Contrasting rifted margin styles south of Greenland: implications for mantle plume dynamics

We present new and reprocessed seismic reflection data from the area where the southeast and southwest Greenland margins intersected to form a triple junction south of Greenland in the early Tertiary. During breakup at 56 Ma, thick igneous crust was accreted along the entire 1300-km-long southeast Greenland margin from the Greenland Iceland Ridge to, and possibly 100 km beyond, the triple junction into the Labrador Sea. However, highly extended and thin crust 250 km to the west of the triple junction suggests that magmatically starved crustal formation occurred on the southwest Greenland margin at the same time. Thus, a transition from a volcanic to a non-volcanic margin over only 100–200 km is observed. Magmatism related to the impact of the Iceland plume below the North Atlantic around 61 Ma is known from central-west and southeast Greenland. The new seismic data also suggest the presence of a small volcanic plateau of similar age close to the triple junction. The extent of initial plume-related volcanism inferred from these observations is explained by a model of lateral flow of plume material that is guided by relief at the base of the lithosphere. Plume mantle is channelled to great distances provided that significant melting does not take place. Melting causes cooling and dehydration of the plume mantle. The associated viscosity increase acts against lateral flow and restricts plume material to its point of entry into an actively spreading rift. We further suggest that thick Archaean lithosphere blocked direct flow of plume material into the magma-starved southwest Greenland margin while the plume was free to flow into the central west and east Greenland margins. The model is consistent with a plume layer that is only moderately hotter, 100–200°C, than ambient mantle temperature, and has a thickness comparable to lithospheric thickness variations, 50–100 km. Lithospheric architecture, the timing of continental rifting and viscosity changes due to melting of the plume material are therefore critical parameters for understanding the distribution of magmatism.     

Basalt geochemistry and tectonic discrimination within continental flood basalt provinces

Continental flood basalts are usually regarded as a single tectonomagmatic entity but frequently quoted examples exhibit a variety of tectonic settings. In one well-studied, classic, flood basalt province, the Mesozoic Karoo province of southern Africa, magmatism occurred in the following tectonic settings: (a) continental rifting leading to ocean-floor spreading in the South Atlantic Ocean (Etendeka suite of Namibia); (b) stretched continental lithosphere and rifting not leading directly to ocean-floor formation (Lebombo suite of southeastern Africa); and (c) an a-tectonic, within-plate, continental setting characterized by an absence of faulting or warping (Lesotho highlands and Karoo dolerites of South Africa). By means of spidergrams of the elements Rb, Ba, Th, Nb, K, La, Ce, Sr, Nd, P, Hf, Zr, Sm, Ti, Tb, Y, V, Ni and Cr, uncontaminated tholeiites from (c) above [i.e. the Lesotho-type continental flood basalts (LTCFB)] are compared with mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), ocean-island tholeiites (OIT), and tholeiites and calc-alkali basalts from subduction environments. The comparison reveals the LTCFBs are geochemically distinct. The differences are reflected in relative enrichments or depletions of the more incompatible elements (Rb-Ce) to less incompatible elements (Ce-Y), i.e. the overall slope of the spidergrams, and in anomalous enrichments or depletions of one or more of the elements Th, K, Nb, Sr, Ti, Hf, and Zr. The distinctive geochemical character of the Lesotho LTCFBs is interpreted in terms of a lithospheric mantle source for the basalts. This is supported by isotopic data. There are no major geochemical differences between Lesotho CFBs and basalts of the rift-related Etendeka and Lebombo suites, although the latter are somewhat enriched in Rb, Ba and K. However, unlike the Lesotho basalts, the Lebombo and Etendeka basalts are associated with voluminous silicic volcanics or intrusive centres and late-stage dolerites having MORB/OIT (i.e. asthenospheric) geochemical characteristics. The flood basalt/silicic magmatism/late-stage dyke swarm association is characteristic of several rift or thinned lithosphere environments (e.g., Ethiopia, Skye, eastern Greenland) but in many of these the flood basalts have ocean-island basalt (OIT) geochemical characteristics. The Lesotho-type CFB geochemistry is exhibited by the Grande Ronde Basalt of the Columbia River Group (a possible subduction-related flood basalt province) and the basic rocks associated with Mesozoic rifting in the North and South Atlantic. Basalt geochemistry alone is unhelpful in determining the tectonic setting of CFBs although the rift-related environments may be identified by the petrology and geochemistry of the whole igneous suite. A two-source model is proposed for the mantle-derived basic rocks in rift-related CFB provinces. Early enriched basalts are derived from the lithosphere and, following pronounced lithospheric attenuation or rifting, later MORB-like melts are emplaced from the rising asthenosphere. The presence of both Lesotho- and OIT-type geochemical patterns in rift-related CFBs suggests that the lithosphere exhibits different styles of enrichment.     

