Melt Production Rates Research Articles

Temperature and composition dependence modeling of viscosity and electrical conductivity of low-activity waste glass melts

The development of models that accurately relate the properties of a glass melt to its temperature and composition is important for glass formulation, melter control, and modeling the melt flow, refractory corrosion, and production rate. Using a database consisting of more than 4,000 data points measured between 900 °C and 1250 °C for over 600 unique low-activity waste glass compositions, we developed models for the melt viscosity and electrical conductivity. Models based on the Gaussian process regression approach outperformed models based on the Vogel–Fulcher–Tammann equation according to four standard metrics and yielded reliable prediction intervals. The models found primarily linear effects between properties and individual components, except for the effect of the Na2O mass fraction on the electrical conductivity. The effects were found to be consistent with current theories on physical processes involved with those properties.

The interaction of slab-derived silicic fluid and harzburgite – Metasomatism in the sub cratonic lithospheric mantle

Understanding the interaction between fluids and the depleted peridotite is essential in deciphering the geochemical and mineralogical variability of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). High-density fluid (HDF) inclusions trapped in diamonds during their formation in the SCLM are potential metasomatic agents. In this study, experiments were performed on a harzburgite + silicic fluid system at an 80:20 rock:fluid ratio (bulk 5 wt% H2O and 3 wt% CO2), simulating the infiltration of a slab-derived silicic fluid into the SCLM. Experiments were performed at 3–6 GPa and 900–1200 °C on a rocking multi-anvil apparatus, conditions corresponding to the deep SCLM. The fluid and melt compositions were directly determined using the cryogenic LA-ICP-MS technique. The metasomatized peridotite consisted of olivine, clinopyroxene, phlogopite, orthopyroxene, amphibole, and magnesite. The H2O-CO2-saturated solidus in this system is located between 900–1000 °C at 3 GPa and between 1000–1100 °C at 4–6 GPa. The fluids at all pressures are alkali-rich. With increasing temperature and crossing the solidus, the melts evolve towards the initial silicic fluid composition.Together with previous studies on various peridotite + H2O ± CO2 systems, the results presented here suggest a positive correlation between the bulk alkali/volatile ratio and the solidus temperatures. An increase in this parameter and in the mantle fertility (i.e., Ca#) increases the near-solidus isobaric melt production rate. The experimental fluid compositions found in this study are similar to saline HDFs. We propose a scenario where the percolation of a slab-derived silicic fluid into the depleted cratonic peridotite leads to the formation of near-solidus saline fluids. Such sequence of metasomatic events was reported from fluid inclusions in diamonds from several localities in the Kaapvaal craton in South Africa (e.g., De Beers, Finsch, Voorspoed).

Quantifying Periodic Variations in Hotspot Melt Production

AbstractFluctuations in estimated mantle plume melt production rates suggest complex dynamics in the upper mantle including changes in plume upwelling, compositional heterogeneity within plume stems, entrainment of anomalous mantle, or other processes. Despite the implications for mantle dynamics, differences between previous studies including the methods, study areas, and types of melt volumes estimated, limit inter‐hotspot comparisons and assessment of global variability. Here, we use a consistent methodology to calculate igneous melt production through time across a suite of 12 hotspot chains located in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Ocean basins. Using global data sets of topography, gravity, sediment cover, and seafloor age along with spectral methods for calculating elastic plate flexure and gravity anomalies, we estimate the total volume of igneous material at each hotspot in three components: (a) volcanic edifices, (b) flexural infill, and (c) intrusions (underplating) within the upper mantle and lower crust. Results indicate time‐averaged melt production rates across all studied hotspots range from 3.44 m3 s−1 (Cobb) to 14.75 m3 s−1 (Kerguelen), with underplating making up the largest component. Through time, melt production rates vary from 0.1 to 2.5 times average values with statistically significant periodic fluctuations of 1.1–71.5 Myr. Spectral analysis of estimated melt volumes shows total melt production varies periodically at all 12 hotspots. Excepting Galápagos, the studied hotspots exhibit multiple periodicities of melt production variability, implying complex dynamic, thermal, and/or chemical processes within the plume conduit. Moreover, we find several groups of hotspots exhibiting similar periods of melt production variability.

