230Th-238U radioactive disequilibria in tholeiites from the FAMOUS zone (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 36050'N): Th and Sr isotopic geochemistry

We analyzed, U, Th and 230Th/232Th activity ratios for a few tholeiites from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge FAMOUS zone at 36050'N. The results show a fairly wider scatter for both Th/U and (230Th/232Th) ratios. Seawater contamination appears to be responsible for this scatter and, for the uranium, produces an increase in content yielding a (234U/238U) ratio greater than 1 and, for the Th, an increase of the (230Th/232Th) ratio which is a very sensitive indicator for contamination. Also, the latter often is selective: U, Th and Sr are not affected in the same manner. When discarding all data for contaminated samples, the FAMOUS zone appears to be very homogeneous with a Th/U ratio value of 3.05 and a (230Th/232Th) ratio value of 1.24. Comparison with other active volcanic areas reveals a negative correlation between (230Th/232Th) and 87Sr/86Sr ratios for present lavas which is indicative of a consistency in Th-U and Rb-Sr fractionation in the source regions of these magmas. The Th isotopic geochemistry can thus provide useful information for the study of present volcanism, information as valuable as that from Sr, Pb or Nd isotopes. (orig.)