Enriched back-arc basin basalts from the northern Mariana Trough: implications for the magmatic evolution of back-arc basins

The composition of basalts erupted at the earliest stages in the evolution of a back-arc basin permit unique insights into the composition and structure of the sub-arc mantle. We report major and trace element chemical data and O-, Sr-, Nd-, and Pb- isotopic analyses for basalts recovered from four dredge hauls and one ALVIN dive in the northern Mariana Trough near 22°N. The petrography and major element chemistry of these basalts (MTB-22) are similar to tholeiites from the widest part of the Trough, near 18°N (MTB-18), except that MTB-22 have slightly more K₂O and slightly less TiO₂. The trace element data exhibit a very strong arc signature in MTB-22, including elevated K, Rb, Sr, Ba, and LREE contents; relatively lowK/Ba and highBa/La andSr/Nd. The Sr- and Nd- isotopic data plot in a field displaced from that of MTB-18 towards Mariana arc lavas, and the Pb-isotopic composition of MTB-22 is indistinguishable from Mariana arc lavas and much more homogeneous than MTB-18. Mixing of 50–90% Mariana arc component with a MORB component is hypothesized. We cannot determine whether this resulted from physical mixing of arc mantle and MORB mantle, or whether the arc component is introduced by metasomatism of MORB-like mantle by fluids released from the subducted lithosphere. The strong arc signature in back-arc melts from the Mariana Trough at 22°N, where the back-arc basin is narrow, supports general models for back-arc basin evolution whereby early back-arc basin basalts have a strong arc component which diminishes in importance relative to MORB as the back-arc basin widens.     

Asthenospheric percolation of alkaline melts beneath the St. Paul region (Central Atlantic Ocean)

Two peridotite suites collected by submersible in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean (Hekinian et al., 2000) were studied for textures, modes, and in situ major and trace element compositions in pyroxenes. Dive SP12 runs along the immersed flank of the St. Peter and Paul Rocks islets where amphibole-bearing, ultramafic mylonites enriched in alkalies and incompatible elements are exposed (Roden et al., 1984), whereas dive SP03 sampled a small intra-transform spreading centre situated about 370 km east of the St. Peter and Paul Rocks. Both suites are characterized by undeformed, coarse-grained granular textures typical of abyssal peridotites, derived from residual mantle after ～ 15% melting of a DMM source, starting in the garnet stability field. Trace element modelling, textures and lack of mineral zoning indicate that the residual peridotites were percolated, reacted and refertilized by ～ 2.6% partially aggregated melts in the uppermost level of the melting region. This relatively large amount of refertilization is in agreement with the cold and thick lithosphere inferred by previous studies. Freezing of trapped melts occurred as the peridotite entered the conductive layer, resulting in late-stage crystallization of olivine, clinopyroxene, spinel, ± plagioclase. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns in clinopyroxenes from SP03 indicate that they last equilibrated with (ultra-) depleted partial melts. In contrast, REE concentrations in clinopyroxenes from SP12 display U and S shaped LREE-enriched patterns and the calculated compositions of the impregnating melts span the compositional range of the regional basalts, which vary from normal MORB to alkali basalt sometimes modified by chromatographic fractionation with no, or very limited, mineral reaction. Thus the mylonitic band forming the St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks ridge is not a fragment of subcontinental lithospheric mantle left behind during the opening of the Central Atlantic, nor the source of the alkaline basalts as previously suggested. Rather, dive SP12 sampled residual peridotites of normal MORB mantle that were located close to channels transporting alkali basalts. Reacted melts escaping from these channels, infiltrated, and locally equilibrated with, the peridotite matrix by ion exchange reactions. Relicts of the source of the alkaline basalts were not sampled but our study suggests that it was a component of the MORB mantle underlying the St. Paul region.     

