東太平洋海膨のオフリッジ火山はモホ遷移帯起源か？

Abstract

A large number of intraplate volcanoes erupted two to several hundred kilometers off the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise (EPR). These volcanoes consist of large lava fields, monogenetic volcanoes, and linear chains of monogenetic volcanoes and volcanic ridges. Large lava fields of 7-26 km3 in volume are known at 8°N, 14°S, and 16°S within 2-19 km from the rise axis and from the top 75-100 m of ODP Site 1256 on the 15 Ma Cocos plate. Monogenetic volcanoes form within ∼20 km from the rise axis or on the basement < 200 kyr, and are evenly distributed over the rise axis. Linearly aligned volcanoes and volcanic ridges occur farther from the rise axis than large lava fields and monogenetic volcanoes, and run subparallel to the direction of the Pacific plate motion. The Sojourn Ridge, the largest volcanic ridge, extends up to 440 km in length and is several hundred cubic kilometers in volume. Eruptive ages along a volcanic ridge and a volcano chain contradict the hot-spot origin of these volcanic features. Negative free-air and residual mantle Bouguer anomalies correlate well with the linearly aligned volcanoes and volcanic ridges, suggesting excess magma supply beneath the volcanic edifices. Seismic experiments show volcanic ridges have no keel below the Moho, indicating compensation of surface loading by plate flexure and underplating. Whole rock compositions of off-ridge volcanoes have a much wider spectrum than the adjacent axial lavas, spanning from depleted NMORB through TMORB to isotopically fertile EMORB. Some off-ridge lavas could be produced by the fractional crystallization of the same parent magma as the adjacent axial lavas. However, most off-ridge lavas originate from different parent magmas than the neighboring axial lavas. Some TMORB magmas including the 14°S large lava field are the mixing product of the NMORB and EMORB magmas. Copious differentiated lavas of the large lava fields require a large magma chamber as a the site for crystallization differentiation and magma mixing. The lava geochemistry of off-ridge volcanoes strongly suggests the presence of a magma source that is independent of the axial magma plumbing system. Seismic tomography and seafloor compliance measurements beneath the northern EPR indicate that the presence of melt across the rise axis is restricted in a narrow zone ∼4 km in width through the crust, but has a 10-14 km wide distribution in the uppermost mantle. Broad distribution, volume, and geochemistry of off-ridge monogenetic volcanoes and large lava fields strongly suggest that the off-ridge volcanoes originated from the Moho transition zone (MTZ). The MTZ is formed by a reaction between the uprising magma and the host mantle peridotite, leaving replacive dunite that experienced variable depletion and enrichment processes. Passive asthenospheric upwelling beneath the fast-spreading ridges produces a broad partial melt zone, through which magma ascends and accumulates beneath the off-ridge lithosphere. More depleted off-ridge magmas than axial magmas differentiate and mix with residual magmas in the MTZ, and react with variably enriched, impregnated dunite, resulting in variety of off-ridge lava compositions. Small clusters of volcanoes and linear volcano chains are created by partial melting in asthenospheric return flows or local instability of the thermal boundary layer beneath the cooling lithosphere. Linear volcano chains will develop into long and robust volcanic ridges extending several hundred kilometers in length.