Peridotites from the southern Mariana forearc: Heterogeneous fluid supply in mantle wedge

Abstract

Detailed petrological work was carried out on serpentinized peridotite dredged and sampled by submersible from the southern part of the Mariana Trench to reveal the nature of the mantle wedge in the southern Mariana forearc. The southern part of the Mariana Trench is important in that we should expect to find a transect of a typical island arc structure; that is, from east to west, the Mariana forearc, the Mariana arc proper, the Mariana Trough (active back‐arc spreading center), and the West Mariana Ridge (remnant arc). The most striking feature of peridotites from the southern part of the trench is that primary hornblende is a major constituent mineral in many specimens. Thus, the peridotite samples are divided into anhydrous (A‐type), hydrous (H‐type) and intermediate (I‐type) groups. Petrological data suggest that each type of peridotite is a residue of extensive partial melting in the upper mantle. It is argued here that the I‐ and H‐type peridotites were modified from `proto‐A‐type peridotite' by fluid infiltration. The fluid was enriched in Al, Ti, Fe, and alkalis, and may have caused changes in mineral and bulk chemical compositions of the peridotites. A‐type peridotite derives from the `proto‐A‐type peridotite' directly, without any fluid contamination. After the formation of the `proto‐A‐, I‐, and H‐type peridotites', lower‐temperature fluids, probably of seawater origin, produced retrograde metamorphism and alteration including serpentinization. The mantle wedge in the southern Mariana forearc was heterogeneous in fluid supply.