Osmium Recycling in Subduction Zones
Peridotite xenoliths from the Cascade arc in the United States and in the Japan arc have neodymium and osmium isotopic compositions that are consistent with addition of 5 to 15 percent of subducted material to the present-day depleted mantle. These observations suggest that osmium can be partitioned into oxidized and chlorine-rich slab-derived fluids or melts. These results place new constraints on the behavior of osmium (and possibly other platinum group elements) during subduction of oceanic crust by showing that osmium can be transported into the mantle wedge.
Brandon
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A. D. Brandon, S. B. Shirey, R. W. Carlson, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington, DC, USA, 20015. R. A. Creaser, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, 126 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E3.
Creaser
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Shirey
SB
Carlson
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