-like characteristics for all mafic rocks, similar to the European Asthenospheric Reservoir (EAR). A lithospheric mantle source component with a residual K-bearing phase (phlogopite or amphibole) is inferred from negative K anomalies. Incompatible trace element modelling indicates that melting took place in the spinel-garnet transition zone with low degrees of melting at higher pressures generating the basanitic magmas (LaN/YbN = 20-25), whereas the alkaline basalts (LaN/YbN = 14-18) are the result of higher melting degrees at shallower average melting depths. Differentiation of basanitic primary melts generated tephritic to tephriphonolitic magmas that, for instance, erupted at the Löwenburg Volcanic Complex in the central SVF. Latites and trachytes, such as the prominent Drachenfels and Wolkenburg protrusions, are more common in the central portion of the SVF. These compositions originate from parental alkaline basaltic melts. All differentiated samples show evidence for crustal contamination, possibly with lower- to mid-crustal material comprising mafic granulites as found in Eifel basalt xenoliths and metapelites. Based on the spatial and temporal distribution of the various volcanic rock types, a model for the temporal evolution of the SVF can be proposed. During the initial phase of volcanism, low-degree basanitic melts were generated as a result of decompression following tectonic rifting and formation of the Cologne Embayment, a northward extension of the Rhine Graben. In a second stage, alkali basalts were generated at shallower depths and higher degrees of melting as a result of continued lithospheric thinning and passive upwelling of asthenospheric mantle. These conclusions strengthen previous models suggesting that intraplate volcanism in Central Europe is directly linked to regional lithospheric thinning and asthenospheric upwelling. Overall, the SVF constitutes an exceptionally well-preserved magmatic assemblage to illustrate these tectono-magmatic relationship

Unraveling the sequence of serpentinization reactions : petrography, mineral chemistry, and petrophysics of serpentinites from MAR 15°N (ODP Leg 209, Site 1274)

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2006. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 33 (2006): L13306, doi:10.1029/2006GL025681.The results of detailed textural, mineral chemical, and petrophysical studies shed new light on the poorly constrained fluid-rock reaction pathways during retrograde serpentinization at mid-ocean ridges. Uniformly depleted harzburgites and dunites from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 15°N show variable extents of static serpentinization. They reveal a simple sequence of reactions: serpentinization of olivine and development of a typical mesh texture with serpentine-brucite mesh rims, followed by replacement of olivine mesh centers by serpentine and brucite. The serpentine mesh rims on relic olivine are devoid of magnetite. Conversely, domains in the rock that are completely serpentinized show abundant magnetite. We propose that low-fluid-flux serpentinization of olivine to serpentine and ferroan brucite is followed by later stages of serpentinization under more open-system conditions and formation of magnetite by the breakdown of ferroan brucite. Modeling of this sequence of reactions can account for covariations in magnetic susceptibility and grain density of the rocks.Funding for this research was provided by USSSP and NSF-OCE grant 9986135. WB acknowledges support through a fellowship by the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute

Hydrothermal alteration and microbial sulfate reduction in peridotite and gabbro exposed by detachment faulting at the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge, 15°20′N (ODP Leg 209): A sulfur and oxygen isotope study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95304/1/ggge1087.pd

Carbonate veins trace seawater circulation during exhumation and uplift of mantle rock : results from ODP Leg 209

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters 311 (2011): 242–252, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2011.09.021.Carbonate veins hosted in ultramafic basement drilled at two sites in the Mid Atlantic Ridge 15°N area record two different stages of fluid-basement interaction. A first generation of carbonate veins consists of calcite and dolomite that formed syn- to postkinematically in tremolite–chlorite schists and serpentine schists that represent gently dipping large-offset faults. These veins formed at temperatures between 90 and 170 °C (oxygen isotope thermometry) and from fluids that show intense exchange of Sr and Li with the basement (87Sr/86Sr = 0.70387 to 0.70641, δ7LiL-SVEC = + 3.3 to + 8.6‰). Carbon isotopic compositions range to high δ13CPDB values (+ 8.7‰), indicating that methanogenesis took place at depth. The Sr–Li–C isotopic composition suggests temperatures of fluid-rock interaction that are much higher (T > 350–400 °C) than the temperatures of vein mineral precipitation inferred from oxygen isotopes. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that fluids cooled conductively during upflow within the presumed detachment fault. Aragonite veins were formed during the last 130 kyrs at low-temperatures within the uplifted serpentinized peridotites. Chemical and isotopic data suggest that the aragonites precipitated from cold seawater, which underwent overall little exchange with the basement. Oxygen isotope compositions indicate an increase in formation temperature of the veins by 8–12 °C within the uppermost ~ 80 m of the subseafloor. This increase corresponds to a high regional geothermal gradient of 100–150 °C/km, characteristic of young lithosphere undergoing rapid uplift.WB, MR, and NJ thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant no. BA1605/2) for funding. NJ acknowledges support from the DFG-Research Center/Excellence Cluster, The Ocean in the Earth Syste

