Abstract The mid‐Norwegian Margin, part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP), is a well‐studied volcanic rifted margin formed during the breakup between Greenland and Eurasia ∼56 Ma, with the largest accumulation of magmatic material hosted by the Vøring Margin section. Despite extensive study in the area, the main controls on magmatic productivity during continental breakup remain debated. To constrain the drivers of breakup magmatism, we developed an inverse Monte Carlo statistical melting model that infers source mineralogy from basalt chemistry. When applied to basalts recently recovered on the Vøring Margin, our results reveal a clear shift in source mineralogy during rifting, with peak magmatism coinciding with clinopyroxene enrichment, despite mantle potential temperatures likely being capped below 1500°C. We also establish that, while the proto‐Iceland mantle plume played a role during the emplacement of the NAIP, the main driver for the continental breakup magmatism is lithospheric thinning as a consequence of continent breakup. This study provides new insights into the magmatic and geodynamic evolution of the mid‐Norwegian Margin, emphasizing the role of lithospheric refertilization in driving breakup magmatism.
Portable and core-scanning X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instruments have become increasingly utilized in making rapid, non-destructive chemical characterizations with high spatial resolution on a range of materials. Since basaltic cores are often highly fractured and uneven, portable XRF (pXRF) is preferred to conduct discrete chemical analyses. However, in this case, the user must select the location for each analysis, which can lead to biased datasets. Alternatively, XRF core-scanning (XRF-cs) instruments take a series of measurements along a section of core, increasing the number of analyses and, therefore, eliminating some of the bias introduced by discrete analyses conducted with a pXRF. The XRF-cs does, however, still require a flat sampling surface along the core that does not include void spaces, making rigid, vesicular, and often cracked basalts suboptimal targets. We collected 797 XRF-cs measurements on three basaltic cores collected during the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 396 to evaluate how effectively an XRF core scanner can build large, chemically representative datasets. We developed a method for filtering XRF-cs measurements and calibrated the data using discrete calibrated pXRF analyses and compared the XRF-cs data to pXRF and conventional bulk-rock data using various immobile (e.g., Al, Ti, Zr, Ni, Mn, Zn) and mobile (e.g., K, Ca, Sr) elements. The comparison between datasets shows that (1) the XRF-cs data reproduce trends observed by pXRF and conventional bulk-rock data at both the regional scale and the core scale, and (2) in some cases, the higher spatial resolution of the XRF-cs data reveals geochemical variations that are otherwise obscured using discrete analyses. The workflow outlined by this study can be used to select samples for future studies by efficiently providing reliable geochemical data for characterizing new and legacy hard-rock cores.
Recycling of surficial volatiles such as carbon into the mantle plays a fundamental role in modulating Earth's habitability. However, slab devolatilization during subduction could prevent carbon from entering the deep mantle. Boron isotopes are excellent tracers of recycled volatiles, but correlations between boron isotopes and mantle heterogeneity indicators are rarely observed, thereby casting doubt that substantial amounts of volatiles and boron can be recycled into the deep mantle. Here, we show that boron isotopes in two different types of primitive continental intraplate basalts correlate well with mantle heterogeneity indicators, indicating contributions of various subducted crustal components. A common high-δ11B component shared by both types of basalts is best explained as recycled subducted carbonate rather than serpentinite. Our findings demonstrate that subducted carbonate carries heavy B into Earth's deep mantle, and its recycling could account for the high-δ11B signatures observed in intraplate magmas and deeply sourced carbonatites.
