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Lithos 100 (2008) 14 – 48

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Geochemical fingerprinting of oceanic basalts with applications to

ophiolite classification and the search for Archean oceanic crust
Julian A. Pearce
School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3YE, UK
Received 5 December 2006; accepted 8 June 2007
Available online 31 July 2007

Abstract

Two geochemical proxies are particularly important for the identification and classification of oceanic basalts: the Th–Nb proxy
for crustal input and hence for demonstrating an oceanic, non-subduction setting; and the Ti–Yb proxy for melting depth and hence
for indicating mantle temperature and thickness of the conductive lithosphere. For the Th–Nb proxy, a Th/Yb–Nb/Yb projection
demonstrates that almost all oceanic basalts lie within a diagonal MORB–OIB array with a principal axis of dispersion along the
array. However, basalts erupted at continental margins and in subduction zones are commonly displaced above the MORB–OIB
array and/or belong to suites with principal dispersion axes which are oblique to the array. Modelling of magma–crust interaction
quantifies the sensitivity of the Th–Nb proxy to process and to magma and crustal compositions. For the Ti–Yb proxy, the
equivalent Ti/Yb–Nb/Yb projection features a discriminant boundary between low Ti/Yb MORB and high Ti/Yb OIB that runs
almost parallel to the Nb/Yb axis, reflecting the fact that OIB originate by melting beneath thicker lithosphere and hence by less
melting and with residual garnet. In the case of volcanic-rifted margins and oceanic plume–ridge interactions (PRI), where hot
mantle flows toward progressively thinner lithosphere (often becoming more depleted in the process), basalts follow diagonal
trends from the OIB to the MORB field. Modelling of mantle melting quantifies the sensitivity of the Ti–Nb proxy to mantle
potential temperature and lithospheric thickness and hence defines the petrogenetic basis by which magmas plot in the OIB or
MORB fields. Oceanic plateau basalts lie mostly in the centre of the MORB part of that field, reflecting a high degree of melting of
fertile mantle. Application of the proxies to some examples of MORB ophiolites helps them to be further classified as C
(contaminated)-MORB, N (normal)-MORB, E (enriched)-MORB and P (plume)-MORB ophiolites, which may add a useful
dimension to ophiolite classification. In the Archean, the hotter magmas, higher crustal geotherms and higher Th contents of
contaminants all result in widespread crustal input that is easy to detect geochemically with the Th–Nb proxy. Application of this
proxy to Archean greenstones demonstrates that almost all exhibit a crustal component even when reputedly oceanic. This
indicates, either that some interpretations need to be re-examined or that intra-oceanic crustal input is important in the Archean
making the proxy less effective in distinguishing oceanic from continental settings. The Ti–Yb proxy is not effective for
fingerprinting Archean settings because higher mantle potential temperatures mean that lithospheric thickness is no longer the
critical variable in determining the presence or absence of residual garnet.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Basalts; Trace elements; Ophiolites; Greenstones; Plate tectonics

E-mail address: pearceja@Cardiff.ac.uk.

0024-4937/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.lithos.2007.06.016
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
1. Introduction
‘Oceanic Basalts’ are basalts erupted on oceanic
lithosphere in non-subduction settings. The methodolo-
gy for fingerprinting oceanic basalts requires two stages:
first, confirmation of their oceanic character by distin-
guishing them from continental basalts and volcanic arc
basalts; and second, sub-dividision of the basalts
identified as oceanic into their different intra-oceanic
settings (mid-oceanic ridge, ocean island and oceanic
plateau).
The geological value in the fingerprinting of oceanic
basalts lies not just in reconstructing past oceans. Oceanic
basalts carry the best record of how the Earth's mantle
evolved, as they are largely free of the complexities
created by interactions with sub-continental mantle and
continental crust (e.g. Vervoort and Blichert-Toft, 1999;
Condie, 2003). Unambiguous identification of oceanic
basalts would also help resolve major questions of Earth
evolution, such as whether plate tectonics operated
throughout the Archean (e.g. Davies, 1992; Hamilton,
1998; Stern, 2005; Witze, 2006). Unfortunately, almost all
oceanic lithosphere created before the Jurassic, and a
significant proportion of that created since the Jurassic,
has been subducted. However, undisputed ophiolites have
been documented back at least to the early Proterozoic
(e.g. Kusky, 1990; Peltonen et al., 1996; Moores, 2002),
and there are many, more debatable ophiolites and related
rocks in the Archean (e.g. Moores, 2002; articles in Dilek
and Robinson, 2004, and in Kusky, 2004). Fragments of
oceanic crust are also preserved as blueschist and eclogite
clasts in ultra-high pressure (UHP) terranes back to the
Neoproterozoic (e.g. Jahn et al., 2001).
In the early days of understanding magmatic prov-
inces in a tectonic context, fingerprinting oceanic basalts
was mainly carried out using triangular diagrams based
on immobile elements. Pearce and Cann (1971, 1973)
used Ti–Zr–Y variations to distinguish intra-plate ocean
island basalts (OIB) from mid-ocean ridge basalts
(MORB) on the basis of their higher Ti/Y and Zr/Y
ratios. Wood et al. (1979) used Th–Ta–Hf variations to
distinguish oceanic basalts from island arc basalts on the
basis of their lower Ta/Th ratios and to distinguish some
OIB from MORB on the basis of their higher Th/Hf and
Ta/Hf ratios. Wood (1980) also recognised the impor-
tance of Th/Ta ratios in detecting crustal contamination
in OIB and MORB. Meschede (1986) used Nb–Zr–Y
variations to provide a means of separating plume-
influenced MORB (‘P-MORB’) from tholeiitic OIB
largely on the basis of their lower Zr/Y ratios.
Subsequently, there has been a trend towards using
ratio diagrams instead of triangular diagrams as they are
15
easier to plot and model. For example, Pearce (1982)
used Th/Yb v Ta/Yb and Pearce and Peate (1995) used
Th/Yb v Nb/Yb instead of the Wood projection to
fingerprint subduction-related basalts, and Fitton et al.
(1997) used Zr/Y v Nb/Y instead of the Meschede pro-
jection to separate ‘plume’ from ‘non-plume’ oceanic
basalts. A wide range of other projections in immobile
element space have also been used in an attempt to better
fingerprint oceanic basalts, including Zr/Nb v Nb/Th
(Condie, 2005) and Ce/Nb–Th/Nb (Saunders et al.,
1988; Kerrich and Xie, 2002). These later methods of
fingerprinting also take into account the previously
unrecognised diversity in ocean basalts, in particular, the
fact that oceanic plateaus make important contributions
to oceanic basaltic volcanism.
Despite the availability of this wide range of finger-
printing methods, present methodologies are not entirely
satisfactory. First, the separation of oceanic and non-
oceanic basalts has not yet formally been carried out using
immobile elements. This is important because diagrams
geared at fingerprinting oceanic basalts can give mislead-
ing results if the basalts are not oceanic, as Wood (1980)
demonstrated. Second, the aforementioned plots of Pearce
and Cann (separating MORB from OIB), Meschede
(separating N-MORB from P-MORB from OIB tho-
leiites) and Fitton et al. (separating ‘plume’ from ‘non-
plume’ basalts) have difficulty dealing with the complex-
ity of oceanic volcanism and the common interactions
between plumes and ridges that cause basalt suites to cross
discriminant boundaries. This paper develops existing
and new methodologies for fingerprinting oceanic basalts
in a way that optimises choice of elements and is con-
sistent with present ideas on oceanic basalt petrogenesis.
It is based on identifying and utilizing proxies for specific
petrogenetic processes. Because of space limitations, it
focuses on just two proxies: one for crustal input (and
hence subduction, crust–magma interaction, and crustal
recycling); and one for melting depth (and hence mantle
temperature and lithospheric thickness).
2. Geochemical proxies as the basis for basalt
fingerprinting
Geochemical proxies are geochemical parameters
which can be used to monitor a chosen physical process.
Proxies can usefully be identified and illustrated using
MORB-normalized geochemical patterns. Fig. 1a displays
MORB-normalized patterns representing the composition-
al range of oceanic basalt types in the present-day ocean
basins: N-MORB, E-MORB, tholeiitic OIB, alkalic OIB,
volcanic-rifted margin basalt, oceanic plateau tholeiite
and depleted oceanic plateau tholeiite. As the aim is to
16 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
fingerprint altered rocks, the most mobile elements have
been omitted, leaving only the REEs and the HFSEs. To
facilitate visualization of the key features, the patterns have
been abbreviated slightly by combining (averaging
normalized values of) Nb–Ta, Zr–Hf–Sm and Y–Ho so
that gradients are continuous from left to right — i.e. there
are no ‘plateaus’. In detail, of course, there are important
differences in partition coefficients, and hence petrogenetic
behaviour, within these groups, but these are not the focus
of this paper.
Fig. 1a highlights the negative Nb anomaly charac-
teristic of the volcanic-rifted margin basalt and resulting
from magma–crust interaction. To reduce the effects of
fractional crystallization and crystal cumulation and
highlight the variations at the less incompatible end of
the diagram, it can assist visualization to carry out a
second normalization to the value of the least incompat-
ible element. The resulting MORB- and Yb-normalized
diagram is shown in Fig. 1b for the oceanic basalts only
and forms the basis for the Yb-normalized plots used
later. Particularly apparent in Fig. 1b, is the negative
gradient in the Ti–Yb part of the diagram which char-
acterises the two OIB patterns. This is distinct from the
flat patterns for Ti–Yb that characterise both N- and E-
MORB compositions. This is the key distinguishing
feature between OIB and MORB that forms the basis for
discrimination of these magma types on, for example, the
Ti–Zr–Y discriminant diagram. Of the oceanic plateau
basalts (OPB), the Ontong-Java Plateau tholeiite is inter-
mediate between tholeiitic OIB and MORB, while the
depleted tholeiite from Gorgona is distinctive in having a
slight positive Ti–Yb gradient. The origin of these vari-
ations in Ti/Yb, as is well-known and modelled in detail
in Fig. 8, is the presence of residual garnet: Ti and Yb have
similar bulk partition coefficients for spinel peridotite
assemblages, but Yb is much more strongly partitioned
into garnet and hence into garnet-bearing melt residues.
Ti/Yb is therefore a proxy for melting depth. In terms of
tectonic discrimination, it is a proxy for the combination
of lithospheric thickness and mantle temperature which
defines tectonic setting and melt production rate, and in
turn defines the precise nature of the oceanic volcanic
edifice (e.g. McKenzie and O'Nions, 1991).
Fig. 1. MORB-normalized geochemical patterns for some type oceanic
basalts. The N-MORB (also the normalizing factor) and E-MORB data
are from the compilation by Sun and McDonough (1989); intra-plate
islands (islands on ridge-distal oceanic lithosphere) are represented by
alkalic OIB (the OIB average of Sun and McDonough, 1989) and a
tholeiitic basalt standard from Hawaii (BHVO1); the plateau basalt is
from the Ontong-Java Plateau (Mahoney et al., 1993); the depleted
plateau basalt is from Gorgona Island (Révillon et al., 2000); and the
continental margin basalts is from the SE Greenland margin (Hooper
et al., 1999). (a) shows the patterns with no additional normalization;
(b) shows the oceanic basalt patterns normalized also to Yb = 1 (which
forms the basis of the discriminant diagrams) to reduce the effect of
fractional crystallization; (c) shows the oceanic basalt patterns normal-
ized also to TiO2 = 1, which highlights the difference between the RHS
of the pattern (garnet dependent) and the LHS (partial melting and
source composition-dependent).
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
The second feature is the gradient from Nb to Ti
which increases from tholeiitic to alkalic compositions
within both MORB and OIB. In contrast, there is little
difference between alkalic and tholeiitic compositions
for the Ti–Yb parts of the patterns. The Gorgona sample
is distinctive in its depletion over the Nb–Ti part of the
pattern. The Nb–Ti gradient is a measure of the incom-
patible element enrichment, or depletion, that cannot be
explained by HREE compatibility in garnet. It is mainly
a function of degree of melting and composition of the
mantle source. For example, the difference between the
OIB and the Ontong-Java Plateau tholeiites can be
explained mainly by the higher degree of melting of the
latter; the difference in Nb–Ti gradients between
Gorgona and the other patterns can be explained mainly
by the more depleted source of the former.
The MORB- and Ti-normalized patterns in Fig. 1c
highlight better the two parts of the geochemical patterns
and the significance of the deep-melting proxy. Over the
Ti–Yb part of the patterns, the two OIB samples have
negative trends indicative of garnet residues, whereas the
two MORB samples have flat patterns indicative of
garnet-free mantle residues. The oceanic plateau tholei-
ite, on this basis, has a small residual garnet effect. The
Gorgona sample has a positive gradient consistent with
re-melting of mantle that had already undergone melting
in garnet facies.
To a first approximation, therefore, the variance in
basalts represented by the compositional range in Fig. 1
may be divided into three components: 1) crustal con-
tamination for basalts erupted through continental
lithosphere giving selective Th and LREE enrichment
and hence negative Nb anomalies; 2) source and melting
effects giving Nb–Ti gradients, and 3) garnet residue
effects giving Ti–Yb gradients. In terms of proxies, the
Th–Nb part of the diagram gives a proxy for the crust-
derived variance, Nb–Yb gives a proxy for the total
mantle/melting-derived variance, which can be divided
into Ti–Yb as a proxy for melting depth and Nb–Ti as a
proxy for mantle composition and degree of melting.
Expressed numerically, T = X + M + C, where T is the
total variance not associated with fractional crystalliza-
tion, X is the variance caused by mantle composition, M
is the variance caused by melting and C is the variance
caused by crustal input. M can be divided into variance
caused by melting depth, Mz, and variance caused by
degree of melting MF so that T = X + Mz + MF + C. Thus
T may be represented within any suite of samples by
Th–Yb, C by Th–Nb, M by Nb–Yb, Mz by Ti–Yb and
(MF + X) by Nb–Ti, where Th–Yb refers to the differ-
ence between the Th and Yb MORB-normalized values.
These are, it must be emphasised, approximations to the
17
true partitioning of variance, chosen for the purpose of
devising simple proxies. Also, although it is convenient
to think of, and plot, proxies as ratios (e.g. Th/Nb), they
are actually proxies of deviations (Th–Nb). Logarithmic
transformations are applied because incompatible ele-
ments in basalts have log-normal distributions.
For petrogenetic-based discrimination, ratio plots are
easiest to interpret visually if they have common denomi-
nators. The approach used here is to focus on Yb-
normalized ratios as depicted in the patterns in Fig. 1b and
on further development of two plots originally used to
study subduction systems (Pearce and Peate, 1995). The
first is Th v Nb (i.e. Th/Yb–Nb/Yb) chosen to highlight
the crustal contamination proxy; the second is Ti v Nb (i.e.
Ti/Yb–Nb/Yb) chosen to highlight the melting depth
proxy. These plots, with fields which will be clarified in
the next section of this paper, may be seen in Fig. 2.
On the Th/Yb–Nb/Yb diagram (Fig. 2a), present-day
MORB and OIB form a diagonal array with average N-
MORB, E-MORB and OIB at its centre. Lavas that have
interacted with continental crust on ascent, or have a
subduction component (Pearce and Peate, 1995), are
then displaced to higher Th/Yb values. On the Ti/Yb–
Nb/Yb diagram (Fig. 2b), N-MORB, E-MORB and OIB
are no longer co-linear. Instead, MORB form an almost
horizontal array at a shallow angle with average N-
MORB and E-MORB at its centre. Average OIB is
displaced to higher Ti/Yb ratios than MORB because of
a greater depth of melting. Similarly, the OIB array
(made up of ridge-distal islands) is displaced to higher
Ti/Yb than the MORB array (made up of plume-distal
ridges). Plume–ridge interactions (PRI) follow diagonal
trends between the OIB and MORB arrays which will be
discussed more fully in the subsequent text.
In addition, alkalic OIB has higher Nb/Yb (for given
Ti/Yb) than tholeiitic OIB, and normal (N-type) MORB
has higher Nb/Yb (for given Ti/Yb) than enriched (E-
type) MORB. The tholeiitic-alkalic dividing line has
been constructed using alkalic and tholeiitic Hawaiian
basalts according to the original definition using total
alkalis and silica of Macdonald and Katsura (1964). The
boundary between E- and N-MORB is taken by drawing
a line orthogonal to the MORB–OIB array and passing
through C1 chondrite so that, essentially, sub-chondritic
Nb/Yb ratios classify as N-MORB and supra-chondritic
Nb/Yb ratios classify as E-MORB. The diagrams may
be applied by using Fig. 2a to determine whether or not
the basalts are truly oceanic, and then Fig. 2b to
determine the type of oceanic setting.
Note that Fig. 1 demonstrates that there are many
other proxies and projections that may achieve the same
goals, and the two projections chosen here and the
18 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48

