Description: We present comprehensive geochemical analyses on samples from the active volcanoes of the Society and Austral hotspot chains, including data for major, trace and rare-earth elements, and Sr, Nd, Pb and Th isotopes. The latter can be used to determine the Th/U in the source at the time of melting, and so give a constraint on the absolute amount of incompatible-element fractionation occurring during melting. SiO2 vs. MgO variations show evidence for variable amounts of a nephelinitic melt component (low SiO2, low MgO) in all the magmas studied. The nephelinite is probably produced in the presence of CO2 during melting. Correlations between SiO2 and the degree of ThU fractionation (derived from Th isotope measurements) imply that the CO2-driven, nephelinitic melting is also responsible for fractionating the Th/U ratio. Comparing the Th isotopes with Sr, Nd and Pb isotopes, it is possible to place limits on the Th/U ratios in the EM II (Societies) and HIMU (Australs) sources. These are ∼ 3.4 and ⩽ 2.5, respectively. The Nb/U ratio, which was previously thought to be relatively constant in all oceanic volcanics (47 ± 10), is shown to be anomalously low (25 ± 5) in some of the Society Seamounts and high (60) in some of the Australs. This confirms the presence of continent-derived material in the Society source and suggests that HIMU volcanics may have elevated Nb/U ratios. The change in Pb isotope compositions in the Australs, from HIMU (e.g., Tubuai) before 6 Ma to the more recent, less extreme compositions seen for example at Macdonald, is the result of a small amount of subducted sediment contaminating the pure old recycled oceanic crust component which, before 6 Ma, yielded HIMU.

Description: The geochemistry of mid-oceanic ridge basalts from 86°N (Arctic Ocean) provides, for the first time, an insight into the composition of the mantle around the North Pole. Our data show the source region of the Arctic basalts to possess traces of an enrichment similar to the DUPAL signature. This is remarkable since up to now the DUPAL signature has been believed to be present only in Indian but not in Atlantic or Pacific MORB. These results also argue against a model of whole-mantle convection, in which upwelling of enriched material at the equator is balanced by downwelling of depleted material at the poles

Description: Seabeam mapping in the central Pacific Ocean, southeast of Pitcairn Island, has revealed a number of large volcanic edifices, some of which appear to be currently active. Here we document the first isotope and trace element data obtained for dredge samples from these volcanoes which are believed to represent the present-day surface expression of the Pitcairn mantle plume. Striking linear trends in multi-isotope plots suggest the operation of a simple two-component mixing process in the genesis of these lavas with end-members of extreme EM-I and isotopically more depleted type. Isotope-trace element covariations allow limits to be placed upon the composition of the Pitcairn plume source, which is then compared with other EM-type oceanic islands. Current hypotheses for the generation of EM components are then evaluated in the light of these data. Temporal trends, similar to those seen on Pitcairn Island, are present within the seamount data, although samples equivalent to the post-shield formations on Pitcairn Island are not observed. These evolutionary trends suggest a high level origin for the depleted component rather than entrainment of asthenospheric material into a rising diapir. Three of the Pitcairn seamounts are much older, in the region of 20–25 Ma, and were probably formed in a near-ridge environment.

Description: Iceland straddles the mid-Atlantic spreading axis, between the Kolbeinsey Ridge to the north and the Reykjanes Ridge to the south. Published geochemical data from the Reykjanes Ridge show evidence for mixing between a MORB component and the Iceland plume. Available data from the Kolbeinsey Ridge suggest that similar mixing may not be occurring there. To investigate in detail the relationship between the Iceland plume and MORB along the Kolbeinsey Ridge, we have collected and analysed samples between the Tjo¨rnes and Spar fracture zones (ca. 67°–69°N). The 16 Kolbeinsey Ridge samples show limited isotopic variation and are characterised by relatively unradiogenic Pb (206Pb/204Pb= 17.912 to 18.053, 207Pb/204Pb= 15.404 to 15.453 and 208Pb/204Pb= 37.543 to 37.690, 87Sr/86Sr= 0.70280 to 0.70298, 143Nd/144Nd= 0.51307 to 0.51323). On the basis of their Rb, Sr, Nd, Sm, U, Th and Pb concentrations, the basalts are N-type MORB. Sr and Nd isotope ratios show significant systematic variations with latitude, becoming more enriched (87Sr/86Sr increases, 143Nd/144Nd decreases) towards Iceland, apparently supporting the classical model of plume-asthenosphere mixing. However, the Pb isotopes show no such relationship, and are thus inconsistent with this mixing model. On the basis of Pb and Sr isotope data it is possible to exclude the Iceland source as an end-member in the genesis of the Kolbeinsey Ridge basalts, implying that Iceland plume material does not flow northward along the Kolbeinsey Ridge. The isotopic variations within the Kolbeinsey data set can be attributed to heterogeneities in the MORB source. The boundary between the plume and MORB sources appears to coincide with the Tjo¨rnes Fracture Zone. This fracture zone may, by analogy with the Australia-Antarctic Discordance, overlie a zone of mantle convergence. The topographic anomalies over the Kolbeinsey and Reykjanes Ridges imply that hot, less dense material underlies them both. The absence of an Icelandic plume signature in the Kolbeinsey geochemistry, however, leads us to propose an asymmetrical shape for the plume, generated by a southerly component of flow in the Kolbeinsey MORB source. A similar flow direction has previously been proposed for the whole North Atlantic on the basis of independent mantle mass-balance calculations