Changes in the composition of anatectic melt and its complementary residue by forward-modelling using THERMOCALC

This paper presents results from forward modelling of graywacke and shale average bulk compositions assuming closed-system and open-system partial melting processes. For each process, several compositions of anatectic melt and corresponding solid residue are calculated, and the results compared in binary, ternary and normative diagrams to evaluate how their compositions evolve during an isobaric heating path. Melt compositions are peraluminous, with A/CNK increasing from 1.05 to 1.45, as P and T decrease. The mg# ranges from 0.22 to 0.39, increasing with consumption of biotite and other FeMg phases by melting reactions as T rises. On FeO + MgO, CaO + Na2O, K2O ternary, K2O vs. Na2O binary and chemical normative diagrams, compositions display trends with an increase in the K2O content of melt as T rises, and an increase in FeO + MgO content after the complete consumption of biotite. An increase in orthoclase component along the heating path, followed by an increase in the proportion of quartz component after K-feldspar/plagioclase breakdown is illustrated on mesonorm diagrams. Total melt volume produced by graywacke bulk compositions is in the range 33–53 vol% for closed-system and 21–33 vol% for open-system melting. For the shale bulk composition volumes are in the range 50–70 vol% during closed-system and 30–45 vol% during open-system melting. The rate of melt production varies with the type of melting reaction and is between 0.19 and 4.73 vol% °C−1 for water-present melting and 0.01–6.82 vol% °C−1 for hydrate-breakdown melting. Retrograde metamorphic assemblages can be formed even with the chemical depletion caused by melt extraction, but an external source of water and other components would make the consumption of the high-T assemblages more efficient. The correlation between data from this study and that from melt inclusions and natural leucosomes indicates that the melt compositions calculated via forward modelling are a useful guide in understanding how leucosome compositions and their mineral assemblages evolve.

Zircon stability grids in crustal partial melts: implications for zircon inheritance

Zircon inheritance is a common phenomenon in igneous rocks, although more frequent in granitoids. Zircons inherited from granite magmas mostly come from the source, not from wall rocks or xenoliths. Consequently, they can provide invaluable information about the source materials, melting temperature, and melt segregation conditions. Miller et al. (Geology 31:529–532, 2003) divided granite rocks according to their zircon saturation temperature (TZr) into “hot” (TZr > 800 °C, with little or no inherited zircon) and “cold” (TZr < 800 °C; with abundant inherited zircon). Nevertheless, we have found that coeval and neighboring two-mica granites with TZr < 750 °C, presumably derived from similar sources, may have a radically different inheritance, from about 95 to near 0%. This paper aims to understand the reasons for these differences, in particular, and the survival of source zircons in granitoids, in general. To this end, we modeled the relationships between source composition, temperature, pressure, water content, zircon solubility, and melt fraction, on one hand; and melt production and zircon solution rates, on the other hand. Our results foresee that zircon survival during crustal melting is more probable if the source is a fertile peraluminous metasedimentary rock than if it is a metaluminous source with similar SiO2. Elevated zircon inheritance is characteristic of mid-crustal S-type, water-rich granite magmas generated within 4.5 and 6 kbar. Moderate or no inheritance is characteristic of water-poor granite magmas, because their sources require higher temperatures to produce the same melt fraction. Fast melt extraction does not cause perceptible effects on our models, because melt generation is slower than zircon dissolution, except in the case of crustal underplating by hot mafic magmas. We propose to refine the “hot” and “cold” classification by splitting the “cold” granites (TZr < 800 °C) into two categories, “dry” with little inheritance and “wet” with a very high zircon inheritance. Wet granites require a source water-fluxed from outside. They are characteristic of mid-crustal anatectic complexes with highly fertile gneisses alternating with unfertile mica-rich metapelites. We suggest that the extra water should come in most cases from dehydration reactions in the unfertile metasedimentary rocks beneath the crustal section undergoing anatexis.

