Major and minor element systematics in the lherzolite system : a petrological and experimental study

This thesis is composed of two parts (six chapters). The first part (first two chapters) details a petrologic study of a suite of spinel ± garnet lherzolite xenoliths from Ming-xi, Fu-jian Province, southeastern China. The second part deals with experimental studies of systematic variations in compositions of lherzolite minerals with pressure and temperature in (complex) model lherzolite systems ... In conclusion, this study emphasizes systematic changes exhibited in mineral and whole-rock compositions and the causes of these changes, and demonstrates some possible ways of predicting these changes. Mantle processes are complicated, but in recognizing the three major processes (partial melting, recrystallization, and metasomatism), which are the main causes of the changes in mineral and whole-rock compositions, and in scrutinizing them, they can be comprehended. This idea is manifested in, among others, the detailed modelling of the partial melting process experienced by the Ming-xi lherzolite suite, the development of various mineral barometers and thermometers, and the realization of the two important types of subsolidus mineral reactions in the lherzolite system.