Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47 – 61

www.elsevier.com/locate/chemgeo

Implications of widespread high-A volcanism on the Arabian Plate

for Afar mantle plume and lithosphere composition
Hervé Bertrand a,*, Gilles Chazot b, Janne Blichert-Toft a, Sophie Thoral a
a
Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon et UCBL, Laboratoire des Sciences de la Terre, CNRS UMR 5570, 46 Allée d’Italie,
69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
b
Université Blaise Pascal et OPGC, Laboratoire de Géologie, CNRS UMR 6524, 5 rue Kessler, 63038 Clermont-Ferrand, France
Received 6 August 2001; accepted 21 November 2002

Abstract

We report on 55 Nd – Sr – Pb and 23 Hf isotopic compositions for late Miocene to Plio – Quaternary basalts from the Arabian
Plate. The sampling profile represents a 2500 km N – S transect along the Red Sea margin from Syria to Yemen. 206Pb/204Pb
displays a wide range (from 18.60 to 19.55) from south to north, indicating a pervasive high-A distribution that questions the
previous attribution of this component to the Afar plume. We rather suggest that the high-A signature resides within the Arabian
lithospheric mantle.
Compared to basalts from northern and central Arabia (Saudi Arabia to Syria), basalts from southern Arabia (Yemen) display
similar ranges for 143Nd/144Nd, 176Hf/177Hf, and 206Pb/204Pb, but are shifted towards compositions more radiogenic in Sr and
208
Pb. These distinct time-integrated Rb/Sr and Th/U ratios between north and south are believed to reflect heterogeneous
development of the Arabian lithosphere through time and/or result from the thermal effect of the Afar plume on the southern
part of the lithosphere.
D 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Arabian plate; Afar; Isotope geochemistry; Lithosphere; Mantle plume

1. Introduction believed to be responsible for the eruption of more

It is widely accepted that most Large Igneous
Provinces (LIP) represent the surface expression of
the arrival of mantle plume heads beneath the litho-
sphere. As an example, the Afar mantle plume is
* Corresponding author. Fax: +33-472-728677.
E-mail addresses: Herve.Bertrand@ens-lyon.fr (H. Bertrand),
g.chazot@opgc.univ-bpclermont.fr (G. Chazot),
jblicher@ens-lyon.fr (J. Blichert-Toft).
than 2000-m-thick Oligocene flood basalts and sub-
sequent volcanism over the last 30 Ma in Ethiopia,
Djibouti, and Yemen. Over the past decade, a num-
ber of studies have focused on the chemical and
isotopic compositions of recent lavas in this area and
along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in order to
assess the composition of the Afar plume and its
spatial and temporal contribution to this volcanism
(Hart et al., 1989; Barrat et al., 1990; Vidal et al.,
1991; Schilling et al., 1992; Chazot and Bertrand,
1993; Rogers, 1993; Volker et al., 1993; Marty et al.,

