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  • 1
    ISSN: 1432-0967
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract Pb, Sr and Nd isotope variations are correlated in diverse lavas erupted at small seamounts near the East Pacific Rise. Tholeiites are isotopically indistinguishable from MORB (206Pb/204Pb=18.1–18.5; 87Sr/86Sr=0.7023–0.7028; 143Nd/144Nd=0.51326-0.51308); associated alkali basalts always show more radiogenic Pb and Sr signatures (206Pb/204Pb=18.8–19.2; 87Sr/86Sr=0.7029–0.7031) and less radiogenic Nd (143Nd/144Nd=0.51289–0.51301). The isotopic variability covers ∼80% of the variability for Pacific MORB, due to the presence of small-scale heterogeneity in the underlying mantle. Isotope compositions also correlate with trace element ratios such as La/Sm. Tholeiites at these seamounts have 3He/4He between 7.8–8.7 R A(R A= atmospheric ratio), also indistinguishable from MORB. He trapped in vesicles of alkali basalts, released by crushing in vacuo, has low 3He/4He (1.2–2.6 R)Ain conjunction with low helium concentrations ([He]〈5×10−8 ccSTP/g). In many cases post-eruptive radiogenic ingrowth has produced He isotope disequilibrium between vesicles and glass in the alkali basalts; subatmospheric 3He/4He ratios characterize the He dissolved in the glass which is released by melting the crushed powders. The narrow range of 3He/4He in the vesicles of the alkali basalts suggests that low 3He/4He is a source characteristic, but given their low [He] and high (U + Th), pre-eruptive radiogenic ingrowth cannot be excluded as a cause for low inherited 3He/4He ratios. Pb, Sr and Nd isotope compositions in lavas erupted at Shimada Seamount, an isolated volcano on 20 m.y. old seafloor at 17°N, are distinctly different from other seamounts in the East Pacific (206Pb/204Pb=18.8–19.0, 87Sr/ 86Sr≅0.7048 and 143Nd/144Nd≅0.51266). Relatively high 207Pb/204Pb (15.6–15.7) indicates ancient (〉2 Ga) isolation of the source from the depleted upper mantle, similar to Dupal components which are more prevalent in the southern hemisphere mantle. 3He/4He at Shimada Seamount is between 3.9–4.8 R A. Because the helium concentrations range up to 1.5×10−6, the low 3He/4He can not be due to radiogenic accumulation of 4He in the magma for reasonable volcanic evolution times. The low 3He/4He may be due to the presence of “enriched” domains within the lithosphere with high (U + Th)/He ratios, possibly formed during its accretion near the ridge. Alternatively, the low 3He/4He may be an inherent characteristic of an enriched component in the mantle beneath the East Pacific. Collectively, the He-Pb-Sr-Nd isotope systematics at East Pacific seamounts suggest that the range of isotope compositions present in the mantle is more readily sampled by seamount and island volcanism than by axial volcanism. Beneath thicker lithosphere away from the ridge axis, smaller degrees of melting in the source regions are less efficient in averaging the chemical characteristics of small-scale heterogeneities.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2022-05-25
    Description: © The Author(s), 2015. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Biogeosciences 12 (2015): 5199-5210, doi:10.5194/bg-12-5199-2015.
    Description: Significant rates of primary production occur in the oligotrophic ocean, without any measurable nutrients present in the mixed layer, fueling a scientific paradox that has lasted for decades. Here, we provide a new determination of the annual mean physical supply of nitrate to the euphotic zone in the western subtropical North Atlantic. We combine a 3-year time series of measurements of tritiugenic 3He from 2003 to 2006 in the surface ocean at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site with a sophisticated noble gas calibrated air–sea gas exchange model to constrain the 3He flux across the sea–air interface, which must closely mirror the upward 3He flux into the euphotic zone. The product of the 3He flux and the observed subsurface nitrate–3He relationship provides an estimate of the minimum rate of new production in the BATS region. We also apply the gas model to an earlier time series of 3He measurements at BATS in order to recalculate new production fluxes for the 1985 to 1988 time period. The observations, despite an almost 3-fold difference in the nitrate–3He relationship, yield a roughly consistent estimate of nitrate flux. In particular, the nitrate flux from 2003 to 2006 is estimated to be 0.65 ± 0.14 mol m−2 yr−1, which is ~40 % smaller than the calculated flux for the period from 1985 to 1988. The difference in nitrate flux between the time periods may be signifying a real difference in new production resulting from changes in subtropical mode water formation. Overall, the nitrate flux is larger than most estimates of export fluxes or net community production fluxes made locally for the BATS site, which is likely a reflection of the larger spatial scale covered by the 3He technique and potentially also by the decoupling of 3He and nitrate during the obduction of water masses from the main thermocline into the upper ocean. The upward nitrate flux is certainly large enough to support observed rates of primary production at BATS and more generally in the oligotrophic subtropical ocean.
    Description: This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (OCE-1434000 and OCE-221247).
    Repository Name: Woods Hole Open Access Server
    Type: Article
    Format: application/pdf
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