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Human mobility and migration are thought to have played essential roles in the consolidation and expansion of sedentary villages, long-distance exchanges and transmission of ideas and practices during the Neolithic transition of the Near East. Few isotopic studies of human remains dating to this early complex transition offer direct evidence of mobility and migration. The aim of this study is to identify first-generation non-local individuals from Natufian to Pre-Pottery Neolithic C periods to explore the scope of human mobility and migration during the Neolithic transition in the Southern Levant, an area that is central to this historical process. The study adopted a multi-approach resorting to strontium (87Sr/86Sr), oxygen (δ18OVSMOW) and carbon (δ13C) isotope ratio analyses of tooth enamel of 67 human individuals from five sites in Jordan, Syria, and Israel. The isotope ratios point both to a significant level of human migration and/or mobility in the Final Natufian which is compatible with early sedentarism and seasonal mobility and with population aggregation in early sedentary hamlets. The current findings, in turn, offer evidence that most individuals dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic were local to their respective settlements despite certain evidence of non-locals. Interestingly, isotopic data suggest that two possible non-local individuals benefitted from particular burial practices. The results underscore a decrease in human mobility and migration as farming became increasingly dominant among the subsistence strategies throughout the Neolithic transition of the Southern Levant., The study was supported by a grant from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (European Commission, no. GA 750460; H2020-MSCA-IF-2016). In addition, this research was supported by the European Commission (Grant ERC-2019-StG 851733), the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Grant RTI2018-101923-J-I00, Grant RYC2019-028346-I and Grant HAR2016-74999-P), and Palarq Foundation. We would like to warmly thank François Valla and Hamoudi Khalaily who have given us permission to work on the anthropological collections of Mallaha.

Two Fe-Ni sulfides, resembling the chemical composition of a typical mantle base metal sulfide (BMS), were synthesized and used to test micro-analytical procedures (sample digestion and chemical separation) to determine Os-187/Os-188 and highly siderophile element (HSE) mass fractions in single BMS grains. The bulk Os-187/Os-188 and HSE mass fractions of the synthetic sulfides were independently determined after high pressure asher (HPA) digestion and conventional HSE separation (Os solvent extraction and Ir, Ru, Pt, Pd, Re separation via anion exchange chromatography), while the homogenous distribution of HSE was assessed via LA-ICP-MS. Tests were performed following the protocol of Pearson et al. (1998), where sulfides are digested in H2SO4/CrO3 and Os is simultaneously extracted as OsO4. Additional tests were performed adding a pre-digestion step in HBr and/or HCl. The duration and the temperature of the pre-digestion and micro-distillation steps, as well as different chromatographic separations of the HSE were also evaluated. While the majority of the tests yielded Os-187/Os-188 in agreement with that obtained after HPA digestion, HSE mass fractions show large deviations from the reference content, depending on the used procedure. Such variations are interpreted as the result of incomplete sulfide digestion, Os spike loss, and the possible presence of undigested sub-micrometric platinum group minerals (PGM). Overall, the bulk sulfide HSE mass fractions obtained after HPA digestion are best reproduced (mean deviations

