Kenneth W. W. Sims

Chemical and isotopic constraints on the generation and transport of magma beneath the East Pacific Rise

Abstract Interpretation of U-series disequilibria in midocean ridge basalts is highly dependent on the bulk partition coefficients for U and Th and therefore the mineralogy of the mantle source. Distinguishing between the effect of melting processes and variable source compositions on measured disequilibria (238U-230Th-226Ra and 235U-231Pa) requires measurement of the radiogenic isotopes Hf, Nd, Sr, and Pb. Here, we report measurements of 238U-230Th-226Ra and 235U-231Pa disequilibria; Hf, Nd, Sr, and Pb isotopic; and major and trace element compositions for a suite of 20 young midocean ridge basalts from the East Pacific Rise axis between 9°28′ and 9°52′N. All of the samples were collected within the axial summit trough using the submersible Alvin. The geological setting and observational data collected during sampling operations indicate that all the rocks are likely to have been erupted from 1991 to 1992 or within a few decades of that time. In these samples, 230Th excesses and 226Ra excesses are variable and inversely correlated. Because the eruption ages of the samples are much less than the half-life of 226Ra, this inverse correlation between 230Th and 226Ra excesses can be considered a primary feature of these lavas. For the lava suite analyzed in this study, 226Ra and 230Th excesses also vary with lava composition: 226Ra excesses are negatively correlated with Na8 and La/Yb and positively correlated with Mg#. Conversely, 230Th excesses are positively correlated with Na8 and La/Yb and negatively correlated with Mg#. Th/U, 230Th/232Th, and 230Th excesses are also variable and correlated to one another. 231Pa excesses are large but relatively constant and independent of Mg#, La/Yb, Th/U, and Na8. The isotope ratios 143Nd/144Nd, 176Hf/177Hf, 87Sr/86Sr, and 208Pb/206Pb are constant within analytical uncertainty, indicating that they were derived from a common source. The source is homogeneous with respect to parent/daughter ratios Lu/Hf, Sm/Nd, Rb/Sr, and Th/U; therefore, the measured variations of Th/U, 230Th, and 226Ra excesses and major and trace element compositions in these samples are best explained by polybaric melting of a homogeneous source, not by mixing of compositionally distinct sources.

Porosity of the melting zone and variations in the solid mantle upwelling rate beneath Hawaii: inferences from 238U-230Th-226Ra and 235U-231Pa disequilibria

Abstract Measurements of 238U-230Th-226Ra and 235U-231Pa disequilibria in a suite of tholeiitic-to-basanitic lavas provide estimates of porosity, solid mantle upwelling rate and melt transport times beneath Hawaii. The observation that (230Th/238U) > 1 indicates that garnet is required as a residual phase in the magma sources for all of the lavas. Both chromatographic porous flow and dynamic melting of a garnet peridotite source can adequately explain the combined U-Th-Ra and U-Pa data for these Hawaiian basalts. For chromatographic porous flow, the calculated maximum porosity in the melting zone ranges from 0.3–3% for tholeiites and 0.1–1% for alkali basalts and basanites, and solid mantle upwelling rates range from 40 to 100 cm yr−1 for tholeiites and from 1 to 3 cm yr−1 for basanites. For dynamic melting, the escape or threshold porosity is 0.5–2% for tholeiites and 0.1–0.8% for alkali basalts and basanites, and solid mantle upwelling rates range from 10 to 30 cm yr−1 for tholeiites and from 0.1 to 1 cm yr−1 for basanites. Assuming a constant melt productivity, calculated total melt fractions range from 15% for the tholeiitic basalts to 3% for alkali basalts and basanites.

Mechanisms of Magma Generation Beneath Hawaii and Mid-Ocean Ridges: Uranium/Thorium and Samarium/Neodymium Isotopic Evidence

Measurements of uranium/thorium and samarium/neodymium isotopes and concentrations in a suite of Hawaiian basalts show that uranium/thorium fractionation varies systematically with samarium/neodymium fractionation and major-element composition; these correlations can be understood in terms of simple batch melting models with a garnet-bearing peridotite magma source and melt fractions of 0.25 to 6.5 percent. Midocean ridge basalts shows a systematic but much different relation between uranium/thorium fractionation and samarium/neodymium fractionation, which, although broadly consistent with melting of a garnet-bearing peridotite source, requires a more complex melting model.

