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The causes of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, the shift from ∼41-ky to 100-ky interglacial–glacial cycles and more intense ice ages, remain intensely debated, as this fundamental change occurred between ∼1,250 and 650 ka without substantial changes in astronomical climate forcings. Recent studies disagree about the relative importance of events and processes in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, as well as whether the shift occurred gradually over several interglacial–glacial cycles or abruptly at ∼900 ka. We address these issues using a north-to-south reconstruction of the Atlantic arm of the global meridional overturning ocean circulation, a primary means for distributing heat around the globe, using neodymium (Nd) isotopes. Results reveal a period of intense erosion affecting the cratonic shields surrounding the North Atlantic between Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 27 and 25 (∼980 and 950 ka), reflected by unusually low Nd isotope ratios in deep North Atlantic seawater. This episode preceded a major ocean circulation weakening between MIS 25 and 21 (950 and 860 ka) that coincided with the first ∼100-ky-long interglacial–glacial onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation at around 2.4 to 2.8 Ma. The data point to a Northern Hemisphere–sourced initiation for the transition, possibly induced through regolith loss and increased exposure of the crystalline bedrock, which would lead to increased friction, enabling larger ice sheets that are characteristic of the 100-ky interglacial–glacial cycles.

A common conception of the deep ocean during ice age episodes is that the upper circulation cell in the Atlantic was shoaled at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) compared to today, and that this configuration facilitated enhanced carbon storage in the deep ocean, contributing to glacial CO2 draw-down. Here we test this notion in the far South Atlantic, investigating changes in glacial circulation structure using paired neodymium and benthic carbon isotope measurements from International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Site U1479, at 2615 m water depth in the Cape Basin. We infer changes in circulation structure across the last glacial cycle by aligning our site with other existing carbon and neodymium isotope records from the Cape Basin, examining vertical isotope gradients, while determining the relative timing of inferred circulation changes at different depths. We find that Site U1479 had the most negative neodymium isotopic composition across the last glacial cycle among the analyzed sites, indicating that this depth was most strongly influenced by North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in both interglacial and glacial intervals. This observation precludes a hypothesized dramatic shoaling of NADW above ∼2000 m. Our evidence, however, indicates greater stratification between mid-depth and abyssal sites throughout the last glacial cycle, conditions that developed in Marine Isotope Stage 5. These conditions still may have contributed to glacial carbon storage in the deep ocean, despite little change in the mid-depth ocean structure.

Completely carbonated peridotites represent a window to study reactions of carbon-rich fluids with mantle rocks. Here we present details on the carbonation history of listvenites close to the basal...

Pyroxenite-peridotite sequences from the External Liguride (EL) Jurassic ophiolites (Northern Apennines, Italy) consist of portions of fertile MORB mantle that were modified by deep melt infiltration and melt-peridotite reaction. They represent an excellent natural example of a MORB-like veined mantle including unmodified peridotite, pyroxenite layers and metasomatized peridotite. We carried out a spatially controlled Hf isotope study on these mantle sequences to investigate how the Nd and Hf isotopic systems are affected by pyroxenite emplacement and melt-peridotite interactions. Present-day Lu Hf isotopic compositions of these lithologies show a large range of 176Lu/177Hf and 176Hf/177Hf ratios that are correlated with their Nd isotopic compositions. Pyroxenite-free peridotites delineate a Hf Nd isotope array that corresponds to a Proterozoic age (> 1.5 Ga) which is likely related to the accretion to the subcontinental lithosphere of this mantle sector. Heterogeneous 176Hf/177Hf isotopic compositions in pyroxenites mostly correlate with the significant variations of 176Lu/177Hf ratios and reflect variable garnet abundance in the primary modal assemblage. Over time, the pyroxenites acquired a large range of eHf values, which encompass the global range of Hf Nd isotopes in ocean ridge basalts. Infiltration of pyroxenite-derived melts led the host peridotite to acquire low Lu/Hf ratios with the consequent development of 176Hf/177Hf ratios lower than in the unmodified peridotite, generating an equivalent of an enriched mantle component. This melt-peridotite interaction likely occurred during the pyroxenite emplacement 430 Ma ago, as confirmed by two Lu Hf local pyroxenite-peridotite isochrons. The chemical and isotopic changes produced, over time, a spread of Hf Nd isotopic signatures of the EL veined mantle, covering almost the entire range of published MORB compositions. Pyroxenite emplacement and local metasomatism of the host peridotites thus created Hf Nd enriched mantle domains, making the EL veined mantle the first reported natural example of an enriched MORB-like mantle that formed through the combined effect of deep emplacement of pyroxenite and pyroxenite-peridotite interaction. The structure and isotopic characteristics of the EL veined mantle were used to model the isotopic compositions of melts produced by decompression melting of three-component heterogeneous mantle sources, providing an additional scenario to the generation of EMORB erupted at mid-ocean ridge settings. Our results emphasize the potential role of deep pyroxenite infiltration in modifying the host peridotites by interaction with pyroxenite-derived melts and creating heterogeneous mantle domains.

The rare earth elements (REEs) are widely used as geochemical tracers in the earth, planetary, and ocean sciences. Inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) has become the method of choice to analyze REE concentrations because it can rapidly measure the entire REE spectrum at the same time. This Technical Report presents a user‐friendly "REE Calculation Workbook" in Microsoft Excel to be used for calculating REE abundances in samples equilibrated with a multielement REE spike. This Workbook can be conveniently used to calculate REE concentrations in natural samples for spiked and unspiked elements measured by ICP‐MS. For the spiked elements, their concentrations are calculated using isotope dilution equations. Using these spiked elements as references, concentrations of the four mono‐isotopic REE elements, and other REE elements that are treated as mono‐isotopic elements (in our case, La and Lu), can be calculated. The REE Workbook can be easily set up for use with different REE spikes. Evaluation of our analytical quality using a quadrupole ICP‐MS on 10‐ml‐sized seawater samples shows that our analyses are comparable to high‐precision thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) studies, with much less time spent processing and analyzing, and with the added advantages of determining mono‐isotopic elements. An important result is the clear demonstration of enrichments in Gd and Er compared to neighboring elements in seawater samples. In addition, we compare and evaluate commonly used reference standards BCR‐1, Post‐Archean Australian Shale (PAAS), and North American Shale Composite (NASC).

The formation of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in the North Atlantic is an important modulator of the climate system, as it drives the global termohaline circulation, responsible for the distribution of heat, salts and nutrients across the oceans. ODP Site 1063 (4584 m), on the deep Bermuda Rise, is located in the mixing zone between NADW and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) and appears to be a good location to study how ocean circulation and climate interconnect. Here we present a new record based on Nd isotope ratios that covers ~1 Ma at that Site. Our data shows Nd isotope ratios during parts of interglacials that are much lower than present day NADW. These results are coherent with recent published studies on the last interglacial–glacial cycle that show that the deep North Atlantic Nd isotope ratios are also lower than NADW during the early interglacial. However, Nd isotope values from the shallower DSDP Site 607 (3427 m), within the core of NADW, have remained similar to modern NADW during interglacials over the same time interval. Site 607 is thought to represent the deep North Atlantic, as shown by an Atlantic meriodional transect that displays Nd isotopes ratios for glacial and interglacial maxima over the last ~1 Ma. We suggest that Nd isotope ratios at Site 1063 do not fully represent the North Atlantic endmember of the AMOC during interglacials, but regional or local processes. However, glacial values at Site 1063 fitting those of Site 607 suggest that Nd isotope ratios represent, indeed, water mass mixing during glacial periods. The low Nd-isotope ratios in the deep Bermuda Rise during interglacials would be the result of particle-seawater exchange derived from the arrival of freshly ground, poorly weathered bedrock from the Canadian shield to the North Atlantic during major ice sheet retreats, such as deglaciations as well as stadial-to-interstadial transitions. Consequently, a deep, regionally constrained layer of seawater is tagged with this extreme Nd isotope signature that is not representative of the AMOC. We suggest that a benthic nepheloid layer, whose development is driven by a deep-recirculating gyre system regulated by the interaction between the northward flowing Gulf Stream and the southward flowing deep western boundary current, facilitates the periodical masking of the deep Atlantic Nd isotope signature at Site 1063. The intermittence of the masking allows for a speculation on how the deep-recirculating gyre system might have changed over the last ~1 Ma glacial-to-interglacial cycles.

