Sub-basin scale inhomogeneity of mantle in the South China Sea revealed by magnesium isotopes

The South China Sea(SCS)is the largest extensional basin in the western Pacific and was formed after rifting of the Euro-Asian continental margin.The nature of its underlying mantle remains enigmatic due to the lack of sampling of the seafloor’s igneous crust.The International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 349 cored seafloor basalts of the southwestern(Site U1433)and eastern(Site U1431)SCS sub-basins.The recovered basalt samples exhibit different source lithologies and geochemistries.The Mg isotopic compositions of seafloor basalts from these sites were investigated to elucidate the origin of this large-scale mantle inhomogeneity.Results indicate that the Site U1431 basalts have a mantlelike averageδ^(26)Mg value of-0.27‰±0.06‰(2 SD;n=10).Together with inhomogeneous Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopic compositions,the Site U1433 basalts have an averageδ^(26)Mg value(-0.20‰±0.06‰;2 SD;n=8)higher than those of the Site U1431 basalts and normal mantle.Their heavier Mg isotopic compositions and low206 Pb/204 Pb ratios(17.7)indicate that the Site U1433 basalts were affected by the re-melting of detached continental-arc lithosphere in the sub-ridge mantle.The coupling of Mg and Sr-Nd isotopes provides robust evidence that the mantle-likeδ^(26)Mg values of the Site U1431 basalts resulted from mixing between detached continental arc lithosphere and the nearby Hainan plume,with respective supra-and sub-normalδ^(26)Mg values.From the perspective of Mg isotope,the mantles of the southwestern and eastern sub-basins are compositionally inhomogeneous,with their mantle evolutionary histories being distinct.

Magnesium isotopes of chlorite-rich hydrothermal sediments in the Okinawa Trough and indications for Mg cycle

Seafloor hydrothermal systems play a significant role in the oceanic Mg cycle due to ubiquitous deposits of secondary Mg-rich clays during the strong fluid-rock reactions.However,the magnitude of net Mg enrichment and Mg isotopic fractionation,particularly within the medium-high temperature hydrothermal systems in felsic-hosted settings,are not well studied yet.Here we report elemental and isotopic compositions of Mg in hydrothermal chlorite-rich sediments,volcanic materials,and terrigenous sediments collected during the IODP Expedition 331 drilled to the thick sediment-covered and felsic-hosted middle Okinawa Trough(Iheya North Knoll) in the West Pacific.We investigate the sources of Mg in chlorite and Mg isotopic behavior at medium-high temperature hydrothermal alteration.After 1 mol/L HCl leaching,Mg isotopic compositions of chlorite-rich sediments present overall similar values in the residual fractions and bulk samples albeit with slightly higher values in the leachates.Mineralogical differentiation primarily determines the Mg isotopic compositions,showing that siliciclastic residues have slightly higher δ^(26) Mg values than the leachates dominated by carbonates and oxides/hydroxides.Significant Mg isotopic fractionation happened in the medium-high temperature(~150°C to 260°C) felsic-hosted hydrothermal system,with Δ^(26)MgChl-SW ranging from 0.15‰ to 0.71‰ and yielding a negative correlation with temperature.This observation suggests the preferential incorporation of heavy Mg isotopes by the secondary chlorite precipitation.We infer that the medium-high temperature hydrothermal systems can take up about 8–14% of riverine input of Mg in the arc and back-arc regions.Incomplete removal of aqueous Mg in porewater and vent fluids by the medium-high temperature hydrothermal alterations in the arc and back-arc basins provides constraints on the Mg budget and isotopic composition of seawater.

