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Hydrothermal flow and serpentinization in oceanic core complexes controlled by mafic intrusions
Hydrothermal flow pathways and extent of alteration within serpentinized peridotite in Mid-Atlantic Ridge oceanic core complexes are modulated by mafic intrusions, according to full waveform inversion of seismic data and local earthquake tomography.
- Hanchao Jian
- , J. Pablo Canales
- & Mladen R. Nedimović
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Article |
Widespread two-layered melt structure in the asthenosphere
The accumulation of partial melt at two distinct depth ranges in the asthenosphere is widespread, including in areas of mantle upflow, according to a study of Y/Yb compositions of oceanic and continental basalts.
- Jun-Bo Zhang
- , Yong-Sheng Liu
- & Cheng-Yuan Wang
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Article |
Jet activity on Enceladus linked to tidally driven strike-slip motion along tiger stripes
Strike-slip motion along the tiger stripe fracture zones of Enceladus may act to modulate quasi-periodic jet activity, according to finite-element simulations of diurnal tidal deformation on the moon’s icy shell.
- Alexander Berne
- , Mark Simons
- & Ryan S. Park
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Research Briefing |
Tectonics regulate CO2 release more strongly than chemical weathering in central Italy
In a part of the Apennines, where the Earth’s crust is thin and heat flow is high, production of CO2 from deep below the mountains dominates over near-surface weathering processes that consume this greenhouse gas. Ultimately, the magnitude of deep CO2 release tips the balance towards a landscape that is a net carbon emitter.
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Article
| Open Access
Deep CO2 release and the carbon budget of the central Apennines modulated by geodynamics
The regional geodynamic gradient controls metamorphic carbon release during mountain building and regulates the inorganic carbon budget, according to carbon estimates in two river catchments of Italy’s central Apennines.
- Erica Erlanger
- , Aaron Bufe
- & Niels Hovius
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Editorial |
The ultra-lowdown on mantle heterogeneity
Compositional and structural variations within Earth’s lower mantle are a complex puzzle to which seismic data hold clues.
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Comment |
Seismic methodologies key to unlocking Earth’s lowermost mantle
Advances in seismological observational and modelling techniques are needed to constrain complex lowermost mantle structures and understand their influence on the global dynamics and evolution of Earth’s interior.
- Lauren Waszek
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Q&A |
Ultralow velocity zones in the deep Earth
Nature Geoscience spoke with Samantha Hansen, a geophysicist at the University of Alabama and Sebastian Rost, a global seismologist at the University of Leeds about the ultralow velocity zones in the lowermost mantle.
- Alireza Bahadori
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News & Views |
Don’t judge the Moon’s interior by its cover
The Moon’s primordial solidification is believed to have produced a layer of dense ilmenite cumulates beneath the crust. Remnants of this layer have now been detected under the lunar nearside.
- Peter B. James
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Article |
Vestiges of a lunar ilmenite layer following mantle overturn revealed by gravity data
The Moon’s gravity field preserves a record of the overturn of the early lunar mantle and sinking of dense ilmenite-bearing cumulates, according to a comparison of Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory gravity data and geodynamic models.
- Weigang Liang
- , Adrien Broquet
- & Alexander J. Evans
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Cenozoic eastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau controlled by tearing of the Indian slab
The Cenozoic eastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau can be explained by slab tear and the resulting mantle flow beneath the eastern region, according to analysis of seismic tomography, tectonic and magmatic records of the Indian mantle lithosphere.
- Zengqian Hou
- , Lijun Liu
- & Qingtian Lü
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Detections of ultralow velocity zones in high-velocity lowermost mantle linked to subducted slabs
Global detections of ultralow velocity zones in high-velocity lowermost mantle regions are associated with thermochemical anomalies linked to subducted slabs, according to analysis of SKKKP B-caustic diffractions with anomalous seismic structures in the mantle and outer core.