南海西南海盆构造演化的热模拟研究

南海西南海盆的张裂和海底扩张是白垩纪末至中始新世南海形成过程中最重要的构造事件.本文采用三维有限单元法对该区的热演化过程进行了模拟计算.通过对变形、温度结构的计算,研究了西南海盆张裂变形、海底扩张持续时间、地幔物质上升、地壳岩墙沿扩张中心的挤入扩张活力、岩浆活动等.计算结果表明：由于其深部动力学条件不足,海盆一次扩张持续时间在10～15Ma之间,其后地幔物质的上升活动逐渐停止,地壳失去扩张动力,使得扩张中心成为残留扩张中心的死亡裂谷,而未构成中脊或中隆带.虽然该处地幔物质上升的潜力不足,但伴随局部的断裂,尤其是盆、缘边界的拆离拉张,仍能产生相当强烈的岩浆喷溢活动,导致此区海盆成型之后的海山崛起.     

Ar/Ar geochronology of the West Greenland Tertiary volcanic province

Paleocene volcanic rocks in West Greenland and Baffin Island were among the first products of the Iceland mantle plume, forming part of a larger igneous province that is now submerged beneath the northern Labrador Sea. A ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating study shows that volcanism commenced in West Greenland between 60.9 and 61.3 Ma and that 80% of the Paleocene lava pile was erupted in 1 million years or less (weighted mean age of 60.5±0.4 Ma). Minimum estimates of magma production rates (1.3×10⁻⁴ km³ year⁻¹ km⁻¹) are similar to the present Iceland rift, except for the uppermost part of the Paleocene volcanic succession where the rate decreases to <0.7×10⁻⁴ km³ year⁻¹ km⁻¹ (rift). The timing of onset of volcanism in West Greenland coincides with the opening of the northern Labrador Sea and is also strikingly similar to the age of the oldest Tertiary volcanic rocks from offshore SE Greenland and the British–Irish province. This is interpreted as manifesting the impact and rapid (>1 m/year) lateral spreading of the Iceland plume head at the base of the Greenland lithosphere at 62 Ma. We suggest that the arrival, or at least a major increase in the flux, of the Iceland mantle plume beneath Greenland was a contributing factor in the initiation of seafloor spreading in the northern Labrador Sea. Our study has also revealed a previously unrecognised Early Eocene volcanic episode in West Greenland. This magmatism may be related to movement on the transform Ungava Fault System which transferred drifting from the Labrador Sea to Baffin Bay. A regional change in plate kinematics at 55 Ma, associated with the opening of the North Atlantic, would have caused net extension along parts of this fault. This would have resulted in decompression and partial melting of the underlying asthenosphere. The source of the melts for the Eocene magmatism may have been remnants of still anomalously hot Iceland plume mantle which were left stranded beneath the West Greenland lithosphere in the Early Paleocene.     

Implications of melting for stabilisation of the lithosphere and heat loss in the Archaean

The increased depth and volume of melting induced in a higher temperature Archaean mantle controls the stability of the lithosphere, heat loss rates and the thickness of the oceanic crust. The relationship between density distributions in oceanic lithosphere and the depth of melting at spreading centres is investigated by calculating the mineral proportions and densities of residual mantle depleted by extraction of melt fractions. The density changes related to compositional gradients are comparable to those produced by thermal effects for lithosphere formed from a mantle which is 200°C or more hotter than modern upper mantle. If Archaean continental crust formed initially above oceanic lithosphere, the compositional density gradients may be sufficient to preserve a thick Archaean continental lithosphere within which the Archaean age diamonds are preserved. The amount of heat advected by melts at mid-ocean ridges today is small but heat advected by melting becomes proportionally more important as higher mantle temperatures lead to a greater volume of melt and as the rate of production of oceanic plates increases. Archaean tectonics could have been dominated by spreading rates 2–3 times greater than now and with mantle temperatures between ca. 1600°C and 1800°C at the depth of the solidus. Mid-ocean ridge melting would produce a relatively thick but light refractory lithosphere on which continents could form, protected from copious volcanism and high mantle temperatures.     

