Mantle Hg isotopic heterogeneity and evidence of oceanic Hg recycling into the mantle

Runsheng Yin (), Di Chen, Xin Pan, Changzhou Deng, Liemeng Chen (), Xieyan Song, Songyue Yu, Chuanwei Zhu, Xun Wei, Yue Xu, Xinbin Feng, Joel D. Blum and Bernd Lehmann
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Runsheng Yin: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Di Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xin Pan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Changzhou Deng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Liemeng Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xieyan Song: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Songyue Yu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chuanwei Zhu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xun Wei: First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources
Yue Xu: Laboratory for Marine Geology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology
Xinbin Feng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Joel D. Blum: University of Michigan
Bernd Lehmann: Mineral Resources, Technical University of Clausthal

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract The geochemical cycle of mercury in Earth’s surface environment (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere) has been extensively studied; however, the deep geological cycling of this element is less well known. Here we document distinct mass-independent mercury isotope fractionation (expressed as Δ199Hg) in island arc basalts and mid-ocean ridge basalts. Both rock groups show positive Δ199Hg values up to 0.34‰ and 0.22‰, respectively, which deviate from recent estimates of the primitive mantle (Δ199Hg: 0.00 ± 0.10‰, 2 SD)1. The positive Δ199Hg values indicate recycling of marine Hg into the asthenospheric mantle. Such a crustal Hg isotope signature was not observed in our samples of ocean island basalts and continental flood basalts, but has recently been identified in canonical end-member samples of the deep mantle1, therefore demonstrating that recycling of mercury can affect both the upper and lower mantle. Our study reveals large-scale translithospheric Hg recycling via plate tectonics.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28577-1

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