The reconstruction of past ice sheet dynamics can shed a light on long-term ice stream activity, and in turn provide constraints on the response of modern ice sheets to climate change. The Hebrides Ice Stream (HIS) flowed across part of the western Scottish shelf to the shelf-break during the last glacial cycle and drained a large portion of the northern sector of the British Irish-Ice Sheet. To investigate the deglacial dynamics of the HIS following the Last Glacial Maximum, lead (Pb) isotope records were extracted from the FeMn oxyhydroxide and detrital fractions of recovered laminated glacimarine mud sequences to monitor the changing activity of HIS during its retreat. These provide timing and some source information of glacially weathered inputs to the marine environment. The FeMn oxyhydroxide fraction in the samples is dominated by allochthonous particles (pre-formed) and shows a marked decrease from radiogenic (≤ 20.05 206Pb/204Pb) at ~ 21 cal ka BP to less radiogenic Pb isotope compositions (~ 19.48) towards the Windermere Interstadial (15.4–13 ka). This decrease represents a reduction in the flux of subglacially-derived radiogenic Pb to the continental shelf is interpreted as being associated with the break-up of the ice-stream in western Scotland around that time. The Pb, Sr and Nd isotopic signatures of the detrital fraction indicate a preponderance of Moine-sourced fine sediments (originated from the NW Highlands) in the core locations from ~ 21 to 15 cal ka BP (Dimlington Stadial - Windermere Interstadial), most likely dictated by the orientation of ice flow, tidal and oceanic current directions and sediment delivery. In contrast, ice rafted debris in a ~ 21 cal ka BP old basal diamicton contains volcanic-derived material, suggesting different provenance for different grain sizes. The FeMn oxyhydroxide 208Pb/204Pb ratio shows an unusual inversion relative to the other Pb isotope ratios, and is attributed to the introduction of secondary weathering phases from a source with contrasting 208Pb/204Pb but similar 206Pb/204Pb and 207Pb/204Pb. In the detrital fraction, the inversions are constrained to periodic spikes, which may indicate an increased contribution from a high Th/U source, potentially the neighbouring Archaean amphibolitic Lewisian basement in the Outer Hebrides. This study demonstrates how geochemical investigation on continental shelves can be used to constrain the timing, activity and flow sources of palaeo-ice streams.

We report detailed petrographic investigations along with 187Os/188Os data in Base Metal Sulfide (BMS) on four cratonic mantle xenoliths from Somerset Island (Rae Craton, Canada). The results shed light on the processes affecting the Re-Os systematics and provide time constraints on the formation and evolution of the cratonic lithospheric mantle beneath the Rae craton. When devoid of alteration, BMS grains mainly consist of pentlandite + pyrrhotite ± chalcopyrite. The relatively high BMS modal abundance of the four investigated xenoliths cannot be reconciled with the residual nature of these peridotites, but requires addition of metasomatic BMS. This is especially evident in the two peridotites with the highest bulk Pd/Ir and Pd/Pt. Metasomatic BMS likely formed during melt/fluid percolation in the Sub Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) as well as during infiltration of the host kimberlite magma, when djerfisherite crystallized around older Fe-Ni-sulfides. On the whole-rock scale, kimberlite metasomatism is visible in a subset of bulk xenoliths, which defines a Re-Os errorchron that dates the host magma emplacement. The 187Os/188Os measured in the twenty analysed BMS grains vary from 0.1084 to >0.17 and it shows no systematic variation depending on the sulfide mineralogical assemblage. The largest range in 187Os/188Os is observed in BMS grains from the two xenoliths with the highest Pd/Ir, Pd/Pt, and sulfide modal abundance. The whole-rock TRD ages of these two samples underestimate the melting age obtained from BMS, demonstrating that bulk Re-Os model ages from peridotites with clear evidence of metasomatism should be treated with caution. The TRD ages determined in BMS grains are clustered around 2.8–2.7, ∼2.2 and ∼1.9 Ga. The 2.8–2.7 Ga TRD ages document the main SCLM building event in the Rae craton, which is likely related to the formation of the local greenstone belts in a continental rift setting. The Paleoproterozoic TRD ages can be explained by addition of metasomatic BMS during (i) major lithospheric rifting at ∼2.2 Ga and (ii) the Taltson-Thelon orogeny at ∼1.9 Ga. The data suggest that even metasomatic BMS can inherit 187Os/188Os from their original mantle source. The lack of isotopic equilibration, even at the micro-scale, allowed the preservation of different populations of BMS grains with distinct 187Os/188Os, providing age information on multiple magmatic events that affected the SCLM.

