Peridotite xenoliths from Grenada, Lesser Antilles Island Arc

Ultramafic xenoliths comprising harzburgite, lherzolite (reacted harzburgite) and spinel-rich dunite, occur in alkali olivine basalts (M series) of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles island arc. Textures are protogranular, porphyroclastic and granular; the latter are restricted to dunites and areas of the harzburgites/lherzolites where interaction with host magma has occurred. Primary mineralogy comprises olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and spinel. Harzburgites are residual from a fractional partial melting event totaling ~22%. Infiltration of harzburgite by (and reaction with) basalt has produced: a wehrlite, with partial dissolution of primary spinel, an increase in the oxygen fugacity (ƒO2) from primary values 1–2 log ƒO2 units above the fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ) buffer, to 2–2.5 log units above the buffer; reaction of orthopyroxene to form patches of intergrown olivine and clinopyroxene, and bronzite andesite glass (60 wt%, SiO2 18–20 wt% Al2O3 and 3–4 wt% Na2O) with flat to light rare earth element-depleted, chondrite-normalized abundances. Refertilisation of the mantle by reacting melts, producing a clinopyroxene-rich lithology, may form a source of ankaramitic (high-Ca) arc basalts

Rhenium-osmium isotope and elemental behaviour during subduction of oceanic crust and the implications for mantle recycling

This study presents major-, trace-element, and rhenium-osmium (Re-Os) isotope and elemental data for basalts and gabbros from the Zermatt-Saas ophiolite, metamorphosed to eclogite-facies conditions during the Alpine orogeny. Igneous crystallisation of the gabbros occurred at 163.5 +/- 1.8 Ma and both gabbro and basalt were subject to 'peak' pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions of > 2.0 GPa and similar to 600 degrees C at about 40.6 +/- 2.6 Ma. Despite such extreme P-T conditions, Re-Os isotope and abundance data for gabbroic rocks suggest that there has been no significant loss of either of these elements during eclogite-facies metamorphism. Indeed, Re-187-Os-187 isotope data for both unaltered gabbros and gabbroic eclogites lie on the same best-fit line corresponding to an errorchron age of 160 +/- 6 Ma, indistinguishable from the age of igneous crystallisation. In contrast, metamorphosed basalts do not yield age information; rather most possess Re-187/Os-188 ratios that cannot account for the measured Os-187/Os-188 ratios, given the time since igneous crystallisation. Taken with their low Re contents these data indicate that the basalts have experienced significant Re loss (similar to 50-60%), probably during high-pressure metamorphism. Barium, Rb and K are depleted in both gabbroic and basaltic eclogites. In contrast, there is no evident depletion of U in either lithology. Many ocean-island basalts (OIB) possess radiogenic Os and Pb isotope compositions that have been attributed to the presence of recycled oceanic crust in the mantle source. Published Re-Os data for high-P metabasaltic rocks alone (consistent with this study) have been taken to suggest that excessive amounts of oceanic crust are required to generate such signatures. However, this study shows that gabbro may exert a strong influence on the composition of recycled oceanic crust. Using both gabbro and basalt (i.e. a complete section of oceanic crust) calculations suggest that the presence of >= 40% of 2 Ga oceanic crust can generate the radiogenic Os compositions seen in some OIB. Furthermore, lower U/Pb ratios in gabbro (compared to basalt) serve to limit the (PbPb)-Pb-206-Pb-204 ratios generated, while having a minimal effect on Os ratios. These results suggest that the incorporation of gabbro into recycling models provides a means of producing a range of OIB compositions having lower (and variable) Pb-206/Ph-204 ratios, but still preserving Os-187/Os-188 compositions comparable to HIMU-type OIB

