Oxidation state of iron in komatiitic melt inclusions indicates hot Archaean mantle

Andrew J. Berry (), Leonid V. Danyushevsky, Hugh St C. O’Neill, Matt Newville and Stephen R. Sutton
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Andrew J. Berry: Imperial College London, South Kensington, SW7 2AZ, UK
Leonid V. Danyushevsky: CODES, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
Hugh St C. O’Neill: Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
Matt Newville: Center for Advanced Radiation Sources,
Stephen R. Sutton: Center for Advanced Radiation Sources,

Nature, 2008, vol. 455, issue 7215, 960-963

Abstract: The Archaean mantle: some like it hot The origin of komatiites, volcanic rocks formed by unusually extensive melting of mantle rocks, mainly during the Archaean, is the subject of much debate. They are thought to have been produced either by anhydrous melting of anomalously hot mantle, or by hydrous melting at temperatures only a little higher than those of today. Berry et al. have now determined the oxidation state of iron in pristine samples of a 2.7 billion-year-old komatiitic magma from Belingwe, Zimbabwe. Their findings are consistent with near-anhydrous melting of a source with an oxidation state similar to that of present-day ocean-floor basalt. The results suggest that the Belingwe melt was a product of high mantle temperatures of about 1,700 °C, rather than melting under hydrous conditions, confirming the existence of anomalously hot mantle in the Archaean.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07377

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