Mantle metasomatism-continuing chemical change within the Earth
Metasomatism refers to a chemical change whereby a pre-existing mineral or rock is converted to another composition, through a solid-state transformation involving material transfer through a vapor or fluid, without melting. The concept arose from the need to integrate geological, petrological and g...
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| Published in: | Nature (London) Vol. 296; no. 5857; pp. 525 - 530 |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
08-04-1982
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| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Metasomatism refers to a chemical change whereby a pre-existing mineral or rock is converted to another composition, through a solid-state transformation involving material transfer through a vapor or fluid, without melting. The concept arose from the need to integrate geological, petrological and geophysical observations on cratonic alkaline magmatism, and found support in the discovery that mantle fragments brought up by alkaline volcanism were metasomatized. Additional evidence has come from chemical studies on alkaline lavas from oceanic islands, which indicate source mantle variations that would be explainable by alkali enrichment before melting. Repeated and widespread metasomatism of the mantle lithosphere would account for magmatism, and could be expected to contribute to continental growth by additions to the base of the crust. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 0028-0836 1476-4687 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/296525a0 |