Processes accompanying emplacement of a mantle plume in the continental lithosphere: The example of West Syria

Currently most researches consider that modern tectonomagmatic activity of the Earth results from uplift of mantle thermochemical plumes formed at the boundary between the liquid core and the silicate mantle ([1, 3, 12] and others). However, it is not clear what happens in the lithosphere during emplacement of such plumes and spreading of their head parts. Deep xenoliths delivered to the surface by alkali basalt, kim berlite, and lamprophyre are most likely one of the few available objective sources of information. These xenoliths provide important evidence for the state of interiors before and after plume emplacement, which allows us to discuss the character of deep processes inaccessible to direct observations.