Geochemical and isotopic signatures of magmatic products in the MAR rift valley at 12°49′–17°23′ N and 29°59′–33°41′ N: Evidence of Two contrasting sources of the parental melts

Abstract

Data presented in the paper suggest significant differences between the thermodynamic conditions under which magmatic complexes were formed in MAR at 29°–34° N and 12°–18° N. The melts occurring at 29°–34° N were derived by the melting of a mantle source with a homogeneous distribution of volatile components and arrived at the surface without significant fractionation, likely, due to their rapid ascent. The MAR segments between 12° and 18° N combine contrasting geodynamic environments of magmatism, which predetermined the development of a large plume region with the widespread mixing of the melting products of geochemically distinct mantle sources. At the same time, this region is characterized by conditions favorable for the origin of localized zones of anomalous plume magmatism. These sporadic magmatic sources were spatially restricted to MAR fragments with the Hess crust, whose compositional and mechanical properties were, perhaps, favorable for the focusing and localization of plume magmatism. The plume source between 12° and 18°N beneath MAR may be geochemically heterogeneous.