Akmaz, Recep Melih; Uysal, Ibrahim; Su, Ben-Xun; Sen, Ahmet D.; Hu, Wen-Jun; Seitz, Hans-Michael; Mueller, Dirk; Eslami, Alireza

This study presents a complete alteration sequence in chromitites from the Kizildag ophiolite (southern T & uuml;rkiye), documenting three distinct chromite types that record processes related to Neotethyan subduction. Chromitites exhibit predominantly lenticular forms and occasionally banded textures, embedded within mantle peridotites and the mantle-crust transition zone, specifically harzburgite and dunite. Our analysis categorizes chromite grains into three groups: fresh, altered, and porous. Fresh chromites are characterized by high contents of Cr2O3 ranging from 42.69 to 57.08 wt% and Al2O3 from 12.46 to 25.34 wt%. In contrast, altered chromites, typically located along fractures or at the edges of fresh grains, show significant variability in chemical composition, with Cr2O3 content between 43.34 and 63.94 wt% and Al2O3 between 2.91 and 14.84 wt%. Porous chromites, distinguished by their porous structure, present Cr2O3 contents from 44.58 to 52.66 wt% and Al2O3 from 3.00 to 8.38 wt%. Notably, altered and porous chromites demonstrate substantial enrichments in Fe and trace elements such as Mn, Ni, Zn, Co, and Ga, indicating a shift due to metamorphic processes. The observed high Cr# (0.68-0.93) and low Mg# (0.25-0.65) values in rims of the altered and porous chromite further illustrate the metamorphic influence on chromite, with greenschist-facies conditions indicated by the Cr-Al-Fe3+ diagram at temperatures below 450 degrees C. The alteration dynamics reflect a progression that initiates with the olivine matrix and advances through reactions involving fresh chromites. This progression results in mass loss, the formation of chlorite, and the porous structures. Our findings contribute to the understanding of metamorphic alteration processes in chromitites and provide a detailed account of the geochemical trends (such as Fe/Mg exchange and trace element enrichment) that reflect greenschist-facies metamorphism. The evidence of chlorite formation and the prevalence of porous textures highlight the influence of metamorphic fluids over serpentinization, offering a model for chromite alteration in supra-subduction zones. This research elucidates the metamorphic history of chromitites in the Kizildag ophiolite.

Uysal, Ibrahim; Dokuz, Abdurrahman; Kapsiotis, Argyrios; Saka, Samet; Karsli, Orhan; Kaliwoda, Melanie; Mueller, Dirk

The eastern Orhaneli ophiolite in NW Anatolia (Turkey) consists of voluminous dunite and minor harzburgite intruded by clinopyroxenite veins. Harzburgite contains spinel of low Cr# [100 x Cr/(Cr + Al) = 40-45] and diopside of low Al2O3 and TiO2 contents, whereas dunite contains spinel of higher Cr# (62-82) and diopside (blebs) (even more) depleted in Al2O3 and TiO2 (than harzburgite). The concentrations of Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREE) in harzburgite are consistent with derivation of this type of peridotite from 19% dry melting of a fertile mantle protolith at a MOR regime. Dunites have lower concentrations of HREE than harzburgite implying that dunites were generated by higher degrees (> 30%) of (cumulative) melting of the same protolith. Furthermore, the characteristic U-shapes of the chondrite-normalized REE-patterns of dunites indicate the involvement of hydrous melt-peridotite interaction processes in their genesis. Nevertheless, a set of mosaic-in texture dunite samples contain olivine that has lower Fo# [100 x Mg/(Mg + Fe2+)] and NiO contents than olivine in harzburgite. These dunites are probably of cumulate origin as it is also indicated by their enrichment in Pt and Pd (<= 17.92 ppb). Micro-textural and Re-Os isotopic data support that clinopyroxenite intrusions do not have a pure magmatic origin and their formation was partly controlled by metasomatic processes. Overall data indicate that the eastern Orhaneli ultramafic rocks have a complex petrological history including various stages of partial melting, metasomatism and magmatism in an evolving from MOR to SSZ geotectonic setting.