Neon and helium isotopes as tracers of mantle reservoirs and mantle dynamics.

Stroncik N, Niedermann S, Haase K (2007)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2007

Journal

Earth and Planetary Science Letters Elsevier

Publisher: Elsevier

Book Volume: 258

Pages Range: 334-344

DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.03.046

Abstract

He isotopes are usually used as tracers for the identification of mantle reservoirs and mantle dynamics. High ³He/ ⁴He ratios are thought to represent deep mantle material, whereas ratios around 8 R A (R A stands for the atmospheric ³He/ ⁴He ratio of 1.39 × 10 ^{- 6}) are thought to be representative of the upper mantle. Based on He, Ne and Ar fusion data from fresh, submarine volcanic glasses of several Mid-Atlantic Ridge off-axis seamounts we show that He isotopes can be susceptible to interferences during melt formation and evolution resulting in the decoupling of He from other elements, such as e.g. Ne or Pb. All obtained He data are indistinguishable from that of the MORB range. In contrast, Ne isotopic compositions are much more primitive than MORB. Combined He, Ne and Ar systematics show that the source region of these seamounts has experienced a preferential loss of He compared to Ne and Ar. This He loss, combined with subsequent ⁴He production, resulted in the decoupling of the He isotope systematics from Ne and Pb. Thus, when considering He and Ne, only Ne has preserved the evidence that a primitive mantle component contributed to the formation of the investigated seamounts. As these seamounts are not fed from a mantle plume being derived from the deep mantle, the primitive Ne component resides within the upper mantle, implying that primitive noble gases are not necessarily indicative of deep mantle material. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Authors with CRIS profile

Karsten Haase Lehrstuhl für Endogene Geodynamik (LEG)

Involved external institutions

Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum - GFZ

Germany (DE) Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Stroncik, N., Niedermann, S., & Haase, K. (2007). Neon and helium isotopes as tracers of mantle reservoirs and mantle dynamics. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 258, 334-344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2007.03.046

MLA:

Stroncik, Nicole, Samuel Niedermann, and Karsten Haase. "Neon and helium isotopes as tracers of mantle reservoirs and mantle dynamics." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 258 (2007): 334-344.

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