Helium isotopic evidence for episodic mantle melting and crustal growth

The timing of formation of the Earth's continental crust is the subject of a long-standing debate, with models ranging from early formation with little subsequent growth, to pulsed growth, to steadily increasing growth. But most models do agree that the continental crust was extracted from the mantle by partial melting. If so, such crustal extraction should have left a chemical fingerprint in the isotopic composition of the mantle. The subduction of oceanic crust and subsequent convective mixing, however, seems to have largely erased this record in most mantle isotopic systems (for example, strontium, neodymium and lead). In contrast, helium is not recycled into the mantle because it is volatile and degasses from erupted oceanic basalts. Therefore helium isotopes may potentially preserve a clearer record of mantle depletion than recycled isotopes. Here I show that the spectrum of 4He/3He ratios in ocean island basalts appears to preserve the mantle's depletion history, correlating closely with the ages of proposed continental growth pulses. The correlation independently predicts both the dominant 4He/3He peak found in modern mid-ocean-ridge basalts, as well as estimates of the initial 4He/3He ratio of the Earth. The correspondence between the ages of mantle depletion events and pulses of crustal production implies that the formation of the continental crust was indeed episodic and punctuated by large, potentially global, melting events. The proposed helium isotopic evolution model does not require a primitive, undegassed mantle reservoir, and therefore is consistent with whole mantle convection.     

Preservation of ancient and fertile lithospheric mantle beneath the southwestern United States

Stable continental regions, free from tectonic activity, are generally found only within ancient cratons-the centres of continents which formed in the Archaean era, 4.0-2.5 Gyr ago. But in the Cordilleran mountain belt of western North America some younger (middle Proterozoic) regions have remained stable, whereas some older (late Archaean) regions have been tectonically disturbed, suggesting that age alone does not determine lithospheric strength and crustal stability. Here we report rhenium-osmium isotope and mineral compositions of peridotite xenoliths from two regions of the Cordilleran mountain belt. We found that the younger, undeformed Colorado plateau is underlain by lithospheric mantle that is 'depleted' (deficient in minerals extracted by partial melting of the rock), whereas the older (Archaean), yet deformed, southern Basin and Range province is underlain by 'fertile' lithospheric mantle (not depleted by melt extraction). We suggest that the apparent relationship between composition and lithospheric strength, inferred from different degrees of crustal deformation, occurs because depleted mantle is intrinsically less dense than fertile mantle (due to iron having been lost when melt was extracted from the rock). This allows the depleted mantle to form a thicker thermal boundary layer between the deep convecting mantle and the crust, thus reducing tectonic activity at the surface. The inference that not all Archaean crust developed a strong and thick thermal boundary layer leads to the possibility that such ancient crust may have been overlooked because of its intensive reworking or lost from the geological record owing to preferential recycling.     

Evidence for recycled Archaean oceanic mantle lithosphere in the Azores plume

The compositional differences between mid-ocean-ridge and ocean-island basalts place important constraints on the form of mantle convection. Also, it is thought that the scale and nature of heterogeneities within plumes and the degree to which heterogeneous material endures within the mantle might be reflected in spatial variations of basalt composition observed at the Earth's surface. Here we report osmium isotope data on lavas from a transect across the Azores archipelago which vary in a symmetrical pattern across what is thought to be a mantle plume. Many of the lavas from the centre of the plume have lower 187Os/188Os ratios than most ocean-island basalts and some extend to subchondritic 187Os/188Os ratios-lower than any yet reported from ocean-island basalts. These low ratios require derivation from a depleted, harzburgitic mantle, consistent with the low-iron signature of the Azores plume. Rhenium-depletion model ages extend to 2.5 Gyr, and we infer that the osmium isotope signature is unlikely to be derived from Iberian subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Instead, we interpret the osmium isotope signature as having a deep origin and infer that it may be recycled, Archaean oceanic mantle lithosphere that has delaminated from its overlying oceanic crust. If correct, our data provide evidence for deep mantle subduction and storage of oceanic mantle lithosphere during the Archaean era.     

