Nature of the Moho Transition Zone in the Oman Ophiolite

Abstract

The Moho Transition zone of ophiolites is dominantly composed of dunite, with various types of segregations (gabbros, pyroxenites, and chromitites). Representing a level of magmatic exchange between asthenospheric mantle and the constructing ocean crust, it records active melt circulation below a spreading ridge axis and offers the opportunity of observing the distribution of melt locally percolating and ponding in a deforming porous matrix. In the Oman ophiolite, the Moho Transition Zone has a thickness varying from ten to hundreds of meters; its thickness and composition are related to the geometry of the asthenospheric mantle flow: thick Moho Transition Zones are on top of mantle diapirs characterized by vertical flow, whereas thin Moho Transition Zones are present in areas of horizontal mantle flow. A large high-temperature plastic strain is recorded in thin Moho Transition zones, in contrast to thick ones where the strain is weaker and heterogeneous. Thick Moho Transition Zones display an intense magmatic activity expressed by diffuse melt impregnations, dikes and sills. In these thick zones, we have studied the geometry of the melt circulation at various scales. We present here the analysis of textures and lattice fabrics which record high-temperature plastic strain and allow us to quantify it Melt circulates within the dunites and can locally destroy the solid framework, in relation to a viscosity drop and the sharp overturn of mantle flow observed in this type of transition zone.