Helium isotope ratios in Ethiopian Rift basalts

Abstract

Helium isotope ratios were measured in olivine and pyroxene phenocrysts from basalts of the Ethiopian Rift Valley and Afar Depression between 6° and 15°N and 37° and 43°E. 3He/4He ratios range from 6 to 17 times the atmospheric value (RA = 1.4 × 10−6), that is, from ratios less than typical MORB (depleted mantle) helium (R/RA= 8 ± 1) to ratios similar to high-3He hotspots and to the Yellowstone hotspot (R/RA= 16.5). The high 3He/4He ratios occur all along the Ethiopian Rift and well up into the Afar Depression, with a maximum value of 17.0 RA at 8°N in the Rift Axis and a high value of 14.2 RA in the central Tat'Ali sector of the Afar Depression. The ratios decrease to MORB-like values near the edge of the Red Sea, and to sub-MORB ratios (5–6 RA) at the northern end of the Rift (Zula Peninsula) and at the southern end, at lakes Abaya and Chamo.The Ethiopian Rift provides the only continental hotspot terrain in which helium isotope ratios can be compared in detail between volcanic lavas and associated geothermal and volcanic gases, a primary motivation for this work. Comparison with our previously measured ratios in fluids and gases (range 2–15 RA) shows excellent agreement in the areas sampled for both lavas and fluids, and indicates that high-temperature volcanic fluids can be used for establishing helium isotope signatures in such terrains. The high-3He values in both fluids and basalts show that a Primitive Mantle (PM) component is required and that a Lower Mantle High-3He plume is strongly involved as a driving force in the rifting process of the East African Rift System.