Fig. 2. The two diagrams that form the basis for this paper. (a) utilizes the Th–Nb proxy for crustal input highlighted in Fig. 1a. Oceanic basalts (intra-
plate islands, plume-distal ocean ridges and oceanic plateaux) predominantly plot within the MORB–OIB array (shaded) while volcanic arc basalts
plot above the array. Crustally-contaminated basalts and alkalic basalts containing a large recycled crustal component mainly plot above the MORB–
OIB array, or on a vector at a steep angle to the array, reflecting selective Th addition. (b) utilizes the Ti–Yb proxy for deep melting highlighted in
Fig. 1c. OIB have higher Ti/Yb ratios than MORB reflecting deeper melting resulting from a combination of a thicker lithospheric cap and hotter
mantle temperatures. Within OIB, alkalic basalts have the higher Nb/Yb and Ti/Yb ratios. Within MORB, N-MORB lie to the left of the array (defined
here as having Nb/Yb b 1.45, the C1 chondrite value) and E-MORB to the right of the array (defined here as having Nb/Yb N 1.45). Plume-distal
ridges tend to produce N-MORB in the upper part of the MORB field, plume-proximal ridges in the lower part of the MORB field. In regions of
plume–ridge interaction (near-ridge plumes, ocean–continent transitions at volcanic-rifted margins), basalts follow a diagonal trend from the
tholeiitic OIB to the MORB array. Oceanic plateaus typically form clusters in the centre of the MORB array. For full details, and a representative
subset of the data used to define these fields, see text and subsequent Figures.

petrogenetic approach discussed here would apply
equally to those. There are, however, reasons for the
choice made. Th–Nb is the proxy of choice for crustal
input because Th and Nb are both immobile from
weathering to lower amphibolite facies metamorphism,
and because they behave similarly during most
petrogenetic processes. La–Nb (or Ce–Nb) achieves
the same goal but this ratio also varies in response to
partial melting and source composition, so it is more
difficult to interpret. Nonetheless, Th may be depleted
relative to Nb in certain types of granulitic lower crust
while La remains enriched (Rudnick et al., 1985), so
detailed examination of the geochemical patterns, and
use of diagrams such as La/Nb–Th/Nb that potentially
can discriminate different types of contaminant (Neal
et al., 2002; Frey et al., 2002), may be important in
specific cases.
In addition, Zr is in common use rather than Ti for
identifying the setting of known oceanic basalts (e.g.
Meschede, 1986; Fitton et al., 1997; Baksi, 2001;
Condie, 2005). The advantage in using Zr is that, unlike
Ti, it is not necessary to ensure that only basalts are
used, so that Fe–Ti oxides were not liquidus phases. The
disadvantage for this paper in using Zr/Yb rather than
Ti/Yb is that it combines garnet-based and non-garnet-
based variance (see Fig. 1) and so, although it contains
useful information, is more complicated to interpret and
apply. In fact, Baksi (2001) first recognised that applic-
ability of the Nb/Y–Zr/Y projection for distinguishing
‘plume’ and ‘non-plume’ basalts is masked by the garnet-
depth effect. Condie (2005) addressed this deficiency by
applying it only to tholeiitic basalts, but this paper will
show that garnet fractionation affects tholeiites also.
There is, in fact, a better case for using Gd/Yb rather than
Ti/Yb as it, too, provides a proxy for melting depth and
has been used successfully in a number of studies, such as
the demonstration of garnet residua in Al-depleted
Archean komatiites (e.g. Gruau et al., 1990; Inoue et al.,
2000). However, at present, the merits of the equivalent
Gd/Yb–Nb/Yb plot have not been fully evaluated.
Note also that it is possible to produce single diagrams
that combine the two types of proxy and so carry a greater
proportion of the discriminatory power in a single di-
agram. For example, one could plot Th/Nb v Ti/Yb in
order to evaluate crustal input and melting depth in
one diagram. In a similar way, Condie's (2005) Th/Nb–
Nb/Zr projection combines the crustal input and mantle
composition/melting proxies. This approach, while per-
fectly valid, has not been followed here because the aim of
this paper is to focus on projections that evaluate each
proxy separately and are most suitable for petrogenetic
modelling. For the same reason, discriminant analysis has
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48 19

Fig. 3. Examples of the intra-oceanic basalts (near-ridge islands with their associated plume-proximal ocean ridges) that help define the MORB–OIB
array. (a–c) shows typical oceanic islands, (d–f) shows typical plume-distal ridges, (g–n) shows transects from oceanic islands to adjacent ocean
ridges (oceanic plume–ridge interactions). (o–r) shows oceanic plateaus. Data sources: Chen et al. (1990), Lassiter et al. (2004), Rhodes and Vollinger
(2004), White and Duncan (1996), Xu et al. (2005), Davies et al. (1989), Weaver (1990), Weaver et al. (1987), Turner et al. (1997), Albarède et al.
(1997), Doucet et al. (2004), Janney et al. (2005), Nohda et al. (2005), Niu et al. (1999, 2002), Regelous et al. (1999), Bougault et al. (1988), Dosso et
al. (1993), Lawson et al. (1996), Kempton et al. (2002), Mahoney et al. (2002), Hèmond et al. (1993), Kokfelt et al. (2006), Murton et al. (2002),
Stracke et al. (2003), Devey et al. (1994), Haase et al. (1996, 2003), Troennes et al. (1999), Le Roex et al. (1985, 2002), Pearce et al. (unpubl.),
Christie et al. (2005), Harpp et al. (2003), Reynolds and Geist (1995), White et al. (1993), Fretzdorff et al. (1996), Haase and Devey (1996), Haase
(2002), Bach et al. (1996), Peate et al. (1997), Workman et al. (2004), Altherr et al. (1988), Barrat et al. (1990, 1993), Volker et al. (1997), Mahoney et
al. (1995), Neal et al. (2002), Frey et al. (1991), Storey et al. (1988), Fitton and Godard (2004), Mahoney et al. (1993), Tejada et al. (2002), Arndt et al.
(1997), Kerr et al. (1997, 2002), Millward et al. (1984), Révillon et al. (2000), Hauff et al. (2000), Sinton et al. (1998).
20 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48

Fig. 3 (continued ).

not been carried out to produce a diagram that carries the
maximum amount of discriminatory variance in a single
plot (e.g. Pearce and Cann, 1971).
This paper now evaluates the two chosen proxies and
their petrogenetic interpretations, in more detail.
3. The Th/Yb–Nb/Yb diagram (Th–Nb crustal
input proxy)
The key to the Th/Yb–Nb/Yb diagram is the oceanic
basalt (MORB–OIB) array, which contains N98% of
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
analysed oceanic basalts. Fig. 3 demonstrates the details
of variations within this array, using a series of basalts
from ocean islands, plume–ridge interactions, plume-
distal ridges and oceanic plateaus as examples. This
shows most of the samples used to define this array, the
additional samples being mainly from ridge segments
not in the diagrams for which there are accurate Th and
Nb data and some additional oceanic islands. Typically,
each region has its own local array within which the
more enriched samples, and/or products of lower de-
grees of melting have the higher ratios, and the more
depleted samples, and/or products of higher degrees of
partial melting, have the lower ratios. The b 2% of
samples that plot outside the array include (a) analytical
error, resulting from the typical 2-sigma error of 5% on
each ratio, (b) alkalic magmas with a high EM2
(Enriched Mantle 2) component, and (c) a few samples
where Th and Nb have been decoupled by processes that
may involve interactions with sub-oceanic lithosphere
or complex mantle heterogeneities. One would therefore
expect oceanic basalts to plot within the oceanic array,
except in exceptional cases and where analyses are poor.
To reduce the latter, the data used have been checked for
Nb–Ta, Th–La and Y–Yb consistency and, where
possible, by reference to international standard values.
In detail, ocean islands (Fig. 3a–c) predominantly
plot at the high Nb/Yb end of the array, alkalic basalts
having higher Nb/Yb than tholeiitic basalts. Although
almost all basalts from ocean islands plot within the
array, a small subset of alkali basalts from ocean islands
is displaced to higher Th/Yb because these contain a
recycled crustal component. This is exemplified by the
Society Islands in Fig. 3a. As demonstrated elsewhere
(see Condie, 2005 and references therein), the EM2
component has a high Th/Nb ratio and HIMU (high
μ = high U/Pb) a lower ratio, giving a range of Th/Nb
ratios for ocean island basalts. As Th/Nb is a proxy for
crustal input, an EM2 component derived from recycled
continental sediment (e.g. Hofmann, 1997), would be
expected to plot above the MORB–OIB array. It is
therefore perhaps surprising that more OIB do not plot
in this region. However, any ‘plum pudding’ mantle
is a mixture of components (both high Th/Nb and low
Th/Nb) and the Society Islands may be rare in being
dominated by Th-rich crustal components. Alternative-
ly, the degree of melting may be small enough for the
most fusible (continental crustal) ‘plums’ to dominate
the melt even when the bulk composition lies within the
MORB–OIB array.
Basalts from plume-distal ridges, depicted in Fig. 3d–
f for parts of the East Pacific Rise (EPR), Mid-Atlantic
Ridge (MAR) and South-East Indian Ridge (SEIR), may
21
be expected to yield data at the lower (depleted) end of
the array but it is now becoming apparent from detailed
sampling of plume-distal ridge segments (e.g., Niu et al.,
1999; Donnelly et al., 2004) that E-MORB compositions
are common. In the northern EPR (Fig. 3d), off-axis
seamounts (the Lamont Seamounts: Niu et al., 2002)
extend along almost the whole array from the highest to
lowest Nb/Yb ratios. The northern EPR itself has a
smaller dispersion, but almost all compositions have
higher Nb/Yb than average N-MORB. The MAR at 10–
25°N has an N-MORB average for most ridge segments
(Fig. 3e), but some segments (notably around 14°N:
Bougault et al., 1988) have E-MORB compositions. The
SEIR, in the west, is close to the Amsterdam and Heard
Island sites of possible plume-related magmatic activity,
but is plume-distal in the east. However, Fig. 3f shows
that, even east of 100°E, the SEIR has a significant
proportion of E-MORB compositions. Furthest from the
plumes, at the Australian-Antarctic Discordance (AAD),
the basalts on the ‘Indian’ side of the boundary have an
average N-MORB composition, while the basalts on
the ‘Pacific’ side are even more depleted than average N-
MORB (Kempton et al., 2002).
Basalts from plume-proximal ridges typically form
trends extending along the MORB–OIB array away from
the plume composition. The Iceland-Reykjanes Ridge
system (Fig. 3g) is probably the best-studied example,
extending over the full range from alkalic OIB to highly-
depleted, MORB-like tholeiites. Other examples rarely
achieve the same range, but the trend is typical. Many
authors attribute such trends to mixing of enriched and
depleted mantle reservoirs (e.g. Schilling, 1973; Fitton
et al., 1997; Thirlwall et al., 2004), while a growing
number (Phipps Morgan et al., 1995; Phipps Morgan and
Morgan, 1999; Niu et al., 1999; Murton et al., 2002;
Pearce, 2005) attribute them to loss of melt fractions (pre-
conditioning) during the decompression that accompanies
asthenospheric flow from an off-axis plume to a ridge. In
terms of fingerprinting, the important feature is a wide
dispersion of Nb/Yb ratios, with very few samples
plotting outside the MORB–OIB array. There is some
variation in Th/Nb ratio within the array that may be
attributable to mantle domain composition, particularly
the relative proportion of the various enriched and
depleted components. For example, oceanic islands and
ridges from the South Atlantic plot close to the upper
boundary of the MORB–OIB array (Fig. 3i) whereas
others, such as Easter Island (Fig. 3l) and Iceland
(Fig. 3g), plot close to the lower boundary.
Any data set can have rare samples which, because of
analytical error or unusual petrogenetic conditions, plot
outside the MORB–OIB array. The only set that raises
22 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48

