An appraisal of geochemical signatures of komatiites from the greenstone belts of Dharwar Craton, India: Implications for temporal transition and Archean upper mantle hydration

Abstract

Archean ultramafic-mafic magmatism associated with dynamic mantle melting processes represents an integral part of crustal evolution and continental growth. Archean mantle plumes and their high temperature derivatives in komatiitic magmas provide a cornerstone in understanding the thermal and chemical evolution of the early Earth and its mantle. In this study, we evaluate the geochemical characteristics of the temporally distinct Sargur Group and Dharwar Supergroup greenstone belts of Dharwar Craton in southern India. The komatiites associated with these greenstone belts are characterized by Al-depleted and Al-undepleted compositions. Their MgO, Ni, Co, and Cr concentrations reflect primitive, undifferentiated nature of precursor melts, whereas the HFSE and REE chemistry corroborates high-degree (30-50 percent) partial melting of mantle with prominent role of majorite garnet and perovskite in the generation of komatiitic melts. The Al-depleted komatiites were formed at a greater depth (approx. 13 GPa) by equilibrium melting leaving a garnet-bearing residue. The resultant komatiitic melt retained buoyancy under extreme pressure and high temperature conditions, segregated and accumulated in the ambient peridotite mantle source and subsequently escaped with progressive decrease in pressure in the ascending plume. The Al-undepleted and relatively rare Al-enriched komatiites were derived by fractional melting at intermediate to shallow depths after the discharge of a large proportion of melt ensued by the collapse and entrance of residual garnet into the melt phase. The Mesoarchean-Neoarchean Dharwar komatiites provide evidence for heterogeneous, hydrated Archean upper mantle trapped by ascending mantle plumes. The non-plume, arc-related signatures invoke contributions from (a) sub-cratonic lithospheric mantle roots influenced by ancient subduction events and (b) hydrated Archean upper mantle. The Sargur Group and Dharwar Supergroup komatiites record a distinct temporal transition and geochemical heterogeneity in the Archean mantle beneath the Dharwar Craton and can be attributed to Archean upper mantle hydration by flat slab subduction of greater than 3.3 Ga oceanic crust at shallow level with vestiges of primordial oceanic crust forming deep cratonic mantle roots beneath the Dharwar Craton. The temporal transition towards mantle hydration beneath Dharwar Craton during the Mesoarchean can be correlated with the onset of subduction-driven plate tectonics and ocean-crust-mantle interactions.