Multiple sulfur isotope composition of oxidized Samoan melts and the implications of a sulfur isotope ‘mantle array’ in chemical geodynamics
Résumé
To better address how subducted protoliths drive the Earth's mantle sulfur isotope heterogeneity, we report new data for sulfur (S) and copper (Cu) abundances, S speciation and multiple S isotopic compositions (32S, 33S, 34S, 36S) in 15 fresh submarine basaltic glasses from the Samoan archipelago, which defines the enriched-mantle-2 (EM2) endmember.
Bulk S abundances vary between 835 and 2279 ppm. About 17±11%17±11% of sulfur is oxidized (S6+) but displays no consistent trend with bulk S abundance or any other geochemical tracer. The S isotope composition of both dissolved sulfide and sulfate yield homogeneous Δ33S and Δ36S values, within error of Canyon Diablo Troilite (CDT). In contrast, δ34S values are variable, ranging between +0.11 and +2.79‰ (±0.12‰ 1σ) for reduced sulfur, whereas oxidized sulfur values vary between +4.19 and +9.71‰ (±0.80‰, 1σ). Importantly, δ34S of the reduced S pool correlates with the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the glasses, in a manner similar to that previously reported for South-Atlantic MORB, extending the trend to δ34S values up to +2.79±0.04‰+2.79±0.04‰, the highest value reported for undegassed oceanic basalts.
As for EM-1 basalts from the South Atlantic ridge, the linear δ34S–87Sr/86Sr trend requires the EM-2 endmember to be relatively S-rich, and only sediments can account for these isotopic characteristics. While many authors argue that both the EM-1 and EM-2 mantle components record subduction of various protoliths (e.g. upper or lower continental crust, lithospheric mantle versus intra-metasomatized mantle, or others), it is proposed here that they primarily reflect sediment recycling. Their distinct Pb isotope variation can be accounted for by varying the proportion of S-poor recycled oceanic crust in the source of mantle plumes.