TY - JOUR
T1 - Osmium Isotope Heterogeneity in the Constituent Phases of Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts
AU - Gannoun, Abdelmouhcine
AU - Burton, Kevin W.
AU - Thomas, Louise E.
AU - Parkinson, Ian J.
AU - Van Calsteren, Peter
AU - Schiano, Pierre
PY - 2004/1/2
Y1 - 2004/1/2
N2 - Radiogenic isotope variations in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) are commonly attributed to compositional variations in Earth's upper mantle. For the rhenium-osmium isotope system, constituent MORB phases are shown to possess exceptionally high Re/Os (parent/daughter) ratios, consequently radiogenic 187Os is produced from the decay of 187Re over short periods of time. Thus, in the absence of precise age constraints, Os isotope variations cannot be unambiguously attributed to their source, although Re-Os isotope data for constituent minerals can yield crystallization ages, details of equilibration, and initial Os isotope values that relate directly to the mantle source.
AB - Radiogenic isotope variations in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) are commonly attributed to compositional variations in Earth's upper mantle. For the rhenium-osmium isotope system, constituent MORB phases are shown to possess exceptionally high Re/Os (parent/daughter) ratios, consequently radiogenic 187Os is produced from the decay of 187Re over short periods of time. Thus, in the absence of precise age constraints, Os isotope variations cannot be unambiguously attributed to their source, although Re-Os isotope data for constituent minerals can yield crystallization ages, details of equilibration, and initial Os isotope values that relate directly to the mantle source.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0347358026&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/science.1090266
DO - 10.1126/science.1090266
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
AN - SCOPUS:0347358026
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 303
SP - 70
EP - 72
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 5654
ER -