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Pre-subduction metasomatic enrichment of the oceanic lithosphere induced by plate flexure

Nature Geoscience volume 9, pages 898–903 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

Oceanic lithospheric mantle is generally interpreted as depleted mantle residue after mid-ocean ridge basalt extraction. Several models have suggested that metasomatic processes can refertilize portions of the lithospheric mantle before subduction. Here, we report mantle xenocrysts and xenoliths in petit-spot lavas that provide direct evidence that the lower oceanic lithosphere is affected by metasomatic processes. We find a chemical similarity between clinopyroxene observed in petit-spot mantle xenoliths and clinopyroxene from melt-metasomatized garnet or spinel peridotites, which are sampled by kimberlites and intracontinental basalts respectively. We suggest that extensional stresses in oceanic lithosphere, such as plate bending in front of subduction zones, allow low-degree melts from the seismic low-velocity zone to percolate, interact and weaken the oceanic lithospheric mantle. Thus, metasomatism is not limited to mantle upwelling zones such as mid-ocean ridges or mantle plumes, but could be initiated by tectonic processes. Since plate flexure is a global mechanism in subduction zones, a significant portion of oceanic lithospheric mantle is likely to be metasomatized. Recycling of metasomatic domains into the convecting mantle is fundamental to understanding the generation of small-scale mantle isotopic and volatile heterogeneities sampled by oceanic island and mid-ocean ridge basalts.

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Figure 1: Clinopyroxene composition normalized to primitive mantle for Japanese petit-spot peridotite xenolith compared to abyssal or melt-metasomatized continental peridotites.
Figure 2: Comparison of clinopyroxene xenocrysts composition from Costa Rica petit-spot sills with cpx from lithospheric metasomatic veins.
Figure 3: Schematic model illustrating the metasomatism of the oceanic lithospheric mantle associated to plate flexure.
Figure 4: Forward modelling of metasomatic enrichment of the oceanic lithospheric mantle.

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Acknowledgements

This work benefited from discussions with M. M. Baker, D. Rubatto and J. van Wijk. This work is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, grant 200021_140494 (S.P.), by the Toray Science Foundation, by the Toray science and technology grant #11–5208 (N.H.), and by JSPS KAKENHI grant 20340124 (N.A.). We thank the crews for their help during the KR04–08 and YK05–06 cruises.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

    S. Pilet, L. Rochat, M.-A. Kaczmarek, P. O. Baumgartner & O. Müntener

  2. R&D Center for Ocean Drilling Science, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan

    N. Abe

  3. Center for NE-Asian Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8576, Japan

    N. Hirano

  4. R&D Center for Submarine Resources, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan

    S. Machida

  5. School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK

    D. M. Buchs

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Contributions

S.P. and N.A. designed the study. Petit-spot samples from Japan and Costa Rica were collected by N.H., N.A. and S.M., and by D.M.B., P.O.B., L.R. and S.P., respectively. L.R., S.P. and N.A. performed the EMPA and LA-ICP-MS measurements. M.-A.K. and S.P. conducted the porous and focused flow numerical simulations. All authors discussed the results and their implications. S.P., L.R., O.M., M.-A.K. and D.M.B. wrote the text. All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to S. Pilet.

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Pilet, S., Abe, N., Rochat, L. et al. Pre-subduction metasomatic enrichment of the oceanic lithosphere induced by plate flexure. Nature Geosci 9, 898–903 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2825

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