scholarly journals Depletion of the upper mantle by convergent tectonics in the Early Earth

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Perchuk ◽  
T. V. Gerya ◽  
V. S. Zakharov ◽  
W. L. Griffin
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Convergence Rates ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Early Earth ◽  
Plate Convergence ◽  
Depleted Mantle ◽  
Mantle Peridotites

AbstractPartial melting of mantle peridotites at spreading ridges is a continuous global process that forms the oceanic crust and refractory, positively buoyant residues (melt-depleted mantle peridotites). In the modern Earth, these rocks enter subduction zones as part of the oceanic lithosphere. However, in the early Earth, the melt-depleted peridotites were 2–3 times more voluminous and their role in controlling subduction regimes and the composition of the upper mantle remains poorly constrained. Here, we investigate styles of lithospheric tectonics, and related dynamics of the depleted mantle, using 2-D geodynamic models of converging oceanic plates over the range of mantle potential temperatures (Tp = 1300–1550 °C, ∆T = T − Tmodern = 0–250 °C) from the Archean to the present. Numerical modeling using prescribed plate convergence rates reveals that oceanic subduction can operate over this whole range of temperatures but changes from a two-sided regime at ∆T = 250 °C to one-sided at lower mantle temperatures. Two-sided subduction creates V-shaped accretionary terrains up to 180 km thick, composed mainly of highly hydrated metabasic rocks of the subducted oceanic crust, decoupled from the mantle. Partial melting of the metabasic rocks and related formation of sodic granitoids (Tonalite–Trondhjemite–Granodiorite suites, TTGs) does not occur until subduction ceases. In contrast, one sided-subduction leads to volcanic arcs with or without back-arc basins. Both subduction regimes produce over-thickened depleted upper mantle that cannot subduct and thus delaminates from the slab and accumulates under the oceanic lithosphere. The higher the mantle temperature, the larger the volume of depleted peridotites stored in the upper mantle. Extrapolation of the modeling results reveals that oceanic plate convergence at ∆T = 200–250 °C might create depleted peridotites (melt extraction of > 20%) constituting more than half of the upper mantle over relatively short geological times (~ 100–200 million years). This contrasts with the modeling results at modern mantle temperatures, where the amount of depleted peridotites in the upper mantle does not increase significantly with time. We therefore suggest that the bulk chemical composition of upper mantle in the Archean was much more depleted than the present mantle, which is consistent with the composition of the most ancient lithospheric mantle preserved in cratonic keels.

Partial melting of subducted oceanic crust and isolation of its residual eclogitic lithology

1991 ◽  
Vol 335 (1638) ◽  
pp. 407-418 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Continental Crust ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Rutile Phase ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Plate Boundaries ◽  
Water Release ◽  
Depleted Mantle

Oceanic lithosphere is produced at mid-ocean ridges and reinjected into the mantle at convergent plate boundaries. During subduction, this lithosphere goes through a series of progressive dehydration and melting events. Initial dehydration of the slab occurs during low pressure metamorphism of the oceanic crust and involves significant dewatering and loss of labile elements. At depths of 80-120 km water release by the slab is believed to lead to partial melting of the oceanic crust. These melts, enriched in incompatible elements (excepting Nb, Ta and Ti), fertilize the overlying mantle wedge and produce the enriched peridotitic sources of island arc basalts. Retention of Nb, Ta and Ti by a residual mineral (e.g. in a rutile phase) in a refractory eclogitic lithology within the sinking slab are considered to cause their characteristic depletions in island arc basalts. These refractory eclogitic lithologies, enriched in Nb, Ta and Ti, accumulate at depth in the mantle. The continued isolation of this eclogitic residuum in the deep mantle over Earth ’s history produces a reservoir which contains a significant proportion of the Earth’s Ti, Nb and Ta budget. Both the continental crust and depleted mantle have subchondritic Nb /La and Ti/Zr ratios and thus they cannot be viewed strictly as complementary geochemical reservoirs. This lack of complementarity between the continental crust and depleted mantle can be balanced by a refractory eclogitic reservoir deep in the mantle, which is enriched in Nb, Ta and Ti. A refractory eclogitic reservoir amounting to ca . 2% of the mass of the silicate Earth would also contain significant amounts of Ca and Al and may explain the superchondritic Ca/Al value of the depleted mantle.

How feasible was subduction in the Archean?

