Lead and Helium Isotope Evidence from Oceanic Basalts for a Common Deep Source of Mantle Plumes

Linear arrays in lead isotope space for mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) converge on a single end-member component that has intermediate lead, strontium, and neodymium isotope ratios compared with the total database for oceanic island basalts (OIBs) and MORBs. The MORB data are consistent with the presence of a common mantle source region for OIBs that is sampled by mantle plumes. 3He/4He ratios for MORBs show both positive and negative correlation with the 206Pb/204Pb ratios, depending on the MORB suite. These data suggest that the common mantle source is located in the transition zone region. This region contains recycled, oceanic crustal protoliths that incorporated some continental lead before their subduction during the past 300 to 2000 million years.     

The chlorine isotope composition of Earth's mantle

Chlorine stable isotope compositions (delta37Cl) of 22 mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) correlate with Cl content. The high-delta37Cl, Cl-rich basalts are highly contaminated by Cl-rich materials (seawater, brines, or altered rocks). The low-delta37Cl, Cl-poor basalts approach the composition of uncontaminated, mantle-derived magmas. Thus, most or all oceanic lavas are contaminated to some extent during their emplacement. MORB-source mantle has delta37Cl 相似文献   

Heavy nitrogen in carbonatites of the kola peninsula: A possible signature of the deep mantle

Nitrogen and argon isotopes were measured in carbonatites and associated rocks from the Kola Peninsula in Russia. The Kola mantle source, which is thought to be located in the deep mantle, is enriched in heavy nitrogen (+3 per mil relative to air) as compared to Earth's surface (atmosphere and crust, +2 per mil) and the shallow mantle (-4 per mil). Recycling of oceanic crust (+6 per mil) or metal-silicate partitioning may account for the nitrogen isotopic composition of the deep mantle.     

Thorium-uranium fractionation by garnet: evidence for a deep source and rapid rise of oceanic basalts

Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) and ocean island basalts (QIBs) are derived by partial melting of the upper mantle and are marked by systematic excesses of thorium-230 activity relative to the activity of its parent, uranium-238. Experimental measurements of the distribution of thorium and uranium between the melt and solid residue show that, of the major phases in the upper mantle, only garnet will retain uranium over thorium. This sense of fractionation, which is opposite to that caused by clinopyroxene-melt partitioning, is consistent with the thorium-230 excesses observed in young oceanic basalts. Thus, both MORBs and QIBs must begin partial melting in the garnet stability field or below about 70 kilometers. A calculation shows that the thorium-230-uranium-238 disequilibrium in MORBs can be attributed to dynamic partial melting beginning at 80 kilometers with a melt porosity of 0.2 percent or more. This result requires that melting beneath ridges occurs in a wide region and that the magma rises to the surface at a velocity of at least 0.9 meter per year.     

Lu-Hf Isotope Systematics of Garnet Pyroxenites from Beni Bousera, Morocco: Implications for Basalt Origin

Six garnet pyroxenites from Beni Bousera, Morocco, yield a mean lutetium-hafnium age of 25 +/- 1 million years ago and show a wide range in hafnium isotope compositions (varepsilonHf = -9 to +42 25 million years ago), which exceeds that of known basalts (0 to +25). Therefore, primary melts of garnet pyroxenites cannot be the source of basalts. The upper mantle may be an aggregate of pyroxenites that were left by the melting of oceanic crust at subduction zones and peridotites that were contaminated by the percolation of melts from these pyroxenites. As a consequence, the concept of geochemical heterogeneities as passive tracers is inadequate. Measured lutetium-hafnium partitioning of natural minerals requires a reassessment of some experimental work relevant to mantle melting in the presence of garnet.     

Stable-carbon isotope ratios as a measure of marine versus terrestrial protein in ancient diets

The stable-carbon isotope ratios for the flesh of marine and terrestrial animals from Canada's Pacific coast differ by 7.9 +/- 0.4 per mil, reflecting the approximately 7 per mil difference between oceanic and atmospheric carbon. This difference is passed on to human consumers. The carbon isotopic values (delta(13)C) for human collagen thus yield direct information on the relative amounts of marine and terrestrial foods in prehistoric diets.     

Iron isotope fractionation and the oxygen fugacity of the mantle

The oxygen fugacity of the mantle exerts a fundamental influence on mantle melting, volatile speciation, and the development of the atmosphere. However, its evolution through time is poorly understood. Changes in mantle oxidation state should be reflected in the Fe3+/Fe2+ of mantle minerals, and hence in stable iron isotope fractionation. Here it is shown that there are substantial (1.7 per mil) systematic variations in the iron isotope compositions (delta57/54Fe) of mantle spinels. Spinel delta57/54Fe values correlate with relative oxygen fugacity, Fe3+/sigmaFe, and chromium number, and provide a proxy of changes in mantle oxidation state, melting, and volatile recycling.     

