Diamond growth history from in situ measurement of Pb and S isotopic compositions of sulfide inclusions

Abstract

In a continuing effort to understand crust-mantle dynamics, we have determined the S and Pb isotopic compositions of mantle sulfides encapsulated within diamonds from under the Siberian craton and compared these results to those of previously investigated African counterparts. Because diamond inclusions are isolated from exchange with surrounding mantle, they may preserve the history of diamond growth and act as direct tracers of the origins of mantle materials. Study of these inclusions may thus offer the best chance of recognizing global-scale interaction between Earth9s crust and mantle. Although δ 34 S values of the Siberian sulfides do not deviate significantly from the mantle value of 0‰ ± 3‰, Pb isotopic compositions are highly variable. Pb isotopic compositions of sulfides from peridotitic suite diamonds generally plot near the terrestrial Pb growth curve, with model ages ranging between 0 and 2 Ga, whereas sulfides from eclogitic suite diamonds have radiogenic compositions, plotting beyond the growth curve. These results, which are similar to those for sulfides in African diamonds, suggest that the sulfides from eclogitic suite diamonds were derived from a source with an unusually high U/Pb ratio and may indicate a common process (such as subduction of crystal materials into the mantle) operating beneath Africa and Siberia. The absence of extremely radiogenic Pb in sulfides from eclogite xenoliths suggests that the radiogenic material from which eclogitic suite diamonds grew was a transient feature of the mantle, associated with diamond growth. The ultimate origin of this high U/Pb signature, however, remains enigmatic. Large variations in Pb isotopic composition of sulfides from different zones in a single peridotitic suite diamond document (1) crystallization of the diamond9s core near 2.0 Ga, (2) growth of its outer zone in an environment with a high U/Pb ratio similar to the growth environment of eclogitic suite diamonds, and (3) growth of the diamond rim near the time of kimberlite emplacement.