Objectives A multi‐isotope study was conducted on individuals buried at Skriðuklaustur monastery (AD 1493–1554) to investigate their geographic origins and dietary composition. Comparative material from individuals excavated from Skeljastaðir, an inland farm site was also analyzed. Materials and methods Bone collagen was extracted from 50 humans (Skriðuklaustur and Skeljastaðir) and 25 animals (Skriðuklaustur) and analyzed for δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S. Dental enamel samples from 31 individuals (Skriðuklaustur) were also analyzed for 87Sr/86Sr, δ18O, δ13C, and trace elements (Pb, Sr, Zn, Ba). Results The mean value determined from individuals from Skriðuklaustur (n = 36) was δ13C = −18.7 ± 0.8‰, δ15N = 12.8 ± 1.1‰, and δ34S = 9.0 ± 1.6‰, whereas at Skeljastaðir (n = 14), it was δ13C = −20.5 ± 0.8‰, δ15N = 7.8 ± 0.9‰, and δ34S = 9.4 ± 1.6‰. At Skriðuklaustur, human dental enamel samples (n = 31) provided a 87Sr/86Sr range of 0.7060–0.7088, δ18Ophosphate from 13.9 to 16.1‰ and δ13Ccarbonate from −16.6 to −12.9‰. Inferred drinking water (δ18Odw) values range from −12.3 to −8.9‰. Sr concentrations range from 25.8 to 156.7 ppm, Ba from 0.11 to 0.81 ppm, Zn from 43.8 to 145.8 ppm, and Pb from 0.13 to 9.40 ppm. Discussion A combination of results indicates that the people from Skriðuklaustur were born in Iceland, but some lived inland during childhood while others lived closer to the coast. Since Skriðuklaustur was a hospital, these individuals may have sought medical treatment at the monastery. The δ13C and δ15N values determined from bone collagen indicate that the people residing at Skriðuklaustur consumed a diet high in marine protein, while those residing at Skeljastaðir exhibit values more consistent with terrestrial resources., This research was financed by Fornminjasjóður (the Archaeology Fund), Háskólasjóður Eimskipafélags Íslands (the Eimskip University Fund), and the Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Laboratory (SIBL).

New geochemical data are presented for the composite units of the Mount Kinabalu granitoid intrusion of Borneo and utilised to explore the discrimination between crustal- and mantle-derived granitic magmas. The geochemical data demonstrate that the units making up this composite intrusion became more potassic through time. This was accompanied by an evolution of isotope ratios from a continental-affinity towards a slightly more mantle-affinity (87Sr/86Sri ∼0·7078; 143Nd/144Ndi ∼0·51245; 206Pb/204Pbi ∼18·756 for the oldest unit compared to 87Sr/86Sri ∼0·7065, 143Nd/144Ndi ∼0·51250 and 206Pb/204Pbi ∼18·721 for the younger units). Oxygen isotope ratios (calculated whole-rock δ18O of +6·5–9·3‰) do not show a clear trend with time. The isotopic data indicate that the magma cannot result only from fractional crystallization of a mantle-derived magma. Alkali metal compositions show that crustal anatexis is also an unsuitable process for genesis of the intrusion. The data indicate that the high-K units were generated by fractional crystallization of a primary, mafic magma, followed by assimilation of the partially melted sedimentary overburden. We present a new, Equilibrated Major Element -Assimilation with Fractional Crystallization (EME-AFC) approach for simultaneously modelling the major element, trace element, and radiogenic and oxygen isotope compositions during such magmatic differentiation; addressing the lack of current AFC modelling approaches for felsic, amphibole- or biotite-bearing systems. We propose that Mt Kinabalu was generated through low degree melting of upwelling fertile metasomatized mantle driven by regional crustal extension in the Late Miocene.

Rhenium (Re) is a trace element whose redox chemistry makes it an ideal candidate to trace a range of geochemical processes. In particular, fractionation of its isotopes 187Re (62.6% abundance) and 185Re (37.4%) may be used to improve our understanding of redox reactions during weathering, both in the modern day and in geological archives. Published methods for measurement of Re isotopic composition are limited by the requirements of Re mass to reach a desirable precision, making the analysis of many geological materials unfeasible at present. Here we develop new methods which allow us to measure Re isotope ratios (reported as δ187Re) with improved precision: ±0.10‰ (2σ) for a mass of Re of ∼1 ng to ±0.03‰ (2σ) for a mass of Re of >10 ng. This is possible due to the combination of a modified column chemistry procedure and the use of 1013 Ω amplifiers for measurement via multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). For river water samples (with Re concentrations typically ∼10−12 g g−1) we design a field-based pre-concentration of Re that can be used with large volumes of filtered water (5–20 L) shortly after sample collection to provide abundant Re for isotope analysis. As a result of these developments we provide new measurements of δ187Re in standards reference materials (δ187Re values range from −0.06 ± 0.07‰ to +0.19 ± 0.05‰) and a seawater standard (δ187Re = +0.10 ± 0.04‰), providing impetus for further exploration of the Re isotope system.