The scale and origin of the osmium isotope variations in mid-ocean ridge basalts

The decay of 187Re to 187Os provides a unique tracer of recycled lithosphere in the Earth's upper mantle, and the radiogenic Os isotope compositions of many mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) have been taken to indicate the presence of recycled oceanic crust in the mantle source. However, others have attributed the data to contamination by seawater or an age effect (due to 187Re decay following igneous crystallisation). This study presents new Re–Os, U–Th–Ra and B isotope data for normal-MORB (N-MORB) glass (including 18 samples analysed previously). The scale of the variation in 187Os/188Os observed here in N-MORB glass ranges from 0.126 to 0.148, with a mean value of 0.133 ± 0.009 (2σ). Previously published Os isotope data for MORB is shown to have been affected by an analytical artefact, and in particular the very radiogenic Os isotope compositions reported earlier are now shown not to exist. Nevertheless, some radiogenic Os isotope compositions are still seen in the data obtained here. Coupled Th and Ra excesses appear to rule out an age effect, at least, for those samples studied, however, δ11B covariations with 187Os/188Os are consistent with the assimilation of older oceanic crust (affected by seawater contamination). Individual sulphides (less likely to be affected by such contamination) are always less radiogenic than their glass host, with 187Os/188Os values ranging from 0.123 to 0.131. This indicates that sulphide precipitation occurred prior to contamination of the surrounding melt, but the data also suggest that low-Os sulphides have been affected by contamination through partial equilibration with that melt. Taken together, these indicate that dominant process responsible for the radiogenic Os isotope compositions of N-MORB glass is contamination by older oceanic crust. Although the influence of age effects and the presence of recycled material cannot be completely ruled out, Os-rich sulphides yield sub-chondritic Os isotope compositions which point rather to a long-term depletion in Re in the MORB source likely to have resulted from formation of the continental crust over much of Earth's history

Geochemistry and tectonic significance of peridotites from the South Sandwich arc-basin system, South Atlantic

Petrographic and geochemical studies of peridotites from the South Sandwich forearc region provide new evidence for the evolution of the South Sandwich arc–basin system and for the nature of interactions between arc magma and oceanic lithosphere. Peridotites from the inner trench wall in the north-east corner of the forearc vary from clinopyroxene-bearing harzburgites, through samples transitional between harzburgites and dunites or wehrlites, to dunites. The harzburgites are LREE depleted with low incompatible element abundances and have chromites with intermediate Cr# (ca. 0.40). Modelling shows that they represent the residues from 15–20% melting at oxygen fugacities close to the QFM buffer. The dunites have U-shaped REE patterns, low incompatible element abundances and high Cr# (0.66–0.77). Petrography and geochemistry indicate that the latter are the product of intense interaction between peridotite and melt saturated with olivine under conditions of high oxygen fugacity (QFM + 2). The transitional samples are the product of lesser interaction between peridotite and melt saturated with olivine ± clinopyroxene. The data demonstrate that the harzburgites originated as the residue from melting at a ridge (probably the early East Scotia Sea spreading centre), and were subsequently modified to transitional peridotites and dunites by interaction with South Sandwich arc magmas. The second dredge locality, near the South Sandwich Trench–Fracture Zone intersection, yielded rocks ranging from lherzolite to harzburgite that could similarly have resulted from a two-stage melting and enrichment process, but involving a more fertile mantle residue and a reacting melt that is transitional between MORB and island arc tholeiite. The South Sandwich peridotites have a similar petrogenetic history to those from Conical Seamount in the Mariana forearc in the sense that both involved interaction between arc magma and pre-existing mantle lithosphere of different provenance. However, the precise compositions of the magma and mantle components vary from location to location according to the precise tectonic setting and tectonic history. Overall, therefore, data from the South Sandwich and Izu–Bonin–Mariana systems emphasise the potential significance of peridotite geochemistry in unravelling the complex tectonic histories of forearcs past and presen

Stable strontium isotopic heterogeneity in the solar system from double-spike data

Strontium isotopic anomalies in meteorites are important in assessing nucleosynthetic sources to, and measuring the timing of, early solar system processes. However, conventional use of a constant 88Sr/86Sr value in correcting for instrumental mass fractionation during analysis renders measurements ambiguous and removes information on mass-dependent fractionation variations. From double-spike techniques we obtain data for the four stable strontium isotopes free of this ambiguity, and report measurements from a range of meteoritic, lunar and terrestrial materials. The Earth, Moon, basaltic eucrites and feldspars from angrites (differentiated samples) follow a single mass-dependent fractionation line and have a common nucleosynthetic origin in terms of their strontium isotopes. In contrast, bulk rock CI, CV3, CM and CO chondrite samples serve to define another mass-dependent fractionation line, displaced by 94 ± 28 ppm to heavier 84Sr/86Sr and/or 88Sr/86Sr ratios than that for the differentiated samples. Our Sr-isotopic data are consistent with a primary contrast in early solar system composition between an outer zone of primitive, mostly undifferentiated, materials and an inner zone of (almost entirely) differentiated materials that accumulated to form the terrestrial planets

Highly siderophile element behaviour accompanying subduction of oceanic crust: Whole rock and mineral-scale insights from a high-pressure terrain

