Zaicong Wang

China University of Geosciences · Department of Geochemistry

Fractionation of sulfides during ascent of mantle-derived magmas distributes sulfur and chalcophile elements into the Earth’s lithosphere. It has been suggested that continental intraplate alkaline magmas undergo early sulfide saturation. However, there is a lack of evidence linking erupted magmas to their cumulative counterparts. We examined the p...

Iron‐titanium oxides such as ilmenite (FeTiO 3 ), titanite (CaTiSiO 5 ) and perovskite (CaTiO 3 ) are the common Ti‐rich mineral phases crystallised during magmatic and metamorphic processes on Earth. Depending on magma types or conditions of phase equilibria, formation of these Ti‐rich minerals can result in Ti isotopic fractionation in the range...

The lunar basalt samples returned by the Chang’e-5 mission erupted about 2.0 billion years ago during the late period of the Moon’s secular cooling. The conditions of mantle melting in the source region and the migration of magma through the thick lithosphere that led to this relatively late lunar volcanism remain open questions. Here we combine qu...

Ca isotope geochemistry has great potential for improving our understanding of magmatic systems and for tracing the deep Earth carbon cycle. There are still many open questions, however, regarding the proper application of this relatively novel proxy to the study of mantle-derived magmas, including (i) the possible effects of pressure on mineral-me...

Young lunar mare basalts are recent volcanic products distributed mainly in the Procellarum-KREEP-Terrane. However, these young basalts were never investigated in situ until 2013 by Chang’e-3, and then sampled by Chang’e-5 in 2020. Using the returned Chang’e-5 samples as ground truth, and examining Moon Mineralogy Mapper data globally, we found the...

Magmatic sulphides largely control the behaviour of chalcophile elements in evolving magmas and also play critical roles in ore-forming processes at convergent plate margins. Magmas at the back-arc spreading centre of Mariana Trough are less affected by slab-derived fluids than Mariana arc basalts. However, whether the evolution of chalcophile elem...

Silver (Ag) is a trace metal element in geological rocks and accurate determination of its abundance is very challenging given significant oxide and hydroxide interferences from Zr, Nb, Mo, and...

Stable zirconium (Zr) isotope of magmatic zircons is a promising new tracer to understand magma differentiation in the continental crust. However, magmatic processes controlling zircon Zr isotopic variations remain poorly constrained. Here we present high-spatial-resolution in-situ methods on magmatic zircons for U-Pb age, trace elements, Hf isotop...

Zirconium, as a high field strength element, has been widely used to trace the differentiation of terrestrial planets. It is also a major constituent in zircon, an important accessory mineral providing constraints on the history of the Earth. Recently, stable Zr isotopes have shown potential in tracing magma differentiation. To fuel the application...

The lack of analytical techniques for halogens in geological materials is mainly due to the loss of analytes in sample preparation. This study describes a rapid bulk rock digestion method (NH4F digestion) for determination of the abundances of Cl, Br and I in geological materials by SF‐ICP‐MS. During high temperature (200–240 °C) digestion, NH3 rel...

Plagioclase crystallization is a common process for evolving mafic magmas. Theoretical calculation predicts limited Ca isotopic fractionation of plagioclase from parental magmas (Δ44/40Ca < 0.1 ‰), while natural samples display variable Ca isotopic variation between plagioclase and co-existing matrix (from +0.1 to −1.4‰), pointing to the complexity...

Mantle-derived magmas widely underplated the lower crust of eastern North China Craton (NCC) during the large-scale extension in the Mesozoic. The giant Jiaodong gold deposits formed at 120 ± 5 Ma, slightly later than the extensive magma underplating. It remains poorly constrained whether the magma underplating had pre-enriched the crust in signifi...

Continental, orogenic, and oceanic lithospheric mantle embeds sizeable parcels of exotic cratonic lithospheric mantle (CLM) derived from distant, unrelated sources. This hints that CLM recycling into the mantle and its eventual upwelling and relamination at the base of younger plates contribute to the complex structure of the growing lithosphere. H...

Tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) rocks consitute the dominant felsic lithology of the Archean crust in most cratons, but their petrogenesis and geodynamic setting are still matters of great debate. Here, we report new Fe isotopic analyses for ca. 2.5 Ga diorites and TTGs with compositions typically interpreted to reflect a high-pressure aff...

The successful return of lunar soil samples from the northern Oceanus Procellarum by the Chang’E 5 (CE-5) mission has provided unprecedented ground-truth information for the previously unexplored region of the Moon. In particular, the particle size and mineral constituents of the CE-5 soil samples are of critical importance to interpret remote sens...

Lunar soil is a fine mixture of local rocks and exotic components. The bulk-rock chemical composition of the newly returned Chang’E-5 (CE-5) lunar soil was studied to understand its chemical homogeneity, exotic additions, and origin of landing site basalts. Concentrations of 48 major and trace elements, including many low-concentration volatile and...

Lunar mare basalts provide a probe to study the magmatic and thermal evolution of the Moon. The Chang'e-5 (CE-5) mission returned samples from a young and hitherto unsampled mare terrain, providing fresh opportunities to understand lunar volcanic history. A detailed petrologic survey was conducted in this study on basalt fragments and glasses from...

