Clinopyroxenite xenoliths record magma transport and crystallisation in the middle and upper crust: A case study from the Rockeskyllerkopf Volcanic Complex, West Eifel, Germany

Abstract

Clinopyroxenite xenoliths comprised of cumulus clinopyroxene ± amphibole together with intercumulus phlogopite ± olivine ± apatite ± titanite form a large part of the xenolith load in the oldest deposits of the Rockeskyllerkopf Volcanic Complex (RVC) in the West Eifel volcanic field. The xenoliths also contain xenocrysts of olivine and clinopyroxene derived from mantle peridotite and clinopyroxene from lower crustal granulite. The clinopyroxenite xenoliths are divided into five groups on the basis of their modal mineralogy and mineral compositions. Groups 1 to 4 define a continuous compositional trend indicative of fractionation of a mafic alkaline magma. Group 5 xenoliths are compositionally distinct and have been tentatively linked to high pressure crystallization of phonolitic magma within the RVC system. Thermobarometry of the group 1 – 4 xenoliths indicates that they crystallised between 1 and 4 kilobars, equivalent to a depth of 4-14 km. Group 1 -3 xenoliths all crystallised at between 1050 and 1150 °C whereas the amphibole-rich group 4 xenoliths give temperature estimates of ~ 900 °C. The clinopyroxenites share a common parent magma with clinopyroxene – phlogopite veins found in subcontinental lithospheric mantle xenoliths. However, the vein forming mama was richer in incompatible elements, in particular Zr and Hf and is interpreted to be an early formed batch of magma with the clinopyroxenites crystallising from magma derived from the same mantle, which had been depleted by the earlier phase of melting. Intrusion of magma began around 155 ky prior to the eruption of the RVC. Fe-Mg interdiffusion profiles in zoned clinopyroxene show that the magma that formed the xenoliths was present in the crust for up to 28 ky prior to the eruption. However, most samples give interdiffusion times between 1.5 and 9.9 ky. Based on xenocryst residence times and the calculated P-T conditions for clinopyroxene, there were at least seven separate batches of magma emplaced below Rockeskyllerkopf, probably as sills.