Mantle plumes and their role in Earth processes

SUMMARY Mantle plumes form from thermal boundary layers, such as Earth's core–mantle boundary. As plumes rise towards the surface, they are laterally deflected by the surrounding mantle flow that is governed by deep mantle density and viscosity structures. The lateral motions of mantle plumes carry information of deep mantle structure and dynamics and are used to setup reference frames by which absolute plate motions are reconstructed. In this study, we compare two methods to compute deep mantle flow and lateral motion of plumes. In mantle convection (MC) models, the mantle flow field and lateral motions of plumes are determined by solving conservation equations forward-in-time from given initial conditions. In plume advection (PA) models, approximate viscosity and present-day density structures are used to calculate present-day mantle flow which is then propagated backward-in-time assuming zero thermal diffusion, and plume conduits are represented by continuous lines and are passively advected within the background mantle flow. The question is how assumptions in PA models influence the predictions of deep mantle flow and plume lateral motions. Here, we perform purely thermal MC models and thermochemical MC models with intrinsically dense materials in the lowermost mantle. The deep mantle flow and plume lateral motions are determined accurately in each MC model. We also perform PA models using the approximated present-day viscosity and temperature structures in these MC models. We find that PA models without considering temperature-dependence of viscosity and/or only using long wavelength present-day temperature structure (up to degree 20) often lead to an average of ∼50–60 per cent and ∼60–200 per cent differences of present-day mantle flow velocities than purely thermal MC models and thermochemical MC models, respectively. By propagating inaccurate flow fields backward-in-time in PA models often cause even larger errors of mantle flow velocities in the past. Even using the same parameters and starting from the same present-day mantle flow fields as in MC models, the PA models still show an average of ∼10–30 per cent misfit of mantle flow velocities after ∼40 Ma. In addition, we show that errors of mantle flow fields in PA models can cause ∼100–600 per cent differences of plume lateral motions than that constrained in MC models in the past 60 Ma. Even we use the mantle flow in MC models to advected virtual plumes in PA models, the virtual plumes could still show ∼50–300 per cent difference of lateral motions than dynamic plumes in MC models if the virtual plumes do not start with the same locations and/or shapes as plumes in MC models. We also find virtual plumes in PA models initiated at different locations and/or with different shapes can be later advected to similar locations, suggesting that the lateral motions of plumes in PA models can be non-unique. Therefore, it is important to consider the build-in assumptions of PA models when interpreting their predictions on deep mantle flow field and plume lateral motions. The accuracy of PA models would improve as we gain better understanding on Earth's deep mantle structure and dynamics.

The classical model for the generation of hotspot tracks maintains that stationary and deep-seated mantle plumes impinge on overriding tectonic plates, thereby generating age-progressive trails of volcanic islands and seamounts. Samoa has played a key role in discrediting this model and the very existence of mantle plumes, because early geochronological work failed to demonstrate a linear age progression along this chain of islands. Specifically on Savai9i Island, the bulk of the subaerial volcanics is younger than 0.39 Ma, much younger than the 5.1 Ma age predicted from the classical hotspot model and a constant 7.1 cm/yr Pacific plate motion. This discrepancy led to alternative magma-producing mechanisms that involve the cracking of the lithosphere beneath the Samoan islands, as a result of the extensional regime generated by the nearby Tonga Trench. Here we report 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages from the submarine flanks of Savai9i Island showing that its volcanic construction began as early as 5.0 Ma and in a true intraplate setting. This reinstates Samoa as a primary hotspot trail associated with a deep mantle plume and a linear age progression.

