Oxygen-isotope and trace element constraints on the origins
of silica-rich melts in the subarc mantle
J. M. Eiler
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, MC 100-23, Pasadena, California
91125, USA (eiler@gps.caltech.edu)
P. Schiano
Departement des Sciences de la Terra (UMR 6524 ‘‘Magmas et Volcans’’), Universite
́ Blaise Pascal, 5 Rue Kessler,
F-63038 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex, France
J. W. Valley and N. T. Kita
Department of Geology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
E. M. Stolper
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, MC 100-23, Pasadena, California
91125, USA
[
1
]
Peridotitic xenoliths in basaltic andesites from Batan island in the Luzon arc contain silica-rich (broadly
dacitic) hydrous melt inclusions that were likely trapped when these rocks were within the upper mantle
wedge underlying the arc. These melt inclusions have been previously interpreted to be slab-derived melts.
We tested this hypothesis by analyzing the oxygen isotope compositions of these inclusions with an ion
microprobe. The melt inclusions from Batan xenoliths have
d
18
O
VSMOW
values of 6.45 ± 0.51
%
. These
values are consistent with the melts having been in oxygen isotope exchange equilibrium with average
mantle peridotite at temperatures of
875
°
C. We suggest the
d
18
O values of Batan inclusions, as well as
their major and trace element compositions, can be explained if they are low-degree melts (or
differentiation products of such melts) of peridotites in the mantle wedge that had previously undergone
extensive melt extraction followed by metasomatism by small amounts (several percent or less) of slab-
derived components. A model based on the trace element contents of Batan inclusions suggests that this
metasomatic agent was an aqueous fluid extracted from subducted basalts and had many characteristics
similar to slab-derived components of the sources of arc-related basalts at Batan and elsewhere. Batan
inclusions bear similarities to ‘‘adakites,’’ a class of arc-related lava widely considered to be slab-derived
melts. Our results suggest the alternative interpretation that at least some adakite-like liquids might be
generated from low-degree melting of metasomatized peridotites.
Components:
14,199 words, 6 figures, 2 tables
.
Keywords:
subduction zone; slab melting; oxygen isotopes; adakites.
Index Terms:
1031 Geochemistry: Subduction zone processes (3060, 3613, 8170, 8413); 1037 Geochemistry: Magma
genesis and partial melting (3619); 1041 Geochemistry: Stable isotope geochemistry (0454, 4870).
Received
9 October 2006;
Revised
12 June 2007;
Accepted
19 June 2007;
Published
21 September 2007.
G
3
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3
Geochemistry
Geophysics
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Published by AGU and the Geochemical Society
AN ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF THE EARTH SCIENCES
Geochemistry
Geophysics
Geosystems
Article
Volume 8
,Number9
21 September 2007
Q09012, doi:10.1029/2006GC001503
ISSN: 1525-2027
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1 of 21
Eiler, J. M., P. Schiano, J. W. Valley, N. T. Kita, and E. M. Stolper (2007), Oxygen-isotope and trace element constraints on
the origins of silica-rich melts in the subarc mantle,
Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst.
,
8
, Q09012, doi:10.1029/
2006GC001503.
1. Introduction
[
2
] Convergent margin magmatism is thought to be
dominated by partial melting of peridotitic mantle
wedge in response to influxes of aqueous fluids
and/or hydrous melts released from subducting
lithosphere [
Gill
, 1981;
Tatsumietal.
, 1983;
Davies and Bickle
, 1991;
McCulloch and Gamble
,
1991;
Davies and Stevenson
, 1992]. In this pro-
cess, slab-derived metasomatic agents control the
budgets of many minor and trace elements in the
mantle wedge [
Plank and Langmuir
, 1993;
Elliott
et al.
, 1997] and strongly influence its melting
properties and rheology [
Kushiro et al.
, 1968;
Stolper and Newman
, 1994;
Billen and Gurnis
,
2001;
Hirth and Kohlstedt
, 2003;
Baker et al.
,
2005], but they comprise only a small mass frac-
tion (
1–2% or less [
Eiler et al.
, 2000, 2005]) of
the sources of most arc magmas.
[
3
] Despite their dominantly peridotitic sources,
arc volcanoes erupt larger fractions of relatively
silica-rich lavas (e.g., basaltic andesites, andesites,
dacites and rhyolites) than volcanic centers in other
environments (e.g., ocean ridges, plateaus and
islands [
Gill
, 1981]). The major element composi-
tions of most silica-rich arc lavas are attributable to
crustal differentiation of more mafic magmas
[
Davidson
, 1996]. However, a variety of other
processes contribute to these silica-rich composi-
tions, including partial melting of basaltic material
in subducting slabs and/or reaction between
such melts and peridotites in the mantle wedge
[
Ringwood and Green
, 1966;
Condie and Swenson
,
1973;
Ringwood
, 1974;
Kay
, 1978;
Martin
, 1986,
1988;
Defant and Drummond
, 1990;
Rapp et
al.
, 1991;
Martin et al.
, 2005]; partial melting of
mafic rocks deep in the crust of the overriding
plate [
Atherton and Petford
, 1993]; differentiation
of basaltic melt in the upper mantle [
Kelemen
,
1990;
Macpherson et al.
, 2006]; or low-degree
(
1–2%) partial melting of peridotites in the
presence of water [
Baker et al.
, 1995;
Gaetani
and Grove
, 1998, 2003;
Hirschmann et al.
, 1998,
1999]. Resolving the relative importance of these
processes for explaining the silica-rich character of
arc lavas has implications for the thermal and
dynamical evolution of subducting slabs [
Peacock
,
2003;
Kelemen et al.
, 2003a], for the chemical
budgets of arc magmatism [
Plank and Langmuir
,
1993;
Elliott et al.
, 1997], for the mechanisms
responsible for growth of the continental crust
[
Rudnick and Fountain
, 1995;
Wang et al.
, 2003],
and for the composition of deeply subducted lith-
osphere [
Kelley et al.
, 2005].
[
4
] ‘‘Adakites,’’ magmatic rocks with unusually
low Y contents (generally less than 20 ppm) and
high Sr/Y ratios (generally greater than 50), have
been suggested to have a special significance for
our understanding of silica-rich arc magmas
[
Defant and Drummond
, 1990]. Archetypical ada-
kites are dacites from convergent margins where
relatively young ocean lithosphere has been sub-
ducted (although the rock name has been applied to
other rock types and settings). It has been sug-
gested that adakites are among the clearest exam-
ples of arc-related melts that form by partial
melting of basaltic components of subducted ocean
lithosphere [
Defant and Drummond
, 1990;
Rapp et
al.
, 1991]. This hypothesis is supported by the facts
that partial melts of eclogite are broadly dacitic
over a significant range in melt fraction [
Rapp et
al.
, 1991] and leave garnet-rich residues that retain
Y and heavy-rare earth elements, promoting low Y
and high Sr/Y. Alternatively, mirroring the debate
about silica-rich arc lavas generally, it has also
been suggested that adakites form by high-pressure
crystallization-differentiation of basalt [
Macpherson
et al.
, 2006] or by melting garnet- and/or amphibole-
rich crystal cumulates near the base of thick crust
[
Chung et al.
, 2003;
Wang et al.
, 2005]. Both
processes involve melt/garnet fractionation and
produce broadly dacitic melt and so can also
explain the critical features of adakites. This debate
also touches on the origin of high-Mg andesites,
many of which have the trace element character-
istics of adakites and have been suggested to form
by reaction of slab-derived melts with mantle
peridotites [
Green and Ringwood
, 1967;
Kay
,
1978;
Kelemen
, 1995;
Yogodzinski and Kelemen
,
1998]. Alternatively, high-Mg andesites may be
direct partial melts of hydrous peridotites [
Tatsumi
,
1981, 1982;
O’Nions and McKenzie
, 1988;
Grove
et al.
, 2002].
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[
5
] Melt inclusions (now glass) from metasomat-
ized xenoliths from Mount Iraya on the island of
Batan (northern-most Philippines; a part of the
Luzon-Taiwan volcanic arc) are a well-documented
example of silica-rich melts in a convergent margin
[
Richard et al.
, 1986;
Vidal et al.
, 1989;
Maury et
al.
, 1992;
Schiano et al.