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Hynes
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flow ◽  
Partial Melting ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Flexural Rigidity ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
Asthenospheric Mantle ◽  
Depleted Mantle ◽  
Oceanic Plates

As the asthenospheric mantle rises at oceanic spreading centres, it undergoes partial melting, producing oceanic crust and depleted mantle, both of which have lower intrinsic density than the asthenospheric mantle from which they were derived. With a warmer asthenosphere in the Archean, these effects are enhanced, leading to the possibility that subduction was no longer feasible. I investigate the density of the oceanic crust and underlying mantle for a mantle with temperatures 200 °C higher than today, using models of the chemistry of melting and the mineralogy of the ensuing rocks. For the melting model used, crustal thicknesses are 21 km and the depth to which the mantle is partially melted is 114 km, compared with 7 and 54 km for a comparable model of modern Earth. Two thermal-evolution models for Archean oceanic lithosphere are examined. One assumes twice the heat flow into the base of the plates, which severely restricts the depths to which the plates can cool with age. A second assumes the plates can cool to the depth to which the asthenosphere undergoes partial melting, resulting in heat flow into the base of the plates only 1.3 times as large as today. With the first model, oceanic plates do not become denser than an equivalent column of asthenosphere. With the second, they do after ∼50 Ma of cooling. In both cases, however, the cooling is sufficient to provide a significant driving force for the initiation of subduction because the sole requirement for a subduction-initiation drive is that the cooled lithosphere be denser than the column of differentiated asthenosphere that would replace it. This, combined with the low flexural rigidity of Archean plates, makes the initiation of subduction probably slightly easier than it is today. The relatively low density of oceanic plates results in lower slab pull, but this effect is counterbalanced both by the likelihood that some of the low-density crust may have been delaminated, and by the effect of passage of the thicker crust through the eclogite transition. Given our present knowledge of Archean thermal conditions, there does not appear to be a compelling theoretical argument against efficient subduction processes at that time.

Magma generation in the upper mantle, field evidence from ophiolite suites, and application to the generation of oceanic lithosphere

1978 ◽  
Vol 288 (1355) ◽  
pp. 527-546 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Single Parent ◽  
Spinel Lherzolite ◽  
Mantle Material ◽  
Magma Generation ◽  
Field Evidence ◽  
Lower Series

The Bay of Islands ophiolite may be divided into a lower series of ultramafic tectonites representing mantle material and a higher series of cumulate and extrusive rocks and sediments which may be correlated with oceanic crust. The tectonite series consists of a lower spinel—lherzolite member overlain by harzburgites. Both are cut by numerous olivine-pyroxene veins which represent early crystallization products from a picritic tholeiite magma derived at 18-22 kbar by approximately 23 % partial melting of the spinel lherzolite. The remainder of this magma crystallized as differentiated cumulate and extrusive rocks under crustal conditions. The petrogenetic model derived implies a rising diapiric body beneath an accreting centre and allows for the production of tholeiitic, transitional and mildly alkaline basalts from a single parent. The nature of the basalt erupted depends upon the rate of upwelling and crystallization in the diapir. The model suggests that crystallization takes place in the diapir at depths of less than 60 km.

scholarly journals A MODEL OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE LITHOSPHERE OF THE HIMALAYAN-TIBETAN OROGEN

2021 ◽  
pp. 89-107
Author(s):  
R.S. Alekseev, ◽  
◽  
Yu.L. Rebetsky ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Indian Plate ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Continental Lithosphere ◽  
Principal Stresses ◽  
Vertical Movements ◽  
Reference Parameters

The Himalayan-Tibetan orogen is one of the active orogens on Earth. The processes caused by the collision of two continents have attracted attention of many researchers, and over the past decades, a large amount of geological and geophysical data has accumulated, on which models of the evolution of the region are based. The paper presents a model of the evolution of the Tibet plateau and the adjacent mountain chains, which complies with the modern concepts of the structure of the crust. The reference parameters of this model are the data on the values of stresses and on the patterns of the spatial distribution of principal stresses obtained in our own tectonophysical studies in region, as well as in other intracontinental orogens and in subduction zones between lithospheric plates. The basic assumptions of the model are the factors of the long stage of the Indian plate underthrusting beneath the Eurasian continent, metamorphic processes in the submerged slab (oceanic lithosphere) and in the continental lithosphere above it, combination of absolute horizontal movements of the Eurasian and Indian plates, small-scale convection in the upper mantle and vertical movements of matter, both in the continental lithosphere itself and in the upper mantle.

scholarly journals Mineralogical Evidence for Partial Melting and Melt-Rock Interaction Processes in the Mantle Peridotites of Edessa Ophiolite (North Greece)

Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aikaterini Rogkala ◽  
Petros Petrounias ◽  
Basilios Tsikouras ◽  
Panagiota Giannakopoulou ◽  
Konstantin Hatzipanagiotou
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Mantle Wedge ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Northern Greece ◽  
Rock Interaction ◽  
Oceanic Spreading ◽  
Mantle Peridotites ◽  
Mineral Compositions ◽  
Ocean Ridge

