Tracing Recycled Crustal Materials in the Subcontinental Lithospheric Mantle Using Thallium Isotopes

Here we report the first set of thallium (Tl) isotope data in alkaline rocks from the North China Craton to constrain the nature of recycled materials in the metasomatized subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Samples from the Hekanzi and Saima alkaline complexes display Tl isotope compositions (epsilon Tl-205) identical to the present-day upper mantle and continental crust, suggesting that neither the recycled low-temperature altered oceanic crust nor the pelagic sediments were involved in their sources. The volcanic rocks from the Liaodong-Jinan region, whose source was previously proposed to contain recycled low-temperature altered oceanic crust, also display modern mantle-like Tl isotope composition, suggesting a significant Tl-loss in the recycled oceanic crust during the subduction due to the dehydration process. Our Tl isotope data provide complementary constraints to the Sr-Nd-Hf-O isotopes on the nature of metasomatic agent in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle.

Automated summary

The study used thallium isotope data to analyze alkaline rocks in the North China Craton, suggesting that recycled materials do not include low-temperature altered oceanic crust or pelagic sediments, providing important insights into the nature of metasomatic agents in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle.