Osmium-isotope variations in Hawaiian lavas: evidence for recycled oceanic lithosphere in the Hawaiian plume

Abstract

Isotopic heterogeneity in Hawaiian shield lavas reflects the presence of two distinct recycled components in the Hawaiian plume, both from the same packet of recycled oceanic lithosphere. Radiogenic Os-isotopes and anomalously heavy oxygen-isotopes in Koolau lavas reflect melt generation from recycled oceanic crust plus pelagic sediment. In contrast, Kea lavas have unradiogenic Os-isotopes but anomalously light oxygen-isotopes. Oxygen–osmium–lead isotope correlations preclude generation of the Kea isotopic signature from asthenospheric upper mantle or the in situ lithospheric mantle or crust. Instead, melting of recycled, hydrothermally altered ultramafic lower crust or lithospheric mantle in the Hawaiian plume can produce Kea-type lavas. The preservation of both upper- and lower-crustal oxygen isotope signatures in plume-derived Hawaiian lavas indicates that chemical heterogeneities with length scales of only a few kilometers can be preserved in the convecting mantle for long periods of time, probably on the order of 1 Ga or more.