The interaction between mantle plumes and lithosphere and its surface expressions: 3-D numerical modelling

SUMMARY The rise of mantle plumes to the base of the lithosphere leads to observable surface expressions, which provide important information about the deep mantle structure. However, the process of plume–lithosphere interaction and its surface expressions remain not well understood. In this study, we perform 3-D spherical numerical simulations to investigate the relationship between surface observables induced by plume–lithosphere interaction (including dynamic topography, geoid anomaly and melt production rate) and the physical properties of plume and lithosphere (including plume size, plume excess temperature, plume viscosity, and lithosphere viscosity and thickness). We find that the plume-induced surface expressions have strong spatial and temporal variations. Before reaching the base of the lithosphere, the rise of a plume head in the deep mantle causes positive and rapid increase of dynamic topography and geoid anomaly at the surface but no melt production. The subsequent impinging of a plume head at the base of the lithosphere leads to further increase of dynamic topography and geoid anomaly and causes rapid increase of melt production. After reaching maximum values, these plume-induced observables become relatively stable and are more affected by the plume conduit. In addition, whereas the geoid anomaly and dynamic topography decrease from regions above the plume centre to regions above the plume edge, the melt production always concentrates at the centre part of the plume. We also find that the surface expressions have different sensitivities to plume and lithosphere properties. The dynamic topography significantly increases with the plume size, plume excess temperature and plume viscosity. The geoid anomaly also increases with the size and excess temperature of the plume but is less sensitive to plume viscosity. Compared to the influence of plume properties, the dynamic topography and geoid anomaly are less affected by lithosphere viscosity and thickness. The melt production significantly increases with plume size, plume excess temperature and plume viscosity, but decreases with lithosphere viscosity and thickness.

H2O-rich mantle melting near the slab–wedge interface

To investigate the first melts of the mantle wedge in subduction zones and their relationship to primitive magmas erupted at arcs, the compositions of low degree melts of hydrous garnet lherzolite have been experimentally determined at 3.2 GPa over the temperature range of 925–1150 °C. Two starting compositions with variable H2O contents were studied; a subduction-enriched peridotite containing 0.61% Na2O, 0.16 K2O% (wt%) with 4.2 wt% H2O added (Mitchell and Grove in Contrib Mineral Petrol 170:13, 2015) and an undepleted mantle peridotite (Hart and Zindler in Chem Geol 57:247–267, 1986) with 14.5% H2O added (Till et al. in Contrib Mineral Petrol 163:669–688, 2012). Saturating phases include olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, garnet and rutile. Melting extent is tracked from near solidus (~ 5 wt%) to 25 wt%, which is close to or beyond the point where clinopyroxene and garnet are exhausted. The beginning of melting is a peritectic reaction where 0.54 orthopyroxene + 0.17 clinopyroxene + 0.13 garnet react to produce 1.0 liquid + 0.88 olivine. The melt production rate near the solidus is 0.1 wt% °C−1 and increases to 0.3 wt% °C−1 over the experimentally studied interval. These values are significantly lower than that observed for anhydrous lherzolite (~ 1 wt% °C−1). When melting through this reaction is calculated for a metasomatized lherzolite source, the rare earth element characteristics of the melt are similar to melts of an eclogite, as well as those observed in many subduction zone magmas. Moreover, since rutile is stable up to ~ 8 wt% melting, the first melts of a hydrous lherzolite source could also show strong high field strength element depletions as is observed in many subduction zone lavas. The silicate melts measured at the lowest temperatures and melting extents (< 10 wt%) are high silica andesites (56–60 wt% SiO2) and contain very low Ca/Al and high alkalis. These deep low degree andesitic melts, if added to experimentally produced hydrous liquids from melting (20–25 wt%) of harzburgite residues at shallow pressures (1.0–1.2 GPa, Mitchell and Grove in Contrib Mineral Petrol 170:13, 2015), can match the compositional characteristics of primitive natural basaltic andesite and magnesian andesite lavas found globally in arcs. In addition to a silicate melt phase, there is a small amount of silicate dissolved in the H2O supercritical fluid that coexists with the silicate liquid and solids in our experiments. The composition of this fluid is in equilibrium with the Mg-rich minerals and it is granitic. The results presented here are used to develop a model for producing hydrous arc magmas. We hypothesize that mantle wedge melting produced by the flux of hydrous fluid from the slab occurs over a range of depths that begins at the base of the mantle wedge and ends at shallow mantle depths. These melts ascend and remain isolated until they mix in the shallow, hottest part of the mantle wedge. In this melting scenario, the metasomatic “slab melt” contributions to arc magmas is small (~ 5 wt%), but its effect on the alkali, REE and incompatible trace element budget of the derivative magmas is large and able to reproduce the trace elemental characteristics of the primitive andesites. Higher proportions of slab or sediment melt do not resemble primitive high magnesian arc andesites and basaltic andesites.

