Production of 21 Ne in depth-profiled olivine from a 54 Ma basalt sequence, Eastern Highlands (37° S), Australia

Matchan, E. L., Honda, M., Barrows, T. T., Phillips, D., Chivas, A. R., Fifield, L. K. and Fabel, D. (2018) Production of 21 Ne in depth-profiled olivine from a 54 Ma basalt sequence, Eastern Highlands (37° S), Australia. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 220, pp. 276-290. (doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2017.09.035)

[img]
Preview
Text
151811.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.

2MB

Abstract

In this study we investigate the cosmogenic neon component in olivine samples from a vertical profile in order to quantify muogenic 21Ne production in this mineral. Samples were collected from an 11 m thick Eocene basalt profile in the Eastern Highlands of southeastern Australia. An eruption age of 54.15 ± 0.36 Ma (2σ) was determined from 40Ar/39Ar step-heating experiments (n = 6) on three whole-rock samples. A 36Cl profile on the section indicated an apparent steady state erosion rate of 4.7 ± 0.5 m Ma−1. The eruption age was used to calculate in situ produced radiogenic 4He and nucleogenic 3He and 21Ne concentrations in olivine. Olivine mineral separates (n = 4), extracted from the upper two metres of the studied profile, reveal cosmogenic 21Ne concentrations that attenuate exponentially with depth. However, olivine (Fo68) extracted from below 2 m does not contain discernible 21Ne aside from magmatic and nucleogenic components, with the exception of one sample that apparently contained equal proportions of nucleogenic and muogenic neon. Modelling results suggest a muogenic neon sea-level high-latitude production rate of 0.02 ± 0.04 to 0.9 ± 1.3 atoms g−1 a−1 (1σ), or <2.5% of spallogenic cosmogenic 21Ne production at Earth’s surface. These data support a key implicit assumption in the literature that accumulation of muogenic 21Ne in olivine in surface samples is likely to be negligible/minimal compared to spallogenic 21Ne.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Fabel, Dr Derek
Authors: Matchan, E. L., Honda, M., Barrows, T. T., Phillips, D., Chivas, A. R., Fifield, L. K., and Fabel, D.
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:28 September 2017
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 Elsevier, Ltd.
First Published:First published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 220:276-290
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record