Fig. 4. (a–e) Gives examples of continental margin volcanic rocks and oceanic plateaus erupted through continental lithosphere that may be
contrasted with true oceanic basalts by their trends to high Th/Yb (upper crustal interaction and interaction with mantle lithosphere containing an
inherited subduction component). (f) shows a typical intra-oceanic arc-basin system, demonstrating the effects of subduction in displacing volcanic
arc basalts from the MORB–OIB array; back-arc basin basalts may or may not be displaced according to the magnitude of the subduction
contribution. Data sources: Thompson et al. (1982, 1986); Wallace et al. (1994), Fitton et al. (1998), Hooper et al. (1999), Viereck et al. (1989), Baksi
(1995), Frey et al. (1991, 1996, 2002), Neal et al. (2002), Storey et al. (1992), Barrat et al. (1990, 1993), Volker et al. (1997), Hart et al. (1989),
Lassiter et al. (1995), Pearce et al. (2005).

questions about the utility of the fingerprint (this in-
cludes other examples not presented here) is Kerguelen
and the Ninetyeast Ridge (Fig. 3o), where some 20% of
basalts plot just above the upper bound. There is no
reason from reported international standard values to
believe that these have an analytical explanation.
Moreover, unlike the older Kerguelen plume-derived
basalts in Fig. 4c, those plotted in Fig. 3o are considered
oceanic. Thus either the Kerguelen lavas exhibit the
influence of the EM2 mantle component or fragments of
continental lithosphere are still participating in their
genesis. The latter option provides a reminder that sub-
continental plumes that evolve to intra-oceanic plumes
may yield a complexity not apparent in purely intra-
oceanic plumes.
Oceanic plateaus are less easy to fingerprint because
some of the best examples cannot be sampled fully and
have a setting of formation that is not well-defined. A
number of authors have reviewed the characteristics and
identification of oceanic plateaus (e.g. Kerr et al., 2000;
Ernst and Buchan, 2003), highlighting flat rare earth
patterns and higher-than-MORB Nb/Y ratios as key fea-
tures. There are no obviously unique geochemical
discriminants, however, so identifying oceanic plateaus
in the Geologic Record likely requires a combination of
geochemistry, geology and dating. This study confirms
that oceanic plateaus plot within the MORB–OIB array on
the Th–Nb diagram. A further key feature of the Ontong-
Java, Caribbean and Colombia plateaus (Fig. 3p–r) is
the clusters of data points with Nb/Yb ratios between N-
MORB and E-MORB. In addition, there may be enriched
samples (as in the Colombia Plateau or on Malaita, the on-
land exposure of the Ontong-Java plateau) and depleted
samples (as on Gorgona Island in Fig. 3q). Such clustering
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
is much less obvious in areas of plume–ridge interaction,
which exhibit a large dispersion in Nb/Yb. The clusters
could indicate homogenisation of magma compositions
resulting from high degrees of melting, although sampling
bias cannot be ruled out as the cause.
Fig. 4 highlights some Th–Nb variations in areas of
demonstrable crustal involvement, either direct crustal
contamination or crustal recycling by subduction or via
inherited subduction components in the lithosphere. The
North Atlantic Margin is a type example of a volcanic-
rifted margin. The early history may be seen on-land in
areas such as the British Tertiary Province (Fig. 4a), but
the later history now lies beneath sediment in submarine
settings and can be studied only by ocean drilling
(Fig. 4b). Both stages provide well-known examples of
crustal contamination. The British Tertiary Province, in
particular, carries isotope and element signatures of both
lower and upper crust indicative of a polybaric plumbing-
contamination system (e.g. Thompson et al., 1982, 1986)
and is represented in Fig. 4a by variable displacement
from the MORB–OIB array — from undetectable to a
ten-fold increase in Th. The transition from rifting to
spreading, represented off Greenland by a seaward-
dipping reflector sequence, includes more samples within
the MORB–OIB array but still a significant proportion
with high Th (Fig. 4b). Fitton et al. (2000) summarize how
magmas evolved from contaminated pre- and syn-break-
up compositions to less uncontaminated or uncontami-
nated post-break-up compositions. Comparison with
Iceland in Fig. 3g, where data plot predominantly within
the centre of the MORB–OIB array, demonstrates that the
Th–Nb proxy is very sensitive to crustal addition,
especially for depleted magmas.
A similar pair of plots that highlights the contrast
between a sub-continental and sub-oceanic plume is the
India/Antarctic margin (Fig. 4c) and the Kerguelen
Archipelago /Ninety-East Ridge (Fig. 3o) which reflect
respectively the continental and oceanic evolution of
the Kerguelen plume from Cretaceous to Recent. Com-
pared to its oceanic equivalent, the products of the sub-
continental plume mostly exhibit Th addition, as well as
some possible Th depletion, which might be explained
by assimilation of low-Th granulite. The Red Sea margin
also exhibits Th depletion and enrichment (Fig. 4d)
compared to the truly oceanic parts of the Red Sea
and Gulf of Tadjoura (Fig. 3n). Wrangellia, a Triassic
plateau exposed along the NW margin of North America
(Fig. 4e), may be inferred from its geochemistry and
geological setting to have erupted onto arc lithosphere
(Lassiter et al., 1995). The vertical vector, marking
variable Th addition to magma of otherwise small com-
positional range, is consistent with this model.
23
Fig. 4f illustrates the distinction between oceanic
basalts and oceanic subduction-related basalts, using the
Marianas as an example. As is typical of other systems,
the arc and intra-arc rift carries the subduction-mobile Th
and is displaced from the MORB–OIB array (Pearce
et al., 2005). Back-arc basin basalts (BABB) may lie
within the MORB–OIB array if the inflowing mantle
is not influenced by the subduction component. With
increasing arc proximity, however, compositions are dis-
placed from the MORB–OIB array.
Thus the evidence from all examples in Fig. 4 is that,
although basalts erupted through continental crust may
not always be displaced from the oceanic MORB–OIB
array (contamination-free magma pathways are possible),
interaction with crust is extremely common in continental
terranes. In particular, suites of basalts (as opposed to
single samples) typically exhibit a distinctly steeper vec-
tor than that of the MORB–OIB array. Moreover, even if
there is no contamination, involvement of sub-continental
lithosphere, if it carries a subduction component, could
also result in Th-enriched compositions. In consequence,
suites of samples displaced from the MORB–OIB array
usually do indicate continental crustal involvement via
contamination or subduction. Conversely suites of sam-
ples plotting entirely within the MORB–OIB array are
usually oceanic, especially if their principal axis of
dispersion is also parallel to the MORB-OIB array. At the
high-Nb end of the array, some alkali basalts may exhibit
the effect of recycled crustal components in the mantle
source, but the effect is rarely seen at the lower end of the
array where the greater degree of melting reduces the
influence of these components.
Fig. 5 highlights the petrogenetic rationale for the
diagram, focusing on the three main crustal inputs at
the present day: subduction, magma–crust interaction
(contamination) and crustal recycling. Fig. 5a uses
Plank and Langmuir's (1998) compilation of subducted
sediment averages from the different subduction
systems to demonstrate that subducted sediment lies
above the MORB–OIB array — whereas subducted
crust lies within the array. In fact, however, the sediment
composition is less relevant than the relative mobility of
Th and Nb. The subduction addition can then be ex-
pressed in terms of two variables: the Th content of the
subduction component compared to that in the mantle
source; and the ratio of Th to Nb in the subduction
component. Fig. 5d demonstrates, using values that
allow for some limited Nb mobility, that mantle
compositions may be shifted above the MORB–OIB
array with little subduction input and that the displace-
ment is greater for the more depleted mantle sources.
Virtually all arc magmas thus plot above the MORB–
24 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48

Fig. 5. Petrogenetic modelling of the Th/Yb–Nb/Yb projection. The diagrams highlight the efficacy of the different types of crustal input, subduction
(a, d), contamination (b, e) and recycling (c, f), in causing a shift to compositions above the MORB–OIB array. In (b): N-MORB, E-MORB , OIB and
Primordial Mantle (PM) are from Sun and McDonough (1989); average lower crust (LC), upper crust (UC), total continental crust (CC) and felsic
Phanerozoic (P) and Archean (A) crust are from Rudnick and Fountain (1995). See text for full details.

OIB array (Pearce and Peate, 1995), although some
back-arc basin lavas can have transitional compositions,
as Fig. 4f demonstrated.
Fig. 5b and e examine the effect of crustal contami-
nation. Fig. 5c shows that continental crustal composi-
tions (represented by the upper, middle lower and bulk
crust averages of Rudnick and Fountain, 1995) lie above
the array. The most fusible crustal compositions
(represented by average Phanerozoic and Archean felsic
rocks from the same source) lie furthest above the array.
The rare exceptions to this are, as already noted, some
granulites, which have distinctive Th depletion with
respect to the MORB–OIB array, and likely explain
some of the differences between lower and upper crust
(Rudnick et al., 1985). Primordial mantle lies just above
the array, between the crust and mantle compositions
that it produced over time. Thus reaction of MORB–
OIB magma with continental crust, or recycling of
continental crust into the mantle, usually leads to Th
enrichment.
Modelling of the diagram depends upon which pro-
cess of crust–mantle interaction operates for the case
chosen. There are four types of model.
• AFC: assimilation–fractional crystallization (e.g.
DePaolo 1981), which is the assimilation of wall
rocks assisted by latent heat of crystallization and has
the consequence that the most evolved rocks are most
contaminated.
• RAFC: recharge–assimilation–fractional crystalliza-
tion (e.g. Bohrson and Spera, 2001), which is AFC
except that recharge of the magma chamber provides
added heat and continually ‘resets’ the magma to
more basic compositions.
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48 25

• ATA: assimilation during turbulent magma ascent
(e.g. Huppert and Sparks, 1985) involves assimila-
tion of the most fusible fraction by the hottest
magmas during turbulent ascent.
• MASH: melting–assimilation–storage–homogenisa-
tion (e.g. Hildreth and Moorbath, 1988) has mafic
magma entering the base of the crust causing crustal
fusion such that an evolved magma of mixed
mantle–crustal provenence emerges.
For each process, the precise contamination trajectory
depends on variables that include magma composition,

Fig. 6. Examples of the intra-oceanic basalts that help define the fields on the Ti/Yb–Nb/Yb diagram. (a–c) shows typical oceanic islands,
(d–f) shows typical plume-distal ridges, (g–n) shows plume-proximal ridges where the ridges have been proposed to be plume-influenced, (o–r) represent
oceanic plateaus. Basalts where significant oxides have crystallized (Ti⁎/Ti b 0.85) are not included.
26 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48

Fig. 6 (continued).

