Primordial neon,helium, and hydrogen in oceanic basalts

A primordial neon component in neon from Kilauea Volcano and deep-sea tholeiite glass has been identified by the presence of excess²⁰Ne; relative to atmospheric neon the²⁰Ne enrichments are 5.4% in Kilauea neon and about 2.5% in the basalts. The²⁰Ne anomalies are associated with high³He/⁴He ratios; the ratio in Kilauea helium is 15 times the atmospheric ratio, while mid-ocean ridge basalts from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Red Sea have uniform ratios about 10 times atmospheric. Mantle neon and helium are quite different in isotopic composition from crustal gases, which are highly enriched in radiogenic²¹Ne and⁴He. The²¹Ne/⁴He ratios in crustal gases are consistent with calculated values based on G. Wetherill's¹⁸O (α,n) reaction; the lack of²⁰Ne enrichment in these gases shows that the mantle²⁰Ne anomalies are not radiogenic.²¹Ne enrichments in Kilauea neon and “high-³He” Pacific tholeiites are much less than in crustal neon, about 2 ± 2% vs. present atmospheric neon, as expected from the much lower⁴He/Ne ratios.Neon concentrations in two Atlantic tholeiites were found to be only 1–2% of the values obtained by Dymond and Hogan; helium concentrations are slightly greater and our He/Ne ratios are greater by a factor of 150. The large Ne excess relative to solar wind and meteoritic gases is thus not confirmed. Pacific and Atlantic basalts appear to be quite different in He/Ne ratios however, and He and Ne may be inversely correlated. He concentration variations due to diffusive loss can be distinguished from variations due to two-phase partitioning or mantle heterogeneity by the effects on³He/⁴He ratios. The He isotopic and concentration measurements on “low-³He” basalts are consistent with diffusive loss and dilution of the 3/4 ratio by in-situ radiogenic⁴He, and may provide a method for dating basalt glasses.Deuterium/hydrogen ratios in Atlantic and Pacific tholeiite glasses are 77% lower than the ratio in seawater. The inverse correlation between deuterium and water content observed by Friedman in erupting Kilauea basalts is consistent with a Rayleigh separation process in which magmatic water is separated from an initial melt with the same D/H ratio as observed in deep-sea tholeiites. The consistency of the D/H ratios in tholeiites containing primordial He and Ne components indicates that these ratios are probably characteristic of primordial or juvenile hydrogen in the mantle.     

Trapped solar and cosmogenic noble gas abundances in Apollo 15 and 16 deep drill samples

Abundances and isotopic compositions of all the stable noble gases have been measured in 19 different depths of the Apollo 15 deep drill core, 7 different depths of the Apollo 16 deep drill core, and in several surface fines and breccias. All samples analyzed from both drill cores contain large concentrations of solar wind implanted gases, which demonstrates that even the deepest layers of both cores have experienced a lunar surface history. For the Apollo 15 core samples, trapped⁴He concentrations are constant to within a factor of two; elemental ratios show even greater similarities with mean values of⁴He/²²Ne= 683±44,²²Ne/³⁶Ar= 0.439±0.057,³⁶Ar/⁸⁴Kr= 1.60±0.11·10³, and⁸⁴Kr/¹³²Xe= 5.92±0.74. Apollo 16 core samples show distinctly lower⁴He contents,⁴He/²²Ne(567±74), and²²Ne/³⁶Ar(0.229±0.024), but their heavy-element ratios are essentially identical to Apollo 15 core samples. Apollo 16 surface fines also show lower values of⁴He/²²Ne and²²Ne/³⁶Ar. This phenomenon is attributed to greater fractionation during gas loss because of the higher plagioclase contents of Apollo 16 fines. Of these four elemental ratios as measured in both cores, only the²²Ne/³⁶Ar for the Apollo 15 core shows an apparent depth dependance. No unambiguous evidence was seen in these core materials of appreciable variations in the composition of the solar wind. Calculated concentrations of cosmic ray-produced²¹Ne,⁸⁰Kr, and¹²⁶Xe for the Apollo 15 core showed nearly flat (within a factor of two) depth profiles, but with smaller random concentration variations over depths of a few cm. These data are not consistent with a short-term core accretion model from non-irradiated regolith. The Apollo 15 core data are consistent with a combined accretion plus static time of a few hundred million years, and also indicate variable pre-accretion irradiation of core material. The lack of large variations in solar wind gas contents across core layers is also consistent with appreciable pre-accretion irradiation. Depth profiles of cosmogenic gases in the Apollo 16 core show considerably larger concentrations of cosmogenic gases below ～65 cm depth than above. This pattern may be interpreted either as an accretionary process, or by a more recent deposition of regolith to the upper ～70 cm of the core. Cosmogenic gas concentrations of several Apollo 16 fines and breccias are consistent with ages of North Ray Crater and South Ray Crater of ～50·10⁶ and ～2·10⁶ yr, respectively.     

