Journal article

Recent contribution of sediments and fluids to the mantle's volatile budget

S Turner, J Caulfield, M Turner, P Van Keken, R Maury, M Sandiford, G Prouteau

Nature Geoscience | NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP | Published : 2012

Abstract

Subduction modifies the cycling of Earth's volatile elements. Fluid-rich sediments and hydrated oceanic lithosphere enter the convecting mantle at subduction zones. Some of the sediments and volatile components are released from the subducting slab, promote mantle melting and are returned to the surface by volcanism. The remainder continue into the deeper mantle. Quantification of the fate of these volatiles requires an understanding of both the nature and timing of fluid release and mantle melting. Here we analyse the trace element and isotopic geochemistry of fragments of upper mantle rocks that were transported to the surface by volcanic eruptions above the Batan Island subduction zone, P..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by National Science Foundation


Funding Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the participants of the 2010 State of the Arc meeting on Santorini for their inspiration and discussions. We are grateful to I. Smith for the XRF analyses and to P. Wieland for analytical assistance at Macquarie. H. O'Neill first encouraged us to look at water and K. Grant helped with the initial FTIR scans. The original manuscript was greatly improved by comments from F. Huang. This work was funded by an Australian Research Council Professorial Fellowship (DP0988658) to S.T., a New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology post-doctoral Fellowship to M.T. and a National Science Foundation grant (OCE 0841075) to P.v.K. It used instrumentation funded by ARC LIEF and DEST Systemic Infrastructure Grants, Macquarie University and industry.