- Yulong Su
- , Sidao Ni
- & Daoyuan Sun
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Research Briefing |
Ultralow velocity zone and deep mantle flow beneath the Himalayas are linked to a subducted slab
Through the detection of postcursors of shear waves diffracted at the core–mantle boundary, a zone of ultralow seismic velocities has been identified at the base of the mantle beneath the Himalayas. The presence of this zone is probably linked to a subducted slab remnant that is driving mantle flow in the region.
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Ultralow velocity zone and deep mantle flow beneath the Himalayas linked to subducted slab
The presence of an ultralow velocity zone and seismic anisotropy in the lowermost mantle beneath the Himalayas is linked to subducted slab remnants and southwest mantle flow, according to analyses of seismic waves and mantle anisotropy measurements.
- Jonathan Wolf
- , Maureen D. Long
- & Daniel A. Frost
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Article |
Recurrence time and size of Chilean earthquakes influenced by geological structure
Geological structure and pore fluid pressure in the subduction zone forearc govern the size and recurrence of megathrust earthquakes in Chile, according to quasi-dynamic simulations of the seismic cycle.
- Joaquín Julve
- , Sylvain Barbot
- & Valeria Becerra-Carreño
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Article |
A hydrogen-enriched layer in the topmost outer core sourced from deeply subducted water
Deeply subducted water may have enabled the exchange of hydrogen and silicon between the mantle and core, according to high-pressure and -temperature experiments.
- Taehyun Kim
- , Joseph G. O’Rourke
- & Yongjae Lee
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Research Briefing |
The Shatsky Rise oceanic plateau formed through plume–ridge interaction
There are two competing hypotheses for the origin of oceanic plateaus: plume versus plate. Thermodynamic modelling of magmatism at Shatsky Rise, in the Pacific Ocean, now suggests that neither mechanism is adequate on its own and in fact plume–ridge interaction is required to explain the formation of this ocean plateau.
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Magmatism of Shatsky Rise controlled by plume–ridge interaction
Thermodynamic simulations suggest that Shatsky Rise magmatism is controlled by the interaction between mantle plume and mid-ocean ridge.
- Xubo Zhang
- , Eric L. Brown
- & William W. Sager
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Matters Arising |
Sensitivity of Santorini eruption model predictions to input conditions
- R. J. Walker
- , S. P. A. Gill
- & T. L. Stephens
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News & Views |
Forming the oldest-surviving crust
The chemical signatures of granitic continental crust from the earliest Archean are consistent with formation during subduction, indicating some form of plate tectonics was active at the time.
- Allen P. Nutman
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Research Briefing |
A curved post-garnet boundary enhances slab and plume dynamics in the Earth’s mantle
The post-garnet transition has been found to have a curved phase boundary, with negative slopes in cold regions and positive slopes in hot regions of the Earth’s mantle. This varying slope could be a reason for the puzzling dynamics of subducting slabs and upwelling plumes observed seismically in the upper part of the lower mantle.
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| Open Access
Shallow-water hydrothermal venting linked to the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
Widespread shallow-water hydrothermal venting in the North Atlantic, probably a source of methane, coincided with the onset of the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, according to borehole proxy records and seismic imaging.
- Christian Berndt
- , Sverre Planke
- & Stacy L. Yager
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Article |
Buoyancy of slabs and plumes enhanced by curved post-garnet phase boundary
Experimental determination of how the post-garnet phase transition pressure varies with temperature suggests a downward-convex phase boundary with potential implications for mantle dynamics.
- Takayuki Ishii
- , Daniel J. Frost
- & Tomoo Katsura
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Article |
Widespread partial-depth hydrofractures in ice sheets driven by supraglacial streams
Surface fractures that intersect glacial streams can propagate deeply in ice sheets and can increase their dynamic instability as melting intensifies, according to a new observationally-constrained modelling study of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
- David M. Chandler
- & Alun Hubbard
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Article |
Post-subduction tectonics induced by extension from a lithospheric drip
Post-subduction downwelling of lithosphere—or drips—can lead to extension and crustal thinning, influencing the tectonic evolution of continental crust after subduction termination, according to thermo-mechanical simulations.