0009-2541/02/$ - see front matter D 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0009-2541(02)00418-7
48 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61
1993, 1996; Deniel et al., 1994; Baker et al., 1996,
1997; Stewart and Rogers, 1996; Moreira et al.,
1996; Pik et al., 1999). So far, at least three different
mantle components have been identified on the basis
of their Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic compositions. A
depleted component prominent in mid-ocean ridge
basalts (MORB) of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,
as well as in most of the magmas erupted onshore,
has been clearly identified as the convecting astheno-
sphere. An enriched, but poorly defined component
with high Sr and low Nd isotopic ratios has been
tentatively related to either the subcontinental litho-
spheric mantle or the contamination of magmas by
continental crust. A third component is characterized
by low 87Sr/86Sr ( f 0.7035) and relatively high
206
Pb/204Pb (up to 19.6 in the southern Red Sea,
Volker et al., 1993). The contribution of this com-
ponent, commonly quoted as ‘‘HIMU’’ (although
less radiogenic in 206Pb and more radiogenic in
87
Sr than true HIMU OIBs), has been locally iden-
tified in pre-rift volcanics from Yemen and Ethiopia
(Baker et al., 1996; Stewart and Rogers, 1996; G.
Chazot and H. Bertrand, unpublished data), and
seems to increase in the most recent lavas from
Djibouti (Vidal et al., 1991; Deniel et al., 1994),
Yemen (Chazot et al., 1992), and Ethiopia (Stewart
and Rogers, 1996). It is also present in lavas from
the southern Red Sea (Rogers, 1993; Volker et al.,
1993), as well as in basalts from near 46jE in the
Gulf of Aden (Schilling et al., 1992). While this
HIMU component has been attributed by different
authors to the mantle plume itself (Vidal et al., 1991;
Schilling et al., 1992; Deniel et al., 1994), Baker et
al. (1996) and Pik et al. (1999) assigned a much less
radiogenic Pb isotopic signature to the Afar plume,
arguing that its HIMU signature, if any, would
correspond to that of a young, immature HIMU
mantle plume.
Alternatively, it has been suggested based on
studies from different parts of the world that
enriched components with highly radiogenic 206Pb
may actually exist over laterally extensive regions
either within or attached to the mantle lithosphere
from below without necessarily having a direct
relationship to an active deep-seated mantle plume
(Halliday et al., 1988; Kempton et al., 1991; Wilson
and Downes, 1991). On the Arabian plate, high
206
Pb/204Pb ratios were identified in volcanic rocks
erupted over the past 200 Ma in Israel by Stein and
Hofmann (1992), who introduced the concept of a
fossil plume head, by which they implied that high
206
Pb/204Pb signatures cannot always be interpreted
simply in terms of an active deep-seated mantle
plume.
In this paper, we present new Sr, Nd, Pb, and Hf
isotopic data for late Miocene to Plio – Quaternary
basalts along a 2500-km-long N –S transect across the
Arabian plate. Samples from Northern and Central
Arabia (NCA) come from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and
Syria, while samples from the southern part of the Afar
region come from Yemen (considered to be influenced
by the Afar plume). The Sr –Nd –Pb isotope data set (55
samples) represents the first investigation of southern
Yemen and Syria and increases threefold the previous
data set of Altherr et al. (1990) for Saudi Arabia and
Jordan. The Hf isotope data set (23 samples) is the first
on volcanic rocks from the Arabian plate. Our objective
is to (1) demonstrate the widespread presence of a high-
A component in recent basalts throughout the Arabian
plate, (2) discuss its implications for the composition of
the lithospheric mantle, and (3) evaluate the composi-
tion and extent of the Afar plume head beneath the
Arabian plate.
2. Recent volcanism on the Arabian plate
Widespread post-rift volcanism spans over 2500
km of the west side of the Arabian plate from Yemen
in the south to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria in the
north. The volcanism investigated in this study mostly
postdates the onset of sea-floor spreading in the Gulf
of Aden (at about 11 Ma) and in the Red Sea (at 5 Ma
but possibly 11 Ma) and ranges in age from about 12
Ma to present.
In Yemen, the volcanic activity can be divided
into two episodes. The first consists of large strato-
volcanoes that erupted between 12 and 5 Ma (Dick-
inson et al., 1969; Mallick et al., 1990) and formed
the Aden Volcanic Line along the south coast. It
was followed by basaltic fissure eruptions, taking
place from 5 Ma to the present and producing
several (mainly basaltic) volcanic fields throughout
Yemen.
In Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria, the Harrat
volcanic fields, mostly of Plio –Quaternary age, are
 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61 49

disseminated over 1400 km from north to south. entiates mostly erupting from N – S and NNW –SSE
They formed by the accumulation of predominantly linear vent systems (Giannérini et al., 1988; Camp
basaltic volcanic products with subordinate differ- and Roobol, 1989; Camp et al., 1991, 1992).

Fig. 1. Cenozoic and Quaternary volcanic activity on the Arabian plate showing sample locations. Dashed circle delimits the presumed
flattening of the Afar plume head (after Schilling et al., 1992).
50 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61

Table 1
Chemical and isotope data for recent basalts from the Arabian plate
87
Sr/86Sr 143
Nd/144Nd 176
Hf/177Hf 206
Pb/204Pb 207
Pb/204Pb 208
Pb/204Pb MgO Ba Nb
Syria
Druze SB4 0.703821 (12) 0.512818 (6) 19.059 15.648 38.906 9.49 295 57
SB6 0.703944 (9) 0.512859 (8) 18.940 15.647 38.841 10.28 378 35
SB9 0.703140 (13) 0.512927 (7) 19.286 15.611 39.002 6.43 409 38
SB10 0.703037 (13) 0.512936 (7) 19.230 15.564 38.922 7.16 478 54
SB12 0.703442 (10) 0.512890 (6) 19.108 15.633 38.927 9.21 379 28
SB13 0.703095 (16) 0.512928 (7) 0.282999 (5) 19.309 15.610 38.994 9.24 562 52
SB14 0.703223 (11) 0.512851 (6) 19.029 15.594 38.677 7.33 248 14
SB18 0.703379 (14) 0.512840 (13) 0.282963 (6) 19.112 15.579 38.904 8.10 207 27

Jordan
Shamah J3 0.703255 (13) 0.512917 (7) 0.282997 (5) 19.106 15.601 38.893 10.12 190 26
J4 0.703102 (11) 0.512915 (6) 18.918 15.574 38.622 7.54 187 19
Dead Sea J5 0.703280 (12) 0.512978 (6) 0.283027 (6) 18.929 15.576 38.625 10.36 291 39
J6 0.703164 (11) 0.512957 (8) 19.040 15.580 38.737 9.88 424 61
J9 0.703417 (12) 0.512839 (7) 0.282979 (7) 18.990 15.599 38.720 7.46 333 31
J13 0.703558 (13) 0.512941 (8) 18.995 15.558 38.675 13.14 611 72

Saudi Arabia
Khaybar AS38 0.702986 (10) 0.512978 (6) 0.283086 (5) 18.739 15.528 38.457 7.45
AS43 0.703213 (11) 0.512911 (6) 0.283060 (6) 18.665 15.546 38.331 9.45
Kura AS46 0.703220 (10) 0.512868 (7) 0.282988 (5) 19.436 15.638 39.355 9.62
Lunayyir AS51 0.702903 (12) 0.512994 (9) 0.283071 (4) 19.124 15.563 38.886 7.20
AS52 0.702957 (12) 0.512969 (7) 19.032 15.575 38.775 5.89
AS54 0.702964 (14) 0.512865 (8) 0.283028 (6) 19.044 15.595 38.860 12.24
Kurama AS07 0.703454 (13) 0.512901 (7) 18.891 15.562 38.373 10.90
Rahat AS27 0.703049 (11) 0.512910 (5) 18.754 15.548 38.489 7.46
AS58 0.703434 (12) 0.513041 (6) 0.283083 (4) 18.610 15.531 38.273 7.33
AS63 0.703361 (12) 0.512925 (7) 18.783 15.525 38.433 9.30
AS74 0.702968 (11) 0.512912 (6) 0.283046 (5) 18.797 15.575 38.553 10.25
AR76 0.703462 (11) 18.697 15.529 38.246 9.54 277 14
AR62 0.703172 (10) 18.663 15.569 38.363 9.16 95 14
AR57 0.703100 (12) 0.512977 (8) 18.891 15.585 38.670 9.27 154 24
Kishb AS31 0.703012 (9) 0.512926 (11) 0.283070 (6) 18.939 15.581 38.765 11.30
AS32 0.703177 (11) 0.512933 (6) 0.283078 (4) 18.850 15.536 38.559 10.02
Tuffil AS02 0.703176 (13) 0.512898 (6) 18.868 15.551 38.644 8.48

Yemen
Sanaa YN 27 0.703454 (10) 0.512929 (7) 0.283076 (4) 18.774 15.604 38.845 5.90 351 46
YN 72 0.703514 (12) 0.512891 (6) 18.602 15.555 38.570 7.10 367 41
Marib Y5 0.703525 (9) 0.512837 (34) 0.282958 (3) 18.824 15.635 38.858 5.19 558 68
Y6 0.703469 (17) 0.512821 (7) 0.282960 (5) 19.004 15.611 38.997 11.53 320 37
Dabab Y37 0.703872 (10) 0.512879 (5) 19.026 15.587 39.039 6.35 239 23
Y38 0.703791 (11) 0.512873 (7) 19.022 15.578 39.010 6.97 240 27
Perim island P9 0.704227 (14) 0.512862 (7) 0.283048 (5) 19.142 15.567 39.143 4.47 938 26
P33 0.704298 (13) 0.512828 (7) 18.683 15.579 38.911 5.20 527 38
Jabal Kharaz Y74 0.703887 (11) 0.512841 (6) 0.283034 (6) 19.276 15.597 39.338 7.56 211 24
Y77 0.703917 (12) 0.512840 (7) 19.356 15.608 39.437 2.03 879 84
Y78 0.703787 (13) 0.512850 (6) 19.387 15.627 39.451 2.44 774 73
Um Birka Y42 0.703934 (12) 0.512804 (5) 19.070 15.611 39.276 2.81 663 60
Y43 0.703973 (12) 0.512808 (5) 19.067 15.614 39.254 2.53 535 61
Ras Imran Y51 0.703517 (13) 0.512866 (6) 19.233 15.578 39.169 3.44 245 35
Y52 0.703798 (10) 0.512849 (5) 19.197 15.580 39.149 3.16 516 67
 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61 51

Table 1 (continued )
87
Sr/86Sr 143
Nd/144Nd 176
Hf/177Hf 206
Pb/204Pb 207
Pb/204Pb 208
Pb/204Pb MgO Ba Nb
Yemen
Little Aden Y8 0.703912 (12) 0.512806 (6) 15.593 39.181 2.56 671 104
Y11 0.704017 (10) 0.512809 (6) 19.225 15.596 39.186 1.32 1201 104
Aden Y56 0.703883 (13) 0.512891 (6) 19.251 15.591 39.192 2.64 530 95
Shuqra Y111 0.703567 (12) 0.512891 (6) 18.868 15.552 38.801 8.23 457 51
Y112 0.703351 (10) 0.512897 (6) 0.283028 (5) 19.556 15.617 39.402 10.25 347 50
Y118 0.703752 (12) 0.512905 (7) 0.283055 (5) 18.914 15.543 38.792 11.84 483 55
Bir Ali Y121 0.703163 (13) 0.512944 (6) 0.283057 (3) 18.646 15.501 38.433 6.04 590 95
Y122 0.704204 (15) 0.512921 (7) 18.680 15.553 38.597 7.67 344 40
Y123 0.703587 (14) 0.512966 (21) 0.283111 (4) 18.775 15.516 38.577 6.66 326 42
Numbers in parentheses denote 2r uncertainties.

