Li Isotopic Composition and Concentration of the Upper Continental Crust: New Insights from Desert Loess

Abstract:

The isotopic composition of lithium (δ⁷Li) is recognized to be an excellent proxy of near-surface fluid-rock reactions during weathering. Using Li as a tracer of these processes however requires constraints on the average Li composition of terrestrial reservoirs, in particular that of the upper continental crust. To date, only one value for the average δ⁷Li value of the upper continental crust, derived from periglacial loess, shales, and granites is available in the literature (⁷δLi = 0 ± 4 (2σ), Teng et al., 2004). Several values exist for the average [Li] of the upper crust, but they differ by more than 30%. We measured the Li isotopic composition of about 30 desert and periglacial loess (unweathered windblown sediments) from several parts of the world (Europe, Argentina, China and Tajikistan). We demonstrate that desert loess, which is more homogeneous and representative of larger portions of the Earth's surface, provides a better proxy for the average composition of the upper continental crust compared to periglacial loess. The Li isotopic compositions and concentrations of desert loess are controlled by eolian sorting, which can be quantified as a binary isotopic mixing between a weathered fine-grained end-member and an unweathered coarse-grained end-member. Using correlations between Li isotopic compositions, Li concentrations and trace element concentrations in desert loess, we estimate new average values for the upper continental crust: 1 ± 2 (2σ); [Li] = 35.3 ± 4.6 (2σ) ppm. This δ⁷Li value is slightly higher than that previously published in Teng et al. (2004), but overlaps within uncertainty, whereas the [Li] is identical to that of Teng et al. (2004: 35 ± 11, 2σ); both new estimates have lower uncertainty. Our new estimate of [Li], along with that of Teng et al. (2004), are higher than all previous estimates for the upper continental crust, raising the question as to whether the average concentrations of other mobile alkali metals such as cesium (Cs) and rubidium (Rb) may have also been underestimated in previous studies.