TY - JOUR
T1 - The carbon isotopic composition and nitrogen content of lithospheric and asthenospheric diamonds from the Jagersfontein and Koffiefontein kimberlite, South Africa
AU - Deines, Peter
AU - Harris, J. W.
AU - Gurney, J. J.
PY - 1991
Y1 - 1991
N2 - Asthenospheric diamonds, from the Jagersfontein kimberlite, South Africa, have a δ13C range from -8.9 to -24.4%. vs. PDB. Deep diamonds from the nearby Koffiefontein mine have δ13C values between -2.9 and -6.1%.. At these two locations asthenospheric diamonds are more frequently nitrogen Type II than Type I. If they are Type I, the nitrogen content is low and its state of aggregation is high. Diamonds from the Jagersfontein kimberlite have a bimodal δ13C distribution. On the basis of the carbon isotopic composition of the hosts and their mineral inclusion composition, one can suggest that as many as six distinct diamond source regions were sampled by the kimberlite. In the mantle beneath Jagersfontein, the relative abundance of low δ13C diamonds may be higher in the asthenosphere than in the lithosphere. In the Koffiefontein sample suite, asthenospheric and lithospheric diamonds are indistinguishable in δ13C. The differences in the nature of the relationships between isotope and inclusion chemistry demonstrated by deep diamonds from two diatremes, which are very closely associated in space and time, indicate a high degree of complexity in mantle carbon geochemistry even within the asthenosphere.
AB - Asthenospheric diamonds, from the Jagersfontein kimberlite, South Africa, have a δ13C range from -8.9 to -24.4%. vs. PDB. Deep diamonds from the nearby Koffiefontein mine have δ13C values between -2.9 and -6.1%.. At these two locations asthenospheric diamonds are more frequently nitrogen Type II than Type I. If they are Type I, the nitrogen content is low and its state of aggregation is high. Diamonds from the Jagersfontein kimberlite have a bimodal δ13C distribution. On the basis of the carbon isotopic composition of the hosts and their mineral inclusion composition, one can suggest that as many as six distinct diamond source regions were sampled by the kimberlite. In the mantle beneath Jagersfontein, the relative abundance of low δ13C diamonds may be higher in the asthenosphere than in the lithosphere. In the Koffiefontein sample suite, asthenospheric and lithospheric diamonds are indistinguishable in δ13C. The differences in the nature of the relationships between isotope and inclusion chemistry demonstrated by deep diamonds from two diatremes, which are very closely associated in space and time, indicate a high degree of complexity in mantle carbon geochemistry even within the asthenosphere.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0026293188&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0016-7037(91)90377-H
DO - 10.1016/0016-7037(91)90377-H
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0026293188
SN - 0016-7037
VL - 55
SP - 2615
EP - 2625
JO - Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
JF - Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
IS - 9
ER -