International audience; Compositions of mineral dust in ice cores serve as tracers of paleo-atmospheric circulation patterns, providing linkages between sources and sinks. Here we document the geochemical makeup of dust reaching continental West Antarctica, on late Holocene samples from the Siple Dome A ice core (spanning ∼1030-1800 C.E). The Nd-Sr isotope signature is unusual for Antarctic ice core dust samples. Siple Dome data are characterized by low Nd isotope ratios (as low as εNd = -16.3) along with low Sr isotope ratios (highest 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7102) compared with other Antarctic dust signatures. A well-defined inverse correlation between Sr-Nd isotope ratios indicates two primary mixing sources. The low εNd-values indicate involvement of ancient (Archean-to-early Proterozoic) continental crust, as either the direct source or as a precursor of the source, and the low Sr-values require low Rb/Sr ratios that often reflect high-grade metamorphism. The known Antarctic terrane with these characteristics is parts of Enderby Land, nearly at the opposite end of Antarctica. The isotopic signature of the second end-member is compatible with West Antarctic volcanoes or Patagonia in South America. The Sr-Nd isotopes and trace element abundances are also chemically compatible with mixing between volcanic material from Gaussberg, a small lamproite volcano in Kaiser Wilhelm II Land in coastal East Antarctica whose source is ancient lithospheric mantle, with dust from Patagonia or material from West Antarctic volcanoes. We assess these potential mixing scenarios and conclude that Siple Dome's unusual geochemical signature can best be explained by a mixture of Patagonian dust and a Gaussberg-like source, with additional minor contributions from old eroded Archean-to-early Proterozoic bedrock sources such as those in Enderby Land. Moreover, Siple Dome dust compositions are distinct from dust deposited on Taylor and Clark Glaciers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of the western Ross Sea, precluding the Dry Valleys as a late Holocene dust source to this region of the eastern Ross Sea.

The global endmember ultra-slow spreading Arctic Gakkel ridge is an ideal place to study mantle melting and the contributions of different mantle components to ridge volcanism. We carried out a high-resolution geochemical study of basalts from a seemingly normal section of the ultraslow-spreading Arctic Gakkel Ridge between 40°E and 60°E, which we refer to as EVZ2. While the majority of volcanics sampled from EVZ2 could be characterized as normal Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts (NMORB), we identified a group of Isotopically Enriched, Incompatible Element Depleted MORB (IEDMORB) with low MREE/HREE ratios (i.e., “residual-garnet” signature). EVZ2 IEDMORB are mostly found near the rift valley walls away from axial volcanic centers. We propose that IEDMORB are the products of two stages of melting. They are shallow secondary melts of incompatible trace element enriched low-solidus mantle components that had lost some initial melt in the presence of residual garnet at depth. While the deep initial melts are more likely to be focused toward axial volcanic centers and subsequently diluted by normal peridotite melts, some of the shallow secondary melts could erupt as IEDMORB via pre-existing crustal weaknesses, such as deep-rooted high-angle normal faults that are ubiquitous along ultra-slow spreading ridges, thereby preserving their enriched isotopic compositions. While most dredges that sampled IEDMORB also recovered other types of MORB, all the samples from Dredge 55 are IEDMORB with distinctive arc-type trace element signatures, including relative depletion in Nb (and Ta), as well as enrichment in Th and fluid mobile elements (e.g., high Th/Nb, La/Nb, Pb/Ce, and H2O/Ce). These signatures suggest that they sampled recycled metasomatized arc-mantle wedge material. Other EVZ2 IEDMORB also show relative enrichment in fluid mobile elements and depletion in Nb (e.g., high La/Nb), but lack enrichment in Th. As Th has extremely low mobility in aqueous fluids, Th enrichment requires metasomatism involving silicate melts. Thus, we propose that the high Th/Nb, high La/Nb IEDMORB contain silicate-melt metasomatized arc mantle wedge material while the low-Th/Nb, high La/Nb IEDMORB only contain aqueous-fluid metasomatized arc mantle wedge material. Globally, IEDMORB with residual-garnet signatures are mostly found along ridges near mantle plumes where low-solidus, incompatible element and isotopically enriched mantle components that suffered initial melt loss at depth could be entrained in the upwelling subridge mantle and undergo further melting. However, most near-plume IEDMORB do not show arc-type geochemical signatures. Therefore, the discovery of IEDMORB from 20% of dredges along EVZ2, where most ridge volcanics are NMORB with depleted isotopic compositions, reflects the sporadic distribution of recycled arc mantle wedge material in the Arctic mantle and the prevalence of pre-existing crustal conduits, such as high-angle normal faults, along ultra-slow spreading ridges that facilitate melt migration with limited melt pooling and mixing.

