Highly heterogeneous depleted mantle recorded in the lower oceanic crust

Lambart, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3636-7950, Koornneef, Janne M., Millet, Marc-Alban ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2710-5374, Davies, Gareth R., Cook, Matthew and Lissenberg, C. Johan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7774-2297 2019. Highly heterogeneous depleted mantle recorded in the lower oceanic crust. Nature Geoscience 12 , pp. 482-486. 10.1038/s41561-019-0368-9

Preview

PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

The Earth’s mantle is heterogeneous as a result of early planetary differentiation and subsequent crustal recycling during plate tectonics. Radiogenic isotope signatures of mid-ocean ridge basalts have been used for decades to map mantle composition, defining the depleted mantle endmember. These lavas, however, homogenize via magma mixing and may not capture the full chemical variability of their mantle source. Here, we show that the depleted mantle is significantly more heterogeneous than previously inferred from the compositions of lavas at the surface, extending to highly enriched compositions. We perform high-spatial-resolution isotopic analyses on clinopyroxene and plagioclase from lower crustal gabbros drilled on a depleted ridge segment of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. These primitive cumulate minerals record nearly the full heterogeneity observed along the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, including hotspots. Our results demonstrate that substantial mantle heterogeneity is concealed in the lower oceanic crust and that melts derived from distinct mantle components can be delivered to the lower crust on a centimetre scale. These findings provide a starting point for re-evaluation of models of plate recycling, mantle convection and melt transport in the mantle and the crust.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Earth and Environmental Sciences
Publisher:	Nature Research
ISSN:	1752-0894
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	28 June 2019
Date of Acceptance:	12 April 2019
Last Modified:	16 Nov 2024 08:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/123802

Citation Data

Cited 25 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item