Bodo Weber

In situ ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr microanalysis in bioapatite using laser ablation (LA‐)MC‐ICP‐MS is an essential tool for provenance studies, as enamel tissue build‐up records the regional Sr isotopic composition of ingested food and water sources. Several factors hamper the acquisition of reliable and precise ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr data: isobaric interferences, elemental and isotopic fractionation of Rb and Sr, and the lack of certified reference materials. Here we thoroughly characterise several teeth from Carcharinus leucas (Bull shark) for the spatial distribution of Sr and Rb mass fraction by LA‐ICP‐Q‐MS, and their ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio by solution MC‐ICP‐MS, MC‐TIMS and LA‐MC‐ICP‐MS, and which were used subsequently as a reference material during laser ablation measurement of Sr isotope ratios in bioapatite. We establish a protocol to estimate the ⁸⁵Rb/⁸⁷Rb mass bias from the analysis of shark teeth that demonstrates that the common assumption of equal Sr and Rb instrument induced fractionation can lead to a systematic bias in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope ratios. Using the shark teeth as an "external" reference material to measure β_Rb yielded ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr compositions in unknown samples that are within approximately ‐42 ppm to +66 ppm of expected values, instead of approximately ‐50 ppm to +190 ppm if assuming β_Rb = β_Sr. Finally, this methodology was tested on fossil gomphotherid (Rhynchotherium sp.) enamel, allowing us to make preliminary inferences about its palaeobiogeography.

Using a multidisciplinary approach to understand the subsurface processes behind the formation of maar‐diatreme volcanoes is of growing interest. While geophysical characterization can visualize the diatreme and the feeding dike system beneath the volcano at a reasonable scale, such data are rare and generally unavailable. Stratigraphic‐controlled sampling and geochemical analysis of pyroclasts within the ejecta ring can, however, provide substantial information on dike evolution and the influence of the magmatic plumbing system on the growth of these volcanoes. Such investigation is presented here for the Barombi Mbo Maar (BMM), a complex maar of the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL) composed of a pile of tephra units linked to multiple explosive phases that were grouped into three eruptive episodes. Major and trace element compositions of lavas collected from the different eruptive units indicate that the erupted magmas at BMM consist mainly of basalt, trachybasalt and basanite, with Oceanic Island Basalts (OIB) and high μ ( μ = ²³⁸ U/ ²⁰⁴ Pb) (HIMU) signatures. Compositional modelling suggests that partial melting occurred at different degrees in the garnet‐to‐spinel transition zone from one episode to another. The repetition of eruptions with big gaps between them, the presence of another large adjacent old maar crater next to the 2.5 km crater of the BMM, and the overall similarity in geochemical compositions from one eruption to another suggest a deep high‐productive zone in the mantle beneath the BMM. The latter productive zone was capable of generating magma batches episodically to fuel several individual monogenetic eruptions at the same location.

The Cenozoic Sierra de San Carlos-Cruillas (SSCC) magmatic complex belongs to the Eastern Mexican Alkaline Province (EMAP). The SSCC mainly consists of plutonic and subvolcanic bodies displaying diverse lithological compositions. These rocks exhibit both OIB- and arc-like geochemical characteristics. In this contribution, we present new petrographic, geochemical, isotopic, and geochronological data of the Rincón Murillo Gabbro (RMG), situated in the southern part of the SSCC. The RMG is nepheline normative and displays an OIB-like intraplate character. Laser ablation ICP-MS U-Pb analyses on titanites yielded Oligocene (Rupelian) crystallization ages of 31.8 ± 1.8 and 31.0 ± 1.7 Ma. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_(i) (0.703400–0.704159) and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd_(i) (0.512732–0.512815) ratios indicate a mantle origin. Trace element data indicate the participation of different enriched mantle components in the source. One component is related to previous subduction processes, generating the HFSE-depleted arc-like magmas of San José Gabbro in the northern part of SSCC. The second component is related to deep mantle melts with a slightly carbonatitic signal and HFSE-enriched fluids derived from the subducted Hess conjugate plateau generating different enriched sources in the upper mantle under the SSCC. The passage, eclogitization, detachment and foundering of the Hess plateau gave rise to an asthenospheric upwelling that triggered the low to moderate partial melting degrees (3–15%) of an amphibole-bearing garnet peridotite, generating the OIB-like parental magmas of RMG, located in the southern part of SSCC. Two-component mixing, and AFC models indicate that variable degrees of crystal fractionation and minor crustal assimilation are involved in the evolution of Rincón Murillo Gabbro. Graphical abstract

Cretaceous plutons of the Peninsular Ranges batholith (PRB) intruded two different host rock sequences in the central part of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. The western sequence is the volcanic-volcaniclastic Alisitos oceanic arc, and the eastern lithologies are mainly metasedimentary pre-Mesozoic units. We analyze the ~116 Ma San Jerónimo (SJe) pluton in the PRB western zone and the Compostela (COM) and San Pedro (SP) plutons (~97 Ma and ~104 Ma, respectively) in the PRB eastern zone. The SJe pluton varies from pyroxene-hornblende gabbro to hornblende-biotite tonalite. Their rocks are subalkaline, calcic/calc-alkaline, and metaluminous, which are akin to island arc granite settings; and yield εNd_t values of +5.6 and +6.8, indicating a depleted mantle source without discernible crustal assimilation. The SJe pluton shows subparallel REE patterns (La_N/Yb_N = 0.5–4.4), with progressive enrichments in REE abundances in the tonalites, suggesting differentiation by fractional crystallization of a single magmatic system. Also, show low Sr/Y values (<20) and La/Yb (45 km). Permeation features and parallelism between the metamorphic foliations of the prebatholithic rocks and the magmatic foliation of the plutons indicate a post-deformational emplacement of the mid-Late Cretaceous plutons of the southern PRB. Our data restricts the deformation event before ca. 100–105 Ma.

The Tierra Blanca (TB) eruptive suite comprises the last four major eruptions of Ilopango caldera in El Salvador (≤45 ka), including the youngest Tierra Blanca Joven eruption (TBJ; ∼106 km³): the most voluminous event during the Holocene in Central America. Despite the protracted and productive history of explosive silicic eruptions at Ilopango caldera, many aspects regarding the longevity and the prevailing physicochemical conditions of the underlying magmatic system remain unknown. Zircon ²³⁸U‐²³⁰Th geochronology of the TB suite (TBJ, TB2, TB3, and TB4) reveals a continuous and overlapping crystallization history among individual eruptions, suggesting persistent melt presence in thermally and compositionally distinct magma reservoirs over the last ca. 80 kyr. The longevity of zircon is in contrast to previously determined crystallization timescales of 18O values in zircon (+4.5 ± 0.3‰).