The water content and hydrogen isotope composition of continental lithospheric mantle and mantle-derived mafic igneous rocks in eastern China

The water contents of minerals and whole-rock in mantle-derived xenoliths from eastern China exhibit large variations and are generally lower than those from other on- and off-craton lithotectonic units. Nevertheless, the water contents of mineral and whole-rock in Junan peridotite xenoliths, which sourced from the juvenile lithospheric mantle, are generally higher than those elsewhere in eastern China. This suggests that the initial water content of juvenile lithospheric mantle is not low. There is no obvious correlation between the water contents and Mg^# values of minerals in the mantle xenoliths and no occurrence of diffusion profile in pyroxene, suggesting no relationship between the low water content of mantle xenolith and the diffusion loss of water during xenolith ascent with host basaltic magmas. If the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) base is heated by the asthenospheric mantle, the diffusion loss of water is expected to occur. On the other hand, extraction of basaltic melts from the SCLM is a more efficient mechanism to reduce the water content of xenoliths. The primary melts of Mesozoic and Cenozoic basalts in eastern China have water contents, as calculated from the water contents of phenocrysts, higher than those of normal mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). The Mesozoic basalts exhibit similar water contents to those of island arc basalts, whereas the Cenozoic basalts exhibit comparable water contents to oceanic island basalts and backarc basin basalts with some of them resembling island arc basalts. These observations suggest the water enrichment in the mantle source of continental basalts due to metasomatism by aqueous fluids and hydrous melts derived from dehydration and melting of deeply subducted crust. Mantle-derived megacrysts, minerals in xenoliths and phenocrysts in basalts from eastern China also exhibit largely variable hydrogen isotope compositions, indicating a large isotopic heterogeneity for the Cenozoic SCLM in eastern China. The water content that is higher than that of depleted MORB mantle and the hydrogen isotope composition that is deviated from that of depleted MORB mantle suggest that the Cenozoic continental lithospheric mantle suffered the metasomatism by hydrous melts derived from partial melting of the subducted Pacific slab below eastern China continent. The metasomatism would lead to the increase of water content in the SCLM base and then to the decrease of its viscosity. As a consequence, the SCLM base would be weakened and thus susceptible to tectonic erosion and delamination. As such, the crust-mantle interaction in oceanic subduction channel is the major cause for thinning of the craton lithosphere in North China.     

Mantle heterogeneity beneath the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge: trace element evidence for contamination of ambient asthenospheric mantle

We report new trace element data for an extensive suite of quench basalt glasses dredged from the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) between 40°S and 52.5°S. Ratios between highly incompatible trace elements are strongly correlated and indicate a systematic distribution of incompatible element enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) (E-type: Zr/Nb=5.9-19, Y/Nb=0.9-8.4, (La/Sm)_n=1.0-2.9) and incompatible element depleted MORB (N-type: Zr/Nb=30-69, Y/Nb=11-29, (La/Sm)_n=0.48-0.79) along this section of the southern MAR. A notable feature of N-type MORB from the region is the higher than usual Ba/Nb (4-9), La/Nb (1.2-2.4) and primitive mantle normalised K/Nb ratios (>1). Ba/Nb ratios in E-type MORB samples from 47.5 to 49°S are especially elevated (>10). The occurrence and geographic distribution of E-type MORB along this section of the southern MAR can be correlated with the ridge-centred Shona and off-axis Discovery mantle plumes. In conjunction with published isotope data for a subset of the same sample suite [Douglass et al., J. Geophys. Res. 104 (1999) 2941], a model is developed whereby prior to the breakup of Gondwana and the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean, the underlying asthenospheric mantle was locally contaminated by fluids/melts rising from the major Mesozoic subduction zone along the south-southwest boundary of Gondwana, leaving a subduction zone geochemical imprint (elevated (K/Nb)_n and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, decreased ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios). Subsequent impingement of three major mantle plume heads (Tristan/Gough, Discovery, Shona) resulted in heating and thermal erosion of the lowermost subcontinental lithosphere and dispersal into the convecting asthenospheric mantle. With the opening of the ocean basin, continued plume upwelling led to plume-ridge interactions and mixing between geochemically enriched mantle derived from the Shona and Discovery mantle plumes, material derived from delamination of the subcontinental lithosphere, and mildly subduction zone contaminated depleted asthenospheric mantle.     

