The scarcity of well-preserved exposed Precambrian rocks as well as post-emplacement metamorphism and alteration hamper a detailed understanding of mantle differentiation processes on the early Earth. This issue can be overcome by powerful tools such as the short-lived isotope decay series such as 182Hf-182W and 146Sm-142Nd isotope systems that only record radiogenic ingrowth during the Hadean Eon.
This study focuses on high-precision measurements of 182W/184W and142Nd/144Nd isotope compositions using MC-ICP-MS ([1], [2]) of ultramafic, mafic and felsic rocks from the Singhbhum Craton (India) that range in their crystallization age from 3.5 to 1.6 Ga. Due to the susceptibility of W to secondary fluid-rock interactions, the rock samples that were chosen were initially tested for mobility of W by a comparison of W with other equally incompatible elements such as Th, Ta, U [3] that were obtained by ICP-MS with a focus on precise measurements of High Field Strength Element concentrations (<6% uncertainty). Preliminary 182W isotope data that ranges from µ182W= -1.6 to -0.7 (±2-3 ppm; 95% CI) shows a slight tendency to negative values that are unresolvable from the modern mantle value. This data, in combination with robust 142Nd isotope constraints can give fresh insights into early mantle differentiation of the Singhbhum Craton and access the timescales of homogenization of the ambient mantle with late accreted material.
[1] Tusch et al. (2022), PNAS 119
[2] Hasenstab-Dübeler et al. (2022), Chem. Geo. 614
[3] König et al. (2011), Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 75