Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T06:53:26.624Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Zoned Cr-spinel and ferritchromite alteration in forearc mantle serpentinites of the Rio San Juan Complex, Dominican Republic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

B. M. Saumur*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, 140 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada School of Geosciences, Monash University, Building 28, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
K. Hattori
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, 140 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada

Abstract

Ferritchromite is rarely reported in forearc mantle peridotites. This contribution describes ferritchromite alteration and zoned Cr-spinel in serpentinites from the Rio San Juan Complex in the Dominican Republic. These rocks originated from the forearc mantle and protruded along lithosphere-scale faults in the mid Eocene. The cores of the Cr-spinel grains have Cr# ratios [i.e.atomic Cr/(Cr + Al)] between 0.48 and 0.66; such values are relatively high and are considered to represent primary compositions. Relatively high Zn contents in the grain cores (0.46 c 0.95 wt.% ZnO) are also thought to be primary; they reflect exceptionally cool conditions in the northern Caribbean forearc mantle. A progressive change in the zoning of Cr-spinel is recorded in the samples. Weakly zoned grains of Cr-spinel have rims with lower Mg# ratios [i.e.atomic Mg/(Mg + Fe2+)] and slightly higher Cr# ratios than the cores. More strongly zoned grains of Cr-spinel, in addition to low Mg# and high Cr# in their rims, have a marked increase in Fe3+# [i.e.Fe3+/(Fe3+ + Al + Cr)] of up to 0.35 in their rims and are partially coated by Mg-rich chlorite. All grains show core-to-rim decreases in their Zn content and increases in Ti, Mn and V. The association with Mg-rich chlorite and the compositional zoning are reminiscent of those reported for ferritchromite. Ferritchromite (with Fe3+# >0.5) is common in ultramafic rocks in amphibolite-grade terranes; however, the serpentinite samples described herein show little evidence of high-grade metamorphism. The lowtemperature serpentine-group mineral lizardite is dominant and high-temperature antigorite is either very rare or absent; other high-temperature minerals, such as talc, tremolite and cummingtonite, are trace constituents. The observed zoning in the Cr-spinel is thought to represent 'immature' ferritchromite, probably formed in response to a short-lived thermal event. This event appears to have been on too short a timescale to produce either proper ferritchromite or significant quantities of high-temperature minerals. It may be related to the emplacement of the nearby Rio Boba Intrusion, or the upward protrusion of the serpentinites along the lithosphere-scale Septentrional fault zone from the base of the mantle wedge through its hotter interior. We suggest that such alteration is rare in forearc serpentinites because they are not commonly heated during exhumation along the plane of subduction. This work demonstrates that Cr-spinel compositions can be modified by relatively low-grade metamorphism.

Type
Letter
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbott, R.N. Jr and Draper, G. (2010) Comment on “Corundum-bearing garnet peridotites from northern Dominican Republic: a metamorphic product of an arc cumulate in the Caribbean subduction zone,” by Hattori et al. [Lithos 114 (2010) 437–450.. Lithos, 117, 322326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arai, S. and Ishimaru, S. (2011) Zincian chromite inclusions in diamonds: possibility of deep recycling origin. Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences, 106, 8590.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, S.J. (2000) Chromite in komatiites; II. Modification during greenschist to mid-amphibolite facies metamorphism. Journal of Petrology, 41, 387409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, S.J. and Roeder, P.L. (2001) The range of spinel compositions in terrestrial mafic and ultramafic rocks. Journal of Petrology, 42, 22792302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beeson, M.H. and Jackson, E.D. (1969) Chemical composition of altered chromites from the Stillwater complex, Montana. American Mineralogist, 74, 10841100.Google Scholar
Bliss, N.W. and Maclean, W.H. (1975) The paragenesis of zoned chromite from central Manitoba. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 39, 973990.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caruso, L.J. and Chernosky, J.V. Jr (1979) The stability of lizardite. The Canadian Mineralogist, 17, 757769.Google Scholar
Cerny, P. (1968) Comments on serpentinization and related metasomatism. American Mineralogist, 53, 13771385.Google Scholar
De Hoog, J.C.M., Gall, L. and Cornell, D.H. (2010) Trace-element geochemistry of mantle olivine and application to mantle petrogenesis and geothermobarometry Chemical Geology, 270, 196215.Google Scholar
De Hoog, J.C.M. (2012) Comments on “Garnet-bearing ultramafic rocks from the Dominican Republic: fossil mantle plume fragments in an ultra high pressure oceanic complex?” by Gazel et al. [Lithos, 125, 393404. Lithos, 134/135, 330334.Google Scholar
