Selected isotope ratio measurements of light metallic elements (Li, Mg, Ca, and Cu) by multiple collector ICP-MS

The unique capabilities of multiple collector inductively coupled mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) for high precision isotope ratio measurements in light elements as Li, Mg, Ca, and Cu are reviewed in this paper. These elements have been intensively studied at the Geological Survey of Israel (GSI) and other laboratories over the past few years, and the methods used to obtain high precision isotope analyses are discussed in detail. The scientific study of isotopic fractionation of these elements is significant for achieving a better understanding of geochemical and biochemical processes in nature and the environment

Dehydration of subducting slow-spread oceanic lithosphere in the Lesser Antilles

Subducting slabs carry water into the mantle and are a major gateway in the global geochemical water cycle. Fluid transport and release can be constrained with seismological data. Here we use joint active-source/local-earthquake seismic tomography to derive unprecedented constraints on multi-stage fluid release from subducting slow-spread oceanic lithosphere. We image the low P-wave velocity crustal layer on the slab top and show that it disappears beneath 60–100 km depth, marking the depth of dehydration metamorphism and eclogitization. Clustering of seismicity at 120–160 km depth suggests that the slab’s mantle dehydrates beneath the volcanic arc, and may be the main source of fluids triggering arc magma generation. Lateral variations in seismic properties on the slab surface suggest that serpentinized peridotite exhumed in tectonized slow-spread crust near fracture zones may increase water transport to sub-arc depths. This results in heterogeneous water release and directly impacts earthquakes generation and mantle wedge dynamics

Magnesium isotope evidence that accretional vapour loss shapes planetary compositions

It has long been recognized that Earth and other differentiated planetary bodies are chemically fractionated compared to primitive, chondritic meteorites and, by inference, the primordial disk from which they formed. However, it is not known whether the notable volatile depletions of planetary bodies are a consequence of accretion1 or inherited from prior nebular fractionation2. The isotopic compositions of the main constituents of planetary bodies can contribute to this debate3, 4, 5, 6. Here we develop an analytical approach that corrects a major cause of measurement inaccuracy inherent in conventional methods, and show that all differentiated bodies have isotopically heavier magnesium compositions than chondritic meteorites. We argue that possible magnesium isotope fractionation during condensation of the solar nebula, core formation and silicate differentiation cannot explain these observations. However, isotopic fractionation between liquid and vapour, followed by vapour escape during accretionary growth of planetesimals, generates appropriate residual compositions. Our modelling implies that the isotopic compositions of magnesium, silicon and iron, and the relative abundances of the major elements of Earth and other planetary bodies, are a natural consequence of substantial (about 40 per cent by mass) vapour loss from growing planetesimals by this mechanism

Magnesium isotope fractionation during carbonatite magmatism at Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania

To investigate the behaviour of Mg isotopes during carbonatite magmatism, we analyzed Mg isotopic compositions of natrocarbonatites and peralkaline silicate rocks from Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania. The olivine melilitites from the vicinity of Oldoinyo Lengai have homogeneous and mantle-like Mg isotopic compositions (δ26Mg of −0.30 to −0.26‰), indicating limited Mg isotope fractionation during mantle melting. The highly evolved peralkaline silicate rocks not related to silicate–carbonatite liquid immiscibility, including phonolites from the unit Lengai I, combeite–wollastonite nephelinites (CWNs) from the unit Lengai II A and carbonated combeite–wollastonite–melilite nephelinites (carbCWMNs), have δ26Mg values (from −0.25 to −0.10‰) clustered around the mantle value. By contrast, the CWNs from the unit Lengai II B, which evolved from the silicate melts that were presumably generated by silicate–carbonatite liquid immiscibility, have heavier Mg isotopes (δ26Mg of −0.06 to +0.09‰). Such a difference suggests Mg isotope fractionation during liquid immiscibility and implies, based on mass-balance calculations, that the original carbonatite melts at Lengai were isotopically light. The variable and positive δ26Mg values of natrocarbonatites (from +0.13 to +0.37‰) hence require a change of their Mg isotopic compositions subsequent to liquid immiscibility. The negative correlations between δ26Mg values and contents of alkali and alkaline earth metals of natrocarbonatites suggest Mg isotope fractionation during fractional crystallization of carbonatite melts, with heavy Mg isotopes enriched in the residual melts relative to fractionated carbonate minerals. Collectively, significant Mg isotope fractionation may occur during both silicate–carbonatite liquid immiscibility and fractional crystallization of carbonatite melts, making Mg isotopes a potentially useful tracer of these processes relevant to carbonatite petrogenesis

Lithium isotopic composition and concentration of the upper continental crust

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