wAbstract
@In situ Li analyses of 4348 to 3362 Ma detrital zircons from
the Jack Hills, western Australia by SIMS reveal that the Li abundances
(typically 10 to 60 ppm) are commonly over 10,000 times higher
than in zircons crystallized from mantle-derived magmas and in
mantle-derived zircon megacrysts (typically <2 ppb). High Li
concentrations in zircons (10 to 250 ppm) have also been found
in igneous zircons from three continental parent rocks: granites,
Li-rich pegmatites, and migmatites in pelitic metasediment. The
substitution of trivalent cations (REEs and Y) in zircon correlates
with Li+1 and P+5, suggesting that an interstitial
site for Li, as well as the xenotime substitution for P, provides
charge balance for REEs. Li is thus fixed in the zircon structure
by coupled substitutions, and diffusive changes in [Li] composition
are rate-limited by slow diffusion of REEs. The Jack Hills zircons
also have fractionated lithium isotope ratios (Β7Li=-19
to +13ρ) about five times more variable than those recorded in
primitive ocean floor basalts (2 to 8ρ), but similar to continental
crust and its weathering products. Values of Β 7Li
below -10ρ are found in zircons that formed as early as 4300 Ma.
The high Li compositions indicate that primitive magmas were not
the source of Jack Hills zircons and the fractionated values of
Β7Li suggest that highly weathered regolith was sampled
by these early Archean magmas. These new Li data provide evidence
that the parent magmas of ancient zircons from Jack Hills incorporated
materials from the surface of the Earth that interacted at low
temperature with liquid water. These data support the hypothesis
that continental-type crust and oceans existed by 4300 Ma, within
250 million years of the formation of Earth and the values of
Β7Li suggest that weathering was extensive in the early
Archean.
Keywords: zircon; Jack Hills; lithium; weathering; continental
crust; Hadeanx
1. Introduction
2. Samples
3. Analytical methods
@3.1. Standards for Li analysis by ion microprobe
@3.2. Li isotopic ratio and Li abundance
@3.3. Li ion imaging
4. Results
5. Discussion
@5.1. Li substitution in zircon
@5.2. Evaluation of variable Li compositions in the Jack Hills
zircon suite
@5.3. Low Β7Li: evidence for weathering of the early
Archean crust
6. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Appendix A. Supplementary data
References