Contributions of slab fluid and sediment melt components to magmatism in the Mariana Arc–Trough system: Evidence from geochemical compositions and Sr,Nd, and noble gas isotope systematics

This study presents new major and trace element, mineral, and Sr, Nd, and noble gas isotope geochemical analyses of basalts, gabbro, and clinopyroxenite from the Mariana Arc (Central Islands and Southern Seamount provinces) including the forearc, and the Mariana Trough (Central Graben and Spreading Ridge). Mantle source compositions beneath the Mariana Arc and the Mariana Trough indicate a mantle source that is depleted in high field strength elements relative to MORB (mid‐oceanic ridge basalt). Samples from the Mariana Arc, characterized by high ratios of Ba/Th, U/Th, ⁸⁴Kr/⁴He and ¹³²Xe/⁴He, are explained by addition of fluid from the subducted slab to the mantle wedge. Correlations of noble gas data, as well as large ion lithophile elements, indicate that heavy noble gases (Ar, Kr, and Xe) provide evidence for fluid fluxing into the mantle wedge. On the other hand, major elements and Sr, Nd, He, and Ne isotopic data of basalts from the Mariana Trough are geochemically indistinguishable from MORB. Correlations of ³He/⁴He and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar in the Mariana Trough samples are explained by mixing between MORB and atmosphere. One sample from the Central Graben indicates extreme enrichment in ²⁰Ne/²²Ne and ²¹Ne/²²Ne, suggesting incorporation of solar‐type Ne in the magma source. Excess ¹²⁹Xe is also observed in this sample suggesting primordial noble gases in the mantle source. The Mariana Trough basalts indicate that both fluid and sediment components contributed to the basalts, with slab‐derived fluids dominating beneath the Spreading Ridge, and that sediment melts, characterized by high La/Sm and relatively low U/Th and Zr/Nb, dominate in the source region of basalts from the Central Graben.     

Noble gases in submarine pillow volcanic glasses

Fifteen submarine glasses from the East Pacific Rise (CYAMEX), the Kyushu-Palau Ridge (DSDP Leg 59) and the Nauru Basin (DSDP Leg 61) were analysed for noble gas contents and isotopic ratios. Both the East Pacific Rise and Kyushu-Palau Ridge samples showed Ne excess relative to Ar and a monotonic decrease from Xe to Ar when compared with air noble gas abundance. This characteristic noble gas abundance pattern (type 2, classified by Ozima and Alexander) is interpreted to be due to a two-stage degassing from a noble gas reservoir with originally atmospheric abundance. In the Kyushu-Palau Ridge sample, noble gases are nearly ten times more abundant than in the East Pacific Rise samples. This may be attributed to an oceanic crust contamination in the former mantle source.There is no correlation between the He content and that of the other noble gas in the CYAMEX samples. This suggests that He was derived from a larger region, independent from the other noble gases.Except where radiogenic isotopes are involved, all other noble gas isotopic ratios were indistinguishable from air noble gas isotopic ratios. The³He/⁴He in the East Pacific Rise shows a remarkably uniform ratio of (1.21±0.07)×10^?5, while the⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ranges from 700 to 5600.     

