Analysis of 60 elements in 616 ocean floor basaltic glasses

Abstract

The abundances of 60 elements in 616 Ocean Floor Basaltic (OFB) glasses from the Abyssal Volcanic Glass Data File (AVGDF) of the Smithsonian Institution have been determined by laser-ablation (LA)-ICP-MS and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA). The elements analyzed include all 28 of the refractory lithophile elements, which provide the framework for establishing the geochemical behavior and source abundances of volatile, chalcophile and siderophile elements. In addition to the traditionally analyzed elements (rare earth elements (REE), high field strength elements (HFSE), large ion lithophile elements (LILE) and first row transition elements (FRTE)), we report analyses for lesser-analyzed elements (Li, Be, Ga, Ge, As, Se, Mo, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, W, Tl and Bi). The precision of the method for most elements is between 2 and 4%, one standard deviation, although ratios of elements determined simultaneously are more precise (e.g., REE, Zr/Hf). Subsets of 329 glasses were analyzed by electron microprobe for S and 154 glasses for Cl. The results define a representative trace element geochemistry of OFB, against which local variations resulting from differences in basalt petrogenesis in a range of tectonic settings or different styles of magmatic differentiation may be compared.