Hadean silicate differentiation preserved by anomalous 142Nd/144Nd ratios in the Réunion hotspot source

Hadean silicate differentiation preserved by anomalous ¹⁴²Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios in the Réunion hotspot source

Hadean silicate differentiation preserved by anomalous ¹⁴²Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios in the Réunion hotspot source, Published online: 28 February 2018; doi:10.1038/nature25754

Certain volcanic hotspots are thought to sample sections of Earth's deep interior that were formed more than two billion years ago, with some having witnessed differentiation events—the separation of planetary materials into chemically distinct regions, such as the core and mantle—that occurred within the first 50 million years of Earth's history. Bradley Peters and colleagues report neodymium isotopic data from Réunion Island volcanic rocks. The data correlate with helium isotopic data, suggesting parallel behaviour of the isotopic systems during silicate differentiation, perhaps as early as 4.39 billion years ago. They conclude that Réunion magmas tap an unusually ancient, primitive source compared to other volcanic hotspots, which could offer a window into the formation and preservation of ancient heterogeneities in Earth's interior.

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