The Sr, Nd, Hf, and Pb isotope data presented here
are from 11 different localities in Yemen (stratovolca-
noes from the Aden Volcanic Line and basalts from
four Plio –Quaternary volcanic fields) and 10 different
localities in the Harrat region of Saudi Arabia, Jordan,
and Syria (Fig. 1).
3. Analytical procedures
Pb isotopic ratios were measured on a CAMECA
TSN 206 mass spectrometer and Sr and Nd isotopic
ratios on a Micromass VG54E mass spectrometer, all
in Clermont-Ferrand. The analytical techniques used
were those of Chazot and Bertrand (1993). Hf isotopic
ratios were measured on a multiple-collector induc-
tively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (the VG
model Plasma 54) in Lyon. The analytical technique
employed was that of Blichert-Toft et al. (1997).
87
Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd, and 176Hf/177Hf were normal-
ized for mass fractionation relative to 86Sr/88Sr =
0.1194, 146Nd/ 144Nd = 0.7219, and 179Hf/ 177Hf =
0.7325, respectively. 87Sr/86Sr of the NBS 987 Sr
standard = 0.710219 F 45 (n = 22); 143Nd/144Nd of
the La Jolla Nd standard = 0.511839 F 27 (n = 23);
176
Hf/ 1 7 7 Hf of the JMC-475 Hf standard =
0.282160 F 10 (Hf standard run every second to third
sample). Based on replicate analyses of the NBS 981
standard, maximum errors on 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/
204
Pb, and 208 Pb/ 204 Pb are 0.14%, 0.24%, and
0.40%, respectively. MgO, Ba, and Nb were analyzed
by XRF spectrometry at the Claude Bernard Univer-
sity in Lyon. Precision is 1.5% for MgO, 5– 8% for
Ba, and 8– 10% for Nb.
4. Isotopic characteristics of the recent
Arabian volcanism
When considered as a whole, the analyzed samples
show considerable isotopic variation (Table 1; Fig. 2).
87
Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd, and 176Hf/177Hf isotopic ratios
range from 0.7029 to 0.7043, 0.512804 to 0.513041,
and 0.282958 to 0.283111, respectively. Pb isotopes
show a comparatively larger range varying from 18.60
to 19.55 for 206Pb/204Pb, 15.50 to 15.64 for 207Pb/
204
Pb, and 38.25 to 39.45 for 208Pb/204Pb. The general
distribution does not change significantly when the
data of Altherr et al. (1990) for Saudi Arabia and Stein
and Hofmann (1992) for Israel are also taken into
account (Fig. 2). By contrast, compared to our sam-
ples from Yemen, the basalts from the Sana’a region
are shifted towards compositions less radiogenic in
Pb, a feature that was attributed to significant crustal
contamination by Baker et al. (1997).
The combined Sr, Nd, Hf, and Pb isotope system-
atics show four prominent features:
(1) 143
Nd/144Nd, 176Hf/177Hf, 206Pb/204Pb (and 207Pb/
204
Pb, not shown) display the same range in
Northern and Central Arabia as they do in Yemen
(except for the most contaminated samples of
Baker et al., 1997).
(2) By contrast, regional variations appear between
north and south for 87Sr/86Sr and 208Pb/204Pb as a
function of 206Pb/204Pb: for a given 206Pb/204Pb
value, these two ratios are systematically higher
for Yemen than for NCA samples, defining two
sub-parallel trends (Fig. 2b and e). In the diagram
of Fig. 2e, most of the data from NCA are
52 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61

Fig. 2. Isotopic composition of the volcanic rocks from Yemen (black circles) and Northern and Central Arabia (open circles), compared with
volcanic fields from the Arabian plate, the Afar area (Ethiopia and Djibouti) and MORBs from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Data sources for
Miocene to Quaternary basalts: Saudi Arabia and Israel: Hegner and Pallister (1989), Altherr et al. (1990), Stein and Hofmann (1992); Sana’a
(Yemen): Baker et al. (1997); Ethiopia: Hart et al. (1989), Stewart and Rogers (1996); Djibouti: Betton and Civetta (1984), Vidal et al. (1991),
Schilling et al. (1992), Deniel et al. (1994), Barrat et al. (1998); MORBs from Red Sea and Gulf of Aden: Betton and Civetta (1984), Dupré et
al. (1988), Eissen et al. (1989), Schilling et al. (1992), Rogers (1993), Volker et al. (1993), Barrat et al. (1993). Mantle components are from
Zindler and Hart (1986) and Hart (1998), except the ‘‘C’’ component which is from Hanan and Graham (1996). The Afar plume (A) is from Pik
et al. (1999). Data sources for Arabian crust (b): Stacey et al. (1980); Stacey and Stoeser (1983); Stacey and Hedge (1984); Hegner and Pallister
(1989). MORB and OIB backdrop (c): published (data sources too numerous to be cited here) and unpublished (J. Blichert-Toft) data. The two
‘‘Hf – Nd’’ sub-trends (c and d) are shown (bulls-eye symbol used for the ‘‘lower’’ sub-trend). Regression lines (c): y = 0.27x + 0.14 (upper sub-
trend), y = 0.38x + 0.09 (lower sub-trend), y = 0.77x 0.11 (MORB – OIB array).
 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61 53

Fig. 2 (continued).

