Two-pyroxene, intergrowth exsolution textures in ophiolitic chromites: implications for the deep mantle origin of the Mirdita Ophiolite, Albania

Abstract

Increasing mineralogical and textural evidence from podiform chromitites in ophiolites show their ultra–high pressure origin (>150 km), challenging the conventional models for their formation under low pressure conditions (< 60 km) in the upper mantle. However, this challenge remains controversial due to the lack of in-situ mineralogical evidence. Here, we report new data and observations from the Skenderbeu massif in Mirdita ophiolite, Albania. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis reveal for the first time that these chromitites (Cr#= 41.8-43.2) have numerous exsolution lamellae of diopsidic clinopyroxene and orthoenstatite. TEM analysis also show that these lamellae have a crystallographic topotaxy relationship with the host chromite, i.e., (020) Cpx ∥︀ (22(—)0) Chr , (2(—)00) Cpx ∥︀ (111) Chr , and (010) Opx ∥︀ (22(—)0) Chr , (200) Opx ∥︀ (22(—)0) Chr , indicating an exsolution origin. The abundant presence of pyroxene exsolution lamellae in center of the host chromites implies the incorporation of Si 4+ and Ca 2+ cations in the precursor chromite, a CaFe 2 O 4 -structured high-pressure polymorph, which was stable >12.5 GPa (i.e., 380 km deep). These in-situ, nano-scale observations, and geological occurrence, together with previously discovered ophiolitic diamonds in the Mirdita ophiolite, suggest a much deeper origin for ophiolitic chromitites than conventional interpretations, and provide a valuable opportunity to understand the composition of the deep mantle. Thematic collection: This article is part of the Ophiolites, melanges and blueschists collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/ophiolites-melanges-and-blueschists