Low water content in the mantle source of the Hainan plume as a factor inhibiting the formation of a large igneous province

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are generally considered to be related to mantle plumes and to have a great importance to the supercontinent break-up events, climate change and biological evolution over Earth's history. The high melt production rates of LIPs can be achieved under rigorous melting conditions: an abnormally high temperature, substantial decompression, addition of fusible components, or remarkable enrichment in water. Although it has been repeatedly noticed that water enrichment has occurred in many Phanerozoic LIPs, the significance of water enrichment in the mantle source for the generation of LIPs has not been explicitly highlighted. The southeastern Asian basalt province (SABP), which is thought to have formed by the Hainan mantle plume from a pyroxenite-bearing source, was emplaced over a small area of about 0.037 Mkm2 over a long period of time from 28.5 Ma to Holocene, thus differing from a typical LIP (>0.1 Mkm3 in volume emplaced in one or multiple pulses of less than 5 Ma). In this work, we measured H2O contents of high-Mg# clinopyroxene phenocrysts (12–179 ppm H2O) from Cenozoic basalts in the northern Hainan Island, which is part of the SABP. These data were utilized to estimate the water content of the mantle source of these basalts, yielding values in the range of 84–360 ppm H2O, which are significantly lower than those obtained for many Phanerozoic LIPs (thousands of ppm). After calculating the mantle potential temperature for the Hainan basalts about 170°C higher than that for the MORB source mantle, we consider that the paucity of source water likely depressed the melt productivity and the velocity of plume upwelling, and induced the Hainan plume to stall at depths of 350–500 km, inhibiting the formation of a LIP by the Hainan plume, despite the occurrence of other favorable conditions. Hence, our results from the SABP provide evidence for the significance of water enrichment in the mantle source in the formation of LIPs. The low water content in the Hainan plume can be attributed to the incorporation of subducted slabs that had experienced significant dehydration.

Thermomechanical Modeling of the Formation of a Multilevel, Crustal‐Scale Magmatic System by the Yellowstone Plume

AbstractGeophysical imaging of the Yellowstone supervolcano shows a broad zone of partial melt interrupted by an amagmatic gap at depths of 15–20 km. We reproduce this structure through a series of regional‐scale magmatic‐thermomechanical forward models which assume that magmatic dikes stall at rheologic discontinuities in the crust. We find that basaltic magmas accumulate at the Moho and at the brittle‐ductile transition, which naturally forms at depths of 5–10 km. This leads to the development of a 10‐ to 15‐km thick midcrustal sill complex with a top at a depth of approximately 10 km, consistent with geophysical observations of the pre‐Yellowstone hot spot track. We show a linear relationship between melting rates in the mantle and rhyolite eruption rates along the hot spot track. Finally, melt production rates from our models suggest that the Yellowstone plume is ~175°C hotter than the surrounding mantle and that the thickness of the overlying lithosphere is ~80 km.

