Tracing mantle sources in the northern Lau back-arc basin by independent component analysis of basalt isotopic compositions

The northern Lau back-arc basin (NLB) lavas display a diverse geochemical nature caused by complex geological processes in this region. Independent component (IC) analysis was applied to investigate the nature of mantle sources in the NLB, based on a compiled geochemical data set from the NLB, central-southern Lau Basin (C-SLB), Pacific and Indian Ocean ridges, and Samoan islands. We identified three ICs in the five-dimensional space of Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic ratios, which can account for 96.5% of the isotopic variance. The correlations between the ICs and the incompatible trace elements ratios were further used to examine the origin of these ICs. The first IC (IC1) separates Samoan islands (IC1 < -1) from the other groups, and shows negative correlation with (La/Sm)(N)ratios. The second IC (IC2) discriminates mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) from Pacific (IC2 > 0) and Indian (IC2 < 0) Ocean ridges as well as the C-SLB (IC2 > 0) and NLB (IC2 < 0) lavas. IC2 correlates positively with Ba/Th ratios. The third IC (IC3) distinguishes MORBs (IC3 > 0) and back-arc basin lavas (IC3 < 0), and displays a negative correlation with Th/Nb values. On a regional scale in the NLB, there is a broad increase in IC1, IC2, and IC3 from the north to the south. Only IC3 presents obvious decrease from the west to the east, i.e. with decreasing distance from the arc. The geochemical nature and the statistical properties of these ICs suggest that IC1 is related to an enriched mantle component most likely from the nearby Samoan plume, and the IC2 corresponds to a fluid-rich component from the subducting Pacific slab. The IC3 may represent partial melt of recycled subducted sediment or recycled continental crustal materials. The geographic distribution of three ICs supports that the relatively recent mixing of Samoan plume materials with the subduction-metasomatized back-arc mantle may be responsible for the observed geochemical diversity in NLB lavas.