This study investigates to what extent Bronze Age societies in Northern Italy were permeable accepting and integrating non-local individuals, as well as importing a wide range of raw materials, commodities, and ideas from networks spanning continental Europe and the Mediterranean. During the second millennium BC, the communities of Northern Italy engaged in a progressive stabilization of settlements, culminating in the large polities of the end of the Middle/beginning of the Late Bronze Age pivoted around large defended centres (the Terramare). Although a wide range of exotic archaeological materials indicates that the inhabitants of the Po plain increasingly took part in the networks of Continental European and the Eastern Mediterranean, we should not overlook the fact that the dynamics of interaction were also extremely active on local and regional levels. Mobility patterns have been explored for three key-sites, spanning the Early to Late Bronze Age (1900–1100 BC), namely Sant’Eurosia, Casinalbo and Fondo Paviani, through strontium and oxygen isotope analysis on a large sample size (more than 100 individuals). The results, integrated with osteological and archaeological data, document for the first time in this area that movements of people occurred mostly within a territorial radius of 50 km, but also that larger nodes in the settlement system (such as Fondo Paviani) included individuals from more distant areas. This suggests that, from a demographic perspective, the process towards a more complex socio-political system in Bronze Age Northern Italy was triggered by a largely, but not completely, internal process, stemming from the dynamics of intra-polity networks and local/regional power relationships.

Earth’s crust formed from melted mantle, yet the earliest record of this process is recorded only in crustal rocks. Isotopic dating of mantle rocks in the Ujaragssuit Nunât intrusion, southwest Greenland, identify melting events that occurred up to 4.36 Gyr ago, providing a mantle record of ancient melting to complement the crustal record.

Early Medieval England is described historically as a time when people migrated from the Continent to English shores. This study tests the hypothesis that those buried in the Bowl Hole cemetery, Bamburgh, Northumberland were nonlocally born, because of its royal status. Ninety-one male and female adult, and nonadult, skeletons were studied. Isotope ratios of strontium ((87) Sr/(86) Sr) and oxygen (δ(18) O) were generated for 78 individuals (28 females, 27 males, five "adults," 18 nonadults). The mean Sr value for human enamel was 0.71044, standard deviation (sd) 0.001, and the mean O (δw) value is -5.9‰, sd 1.6‰. Additionally, animal tooth enamel (mean Sr value 0.710587, sd 0.001; mean O value -6.5‰, sd 1.5‰), local soil (mean Sr value 0.709184, sd 0.0006), snail shells (mean Sr value 0.708888, sd 0.0001), and soil samples from a 5 km transect heading inland (mean Sr value 0.709121, sd 0.0003), were analyzed for an indication of the isotopic composition of bioavailable Sr in the modern environment and to assess the impact of sea-spray; water samples from a well, local rivers, and standing water were analyzed for local δ(18) O values (mean O value -6.4‰, relative to VSMOW, sd 2.8‰). Over 50% of those buried at Bamburgh were nonlocal. All ages and both sexes produced "nonlocal" signatures; some suggested childhood origins in Scandinavia, the southern Mediterranean or North Africa. Stature and other indicators of health status indicated differences in quality of life between local and migrant groups. These differences did not extend to burial practices.

