Kinetic zinc isotope fractionation in olivine phenocrysts records magma evolution history of intra-plate basalts

Abstract

In the past few years, zinc isotope systematics of basaltic magmas have been widely used as novel proxies for terrestrial mantle heterogeneity induced by recycled crustal materials and for planet formation and evolution. The influence of crystal-melt isotope disequilibrium during magma differentiation on the zinc isotopic composition of basaltic melts, nonetheless, has received little attention. In addition, no quantitative constraint has yet been given for the diffusion-driven Zn isotope fractionation between olivine crystals and melts. Here we present high-precision zinc isotope data (δ66ZnJMC-Lyon) for a series of olivine phenocrysts separated from intra-plate alkali basalts from the Jiaodong Peninsula in Eastern China, together with in-situ chemical analysis. Olivine phenocrysts have Zn isotopic compositions which are too light in comparison with the host basaltic melts (Δ66Znol-melt = −0.41‰ to −0.10‰; n = 16) to be explained by equilibrium isotope fractionation at magmatic temperatures. Instead, the decrease of δ66Zn values with decreasing Mg# (i.e., Mg/[Mg + Fe2+] × 100) and increasing Zn + Fe2+ contents in olivine phenocrysts suggests diffusion-driven kinetic fractionation during olivine crystallization. The data is well-fitted with a diffusion model in which Zn together with Fe2+ diffuse from surrounding melt into olivine crystals and approximately equal flux of Mg diffuses into melt due to the large chemical gradient, yielding a kinetic Zn isotope fractionation factor βZn of 0.07. By utilizing the fractional crystallization model under equilibrium or disequilibrium conditions, it is suggested that diffusion-induced isotope disequilibrium during olivine crystallization may drive Zn isotopic composition of the residual melt toward heavier values. When using zinc isotope systematics of any basaltic magma to probe the source heterogeneity, this impact must be taken into account if the Zn isotope disequilibrium widely exists in olivine phenocrysts. Based on the time-related quantitative diffusion model, our results show that the magma residence time for strongly alkali basaltic lavas (∼20 days) is 10–60 times shorter than that for weakly alkali basaltic lavas (6 months to 4 years). This supports the generation of weakly alkali basalts via interaction between silica-undersaturated melts and the surrounding lithospheric mantle, implying a probable common mechanism in intra-plate basalts that could be comparable globally. Thus, Zn isotope disequilibrium between olivine crystals and melts could provide valuable information on the evolution history of intra-plate basaltic magmas.