superimposed on those from the Red Sea and Gulf
of Aden, while the distinct group defined by the
basalts from Yemen is included in the (much
larger) field defined by recent ( < 15 Ma) basalts
from Ethiopia and Djibouti.
(3) Hf and Nd isotope data show an overall positive
correlation, and lie within the mantle array (Fig.
2c). On closer inspection, two sub-trends that are
unrelated to the northern versus southern location
of the samples are identified. These two groups
are diverging on a Hf – Pb isotope plot (Fig. 2d)
and define trends in Hf –Nd isotope space with
slopes shallower (0.38 and 0.27, respectively) than
that of the average mantle array (slope of 0.77
54 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61
Fig. 2 (continued).
based on published and unpublished (J. Blichert-
Toft) Hf and Nd isotope data for ca. 1600 MORB
and OIB of global distribution) (Fig. 2c).
(4) When the entire regional data set (our data and
literature data from the Afar area and the Red Sea
and Gulf of Aden) is plotted as a function of
206
Pb/204Pb, Sr, Nd (not shown), and Hf isotope
ratios display a significantly wider range for
samples having lower than higher 206Pb/204Pb
ratios, arguing in favor of different trends that
converge towards a single component which is
radiogenic in 206Pb.
5. Discussion
5.1. Mantle source heterogeneity versus crustal
contamination
The purpose of this section is not to discuss the
details of possible crustal contamination processes,
but rather to evaluate whether such processes have
modified the isotopic signatures of the Arabian basalts
studied here beyond the point where they can be used
as tracers of mantle source compositions.
In Pb –Pb isotope space (Fig. 2b), the data for NCA
(as well as the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden) define a
linear trend interpreted as the result of mixing between
two components, depleted and radiogenic, respec-
tively, in 206Pb. The depleted component likely cor-
responds to a MORB asthenospheric source and the
radiogenic component will be discussed further below.
In order to also account for the data from Yemen,
additional component(s) characterized by higher time-
integrated Rb/Sr (Fig. 2a and e) and Th/U ratios (Fig.
2b) than typical of NCA are required. This component
may participate locally in the genesis of NCA basalts,
perhaps being responsible for some of the observed
scatter in Sr isotopes (i.e. samples SB4 and SB6 from
Syria). This additional component is not well defined
but has been attributed to either mantle or crustal
lithosphere (Vidal et al., 1991; Chazot and Bertrand,
1993; Deniel et al., 1994; Baker et al., 1996, 1997;
Stewart and Rogers, 1996). Crustal contamination has
been shown to have affected some Yemen basalts, and
the identities of the possible contaminants involved
(residing in both upper and lower crust) were dis-
cussed by Baker et al. (1996, 1997). The broad
correlation between 87Sr/86Sr and MgO contents for
Yemen samples from the Sana’a area (Baker et al.,
1997) supports such a process (Fig. 3a). No clear
 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61 55

87
Fig. 3. (a) Sr/86Sr versus MgO. (b) 206
Pb/204Pb versus Ba/Nb. Shaded field: basalts from Sana’a area (Baker et al., 1997).