Rare gases,water, and carbon in kaersutites

Kaersutites from Kakanui, New Zealand and from three localities in the southwestern United States have been analyzed for rare gases, water and carbon to investigate the volatile signature of the sub-continental mantle. This study does not confirm the high ³He/⁴He and ²¹Ne/²²Ne ratios reported by Saito et al. [1] for the Kakanui kaersutite. Instead, a ³He/⁴He ratio of 6 R_A and atmospheric ²¹Ne/²²Ne ratios were measured which are consistent with our current knowledge of the earth's mantle. A low ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar of 320 and more than 10^?8 cm³/g of ³⁶Ar confirms the argon results of Saito et al. and indicates that significant quantities of ³⁶Ar reside in this portion of the mantle. Kaersutites from the southwestern United States (Arizona) have a heterogeneous helium isotope signature, ranging from 8.8 R_A at San Carlos to 0.46 at Hoover Dam. All D/H ratios for the water in kaersutites (?56‰ to ?78‰) represent typical mantle values with no apparent correlation with ³He/⁴He. The correlation of increasing carbon content (140–400 ppm) with increasing δ¹³C (?24.5‰ to ?16.7‰) may reflect differences in the proportions of oxidized and reduced carbon in these samples.     

He, Ne and Ar isotope compositions of fluid inclusions in hydrothermal sulfides from the TAG hydrothermal field Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Helium, neon and argon isotope compositions of fluid inclusions have been measured in hydrothermal sulfide samples from the TAG hydrothermal field at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Fluid-inclusion³He/⁴He ratios are 2.2—13.3 times the air value (Ra), and with a mean of 7.2 Ra. Comparison with the local vent fluids (³He/⁴He=7.5—8.2 Ra) and mid-ocean ridge basalt values (³He/⁴He=6—11 Ra) shows that the variation range of³He/⁴He ratios from sulfide-hosted fluid inclusions is significantly large. Values for²⁰Ne/²²Ne are from 10.2 to 11.4, which are significantly higher than the atmospheric ratio (9.8). And fluid-inclusion⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios range from 287 to 359, which are close to the atmospheric values (295.5). These results indicate that the noble gases of fluid inclusions in hydrothermal sulfides are a mixture of mantle- and seawater-derived noble gases; the partial mantle-derived components of trapped hydrothermal fluids may be from the lower mantle; the helium of fluid inclusions is mainly from upper mantle; and the Ne and Ar components are mainly from seawater.     

Rare gas constraints on hydrocarbon accumulation, crustal degassing and groundwater flow in the Pannonian Basin

The isotopic composition and abundances of He, Ne and Ar have been measured in a sequence of vertically stacked gas reservoirs at Hajduszoboszlo and Ebes, in the Pannonian Basin of Hungary. The gas reservoirs occur at depths ranging from 727 to 1331 m, are CH₄ dominated and occupy a total rock volume of approximately 1.5 km³. There are systematic variations in both major species abundances and rare gas isotopic composition with depth: CO₂ and N₂ both increase from 0.47 and 1.76% to 14.1 and 30.5%, respectively, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar and ²¹Ne/²²Ne increase systematically from 340 and 0.02990 at 727 m to 1680 and 0.04290 at 1331 m. A mantle-derived He component between 2 and 5% is present in all samples, the remainder is crustal-radiogenic He. The Ar and Ne isotope variations arise from mixing between atmosphere-derived components in groundwater, and crustally produced radiogenic Ar and Ne. The atmosphere-derived ⁴⁰Ar and ²¹Ne decreases from 85 and 97% of the total ⁴⁰Ar and ²¹Ne at 727 m to 18 and 68% at 1331 m. The deepest samples are shown to have both atmosphere-derived and radiogenic components close to the air-saturated water and radiogenic production ratios. The shallowest samples show significant fractionation of He/Ar and Ne/Ar ratios in atmosphere-derived and radiogenic rare gas components, but little or no fractionation of He/Ne ratios. This suggests that diffusive fractionation of rare gases is relatively unimportant and that rare gas solubility partitioning between CH₄ and H₂O phases controls the observed rare gas elemental abundances.The total abundance of atmosphere-derived and radiogenic rare gas components in the Hajduszoboszlo gas field place limits on the minimum volume of groundwater that has interacted with the natural gas, and the amount of crust that has degassed and supplied radiogenic rare gases. The radiogenic mass balance cannot be accounted for by steady state production either within the basin sediments or the basement complex since basin formation. The results require that radiogenic rare gases are stored at their production ratios on a regional scale and transported to the near surface with minimal fractionation. The minimum volume of groundwater required to supply the atmosphere-derived rare gases would occupy a rock volume of some 1000 km³ (assuming an average basin porosity of 5%), a factor of 670 greater than the reservoir volume. Interactions between groundwater and the Hajduszoboszlo hydrocarbons has been on a greater scale than often envisaged in models of hydrocarbon formation and migration.     