Fractionation characteristics of magnesium isotope in the ancient weathering crust

Weathering has always been a concerned around the world,as the first and most important step in the global cycle of elements,which leads to the fractionation of isotopes on the scale of geological age.The Middle Ordovician Majiagou Formation in Daniudi area of the Ordos Basin had experienced weathering for>130 Myr.Through thin section observation,major and trace element analysis,carbon,oxygen,and magnesium isotopes composition analysis,the dolomitization modes and weathering of ancient dolo-mite in Daniudi area were analyzed in detail.The results showed that the Sabkha and brine-reflux dolomitization modes had developed,and the Mg isotopes in different layers of the karst crust were fractionated by various factors.The vertical vadose zone was affected by weathering,the Mg isotope of dolomite(δ^(26)Mgdol)showed a downward decreasing trend;the horizontal underflow zone was controlled by diagenesis and formation fluid,δ^(26)Mgdol showed a vertical invariance and negative;the main reason for Mg isotope fractionation in the deep slow-flow zone was the brine-reflux dolomitization mode during early burial period,which showed a vertical downward increase.Finally,the Mg isotope characteristic data of the ancient weathering crust were provided and the process of Mg isotope frac-tionationinthekarstcrust was explained.

Potassium isotopic signatures of modern offshore detrital sediments from different climatic regimes and the implications

Potassium isotopes are a novel tracer for continental weathering.Previous K isotope studies on chemical weathering generally targeted weathering profiles under a particular climate region,yet the effects of chemical weathering on K isotopes under different climatic backgrounds remain unclear.Moreover,little is known about the K isotope signatures of modern unconsolidated detrital sediments.Here,we report K isotopic data of surficial seafloor sediments from continental shelves along the east coast of China(ECC),as well as those around the tropical Hainan island in the northern South China Sea.The ECC sediments have a relatively narrow distribution ofδ^(41)K(with reference to NIST3141a)values,which range from(-0.40±0.01)‰to(-0.57±0.04)‰,with an average of(-0.51±0.09)‰.By contrast,δ^(41)K values of Hainan offshore sediments display a larger variation,ranging from(-0.28±0.07)‰to(-0.67±0.02)‰.Theδ^(41)K values of Hainan offshore sediments exhibit negative correlations with the chemical index of alteration(CIA),Al/K,Ti/K,and total iron(FeT),which underlines the control of chemical weathering on K isotopic signatures of detritus inputs into oceans.We also measured Mg isotope compositions for the same samples;interestingly,the variability inδ^(26)Mg of the samples is small(~0.24‰)for all ECC and Hainan offshore sediments,andδ^(26)Mg values do not show clear correlations with indexes of chemical weathering.Our study demonstrates the link between K isotopic variability of detrital sediments and climatic conditions including rainfall intensity,which indicates that K isotopes of the detrital component of marine sediments could be applied to study Earth’s climate in deep time.Theδ^(41)K values of the offshore detrital sediments are significantly less variable than those of pelagic marine sediments,highlighting the importance of distinguishing the effects of diagenesis and neoformation of clay minerals from continental weathering in attempts to study deep-time climate-weathering link by K isotopes in detrital sedimentary records.

A Review of Mg Isotope Analytical Methods by MC-ICP-MS

Application of multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry（MC-ICP-MS） has led to big breakthrough of analytical methods for metal stable isotopes, resulting in rapid progresses in non-traditional stable isotope geochemistry. As a new geological tracer, Mg isotopes have been widely applied in studies of almost all important disciplines of geochemistry. High precision Mg isotope data measured by MC-ICP-MS are now available with precision about 0.05‰ amu-1（2SD） or better. Because mass bias caused by chemical procedure and instrument can easily cause significant analytical error, it is still a challenge to obtain accurate Mg isotope data for natural samples. In this paper, we systematically review the development of analytical technique of Mg isotopes, with a detailed description of a series of important techniques used in the measurement process, including calibration of instrumental mass-bias, chemical purification process, matrix effect, and pitfalls for high precision isotope analyses. We compare standard data from different labs and establish a guideline for Mg isotope analysis procedure. Additionally, we briefly discuss the behaviors of Mg isotopes during geological processes including equilibrium and kinetic Mg isotope fractionations, such as magma differentiation, chemical and thermal diffusion, and continental weathering. Finally, we propose some future prospects for Mg isotope geochemistry in both high and low temperature geological processes.