contaminant composition, the relative proportion of the
magma and contaminant, and the degree of fractional
crystallization. Fig. 5e gives an example of a modelled
interaction between magma and crust, in which two
magmas, one of depleted composition and one of en-
riched composition, have interacted with Archean felsic
crust (A). AFC modelling (DePaolo, 1981) for an
arbitrarily-chosen value of r = 0.3 (the rate of assimila-
tion relative to the rate of crystallization) shows that both
are displaced to high Th/Nb ratios. Because assimilation
is combined with fractional crystallization, and Th and
Nb are both more incompatible than Yb, the AFC trends
do not converge on the contaminant itself.
Importantly, the depleted magma is displaced much
further from the MORB–OIB array for a given crustal
input because it has a lower initial concentration of Nb
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
and Th, so a given addition of crustally-derived Th
has a proportionally greater effect on the Th/Nb ratio.
Variable magma compositions undergoing equivalent
contamination will not therefore experience the same
deviation from the oceanic array, an effect that is
not picked up by plots that utilize only the Th/Nb
ratio. On Fig. 5e, it is evident that only a few percent
of fractional crystallization, if combined with crustal
assimilation with r = 3, is needed to displace the de-
pleted magma compositions above the MORB–OIB
array; in contrast, some 15–20% is needed for the
enriched magma composition. Note, however, that,
even although the composition may not be displaced
from the array, the AFC trend may still be detectable
from the steep axis of dispersion. The full sensitivity
analysis (not shown) demonstrates how these values
vary with r, F, crust and mantle compositions, and
type of process. One outcome is that OIB is scarcely
affected, and hence any alkalic basalts displaced from
the MORB–OIB array can usually be explained by
recycled crust in the mantle source rather than magma–
crust interactions.
The effects of crustal recycling are evaluated in
Fig. 5c and f. As noted, the presence of recycled crustal
components in the mantle source can affect some alkali
basalts. This is evident in Fig. 5c, where average values
for alkali basalts dominated by each of the main mantle
components (EM1, EM2 and HIMU) have been plotted.
EM2 basalts plot on average just above the MORB–OIB
array. Of the oceanic island groups plotted for this study,
those from the Society Islands are most displaced from
the MORB–OIB field, as the compositional field
demonstrates. Modelling of crustal recycling in Fig. 5f
is used to explain why the displacement found in alkali
basalts is rarely evident in tholeiites. The Figure exam-
ines the effect of melting a three-component mantle of
bulk composition, S: a depleted MORB mantle (DMM)
component (which dominates in terms of mass); a crustal
component, C, representing an average of the subducted
sediments from Fig. 5a; and an alkali basalt vein, V,
representing the enrichment component of recycled
mantle lithosphere. If the mantle melts homogeneously
(DMM, Vand C all melt at the same rate), melting trends
run parallel to the MORB–OIB array, reflecting the
similar bulk partition coefficient for Th and Nb during
mantle melting. However, heterogeneous melting, al-
lowing the components to melt at variable rates, gives a
melt trajectory in which low degree melts have the
highest Th/Nb ratios. The actual trajectory depends on
the relative rates of melting of ‘plums’ and matrix. Here
the crustal component melts at twice the rate of the vein
component and ten times the rate of the matrix.
27
The reason for the importance of heterogeneous
melting in explaining high Th/Nb in some alkali basalts
is that C has the lowest melting point and so enters the
melt preferentially. The first melt fractions have a high
proportion of C, so lie above the MORB–OIB array. They
also give a greater dispersion along the MORB–OIB
array, not just because of garnet retention in the melt
residue which is true of all deep melts, but because the
more fusible ‘plums’ also have higher Nb than the matrix.
With increased melting, there is less C to melt, and the Nb-
rich residues from melting of C may also enter the melt.
Therefore, the Th/Nb in the melt decreases with degree of
melting. This particular example has a bulk composition
above the centre of the array, but any mantle with a
mixture of components containing a recycled crustal
component can give high Th/Nb in the first melt fractions.
4. Ti/Yb–Nb/Yb projection (Ti–Yb melting
depth proxy)
The Nb/Yb-Ti/Yb projection highlights, as noted
earlier, depth of melting. The variance on the Ti/Yb axis
is almost entirely explicable in terms of garnet residues
during melting, while the Nb/Yb axis reflects all source
and melting variables other than crustal input.
Fig. 6 gives the plots for the same oceanic basalt suites
chosen for Fig. 3. The oceanic islands (Fig. 6a–c) all plot
predictably in the OIB field. The alkalic lavas have the
highest Ti/Yb and Nb/Yb ratios, the tholeiitic basalts the
lowest. Conversely, the three sets of data for plume-distal
ridges in Fig. 6d–f plot entirely in the MORB field. The
trends run parallel to the field boundary with significant
proportions of the datasets plotting as E-MORB. As
already noted, the difference between MORB and OIB
reflects the fact that OIB, located on thick lithosphere,
have garnet residues, whereas MORB, located on thin
lithosphere, do not. This simple distinction, however,
becomes blurred when one takes plume–ridge interac-
tions into account.
Some potential examples of plume–ridge interaction
(PRI) may also follow the trend from N-MORB to E-
MORB. This is the case for the Kolbeinsey and Mohn's
Ridges (Fig. 6h) and the Red Sea (Fig. 6n). More
commonly, however, they trend from the OIB into the
MORB field along diagonal arrays, before following the
MORB trend at depleted compositions. Iceland and the
Reykjanes Ridge (Fig. 6g) exhibit the full diagonal trend
from alkalic OIB to N-MORB, as well as a minor trend
sub-parallel to this within the OIB field. The Southern
MAR (Fig. 6i) also follows a PRI trend from Gough and
Tristan da Cunha in the alkalic OIB field to tholeiitic
OIB and then into the MORB field, finishing as N-
28 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48

MORB. The South American-Antarctic Ridge (Fig. 6j) is
similar but with Bouvet Island as the OIB end-member,
as is the Easter Microplate and the North Chile Ridge
with Easter Island as the OIB end-member. Galapagos
(Fig. 6k) follows a PRI trend but is distinctive in exhib-
iting two diagonal trends, one within the islands, and one
within the Galapagos Spreading Center.
Of the oceanic plateaus, basalts from the Ontong-Java
(Fig. 6p) and Columbia plateaus (Fig. 6q) cluster in the
centre of the MORB array, at chondritic ratios, though
with a small subset within the OIB array. The Caribbean
Plateau resembles the PRI examples in its diagonal trend.
The main plateau lavas from all three areas cluster
around the PM composition, but with slightly higher Ti/
Yb ratios. Gorgona Island is distinct in plotting to the far
left of the diagram, in the MORB field but more depleted
than N-MORB.
There has been much discussion over the high Nb/Y
ratios of the most depleted Icelandic basalts (e.g., Fitton
et al., 1997), but this plot demonstrates that they likely
have the same Nb/Yb as N-MORB. However, Iceland
and a number of other plume-proximal ridges do have
distinctly lower Ti/Yb than the plume-distal ridges, as
depicted on Fig. 2. For example Iceland-Reykjanes
Ridge (Fig. 6g), Jan Mayen-Kolbeinsey Ridge (Fig. 6h),
Galapagos-GSC (Fig. 6k) and Red Sea (Fig. 6n) all plot
in the MORB field but with lower Ti/Yb than N-MORB.
This likely reflects the role of remelting of mantle pre-
conditioned in garnet facies as discussed later.
This diagram is much less sensitive to crust–magma
interaction than the Th–Nb plot. However, some care in
needed: average continental crust lies in the centre of the
MORB field with felsic rocks beneath the MORB field,
so the more contaminated OIB samples will trend
towards or into the MORB field. The most rigorous
way to use this diagram on such rocks is to choose only
those sufficiently unaffected by contamination to still lie
within, or just above, the MORB–OIB array on the Th–

Fig. 7. The examples of continental margin volcanic rocks (a–d), the Wrangella plateau (e), and the Mariana oceanic arc-basin system (f) from Fig. 4,
plotted on the Ti/Yb–Nb/Yb projection. Fractioned samples, with Ti⁎/Ti b 0.85, and contaminated samples, with Th/Nb N 0.2, are not included. The
diagram demonstrates that continental break-up lavas may usefully be identified, and the extent of rifting estimated, by combining the evidence for
contamination in Fig. 4 with the proximity to the MORB array in this diagram.
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
Nb diagram. For that reason, samples with Th/Nb N 0.2
have not been plotted; fractionated samples with Ti⁎/
Ti b 0.85 have also been discounted. Fig. 7 shows the
equivalent plots to those in Fig. 4 for the filtered data set.
For the North Atlantic, the British Tertiary Province
(Fig. 7a) plots predominantly in the OIB field, reflecting
its origin during the early stage of continental break-up
beneath continental lithosphere which is sufficiently
thick to restrict melting predominantly to garnet facies.
The North Atlantic Margin (Fig. 7b), which marks the
final stages of break-up and hence thinning lithosphere,
plots along the PRI trend from the OIB to the MORB
field, similar to Iceland in Fig. 6g.
Other margins resemble the North Atlantic in their
trend from OIB to MORB with increasing extension.
The Indian-Antarctic margin, which marks the Creta-
ceous break-up of Australia from Antarctica above the
Kerguelen plume head, gives a particularly similar trend
(Fig. 7c). For the Red Sea Margin (Fig. 6n), the Ethiopia
Rift resembles the British Tertiary Province in plotting
in the OIB tholeiite field, whereas Afar, where extension
is greater, crosses the boundary from the OIB to MORB
field (Fig. 7d). The Triassic plateau basalts from
Wrangellia (Fig. 7e) plot in a cluster across the OIB-
MORB boundary in the PRI field. This is consistent
with the interpretation of Lassiter et al. (1995), that the
Wrangellia basalts erupted on thicker arc lithosphere,
resulting in deeper and less melting than would be
expected had they erupted on oceanic lithosphere.
Subduction-influenced samples, as exemplified by
Fig. 7f, typically involve MORB-like temperatures and
high degrees of fluid-assisted melting which place them
in the MORB field. Because Ti, Nb, Yb are usually
subduction-immobile, the diagram can reliably be used.
Most oceanic arcs plot as plume-distal MORB as in
Fig. 6d–f — see Pearce and Peate (1995) for the full
volcanic arc array. However, there may be many com-
plexities if viewed in detail. According to the interpreta-
tion by Pearce et al. (2005), the mantle entering the
Mariana Trough back-arc basin is undepleted and it plots
as E-MORB on the diagram. With pre-conditioning
during flow, its composition evolves to N-MORB, i.e. Nb/
Yb decreases for little change in Ti/Yb. This mantle pre-
conditioning is even more apparent during flow to the arc
front, with the result that many arc magmas have compo-
sitions extending to still lower Nb/Yb than N-MORB.
During arc-rifting, incorporation of enriched lithosphere
gives increased Nb/Yb in the mantle and leads to the
enriched MORB-like compositions on the right of the
trend.
An important outcome of this plot is therefore that
this diagram is effective, not just for oceanic basalts but
29
also for distinguishing intra-plate basalts (oceanic or
continental), which plot in the OIB field from plate
margin basalts (ocean ridge and subduction zones)
which plot in the MORB field.
The Ti/Yb–Nb/Yb projection can best be interpreted
using methodologies developed by McKenzie and Bickle
(1988), White and McKenzie (1989), McKenzie and
O'Nions (1991), and Watson and McKenzie (1991). They
demonstrate that the composition of the erupted basalt for
a given mantle source will depend on the depth and height
of the melting column which in turn depends on two main
factors: mantle temperature, which determines the depth
at which melting begins; and the thickness of the
conductive lithospheric cap, which determines the depth
at which melting ends. To a first approximation: plume-
distal ridges have low mantle temperatures and a thin
conductive lithospheric cap; plume-distal ocean islands
and seamounts have high mantle temperatures and a thick
lithospheric cap; and plume-proximal ridges have high
mantle temperatures and a thin lithospheric cap. Oceanic
plateaus and aseismic ridges, with the greatest melt
production rates, require ultra-high temperature mantle
and thick lithosphere or high temperature mantle and thin
lithosphere. Plume–ridge interactions within the ocean
basins and at volcanic-rifted margins result in mantle flow
from thicker to thinner lithosphere and so in progressively
higher degrees of melting. These scenarios are investi-
gated in the context of the Ti–Yb proxy in Fig. 8.
Modelling of the Ti/Yb–Nb/Yb projection utilizes the
method and parameters published by Pearce (2005) for
pooled fractional melting over a pressure range of 1 to
6 GPa. The additional Nb and Ti partition coefficients are
from the same sources as those cited in that paper and may
be found in the caption to Fig. 8. The published method
actually models the melting of ‘plum-pudding’ mantle
with plums and matrix melting at different rate. In this
particular case, the fact that the garnet effect dominates
over component compositions (there is no significant
difference between alkalic OIB from HIMU-, EM1- and
EM2-influenced volcanoes on this projection) allows the
mantle to be modelled simply as homogeneous, i.e. using
the same equations but allowing plums and matrix to melt
at the same rate. Temperature controls the pressure at
which melting starts (the temperature–pressure relation-
ship at the solidus is taken from Hirschmann, 2000).
In Fig. 8a, melting trends drawn keeping pressure and
temperature constant demonstrate the significance of Ti–
Yb as a melting depth proxy. Calculated melting and
mantle depletion trends for three pressures: 2.5, 3.0 and
3.5 GPa reveal that shallow melting at 2.5 GPa or below
produces little fractionation in Ti/Yb with compositions
that stay within the MORB field during melting of DMM
30 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48

Fig. 8. Petrogenetic modelling of the Ti/Yb–Nb/Yb diagram. (a) illustrates the relationship between depth of isobaric melting and melt composition,
starting with an arbitrarily-chosen Primordial Mantle (PM) composition. There is a major change between 3.5 and 2.5 GPa, marking from garnet-
bearing to garnet-free melt residues. The residues themselves follow melt extraction trajectories to low Nb/Yb, with high-pressure residues having the
steeper trajectories. (b) illustrates polybaric melting trends (changing composition of pooled melt extracted from mantle that undergoes
decompression from the solidus to the pressure marked) for high and lower mantle potential temperatures corresponding to representative conditions
for the genesis of present-day MORB and OIB. (c) demonstrates the melt extraction trajectory for mantle losing small melt fractions during flow from
off-axis to ocean ridge; the melt trajectory marks compositions for 5% melting of this progressively-depleting mantle at different pressures. (d) gives
some examples, taken from Fig. 3, of volcanic suites that could be produced by different extents of melting of fertile, high temperature mantle
(Hawaii, 90E Ridge and Ontong-Java Plateau) and depleted, high temperature mantle (Gorgona). (e) gives some examples, also taken from Fig. 3, of
volcanic suites that could be produced by melting of variably-depleted, lower-temperature mantle (Australian-Antarctic Discordance and East Pacific
Rise). (f) demonstrates using the Easter Island–North Chile Ridge example from Fig. 3, how mantle becoming depleted during flow from plume to
ridge is an alternative to mantle mixing for explaining the diagonal trajectories. Petrogenetic parameters are from Pearce (2005) except that partition
coefficients for Nb are 0.008 (cpx/l), 0.02 (gt/l) and 0.004 (opx/l) for all pressures. Ti coefficients are 0.24, 0.20 and 0.17 (cpx/l for 2.5 GPa, 3 GPa
and 3.5 GPa), 0.12 and 0.10 (opx/l for 2.5 GPa and 3 GPa) and 0.2 and 0.16 (gt/l for 3 GPa and 3.5 GPa).

