Mantle wedge

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A mantle wedge is a triangular shaped piece of mantle that lies above a subducting tectonic plate and below the overriding plate. This piece of mantle can be identified using seismic velocity imaging as well as earthquake maps. [1] Subducting oceanic slabs carry large amounts of water; this water lowers the melting temperature of the above mantle wedge. [2] Melting of the mantle wedge can also be contributed to depressurization due to the flow in the wedge. This melt gives rise to associated volcanism on the Earth's surface. This volcanism can be seen around the world in places such as Japan and Indonesia. [3]

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Cross-section of a subduction zone and back-arc basin.jpg

Water in mantle wedge

Magmas produced in subduction zone regions have high volatile contents. This water is derived from the breakdown of hydrous minerals in the subducting slab, as well as water in the oceanic plate from percolation of seawater. This water rises from the subducting slab to the overriding mantle wedge. The water lowers the melting temperature of the wedge and leaves behind melt inclusions that can be measured in the associated arc volcanic rocks. [4] [5]

Structure of the mantle wedge

The forearc mantle extends from where the subducting slab meets the cold nose of the mantle wedge, this occurs at depths from 10–40 km. [1] Low seismic attenuation, and high seismic velocities characterize this region. There is a boundary between this low attenuation region and a high attenuation region on the forearc side of the arc volcanoes. [6] To image the mantle wedge region below volcanic arcs P-wave, S-wave and seismic attenuation images should be used in coordination. These tomographic images show a low velocity, high attenuation region above the subducting slab. The slowest velocities in these volcanic arc regions are Vp= 7.4 km·s−1 and Vs= 4 km·s−1. [1] Mantle wedge regions that do not have associated arc volcanism do not show such low velocities. This can be attributed to the melt production in the mantle wedge.

Mantle wedge flow

Flow in mantle wedges has important effects on the thermal structure, overall mantle circulation and melt within the wedge. Minerals are anisotropic and have the ability to align themselves within the mantle when exposed to strain. [1] These mineral alignments can be seen using seismic imaging, as waves will travel through different orientations of a mineral at different speeds. Shear strain associated with mantle flow will align the fast direction [ clarification needed ] of pyroxene and olivine grains in the direction of flow. This is the most common theory on flow within the mantle, although opposing theories do exist (6)[ citation needed ]. Flow within the mantle wedge is parallel to the crust until it reaches the relatively cooler nose of the wedge, then is overturned and is parallel to the subducting slab. The nose of the wedge is generally isolated from the overall mantle flow. [6]

Oxidation in the mantle wedge

Studies have shown that magmas that produce island arcs are more oxidized than the magmas that are produced at mid-ocean ridges. This relative degree of oxidation has been determined by the iron oxidation state of fluid inclusions in glassy volcanic rocks. It has been determined that this state of oxidation is correlated with the water content of the mantle wedge. Water itself is a poor oxidant and therefore the oxidizing agent must be transported as a dissolved ion in subducting slab. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subduction</span> A geological process at convergent tectonic plate boundaries where one plate moves under the other

Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere and some continental lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the heavier plate dives beneath the second plate and sinks into the mantle. A region where this process occurs is known as a subduction zone, and its surface expression is known as an arc-trench complex. The process of subduction has created most of the Earth's continental crust. Rates of subduction are typically measured in centimeters per year, with rates of convergence as high as 11 cm/year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convergent boundary</span> Region of active deformation between colliding tectonic plates

A convergent boundary is an area on Earth where two or more lithospheric plates collide. One plate eventually slides beneath the other, a process known as subduction. The subduction zone can be defined by a plane where many earthquakes occur, called the Wadati–Benioff zone. These collisions happen on scales of millions to tens of millions of years and can lead to volcanism, earthquakes, orogenesis, destruction of lithosphere, and deformation. Convergent boundaries occur between oceanic-oceanic lithosphere, oceanic-continental lithosphere, and continental-continental lithosphere. The geologic features related to convergent boundaries vary depending on crust types.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andesite</span> Type of volcanic rock

Andesite is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predominantly of sodium-rich plagioclase plus pyroxene or hornblende.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island arc</span> Arc-shaped archipelago formed by intense seismic activity of long chains of active volcanoes

Island arcs are long chains of active volcanoes with intense seismic activity found along convergent tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have resulted from the descent of the lithosphere into the mantle along the subduction zone. They are the principal way by which continental growth is achieved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forearc</span> The region between an oceanic trench and the associated volcanic arc

Forearc is a plate tectonic term referring to a region in a subduction zone between an oceanic trench and the associated volcanic arc. Forearc regions are present along convergent margins and eponymously form 'in front of' the volcanic arcs that are characteristic of convergent plate margins. A back-arc region is the companion region behind the volcanic arc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volcanic arc</span> Chain of volcanoes formed above a subducting plate

