Description: Numerous calcium carbonate veins were recovered from the igneous basement of the Early Cretaceous Shatsky Rise during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 324. The chemical (Sr/Ca, Mg/Ca) and isotopic (87Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd, delta18O, delta13C) compositions of these veins were determined to constrain the timing of vein formation. A dominant control by seawater chemistry on calcite composition is evident for most vein samples with variable contributions from the basaltic basement. Slightly elevated precipitation temperatures (as inferred from oxygen isotope ratios), indicative of hydrothermal vein formation, are only observed at Site U1350 in the central part of Shatsky Rise. The highest 87Sr/86Sr ratios (least basement influence) of vein samples at each drill site range from 0.70726 to 0.70755 and are believed to reflect the contemporaneous seawater composition during the time of calcite precipitation. In principle, age information can be deduced by correlating these ratios with the global seawater Sr isotope evolution. Since the Sr isotopic composition of seawater has fluctuated three times between the early and mid Cretaceous, no unambiguous precipitation ages can be constrained by this method and vein precipitation could have occurred at any time between ~ 80 and 140 Ma. However, based on combined chemical and isotopic data and correlations of vein composition with formation depth and inferred temperature, we argue for a rather early precipitation of the veins shortly after basement formation at each respective drill site.

Description: Resolving flow geometry in the mantle wedge is central to understanding the thermal and chemical structure of subduction zones, subducting plate dehydration, and melting that leads to arc volcanism, which can threaten large populations and alter climate through gas and particle emission. Here we show that isotope geochemistry and seismic velocity anisotropy provide strong evidence for trench-parallel flow in the mantle wedge beneath Costa Rica and Nicaragua. This finding contradicts classical models, which predict trench-normal flow owing to the overlying wedge mantle being dragged downwards by the subducting plate. The isotopic signature of central Costa Rican volcanic rocks is not consistent with its derivation from the mantle wedge (Feigenson et al., 2004, doi:10.1029/2003GC000621; Herrstom et al., 1995, doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1995)023〈0617:VILCAW〉2.3.CO;2; Abratis and Woerner, 2001) or eroded fore-arc complexes (Goss and Kay, 2006, doi:10.1029/2005GC001163) but instead from seamounts of the Galapagos hotspot track on the subducting Cocos plate. This isotopic signature decreases continuously from central Costa Rica to northwestern Nicaragua. As the age of the isotopic signature beneath Costa Rica can be constrained and its transport distance is known, minimum northwestward flow rates can be estimated (~63-190 mm/yr) and are comparable to the magnitude of subducting Cocos plate motion (approx85 mm/yr). Trench-parallel flow needs to be taken into account in models evaluating thermal and chemical structure and melt generation in subduction zones.

Description: Boron and Pb isotopic compositions together with B-U-Th-Pb concentrations were determined for Pacific and Indian mantle-type mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) obtained from shallow drill holes near the Australian Antarctic Discordance (AAD). Boron contents in the altered samples range from 29.7 to 69.6 ppm and are extremely enriched relative to fresh MORB glass with 0.4-0.6 ppm B. Similarly the d11B values range from 5.5‰ to 15.9‰ in the altered basalts and require interaction with a d11B enriched fluid similar to seawater ~39.5‰ and/or boron isotope fractionation during the formation of secondary clays. Positive correlations between B concentrations and other chemical indices of alteration such as H2O CO2, K2O, P2O5, U and 87Sr/86Sr indicate that B is progressively enriched in the basalts as they become more altered. Interestingly, d11B shows the largest isotopic shift to +16‰ in the least altered basalts, followed by a continual decrease to +5-6‰ in the most altered basalts. These observations may indicate a change from an early seawater dominated fluid towards a sediment-dominated fluid as a result of an increase in sediment cover with increasing age of the seafloor. The progression from heavy d11B towards lighter values with increasing degrees of alteration may also reflect increased formation of clay minerals (e.g., saponite). A comparison of 238U/204Pb and 206Pb/204Pb in fresh glass and variably altered basalt from Site 1160B shows extreme variations that are caused by secondary U enrichment during low temperature alteration. Modeling of the U-Pb isotope system confirms that some alteration events occurred early in the 21.5 Ma history of these rocks, even though a significant second pulse of alteration happened at ~12 Ma after formation of the crust. The U-Pb systematics of co-genetic basaltic glass and variably low temperature altered basaltic whole rocks are thus a potential tool to place age constraints on the timing of alteration and fluid flow in the ocean crust.