Deer, W.A., Howie, R.A. and Zussman, J. (1992) An Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals, second edition. Pearson Prentice Hall, Harlow, UK, 696 pp.Google Scholar
Dick, H.J.B. and Bullen, T. (1984) Chromian spinel as a petrogenetic indicator in abyssal and alpine-type peridotites and spatially associated lavas. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 86, 5476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Draper, G. and Nagle, F. (1991) Geology, structure, and tectonic development of the Rio San Juan Complex, northern Dominican Republic. Special Paper – Geological Society of America, 262, 7795.Google Scholar
Evans, B.W. (1977) Metamorphism of alpine peridotite and serpentinite. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 5, 397447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, B.W. (2004) The serpentinite multisystem revisited; chrysotile is metastable. International Geology Review, 46, 479506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, B.W. and Frost, B.R. (1975) Chrome-spinel in progressive metamorphism; a preliminary analysis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 39, 959972.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frost, B.R. (1975) Contact metamorphism of serpentinite, Chloritic backwall, and rodingite at Paddy-Go- Easy Pass, Central Cascades, Washington. Journal of Petrology, 16, 272313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frost, B.R. (1985) On the stability of sulfides, oxides and native metals in serpentinite. Journal of Petrology, 26, 3163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gazel, E., Abbott, R.N. Jr and Draper, G. (2011) Garnetbearing ultramafic rocks from the Dominican Republic: fossil mantle plume fragments in an ultra high pressure oceanic complex? Lithos, 125, 393404.Google Scholar
Gazel, E., Abbott, R.N. Jr and Draper, G. (2012) Reply to comment on “Garnet-bearing ultramafic rocks from the Dominican Republic: fossil mantle plume fragments in an ultra high pressure oceanic complex?” by Jan C.M. De Hoog. Lithos, 134–135. 335339.Google Scholar
Gerya, T.V., Connolly, J.A.D., Yuen, D.A., Gorczyk, W. and Capel, A.M. (2006) Seismic implications of mantle wedge plumes. Physics of Earth Planetary Interiors, 156, 5974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Groves, D.I., Barrett, F.M., Brotherton, R.H., de Villiers, J.P.R. and Cawthorn, P.A. (1983) Exploration significance of chrome-spinels in mineralized ultramafic rocks and nickel-copper ores. Special Publication – Geological Society South Africa, 7, 2130.Google Scholar
González-Jiménez, J.M., Kerestedjian, T., Proenza, J.A. and Gervilla, F. (2009) Metamorphism on chromite ores from the Dobromirtsi Ultramafic Massif, Rhodope Mountains (SE Bulgaria). Geologica Acta, 7, 413429.Google Scholar
Gorczyk, W., Guillot S., Gerya, T.V. and Hattori, K.H. (2007) Asthenospheric upwelling, oceanic slab retreat and exhumation of UHP mantle rocks: insights from Greater Antilles. Geophysical Research Letters, 34, http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/ 2007GL031059.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guillot, S., Hattori, K.H., de Sigoyer, J., Naegler, T. and Auzende, A.L. (2001) Evidence of hydration of the mantle wedge and its role in the exhumation of eclogites. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 193, 115127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haggerty, S.E. (1991) Oxide textures – a mini-altas. Pp. 129–137. in: Oxide Minerals: Petrological and Magnetic Significance (D.H. Lindsley, editor) Reviews in Mineralogy, 25. The Mineralogical Society of America, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Hattori, K.H. and Guillot, S. (2007) Geochemical character of serpentinites associated with high- to ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks in the Alps, Cuba, and the Himalayas: recycling of elements in subduction zones. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 8, ht tp://dx.doi.org/10.1029/ 2007GC001594.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hattori, K.H., Guillot, S., Saumur, B.M., Tubrett, M.N., Vidal, O. and Morfin, S. (2010a) Corundum-bearing garnet peridotite from northern Dominican Republic: a metamorphic product of an arc cumulate in the Caribbean subduction zone. Lithos, 114, 437450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hattori, K.H., Guillot, S., Tubrett, M.N., Saumur, B.-M., Vidal, O. and Morfin, S. (2010b) Reply to comment on “Corundum-bearing garnet peridotites from northern Dominican Republic: a metamorphic product of an arc cumulate in the Caribbean subduction zone” by Richard N. Abbott and Grenville Draper. Lithos, 117, 327330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Irvine, T.N. (1967) Chromian spinel as a petrogenetic indicator; Part 2. Petrologic applications. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 4, 71103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ishii, T., Robinson, P.T., Maekawa, H. and Fiske, L. (1992) Petrological studies of peridotites from diapiric serpentinite seamounts in the Izu- Ogasawara-Mariana forearc, Leg 125. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program Scientific Results, 125, 445485.Google Scholar