Planetary-type rare gases in an upper mantle-derived amphibole

All twenty-three stable rare gas isotopes have been measured in a mantle-derived amphibole, kaersutite. The elemental abundance pattern of the rare gases is similar to the “planetary” rare gas pattern as defined by carbonaceous chondrites. The³He/⁴He ratio, (4.9 ± 0.6) × 10^?5, is suggestive of primordial He degassing from the mantle. Excess²¹Ne is present. The measured⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratio,400 ± 5, may represent a mantle⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratio <240 when corrected for radiogenic⁴⁰Ar. The heavy isotopes of Kr and t0he Xe isotopes are within error of the atmosphere values.     

白浮监测点断层土壤气的变化特征

文中介绍了北京南口—孙河断裂带上白浮断层土壤气四个不同集气深度H_2/Ar,N_2/Ar,CO_2/Ar,~4He/~(20)Ne,~4He/~(40)/Ar,~(40)Ar/~(36)Ar比值与地震活动,降雨等的关系,得到各项指标的变化与地震的发生具有一定的关系,但受季节变化的影响。通过断层剖面的工作,证明该断层具有较强的活动性。     

Rare gas isotopic compositions in natural gases of Japan

Isotopic and elemental compositions of rare gases in various types of gas samples collected in the Japanese Islands were investigated. Excess³He was found in most samples. Many samples showed a regionally uniform high³He/⁴He ratio of about 7 times the atmospheric ratio. The He concentrations varied from 0.6 to 1800 ppm, and they were low in CO₂-rich gases and high in N₂-rich gases. Ne isotopic deviations from the atmospheric Ne were detected in most volcanic gases. The deviations and the elemental abundance patterns in volcanic gases can be explained by a mixing between two components, one is mass fractionated rare gases and the other is isotopically atmospheric and is enriched in heavy rare gas elements. Ar was a mixture of mass fractionated Ar, atmospheric Ar and radiogenic Ar, and the contribution of radiogenic⁴⁰Ar was small in all samples. Except for He, elemental abundance patterns were progressively enriched in the heavier rare gases relative to the atmosphere. Several samples were highly enriched in Kr and Xe relative to the abundance pattern of dissolution equilibrium of atmospheric rare gases in water. The component which is highly enriched in heavy rare gases may be released from sedimentary materials in the crust.     