, 1995]. These peridotitic
xenoliths are hosted by basaltic andesite and are
believed to sample the upper portions of the mantle
wedge beneath the Luzon arc. The melt inclusions
contained in these xenoliths have silica contents up
to
63% and Sr/Y ratios up to
250, within the
adakitic range. The melt inclusions correspond to
one end-member of the array of compositions of
basaltic andesites from Batan (Figure 1) [
Schiano
et al.
, 1995], and thus they could have bearing on
the petrogenesis of the lavas that carried the
xenoliths to the surface. These melt inclusions
clearly existed in the mantle and so cannot be
products of differentiation in or partial melting
of the arc crust (though they could be products of
differentiation of basalt in the mantle wedge
[
Macpherson et al.
, 2006]); and their low MgO
contents (0.5–1.7 wt.% [
Schiano et al.
, 1995])
(Table S3 in the auxiliary material
1
to this paper)
are within a range that has been previously sug-
gested to preclude reaction between slab-derived
melts and mantle peridotites [
Rapp et al.
, 1999]
(although they could also reflect modification of
peridotite-equilibrated melts by crystallization of
olivine and other phases). These inclusions have
been interpreted as partial melts of basalts in the
subducted South China Sea slab [
Schiano et al.
,
1995], and they have been cited as evidence that
adakites can be generated by melting of subducted
crust and can pass through the mantle wedge
without extensive reaction with peridotite [
Martin
et al.
, 2005, and references therein]. If these
interpretations are correct, Batan melt inclusions
could provide valuable information on the role of
slab melting in the petrogenesis of arc-derived
magmas, especially those that are relatively silica-
rich. Note, however, that the Batan melt inclusions
have major element characteristics (other than
MgO and Mg/Fe ratio, which can be disturbed by
crystallization) similar to those suggested for very
low degree (approximately
1–2%) partial melts
of peridotite at low pressure (<1.5 GPa [
Baker et
al.
, 1995;
Hirschmann et al.
, 1998]). Moreover,
McDermott et al.
[1993] suggested that the trace
element characteristics of Batan lavas (and, by
extension, compositionally similar Batan melt
inclusions) could be generated by melting perido-
tite that had been metasomatized by slab-derived
fluid. Here, we use oxygen isotopes to constrain
further the origins of Batan inclusions.
[
6
] Mantle peridotites typically have
d
18
O
VSMOW
values of approximately 5.5 ± 0.2
%
[
Mattey et al.
,
1994] (see
Eiler et al.
[1996] and
Ducea et al.
[2002] for exceptions). In contrast, the major
components of the upper
10 km of the ocean
lithosphere typically have
d
18
O
VSMOW
values in
the following ranges [
Kolodny and Epstein
, 1976;
Arthur et al.
, 1983;
Gregory and Taylor
, 1981;
Alt
et al.
, 1986;
Staudigel et al.
, 1995]: opaline oozes,
35–42
%
; carbonate oozes, 25–32
%
; pelagic
clays, 15–25
%
; terrigenous and volcaniclastic
sediments, and basalts and diabases subjected to
weathering and low-temperature hydrothermal
alteration (i.e., layer-2 ocean crust), 7–15
%
; and
gabbros subjected to high-temperature hydrother-
mal alteration (i.e., layer-3 ocean crust), 0–6
%
.
Importantly, all of these materials have broadly
similar oxygen concentrations, and so
d
18
O values
of mixtures between these components are approx-
imately linear functions of the mass fractions of the
end-members. It is also important to note that
magmatic differentiation processes (partial melting
and crystallization) also lead to variations in
d
18
O
[
Eiler
, 2001], and these variations must be consid-
ered before reaching conclusions regarding the
Figure 1.
Geochemical trend defined by Batan melt
inclusions (unfilled field) and host Mt. Iraya lavas (gray
field). These data are consistent with Batan inclusions
being a mixing end-member of magmas parental to
Mt. Iraya lavas or being products of a petrogenetic
process related to that responsible for generating Mt.
Iraya lavas. Data are from
Richard et al.
[1986],
McDermott et al.
[1993], and
Schiano et al.
[1995].
1
Auxiliary material data sets are available at ftp://ftp.agu.org/
apend/gc/2006gc001503. Other auxiliary material files are in the
HTML.
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oxygen isotope compositions of the sources of
magmatic rocks.
2. Samples
[
7
] We examined inclusions and host olivine crys-
tals from xenolith B3N, collected from a high-K
basaltic andesite erupted
1.48 ka ago from Mount
Iraya, Batan Island [
Schiano et al.
, 1995]. The
peridotitic xenoliths in this flow are harzburgites
believed to come from a depth of
30 km, near the
top of the mantle wedge between the overriding
Philippine plate and the subducting South China
Sea plate [
Maury et al.
, 1992].
[
8
] Xenolith B3N is a deformed spinel harzburgite
consisting of primary porphyroclasts of olivine
(Fe
90
93
), orthopyroxene (En
90
92
)andspinel
(Mg
0.62
0.64
Fe
2+
0.36
0.38
Fe
3+
0.04
0.08
Al
0.62
0.90
Cr
0.98
1.22
O
4
)[
Richard et al.
, 1986;
Maury et al.
,
1992;
Schiano et al.
, 1995]. Clinopyroxene is rare
in this sample, suggesting that it is a fragment of
the subarc mantle that is residual to high extents of
melting. The sample also contains hydrous meta-
somatic phases (phlogopite and amphibole) and
undeformed neoblasts of olivine (Fo
78
90
)and
orthopyroxene (En
86
88
). Petrographic observa-
tions suggest that neoblastic olivine formed from
recrystallization of primary olivine porphyroclasts,
accompanied by variable amounts of Mg loss and
Fe gain and growth of metasomatic phlogopite and
amphibole [
Richard et al.
, 1986;
Maury et al.
,
1992;
Schiano et al.
, 1995]. It also seems possible
that some neoblastic olivine and orthopyroxene
precipitated from the same infiltrating metasomatic
agent responsible for growth of hydrous metaso-
matic phases.
[
9
] Olivine porphyroclasts and neoblasts and meta-
somatic hydrous phases in sample B3N commonly
contain inclusions. Inclusions in olivine porphyr-
oclasts typically occur as linear trails of small
(approximately
50
m
m diameter) polyphase
assemblages of silica-rich (SiO
2
> 57 wt.%) glass
and H
2
O-rich bubbles of liquid and vapor [
Schiano
et al.
, 1995]. Polyphase inclusions are typically
50:50 mixtures of glass and fluid. Homogenization
temperatures of these polyphase inclusions (a mini-
mum estimate of their liquidus temperatures)
average 920 ± 10
°
C. Neoblasts and hydrous metaso-
matic phases contain larger (typically 30–150
m
m
diameter) inclusions of either a combination of silicate
glass and H
2
O-rich fluid (like the inclusions
in porphyroclasts) or H
2
O-rich fluid alone. This
suggests that both hydrous silicate melt and aqueous
fluid were present during metasomatism and recrys-
tallization [
Schiano et al.
, 1995]. These inclusions
typically define crystallographic planes in their host
minerals and were likely trapped from grain-boundary
melts and/or fluids during growth of the neoblasts and
hydrous metasomatic minerals [
Schiano et al.
, 1995].
There are no obvious compositional differences
between glass inclusions in porphyroclasts and inclu-
sions in neoblasts. We focused our analysis on
inclusions in neoblasts because their larger size
facilitated ion microprobe analyses of glass.
[
10
] Batan inclusions might have been trapped
from silicate melts or might instead be exsolved
from solute-rich aqueous fluids or supercritical
liquids. Glass and fluid in polyphase Batan inclu-
sions are typically subequal in volume within each
inclusion and glass typically contains approximately
5 wt.% H
2
O[
Schiano et al.
, 1995]. Thus, prior to
phase separation, these inclusions were approxi-
mately 30 wt.% H
2
O and 70 wt% silicate (assum-
ing the trapped aqueous phase has a density of 1 g/cc
and glass has a density of 2.5 g/cc). This bulk
composition is too silicate rich to be an aqueous
phase in equilibrium with mafic or ultramafic rock
at 1 GPa; i.e., it lies on the ‘‘melt’’ side of the
solvus between hydrous, silicate melts and aqueous
fluids in these compositional systems [
Stalder et
al.
