Abstract
Noble gas concentrations and isotopic compositions have been measured in eight samples of pillow basalt glasses collected from seven different localities along 250 km of the Mariana Trough spreading and rifting axis. The samples have uniform and mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like 3He/4He values of 9–12 × 10–6 (6.4–8.6 times atmospheric) despite large variations in 4He. Concentrations of the noble gases Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe show much smaller variations between samples, but larger variations in isotopic compositions of Ne, Ar, and Xe. Excess radiogenic 21Ne is observed in some samples. 40Ar/36Ar varies widely (atmospheric to 1880). Kr is atmospheric in composition for all samples. Some samples show a clear excess 129Xe, which is a well-known MORB signature. Isotopic compositions of the heavier noble gases (Ar, Kr, and Xe) in some samples, however, show more atmospheric components. These data reflect the interaction of a MORB-like magma with an atmospheric component such as seawater or of a depleted mantle source with a water-rich component that was probably derived from the subducting slab.
Published Version
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