Seawater-peridotite interactions : first insights from ODP Leg 209, MAR 15°N

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2004. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 5 (2004): Q09F26, doi:10.1029/2004GC000744.We present first results of a petrographic study of hydrothermally altered peridotites drilled during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 209 in the 15°20′N fracture Zone area on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). We find that serpentinization is extensive at all drill sites. Where serpentinization is incomplete, phase relations indicate two major reaction pathways. One is reaction of pyroxene to talc and tremolite, and the other is reaction of olivine to serpentine, magnetite, and brucite. We interpret these reactions in the light of recent peridotite-seawater reaction experiments and compositions of fluids venting from peridotite massifs at a range of temperatures. We suggest that the replacement of pyroxene by talc and tremolite takes place at temperatures >350°–400°C, where olivine is stable. The breakdown of olivine to serpentine, magnetite, and brucite is favored at temperatures below 250°C, where olivine reacts faster then pyroxene. High-temperature hydrothermal fluids venting at the Logatchev and Rainbow sites are consistent with rapid reaction of pyroxene and little or no reaction of olivine. Moderate-temperature fluids venting at the Lost City site are consistent with ongoing reaction of olivine to serpentine and brucite. Many completely serpentinized peridotites lack brucite and talc because once the more rapidly reacting phase is exhausted, interaction with the residual phase will change fluid pH and silica activity such that brucite or talc react to serpentine. At two sites we see strong evidence for continued fluid flow and fluid-rock interaction after serpentinization was complete. At Site 1268, serpentinites underwent massive replacement by talc under static conditions. This reaction requires either removal of Mg from or addition of Si to the system. We propose that the talc-altered rocks are Si-metasomatized and that the source of Si is likely gabbro-seawater reaction or breakdown of pyroxene deeper in the basement. The basement at Site 1268 is heavily veined, with talc and talc-oxide-sulfide veins being the most common vein types. It appears that the systems evolved from reducing (oxygen fugacity buffered by magnetite-pyrrhotite-pyrite and lower) to oxidizing (dominantly hematite). We propose that this transition is indicative of high fluid flux under retrograde conditions and that the abundance of hematite may relate to the Ca-depleted nature of the basement that prevents near-quantitative removal of seawater sulfate by anhydrite precipitation. At site 1272 we find abundant iowaite partly replacing brucite. While this is the first report of iowaite from a mid-ocean ridge setting, its presence indicates, again, fairly oxidizing conditions. Our preliminary results indicate that peridotite-seawater and serpentinite-seawater interactions can take place under a wider range of temperature and redox conditions than previously appreciated.This research used data and/or samples supplied by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). ODP is sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and participating countries under management of Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI), Inc

Geochemistry and mineralogy of variably altered dacite volcanic rocks from ODP Leg 193 sites, PACMANUS field

A geochemical, mineralogical, and isotopic database comprising 75 analyses of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 193 samples has been prepared, representing the variable dacitic volcanic facies and alteration types observed in drill core from the subsurface of the PACMANUS hydrothermal system (Table T1. The data set comprises major elements, trace and rare earth elements (REE), various volatiles (S, F, Cl, S, SO4, CO2, and H2O), and analyses of 18O and 86Sr/87Sr for bulk rock and mineral separates (anhydrite). Furthermore, normative mineral proportions have been calculated based on the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis (Table T2) using the SOLVER function of the Microsoft Excel program. Several of the samples analyzed consist of mesoscopically distinctive domains, and separate powders were generated to investigate these hand specimen-scale heterogeneities. Images of all the samples are collated in Figure F1, illustrating the location of each powder analyzed and documenting which measurements were performed