The northern limit of the North Atlantic high-H2O mantle province

Other

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

The H_2O that is dissolved in submarine basalt glasses can provide information about the H_2O content of the upper mantle. In the mantle that produces mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) and ocean island basalts (OIB), the relative incompatibility of H_2O is approximately like that of Cerium (Ce). H_2O/Ce is fairly constant for depleted and enriched MORB (N-MORB and E-MORB) from a given region, but there are interesting regional differences. The most distinctive regional variation of H_2O/Ce was found on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, from around 35^oN to as far north as was previously sampled: 77^oN (Michael, 1995). Both N-MORB and E-MORB from this region have significantly higher H_2O/Ce compared to MORB and OIB from the rest of the globe: 210--350 versus 120--230. Here we report the discovery of the northern boundary of this high-H_2O province, on Gakkel Ridge in the high Arctic. MORB glasses were collected from over 1000 km of Gakkel Ridge during the Arctic Mid-ocean Ridge Expedition (AMORE 2001). H_2O/Ce declines from values typical of the northern MAR (310--360) at the western end (8^oW) of Gakkel Ridge to values typical of the rest of the globe by 60^oE on Gakkel Ridge (170--220). High H_2O/Ce coincides with enrichment in other incompatible trace elements, notably Ba (see Langmuir et al., this meeting). The fact that the western part of the Gakkel Ridge has MORB with high H_2O/Ce suggests that its mantle source shares some characteristics with North Atlantic mantle, and that they may have a similar history. The high-H_2O/Ce could reflect the influence of ancient subduction processes that might have affected this large region (Michael, 1995). Relatively high H_2O could also have an important influence on mantle melting, especially at the low extents of melting that characterize Gakkel Ridge. Michael, P.J., 1995, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 131, 301-320.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

The northern limit of the North Atlantic high-H2O mantle province does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The northern limit of the North Atlantic high-H2O mantle province, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The northern limit of the North Atlantic high-H2O mantle province will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-845816

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.