Abstract :
Based on U-series disequilibrium arguments there is good evidence for the presence of U-rich accessory minerals in the outer mantle. The very large excesses of 226Ra and 231Pa activity relative to 230Th, 238U, and 235U in most mid-ocean ridge basalts and some non-divergent plate-margin basalts are inconsistent with prevailing incompatibility models of U-series fractionation. Application of a fundamental principle of equilibrium balance reveals that in these instances more than half of the original U and Th remains behind in the residual outer mantle when basaltic magmas separate. One is forced to conclude that, in the outer mantle, U and Th do not occur primarily in major silicate minerals, where they would indeed be incompatible. Rather, they must be occurring as high concentration components in refractory accessory minerals. The precipitous concentration gradients bounding such minerals would allow for the operation of physical processes, such as alpha recoil and daughter diffusion, to produce paired disequilibrated phases. Daughter deficiencies would develop in the high concentration minerals, and daughter excesses in the surrounding low concentration major silicates. This would constitute a steady-state condition existing in the mantle before the onset of melting. Subsequent preferential melting of the matrix silicates would readily result in the disequilibria observed in basalts.
