Eu Anomalies Constrain Recycling of Lower Continental Crust

Abstract:

Europium is fractionated from Sm and Gd during intra-crustal differentiation since Eu (II) strongly partitions into feldspar. Statistical analysis of Sm-Eu-Gd concentrations in over 2000 samples from the continental crust reveal that the bulk continental crust has a negative Eu anomaly. Samples include (1) shales, loess, and tillites which represent upper continental crust (n = 415); (2) amphibolite facies rocks, which represent the middle continental crust (n = 1325) and (3) granulite facies rocks (n = 845), which represent the lower continental crust. The upper and middle continental crust have a significant negative Eu anomaly, while the lower continental crust has a significant positive Eu anomaly. The Eu deficit in the upper and middle continental crust, however, cannot be compensated by the Eu excess in the lower continental crust, leaving the bulk continental crust with a negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu* = 0.81 ± 0.04, 95% conf.). Since the building blocks of the continental crust (mantle-derived basalts or tonalitic slab melts) do not possess a negative Eu anomaly, removal of lower continental crust, which is the only crustal reservoir enriched in Eu, is required during crustal evolution. A mass balance model of the continents, based on Sm-Eu-Gd systematics, indicates that at least 2.2–3.0 crustal masses may have been added back to the mantle over Earth history via lower crustal recycling.