A volcanic arc is a belt of volcanoes formed above a subducting oceanic tectonic plate, with the belt arranged in an arc shape as seen from above. Volcanic arcs typically parallel an oceanic trench, with the arc located further from the subducting plate than the trench. The oceanic plate is saturated with water, mostly in the form of hydrous minerals such as micas, amphiboles, and serpentines. As the oceanic plate is subducted, it is subjected to increasing pressure and temperature with increasing depth. The heat and pressure break down the hydrous minerals in the plate, releasing water into the overlying mantle. Volatiles such as water drastically lower the melting point of the mantle, causing some of the mantle to melt and form magma at depth under the overriding plate. The magma ascends to form an arc of volcanoes parallel to the subduction zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunda Arc</span> Volcanic island arc in Indonesia

The Sunda Arc is a volcanic arc that produced the volcanoes that form the topographic spine of the islands of Sumatra, Nusa Tenggara, Java, the Sunda Strait, and the Lesser Sunda Islands. The Sunda Arc begins at Sumatra and ends at Flores, and is adjacent to the Banda Arc. The Sunda Arc is formed via the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate beneath the Sunda and Burma plates at a velocity of 63–70 mm/year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock cycle</span> Transitional concept of geologic time

The rock cycle is a basic concept in geology that describes transitions through geologic time among the three main rock types: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. Each rock type is altered when it is forced out of its equilibrium conditions. For example, an igneous rock such as basalt may break down and dissolve when exposed to the atmosphere, or melt as it is subducted under a continent. Due to the driving forces of the rock cycle, plate tectonics and the water cycle, rocks do not remain in equilibrium and change as they encounter new environments. The rock cycle explains how the three rock types are related to each other, and how processes change from one type to another over time. This cyclical aspect makes rock change a geologic cycle and, on planets containing life, a biogeochemical cycle.

Boninite is an extrusive rock high in both magnesium and silica, thought to be usually formed in fore-arc environments, typically during the early stages of subduction. The rock is named for its occurrence in the Izu-Bonin arc south of Japan. It is characterized by extreme depletion in incompatible trace elements that are not fluid mobile but variable enrichment in the fluid mobile elements. They are found almost exclusively in the fore-arc of primitive island arcs and in ophiolite complexes thought to represent former fore-arc settings or at least formed above a subduction zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adakite</span> Volcanic rock type

Adakites are volcanic rocks of intermediate to felsic composition that have geochemical characteristics of magma originally thought to have formed by partial melting of altered basalt that is subducted below volcanic arcs. Most magmas derived in subduction zones come from the mantle above the subducting plate when hydrous fluids are released from minerals that break down in the metamorphosed basalt, rise into the mantle, and initiate partial melting. However, Defant and Drummond recognized that when young oceanic crust is subducted, adakites are typically produced in the arc. They postulated that when young oceanic crust is subducted it is "warmer" than crust that is typically subducted. The warmer crust enables melting of the metamorphosed subducted basalt rather than the mantle above. Experimental work by several researchers has verified the geochemical characteristics of "slab melts" and the contention that melts can form from young and therefore warmer crust in subduction zones.

Partial melting is the phenomenon that occurs when a rock is subjected to temperatures high enough to cause certain minerals to melt, but not all of them. Partial melting is an important part of the formation of all igneous rocks and some metamorphic rocks, as evidenced by a multitude of geochemical, geophysical and petrological studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slab window</span> Type of gap in a subducted oceanic plate

In geology, a slab window is a gap that forms in a subducted oceanic plate when a mid-ocean ridge meets with a subduction zone and plate divergence at the ridge and convergence at the subduction zone continue, causing the ridge to be subducted. Formation of a slab window produces an area where the crust of the over-riding plate is lacking a rigid lithospheric mantle component and thus is exposed to hot asthenospheric mantle. This produces anomalous thermal, chemical and physical effects in the mantle that can dramatically change the over-riding plate by interrupting the established tectonic and magmatic regimes. In general, the data used to identify possible slab windows comes from seismic tomography and heat flow studies.