Iyer, K., Austrheim, H., John, T. and Jamtveit, B. (2008) Serpentinization of the oceanic lithosphere and some geochemical consequences: constraints from the Leka ophiolite complex, Norway. Chemical Geology, 249, 6690.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johan, Z. and Ohnenstetter, D. (2010) Zincochromite from the Guaniamo River diamondiferous placers, Venezuela: evidence of its metasomatic origin. The Canadian Mineralogist, 48, 361374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelemen, P.B., Joyce, D.B., Webster, J.D. and Holloway, J.R. (1990) Reaction between ultramafic rock and fractionating basaltic magma II. Experimental investigation of reaction between olivine tholeiite and harzburgite at 1150–1050. C and 5 kb. Journal of Petrology, 31, 99134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kimball, K.L. (1990) Effects of hydrothermal alteration on the compositions of chromian spinels. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 105, 337346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krebs, M., Maresch, W.V., Schertl, H.P., Münker, C., Baumann, A. Draper, G., Idleman, B. and Trapp, E. (2008) The dynamics of intra-oceanic subduction zones: a direct comparison between fossil petrological evidence (Rio San Juan Complex, Dominican Republic) and numerical simulation. Lithos, 103, 106137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, J.F., Draper, G., Bourdon, C., Bowin, C., Mattson, P.O., Maurrasse, F., Nagle, F. and Pardo, G. (1990) Geology and tectonic evolution of the northern Caribbean margin. Pp. 77–150. in: The Caribbean Region (G. Dengo and J.E. Case, editors). The Geology of North America, volume H. Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado, U.A. Google Scholar
Liipo, J.P., Vuollo, J.I., Nykanen, V.M. and Piirainen, T.A. (1995a) Zoned Zn-rich chromite from the Naataniemi serpentinite massif, Kuhmo greenstone belt, Finland. The Canadian Mineralogist, 33, 537545.Google Scholar
Liipo, J., Vuollo, J., Nykanen, V., Piirainen, T., Pekkarinen, L. and Tuokko, I. (1995b) Chromites from the early Proterozoic Outokumpu-Jormua ophiolite belt; a comparison with chromites from Mesozoic ophiolites. Lithos, 36, 1527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mann, P. and Gordon, M.B. (1996) Tectonic uplift and exhumation of blueschist belts along transpressional strike-slip fault zones. Geophysical Monograph, 96, 143154.Google Scholar
Mallmann, G. and O’Neill (2009) The crystal/melt partitioning of V during mantle melting as a function of oxygen fugacity compared with some other elements (Al,, P,, Ca,, Sc,, Ti,, Cr,, Fe,, Ga,, Y,, Zr,, and Nb). Journal of Petrology, 50, 17651794.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, Z. and Liang, Y. (2003) An experimental numerical study of the kinetics of harzburgite reactive dissolution with application to dunite dike formation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 214, 5974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mcdonough, W.F. and Sun, S.S. (1995) The composition of the Earth. Chemical Geology, 120, 223253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mellini, M., Rumori, C. and Viti, C. (2005) Hydrothermally reset magmatic spinels in retrograde serpentinites: formation of “ferritchromit” rims and chlorite aureoles. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 149, 266275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merlini, A., Greico, G. and Diella, V. (2009) Ferritchromite and chromian-chlorite in mélange hosted Kalkan chromitite (Southern Urals, Russia). American Mineralogist, 94, 14591467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niu, Y. (2004) Bulk-rock major and trace element compositions of abyssal peridotites: implications for mantle melting, melt extraction and post-melting processes beneath mid-ocean ridges. Journal of Petrology, 45, 24232458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Hanley, D.S. (1996) Serpentinites: Recorders of Tectonic and Petrological History. Oxford Monographs on Geology and Geophysics, 34. Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Ohara, Y. and Ishii, T. (1998) Peridotites from the southern Mariana forearc: heterogeneous fluid supply in the mantle wedge. Island Arc, 7, 541558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Onyeagocha, A.C. (1974) Alteration of chromite from the Twin Sisters Dunite, Washington. American Mineralogist, 59, 608612.Google Scholar
Paktunca, A.D. and Cabrib, L.J. (1995) proton- and electron-microprobe study of gallium, nickel and zinc distribution in chromian spinel. Lithos, 35, 261282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parkinson, I.J. and Pearce, J.A. (1998) Peridotites from the Izu-Bonin-Mariana forearc (ODP Leg 125): evidence for mantle melting and melt-mantle interaction in a supra-subduction zone setting. Journal of Petrology, 39, 15771618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parkinson, I.J. and Arculus, R.J. (1999) The redox state of subduction zones: insights from arc-peridotites. Chemical Geology, 160, 409423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peacock, S.M. (1996) Thermal and petrologic structure of subduction zones. Geophysical Monographs (Subduction Top to Bottom), 96, 119133.Google Scholar
