scholarly journals Iron isotopes trace primordial magma ocean cumulates melting in Earth’s upper mantle

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. eabc7394
Author(s):  
Helen M. Williams ◽  
Simon Matthews ◽  
Hanika Rizo ◽  
Oliver Shorttle

The differentiation of Earth ~4.5 billion years (Ga) ago is believed to have culminated in magma ocean crystallization, crystal-liquid separation, and the formation of mineralogically distinct mantle reservoirs. However, the magma ocean model remains difficult to validate because of the scarcity of geochemical tracers of lower mantle mineralogy. The Fe isotope compositions (δ57Fe) of ancient mafic rocks can be used to reconstruct the mineralogy of their mantle source regions. We present Fe isotope data for 3.7-Ga metabasalts from the Isua Supracrustal Belt (Greenland). The δ57Fe signatures of these samples extend to values elevated relative to modern equivalents and define strong correlations with fluid-immobile trace elements and tungsten isotope anomalies (μ182W). Phase equilibria models demonstrate that these features can be explained by melting of a magma ocean cumulate component in the upper mantle. Similar processes may operate today, as evidenced by the δ57Fe and μ182W heterogeneity of modern oceanic basalts.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Williams ◽  
Simon Matthews ◽  
Hanika Rizo ◽  
Oliver Shorttle


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindy Elkins-Tanton ◽  
Jenny Suckale ◽  
Sonia Tikoo

<p>Rocky planets go through at least one and likely multiple magma ocean stages, produced by the giant impacts of accretion. Planetary data and models show that giant impacts do not dehydrate either the mantle or the atmosphere of their target planets. The magma ocean liquid consists of melted target material and melted impactor, and so will be dominated by silicate melt, and also contain dissolved volatiles including water, carbon, and sulfur compounds.</p><p>As the magma ocean cools and solidifies, water and other volatiles will be incorporated into the nominally anhydrous mantle phases up to their saturation limits, and will otherwise be enriched in the remaining, evolving magma ocean liquids. The water content of the resulting cumulate mantle is therefore the sum of the traces in the mineral grains, and any water in trapped interstitial liquids. That trapped liquid fraction may in fact be by far the largest contributor to the cumulate water budget.</p><p>The water and other dissolved volatiles in the evolving liquids may quickly reach the saturation limit of magmas near the surface, where pressure is low, but degassing the magma ocean is likely more difficult than has been assumed in some of our models. To degas into the atmosphere, the gases must exsolve from the liquid and form bubbles, and those bubbles must be able to rise quickly enough to avoid being dragged down by convection and re-dissolved at higher pressures. If bubbles are buoyant enough (that is, large enough) to decouple from flow and rise, then they are also dynamically unstable and liable to be torn into smaller bubbles and re-entrained. This conundrum led to the hypothesis that volatiles do not significantly degas until a high level of supersaturation is reached, and the bubbles form a buoyant layer and rise in diapirs in a continuum dynamics sense. This late degassing would have the twin effects of increasing the water content of the cumulates, and of speeding up cooling and solidification of the planet.</p><p>Once the mantle is solidified, the timeclock until the start of plate tectonics begins. Modern plate tectonics is thought to rely on water to lower the viscosity of the asthenosphere, but plate tectonics is also thought to be the process by which water is brought into the mantle. Magma ocean solidification, however, offers two relevant processes. First, following solidification the cumulate mantle is gravitationally unstable and overturns to stability, carrying water-bearing minerals from the upper mantle through the transition zone and into the lower mantle. Upon converting to lower-mantle phases, these minerals will release their excess water, since lower mantle phases have lower saturation limits, thus fluxing the upper mantle with water. Second, the mantle will be near its solidus temperature still, and thus its viscosity will be naturally low. When fluxed with excess water, the upper mantle would be expected to form a low degree melt, which if voluminous enough with rise to help form the earliest crust, and if of very low degree, will further reduce the viscosity of the asthenosphere.</p>





2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (12) ◽  
pp. 1857-1865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander G. Sokol ◽  
Alexander F. Khokhryakov ◽  
Yuri M. Borzdov ◽  
Igor N. Kupriyanov ◽  
Yuri N. Palyanov

Abstract Carbon solubility in a liquid iron alloy containing nitrogen and sulfur has been studied experimentally in a carbon-saturated Fe-C-N-S-B system at pressures of 5.5 and 7.8 GPa, temperatures of 1450 to 1800 °C, and oxygen fugacities from the IW buffer to log fO2 ΔIW-6 (ΔIW is the logarithmic difference between experimental fO2 and that imposed by the coexistence of iron and wüstite). Carbon saturation of Fe-rich melts at 5.5 and 7.8 GPa maintains crystallization of flaky graphite and diamond. Diamond containing 2100–2600 ppm N and 130–150 ppm B crystallizes in equilibrium with BN within the diamond stability field at 7.8 GPa and 1600 to 1800 °C, while graphite forms at other conditions. The solubility of carbon in the C-saturated metal melt free from nitrogen and sulfur is 6.2 wt% C at 7.8 GPa and 1600 °C and decreases markedly with increasing nitrogen. A 1450–1600 °C graphite-saturated iron melt with 6.2–8.8 wt% N can dissolve: 3.6–3.9 and 1.4–2.5 wt% C at 5.5 and 7.8 GPa, respectively. However, the melt equilibrated with boron nitride and containing 1–1.7 wt% sulfur and 500–780 ppm boron dissolves twice less nitrogen while the solubility of carbon remains relatively high (3.8–5.2 wt%). According to our estimates, nitrogen partitions between diamond and the iron melt rich in volatiles at DNDm/Met=0.013−0.024. The pressure increase in the Fe-C-N system affects iron affinity of N and C: it increases in nitrogen but decreases in carbon. The reduction of C solubility in a Fe-rich melt containing nitrogen and sulfur may have had important consequences in the case of imperfect equilibration between the core and the mantle during their separation in the early Earth history. The reduction of C solubility allowed C supersaturation of the liquid iron alloy and crystallization of graphite and diamond. The carbon phases could float in the segregated core liquid and contribute to the carbon budget of the overlying silicate magma ocean. Therefore, the process led to the formation of graphite and diamond, which were the oldest carbon phases in silicate mantle.



2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-José Messias ◽  
Herlé Mercier

<p>Repeated hydrographic surveys have allowed for the monitoring of the 24.5°N trans-Atlantic transect of volume and heat transports  since the middle of the last century. However, identifying the geographic origins and the temporal characteristics of full depth ocean heat content (OHC) anomalies is still at the frontier of  global ocean warming research albeit it is critical to the  understanding of  the current warming of the ocean and its future evolution. To address this gap,  we  combine volume transports at 24.5°N  with an historical reconstruction of  excess heat, which we define as the heat gained across the section since the year 1850 to  present. The  reconstruction is based on  a maximum entropy approach  that links the  location and time of the last entry into the ocean of a series of transient and geochemical tracers to their full depth in situ measurements in the interior. Here, we apply it to tracers measured on the hydrographic sections at  24.5°N since 1992. This methodology is a step forward in exploring the coherence of the OHC distributions at 24.5°N over time with the variability of the SST in  the source regions and the role of the AMOC, all genuinely based on observations. We find that the AMOC ranges from 16 to 19 Sv, heat transport from 0.9 to 1.5 PW and excess heat transport from 19 to 31 TW. The excess heat is transported northward across 24.5°N thus reinforcing the warming of the North Atlantic Ocean.</p>





1987 ◽  
Vol 51 (360) ◽  
pp. 265-270
Author(s):  
Michael Barton

AbstractThe occurrence and mineral chemistry of apatite, magnesian ilmenite, and an Na-Fe-Ti oxide in lavas from the Leucite Hills are reported. Magnesian ilmenite and apatite occur as xenocrysts and as crystals in amphibole-mica-pyroxenite xenoliths. Na-Fe-Ti oxide and also rutile occur as inclusions in ilmenite. The latter mineral contains up to 7.2% MgO and shows evidence of oxidation by, and reaction with, the host magma. The apatite differs from that which occurs as phenocrysts and microphenocrysts inasmuch as REE were not detected. The occurrence of these minerals, which are important repositories for REE and High Field Strength elements, together with phlogopite in the upper mantle source regions of ultrapotassic lavas, is important and may explain some unusual aspects of the geochemistry of such lavas (low K/Rb, P2O5/Ce, Ti/Zr, high Ti/V, Zr/Nb). The source regions must be grossly heterogenous and a two-component model is suggested for the source. This model is similar to that suggested for the source regions of other alkaline magmas and is capable of explaining the unusual Nd-Sr isotopic characteristics of the Leucite Hills lavas.



Author(s):  
Sonia M. Tikoo ◽  
Linda T. Elkins-Tanton

The Earth is likely to have acquired most of its water during accretion. Internal heat of planetesimals by short-lived radioisotopes would have caused some water loss, but impacts into planetesimals were insufficiently energetic to produce further drying. Water is thought to be critical for the development of plate tectonics, because it lowers viscosities in the asthenosphere, enabling subduction. The following issue persists: if water is necessary for plate tectonics, but subduction itself hydrates the upper mantle, how is the upper mantle initially hydrated? The giant impacts of late accretion created magma lakes and oceans, which degassed during solidification to produce a heavy atmosphere. However, some water would have remained in the mantle, trapped within crystallographic defects in nominally anhydrous minerals. In this paper, we present models demonstrating that processes associated with magma ocean solidification and overturn may segregate sufficient quantities of water within the upper mantle to induce partial melting and produce a damp asthenosphere, thereby facilitating plate tectonics and, in turn, the habitability of Earth-like extrasolar planets. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The origin, history and role of water in the evolution of the inner Solar System’.