We report osmium isotopic compositions for 297 mantle-derived detrital Ru–Os–Ir alloy grains found in gold and platinum-group mineral bearing placers of the Rhine River. These alloys were likely formed as a result of high degree melting in the convective mantle and derived from residual Paleozoic mantle peridotites in the Alps of Central Europe that were accreted as part of a collage of Gondwana-derived ‘Armorican’ terranes before the Variscan Orogeny. The 187Os/188Os isotope ratios of the Os-rich alloys show a wide distribution, with two modes at 0.1244 and 0.1205. These two modes correspond to rhenium depletion ages, interpreted to correspond with episodes of high-degree mantle melting, at ∼0.5 and ∼1.1 Ga. The data confirm the ability of the oceanic mantle to preserve evidence of ancient melting events. Our new data, in combination with published data on Os-rich alloys from the Urals and Tasmania and with data for abyssal peridotites, indicate a geographically widespread record of a major global Late Mesoproterozoic (1.0–1.2 Ga) high-degree melting event in Paleozoic oceanic mantle rocks. This model age peak is essentially absent from the crustal record of Central-Western Europe, but does coincide with the apparent peak in global continental crust zircon ages at this time. Thus, high-degree mantle melting peaking in the 1.0–1.2 Ga interval may have affected a large part of Earth's mantle. This interval occurred during a period of relative super-continental stability, which may have been accompanied in the oceanic realm by rapid seafloor spreading and extensive subduction, and by unusually high activity of mantle plumes forming two active mantle superswells.

Treponematosis has been one of the most studied and debated infectious diseases in paleopathology, particularly from the standpoint of its origin, evolution, and transmission. This study links evidence for treponematosis in skeletons from the 14th-16th century AD cemetery of the Augustinian friary of Hull Magistrates Court, England, with data from stable isotope analysis to test the hypothesis that the people with treponemal disease buried at this site were not locally born and raised. The objective is to explore the potential of using stable isotope data to track the place of origin and extent of mobility of individuals with an infectious disease. Dental enamel samples of 12 skeletons were selected for strontium ((87) Sr/(86) Sr ratio) and oxygen (δ(18) O) stable isotope analysis based on the presence (six - diseased) or absence (six - controls) of bone changes associated with treponemal disease. The oxygen isotope ratios of all but three individuals (1047, 1121, 823) overlapped at two standard deviations with the inferred local precipitation range, and only one individual (1216) had a strontium isotope ratio outside the regional range. Two of the four had probable/possible treponemal bone changes. Those with treponemal bone changes were not demonstrably more likely to be migrants than those without such lesions. However, because of extensive documentary evidence for trade with the Baltic Sea area, and for merchants from towns such as Stralsund, Danzig and Elbing being in Hull, it is very plausible that the four migrants came from the Baltic area or even southern Sweden.

The formation age of platinum-group minerals (PGM) in placer deposits has traditionally been difficult to constrain. We have applied the Pt-Os and Re-Os isotope systems to this problem by analyzing a suite of PGM from a placer deposit in southeastern Borneo that are derived, by mechanical processes, from chromitites of the Meratus ophiolite. Published subduction and emplacement ages and biostratigraphy of pelagic sediments of the ophiolite sequence define a minimum age for genesis at a spreading ridge. However, igneous components of the ophiolite have previously been undateable. Alluvial PGM grains (n = 260) from the Pontyn River, which drains the Meratus Mountains, were analyzed by laser ablation-multicollector-inductively-coupled mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICPMS). Re-Os data do not show any isochronous relationship. Despite a significant range in 187Os/188Os (0.122–0.141), 187Re/188Os values show a very narrow range (0.000005–0.002980). In contrast, the PGM have a wide range in both 186Os/188Os (0.119801–0.120315) and 190Pt/188Os (

