Finero phlogopite-harzburgite
Ivrea-Verbano Zone
The Ivrea Verbano Zone (Fig.1) represents the westernmost sector of the Southern Alps, which was part of the Mesozoic continental margin of the Adriatic plate during the opening of the Alpine Tethys (or Ligurian-Piedmont oceanic basin). The Ivrea-Verbano Zone (IVZ) and Serie dei Laghi (SdL), are two lithostratigraphic units that constitute the deep- and the middle- to upper-crustal components, respectively, of a tilted and exposed section through the pre-Alpine crust of northwest Italy. Both units were significantly affected by a Permian igneous event, leading to underplating of the Mafic Complex in the deep-crustal Ivrea Verbano Zone and intrusion of granitic bodies in the upper-crustal SdL, which is in turn capped by volcanic, predominantly rhyolitic rocks. U-Pb zircon ages of volcanic rocks (288 ± 2 to 282 ± 3 Ma), formation of granitic plutons in the Serie dei Laghi (289 ± 3 to 275 ± 5 Ma), and gabbro in the Ivrea Verbano Zone (289 ± 3 to 286 ± 6 Ma) indicate that the onset of bimodal volcanism and granitic plutonism was coincident with and probably triggered by intrusion of mantle-derived mafic melt in the deep crust, and that volcanic activity and presence of granitic melt at depth persisted after underplating had ceased. Collectively, all these coeval igneous rocks are grouped in the "Sesia Magmatic System".Fig.1: Geological sketch map of the the Ivrea-Verbano Zone based on Zingg (1983). CMB Line, Cossato-Mergozzo-Brissago Line; C.L., Cremosina Line. Major mantle peridotites are identified by name. Muscovite-out (musc out) and orthopyroxene-in (opx in) isograds are shown in red. From Virtual Explorer.
The Sesia magmatic system is composed of coeval and genetically related intrusive and volcanic rocks within the Ivrea-Verbano Zone and Serie dei Laghi. The Ivrea-Verbano Zone comprises plutonic and high-temperature, high-pressure rocks that are juxtaposed against the basement units of the Austro-Alpine Domain by the Insubric Line and bounded to the southeast by amphibolite-facies metamorphic rocks and granites of the Serie dei Laghi (also known as Strona-Ceneri Zone. Most investigators agree that the Ivrea-Verbano Zone together with the Serie dei Laghi are the deep- and the middle- to upper-crustal components, respectively, of a section through the pre-Alpine crust of northwest Italy.
Rocks of the Ivrea-Verbano Zone have been grouped historically in terms of three main units: The Mantle Peridotites, the Mafic Complex and the Kinzigite Formation.
• Mantle peridotites: The largest and more famous Ivrea-Verbano mantle peridotites are, from south to north, the Baldissero, Balmuccia and Finero massifs (Fig.1). These bodies are aligned along the northwestern margin of the Mafic Complex. Tens of minor peridotite bodies, definitely recognized as lithospheric mantle material, occur at various stratigraphic levels throughout the Ivrea-Verbano Zone.
• Mafic Complex: The Mafic Complex is a large composite body of mostly gabbroic plutonic rocks and subordinate amounts of dioritic, tonalitic, charnockitic and cumulus ultramafic rocks. The Mafic Complex has been known since the pioneering work of Artini and Melzi (1900), who described these rocks as mafic granulites. Rivalenti et al. (1975) first recognized it as a huge igneous complex. The Mafic Complex is divided into: Basal Zone, Intermediate Zone, Upper Zone, Main Gabbro and Diorites. The basal and intermediate zones consist of alternating ultramafic and mafic (gabbro) layers, which crystallized under a pressure gradient documented by the coexistence of clinopyroxene and spinel in Basal Zone and olivine and plagioclase in Intermediate Zone. The Upper Zone has only rare ultramafic layers and the lithology is dominantly gabbro-anorthosite. The Main Gabbro unit is constituted by a hornblende-bearing norite. The large-scale internal structure of the Mafic Complex (Fig.2) is dominated by an arcuate structure centered on the village of Varallo and defined by layering, foliation and mappable units. Granitic and dioritic bodies do not crosscut the gabbro. Instead, their concordance with foliation and banding is remarkable and crosscutting relationships are limited to faults, scarce dikes and late-stage melt segregations. Paragneiss septa derived from the Kinzigite Formation and granitic to dioritic bodies are traceable for kilometers around this arcuate structure without major breaks although they are increasingly attenuated with depth in the complex.