, 2001;
Kessel et al.
, 2005a]. Thus these poly-
phase inclusions most likely quenched from H
2
O-
rich silicate melt, not aqueous fluid or a supercrit-
ical phase. Some glass inclusions contain crystals
of sulfide, indicating that this hydrous silicate melt
also contained significant amounts of sulfur.
3. Methods
[
11
] Major element compositions of minerals and
glasses in peridotite xenolith B3N were taken from
published analyses by
Schiano et al.
[1995] or were
measured using a JEOL 733 electron microprobe at
Caltech. These new measurements used an acceler-
ating voltage of 15 keV, a sample current of 10 nA, a
defocused beam (15–20
m
m) for glasses and a
focused beam for minerals. The H
2
O-rich character
of fluid associated with glass inclusions was estab-
lished by previously published laser-Raman analy-
ses; water contents of glasses were previously
determined by SIMS [
Schiano et al.
, 1995].
[
12
] Oxygen-isotope analyses were made using the
CAMECA IMS-1280 ion microprobe at the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin. Measurements were made
using a primary beam of
133
Cs
+
ions with a 20 keV
impact energy, focused to a diameter of approxi-
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mately 5–10
m
m on the sample surface. Primary
ion intensities were between
1 nA and
5 nA but
were held constant for each analytical session. An
electron flood gun was used for charge compensa-
tion. Secondary O
ions were extracted, accelerat-
ed by 10 keV, and focused and collimated using a
secondary optic alignment described by
Kita et al.
[2004]. The mass resolving power was
2500,
enough to separate hydride interferences on
18
O.
[
13
] The intensity of the
16
O
secondary ion beam
typically varied between 1 and 5
10
9
counts per
second (cps), depending on the intensity of the
primary ion beam (i.e.,
10
9
cps of secondary ions
were detected per nA of primary beam current).
Two Faraday cups were used to measure
16
O
(registered through a 10
10
W
resistor) and
18
O
(registered through a 10
11
W
resistor) simultaneously.
The baseline of each amplifier was calibrated once
each day; drift during the day was insignificant
compared to the noise level of the detectors
(
1000 cps for the circuit using the 10
11
W
resistor).
Immediately before each analysis, any small mis-
alignment of the secondary optics was corrected for
by scanning the position of the secondary ion beam
across the field aperture of the mass spectrometer
to maximize its detected intensity.
[
14
] Eachanalysisconsistedof20cyclesof4seconds
each; the internal precision of the
18
O/
16
Oratio
was typically between 0.05 and 0.15
%
,1
s
(varying
inversely with the secondary beam intensity).
The external precision, as measured by the repro-
ducibility of repeat analyses of nominally homo-
geneous standards of silicate minerals and glasses
(see the auxiliary material), averaged ±0.21
%
,
1 standard deviation, spot-to-spot. External preci-
sion was poorer than internal precision by a factor
of 2, on average. We suspect this reflects some
combination of imperfect charge neutralization of
the sample surface during analysis, variations in
analytical fractionation caused by moving the
sample in the instrument reference frame, and/or
isotopic heterogeneity of standards. In any event,
we suggest the external precision of our analyses of
unknowns, not considering any systematic errors in
standardization (below), is ±0.2
%
,1
s
.
[
15
] Analyses of oxygen isotope composition by
SIMS typically involve an instrumental mass frac-
tionation that varies from material to material, the
so-called ‘‘matrix effect’’ [
Eiler et al.
,1997].
Matrix effects stem from a variety of known causes
but generally cannot be predicted on the basis of
physical principles and must be corrected for
empirically. Matrix effects in silicate minerals
previously have been corrected for by interpolation
based on major element composition; i.e., the
matrix effect for an unknown material is calculated
as the weighted average of those for two or more
standards that, when combined in the appropriate
proportions, approximate the major element com-
position of the unknown. The approach we follow
here is as follows: Batan glass inclusions have
normative compositions dominated by albite, an-
orthite, orthoclase, quartz and hypersthene, and
they contain approximately 5 wt.% H
2
O[
Schiano
et al.
, 1995] (auxiliary material). We approximated
the instrumental fractionation for these glasses as
the weighted sum, by oxygen fraction, of those
measured for albite glass, anorthite glass, ortho-
clase glass, silica glass and crystalline orthopyrox-
ene (auxiliary material), in proportions equal to the
anhydrous norm of the unknown glass, and then
apply a correction equal to the difference between
anhydrous albite glass and albite glass containing
5 wt.% H
2
O. For olivines, there is no variation in
instrumental fractionation with major element com-
position over the range relevant to our samples, so
we standardized all measurements of unknown
olivines by assuming an instrumental fractionation
equal to that for San Carlos olivine standard. See
the auxiliary material for further details and data
for standards.
4. Results
[
16
] All oxygen isotope analyses of Batan inclu-
sions and host olivines made as part of this study
are summarized in Table 1. Seven analyses of five
separate inclusions (one of which was analyzed
three times; the others once each) yield an average
d
18
O
VSMOW
of 6.45 ± 0.51
%
(±0.19
%
1 standard
error, i.e., standard deviation divided by the square
root of the number of measurements). Twenty-five
analyses of three host olivine crystals yield an
average
d
18
O
VSMOW
of 5.34 ± 0.42
%
(±0.08
%
st. err.). Each of these two populations of analyses
has a standard deviation that is a factor of 2 worse
than the external precision for analyses of nomi-
nally homogeneous standards. We think this dif-
ference likely reflects some combination of errors
in corrections for matrix effects, analytical fractio-
nations caused by vertical relief between the sep-
arately mounted samples and standards, and real
isotopic heterogeneity of the samples. We can
examine the importance of fractionations caused
by sample relief by assuming that the three olivine
grains that host our analyzed inclusions are iden-
tical to each other in
d
18
O with a value equal to
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their average measured value (a reasonable approx-
imation, given the small range in
d
18
O of most
mantle olivines [
Eiler
, 2001]). In this case, the
average value for glass changes little, to 6.59 ±
0.53 (±0.20
%
st. err) and the reproducibility for
olivines (i.e., based on reproducibility within each
grain) improves slightly to ±0.37
%
(±0.07
%
st.
err.). The important point, however, is that regard-
less of these small corrections, to first order, all
olivines have
d
18
O values similar to olivine from
typical mantle peridotites (
5.0–5.4
%
[
Mattey et
al.
, 1994;
Eiler
, 2001]), and all glasses have
d
18
O
values of
6.5
%
.
5. Discussion
[
17
] The oxygen isotope compositions of Batan
melt inclusions are consistent with those predicted
for melts of similar major element composition in
equilibrium with average mantle peridotite at tem-
peratures of 875
°
C or greater (Figure 2). That is,
while these inclusions are approximately 1–1.5
%
higher in
d
18
O than typical peridotitic olivines, this
difference is consistent with equilibrium oxygen-
isotope fractionation between quartzo-feldspathic
melts and typical mantle peridotite mineralogies at
magmatic temperatures [
Eiler
, 2001, and referen-
ces therein]. This result also suggests that Batan
melt inclusions contain little or no oxygen from
sources rich in weathered, hydrothermally altered
or authigenic phases, such as basaltic, gabbroic and
metasedimentary materials in a subducted slab.
Instead, our data are consistent with the interpre-
tation that Batan siliceous melt inclusions are
derived from or equilibrated with mantle perido-
tites having typical
d
18
O values, or are differenti-
ation products of more mafic melts that were
derived from or in equilibrium with mantle
peridotites.
[
18
] The oxygen isotope compositions of Batan
inclusions contrast with those of melt veins and
inclusions in a peridotite xenolith collected from
an alkali basalt from Simberi island, Papua New
Guinea [
Eiler et al.
, 1998] (Simberi is a volcano
associated with the Manus-Kilinailau subduction
zone). These latter glasses have
d
18
O
VSMOW
values up to 11.3 ± 1.3
%
, consistent with deri-
vation from a source rich in oxygen from sub-
ducted sediments and/or altered upper oceanic
crust. These previous results show that metaso-
matic melts and/or fluids can be extracted from a
subducted slab and transported through the mantle
wedge without undergoing extensive oxygen-
isotope exchange with the mantle peridotites
through which they move.
Eiler et al.
[1998]
suggested that this reflects either the fast rate of
Table 1.
