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Article
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Crustal permeability generated through microearthquakes is constrained by seismic moment
Crustal permeability evolution predicted from observed MEQs using Bi-LSTM models. MEQ-to-permeability relations confirmed across multiple field data sets using transfer learning with scaling relationships confirmed using physics-based models.
- Pengliang Yu
- , Ankur Mali
- & Derek Elsworth
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Article
| Open Access
Archaean continental crust formed from mafic cumulates
Earth’s early continental crust formed by the melting of plagioclase-cumulates. Melting of these rocks, and subsequent crustal delamination and remelting, can explain the growth and differentiation of the continental crust during the Archaean.
- Matthijs A. Smit
- , Kira A. Musiyachenko
- & Jeroen Goumans
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Article
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Oxide nanolitisation-induced melt iron extraction causes viscosity jumps and enhanced explosivity in silicic magma
Oxide nanolites crystallisation in natural magma increases melt, and hence bulk magma viscosity mainly due to iron extraction. This increase can be sufficient to drive magma fragmentation depending on magma degassing and ascent dynamics.
- Francisco Cáceres
- , Kai-Uwe Hess
- & Donald B. Dingwell
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Article
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Nanoscale silicate melt textures determine volcanic ash surface chemistry
Nanotexture-sensitive fracture focusing during magma fragmentation determines the surface chemistry of volcanic ash particles, thereby modifying the reactive interface and subsequent environmental impacts
- Adrian J. Hornby
- , Paul M. Ayris
- & Donald B. Dingwell
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Article
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Methane-hydrogen-rich fluid migration may trigger seismic failure in subduction zones at forearc depths
This study provides evidence for the migration of deep energy sources along tectonic discontinuities in subduction zones and suggests causal relationships with brittle failure of hard rocks that may trigger seismic activity.
- Francesco Giuntoli
- , Luca Menegon
- & Alberto Vitale Brovarone
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Magmatic immiscibility and the origin of magnetite-(apatite) iron deposits
Magnetite-apatite (MtAp) deposits are an important source of iron and critical metals, yet their ore genesis is poorly understood. Here, authors propose that the separation of multiple melts during magma ascent leads to the formation of MtAp deposits.
- Dorota K. Pietruszka
- , John M. Hanchar
- & Wyatt M. Bain
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Diamond preservation in the lithospheric mantle recorded by olivine in kimberlites
Correlation between olivine compositions and diamond grades in kimberlites worldwide indicates better diamond preservation in the mantle minimally affected by carbonate-rich melts and shows that olivine geochemistry is a tool for diamond exploration.
- Andrea Giuliani
- , David Phillips
- & Zdislav Spetsius
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Article
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Garnet microstructures suggest ultra-fast decompression of ultrahigh-pressure rocks
Radial cracks observed in minerals formed at ultrahigh pressure and now found at the Earth’s surface are explained by ultrafast decompression, which challenges the idea of fast and significant displacement of rocks during their exhumation.
- Cindy Luisier
- , Lucie Tajčmanová
- & Thibault Duretz
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Article
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Rapid transition from primary to secondary crust building on the Moon explained by mantle overturn
Overturn of late stage lunar magma ocean cumulates triggers a rapid & short-lived episode of lower mantle melting that explains the key volume, geochronological, & spatial characteristics of the earliest secondary crust on the Moon (Mg-suite).
- Tabb C. Prissel
- , Nan Zhang
- & Haoyuan Li
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Article
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New constraints on Ti diffusion in quartz and the priming of silicic volcanic eruptions
Titanium diffusion profiles in quartz record the duration of magmatic processes. Here, the authors use a novel way to constrain Ti diffusion coefficients and apply them to determine the time scales involved in the priming of volcanic eruptions.
- Andreas Audétat
- , Axel K. Schmitt
- & Yongjun Lu
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Fluid-assisted grain size reduction leads to strain localization in oceanic transform faults
Deformed mantle rocks exhumed by oceanic transform faults recorded fluid-assisted ductile deformation at high temperatures and pressures, corresponding to the root of the fault. This deformation mechanism controls deep faulting at plate boundaries.
- Manon Bickert
- , Mary-Alix Kaczmarek
- & Susanna E. Sichel
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Article
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Magmatic surge requires two-stage model for the Laramide orogeny
New and existing age data show active arc processes in Southern California during the beginning of the Laramide orogeny, which require a two-stage process and challenge the oceanic plateau collision paradigm.
- Joshua J. Schwartz
- , Jade Star Lackey
- & Jonathan D. Bixler
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Article
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Surges in volcanic activity on the Moon about two billion years ago
This work estimates the eruption volume of the young Chang’e-5 lunar samples using diffusion chronology and thermodynamic simulations, and finds that there was an increase in volcanic eruption flux about 2.0 billion years ago.
