Clues from Ab Initio Calculations on Titanium Isotopic Fractionation in Tholeiitic and Calc-Alkaline Magma Series

Aarons, Sarah M.; Dauphas, Nicolas; Blanchard, Marc; Zeng, Hao; Nie, Nicole Xike; Johnson, Aleisha C.; Greber, Nicolas D.; Hopp, Timo (2021). Clues from Ab Initio Calculations on Titanium Isotopic Fractionation in Tholeiitic and Calc-Alkaline Magma Series. ACS earth and space chemistry, 5(9), pp. 2466-2480. ACS Publications 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.1c00172

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Magmatic differentiation produces positive correlations between δ49Ti and SiO2. The equilibrium Ti isotope fractionation factors of Ti-bearing minerals are essential for understanding the mechanisms driving this isotopic fractionation. We present ab initio-derived mean force constants of Ti-bearing minerals (barium orthotitanate, potassium titanium oxide, fresnoite, diopside, geikielite, karrooite, titanite, pseudobrookite, anatase, and titanium oxide) based on density functional theory (DFT) to calculate equilibrium isotopic fractionation factors. We find that the main driver for Ti isotopic fractionation is its coordination, with four-, five-, and sixfold-coordinated Ti characterized by mean force constants of 547, 462, and 310 N/m, respectively. The coordination number of Ti in silicate melts is thought to be lower than in minerals, driving magmas toward higher δ49Ti values by fractional crystallization. The mineral-melt fractionation factors allow modeling of the observed Ti isotope trends in tholeiitic and calc-alkaline rocks. Our model results indicate that to first order, the steeper δ49Ti trend observed in tholeiitic versus calc-alkaline magmas is most likely due to enhanced removal of Ti into sequestered minerals at low SiO2 concentration in tholeiitic series compared to calc-alkaline series. The δ49Ti–SiO2 differentiation trends, however, depend on Ti coordination in the melt and the strengths of Ti bonds in diverse Fe- and Ti-oxides, which are still uncertain. Our results show that Ti isotopes can be used to reconstruct the crystallization history and identify the magmatic series parentage of magmas that otherwise lack context, but further work is needed to identify the drivers behind Ti isotopic fractionation in igneous rocks.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Institute of Geological Sciences
08 Faculty of Science > Institute of Geological Sciences > Isotope Geology

UniBE Contributor:

Greber, Nicolas

Subjects:

500 Science > 550 Earth sciences & geology

ISSN:

2472-3452

Publisher:

ACS Publications

Language:

English

Submitter:

Nicolas Greber

Date Deposited:

13 Sep 2021 08:10

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:52

Publisher DOI:

10.1021/acsearthspacechem.1c00172

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/158385

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/158385

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