The Edessa ophiolite complex of northern Greece consists of remnants of oceanic lithosphere emplaced during the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous onto the Palaeozoic-Mesozoic continental margin of Eurasia. This study presents new data on mineral compositions of mantle peridotites from this ophiolite, especially serpentinised harzburgite and minor lherzolite. Lherzolite formed by low to moderate degrees of partial melting and subsequent melt-rock reaction in an oceanic spreading setting. On the other hand, refractory harzburgite formed by high degrees of partial melting in a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) setting. These SSZ mantle peridotites contain Cr-rich spinel residual after partial melting of more fertile (abyssal) lherzolite with Al-rich spinel. Chromite with Cr# > 60 in harzburgite resulted from chemical modification of residual Cr-spinel and, along with the presence of euhedral chromite, is indicative of late melt-peridotite interaction in the mantle wedge. Mineral compositions suggest that the Edessa oceanic mantle evolved from a typical mid-ocean ridge (MOR) oceanic basin to the mantle wedge of a SSZ. This scenario explains the higher degrees of partial melting recorded in harzburgite, as well as the overprint of primary mineralogical characteristics in the Edessa peridotites.

scholarly journals Structure of oceanic crust in back-arc basins modulated by mantle source heterogeneity

Geology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Grevemeyer ◽  
Shuichi Kodaira ◽  
Gou Fujie ◽  
Narumi Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Mantle Source ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Spreading Ridge ◽  
Volcanic Arc ◽  
Depleted Mantle ◽  
Back Arc

Subduction zones may develop submarine spreading centers that occur on the overriding plate behind the volcanic arc. In these back-arc settings, the subducting slab controls the pattern of mantle advection and may entrain hydrous melts from the volcanic arc or slab into the melting region of the spreading ridge. We recorded seismic data across the Western Mariana Ridge (WMR, northwestern Pacific Ocean), a remnant island arc with back-arc basins on either side. Its margins and both basins show distinctly different crustal structure. Crust to the west of the WMR, in the Parece Vela Basin, is 4–5 km thick, and the lower crust indicates seismic P-wave velocities of 6.5–6.8 km/s. To the east of the WMR, in the Mariana Trough Basin, the crust is ~7 km thick, and the lower crust supports seismic velocities of 7.2–7.4 km/s. This structural diversity is corroborated by seismic data from other back-arc basins, arguing that a chemically diverse and heterogeneous mantle, which may differ from a normal mid-ocean-ridge–type mantle source, controls the amount of melting in back-arc basins. Mantle heterogeneity might not be solely controlled by entrainment of hydrous melt, but also by cold or depleted mantle invading the back-arc while a subduction zone reconfigures. Crust formed in back-arc basins may therefore differ in thickness and velocity structure from normal oceanic crust.

Tectonic and magmatic evolution of the Aqishan-Yamansu belt: A Paleozoic arc-related basin in the Eastern Tianshan (NW China)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuanliang Zhang ◽  
Huayong Chen ◽  
Pete Hollings ◽  
Liandang Zhao ◽  
Lin Gong
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Early Carboniferous ◽  
Late Carboniferous ◽  
Igneous Rocks ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Eastern Tianshan ◽  
Depleted Mantle ◽  
T Values