correlation appears in our data from Yemen (mostly
southern Yemen), and almost the whole range of
87
Sr/86Sr ratios is observed for any given MgO con-
tent, suggesting that Sr isotopic variations are not
controlled by crustal contamination. This statement
is reinforced using isotope – trace element ratio rela-
tionships (Fig. 3b): our Yemen data do not display the
same strong correlation between 206Pb/204Pb and Ba/
Nb (Fig. 3b) as observed for the Sana’a area by Baker
et al. (1997) and taken as evidence for crustal con-
tamination. Compared to our Yemen samples, the
volcanics from NCA have lower Sr isotope ratios for
higher MgO values and display the same 206Pb/204Pb
versus Ba/Nb relationships, precluding crustal involve-
ment in their genesis. This indicates that the isotopic
variability of the Arabian basalts discussed here is not
controlled by interaction with the crust but most likely
reflects mantle source heterogeneity.
The Nd – Hf isotope correlation diagram (Fig. 2c)
provides additional support for source heterogeneity
rather than crustal contamination as the cause of the
observed isotopic variability. As pointed out earlier,
56 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61
although our data as a group lie within the mantle
array, the two sub-trends they define have slopes in
Hf –Nd isotope space that are significantly shallower
than that of the average mantle array. This may
suggest incorporation into the mantle source of mate-
rial with high time-integrated Lu/Hf but normal Sm/
Nd, such as pelagic sediments (Blichert-Toft et al.,
1999). The fact that these trends are defined by
samples from throughout the Arabian plate would
imply that the origin of this distinct isotopic signature
is unrelated to the Afar plume, and located within the
mantle lithosphere, perhaps produced during multiple
ancient subduction events, mainly during Pan-African
times (Stein and Goldstein, 1996) but possibly also
during earlier crustal growth events (Stacey and
Hedge, 1984; Windley et al., 1996).
Finally, it has to be assessed whether the radiogenic
Pb is crust- or mantle-derived, and if the latter, what
kind of mantle it represents. Although the Arabian
crust is heterogeneous and complex, the crustal com-
positions so far identified or suggested to exist within
the Arabian shield (see reviews in Chazot and Ber-
trand, 1993; Baker et al., 1996) have 206Pb/204Pb
ratios that are far too low ( < 19) to account for the
observed trends towards a radiogenic Pb end-member
(Fig. 2b). The most radiogenic component C3 of
Baker et al., 1996, with a 206Pb/204Pb ratio of 19.3
has a 208Pb/204Pb ratio too low (38.3) to be respon-
sible for any contamination trend. These potential
crustal contaminants therefore cannot be the origin
of the high 206Pb/204Pb isotopic ratios of the basalts of
the Arabian plate. We can thus hereafter disregard
continental crust to be at the origin of the most
radiogenic Pb compositions and conclude that the
high-A component must be located within the mantle.
Different high-A compositions have been proposed
as mantle components, such as HIMU (Zindler and
Hart, 1986), FOZO (Hart et al., 1992), or the so-called
‘‘C’’ or common component (Hanan and Graham,
1996). Authors favoring an Afar plume source radio-
genic in 206Pb usually refer to a HIMU component
(Vidal et al., 1991; Schilling et al., 1992; Deniel et al.,
1994). However, the highest 206Pb/204Pb ratios so far
obtained for Arabian basalts are much lower and the
corresponding 87Sr/86Sr ratios higher than the HIMU
composition as defined by type-locality HIMU OIB
(206Pb/204Pb>21), thus calling into question whether a
true HIMU component is present below the Arabian
plate. Among the alternatives to HIMU, the FOZO
composition (Hart et al., 1992) is too depleted in terms
of Sr and Nd isotopes to be a suitable end-member for
our data set. By contrast, the ‘‘C’’ component of
Hanan and Graham (1996) fits the data better (Fig.
2a,b,e) and therefore could challenge HIMU as a
component present in this region of the mantle.
However, if true, this would imply that the most
radiogenic Pb isotope compositions measured would
represent virtually pure ‘‘C’’ component material,
which seems to be unrealistic. Moreover, on a
207
Pb/206Pb versus 208Pb/206Pb plot (not shown), the
data array trends beyond the ‘‘C’’ locus towards
HIMU. Consequently, Sr –Nd – Pb isotope systematics
support the involvement of a ‘‘high-A’’ source (but
probably not a true HIMU component) at the origin of
the ‘‘HIMU’’ flavor of Arabian basalts.
5.2. The Afar mantle plume and the high- distribu-
tion over the Arabian plate
As previously noted, all the regional trends on
different isotopic plots (both from NCA and Yemen)
seem to converge towards a single high-A end-mem-
ber (Fig. 2b,d,e). Our data further show that this
component, previously considered the key signature
of the Afar mantle plume, pervades the entire Arabian
plate. Two questions arise from this observation: is the
Afar plume at the origin of the high-A fingerprint and,
if so, at which scale? How can the observed differ-
ences between the northern and southern domains be
accounted for?
Assuming the Afar plume is HIMU (or high-A)
(Vidal et al., 1991; Schilling et al., 1992; Deniel et al.,
1994) and centered beneath Djibouti (Schilling et al.,
1992; Zhang and Tanimoto, 1992), the northward
distribution of high-A basalts up to Jordan and Syria
would imply a propagation of plume material up to
