Abstract
Rubidium, cesium, strontium, barium and their isotopes are employed as tracers of magmatic differentiation and fluid-mediated metasomatism, but their mobility during mineral-scale alteration remains uncertain. Here we carry out an in situ elemental and isotope analysis of feldspars from altered pegmatites in the North China Craton to trace element mobility in feldspar during fluid–rock interaction. Our results show that plagioclase readily re-equilibrates with invading magmatic-hydrothermal fluids, erasing magmatic rubidium, cesium, strontium, and barium signature, whereas potassium feldspar only partly yields, selectively leaking cesium and rubidium while shielding strontium and barium. Lead isotopes act as an internal measure of reaction progress, quantifying this mineral-scale interplay: plagioclase tracks the fluid composition within millimetres, whereas potassium feldspar preserves most of its primary signature even in strongly altered zones. Comparing both feldspars offers a practical check on whether feldspar-based isotope signatures record primary magmatic values or later fluid overprinting.
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The authors declare that all data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its Supplementary Information files. LA-ICP-MS Pb isotope and trace element data, and source data for figures are publicly available at the Figshare repository67: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.31374727.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 42321001) and the special fund from the State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences (no. MSFGPMR03-2). We thank the Geological Team 224 of Sino Shaanxi Nuclear Industry Group for their assistance during the fieldwork.
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H.X. Zhang conducted fieldwork, performed sample preparation, data acquisition, and data processing, and wrote the manuscript. S.Y. Jiang supervised the research, provided project funding and analytical support, and contributed to data interpretation and manuscript revision. S.Q. Liu participated in the fieldwork and sampling. H.M. Su, W.T. Li participated in the LA-ICP-MS analyses. All authors discussed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Communications Earth and Environment thanks Christiaan Laureijs, Igor Maria Villa and Daniele Cherniak for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary handling editors: Céline Martin and Alireza Bahadori. A peer review file is available.
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Zhang, HX., Jiang, SY., Liu, SQ. et al. Fluid-driven element mobility resets plagioclase rubidium strontium and barium clocks while potassium feldspar resists. Commun Earth Environ (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03383-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03383-5