The global ocean overturning circulation is a major means of distributing heat around the Earth, and an important trigger or amplifier of climate change. This study presents a 1.5-Myr-long neodymium (Nd) isotope record of Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 607, in the core of present-day North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), the water mass that drives the overturning circulation and its Atlantic end-member (Broecker, 1991; Gordon, 1991), in order to document its composition through time. This time interval is marked by major changes in fundamental aspects of the Earth's climate, including the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT) from ∼41-kyr to ∼100-kyr interglacial-glacial cycles and more intense glacials. The new record, mainly focusing on interglacial and glacial peaks, shows a pattern that mimics the record of benthic foraminiferal δ18O (Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005) in that the magnitude of interglacial-glacial Nd isotope shifts were smaller in the 41-kyr world than in the 100-kyr world. During the “900 ka event” (Clark et al., 2006), between ∼960 and 860 ka, marking the first 100-kyr interglacial-glacial cycle, the Nd isotope ratios shift abruptly to higher values, consistent with increased incursion of Southern Ocean water masses into the deep North Atlantic. This pattern was previously observed in the South Atlantic over the same time interval and interpreted as a weakened presence of NADW signal that reflected a period of disrupted deep ocean overturning circulation, termed the “MPT-AMOC crisis” (Pena and Goldstein, 2014). The Site 607 data support this interpretation and show the effects to be basin-wide. Following the disruption, an enhanced southern-sourced Nd isotope signature remained for ∼200 kyr during the period of “lukewarm interglacials” (Howe and Piotrowski, 2017; Jaccard et al., 2013), consistent with weaker overturning circulation. With the exception of this “MPT-AMOC crisis and recovery” interval, the Nd isotope ratios during interglacial peaks have been similar to present-day NADW, indicating similar interglacial North Atlantic ocean circulation dynamics both before and after the MPT. This contrasts with the pattern during glacial periods of the 100-kyr world, during which Nd isotopes have continued to follow the pattern of the 900-kyr event indicating a strong southern water mass signal, interpreted as intensified incursions of Southern Ocean water into the deep North Atlantic and consistent with a generally weaker overturning circulation during glacials.

Cenozoic calc-alkaline plutons that comprise the middle crust of the central and eastern Aleutians have distinct isotopic and elemental compositions compared to Holocene tholeiitic lavas in the same region, including those from the same islands. Therefore the Holocene lavas are not representative of the net magmatic transfer from the mantle into the arc crust. Compared to the lavas, the Eocene to Miocene (9–39 Ma) intermediate to felsic plutonic rocks show higher SiO2 at a given Fe/Mg ratio, and have higher eNd–eHf values and lower Pb–Sr isotope ratios. However, the plutonic rocks strongly resemble calc-alkaline Holocene volcanics with more “depleted” isotope ratios in the western Aleutians, whose composition has been attributed to significant contributions from partial melting of subducted basaltic oceanic crust. These data could reflect a temporal variation of central and eastern Aleutian magma source compositions, from predominantly calc-alkaline compositions with more “depleted” isotope ratios in the Paleogene, to tholeiitic compositions with more “enriched” isotopes more recently. Alternatively, the differences between central Aleutian plutonic and volcanic rocks may reflect different transport and emplacement processes for the magmas that form plutons versus lavas. Calc-alkaline parental magmas, with higher SiO2 and high viscosity, are likely to form plutons after extensive mid-crustal degassing of initially high water contents. This conclusion has overarching importance because the plutonic rocks are chemically similar to bulk continental crust. Formation of similar plutonic rocks worldwide may play a key role in the genesis and evolution of continental crust.

Modern observations document increased drought frequency together with more intense precipitation and flooding in the world’s semi-arid and arid regions as a consequence of the warming climate. Climate models predict that such conditions will intensify in the future, impacting millions of people. Paleoclimate studies can complement the short modern observational record and model projections by documenting climate changes in the past. Here we report major shifts in the geographic sources, intensity, and seasonality of Eastern Mediterranean precipitation during the unusually warm last interglacial period Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, reflecting global shifts in the rain and desert belts, based on 234U/238U-ratios in mineral precipitates in the Dead Sea, combined with evidence from climate model simulations. In the Dead Sea catchment 234U/238U ratios are indicators of water sources, where the Jordan River (flowing from the north) and the western catchments show high activity ratios between ∼1.5–1.7, and the eastern and southern catchments and flash floods (in the south-west, south and east) show lower ratios of 1.0–1.2. In Dead Sea water and precipitated minerals, 234U/238U is nearly always ∼1.45–1.55 during both glacials and interglacials. However, during the last interglacial MIS 5e insolation peak (∼127–122 ka) its value decreased to 1.2–1.3, and then to ∼1.0 towards its end (∼122–116 ka). During the insolation peak, the U-isotope data, combined with climate model runs forced with period orbital and greenhouse gas concentrations, indicate that rainfall associated with the African Summer Monsoon in the Dead Sea catchment accounted for ∼50% of the total annual rainfall, in stark contrast to present-day dry summers. The geochemical evidence indicates that following the insolation peak the region experienced an extremely dry period (although punctuated with wetter intervals), signifying expansion of the desert belt, similar to predicted effects of anthropogenic warming. This drying is partly supported by climate model runs forced with the appropriate changes in orbital parameters. The extreme drying during late MIS 5e between ∼122–116 ka reflected a major weakening of Mediterranean storm systems, resulting in a major decline of the Jordan River flow (indicated by the low 234U/238U ratios in the Dead Sea) and a relative increase in precipitation associated with the African Monsoon, shifting towards autumn. The Jordan River flow is estimated to be ∼10% of the present-day (pre-1964, prior to major diversion of the Jordan River and its sources for human use). Such changes, if they occur in the future, have serious implications for future water availability in the politically sensitive Middle East.