Enstatite chondrites are potential source material for the accretion of Mercury due to their reduced nature and enrichment in volatile elements. Understanding their melting properties is therefore important to better assess a scenario where Mercury formed from these chondrites. Here, we present experimental data on the partial melting of a modified EH4 Indarch enstatite chondrite, which was adjusted to have 18 % more metallic Si than SiO2 in mass, yielding an oxygen fugacity of 3.7 +/- 0.6 below iron-w & uuml;stite redox buffer and 12 wt% Si in the metal. Experiments were performed from 0.5 to 5 GPa using piston cylinder and multi-anvil apparatuses. Results indicate that the stability field of enstatite expands relative to olivine. This expansion is likely due to the presence of Ca-S and Mg-S complexes in the silicate melt, which enhance SiO2 activity and promote enstatite crystallization. Silicate melts present a correlation between Ca and S concentrations, like the global patterns seen on Mercury's surface but with higher sulfur abundances. Additionally, sulfides show enrichment in Mg and Ca, up to 22 and 13 wt% respectively, the main remaining cations being Fe, Cr and Mn. These high Mg and Ca contents are observed at low temperatures and high silica content in the silicate melt, respectively. Partial melting of this reduced EH4 chondrite yields a large range of silicate melt compositions, due to the Mg- and Ca-rich sulfides which act as significant residual phases. High-pressure melts (2 to 5 GPa, 160-400 km depth in Mercury) are Mg-rich, similar to those in Mercury's high-magnesium region (HMR), while low-pressure melts (0.5 to 1 GPa, 40-80 km depth) are Si-rich, comparable to the northern volcanic plains (NVP). Results suggest that a large fraction of Mercury's surface aligns compositionally with these melts, implying that Mercury's mantle could predominantly have a pyroxenitic composition. However, regions with differing compositions, such as aluminum-rich areas, like the Caloris basin, suggest local variability in mantle geochemistry. The HMR chemistry indicates melting at pressures up to the base of Mercury's mantle, possibly due to a large impact. Our study also explores whether the surface compositions could result from mixing processes like impact gardening or polybaric melting and magma mixing. The findings suggest that areas such as the intercrater plains and heavily cratered regions could be mixtures of melts from different pressures, ranging from 0.5 to 5 GPa, which corresponds to the crust-mantle to core-mantle boundaries. Overall, our results show that if Mercury formed from materials similar to enstatite chondrites, batch melting of its primitive pyroxenite mantle would yield magmas with compositions resembling those of most rocks observed on the surface. While the exact olivine content of the mantle remains uncertain, the residual mantle is likely enstatite-rich due to the extensive stability of enstatite relative to olivine in sulfur-rich reduced systems.
Abstract While basaltic volcanism is dominant during rifting and continental breakup, felsic magmatism may be a significant component of some rift margins. During International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 396 on the continental margin of Norway, a graphite‐garnet‐cordierite bearing dacitic unit (the Mimir dacite) was recovered in two holes within early Eocene sediments on Mimir High (Site U1570), a marginal high on the Vøring Transform Margin. Here, we present a comprehensive textural, petrological, and geochemical study of the Mimir dacite in order to assess its origin and discuss the geodynamic implications. The major mineral phases (garnet, cordierite, quartz, plagioclase, alkali feldspar) are hosted in a fresh rhyolitic, vesicular, glassy matrix that is locally mingled with sediments. The major element chemistry of garnet and cordierite, the presence of zircon inclusions with inherited cores, and thermobarometric calculations all support an upper crustal metapelitic origin. While most magma‐rich margin models favor crustal anatexis in the lower crust, thermobarometric calculations performed here show that the Mimir dacite was produced at upper‐crustal depths (<5 kbar, 18 km depth) and high temperature (750–800°C) with up to 3 wt% water content. In situ U‐Pb analyses on zircon inclusions give a magmatic crystallization age of 54.6 ± 1.1 Ma, consistent with emplacement that post‐dates the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum. Our results suggest that the opening of the Northeast Atlantic was associated with a phase of low‐pressure, high‐temperature crustal anatexis preceding the main phase of magmatism.