Neodymium isotope evidence for a chondritic composition of the Moon

Samarium-neodymium isotope data for six lunar basalts show that the bulk Moon has a 142Nd/144Nd ratio that is indistinguishable from that of chondritic meteorites but is 20 parts per million less than most samples from Earth. The Sm/Nd formation interval of the lunar mantle from these data is 215(-21)(+23) million years after the onset of solar system condensation. Because both Earth and the Moon likely formed in the same region of the solar nebula, Earth should also have a chondritic bulk composition. In order to mass balance the Nd budget, these constraints require that a complementary reservoir with a lower 142Nd/144Nd value resides in Earth's mantle.     

Niobium/Uranium Evidence for Early Formation of the Continental Crust

Niobium/uranium ratios in greenstone-belt basalts and gabbros indicate that parts of the Late Archean mantle beneath Western Australia underwent a level of melt extraction, resulting in formation of the continental crust, comparable to that seen in the present mantle. The implication is either that (i) the amount of continental crust that formed before 2.7 x 10(9) years ago was much greater than generally thought or (ii) crustal growth occurred by severe depletion of small volumes of the mantle rather than by moderate depletion of a large volume of mantle.     

Oxygen isotope ratios in trees reflect mean annual temperature and humidity

Values of the oxygen isotope ratios (delta(18)O) in tree-ring cellulose closely reflect the delta(18)O values in atmospheric precipitation and hence mean annual temperature. The change in delta(18)O in cellulose is 0.41 per mil per degree Celsius for selected near-coastal stations. The values of delta(18)O in precipitation and cellulose also change with altitude, as demonstrated for Mount Rainier, Washington. A temperature lapse rate of 5.2 degrees +/- 0.5 degrees C per 1000 meters calculated from cellulose delta(18)O values agrees with the accepted mean annual lapse rate of 5 degrees C per 1000 meters for this region. Cellulose delta(18)O values and delta(18)O values of carbon dioxide equilibrated with leaf water differ by a fixed 16 per mil.     

Oxygen isotopes: experimental vapor fractionation and variations in tektites

High-temperature (about 2800 degrees C) vapor fractionation of a silicate glass that originally contained 82 percent by weight of SiO(2) resulted in a decrease of the silica content to 45 percent. Oxygen isotope analyses show that the O(18)/O(16) ratio increased from 13.80 per mil in the starting material to 14.47 and 15.03 per mil in the residuum. This suggests that bediasites, which also exhibit an increase in this ratio with decreasing content of silica, have been subjected to a process of vapor fractionation.     

Osmium isotope heterogeneity in the constituent phases of mid-ocean ridge basalts

Radiogenic isotope variations in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) are commonly attributed to compositional variations in Earth's upper mantle. For the rheniumosmium isotope system, constituent MORB phases are shown to possess exceptionally high Re/Os (parent/daughter) ratios, consequently radiogenic 187Os is produced from the decay of 187Re over short periods of time. Thus, in the absence of precise age constraints, Os isotope variations cannot be unambiguously attributed to their source, although Re-Os isotope data for constituent minerals can yield crystallization ages, details of equilibration, and initial Os isotope values that relate directly to the mantle source.     

Compatibility of rhenium in garnet during mantle melting and magma genesis

Measurements of the partitioning of rhenium (Re) between garnet and silicate liquid from 1.5 to 2.0 gigapascals and 1250 degrees to 1350 degreesC show that Re is compatible in garnet. Oceanic island basalts (OIBs) have lower Re contents than mid-ocean ridge basalt, because garnet-bearing residues of deeper OIB melting will retain Re. Deep-mantle garnetite or eclogite may harbor the missing Re identified in crust-mantle mass balance calculations. Oceanic crust recycled into the upper mantle at subduction zones will retain high Re/Os (osmium) ratios and become enriched in radiogenic 187Os. Recycled eclogite in a mantle source should be easily traced using Re abundances and Os isotopes.     

Banded corals: changes in oceanic carbon-14 during the little ice age

Radiocarbon analyses and stable isotope measurements are presented foro recent cores of banded corals from the Florida Straits. These values provide a record of variations in the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in the dissolved inorganic carbon in the surface waters of the Gulf Stream from A.D. 1642 to 1800. An increase in the carbon-14/carbon-12 ratio of 7 per mil for coral growth during the early 1700's was most likely induced by an increase in the carbon-14/carbon-12 ratio of 20 per mil in the atmospheric carbon dioxide that occurred at about 1700. The ratios of oxygen 18 to oxygen-16 in these coral bands show a small decrease of a water temperature ( approximately 1 degrees C) during the latter part of the Little Ice Age (1700 to 1725). These results support the hypothesis that the increase in atmospheric carbon-14 at about 1700, and possibly the temperature change as well, was caused by a decrease in solar activity (Maunder sunspot minimum).     

Cryptic grain-scale heterogeneity of oxygen isotope ratios in metamorphic magnetite

Oxygen isotope ratios measured by ion microprobe in magnetite from granulite-facies marble of the Adirondack Mountains, New York, range from +2 to +11 per mil (standard mean ocean water) across a single grain that measures 3 millimeters by 5 millimeters. Low values are concentrated in irregular domains near the grain boundary but also occur in the grain's interior. In contrast, grains 1 millimeter in diameter that are from a second nearby sample show no significant heterogeneity, except within 10 micrometers of the grain boundary. These data, including large gradients of up to 9 per mil per 10 micrometers, provide important new constraints on the nature and origins of intragrain isotopic heterogeneity and on oxygen isotope thermometry. The differences between these magnetite grains result from contrasting mechanisms of isotope exchange with fluids after the peak of regional metamorphism. Volume diffusion of oxygen through the crystal structure of magnetite contributed to isotope exchange in the rims of small grains, but larger grains are crosscut by healed cracks that are not readily detected and that short-circuited diffusion.     

The amount of recycled crust in sources of mantle-derived melts

Plate tectonic processes introduce basaltic crust (as eclogite) into the peridotitic mantle. The proportions of these two sources in mantle melts are poorly understood. Silica-rich melts formed from eclogite react with peridotite, converting it to olivine-free pyroxenite. Partial melts of this hybrid pyroxenite are higher in nickel and silicon but poorer in manganese, calcium, and magnesium than melts of peridotite. Olivine phenocrysts' compositions record these differences and were used to quantify the contributions of pyroxenite-derived melts in mid-ocean ridge basalts (10 to 30%), ocean island and continental basalts (many >60%), and komatiites (20 to 30%). These results imply involvement of 2 to 20% (up to 28%) of recycled crust in mantle melting.     

Ice record of delta13C for atmospheric CH4 across the Younger Dryas-Preboreal transition

We report atmospheric methane carbon isotope ratios (delta13CH4) from the Western Greenland ice margin spanning the Younger Dryas-to-Preboreal (YD-PB) transition. Over the recorded approximately 800 years, delta13CH4 was around -46 per mil (per thousand); that is, approximately 1 per thousand higher than in the modern atmosphere and approximately 5.5 per thousand higher than would be expected from budgets without 13C-rich anthropogenic emissions. This requires higher natural 13C-rich emissions or stronger sink fractionation than conventionally assumed. Constant delta13CH4 during the rise in methane concentration at the YD-PB transition is consistent with additional emissions from tropical wetlands, or aerobic plant CH4 production, or with a multisource scenario. A marine clathrate source is unlikely.     

Stable nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen reflect marine and terrestrial components of prehistoric human diet

The delta 15N values of bone collagen from Eskimos and from Northwest Coast Indians dependent on salmon fishing are about 10 per mil more positive than those from agriculturalists in historic times. Among prehistoric humans, two groups dependent on marine food sources show bone collagen delta 15N values that are 4 to 6 per mil more positive than those from two agricultural groups. The nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen from prehistoric inhabitants of the Bahamas are anomalously low for reasons that relate to the biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen in coral reefs.     

Short-lived oxygen diffusion during hot, deep-seated meteoric alteration of anorthosite

Heterogeneous oxygen isotope compositions of plagioclase from the Boehls Butte anorthosite include some of the most oxygen-18-depleted values (to -16 per mil) reported for plagioclase in meta-igneous rocks and indicate high-temperature (T > 500 degrees C) isotopic exchange between plagioclase and nearly pristine meteoric fluid. Retrograde reaction-enhanced permeability assisted influx of meteoric-hydrothermal fluids into the deep-seated anorthosite. Isotopic gradients of about 14 per mil over 600 micrometers in single crystals require short-lived (about 10(4) years) diffusional exchange of oxygen and locally large effective water:rock ratios, followed by rapid loss of water and cessation of oxygen diffusion in the anorthosite.     

Rogue mantle helium and neon

The canonical model of helium isotope geochemistry describes the lower mantle as undegassed, but this view conflicts with evidence of recycled material in the source of ocean island basalts. Because mantle helium is efficiently extracted by magmatic activity, it cannot remain in fertile mantle rocks for long periods of time. Here, I suggest that helium with high 3He/4He ratios, as well as neon rich in the solar component, diffused early in Earth's history from low-melting-point primordial material into residual refractory "reservoir" rocks, such as dunites. The difference in 3He/4He ratios of ocean-island and mid-ocean ridge basalts and the preservation of solar neon are ascribed to the reservoir rocks being stretched and tapped to different extents during melting.