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Differentiation of partial melts in the mantle: Evidence from the Balmuccia peridotite, Italy

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Abstract

The Balmuccia peridotite shows evidence, in the form of a network of dykes, of partial melting and flow crystallization processes. The partial melting processes probably occurred over a fairly long time interval, and seem to have been related to different “melting pulses”. Resultant liquids were broadly picritic. Melting occurred incongruently according to the scheme cpx+opx+(ol+sp)=Mg-richer ol+Cr-richer sp+L.

Partial melts tended at first to accumulate in horizontal layers; then, as the critical melting threshold was exceeded, liquids were able to filter slowly towards lower pressure zones. In doing so liquids fractionated initially in situ, via crystallisation of websteritic dykes of the Cr-diopside suite, and later, in the overlying mantle, via crystallisation of transitional dykes and those of the Al-augite suite. This filter-pressing stage, when flow velocities were very low and discontinuous, probably corresponded to the period of maximum deformability of the peridotite.

The type of differentiation testified by the dykes of the Balmuccia peridotite, is characterized by a decrease in SiO2, a rapid enrichment in Al2O3 and a mild increase in FeO, and is substantially in accordance with experimental trends from the fo-an-di-SiO2 system in the spinel-peridotite stability field. A close relationship between type of differentiation, flow velocity and mechanical behaviour of the mantle peridotite is a feature of the proposed model.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Mineralogia e Petrografia dell'Università di Trieste, p. Europa 1, Trieste, Italy

    S. Sinigoi, P. Comin-Chiaramonti & G. Demarchi

  2. Istituto di Mineralogia e Petrografia dell'università di Ferrara, corso E. d'Este, Ferrara, Italy

    F. Siena

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  1. S. Sinigoi
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  2. P. Comin-Chiaramonti
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  3. G. Demarchi
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  4. F. Siena
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Sinigoi, S., Comin-Chiaramonti, P., Demarchi, G. et al. Differentiation of partial melts in the mantle: Evidence from the Balmuccia peridotite, Italy. Contrib Mineral Petrol 82, 351–359 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00399712

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