or PM compositions. This reflects the similar bulk parti-
tion coefficients for Ti and Yb during melting of spinel
lherzolite (the slight gradient reflecting the fact that Ti is
the slightly more incompatible). At 3.5 GPa, residual
garnet leads to extensive fractionation of Ti/Yb ratios
at low degrees of melting. Between these pressures,
starting at about 2.8 GPa, there is a progressive change
from shallow spinel lherzolite to deep garnet spinel
lherzolite mineralogies, exemplified by the intermediate
trend for 3 GPa. Because partition coefficients decrease
with increasing temperature while the proportion of re-
sidual garnet increases, magma compositions at 3.5 GPa
are similar to those at, say, 5 GPa (not shown).
For each melting trend, there is an equivalent mantle
depletion trend representing the melt extraction trajectory
of the mantle at the given pressure. Mantle depletion is
complementary to melting: Ti/Yb decreases more rapidly
in the mantle residue for melting at higher pressure,
reflecting the fact that Yb is retained in garnet. The precise
depletion trend is difficult to define precisely, because it is
dependent on the efficiency of melt extraction and the
relative importance of batch melting and fractional
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
melting, i.e. the extent of equilibration between melt and
residue. Two examples are shown here, at 2.5 and 3.5 GPa
for 2% melt retention. As will be seen, depleted mantle
melts in the same way as fertile mantle, giving steep
pooled fractional melting trends for deep-melting and
shallow trends for shallow melting.
Fig. 8b also highlights the significance of the
MORB–OIB boundary. Mantle of potential temperature
b 1350 °C will not generate trends that cross the MORB–
OIB boundary as the solidus is then intersected at
b 2.8 GPa, below the garnet-spinel phase boundary. As
mantle potential temperature (and hence depth of the
solidus) increases, more melting is needed to produce
basalts that lie within the MORB field. For mantle
potential temperatures of 1550 °C, comparable to those
proposed for the largest Mesozoic–Recent plumes, some
25% melting is needed to generate melts within the
MORB field; for depleted mantle, this value is lower by
an amount depending on how much melt had been
previously extracted. In terms of the MORB–OIB
boundary, therefore, samples plotting entirely within
the MORB field include MORB itself and oceanic pla-
teaus. Settings with hot mantle and variable lithospheric
thickness such as Iceland and Afar form data sets that
cross the boundary as lithosphere thickness decreases.
Fig. 8c models the effect of melting mantle that is
continuously undergoing depletion by melt extraction as
it flows to progressively shallow depth. In this case, the
mantle source is no longer fixed but instead moves
along a melt extraction trajectory. Mantle far from the
ridge axis, which is hotter and melts at greater depth, is
then more fertile than mantle beneath the ridge axis,
which is cooler and melts at shallow depth. The outcome
(illustrated in Fig. 8c for a constant degree of melting) is
an initially diagonal trend from OIB to MORB marking
a progressive decrease in residual garnet, followed by a
sub-horizontal trend within MORB marking garnet-free
petrogenesis.
Fig. 8d gives examples, taken from Fig. 3, of fer-
tile mantle (an arbitrarily-chosen primordial mantle
composition) of high potential temperature undergoing
decompression melting beneath lithosphere of different
thicknesses. Basalts erupted on thick lithosphere (exem-
plified by Hawaii) have the largest Ti/Yb ratios, basalts
erupted on thinner lithosphere (exemplified by the Ninety-
east Ridge), have intermediate ratios, but also plot in the
OIB field. Basalts erupted at or near a mid-ocean ridge
(exemplified by the Ontong Java Plateau), experience a
high degree of melting and so plot in the MORB field.
These compositions all lie on, or close to, the melting
trajectory for mantle intersecting the solidus at about
4 GPa. Depleted mantle, still hot enough to melt in garnet
31
facies, gives a melting trend which extends from the melt
extraction trajectory for deep, depleted mantle. The data
from Gorgona Island are consistent with such a model.
Fig. 8e models the effect of shallow melting. Mantle
that loses melt fractions at shallow depth while flowing
towards an ocean ridge may be variably depleted. The
result is MORB compositions which lie within the upper
part of the MORB field, as observed for the Australian-
Antarctic Discordance and East Pacific Rise examples
from Fig. 3. Note that most E-MORB cannot be ex-
plained unless the mantle has an added (low tempera-
ture) melt component — as recognised by Donnelly
et al. (2004).
Fig. 8f illustrates, using the Easter Island example,
the similarity between the theoretical trend for melting
of progressively-depleted mantle in Fig. 8c and the
diagonal trends observed for plume–ridge interaction in
Figs. 3 and 4. This type of model presents an alternative
to mixing for explaining the observation in Figs. 3 and 4
that there is an apparent geochemical link between the
ridges and nearby oceanic islands (Fig. 3) or continental
tholeiites (Fig. 4). Mantle mixing would, however, give a
similar result on this projection. Instead of lying on a melt
extraction trajectory, mantle would lie on a mixing line
between a depleted reservoir of, for example, Depleted
MORB Mantle composition and a fertile mantle of, for
example, Primordial Mantle composition. Because the
depleted source undergoes shallow melting near the ridge
and the enriched source undergoes deep melting away
from the axis, a diagonal, then horizontal, trajectory
would also be the outcome.
5. Applications to post-Archean ‘MORB ophiolites’
Pearce et al. (1984) defined two ophiolite types:
MORB ophiolite type and SSZ (supra-subduction zone)
type. The MORB-type, as defined, simply implies no
subduction component and pre-supposes an origin at a
spreading axis. MORB ophiolites could form not only at
a mid-ocean ridge but in an incipient ocean, at a plume-
influenced ridge, as part of an oceanic plateau, in a back-
arc basin some distance behind a subduction zone. The
diagrams evaluated here provide a method for confirm-
ing an intra-oeanic origin for ophiolites and for resolving
further the nature of the oceanic setting. To assess the
applicability of these diagrams for subdividing ophio-
lites, some examples have been plotted in Fig. 9.
5.1. C (crustally-contaminated)-MORB ophiolites
These are ophiolites with crustal signatures that may
form in a ridge-subduction setting, the ocean–continent
32 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48

Fig. 9. Illustration of the application of the two proxies to the sub-classification of four types of ‘MORB’ ophiolite: contaminated (C-type) in (a) and
(c); normal (N-type) in (b) and (d); enriched (E-type) in (e) and (g); and plume (P-type) in (f) and (h). Supra-Subduction Zone (SSZ) ophiolites are not
plotted as the focus of this paper is on oceanic basalts (MORB, OIB and OPB). Data sources: Guivel et al. (1999), Le Moigne et al. (1996), Zimmer et
al. (1995), Kamenetsky et al. (2000), Peltonen et al. (1996), Hauff et al. (2000).
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48 33

Table 1
Ophiolite classification from Pearce et al. (1984) but extended to subdivision of the MORB ophiolite type based on this paper
Ophiolite class SSZ SSZ MORB MORB MORB MORB
Magma type: BON-IAT MORB-IAT C-MORB N-MORB E-MORB P-MORB
Th–Nb proxy: Th-enrichment Th-enrichment Th-enrichment MORB–OIB array MORB–OIB array MORB–OIB array
Ti–Yb proxy: N-MORB field MORB field MORB field N-MORB field E-MORB field MORB–OIB fields
Y200 proxy: Low-Y High–low-Y High-Y High-Y High-Y Low–high Y
Sediment: Pelagic and/or arc Pelagic and/or Terrigenous Pelagic Pelagic Pelagic and/or
volcanogenic arc volcanogenic OIB volcanogenic
Order of ol–px–pl ol–pl–cpx ol–pl–cpx ol–pl–cpx ol–pl–cpx ol–cpx–pl
crystallization: ol–cpx–pl
Plutonic type: Peridotite; wehrlite Troctolite; Troctolite Troctolite Troctolite Wehrlite
wehrlite
Mantle: hz lhz–hz lhz lhz lhz hz
Setting: Subduction initiation; Arc-proximal Ridge subduction; Plume-distal Plume-distal MOR Plume-proximal MOR;
ridge-trench back-arc basin continental edge MOR; arc-distal and non-volcanic-rifted LIP; volcanic-rifted
intersections BAB margin margin
For details and most abbreviations, see text. Hz = harzburgite; lhz = lherzolite; ol = olivine; cpx = clinopyroxene; pl = plagioclase.

transition zone, and sedimented ridge crests. These
can potentially be mistaken for SSZ ophiolites: geo-
logical evidence and more detailed geochemical studies
(outlined in Table 1) are necessary to distinguish the
two.
The ophiolite suites of the Taitao Peninsula in Chile,
formed above a slab-free window by ridge subduction
beneath an accretionary complex (e.g. Lagabrielle et al.,
1994; Le Moigne et al., 1996), is a type example of this
ophiolite type. Dredged offshore samples representative of
the subducting Taitao Ridge (Guivel et al., 2003) give
compositions from a near-trench setting. For the ophiolite,
magma was generated at the subducting ridge by decom-
pression melting, the degree of melting being less than at a
mid-ocean ridge because of the thicker overlying litho-
sphere. The magma rises through the accretionary com-
plex, undergoing combined assimilation and fractional
crystallization (Lagabrielle et al., 1994). Shallow ponding
of magma with eruption onto the fore-arc sea floor gives an
ophiolite-like structure with pillow lavas, dykes, gabbros
and peridotites all present.
The key feature in Fig. 9a is that, for the ophiolite,
spatially-related samples plot both within the MORB–
OIB array and displaced to higher Th/Nb ratios, sup-
porting the Lagabrielle et al. (1994) model of variable
crustal contamination. The Taitao Ridge has a similar
geochemical composition but has been explained in
terms of contamination by a acid magma derived from
fusion of hydrated oceanic crust and sediments (Guivel
et al., 2003). For either explanation, the composition is
not strictly supra-subduction zone type, in that it is not
derived from a mantle wedge as in true SSZ ophiolites,
but by contamination of MORB. The contamination
signature combined with an ophiolite structure indicates
a C-type (crustally-contaminated) character. In Fig. 9c,
the data plot within the MORB array. Applying a Th/
Nb b 2 filter to eliminate samples with major crustal
contamination leaves just a few samples, all in the N-
MORB field. Thus, the samples may be interpreted as
contaminated N-MORB.
5.2. N (normal)-MORB ophiolites
These are defined here as ophiolites which predom-
inantly have compositions which are more depleted than
Primitive Mantle. Most, but not all, plume-distal mid-
ocean ridges and trench-distal back-arc ridges fall into
this category. A good example of an N-MORB ophiolite
is the Gabal Gerf complex, which is the largest Neo-
Proterozoic (c. 750 Ma) ophiolite in the Arabian-Nubian
shield. It has both trace element and isotope composi-
tions indicative of an N-MORB composition (Zimmer
et al., 1995). Using the projections here confirms
both the oceanic character (the data plot within the
MOB-OIB array on Fig. 9b) and N-MORB character (all
but one of the data points plot in the N-MORB field in
Fig. 9d.
5.3. E (enriched)-MORB ophiolites
These are defined here as ophiolites which predom-
inantly have compositions which are more enriched than
Primitive Mantle. They characterise some plume-distal
ridges together with some incipient oceans and some
small basins in long transform segments.
Macquarie Island, a Miocene ophiolite representing
the crust of the Macquarie Ridge, part of the Australia-
Pacific plate boundary north of New Zealand, is a type-
34 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
example of an E-MORB ophiolite. The boundary at the
time of formation was formed by a number of small
spreading centres connected by long transform offsets.
This is one of the few clear examples of an ophiolite
with a E-MORB signature and known tectonic setting
(Kamenetsky et al., 2000). The Th–Nb diagram
(Fig. 9e) confirms the oceanic setting with compositions
that mostly lie between average E-MORB and OIB. The
Ti–Nb diagram (Fig. 9g) confirms that the data plot in
the E-MORB, rather than OIB, field. Kamenetsky et al.
(2000) concluded that the ‘mantle heterogeneity [in the
Macquarie island glasses] implicated in this study is not
related to the Balleny plume mantle or magmas but is
more likely to be regional signature’. The fact that the
data plot in the E-MORB field of the Ti–Nb diagram
supports their conclusions: plume-proximal ridge set-
tings typically exhibit diagonal trends across the OIB-
MORB boundary whereas the cooler plume-distal
ridges have near-horizontal trends. The tectonic setting,
in which large transform faults separate ridge segments,
inhibits mantle flow (and hence mantle depletion by
melt extraction) and plate edges cool the mantle. Thus, a
petrogenetic model of relatively small degrees of shallow
melting indicated by comparing Fig. 9d with the
modelling in Fig. 8f is one possible explanation for the
E-type character; another is a mantle source that was
enriched previously at shallow depth, either during the
melting event itself or during the evolution of the mantle
reservoir (Donnelly et al., 2004).
A second, particularly important, example is the
Jormua ophiolite, dated at c. 1.95 Ga, which is one of
many Paleoproterozoic oceanic igneous complexes and
one of the oldest undisputed ophiolites (Peltonen et al.,
1996). Significantly, it is also the oldest E-MORB, as no
proposed Archean ophiolites have this composition. In
fact, Peltonen et al. (op.cit.) used Th-Ta systematics
similar to those developed here to establish the oceanic
origin and identified E-MORB characteristics, which
they related to a Red Sea-type oceanic setting. Fig. 9e
and g show the equivalent Th–Nb and Ti–Nb which
support its E-MORB oceanic character. Figs. 3h and 6h
provide a means of direct comparison with the Red Sea
analogue proposed by Peltonen et al. The modelling in
Fig. 8 supports an origin by shallow melting, either (as
discussed for Macquarie Island) involving low degrees
of melting, or enrichment by small melt fractions, in a
shallow melting environment. The Red Sea basalts vary
from compositions more depleted than average N-
MORB to E-MORB compositions very similar to those
of the Jormua ophiolite. Of course, the larger dispersion
of the Red Sea data may result from the fact that they are
taken from a much greater area than the ophiolite. Thus,
the interpretations made here are consistent with the
conclusions of Peltonen et al. (1996).
5.4. P (plume)-MORB ophiolites
These are defined here as ophiolites which predomi-
nantly have compositions which cluster around the Prim-
itive Mantle composition on the Ti–Nb proxy diagram
and/or form trends indicative of variable garnet influence.
They characterise plume-proximal ridges and plateaus.
Type examples of P-MORB ophiolites are the numer-
ous accreted fragments of oceanic terranes that line the
Pacific coast of Central America (Hauff et al., 1997,
2000). Hauff et al. (1997) prefer to term these ‘oceanic
igneous terranes’ rather than ‘ophiolites’ though Nicoya
and Herradura do at least have plutonic rocks as well as
lavas and could fit the ‘incomplete ophiolite’ definition
of the Penrose Conference Participants (1972). Fig. 9f
shows that data from these complexes lie within the
MORB–OIB array, confirming their oceanic character.
On the Ti–Nb plot (Fig. 9h), the c. 90 Ma Nicoya and
Herradura ‘ophiolites’ occupy the centre of the MORB
array. This is also the region occupied by the Ontong-
Java Plateau, Caribbean and Columbia data clusters
(Fig. 3), interpreted as high degrees of melting of fertile
mantle. This matches the interpretation of Hauff and
coworkers that they formed from oceanic magmatism at
a plume head (the Galapagos plume) and that they
represent part of an oceanic plateau, inferred to be the
Caribbean Plateau. The younger (66 Ma) Quepos oceanic
igeneous terrane lies in the tholeiitic OIB field, consistent
with the Hauff et al. interpretation that it is an accreted
fragment of an oceanic island chain.
The question then is how the different proxy-defined
ophiolite types relate to tectonic setting. As already
noted, C-MORB denotes sites of ridge-subduction and,
perhaps, ocean–continent transitions. N-MORB may
characterise any oceanic ridge. From what we know at
present, E-MORB characterises some plume-distal ridges,
non-volcanic-rifted margins, spreading segments within
transform boundaries and, more rarely, volcanic-rifted
margins such as the Red Sea. P-MORB characterises
plume–ridge interactions which may include LIPs,
plume-proximal ridges and incipient oceans at volcanic-
rifted margins.
In terms of other characteristics, SSZ ophiolites and
P-MORB ophiolites give the greatest extent of melting,
SSZ ophiolites because of subduction-derived water in
the mantle source and P-MORB ophiolites because of
higher mantle temperatures. This, in turn impacts on the
petrology of the ophiolite, reflected in a greater impor-
tance of olivine and clinopyroxene in cumulate sequences
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48 35

