South Mid-Atlantic Ridge 25.3–27.7°S segment basalts: Implications for entrainment of the Tristan plume material in the mid-ocean ridge system

We present new major and trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data for basalts from the 25.3–27.7°S segments of the South Mid-Atlantic Ridge (SMAR). A fractional crystallization model shows that olivine, plagioclase, and clinopyroxene crystals crystallized in the magmatic chamber underlying the SMAR 27.1°S and 27.7°S segments, while the SMAR 25.3°S segment basaltic lavas are dominated by fractional crystallization of olivine and plagioclase. Their Ce/Yb, (Tb/Yb)N, and Fe/Mn ratios suggest a mantle source lithology dominated by spinel-lherzolite. The linear correlations between Mg# and TiO2, Ba, and Zr/Nb indicate that SMAR basalts in this study have primary mantle melts with similar chemical compositions and partial melting extents. The along-ridge variations in the fractionation-corrected incompatible element (Ba, Zr/Nb, (La/Sm)N) and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope compositions of the SMAR 20–40°S basalts show that Tristan mantle plume materials exist in the SMAR asthenosphere and gradually decrease from the southern SMAR 35°S segment in the vicinity of Tristan Island to the northern SMAR 25.3–27.7°S segments. The mixing models of the fractionation-corrected Ba contents, (La/Sm)N ratios and radiogenic Sr-Nd-Pb isotope ratios show that variable degrees of contamination by the Tristan mantle plume contribute to the heterogeneous SMAR 20–40°S mantle source. The proportion of Tristan plume-related materials retained in the SMAR 20–40°S asthenosphere is <10%, which gradually decreases from south to north. By integrating the evolution of the South Atlantic and the historical interaction between the SMAR system and the Tristan mantle plume, we demonstrate that the systematic variations in the geochemical compositions of the SMAR 25.3–27.7°S basalts are induced by the presence of the Tristan mantle plume materials in the southern SMAR asthenosphere.