The influence of source heterogeneity on the U–Th–Pa–Ra disequilibria in post-glacial tholeiites from Iceland

Abstract

We investigate the relative influence of mantle upwelling velocity and source heterogeneity on the melting rates recorded by 230Th–238U, 231Pa–235U and 226Ra–230Th disequilibria in post-glacial tholeiites from Iceland’s main rift areas. The measured (230Th/238U) ratios range from 1.085 to 1.247, the (231Pa/235U) ratios from 1.333 to 1.925, and the (226Ra/230Th) ratios from 0.801 to 1.218. A general positive correlation between 230Th excesses and distance from the inferred plume centre is consistent with a model of decreasing mantle upwelling velocity with increasing distance from the plume axis. However, the model is not substantiated by the (231Pa/235U) data as the correlation with distance from the plume centre is weak. On the scale of individual eruption centres, the observed U-series are influenced by variations in melt transport time, source porosity, and local variations in mantle upwelling velocity. Broad correlations between (230Th/238U) and (231Pa/235U) and highly incompatible trace element ratios for samples from the Western Volcanic Zone provide, however, evidence for a significant underlying effect of source heterogeneity on the U-series data. Low 230Th and 231Pa excesses in enriched samples from the Western Volcanic Zone with high U/Th, Nb/U and Nb/La indicate that partial melts from an enriched source component, characterised by high melt productivity but low bulk DU/DTh, influence the U-series systematics of the erupted melts. These results re-affirm the presence of comparatively larger abundances of enriched material in the mantle source beneath the South Western Rift of Iceland, which has been suggested based on relationships between highly incompatible element and Pb isotope ratios in Icelandic basalts. Overall, our results highlight the importance of lithological heterogeneity on the melting behaviour of the upper mantle and the composition of oceanic basalts.