1986 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 1412-1432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsai-Way Wu ◽  
Robert Kerrich

Oxygen isotopic compositions of whole rocks and coexisting quartz–feldspar pairs have been determined for nine pre-, and syn- to late-kinematic granitoid plutons in the Grenville Province of Ontario. These new data demonstrate that granitoid rocks (Algonquin, Mulock) in migmatite terrain of the Ontario Gneiss Segment possess normal δ18O values (<9.0‰), whereas mesozonal to epizonal plutons (Elphin, Coe Hill, Deloro, Barber's Lake) in the Central Metasedimentary Belt (CMB) are characterized by significantly higher 18O contents (δ18O > 9.0‰), in accord with previous results.In the Algonquin sodic suite, a gross covariance of δ18O with compositional indices is present, from 6.4‰, SiO2 = 50.5 wt. % (gabbro) to 8.7‰, SiO2 = 72 wt. % (trondhjemite), resulting from combined assimilation–fractional crystallization. Mafic members of the sodic suite are 18O enriched overall (5.8–7.9‰) relative to fresh tholeiites (5.7 + 0.3‰), implicating some 18O contamination of the protolith. The dispersion of δ18O values in the Algonquin potassic suite, from 4.3 to 9.3‰, is independent of composition and attributed to isotopic exchange with low-18O thermal waters during emplacement. Biotite–hornblende granite of the Mulock batholith is characterized by a limited oxygen isotope compositional range, where the average δ18O = 8.1 ± 0.5‰; δ18O correlates with SiO2 but not with the zonal distribution of Ba, Rb, and Sr abundances.The Union Lake quartz diorite (δ18O = 8.5 ± 0.1‰) and White Lake trondhjemite (δ18O = 7.3 ± 0.6‰) have oxygen isotope compositions comparable to those of other trondhjemitic suites in the CMB. A systematic enrichment of ~1.2‰ in the Union Lake pluton, together with enhanced Ca, Mg, Fe, and Sr, can be accounted for by assimilation of ~5% marbles and 10% amphibolites from the country rock. Uniformly high δ18O values of 11.5 ± 0.8‰ characterize the Elphin granite–syenite complex. The largest values (11.7–12.7‰) and lowest SiO2 (54–56 wt. %) are in the partially assimilated host gabbro–diorite complex, endorsing the presence of 18O-enriched source regions. The Cheddar biotite–hornblende granite, one of a population of intrusions within the alkalic belt of the western CMB, has a restricted isotopic span, where δ18O = 8.8 ± 0.9‰. An unusual concave rare-earth-element (REE) distribution may result from interaction with a heavy rare-earth -element (HREE) enriched volatile phase. The Coe Hill biotite granite (δ18O = 10.4 ± 0.4‰) is isotopically in compliance with other granites and syenites of the CMB. Covariance of δ18O and SiO2, in conjunction with smooth and continuous geochemical trends, is interpreted in terms of assimilation–fractional crystallization.Peralkaline granite of the Deloro pluton includes a hypersolvus phase with high, scattered δ18O values (9.1–11.8‰) and a subsolvus counterpart attributed to late influx of water that induced isotopic reequilibration toward a more constrained range (δ18O = 9.2–10.2‰). REE distributions of a calcic syenite phase are compatible with its evolution by fractional crystallization of a low-K tholeiitic magma, and the high-18O character (δ18O = 11.1–12.6‰) requires 18O enrichment of the protolith and (or) 18O contamination of the magma. Peralkaline rhyolitic volcanics, compositionally coherent with the Deloro pluton and possibly representing extrusive equivalents, possess significantly higher and more variable δ18O values, from 11.7 to 14.2‰; this is attributed to 18O enrichment during low-temperature exchange with thermal waters, superimposed on a primary high-18O magma. The Barber's Lake two-mica granite contains enhanced abundances of U (15 ppm) and Th (36 ppm) in conjunction with systematically elevated δ18O values (10.4 ± 0.5‰). Geochemical constraints are compatible with its evolution from a trondhjemitic magma, but the isotopically enriched nature requires extensive 18O contamination of the protolith and (or) magma. These nine granites variously retain "memory" of primary and (or) secondary features, including δ18O of the source region, covariance of isotopic and compositional parameters, and sporadically superimposed disturbance by exchange with thermal waters. During metamorphism, quartz and feldspar were systematically reset to high-temperature fractionations, but the extent of open-system exchange with rock reservoirs was limited.Despite some probable disturbance by metamorphism and the limited data available, O–Sr isotope systematics of the Grenville granitoids indicate that (1) high-18O granites from the Frontenac Axis were derived from in situ anatexis of Grenville Supergroup metasediments, (2) synkinematic granites were derived by mixing of a primary magma generated at a lower crustal (granulite facies) or upper mantle level with the fusion products generated by partial melting of the Archean–Early Proterozoic type metasediments, and (3) the tonalite–trondhjemite suite in this part of the Grenville Province was derived from a similar lower crustal or upper mantle primary magma by direct fractional crystallization.



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