A multi-siderophile element connection between volcanic hotspots and Earth's core ...

The existence of resolvable 182W/184W deficits in modern ocean island basalts (OIB) relative to the bulk silicate Earth has raised questions about the relationship of these rocks to Earth's core. However, because the core is expected to host high abundances of highly siderophile elements (HSE:...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Peters, Bradley J., Mundl-Petermeier, Andrea, Finlayson, Valerie A.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: ETH Zurich 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000622224
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/622224
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Summary:The existence of resolvable 182W/184W deficits in modern ocean island basalts (OIB) relative to the bulk silicate Earth has raised questions about the relationship of these rocks to Earth's core. However, because the core is expected to host high abundances of highly siderophile elements (HSE: Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Pd, Re), it would be expected that such heterogeneity is accompanied by correlating variability in HSE abundances among OIB, but this has not been observed. We report instead a relationship between the W isotopic compositions and Ru/Ir ratios of Hawai‘i and Iceland OIB, which represent two of Earth's primary mantle plumes. Previous studies have highlighted the unique behavior of Ru relative to Os and Ir during metal-silicate fractionation, particularly when sulfide phases are segregated with metal. Using the information from these studies, we construct models predicting the consequences for HSE fractionation of various scenarios in which 182W/184W deficits can be created. These models show that the ... : Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 618 ...