- S. Pilia
- , D. R. Davies
- & N. Rawlinson
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Article |
Secular craton evolution due to cyclic deformation of underlying dense mantle lithosphere
Mantle lithosphere underlying the stable continental crust of cratons is dense and has experienced cyclic deformation since the Neoproterozoic, leading to the longevity of cratons, according to geological data and geodynamic modelling.
- Yaoyi Wang
- , Zebin Cao
- & Xiaotao Yang
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News & Views |
Mantle driven mountains
Deciphering the contribution of mantle convection to Earth’s surface elevation remains challenging, but it may have a dominant influence on mountain-building at subduction zones, according to a new study reconstructing the topographic evolution of Calabria.
- Gregory A. Ruetenik
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Article |
Calabrian forearc uplift paced by slab–mantle interactions during subduction retreat
Interactions between subducting slabs and the 660-km mantle transition zone can influence mantle convection and forearc uplift, according to rock uplift histories of the Calabrian forearc spanning the past 30 million years.
- Sean F. Gallen
- , Nikki M. Seymour
- & Paul O’Sullivan
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Links between large igneous province volcanism and subducted iron formations
Correlation between large igneous province activity and iron formation ages suggests that subducted iron formations may have facilitated mantle plume upwelling in the Archaean and Proterozoic Earth.
- Duncan S. Keller
- , Santiago Tassara
- & Rajdeep Dasgupta
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Article |
Kimberlite magmatism fed by upwelling above mobile basal mantle structures
Volatile-rich kimberlite magmas may be transported to the surface by broad mantle upwellings located above mobile basal mantle structures, according to global models of mantle convection over the past 200 million years.
- Ömer F. Bodur
- & Nicolas Flament
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Increasing complexity in magmatic architecture of volcanoes along a waning hotspot
Intraplate volcanoes erupt lower volumes of more diverse magma and have increasingly complex magmatic architectures as the heat flux from the driving mantle plume wanes, according to an analysis of a continental hotspot chain in eastern Australia.
- A. T. Tapu
- , T. Ubide
- & P. M. Vasconcelos
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Research Briefing |
The mantle’s influence on the long-term behaviour of Earth’s magnetic field
Numerical simulations show that convection in the mantle shapes the long-term structure of Earth’s magnetic field. The mantle influences the magnetic field by imposing a pattern of cooling that controls the dynamics of fluid flow at the top of the outer core.
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Longitudinal structure of Earth’s magnetic field controlled by lower mantle heat flow
The pattern of heat flow across the core–mantle boundary results in longitudinal differences in geomagnetic field behaviour, according to geodynamo modelling.
- Jonathan E. Mound
- & Christopher J. Davies
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News & Views |
A partially molten mantle
A global analysis of seismic waves has identified a widespread sharp velocity anomaly at the base of the low seismic velocity zone that is consistent with partial melting, closing a decades-long debate about the origin of this zone.
- Geeth Manthilake
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Article |
Asthenospheric low-velocity zone consistent with globally prevalent partial melting
A partially molten low-seismic-velocity zone in the asthenosphere is globally prevalent, but partial melting is not the primary control of low asthenospheric viscosity, according to analysis of seismic waves travelling through the mantle.
- Junlin Hua
- , Karen M. Fischer
- & Greg Hirth
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News & Views |
Estranged planetary twins
Venus and Earth have remarkably different surface conditions, yet the lithospheric thickness and heat flow on Venus may be Earth-like. This finding supports a tectonic regime with limited surface mobility and dominated by intrusive magmatism.
- Diogo L. Lourenço
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Article
| Open Access
Holocene ice-stream shutdown and drainage basin reconfiguration in northeast Greenland
Two ice streams—indicated by buried folds—extending into the interior of the northeastern Greenland ice sheet deactivated in the Holocene as the drainage basin flow regime reorganized southwards, according to an analysis of radio-echo sounding data.
