Articles | Volume 15, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1143-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1143-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Magnesium isotope fractionation processes during seafloor serpentinization and implications for serpentinite subduction
Sune G. Nielsen
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
NIRVANA Labs, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 02543 Woods Hole, MA, USA
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 02543 Woods Hole, MA, USA
Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques, CNRS, Université de Lorraine, 15 rue Notre Dame des Pauvres, 54501 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France
Frieder Klein
Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 02543 Woods Hole, MA, USA
Horst R. Marschall
Institut für Geowissenschaften, Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Philip A. E. Pogge von Strandmann
Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55122 Mainz, Germany
Maureen Auro
NIRVANA Labs, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 02543 Woods Hole, MA, USA
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Short summary
Magnesium isotope ratios of arc lavas have been proposed as a proxy for serpentinite subduction, but uncertainties remain regarding their utility. Here we show that bulk serpentinite Mg isotope ratios are identical to the mantle, whereas the serpentinite mineral brucite is enriched in heavy Mg isotopes. Thus, Mg isotope ratios may only be used as serpentinite subduction proxies if brucite is preferentially mobilized from the slab at pressures and temperatures within the arc magma source region.
Magnesium isotope ratios of arc lavas have been proposed as a proxy for serpentinite subduction,...