2500 km away from the center of the plume. This is
more than twice the prediction by the plume-head
model of Griffiths and Campbell (1990). Neverthe-
less, the lateral flow of starting plume material by up
to 2000 km from the center of the plume head has
been modeled by Sleep (1997). Such a lateral flow is
suspected to have been preferentially channelled
northward through the Arabian plate along migrating
axes (Camp and Roobol, 1992; Ebinger and Sleep,
1998). If we accept this model, a 2500-km-long
 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61
propagation would most likely induce a northward
attenuation of the high-A signature, but this is not
observed. Moreover, one would expect channelling to
have been facilitated by the two preferential directions
corresponding to the Red Sea rift, namely the main
crack in the Arabian lithosphere and the N –S trending
Makkah – Madinah – Nafud (MMN line) lithospheric
flexure (Camp and Roobol, 1992). Such channelling
is unsupported by the existing geochemical data for
the following reasons: (a) within the Arabian plate, the
high-A signature is much less pronounced in basalts
from the axial MMN line (Harrats Rahat and Khaybar:
18.61 < 206Pb/204Pb < 18.89) than in lateral basalts
(Harrats Tuffil, Kishb, Kura, Lunayyir, Shamah:
18.85 < 206Pb/204Pb < 19.43) (Bord and Bertrand,
1995); (b) the high-A signature vanishes towards the
most advanced oceanic central segment of the Red
Sea around 21jN, where N-type MORB have been
erupted (Altherr et al., 1988). In contrast, the high-A
signature seems to increase southwards and north-
wards along this axis (Volker et al., 1993), where
206
Pb/204Pb ratios display the same range as observed
along the Arabian margin (Fig. 4a). Rather than
preferential channelling of a high-A mantle plume,
this pattern suggests a pervasive high-A flavored
mantle beneath the Arabian plate that is locally diluted
by ascending asthenospheric material flowing along
extension zones. High-A material throughout the north
of the Arabian plate therefore cannot be directly
related to the propagation of the Afar mantle plume
and must have a different origin.
5.3. Location and origin of the high- flavor beneath
the Arabian plate
If we assume that the Afar plume carries a high-A
signature, could another active high-A deep-seated
mantle plume be centered beneath northern Arabia?
Such a hypothesis is supported neither by geophysical
data nor by topographic elevations that are much
lower in northern Arabia than in Ethiopia and Yemen.
In addition, the total thickness of the lava pile since
Oligocene (less than 300 m) and, by inference, the
volumes of magmas erupted in Saudi Arabia, Jordan,
and Syria is much smaller than above the Afar plume
head.
Moreover, the persistency of high-A basaltic activ-
ity for 200 Ma in Israel argues against the recent
57
arrival of an active plume in northern Arabia and led
Stein and Hofmann (1992) to propose the concept of a
fossil plume head that had been previously accreted to
the base of the lithosphere. Therefore, the widespread
high-A isotopic signature observed throughout the
Arabian plate could have resulted from the juxtaposi-
tion during the Oligocene of a new mantle plume
beneath Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Yemen against a
preexisting, now fossil mantle plume. In this case,
the convergence of the trends in the isotopic diagrams
(Fig. 2e) would indicate that the two high-A plumes
were isotopically identical and originated from a
similar source, perhaps located in the lower mantle.
An alternative explanation for the widespread high-
A signature beneath the Arabian plate would be that it
is an integral part of the Arabian plate itself, in both
northern and southern regions, as a result of the
evolution of the subcontinental lithosphere. The pos-
sible mechanisms involved and their timing were
discussed by Stein et al. (1997) for the northern
Arabian region. They proposed a model of chromato-
graphic metasomatism of the lithospheric mantle
associated with the Pan-African orogeny, which may
lead to formation of high-A domains. Our data suggest
that similar processes may have contributed to store
high-A material within the subcontinental lithosphere
over the whole of Arabia, including its southern part
in Yemen. This is consistent with the lack of a high-A
signature in the central part of the Red Sea (Volker et
al., 1993), as well as in the main part of the Gulf of
Aden (Schilling et al., 1992), where true oceanic crust
is formed directly from the asthenosphere. In this
respect, the interpretation of the isotopic compositions
of basalts sampled along the Gulf of Aden near 46jE
remains problematic. These basalts have a more
pronounced high-A isotopic composition than others
and have been interpreted by Schilling et al. (1992) as
the surface expression of the HIMU torus part of the
Afar mantle plume. Alternatively, the new data pre-
sented here are consistent with the hypothesis of a
remnant part of the lithospheric mantle isolated during
extension in the Gulf of Aden, which could account
for the topographic height of this part of the Aden
ridge identified by Schilling et al. (1992). Melting of
this remnant mantle or interaction with asthenospheric
melt through percolation would produce basalts more
radiogenic in Pb. The assumption of a high-A compo-
nent stored in the subcontinental lithosphere is also in
58 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61

