First Discovery of a Nonophiolite-Type Spinel Lherzolite Xenolith in the Back-Arc Basin of the Mariana Island Arc System

Abstract—The first sampling of mantle horizons underlying the ophiolite peridotite complex of the Mariana back-arc basin was carried out based on a spinel lherzolite xenolith in basanites from the submarine Esmeralda Volcano. The paper shows significant differences between the bulk, petrological, geochemical, and mineralogical compositions of this xenolith and similar characteristics of ophiolite peridotites dredged from the Central Trough of the north part of the Mariana Trench, on the west wall of one of the fault zones of the Santa Rosa Bank Fault (southern part of the trough), and ultramafic rocks dredged from the Conical and Torishima seamounts in the fore-arc part of the Mariana and Idzu-Bonin Island Arc Systems. Using different geothermometers and geobarometers, we revealed the PT conditions for the formation of Esmeralda xenolith’s mineral paragenesis. The optimal temperature is 950–1050°C and the pressure is 13–15 kbar. These parameters significantly exceed those suggested for the compared ophiolite peridotites.