Production of Isotopic Variability in Continental Basalts by Cryptic Crustal Contamination
Abstract
Regional variations in the Nd, Sr, and Pb isotopic compositions of Neogene basalts from the western United States are commonly interpreted to originate in the subcontinental mantle. In southern California, isotopic variability is restricted to lavas that lack mantle-derived xenoliths; xenolith-bearing basalts have uniform isotopic compositions similar to those of ocean-island basalts (OIBs). Combined with available geochemical data, these observations suggest that isotopic variability at these volcanoes results from subtle crustal contamination, locally by mafic crust, of primitive OIB-like magma. Recognition of such cryptic contamination may help to reconcile local discrepancies between tectonic and isotopic views of the subcontinental mantle.
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Science
Volume 255 | Issue 5040
3 January 1992
3 January 1992
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1991 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Received: 16 August 1991
Accepted: 30 October 1991
Published in print: 3 January 1992
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- Evidence from the Lamarck Granodiorite for Rapid Late Cretaceous Crust Formation in California, Science, 258, 5090, (1924-1926), (1992)./doi/10.1126/science.258.5090.1924
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