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Nd- and Sr-isotopic compositions of lavas from the northern Mariana and southern Volcano arcs: implications for the origin of island arc melts

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Abstract

Nd- and Sr-isotopic data are reported for lavas from 23 submarine and 3 subaerial volcanoes in the northern Mariana and southern Volcano arcs. Values of εNd range from +2.4 to +9.5 whereas 87Sr/86Sr ranges from 0.70319 to 0.70392; these vary systematically between and sometimes within arc segments. The Nd-and Sr-isotopic compositions fall in the field of ocean island basalt (OIB) and extend along the mantle array. Lavas from the Volcano arc, Mariana Central Island Province and the southern part of the Northern Seamount Province have εNd to +10 and 87Sr/86Sr=0.7032 to 0.7039. These are often slightly displaced toward higher 87Sr/86Sr at similar εNd. In contrast, those lavas from the northern part of the Mariana Northern Seamount Province as far north as Iwo Jima show OIB isotopic characteristics, with εNd and 87Sr/86Sr=0.7035 to 0.7039. Plots of 87Sr/86Sr and εNd versus Ba/La and (La/Yb)n support a model in which melts from the Mariana and Volcano arcs are derived by mixing of OIB-type mantle (or melts therefrom) and a metasomatized MORB-type mantle (or melts therefrom). An alternate interpretation is that anomalous trends on the plots of Nd- and Sr-isotopic composition versus incompatible-element ratios, found in some S-NSP lavas, suggest that the addition of a sedimentary component may be locally superimposed on the two-component mixing of mantle end-members.

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  1. P. N. Lin

    Present address: Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University, 125 S. Oval Mall, 43210, Columbus, OH, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Lithospheric Studies, University of Texas at Dallas, Box 830688, 75083-0688, Richardson, TX, USA

    P. N. Lin & R. J. Stern

  2. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW, 20015, Washington, DC, USA

    J. Morris

  3. Department of Geology, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, 02215, Boston, MA, USA

    S. H. Bloomer

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Lin, P.N., Stern, R.J., Morris, J. et al. Nd- and Sr-isotopic compositions of lavas from the northern Mariana and southern Volcano arcs: implications for the origin of island arc melts. Contrib Mineral Petrol 105, 381–392 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00286826

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