In igneous petrology and volcanology, flux melting occurs when water and other volatile components are introduced to hot solid rock, depressing the solidus. In engineering and metallurgy, flux is a substance, such as salt, that produces a low melting point (liquidus) mixture with a metal oxide. In the same way, the addition of water and other volatile compounds to rocks composed of silicate minerals lowers the melting temperature (solidus) of those rocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Plank</span> Geologist and volcanologist

Terry Ann Plank is an American geochemist, volcanologist and professor of earth science at Columbia College, Columbia University, and the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. She is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow and member of the National Academy of Sciences. Her most prominent work involves the crystal chemistry of lava minerals in order to determine magma ages and movement, giving clues to how quickly magma can surface as lava in volcanoes. Most notably, Plank is known for her work establishing a stronger link between the subduction of ocean sediments and volcanism at ocean arcs. Her current work can be seen at her website.
Plank states that her interest in volcanoes began when her Dartmouth professor took her and other students to Arenal volcano in Costa Rica. He had them sit and have lunch while on top of a slow-moving lava flow and while watching bright red goops of lava crack out from their black casings. "It was totally cool, how could you not like that?" Plank recalled the event to State of the Planet, an Earth Institute News source at Columbia University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subduction zone metamorphism</span> Changes of rock due to pressure and heat near a subduction zone

A subduction zone is a region of the Earth's crust where one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate; oceanic crust gets recycled back into the mantle and continental crust gets produced by the formation of arc magmas. Arc magmas account for more than 20% of terrestrially produced magmas and are produced by the dehydration of minerals within the subducting slab as it descends into the mantle and are accreted onto the base of the overriding continental plate. Subduction zones host a unique variety of rock types formed by the high-pressure, low-temperature conditions a subducting slab encounters during its descent. The metamorphic conditions the slab passes through in this process generates and alters water bearing (hydrous) mineral phases, releasing water into the mantle. This water lowers the melting point of mantle rock, initiating melting. Understanding the timing and conditions in which these dehydration reactions occur, is key to interpreting mantle melting, volcanic arc magmatism, and the formation of continental crust.

A continental arc is a type of volcanic arc occurring as an "arc-shape" topographic high region along a continental margin. The continental arc is formed at an active continental margin where two tectonic plates meet, and where one plate has continental crust and the other oceanic crust along the line of plate convergence, and a subduction zone develops. The magmatism and petrogenesis of continental crust are complicated: in essence, continental arcs reflect a mixture of oceanic crust materials, mantle wedge and continental crust materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Divergent double subduction</span> Special type of Tectonic process

Divergent double subduction, also called outward dipping double-sided subduction, is a special type of subduction process in which two parallel subduction zones with different directions are developed on the same oceanic plate. In conventional plate tectonics theory, an oceanic plate subducts under another plate and new oceanic crust is generated somewhere else, commonly along the other side of the same plates However, in divergent double subduction, the oceanic plate subducts on two sides. This results in the closure of ocean and arc–arc collision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chile Ridge</span> Submarine oceanic ridge in the Pacific Ocean

The Chile Ridge, also known as the Chile Rise, is a submarine oceanic ridge formed by the divergent plate boundary between the Nazca Plate and the Antarctic Plate. It extends from the triple junction of the Nazca, Pacific, and Antarctic plates to the Southern coast of Chile. The Chile Ridge is easy to recognize on the map, as the ridge is divided into several segmented fracture zones which are perpendicular to the ridge segments, showing an orthogonal shape toward the spreading direction. The total length of the ridge segments is about 550–600 km.

Keiko Hattori is a geochemist and mineralogist. She is Distinguished University Professor of Geochemistry and Mineral Deposits in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Ottawa.

Magmatism along strike-slip faults is the process of rock melting, magma ascent and emplacement, associated with the tectonics and geometry of various strike-slip settings, most commonly occurring along transform boundaries at mid-ocean ridge spreading centres and at strike-slip systems parallel to oblique subduction zones. Strike-slip faults have a direct effect on magmatism. They can either induce magmatism, act as a conduit to magmatism and magmatic flow, or block magmatic flow. In contrast, magmatism can also directly impact on strike-slip faults by determining fault formation, propagation and slip. Both magma and strike-slip faults coexist and affect one another.

References

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  2. Kelley, K.; Plank, T.; Newman, S.; Stolper, E.; Grove, T.; Parman, S.; Hauri, E. (2010). "Mantle melting as a function of water content beneath the Mariana arc". Journal of Petrology . 51 (8): 1711–1738. doi: 10.1093/petrology/egq036 .
  3. 1 2 Hirshmann, M. M. (2012). "Ironing out the oxidation of earth's mantle". Science Magazine. 10 (1126).
  4. Van Keken, Peter E (2003). "The structure and dynamics of the mantle wedge" (PDF). Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 215 (3–4): 323–338. Bibcode:2003E&PSL.215..323V. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00460-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-21.
  5. Kimura, J.; Yoshida, T. (2006). "Contributions of slab fluid, mantle wedge and crust to the origin of quaternary lavas in the NE Japan arc". Journal of Petrology. 47 (11): 2185–2232. doi: 10.1093/petrology/egl041 .
  6. 1 2 Stachnik, J. C.; Abers, A. G. (2004). "Seismic attenuation and mantle wedge temperatures in the Alaska subduction zone". Journal of Geophysical Research. 10 (B10304). Bibcode:2004JGRB..10910304S. doi: 10.1029/2004jb003018 .