An origin of the along-arc compositional variation in the Izu-Bonin arc system

The Izu-Bonin arc system is sediment-poor(~400 m thick with no accretionary prism)and,therefore,the influence of the altered oceanic crust(AOC)is most likely the source of the documented along-arc lava compositional variations,especially in Pb isotopes.Izu-Bonin arc lava geochemistry suggests an influx of subduction component from an Indian-type AOC.However,samples drilled from the western Pacific geochemical reference site at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site 1149 implies subduction of a Pacific-type AOC.To solve the apparent discrepancy of slab input versus arc output in this arc system,samples of the AOC were dredged from vertical fault scarps of the subducting Pacific Plate along a transect from 27.5°N to 34.50 N.Samples range from tholeiitic to mildly alkalic mid-ocean ridge basalts as well as trachybasalts,basaltic trachyandesites,tephrites,and phono-tephrites.Isotope ratios also exhibit a range of values(87Sr/86Sr=0.70282-0.70673,143 Nd/144 Nd=0.512552-0.513174,206Pb/204 Pb=18.43-20.00,207 Pb/204 Pb=15.40-15.67,208Pb/204Pb=37.75-39.55).Our results suggest that there is a geochemical variation in the AOC that is neither completely due to seawater or hydrothermal alteration,nor to petrogenetic processes.Rather,this variation is the result of the Pacific-Izanagi Ridge system tapping into a heterogeneous,plume-polluted mantle source during the Mid-Cretaceous volcanic event.The observed Pacific-type AOC is not responsible for the Indian-type Pb isotopic signature of Izu-Bonin arc lavas.This leads us to propose an alternative scenario where the Izu-Bonin arc lava Indian-type Pb isotopic signature originates from slab-derived fluids interacting and adsorbing Pb from an Indian-type mantle wedge through zone-refining.

Implications of the melting depth and temperature of the Atlantic mid-ocean ridge basalts

Mid-ocean ridge basalts(MORBs) are characterized by large variations in trace element compositions and isotopic ratios, which are difficult to be interpreted solely by using magmatic process such as partial melting of a peridotitic mantle and subsequently fractional crystallization. Geochemical diversity of MORBs have been attributed to large-scale heterogeneity within the underlying mantle, and the heterogeneity might have been caused by addition of recycled crustal component, subcontinental lithosphere, metasomatized lithosphere and outer core contribution. In this study, we investigated the MORBs along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge(MAR) by estimating the temperature and pressure of partial melting, and comprehensively comparing trace element and isotope ratios. The data for MORBs from areas close to mantle plumes show large variations. Mantle plumes can affect mid-oceanic ridges 1 400 km away, but plume effects did not cover all of the ridge segments, and those segments without plume effects did not have any abnormalities in temperature, trace element or isotope ratios.We ascribed the above phenomena to result from the shapes of the plume flow, which we categorized as "pipelike channels" and "pancake-like channels". The "pancake-like channels" plumes affected the ambient mantle nondirectionally, but the range of the mantle affected by the "pipe-like channels" plumes were selective. Element ratios of MORBs reveal that the mantle source of the MORBs along the MAR is highly heterogeneous. We suggest that most of source heterogeneities of the MORBs may be due to the presence of subducted slab and delaminated lower crust in the source. In addition, the plume that carried materials from the core-mantle boundary may affect some of the segments.

Petrology and geochemistry of South Mid-Atlantic Ridge(19°S) lava flows:Implications for magmatic processes and possible plume-ridge interactions

The South Mid-Atlantic Ridge(SMAR)19°S segment,approximately located along the line of Saint Helena volcanic chain(created by Saint Helena mantle plume),is an ideal place to investigate the issue whether the ridgehotpot interaction process affected the whole MAR.In this study,we present major and trace elemental compositions and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic ratios of twenty fresh lava samples concentrated in a relatively small area in the SMAR 19°S segment.Major oxides compositions show that all samples are tholeiite.Low contents of compatible trace elements(e.g.,Ni=239-594 ppm and Cr=456-1010 ppm)and low Fe/Mn(54-67)and Ce/Yb(0.65-1.5)ratios of these lavas show that their parental magmas are partially melted by a spinel lherzolite mantle source.Using software PRIMELT3,this study obtained mantle potential temperatures(Tp)beneath the segment of1321-1348℃,which is lower relative to those ridges influenced by mantle plumes.The asthenospheric mantle beneath the SMAR 19°S segment starts melting at a depth of^63 km and ceases melting at^43 km with a final melting temperature of^1265℃.The extent of partial melting is up to 16%-17.6%with an average adiabatic decompression value of 2.6%/kbar.The correlations of major oxides(CaO/Al2 O3)and trace elements(Cr,Co,V)with MgO and Zr show that the parental magma experienced olivine and plagioclase fractional crystallization during its ascent to the surface.87Sr/86Sr(0.702398-0.702996),143 Nd/144 Nd(0.513017-0.513177)and 206Pb/204Pb(18.444-19.477)ratios of these lavas indicate the mantle source beneath the SMAR 19°S segment is composed of a three-component mixture of depleted MORB mantle,PREMA mantle,and HIMU mantle materials.The simple,binary mixing results among components from plume-free SMAR MORB,Saint Helena plume and Tristan plume show that asthenospheric mantle beneath the SMAR 19°S segment may be polluted by both Saint Helena and Tristan plume enriched materials.The abovementioned mantle potential temperatures,together with the low Saint Helena(<10%)and Tristan(<5%)components remaining in the asthenospheric mantle at present,show that the physically ridge-hotspot interactions at SMAR 19°S segment may have ceased.However,the trace element and SrNd-Pb isotopically binary mixing calculation results imply that these lavas tapped some enriched pockets left when Saint Helena and/or Tristan plume were once on the SMAR during earlier Atlantic rifted history.

Chemical composition of sediments from the subducting Cocos Ridge segment at the Southern Central American subduction zone

Subducted sediments play an important role in the magmatism at subduction zones and the formation of mantle heterogeneity,making them an important tracer for shallow crustal processes and deep mantle processes.Therefore,ascertaining the chemical compositions of different subduction end-members is a prerequisite for using subducted sediments to trace key geological processes.We reports here the comprehensive major and trace element analyses of 52 samples from two holes(U1414 A and U1381 C)drilled on the subducting Cocos Ridge segment at the Southern Central American(SCA)subduction zone during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program(IODP)Expedition 344.The results show that the SCA subducting sediments contain 51%(wt%)Ca CO_(3),27%(wt%)terrigenous material,16%(wt%)opal,and 6%(wt%)mineral-bound H2 O+.Compared to the global trenches subducting sediment,the SCA subducting sediments are enriched in biogenic elements(Ba,Sr,and Ca),and depleted in high field strength elements(Nb,Ta,Zr,Hf,and Ti)and alkali elements(K,Rb,and Cs).Meanwhile,the sediments in this area were affected by the carbonate crash event,which could have been caused by a~800 m rise in the carbonate compensation depth at 11 Ma in the Guatemala Basin.The reason for the sedimentary hiatus at Hole U1381 C may be the closure of the Panama Isthmus and the collision between the Cocos Ridge and the Middle America Trench.In addition,the sediments from the subducting Cocos Ridge segment have influenced the petrogenesis of volcanic lavas erupted in the SCA.