Chemical heterogeneity, convection and asymmetry beneath mid-ocean ridges

Abstract

SUMMARY Geophysical observations at some mid-ocean ridges document an across-axis asymmetry in indicators of magma production. Other observations are interpreted as showing non-monotonic variations in the depth of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary. These patterns are inconsistent with the classical models of mantle corner flow and half-space cooling. To investigate this discrepancy, we use models of coupled magma/mantle dynamics beneath mid-ocean ridges in which phase densities are determined by melt–residue partitioning of iron and magnesium, and bulk density is affected by residual porosity. Our models predict that emergent gradients in density drive ridge-local convection. In particular, we show that convective upwelling is enhanced by porous buoyancy and suppressed by compositional buoyancy. Despite this suppression, models that include both compositional and porous buoyancy are more sensitive to long-wavelength mantle heterogeneity than models with porous buoyancy alone. This sensitivity enables models to readily form across-axis asymmetry of upwelling. In some cases, it leads to lithospheric delamination and time-dependent, small-scale convection. We conclude that melting-induced buoyancy effects may explain the magmatic asymmetry and variations in lithospheric thickness that are inferred from observations.