SIMS Analysis of
d
18
O
VSMOW
Values of Batan Inclusions and Host Olivines
a
B3N1
B3N2
B3N3
Host
Olivine Inclusion
Normalized
Inclusion
b
Host
Olivine Inclusion
Normalized
Inclusion
b
Host
Olivine Inclusion
Normalized
Inclusion
b
5.45
5.79
5.63
5.31
6.31
6.64
5.14
6.84
6.83
5.35
7.06
6.90
4.58
5.84
6.17
4.75
5.04
5.12
7.10
7.43
5.38
5.47
5.05
6.18
6.51
6.19
5.38
4.93
5.60
5.11
5.14
5.27
5.22
4.96
5.16
5.10
5.13
5.33
6.30
6.12
6.10
5.88
Average
5.50
6.42
6.26
5.01
6.36
6.69
5.35
6.84
6.83
1 St.dev.
0.41
0.63
0.63
0.21
0.46
0.46
0.42
0.18
c
0.18
c
1 St.err.
0.11
0.45
0.45
0.08
0.23
0.23
0.16
0.18
c
0.18
c
a
Overall averages: All olivines, 5.34 ± 0.42 (±0.08 st. err.); all inclusions, 6.44 ± 0.51 (±0.19 st. err.); all normalized inclusions, 6.59 ± 0.53
(±0.20 st. err.).
b
Restandardized assuming host olivine has a
d
18
O
VSMOW
value of 5.34
%
.
c
Based on external precision of standard glasses.
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movement of slab-derived melt and/or fluid
through the wedge (i.e., because diffusion-limited
oxygen isotope exchange is relatively slow, even
at mantle temperatures) or that slab-derived melt
can move through conduits that were previously
armored by metasomatic phases.
[
19
] The mantle-equilibrated oxygen isotopic ratios
of Batan inclusions argue against involvement of
several petrogenetic processes in their origins and
are consistent with several others:
[
20
] Batan inclusions are not partial melts of
weathered, hydrothermally altered or sedimentary
constituents of subducted oceanic lithosphere that
were transported through the mantle wedge with
little or no reaction or exchange with peridotites.
Similarly, Batan inclusions are not well explained
as partial melts of portions of the mantle wedge
that underwent extensive metasomatism (i.e.,
where metasomatic agent contributes tens of % of
the oxygen of the hybrid source) by fluids or melts
derived from
18
O-rich or
18
O-poor sections of
subducted ocean crust (this was the preferred
interpretation of high-
d
18
O inclusions from Sim-
beri island presented by
Eiler et al.
[1998]).
[
21
] On the other hand, Batan inclusions
could
be
partial melts of parts of subducted ocean crust that
fortuitously yield melts having
d
18
Ovaluesin
equilibrium with mantle peridotite (or, similarly, a
combination of melts from
18
O-rich and
18
O-poor
sources that fortuitously yields such
d
18
O values
[
Bindeman et al.
, 2005]). They also could be slab-
derived melts that underwent extensive oxygen
isotope exchange with mantle peridotites during
transport through the mantle wedge. Or, they
might be products of high-pressure crystallization-
differentiation of normal-
d
18
O basaltic partial melts
of mantle wedge. Finally, they could be low-degree
partial melts of normal-
d
18
O mantle wedge peri-
dotites. While it may not be possible to strictly rule
out any one of these possibilities, the following
sections examine their various strengths and weak-
nesses in explaining the full spectrum of major
element, trace element and isotopic constraints on
the origins of Batan inclusions.
5.1. Slab-Derived Melts That Lack
Anomalous Oxygen Isotope Signatures?
[
22
] Oxygen isotope data are consistent with Batan
inclusions being partial melts of basaltic or gab-
broic components of the subducted South China
Figure 2.
The heavy curve plots the
d
18
O
VSMOW
values of dacitic melts in oxygen-isotope exchange equilibrium
with average mantle peridotite as a function of the temperature of equilibration. This calculation assumes a major
element composition for silica-rich melt equal to the average measured for Batan glass inclusions [
Schiano et al.
,
1995] (Table S3 in the auxiliary material for this paper), an oxygen-isotope composition for mantle peridotite equal to
the sources of average, normal mid-ocean-ridge basalts [
Eiler et al.
, 1998;
Eiler
, 2001], and oxygen-isotope
fractionation factors summarized by
Eiler
[2001]. The horizontal and vertical gray bands indicate the oxygen-isotope
compositions (this study) and homogenization temperatures [
Schiano et al.
, 1995], respectively, of Batan inclusions
(in both cases the position and width of the band reflect the average(2 std. err.). Data presented in this study are
consistent with Batan inclusions being in oxygen-isotope exchange equilibrium with typical upper mantle peridotites.
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Sea slab that are in oxygen isotope equilibrium
with the mantle either because their sources
escaped weathering or hydrothermal alteration
before subduction or because they underwent
oxygen isotope exchange with the mantle wedge
before or during entrapment. This hypothesis is
appealing because Batan inclusions have traits
often associated with slab-derived melts (e.g.,
elevated SiO
2
contents, low abundances of heavy
rare earth elements and Y, and high Sr/Y ratios).
On the other hand, normal-
d
18
O components of old
oceanic crust are unusual [
Gregory and Taylor
,
1981;
Alt et al.
, 1986;
Staudigel et al.
, 1995],
and previous data for Simberi island inclusions
[
Eiler et al.
, 1998] demonstrate that melts of
sources rich in slab components can retain rela-
tively dramatic oxygen-isotope anomalies, despite
later transport through the mantle. Similarly, sev-
eral suites of arc lavas are known to have oxygen
isotope anomalies inherited from slab-derived
components, despite transport through the mantle
wedge [e.g.,
Eiler et al.
, 2000, 2005;
Bindeman et
al.
, 2005]. Thus, if Batan inclusions are slab melts,
their oxygen isotope compositions contrast both
with simple expectations and with previous data
for subduction-zone melts.
[
23
] Figure 3a presents the average primitive-man-
tle-normalized trace element composition of Batan
inclusions, based on analyses of a subset of the
plotted elements in glass inclusions (circles) and
analyses of a larger subset of elements in inclusion-
rich olivines (diamonds; see the caption to Figure 3a
for details; both sets of data from
Schiano et al.
[1995]). Note that the inclusion-rich olivines in
Batan xenoliths contain sulfides, which doubtless
host a large proportion of the Pb and Cu added to
these xenoliths by metasomatic melt [
Schiano et
al.
, 1995]. Measurements of inclusion-rich olivines
will faithfully represent the bulk abundances of
these elements in metasomatic melt only if all
phases formed by quenching of metasomatic melt
(glass, fluid, sulfide, etc.) are sampled in their
correct relative proportions (i.e., preferential
enrichment or depletion in sulfide could enrich or
deplete olivine separates in Pb and Cu). However,
repeat measurements of inclusion-rich olivines
from Batan xenoliths are reproducible in their
relative abundances of trace elements, and essen-
tially indistinguishable in their Pb anomalies; so, it
seems unlikely to us that selective sampling of
sulfide (or any other quench phase) in the inclusion-
rich olivine separates has greatly biased the esti-
mated compositions of metasomatic melts.
[
24
] The most noteworthy features of the trace
element compositions of Batan inclusions are: a
approximately hundredfold enrichment of incom-
patible elements relative to compatible elements; a
pronounced (approximately fivefold) positive
anomaly in Pb; a large (approximately tenfold)
negative anomaly in Nb; and high concentrations
of Cu and Sn (despite uncertainty in the correct
location of these elements on the horizontal axis in
Figure 3, they likely constitute
10x positive
anomalies). Batan inclusions also have modest
(factor of 2 to three) positive anomalies of U and
Sr and negative anomalies of Eu and Ti.
[
25
] Figure 3b compares the estimated average
composition of Batan inclusions from Figure 3a
(filled circles) to predicted compositions of low-
degree (1 wt.%) partial melts of altered ocean crust
[
Bach et al.
, 2003] in the eclogite facies. These
calculated slab melt compositions are based on
estimated or experimentally measured garnet/melt,
clinopyroxene/melt and rutile/melt distribution
coefficients for the elements of interest, and an
assumed residual mineralogy of 60% garnet, 40%
clinopyroxene (mixed with 1% rutile for the mod-
els labeled ‘‘Kelemen-rutile’’ and ‘‘Xiong-rutile’’).
