Applications of Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be to Problems in the Earth Sciences

U-Th Isotopes in Arc Magmas: Implications for Element Transfer from the Subducted Crust

“…A robust feature of young sediments is that they contain '@Be produced by spallation of oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere (54). Beryllium-10 is radioactive, with a half-life of 1.5 million years, and so the presence of '@Be in island arc rocks is taken as compelling evidence for a contribution from subducted sediment (4,55).…”

Investigation of the Dashigil mud volcano (Azerbaijan) using beryllium-10

“…However, it has been estimated that generally less than 5% of the downgoing sediment is incorporated into arc lavas [1]. If we take the concentrations of 10 Be in the river sediments as the value of 10 Be in pelagic sediments under a subduction zone, then from the measured 10 Be in Dashgil mud volcano, one can estimate the time involved.…”

“…The applications of 10 Be include age determination of marine terraces, fault surfaces, marine sediments and authigenic minerals, in situ dating of glacial and erosional surfaces, soil erosion rates and subduction processes [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Recycling of cosmogenic nuclides in hydrothermal deposits and sediments in areas associated with subduction zones have been successfully investigated in the past [7,8].…”

“…The concentrations of 10 Be in recent pelagic sediments outboard of the trench at subduction zones ($10 9 atoms/g) are relatively high compared to 10 Be concentrations in midocean ridge basalts (MORB) and oceanic island basalts (OIB) which are $10 5 atoms/g (summarized in [1]). This difference in concentrations was utilized to identify and quantify the amount of pelagic sediments and their 0168-583X/$ -see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.…”

The relation between ore‐deposit formation and subduction: Mass balance considerations

“…It is now accepted that sediment is introduced into the mantle during subduction (Kay 1980(Kay , 1985Karig & Kay 1981;Hole et al 1984;Kay & Kay 1988;McLennan 1988;Ben Othman et al 1989;White 1989;Woodhead 1989;Hawkesworth et al 1991Hawkesworth et al , 1993McHargue & Damon 1991;Morris 1991;von Huene & Scholl 1991;Lin 1992;Plank & Ludden 1992;Bailey 1993;Bebout et al, 1993;Gill et al 1993;Plank & Langmuir 1993;Woodhead et al 1993;Leeman et al 1994;Stanton 1994;Taylor & McLennan 1995;Vroon et al 1995;Rea & Ruff 1996). In some cases, however, only negligible amounts of sediment are subducted (Kersting 1995;Kersting & Arculus 1995).…”