Abstract
PERIDOTITES found on the sea floor are widely believed to be residues left by mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORE) melting. As such, their composition should provide insights into the nature of the sub-oceanic depleted mantle. But although these abyssal peridotites occur in mid-ocean ridge fracture zones1,2, there is little other evidence in support of their genetic link with MORB, and doubts about it have been raised3–5. Radiogenic isotopes should be able to provide a powerful test of the hypothesis, but previous studies3,8–10 on whole rocks have not provided unambiguous answers as they are generally altered by sea water. Here we present measurements of the Nd and Sr isotope compositions of a suite of abyssal peridotite clinopyroxenes which should have resisted alteration. Despite residual seawater contamination of Sr in the clinopyroxenes, the data demonstrate that the peridotites are from a depleted mantle source, identical to that of MORB. This provides a strong indication that abyssal peridotites are residues of MORB melting.
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Snow, J., Hart, S. & Dick, H. Nd and Sr isotope evidence linking mid-ocean-ridge basalts and abyssal peridotites. Nature 371, 57–60 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/371057a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/371057a0
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