Observations of Li isotopic variations in the Trinity Ophiolite: Evidence for isotopic fractionation by diffusion during mantle melting

The Trinity peridotite (northern CA) contains numerous lithologic sequences consisting of dunite to harzburgite to spinel lherzolite to plagioclase Iherzolite. Previous workers have documented geochemical gradients in these sequences consistent with melt-rock reaction processes occurring around dunites, interpreted to reflect conduits for melt ascent. We have undertaken a study of Li isotope compositions of clinopyroxene and some olivine within these sequences using ion probe techniques to test the hypothesis that the geochemical gradients are related to diffusive fluxing of alkali elements into or away from the melt conduit. Results show large variations in Li-7/Li-6 occurring in a consistent pattern across three transects from dunite to plagioclase lherzolite within the Trinity peridotite. Specifically, measurements of average delta(7)Li for single thin sections along the traverse reveal a low in delta(7)Li in the harzburgite adjacent to the dunite returning to higher values farther from the dunite with a typical offset of similar to10 per mil in the low delta(7)Li trough. This pattern is consistent with a process whereby Li isotopes are fractionated during diffusion through a melt either from the dunite conduit to the surrounding peridotite, or from the surrounding peridotite into the dunite conduit. The patterns in Li-7/Li-6 occur over a length scale similar to the decrease in REE concentration in these same samples. Explaining both the trace element and Li isotopic gradients requires a combined process of alkali diffusion and melt extraction. We develop a numerical model and examine several scenarios of the combined diffusion-extraction process. Using experimentally constrained values for the chance in Li diffusion coefficient with isotope mass, large changes in delta(7)Li as a function of distance can be created in year to decade timescales. The addition of the melt extraction term allows larger Li concentration gradients to be developed and thus produces larger isotopic fractionations than diffusion only models. The extraction aspect of the model can also account for the observe decrease in rare earth element concentrations across the transects. Copyright (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd.