UC San Diego

This study aims to evaluate the processes by which ocean island basalt-derived mantle xenoliths are depleted and, in some cases, subsequently re-fertilized using extremely depleted mantle xenoliths from Lanzarote, Canary Islands. New petrography, mineral-chemistry and whole-rock data are reported for >40 Lanzarote xenoliths, ranging from ultra- depleted harzburgites to re-fertilized lherzolites and gabbroic crustal samples. Previous studies of mantle xenoliths from Lanzarote report whole rock and mineral chemistries for only general categories of mantle peridotites, e.g. dunites, protogranular harzburgites and lherzolites, and melt-influenced textured xenoliths. In these studies, there are few detailed textural and chemical sample-specific connections reported. This study investigates and reports on chemistries and textures of individual samples, as they prove to be intrinsically related. These samples come from a total of six separate sampling sites on Lanzarote, representing one of the most comprehensive petrological studies yet performed on xenoliths from any oceanic island. This study focuses on identifying levels of melt depletion and later melt infiltration into mantle xenoliths and to provide a framework for understanding processes acting on the mantle beneath the Canary Islands