A review of mantle xenoliths in volcanic rocks from southern Victoria Land, Antarctica

Mantle xenoliths from southern Victoria Land have been collected and extensively studied for over a century. In this chapter, chemical and petrological data are, for the first time, comprehensively collated, and petrogenetic models for the regional mantle are reviewed and assessed. The most common lithologies are spinel lherzolite and harzburgite; plagioclase lherzolite also occurs, and pyroxenite xenoliths found across the province comprise <20% of all mantle xenoliths. The lithospheric mantle in the region has Paleoproterozoic stabilization ages, although pockets of younger mantle may exist. This peridotite mantle comprises a HIMU (high 238U/204Pb = high μ)-component sensu stricto, has been variably carbonated and has undergone multiple melt-depletion events. Regional variations in a sedimentary (EMI: Enriched Mantle I) component to the west, and iron-rich components to the east, reflect a complex history of refertilization and metasomatism. The sources of these fluids are likely to have been oceanic crust subducted during c. 0.5 Ga and older events. Peridotites have been cross-cut by pyroxenite veins, probably in multiple episodes, with the geochemistry of some samples reflecting the involvement of an upper continental crust (EMII: Enriched Mantle II) component. Future research directions should apply advanced isotopic, noble gas and volatile techniques to better understand the upper mantle below this dynamic rifting environment.