Mineral equilibria constraints on open‐system melting in metamafic compositions

AbstractThe recent development of activity–composition relations for mineral and melt phases in high‐grade metamafic rocks allows mineral equilibria tools to be used to further aid our understanding of partial melting and the mineralogical consequences of melt segregation in these rocks. We show that bulk compositional data from natural amphibolites cover a wide compositional range, with particular variability in the content and ratios of Ca, Na and K indicating that low‐grade metasomatic alteration can substantially alter the igneous protolith chemistry and potentially affect the volume and composition of melt generated. Mineral equilibria calculations for five samples that span the compositional variability in our data set indicate that melting occurs primarily via the fluid‐absent breakdown of amphibole+quartz to produce a pressure‐sensitive peritectic assemblage of augite, orthopyroxene and/or garnet. The introduction of orthopyroxene at the onset of the amphibolite‐to‐granulite‐facies transition at lower pressure results in an increased rate of melt production until quartz is typically exhausted, and this is similarly seen for the introduction of garnet at higher pressure. Calculated melt compositions are dependent on the protolith composition, but initial solidus melting and biotite breakdown produce 1–3 mol.% of K‐rich granitic melts. As hornblende melting proceeds, 15–20 vol.% of either more granodioritic‐to‐tonalitic or granodioritic‐to‐trondhjemitic melt is produced. Once quartz is exhausted, intermediate to mafic melt compositions are produced at ultrahigh‐temperature conditions. Quartz‐rich lithologies with high Ca coupled to low Na and K are the most fertile under orogenic conditions, yielding up to 25 mol.% of sub‐alkalic granitic melt by 850°C. Such rocks did not experience significant subsolidus alteration. Altered compositions with low Ca and elevated Na and K are not as fertile, yielding less than 15 mol.% of alkalic granitic melt by 850°C. These melt volumes are enough to be segregated, and can make a contribution to granite magmatism and intracrustal differentiation that should not be overlooked.

Alkalic marine tephra layers at ODP Site 1241 - Major explosive eruptions from an oceanic volcano in a pre-shield stage?

We report a series of fourteen marine tephra layers that are the products of large explosive eruptions of Subplinian to Plinian intensities and magnitudes (VEI >4) from Cocos Island, Costa Rica. Cocos Island is a volcanic island in the eastern Central Pacific Ocean ~500km offshore Costa Rica, and is situated on the northwestern flank of the aseismic Cocos Ridge. Geochemical fingerprinting of Pleistocene (~2.4–1.4Ma) marine tephra layers from Ocean Drilling Project (ODP) Leg 202 Site 1241 using major and trace element compositions of volcanic glass shards demonstrates unequivocally their origin from Cocos Island rather than the Galápagos Archipelago or the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA). Cocos Island and the adjacent seamounts of the Cocos Island Province have alkalic compositions and formed on young (≤3Ma) oceanic crust from an extinct spreading ridge bounded by a transform fault against the older and thicker crust of the aseismic Cocos Ridge. Cocos Island has six times the average volume of the adjacent seamounts although all appear to have formed during the 3–1.4Ma time period. Cocos Island lies closest to the transform fault and we explain its excessive growth by melts rising from garnet-bearing mantle being deflected from the thick Cocos Ridge lithosphere toward the thinner lithosphere on the other side of the transform, thus enlarging the melt catchment area for Cocos Island compared to the seamounts farther away from the transform. This special setting favored growth above sea level and subaerial explosive eruptions even though the absence of appropriate compositions suggests that the entirely alkalic Cocos Island (and seamounts) never evolved through the productive tholeiitic shield stage typical of other Pacific Ocean islands, possibly because melt production rates remained too small. Conditions of magma generation and ascent resembled Hawaiian pre-shield volcanoes but persisted for much longer (<1m.y.) and formed evolved, trachytic magmas. Therefore Cocos Island may be a unique example for a volcanic ocean island that did not pass through the typical growth stages.

