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Special Issue "On the Formation and Alteration of Ophiolites and Oceanic Lithospheres"

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A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Deposits".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 February 2024 | Viewed by 10343

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jingsui Yang

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Guest Editor

1. School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
2. Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
Interests: ophiolite; mantle peridotite; chromitite; diamond; UHP mineral; geodynamics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Souvik Das

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Guest Editor

New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
Interests: mantle petrology; HP-UHP minerals; ophiolites; fluid inclusions; impact cratering; origin of life; ore geology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Weiwei Wu

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Guest Editor

School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Interests: ophiolite; mantle peridotite; chromitite; diamond; UHP mineral; geodynamics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The formation and alteration of oceanic lithospheric rocks is an emerging subject. However, it is challenging to sample oceanic and sub-oceanic rocks. The fragments of oceanic lithospheres are sometimes tectonically emplaced onto the Earth’s surface and preserved as “ophiolites”. The ophiolites and associated rocks provide a unique opportunity to study deep recycling of crustal and mantle material during the formation of oceanic lithosphere, sub-oceanic mantle processes in different tectonic settings, and melt/fluid–rock interactions in oceanic conditions and during emplacement. For this Special Issue, we invite contributions related to mineralogy, petrology, mineralization, ore geology, geochemistry, melt/fluid–rock interactions, and biogeochemical cycle and tectonics of ophiolites and oceanic lithospheres. Submission dates are any time from now up until the submission deadline and may be extended further depending on the interest expressed for this issue.

Prof. Dr. Jingsui Yang
Dr. Souvik Das
Dr. Weiwei Wu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

ophiolite
oceanic lithosphere
mineral deposits
serpentinization
melt/fluid–rock interaction
geodynamics

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 10429 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Clinopyroxene Compositions of E-MORB-Type Gabbro from Bingdaban Ophiolites in Central Tianshan, NW China: Insights into the Evolution of the Magmatic System and Geodynamic Setting

and

Minerals 2023, 13(9), 1232; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13091232 - 20 Sep 2023

Viewed by 568

Abstract

Clinopyroxene, one of the primary rock-forming minerals in mafic rocks, is the major host of lithophile elements in the mantle lithosphere and plays a crucial role in understanding mantle evolution and rock petrogenesis. Taking the Bingdaban ophiolite as an example, this study employed electron probe microanalysis and in situ trace element analysis to investigate the geochemistry of clinopyroxene in gabbros to determine the magma series and evolution, constrain the physicochemical conditions of the magmatic processes and explore the petrogenesis and tectonic setting. Representative gabbro samples were subjected to zircon U–Pb isotopic analysis, yielding an age of 424.3 ± 5.9 Ma. Geochemical investigations revealed that the Bingdaban gabbros exhibit tholeiitic composition, suggesting a genesis associated with enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (E-MORB). Mineralogical analyses indicated that the clinopyroxene in the gabbros was Mg-rich, Fe-poor, and alkali-poor, representing a subalkaline series. The compositional end members of clinopyroxene were calculated as Wo_38.9–48.0En_30.9–48.1Fs_10.4–24.4, indicating a predominance of diopside with a minor amount of augite. Temperature–pressure conditions imply that these rocks formed in a high-temperature, low-pressure, and shallow-source environment. Compositional estimates of the melt in equilibrium with clinopyroxene are consistent with the overall characteristics of the host rock, reflecting an E-MORB setting. The Bingdaban gabbro likely originated from an initially depleted mantle source that later received an input of enriched mantle material, indicating formation in either an initial oceanic or immature back-arc basin tectonic setting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue On the Formation and Alteration of Ophiolites and Oceanic Lithospheres)

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25 pages, 7076 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chemistry and Crystallization Conditions of Minerals in Metasomatized Oceanic Lithosphere and Basaltic Rocks of Govorov Guyot, Magellan Seamounts, Pacific Ocean

Igor S. Peretyazhko

and

Elena A. Savina

Minerals 2022, 12(10), 1305; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12101305 - 16 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1436