- Steven Franke
- , Paul D. Bons
- & Daniela Jansen
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Article |
Formation of oxidized sulfur-rich magmas in Neoarchaean subduction zones
Neoarchaean arc magmas in Superior Province, Canada, were relatively oxidized and sulfur rich, reaching compositions comparable to modern subduction zones by approximately 2.7 Ga, according to analysis of sulfur speciation in zircon-hosted apatite grains.
- Xuyang Meng
- , Adam C. Simon
- & Jeremy P. Richards
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Article |
Earth-like lithospheric thickness and heat flow on Venus consistent with active rifting
An analysis of elastic lithospheric thickness suggests most coronae on Venus form on thin lithosphere with heat flow similar to that of rift zones on Earth, supporting a planet with active rifting and a squishy-lid convective regime.
- Suzanne E. Smrekar
- , Colby Ostberg
- & Joseph G. O’Rourke
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Q&A |
Digging into deep water
Nature Geoscience spoke with Dr Qingyang Hu, a high-pressure mineralogist at HPSTAR; Prof. Suzan van der Lee, a geophysicist at Northwestern University; and Prof. Katherine Kelley, a geochemist at the University of Rhode Island about their work and what the future of deep-water research might bring.
- Rebecca Neely
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Editorial |
Deep Earth bound by water
Research efforts from across the geosciences are uncovering how water deep within the Earth affects its fundamental workings.
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Article |
Hydrous peridotitic fragments of Earth’s mantle 660 km discontinuity sampled by a diamond
Hydrous conditions extend across the 660 km discontinuity between Earth’s mantle transition zone and lower mantle, according to analysis of a polyphase mineral inclusion in a gem diamond from the Karowe mine, Botswana
- Tingting Gu
- , Martha G. Pamato
- & Fabrizio Nestola
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Deep hydration and lithospheric thinning at oceanic transform plate boundaries
Deep hydration of the upper mantle at transform plate boundaries due to seawater infiltration leads to hydrous melting and lithospheric thinning, according to seismic surveys and thermal modelling of the Romanche transform fault.
- Zhikai Wang
- , Satish C. Singh
- & Milena Marjanović
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Research Briefing |
Geophysical imaging of fluids in the Cascadia subduction zone
Water that has been carried deep into the Earth by oceanic plates in subduction zones, can influence earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Three-dimensional images of electrical resistivity derived from electromagnetic geophysical data provide new constraints on the distribution, transport, and storage of water in the Cascadia subduction zone.
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Fluid transport and storage in the Cascadia forearc influenced by overriding plate lithology
The lithology of the overriding plate plays a critical role in determining fluid transport in subduction zones, according to magnetotelluric imaging of the impact of the dry, mafic Siletzia terrane on fluids in the Cascadia subduction zone, North America.
- Gary D. Egbert
- , Bo Yang
- & Blake Parris
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Bombardment history of the Moon constrained by crustal porosity
Constraints on the cratering history of the Moon from the modelled production and removal of crustal porosity by impacts are inconsistent with an extended period of bombardment.
- Ya Huei Huang
- , Jason M. Soderblom
- & H. Jay Melosh
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| Open Access
Grain-size-evolution controls on lithospheric weakening during continental rifting
A reduction in olivine grain size can cause weakening of mantle lithosphere, facilitating continental rifting, according to coupled grain-size-evolution thermo-mechanical modelling of a mantle dynamics.
- J. B. Ruh
- , L. Tokle
- & W. M. Behr
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Article
| Open Access
Lower oceanic crust formed by in situ melt crystallization revealed by seismic layering
The lower oceanic crust forms through the accretion of injected melt that cools and crystallizes in situ over hundreds of thousands of years, according to seismic data from the slow-spreading equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
- Peng Guo
- , Satish C. Singh
- & Erdinc Saygin
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| Open Access
Relative sea-level data preclude major late Holocene ice-mass change in Pine Island Bay
The Pine Island Glacier, a locus of ice loss from the modern West Antarctic Ice Sheet, had previously been stable since at least the mid-Holocene, according to records tracking ice extent based on radiocarbon and cosmogenic exposure dating.
- Scott Braddock
- , Brenda L. Hall
- & John Woodward
Dense hydrous minerals under pressure