New 40Ar/39Ar ages and revised 40K/40Ar* data from nephelinitic–phonolitic volcanic successions of the Trindade Island (South Atlantic Ocean)

The Trindade Island is located in the South Atlantic Ocean, 1170km from the Brazilian coast and represents the eastern end of the submarine E–W Vitória–Trindade Chain. This is interpreted as the Trindade plume track beneath the South American plate during the Cenozoic. Almeida (1961) recognized five volcanogenic successions at Trindade in decreasing age: the Trindade Complex (TC) and the Desejado (DF), Morro Vermelho (MV), Valado (VF) and Paredão (PF) formations, composed of nephelinitic to phonolitic effusive-pyroclastic deposits, dykes and necks. Here, we present new 40Ar/39Ar ages and re-evaluation of available 40K/40Ar* data that, coupled with previous petrological information, allowed us to reconstruct the volcanic history of the island (i.e., 3.9–0.25Ma) distinguishing near synchronous volcanic episodes and solving several stratigraphic uncertainties reported in the literature.The geochronological dataset show that the nephelinitic–phonolitic volcanism at Trindade was discontinuous throught time, being marked by periods of high volcanic activity and periods of quiescence, which suggests variable melt production and eruption rates. The peak of the volcanic activity occurred between 3.9 and 2.5Ma (i.e., Lower Pliocene to Lower Pleistocene) that is represented by the TC, which correspond to the largest volume of volcanic deposits preserved in the island. The volcanic activity slows down progressively from 2.5Ma to cease at ca. 1.6Ma, period that is represented by the DF. This volcanism was followed by a quiescent period that lasted until the ephemeral nephelinitic volcanism of the MV (no age), VA (no age) and PF (ca. 0.25Ma). Thus, the volcanic activity in Trindade was ceased completely at ca. 0.25Ma, event registered in the uppermost volcanic deposits of the PF and that represents the last volcanic activity in the Brazilian territory.

The eruptibility of magmas at Tharsis and Syrtis Major on Mars

AbstractMagnetic and geologic data indicate that the ratio of intrusive to extrusive magmatism (the I/E ratio) is higher in the Tharsis and Syrtis Major volcanic provinces on Mars relative to most volcanic centers on Earth. The fraction of magmas that erupt helps to determine the effects of magmatism on crustal structure and the flux of magmatic gases to the atmosphere and also influences estimates of melt production inferred from the history of surface volcanism. We consider several possible controls on the prevalence of intrusive magmatism at Tharsis and Syrtis Major, including melt production rates, lithospheric properties, regional stresses and strain rates, and magmatic volatile budgets. The Curie temperature is the minimum crustal temperature required for thermal demagnetization, implying that if the primary magnetic mineral is magnetite or hematite, the crust was warm during the intrusive magmatism reflected in Tharsis and Syrtis Major I/E ratios. When wall rocks are warm, thermally activated creep relaxes stresses from magma replenishment and regional tectonics, and eruptibility depends on buoyancy overpressure. We develop a new one‐dimensional model for the development of buoyancy in a viscous regime that accounts for cooling, crystallization, volatile exsolution, bubble coalescence and rise, fluid egress, and compaction of country rock. Under these conditions, we find that initial water and CO2 contents typically &lt;1.5 wt % can explain the observed range of intrusive/extrusive ratios. Our results support the hypothesis that warm crust and a relatively sparse volatile budget encouraged the development of large intrusive complexes beneath Tharsis and Syrtis Major.