The existence, spatial distribution, and style of volcanism on terrestrial planets is an expression of their internal dynamics and evolution. On Earth a physical link has been proposed between hot spots, regions with particularly persistent, localized, and high rates of volcanism, and underlying deep mantle plumes. Such mantle plumes are thought to be constructed of large spherical heads and narrow trailing conduits. This plume model has provided a way to interpret observable phenomena including the volcanological, petrological, and geochemical evolution of ocean island volcanoes, the relative motion of plates, continental breakup, global heat flow, and the Earth's magnetic field within the broader framework of the thermal history of our planet. Despite the plume model's utility the underlying dynamics giving rise to hot spots as long‐lived stable features have remained elusive. Accordingly, in this review we combine results from new and published observational, analog, theoretical, and numerical studies to address two key questions: (1) Why might mantle plumes in the Earth have a head‐tail structure? (2) How can mantle plumes and hot spots persist for large geological times? We show first that the characteristic head‐tail structure of mantle plumes, which is a consequence of hot upwellings having a low viscosity, is likely a result of strong cooling of the mantle by large‐scale stirring driven by plate tectonics. Second, we show that the head‐tail structure of such plumes is a necessary but insufficient condition for their longevity. Third, we synthesize seismological, geodynamic, geomagnetic, and geochemical constraints on the structure and composition of the lowermost mantle to argue that the source regions for most deep mantle plumes contain dense, low‐viscosity material within D″ composed of partial melt, outer core material, or a mixture of both (i.e., a “dense layer”). Fourth, using results from laboratory experiments on thermochemical convection and new theoretical scaling analyses, we argue that the longevity of mantle plumes in the Earth is a consequence of the interactions between plate tectonics, core cooling, and dense, low‐viscosity material within D″. Conditions leading to Earth‐like mantle plumes are highly specific and may thus be unique to our own planet. Furthermore, long‐lived hot spots should not a priori be anticipated on other terrestrial planets and moons. Our analysis leads to self‐consistent predictions for the longevity of mantle plumes, topography on the dense layer, and composition of ocean island basalts that are consistent with observations.

The link between Hawaiian mantle plume composition, magmatic flux, and deep mantle geodynamics

Is the track of the Yellowstone hotspot driven by a deep mantle plume? — Review of volcanism, faulting, and uplift in light of new data

Did the Neoproterozoic Revolution Extend to the Deep Mantle?

Determining the composition and geochemical diversity of Earth's deep mantle and subsequent ascending mantle plumes is vital so that we can better understand how the Earth's primitive mantle reservoirs initially formed and how they have evolved over the last 4.6 billion years. Further data on the composition of mantle plumes, which generate voluminous eruptions on the planet's surface, are also essential to fully understand the evolution of the Earth's hydrosphere and atmosphere with links to surface environmental changes that may have led to mass extinction events. Here we present new major and trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotope data on basalts from Curacao, part of the Caribbean large igneous province. From these and literature data, we calculate combined major and trace element compositions for the mantle plumes that generated the Caribbean and Ontong Java large igneous provinces and use mass balance to determine the composition of the Earth's lower mantle. Incompatible element and isotope results indicate that mantle plumes have broadly distinctive depleted and enriched compositions that, in addition to the numerous mantle reservoirs already proposed in the literature, represent large planetary-scale geochemical heterogeneity in the Earth's deep mantle that are similar to non-chondritic Bulk Silicate Earth compositions.

