Hafnium peridotites

The distribution of lithophile trace elements (REE + mbidium, caesium, strontium, barium, yttrium, zirconium, hafnium, niobium, tantalum, thorium, and uranium) normalized to primitive mantle (PM) values are illustrated in Figure 16 for a range of peridotite lithologies from the Ronda orogenic Iherzolite massif, and in Figure 17 for ophiolitic and abyssal refractory peridotites. 

There are few pubhshed Lu-Hf isotope studies of mantle xenohths because of difficulties in efficient ionization of hafnium by thermal ionization mass spectrometers. Multicollector plasma mass spectrometers are a solution to this problem and data are emerging that promise to be a more revealing tool in mantle environments than neodymium isotopes. The variety of Lu/Hf fractionation displayed by mantle minerals (Figure 42) indicates that, as with other isotope systems, isotopic variation should be considerable and initial results are confirming this. Salters and Zindler (1995) found very radiogenic Hf/ Hf at relatively unradiogenic neodymium isotope compositions in spinel peridotites from Salt Lake Crater, Hawaii. Radiogenic Hf/ Hf also characterizes low-T circum-cratonic... 

---