Alpine peridotites

Loubet M. and AUegre C. J. (1979) Trace element smdies in the Alpine peridotite of Beni-Bouchera (Morocco). Geochem. J. 13, 69-75. 

Loubet M., Shimizu N., and AUegre C. J. (1975) Rare earth elements in alpine peridotites. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 53, 1-12. 

McPherson E. (1994) Geochemistry of silicate melt metasomatism in Alpine peridotite massifs. University of London, London. 

Morten L. and Obata M. (1990) Rare earth abundances in the eastern Alpine peridotites, Nonsberg area, northern Italy. Euro. J. Mineral. 2, 643-653. 

Mukasa S. B., Shervais J. W., Wilshire H. G., and Nielson J. E. (1991) Intrinsic Nd, Pb and Sr isotopic heterogeneities exhibited by the Lherz alpine peridotite massif, French Pyrenees. In Orogenic Lherzolites and Mantle Processes. Spec. Vol. J. Petrol, (eds. M. A. Menzies, C. Dupuy, and A. Nicolas). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 117-134. 

DickH. J. B. andSinton J. M. (1979) Compositional layering in Alpine peridotites evidence for pressure solution creep in the mantle. J. Geol. 87, 403-416. 

In this section, we review the evidence for volatiles in the mantle obtained from the study of mantle-derived samples. The primary focus is on xenoliths brought to the surface in alkali basalts and kimberlite host magmas, but some relevant results obtained from study of alpine peridotites are also discussed. 

Morten L. (1987) A review of xenoUthic occurrences and their comparison with Alpine peridotites. In Mantle Xenoliths (ed. P. H. Nixon). Wiley, London. 

A further class of mantle samples are variously described in the literature as peridotite massifs, Alpine peridotites, and orogenic lher-zolites. They are thought to be slices of mantle peridotite emplaced into or onto the continental crust during continental collision but they cannot be strictly identified as ophiolite fragments. 

The class of ultramafic rocks known as high-temperature alpine peridotites (fig. 21.15) does show the characteristics expected for mantle residues, for major elements as well as for lanthanides. Alpine peridotites occur in mountainforming regions under conditions such that, in some cases, they could represent pieces of upper mantle that was wrinkled and thrust into the crust. Examples... 

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