Composition and Achitecture of the Australian Lithospheric Mantle

Volcanics (alkali basalts, kimberlites…) have brought up a large number of mantle xenoliths and xenocrysts throughout geological times and across the Australian continents. Those samples allow to study the composition of the mantle lithosphere.  The newer Volcanic Province (VIC-SA) is here of great interest given the abundance and the freshness of mantle xenoliths and will thus serve as a bench mark for the 2.0 version of the 4D Lithosphere mapping [link-Ref O’Reilly] Each xenolith suit will be investigated in terms of major and trace elements, both on the whole-rock and mineral scale, to determine their microstructure, equilibrium temperature and pressure, and fertility and reconstruct their metasomatic history. 

These data would then be integrated with geophysics data obtained by AusLamp and XXX arrays for instance to enhance interpretation of seismic and magnetolluric data.

ARC DP220100709