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North Atlantic magmatism controlled by temperature, mantle composition and buoyancy

Abstract

Large igneous provinces are characterized by anomalously high rates of magma production1. Such voluminous magmatism is commonly attributed to partial melting of hot, buoyantly upwelling mantle plume material2,3. However, compositional heterogeneity in the mantle, caused by the subduction of oceanic crust, can also enhance magma production, diminishing the need for elevated temperatures associated with upwelling plumes4,5. A plume origin for the North Atlantic large igneous province has been questioned because lava compositions correlate with crustal thickness, implying a link between magma productivity and mantle source composition4,6. Here we use a numerical model that simulates upwelling and melting of compositionally heterogeneous mantle material to constrain the conditions that gave rise to magmatism in the North Atlantic. Using observations of lava compositions and volumes from the North Atlantic, we show that subducted crustal material represented less than 10% of the mantle source. We further show that mantle temperatures have remained elevated by 85–210 °C and increased mantle upwelling up to 14 times the rate of plate separation has occurred over the past 56 Myr. The enhanced temperatures and upwelling rates extended along more than 1,000 km of the Palaeogene rift, but are substantially more restricted along the modern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. These findings reflect the long-term manifestation of a mantle plume.

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Figure 1: North Atlantic large igneous province map and observations.
Figure 2: Neogene model results and Iceland sample locales.
Figure 3: Palaeogene model results.
Figure 4: Summary of model results.

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Acknowledgements

We thank H. Day and G. Barfod for their comments on early versions of the manuscript. This work also benefited from discussions with L. Kellogg and M. Billen. We thank G. Ito for his thorough and constructive reviews. This material is based on work supported by the US National Science Foundation under Grant No. 9811453, 0409375 and 0511049, and by the Danish National Research Foundation.

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Contributions

E.L.B. and C.E.L. developed the melting model. Compilation of geochemical data and modelling was completed by E.L.B., who took the lead on writing the manuscript, with contributions from C.E.L.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eric L. Brown.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Brown, E., Lesher, C. North Atlantic magmatism controlled by temperature, mantle composition and buoyancy. Nature Geosci 7, 820–824 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2264

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