The age of Earth’s largest volcano: Tamu Massif on Shatsky Rise (northwest Pacific Ocean)

This study presents laser step-heating 40Ar/39Ar age determinations of basaltic lava samples from Tamu Massif, the oldest and largest edifice of the submarine Shatsky Rise in the northwest Pacific and Earth’s proposed largest volcano. The rocks were recovered during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 324, which cored 160 m into the igneous basement near the summit of Tamu Massif. The analyzed lavas cover all three major stratigraphic groups penetrated at this site and confirm a Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous age for the onset of Shatsky Rise volcanism. Lavas analyzed from the lower and middle section of the hole yield plateau ages between 144.4 ± 1.0 and 143.1 ± 3.3 Ma with overlapping analytical errors (2σ), whereas a sample from the uppermost lava group produced a significantly younger age of 133.9 ± 2.3 Ma suggesting a late or rejuvenated phase of volcanism. The new geochronological data infer minimum (average) melt production rates of 0.63–0.84 km3/a over a time interval of 3–4 million years consistent with the presence of a mantle plume.

Observations of pronounced Greenland ice sheet firn warming and implications for runoff production

AbstractField measurements of shallow borehole temperatures in firn across the northern Greenland ice sheet are collected during May 2013. Sites first measured in 1952–1955 are revisited, showing long‐term trends in firn temperature. Results indicate a pattern of substantial firn warming (up to +5.7°C) at midlevel elevations (1400–2500 m) and little temperature change at high elevations (&gt;2500 m). We find that latent heat transport into the firn due to meltwater percolation drives the observed warming. Modeling shows that heat is stored at depth for several years, and energy delivered from consecutive melt events accumulates in the firn. The observed warming is likely not yet in equilibrium with recent melt production rates but captures the progression of sites in the percolation facies toward net runoff production.

Two views of Hawaiian plume structure

Fundamentally contradictory interpretations of the isotopic compositions of Hawaiian basalts persist, even among authors who agree that the Hawaiian hotspot is caused by a deep‐mantle plume. One view holds that the regional isotopic pattern of the volcanoes reflects large‐scale heterogeneities in the basal thermal boundary layer of the mantle. These are drawn into the rising plume conduit, where they are vertically stretched and ultimately sampled by volcanoes. The alternative view is that the plume resembles a “uniformly heterogeneous plum pudding,” with fertile plums of pyroxenite and/or enriched peridotite scattered in a matrix of more refractory peridotite. In a rising plume, the plums melt before the matrix, and the final melt composition is controlled significantly by the bulk melt fraction. Here we show that the uniformly heterogeneous plum pudding model is inconsistent with several geochemical observations: (1) the relative melt fractions inferred from La/Yb ratios in shield‐stage basalts of the two parallel (Kea‐ and Loa‐) volcanic chains, (2) the systematic Pb‐isotopic differences between the chains, and the absence of such differences between shield and postshield phases, (3) the systematic shift to uniformly depleted Nd‐isotopic compositions during rejuvenated volcanism. We extend our previous numerical simulation to the low melt production rates calculated far downstream (200–400 km) from shield volcanism. Part of these melts, feeding rejuvenated volcanism, are formed at pressures of ∼5 GPa in the previously unmelted underside of the plume, from material that originally constituted the uppermost part of the thermal boundary layer at the base of the mantle.

Effects of present‐day deglaciation in Iceland on mantle melt production rates

Ongoing deglaciation in Iceland not only causes uplift at the surface but also increases magma production at depth due to decompression of the mantle. Here we study glacially induced decompression melting using 3‐D models of glacial isostatic adjustment in Iceland since 1890. We find that the mean glacially induced pressure rate of change in the mantle increases melt production rates by 100–135%, or an additional 0.21–0.23 km3 of magma per year beneath Iceland. Approximately 50% of this melt is produced underneath central Iceland. The greatest volumetric increase is found directly beneath Iceland's largest ice cap, Vatnajökull, colocated with the most productive volcanoes. Our models of the effect of deglaciation on mantle melting predict a significantly larger volumetric response than previous models which only considered the effect of deglaciation of Vatnajökull, and only mantle melting directly below Vatnajökull. Although the ongoing deglaciation significantly increases the melt production rate, the increase in melt supply rate at the base of the lithosphere is delayed and depends on the melt ascent velocity through the mantle. Assuming that 25% of the melt reaches the surface, the upper limit on our deglaciation‐induced melt estimates for central Iceland would be equivalent to an eruption the size of the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull summit eruption every seventh year.