The Aqishan-Yamansu belt in the Chinese Eastern Tianshan represents a Paleozoic arc-related basin generally accompanied by accretionary magmatism and Fe-Cu mineralization. To characterize the tectonic evolution of such an arc-related basin and related magmatism and metallogenesis, we present a systematic study of the geochronology, whole-rock geochemistry, and Sr-Nd isotopes of igneous rocks from the belt. New zircon U-Pb ages, in combination with published data, reveal three phases of igneous activity in the Aqishan-Yamansu belt: early Carboniferous felsic igneous rocks (ca. 350−330 Ma), late Carboniferous intermediate to felsic igneous rocks (ca. 320−305 Ma), and Permian quartz diorite and diorite porphyry dikes (ca. 280−265 Ma). The early Carboniferous felsic rocks are enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and depleted in Nb, Ta, and Ti, showing arc-related magma affinities. Their positive εNd(t) values (3.3−5.9) and corresponding depleted mantle model ages (TDM) of 0.83−0.61 Ga, as well as high MgO contents, Mg# values, and Nb/Ta ratios, suggest that they were derived from lower crust with involvement of mantle-derived magmas. The late Carboniferous intermediate igneous rocks show calc-alkaline affinities, exhibiting LILE enrichment and high field strength element (HFSE) depletion, with negative Nb and Ta anomalies. They have high MgO contents and Mg# values with positive εNd(t) values (3.9−7.9), and high Ba/La and Th/Yb ratios, implying a depleted mantle source metasomatized by slab-derived fluids and sediment or sediment-derived melts. The late Carboniferous felsic igneous rocks are metaluminous to peraluminous with characteristics of medium-K calc-alkaline I-type granites. Given the positive εNd(t) values (6.3−6.6) and TDM ages (0.56−0.53 Ga), we suggest the late Carboniferous felsic igneous rocks were produced by partial melting of a juvenile lower crust. The Permian dikes show characteristics of adakite rocks. They have relatively high MgO contents and Mg# values, and positive εNd(t) values (7.2−8.5), which suggest an origin from partial melting of a residual basaltic oceanic crust. We propose that the Aqishan-Yamansu belt was an extensional arc−related basin from ca. 350 to 330 Ma; this was followed by a relatively stable carbonate formation stage at ca. 330−320 Ma, when the Kangguer oceanic slab subducted beneath the Central Tianshan block. As the subduction continued, the Aqishan-Yamansu basin closed due to slab breakoff and rebound during ca. 320−305 Ma, which resulted in basin inversion and the emplacement of granitoids with contemporary Fe-Cu mineralization. During the Permian, the Aqishan-Yamansu belt was in postcollision extension stage, with Permian adakitic dikes formed by partial melting of a residual oceanic crust.

scholarly journals Plagioclase archives of depleted melts in the oceanic crust

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Neave ◽  
Olivier Namur
Keyword(s):  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Incompatible Element ◽  
Melt Inclusions ◽  
Melt Inclusion ◽  
Ocean Island Basalts ◽  
Depleted Mantle ◽  
Ocean Ridge ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Lower Crustal

Mid-ocean ridge and ocean island basalts provide vital but incomplete insights into the chemical structure of Earth’s mantle. For example, high-anorthite plagioclase carried by these basalts is generally too primitive and incompatible-element depleted to have crystallized from them. Moreover, erupted basalts rarely preserve the strong isotopic and incompatible-element depletions found in some melt inclusions and mantle residua represented by abyssal peridotites. By integrating experimental observations with published analyses of natural crystals and glasses, we demonstrate that high-anorthite plagioclase is in equilibrium with melts generated by high-degree melting of depleted mantle sources. Although such melts seldom erupt, their imprints on crystal and melt inclusion records nonetheless suggest that high-anorthite plagioclase grows from endmember but essentially unexotic magmas. The widespread occurrence of high-anorthite plagioclase in both oceanic basalts and the oceanic crust hence indicates that depleted melts are pervasive in the upper mantle and lower crust despite rarely reaching the surface. Plagioclase archives therefore imply that depleted melts play much a greater role in lower crustal accretion than typically recognized and that the upper mantle may also be more depleted than previously thought.

scholarly journals Hydrous SiO2 in subducted oceanic crust and water transport to the core-mantle boundary

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanhao Lin ◽  
Qingyang Hu ◽  
Jing Yang ◽  
Yue Meng ◽  
Yukai Zhuang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Lower Mantle ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Water Storage Capacity ◽  
Mantle Boundary ◽  
Core Mantle Boundary ◽  
The Core ◽  
Subducted Oceanic Crust

Abstract Subduction of oceanic lithosphere transports surface water into the mantle where it can have remarkable effects, but how much can be cycled down into the deep mantle, and potentially to the core, remains ambiguous. Recent studies show that dense SiO2 in the form of stishovite, a major phase in subducted oceanic crust at depths greater than ~300 km, has the potential to host and carry water into the lower mantle. We investigate the hydration of stishovite and its higher-pressure polymorphs, CaCl2-type SiO2 and seifertite, in experiments at pressures of 44–152 GPa and temperatures of ~1380–3300 K. We quantify the water storage capacity of these dense SiO2 phases at high pressure and find that water stabilizes CaCl2-type SiO2 to pressures beyond the base of the mantle. We parametrize the P-T dependence of water capacity and model H2O storage in SiO2 along a lower mantle geotherm. Dehydration of slab mantle in cooler slabs in the transition zone can release fluids that hydrate stishovite in oceanic crust. Hydrous SiO2 phases are stable along a geotherm and progressively dehydrate with depth, potentially causing partial melting or silica enrichment in the lower mantle. Oceanic crust can transport ~0.2 wt% water to the core-mantle boundary region where, upon heating, it can initiate partial melting and react with the core to produce iron hydrides, providing plausible explanations for ultra-low velocity regions at the base of the mantle.

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