He,Ne and Ar isotopic composition of Fe-Mn crusts from the western and central Pacific Ocean and implications for their genesis

The noble gas nuclide abundances and isotopic ratios of the upmost layer of Fe-Mn crusts from the western and central Pacific Ocean have been determined. The results indicate that the He and Ar nu- clide abundances and isotopic ratios can be classified into two types: low 3He/4He type and high 3He/4He type. The low 3He/4He type is characterized by high 4He abundances of 191×10-9 cm3·STP·g-1 on average, with variable 4He, 20Ne and 40Ar abundances in the range (42.8―421)×10-9 cm3·STP·g-1, (5.40―141)×10-9 cm3·STP·g-1, and (773―10976)×10-9 cm3·STP·g-1, respectively. The high 3He/4He samples are characterized by low 4He abundances of 11.7×10-9 cm3·STP·g-1 on average, with 4He, 20Ne and 40Ar abundances in the range of (7.57―17.4)×10-9 cm3·STP·g-1, (10.4―25.5)×10-9 cm3·STP·g-1 and (5354―9050)×10-9 cm3·STP·g-1, respectively. The low 3He/4He samples have 3He/4He ratios (with R/RA ratios of 2.04―2.92) which are lower than those of MORB (R/RA=8±1) and 40Ar/36Ar ratios (447―543) which are higher than those of air (295.5). The high 3He/4He samples have 3He/4He ratios (with R/RA ratios of 10.4―12.0) slightly higher than those of MORB (R/RA=8±1) and 40Ar/36Ar ratios (293―299) very similar to those of air (295.5). The Ne isotopic ratios (20Ne/22Ne and 21Ne/22Ne ratios of 10.3―10.9 and 0.02774―0.03039, respectively) and the 38Ar/36Ar ratios (0.1886―0.1963) have narrow ranges which are very similar to those of air (the 20Ne/22Ne, 21Ne/22Ne, 38Ar/36Ar ratios of 9.80, 0.029 and 0.187, respectively), and cannot be differentiated into different groups. The noble gas nuclide abundances and isotopic ratios, together with their regional variability, suggest that the noble gases in the Fe-Mn crusts originate primarily from the lower mantle. The low 3He/4He type and high 3He/4He type samples have noble gas characteristics similar to those of HIMU (High U/Pb Mantle)- and EM (Enriched Mantle)-type mantle material, respectively. The low 3He/4He type samples with HIMU-type noble gas isotopic ratios occur in the Magellan Seamounts, Marcus-Wake Seamounts, Marshall Island Chain and the Mid-Pacific Sea- mounts whereas the high 3He/4He type samples with EM-type noble gas isotopic ratios occur in the Line Island Chain. This difference in noble gas characteristics of these crust types implies that the MagellanSeamounts, Marcus-Wake Seamounts, Marshall Is- land Chain, and the Mid-Pacific Seamounts originated from HIMU-type lower mantle material whereas the Line Island Chain originated from EM-type lower mantle material. This finding is consistent with varia- tions in the Pb-isotope and trace element signatures in the seamount lavas. Differences in the mantlesource may therefore be responsible for variations in the noble gas abundances and isotopic ratios in the Fe-Mn crusts. Mantle degassing appears to be the principal factor controlling noble gas isotopic abundances in Fe-Mn crusts. Decay of radioactive isotopes has a negligible influence on the nuclide abundances and isotopic ratios of noble gases in these crusts on the timescale of their formation.     

Primordial gases in graphite-diamond-kamacite inclusions from the Haveröureilite

Stepwise heating experiments on separated graphite-diamond-kamacite aggregates have revealed a pronounced difference in the release patterns of spallogenic³He and trapped gases. About half the³He is released at T ? 920°C, without being accompanied by significant amounts of primordial gases; the latter, together with the remaining³He, is given off only at T ? 1200°C. Acid treatment of an aliquant dissolved about 2/3 of the total Fe in the sample but did not cause a significant change in the gas concentrations. It is concluded that (a) there is no evidence for a loss of spallogenic³He from the graphite-diamond-kamacite aggregates, (b) one major constituent of the aggregates - graphite - is almost void of trapped gases, (c) kamacite is not a main carrier of the gases. This leaves diamond as the most probable site of the primordial gases.The elemental abundance pattern in the noble gases is essentially as reported previously. In particular, the excellent correlation between relative depletion factors, normalized to the cosmic abundance ratios, and the respective ionisation energies is confirmed. Other important features of the trapped gases are a²⁰Ne/²²Ne ratio of 12.3 ± 0.6, intermediate between solar wind and solar flare implanted Ne,³⁶Ar/³⁸Ar = 5.20 ± 0.06 and a measured⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratio (before blank correction) of 0.0076.Possible modes of trapping of the noble gases are discussed.     

