Abstract
Recent isotopic and trace element data1,2 have led to the subdivision of southern African Cretaceous/Jurassic kimberlites into group I and group II varieties. The former have Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic signatures similar to those commonly associated with ocean island basalts and are thought to derive from within the asthenosphere1. The high Sr and low Nd and 206Pb/204Pb isotopic ratios of group II kimberlites have been cited as evidence that these kimberlites are derived from a source within the sub-continental lithosphere1,3. Basalts erupted at the surface expression of South Atlantic hot-spots preserve isotopic and trace element ratios similar to those of group I and group II kimberlites. Hotspots falling within the Dupal anomaly4 have similar characteristics to group II kimberlites and those outside the Dupal anomaly to group I kimberlites. This correlation raises the possibility that the source region of southern African group II kimberlites is also located within the asthenosphere (within recycled lithospheric material) and not necessarily within the sub-continental lithosphere.
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le Roex, A. Geochemical correlation between southern African kimberlites and South Atlantic hotspots. Nature 324, 243–245 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/324243a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/324243a0
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