Titanium isotopes as a tracer for the plume or island arc affinity of felsic rocks.

ABSTRACT: Indirect evidence for the presence of a felsic continental crust, such as the elevated ⁴⁹Ti/⁴⁷Ti ratios in Archean shales, has been used to argue for ongoing subduction at that time and therefore plate tectonics. However, rocks of intermediate to felsic compositions can be produced in both plume and island arc settings. The fact that Ti behaves differently during magma differentiation in these two geological settings might result in contrasting isotopic signatures. Here, we demonstrate that, at a given SiO₂ content, evolved plume rocks (tholeiitic) are more isotopically fractionated in Ti than differentiated island arc rocks (mainly calc-alkaline). We also show that the erosion of crustal rocks from whether plumes (mafic in average) or island arcs (intermed

SUBMITTER: Deng Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6347677 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature