Heavy potassium isotopes in carbonatites reveal oceanic crust subduction as the driver of deep carbon cycling

Carbon cycling between surface and mantle reservoirs is pivotal in fostering habitability of Earth. A critical yet poorly constrained parameter is whether crustal carbon can "survive" devolatilization processes that accompany slab subduction and therefore influence deep carbon budgets. Carbonatites provide a key record to address this important topic. Here, we present high-precision potassium isotope data for a large set of carbonatite samples from both continental and oceanic settings, spanning from 2 billion years ago to the present. Modeling suggests that the heavy potassium isotopic compositions of carbonatites are inherited from their mantle sources, rather than resulting from magmatic and postmagmatic processes. Our results demonstrate a strong link between the subduction of oceanic crust and the recycling of carbonates into the mantle sources of carbonatites. These findings support the hypothesis that subduction of carbonate-bearing altered oceanic crust has been a critical mechanism for transferring carbon into the deep Earth through time.

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Publication Details

Journal
Science Advances
Published
2025-06-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt1023
Citations
9
Primary Topic
Geological and Geochemical Analysis
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
16.80
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article

Heavy potassium isotopes in carbonatites reveal oceanic crust subduction as the driver of deep carbon cycling

Jun Deng, Edward Inglis, Kun‐Feng Qiu, Frédéric Moynier et al.
9 citations
Science Advances
Geological and Geochemical Analysis
16.80
article

Heavy potassium isotopes in carbonatites reveal oceanic crust subduction as the driver of deep carbon cycling

Jun Deng, Edward Inglis, Kun‐Feng Qiu, Frédéric Moynier, Hao-Xuan Sun, Wei Dai, Zheng-Yu Long, Sebastian Tappe, Hervé Bertrand, B.P.R. Debret, Kevin W. Burton
article en
9 citations

Abstract

Carbon cycling between surface and mantle reservoirs is pivotal in fostering habitability of Earth. A critical yet poorly constrained parameter is whether crustal carbon can "survive" devolatilization processes that accompany slab subduction and therefore influence deep carbon budgets. Carbonatites provide a key record to address this important topic. Here, we present high-precision potassium isotope data for a large set of carbonatite samples from both continental and oceanic settings, spanning from 2 billion years ago to the present. Modeling suggests that the heavy potassium isotopic compositions of carbonatites are inherited from their mantle sources, rather than resulting from magmatic and postmagmatic processes. Our results demonstrate a strong link between the subduction of oceanic crust and the recycling of carbonates into the mantle sources of carbonatites. These findings support the hypothesis that subduction of carbonate-bearing altered oceanic crust has been a critical mechanism for transferring carbon into the deep Earth through time.

Science AdvancesVol. 11(24)
École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Institut de physique du globe de Paris (FR), Durham University (GB), Université Paris Cité (FR), China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (CN), TU Bergakademie Freiberg (DE), UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO), Cardiff University (GB), University of Wales (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Geological and Geochemical Analysis
16.80
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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