Dike propagation driven by melt accumulation at the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary

This study examines the combined effects of melt migration by porous flow in the asthenosphere and dike propagation in the lithosphere. Melt collecting at the base of the lithosphere forms a decompacting boundary layer (DBL), in which the overpressure is sufficient to nucleate dikes that propagate buoyantly upward into the lithosphere. The asthenosphere melt flux determines the excess pressure and melt accumulation rate in the DBL, which together with the state of lithospheric stress, control dike growth rate, dike recurrence interval and the height to which dikes propagate. The vertical propagation and subsequent freezing of melt filled dikes heats and thins the lithosphere.Our model couples fundamental aspects of dike propagation and porous flow that are commonly treated separately. Our model allows us to estimate conditions under which vertically propagating dikes can thin the lithosphere, given a melt flux determined by the rate of melt production in the asthenosphere. The model also provides an estimate of the amount of melt present at the base of the lithosphere. We find that a steady state high-porosity boundary layer at the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary, with a melt fraction about 2.5–4 times higher than the asthenosphere melt fraction. Diking occurs at melt fractions much less than the disaggregation limit, so dikes are only a few km tall and about 1 cm wide. Though dikes are small, their recurrence on the order of days can lead to lithosphere erosion rates on the order of a few km/Myr with a melt fraction of a few percent at the base of the lithosphere. The steady state boundary layer melt fraction is controlled by differences in lithospheric stress state and or asthenosphere melt flux, indicating that seismic discontinuities associated with melt accumulation at the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary should vary systematically with variations in asthenosphere melt generation and tectonic setting.

Tidally-induced melting events as the origin of south-pole activity on Enceladus

The intense activity at the south pole of Enceladus hints at an internal water reservoir. However, there is no direct evidence of liquid water at present and its long-term stability in the interior remains problematic. By modeling heat production and transfer in the ice shell in a spherical geometry, we show that tidal heating naturally leads to a concentration of convective hot upwellings in the south polar region, favoring the preservation of liquid water at depth. We show that large volumes of water are produced within the ice shell at the south pole during periods of elevated orbital eccentricity (3–5 times the present-day value). Strong lateral variations in the melt production and crystallization rates result in stress concentration in the south polar region, thus providing an explanation for the tectonic activity observed today. We predict that an internal ocean may be sustained over the long term as the consequence of repeated periods with elevated orbital eccentricity, leading to episodic melting and resurfacing events.

Martian crustal dichotomy and Tharsis formation by partial melting coupled to early plume migration

A recently proposed model links the formation and early evolution of the Tharsis volcanic province on Mars to the preexisting hemispheric dichotomy (Zhong, 2009). A key aspect of this model is the assumption of a deep lithospheric root below the thicker crust of the southern highlands. We implemented a parameterization of partial melting into the 3‐D spherical shell mantle convection code CitcomS in order to investigate whether the required lithospheric thickness variation can be generated self‐consistently by partial melting when stiffening of the melt residue due to devolatilization is considered. The rate of melt production strongly depends on the mantle temperature, and additional strong coupling between the flow and partial melting is introduced through the stiffening effect on the melt residue. We find that it is possible to generate a lithospheric keel by partial melting above a single upwelling that excites a relative rotation between the one‐plate lithosphere and the mantle below while producing the amount of melt distributed in a broad region constrained to one hemisphere that is necessary to form the crustal dichotomy. This scenario thus offers an internal mechanism for the Martian dichotomy formation and validates the hypothesis of Zhong (2009).