Pyroxenite As a Product of Mafic-Carbonate Melt Interaction
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minerals Article Pyroxenite as a Product of Mafic-Carbonate Melt Interaction (Tazheran Massif, West Baikal Area, Russia) Eugene V. Sklyarov 1,2,* , Andrey V. Lavrenchuk 2,3, Anna G. Doroshkevich 2,4, Anastasia E. Starikova 2,3 and Sergei V. Kanakin 4 1 Institute of the Earth’s Crust, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 664033 Irkutsk, Russia 2 V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; [email protected] (A.V.L.); [email protected] (A.G.D.); [email protected] (A.E.S.) 3 Department of Geology and Geophysics, Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia 4 Geological Institute, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 670047 Ulan-Ude, Russia; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +7-914-908-9408 Abstract: Pyroxenite and nepheline-pyroxene rocks coexist with dolomite-bearing calcite marbles in Tazheran Massif in the area of Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia. Pyroxenites occur in a continuous elongate zone between marbles and beerbachites (metamorphosed gabbro dolerites) and in 5 cm to 20 m fragments among the marbles. Pyroxene in pyroxenite is rich in calcium and alumina (5–12 wt% Al2O3) and has a fassaite composition. The Tazheran pyroxenite may originate from a mafic subvolcanic source indicated by the presence of remnant dolerite found in one pyroxenite body. This origin can be explained in terms of interaction between mafic and crust-derived carbonatitic melts, judging by the mineralogy of pyroxenite bodies and their geological relations with marbles. Citation: Sklyarov, E.V.; Lavrenchuk, According to this model, the intrusion of mantle mafic melts into thick lower crust saturated with A.V.; Doroshkevich, A.G.; Starikova, fluids caused partial melting of silicate-carbonate material and produced carbonate and carbonate- A.E.; Kanakin, S.V. Pyroxenite as a silicate melts. The fassaite-bearing pyroxenite crystallized from a silicate-carbonate melt mixture Product of Mafic-Carbonate Melt which was produced by roughly synchronous injections of mafic, pyroxenitic, and carbonate melt Interaction (Tazheran Massif, West batches. The ascending hydrous carbonate melts entrained fragments of pyroxenite that crystallized Baikal Area, Russia). Minerals 2021, previously at a temperature exceeding the crystallization point of carbonates. Subsequently, while 11, 654. https://doi.org/10.3390/ min11060654 the whole magmatic system was cooling down, pyroxenite became metasomatized by circulating fluids, which led to the formation of assemblages with garnet, melilite, and scapolite. Academic Editor: Federica Zaccarini Keywords: pyroxenite; marble; gabbro dolerite; mafic melt; carbonate melt; silicate-carbonate melt Received: 10 May 2021 interaction; fluids; metasomatism; Early Paleozoic orogeny; Tazheran Massif Accepted: 18 June 2021 Published: 20 June 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral 1. Introduction with regard to jurisdictional claims in Interaction of silicate and carbonate magmas is a common process responsible for published maps and institutional affil- the compositional diversity of the crust. Intruding melts and related fluids either cause iations. isochemical thermal and metasomatic alteration to carbonate country rocks, with skarn and other metasomatic effects ([1–3] and references therein), or become assimilated by silicate magma, thus changing its composition [4–8], etc. These processes produce unusual mineral assemblages, which often include Ca-Al-rich pyroxene almost free from alkalis, Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. called fassaite. Note that the latest classification of pyroxenes by Morimoto et al. [9] does Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. not list fassaite as a separate mineral species but rather names it ferrian aluminian diopside or This article is an open access article augite. In our view though, fassaite is a more appropriate term than these [9], because the distributed under the terms and former is too long while the latter is simply wrong: the Ca contents in the mineral exceed conditions of the Creative Commons that defined for augite (XCa ~0.50 against 0.45, respectively). Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// Fassaite sometimes occurs in xenoliths of metasomatized carbonates among mafic or creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ alkaline mafic rocks [6,10–12], etc.) but is most often found in metamorphic limestone near 4.0/). Minerals 2021, 11, 654. https://doi.org/10.3390/min11060654 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/minerals Minerals 2021, 11, 654 2 of 22 Minerals 2021, 11, 654 2 of 20 Fassaite sometimes occurs in xenoliths of metasomatized carbonates among mafic or alkaline mafic rocks [6,10–12], etc.) but is most often found in metamorphic limestone near intrusive contacts [10] and references therein. Occasionally, it appears as phenocrysts in alkalineintrusive ultramafics contacts [10 and] and in referencesCa-Al-rich therein.inclusions Occasionally, in meteorites, it appears as in the as case phenocrysts of Allende in [10].alkaline Fassaite ultramafics can sometimes and in Ca-Al-rich crystallize inclusions directly infrom meteorites, mafic melts as in contaminated the case of Allende with car- [10]. bonates,Fassaite but can most sometimes often it crystallize forms by a directly strong thermal from mafic effect melts on carbonates, contaminated which with are carbon- either locatedates, but near most the often intrusive it forms contacts by a or strong occur thermal in xenoliths effect entrained on carbonates, with magma. which However, are either located near the intrusive contacts or occur in xenoliths entrained with magma. However, monomineral fassaite and nepheline-fassaite rocks from the Tazheran Massif in the west- monomineral fassaite and nepheline-fassaite rocks from the Tazheran Massif in the western ern side of Lake Baikal (Siberia, Russia) exist as independent bodies related neither to side of Lake Baikal (Siberia, Russia) exist as independent bodies related neither to intrusive intrusive contacts nor to xenoliths. This is a synthesis of data on the geological setting, contacts nor to xenoliths. This is a synthesis of data on the geological setting, major- and major- and trace-element chemistry, and mineralogy of the Tazheran fassaitic rocks, with trace-element chemistry, and mineralogy of the Tazheran fassaitic rocks, with implications implications for their unusual origin otherwise than in classical metasomatic reactions. for their unusual origin otherwise than in classical metasomatic reactions. 2.2. Geological Geological Background Background TazheranTazheran MassifMassif is is a syenitea syenite and and nepheline nepheline syenite syenite complex complex located located within thewithin Olkhon the Olkhonmetamorphic metamorphic terrane terrane (Figure (Figure1), which 1), iswhich part ofis part the Earlyof the PaleozoicEarly Paleozoic Baikal Baikal collisional colli- sionalsystem system [13–15 ])[13–15]) in the southernin the southern periphery periph of theery Siberianof the Siberian craton [craton16]. The [16]. Olkhon The Olkhon terrane terraneis a collage is a collage of compositionally of compositionally and genetically and genetically diverse diverse shear zones shear consistingzones consisting of gneiss, of gneiss,amphibolite, amphibolite, calcite, calcite, and dolomite and dolomite marbles, marbles, and quartzites and quartzites derived derived from from different different pro- protolithstoliths [16 ,17[16,17]] and and references references therein, therein, as well as aswell diverse as diverse igneous igneous lithologies, lithologies, such as such granite, as granite,syenite (includingsyenite (including nepheline-bearing nepheline-bearing varieties), varieties), gabbro, andgabbro, ultramafics. and ultramafics. The terrane The com- ter- raneprises comprises amphibolite-carbonate amphibolite-carbonate (1), rather (1), gneissic rather (2), gneissic and marble-gneissic-mafic (2), and marble-gneissic-mafic (3) tectonic (3)units tectonic (Figure units2). The (Figure igneous 2). The rocks igneous in the threerocks units in the are three large units gabbro are intrusionslarge gabbro in unitintru- 1; sionsgranitoid, in unit gabbro, 1; granitoid, and ultramafic gabbro, intrusionsand ultramafic coexisting intrusions with lesscoexisting abundant with amphibolite less abundant and amphibolitemarble in unit and 2, andmarble small in unit gabbro 2, and and small granite gabbro bodies and in unitgranite 3. The bodies tectonic in unit framework 3. The tec- of tonicthe terrane framework results of from the terrane its collision results with from the its craton collision and thewith related the craton strike-slip and the faulting related at strike-slipEarly Paleozoic faulting orogeny at Early [18 Paleozoic–20]. orogeny [18–20]. Figure 1. SimplifiedSimplified tectonics tectonics of of Central Asia ( aa)) and terranes in the Early Paleozoic Baikal collisional belt of northern CAOB ( b), modified modified after [[17].17]. Minerals 2021, 11, 654 3 of 20 Minerals 2021, 11, 654 3 of 22 FigureFigure 2. 2. SimplifiedSimplified tectonics tectonics of of the the Olkhon Olkhon terrane, terrane, modified modified after [15]. [15]. Tazheran Tazheran Massif is shown as a black circle. TheThe Tazheran complexcomplex ofof intricately intricately interfingering interfingering igneous, igneous, metamorphic, metamorphic, and and metaso- met- asomaticmatic rocks rocks (Figure (Figure3) is 3) unique is unique in many in many respects, respects, including including the metasomaticthe metasomatic diversity