A link between large mantle melting events and continent growth seen in osmium isotopes

Although Earth's continental crust is thought to have been derived from the mantle, the timing and mode of crust formation have proven to be elusive issues. The area of preserved crust diminishes markedly with age, and this can be interpreted as being the result of either the progressive accumulation of new crust or the tectonic recycling of old crust. However, there is a disproportionate amount of crust of certain ages, with the main peaks being 1.2, 1.9, 2.7 and 3.3 billion years old; this has led to a third model in which the crust has grown through time in pulses, although peaks in continental crust ages could also record preferential preservation. The 187Re-187Os decay system is unique in its ability to track melt depletion events within the mantle and could therefore potentially link the crust and mantle differentiation records. Here we employ a laser ablation technique to analyse large numbers of osmium alloy grains to quantify the distribution of depletion ages in the Earth's upper mantle. Statistical analysis of these data, combined with other samples of the upper mantle, show that depletion ages are not evenly distributed but cluster in distinct periods, around 1.2, 1.9 and 2.7 billion years. These mantle depletion events coincide with peaks in the generation of continental crust and so provide evidence of coupled, global and pulsed mantle-crust differentiation, lending strong support to pulsed models of continental growth by means of large-scale mantle melting events.     

Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc basaltic rocks association in the Alataw Mountains, north Xinjiang： interactions between slab melt and mantle peridotite and implications for crustal growth

Adakites and Nb-enriched arc basaltic rocks (NEABs) in arc setting, which are closely correlated in petrogenesis, have recently been widely followed with interest[1—9]. In general, adakite is derived from partial melting of subducting oceanic crust[1]. When adakitic magma (slab melt) passes through the mantle wedge, the interactions between slab melt and mantle peridotite will occur: slab melt is contaminated by peridotite, meanwhile peridotite is metasomated by slab melt. The NEABs are d…     

Growth of early continental crust controlled by melting of amphibolite in subduction zones

It is thought that the first continental crust formed by melting of either eclogite or amphibolite, either at subduction zones or on the underside of thick oceanic crust. However, the observed compositions of early crustal rocks and experimental studies have been unable to distinguish between these possibilities. Here we show a clear contrast in trace-element ratios of melts derived from amphibolites and those from eclogites. Partial melting of low-magnesium amphibolite can explain the low niobium/tantalum and high zirconium/samarium ratios in melts, as required for the early continental crust, whereas the melting of eclogite cannot. This indicates that the earliest continental crust formed by melting of amphibolites in subduction-zone environments and not by the melting of eclogite or magnesium-rich amphibolites in the lower part of thick oceanic crust. Moreover, the low niobium/tantalum ratio seen in subduction-zone igneous rocks of all ages is evidence that the melting of rutile-eclogite has never been a volumetrically important process.     

Growth of early continental crust by partial melting of eclogite

The tectonic setting in which the first continental crust formed, and the extent to which modern processes of arc magmatism at convergent plate margins were operative on the early Earth, are matters of debate. Geochemical studies have shown that felsic rocks in both Archaean high-grade metamorphic ('grey gneiss') and low-grade granite-greenstone terranes are comprised dominantly of sodium-rich granitoids of the tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suite of rocks. Here we present direct experimental evidence showing that partial melting of hydrous basalt in the eclogite facies produces granitoid liquids with major- and trace-element compositions equivalent to Archaean TTG, including the low Nb/Ta and high Zr/Sm ratios of 'average' Archaean TTG, but from a source with initially subchondritic Nb/Ta. In modern environments, basalts with low Nb/Ta form by partial melting of subduction-modified depleted mantle, notably in intraoceanic arc settings in the forearc and back-arc regimes. These observations suggest that TTG magmatism may have taken place beneath granite-greenstone complexes developing along Archaean intraoceanic island arcs by imbricate thrust-stacking and tectonic accretion of a diversity of subduction-related terranes. Partial melting accompanying dehydration of these generally basaltic source materials at the base of thickened, 'arc-like' crust would produce compositionally appropriate TTG granitoids in equilibrium with eclogite residues.     

