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Lower crustal assimilation in oceanic arcs: Insights from an osmium isotopic study of the Lesser Antilles

Bezard, R.; Schaefer, B.F.; Turner, S.; Davidson, J.P.; Selby, D.

Lower crustal assimilation in oceanic arcs: Insights from an osmium isotopic study of the Lesser Antilles Thumbnail


Authors

R. Bezard

B.F. Schaefer

S. Turner

J.P. Davidson



Abstract

We present whole rock 187Os/188Os data for the most mafic lavas along the Lesser Antilles arc (MgO = 5–17 wt.%) and for the subducting basalt and sediments. 187Os/188Os ratios vary from 0.127 to 0.202 in the arc lavas. Inverse correlations between 187Os/188Os and Os concentrations and between 187Os/188Os and indices of differentiation such as MgO suggests that assimilation, rather than source variation, is responsible for the range of Os isotopic variation observed. 87Sr/86Sr, La/Sm and Sr/Th are also modified by assimilation since they all correlate with 187Os/188Os. The assimilant is inferred to have a MORB-like 87Sr/86Sr with high Sr (>700 ppm), low light on middle and heavy rare earth elements (L/M-HREE; La/Sm ∼2.5) and 187Os/188Os > 0.2. Such compositional features are likely to correspond to a plagioclase-rich early-arc cumulate. Given that assimilation affects lavas that were last stored at more than 5 kbar, assimilation must occur in the middle-lower crust. Only a high MgO picrite from Grenada escaped obvious assimilation (MgO = 17% wt.%) and could reflect mantle source composition. It has a very radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr (0.705) but a 187Os/188Os ratio that overlaps the mantle range (0.127). 187Os/188Os and 87Sr/88Sr ratios of the sediments and an altered basalt from the subducting slab vary from 0.18 to 3.52 and 0.708 to 0.714. We therefore suggest that, unlike Sr, no Os from the slab was transferred to the parental magmas. Os may be either retained in the mantle wedge or even returned to the deep mantle in the subducting slab.

Citation

Bezard, R., Schaefer, B., Turner, S., Davidson, J., & Selby, D. (2015). Lower crustal assimilation in oceanic arcs: Insights from an osmium isotopic study of the Lesser Antilles. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 150, 330-344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2014.11.009

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 14, 2014
Online Publication Date Nov 20, 2014
Publication Date Feb 20, 2015
Deposit Date Jan 7, 2015
Publicly Available Date Jan 12, 2015
Journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Print ISSN 0016-7037
Electronic ISSN 1872-9533
Publisher Meteoritical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 150
Pages 330-344
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2014.11.009
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1417256

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Copyright Statement
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 150, 1 February 2015, 10.1016/j.gca.2014.11.009.






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