Each model corresponds to a different set of con-
straints on the relevant mineral-melt distribution
coefficients; see the auxiliary material for a com-
pilation and discussion of these various distribution
coefficients. Models plotted with solid lines are
based on direct experimental studies of eclogite
melting; those plotted with dashed lines use
inferred distribution coefficients based on experi-
ments in other systems. Note that the model
‘‘Kessel’’ is based on experimental partitioning
data between eclogite and an aqueous supercritical
phase that could be described as broadly ‘‘melt-
like’’ in its physical and chemical properties, but is
not, strictly speaking, melt [
Kessel et al.
, 2005a,
2005b]. Each of these models would result in lower
overall concentrations of incompatible elements
and somewhat weaker element-specific anomalies
for higher degrees of melting; otherwise, the pat-
terns of relative trace element concentrations are
insensitive to variations in degree of melting. For
this reason, our discussion focuses on the shape,
not position, of model results in Figure 3b. We do
not consider partial melts of subducted sediment
because the Sr isotope compositions of metasom-
atized Batan xenoliths (
87
Sr/
86
Sr = 0.7044 to
0.7048 [
Maury et al.
, 1992]) preclude a significant
component of pelagic sediment (
87
Sr/
86
Sr = 0.715
to 0.718 for Mesozoic and younger marine sedi-
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ments [
Plank and Langmuir
, 1998]) in the meta-
somatic melts and/or fluids that infiltrated them.
[
26
] Trace element patterns of all seven model
eclogite melts plotted in Figure 3b resemble those
of Batan inclusions in several respects: they have
similar overall enrichments of highly incompatible
elements relative to moderately incompatible and
compatible elements, and all share a positive
anomaly in Sr and negative anomalies in Ba and
Nb. These are among the reasons why previous
study of Batan inclusions suggested they were well
explained as slab melts [
Schiano et al.
, 1995].
[
27
] On the other hand, there are also several
differences between these model slab melts and
Figure 3.
(a) Primitive-mantle-normalized trace element abundances in Batan inclusions and inclusion-rich
olivines. The dashed portions of the line for Batan inclusions indicate inferred abundances in inclusion glass of
elements that were analyzed in inclusion-rich olivines but not in inclusions alone. This estimate was made by
increasing the measured trace element concentrations for inclusion-rich olivines by a multiple equal to the average
measured concentration ratio for inclusions versus inclusion-rich olivines for elements of similar compatibility that
were analyzed in both (i.e., Cs, Rb, Ba, Th, and U in inclusions were calculated on the basis of measurements of Nb,
K, La, and Ce in inclusions and inclusion-rich olivines; Pb and Pr were calculated on the basis of data for Ce and Nd;
Eu, Gd, and Tb were calculated on the basis of data for Sm and Dy; and Er, Cu, and Sn were calculated on the basis of
data for Ti and the heavy-rare earths). (b) Primitive-mantle-normalized trace element abundances calculated for melts
in equilibrium with altered basalt having an eclogitic mineralogy compared to the average composition of Batan
inclusions (from Figure 3a). The names used to refer to each model correspond to the first authors of the publications
from which the relevant distribution coefficients were taken, including
Klemme et al.
[2002],
Xiong
[2006],
Kessel et
al.
[2005b],
Salters et al.
[2002], and
Kelemen et al.
[2003b]. The composition of altered basalt was taken from
Bach
et al.
[2003]. All data and models are normalized by the primitive mantle composition of
McDonough and Sun
[1995]. Data for Batan inclusions and inclusion-rich olivines are taken from
Schiano et al.
[1995]. See the auxiliary
material for the distribution coefficients and the altered basalt compositions used to calculate all model melt
compositions.
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Batan inclusions: Ba/Th ratios of Batan inclusions
are
2 to 5-times higher than predicted by any of
these eclogite melting models; this could be
explained by slab melting only if those slab sources
were unusually Ba-rich. All models predict prim-
itive-mantle-normalized U/Th ratios (‘‘(U/Th)
N
’’)
lower than 1, whereas Batan inclusions have (U/
Th)
N
ratios of
1.5; thus slab-melting models of
Batan inclusions would also require unusually
U-rich sources. All slab-melting models that lack
rutile in the residue yield U/Nb ratios lower by
factors of
5 to 20 than those observed in Batan
inclusions. The models that contain 1% rutile in the
residue can explain this feature. However, it is not
clear whether Batan inclusions could be derived
from rutile-bearing residues. Batan inclusions con-
tain only 0.25 wt.% TiO
2
, lower by a factor of 3.5
than the most TiO
2
-poor rutile-saturated eclogite
melts produced by eclogite melting experiments at
shallow mantle pressures, and far lower than most
such melts (typically 2–6 wt.% TiO
2
[
Rapp and
Watson
, 1995;
Pertermann and Hirschmann
,
2003]). It is possible that some combination of
previously unexplored temperatures, pressures,
source compositions and degrees of melting will
yield appropriately low-Ti melts of rutile-bearing
eclogite sources. Also, one might imagine ways of
lowering the Ti contents of slab melts by reaction
with the mantle wedge [
Kelemen et al.
, 1990].
Nevertheless, the Ti contents of Batan inclusions
are clearly lower than expected for melts of rutile-
bearing eclogite based on published experimental
constraints, and thus the high U/Nb ratios of these
inclusions are poorly explained by slab melting.
[
28
] Batan inclusions are characterized by a large
positive Pb anomaly. Neither of the two experi-
mental studies of eclogite melting produced melts
with this feature. The models that use estimated
distribution coefficients based on data from non-
eclogitic systems (models ‘‘Kelemen’’ and ‘‘Salt-
ers’’ in Figure 3b) produce Pb anomalies nearly as
large as that in Batan inclusions, but the low solid/
melt Pb distribution coefficients they require have
not yet been confirmed by experiment.
Kamber et
al.
[2002] present an analysis of Pb abundances in
arc-related lavas that relates to this issue. Pb/Nd
ratios (an approximate measure of the size of the
Pb anomaly) in typical island arc basalts average
0.5, strongly elevated relative to values of primitive
or depleted mantle (0.12 and 0.04, respectively) or
altered MORB (0.09).
Kamber et al.
[2002] attri-
bute this characteristic of arc lavas to preferential
extraction of Pb from subducted slabs on release of
aqueous fluid. Adakites typically have lower Pb/
Nd ratios of approximately 0.35, more consistent
with ratios expected for slab-derived melts [
Kamber
et al.
, 2002]. Pb/Nd ratios of Batan inclusions
average 1.9, greatly in excess of adakites or even
normal arc basalts and, in the context of
Kamber et
al.
’s [2002] interpretation, strongly indicative of
enrichment in fluid-soluble elements relative to
‘‘normal’’ subducting crust.
[
29
] All model eclogite melts have negative Zr
anomalies and positive Sr anomalies, resulting in
(Sr/Zr)
N
ratios between
5 and
50. Measured
(Sr/Zr)
N
ratios of Batan inclusions are only mod-
estly elevated, averaging only 1.5, and these inclu-
sions do not have negative Zr anomalies.
[
30
] Finally, experimental eclogite melts are char-
acterized by pronounced depletions in heavy rare
earths and Y due to compatibility of these elements
in garnet, but relatively high contents of Ti. As a
result, all four models based on distribution coef-
ficients observed in eclogite melting experiments
yield high (Ti/Y)
N
ratios (from
20 for model
‘‘Xiong’’ to
4.6 for model ‘‘Kessel’’; Figure 3b).
Lower ratios are predicted by the ‘‘Kelemen’’ mod-
els (2.1, or 1.8 with residual rutile) because this
model assumes an exceptionally high solid/melt
distribution coefficient for Ti in the silicate phases
in eclogite. Nevertheless, even these ratios are far
higher than those in Batan inclusions (average (Ti/
Y)
N
ratio of
0.7). Similarly, Batan inclusions are
characterized by a negative Ti anomaly and none of
the model melts have such a feature.
[
31
] Trace element partitioning during eclogite
melting is relatively poorly understood, and it is
possible that future work will reconcile the above-
noted differences between Batan inclusions and
model eclogite melts. Moreover, our model esti-
mates are based on the altered ocean crust compo-
sition as given by
Bach et al.
