In situ Sr/Sr investigation of igneous apatites and carbonates using laser-ablation MC-ICP-MS

Martin Bizzarro, A. Simonetti, R.K. Stevenson, S. Kurszlaukis

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    Abstract

    In situ Sr isotopic compositions of coexisting apatite and carbonate for carbonatites from the Sarfartoq alkaline complex, Greenland, have been determined by laser-ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. This study is the first to examine the extent of Sr isotopic homogeneity among coexisting igneous minerals containing high Sr (>3000 ppm) and low Rb ( « 1 ppm) contents within a single ~ 50-µm-thin-section mount. This technique is capable of producing measured Sr/Sr values with analytical precision (~ 0.005%, 2s) approaching those obtained by thermal ionization mass spectrometry but in a much shorter interval of time (100 s vs.>1 h, respectively). The combined total analyses (n = 107) of apatite and carbonate yield Sr/Sr compositions ranging from ~ 0.7025 to ~ 0.7031. This relatively large variation in Sr isotopic compositions (~ 0.0006) is ~ 1 order of magnitude larger than the estimated external reproducibility (~ 0.00005,2s) of the method. The large range in Sr/Sr values suggests that apatite and carbonate precipitated predominantly under nonequilibrium conditions. The isotopic variations observed within individual hand specimens may therefore reflect larger (regional) scale open-system processes, possibly involving mixing of carbonatitic melts derived from distinct mantle sources or from a common isotopically heterogeneous mantle.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
    Volume67
    Issue number2
    Pages (from-to)289-302
    Number of pages14
    ISSN0016-7037
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 15 Jan 2003

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