- Heng-Ci Tian
- , Chi Zhang
- & Fuyuan Wu
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Article
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Porosity evolution of mafic crystal mush during reactive flow
In this study, the authors use a thermodynamically constrained model of melt-mush reaction to simulate the chemical, mineralogical, and physical consequences of reactive flow in a multi-component mush system.
- Matthew L. M. Gleeson
- , C. Johan Lissenberg
- & Paula M. Antoshechkina
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Genesis of Hawaiian lavas by crystallization of picritic magma in the deep mantle
Here the authors demonstrate that Hawaiian lavas are formed by partial melting of mantle peridotite with subsequent fractionation of clinopyroxene and garnet in the deep magma chamber (90 km) and reequilibration with harzburgite at a shallower depth (<60 km).
- Junlong Yang
- , Chao Wang
- & Zhenmin Jin
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Matters Arising
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Silica is unlikely to be soluble in upper crustal carbonatite melts
- Michael Anenburg
- & Tibor Guzmics
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Article
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Greenstone burial–exhumation cycles at the late Archean transition to plate tectonics
Supracrustal rocks of the Yilgarn orogen underwent deep burial, and later syn-shortening exhumation. Archean exhumation processes were likely less efficient that today, so that complete exhumation of high-pressure rocks was rare and accidental.
- Zibra Ivan
- , Kemp Anthony I S
- & Romano Sandra S
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Quartz-bearing rhyolitic melts in the Earth’s mantle
The paper reports the occurrence of quartz-bearing rhyolitic melt inclusions and interstitial glasses within peridotite xenoliths. Their O-isotope composition proves crustal derivation and cycling into the mantle at convergent plate margins.
- Luigi Dallai
- , Gianluca Bianchini
- & Sandro Conticelli
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Magma recharge and mush rejuvenation drive paroxysmal activity at Stromboli volcano
Petrological studies along with volcano monitoring data relate the unusual 2019 explosive activity at Stromboli volcano (Italy) to deep magma recharges up to a few days prior the eruption and a direct link between deep and shallow magma reservoirs.
- Chiara Maria Petrone
- , Silvio Mollo
- & Mark Reagan
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Article
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Venus’ light slab hinders its development of planetary-scale subduction
The simulation of slab buoyancy in 2-D models shows that Venus’ light slabs, due to a less eclogitized crust, experience more resistance to subduction. Thus, plate tectonics might have been more difficult to develop on Venus than on Earth.
- Junxing Chen
- , Hehe Jiang
- & Xu Chu
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Article
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A changing thermal regime revealed from shallow to deep basalt source melting in the Moon
Ancient (~3.9 Ga) KREEP-free basalts were sourced from a relatively cool and shallow pyroxene-rich mantle distinct from later-erupted (<3.8 Ga) KREEP-bearing basalts, indicating a fundamental change in melting regimes in the Moon.
- Yash Srivastava
- , Amit Basu Sarbadhikari
- & Atsushi Takenouchi
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Subduction-related oxidation of the sublithospheric mantle evidenced by ferropericlase and magnesiowüstite diamond inclusions
This article reports finding of a highly oxidised mineral in diamond inclusion derived from mantle transition zone or lower mantle, very reduced areas on our planet. Such oxidised material is likely linked to subduction of carbonates into this region.
- Ekaterina S. Kiseeva
- , Nester Korolev
- & Leonid Dubrovinsky
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Interplay between oceanic subduction and continental collision in building continental crust
Gangdese arc magmatism, Tibet, was initially dominated by fractional crystallization of mantle derived magmas, followed by the remelting of these rocks during collision. These two stages lead to the stratification of the juvenile continental crust
- Di-Cheng Zhu
- , Qing Wang
- & Xuan-Xue Mo
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Article
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Vertical depletion of ophiolitic mantle reflects melt focusing and interaction in sub-spreading-center asthenosphere
Upward depletion of ophiolitic mantle is produced by melt-peridotite reaction with lateral melt/rock ratio variations in an asthenospheric upwelling column, which flows to become the horizontal oceanic lithospheric mantle under spreading centers.
- Qing Xiong
- , Hong-Kun Dai
- & Suzanne Y. O’ Reilly
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Article
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Coexisting divergent and convergent plate boundary assemblages indicate plate tectonics in the Neoarchean
This study reports coexisting Neoarchean divergent and convergent plate boundary rock assemblages, providing new evidence for the operation of plate tectonics 2.55–2.51 billion years ago; and also suggests the subduction zone was warm then.
