Geochemistry and Sr–Nd isotopic compositions of mantle xenoliths from the Monte Vulture carbonatite–melilitite volcano, central southern Italy

Spinel peridotite xenoliths found in the Monte Vulture carbonatite–melilitite volcano have been derived from the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath central southern Italy. Clinopyroxene-poor lherzolites and harzburgites are the most common rock types, with subordinate wehrlites and dunites. Small quantities of phlogopite and carbonate are present in a few samples. The peridotites record a large degree of partial melting and have experienced subsequent enrichment which has increased their LILE and LREE contents, but in most cases their HFSE contents are low. Despite being carried to the surface by a carbonatite–melilitite host, the whole-rock and clinopyroxene compositions of the xenoliths have a trace-element signature more closely resembling that of silicate-melt metasomatised mantle rather than carbonatite-metasomatised peridotites. 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd isotopic ratios for clinopyroxene from the Vulture peridotites are 0.7042–0.7058 and 0.51260–0.5131 respectively. They form a trend away from the depleted mantle to the composition of the host magmas, and show a significant enrichment in 87Sr/86Sr compared with most European mantle samples. The mantle beneath Monte Vulture has had a complex evolution – we propose that the lithosphere had already undergone extensive partial melting before being affected by metasomatism from a silicate melt which may have been subduction-related