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In order to further evaluate the timing and possible mechanisms responsible for the transition from both positive and negative to no 142Nd and 182W anomalies in the Archean mantle, we obtained 142,143Nd, 176Hf, 186,187Os, 182W isotope and lithophile trace and highly siderophile element (HSE: Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Pd, and Re) abundance data for mantle plume-derived ~2.0 Ga picrites and an associated differentiated mafic–ultramafic sill from the Onega Basin on the Fennoscandian Shield. The Onega Basin picrites share striking chemical similarities with the modern Kilauea picrites, featuring enrichments in light rare earth elements (LREE; La/SmN = 1.5 ± 0.2), depletions in heavy rare earth elements (HREE; Gd/YbN = 2.2 ± 0.1), positive high field strength element (HFSE) anomalies (Hf/Hf* = 1.2 ± 0.1, Nb/Nb* = 1.6 ± 0.1), and modern bulk silicate Earth (BSE)-like average W/Th = 0.20 ± 0.08 (2SD). Model calculations indicate that the parental picritic magmas were likely derived from 3 % equilibrium batch melting of a LREE-depleted garnet lherzolite PREMA-type mantle source containing a component of recycled oceanic crust. The 147Sm-143Nd, 176Lu-176Hf, and 187Re-187Os mineral-whole-rock isochron ages constrain precisely the timing of the Onega Basin lava emplacement at ~1974 Ma. The corresponding initial ε143Nd = +3.0 ± 0.5 and ε176Hf = +2.8 ± 1.2 values indicate evolution of the Onega mantle source with time-integrated suprachondritic Sm/Nd and Lu/Hf ratios. The lower ε176Hf relative to ε143Nd further implies decoupling of the two lithophile element isotope systems in the source. The initial μ186Os and γ187Os values are suprachondritic at +4.9 ± 2.1 and +2.9 ± 0.4, respectively, indicating evolution of the Onega mantle plume source with time-integrated slightly suprachondritic Pt/Os and Re/Os ratios. The μ142Nd = –1.1 ± 3.3 (2SD) and μ182W = 0.0 ± 4.8 (2SD) obtained for the Onega picritic magmas are unresolvable from the modern BSE values, implying that their mantle source had 142Nd and 182W compositions similar to those of the BSE. When considered together, the trace element systematics, suprachondritic Pt/Os and Re/Os ratios, and Hf-Nd isotopic decoupling are best explained in terms of incorporation into the Onega mantle plume source of 10–20 % recycled komatiite-basalt crust aged in the mantle for 1 to 2 Ga. These results provide new evidence that 142Nd and 182W anomalies that were common in the Archean mantle were effectively homogenized by 2.0 Ga ago on the scale of the mantle domains sampled by the Onega Basin magmas. This may have occurred due to the enhanced convective whole-mantle mass and heat transfer facilitated by processes of oceanic crust recycling that may have operated since at least the early Archean.more » « less
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Constraining the origin of Earth’s building blocks requires knowledge of the chemical and isotopic characteristics of the source region(s) where these materials accreted. The siderophile elements Mo and Ru are well suited to investigating the mass-independent nucleosynthetic (i.e., “genetic”) signatures of material that contributed to the latter stages of Earth’s formation. Studies contrasting the Mo and Ru isotopic compositions of the bulk silicate Earth (BSE) to genetic signatures of meteorites, however, have reported conflicting estimates of the proportions of the non-carbonaceous type or NC (presumptive inner Solar System origin) and carbonaceous chondrite type or CC (presumptive outer Solar System origin) materials delivered to Earth during late-stage accretion (likely including the Moon-forming event and onwards). The present study reports new mass-independent isotopic data for Mo, which are presumed to reflect the composition of the BSE. A comparison of the new estimate for the BSE composition with new data for a select suite of NC iron meteorites is used to constrain the genetic characteristics of materials accreted to Earth during late-stage accretion. Results indicate that the final 10 to 20 wt% of Earth’s accretion was dominated by NC materials that were likely sourced from the inner Solar System, although the addition of minor proportions of CC materials, as has been suggested to occur during accretion of the final 0.5 to 1 wt% of Earth’s mass, remains possible. If this interpretation is correct, it brings estimates of the genetic signatures of Mo and Ru during the final 10 to 20 wt% of Earth accretion into concordance.more » « less
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