Copper Systematics in Arc Magmas and Implications for Crust-Mantle Differentiation
Copper-Bottomed Crust
The formation of volcanic arc chains near subduction zones brings large amounts of magma from the upper mantle to the crust, contributing to the formation of island chains in the ocean and adding material to continents. Over time, arc magmas also contribute indirectly to the composition of the oceans and atmosphere through outgassing and weathering of volcanic minerals; however, it is unclear what determines the oxidized nature of arc magmas themselves. Lee et al. (p. 64) measured Cu contents in a range of arc-derived volcanic rocks as a proxy for arc magma redox states. An overall depletion of Cu, which is sensitive to reduced sulfur contents, in global continental crust suggests that there is a hidden reservoir of copper-rich sulfides deep in Earth's interior.
Abstract
Arc magmas are important building blocks of the continental crust. Because many arc lavas are oxidized, continent formation is thought to be associated with oxidizing conditions. On the basis of copper’s (Cu’s) affinity for reduced sulfur phases, we tracked the redox state of arc magmas from mantle source to emplacement in the crust. Primary arc and mid-ocean ridge basalts have identical Cu contents, indicating that the redox states of primitive arc magmas are indistinguishable from that of mid-ocean ridge basalts. During magmatic differentiation, the Cu content of most arc magmas decreases markedly because of sulfide segregation. Because a similar depletion in Cu characterizes global continental crust, the formation of sulfide-bearing cumulates under reducing conditions may be a critical step in continent formation.
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Supplementary Material
Summary
Materials and Methods
Supplementary Text
Figs. S1 to S4
Tables S1 to S4
Resources
References and Notes
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Science
Volume 336 | Issue 6077
6 April 2012
6 April 2012
Copyright
Copyright © 2012, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Received: 30 November 2011
Accepted: 28 February 2012
Published in print: 6 April 2012
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by an NSF grant to C.-T.A.L. Discussions with F. Albarede, J. Blichert-Toft, S. Huang, D. Anderson, R, Rudnick, W. McDonough, and R. Arevalo are appreciated. D.J.’s participation in this project was made possible by F. Steinkamp’s Scientific Research and Design course at William P. Clements High School in Sugar Land, TX. All data are available in the supplementary materials. C.-T.A.L. planned the research and wrote the manuscript. E.J.C. collected the whole-rock data for Sierran garnet pyroxenites. R.B. collected the olivine phenocryst-groundmass trace-element data. C.-T.A.L. and P.L. collected the mineral/mineral trace-element partition coefficients in peridotites, pyroxenites, and sulfides. D.J. developed the ideas behind Fig. 1C. All authors participated in interpretation of the data and modeling.
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