| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6431107 | Earth and Planetary Science Letters | 2007 | 13 Pages |
Lithium concentrations and Li isotope compositions are reported for natrocarbonatites and silicate lavas from Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania. Natrocarbonatites are characterized by very high Li contents (211–294 ppm) and a narrow range of δ7Li values between + 3.3 and + 5.1. These Li isotope compositions overlap with those reported for MORB and OIB and suggest that the natrocarbonatites reflect the Li isotopic composition of their mantle source. Co-genetic silicate lavas, covering a wide compositional spectrum, show no obvious isotopic fractionation as a function of igneous differentiation or liquid immiscibility. Primitive olivine melilitites (Mg# = 58–70), considered to be parental magmas, contain 14–23 ppm Li and have δ7Li values of + 2.4 to + 4.4. A highly differentiated, peralkaline nephelinite (Mg# = 12), likely to be related to the natrocarbonatites by liquid immiscibility, has about twice as much Li as the melilitite (57 ppm), but a similar isotopic composition (δ7Li = + 3). In contrast, a phonolite with 15 ppm Li has a lighter Li isotope composition (δ7Li = − 0.4), which may reflect assimilation of isotopically light lower crustal mafic granulites, a conclusion supported by radiogenic isotope data. Clinopyroxene and olivine separates from the silicate lavas have uniformly lower Li concentrations (3–15 ppm) and lower δ7Li values (δ7Li = − 2.9 to − 0.5) than the respective whole-rocks, with Δ7Liwhole-rock-mineral between 1.4 and 6.3. This difference between whole-rock and mineral data is interpreted to reflect diffusion-driven isotopic fractionation.
