The evolution of He Isotopes in the convecting mantle and the preservation of high 3He/4He ratios

摘要

A key requirement for any model of mantle evolution is accounting for the high 3He/4He ratios of many ocean island basalts compared to those of mid-ocean ridge basalts. The early, popular paradigm of primitive, undegassed mantle stored in a convectively isolated lower mantle is incompatible with geophysical constraints that imply whole mantle convection. Thus it has been suggested more recently that domains with high 3He/U ratios have been created continuously from the bulk mantle throughout Earth history. Such models require that the 3He/4He ratio of the convecting mantle was at least as high as the highest values seen in OIB at the time the OIB source was generated. These domains must also be created with sufficient He to impart distinctive He isotopic signatures to ocean island basalts. However, the He isotope evolution of the mantle has not been consistently quantified to determine if such scenarios are plausible.