The Oxidation State of Komatiites and the Redox History of the Mantle

Abstract:

Oxygen fugacity (fO₂) is an important intensive variable in magmatic systems. Previous studies argued that, at the level of resolution of ca. 1.0 ΔNNO log units, the mantle has been at a near-constant oxidation state since core formation [1,3]. Here, we revisit this hypothesis using the V partitioning between olivine or chromite and komatiite liquid as oxybarometers [1,2] by obtaining high-precision V abundance data for komatiite lava flows.

 

Whole-rock samples collected across each lava flow were analyzed for V and other transition metal abundances using Standard Addition ICP-MS (SA ICP-MS); liquidus olivines and chromites were analyzed using Laser Ablation ICP-MS. Our external precision for V concentrations is 5% (2SD) for SA-ICP-MS, based on replicate analysis of standard reference materials. The V data, when plotted against wt.% MgO, define regression lines consistent with olivine control for V. Linear regressions through the V vs. MgO data for samples for each flow were used to determine V content of the emplaced lavas using known MgO contents. Calculated partition coefficients for V were used to determine the oxygen fugacity of each komatiite system using experimental calibrations of [1,2] with a precision of 0.10 - 0.05 ΔNNO log units (2SE).

 

The calculated oxygen fugacities show a well-defined trend of increasing fO₂ (>0.5 ΔNNO log units) over ~1.0 Ga of Earth’s history, approaching that of modern mantle at 2.4 Ga, immediately before the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). An exception is the 3.55 Ga Schapenburg komatiite, which plots 0.5 log units above the trend, likely reflecting primordial mantle heterogeneity. Our data suggest that the mantle was becoming increasingly oxidized leading up to the GOE. A change in deep Earth buffering capacity could change the oxidation state of volcanic gases, triggering the rise in atmospheric O₂ at 2.4 Ga.

 

[1] Canil (1997) Nature 389. [2] Canil, 1999; [3] Li et al. (2004) EPSL 228. 

Oxygen fugacity (fO₂) is an important intensive variable in magmatic systems. Previous studies argued that, at the level of resolution of ca. 1.0 ΔNNO log units, the mantle has been at a near-constant oxidation state since core formation [1,3]. Here, we revisit this hypothesis using the V partitioning between olivine or chromite and komatiite liquid as oxybarometers [1,2] by obtaining high-precision V abundance data for komatiite lava flows.

 

Whole-rock samples collected across each lava flow were analyzed for V and other transition metal abundances using Standard Addition ICP-MS (SA ICP-MS); liquidus olivines and chromites were analyzed using Laser Ablation ICP-MS. Our external precision for V concentrations is 5% (2SD) for SA-ICP-MS, based on replicate analysis of standard reference materials. The V data, when plotted against wt.% MgO, define regression lines consistent with olivine control for V. Linear regressions through the V vs. MgO data for samples for each flow were used to determine V content of the emplaced lavas using known MgO contents. Calculated partition coefficients for V were used to determine the oxygen fugacity of each komatiite system using experimental calibrations of [1,2] with a precision of 0.10 - 0.05 ΔNNO log units (2SE).

 

The calculated oxygen fugacities show a well-defined trend of increasing fO₂ (>0.5 ΔNNO log units) over ~1.0 Ga of Earth’s history, approaching that of modern mantle at 2.4 Ga, immediately before the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). An exception is the 3.55 Ga Schapenburg komatiite, which plots 0.5 log units above the trend, likely reflecting primordial mantle heterogeneity. Our data suggest that the mantle was becoming increasingly oxidized leading up to the GOE. A change in deep Earth buffering capacity could change the oxidation state of volcanic gases, triggering the rise in atmospheric O₂ at 2.4 Ga.

 

[1] Canil (1997) Nature 389. [2] Canil, 1999; [3] Li et al. (2004) EPSL 228.