Recycling of upper plate crust in subduction zones, or ‘subduction erosion’, is a major mechanism of crustal destruction at convergent margins. However, assessing the impact of eroded crust on arc magmas is difficult owing to the compositional similarity between the eroded crust, trench sediment and arc crustal basement that may all contribute to arc magma formation. Here we compare Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf and trace element data of crustal input material to Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf–He–O isotope chemistry of a well-characterized series of olivine-phyric, high-Mg# basalts to dacites in the central Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB). Basaltic to andesitic magmas crystallize high-Ni olivines that have high mantle-like 3He/4He = 7–8 Ra and high crustal δ18Omelt = +6.3–8.5‰ implying their host magmas to be near-primary melts from a mantle infiltrated by slab-derived crustal components. Remarkably, their Hf–Nd isotope and Nd/Hf trace element systematics rule out the trench sediment as the recycled crust end member, and imply that the coastal and offshore granodiorites are the dominant recycled crust component. Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotope modeling shows that the granodiorites control the highly to moderately incompatible elements in the calc-alkaline arc magmas, together with lesser additions of Pb- and Sr-rich fluids from subducted mid-oceanic ridge basalt (MORB)-type altered oceanic crust (AOC). Nd–Hf mass balance suggests that the granodiorite exceeds the flux of the trench sediment by at least 9–10 times, corresponding to a flux of ⩾79–88 km3/km/Myr into the subduction zone. At an estimated thickness of 1500–1700 m, the granodiorite may buoyantly rise as bulk ‘slab diapirs’ into the mantle melt region and impose its trace element signature (e.g., Th/La, Nb/Ta) on the prevalent calc-alkaline arc magmas. Deep slab melting and local recycling of other slab components such as oceanic seamounts further diversify the MVB magmas by producing rare, strongly fractionated high-La magmas and a minor population of high-Nb magmas, respectively. Overall, the central MVB magmas inherit their striking geochemical diversity principally from the slab, thus emphasizing the importance of continental crust recycling in modern solid Earth relative to its new formation in modern subduction zones.