Noble gas isotopic abundances and noble metal concentrations in sediments from the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary

Noble gases in four sediment samples from the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary collected near Stevns in Denmark were investigated to test the possibility of the presence of noble gases indicative for meteorites. All samples were also analyzed for the noble metals Os and Ir and twelve other elements. The observed enrichments of³He,⁴He and of Ar, Kr, and Xe relative to atmospheric abundances can be explained without invoking the addition of extraterrestrial material. The ²⁰Ne/²²Ne ratio and the Kr and Xe isotopic compositions are identical with the isotopic ratios in the terrestrial atmosphere. In contrast, the high noble metal concentrations indicate the presence of material with elemental abundances similar to chondritic matter. Compared to noble metals the noble gases are less sensitive tracers of an admixture of extraterrestrial matter in sediments.     

Factors controlling the noble gas abundance patterns of deep-sea basalts

A number of processes may modify the noble gas composition of silicate liquids so that the composition of noble gases observed in glassy margins of deep-sea basalts is not that of the upper mantle. Differential solubility enhances the light noble gases relative to the heavier gases; however, we demonstrate that the observed abundance pattern cannot be attributed to solubility of noble gases with atmospheric proportions. Partial melting and fractional crystallization increase the noble gas content of all species relative to mantle concentrations, but do not fractionate their relative abundances. Noble gases may be lost from an ascending magma in various ways, the most important, however, may be exclusion of gas from crystals forming at the time of solidification, which is shown to result in marked loss of gas from the basalt. Small amounts of low-temperature alteration of solidified basalt can produce dramatic changes in the noble gas abundance pattern, since the adsorption coefficients for the different noble gas favor uptake of heavy species relative to the light species. Atmospheric contamination can account for observed variations in the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratio of oceanic basalts. The degree of crystallinity of glassy margins of deep-sea basalts may control the helium abundance of these samples; however, the uniform ³He/⁴He values reported apparently reflect a relatively constant proportion of radiogenic and primordial helium in the mantle.     

Cosmogenic 21Ne exposure dating of young basaltic lava flows from the Newer Volcanic Province,western Victoria,Australia

Cosmogenic ²¹Ne was utilised to determine exposure ages of young subaerial basaltic lava flows from the Newer Volcanic Province, western Victoria, Australia. The ages (36–53 ka) determined from co-existing cosmogenic ²¹Ne and ³He in olivines separated from basalts are consistent within analytical uncertainties with ages previously determined by cosmogenic ³⁶Cl exposure dating. This paper illustrates the potential of cosmogenic neon exposure ages in studying the eruption, surface morphology, and erosion history of young volcanic rocks, which are difficult to date using other conventional methods, such as K-Ar or ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating. The present study demonstrates that combined cosmogenic ³He and ²¹Ne dating, specifically measured cosmogenic ³He/²¹Ne ratios, on the same samples, is powerful for evaluating the validity of calculated cosmogenic ³He and ²¹Ne surface exposure ages.     

40Ar intercept values and young apparent40K-40Ar ages of five Apollo 15 fines

Correlations between⁴⁰Ar and³⁶Ar from size fractions of three Apollo 15 fines (15071, 15421, 15501) have been obtained. The⁴⁰Ar intercept values of these fines and of 15091 and 15601 are generally lower than what one would expect for fines resulting from the comminution of rocks having ages of about 3.3 × 10⁹ yr, typical for basalts of the landing site. This is interpreted to be the result of contamination by ray material from the Copernican age (equal or less than ～10⁹ yr) craters, Autolycus and Aristillus, north of the landing site.     

