Origin of Icelandic basalts: a review of their petrology and geochemistry.

International audienceThe petrology and geochemistry of Icelandic basalts have been studied for more than a century. The results reveal that the Holocene basalts belong to three magma series: two sub-alkaline series (tholeiitic and transitional alkaline) and an alkali one. The alkali and the transitional basalts, which occupy the off-rift volcanic zones, are enriched in incompatible trace elements compared to the tholeiites, and have more radiogenic Sr, Pb and He isotope compositions. Compared to the tholeiites, they are most likely formed by partial melting of a lithologically heterogeneous mantle with higher proportions of melts derived from recycled oceanic crust in the form of garnet pyroxenites compared to the tholeiites. The tholeiitic basalts characterise the mid-Atlantic rift zone that transects the island, and their most enriched compositions and highest primordial (least radiogenic) He isotope signature are observed close to the centre of the presumed mantle plume. High-MgO basalts are found scattered along the rift zone and probably represent partial melting of refractory mantle already depleted of initial water-rich melts. Higher mantle temperature in the centre of the Iceland mantle plume explains the combination of higher magma productivity and diluted signatures of garnet pyroxenites in basalts from Central Iceland. A crustal component, derived from altered basalts, is evident in evolved tholeiites and indeed in most basalts; however, distinguishing between contamination by the present hydrothermally altered crust, and melting of recycled oceanic crust, remains non-trivial. Constraints from radiogenic isotope ratios suggest the presence of three principal mantle components beneath Iceland: a depleted upper mantle source, enriched mantle plume, and recycled oceanic crust. The study of glass inclusions in primitive phenocrysts is still in its infancy but already shows results unattainable by other methods. Such studies reveal the existence of mantle melts with highly variable compositions, such as calcium-rich melts and a low-18O mantle component, probably recycled oceanic crust. Future high-resolution seismic studies may help to identify and reveal the relative proportions of different lithologies in the mantle

MÖSSBAUER STUDIES OF ICELANDIC LAVAS

Deux échantillons de lave d'Islande ont été étudiés par la spectroscopie Mössbauer. On a trouvé qu'une haute vitesse de solidification cause un plus petit éclatement quadrupôlaire des ions Fe2+. Un des échantillons contient des particules superparamagnétiques. Une température de transition magnétique de l'olivine Fe0,34Mg1,66SiO4 est observée entre 5 K et 11 K.Two samples of lava from Iceland have been studied by use of Mössbauer spectroscopy. It is found that a hi& rate of solidification leads to smaller quadrupole splittings of the ferrous doublets. One of the samples contains superparamagnetic particles. The olivine Fe0.34Mg1.66SiO4 becomes magnetically ordered between 5 K and 11 K