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Cumulate causes for the low contents of sulfide-loving elements in the continental crust

Nature Geoscience volume 10, pages 524–529 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Despite the economic importance of chalcophile (sulfide-loving) and siderophile (metal-loving) elements (CSEs), it is unclear how they become enriched or depleted in the continental crust, compared with the oceanic crust. This is due in part to our limited understanding of the partitioning behaviour of the CSEs. Here I compile compositional data for mid-ocean ridge basalts and subduction-related volcanic rocks. I show that the mantle-derived melts that contribute to oceanic and continental crust formation rarely avoid sulfide saturation during cooling in the crust and, on average, subduction-zone magmas fractionate sulfide at the base of the continental crust prior to ascent. Differentiation of mantle-derived melts enriches lower crustal sulfide- and silicate-bearing cumulates in some CSEs compared with the upper crust. This storage predisposes the cumulate-hosted compatible CSEs (such as Cu and Au) to be recycled back into the mantle during subduction and delamination, resulting in their low contents in the bulk continental crust and potentially contributing to the scarcity of ore deposits in the upper continental crust. By contrast, differentiation causes the upper oceanic and continental crust to become enriched in incompatible CSEs (such as W) compared with the lower oceanic and continental crust. Consequently, incompatible CSEs are predisposed to become enriched in subduction-zone magmas that contribute to continental crust formation and are less susceptible to removal from the continental crust via delamination compared with the compatible CSEs.

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Figure 1: Global MORB log[Cu] versus [MgO].
Figure 2: CSE partitioning during MORB differentiation.
Figure 3: CSE partitioning during crustal differentiation.
Figure 4: Parental-MORB-normalized trace element patterns.
Figure 5: Parental-MORB-normalized trace element patterns.

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Acknowledgements

H. O’Neill, J. Prytulak, R. Rudnick, H. Williams, S. Kelley, E. Hauri, J. Bryce, T. Elliott, J. Blundy, N. Rogers, N. Harris, R. Carlson and C. Hawkesworth are thanked for motivational comments that helped improve my ability to deliver an accessible manuscript. I would like to thank the NERC (grant reference NE/M000427/1 and NE/M010848/1) for funding. B. Wood, Y. Li, A. Hoffmann and F. Albaréde are thanked for constructive reviews and comments.

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  1. School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK7 6AA, UK

    Frances Elaine Jenner

  2. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington DC, 20015-1305, USA

    Frances Elaine Jenner

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Jenner, F. Cumulate causes for the low contents of sulfide-loving elements in the continental crust. Nature Geosci 10, 524–529 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2965

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