Evolution of magma-poor continental margins from rifting to seafloor spreading

The rifting of continents involves faulting (tectonism) and magmatism, which reflect the strain-rate and temperature dependent processes of solid-state deformation and decompression melting within the Earth. Most models of this rifting have treated tectonism and magmatism separately, and few numerical simulations have attempted to include continental break-up and melting, let alone describe how continental rifting evolves into seafloor spreading. Models of this evolution conventionally juxtapose continental and oceanic crust. Here we present observations that support the existence of a zone of exhumed continental mantle, several tens of kilometres wide, between oceanic and continental crust on continental margins where magma-poor rifting has taken place. We present geophysical and geological observations from the west Iberia margin, and geological mapping of margins of the former Tethys ocean now exposed in the Alps. We use these complementary findings to propose a conceptual model that focuses on the final stage of continental extension and break-up, and the creation of a zone of exhumed continental mantle that evolves oceanward into seafloor spreading. We conclude that the evolving stress and thermal fields are constrained by a rising and narrowing ridge of asthenospheric mantle, and that magmatism and rates of extension systematically increase oceanward.     

A new type of oceanic crust and its dynamical significance

Conclusions There are two types of oceanic crust: the “Troodos type” with stratiform and thick oceanic crust, characterized by the development of sheeted dike swarms and thick cumulative rocks; and the “Shuanggou type” with thin oceanic crust composed of mafic plutonic and volcanic rocks, without sheeted dike swarms and ultramafic cumulates. The different types of oceanic crust represent the different dynamic processes under the mid-oceanic ridges, which relate with not only the spreading velocity of oceanic plate, but also the formation and volume of magmas under spread ridges. It is suggested that the spreading velocity of oceanic plate is most probably related with the rock assemblage, not the composition of oceanic crust.     

A young source for the Hawaiian plume

Recycling of oceanic crust through subduction, mantle upwelling, and remelting in mantle plumes is a widely accepted mechanism to explain ocean island volcanism. The timescale of this recycling is important to our understanding of mantle circulation rates. Correlations of uranogenic lead isotopes in lavas from ocean islands such as Hawaii or Iceland, when interpreted as model isochrons, have yielded source differentiation ages between 1 and 2.5?billion years (Gyr). However, if such correlations are produced by mixing of unrelated mantle components they will have no direct age significance. Re-Os decay model ages take into account the mixing of sources with different histories, but they depend on the assumed initial Re/Os ratio of the subducted crust, which is poorly constrained because of the high mobility of rhenium during subduction. Here we report the first data on (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratios for 138 melt inclusions in olivine phenocrysts from lavas of Mauna Loa shield volcano, Hawaii, indicating enormous mantle source heterogeneity. We show that highly radiogenic strontium in severely rubidium-depleted melt inclusions matches the isotopic composition of 200-650-Myr-old sea water. We infer that such sea water must have contaminated the Mauna Loa source rock, before subduction, imparting a unique 'time stamp' on this source. Small amounts of seawater-derived strontium in plume sources may be common but can be identified clearly only in ultra-depleted melts originating from generally highly (incompatible-element) depleted source components. The presence of 200-650-Myr-old oceanic crust in the source of Hawaiian lavas implies a timescale of general mantle circulation with an average rate of about 2 (±1)?cm?yr(-1), much faster than previously thought.     

