Abstract
Although low-temperature alteration of the ocean floor traps large quantities of uranium from sea water1,2, the mass balance between the crust and sea water along the mid-ocean ridges and, consequently, the uranium content of subducted lithosphere, are uncertain. Intense scavenging from sea water by participates as a result of the dispersal of hydrothermal solutions in the water column3 has prevented the assignment of deeper levels at ridge crests as a uranium source or as a sink4. Here we present uranium analyses for hydrothermal solutions from the East Pacific Rise (EPR) which support earlier data5–6 showing that this element behaves coherently with magnesium in its removal from sea water during hydrothermal circulation. Our results indicate that oceanic crust is subducted with the U/Pb ratio increased relative to that of the ambient mantle, but this is thought to be due more to hydrothermal lead depletion than to uranium enrichment.
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Michard, A., Albarede, F. Hydrothermal uranium uptake at ridge crests. Nature 317, 244–246 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/317244a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/317244a0
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