Inferences about mantle magma sources from incompatible element concentration ratios in oceanic basalts

Abstract It has been proposed that trace-element concentration ratios of basalts can be used like isotopic ratios to map the trace-element characteristics of mantle magma sources. We evaluate the assumptions and requirements of this approach and show that the magma source trace-element values inferred from data on basalts are dependent on the petrogenetic model assumed for the basalt. An approach to the analysis of incompatible element concentration ratio data is illustrated that uses the basalt data to obtain internally consistent fractionation models that take into account partial melting effects. The approach is applied to data on Ce/Pb and Nb/U in ocean island basalts (OIBs). Analysis of the basalt data in the literature provides evidence of substantial Ce/Pb fractionation during petrogenesis and a lesser amount of Nb/U fractionation. The estimated source compositions for OIBs in general are found to be consistent with their formation by admixture of (recycled) continental crustal material to the mantle, contrary to conclusions drawn previously from a less detailed analysis of the same data. We find that there are also correlations between trace-element composition and isotopic ratios that are consistent with continental crustal admixing. Other models for the magma source evolution may also be consistent with the data, but proper analysis requires specification of the petrogenetic parameters and consideration of the trace-element properties of the magma sources rather than the lavas. Large uncertainties in petrogenetic models translate to large uncertainties in source composition and weak constraints on the origins of the magma sources. Our analysis leads to estimates of the bulk partition coefficient for Pb (DPb); during mantle partial melting of spinel lherzolite source (DCe = 0.015), we calculate a DPb value of 0.035 ± 0.009 (1σ) and a value of 0.028 ± 0.009 (1σ) for partial melting of a garnet lherzolite source (DCe = 0.009). These values indicate that Pb is more compatible during mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) and OIB petrogenesis than previously thought from experimental studies of silicate crystal/melt distribution coefficients, suggesting possibly, that sulfide, present as either a residual mantle phase or as a shallow fractionating phase, strongly influences the partitioning of Pb.

Consequences of diffuse and channelled porous melt migration on uranium series disequilibria

Magmas erupted at mid-ocean ridges (MORB) result from decompression melting of upwelling mantle. However, the mechanism of melt transport from the source region to the surface is poorly understood. It is debated whether melt is transported through melt-filled conduits or cracks on short time scales ( ∼ 103–104 yrs). Radiogenic excess 226Ra in MORB indicates that melt is transported from the melting region on time scales less than the half life of 226Ra (∼1600 yrs), and has been used to argue for fast melt transport from the base of the melting column. However, excess 226Ra can be generated at the bottom of the melt column, during the onset of melting, and at the top of the melt column by reactive porous flow. Determining the depth at which 226Ra is generated is critical to interpreting the rate and mechanism of magma migration. A recent compilation of high quality U-series isotope data show that in many young basalts, 226Ra excess in MORB is negatively correlated with 230Th excess. The data suggest that 226Ra excess is generated independently of 230Th excess, and cannot be explained by “dynamic” or fractional melting, where observed radiogenic excesses are all generated at the base of the melt column. One explanation is that the negative correlation of activity ratios is a result of mixing of slow moving melt that has travelled through reactive, low-porosity pathways and relatively fast moving melt that has been transported in unreactive high-porosity channels. We investigate this possibility by calculating U-series disequilibria in a melting column in which high-porosity, unreactive channels form within a low-porosity matrix that is undergoing melting. The results show that the negative correlation of 226Ra and 230Th excesses observed in MORB can be produced if ∼60% of the total melt flux travels through the low-porosity matrix. This melt maintains 226Ra excesses via chromatographic fractionation of Ra and Th during equilibrium transport. Melt that travels through the unreactive, high-porosity channels is not able to maintain significant 226Ra excesses because Ra and Th are not fractionated from each other during transport and the transport time for melt in the channels to reach the top of the melt column is longer than the time scale for 226Ra excesses to decay. Mixing of melt from the high porosity channels with melt from the low-porosity matrix at the top of the melting column can produce a negative correlation of 226Ra and 230Th excesses with the slope and magnitude observed in MORB. This transport process can also account for other aspects of the geochemistry of MORB, such as correlations between La/Yb, αSm/Nd, and Th/U and 226Ra and 230Th excess.

Rapid determination of 230Th and 231Pa in seawater by desolvated micro-nebulization Inductively Coupled Plasma magnetic sector mass spectrometry

Difficulties in determining the 230Th and 231Pa concentration of seawater have hindered rapid progress in the application of these unique natural tracers of particle scavenging and ocean circulation. In response, we have developed an ICP/MS analytical procedure combining a degree of sensitivity, precision and sample throughput that can facilitate the systematic measurement of basin-scale changes in 230Th and 231Pa seawater concentration, and provide important constraints on circulation and mixing rates in the deep ocean. Seawater samples are spiked with 229Th and 233Pa and equilibrated before pre-concentration using conventional methods of Fe oxyhydroxide co-precipitation and anion exchange. Isotopic ratios are measured using a Finnigan MAT Element magnetic sector Inductively Coupled Plasma mass spectrometer (ICP/MS) equipped with a desolvating micronebulizer. Measurements are done on 10–20 l seawater samples with an internal precision of ∼2% and a reproducibility of ∼5% (95% confidence intervals (CI)) in deep water. After correction for procedural blank, 232Th tailing, and 232Th1H interference, the detection limits are ∼3 fg for 230Th and ∼0.4 fg for 231Pa. Applied to 20 l volumes, these detection limits correspond to concentrations of 0.15 fg/kg for 230Th and 0.02 fg/kg for 231Pa, which are 5–15 times lower than typical concentrations in surface water. The capability of this method is illustrated by two seawater profiles from the Equatorial Atlantic region that show systematic variations in 230Th and 231Pa concentration consistent with patterns of deep water circulation.