[2003]. This estimate is
based on a large body of evidence, but it is possible
that some of the discrepancies we have noted could
simply reflect an unexpected composition for the
crust subducted beneath Batan. Nevertheless, these
discrepancies pose a number of difficulties for slab
melting models of the origin of Batan inclusions,
and it is noteworthy that several of these discrep-
ancies involve elements that are relatively soluble in
aqueous fluids (Ba, U, Pb).
5.2. High-Pressure Differentiation of
Island Arc Basalt?
[
32
]
Macpherson et al.
[2006] presented a model
for the origins of adakites from Mindanau, the
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Philippines, involving high-pressure (
1Gpa;
comparable to the depth from which Batan xen-
oliths come) differentiation of hydrous island arc
basalt in the upper levels of the mantle wedge. At
these pressures, precipitation of garnet and amphi-
bole can yield residual liquids with characteristic
adakitic trace element compositions (i.e., low abun-
dances of Y and heavy rare earths and high Sr/Y
ratios). Moreover, because many island arc basalts
are derived from mantle sources that were meta-
somatized by slab-derived aqueous fluids prior to
or during partial melting, this process could yield
broadly adakitic liquids having positive anomalies
in fluid-soluble trace elements and high ratios of
relatively fluid-soluble to relatively fluid-insoluble
elements (e.g., Pb/Ce, Ba/Th, U/Th and U/Nb), as
we observe for Batan inclusions (Figure 3a). Finally,
we estimate, on the basis of major element com-
positions of Batan island basalts [
Sajona et al.
,
2000], phase assemblages that crystallize from
such basalts at high pressure [
Muntener et al.
,
2001], and oxygen isotope fractionations among
relevant minerals and silicate melts [
Eiler
, 2001,
and references therein], that the required tens of %
crystallization should only lead to increases of
0.2 to 0.5
%
in the
d
18
O of the residual melt.
Given that island arc basalts, even those with
pronounced geochemical signatures of slab-derived
components, generally have
d
18
O values within
0.5
%
of typical mantle-derived basalts [
Eiler et
al.
, 2000], this process could generate liquids with
d
18
O values near equilibrium with mantle perido-
tite, as we observe for Batan inclusions.
[
33
]
Macpherson et al.
[2006] present a model for
high-pressure crystallization that can be compared
with the trace element compositions of Batan
inclusions and related lavas. Their description of
high-pressure differentiation yields an expected
trend of increasing Sr/Y ratio with decreasing Y
content that has its sharpest increase toward rela-
tively high Sr/Y (>50) at moderate Y concentration
(
10 ppm; Figure 4a). The trend in Figure 4a
defined by Batan basalts, basaltic andesites and
the Batan inclusions examined in this study broadly
resembles that predicted by the Macpherson et al.
model, although Batan inclusions increase toward
high Sr/Yat somewhat lower Y content (
5 ppm Y).
We examine this model further in Figure 4b by
comparing the Sr/Y ratio versus the MgO content
for model hydrous basalt undergoing high-pressure
crystallization with data for Batan inclusions
and related lavas. High-pressure crystallization-
differentiation is predicted to produce a nearly linear
trend of monotonically increasing Sr/Y ratio with
decreasing MgO content. In contrast, Batan lavas
vary over a wide range in MgO (from
10 to
2.5 wt.%) with no consistent trend in Sr/Y ratio,
and Batan inclusions depart markedly from that
trend toward high Sr/Y at
1 wt.% MgO. The few
Batan lavas that have Sr/Y ratios within the ‘‘ada-
kitic’’ range (
50 or higher) are distributed seem-
ingly randomly across the entire observed range in
MgO. It is possible that the data trend for Batan lavas
and inclusions plotted in Figure 4b reflects both
high- and low-pressure differentiation in some com-
bination that obscures the trend predicted by the
model of
Macpherson et al.
[2006]. Nevertheless,
there is no simple relationship between Sr/Y ratio
and differentiation in the Batan suites, despite the
fact that this suite defines simple, continuous geo-
chemical trends in other dimensions (e.g., Figure 1).
Thus, while it is possible that the adakitic trace
element compositions of Batan inclusions are a
result of high-pressure crystallization, there is no
clear evidence that this is the case.
5.3. Low-Degree Melting of
Metasomatized Mantle-Wedge Peridotite?
[
34
] In this section, we examine whether Batan
inclusions can be explained as low-degree melts
of metasomatized mantle wedge peridotite. This
hypothesis is motivated by two factors: (1) the
d
18
O values of Batan inclusions are indistinguish-
able from those expected of peridotite partial melts,
and (2) their trace element compositions are char-
acterized by several features that are expected for
melts of sources metasomatized by slab-derived
aqueous fluids, including high Ba/Th, U/Th, U/Nb,
and Pb/Ce [
Brenan et al.
, 1995a, 1995b;
Keppler
,
1996;
Stalder et al.
, 1998;
Kessel et al.
, 2005b].
Similarly, although the partitioning behavior of Cu
is not well-known, previous studies of island arc
and back-arc lavas have found that pronounced
enrichments in Cu, comparable to those seen in
Batan inclusions, are associated with enrichments
in other fluid-soluble elements [
Stolper and Newman
,
1994;
Eiler et al.
, 2005]. We are not aware of any
previous discussion of Sn anomalies in arc-related
magmas, but present these data for possible future
reference.
[
35
] Partial melting experiments conducted on peri-
dotites and synthetic peridotite analogues show
that alkali-rich melts formed at pressures less than
1.5 GPa can have silica contents approaching those
of Batan melt inclusions [
Hirschmann et al.
, 1998,
and references therein]. In the absence of water and
using natural starting materials, these experiments
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fail to produce silica contents quite as high as those
of Batan inclusions (avg. 59.6 wt.% SiO
2
[
Schiano
et al.
, 1995]) at appropriate total alkali contents
(7 to 8 wt.% Na
2
O+K
2
O). However, Batan glass
inclusions contain
5wt.%H
2
O (and likely
contained even more before exsolving a water-rich
fluid), so the combined influences of high alkali
and water contents could be sufficient to produce
such high silica contents in low-degree, low-
pressure melts of peridotite [
Hirschmann et al.
,
1998, 1999;
Gaetani and Grove
, 1998, 2003].
1.2 GPa experiments by
Draper and Green
[1999] have shown that liquids with
60 wt.%
SiO
2
,
13 wt.% Na
2
O+K
2
O and
2.5 wt.%
H
2
O+CO
2
are saturated with olivine, orthopyr-
oxene and clinopyroxene at 1150
°
C. The MgO
contents and Mg/Fe ratios of Batan inclusions are
far lower than those of experimental peridotite
melts, including Si- and H-rich melts. Given the
evidence for formation of metasomatic hydrous
phases and neoblastic olivine and orthopyroxene
in Batan xenoliths, this could reflect modification
of the major element compositions of Batan inclu-
sions by crystallization-differentiation before, dur-
ing and/or after inclusion entrapment. We conclude
that the major element compositions of Batan
inclusions are not clearly distinctive of peridotite
melts, but could be peridotite melts that were
modified by crystallization-differentiation.
[
36
] We further examine this hypothesis by way of
the following trace element model: Batan xenoliths
and abyssal peridotites from the Bouvet fracture
zone [
Johnson et al.
, 1990] are similar to one
another in their modal abundances of clinopyrox-
ene [
Maury et al.
, 1992;
Johnson et al.
, 1990], and
Bouvet peridotites appear to be typical examples of
Figure 4.
Comparison of trends in (a) Sr/Y versus Y and (b) Sr/Y versus MgO for Batan inclusions (filled circles;
data from
Schiano et al.
[1995] and the auxiliary material of this paper) and related lavas (unfilled squares; data from
Sajona et al.
[2000]) with predicted trends for a model of high-pressure crystallization of hydrous basalt (solid
curves). The model trend assumes a fractionating assemblage and trace element distribution coefficients as given by
Macpherson et al.
[2006], mineral compositions from experiment B726 of
Muntener et al.
[2001], an initial MgO
content of 9 wt.%, and initial Sr and Y contents of 500 and 14 ppm, respectively, based on data for Batan island lavas
from
Sajona et al.
