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Evidence from Sr isotopes for long-lived heterogeneities in the upper mantle

Nature volume 298, pages 251–253 (1982)Cite this article

Abstract

A recent Rb–Sr study of selected suites of samples, mainly from Precambrian alkaline rocks of northern Ontario, may have some bearing on mantle differentiation and evolution of the continental crust. We show here that initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios from most of the complexes, plotted as a function of age, define a straight line, and imply a source region for the Sr with a Rb–Sr ratio of 0.018 ± 0.002 that has behaved as a closed system for at least 2,600 Myr. Furthermore, the intersection of this line with the development line for ‘bulk Earth’ at about 2,800 Myr can be interpreted as evidence for a mean time of differentiation of bulk Earth material into an enriched crust and a residual, depleted mantle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, K1S 5B6

    Keith Bell & John Blenkinsop

  2. Department of Physics, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, K1S 5B6

    T. J. S. Cole & D. P. Menagh

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  1. Keith Bell
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  2. John Blenkinsop
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  3. T. J. S. Cole
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  4. D. P. Menagh
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Bell, K., Blenkinsop, J., Cole, T. et al. Evidence from Sr isotopes for long-lived heterogeneities in the upper mantle. Nature 298, 251–253 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/298251a0

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