Sulfide petrology and highly siderophile element geochemistry of abyssal peridotites : a coupled study of samples from the Kane Fracture Zone (45°W 23°20N, MARK area, Atlantic Ocean).

Nineteen samples from the Kane Fracture Zone have been studied for sulfide mineralogy and analyzed for S, Se, platinum-group elements (PGE), and Au to assess the effect of refertilization processes on the PGE systematics of abyssal peridotites. The lherzolites show broadly chondritic PGE ratios and sulfide modal abundances (0.01 to 0.03 wt%) consistent with partial melting models, although the few pyroxene-hosted sulfide inclusions and in situ LAM-ICPMS analyses provide evidence for in situ mobilization of a Cu-Ni–rich sulfide partial melt. The most refractory harzburgites (spinel Cr# > 29) are almost devoid of magmatic sulfides and show uniformly low PdN/IrN (