(such as abundant wehrlites) and a lesser importance of
clinopyroxene in mantle tectonite, resulting in more
harzburgites. In addition, chrome numbers are higher in
chromite and other geochemical proxies (such as Y200 —
Y content at 200 ppm Cr) are likely to be low (Pearce
et al., 1984).
Table 1 summarizes the MORB-SSZ ophiolite classi-
fication extended on the basis of the outcomes of this
paper.
6. Applications to the search for Archean
oceanic basalts
alies and heavy REE depletion in geochemical patterns
and in specific projections such as Zr/Nb v Nb/Th (e.g.
Condie 2005) and Ce/Nb–Th/Nb (e.g. Kerrich and Xie,
2002) and Zr/Y-Nb/Y (e.g. Baksi, 2001; Condie, 2005).
This section aims to evaluate the applicability of the two
proxies to the search for Archean oceanic basalts. As
explained in earlier sections, the Th/Yb–Nb/Yb and Ti/
Yb–Nb/Yb projections have been chosen to highlight
the two proxies while minimising other, complicating,
variables.
6.1. Application of the Th–Nb proxy to the Archean

Although proxies for crustal input and melting depth
are key to fingerprinting post-Archean basalts, their
applicability to the fingerprinting of Archean rocks is
less clear. They are, nonetheless, used extensively to
interpret Archean rocks, both in interpreting Nb anom-
There are few Archean basalts which have a tectonic
setting that is not debated, and this makes it difficult to
evaluate any proxy. However, for the Th–Nb proxy, a
useful starting point is Archean basalts and komatiites
for which a continental, non-subduction setting may be

Fig. 10. (a–d) A representative set of Archean greenstones of proposed continental provenance plotted on the Th–Nb proxy diagram. All plot above
the MORB–OIB array and/or have steep vectors oblique to the array, demonstrating extensive magma–crust interaction as modelled in Fig. 5e. (e–f)
Two proposed Archean greenstone suites of proposed subduction provenance, showing that they plot in the volcanic arc field with clear displacement
from the MORB–OIB array; HMA = high-Mg andesite. Data source: Green et al. (2000), Hollings et al. (1999), Tomlinson et al. (1999), Jochum et al.
(1991), McCuaig et al. (1994), Xie et al. (1995), Bolhar et al. (2003), Shimizu et al. (2005), Polat and Kerrich (2001), Smithies et al. (2005).
36 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48

demonstrated independent of trace elements, i.e. using
geology, inherited zircons and isotope systematics. For
geological reasons described in detail by Bickle et al.
(1994) and geochemical reasons described in the data
sources cited in Fig. 10, the best examples include East
Pilbara, Belingwe, Northern Superior and the Kalgoor-
lie-Norseman region of the Yilgarn craton (Fig. 10a–d).
The greenstone suites from these provinces form
diagonal trends that are steeper than the MORB–OIB
array. These trends reflect variable interaction between
uncontaminated magmas, which lie within a MORB–
OIB array, and crustal compositions, which lie above the
array (Fig. 5b). On this basis, the samples least influ-
enced by crust plot in, or just above, the present-day
MORB–OIB array. Thus it is evident that the Th–Nb
proxy is effective at highlighting Archean crustal input.
In fact, it is likely to be more effective in the Archean as
magma temperatures and crustal geotherms were likely
higher (e.g. Abbott et al., 1994) and felsic crust had
higher Th/Nb than present-day felsic rocks (Rudnick
et al., 1985).
To test the response of the Th–Nb proxy to Archean
subduction, volcanic sequences made up of BADR–
adakite–boninite–NEB assemblages (where BADR =
basalt–andesite–dacite–rhyolite series and NEB = Nb-
enriched basalt) provide the best candidates. Of these,
the 3.12 Ga Whundo Group in West Pilbara (Smithies
et al., 2005) and the 2.7 Ga Wawa Belt in the Superior
province (Polat and Kerrich, 2001) are the best docu-
mented and these are plotted in Fig. 10e–f. They are
not identical to present-day subduction sequences, an
observation attributed by the proponents of a subduction