Pindell, J. and Draper, G. (1991) Geologic development of the Puerto Plata region, northern Dominican Republic. Pp. 97–114. in: Geological and tectonic development of the North American-Caribbean plate boundary in Hispaniola (Mann, P., Draper, G. and Lewis, J.F., editors). Geological Society of America, Special Paper 262. Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado, U.A. Google Scholar
Pindell, J., Maresch, W.V., Martens, U. and Stanek, K. (2012) The Greater Antillean Arc: Early Cretaceous origin and proposed relationship to Central American subduction mélanges: implications for models of Caribbean evolution. International Geology Review, 54, 131143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinsent, R.H. and Hirst, D.M. (1977) The metamorphism of the Blue River ultramafic body, Cassiar, British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Petrology, 18, 567594.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richter, K., Sutton, S.R., Newville, M., Le, L., Schwandt, C.S., Uchida, H., Lavina, B. and Downs, R.T. (2006) An experimental study of the oxidation state of vanadium in spinel and basaltic melt with implications for the origin of planetary basalt. American Mineralogist, 91, 16431656.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, C.G., Griffin, W.L. and Pearson, N.J. (1996) Garnet geotherms: pressure–temperature data from Cr-pyrope garnet xenocrysts in volcanic rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research, 101, 56115625.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Säntti, J., Kontinen, A., Sorjonen-Ward, P., Johanson, B. and Pakkanen, L. (2006) Metamorphism and chromite in serpentinized and carbonate-silicaaltered peridotites of the Paleoproterozoic Outokumpu-Jormua ophiolite belt, Eastern Finland. International Geology Review, 48, 494546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saumur, B.M., Hattori, K.H. and Guillot, S. (2010) Contrasting origins of serpentinites in a subduction complex, northern Dominican Republic. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 122, 292304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saumur, B.M., Hattori, K.H., Stern F. and Jackson S. (2011) Major and trace element compositions of Crspinel from serpentinized forearc mantle peridotites: insights on geochemical processes during melt extraction and metamorphism. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 43, 588.Google Scholar
Schertl, H.P., Maresch, W.V., Stanek, K., Hertwig, A., Krebs, M., Baese, R. and Sergeev, S.S. (2012) New occurrences of jadeitite, jadeite quartzite and jadeitelawsonite quartzite in the Dominican Republic, Hispaniola: petrological and geochronological overview. European Journal of Mineralogy, 24, 199216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, S., Guillot, S., Reynard, B., Lafay, R., Debret, B., Nicollet, C., Lanari, P. and Auzende, A.L. (2013) Pressure-temperature estimates of the lizardite/ antigorite transition in high pressure serpentinites. Lithos, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos. 2012.11.023CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spangenberg, K. (1943) Die chromitlaagerstatte von tampedal in Zobten. Zeitschrift für Praktische Geologie, 51, 1335.Google Scholar
Standish, J.J., Hart, S.R., Blusztajn, J., Dick, H.J.B. and Lee, K.L. (2002) Abyssal peridotite osmium isotopic compositions from Cr-spinel. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 3, 124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suita, M.T. and Strieder, J.A. (1996) Cr-spinels from Brazilian mafic-ultramafic complexes: metamorphic modifications. International Geology Review, 38, 245267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsujimori, T., Kojima, S., Takeuchi, M. and Tsukada, K. (2004) Origin of serpentinites in the Omi serpentinite melange (Hida Mountains, Japan) deduced from zoned Cr-spinel. Journal of the Geological Society of Japan, 110, 591597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ulmer, G.C. (1974) Alteration of Chromite During Serpentinization in the Pennsylvania-Maryland District. American Mineralogist, 59, 12361241.Google Scholar
Wang, J., Hattori, K.H., Li, J.P. and Stern, C. (2008) Oxidation state of Paleozoic subcontinental lithospheric mantle below the Pali Aike. Lithos, 105, 98110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, B.J. and Virgo, D. (1989) Upper mantle oxidation state: ferric iron contents of lherzolite spinels by 57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy and resultant oxygen fugacities. Geochimica and Cosmochimica Acta, 53, 12771291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wylie, A.G., Candela, P.A. and Burke, T.M. (1987) Compositional zoning in unusual Zn-rich chromite from the Sykesville District of Maryland and its bearing on the origin of “ferritchromit”. American Mineralogist, 72, 413422.Google Scholar
Zack, T., Rivers, T., Brumm, R. and Kronz, A. (2004) Cold subduction of oceanic crust: Implications from a lawsonite eclogite from the Dominican Republic. European Journal of Mineralogy, 16, 909916.CrossRefGoogle Scholar