Mechanisms of magmatic gas loss along the Southeast Indian Ridge and the Amsterdam -St. Paul Plateau

New analyses of He, Ne, Ar and CO₂ trapped in basaltic glasses from the Southeast Indian Ridge (Amsterdam-St. Paul (ASP) region) show that ridge magmas degas by a Rayleigh distillation process. As a result, the absolute and relative noble gas abundances are highly fractionated with ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar* ratios as high as 620 compared to a production ratio of ∼3 (where ⁴⁰Ar* is ⁴⁰Ar corrected for atmospheric contamination). There is a good correlation between ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar* and the MgO content of the basalt, suggesting that the amount of gas lost from a particular magma is related to the degree of crystallization. Fractional crystallization forces oversaturation of CO₂ because CO₂ is an incompatible element. Therefore, crystallization will increase the fraction of gas lost from the magma. The He-Ar-CO₂-MgO-TiO₂ compositions of the ASP basalts are modeled as a combined fractional crystallization-fractional degassing process using experimentally determined noble gas and CO₂ solubilities and partition coefficients at reasonable magmatic pressures (2-4 kbar). The combined fractional crystallization-degassing model reproduces the basalt compositions well, although it is not possible to rule out depth of eruption as a potential additional control on the extent of degassing. The extent of degassing determines the relative noble gas abundances (⁴He/⁴⁰Ar*) and the ⁴⁰Ar*/CO₂ ratio but it cannot account for large (>factor 50) variations in He/CO₂, due to the similar solubilities of He and CO₂ in basaltic magmas. Instead, variations in CO₂/³He (≡C/³He) trapped in the vesicles must reflect similar variations in the primary magma. The controls on C/³He in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) are not known. There are no obvious correlated variations between C/³He and tracers of mantle heterogeneity (³He/⁴He, K/Ti etc.), implying that the variations in C/³He are not likely to be a feature of the mantle source to these basalts. Mixing between MORB-like sources and more enriched, high ³He/⁴He sources occurs on and near the ASP plateau, resulting in variable ³He/⁴He and K/Ti compositions (and many other tracers). Using ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar* to track degassing, we demonstrate that mixing systematics involving He isotopes are determined in large part by the extent of degassing. Relatively undegassed lavas (with low ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar*) are characterized by steep ³He/⁴He-K/Ti mixing curves, with high He/Ti ratios in the enriched magma (relative to He/Ti in the MORB magma). Degassed samples (high ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar*) on the other hand have roughly equal He/Ti ratios in both end-members, resulting in linear mixing trajectories involving He isotopes. Some degassing of ASP magmas must occur at depth, prior to magma mixing. As a result of degassing prior to mixing, mixing systematics of oceanic basalts that involve noble gas-lithophile pairs (e.g. ³He/⁴He vs. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr or ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar vs. ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb) are unlikely to reflect the noble gas composition of the mantle source to the basalts. Instead, the mixing curve will reflect the extent of gas loss from the magmas, which is in turn buffered by the pressure of combined crystallization-degassing and the initial CO₂ content.     