Fig. 11. (a–e) A representative set of Archean greenstones of proposed oceanic provenance plotted on the Th–Nb proxy diagram. Most plot above the
MORB–OIB array and/or follow vectors oblique to the array, demonstrating extensive crustal input and indicating either that Archean oceanic basalts
can interact extensively with oceanic crust, or that many inferred Archean MORB, IOB and OPB should be re-interpreted as continental basalts. (f) A
plot of the low Th/Nb end-members for all continental and oceanic trends, demonstrating that the Archean MORB–OIB array would have been
similar to the present-day array. This implies that primordial mantle (PM) separated into Archean continental crust (A) and Archean mantle (AM) in
the Hadean. Data sources: Puchtel et al. (1998, 1999), Sun and Hickman (1999), Polat and Hofmann (2003), Polat et al. (2002), Kerrich and Xie
(2002), Xie and Kerrich (1994), Chavagnac (2004), Parman et al. (1997), Jochum et al. (1991).
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
origin to hotter subduction with more common slab
melting. However, the data still all plot above the
MORB–OIB array, consistent with a selective enrich-
ment of Th relative to Nb in a subduction component.
The NEB lavas, which are believed to originate above
slab windows, generally have the lowest Th/Nb ratios,
although the fact that they lie above the present-day
MORB–OIB array probably indicates a non-zero sub-
duction input. Thus, as at the present day, the Th–Nb
proxy also provides a means by which Archean basalts
with a crustal component introduced by subduction may
be distinguished from oceanic basalts.
The second set of examples (Fig. 11) includes
Archean basalts and komatiites proposed, some contro-
versially, to lie within the MORB–OIB–OPB (oceanic
basalt) spectrum. Arguments for an oceanic origin may
be geological or based on the absence of zircon
xenocrysts or the ubiquity of juvenile Nd isotope ratios,
or a combination of these. It is evident, however, that few
of the proposed oceanic greenstones plot entirely within
the present-day MORB–OIB array: most have signifi-
cant proportions of samples with higher Th/Nb ratios.
The exceptions are the Kostomuksha greenstone belt in
the NW and the Sumozero–Kenozero greenstone belt in
the SE of the Baltic shield. Both are characterised by
submarine basalt–komatiite sequences containing both
pillowed and massive flows and interpreted by Puchtel
et al. (1998, 1999) as the upper parts of oceanic plateaus.
These are the only Archean greenstones (of those plotted)
to have unenriched mantle sources and plot almost
entirely within the MORB–OIB array in a similar po-
sition to basalts from the Ontong-Java Plateau in Fig. 3p.
These therefore represent the least controversial candi-
dates for Archean oceanic basalts. The Boston Township
samples also lie within the MORB–OIB array, though
their more enriched compositions would have made
contamination less easy to detect (Fig. 5e). Most other
greenstones have a significant proportion of samples
above the MORB–OIB array, and/or plotting — on
crustal vectors. For these, there are two options: either
they are oceanic basalts which experienced oceanic
crustal input under Archean tectonothermal conditions;
or they should be re-examined in terms of a subduction-
related or ensialic setting.
If the first option is valid, Archean oceanic basalts
must be able to pick up crustal signals that are much
greater than those in their present-day equivalents. There
are at least five possibilities: a high Th–Nb Archean
MORB–OIB array; Th mobility during high grade
metamorphism; crustal recycling; intra-oceanic contam-
ination; and delamination. These are considered in turn
below with evaluation of potential examples.
37
6.1.1. Temporal variations in the MORB–OIB array
As a number of publications have pointed out (e.g.
Hofmann et al., 1986; Jochum et al., 1991; Sylvester
et al., 1997), primordial mantle has a higher Th/Nb ratio
than present-day mantle. During Earth history, primor-
dial mantle separates into crust (with high Th/Nb) and
mantle (with lower Th/Nb). If this separation took place
in the Hadean, as some have proposed, the Archean
MORB–OIB array and present-day MORB–OIB arrays
will be similar. However, if crustal growth is progressive
(e.g., Jochum et al., 1991), then the earliest Archean
MORB–OIB array will be centred about the primordial
mantle composition. It will then translate to its present
(lower Th/Nb) position over time, so allowing some
Archean rocks to plot above the present-day MORB–
OIB array.
The c. 3 Ga greenstones of the Regal Formation of
the Cleaverville area of West Pilbara (Fig. 11b) provide
a test of this possibility as they lie above, and parallel
to, the present MORB–OIB array. Ohta et al. (1996)
consider these to be oceanic basalts emplaced into an
accretionary complex and describe them as Archean
MORB (A-MORB). They use this inference to deduce
the composition and temperature of the Archean MORB
mantle source. Sun and Hickman (1999) revised some
of Ohta et al.'s geochemical data (notably Th and Nb)
but nonetheless agreed that the rocks had a MORB-like
composition, although they raised the possibility of
subduction input on the basis of the small negative Nb
anomalies.
Fig. 12. Representative MORB- and Ti-normalized patterns for the
four main types of Archean oceanic basalt: Al-depleted komatiite
(ADK) type (Barberton), Al-undepleted komatiite (AUK) type
(Munro), high-Ti, low-Al type (Boston) and low-Ti type (Isua). The
wide range of Ti–Yb patterns, superficially similar to the present-day
patterns in Fig. 1c illustrates the variability in residual garnet in
Archean magma genesis.
38 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
These negative Nb anomalies are evident in Fig. 11b,
where high Th/Nb causes the Cleaverville data to plot
above the present-day MORB–OIB array. However, if
Archean mantle had experienced little depletion through
crustal growth by 3 Ga, the Cleverville data could plot
within a 3 Ga MORB–OIB array displaced to higher Th/
Nb. The key test of the Ohta et al. (1996) hypothesis is
therefore the position of the Archean MORB–OIB array.
The latter may be estimated by taking the samples with
the least crustal input (lowest Th/Nb) from the various
localities plotted in Figs. 10 and 11. Some will be maxi-
mum values, as some localities may have no samples that
have avoided crustal interaction. Despite this, the result
(Fig. 11f) shows that the vast majority of samples
plot inside the present-day MORB–OIB array. This
includes the oldest greenstones of Isua and Barberton,
some of which plot in the centre of the array. Thus, the
array does not obviously vary with time. Note that this
conclusion is different from that obtained by Jochum et
al. (1991), who argued that ‘basalts show a secular
increase in Nb/Th because of progressive depletion of
the upper mantle complementary to growth of continen-
tal crust’. An implication of this work is that magma–
crust interactions may have been underestimated in
crustal growth studies.
Thus, the finding of this paper is that the MORB–
OIB array may be approximately static throughout the
rock record and this in turn implies a Hadean episode of
crustal growth. This implies that the Cleaverville ba-
salt compositions are unlikely to represent Archean A-
MORB as Ohta et al. (1996) proposed. They may have
erupted in a supra-subduction zone setting as Sun and
Hickman (1999) inferred, or in a continental setting, or
have been oceanic but modified by one of the processes
described below.
6.1.2. Amphibolite facies metamorphism
Th enrichment relative to Nb may be achieved by high
grade metamorphism. Experiments demonstrate that Th
is strongly mobilized by melts and weakly mobilized by
high temperature aqueous fluids, while Nb is weakly
mobilized by melts but not significantly mobilized by
aqueous fluids (e.g. Keppler, 1996; Johnson and Plank,
1999). Adakites, with their large negative Nb anomalies,
are one manifestation of Th–Nb fractionation by melting
of oceanic crust. Empirical studies clearly demonstrate
that the volcanic rocks most susceptible to subsolidus Th
enrichment are those interlayered with sediments in
volcano-sedimentary sequences or mélanges. In such
cases, fluids or melts released from sediments can trans-
fer Th via supercritical fluids or melts into coeval and
actively metamorphosing metabasalts (e.g. Sorensen and
Grossman, 1989). The result is near-vertical displace-
ment of compositions from the MORB–OIB array.
Of the rock suites plotted, the Isua greenstones
(Fig. 11c) attained the highest metamorphic grade with
peak metamorphism reaching temperatures of c.600 °C
for most rocks and N650 °C in the Garbenschiefer
(Dymek et al., 1988). They follow two distinct series, one
(in the Central domain) with ultra-depleted Nb/Yb, the
other (elsewhere) with Nb/Yb more typical of Archean
greenstones. Komiya et al. (2004) interpreted the Isua
greenstones as the volcanic component of an accretionary
complex, the depleted series representing accreted
Archean MORB, and the relatively enriched series
represented accreted Archean OIB. This interpretation
does not explain why so few samples plot in the MORB–
OIB array. Polat et al.'s (2002) interpretation of the ultra-
depleted series as boninites formed in a supra-subduction
zone setting better fits the steep axis of dispersion of the
data, though it does not explain the parallel trend of the
second (non-boninite-like) series. A simple comparison
with Fig. 10 shows that a continental setting would also fit
the data, though Komiya et al. (2004) and Polat et al.
(2002) both argue on geological and other grounds against
an ensialic origin.
Thus, if the Isua greenstones are to be accepted as
oceanic basalts, the steep trend on the Th–Nb proxy
diagram has to be explained in the context of an oceanic
origin and subsequent metamorphic evolution. Of the
possibilities listed here, the magnitude of the displacement
and the steepness of the trends makes metamorphism
potentially the most viable explanation. Significantly, Frei
et al. (2002) and Polat and Hofmann (2003) found that
metasomatic fluids rich in Th and other LILE, but not in
Nb and other HFSE, probably infiltrated the Isua volcanic
sequence. In consequence, Komiya et al. (2004) could be
correct in their assertions. A more detailed study would,
however, be needed to ‘see through’ any Th metasoma-
tism to evaluate whether the pre-metasomatic composi-
tions would all fall within the MORB–OIB array.
6.1.3. Deep crustal recycling
Fig. 3 shows that a small subset of present-day
oceanic basalts plot above the MORB–OIB array as
they are derived from mantle containing a component
(EM2) of likely recycled crustal origin. This is because
Th–Nb is a proxy of crustal input, whether that input is
crustal contamination, subduction, alteration by crustal
fluids, or crustal recycling.
Kerrich and Xie (2002) used the Th–Nb proxy as part
of the Saunders et al. (1988) projection of Ce/Nb v Th/
Nb to demonstrate crustal involvement in the genesis of
Abitibi plume-related greenstones from the Superior
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
province. Given the absence of any evidence for sub-
duction or Th mobility during metamorphism, crustal
contamination is an obvious explanation. However,
Kerrich et al. (1999) and Kerrich and Xie (2002) argue
convincingly that geological characteristics, juvenile
isotope ratios, absence of Si–LILE correlations and
absence of inherited zircons all point to an intra-oceanic
setting, specifically an ‘aerially extensive oceanic pla-
teau erupted from an anomalously hot super-plume’.
Hence they invoke deep recycling of oceanic crust to
explain how such intra-oceanic, plume-derived magmas
can attain high and variable Th/Nb ratios.
Plotting their data on the Th/Yb–Nb/Yb projection
(Fig. 11d) similarly demonstrates the scatter of compo-
sitions from the MORB–OIB array towards high Th/Nb
ratios. While crustal recycling may be important in the
Archean, interpreting the data in this way conflicts with
the interpretations made in this paper for post-Archean
lavas. Fig. 3 demonstrated that, at the present day, the
EM2 component only causes magmas to plot above the
MORB–OIB array in a few locations and then pre-
dominantly in rocks with high Nb/Yb ratios, i.e. alkali
basalts. The interpretation made through modelling
(Fig. 5f) is that these rocks are the product of small
degrees of heterogeneous partial melting. This enables
the most fusible components – the crustal components –
to contribute most to the first melts and so impart high
Th/Nb ratios. With high degrees of melting, the crustal
contribution should be diluted by melting of the less
fusible components, some of which may have comple-
mentary, low Th/Nb; the result is that tholeiites pre-
dominantly plot within the MORB–OIB array.
In the high temperature, sub-oceanic ‘superplume’
envisaged by Kerrich and Xie (2002), the rocks are
tholeiitic (and komatiitic) rather than alkalic and degrees
of melting are high. That means that the ‘magnifying
effect’ of low degrees of melting does not apply. The
mass fraction of recycled crust needed to explain the
high Th/Nb observed would therefore be greater than
anything reported at the present day. Moreover, there
would need to be large-scale compositional heterogene-
ities as many lavas plot in the centre of the MORB–OIB
array and so require no recycling. Kerrich and Xie
(2002) explain this variability in terms of a zoned plume
with entrained crust restricted to its margins. Recycling
may be possible on this basis, though there are alterna-
tive ways to achieve Th enrichment in an oceanic envi-
ronment, including that described below.
6.1.4. Contamination within oceanic volcanic edifices
At the present day, oceanic magmas may undergo
contamination on ascent, even though the effects are
39
small. Davidson and Bohrson (1998) concluded from a
Chapman conference on shallow-level processes in
ocean–island magmatism that ‘(1) interaction with the
crust is probable or even inevitable on the basis of
physical considerations (thermal flux, magma chamber
residence to produce differentiates, etc.), although the
chemical consequences of such interaction may be subtle
to non-existent; and (2) identification of crustal contam-
ination is made easier by the presence of compositionally
distinct contaminants (sediments, hydrothermally al-
tered rocks)’. Compared to oceanic volcanic provinces at
the present day, Archean magmas were hotter, perhaps
up to 300 °C for the equivalent setting (e.g. Nisbet et al.,
1993; Abbott et al., 1994), and oceanic crust was corre-
spondingly thicker (e.g. Moores, 2002). This will in-
crease the magma heat power transferred from mantle to
crust (e.g. Fowler et al., 2004) and hence increase the
potential for crust–magma interaction at deep, as well as
shallow, levels. Although bulk assimilation is unlikely to
influence Th/Nb ratio (the bulk crust itself lies within the
MORB–OIB array), ATA, whereby the country rock
releases partial melt as contaminant, will do so: partial
fusion of a buried, hydrated basalt should give a contam-
inant of TTG composition.
The Komati formation of the Barberton greenstone belt
highlights the difficulty of assigning tectonic settings to
ancient terranes. With access to much the same geological
and geochemical information, the greenstones have been
interpreted as oceanic crust (De Wit et al., 1987 and
subsequent papers), a supra-subduction setting (Parman
et al., 1997), a continental or continent-proximal setting
(Kröner and Todt, 1988), and an oceanic plateau
(Chavagnac, 2004). Fig. 11e shows that a significant
proportion of Barberton greenstones plot outside present-
day MORB–OIB array, and that data follow a steep
diagonal trend beginning in the centre of the MORB–OIB
array and extending above it. This trend does not support a
subduction origin, as all samples should then lie above the
MORB–OIB array. It does, however, imply some crustal
input, though the magnitude of this input is less than what
would be expected for continental settings given the likely
high temperature of Barberton magmas. One option is a
continental setting with a high magma flux and hence
common contamination-free pathways. An oceanic
plateau origin for Barberton (i.e. fully intra-oceanic rather
than a detached fragment of volcanic continental margin)
may, however, be a better option, provided the Th–Nb
trend can be explained in an oceanic context.
As the low Th/Nb end-member from the Barberton
trend lies in the centre of the present-day MORB–OIB
array, the precise position of the MORB–OIB array is
not an issue here. Metamorphism is not sufficiently high
40 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
grade, and the Th–Nb gradient insufficiently steep, to
support Th mobility as an explanation. Deep crustal
recycling should not produce such a well-defined trend
because mantle containing variable crustal components
should also melt to different extents, giving an along-
array component of variation. As a result, oceanic
crustal contamination is the most promising explanation
that would still permit an oceanic origin. Because melt
extracted from hydrated, deeply buried basalt potentially
has an element composition similar to that of Archean
continental (TTG) crust, the resolution of this debate
will need high-resolution isotopic studies to establish
the age of any contaminant. Such studies to date are
limited but favour a continental setting (Wilson and
Carlson, 1989).
6.1.5. Delamination and mantle re-fertilization
Bédard (2006) discussed in detail the possibility that
greenstones could achieve subduction-like crustal
signals by mantle re-fertilization. In his model, similar
to that of Zegers and van Keken (2001), thick magmatic
sequences build up on static lithosphere and develop a
high-density (eclogitic) root. Delamination of this root
re-fertilizes the uprising asthenosphere and promotes
melting. If re-fertilization by clinopyroxene and garnet
involves fusion of delaminated eclogite, then the pro-
ducts could acquire a negative Nb anomaly as well has
having juvenile isotope ratios.
Bédard (2006) concludes that ‘re-fertilization of
depleted upper mantle sources by delaminated crustal
restites has the potential to generate melts with trace
element signatures similar to those of Munro-Type
komatiites’. He modelled Munro-type compositions by
melting a mixture of depleted harzburgite and an eclogite
residue from TTG genesis. In Fig. 11d, Munro volcanic
rocks occupy a field extending from the centre of the
MORB–OIB array to a depleted Nb/Yb, but enriched Th/
Yb, composition. Such a trend could signify addition of a
constant crustal component to mantle of variable com-
position. Alternatively, it could indicate a mixture of two
compositions, one of depleted mantle with a crustal
component, the other an asthenosphere composition that
lies within the MORB–OIB array. In either case, a crustal
component above the MORB–OIB array is needed. This
is not obviously compatible with the addition of crust that
has lost a TTG component as Bédard's model requires.
However, delamination of a less residual eclogite could
potentially explain the trend observed. Note, however,
that straightforward crustal contamination of magma is
also an explanation for the Munro trend.
Thus examination of Th–Nb patterns in the Archean
reveal that, although an Archean MORB–OIB array
should be similar to that observed at the present day,
surprisingly few Archean basalts plot within this array.
This indicates either that few Archean basalts have an
oceanic origin, or that the increased heat flow means that
contamination is extensive even in oceanic lithosphere,
and/or that some other process such as recycling or
delamination was more important in the Archean than at
the present day. If the oceanic settings are continental
and have been misinterpreted, the proxy is correctly
informing us about Archean environments; if not, purely
uniformitarian application of the Th–Nb proxy, and
their equivalents, to the Archean requires caution.
6.2. Application of the Ti–Yb proxy to the Archean
Independent of crustal input, geochemical patterns
divide Archean basalts and komatiites into four groups, as
Fig. 12 illustrates using MORB- and Ti-normalized
patterns. The first and most common, represented by
the Munro komatiite, has a flat pattern with no HREE-
depletion and is typical of Al-undepleted komatiites
(AUK). The second, represented by the Barberton
komatiite, has a negative gradient with HREE-depletion
and is typical of Al-depleted komatiites (ADK). The third,
typified by the Boston Township komatiite, has a steeper
negative gradient and characterises Al-depleted and Ti-
enriched komatiites. The fourth, represented by the Isua
Central domain, has a positive gradient and characterises
Ti-depleted komatiites. It is already well-established
through experiment that komatiites require high mantle
potential temperatures (e.g. Herzberg, 1992; Walter,
1998) and that ADK differs from AUK in having garnet
as a crystallizing phase in a magma ocean (e.g. Gruau et
al., 1990; Inoue et al., 2000) or as a residual phase from
deeper or lower degrees of melting (e.g. McCuaig et al.,
1994). It has been proposed that the Ti-enriched lavas
represent low degrees of melting at shallow depths, or
higher degrees of melting at greater depth, in each case
with a garnet residue (e.g. Xie et al., 1995). The Ti-
depleted lavas represent remelting of depleted, garnet-rich
mantle residues (e.g. Polat et al., 2002). The goal of this
section is briefly to address the question of whether the
Ti–Yb proxy (and, by implication, the Gd–Yb and Zr–Y
proxies) has any relevance to tectonic setting in
the Archean. This will establish the extent to which
Phanerozoic discriminant diagrams using Y and the
HREE may be applied to the Archean.
Fig. 13 carries plots of Archean greenstones from
Figs. 10 and 11 on the Ti–Yb proxy diagram. As before,
a useful start is to plot the samples known to have a
continental setting (Fig. 12a) using, as before, a filter to
exclude samples with Th/Nb N 0.2. The continental lavas
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48 41

