Isotope dilution W whole-rock data, coupled with data for other trace elements in 42 peridotite xenoliths from Tariat (Mongolia), Yangyuan and Hannuoba (China), and Letlhakane (Botswana) are used to constrain the W abundance and behavior in the continental lithospheric mantle. Tungsten concentrations are >11 ng g-1, even in the most depleted peridotites, and higher than the W abundance estimate of the bulk silicate Earth (BSE) in all but one sample. Combined W-Th-U systematics reveal fractionation of W from Th and U with increasing degree of melt depletion, while incompatible element-enriched samples display no such fractionation. Integrated melt reactions and degrees of melt depletion are estimated based on either residual Th or residual Yb abundances for each sample, relative to a BSE precursor. This allows modelling of different partial melting scenarios that consider maximized trace element retention (Th-based model; where measured Th contents are decoupled from Al2O3 contents) or correction for metasomatic trace element contributions (Yb-based model; where measured Yb contents are well-coupled with Al2O3 contents). Modelled residual W concentrations reveal W excesses of 11-19 ng g-1, even when correcting for metasomatic W contributions. Combined with available in situ trace element mineral data for the rock-forming silicates and spinel, which all display W abundances much higher than ex-pected, these findings suggest that either (i) W is less incompatible than previously thought, or that (ii) the peridotites experienced W metasomatism after the last melt depletion event with subsequent re-equilibration. The latter is unlikely, as similar geochemical patterns are observed for oceanic lithospheric mantle based on published data, requiring such W metasomatism to be a global phenomenon. We thus conclude that W is not as incompatible as Th and U during upper mantle melting and potential W-Th-U fractionation mechanisms are examined to explain near-constant W/Th and W/U in mantle melts. We propose revised W concentrations for the BSE of 27 +/- 16 ng g-1 to 31 +/- 14 ng g-1 and for the depleted mantle of 22 +/- 13 ng g- 1.

Tungsten and helium isotope ratios in lavas derived from deeply rooted mantle plumes are tracers of lower mantle compositional heterogeneity or core-mantle exchange. We measured the tungsten isotopic compositions of lavas with exceptionally high-He-3/He-4 ratios that erupted above the head of the Iceland plume on Baffin Island. These lavas have W-182/W-184 ratios that are indistinguishable from the convecting upper mantle, unlike younger lavas in Iceland that have lower W-182/W-184 ratios. This implies that only the Iceland plume tail was infused with low W-182/W-184 material, likely from the core. If high-He-3/He-4 helium also comes from the core, then diffusion across the core-mantle boundary may stratify plume-source mantle domains, with elevated He-3/He-4 travelling farther into the lower mantle than W-182/W-184 anomalies. Over Earth history, tungsten diffusion from the core can explain the decline of W-182/W-184 in the convecting mantle. We speculate that the uneven pace of this decline corresponds with evolving lower mantle dynamics.

Initial analyses of samples collected from two locations on the asteroid Ryugu indicated that the mineralogical, chemical, and isotopic characteristics of the Ryugu samples show similarities to carbonaceous chondrites, particularly the Ivuna-type (CI) group. In this study, we analysed a composite sample of four bulk Ryugu samples (A0106, A0106-A0107, C0107, and C0108) collected from both sampling locations that were combined in order to determine its mass independent Mo isotopic composition and reveal contributions from diverse nucleosynthetic sources. The epsilon Mo-94 and epsilon Mo-95 values for the Ryugu sample are characterised by the carbonaceous chondrite (CC)-type, which is consistent with the nucleosynthetic isotope compositions observed for other elements (Cr, Ti, Fe, and Zn). The Ryugu composite sample, however, is characterised by greater s-process depletion of Mo isotopes compared with any known bulk carbonaceous chondrite, even including CI chondrites. The observed Mo isotopic signature in the Ryugu composite was most likely caused by either incomplete digestion of s-process-rich presolar SiC, or biased sampling of materials enriched in aqueously-formed secondary minerals characterised by s-process-poor Mo isotopes, resulting from the physicochemical separation between s-process-rich presolar grains and a complementary s-process-poor aqueous fluid in the Ryugu parent body.