- Bo Huang
- , Tim E. Johnson
- & Timothy Kusky
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Article
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Genetic model of the El Laco magnetite-apatite deposits by extrusion of iron-rich melt
Can volcanoes erupt ore deposits? This study combines observations, experiments, and simulations to show that iron ore deposits on El Laco volcano formed by eruption of melt sourced from separation of Fe-rich melt from a silicate magma body beneath.
- Tobias Keller
- , Fernando Tornos
- & Jenny Suckale
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Article
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Zinc isotopic evidence for recycled carbonate in the deep mantle
Zhang et al. perform high-precision zinc (Zn) isotopic analysis on lavas from St. Helena Island in the Atlantic, and Cook-Austral Islands in the Pacific, and confirm that ancient superficial carbonates were transported into the deep mantle billions of years ago.
- Xiao-Yu Zhang
- , Li-Hui Chen
- & Wei-Qiang Li
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Article
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In situ X-ray and acoustic observations of deep seismic faulting upon phase transitions in olivine
This paper shows that formation of thin weak layers filled with nanocrystalline olivine/wadsleyite, upon the pressure-induced phase transition of olivine, is the major cause of deep-focus earthquakes on the metastable olivine wedge in deep slabs.
- Tomohiro Ohuchi
- , Yuji Higo
- & Tetsuo Irifune
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Article
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Crustal melting in orogenic belts revealed by eclogite thermal properties
By measuring the thermal properties of eclogite at high pressures, the authors found that temperature of orogenic continental crust is sufficient to melt granite and phengite, leading to low-velocity and high-conductivity anomalies in orogenic belts.
- Baohua Zhang
- , Hongzhan Fei
- & Qunke Xia
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Article
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Sulfur and chlorine budgets control the ore fertility of arc magmas
Earth’s largest copper deposits form in continental arcs, yet it is not well understood what determines whether a magmatic system generates economic mineralization or not. Here the authors show that the abundance of chlorine and sulfur, rather than the abundance of ore metals controls magmatic ore fertility.
- Carter Grondahl
- & Zoltán Zajacz
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Comment
| Open Access
Salty ice and the dilemma of ocean exoplanet habitability
Habitability of exoplanet’s deepest oceans could be limited by the presence of high-pressure ices at their base. New work demonstrates that efficient chemical transport within deep planetary ice mantles is possible through significant salt incorporation within the high-pressure ice.
- Baptiste Journaux
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Dendritic crystallization in hydrous basaltic magmas controls magma mobility within the Earth’s crust
In situ 4D experiments at high temperature and moderate pressure reveal that rapid dendritic crystallization in hydrous basaltic magmas promotes a rheological transition within minutes, controlling magma mobility within the Earth’s crust.
- Fabio Arzilli
- , Margherita Polacci
- & Mike R. Burton
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Article
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Fractional crystallisation of eclogite during the birth of a Hawaiian Volcano
Rare glasses of earliest melts produced by a Hawaiian volcano can only have formed by the crystallisation of garnet implying a magma chamber near the base of the lithosphere
- Laura A. Miller
- , Hugh St. C. O’Neill
- & Charles Le Losq
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Subducted organic matter buffered by marine carbonate rules the carbon isotopic signature of arc emissions
The carbon isotopic signature of CO2 released from marine sediments subducted beneath volcanic arcs does not reflect their organic/inorganic fraction, but instead the fluid-rock ratios and the redox conditions in force at the top of the slab.
- S. Tumiati
- , S. Recchia
- & S. Poli
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Article
| Open Access
Origin of carbonatites—liquid immiscibility caught in the act
Carbonatites are fascinating igneous rocks and their genesis remains enigmatic. Here the authors show that a Ca-rich carbonatite melt formed by liquid immiscibility from a phonolitic magma of the Laacher See volcano in the Eifel, Germany.
- Jasper Berndt
- & Stephan Klemme
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Article
| Open Access
The critical role of magma degassing in sulphide melt mobility and metal enrichment
A new study shows the occurrence of a fluid phase in mafic-ultramafic magmas may represent a significant boost for magmatic sulphide ore forming processes, by favouring sulphide melt accumulation and increasing tenors.
- Giada Iacono-Marziano
- , Margaux Le Vaillant
- & Laurent Arbaret
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Evidence for oxygen-conserving diamond formation in redox-buffered subducted oceanic crust sampled as eclogite
Billions of years ago, pieces of subducted oceanic crust were trapped as eclogites in the mantle keels beneath continents. Comparing eclogitic minerals protected inside and evolving outside of ancient diamonds reveals no change in redox state.
- Sonja Aulbach
- & Thomas Stachel
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Carbonate complexation enhances hydrothermal transport of rare earth elements in alkaline fluids
In-situ X-ray measurements reveal that the formation of rare earth-carbonate complexes in high-temperature alkaline fluids may facilitate their hydrothermal mobilization and contribute to their economic concentration in carbonatitic systems.