Fine-scale isotopic variation in Mariana Trough basalts: evidence for heterogeneity and a recycled component in backarc basin mantle

Fine-scale sampling with alvin and by dredging of the axial ridge in the Mariana Trough between 17°40′N and 18°30°N recovered basalts with isotopic compositions that span the range between N-type MORB and Mariana island arc basalts. There is a local tectonic-morphological control on basalt compositions; MORB-like basalts are found on the deeper ridge segment bounded by the Pagan transform and the ridge offset at 17°56′N, while basalts from the shallower ridge to the north are typical Mariana Trough basalts (MTB) having compositions intermediate between the two endmember rock types. Arc-like basalts were recovered from one site on the axial ridge.The discovery of basalts with such diverse isotopic characteristics from a short (100 km) section of this backarc spreading center constrains the chemical characteristics and distribution of mantle source variability in the Mariana Trough. SrNdPb isotopic variability suggests that the MTB source is heterogeneous on the scale of individual melt batches. The principal component in the MTB mantle source region is depleted peridotite similar to the source of MORB. The enriched component, most evident in the arc-like basalts and intimately mixed in MTB, has isotopic characteristics similar to those observed in the Mariana arc basalts. The isotopic data suggest that source variability for Mariana axial ridge basalts can be explained by mixed arc-like and MORB-like mantle. We hypothesize that there are fragments of old oceanic lithosphere in the backarc source region. This lithospheric component may reflect remnants of subducted seafloor or forearc-volcanic arc mantle that predate rifting in the backarc basin.     

New insights on the origin of troctolites from the breakaway area of the Godzilla Megamullion (Parece Vela back‐arc basin): The role of melt‐mantle interaction on the composition of the lower crust

The troctolites and olivine‐gabbros from the Dive 6 K‐1147 represent the most primitive gabbroic rocks collected at the Godzilla Megamullion, a giant oceanic core complex formed at an extinct spreading segment of the Parece Vela back‐arc basin (Philippine Sea). Previous investigations have shown that these rocks have textural and major elements mineral compositions consistent with a formation through multistage interaction between mantle‐derived melts and a pre‐existing ultramafic matrix. New investigations on trace element mineral compositions basically agree with this hypothesis. Clinopyroxenes and plagioclase have incompatible element signatures similar to that of typical‐MORB. However, the clinopyroxenes show very high Cr contents (similar to those of mantle clinopyroxene) and rim having sharply higher Zr/REE ratios with respect to the core. These features are in contrast with an evolution constrained by fractional crystallization processes, and suggest that the clinopyroxene compositions are controlled by melt‐rock interaction processes. The plagioclase anorthite versus clinopyroxene Mg#[Mg/(Mg + Fe^Tot)] correlation of the Dive 6 K‐1147 rocks shows a trend much steeper than those depicted by other oceanic gabbroic sections. Using a thermodynamic model, we show that this trend is reproducible by fractionation of melts assimilating 1 g of mantle peridotite per 1 °C of cooling. This model predicts the early crystallization of high Mg# clinopyroxene, consistent with our petrological observation. The melt‐peridotite interaction process produces Na‐rich melts causing the crystallization of plagioclase with low anorthite component, typically characterizing the evolved gabbros from Godzilla Megamullion.     

Deep melting and sodic metasomatism underneath the highly oblique-spreading Lena Trough (Arctic Ocean)

Abyssal peridotites collected along the highly oblique-spreading Lena Trough north of Greenland and Spitsbergen have mineral compositions that are similar to residual abyssal peridotites, except for high sodium concentrations in clinopyroxene (cpx). Most samples are lherzolites with light rare earth element (REE)-depleted cpx trace element patterns, but significantly fractionated middle to heavy REE ratios at relatively high heavy REE concentrations. Such characteristics can only be explained by initial melting of a garnet peridotite followed by low degrees of melting in the stability field of spinel peridotite. The residual garnet signature requires either a high potential temperature of the upwelling mantle, or elevated solidus-lowering water contents. The limited spinel field melting suggests a deep cessation of melt extraction, possibly because of the presence of a thick lithospheric cap. This is consistent with the extremely low effective spreading rate and the vicinity to a passive continental margin, which allow conductive cooling to reach deeper levels than commonly estimated for faster mid-ocean ridges. High sodium concentrations in cpx are neither explainable by melt refertilization, nor by a simple diffusion mechanism. The efficient fractionation of sodium from the light REE requires post-melting metasomatism, which is typically restricted to the subcontinental lithosphere. This might imply that the Lena Trough peridotites represent unroofed subcontinental mantle, from which no melt was extracted during the opening of the Lena Trough. It is more likely that sodic metasomatism occurred after partial melting underneath the Lena Trough, and that such an enrichment process is responsible for elevated sodium concentrations in abyssal peridotites elsewhere. Sodium in cpx of residual peridotites can therefore not serve as an indicator of partial melting or melt refertilization.     