Abstract

Studies have provided first detailed data on the chemistry of rock-forming, minor, and accessory minerals of Govorov Guyot volcanic rocks (basalts, trachybasalts, basaltic trachyandesites, and trachyandesites). Some basalt samples bear pargasitic amphibole and clinopyroxene xenocrysts, mantle vein fragments in xenoliths, as well as wehrlite xenoliths, which are remnants of metasomatized oceanic lithosphere. Amphiboles make up a continuous series from pargasite –Mg-hastingsite in wehrlite xenoliths and xenocrysts to Mg-hastingsite–kaersutite end-members in phenocrysts and microlites of basaltic rocks. The discussed issues include the trace element chemistry of Ti-amphibole and clinopyroxene phenocrysts; fractionation of OIB melts; and P-T equilibration of minerals during the formation of mantle and basaltic rocks. Pargasitic amphibole may have crystallized at P-T conditions (2.5–0.6 GPa, 1170–980 °C) corresponding to the spinel facies of peridotite at different depths (73–21 km) in hydrous (6.0–4.5 wt% H₂O) silicate mafic melts that percolated through peridotites of the oceanic lithosphere. Ti-amphibole in basaltic rocks crystallized at 1.2–0.4 GPa (40–15 km), and 1060–910 °C from melts containing 8.6–2.6 wt% H₂O. As the high-temperature (~1100 °C) basaltic magmas reached chambers at the oceanic crust level (7 to 3 km), the Ti-bearing amphiboles of xenocrysts and phenocrysts became replaced by Ti-magnetite- and/or rhönite-bearing mineral assemblages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue On the Formation and Alteration of Ophiolites and Oceanic Lithospheres)

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15 pages, 4447 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Morphological Features and Spectral Comparisons of Diamonds from Three Kimberlite Belts in Mengyin, China

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Minerals 2022, 12(10), 1185; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12101185 - 21 Sep 2022

Viewed by 1481

Abstract

Striking differences in potentiality of diamond mineralization are shown in the three kimberlite belts of Changmazhuang, Xiyu and Poli in Mengyin, Shandong Province. Previous studies of diamonds have focused on the Changmazhuang belt; however, genesis of diamonds from the other two belts, as well as comparative studies on diamonds from the three belts, are relatively scarce. In this paper, the morphological and spectral features of 44 diamonds ranging from 0.03 mg to 16.46 mg in weight from the three belts are investigated systematically by microscopic observation, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the formation temperature is 1118–1251 °C for Changmazhuang diamonds, 1091–1167 °C for Xiyu diamonds, and 1132–1172 °C for Poli diamonds. Diamonds in the three belts exhibit uniform pre–kimberlite surface features of multiple serrate, triangular laminae and small trigons, suggesting a similar condition of diamond destructive metasomatism caused by carbonatitic and silicate-carbonatitic melts. However, Poli diamonds probably suffered from a silicate component-enriched carbonatitic melt in the deep mantle. Nitrogen contents (0–539 ppm) of diamonds from the three belts have a slight impact on their morphological features. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue On the Formation and Alteration of Ophiolites and Oceanic Lithospheres)

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19 pages, 4701 KiB

Open AccessArticle

SIMS Zircon U-Pb Ages and O Isotope Compositions of Gabbro from the Laguoco Ophiolite from Western Shiquanhe–Yonzhu Suture Zone (Tibet) and Their Geological Significance

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Minerals 2022, 12(10), 1184; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12101184 - 21 Sep 2022

Viewed by 1106

Abstract

The Shiquanhe–Laguoco–Yongzhu–Jiali ophiolite mélange belt in Tibet includes the Laguoco Tso ophiolite as part of its western segment. Researchers studying the evolution of the Tibetan Plateau and the Tethys have taken a keen interest in the debated relationship between this ophiolite belt and the Bangong–Nujiang ophiolite belt. However, there is little research in this field. This study reports the rock geochemistry, SIMS (the secondary ion mass spectrometry) zircon U-Pb ages, and O isotope compositions of gabbro from the Laguoco ophiolite. Gabbro has substantial depletion in HFSEs (the high field strength elements) such as Th, Nb, Zr, and Hf, as well as exhibits comparatively high Mg^# (80.6 on average), and low K, N, P, and Ti contents. Therefore, it was possibly formed in an intra oceanic subduction island arc environment originating from ~30% partial melting of the depleted spinel lherzolite. The SIMS zircon U-Pb ages of the gabbro samples are 187 ± 1.2 Ma and 189 ± 2.1 Ma, and the weighted averages of δ¹⁸O are 5.24‰ ± 0.12‰ and 5.34‰ ± 0.13‰, which are close to mantle-derived zircon δ¹⁸O (5.3‰ ± 0.3‰). These results suggest that during the Early Jurassic, the Laguoco ophiolite recorded the intra oceanic subduction of the northern branch of the Neo-Tethys. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue On the Formation and Alteration of Ophiolites and Oceanic Lithospheres)

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31 pages, 7690 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Silicates from Lherzolites in the South-Eastern Part of the Kempirsay Massif as the Source for Giant Chromitite Deposits (the Southern Urals, Kazakhstan)

and

Vladimir V. Shilovskikh

Minerals 2022, 12(8), 1061; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12081061 - 22 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1449

