Eclogite-melt/peridotite reaction: Experimental constrains on the destruction mechanism of the North China Craton

To study the mechanism of melt-peridotite reaction pertinent to the destruction of the North China Craton (NCC) lithosphere, a series of experiments were performed at a pressure of 2.0 GPa and temperatures from 1250 to 1400°C using Bixiling eclogite and Damaping peridotite as starting materials. The experimental results show that the reaction between eclogite melt and peridotite causes dissolution of olivine and orthopyroxene and precipitation of clinopyroxene in the melt. The experimental run products, characterized by a lherzolite/pyroxenite/garnet-pyroxenite sequence, are consistent with the mantle xenoliths in the Neogene Hannuoba basalt of the NCC found by Liu et al. (2005). It suggests that the mafic lower continental crust was probably recycled into the mantle during the Mesozoic Era. In the experiments conducted at 1300 and 1350°C, the resulting melts have a high Mg# andesite signature, indicating that the melt-peridotite reaction may have played a major role in the generation of high Mg# andesite. Our experimental results support the hypothesis that melts derived from foundered eclogite in the asthenosphere will consume the lithospheric peridotites. Therefore, melt-peridotite reaction is an important mechanism for the destruction/thinning of the lithosphere.