Formation time of the big mantle wedge beneath eastern China and a new lithospheric thinning mechanism of the North China craton—Geodynamic effects of deep recycled carbon

High-resolution P wave tomography shows that the subducting Pacific slab is stagnant in the mantle transition zone and forms a big mantle wedge beneath eastern China. The Mg isotopic investigation of large numbers of mantle-derived volcanic rocks from eastern China has revealed that carbonates carried by the subducted slab have been recycled into the upper mantle and formed carbonated peridotite overlying the mantle transition zone, which becomes the sources of various basalts. These basalts display light Mg isotopic compositions(δ26 Mg = –0.60‰ to –0.30‰) and relatively low87 Sr/86 Sr ratios(0.70314–0.70564) with ages ranging from 106 Ma to Quaternary, suggesting that their mantle source had been hybridized by recycled magnesite with minor dolomite and their initial melting occurred at 300-360 km in depth. Therefore, the carbonate metasomatism of their mantle source should have occurred at the depth larger than 360 km, which means that the subducted slab should be stagnant in the mantle transition zone forming the big mantle wedge before 106 Ma. This timing supports the rollback model of subducting slab to form the big mantle wedge. Based on high P-T experiment results, when carbonated silicate melts produced by partial melting of carbonated peridotite was raising and reached the bottom(180–120 km in depth) of cratonic lithosphere in North China, the carbonated silicate melts should have 25–18 wt% CO2 contents, with lower Si O2 and Al2 O3 contents, and higher Ca O/Al2 O3 values, similar to those of nephelinites and basanites, and have higher εNdvalues(2 to 6). The carbonatited silicate melts migrated upward and metasomatized the overlying lithospheric mantle, resulting in carbonated peridotite in the bottom of continental lithosphere beneath eastern China. As the craton lithospheric geotherm intersects the solidus of carbonated peridotite at 130 km in depth, the carbonated peridotite in the bottom of cratonic lithosphere should be partially melted, thus its physical characters are similar to the asthenosphere and it could be easily replaced by convective mantle. The newly formed carbonated silicate melts will migrate upward and metasomatize the overlying lithospheric mantle. Similarly, such metasomatism and partial melting processes repeat, and as a result the cratonic lithosphere in North China would be thinning and the carbonated silicate partial melts will be transformed to high-Si O2 alkali basalts with lower εNdvalues(to-2). As the lithospheric thinning goes on,initial melting depth of carbonated peridotite must decrease from 130 km to close 70 km, because the craton geotherm changed to approach oceanic lithosphere geotherm along with lithospheric thinning of the North China craton. Consequently, the interaction between carbonated silicate melt and cratonic lithosphere is a possible mechanism for lithosphere thinning of the North China craton during the late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Based on the age statistics of low δ26 Mg basalts in eastern China, the lithospheric thinning processes caused by carbonated metasomatism and partial melting in eastern China are limited in a timespan from 106 to25 Ma, but increased quickly after 25 Ma. Therefore, there are two peak times for the lithospheric thinning of the North China craton: the first peak in 135-115 Ma simultaneously with the cratonic destruction, and the second peak caused by interaction between carbonated silicate melt and lithosphere mainly after 25 Ma. The later decreased the lithospheric thickness to about70 km in the eastern part of North China craton.     

Mantle thermal structure and active upwelling during continental breakup in the North Atlantic

Seismic reflection and refraction data acquired on four transects spanning the Southeast Greenland rifted margin and Greenland–Iceland Ridge (GIR) provide new constraints on mantle thermal structure and melting processes during continental breakup in the North Atlantic. Maximum igneous crustal thickness varies along the margin from >30 km in the near-hotspot zone (<500 km from the hotspot track) to 18 km in the distal zone (500–1100 km). Magmatic productivity on summed conjugate margins of the North Atlantic decreases through time from 1800±300 to 600±50 km³/km/Ma in the near-hotspot zone and from 700±200 to 300±50 km³/km/Ma in the distal zone. Comparison of our data with the British/Faeroe margins shows that both symmetric and asymmetric conjugate volcanic rifted margins exist. Joint consideration of crustal thickness and mean crustal seismic velocity suggests that along-margin changes in magmatism are principally controlled by variations in active upwelling rather than mantle temperature. The thermal anomaly (ΔT) at breakup was modest (100–125°C), varied little along the margin, and transient. Data along the GIR indicate that the potential temperature anomaly (125±50°C) and upwelling ratio (4 times passive) of the Iceland hotspot have remained roughly constant since 56 Ma. Our results are consistent with a plume–impact model, in which (1) a plume of radius 300 km and ΔT of 125°C impacted the margin around 61 Ma and delivered warm material to distal portions of the margin; (2) at breakup (56 Ma), the lower half of the plume head continued to feed actively upwelling mantle into the proximal portion of the margin; and (3) by 45 Ma, both the remaining plume head and the distal warm layer were exhausted, with excess magmatism thereafter largely confined to a narrow (<200 km radius) zone immediately above the Iceland plume stem. Alternatively, the warm upper mantle layer that fed excess magmatism in the distal portion of the margin may have been a pre-existing thermal anomaly unrelated to the plume.     