Abstract

We provide results of a comprehensive mineralogical and microstructural study of relict lherzolites of the main ore field and fresh rocks from a deep structural borehole drilled in the south-eastern part of the Kempirsay massif. Olivine and orthopyroxene from lherzolites contain numerous pieces of evidence of material redistribution at different scales caused mainly by solid-state processes, such as plastic flow of mantle, syntectonic recrystallization, and annealing. The results of deformation-induced processes at the submicron scale are recorded by optical and electronic microscopy. In olivine, the plastic deformation caused segregation of impurities at structural defects. As a result, abundant tiny rods of newly formed Cr-spinels occurred inside its grains. Moreover, in enstatite, deformation caused partial or complete chemical decomposition with exsolution of diopside, pargasite and spinel lamellae up to the formation of a “fibrous” structure. In other cases, it provided partial or complete recrystallization to form new phases of enstatite-2, forsterite, diopside, pargasite, and spinel. Petrographic observations are validated by geochemical data, i.e., regularly decreasing concentrations of minor elements in neoblasts compared to large grains (porphyroclasts). Further redistribution of spinel grains with the formation of chromitite bodies is witnessed by their permanent association with the most mobile phase of the upper mantle, i.e., olivine, which is the only mineral that remains stable under the intense plastic flow. An increased concentration of Cr-spinel grains during formation of massive chromitites could appear under conditions close to pressure sintering, as evidenced by stressed textures of ores and an increased grain size compared to disseminated chromitites. The formation of unique chromitite deposits is associated with integration of numerous disparate podiform bodies into “ore bunches” due to the tectonic impact in the shear-compression regime. This was most likely associated with transition of the rifting (spreading) regime to that of the upper mantle of the fore-arc basin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue On the Formation and Alteration of Ophiolites and Oceanic Lithospheres)

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17 pages, 8030 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Pervasive Listwaenitization: The Role of Subducted Sediments within Mantle Wedge, W. Chalkidiki Ophiolites, N. Greece

Christoph Hauzenberger

Federica Zaccarini

Pavlos Tsitsanis

Christina Vasiliki Lazaratou

Vasilios Skliros

Dionisios Panagiotaras

Dimitrios Papoulis

and

Konstantin Hatzipanagiotou

Minerals 2022, 12(8), 1000; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12081000 - 08 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1830

Abstract

Listwaenitization processes have significantly altered the mantle section of the West Chalkidiki ophiolites, generating the second largest magnesite deposit in Greece. Although research studies have been conducted in the region, the post-magmatic processes, and especially the geotectonic settings under which listwaenitization took place, remain unclear. In this study, minerals and rocks were studied applying XRD, clay fraction, SEM, EMPA, ICP-MS, INAA, LA-ICP-MS, and thermodynamic modeling. The results revealed that alteration processes significantly affected the mantle wedge peridotite protoliths leading to the following chemical changes (a) SiO₂ increase with decreasing MgO, (b) Cs, Pb, As, and V enrichments, (c) limited alteration of magnesiochromite hosted within listwaenitized chromitites and (d) enrichment in PPGE and Au in listwaenitized chromitites and desulfurized laurite. Alteration was induced by fluids deriving from subducted Mesozoic sediments, represented by the Prinochori Formation or chemically similar formations. The final product of completely silicified peridotite (silica listwaenite) is thermodynamically stable in Earth-surface conditions, with dolomite and phyllosilicates transforming into clay minerals. Based on detailed petrographical observations, peridotites were subjected to serpentinization, and subsequently, serpentine interacted with CO₂, silica and calcium-bearing fluids, leading to its transformation into amorphous rusty-silica mass and/or tremolite. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue On the Formation and Alteration of Ophiolites and Oceanic Lithospheres)

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15 pages, 6277 KiB

Open AccessReview

Knowledge Structure and Frontier Evolution of Research on Chromitite: A Scientometric Review

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Minerals 2022, 12(10), 1211; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12101211 - 26 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1377

Abstract

Big data analysis can reveal the relevance, hidden patterns, and bursts of activity in data. Therefore, big data analysis has recently aroused great interest and curiosity among scientists in various fields. The powerful data organization and visualization capabilities of CiteSpace software is an effective way to achieve this goal. Chromitite is a strategic mineral resource of global importance with several industrial applications, including steel manufacturing. Research on chromitite has not only had high economic significance, but also has important scientific value. An understanding of chromitite can be used to obtain insight into the processes operating deep within the crust and mantle. However, no big-data analysis has been performed on chromitite-related publications; hence, the evolution of various views over time is unclear. The purpose of this study was to rapidly assess and summarize the development of research in the field, and to identify and briefly describe current research developments. The CiteSpace software was used to reveal research hotspots and predict future trends. The results of the co-occurrence network analysis indicate an active collaboration among current chromitite researchers, and the countries and institutions in which they are based. Hot research topics include a focus on podiform chromitite, the origin of chromitites, and the co-occurrence of platinum group elements (PGE). The main subject of current research is podiform chromitite containing ultrahigh-pressure minerals, which will help to elucidate the relationship between chromitite and the deep processes within the earth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue On the Formation and Alteration of Ophiolites and Oceanic Lithospheres)

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