超苦鉄質―苦鉄質岩に着目した物質科学的アプローチによる海洋プレート及び島弧下マントルの形成・進化プロセスの研究

抄録

Ultramafic rocks, i.e., peridotites and pyroxenites, occur in a variety of tectonic settings on Earth. Ultramafic rocks can form as accumulation of mafic minerals from basaltic to komatiitic melts and be a major component of the Earth's mantle. The origin and history of ultramafic rocks are expected to provide information on the processes of partial melting and melt migration/extraction in the mantle and on the tectonic evolution of geologic units containing ultramafic rocks. I study ultramafic rocks in metamorphic belts, ocean floor, and mantle sections of ophiolites. My career began with a study of the Horoman Peridotite Complex in the Hidaka metamorphic belt in Japan. The ultramafic rocks and associated mafic rocks in the Horoman body record a very complex evolutionary history from the mantle conditions to crustal conditions. It is difficult to constrain the tectonic setting affecting events in the Horoman Peridotite Complex. On the other hand, ultramafic rocks in the mantle section of ophiolites and abyssal peridotites directly recovered from ocean floor to study melting processes and melt-rock interactions in the mantle can be used to constrain their tectonic setting, or at least as analogs to these tectonic settings. Studies on the Oman ophiolite by Japanese groups and literature studies of other ophiolites suggest that many ophiolites are later modified by subduction-related magmatism. Several ophiolites are being studied to elucidate the maturing process by subduction-related magmatism. Simple partial melting and melt extraction is expected in the adiabatically upwelling mantle beneath the mid-ocean ridge. In fact, abyssal peridotites directly recovered from mid-ocean ridges provided a unique opportunity to elucidate these processes. Comparison of abyssal peridotites recovered from the mid-ocean ridges and arc regions (fore arc and back arc) is key to understand the differences in magmatic processes in the two regions. Ocean science with research vessels has a well-defined working hypothesis that can only be addressed by direct sampling from the seafloor. To understand a crucial issue in Earth science as to why plate tectonics occurs on Earth, it is essential to elucidate the life of the oceanic lithosphere from its birth to its subduction into the mantle. Direct sampling of oceanic lithosphere by drilling is the key to solving this issue. I would like to emphasize that members of the Japan Association of Mineralogical science can play an essential role in leading analyses of rock samples directly recovered from seafloor. Rock samples recovered from seafloor by drilling and any methodology, as well as samples from anywhere on Earth, should be published in as papers, and these data would help integrate knowledge about the history of the Earth and planet and its future.