In-situ Moissanite in Dunite: Deep Mantle Origin of Mantle Peridotite in Luobusa Ophiolite, Tibet
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    Abstract:

    We report the discovery of an in-situ natural moissanite as an inclusion in the Cr-spinel from the dunite envelope of a chromitite deposit in Luobusa ophiolite, Tibet. The moissanite occurs as a twin crystal interpenetrated by two quadrilateral signal crystals with sizes of 17 μm × 10 μm and 20 μm × 7 μm, respectively. The moissanite is green with parallel extinction. The absorption peaks in its Raman spectra are at 967?971 cm?1, 787?788 cm?1, and 766 cm?1. The absorption peaks in the infra-red spectra are at 696 cm?1, 767 cm?1, 1450 cm?1, and 1551 cm?1, which are distinctly different from the peaks for synthetic silicon carbide. Moissanites have been documented to form in ultra-high pressure, high temperature, and extremely low fO2 environments and their 13C-depleted compositions indicate a lower mantle origin. Combined with previous studies about other ultra-high pressure and highly reduced minerals in Luobusa ophiolite, the in-situ natural moissanite we found indicates a deep mantle origin of some materials in the mantle sequence of Luobusa ophiolite. Further, we proposed a transformation model to explain the transfer process of UHP materials from the deep mantle to ophiolite sequence and then to the supra-subduction zone environment. Interactions between the crown of the mantle plume and mid-ocean ridge are suggested to be the dominant mechanism.

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LIANG Fenghua, XU Zhiqin, ZHAO Jianan.2014. In-situ Moissanite in Dunite: Deep Mantle Origin of Mantle Peridotite in Luobusa Ophiolite, Tibet[J]. Acta Geologica Sinica(),88(2):517-529

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History
  • Received:November 12,2013
  • Revised:February 14,2014
  • Adopted:
  • Online: April 21,2014
  • Published: