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Constraints on evolution of Earth's mantle from rare gas systematics

Nature volume 303, pages 762–766 (1983)Cite this article

Abstract

Analyses of the isotopic composition of He, Ar and Xe in a suite of glasses from the mid-ocean ridges and from the island of Hawaii show that the Hawaiian samples have systematically lower 4He/3He, 40Ar/36Ar and 129Xe/130Xe ratios than the mid-ocean ridge basalts. We interpret this result to imply the existence of an undegassed mantle reservoir. Given the isotopic variations, and the half lives of 129I and 40K (parent isotopes of 129Xe and 40Ar), the undegassed reservoir must have been separated from the MORB source reservoir at least 4,400 Myr ago. The most reasonable explanation for the data is therefore the existence of a two-layered mantle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorie de Geochimie et Cosmochimie, Institut de Physique du Globe et Département des Sciences de la Terre, 4 Place Jussieu, 75230, Paris, Cedex 05, France

    Claude J. Allègre, Thomas Staudacher, Philippe Sarda & Mark Kurz

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  1. Claude J. Allègre
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  2. Thomas Staudacher
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  3. Philippe Sarda
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  4. Mark Kurz
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Allègre, C., Staudacher, T., Sarda, P. et al. Constraints on evolution of Earth's mantle from rare gas systematics. Nature 303, 762–766 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/303762a0

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