The Pampean flat slab in central Chile and Argentina is characterized by the inland migration and subsequent cessation of arc volcanism since the mid-Miocene. Slab flattening also affects the distribution and number of intermediate-depth earthquakes and the evolution of the overlying continental thermal structure. In this study, we combine thermal-mechanical models with petrological models to examine temporal changes in pressure, temperature, and composition during flat-slab subduction and estimate water carrying capacity, predicted melt distributions and predicted changes in melt composition. Model results indicate that the present-day flattened Nazca plate carries water to similar to 700 km inland from the trench and could cause flux melting if the material above the slab remains fertile. Observed slab seismicity matches areas where hydrated materials have similar to>3 wt% H2O in the oceanic crust and mantle lithosphere. Seismicity increases as slab water carrying capacity decreases (slab dehydration). As P-T conditions and compositions of the rock trapped above the slab change during slab flattening, flux melting switches from a peridotite-dominated early phase to a combined mid-ocean ridge basalt/eclogite and peridotite melting at similar to 8 Ma. The results provide broad consistency with known earthquake distributions, seismic velocities, and observed temporal and spatial changes in volcanic patterns above the Pampean flat slab and point toward the role of melt depletion in the decrease and ultimate cessation of arc volcanism in this region.

We present the first set of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) observed on multiple nights in data taken from the DECam Ecliptic Exploration Project. Of these 110 TNOs, 105 do not coincide with previously known TNOs and appear to be new discoveries. Each individual detection for our objects resulted from a digital tracking search at TNO rates of motion, using two-to-four-hour exposure sets, and the detections were subsequently linked across multiple observing seasons. This procedure allows us to find objects with magnitudes m VR approximate to 26. The object discovery processing also included a comprehensive population of objects injected into the images, with a recovery and linking rate of at least 94%. The final orbits were obtained using a specialized orbit-fitting procedure that accounts for the positional errors derived from the digital tracking procedure. Our results include robust orbits and magnitudes for classical TNOs with absolute magnitudes H similar to 10, as well as a dynamically detached object found at 76 au (semimajor axis a approximate to 77 au). We find a disagreement between our population of classical TNOs and the CFEPS-L7 three-component model for the Kuiper Belt.

We present the methods and results from the discovery and photometric measurement of 26 bright VR > 24 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) during the first year (2019-20) of the DECam Ecliptic Exploration Project (DEEP). The DEEP survey is an observational TNO survey with wide sky coverage, high sensitivity, and a fast photometric cadence. We apply a computer vision technique known as a progressive probabilistic Hough transform to identify linearly moving transient sources within DEEP photometric catalogs. After subsequent visual vetting, we provide a photometric and astrometric catalog of our TNOs. By modeling the partial lightcurve amplitude distribution of the DEEP TNOs using Monte Carlo techniques, we find our data to be most consistent with an average TNO axis ratio b/a < 0.5, implying a population dominated by non-spherical objects. Based on ellipsoidal gravitational stability arguments, we find our data to be consistent with a TNO population containing a high fraction of contact binaries or other extremely non-spherical objects. We also discuss our data as evidence that the expected binarity fraction of TNOs may be size-dependent.

We present the DECam Ecliptic Exploration Project (DEEP) survey strategy, including observing cadence for orbit determination, exposure times, field pointings and filter choices. The overall goal of the survey is to discover and characterize the orbits of a few thousand Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Blanco 4 m telescope. The experiment is designed to collect a very deep series of exposures totaling a few hours on sky for each of several 2.7 square degree DECam fields-of-view to achieve approximate depths of magnitude 26.2 using a wide V R filter that encompasses both the V and R bandpasses. In the first year, several nights were combined to achieve a sky area of about 34 square degrees. In subsequent years, the fields have been re-visited to allow TNOs to be tracked for orbit determination. When complete, DEEP will be the largest survey of the outer solar system ever undertaken in terms of newly discovered object numbers, and the most prolific at producing multiyear orbital information for the population of minor planets beyond Neptune at 30 au.