Stable Zr isotopes have shown great potential in tracing magma differentiation. However, it remains unclear if different magmatic systems have similar Zr isotopic evolution patterns. Here we report high-precision Zr isotopic compositions of the well-defined Shidao alkaline complex (SAC), eastern China, which show small but important differences fro...

This work evaluates the use of femtosecond laser ablation multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (fs-LA-MC-ICP-MS) for Zr isotopic analysis in zircons. The mass fractionation caused by instrumental mass discrimination was corrected by a combination of internal correction using Sr as an internal standard (coming from a NIST...

Ocean island basalts (OIBs) with Zn isotopic ratios higher than the normal mantle (δ⁶⁶Zn = 0.17 ± 0.08‰) or mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs; δ⁶⁶Zn = 0.27 ± 0.06‰) generally also have an enriched Sr-Nd isotopic signature, suggesting carbonate-bearing eclogites, whose protolith is inferred to be subducting altered oceanic crust, in their mantle source...

Isotope Geochronology and Isotope Geochemistry are important branches of geochemistry. They are based on variations in radiogenic or stable isotope ratios of elements and provide key chemical fingerprints to understand dynamic evolution of Earth and other planetary bodies from the past to the present, and from its interior to exterior systems. Bene...

Alkaline basalts occur widely in intraplate settings and carbonate-bearing mantle sources such as carbonated peridotites are increasingly regarded to play a key role in their formation. Carbonated eclogites, most likely the products of subducted carbonate-bearing altered oceanic crust, are probable ingredients in the mantle sources of many intrapla...

Abundant gold deposits are distributed in the Jiao-Liao-Ji Belt of the North China Craton. Gold deposits, characterized by quartz lode or disseminated styles of mineralization with extensive alteration of wall rock, of the Jiaodong Peninsula and Liaodong Peninsula are underlain by rocks of similar geological settings characterized by uplifted block...

Halogen in geological materials is the key tracer for the fluid/volatile related geological processes. Due to low concentration of halogens and high volatility, it is a challenge for the analysis of halogens in geological materials. Many studies on sample preparation for the analysis of halogens in geological materials have been reported in the las...

Addition of subducted materials from the slab to the mantle wedge is often thought to elevate the oxygen fugacity of arc magmas and also to fertilize the mantle wedge in metals for subduction-related Cu-Au deposits. However, it remains controversial if slab-driven metal addition is effective and whether it occurs at all stages of subduction. The Iz...

We present a detailed characterization of Tanz zircon megacrysts for the microbeam determination of U-Pb ages, Zr isotopes, Hf isotopes, O isotopes and trace element mass fractions. This batch of dark brown zircon megacrysts from Tanzania contains 269 ± 103 μg g-1 U (Th/U ~ 0.154), and its total weight is 9.06 kg. The largest Tanz zircon megacryst...

The stable isotopic composition of insoluble, refractory elements such as titanium (Ti) or zirconium (Zr), which are modified by magmatic differentiation but, a priori, are poorly affected by weathering or diagenesis, serve as powerful potential proxies to reconstruct the compositional evolution of the continental crust. Here we present the evoluti...

The metasomatized sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) is increasingly proposed to play a key control in the formation of giant gold (Au) deposits. However, the extent of Au enrichment in metasomatized SCLM and the Au contents of its derivative partial melts remain poorly constrained. Lamprophyres are derived from low-degree melting of metaso...

Gallium exhibits weak metallic properties owing to its proximity to non-metals in the periodic table, yet is volatile in extra-terrestrial bodies and fairly reactive in nature. It has been used extensively to elucidate the Solar System evolution, planet interior differentiation, and terrestrial processes. However, Ga speciation and transformation i...

Lode gold deposits are among the most economically important types of gold deposits in the world. Globally, they formed mainly in three time intervals, 2.8 to 2.5 Ga, 2.1 to 1.8 Ga, and 700 Ma to the present. Sources of ore-forming fluids and other components are of critical importance in a better understanding of the genesis and the geodynamic con...

Subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) metasomatized by recycled components from oceanic subduction zone constitutes a fertile source for some of world's most important hydrothermal Au-rich ore systems. However, a widely recognized time gap exists between subduction initiation, regional contraction and Au-ore formation at continental edges, whic...

Carbonation of oceanic lithosphere occurs widely during seawater alteration, and subducted carbonated oceanic lithosphere may play a key role in carbon recycling in subduction zones. Here we investigate the Ca isotopic composition of arc lavas from the Tonga rear arc and Mariana arc, western Pacific, to explore the effect of fluid‐mediated carbonat...

The Jiaodong gold deposits, eastern China define a giant gold province in the Precambrian high-grade metamorphic crustal basement. Given the early metamorphism, the crustal basement would have been so depleted in gold that cannot be the main source for the later Mesozoic gold deposits. However, previously reported gold contents from crustal rocks w...

