Carbonatite Magmatism and Plume Activity: Implications from the Nd, Pb and Sr Isotope Systematics of Oldoinyo Lengai

New Nd (0.51261–0.51268), Pb (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 19.24–19.26),and Sr (0.70437–0.70446) isotopic compositions from tennatrocarbonatite lavas, collected in June 1993 from OldoinyoLengai, the only known active carbonatite volcano, are relativelyuniform, and are similar to data from the 1960 and 1988 flows.Three of the samples contain silicate spheroids, one of whichhas Nd and Sr isotopic ratios similar to host natrocarbonatite,consistent with an origin by liquid immiscibility or the mixingof melts with similar isotopic compositions. Pb isotope datafor two samples of trona are inconsistent with its involvementin the genesis of natrocarbonatite. New Pb isotope data fromsilicate volcanic and plutonic blocks (ijolite, nephelinite,phonolite, syenite) from Oldoinyo Lengai are highly variable(²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, 17.75–19.34; ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, 15.41–15.67;²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, 37.79–39.67), and define near-linear arraysin Pb-Pb diagrams. The isotopic data for the silicate rocksfrom Oldoinyo Lengai are best explained by invoking discretepartial melting events which generate undersaturated alkalinesilicate magmas with distinct isotopic ratios. Pb isotope ratiosfrom most ijolites and phonolites are predominantly lower andmore variable than from the natrocarbonatites, and are attributedto interaction between silicate melts involving HIMU and EMIsource components and an additional component, such as lower-crustalgranulites, DMM or PREMA (prevalent mantle). Variations in Nd,Pb and Sr isotope ratios from Oldoinyo Lengai, among the largestyet documented from a single volcano, are attributed to mantlesource heterogeneity involving mainly the mixing of HIMU andEMI mantle components. Based on the new isotopic data from OldoinyoLengai and data from other East African carbonatites, and mantlexenoliths, we propose a two-stage model in an attempt to explainthe isotope variations shown by carbonatites in this area. Themodel involves (I) the release of metasomatizing agents withHIMU-like signatures from upwelling mantle (‘plume’)source, which in turn metasomatize the sub-continental (old,isotopically enriched, EMI-like) lithosphere, and (2) variabledegrees and discrete partial melting of the resulting heterogeneous,metasomatized lithosphere. KEY WORDS: carbonatite; isotopes; Oldoinyo Lengai; mantle plumes ^*Telephone: (613) 788–2660, ext. 4419. Fax: (613) 788–4490. e-mail: kbell{at}ccs.carleton.ca     

Isotopic and Geochemical Investigation of the Chilwa Island Carbonatite Complex, Malawi: Evidence for a Depleted Mantle Source Region, Liquid Immiscibility, and Open-System Behaviour

Initial Nd, Pb, and Sr isotopic data from carbonatites and associatedintrusive silica-undersaturated rocks from the early Jurassic,Chilwa Island complex, located in southern Malawi, central Africa,suggest melt derivation from a Rb/Sr- and Nd/Sm-depleted butTh/Pb- and U/Pb-enriched mantle source. Initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd(0.51265–0.51270) isotope ratios from the Chilwa Islandcarbonatites are relatively constant, but their initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr(0.70319–0.70361) ratios are variable. The ¹⁸O_smow (9.53–14.15%0)and ¹³C_PDB (–3.27 to –1.50%0) isotope ratios ofthe carbonates are enriched relative to the range of mantlevalues, and there is a negative correlation between ¹⁸O andSr isotope ratios. The variations in Sr, C, and O isotopic ratiosfrom the carbonatites suggest secondary processes, such as interactionwith meteoric groundwater during late-stage carbonatite activity.The initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.51246 0.51269) and initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr(0.70344–0.70383) isotope ratios from the intrusive silicaterocks are more variable, and the Sr more radiogenic than thosefrom the carbonatites. Most of the Pb isotope data from Chilwa Island plot to the rightof the geochron and close to the oceanic regression line definedby MORBs and OIBs. Initial Pb isotopic ratios from both carbonatites(²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 15.63–15.71; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 19.13–19.78)and silicate rocks (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 15.61–15.72; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb18.18–20.12) show pronounced variations, and form twogroups in Pb-Pb plots. The isotopic variations shown by Nd, Pb, and Sr for the ChilwaIsland carbonatites and intrusive silicates suggest that thesemelts underwent different evolutionary histories. The chemicaldata, including isotopic ratios, from the carbonatites and olivinenephelinites are consistent with magmatic differentiation ofa carbonated-nephelinite magma. A model is proposed in whichdifferentiation of the carbonatite magma was accompanied byfenitization (metasomatic alteration) of the country rocks bycarbonatite-derived fluids, and subsequent alteration of thecarbonatite by hydrothermal activity. The chemical and isotopicdata from the non-nephelinitic intrusive silicate rocks reveala more complex evolutionary history, involving either selectivebinary mixing of lower-crustal granulites and a nephelinitemagma, or incremental batch melting of a depleted source andsubsequent crustal contamination.