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Earth science

Magma chambers on a slow burner

Nature volume 491, pages 677–678 (2012)Cite this article

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An assessment of crystallization processes occurring in magma chambers in the ocean floor finds an unexpected enrichment in trace elements, reviving an old theory of the cycling of magma in these chambers. See Article p.698

The world's ocean basins are constantly being regenerated by an 80,000-kilometre-long volcanic system of mid-ocean ridges, where Earth's mantle melts to form magma that eventually produces the basaltic floor of the oceans. The composition of ocean-floor basalts is one of the main sources of information about Earth's deeper interior. On page 698 of this issue, O'Neill and Jenner1 re-examine the chemical compositions of basaltic lavas from this global magmatic system. They find new, and remarkably systematic, chemical relationships between the concentrations of 'incompatible' trace elements (so named because they are largely excluded from magmatic crystals) and that of magnesium oxide (MgO).

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References

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  1. Albrecht W. Hofmann is at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55020 Mainz, Germany, and at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York.

    Albrecht W. Hofmann

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  1. Albrecht W. Hofmann
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Correspondence to Albrecht W. Hofmann.

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Hofmann, A. Magma chambers on a slow burner. Nature 491, 677–678 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/491677a

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