- Marion Louvel
- , Barbara Etschmann
- & Joël Brugger
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Boron isotopes in boninites document rapid changes in slab inputs during subduction initiation
The geochemical record of subduction initiation is still not well understood, despite >50 years of study. Here, the authors use boron isotopes in Izu-Bonin boninites to document rapid changes in slab inputs to melting at the start of subduction, related to the steepening and cooling of the downgoing Pacific plate.
- Hong-Yan Li
- , Xiang Li
- & Yi-Gang Xu
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Article
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Mantle Hg isotopic heterogeneity and evidence of oceanic Hg recycling into the mantle
This work demonstrates distinct mass-independent mercury isotope fractionation in global basalts, which suggests mantle Hg isotope heterogeneity and reveals large-scale translithospheric Hg recycling via plate tectonics.
- Runsheng Yin
- , Di Chen
- & Bernd Lehmann
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Article
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Mobilisation of deep crustal sulfide melts as a first order control on upper lithospheric metallogeny
The presence and mobility of metal-rich sulfides in lower crustal magma chambers can act as a gateway for metals to be trapped, or released into ascending magmas that are then able to form upper crustal porphyry copper and gold deposits.
- David A. Holwell
- , Marco L. Fiorentini
- & Weronika Gorczyk
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Article
| Open Access
Magnetite layer formation in the Bushveld Complex of South Africa
The Main Magnetite Layer of the Bushveld Complex of South Africa is an economically important deposit of Fe, Ti and V but its mode of formation is enigmatic. Models of fractional crystallization and reactive transport show that it probably accumulated as a loose mush and subsequently was compacted rather than forming in situ.
- Zhuosen Yao
- & James E. Mungall
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Article
| Open Access
Decoupling of inorganic and organic carbon during slab mantle devolatilisation
Hydrated mantle rocks store a significant amount of organic and inorganic carbon, impacting the geological cycle. During subduction the carbonate return to the upper plate while organic carbon remains trapped to be recycled in the deep earth.
- P. Bouilhol
- , B. Debret
- & K. W. Burton
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Comment
| Open Access
A lunar sample renaissance
Though the lunar samples returned by the Apollo and Luna missions have been studied for more than 50 years, scientists are discovering new clues into the early evolution of the Moon by looking through the lens of modern analytical techniques.
- Tabb C. Prissel
- & Kelsey B. Prissel
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Article
| Open Access
Chemical heterogeneities reveal early rapid cooling of Apollo Troctolite 76535
Chemical heterogeneities in Apollo sample 76535 constrain the magmatic cooling history of the lunar Mg-suite to <~ 20 My. Such rapid cooling is inconsistent with a large intrusive magma body and suggests formation by reactive melt infiltration.
- William S. Nelson
- , Julia E. Hammer
- & G. Jeffrey Taylor
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Article
| Open Access
Fluids as primary carriers of sulphur and copper in magmatic assimilation
Experiments show that when magma heats black shale wall-rock, fluids form and mobilize S and Cu, which can then concentrate and form base metal deposits. The fluids also attach to sulphide droplets and cause them to float in the host silicate melt.
- Ville J. Virtanen
- , Jussi S. Heinonen
- & Karina Moslova
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Article
| Open Access
Light oxygen isotopes in mantle-derived magmas reflect assimilation of sub-continental lithospheric mantle material
Isotopically light oxygen in mantle derived magmas is generally attributed to the occurrence of deeply subducted crustal material in the mantle. New analyses of olivine in kimberlites worldwide suggest that assimilation of lithospheric mantle during magma ascent is the source of isotopically light oxygen in these, and, potentially other continental magmas.
- Jing-Yao Xu
- , Andrea Giuliani
- & William L. Griffin
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Article
| Open Access
Molybdenum isotopes unmask slab dehydration and melting beneath the Mariana arc
How the subducted oceanic lithosphere provides fluids and melts to flux the subarc mantle source of arc magmas is controversial. Here the authors use Mo and other isotopes to show serpentinites formed in both the forearc mantle and the subducted lithosphere contribute to generating arc magmas.
- Hong-Yan Li
- , Rui-Peng Zhao
- & Yi-Gang Xu
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Article
| Open Access
Massive methane fluxing from magma–sediment interaction in the end-Triassic Central Atlantic Magmatic Province
Global climate changes triggered by massive output of greenhouse gases led to mass extinctions in Earth’s past. Here, the authors show that widespread release of methane at the time of the end-Triassic mass extinction was caused by interaction of a Large Igneous Province with sedimentary host-rocks.
- Manfredo Capriolo
- , Andrea Marzoli
- & Csaba Szabó
Europium in plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions reveals mantle melting modulates oxygen fugacity