Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Thomas Theunissen, Ritske S. Huismans, Gang Lu, Nicolas Riel
Summary: The selection of crustal and mantle densities in numerical geodynamic models is traditionally based on convention, which may not accurately reflect observed elevations. This study aims to calibrate densities to fit relative continent/mid-ocean ridge elevations based on observations, providing a reference case for geodynamic modelling. The results suggest that the relative elevation difference between mid-ocean ridges and continents is influenced by crustal density, mantle composition, and lithospheric mantle depletion.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Alessio Sanfilippo, Vincent J. M. Salters, Sergey Y. Sokolov, Alexander A. Peyve, Andreas Stracke
Summary: The upper mantle is a mixture of refractory and recycled crustal domains, with the recycled portions dominating the composition of surface basalts. Hf isotope ratios may provide hints for melting of refractory source materials in basalts, allowing the identification of depleted mantle materials. Basalts from the Arctic Atlantic show high Hf isotope ratios, suggesting a highly depleted asthenospheric mantle source beneath this region.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Soumen Mallick, Sophie E. Kuhl, Alberto E. Saal, Emily M. Klein, Wolfgang Bach, Brian D. Monteleone, Joseph S. Boesenberg
Summary: Several geochemical studies have confirmed the presence of compositional and lithological heterogeneities in mid-ocean ridge basalts. While the composition and age of these heterogeneities have been constrained, their origin remains highly debated.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Pengyuan Guo, Yaoling Niu, Pu Sun, Junjie Zhang, Shuo Chen, Meng Duan, Hongmei Gong, Xiaohong Wang
Summary: The study provides new Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic data on mid-ocean ridge basalts from the Oceanographer and Hayes fracture zones at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to constrain the nature and origin of upper mantle heterogeneity. The data illustrate that the mantle sources of these lavas comprise three components, including ADM, E-type I, and E-type II components, which explain the contrast in crustal thickness, ridge morphology, and mantle Bouguer anomalies between the two ridge segments.
GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Fei Wu, Simon Turner, Kaj Hoernle, Folkmar Hauff, Bruce F. Schaefer, Thomas Kokfelt, Ilya Bindeman
Summary: Stable barium (Ba) isotopes are being used as tracers for the recycling of crustal material into the mantle. Small but significant Ba isotope variations have been found in global MORB, and this study provides new constraints on the Ba isotope composition of the depleted upper mantle and the origin of Ba isotope heterogeneity in MORB. The results indicate that recycled altered oceanic crust and crustal sedimentary materials play important roles in the chemical budget of the upper mantle.
GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Tianxiao Ji, Zhigang Zeng
Summary: This paper presents new data on the major elements, trace elements, and Nd-Hf isotopes of south mid-Atlantic ridge (SMAR) MORBs. The geochemical characteristics, including enrichment of fluid-mobile elements and anomalous trace element ratios, suggest that these MORBs have been modified by subduction.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Brian E. Tucholke, Ross Parnell-Turner, Deborah K. Smith
Summary: Magma supply plays a primary role in controlling seafloor morphology of oceanic crust. The study examines the global patterns of morphology on mid-ocean ridge flanks in relation to magma supply and spreading rate. The results demonstrate that morphology becomes more isotropic and irregular with decreasing magma supply. The study also reveals that seismically determined crustal thickness in certain regions includes significant non-magmatic components. The findings have implications for understanding the evolution of oceanic crust.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
S. Brown Krein, Z. J. Molitor, T. L. Grove
Summary: The study presents a new algorithm, RevPet, to infer mantle melting conditions based on evolved basalts that have experienced multiphase fractional crystallization. Results show that the average apparent mantle potential temperature of basaltic glasses is around 1322 degrees C with melting pressures of 13 kbars. Variations in ambient MOR T-P are observed, with the estimate that it is generally homogeneous around 1350-1400 degrees C, except near hotspots where T-P can reach approximately 1600 degrees C.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Shuo Chen, Pu Sun, Yaoling Niu, Pengyuan Guo, Tim Elliott, Remco C. Hin
Summary: The study reveals significant variations in molybdenum isotopes in mid-ocean ridge basalts, indicating mantle compositional heterogeneity. The variations in Mo isotope compositions are best explained by two-component mixing between incompatible element depleted and enriched endmembers. The findings suggest that recycled oceanic mantle lithosphere metasomatized by low degree melt plays a key role in the formation of source lithologies in the East Pacific Rise.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Chuanshun Li, Haitao Zhang, Yili Guan, Aimei Zhu, Xuefa Shi
