Search results for "Asthenosphere"
showing 10 items of 13 documents
The Impact of a Very Weak and Thin Upper Asthenosphere on Subduction Motions
2019
Recent geophysical observations report the presence of a very weak and thin upper asthenosphere underneath subducting oceanic plates at convergent margins. Along these margins, trench migrations are significantly slower than plate convergence rates. We use numerical models to assess the role of a weak upper asthenospheric layer on plate and trench motions. We show that the presence of this layer alone can enhance an advancing trend for the motion of the plate and hamper trench retreat. This mechanism provides a novel and alternative explanation for the slow rates of trench migration and fast-moving plates observed globally at natural subduction zones.
Numerical approach to problems of gravitational instability of geostructures with advected material boundaries
1998
SUMMARY We present a numerical approach for solving 2-D mantle flow problems where the chemical composition changes abruptly across intermediate boundaries. The method combines a Galerkin-spline technique with a method of integration over regions bounded by advected interfaces to represent discontinuous variations of material parameters. It allows direct approximation of a natural free surface position, instead of a posteriori calculation of topography from the normal stress at the upper free-slip boundary. We formulate a model where a viscous incompressible fluid filling a square box is divided into layers (not necessarily horizontal) by advected boundaries, across which the density and vi…
Geochemical constraints on basalt petrogenesis in the Strait of Sicily Rift Zone (Italy): Insights into the importance of short lengthscale mantle he…
2020
Igneous activity from the late Miocene to historic time (most recently 1891 CE) in the Strait of Sicily has created two volcanic islands (Pantelleria and Linosa) and several seamounts. These volcanoes are dominated by transitional (ol + hy-normative) to alkaline (ne-normative) basaltic lavas and scoriae; volcanic felsic rocks (peralkaline trachyte-rhyolite) crop out only on Pantelleria. Although most likely erupted through continental crust, basalts demonstrate no evidence of crustal contamination and are geochemically similar to oceanic island basalts (OIB). Despite their isotopic similarities, there are considerable compositional differences with respect to major and trace element geochem…
Plume — Lid interactions during the Archean and implications for the generation of early continental terranes
2020
Abstract Many Archean terranes are interpreted to have a tectonic and metamorphic evolution that indicates intra-crustal reorganization driven by lithospheric-scale gravitational instabilities. These processes are associated with the production of a significant amount of felsic and mafic crust, and are widely regarded to be a consequence of plume-lithosphere interactions. The juvenile Archean felsic crust is made predominantly of rocks of the tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) suite, which are the result of partial melting of hydrous metabasalts. The geodynamic processes that have assisted the production of juvenile felsic crust, are still not well understood. Here, we perform 2D and …
Crust–mantle transition and Moho model for Iceland and surroundings from seismic, topography, and gravity data
2005
An increasing data set exists on the nature and thickness of the Iceland crust. This paper relates topography, i.e., elevation and bathymetry (TOP), Bouguer gravity anomalies (BA) and Moho depths to each other to assess the consequences of the “thick crust model” for Iceland in the context of the North Atlantic. Results of regression of TOP and BA vs. Moho depth are converted into “Airy densities” Δρ* (mantle crust density contrasts in the case of ideal Airy isostasy). For Iceland, Δρ* is very low (105±10 kg/m3); for the adjacent continental margins and relicts, it is high and intermediate for the Jan Mayen Ridge. The values are affected by lithosphere cooling and systematic variations of i…
Trench-parallel spreading ridge subduction and its consequences for the geological evolution of the overriding plate: Insights from analogue models a…
2018
A series of 3-D asthenospheric-scale analogue models have been conducted in the laboratory in order to simulate the arrival of a spreading ridge at the trench and understand its effect on plate kinematics, slab geometry, and on the deformation of the overriding plate. These models are made of a two-layered linearly viscous system simulating the lithosphere and asthenosphere. We reproduce the progressive decrease in thickness of the oceanic lithosphere at the trench. We measure plate kinematics, slab geometry and upper plate deformation. Our experiments reveal that the subduction of a thinning plate beneath a freely moving overriding continent favors a decrease of the subduction velocity and…
Temporal–spatial evolution of low-SiO2 volcanism in the Pleistocene West Eifel volcanic field (West Germany) and relationship to upwelling asthenosph…
2015
Abstract The temporal–spatial evolution of low-SiO 2 lavas from the Pleistocene West Eifel volcanic field (Central European Volcanic Province) and linked petrogenetic variations are evaluated using 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age and geochemical data. Geochronological and petrological evidence is related to the physical structure of the previously established seismologically anomalous asthenosphere interpreted as thermally upwelling mantle (Eifel Plume). Lava flows >480 ka (Middle Pleistocene) occur exclusively in the NW of the volcanic field. After a time span of ca. 400 ka lacking significant activity, volcanism has migrated to the SE generating flows At melting depth >70 km of parental asthenospheric m…
A Reappraisal of Redox Melting in the Earth’s Mantle as a Function of Tectonic Setting and Time
2010
Redox melting refers to any process by which melt is generated by the contact of a rock with a fluid or melt with a contrasting oxidation state. It was originally applied to melting owing to the oxidation of reduced CH4and H2-bearing fluids in contact with more oxidized blocks in the mantle, particularly recycled crustal blocks.This oxidation mechanism causes an increase in the activity of H2O by the reaction of CH4 with O2, and the increased aH2O causes a rapid drop in the solidus temperature, and is here termed hydrous redox melting (HRM). Recently, a second redox melting mechanism (carbonate redox melting; CRM) has been discovered that operates in more oxidized conditions, and may post-d…
Slab-triggered wet upwellings produce large volumes of melt: Insights into the destruction of the North China Craton
2018
Abstract Cratons have remained stable for billions of years, despite of ongoing mantle convection and plate tectonics. The North China Craton (NCC), however, is abnormal, as it has experienced a destruction event during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic which was accompanied by extensive magmatism. Several lines of evidence suggest that the (Paleo-)Pacific plate played an important role in this event. Yet, the geodynamic link between subduction and craton destruction remains poorly understood, and it is unclear why there is no systematic spatial and temporal variation of magmatism related to subduction. Here, we perform 2-D petrological-thermomechanical simulations to investigate the influence of s…
Hf isotope compositions of Mediterranean lamproites: Mixing of melts from asthenosphere and crustally contaminated mantle lithosphere
2010
Abstract Mediterranean lamproites from Spain, Italy, Serbia and Macedonia are mantle-derived ultrapotassic volcanic rocks that occur exclusively in postcollisional, extension-related geodynamic settings within the Alpine–Himalaya orogenic belt. Previous studies inferred them to be multi-component melts, originating by mixing of several mantle end-members: (1) provenance-controlled crust-contaminated mantle component(s), (2) an ultra-depleted mantle component, and (3) a component ultimately derived from the convecting mantle. Hf isotope ratios of Mediterranean lamproites reported here cover a large range of eHf values from 0 to −15, for less variable eNd −2 to −13, providing further evidence…