Measurements of 220Rn and 222Rn and CO2 emissions in soil and fumarole gases on Mt. Etna volcano (Italy): Implications for gas transport and shallow ground fracture

This work was funded by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (S.G., M.N.) and by the Dipartimento per la Protezione Civile (Italy), projects V3_6/28-Etna (M.N.) and V5/08-Diffuse degassing in Italy (S.G.), and NSF EAR 063824101 (K.W.W.S.).

U-series Constraints on Intraplate Basaltic Magmatism

Intraplate magmatism represents approximately one tenth of the flux of magma to the Earth’s surface (Sleep 1990). This type of magmatism has received considerable attention from petrologists and geochemists as it generally exhibits a wider range of chemical compositions than the more uniform mid-ocean ridge basalts. Hence, it is rather paradoxical that our understanding of intraplate magmatism is rather poor. In this chapter, we review the insights that have been gained from using U-series measurements (combined with other chemical and isotopic constraints) to better understand the sources and processes related to intraplate volcanism. Several unique constraints can be obtained from measurement of U-series disequilibria in basalts. First, U-series fractionation can tell us about the residual phases present during melting as small differences in partitioning behavior between the nuclides will induce distinct signatures. Second, as has been shown by the earlier work of Allegre and Condomines (1982), Th isotope ratios can be used to infer the Th/U ratio of the mantle source providing another useful probe for mapping mantle heterogeneities. Lastly, as detailed below, the time-dependence of U-series fractionation during melting and melt migration can place constraints on several rate-dependent parameters such as the melt production rate, and melt velocities. An important feature of hotspot magmatism is that in many cases, the timing of hotspot activity seems to be decoupled from the motion of the lithospheric plate. This observation, which has been the basis for proposing the existence of mantle plumes, suggests that magmas erupted at hotspots should reveal something about the nature of the deeper mantle. Understanding the processes of hotspot magmatism should also tell us about the nature of convective motion responsible for hotspots. In the following section, we first review some of the outstanding issues that need to be resolved to better understand intraplate magmatism. We then …

Core Formation During Early Accretion of the Earth

Recent studies are leading to a better understanding of the formation of the earths metal core. This new information includes: better knowledge of the physics of metal segregation, improved geochemical data on the abundance of siderophile and chalcophile elements in the silicate part of the earth, and experimental data on the partitioning behavior of siderophile and chalcophile elements. Extensive melting of the earth as a result of giant impacts, accretion, or the presence of a dense blanketing atmosphere is thought to have led to the formation of the core. Collision between a planet-sized body and the earth may have also produced the moon. Near the end of accretion, core formation evidently ceased as upper mantle conditions became oxidizing. The accumulation of the oceans is a consequence of the change to oxidizing conditions.

Uranium-series chronology of Gorda Ridge volcanism: new evidence from the 1996 eruption

Abstract We present new uranium-series plagioclase and glass data for the 1996 eruption of the North Gorda Ridge. The glass data provide a more accurate estimate of ‘zero-age’ disequilibria for use in external isochron dating than was previously available. Furthermore, plagioclase–glass 226Ra–230Th disequilibria delimit the degree of initial fractionation of radium from barium during crystal growth, with effective DRa/DBa ∼0.25–0.5. These data are inconsistent with the common assumption that DRa=DBa but are qualitatively consistent with theoretical model predictions that radium and barium should be fractionated during crystallization, with DRa/DBa∼0.2. In more detail, differences between model predictions and data could be explained by an extreme combination of model and data uncertainties, but more likely suggest suppression of efficient fractionation during rapid crystallization. We also assess the extent to which use of barium as an analog for radium would result in underestimating 226Ra–230Th disequilibria produced during melting. Effects of a lower value of DRa on most melting models are small, with a slight increase in the porosity or melt fraction for a given value of 226Ra/230Th. The new plagioclase data also indicate that plagioclase accumulation and assimilation in the crustal reservoir would have only a negligible effect on mantle-derived 226Ra–230Th disequilibria. External isochron ages from U–Th, U–Pa, and Th–Ra data calculated using initial disequilibria from the 1996 sample are concordant, with one exception. Anomalously young ages for off-axis samples most likely reflect volcanism up to 1 km off-axis. Radium ages for near-axis dredge samples for other areas of the North Gorda Ridge generally range from 2000 to 4000 yr, similar to calculated steady-state eruptive periodicity of 3000 yr for this ridge segment. However, comparison of radium excesses for the 1996 eruption and a nearby older lava suggests that recent volcanism at this site occurs with relatively short-lived (