MECHANISMS OF MAGMA GENERATION BENEATH HAWAII AND MIDOCEAN RIDGES - URANIUM/THORIUM AND SAMARIUM/NEODYMIUM ISOTOPIC EVIDENCE

Measurements of uranium/thorium and samarium/neodymium isotopes and concentrations in a suite of Hawaiian basalts show that uranium/thorium fractionation varies systematically with samarium/neodymium fractionation and major-element composition; these correlations can be understood in terms of simple batch melting models with a garnet-bearing peridotite magma source and melt fractions of 0.25 to 6.5 percent, Midocean ridge basalts shows a systematic but much different relation between uranium/thorium fractionation and samarium/neodymium fractionation, which, although broadly consistent with melting of a garnet-bearing peridotite source, requires a more complex melting model.