Fig. 4. (a) Variations of 206Pb/204Pb with latitude along the Red Sea and inland from Syria to Yemen. Data for Israel from Stein and Hofmann
(1992), and for the Red Sea from Eissen et al. (1989), Rogers (1993), and Volker et al. (1993). The box represents data from Ethiopia and
Djibouti (same references as in Fig. 3). The V-shaped line represents the best-fit through the Red Sea axis data. (b) Helium isotopic ratios versus
latitude along the Red Sea (Moreira et al., 1996) and across Ethiopia and Djibouti (open squares: Marty et al., 1993, 1996; triangles: Scarsi and
Craig, 1996).

good agreement with the elevated values of Pb iso-
topic ratios measured on minerals from mantle xen-
oliths (spinel lherzolites) in alkali basalts from Yemen
(Baker et al., 1998), although these xenoliths may
simply have been melt metasomatized prior to entrain-
ment by volcanism.
5.4. The composition of the Afar mantle plume
If the supposition of a high-A component located
within the lithosphere rather than in the Afar plume
itself is correct, what then is the composition of the
Afar mantle plume? This signature cannot be readily
recognized based on the Sr –Nd –Hf – Pb isotope data
presented here because the end-members identified in
this multi-isotope space (Fig. 2) have been attributed
to the lithosphere (EM and high-A) and to the con-
vecting asthenosphere (DM), respectively. If none of
the end-members of our data set represent the Afar
plume source, it must lie somewhere within the data
array itself, making its identification more difficult.
An estimate of the initial material of the Afar mantle
plume was proposed by Pik et al. (1999), as being
represented by high-Ti Ethiopian flood basalts, and is
shown in Fig. 2a,b,e. This estimate fits data from
Yemen better than data from NCA, but it cannot be
perceived as a distinct end-member in Fig. 2. The
dispersal of the data points from Yemen (and Ethio-
pia – Djibouti as well) could reflect the interplay
between the Afar plume source and overlying mantle
material such as asthenospheric and lithospheric man-
tle.
The composition of the Afar plume is far better
constrained from the relationship between He and Pb
isotopes. He isotope work (Marty et al., 1993, 1996;
Moreira et al., 1996; Scarsi and Craig, 1996) has
 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61
shown that basalts from the Red Sea have MORB-
type helium isotopic compositions (low 3He/4He),
whereas basalts from Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the
Tadjoura Gulf have higher 3He/4He ratios. These high
values have been interpreted as evidence for the
existence of an undegassed mantle plume beneath
the Ethiopia – Djibouti area, with a northward decrease
of its influence along the Red Sea (Fig. 4b). The Pb
isotopic compositions of basalts from both along the
Red Sea (Volker et al., 1993; Rogers, 1993) and
inland from Yemen to Syria (our data) are decoupled
from the He isotopic variations: the least radiogenic
206
Pb values correspond to the most MORB-like part
of the Red Sea, whereas more radiogenic values are
observed both further north and further south along
the axial rift, with 206Pb/204Pb ratios as high as those
in Yemen, Ethiopia, and Djibouti basalts (Fig. 4a).
These variations are consistent with a vanishing high
3
He/4He plume signature towards the north and a
high-A component present everywhere in the conti-
nental lithospheric mantle below the Red Sea region
and the Arabian plate. Moreover, it should be noted
that, among available data on ocean island basalts,
HIMU plumes do not in general seem to be high
3
He/4He plumes (Hanyu and Kaneoka, 1997; Barfod
et al., 1999), further enforcing the hypothesis that the
Afar plume is not HIMU-like.
5.5. Possible explanation for the differences between
north and south of the Arabian plate
The isotopic data for the basalts from the Arabian
plate show significant regional variations (Fig. 2).
Compared to the volcanic rocks from NCA, those
from Yemen (and from Ethiopia –Djibouti as well) are
shifted systematically towards higher 87Sr/86Sr and
208
Pb/204Pb for a given 206Pb/204Pb, whereas 143Nd/
144
Nd and 176Hf/177Hf display similar ranges in the
two regions. This reflects similar time-integrated Sm/
Nd, Lu/Hf, and U/Pb in NCA and Yemen, but distinct
time-integrated Rb/Sr and Th/U (higher in Yemen).
Such systematics cannot be explained easily by crustal
contamination processes and suggests that the Rb/Sr
and Th/U ratios may have been increased by small
melt fractions or fluids, reflecting old melt-related
enrichment or metasomatism of the mantle source. If
this hypothesis is correct, the isotopic differences
between north and south would not be directly related
59
to the Afar plume-derived melts or fluids, but rather
would be linked to the previous history of their mantle
source. Therefore, these differences would reflect the
development of distinct domains within the mantle
lithosphere in north and south, possibly as a result of
either the accretion of fossil mantle plume heads, or
chromatographic metasomatism of the Arabian litho-
sphere associated with convergent plate tectonic pro-
cesses (Stein et al., 1997). Heterogeneous north –
south development of the lithosphere is consistent
with the formation of domains of distinct ages below
NCA (mostly late Precambrian, McGuire and Stern,
1993) and Yemen (mostly early Precambrian, Windley
et al., 1996).
It is noteworthy, however, that the northern limit of
the southern province, based on recent volcanism,
broadly coincides with the northern limit of the
Oligocene Yemen traps, considered as the early vol-
canic expression of the Afar plume. This pattern
makes it likely that the more fertile components
(characterized by high Rb/Sr and Th/U ratios) within
the lithosphere would have been preferentially melted
beneath Yemen in response to the thermal effects of
the Afar plume head, regardless of the former history
of the lithosphere.
6. Conclusions
As previously suggested from small-scale regional
studies (Volker et al., 1993), the high-A mantle sig-
nature recorded in the volcanism on the Arabian plate
does not represent unequivocally the original Afar
mantle plume. Rather, its large geographical extent
from Yemen in the south to Syria and Jordan in the
north is more compatible with its location in the
mantle domain of the continental lithosphere, such
as is the case in Israel (Stein and Hofmann, 1992;
Stein and Goldstein, 1996; Stein et al., 1997). Sr –
Nd –Hf – Pb isotope systematics portray the heteroge-
neity of the Arabian lithosphere and its interaction
with both asthenosphere and the Afar mantle plume
during recent volcanism. The recognition by geo-
chemical means of a deep-seated Afar mantle plume
is mostly attested to by high 3He/4He ratios of basalts
from Ethiopia and Djibouti and their decrease to the
north in basalts from the Red Sea. Time-integrated
Rb/Sr and Th/U ratios from Yemen are higher than
60 H. Bertrand et al. / Chemical Geology 198 (2003) 47–61
those from NCA. These differences may reflect differ-
ential melt/fluid-related enrichment during the pre-
vious development of the lithosphere beneath northern
and southern Arabia and/or the thermal effect of the
Afar mantle plume triggering melting of the more
fertile parts of the Yemen lithosphere.
Acknowledgements
Field work in Yemen benefited from the assistance
of the Department of Geology and Mineral Explora-
tion of Aden and Elf Aquitaine Petroleum Aden. We
thank G. Féraud, I. Gass, P. Huchon, and P. Rochette
for providing samples from Saudi Arabia – Syria,
Perim, North Yemen, and Jordan, respectively. We
are grateful to F. Vidal and C. Bord for assistance with
chemistry and mass spectrometry, to P. Capiez for
XRF analyses, and to P. Télouk for help with the
Plasma 54. We further thank P. Vidal for fruitful
discussions and E. Hauri, N. Rogers, and an
anonymous reviewer for their constructive reviews.
This work was supported financially through the
program ‘‘Dynamique et Bilan de la Terre’’ from
CNRS-INSU. [SG]
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