부산대학교 도서관

Mass transfer across the crust‐mantle boundary is a fundamental process governing planetary differentiation, the evolution of geochemical reservoirs and ore formation, controlled by physicochemical conditions at the crust‐mantle interface. In situ trace‐element, clinopyroxene 87Sr/86Sr and garnet Fe3+/ΣFe of kimberlite‐borne eclogite xenoliths from the deep (∼50 km) crust‐mantle transition below the ca. 1.2–1.0 Ga Namaqua‐Natal Fold Belt (southwestern Kaapvaal craton margin) were determined to elucidate their origin and evolution, and to constrain the oxygen fugacity of this pivotal but largely inaccessible environment. Based on a garnet source signature (NMORB‐normalized Er/Lu > 1) in pristine "gabbroic" eclogites with pronounced positive Eu, Sr, and Pb anomalies, the suite is interpreted as originating as plagioclase‐rich cumulates in oceanic crust from melts generated beneath mature oceanic lithosphere, subsequently subducted during the Namaqua‐Natal orogeny. Enriched eclogites have higher measured 87Sr/86Sr in clinopyroxene (up to 0.7054) than gabbroic ones (up to 0.7036), and show increasing bulk‐rock Li, Be and Pb abundances with increasing δ18O in clinopyroxene, and muted Eu‐Sr‐Pb anomalies. These systematics suggest interaction with a siliceous fluid sourced from seawater‐altered oceanic sediment in a subduction mélange setting. Garnet Fe3+/ΣFe in deep crustal eclogites is extremely low (0.01–0.04, ±0.01 1σ), as inherited from the plagioclase‐rich cumulate protolith, and owing to preferred partitioning into clinopyroxene at low temperatures (∼815–1000°C). Average maximum oxygen fugacities (∆logƒO2(FMQ) = −3.1 ± 1.0 to −0.5 ± 0.7 relative to the Fayalite‐Magnetite‐Quartz buffer) are higher than in deeper‐seated on‐craton eclogite xenoliths, but mostly below sulfate stability, limiting the role of S6+ species in oxidizing the mantle wedge. Plain Language Summary: Subduction zones represent the main interface between Earth's surface and its deep interior. Metamorphic reactions during subduction cause fluid or melt loss from seawater‐altered oceanic crust and sediment, which enriches the overlying mantle, and possibly oxidizes it. This would explain why the mantle sources of subduction zone magmas appear to be more oxidized than in other tectonic settings. However, the details of the mass transfer in this deep environment are difficult to constrain because it is inaccessible. Using rare deep‐seated magmas (kimberlites) as probes of a ca. 1.2 billion year old southern African subduction zone, we investigated eclogite fragments that originated as subducted oceanic crust and were much later plucked from the wallrocks by the ascending magma. These eclogites show elemental and isotopic signatures of interaction with subducted sediments, pointing to mingling processes similar to those observed in modern subduction zones. We also estimated their oxygen fugacity, a measure of the chemical potential of oxygen. We find that sulfur, which has been implicated in mantle oxidation, would have only been stable in these rocks in its reduced form, making even seawater‐altered eclogites sinks rather than sources of oxygen, with implications for the transfer of sulfur‐loving metals across the mantle‐to‐crust‐boundary. Key Points: Eclogite xenoliths sampling deep crust‐mantle transition below Namaqua‐Natal Fold Belt have plagioclase‐rich oceanic protolithsEnriched xenoliths show signatures of interaction with siliceous, subducted sediment‐derived fluids under shallow fore‐arc conditionsFe3+‐based eclogite oxybarometry with oxygen fugacities below sulfate stability limits the role of S6+ species in mantle wedge oxidation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]