A. Ewart et al., GEOCHEMICAL EVOLUTION WITHIN THE TONGA-KERMADEC LAU ARC BACK-ARC SYSTEMS - THE ROLE OF VARYING MANTLE WEDGE COMPOSITION IN SPACE AND TIME, Journal of Petrology, 39(3), 1998, pp. 331-368
New trace element and Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope data for lavas from the a
ctive Tonga-Kermadec arc in the southwest Pacific, tile volcano of Niu
a fo'ou in the back-arc Lau Basin, and Pacific Ocean sediments from DS
DP Sites 204 and 275, and ODP Site 596, are integrated with existing g
eochemical data for lavas from the Lau Basin, Samoa, the Louisville Ri
dge Seamount Chain (LR-SMC) and the extinct Lau Ridge are, giving new
insights into the petrogenesis of lavas in an active are-back-are syst
em. Geochemical variations in Tonga-Kermadec are lavas are the result
of (1) differences in the amount and composition of the material being
subducted along the arc, and (2) pre-existing heterogeneities in the
upper mantle. Differences in the material being subducted beneath the
are have an important influence on the chemistry of the are lavas. At
the Kermadec Trench, similar to 1 km thick layer of sediment is being
subducted beneath the are, compared with similar to 200 m at the Tonga
Trench. This results zn the high Th/U and more radiogenic Pb isotope
compositions of Kermadec lavas compared with Tonga lavas. The latter h
ave Pb isotope compositions intermediate between those of Pacific sedi
ments and Pacific mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB), suggesting that much
of the Pb in these lavas is derived Jj-om subducting Pacific Ocean cru
st. This is supported blv the Pb isotope signatures of the subducting
LR-SMC, which are also observed in lavas from the northern Tongan isla
nds of Tafahi and Niuatoputapu. High field strength element (HFSE) and
heavy rare earth element (HREE) concentrations are generally lower in
Tongan lavas (particularly those from northern Tongan islands) than i
n Kermadec lavas. The Tonga Ridge basement, the proto-Tonga are lavas
(ODP Site 839) and the older Lau Ridge are lavas are generally less de
pleted than the modern are lavas. In the back-arc region, upper-mantle
depletion as inferred from HFSE and HREE contents of the lavas broadl
y increases eastwards across the Lau Basin, whereas the subduction sig
nature and volatile (CO2 and F) contents increase eastwards towards th
e modern are. These observations suggest that depletion is due to melt
extraction during back-are extension and volcanism, together-with a l
ong 'residence time' of mantle material within the mantle wedge. The u
pper mantle beneath the northernmost end of the Tonga are and Lau Basi
n contains an ocean-island basalt (OIB) component derived from the Sam
oa plume to the north. This is reflected in high concentrations of Nb
relative to other HFSE in lavas from Niua fo'ou, and Tafahi and Niuato
putapu islands at the northern end of the Tonga are. Pb isotopes also
suggest an LR-SMC contribution into Tafahi and Niuataputapu. Trace ele
ment and isotope modelling is used to investigate the combined effects
of varying mantle source depletion and subduction on the geochemistry
of the are lavas. The results suggest that the are lava geochemistry
can be explained largely by the balance between a relatively constant
subduction input of Pb, Th, U, Cs, Ba, Sr, Rb, K and Sc [corresponding
to 0.001-0.005 weight faction of the Stolper & Newman (1994, Earth an
d Planetary Science Letters, 121, 293-325] 'H2O-rich component' compos
ition), into the overlying, but variably depleted mantle wedge.