Fig. 13. (a) Archean greenstones of proposed continental provenance plotted on the Th–Nb proxy diagram. Most plot in the MORB field, whereas
present-day continental basalts only plot in the MORB field at continental break-up; this likely reflects hotter Archean mantle. (b–e) Archean
greenstones of proposed oceanic provenance form similar trends to the continental greenstones. Fig. 10f gives the melting column trends for proposed
Archean MORB (4 GPa trend) and Early Archean plumes (10 GPa trend), demonstrating that, in both cases, some 2 GPa of decompression are needed
for Archean magmas to plot in the present-day MORB field. Thus, the Ti–Yb proxy (like Gd/Yb) has petrogenetic significance but would not give an
effective discriminant between ocean island and MORB magmas in the Archean (should plate tectonics have been active at this time).

plotted in Fig. 13a follow a diagonal trend overall. The
majority plot in the MORB field between N-MORB and
Primitive Mantle compositions, and a subset extends
into the OIB field. Fig. 13a also includes the 3.33 Ga
Commondale lavas from the Kaapvaal craton (Wilson,
2003) for which no Th concentrations have been pub-
lished but Nd isotopes demonstrate an ensialic setting
(Wilson and Carlson, 1989). Their Ti/Yb ratios (and Nb/
Yb ratios) are at an ultra-low level not found in present-
day continental settings and require remelting of garnet-
bearing mantle residues.
Commondale apart, the overall dispersion is almost
identical to that of Phanerozoic volcanic-rifted margins
such as the North Atlantic margin (Fig. 7b) and the
India–Antarctic margin (Fig. 7c), although a much
greater proportion of samples cluster in the MORB field.
The difference is that Phanerozoic volcanic-rifted
margins extend from OIB compositions on the con-
tinents, through transitional compositions on attenuated
continental lithosphere, to MORB on thinned continen-
tal and young oceanic lithosphere. In the Archean, all
the samples in Fig. 13a are continental and (if plates
existed) erupted in an intra-plate setting. Most likely,
therefore, the higher mantle potential temperatures in
the Archean resulted in sufficiently high degrees of
melting that lithospheric thickness is no longer the basis
of an effective discriminant using Ti and Yb. Some lavas
(those in the OIB field) may have experienced less
melting, but this is likely to be a function of plume
dynamics rather than plate tectonics (e.g. Xie et al.,
1995).
The greenstones interpreted as oceanic have been
plotted in Fig. 13b–e. The Baltic Shield lavas inter-
preted as having an oceanic plateau origin (Puchtel
42 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
et al., 1998, 1999) plot in a very similar field to modern
equivalents such as the Ontong-Java Plateau. Barberton
contains ADK, and hence an origin by melting with
residual garnet, which extends the field to higher Ti/Yb,
though the data still plot in the MORB field. Isua and S.
Abitibi both form diagonal trends extending above and
below the present-day MORB array. As with the
Commondale lavas, the samples from the Isua Central
Domain and Tisdale with ultra-low Ti/Yb require
remelting of garnet-bearing mantle residues.
From the modelling perspective (Fig. 13f), high
pressure melting trajectories have similar topologies to
lower pressure trajectories on this projection. Essentially,
the effect of increased stability of garnet at higher
pressures, and hence the greater proportion of garnet in
mantle residues for a given degree of melting, is balanced
by the effect of lower Yb partition coefficients (e.g.
Draper et al., 2003). Garnet-melt partition coefficients for
Ti, in contrast, do not decrease to an equivalent extent.
At the present day, Fig. 8 demonstrated that the
hottest plumes (with Tp of 1550–1600 °C) should
intersect the dry mantle solidus at about 4 GPa if they
rise adiabatically, and so follow the 4 GPa melting
column trajectory in Fig. 12f. Pooled melt fractions from
a melting column intersecting the solidus at 4 GPa
should initially give compositions in the OIB array, but
move into the MORB array after some 2-2.5 GPa of
decompression, i.e. beneath a conductive lithosphere
some 60 km thick. Thus at the present day, only ridge-
proximal plumes give compositions in the MORB field.
In the early Archean, mantle potential temperatures of
1550 °C are believed to characterise ocean ridges and
produce oceanic crust some 20-25 km thick (e.g. Moores,
2002) and this should lead to sufficient decompression to
produce compositions well within the MORB field. By
contrast, the hottest Archean plumes, with mantle
potential temperatures some 300 °C greater, would
intersect the dry mantle solidus at 10 GPa, perhaps
more. The melting column trajectory for 10 GPa reaches
the MORB field, again after some 2 GPa of decompres-
sion but at considerably greater depth. Further decom-
pression, to the base of both thick and thin lithosphere
(intra-plate and ridge), will then yield compositions in the
centre of the MORB field close to the starting mantle
composition. Thus for melting of fertile Archean mantle,
the Ti–Yb proxy cannot distinguish between MORB and
OIB (or OPB). Archean samples in the OIB field must
then reflect plume dynamics rather than plate tectonics
(e.g. small degrees of melting at plume margins), as many
authors have proposed.
The ultra-depleted samples that lie below the MORB
array are particularly interesting. At the present day, no
known rocks have such low Ti/Yb ratios (i.e. are derived
from such depleted sources) though a small subset of
boninites do plot beneath the MORB array. This has led to
the uniformitarian interpretation (Polat et al., 2002;
Wilson, 2003) that these depleted lavas represent Archean
boninites formed in a subduction setting. However, if
residual mantle is of higher temperature that at the present
day, then water may not be needed for remelting: a second
episode of decompression may suffice. Thus, if there were
Archean ocean ridges, and if these ridges were fed by still-
hot mantle depleted by melting in mantle plumes, then
lavas of this composition could be a feature of Archean
ridges and Archean oceanic crust could have been a lot
thinner than envisaged. This would mean that Komiya
et al. (2004) were correct in their interpretation of Isua.
However, the Commondale data demonstrate that com-
positions with ultra-low Ti/Yb were not restricted to oce-
anic environments. These depleted compositions could,
therefore, be characteristic of many settings: continental,
subduction or ocean ridge.
It is possible to conclude, therefore, that this diagram
and its equivalents have petrogenetic use in interpreting
Archean greenstones, but cannot be used to distinguish
OIB and MORB, and provide no obvious evidence that
plate tectonics took place in the Archean. This means
that the Ti–Yb proxy cannot be apply to the Archean
as a tectonic discriminant, at least not without more
detailed evaluation. The same applies to other mantle
depth proxies such as Zr/Y and Gd/Yb, though all are
important in interpreting the petrogenesis of Archean
magmas.
7. Conclusions
1. Fingerprinting oceanic basalts is a two stage pro-
cess: identifying oceanic as opposed to continental
and subduction-related basalts; and subdividing
the basalts identified as oceanic into MORB, OIB
and OPB.
2. MORB-normalized geochemical patterns, double-
normalized to – Yb and – Ti to better highlight the
less incompatible end of the diagram, demonstrate
that the variance in a suite of oceanic basalts may be
partitioned into variance derived from crustal input
(represented by the Th–Nb part of the pattern),
source composition and degree of melting (repre-
sented by the Th–Ti part of the pattern), and deep
melting (represented by the Ti–Yb part of the
pattern).
3. Enrichment of Th relative to the equally-incom-
patible Nb provides a particularly effective proxy
of crustal input. On the Th/Yb–Nb/Yb proxy
 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
diagram, oceanic basalts plot in a diagonal
(MORB–OIB) array. Volcanic arc basalts, with
crustal input via subduction, plot in an array
displaced to higher Th/Nb ratios. Crustal input via
contamination or deep recycling, produces trends
oblique to the MORB–OIB array that extend into
the volcanic arc array. There remains a small
ambiguity because some lower crustal rocks have
depleted Th, in which case La additionally needs to
be used.
4. Modelling the sensitivity of the Th–Nb proxy
to crustal addition, indicates how subduction,
magma–crust interaction and crustal recycling
drive magma compositions out of the MORB–
OIB array. For subduction, depleted mantle wedge
compositions are most sensitive to fluid and melt
addition. Similarly, depleted magmas are most
sensitive to crust–magma interactions. In contrast,
crustal recycling is most evident in alkali basalts,
in part because crustal components in the mantle
may preferentially enter the first melt fractions
(and so be magnified by small degrees of melting)
and in part because alkali basalt magmas are least
sensitive to crust–magma interaction.
5. Enrichment in Ti relative to garnet-compatible Yb
provides a proxy for depth of melting. On the Ti/
Yb–Nb/Yb diagram, MORB form a shallow array
and basalts with significant residual garnet (i.e.
OIB) plot above the array. Products of plume–ridge
interactions form diagonal trends from the OIB to
the MORB arrays. MORB can be subdivided into
N- and E-MORB and OIB can be subdivided into
alkalic and tholeiitic compositions.
6. Modelling the sensitivity of the Ti–Yb proxy to
garnet melting demonstrates that basalts will plot
in the OIB, as opposed to MORB, field only if the
mantle potential temperature and lithospheric
thickness are sufficient to leave significant
residual garnet. Thus, at the present day, MORB
and near-ridge products of plume–ridge interac-
tions occupy the MORB field whereas most intra-
plate magmas occupy the OIB field.
7. The proxy-based diagrams work well for Phaner-
ozoic and probably also Proterozoic ophiolites,
allowing MORB ophiolites to be subdivided into
C (contaminated)-MORB, N (normal)-MORB,
E (enriched)-MORB and P (plume-influenced)-
MORB sub-types. This may assist subdivision of
ridge-type into plume-distal ridges, plume-proximal
ridges, ridge-subduction settings, edges of LIPs,
incipient oceans at volcanic and non-volcanic-rifted
margins and subduction-distal back-arc basins.
43
8. Archean basalts are particularly sensitive to
magma–crust interaction because the hotter mag-
mas, the higher Th content of their felsic rocks, the
absence of enriched (alkali) basalts, and the
apparent absence of low-Th granulites all mean
that crustal interaction is usually widespread and
easy to detect geochemically with the Th–Nb
proxy. Although some 98% of present-day oceanic
basalts plot in the MORB–OIB array on a Th–Nb
proxy diagram, few Archean greenstone suites,
even those proposed on the basis of other criteria to
be oceanic, plot entirely within the present-day
MORB–OIB array. Thus, either many of these have
been misinterpreted as oceanic or Archean oceanic
basalts are much more susceptible to crustal input.
Displacement of the MORB–OIB array, mobility
during metamorphism, crustal recycling, intra-
edifice contamination and mantle re-fertilization
by delamination all provide opportunities for
Archean oceanic basalts to give crust-like signa-
tures. Thus, use of the Th–Nb proxy to define
Archean oceanic basalts requires caution at present.
9. Although there are notable exceptions, the major-
ity of Archean greenstones, even those with clear
continental affinities, have flat MORB-normalized
patterns and plot in the MORB array on the Ti–Yb
proxy diagram. This is probably because the
higher Archean potential temperatures mean that
significant residual garnet is rare and not critically
dependent on lithospheric thickness as at the
present day. Thus the Th–Yb proxy has petroge-
netic relevance but tectonic relevance to Archean
rocks has yet to be found.
10. Like all diagrams used for fingerprinting, there are
precautions needed in interpreting basalts of un-
known affinities. The question of applicability of
present-day proxies to the Archean is discussed
above. In addition, for the Ti–Nb projection, it is
important to filter out evolved rocks and basalts
that have had magnetite on the liquidus; this is
best done simply by filtering out any with sig-
nificant negative Ti anomalies (Ti/Ti⁎ b 0.85). It is
also necessary to filter out samples which have
experienced significant crustal contamination by
plotting only samples with Th/Nb b 0.2. The Th–
Nb plot is susceptible to misinterpretation in high
grade metamorphic terranes. The Ti–Nb plot is
robust for most metamorphic grades but rare in-
stances of metasomatic Yb addition (Larsen et al.,
1998) need to be identified, as they may move
samples from the OIB array to the MORB array
and below.
44 J.A. Pearce / Lithos 100 (2008) 14–48
Acknowledgements
I am particularly grateful to Yilirim Dilek who en-
couraged me to publish this work and provided editorial
support. Reviews by Harald Furnes, Rob Kerrich, Ali
Polat and Bob Stern improved the manuscript. Some
geochemical analyses were supported by Joint Infrastruc-
ture Grant NER/H/S/2000/00862.
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