Post-breakup basaltic magmatism along the East Greenland Tertiary rifted margin

Mafic and ultramafic intrusions in East Greenland adjacent to the offshore Greenland–Iceland ridge were emplaced 5–9 My after continental breakup at 55 Ma [1]. Rare earth element (REE) concentrations determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry are reported for cumulus clinopyroxene from these intrusions, and the data are used to estimate REE abundance in equilibrium melts using available partitioning data. Estimated equilibrium melts from intrusions have strongly fractionated REE patterns with Nd/Dy(N) in the range 2 to 5.6 and Yb/Dy(N) 0.55 to 0.92, similar to values for coeval basalts. These melts have markedly higher Nd/Dy(N) than earlier breakup related flood basalts. The moderately low Yb/Dy(N) for the post-breakup volcanism is indicative of residual garnet in the source, while their high Nd/Dy(N) ratios can best be explained by aggregating low degree melts from a light-REE-enriched garnet- and spinel-bearing mantle source. We also report He, Sr, and Nd isotopic data for the intrusions. The highest ³He/⁴He ratios (>10 R/R_a) are found in the samples whose REE data reflect the largest proportion of melts from a garnet-bearing source, and having Sr and Nd isotopic compositions identical with the radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd isotope end of the Iceland compositional field. There is no indication of a MORB-type mantle in the source of the intrusions. We postulate that post-breakup volcanism along the East Greenland coastline reflects the increasing proximity of the mantle plume to the East Greenland continental margin. The low degree of melting at high mean pressure inferred for the parental melts for the intrusions may reflect re-thickening of the lithosphere, which in turn was caused by the vigorous volcanism during breakup, with accompanying depletion of upper mantle and underplating of the crust at the continental margin.     

Lithosphere types in North China: Evidence from geology and geophysics

Deep-seated materials from lithosphere are the ba- sic parameters and the foundation for geodynamic and continental dynamic studies. Division of lithosphere types and their deep-seated materials and structure can provide important evidence in interpreting the com- plex phenomena derived from the processes of forma- tion and evolution of continents, in evaluating the mineral resource potential, in predicting geological disasters and in the research of the continental dy- namic process. Huge lit…     

Source depletion and extent of melting in the Tongan sub-arc mantle

The fluid immobile High Field Strength Elements (HFSE) Nb and Ta can be used to distinguish between the effects of variable extents of melting and prior source depletion of the Tongan sub-arc mantle. Melting of spinel lherzolite beneath the Lau Basin back-arc spreading centres has the ability to fractionate Nb from Ta due to the greater compatibility of the latter in clinopyroxene. The identified spatial variation in plate velocities and separation of melt extraction zones, combined with extremely depleted lavas make Tonga an ideal setting in which to test models for arc melt generation and the role of back-arc magmatism.We present new data acquired by laser ablation-ICPMS of fused sample glasses produced without the use of a melt fluxing agent. The results show an arc trend towards strongly sub-chondritic Nb/Ta (< 17) with values as low as 7.2. Melting models show that large degree melts of depleted MORB mantle fail to reproduce the observed Nb/Ta. Alternatively, incorporation of residual back-arc mantle that has undergone less than 1% melting into the sub-arc melting regime reproduces arc values. However, the extent of partial melting required to produce the composition of the Lau Basin back-arc basalts averages 7%. This apparent discrepancy can be explained if only the lowermost 4 km of the residua from the mantle melt column beneath the back-arc is added to the source of arc magmas. We have identified that the degree of arc/back-arc coupling displayed in the rock record provides an index of the depth of hydrous melting beneath the arc. In this case, this would imply a depth of ~ 75 km for generation of arc magmas, indicating that hydrous melting in the mantle wedge is triggered by the breakdown of hydrous phases in the subducting slab.     

