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Geochemistry

Molten rocks in motion

Nature volume 402, pages 245–247 (1999)Cite this article

We only see the Earth's mantle in action when it melts and rises to the surface, most spectacularly during a volcanic eruption. The 70,000-km-long, global network of mid-ocean ridges is the site of the most abundant and steady supply of magma (and after cooling, new crust) on Earth. Detailed investigations during the past two decades have greatly expanded our view of volcanic and tectonic processes at ocean ridges, but we still have a limited understanding of how magma is delivered to, and concentrated in, the relatively narrow zones of volcanic and hydrothermal activity along spreading ridges.

On page 282 of this issue, Spiegelman and Reynolds1 attempt for the first time to distinguish between different dynamic models of mantle melting beneath ocean ridges by comparing them with geochemical data2,3 from basalts (volcanic rock) that erupted in the northern section of the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise. There is not yet a consensus on the style of mantle melting, but Spiegelman and Reynolds have taken a first step towards trying to reconcile theory with observation.

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Figure 1: Cross-section through a mid-ocean ridge.
Figure 2

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  1. the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, PO Box 112120, 241 Williamson Hall, Gainesville, 32611–2120, Florida, USA

    Michael R. Perfit

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  1. Michael R. Perfit
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Correspondence to Michael R. Perfit.

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Perfit, M. Molten rocks in motion. Nature 402, 245–247 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/46189

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