Some rocks to know for magma

differentiation processes
Lherzolite
Lherzolite
Example compositions

55

50 harzburgite
45

40
lherzolite
35

30

MgO
25
Basaltic andesites
20
and
15
eclogite
10

38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54

SiO2
 Eclogite
• Metamorphism of subducting basaltic crust:
basalt ----greenschist ----amphibolite -----eclogite
• Eclogite is a “dry” rock (no hydrous minerals)
made up of mostly pyroxene and garnet
• Compatible elements such as middle and heavy
REE prefer to remain in the pyroxene and
garnet during melting, and therefore the liquid
produced is rich in incompatible elements (light
REE in the case of the figure)
• Eclogite (which is difficult to melt), when it
melts at small degrees of melting, will produce
a steep curve in the REE plot
 Adakite
• High-Mg andesites
• From Adak in the Aleutian Island Arc
• Produced from slab melts that interacted with the overlying mantle
wedge

Kelemen et al. Along-strike Variation in Lavas of the Aleutian Island Arc: Implications for the Genesis of High Mg# Andesite and the Continental Crust
 If > 56 wt. % SiO2 with high
Sr/Y (>100), low Y (<10): could
mean melting of slab or
melting of underplated basalt
or lower mafic crust

Ce/Pb: Pb is highly
mobile whereas Ce is
only slightly mobile in
hydrothermal fluids

Kelemen et al. Along-strike Variation in Lavas of the Aleutian Island Arc: Implications for the Genesis of High Mg# Andesite and the Continental Crust
Boninites
• High Mg, low Ti andesite
• >8 wt.% MgO
• <0.5 wt.% TiO2
• Low Ti: clinopyroxene undersaturated melting
• Note that adakites have higher TiO2 wt.%
• Regarded to be primary mantle melts
• Indicators of subduction initiation
 Boninites
Figure Legend:

Boninite classification diagrams: (A) Part of the International

Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) total alkalis-silica (TAS)
diagram, annotated to incorporate the classification of high-Mg
lavas (Le Bas, 2000); (B) MgO-SiO2 and (C) MgO-TiO2
diagrams for classifying boninites and comparing boninites from
different environments (modified from Pearce and Robinson,
2010). PB—picrobasalt, BA—basaltic andesite, A—andesite,
D—dacite. A–C all use major-element analyses recalculated as
volatile-free and summing to 100 wt% and are based on the
IUGS criteria of SiO2 > 52 wt%, MgO > 8 wt%, and TiO2 8 wt%
based on extrapolation to MgO = 8 wt% for SiO2 (= Si8) and
TiO2 (= Ti8) as shown in red on B and C, respectively, and
using Equations 2 and 3 in the text. Only samples with MgO > 8
wt%, for which both Si8 > 52 and Ti8 < 0.5, classify as
“boninites”; compositions meeting only the low-Ti8 criterion
classify as low-Ti basalts (LOTI) basalts, and those meeting
only the high-Si8 criterion classify as siliceous high-Mg basalts
(SHMB). Related rocks with MgO 1 are not part of the
classification. Boninites with Si8 57 are high-Si boninites
(HSB). See Supplemental File 2 (text footnote 1) for templates
and precise coordinates.

Geosphere. 2019;15(4):1008-1037. doi:10.1130/GES01661.1

Shoshonite
• K-rich basaltic
trachyandesite
• Found in the
mature arc
• Associated with
precious and
base metal
mineralization
 Komatiite
• Ultramafic lava flows (or hypabyssal
intrusives) that exhibit a quenched
texture known as spinifex texture
• >18 wt.% MgO
• Common in the Archean, uncommon
in the Proterozoic, very rare in the
Phanerozoic
• From a very hot mantle (eruptive
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Photograph
temperature of a komatiite with 30% s-showing-the-main-physical-characteristics-of-
MgO is about 1600C) komatiite-volcanic-rocks-a_fig5_270516125
 Komatiite
• Ultramafic lava flows
• eruptive temperature of a
komatiite with 30% MgO is about
1600C
• It can melt surrounding volcanic
sediments that are rich in
sulfur…can result in Ni massive
sulfide deposits
 Komatiite
• Ultramafic lava flows
• Common in the Archean, uncommon
in the Proterozoic, very rare in the
Phanerozoic
• From a very hot mantle (eruptive
Aside: How do you melt
temperature of a komatiite with 30% the mantle?
MgO is about 1600C)
1.Increase temperature
2.Hydrate it
3.Decrease pressure
Module 2
• Primary melts
• Evolution of melts (magma differentiation)
• Tectonic environments