Highly siderophile element concentrations (HSE: Re and platinum-group elements (PGE)) are presented for gabbros, gabbroic eclogites and basaltic eclogites from the high-pressure Zermatt–Saas ophiolite terrain, Switzerland. Rhenium and PGE (Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd) abundances in gabbro- and eclogite-hosted sulphides, and Re–Os isotopes and elemental concentrations in silicate phases are also reported. This work, therefore, provides whole rock and mineral-scale insights into the PGE budget of gabbroic oceanic crust and the effects of subduction metamorphism on gabbroic and basaltic crust. Chondrite-normalised PGE patterns for the gabbros are similar to published mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), but show less inter-element fractionation. Mean Pt and Pd contents of 360 and 530 pg/g, respectively, are broadly comparable to MORB, but gabbros have somewhat higher abundances of Os, Ir and Ru (mean: 64, 57 and 108 pg/g). Transformation to eclogite has not significantly changed the concentrations of the PGE, except Pd which is severely depleted in gabbroic eclogites relative to gabbros (∼75% loss). In contrast, basaltic eclogites display significant depletion of Pt (⩾60%), Pd (>85%) and Re (50–60%) compared with published MORB, while Os, Ir and Ru abundances are broadly comparable. Thus, these data suggest that only Pt, Pd and Re, and not Os, Ir and Ru, may be significantly fluxed into the mantle wedge from mafic oceanic crust. Re–Os model ages for gabbroic and gabbroic eclogite minerals are close to age estimates for igneous crystallisation and high-pressure metamorphism, respectively, hence the HSE budgets can be related to both igneous and metamorphic behaviour. The gabbroic budget of Os, Ir, Ru and Pd (but not Pt) is dominated by sulphide, which typically hosts >90% of the Os, whereas silicates account for most of the Re (with up to 75% in plagioclase alone). Sulphides in gabbroic eclogites tend to host a smaller proportion of the total Os (10–90%) while silicates are important hosts, probably reflecting Os inheritance from precursor phases. Garnet contains very high Re concentrations and may account for >50% of Re in some samples. The depletion of Pd in gabbroic eclogites appears linked, at least in part, to the loss of Ni-rich sulphide. Both basaltic and gabbroic oceanic crust have elevated Pt/Os ratios, but Pt/Re ratios are not sufficiently high to generate the coupled 186Os–187Os enrichments observed in some mantle melts, even without Pt loss from basaltic crust. However, the apparent mobility of Pt and Re in slab fluids provides an alternative mechanism for the generation of Pt- and Re-rich mantle material, recently proposed as a potential source of 187Os–186Os enrichment

Insights into combined radiogenic and stable strontium isotopes as tracers for weathering processes in subglacial environments

This study reports stable and radiogenic strontium isotope behaviour in the dissolved load and suspended sediments from the subglacial outflow of the Lemon Creek glacier (Juneau Ice Field, Alaska) over a single melt season. In situ measurements (discharge, total alkalinity, pH and conductivity) are combined with elemental concentrations, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and radiogenic strontium isotope measurements to interpret the variations observed in stable strontium isotopic ratios. The stable Sr isotope composition (88Sr/86Sr ratio expressed as δ88/86Sr, ‰) of the dissolved load averages 0.31 ± 0.05‰, and is heavier than both the suspended sediment 0.18 ± 0.03‰, as well as local bedrocks ~ 0.20 to 0.26‰. We attribute the enrichment of heavier isotopes in the dissolved load to the uptake of lighter Sr isotopes by secondary weathering minerals, driving the dissolved load to heavier values. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the presence of clays in the suspended sediments and thermodynamic modelling suggests the presence of iron oxy-hydroxide phases. Although it is not possible to completely rule out the effect of dissolution of primary minerals in controlling Sr isotopic compositions of the dissolved load, our data indicate that the extent of secondary mineral formation likely plays a significant role. The preferential weathering of minerals such as biotite (consistent with the mineralogical assemblages found in the suspended sediments), as well as the potential presence of radiogenic calcites from metacarbonates (derived from the Yukon-Tanana terrain), may be driving the small seasonal shifts in 87Sr/86Sr of the dissolved load to more radiogenic compositions, from 87Sr/86Sr(DL) = 0.71048 to 0.710647. Using the combination of stable and radiogenic strontium isotopes to investigate weathering processes shows that radiogenic Sr isotopes provide information regarding weathering of primary phases. While the stable Sr isotope data appear to record information regarding the extent of secondary mineral formation, where secondary minerals incorporate the light isotopes, driving the dissolved load to heavy values