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Earth’s Mantle Melting and Volcanism

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Sea Floor Exploration

Part of the book series: Springer Oceanography ((SPRINGEROCEAN))

Abstract

Convection currents inside the Earth’s asthenosphere will cause instability at shallow depths in the mantle. Rising material and subsequent decompression melting will form hot, upwelling mantle plumes or diapirs. This phenomenon is more common on slow spreading ridges (total rate <5 cm/yrs), rather than beneath fast (total rate >5 cm/yrs) spreading ridge segments with their extensive fissural magmatism. Magma upwelling after partial melting of the mantle will depend on the force of buoyancy and on the permeability of the lithosphere. The effects of permeability and buoyancy will be modified by tectonic stress-release as well as by compression due to spreading following a cooling of the lithosphere. Instability in the melting zone is related to pressure release during a period without magma extraction. If pressure is released during spreading, the heat supply will generate more melting. With increased tension, the melting zone expands laterally and deepens until enough melt aggregates and accumulates in a confined zone to form a magma chamber. Rapid migration of melt through fissures at shallow depths enables a release of tension in the magmatic zone as it undergoes periods of melting and magma accumulation. When this process is repeated several times, it will trigger successive arrivals of more deep-seated magma, which can replenish the magma reservoir.

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  1. Saint-Renan, France

    Roger Hekinian

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Hekinian, R. (2014). Earth’s Mantle Melting and Volcanism. In: Sea Floor Exploration. Springer Oceanography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03203-0_5

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