We have studied the sedimentary and basaltic inputs of lithium to subduction zones. Various sediments from DSDP and ODP drill cores in front of the Mariana, South Sandwich, Banda, East Sunda and Lesser Antilles island arcs have been analysed and show highly variable Li contents and d7Li values. The sediment piles in front of the Mariana and South Sandwich arcs largely consist of pelagic sediments (clays and oozes). The pelagic clays have high Li contents (up to 57.3 ppm) and Li isotope compositions ranging from +1.3‰ to +4.1‰. The oozes have lower Li contents (7.3-16 ppm) with d7Li values of the diatom oozes from the South Sandwich lower (+2.8‰ to +3.2‰) than those of the radiolarian oozes from the Mariana arc (+8.1‰ to +14.5‰). Mariana sediment also contains a significant portion of volcanogenic material, which is characterised by a moderate Li content (14 ppm) and a relatively heavy isotope composition (+6.4‰). Sediments from the Banda and Lesser Antilles contain considerable amounts of continental detritus, and have high Li contents (up to 74.3 ppm) and low d7Li values (around 0‰), caused by weathering of continental bedrock. East Sunda sediments largely consist of calcareous oozes. These carbonate sediments display intermediate to high Li contents (2.4-41.9 ppm) and highly variable d7Li values (-1.6‰ to +12.8‰).
Basaltic oceanic crust samples from worldwide DSDP and ODP drill cores are characterised by enrichment of Li compared to fresh MORB (6.6-33.1 vs. 3.6-7.5 ppm, respectively), and show a large range in Li isotope compositions (+1.7‰ to +11.8‰). The elemental and isotopic enrichment of Li in altered basalts is due to the uptake of isotopically heavy seawater Li during weathering. However, old oceanic crust samples from Sites 417/418 exhibit lighter Li isotope compositions compared to young basaltic crust samples from Sites 332B and 504B. This lighter Li isotope signature in old crust is unexpected and further research is needed to explore this issue.