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory radiogenic isotope group has been systematically measuring Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopes of USGS reference material BCR-2 (Columbia River Basalt 2), as a chemical processing and instrumental quality control monitor for isotopic measurements. BCR-2 is now a widely used geochemical inter-laboratory reference material (RM), with its predecessor BCR-1 no longer available. Recognising that precise and accurate data on RMs is important for ensuring analytical quality and for comparing data between different laboratories, we present a compilation of multiple digestions and analyses made on BCR-2 during the first author's dissertation research. The best estimates of Sr, Nd and Hf isotope ratios and measurement reproducibilities, after filtering at the 2s level for outliers, were 87Sr/86Sr = 0.705000 ± 11 (2s, 16 ppm, n = 21, sixteen digestions, one outlier), 143Nd/144Nd = 0.512637 ± 13 (2s, 25 ppm, n = 27, thirteen digestions, one outlier) and 176Hf/177Hf = 0.282866 ± 11 (2s, 39 ppm, n = 25, thirteen digestions, no outliers). Mean Nd and Hf values were within error of those reported by Weis et al. (2006, 2007) in their studies of RMs; mean Sr values were just outside the 2s uncertainty range of both laboratories. Moreover, a survey of published Sr-Nd-Hf data shows that our results fall within the range of reported values, but with a smaller variability. Our Pb isotope results on acid leached BCR-2 aliquots (n = 26, twelve digestions, two outliers) were 206Pb/204Pb = 18.8029 ± 10 (2s, 55 ppm), 207Pb/204Pb = 15.6239 ± 8 (2s, 52 ppm), 208Pb/204Pb = 38.8287 ± 25 (2s, 63 ppm). We confirm that unleached BCR-2 powder is contaminated with Pb, and that sufficient leaching prior to digestion is required to achieve accurate values for the uncontaminated Pb isotopic compositions. Le groupe Isotopes Radiogenique du Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory a mesure systematiquement les isotopes du Sr, du Nd, du Pb et de l'Hf du materiau de reference USGS BCR-2 (Basalte 2 de la Columbia River), comme moniteur de controle du traitement chimique et de la qualite instrumentale pour les mesures isotopiques. BCR-2 est maintenant un materiau de reference (RM) geochimique inter-laboratoires largement utilise, avec son predecesseur BCR-1 qui n'est plus disponible. Reconnaissant que des donnees precises et exactes sur les materiaux de reference soient importantes pour assurer la qualite des analyses et pour comparer les donnees entre les differents laboratoires, nous presentons une compilation de multiples digestions et analyses faites sur BCR-2 au cours de la these de recherche du premier auteur. Nos meilleures estimations des valeurs isotopiques et de la reproductibilite des mesures pour Sr, Nd et Hf, apres filtrage au niveau 2s pour les valeurs aberrantes, sont : 87Sr/86Sr = 0.705000 ± 11 (2s, 16 ppm, n = 21, seize digestions, une valeur aberrante), 143Nd/144Nd = 0.512637 ± 13 (2s, 25 ppm, n = 27, treize digestions, une valeur aberrante) et 176Hf/177Hf = 0.282866 ± 11 (2s, 39 ppm, n = 25, treize digestions, absence de valeurs aberrantes). Nos valeurs moyennes pour Nd et Hf sont dans l'intervalle d'erreur de celles presentees par Weis et al. (2006, 2007) dans leurs etudes de materiaux de reference; les valeurs moyennes pour Sr sont juste a l'exterieur de l'intervalle d'incertitude 2s des deux laboratoires. En outre, une etude bibliographique des donnees publiees pour Sr-Nd-Hf montre que nos resultats se situent dans la fourchette des valeurs rapportees, mais avec une variabilite plus faible. Nos resultats isotopiques pour le Pb sur deux aliquotes de BCR-2 traites par lessivage acide (n = 26, douze digestions, deux valeurs aberrantes) sont : 206Pb/204Pb = 18.8029 ± 10 (2s, 55 ppm), 207Pb/204Pb = 15.6239 ± 8 (2s, 52 ppm), 208Pb/204Pb = 38.8287 ± 25 (2s, 63 ppm). Nous confirmons que la poudre de BCR-2 non lessivee est contaminee par du plomb et qu'un lessivage suffisant avant la digestion est necessaire pour obtenir des valeurs precises des compositions isotopiques du Pb non contaminees.

Abundant and widely distributed unmetamorphosed mafic dikes intrude Mesoproterozoic rocks of the New Jersey Highlands. The age of the dikes is imprecisely known but interpreted to fall between 615 and 576 Ma, which is consistent with the range of ages of mafic dikes from Labrador and Nova Scotia south to Pennsylvania that were emplaced along the rifted eastern Laurentian margin. New Jersey Highlands dikes are a few cm to 18 m wide and have lengths of as much as several km. They have sharp, largely discordant contacts against enclosing Mesoproterozoic rocks and aphanitic chilled margins that grade into coarser grained interiors. Columnar joints are present locally and suggest emplacement at a shallow crustal level. Geochemical compositions of the dikes range from alkalic to less common tholeiitic basalt having generally high TiO2, P2O5, Zr, Nb, Y, and La/Yb, and low MgO, Cr, and Ni. TiO2 contents define high-Ti and low-Ti dikes that differ in high field strength elements (HFSE) and light rare earth elements (LREE) but overlap in abundances of most other elements. Dike magma evolved in an ascending mantle plume of OIB-like asthenosphere from enriched higher TiO2 compositions to more depleted lower TiO2 compositions. Subtle differences in the dike compositions are due to variations in the amount of partial melting within the plume and the depth of melt segregation. Sr–Nd isotope values of both dike compositions overlap and are characterized by eNd (T) of + 1.5 to + 3.8 and initial 87Sr/86Sr ranging from 0.7032 to 0.7077. Higher Sr isotope ratios are interpreted as resulting from local interaction of the dike magma with heterogeneous, high 87Sr/86Sr lithospheric mantle having EMI or EMII-like geochemical characteristics. Dikes form tabular structures that have long segments striking an average of N44°E and short segments striking about east–west. Their regional geometries form right-stepping, rhomb-shaped patterns due to emplacement into rift-related dilational fractures likely formed through a combination of southeast-directed extension and strike-slip shear stresses. Geochemical compositions of the dikes are the same regardless of their structural trend or location implying they formed during a single magmatic event. They, along with other mafic dikes in the north-central Appalachians, were emplaced in a within-plate tectonic setting along the rifted margin of eastern Laurentia, prior to opening of the Iapetus Ocean.