25 years of continental deep subduction

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the discovery of coesite in metamorphic rocks of supracrustal origin. This initiated a revolution of the plate tectonics theory due to intensive studies of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism and continental deep subduction. The occurrence of coesite was first reported in 1984 by two French scientists, C. Chopin and D.C. Smith,     

Deep origin and hot melting of an Archaean orogenic peridotite massif in Norway

The buoyancy and strength of sub-continental lithospheric mantle is thought to protect the oldest continental crust (cratons) from destruction by plate tectonic processes. The exact origin of the lithosphere below cratons is controversial, but seems clearly to be a residue remaining after the extraction of large amounts of melt. Models to explain highly melt-depleted but garnet-bearing rock compositions require multi-stage processes with garnet and clinopyroxene possibly of secondary origin. Here we report on orogenic peridotites (fragments of cratonic mantle incorporated into the crust during continent-continent plate collision) from Otr?y, western Norway. We show that the peridotites underwent extensive melting during upwelling from depths of 350 kilometres or more, forming a garnet-bearing cratonic root in a single melting event. These peridotites appear to be the residue after Archaean aluminium depleted komatiite magmatism.     

论海沟—岛弧—弧后盆地复合体系的形成机制

海沟一岛孤一弧后盆地复合体系的成因与软流圈及岩石圈的流变性有关,以前者为主,并遵循流体运动的最小阻力原理。俯冲有两种类型:一是大洋岩石圈向大陆岩石圈的俯冲,二是大洋岩石圈之间的俯冲。弧后扩张及岛弧升高在时间上的滞后现象,也可以用此原理来说明。     

Contrasting origins of the upper mantle revealed by hafnium and lead isotopes from the Southeast Indian Ridge

The origin of the isotopic signature of Indian mid-ocean ridge basalts has remained enigmatic, because the geochemical composition of these basalts is consistent either with pollution from recycled, ancient altered oceanic crust and sediments, or with ancient continental crust or lithosphere. The radiogenic isotopic signature may therefore be the result of contamination of the upper mantle by plumes containing recycled altered ancient oceanic crust and sediments, detachment and dispersal of continental material into the shallow mantle during rifting and breakup of Gondwana, or contamination of the upper mantle by ancient subduction processes. The identification of a process operating on a scale large enough to affect major portions of the Indian mid-ocean ridge basalt source region has been a long-standing problem. Here we present hafnium and lead isotope data from across the Indian-Pacific mantle boundary at the Australian-Antarctic discordance region of the Southeast Indian Ridge, which demonstrate that the Pacific and Indian upper mantle basalt source domains were each affected by different mechanisms. We infer that the Indian upper-mantle isotope signature in this region is affected mainly by lower continental crust entrained during Gondwana rifting, whereas the isotope signature of the Pacific upper mantle is influenced predominantly by ocean floor subduction-related processes.     

Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic subduction to continental collision

The studies of continental deep subduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism have not only promoted the development of solid earth science in China, but also provided an excellent opportunity to advance the plate tectonics theory. In view of the nature of subducted crust, two types of subduction and collision have been respectively recognized in nature. On one hand, the crustal subduction occurs due to underflow of either oceanic crust （Pacific type） or continental crust （Alpine type）. On the other hand, the continental collision proceeds by arc-continent collision （Himalaya-Tibet type） or continent-continent collision （Dabie-Sulu type）. The key issues in the future study of continental dynamics are the chemical changes and differential exhumation in continental deep subduction zones, and the temporal-spatial transition from oceanic subduction to continental subduction.     

Subduction and collision processes in the Central Andes constrained by converted seismic phases

The Central Andes are the Earth's highest mountain belt formed by ocean-continent collision. Most of this uplift is thought to have occurred in the past 20 Myr, owing mainly to thickening of the continental crust, dominated by tectonic shortening. Here we use P-to-S (compressional-to-shear) converted teleseismic waves observed on several temporary networks in the Central Andes to image the deep structure associated with these tectonic processes. We find that the Moho (the Mohorovici? discontinuity--generally thought to separate crust from mantle) ranges from a depth of 75 km under the Altiplano plateau to 50 km beneath the 4-km-high Puna plateau. This relatively thin crust below such a high-elevation region indicates that thinning of the lithospheric mantle may have contributed to the uplift of the Puna plateau. We have also imaged the subducted crust of the Nazca oceanic plate down to 120 km depth, where it becomes invisible to converted teleseismic waves, probably owing to completion of the gabbro-eclogite transformation; this is direct evidence for the presence of kinetically delayed metamorphic reactions in subducting plates. Most of the intermediate-depth seismicity in the subducting plate stops at 120 km depth as well, suggesting a relation with this transformation. We see an intracrustal low-velocity zone, 10-20 km thick, below the entire Altiplano and Puna plateaux, which we interpret as a zone of continuing metamorphism and partial melting that decouples upper-crustal imbrication from lower-crustal thickening.     

