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Lead isotopes reveal bilateral asymmetry and vertical continuity in the Hawaiian mantle plume

Nature volume 434, pages 851–856 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

The two parallel chains of Hawaiian volcanoes (‘Loa’ and ‘Kea’) are known to have statistically different but overlapping radiogenic isotope characteristics. This has been explained by a model of a concentrically zoned mantle plume, where the Kea chain preferentially samples a more peripheral portion of the plume. Using high-precision lead isotope data for both centrally and peripherally located volcanoes, we show here that the two trends have very little compositional overlap and instead reveal bilateral, non-concentric plume zones, probably derived from the plume source in the mantle. On a smaller scale, along the Kea chain, there are isotopic differences between the youngest lavas from the Mauna Kea and Kilauea volcanoes, but the 550-thousand-year-old Mauna Kea lavas are isotopically identical to Kilauea lavas, consistent with Mauna Kea's position relative to the plume, which was then similar to that of present-day Kilauea. We therefore conclude that narrow (less than 50 kilometres wide) compositional streaks, as well as the larger-scale bilateral zonation, are vertically continuous over tens to hundreds of kilometres within the plume.

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Figure 1: Small-scale heterogeneity in the Hawaiian plume revealed by the HSDP core, Mauna Kea.
Figure 2: The Loa–Kea compositional division of the Hawaiian plume.
Figure 3: Geographic extension of the Loa–Kea compositional boundary.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Garcia, H. West, and the HSDP team for providing samples, and J. Bryce for providing updated Nd isotope data for HSDP-2. Comments from M. Garcia and E. Takahashi on Nuuanu landslides stratigraphy, and reviews from E. Hauri and B. Hanan were appreciated.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Postfach 3060, 55020, Mainz, Germany

    W. Abouchami, A. W. Hofmann, S. J. G. Galer & J. Eisele

  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA

    F. A. Frey

  3. Department of Geological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08903, USA

    M. Feigenson

Authors
  1. W. Abouchami
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  2. A. W. Hofmann
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  3. S. J. G. Galer
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  6. M. Feigenson
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Correspondence to W. Abouchami.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Table S1

Triple spike Pb isotope data on Hawaiian lavas. (XLS 53 kb)

Supplementary Table S2

Regression parameters for Hawaiian Pb isotope arrays. (XLS 17 kb)

Supplementary Table S3

F-test statistics of the Loa and Kea regression trends. (DOC 39 kb)

Supplementary Figure S1

Triple spike Pb isotope data of Hawaiian shield stage lavas plotted in Pb isotope space. (PDF 183 kb)

Supplementary Figure S2

Schematic cartoon of the Hawaiian plume structure based on triple spike Pb isotope data in Hawaiian lavas. (PDF 415 kb)

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Abouchami, W., Hofmann, A., Galer, S. et al. Lead isotopes reveal bilateral asymmetry and vertical continuity in the Hawaiian mantle plume. Nature 434, 851–856 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03402

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