Geochemical constraints on CO2-rich mantle source for the Kocebu Seamount, Magellan Seamount chain in the western Pacific

Abstract

The alkaline oceanic island basalts (OIBs) with under-saturated SiO2 and high contents of CaO and alkaline are usually attributed to mantle sources different from typical tholeiitic OIBs. Based on the results of high pressure and temperature experiment study, the genesis of silica under-saturated alkaline basaltic melts could be explained by the role of CO2, thus, the genetic relationship of alkaline basalts with CO2 has become a topic of relevance because it is closely related to the deep carbon cycle. The Magellan Seamount chain in the West Pacific Seamount Province has wide distribution of alkali basalts. For the first time, we collected alkaline basalt samples from the Kocebu Seamount of the Magellan Seamount chain and found that magmatic apatites widely occur in the less evolved volcanic rock samples, and the high contents of phosphorus should be a feature of the alkaline OIBs of the Magellan Seamounts. Compared with typical OIBs, these alkaline volcanic rocks have higher CaO and P2O5, lower SiO2 content, negative anomaly of high field strength elements (HFSEs), more distinctly negative anomaly of potassium (K) and the ubiquity of titanaugite, indicating a CO2-rich mantle source. Based on the relatively high K2O and TiO2 contents and La/Yb ratio and low MgO content of these alkaline rocks, we suggest that the volcanic rocks of the Magellan Seamounts are originated from carbonated eclogites derived possibly from ancient subducted altered oceanic crust.