Diffusive fractionation of noble gases and helium isotopes during mantle melting

The large differences in He and Ar diffusivities in silicate minerals could result in fractionation of the He/Ar ratio during melting of the mantle, producing He/Ar ratios in the primary mantle melts that are higher than those of the bulk mantle. Modeling noble gas diffusion out of the bulk mantle into fast diffusion pathways (such as fractures or melt channels) suggests that significant (order of magnitude) He/Ar fractionation will occur if the fast diffusion channels are spaced several meters apart and the noble gas residence in these diffusion channels is of the order days to weeks. In addition, the 15% difference in ³He and ⁴He diffusivities could also produce isotopic fractionation between the melt and its solid source. Modeling the behavior of He and Ar during melting shows that small increases (few %) in ³He/⁴He should be correlated with larger variations (factor of 5) in ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar. However, in order to test this hypothesis the effects of subsequent He–Ar fractionation that occur during degassing have to be corrected. I describe a scheme that can separate He/Ar variations in the primary melt from overprinted fractionation during magmatic degassing. Using the degassing-corrected data, there is a correlation between the primary melt’s ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar and ³He/⁴He in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs). The slope of the correlation is consistent with the models of preferential diffusion of ³He relative to ⁴He and of ⁴He relative to ⁴⁰Ar from the solid mantle into the melt. Diffusive fractionation of noble gases during melting of the mantle can also account for low ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar ratios commonly found in residual mantle xenoliths: preferential diffusion of He relative to Ar will produce some regions of the mantle with low ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar, the complement of the high ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar ratios in basalts. Diffusive fractionation cannot, however, account for differences between the He and Ne isotopic compositions of MORBs compared with ocean island basalts (OIBs); not only are the extremely high ³He/⁴He ratios of OIBs (up to 50 Ra) difficult to produce at reasonable mantle time and lengthscales, but also the Ne isotopic compositions of MORBs and OIBs do not lie on a single mass fractionation line, therefore cannot result from diffusive fractionation of a single mantle Ne source. If preferential diffusion of He from the solid mantle into primary melts is a significant process during generation of MORBs, then it is difficult to constrain the He concentration of the mantle: He concentrations in basalts and the He flux to the ocean essentially result from extraction of He from a larger (and unknown) volume of mantle than that that produced the basalts themselves. The He concentration of the mantle cannot be constrained until more accurate estimates of the diffusion contribution are available.     

N<Subscript>2</Subscript>, Ar,and He as a tool for discriminating sources of volcanic fluids with application to Vulcano,Italy

A detailed analysis of published data on the N₂, Ar, and He content and Ar and He isotopic composition of fumarolic fluids from Vulcano crater (south Italy) supports a model with two endmembers comprising magmatic and hydrothermal fluids with correspondingly low and high H₂O content. The magmatic component with the highest ³He/⁴He and highest absolute concentrations of N₂, Ar, and He also has the lowest N₂/Ar and N₂/He ratios (∼300 and ∼500, respectively). In contrast, the hydrothermal endmember, with the lower ³He/⁴He and lower absolute N₂, Ar, and He abundances, has high N₂/Ar (∼1,000) and high N₂/He (>3,000) ratios. The hydrothermal component is also characterized by the highest ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios (>1,000) and is proposed to be the main carrier of metamorphic gases from the arc crust.     

Helium and argon isotopes of the Tertiary basic igneous rocks from Shandong Peninsula and implications for the magma origin

Helium (He) and Argon (Ar) isotopic compositions of the Tertiary basic igneous rocks were determined by the high temperature melting extraction method. The selected samples for the studies included al-kaline basalts and diabases from the Jiyang basin,and the surrounding Shanwang and Qixia outcrops in the Shandong Peninsula,eastern China. The results show that the Paleogene basalts and diabases from the Jiyang basin yielded a wide range of P4 PHe abundance of (73.70-804.16)×10 P-8 Pcm P3 P STP·g P-1 P,with P3 PHe/ P4 PHe ratios of 0.374-2.959 Ra,which was lower than the MORB but evidently higher than the con-tinental crust value. The Neogene alkaline basalts from the Jiyang basin,Shanwang and Qixia outcrops have variable P4 PHe abundances ((42.34-286.72)×10-8 Pcm P3 P STP·g-1 P),and "continental crust-like" P3 PHe/ P4 PHe ratios (0.013-0.074 Ra). All of them contain atmospheric-like P40 PAr/ P36 PAr ratio (395.4-1312.7),reflecting the mantle sources with air components. Their low P3 PHe/ P4 PHe ratios are interpreted as the enrichment of the radiogenic P4 PHe mainly inherited from the mantle. He and Ar systematics show the mixing of MORB-type,air and a P4 PHe enriched member in the mantle source,suggesting that these igneous rocks originated from the depleted asthenospheric mantle mixed with an EMI component. Therefore,the present He and Ar isotopes do not support the viewpoints that the Cenozoic igneous rocks of Eastern North China were the products of mantle plume(s) activities.