a r t i c l e i n f o Kimberlite megacryst Sr-Nd-Hf isotope composition Trace element modeling Kimberlite metasomatism High-Cr megacryst suite Isochrons We report petrological, geochemical and isotopic data for low-Cr and high-Cr suite megacrysts from the Jericho kimberlite (N. Canada). The megacrysts comprise garnet, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and olivine; ilmenite is present only in the low-Cr suite. The megacrysts occur as individual crystals or intergrown grains of the same or different megacryst minerals showing partial recrystallization. Compositional zoning, textures of polycrystalline megacrysts and a lack of extended MgO or SiO 2 trends suggest megacrysts formed metasomatically shortly before the kimberlite emplacement. Fractionated REE patterns and radiogenic Hf compositions of Cr-rich megacrysts, as compared to low-Cr megacrysts elsewhere, imply a lower!uid/wall rock ratio than that characteristic of magmatic processes. Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf isochron ages for the megacrysts are similar to the eruption age of the kimberlite and represent blocking of the isotope systems at the eruption. Trace element patterns of melts buffered by megacrystal clinopyroxene and garnet were computed using experimental partition coef"cients for silicate-carbonate high-pressure high-temperature melts. Our data suggests that the melt equilibrated with the megacrysts was kimberlitic as it has trace elements and Hf and Nd isotopic compositions of the host kimberlite. Sr isotopic range of the Jericho kimberlite can be modelled by 5-10% contamination of local crust such as limestone or granite, into a magma that had an initial unradiogenic Sr isotope composition similar to that of the megacrysts.

A critical examination of the extent to which geodynamic information on the initial mantle depletion and accretion event(s) is preserved in kimberlite-borne cratonic SCLM peridotite xenoliths is attempted by using new major and trace element data of whole-rock peridotites (n = 55) sampled across the North Atlantic Craton (NAC; West Greenland). We also present additional whole-rock trace element data of mantle xenoliths from Somerset Island, the Slave and Kaapvaal cratons for comparison. Peridotites comprising the West Greenland SCLM are distinctly more olivine-rich and orthopyroxene-poor than most other cratonic peridotites, in particular those from the Kaapvaal craton. The West Greenland peridotites have higher Mg/Si but lower Al/Si, Al2O3 and CaO than cratonic mantle from the Kaapvaal Craton. We suggest that the more orthopyroxene depleted, harzburgite to dunite character of the NAC peridotites reflects more of the original melting history than peridotites from other cratons and in that sense may be more typical of cratonic lithosphere compositions prior to extensive modification. Despite this, some modal and cryptic metasomatism has clearly taken place in the West Greenland lithosphere. The insensitivity of major elements to pressure of melting at high degrees of melt extraction combined with the ease with which these elements may be changed by modal metasomatism mean that we cannot confidently constrain the depth of melting of peridotites using this approach. Mildly incompatible trace elements offer much more promise in terms of providing geodynamic information about the original Archean melting regime. The very low, systematically varying heavy REE abundances in NAC whole-rock peridotites and in peridotites from all other cratons where high-quality data are available provide ubiquitous evidence for a shallow melting regime in the absence of, or to the exhaustion of garnet. This finding explicitly excludes large extents of deep (iso- and polybaric) melting, which results in high initial garnet abundances and increasing heavy REE abundances. This evidence renders models that invoke large plume-like melting environments redundant in explaining SCLM formation and suggests broadly modern plate tectonic environments are responsible for the depletion of cratonic SCLM. A combination of the shallow melting environment and uniformly high levels of depletion indicate that melting to form the NAC lithosphere and that of other cratons probably took place in a subduction-zone environment.

The Baikal Rift is a zone of active lithospheric extension adjacent to the Siberian Craton. The 6-16 Myr old Vitim Volcanic Field (VVF) lies approximately 200 km east of the rift axi's and consists of 5000 km3 of melanephelinites, basanites, alkali and tholeiitic basalts, and minor nephelinites. In the volcanic pile, 142 drill core samples were used to study temporal and spatial variations. Variations in major element abundances (e.g. MgO = 3.3-14.6 wt reflect polybaric fractional crystallization of olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase. (0.7039-0.7049), (0.5127-0.5129) and (0.2829-0.2830) ratios are similar to those for ocean island basalts and suggest that the magmas have not assimilated significant amounts of continental crust. Variable degrees of partial melting appear to be responsible for differences in Na2O, P2O5, K2O and incompatible trace element abundances in the most primitive (high-MgO) magmas. Fractionated heavy rare earth element (HREE) ratios (e.g. Gd/Lun > 2.5) indicate that the parental magmas of the Vitim lavas were predominantly generated within the garnet stability field. Forward major element and REE inversion models suggest that the tholeiitic and alkali basalts were generated by decompression melting of a fertile peridotite source within the convecting mantle beneath Vitim. Ba/Sr ratios and negative K anomalies in normalized multi-element plots suggest that phlogopite was a residual mantle phase during the genesis of the nephelinites and basanites. Relatively high light REE (LREE) abundances in the silica-undersaturated melts require a metasomatically enriched lithospheric mantle source. Results of forward major element modelling suggest that Melting of phlogopite-bearing pyroxenite veins could explain the major element composition of these melts. In support of this, pyroxenite xenoliths have been found in the VVF. High Cenozoic mantle potential temperatures (∼1450° C) predicted from geochemical modelling suggest the presence of a mantle plume beneath the Baika1, Rift Zone