How many mantle plumes in Africa? The geochemical point of view

<p>Basalts from high flux intra-plate volcanism (Iceland, Hawaii, Samoa) are characterised by <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He that are significantly higher than those from the upper mantle sampled at mid-ocean ridges.  The prevailing paradigm requires that a largely undegassed deep Earth is enriched in primordial noble gases (<sup>3</sup>He, <sup>20</sup>Ne) relative to degassed convecting upper mantle.  However, the He concentration and <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>20</sup>Ne ratio of high <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He oceanic basalts are generally lower than mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). This so called ‘He paradox’ has gained infamy and is used to argue against the conventional model of Earth structure and the existence of mantle plumes.  While the paradox can be resolved by disequilibrium degassing of magmas it highlights the difficulty in reconstructing the primordial volatile inventory of the deep Earth from partially degassed oceanic basalts.</p><p>Basalts from 26 to 11°N on the Red Sea spreading axis reveals a systematic southward increase in <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He that tops out at 15 Ra in the Gulf of Tadjoura (GoT). The GoT <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He overlaps the highest values of sub-aerial basalts from Afar and Main Ethiopian Rift and is arguably located over modern Afar plume.  The along-rift <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He variation is mirrored by a systematic change in incompatible trace element (ITE) ratios that appear to define two-component mixing between E-MORB and HIMU.  Despite some complexity, hyperbolic mixing relationships are apparent in <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He-K/Th-Rb/La space.  Using established trace element concentrations in these mantle components we can calculate the concentration of He in the Afar plume mantle.  Surprisingly it appears that the upwelling plume mantle has 5-20 times less He than the convecting asthenospheric mantle despite the high <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He (and primordial Ne isotope composition). This contradicts the prevailing orthodoxy but can simply be explained if the Afar mantle plume is itself a mixture of primordial He-rich, high <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He (55 Ra) deep mantle with a proportionally dominant mass of He-poor low <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He HIMU mantle. This is consistent with the narrow range of Sr-Nd-Os isotopes and ITE ratios of the highest <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He Afar plume basalts, and is in marked contrast to high <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He plumes (e.g. Iceland) that do not have unique geochemical composition. The HIMU signature of the Afar plume basalts implies origin in recycled altered oceanic crust (RAOC). Assuming that no He is recycled and using established RAOC U and Th concentrations, the low He concentration (< 5 x 10<sup>13</sup> atoms/g He) of the He-poor mantle implies that the slab was subducted no earlier than 70 Ma and reached no more than 700 km before being incorporated into the upwelling Afar plume. We suggest that the Afar plume acquired its chemical and isotopic fingerprint during large scale mixing at the 670 km transition zone with the Tethyan slab, not at the core-mantle boundary.</p><p>This study implies that large domains of essentially He-poor mantle exist within the deep Earth, likely associated with the HIMU mantle compositions. Further, it implies that moderately high-<sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He (< 30 Ra) mantle plumes (e.g. Reunion) need not contain a significant contribution of deep mantle, thus cannot be used a <em>priori </em>to define primitive Earth composition.</p>

Identification of an ancient mantle reservoir and young recycled materials in the source region of a young mantle plume: Implications for potential linkages between plume and plate tectonics

Putative mechanisms that have been proposed to explain intraplate “hotspot” volcanism extensively depart from the early plume theory, and many do not involve deep mantle flow. Here, we look for a relationship between hotspot volcanism and mantle flow using flow models excited by density anomalies inferred from seismic tomography. We show that previously identified major hotspots are preferentially located, to a high degree of statistical significance, above regions of positive divergence of horizontal shear tractions beneath the lithosphere. This observation renders it difficult to discard some contribution of mantle flow as a control on hotspot volcanism and instead suggests that mantle plumes are drawn toward, and conveyed by, mantle upwellings (either active or passive), which are revealed by the positive stress divergence. This allows us to exclude a variety of external or shallow mechanisms for the major hotspots. Because we also find that many secondary hotspots do fall at random locations with respect to mantle flow, we emphasize that alternative processes are also required to trigger the less productive volcanism.

Flood basalts and large igneous provinces from deep mantle plumes: fact, fiction, and fallacy

On the great plume debate

Deep mantle plumes and convective upwelling beneath the Pacific Ocean

The causes and global distribution of intraplate volcanism remain poorly understood, particularly the occurrence of scattered magmatism unrelated to large igneous provinces (LIPs). In this study, high‐resolution numerical simulations are employed to examine the interaction between deep thermochemical mantle plumes and the mantle transition zone (MTZ) to clarify its role in plume ascent and surface magmatism. Results demonstrate that the MTZ exerts a significant control on plume behavior, with some plumes ascending directly while others stall and generate secondary upwellings (“baby plumes”), which may contribute to scattered, localized magmatism. The transition from direct ascent to stagnation of the primary (“parent”) thermochemical plume is influenced by temperature, plume volume, Clapeyron slopes, and compositional heterogeneities. Our results highlight the crucial role of the MTZ in how mantle plumes evolve and drive surface magmatism. This provides new insights into why some deep mantle plumes fail to generate LIPs, instead producing widely scattered volcanism.