Mesozoic gold deposits associated with large-scale cratonic destruction of the North China Craton (NCC) made up a giant gold province that is unique among ancient cratons worldwide. The Au sources of these deposits are highly debated among Archean to Proterozoic strata, Mesozoic granitoid plutons, subducting slab-derived fluids, and mantle-derived...

Variations in the abundances of moderately volatile elements (MVE) are one of the most fundamental geochemical differences between the terrestrial planets. Whether these variations are the consequence of nebular processes, planetary volatilization, differentiation or late accretion is still unresolved. The element mercury is the most volatile of th...

The present study aims at investigating the role of reactive porous flow in the fractionation of highly siderophile (HSE: Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd, Au and Re) and chalcogen (S, Se, Te) elements during construction of the lower oceanic crust in (ultra-)slow spreading ridges. At this purpose, we analyzed the whole-rock HSE and chalcogen elements, and R...

Stable isotope fractionation in magmatic systems depends on equilibrium isotope fractionation between different phases. However, current equilibrium stable isotope theory mostly assumes ideal crystal structures and simple chemical compositions, but it is unclear how the pressure and complex compositional variations in natural microscopic mineral st...

The accretionary mobile belts surrounding ancient cratonic cores are an important facet of the growth and preservation of continental landmasses. Peridotites from Nuominhe in the Xing'an Mongolia Orogenic Belt (XMOB) provide an additional opportunity to examine the age, structure and evolution of mantle lithosphere separating two of the largest exi...

Significance Zircon, a common accessory mineral in crustal rocks, records plentiful and critical information on the Earth’s history. The isotopes of its major component, Zr, could be another powerful but unexplored tracer. We apply high-precision, high–spatial-resolution, in situ laser ablation Zr isotope measurements of magmatic zircons in contine...

We report stable Zr isotope compositions of four common natural zircon grains: Penglai, 91500, GJ-1 and Mud Tank, and 22 whole rocks reference materials which include fifteen magmatic rocks, one metamorphic rock, six sediments or sedimentary rocks. In addition, the isotopic calibration of the three Zr standard solutions used in different publicatio...

Gold (Au) is an important indicator in many geochemical studies, but the quantification of sub-nanogram Au in rock samples is challenging. Herein, a simple and rapid analytical protocol for the determination of sub-nanogram Au in 1-2 g rock samples is established using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) after polyurethane foam...

The concentrations of Cu and Ag, both insoluble chalcophile elements, can be used to place tight constraints on the proportion of basalts in the upper continental crust (UCC) through time via analyses of fine-grained terrigenous sedimentary rocks. Copper and Ag concentrations in magmas are largely controlled by sulfide dissolution during melting an...

This study presents high precision Zn stable isotope analyses for lower crustal rocks (9 granulites from Archean terrains and 30 lower crustal xenoliths) from the north margin of the North China Craton (NCC) to understand the behavior of Zn isotopes during deep crustal processes and the Zn isotopic composition of the lower continental crust (LCC)....

Early Cretaceous lamprophyre dykes occur widely in the Jiaodong Peninsula, eastern North China Craton (NCC). These mantle-derived magmatic products allow us to elucidate subduction-related mantle metasomatic events that modified the sub-continental lithospheric mantle of the NCC. The Jiaodong Peninsula lamprophyres display zircon UPb ages of 130 ±...

Desilicification elevates extraction of Re and platinum‐group elements (PGEs) from many geological reference materials (RMs), but the extent to which it affects less chalcophile elements has been investigated rarely. To further evaluate the effect of desilicification, mass fractions of elements with variable chalcophile affinities (In, Cd, Cu, Ag,...

The Pb isotopic compositions of granulite xenoliths are crucial to constrain the formation and evolution of the lower continental crust (LCC) and are potentially the key to resolve the first Pb paradox of the Earth. However, it remains unclear how host magma infiltration affects the Pb isotopic compositions of LCC xenoliths and how different this e...

Resolving the geochemical discrepancies between the bulk continental crust and its building blocks, basaltic arc magmas, can provide insights into the processes by which the continental crust is formed. One of the discrepancies is that the bulk continental crust is depleted in Cu and has a lower Cu/Ag ratio (∼500) than basaltic arc magmas (∼3500)....

A comparative evaluation was carried out to determine the trace metallic constituents in nuclear-grade BeO by D.C. arc carrier distillation and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. D.C. arc carrier distillation is accomplished by physical separation of the major matrix to avoid interference, while ICP-AES employs the solu- tion...

The crust shows large variations in Cu isotopic composition (δ⁶⁵Cu relative to NIST 976) resulting from redox reactions and other supergene processes. The significant range of δ⁶⁵Cu in mantle peridotites thus could be ascribed to recycled crustal materials and/or oxidative mantle metasomatism. However, the influence of normal magmatic fractionation...

The origin of giant lode gold deposits of Mesozoic age in the North China craton (NCC) is enigmatic because high-grade metamorphic ancient crust would be highly depleted in gold. Instead, lithospheric mantle beneath the crust is the likely source of the gold, which may have been anomalously enriched by metasomatic processes. However, the role of go...