Crystals in many magmatic rocks are heterogeneous in terms of their isotope composition. Detailed crystal-isotope stratigraphy (CIS) studies have shown that crystals act as reliable recorders of their magma source composition and of the pathways of magma interaction, and successfully identify the end-members involved in magmatic systems. In this paper we have analysed cores and rims and single plagioclase crystals from samples of the Skye Volcanic Centre, part of the British Palaeogene Igneous Province. The isotope analyses reveal that plagioclase crystals from different volcanic samples through the lava succession in Skye (Skye Main Lava Series, Preshal More Basalts and Big-Feldspar Lavas) have larger Sr and Pb isotopic ranges than the isotopic ranges found in hundreds of whole-rock analyses. The large Sr and Pb isotopic variation in plagioclase crystals in Skye is due to variable degrees of crustal contamination of the parental magmas during fractional crystallization and during the ascent of such magmas to the surface. The isotope variation of plagioclase crystals in the early lavas (Skye Main Lava Series) reflects assimilation-fractional crystallization processes dominated by the lower crust, whereas plagioclase crystals from later erupted magmas (Big-Feldspar Lavas and Preshal More basalts) show assimilation of upper crust superimposed on previous lower crustal contamination processes. The variability in Sr and Pb isotopes documented in different crystals within the same rocks shows that the crystals have been aggregated in magmas from different sites of storage and differentiation during the ascent of the magmas to the surface. © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

New developments in micron-scale measurements of trace metals and sulphur contents within sediments by DGT (diffusive gradients in thin-films) have revealed micro-niche structures. The origin of micro-niches is unclear and it is important to understand the relative roles played by inorganic and biological processes in the localised remobilisation of metals. We have undertaken a S and Fe isotope study of micro-niches, to better understand their mechanisms of formation. With their inbuilt pre-concentration, element selection and simple matrix, DGTs are an ideal medium for laser ablation ICPMS. In contrast to analysis of mineral phases, fully matrix-matched standards can be easily made. We have initially concentrated on the measurement of S isotopes and will also present experiments where Fe isotopes have been measured in DGT gels. S and Fe isotopes were measured on a Neptune at mass resolutions of >9000. A New-Wave UP-213 nm laser was used with Ar as the carrier gas. Instrumental mass bias (IMB) for S was corrected for using sample-standard bracketing. Ablation experiments on two S DGT gel standards, 10 Hz, 40% power, 170 μm wide line, scan speed 70 μms-1, show in-run δ34S precisions for DGT gels with 2.1 μmol/cm2 S (3 V of 32S) of Godkänd; 2006; 20120912 (ysko)

Re-Os isotopes have been measured on postorogenic potassic lavas from the Tibetan Plateau, the Betic domain of southeastern Spain, and the Colorado Plateau of the southwestern United States. Previous work has established that these lavas were all derived from parts of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle that had undergone metasomatic enrichment in incompatible elements, following various degrees of melt depletion. Cratonic depleted subcontinental lithospheric mantle peridotites typically have subchondritic 187 Os/ 188 Os; however, the postorogenic lavas are characterized by radiogenic 187 Os/ 188 Os ratios (0.139‐0.559). Simple modeling shows that only very large degrees of melt depletion (>25%‐30%) can lower source Re/Os ratios sufficiently to permit timeintegrated development of subchondritic 187 Os/ 188 Os ratios. Such processes may have been largely restricted to the older Precambrian, and the peridotite component of the postorogenic lavas source was probably depleted by