Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Augite In Komatiitic Basalts: A Study Of The Mobility Of Trace Elements During Rock Alteration, Alesha C. Morabito

LSU Master's Theses

Komatiitic basalts are ultramafic rocks formed from volcanic liquids containing less than 18 wt.% magnesium oxide that can be linked, spatially, geochemically and texturally to komatiites. Archean komatiites and komatiitic basalts are critical to models of early Earth’s mantle evolution. Major and trace elements in these rocks are poorly preserved due to early sub-seafloor alteration with superimposed regional metamorphism: in particular the alkali, alkaline earths, and other elements with low valence numbers. Current analytical methods focus on analyzing whole rock, fresh olivines and melt inclusions to evaluate elemental concentrations and for petrogenetic studies. Although these methods establish elemental concentrations, REE, …