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Neodymium isotope evidence for ultra-depleted mantle in the early Proterozoic

Nature volume 354, pages 384–387 (1991)Cite this article

Abstract

THE episodic extraction of juvenile continental crust from the Earth's mantle over the past 4 Gyr has led to a progressive depletion of incompatible elements in the upper mantle1,2. A knowledge of the degree and uniformity of this mantle depletion throughout Earth history is important for understanding the growth of continents, the evolution of the crust-mantle system and the nature of mantle convection through time. Here we report initial 143Nd/144Nd ratios, for 1.8-Gyr-old mafic volcanics from the Harts Range meta-igneous complex of central Australia which are the highest yet reported for Proterozoic igneous rocks (ɛNd = +6.9 to +8.2 for the least contaminated samples). These ratios far exceed those proposed in models3–5 for the isotopic evolution of the depleted mantle at this time, and imply the existence of a mantle reservoir that had been highly depleted for at least 1 Gyr. This provides strong evidence that major periods of continental growth, such as that in the late Archaean, produced long-lived heterogeneities in the upper mantle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Western Sydney, Kingswood, 2747, Australia

    W. J. Sivell

  2. Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, 2601, Australia

    W. J. Sivell & M. T. McCulloch

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  1. W. J. Sivell
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  2. M. T. McCulloch
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Sivell, W., McCulloch, M. Neodymium isotope evidence for ultra-depleted mantle in the early Proterozoic. Nature 354, 384–387 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/354384a0

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