[2000]. The model trends represent 0 to 50 wt.% crystallization, with arrows indicating the
direction of increasing extent of crystallization. High-pressure differentiation predicts trends of Sr/Y versus Y that
broadly resemble those of Batan inclusions and lavas, but does not resemble the distribution of data in dimensions of
Sr/Y versus MgO.
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the residues of high degrees of fractional melting.
Consequentially, we describe a model peridotitic
source for Batan inclusions, prior to being meta-
somatized, as a depleted peridotite having a trace
element composition similar to harzburgites from
the Bouvet fracture zone.
Johnson et al.
[1990]
analyzed only select elements in clinopyroxene
from the Bouvet fracture zone, so we extend their
results to other elements of interest by assuming
clinopyroxenes have smooth chondrite-normalized
trace element patterns for elements as or more
compatible than Nb (i.e., interpolating between
Johnson et al.
’s [1990] measurements of Ce, Nd,
Zr, Sr, Sm, Ti and Yb), and contain no U, Th, Ba,
Rb or Cs (i.e., budgets of these elements in our
model metasomatized source are completely con-
trolled by the metasomatic agent). We calculated
the trace element contents of coexisting olivines,
orthopyroxenes, and spinels by multiplying clino-
pyroxene compositions by the ratio of the relevant
mineral-melt distribution coefficient to the clino-
pyroxene-melt distribution coefficient (using data
from
Green and Pearson
[1983],
Colson et al.
[1988],
Kelemen et al.
[1990],
Hart and Dunn
[1993],
Kennedy et al.
[1993],
Nielsen et al.
[1993, 1994], and
Green
[1994]). The resulting
model trace element composition of a depleted
peridotite source closely resembles measured trace
element compositions of whole-rock samples of
harzburgites from the Voykar ophiolite [
Sharma et
al.
, 1995]. We then added to this depleted perido-
tite 0.5 wt.% of a model metasomatic agent (i.e., so
little that it will not substantially change the
d
18
O
of the metasomatized source even if that agent is
slab-derived) and modeled 1% melting of the
hybrid source (i.e., a low enough degree that
product melt will contain tens of wt.% H
2
O). We
then solved for the composition of the metasomatic
agent needed to produce a model melt having the
composition of the average of Batan inclusions
(i.e., by solving the set of simultaneous linear
equations describing mineral-melt partitioning
and mass balance, assuming the constraints
described above; see Table S8 in the auxiliary
material for relevant distribution coefficients).
[
37
] This calculation is representative of a family
of broadly similar models that differ from one
another in the degree of depletion of the mantle
wedge prior to metasomatism, in the amount of
metasomatic agent, and in the degree of melting of
the hybrid source. Variations in these parameters
lead to variations in absolute concentrations of
trace elements in the model metasomatic agent
required to fit the data for Batan inclusions. How-
ever, all successful models of this sort require
initially depleted sources (i.e., prior to metasoma-
tism), small amounts of slab-derived component,
and enrichment in fluid-soluble elements in that
slab-derived component. Table 2 presents the com-
positions of model depleted peridotite, the solved-
for model metasomatic agent, and the model hybrid
source.
[
38
] Figure 5a compares the model metasomatic
fluid calculated using the above-described model to
slab-derived components previously inferred to
contribute to the sources of arc and back-arc lavas
from a variety of geographic locations [
McCulloch
and Gamble
, 1991;
Stolper and Newman
, 1994;
Eiler et al.
, 2000;
Grove et al.
, 2002] (and the
‘‘slab fluid’’ component from
Eiler et al.
[2005]).
Our model metasomatic agent has relative abun-
dances of Th, U, Nb, K, La and Ce that closely
resemble those for all of these previously estimated
slab-derived components (Figure 5a), but it has a
significantly lower Ba/Th ratio. The Pb anomaly in
our model metasomatic agent is similar in size to
that for the slab-derived component of
McCulloch
and Gamble
[1991], and greater than those for the
slab-derived components of
Stolper and Newman
[1994] and
Grove et al.
[2002] (
Eiler et al.
[2000]
did not estimate the Pb abundance in their slab-
derived component). Middle-rare earth and Sr
abundances in our model metasomatic agent
resemble those for all of these previously estimated
slab-derived components, although our model
component has a smaller positive Sr anomaly and
lacks the negative Zr anomaly shared by those
components. It is possible that the difference in
Zr content reflects our overestimation of the degree
of prior depletion of the peridotite source of Batan
inclusions prior to metasomatism. Such a change to
our model of Batan inclusions would slightly lower
all incompatible trace element concentrations in
our model fluid and exaggerate its negative Nb and
Ti anomalies. Finally, abundances of elements
more compatible than Sm in our model metaso-
matic agent are at the low end of the range
previously estimated for slab-derived components
and most resemble those from
McCulloch and
Gamble
[1991] and
Eiler et al.
[2005].
[
39
] Figure 5b compares the composition of our
model metasomatic agent to compositions of var-
ious aqueous fluids and aqueous supercritical
phases in equilibrium with altered oceanic crust
[
Bach et al.
, 2003] in the eclogite facies, based on
laboratory fluid/mineral or fluid/bulk eclogite par-
titioning experiments [
Brenan et al.
, 1995a, 1995b;
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Stalder et al.
, 1998;
Kessel et al.
, 2005b]. Note that
the model labeled ‘‘Kessel 6 GPa’’ uses data for
partitioning between eclogite and a ‘‘melt-like’’
aqueous supercritical phase; this is the same as
model ‘‘Kessel’’ in Figure 3b. We also show the
expected composition of aqueous fluid in equilib-
rium with depleted mantle peridotite (
Ayers et al.
[1997] using the depleted mantle composition of
Workman and Hart
[2005]). In all cases, we
assume equilibration between 1% fluid and 99%
solid; a subset of these models assume 1% rutile in
the solid, as indicated in the legend. We do not
consider fluids in equilibrium with subducted ma-
rine sediment because, as mentioned above, meta-
somatized Batan xenoliths have
87
Sr/
86
Sr ratios far
too low for them to contain any appreciable
amount of Sr from subducted sediment.
[
40
] The expected trace element concentrations in
aqueous phases in equilibrium with subducted
crust vary widely both in absolute concentrations
(by two to three orders of magnitude for many
elements) and in abundance ratios (e.g., U/Nb
ratios of fluids in equilibrium with rutile-free
eclogite differ by a factor of 20 between
Brenan
et al.
[1995a, 1995b] and the 4 GPa experiment of
Kessel et al.
[2005b]). This diversity could reflect
any of a number of differences between these
various experiments, such as temperature, pressure,
solution chemistry (e.g., chloride content), the
presence or absence of rare but trace element-rich
phases, and/or experimental artifacts such as partial
equilibration or elemental gain to or loss from the
experimental charge. One factor that clearly
appears to be important is that concentrations of
most elements increase, and positive and negative
anomalies diminish, with increasing pressure.
These changes occur over a relatively narrow range
of pressure, from ‘‘fluid-like’’ low concentrations
and large element-specific anomalies at 4 GPa to
‘‘melt-like’’ high concentrations and modest
anomalies at 6 Gpa [
Kessel et al.
, 2005b].
[
41
] Our model metasomatic agent (filled circles in
Figure 5b) is characterized by abundances of rare
earth elements, Zr, Sr, and Nb that approach those
for the 6 GPa supercritical aqueous phase in
equilibrium with rutile-absent altered oceanic crust
basedontheresultsof
Kessel et al.
[2005b]
(unfilled circles). On the other hand, the positive
Pb anomaly, high U/Nb and U/Th ratios and high
Cs, Rb and Ba contents relative to other incompat-
ible elements characteristic of our model metaso-
matic agent more closely resemble aqueous fluid in
equilibrium with subducted crust at somewhat
lower pressures of 4 or 5 GPa [
Stalder et al.
,
1998;
Kessel et al.
, 2005b]. This apparent contra-
diction could indicate that our model metasomatic
agent last equilibrated with a subducted slab at
pressures between 4 and 6 GPa (and possibly at
temperatures different from those examined by
Kessel et al.
[2005b]), and thus had a trace element
composition intermediate to our ‘‘Kessel 4 GPa’’
and ‘‘Kessel-6 GPa’’ models. It is also possible that
the sources of Batan inclusions were metasomatized
by two or more components, one extracted from the
slab at relatively high pressure and one at relatively
low pressure, and our model metasomatic agent has
averaged the compositions of these components.
[
42
] Despite the difficulty in matching our model
metasomatic agent with a specific previous fluid-
solid partitioning experiment, the generally ‘‘fluid-
like’’ character of its trace element composition is
confirmed by its Pb/Sr ratio. We are not aware that
this ratio has been examined for such a purpose
before, but it is useful because it involves two
elements that are similarly incompatible during
melting for all common silicate and oxide minerals
at mantle pressures (i.e., excluding plagioclase),
but strongly fractionated from one another during
fluid/mineral partitioning. In this respect, it differs
Table 2.
Compositions of Model Components
a
Element
Depleted
Peridotite
Metasomatic
Agent
Hybrid
Source
Cs
0.0
12
0.06
Rb
0.0
250
1.25
Ba
0.0
1600
8.0
Th
0.0
26
0.13
U
0.0
10
0.05
Nb
0.000066
20
0.099
K
0.024
51500
258
La
0.000065
112
0.56
Ce
0.00043
192
0.96
Pb
0.000042
130
0.65
Pr
0.000081
27
0.14
Nd
0.00044
49
0.25
Zr
0.021
648
3.3
Sr
0.046
1570
7.9
Sm
0.0016
7.7
0.040
Eu
0.0011
1.1
0.0066
Gd
0.0054
6.5
0.038
Tb
0.0020
0.9
0.0065
Dy
0.020
3.0
0.035
Ti
43
2000
53
Y
0.13
10
0.18
Er
0.031
1.0
0.036
Yb
0.046
1.0
0.051
Cu
3.0
8000
43
Sn
0.00052
120
0.60
a
All values are parts per million, by mass.
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from the U/Nb ratio, which can be elevated due to
fluid/mineral partitioning or melting in the pres-
ence of residual rutile, and from the Sr/Sm and Pb/
Ce ratios, which can be elevated by both fluid/
mineral partitioning and by melting in the presence
of residual garnet.
[
43
] Figure 6 compares the primitive-mantle-
normalized Pb/Sr ratio of our model metasomatic
agent and average Batan inclusions (horizontal
bars) with the ratios expected of aqueous fluid,
melt and aqueous supercritical phase in equilibrium
with altered ocean crust. For comparison, we also
show Pb/Sr ratios expected for melts of peridotitic
depleted mantle. In each case, the modeled Pb/Sr
ratios are plotted versus the fraction of fluid or
melt, indicating the range of possible compositions
that might result from variations in degree of
dehydration or melting. Pb/Sr ratios of relatively
low-pressure aqueous fluids (i.e., 2 GPa from
Brenan et al.
[1995a, 1995b] and 4 GPa from
Figure 5.
Comparison of the trace element composition of the calculated model metasomatic agent (Table 2)
required to explain the compositions of Batan melt inclusions, assuming they formed by low degrees of melting of
metasomatized depleted peridotite (see text), with (a) model slab-derived components previously inferred to
contribute to the sources of arc lavas [
McCulloch and Gamble
, 1991;
Stolper and Newman
, 1994;
Eiler
, 2001;
Grove
et al.
, 2002] (the ‘‘aqueous fluid’’ component of
Eiler et al.
[2005]) and (b) aqueous fluids or melts calculated to be in
equilibrium with altered oceanic crust (based on partitioning experiments of
Brenan et al.
[1995a, 1995b] at 2 GPa;
Stalder et al.
[1998] at 5 GPa; and
Kessel et al.
[2005b] at 4–6 GPa) or with depleted mantle peridotite (based on
partitioning experiments of
Ayers et al.
[1997]). Note that the data based on 6 GPa data from
Kessel et al.
[2005b]
involve a broadly ‘‘melt-like’’ aqueous supercritical phase and were also included in Figure 3b. All models assume
1% fluid and 99% solid. Eclogites are assumed to be 60% garnet and 40% clinopyroxene (‘‘Kessel 4 GPa –rutile’’
and ‘‘Stalder 5 GPa – rutile’’ include 1% rutile) and to have the composition of altered basalt from
Bach et al.
[2003].
All models are normalized by the primitive mantle composition of
McDonough and Sun
[1995]. The depleted mantle
model (‘‘Ayers-peridotite’’) assumes the solid is a peridotite having the composition of depleted mantle from
Workman and Hart
[2005] (interpolated to yield concentrations of Cs, K, and Pb). Distribution coefficients and
source concentrations used to construct these models are provided in the auxiliary material.
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Kessel et al.
[1995b, 2005b]) are an order of magnitude
higher than those of any melt or aqueous super-
critical phase at any degree of melting or dehydra-
tion; only 5 GPa aqueous fluid lies between these
extremes. Our model metasomatic agent has a Pb/
Sr ratio consistent only with those of relatively
low-pressure (
4 GPa) slab-derived aqueous flu-
ids. It is possible that this comparison is compro-
mised by some artifact in the measurement of Pb/Sr
ratios in Batan inclusions (e.g., selective enrich-
ment in sulfide; although we consider this unlikely
given the relative homogeneity in the size of the Pb
anomaly exhibited by those measurements). It
is also possible that the high Pb/Sr ratios seen in
2–4 GPa fluids are an experimental artifact caused
by Pb loss from the experimental charge (although
it is not obvious why this artifact would effect only
the low-pressure fluid experiments). Despite these
ambiguities, we suggest that the high Pb/Sr ratios
of Batan inclusions strengthen the argument that
fluid/mineral partitioning played an important role
in their origin.
[
44
] More generally, Figure 6 provides insight into
the possible roles of slab melts, fluids and aqueous
supercritical phases in arc magma genesis. The
primitive-mantle-normalized Pb/Sr ratios of island
arc basalts generally vary between 1 and 1.5
[
McCulloch and Gamble
, 1991] and slab-derived
components previously inferred to contribute to
arc-related lavas are similarly low (e.g., 1.27 for
McCulloch and Gamble
[1991], 0.48 for
Stolper
and Newman
[1994], 0.16 for
Grove et al.
[2002],
and 0.75 for
Eiler et al.
[2005]). Thus arc-related
magmas generally have Pb/Sr ratios far lower than
those of low-pressure aqueous fluids in equilibrium
with subducted slabs, and are better explained by
slab contributions from slab-derived melt or aque-
ous supercritical phase. Batan inclusions (and the
model metasomatic agent we infer controlled their
trace element compositions), despite having many
properties resembling slab-derived components
elsewhere (Figure 5a), are clearly unusual in Pb/
Sr ratio. One interpretation of this result is that a
relatively low-pressure slab-derived aqueous fluid
controls the compositions of Batan inclusions, but
that such fluids are relatively minor contributors to
the sources of most arc lavas (i.e., as compared to
slab-derived melts or aqueous supercritical phases).
[
45
] Finally, we note that no experimentally based
fluid compositions contain the negative Ti anomaly
characteristic of our model metasomatic agent (as
was also true for slab-derived melts; Figure 3b).
Residual rutile can retain Ti in subducted slabs. We
found this was not an acceptable explanation of the
Ti contents of Batan inclusions if they are slab melts
because rutile-saturated melts at relevant temper-
atures and pressures are too rich in TiO
2
[
Rapp and
Watson
, 1995;
Pertermann and Hirschmann
, 2003].
However, it is possible that rutile-saturated aque-
ous fluids could have negative Ti anomalies under
some conditions relevant to subducted slabs. This
is an attractive target for further experimental
Figure 6.
Comparison of the primitive-mantle-normalized Pb/Sr ratios (‘‘(Pb/Sr)
N
’’) of Batan inclusions and model
metasomatic agent (horizontal lines) with (Pb/Sr)
N
ratios predicted for aqueous fluids in equilibrium with altered
basalt (based on experiments of
Brenan et al.
[1995a, 1995b],
Stalder et al.
[1998], and
Kessel et al.
[2005b]), partial
melt of altered basalt in the eclogite facies (based on data from
Klemme et al.
[2002]), and partial melt of depleted
mantle peridotite (using distribution coefficients summarized by
Eiler et al.
[2005]). All models are plotted as
functions of the fraction of melt or fluid (F). Distribution coefficients and source compositions used to construct these
models are provided in the auxiliary material.
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