The Rutgers University Central American geochemical dataset focuses on the active volcanoes related to the Cocos-Caribbean convergent plate boundary that extends from Guatemala to Costa Rica in Central America. The RU prefix signifies that the data and samples are primarily from the long-term Central American research project started at Dartmouth College in 1970 and continued at Rutgers University from 1974 to the present. The database is decidedly uneven because of the impressive improvement of analytical techniques over the span of data collection. Further complications arose because most of the sampling and analysis were part of the educational process for many different undergraduate and graduate students using different types of instruments. This note presents, as a reasonably coherent whole, geochemical data and metadata for about 1400 samples collected by at least 40 students and colleagues. Many unpublished Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic ratios are included here but most of the new data are metadata that provide greatly improved descriptions of the tectonic settings, locations, and status of the samples as well as estimates of data quality.

Arenal has been active for at least the past 7000 years. Prior to 3000 years B.P. (before present), Arenal eruptive products consisted of lavas and tephras both with a mafic (basaltic andesitic) composition. At approximately 3000 years B.P. Arenal began producing two discrete tephra compositions, a mafic (basaltic) tephra and a silicic (andesitic to dacitic) tephra as well as the basaltic andesitic lavas whose composition falls into the gap between the two tephra compositions. The amount of phenocrysts in both the mafic tephras and, to a lesser extent, the lavas, has increased steadily over time, demonstrating a gradual increase in the amount of crystal–liquid fractionation. At approximately 3000 years B.P. the fractionation reached a threshold causing the production of silicic tephras in conjunction with the mafic tephras. Modal analyses show that while the mafic tephras become more crystalline over time, the silicic tephras have become glassier. These younger mafic tephras are mineral-rich residues, while the silicic tephras are the incompatible element rich melt. There is also an increase in the crystal–liquid fractionation within the magma forming the lavas and tephras. The concentration of incompatible elements in the lavas has increased over time, while it has decreased in the tephras. In addition to the crystal–liquid redistribution in the magmas at Arenal, there have also been changes in Arenal's source region. The amount of flux from the subducting slab and consequently the degree of melting increase up to approximately 3000 years B.P., and then begin decreasing.

An outcrop at El Cruce, 5.7 km from the vent of Arenal volcano, exposes thick sequences of tworecent tephras, ET4 (silicic) and, immediately above, ET3 (mafic). The ET4 to ET3 transition is abrupt, with nosoil between the layers. Therefore, they appear to be part of one eruptive phase. A petrological model is inferredfrom the detailed stratigraphic record of these eruptions. The ET4 sequence can be modeled by crystal fractionation via gravity settling. ET4 is most mafic at the top of the section. The silicic tephra at the bottom of thisunit is aphyric. Compatible elements increase and incompatible elements decrease moving down through themagma chamber. The percentage of phenocrysts increases through the top. Models of crystal fractionation, usingthe most mafic and phenocryst enriched tephra as the parent magma, produce the most silicic tephra by removal of 37% phenocrysts. The ET3 sequence shows the opposite trend of that seen in the ET4 sequence, becoming less enriched in incompatible elements down through the section. Some crystal sorting, followed by theremoval of a silicic melt from the top of the magma chamber, could generate the reversed trend for the ET3 sequence. Un afloramiento en El Cruce, a 5,7 km del cráter del volcán Arenal, expone una espesa secuenciacon dos tefras recientes: ET4 (silícea) e inmediatamente arriba ET3 (máfica). La transición de ET4 a ET3 esabrupta, sin suelo entre ellas. En consecuencia, parecen ser parte de una sola fase eruptiva. Se infiere un modelo petrológico a partir del registro estratigráfico de estas erupciones. La secuencia de ET4 se puede modelar porcristalización fraccionada por depositación gravitacional, en donde el techo de la sección es más máfico. La tefra silícea en la base de ET4 es afírica. Los elementos compatibles se incrementan y los incompatibles disminuyen conforme se avanza hacia el piso de la cámara magmática. La cantidad de fenocristales se incrementa haciael techo. Los modelos de cristalización fraccionada usando las tefras más máficas y ricas en fenocristales comoel magma parental, producen las tefras más silíceas por remoción del 37% de los fenocristales. La secuencia de ET3 muestra el patrón opuesto al visto en ET4, tornándose menos enriquecida en elementos incompatibles conforme bajamos en la sección. Alguna selección de cristales, seguida de la remoción del fundido silíceo del techo de la cámara magmática, podría generar el patrón inverso para la secuencia de ET3.