The Earth's mantle

Seismological images of the Earth's mantle reveal three distinct changes in velocity structure, at depths of 410, 660 and 2,700 km. The first two are best explained by mineral phase transformations, whereas the third-the D" layer-probably reflects a change in chemical composition and thermal structure. Tomographic images of cold slabs in the lower mantle, the displacements of the 410-km and 660-km discontinuities around subduction zones, and the occurrence of small-scale heterogeneities in the lower mantle all indicate that subducted material penetrates the deep mantle, implying whole-mantle convection. In contrast, geochemical analyses of the basaltic products of mantle melting are frequently used to infer that mantle convection is layered, with the deeper mantle largely isolated from the upper mantle. We show that geochemical, seismological and heat-flow data are all consistent with whole-mantle convection provided that the observed heterogeneities are remnants of recycled oceanic and continental crust that make up about 16 and 0.3 per cent, respectively, of mantle volume.     

Re-Os dating of the Raobazhai ultra mafic massif in North Dabie

The ultramafic massif at Raobazhai in North Dabie is located in the suture zone between the Yangtze craton and North China eraton. The Re-Os isotope compositions of the massif are used to decipher the origin and tectonics of the ultramafic rocks involved in continental subduction and exhumation. Fifteen samples were collected from five drill holes along the main SE-NW axis of the Raobazhai massif. Major and trace element compositions of the samples show linear correlations between MgO, Yb and Al_2O_3. This suggests that the massif experienced partial melting with variable degrees and is from fertile to deplete in basaltic compositions. Nine selected samples were analyzed for Re-Os isotope compositions. Re contents range from 0.004 to 0.376 rig/g, Os contents from 0.695 to 3.761 ng/g, ~(187)Re/~(188)Os ratios from 0.022 to 2.564 and ~(187)Os/~(188)Os ratios from 0.1165 to 0.1306. These indicate that the massif is a piece of continental lithospheric mantle with variable depletion. Using the positive corre     

Recycled dehydrated lithosphere observed in plume-influenced mid-ocean-ridge basalt

A substantial uncertainty in the Earth's global geochemical water cycle is the amount of water that enters the deep mantle through the subduction and recycling of hydrated oceanic lithosphere. Here we address the question of recycling of water into the deep mantle by characterizing the volatile contents of different mantle components as sampled by ocean island basalts and mid-ocean-ridge basalts. Although all mantle plume (ocean island) basalts seem to contain more water than mid-ocean-ridge basalts, we demonstrate that basalts associated with mantle plume components containing subducted lithosphere--'enriched-mantle' or 'EM-type' basalts--contain less water than those associated with a common mantle source. We interpret this depletion as indicating that water is extracted from the lithosphere during the subduction process, with greater than 92 per cent efficiency.     

Evolution of the continental crust

The continental crust covers nearly a third of the Earth's surface. It is buoyant--being less dense than the crust under the surrounding oceans--and is compositionally evolved, dominating the Earth's budget for those elements that preferentially partition into silicate liquid during mantle melting. Models for the differentiation of the continental crust can provide insights into how and when it was formed, and can be used to show that the composition of the basaltic protolith to the continental crust is similar to that of the average lower crust. From the late Archaean to late Proterozoic eras (some 3-1 billion years ago), much of the continental crust appears to have been generated in pulses of relatively rapid growth. Reconciling the sedimentary and igneous records for crustal evolution indicates that it may take up to one billion years for new crust to dominate the sedimentary record. Combining models for the differentiation of the crust and the residence time of elements in the upper crust indicates that the average rate of crust formation is some 2-3 times higher than most previous estimates.