Subduction and Recycling of Nitrogen Along the Central American Margin
- 16 August 2002
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 297 (5584) , 1154-1157
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1073995
Abstract
We report N and He isotopic and relative abundance characteristics of volatiles emitted from two segments of the Central American volcanic arc. In Guatemala, δ 15 N values are positive (i.e., greater than air) and N 2 /He ratios are high (up to 25,000). In contrast, Costa Rican N 2 /He ratios are low (maximum 1483) and δ 15 N values are negative (minimum –3.0 per mil). The results identify shallow hemipelagic sediments, subducted into the Guatemalan mantle, as the transport medium for the heavy N. Mass balance arguments indicate that the subducted N is efficiently cycled to the atmosphere by arc volcanism. Therefore, the subduction zone acts as a “barrier” to input of sedimentary N to the deeper mantle.Keywords
This publication has 35 references indexed in Scilit:
- A preliminary study of 15N14N in octahedral growth form diamondsPublished by Elsevier ,2003
- Helium isotope characteristics of Andean geothermal fluids and lavasPublished by Elsevier ,2002
- Volcanic flux of nitrogen from the EarthPublished by Elsevier ,2000
- Unchanged nitrogen isotopic composition of organic matter in the South China Sea during the last climatic cycle: Global implicationsPaleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 2000
- Quaternary convergent margin tectonics of Costa Rica, segmentation of the Cocos Plate, and Central American volcanismTectonics, 2000
- Neural network interpretation of LWD data (ODP Leg 170) confirms complete sediment subduction at the Costa Rica convergent marginEarth and Planetary Science Letters, 2000
- The major volatile elements of the Earth: Their origin, behavior, and fateGeophysical Research Letters, 1997
- Crustal contamination processes traced by helium isotopes: Examples from the Sunda arc, IndonesiaEarth and Planetary Science Letters, 1994
- The subducted component in island arc lavas: constraints from Be isotopes and B–Be systematicsNature, 1990
- Helium isotope ratios in circum-Pacific volcanic arcsNature, 1989