• Kinzigite Formation: The Kinzigite Formation consists of amphibolite- to granulite-facies paragneiss that formed from protoliths dominated by pelitic sedimentary rocks and wackes, but also including limestone and mafic volcanic. Amphibolite-facies assemblages dominate in the southeastern Ivrea-Verbano Zone and granulite-facies assemblages are volumetrically more significant in the northwest.
The present exposure of the Ivrea-Verbano Zone at the Earth’s surface is today considered a consequence of tilting produced by a series of deformation events that started with the Jurassic continental break-up forming the Alpine Tethys and concluded with the Alpine collision.
Fig.2: Geologic map of the Mafic Complex in the Sesia Valley area according to Rivalenti et al. (1975). In the inset, foliation patterns simplified from Quick et al. (2003). From Virtual Explorer.
The Finero complex
The Finero complex (Fig.3) constitutes a lens of 12 km long and up to 3 km across, covering an area between the Vigezzo-Cento Valli Valley and the Cannobina Valley. It has an antiformal structure with mantle peridotite at the core surrounded by a layered pluton. The sequence is bordered by the Insubric Line to the north and NW and the Kinzigite Formation to the south and SE. The Finero Mafic Complex consist, from core outward, of:(1) Phlogopite-Amphibole Peridotite: The phlogopite peridotite unit forms an elongated body (10 km x 1 km) at the core of the Finero complex. Its main distinct lithology is amphibole- and phlogopite-bearing harzburgite. Patches of dunite are common and often form irregularly shaped bodies that are associated with chromitites. Clinopyroxenite dyke and rare alkali pegmatites crosscut the harzuburgite. The harzburgite comprise 60-90% olivine, 5-20% orthopyroxene, 0-5% clinopyroxene, 0-10% amphibole, 0-5% spinel and up to 15% phlogopite. The Amphibole Peridotite unit is 400 m thick. It is formed of amphibole-bearing cumulus peridotite (dunite, wehrlite and subordinately lherzolite), pyroxenite and hornblendite. The latter occurs as bands, lenses and pods, sometimes showing pegmatoidal texture, with amphibole crystals up to 1 m long.
(2) Layered Internal Zone (LIZ): This is the stratigraphically lower unit, which overlies the mantle peridotite. The Layered Internal Zone is 70-120m thick. Along the Cannobino River it mainly consists of garnet-horneblendite, associated with garnet-bearing amphibole gabbro, anorthosite, pyroxenite and peridotite, in decreasing order of abundance. Near the structurally lower tectonic contact with the Phlogopite Peridotite the rocks are made of up to 30% garnet. The upper contact between the Layered Internal Zone and Amphibole Peridotite is gradational, characterized by a progressive increase of peridotite and pyroxenite layers with a decrease of the Layered Internal Zone lithologies.
(3) External Gabbro (EG): The External Gabbro unit is 400-500m thick and mainly consists of amphibole gabbro and diorite, with minor pyroxenite and anorthosite bands. The contact between the Amphibole Peridotite and External Gabbro is locally tectonic. Where primary, it is defined by a close alternation of layers of peridotite, hornblendite and gabbro, 20cm to 1m thick. The External Gabbro contains lenses of granulite-facies metasediments of the Kinzigite Formation.
Fig.1: Geological sketch map of the Finero Complex. From Grieco, G., et al (2001).
The petrology of Finero Complex is poorly understood. One reason is that the phlogopite peridotite, which makes up the core of the complex, exhibits anomalous petrographic and geochemical characteristics indicative of metasomatism and of multistage evolution. Mantle metasomatism occurs in diverse tectonic regimes and is thus one of the main issues in understanding of mantle evolution. Evidence for mantle metasomatism in the mantle has been, however, usually discussed on the basis of geochemical and isotopic characteristics of peridotites. Direct observation for "in-situ" metasomatic processes in the mantle is limited because metasomatised peridotites are usually found as xenoliths or to a limited extent at the contacts with hornblendite and/or pyroxenite layers in peridotite massifs. The Finero phlogopite-peridotite massif is, thus, one of the most suitable peridotite massifs for understanding the ancient metasomatic processes which have occurred in the wedge mantle.