Development of continental lithospheric mantle as reflected in the chemistry of the Mesozoic Appalachian Tholeiites, U.S.A.

Geochemical analyses of dikes, sills, and volcanic rocks of the Mesozoic Appalachian Tholeiite (MAT) Province of the easternmost United States provide evidence that continental tholeiites are derived from continental lithospheric mantle sources that are genetically and geochronologically related to the overlying continental crust. Nineteen olivine tholeiites and sixteen quartz tholeiites from the length of this province, associated in space and time with the last opening of the Atlantic, display significant isotopic heterogeneity: initial ε_Nd = +3.8 to −5.7; initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr= 0.7044−0.7072; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb= 17.49−19.14; ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb= 15.55−15.65; ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb= 37.24−39.11. In PbPb space, the MAT define a linear array displaced above the field for MORB and thus resemble oceanic basalts with DUPAL Pb isotopic traits. A regression of this array yields a secondary PbPb isochron age of ≈ 1000 Ma (μ₁ = 8.26), similar to Sm/Nd isochrons from the southern half of the province and to the radiometric age of the Grenville crust underlying easternmost North America. The MAT exhibit significant trace element ratio heterogeneity (e.g., Sm/Nd= 0.226−0.327) and have trace element traits similar to convergent margin magmas [e.g., depletions of Nb and Ti relative to the rare earth elements on normalized trace element incompatibility diagrams, Ba/Nb ratios (19–75) that are significantly greater than those of MORB, and low TiO₂ (0.39–0.69%)].Geochemical and geological considerations very strongly suggest that the MAT were not significantly contaminated during ascent through the continental crust. Further, isotope and trace element variations are not consistent with the involvement of contemporaneous MORB or OIB components. Rather, the materials that control the MAT incompatible element chemistry were derived from subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Thus: (1) the MAT/arc magma trace element similarities; (2) the PbPb and Sm/Nd isochron ages; and (3) the need for a method of introducing an ancient (> 2−3 Ga) Pb component into subcontinental mantle that cannot be much older than 1 Ga leads to a model whereby the MAT were generated by the melting of sediment-contaminated arc mantle that was incorporated into the continental lithosphere during arc activity preceding the Grenville Orogeny (≈ 1000 Ma).     

The effect of sloped isotherms on melt migration in the shallow mantle: a physical and numerical model based on observations in the Oman ophiolite

Field observations in the Oman ophiolite and petrological data are used to constrain a model of melt segregation at the top of the mantle beneath an oceanic spreading centre. Foliations and lineations in outcrops of mantle-derived peridotites oriented at high angle relative to the crust–mantle boundary have been interpreted as the footprint of a former axial asthenospheric convective upwelling several kilometers in cross-section that reached Moho levels. Basaltic melts migrating through this upwelling reacted with their host harzburgites and suffered fractional crystallization. The mantle–crust transition zone at the top of the upwelling is characterized by an very thick (about 400 m) dunite layer whose detailed structure and composition point to the development by compaction of a former “mantle mush”. The more important structures (in terms of volume of crystallization products) found in the underlying harzburgites are dunitic–troctolitic horizons a few meters thick and of lateral extent reaching 1 km and more. They crystallized at high temperature (>1190 °C) from melts similar to mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). These are called “sills” because they are sub-parallel to the crust–mantle boundary, but they can present a moderate dip (15° to 20° at most) relative to this paleo-horizontal surface. These observations have motivated the modelling of melt segregation by compaction within the crystallization domain inside the top convective boundary layer of the mantle upwelling. Two original inputs to the modelling are considered here: (i) the slope of the iso-curves of melt concentration due to the progressive cooling of the mantle in the boundary layer away from the axis of the rising convective flow; (ii) the reduction in permeability caused by the crystallization of the inter-granular melt. Modelling shows that a unique condition is required to generate the troctolite sills and the thick dunite layer nested at the top of the Maqsad diapir: namely a dramatic drop of the interstitial melt concentration at the top of the mantle. Besides, the model developed here allows to scale the time, volume and velocity of the melt segregation.