For studies of mass‐dependent fractionation of calcium isotopes in natural materials, the 48Ca/42Ca ratio is a superior choice to the conventionally measured 44Ca/40Ca ratio for two important reasons. These are (1) mass‐dependent fractionation can be determined free from the effects of inherited or ingrown radiogenic 40Ca and (2) this ratio increases the spread of measured isotopic masses by 50%, resulting in statistically better resolution of fractionation, assuming similar precision. A third, though strictly technical, advantage is the inherent ability of a mass spectrometer to measure ratios close to unity (48Ca/42Ca) more precisely than very small or large ratios (44Ca/40Ca). However, because of the very low natural abundance of both 48Ca and 42Ca, their ratio has been very difficult to measure, the only attempt so far being on a high mass resolution MC‐ICP‐MS with a precision of 0.33%. We report here determination of the 48Ca/42Ca ratio by the more commonly available and user‐friendly multi‐collector TIMS using a 43Ca‐46Ca double‐spike, with a significantly better precision of 0.18% (2s). The 48Ca/40Ca or 44Ca/40Ca ratio can also be measured in the same mass spectrometer run to provide complementary information on any radiogenic component.
For almost fifty years, geochemists have been interpreting the clues from Pb isotopic ratios concerning mantle composition and evolution separately. The Pb isotopes of ocean island basalts (OIB) indicate that their mantle source is heterogeneous, most likely due to the presence of end-components derived from recycled crust and sediment. Some OIB have unusually high 206Pb/204Pb coming from one of the end-components with a long time-integrated high 238U/204Pb or μ (HIMU). Most OIB and many mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) also have high 206Pb/204Pb, indicating a HIMU-like source. Moreover, measured 232Th/238U (κ) for most MORB are lower than those deduced from their 208Pb/204Pb and 206Pb/204Pb. Such high μ and low κ features of oceanic basalts are inconsistent with the known geochemical behavior of U, Pb and Th and temporal evolution of the mantle; these have been respectively termed the 1st and 2nd Pb paradox. Here we show that subducted marine carbonates can be a source for HIMU and a solution to the Pb paradoxes. The results are consistent with the predictions of the marine carbonate recycling hypothesis that posits the Pb isotopes of oceanic basalts indicate a common origin and/or magma generation process.
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