Distinct chalcophile-element inheritance from subducted continental crust in metasomatized mantle
8 affiliations
- 1State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
- 2Institut für Geologie und Mineralogie, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Str. 49b, 50674 Köln, Germany.
- 3State Key Laboratory of Deep Geothermal Resources, School of Sustainable Energy, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
- 4Hubei Key Laboratory of Petroleum Geochemistry and Environment, YU-CUGW Joint Research Center on Deep Earth and Surface Dynamic Coupling, College of Resources and Environment, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China.
- 5School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK.
- 6Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia.
- 7State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
- 8State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
Abstract
Subduction recycles surface materials into the mantle and shapes its chemical evolution. Whether continental subduction leaves chalcophile-element imprints in the mantle that differ from those of oceanic subduction remains poorly understood. Here, we show that primitive basaltic magmas from the North China Craton exhibit pronounced copper depletion, silver enrichment, and low copper/silver (200 to 1200), together with continental crust-like trace element patterns and radiogenic-isotope compositions. These features contrast sharply with those of the convective mantle, mid-ocean ridge basalts, and oceanic arc basalts, and reflect chemical signatures inherited from subducted continental crust and retained over geological timescales in metasomatized domains of a relatively cold lithospheric mantle. Coupled lead enrichment and unradiogenic lead-isotope signatures further identify metasomatized mantle as an important reservoir of Earth's unradiogenic lead. Our results reveal distinct modes of chalcophile-element recycling and mantle inheritance during continental and oceanic subduction, with broad implications for mantle chemical evolution and the critical-metal fertility of continental lithosphere.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026distinct,
title = {{Distinct chalcophile-element inheritance from subducted continental crust in metasomatized mantle}},
author = {Zaicong Wang and Xiang Wang and Haijin Xu and Junbo Zhang and Frances Elaine Jenner and Stephen Foley and Liang Ma and Kang Chen and Jiyao Sun and Keqing Zong and Yongsheng Liu and Jianwei Li and Junfeng Zhang and Zhaochu Hu},
journal = {Science Advances},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aeh0254},
url = {https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeh0254},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Distinct chalcophile-element inheritance from subducted continental crust in metasomatized mantle
AU - Zaicong Wang
AU - Xiang Wang
AU - Haijin Xu
AU - Junbo Zhang
AU - Frances Elaine Jenner
AU - Stephen Foley
AU - Liang Ma
AU - Kang Chen
AU - Jiyao Sun
AU - Keqing Zong
AU - Yongsheng Liu
AU - Jianwei Li
AU - Junfeng Zhang
AU - Zhaochu Hu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Science Advances
DO - 10.1126/sciadv.aeh0254
UR - https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeh0254
AB - Subduction recycles surface materials into the mantle and shapes its chemical evolution. Whether continental subduction leaves chalcophile-element imprints in the mantle that differ from those of oceanic subduction remains poorly understood. Here, we show that primitive basaltic magmas from the North China Craton exhibit pronounced copper depletion, silver enrichment, and low copper/silver (200 to 1200), together with continental crust-like trace element patterns and radiogenic-isotope compositions. These features contrast sharply with those of the convective mantle, mid-ocean ridge basalts, and oceanic arc basalts, and reflect chemical signatures inherited from subducted continental crust and retained over geological timescales in metasomatized domains of a relatively cold lithospheric mantle. Coupled lead enrichment and unradiogenic lead-isotope signatures further identify metasomatized mantle as an important reservoir of Earth's unradiogenic lead. Our results reveal distinct modes of chalcophile-element recycling and mantle inheritance during continental and oceanic subduction, with broad implications for mantle chemical evolution and the critical-metal fertility of continental lithosphere.
SN - 2375-2548
ER -