Mantle flow patterns and magma chambers at ocean ridges: Evidence from the Oman ophiolite

As a result of an extensive program of structural mapping in the ultramafic section of the Oman ophiolite, maps of mantle flow below the spreading center of origin have been drawn. They reveal a mantle diapiric system in which the uppermost mantle flow diverges from diapirs 10–15 km across, which could have been spaced by an average distance of 50 km. Some diapirs could have been located off-axis. The rotation of flow lines in the diapirs occurs within the few hundred meters of the transition zone separating the mantle and crustal formations. The importance of this zone is stressed. The structure of the layered gabbros of the crustal unit in most places reflects a large magmatic flow induced by the solid state flow in the underlying peridotites. The magmatic foliation of the gabbros steepens upsection and becomes parallel to the sheeted dike attitude. A new model of a tent-shaped magma chamber is derived from these structural data.