Zhou Mei-Fu

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Zhou
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Mei-Fu
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  • Preprint
    Magnesium isotopic composition of the oceanic mantle and oceanic Mg cycling
    ( 2017-02) Liu, Ping-Ping ; Teng, Fang-Zhen ; Dick, Henry J. B. ; Zhou, Mei-Fu ; Chung, Sun-Lin
    To constrain the Mg isotopic composition of the oceanic mantle, investigate Mg isotope fractionation of abyssal peridotites during seafloor alteration, and assess Mg budget in the oceans, a suite of 32 abyssal peridotite samples from the Gakkel Ridge and Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) was, for the first time, selected for high-precision Mg isotope analyses. Although most of these samples are extensively altered, largely by serpentinization and weathering, primary olivine, diopside and enstatite grains are preserved in some samples. Olivine grains from the least altered samples have δ26Mg varying from −0.30 to −0.12‰ (n = 7), whereas enstatite and diopside have δ26Mg varying from −0.27 to −0.16‰ (n = 7), and from −0.23 to −0.09‰ (n = 6), respectively. Whole-rock δ26Mg values range from −0.24 to 0.03‰ with an average of −0.12 ± 0.13‰ (2SD, n = 32). Strongly serpentinized peridotites have lower average δ26Mg values (δ26Mg = −0.19 ± 0.07‰, 2SD, n = 7) than weathering-dominated ones (δ26Mg = −0.10 ± 0.12‰, 2SD, n = 25). Calculated Mg isotopic compositions of fresh mantle peridotites vary from −0.29 to −0.13‰, beyond the previously reported range of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (−0.25 ± 0.04‰) and the analytical uncertainty (±0.07‰, 2SD). Our study therefore indicates that the oceanic mantle may have similar but slightly heterogeneous Mg isotopic compositions to that of subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Secondary serpentinization does not fractionate Mg isotopes of abyssal peridotites, whereas low-T weathering and formation of clay can result in the enrichment of heavy Mg isotopes in abyssal peridotites. This study also demonstrates that fluid-rock interaction does not necessarily produce rocks with intermediate Mg isotopic compositions. Magnesium isotopes of the rocks thereafter are dependent on the secondary minerals formed. We also conclude that the release of light Mg isotopes into the ocean during alteration of abyssal peridotites can be an important influx of Mg for the seawater Mg budget. Abyssal peridotites with a heavy Mg isotopic signature can be recycled into the mantle in subduction zones and may thus result in heterogeneous Mg isotopic compositions of the oceanic mantle and heavy Mg isotopic compositions of arc magmas.
  • Article
    Trans-lithospheric ascent processes of the deep-rooted magma plumbing system underneath the ultraslow-spreading SW Indian Ridge
    (American Geophysical Union, 2024-01-23) Ma, Ben ; Liu, Ping‐Ping ; Dick, Henry J. B. ; Zhou, Mei-Fu ; Chen, Qiong ; Liu, Chuan-Zhou
    Processes of magma generation and transportation in global mid-ocean ridges are key to understanding lithospheric architecture at divergent plate boundaries. These magma dynamics are dependent on spreading rate and melt flux, where the SW Indian Ridge represents an end-member. The vertical extent of ridge magmatic systems and the depth of axial magma chambers (AMCs) are greatly debated, in particular at ultraslow-spreading ridges. Here we present detailed mineralogical studies of high-Mg and low-Mg basalts from a single dredge on Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) at 45°E. High-Mg basalts (MgO = ∼7.1 wt.%) contain high Mg# olivine (Ol, Fo = 85–89) and high-An plagioclase (Pl, An = 66–83) as phenocrysts, whereas low-Mg basalts contain low-Mg# Ol and low-An Pl (Fo = 75–78, An = 50–62) as phenocrysts or glomerocrysts. One low-Mg basalt also contains normally zoned Ol and Pl, the core and rim of which are compositionally similar to those in high-Mg and low-Mg basalts, respectively. Mineral barometers and MELTS simulation indicate that the high-Mg melts started to crystallize at ∼32 ± 7.8 km, close to the base of the lithosphere. The low-Mg melts may have evolved from the high-Mg melts in an AMC at a depth of ∼13 ± 7.8 km. Such great depths of magma crystallization and the AMC are likely the result of enhanced conductive cooling at ultraslow-spreading ridges. Combined with diffusion chronometers, the basaltic melts could have ascended from the AMC to seafloor within 2 weeks to 3 months at average rates of ∼0.002–0.01 m/s, which are the slowest reported to date among global ridge systems and may characterize mantle melt transport at the slow end of the ridge spreading spectrum.