Unravelling metasomatic agent in amphibole-rich upper mantle xenoliths from the Styrian Basin (W-Carpathian Pannonian Region): Insights from 3D Raman mapping of complex inclusions

The Styrian Basin, situated in the transition zone between the Pannonian Basin and the Eastern Alps, is believed to have formed above a lithospheric wedge, which have been affected by a subduction. The Late Miocene-Pliocene alkali basalts sampled the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the area, bringing mantle xenoliths to the surface (e.g., [1] [2]). These xenoliths are amphibole-rich, indicating extensive modal metasomatism at mantle depth. Our goal is to better understand the possible fluid and melt-related processes in these xenoliths by studying fluid and melt inclusions in them. In the studied samples, one category of xenoliths contains both fluid and melt inclusions (co-entrapped), while the other contains only fluid inclusions. We carried out 3D confocal Raman mapping, Focused Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM), Electron Microprobe Analysis (EMPA), and Scanning Electron Microscope with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Our primary objectives are to 1) gain insights into the nature of metasomatic agents based on fluid and melt inclusions and 2) test the applicability of 3D Raman mapping on inclusions. The studied inclusions are primary (fluid inclusions) and pseudosecondary (fluid and melt inclusions), occurring in orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and amphibole. The fluid inclusions are irregular to negative crystal-shaped (3-100 μm), whereas melt inclusions are glass-rich with rounded to negative crystal shapes (4-15 μm).

A series of 3D Raman mapping on these fluid inclusions has revealed complex phase assemblages comprising fluid and solid phases (magnesite, silicate glass, pyrite, talc, anhydrite, and nahcolite). The fluid is dominated by CO₂ (up to 99.3 mol%) and H₂O (up to 8.7 mol%). EMPA indicates that the trapped silicate glass in the melt inclusions is H₂O-bearing (up to 3.3 wt%) and exhibits an evolved composition (i.e., trachyandesitic composition with SiO₂ between 54.31-60.65 wt%) relative to the host basalt of the studied xenoliths.

We discovered pargasitic amphiboles within SiO₂-rich glass in the melt inclusion that co-entrapped with the CO₂-H₂O-rich fluid phase (where H₂O content is likely high relative to mantle fluids). This strongly suggests that amphiboles were likely crystallized from an immiscible SiO₂-rich melt and CO₂-H₂O-rich fluid that could have been circulating in the mantle wedge above a subducted slab. This immiscible component is suggested to be a metasomatic agent that modified this mantle portion beneath the Styrian Basin.  Furthermore, this study revealed that the laser-induced heating effect could overestimate sulfides in the 3D Raman models, while silicate glass could be underrepresented due to its low Raman scattering properties. However, complementary FIB-SEM serial slicing provides a clear outline of silicate glass in fluid inclusions. Despite these limitations, 3D Raman mapping has proven to be a powerful tool for unravelling complex phase assemblages in inclusions.

This research was supported by the NKFIH_FK research fund nr. 132418 to M. Berkesi. Part of this research was funded by the Doctoral School of Earth Sciences of the University of Pécs.

 

References:

[1]. Aradi et al., 2019; Földtani Közlöny, 149 (1). pp. 35-49.

[2]. Aradi et al., 2017; Tectonics, 36, 2987–3011.

Keywords: 3D Raman mapping, complex inclusions, mantle metasomatism, subduction zone, Styrian Basin.