The Finero phlogopite-peridotite massif is interpreted to be an example of upper mantle peridotite highly metasomatised by slab-derived melts. Zanetti et al., 1999 geochemically examined pyroxenite-peridotite sections from the Finero massif in detail and suggested that the Finero phlogopite-peridotite was widely affected by melts derived from an eclogite-facies slab. According to Zanetti et al., 1999 melts derived from an eclogite-facies slab infiltrate the overhanging harzburgitic mantle wedge and, because of the special thermal structure of subduction zones, become heated to the temperature of the peridotite.
If the resulting temperature is above that of the incipient melting of the hydrous peridotite system, the slab-derived melt equilibrates with the harzburgite and a crystal mush consisting of harzburgite and a silica saturated, hydrous melt is formed. During cooling, the crystal mush crystallizes producing the observed sequence of mineral phases and their observed chemical characteristics. In this context pyroxenites are regions of higher concentration of the melt in equilibrium with the harzburgite and not passage-ways through which exotic melts percolated. If the temperature is lower, melt would react with the peridotite during percolation, increasing the amount of orthopyroxene and forming new reaction phases. The trace element geochemistry would be controlled by percolation-reaction processes, resulting in marked concentration gradients, and eventual direct evidence of the slab-derived melt may be provided by glass inclusions in the peridotite minerals. This situation, which cannot apply to Finero, is normally well documented in mantle xenoliths.
Finero Harzburgite: Olivine (pale olive-green), Cr-diopside (emerald green) and phlogopite (brown).
Finero Harzburgite: Olivine (pale olive-green), Cr-diopside (emerald green) and phlogopite (brown).
Finero Harzburgite: Olivine (pale olive-green), Cr-diopside (emerald green) and phlogopite (brown).
Finero Harzburgite: Cr-diopside (emerald green) vein.
Altered peridotite surface with Cr-diopside (emerald green) crystals.
Bibliography
• Bussolesi, M., Grieco, G., & Tzamos, E. (2019). Olivine-Spinel Diffusivity Patterns in Chromitites and Dunites from the Finero Phlogopite-Peridotite (Ivrea-Verbano Zone, Southern Alps): Implications for the Thermal History of the Massif. Minerals, 9(2), 75.
• Grieco, G., Ferrario, A., Von Quadt, A., Koeppel, V., & Mathez, E. A. (2001). The zircon-bearing chromitites of the phlogopite peridotite of Finero (Ivrea Zone, Southern Alps): evidence and geochronology of a metasomatized mantle slab. Journal of Petrology, 42(1), 89-101.
• Lu, M., Hofmann, A. W., Mazzucchelli, M., & Rivalenti, G. (1997). The mafic-ultramafic complex near Finero (Ivrea-Verbano Zone), II. Geochronology and isotope geochemistry. Chemical Geology, 140(3-4), 223-235.
• Mazzucchelli, M., Rivalenti, G., Brunelli, D., Zanetti, A., & Boari, E. (2009). Formation of highly refractory dunite by focused percolation of pyroxenite-derived melt in the Balmuccia peridotite massif (Italy). Journal of Petrology, 50(7), 1205-1233.
• Morishita, T., Arai, S., & Tamura, A. (2003). Petrology of an apatite-rich layer in the Finero phlogopite–peridotite, Italian Western Alps; implications for evolution of a metasomatising agent. Lithos, 69(1-2), 37-49.
• Shervais, J. W., & Mukasa, S. B. (1991). The Balmuccia orogenic lherzolite massif, Italy. Journal of Petrology, (2), 155-174.
• Zanetti, A., Mazzucchelli, M., Rivalenti, G., & Vannucci, R. (1999). The Finero phlogopite-peridotite massif: an example of subduction-related metasomatism. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 134(2-3), 107-122.