We present computational modeling outcomes for bilithologic (peridotite and pyroxenite) mantle melting in divergent environments, considering equilibrium and disequilibrium porous flow melting of 0–50 % pyroxenite in thermal equilibrium with peridotite, potential temperatures of 1300 and 1400 °C, upwelling rates from 1–50 cm yr−1, maximum porosities of 0.1–2.0 %, and four compositions that span pyroxenite melting behavior. Basalt-like pyroxenites (G2) uniquely produce low (226Ra/230Th) and (231Pa/235U) with high (230Th/238U), but quantities greater than ~10 % produce anomalously thick crust, restricting their global abundance. Silica-deficient pyroxenite (M7-16 and MIX1G) melts are more moderate, but require chemical re-equilibration during transport to resemble global basalts, while hybrid lithologies (KG1) produce melts similar to those of peridotites. Uranium-series disequilibria in partial melts can also be decoupled from trace elements by radioactive decay in two-dimensional regimes. The mantle must thus contain multiple types of pyroxenite on a global scale, with melts traveling by complex networks and experiencing heterogeneous extents of chemical re-equilibration.
The closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean (MOO) marks the final suturing of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, one of the largest accretionary orogens on Earth and a region that is considered an archetype for crustal growth during the Phanerozoic. Abundant Permian to Triassic magmatism in Mongolia extended into the Jurassic on the eastern side of the Mongol-Okhotsk Belt (MOB), the orogenic belt produced by the closure of the MOO. Magmatic belts formed north and south of the suture along the MOB provide insight into the dynamics of the subduction system and the magmatic, crustal, and mantle processes pre-, syn- and post- collision within this accretionary margin. One of the main questions regarding the magmatism in the region is: Was the magmatism formed during active subduction or during the collision and closure of the basin? Here we compile geochemical data (major and trace elements, and isotopes) from the Permian to Jurassic magmatic rocks in the MOB and analyze their spatiotemporal characteristics. Our goal is to assess how magmatism changed in time and space during the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean and how those changes relate to first-order tectono-magmatic processes right before or during the collisional event that closed the basin. Our results show a general enrichment in fluid mobile elements, LILE, and LREE and depletion in HFSE, and HREE in mafic and felsic rocks, which indicates a mantle metasomatized by subduction-related fluids regardless of crustal contamination. Our analysis supports higher enrichment in sediment melts, especially along its western and older extent, and the assimilation of juvenile crustal components without producing abundant S-type peraluminous magmatism which indicates mantle and crustal contributions. Thus, we conclude that magmatism formed above a sediment-rich retreating margin was able to recycle and stabilize young and compositionally evolved crustal material in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.
Iron isotope studies on ocean island basalts (OIBs) and mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) have disclosed the contribution of pyroxenite lithologies in the generation of basaltic magmas. Whether Fe isotopic compositions of continental intraplate basalts can be applied to trace lithological heterogeneity within the mantle source regions remains poorly investigated. To explore the systematics of stable Fe isotopes as a potential probe of lithological heterogeneity in the source of continental intraplate basalts, we present twenty-four Fe isotope data on a suite of well-characterized Cenozoic basalts from SE China. The samples show a large range of Fe isotope values (856Fe = +0.09%o to +0.20%o), which correlate with SiO2, CaO/Al2O3, Ti/Eu, Hf/Hf*, Zr/Nb, Dy/Yb, La/Yb, Nb/Y, K/La, Sr/Ce, 866Zn and estimated equilibrium pressures. The samples with the highest 856Fe values represent early -stage low-silica basalts with moderately enriched Sr-Nd isotope ratios and high 866Zn values, while the late -stage high-silica basalts display a broad 856Fe decrease with increasing 87Sr/86Sr and with decreasing eNd and 866Zn. We demonstrate that the heaviest Fe isotope signatures cannot be derived from a pure peridotite source and require a pyroxenite component in the source. Combined with other geochemical proxies, we show that the heaviest basalt compositions are consistent with low-degree melts produced by the adiabatic decompression of a carbonated pyroxenite-bearing asthenospheric mantle. Mixing of these hybrid melts with melt produced from in -situ melting of the subduction-modified sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) reproduces the Fe-isotope variability of the late-stage basalts. Our results demonstrate the significance of lithological heterogeneity in the mantle source of continental intraplate basalts and highlight the subsequent imprint of mantle lithosphere in the evolution of their Fe isotope compositions. Finally, this study exemplifies the potential of the Fe-Zn stable isotope pair for mantle geochemistry; coupled with traditional radiogenic isotopes and major and trace element concentrations, they formed an efficient tool to trace the nature and contribution of the mantle source components in the formation of intraplate basalts.
Microscopic images of discrete samples were acquired using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and captured as image files. These files were uploaded along with a brief description and a record of the microscopic conditions when the image was taken.
Figure F1.Multichannel Seismic Profile HV-7-96
The Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was a global warming event of 5–6 °C around 56 million years ago caused by input of carbon into the ocean and atmosphere. Hydrothermal venting of greenhouse gases produced in contact aureoles surrounding magmatic intrusions in the North Atlantic Igneous Province have been proposed to play a key role in the PETM carbon-cycle perturbation, but the precise timing, magnitude and climatic impact of such venting remains uncertain. Here we present seismic data and the results of a five-borehole transect sampling the crater of a hydrothermal vent complex in the Northeast Atlantic. Stable carbon isotope stratigraphy and dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphy reveal a negative carbon isotope excursion coincident with the appearance of the index taxon Apectodinium augustum in the vent crater, firmly tying the infill to the PETM. The shape of the crater and stratified sediments suggests large-scale explosive gas release during the initial phase of vent formation followed by rapid, but largely undisturbed, diatomite-rich infill. Moreover, we show that these vents erupted in very shallow water across the North Atlantic Igneous Province, such that volatile emissions would have entered the atmosphere almost directly without oxidation to CO 2 and at the onset of the PETM.
The majority of geochemical and cosmochemical research is based upon observations and, in particular, upon the acquisition, processing and interpretation of analytical data from physical samples. The exponential increase in volumes and rates of data acquisition over the last century, combined with advances in instruments, analytical methods and an increasing variety of data types analysed, has necessitated the development of new ways of data curation, access and sharing. Together with novel data processing methods, these changes have enabled new scientific insights and are driving innovation in Earth and Planetary Science research. Yet, as approaches to data-intensive research develop and evolve, new challenges emerge. As large and often global data compilations increasingly form the basis for new research studies, institutional and methodological differences in data reporting are proving to be significant hurdles in synthesising data from multiple sources. Consistent data formats and data acquisition descriptions are becoming crucial to enable quality assessment, reusability and integration of results fostering confidence in available data for reuse. Here, we explore the key challenges faced by the geo-and cosmochemistry community and, by drawing comparisons from other communities, recommend possible approaches to overcome them. The first challenge is bringing together the numerous sub-disciplines within our community under a common international initiative. One key factor for this convergence is gaining endorsement from the international geochemical, cosmochemical and analytical societies and associations, journals and institutions. Increased education and outreach, spearheaded by ambassadors recruited from leading scientists across disciplines, will further contribute to raising awareness, and to uniting and mobilising the community. Appropriate incentives, recognition and credit for good data management as well as an improved, user-oriented technical infrastructure will be essential for achieving a cultural change towards an environment in which the effective use and real-time interchange of large datasets is common-place. Finally, the development of best practices for standardised data reporting and exchange, driven by expert committees, will be a crucial step towards making geo-and cosmochemical data more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable by both humans and machines (FAIR).
Magnetic susceptibility was measured on whole-round sections (and rarely section halves) on the Whole-Round Multisensor Logger (WRMSL) and/or Special Task Multisensor Logger (STMSL) using a Bartington MS2 meter and a 90 mm or 80 mm MS2C loop. As volume of the sample is not controlled for this experiment, susceptibility units are recorded in instrument units and are not volume-corrected.
APC cores (N): 6 APC cores (N): 3 APC cores (N): 2 HLAPC cores (N): 1 HLAPC cores (N): 0 HLAPC cores (N): 0 XCB cores (N): 16 XCB cores (N): 7