Combined Li-He isotopes in Iceland and Jan Mayan basalts and constraints on the nature of the North Atlantic mantle

Magna, T., Wiechert, U., Stuart, F., Halliday, A.N. and Harrison, D. (2011) Combined Li-He isotopes in Iceland and Jan Mayan basalts and constraints on the nature of the North Atlantic mantle. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 75(3), pp. 922-936. (doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2010.11.007)

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Abstract

Lithium (Li) isotopes are thought to provide a powerful proxy for the recycling of crustal material, affected by low temperature alteration, through the mantle. We present Li isotope compositions for basaltic volcanic rocks from Hengill, Iceland, and Jan Mayen in order to examine possible links between ocean island volcanism and recycled oceanic crust and to address recent suggestions that mantle 3He/4He is also related to recycling of ancient slabs. Basaltic glasses spanning a range of chemical enrichment from the Hengill fissure system define an inverse correlation between δ<sup>7</sup>Li (3.8–6.9‰) and <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He (12–20 RA). The high-<sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He basalts have low δ<sup>18</sup>O as well as excess Eu and high Nb/U, but carry no Li isotope evidence of being the product of recycling of altered slab or wedge material. In fact, there is no clear correlation between Li or He isotopes on the one hand and any of the other fingerprints of recycled slab components. The low-<sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He samples do have elevated Nb/U, Sr/Nd, positive Eu anomalies and high δ<sup>7</sup>Li (∽6.9‰), providing evidence of a cumulate-enriched source that could be part of an ancient altered ocean floor slab. Basalts from Jan Mayen are characterized by large degrees of enrichment in incompatible trace elements typical of EM-like basalts but have homogeneous δ7Li typical of depleted mantle (3.9–4.7‰) providing evidence for a third mantle source in the North Atlantic. It appears that oceanic basalts can display a wide range in isotope and trace element compositions associated with recycled components whilst exhibiting no sign of modern surface-altered slab or wedge material from the Li isotope composition.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Stuart, Professor Fin
Authors: Magna, T., Wiechert, U., Stuart, F., Halliday, A.N., and Harrison, D.
Subjects:G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
Journal Name:Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:0016-7037
ISSN (Online):1872-9533
Published Online:16 November 2011

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