C. Chauvel et J. Blichert-toft, A hafnium isotope and trace element perspective on melting of the depletedmantle, EARTH PLAN, 190(3-4), 2001, pp. 137-151
New Hf isotope and trace element data on mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) fro
m the Pacific Ocean basin are remarkably uniform (Hf-176/Hf-177 approximate
to0.28313-0.28326) and comparable to previously published data [Salters, E
arth Planet. Sci. Lett. 141 (1996) 109-123; Patchett, Lithos 16 (1983) 47-5
1]. Atlantic MORB have Hf-176/Hf-177 ranging from 0.28302 to 0.28335 confir
ming the wide range originally identified by Patchett and Tatsumoto [Geophy
s. Res. Lett. 7 (1980) 1077-1080]. Indian MORB define an even wider range,
from 0.28277 to 0.28337, but three exotic samples have very unradiogenic Hf
isotope compositions. Their very low Hf-176/Hf-177 ratios, together with t
heir trace element characteristics, require the presence of unusual plume-t
ype material beneath the Indian ridge. All other Indian MORB have uniform H
f isotope compositions at about 0.2832, and define a small field displaced
to the right of other MORB in Hf-Nd isotope space. The distinct nature of I
ndian MORB is best explained by the presence in Indian depleted mantle of o
ld recycled oceanic crust and pelagic sediments. Sm/Hf` ratios calculated f
rom new high-precision rare earth element and Hf trace element data do not
vary in MORB in the same way as in ocean island basalts (OIB): ratios are c
onstant in OIB, but decrease with increasing Sm contents in MORB. The const
ancy of Sm/Hf` in OIB is probably due to an overwhelming influence of resid
ual garnet during melting. By contrast, the decrease of Sm/Hf` in MORB is d
ue to the effect of clinopyroxene in the residue of melting beneath ridges,
an interpretation confirmed by quantitative modeling of melting. The relat
ionship between Sm/Nd and Lu/Hf ratios in MORB does not require the presenc
e of garnet in the residual mineralogy. The decoupling of Lu/Hf ratios and
Hf isotope compositions - the so-called Hf paradox [Salters and Hart, EOS T
rans. Am. Geophys. Union 70 (1989) 510] - can be explained by melting domin
antly in the spinel field at shallow depths beneath mid-ocean ridges. (C) 2
001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.