The Central American volcanic front consists of several distinct volcanic lineaments or segments, separated by right steps and/or changes in strike. Each volcanic line is rotated slightly counterclockwise from the strike of the inclined seismic zone. Right stepping volcanic lines, oblique to the strike of the slab, create a sawtooth pattern in the depth to the slab. Zr/Nb is the first geochemical signature with consistent large offsets at the right steps in the volcanic front. Moreover, Zr/Nb mirrors the sawtooth variation in depth to the slab; within a segment it increases from SE to NW, and at the right steps, separating segments, it abruptly decreases. Unfortunately, there is no simple negative correlation between Zr/Nb and depth to the slab because Zr/Nb also has a regional variation, similar to previously documented regional variations in slab tracers in Central America (e.g., Ba/La, U/Th, and 87Sr/86Sr). Within a segment, Zr/Nb decreases with increasing depth to slab. This can be explained in two ways: a Nb retaining mineral, e.g., amphibole, in the subducting slab is breaking down gradually with increasing depth causing more Nb to be released and consequently a smaller Nb depletion in deeper melts; alternatively, all melts have the same initial Nb depletion which is then diluted by acquiring Nb from the surrounding mantle wedge as melts rise and react. Deeper melts have longer paths and therefore more reaction with the mantle wedge diluting the initial Nb depletion. Within each volcanic segment there is variation in eruptive volume. The largest volcanoes generally occur in the middle of the segments, and the smaller volcanoes tend to be located at the ends. Connecting the largest volcanoes in each segment suggests an axis of maximum productivity. This is likely the surface projection of the center of the melt aggregation zone. The largest volcanoes tap the entire melt zone. Those with shallow depths to the slab tap just the front part of the melt zone and have very large Nb depletions. Those at greater depths tap the back part of the melt zone and have much smaller Nb depletions.

[1] Lead isotopic analyses of lavas from Central America, both along and behind the volcanic arc, help to clarify source components in the mantle wedge. Analysis of previous Pb isotopic data had implied that little or no marine sediment lead was added to the Central American source region, as all samples fell within the MORB field, in contrast to other information (e.g., Ba/La, 10Be, 87Sr/86Sr) that indicated a high subduction component. The data presented here include several analyses of local marine sediment, showing it to be exceptionally unradiogenic in Pb and thus permitting high sediment contributions to the mantle source region without significant changes in Pb isotopes. Combined Pb-Nd and Pb-Sr isotopic diagrams clearly illustrate the influence of crustal contamination for samples from Guatemala and Honduras, and of subducted sediment for all lavas of the volcanic front. Samples collected behind the volcanic front are derived from mixing between enriched and depleted mantle sources, and in central Costa Rica (extending to the back arc) overlap Pb, Sr and Nd isotope values for both Cocos Island and some components of the Galapagos hot spot. The restricted geographical occurrence of the enriched mantle signature in Central America, coupled with the persistence of the signal well into the back arc region, imply that these lavas are sampling Galapagos plume-influenced mantle. The presence of this plume component beneath southern Central America and extending to the northeast beneath the Caribbean confirms a Galapagos hot spot origin for this part of Caribbean Plate.

[1] The rare earth element (REE) concentrations of lavas from the Hawaiian Scientific Drilling Project (HSDP2) can be used to provide additional constraints on phase equilibria and the nature of the Hawaiian source. Major element analyses separate Mauna Kea lavas into two distinct populations, a high-silica and a low-silica suite. The low-silica samples can be separated stratigraphically into an upper low-silica alkalic series and a low-silica tholeiitic group that occurs deeper in the section. These contrasting groups could result from different extents of source partial fusion, or lithologically distinct source regions, or some combination of both factors. Petrologic modeling is performed to calculate that primary magma compositions contain about 20% MgO, and can be formed by 8–15% melting of a depleted mantle source for low-silica alkalic and high-silica lavas, respectively. The low-silica tholeiites could be generated by higher degrees of melting of a more fertile source. REE ratios and various isotopic systems reinforce the division of the low-SiO2 samples into the upper alkalic series, characterized by high Gd/Yb, and the deeper low-silica tholeiitic group, with low Gd/Yb. REE inverse modeling of fractionation-corrected basalts is consistent with lower degrees of melting to generate the late-stage alkalic lavas, with garnet present as a residual phase. The relatively constant Gd/Yb for low-silica tholeiites suggests that garnet is not an important residual phase during partial melting, implying higher extents of melting. The low-silica tholeiites are characterized by relatively enriched isotopic signatures that are consistent with contributions from a primitive source or from recycled subduction components. High 3He/4He associated with the low-silica lavas could derive from primitive mantle, mass transfer from the core, or from a refractory lithospheric contribution to a recycled subduction package. However, the combination of major element, REE and isotopic data suggests that the deeper low-silica suite is sampling the relatively fertile, interior part of the Hawaiian plume, whereas the high-silica lavas are extracted from the more depleted periphery; later alkalic lavas are generated from a depleted source as the volcano moves off the hot spot.