Constraints on mantle source compositions imposed by phosphorus and the rare-earth elements

There is a positive correlation between the concentration of P₂O₅ in basic magmas and the concentration of the REE and also between their light: heavy ratio, represented by both Ce/Yb and Nd/Sm. This suggests that a phosphate mineral, such as apatite or whitlockite, both of which can contain high concentrations of REE, is present in the magma source regions. Thermodynamic calculations indicate that fluorapatite is stable over the whole P-T range of magma generation, but at the greatest depths it may co-exist with whitlockite in the presence of fluorphlogopite. Using published REE crystal-liquid distribution coefficients, it is evident that for P₂O₅-rich basic magmas with 700–1000 times chondritic abundances of LREE, garnet need not have contributed significantly to their composition. The most convincing match of hypothetical liquid with actual basic magma is for the derivation of mid-ocean ridge (MOR) basalts from plagioclase- or spinel-lherzolite containing 3 times chondritic REE by ∼5% partial melting. The more P₂O₅-rich, and hence REE-rich, basic magmas are apparently derived from crystalline sources which are progressively impoverished in garnet and clinopyroxene, or in other words, the greater the REE concentration of basic magma, the more refractory is the mineral assemblage of the source. There is some evidence for a compositional dependence of radiogenic neodymium and lead in basic magma, and one way that this can be reconciled with mantle source-region evolution is to postulate that fusion is not always accompanied by isotopic equilibrium.