ISOTOPE SYSTEMATICS OF Li, Sr, Nd, AND VOLATILES IN INDIAN OCEAN MORBS OF THE RODRIGUES TRIPLE JUNCTION: CONSTRAINTS ON THE ORIGIN OF THE DUPAL ANOMALY

Abstract

The DUPAL anomaly, a radiogenic isotope anomaly discovered in the Indian Ocean mantle, has been interpreted as due to a large-scale mantle heterogeneity. To provide new constraints on the DUPAL origin, we analyzed isotope ratios of Li, Sr, and Nd in fresh N-MORB glasses recovered from the Rodrigues Triple Junction in the Indian Ocean, and from the North Atlantic. The Li isotopic compositions of the Indian Ocean DUPAL N-MORBs were comparable to those of the North Atlantic non-DUPAL N-MORBs. The source of the DUPAL signature in Indian Ocean MORBs and the E-MORB-type enriched mantle source have quite different Li isotopic compositions. The 143Nd/144Nd values of both sources are significantly lower than those of the North Atlantic N-MORBs. The δ7Li values of most oceanic island basalts with similar low 143Nd/144Nd signatures are also higher than those of the North Atlantic N-MORBs, except for several Koolau lavas. The Li isotope results support the recent proposal that significant amounts of recycled lower continental crust might produce the radiogenic isotope signatures of the Indian Ocean DUPAL source. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.