Abstract
The uranium distribution in spinel peridotite inclusions and their host basalt from Sardinia, Italy, was determined by fission-track mapping. Whole-rock U concentrations range from 14 to 55 ppb. Although the partitioning of U among major silicate phases of the inclusions — olivine, orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene — remains roughly constant, the U content in the minerals is highly variable, e.g. ranging from 27 ppb to 177 ppb in clinopyroxene. The U variation in the minerals shows no apparent correlation with their major element chemistry. Liquid which equilibrated with the assemblages of inclusions with high U content, had U concentrations higher than those found in basaltic rocks. It is suggested that the inclusions were contaminated with a phase strongly enriched in U and subsequently recrystallized. The available data show that spinel peridotite inclusions of basaltic rocks frequently have complex multistage evolution and thus cannot provide a representative picture of the upper mantle radioactivity.
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Dostal, J., Capedri, S. Uranium in spinel peridotite inclusions in basalts from Sardinia. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 54, 245–254 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389406
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389406