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Evidence from the Parana of south Brazil for a continental contribution to Dupal basalts

Nature volume 322, pages 356–359 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

It has been suggested1,2 that the oceanic upper mantle preserves a large scale isotope anomaly, Dupal2, which may be thousands of millions of years old. New Nd-, Pb- and Sr-isotope data on the continental volcanic rocks of the Parana, south Brazil, reveal ‘enriched’isotopic ratios, with 87Sr/86Sr = 0.705−0.716 and εnd = −2.5 to −8, similar to those from other continental flood basalt provinces. Their 207Pb/204Pb ratios are higher than those of mid-ocean-ridge basalts (MORB) at comparable 206Pb/204Pb, and even though the basalts appear to have been derived from lithospheric sources within the sub-continental mantle, they preserve isotope and trace element ratios similar to those in oceanic basalts with the Dupal signature in the South Atlantic. The implied link between these continental flood basalts and Dupal oceanic volcanics raises the possibility that in some areas the Dupal anomaly marks a comparatively shallow-level feature in the Earth's mantle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK

    C. J. Hawkesworth & Z. Palacz

  2. Departamento de Geofisica, Institute Astronomico e Geofisico, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Caixa Postal 30627, 01051, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil

    M. S. M. Mantovani

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PR, UK

    P. N. Taylor

Authors
  1. C. J. Hawkesworth
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  2. M. S. M. Mantovani
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  3. P. N. Taylor
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  4. Z. Palacz
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Hawkesworth, C., Mantovani, M., Taylor, P. et al. Evidence from the Parana of south Brazil for a continental contribution to Dupal basalts. Nature 322, 356–359 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/322356a0

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