Summary: This study presents new major and trace element as well as Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data for basalts from the South Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The results indicate the presence of Tristan mantle plume materials in the southern SMAR asthenosphere, which has influenced the geochemical compositions of the basalts in this region.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Pengyuan Guo, Yaoling Niu, Shuo Chen, Meng Duan, Pu Sun, Yanhong Chen, Hongmei Gong, Xiaohong Wang
Summary: This study supports a recent hypothesis that heavy Fe isotope enrichment in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) results from a process of incompatible element enrichment. The researchers conducted an Fe isotope study of well-characterized MORB samples from a specific segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and found that the Fe isotope composition of the oceanic upper mantle is heterogeneous and correlates with the abundances and ratios of incompatible elements and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes. They propose that low-degree melt metasomatism at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary beneath ocean basins is responsible for the heavy Fe isotope enrichment observed in MORB. This process is predicted to be globally common and widespread.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Haitao Zhang, Quanshu Yan, Chuanshun Li, Xuefa Shi, Yaomin Yang, Guozhi Wang, Qingfeng Hua, Zhiwei Zhu, Hui Zhang, Renjie Zhao
Summary: The study reveals that basalts from the South Mid-Atlantic Ridge contain chemical traces of the Saint Helena hotspot, with its influence extending from approximately 14.2 degrees S to 20.8 degrees S. Material flow from Cardno seamount toward the SMAR system may account for the stronger geochemical signals observed in certain segments along the ridge axes.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Adina E. Pusok, Richard F. Katz, Dave A. May, Yuan Li
Summary: Geophysical observations at mid-ocean ridges show asymmetry in indicators of magma production and non-monotonic variations in lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary depth. Models incorporating melting-induced buoyancy effects can explain these observations.
GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jie Chen, Jean- Arthur Olive, Mathilde Cannat
Summary: The thermal state of mid-ocean ridges plays a crucial role in seafloor spreading processes. Standard thermal models fail to explain the characteristics of shallow crustal Axial Melt Lenses (AMLs) observed at slow-ultraslow ridges. By decoupling the ridge magma supply from spreading rate, considering hydrothermal convection, and multiple modes of melt emplacement, a numerical model showed that melt flux is a better indicator of thermal regimes than spreading rate. It also highlighted the importance of along-axis melt focusing at slow-ultraslow ridges.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
David W. Graham, Peter J. Michael
Summary: Basalts erupted within intra-transform spreading centers can be valuable probes of geochemical components in Earth's upper mantle, providing constraints on the proportions of mantle carbon that are juvenile vs. tectonically recycled. Different isotopic compositions of basalts from GTF and EPR suggest they are derived from two different mantle source compositions.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Tim Lichtenberg, Tobias Keller, Richard E. Katz, Gregor J. Golabek, Taras V. Gerya
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2019)
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Gwenn Peron-Pinvidic, Gianreto Manatschal, Tiago Alves, Torgeir Andersen, Miguel Andres-Martinez, Julia Autin, Philip Ball, Sascha Brune, Susanne Buiter, Patricia Cadenas, Derren Cresswell, Marie Eva Epin, Julia Gomez-Romeu, Mohamed Gouiza, Caroline Harkin, Christian Heine, John Hopper, Christopher Jackson, Laurent Jolivet, Richard Katz, Rodolphe Lescoutre, Gael Lymer, Craig Magee, Manu Masini, Jordi Miro, Nicolas Molnar, Frederic Mouthereau, Othmar Muntener, John Naliboff, James Norcliffe, Per Terje Osmundsen, Lucia Perez Diaz, Thomas Philips Phillips, Adria Ramos, Cesar Ranero, Tim Reston, Charlotte Ribes, Tyrone Rooney, Mark Rowan, Marco Snidero, Julie Tugend, Lijie Wang, Frank Zwaan
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2019)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Dan C. Spencer, Richard F. Katz, I. J. Hewitt
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2020)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Dan C. Spencer, Richard F. Katz, Ian J. Hewitt, David A. May, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2020)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Thomas Breithaupt, Lars N. Hansen, Srikanth Toppaladoddi, Richard F. Katz
Summary: Grain size distribution is influenced by the local environment, and larger grains evolve in a random walk manner, leading to a broader distribution than traditional models.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
D. W. Rees Jones, H. Zhang, R. F. Katz
Summary: Channels at mid-ocean ridges are believed to form through shear flow of partially molten mantle and reactive flow of ascending magma, with their competition being controlled by the orientation of channels with respect to gravity and mantle shear. The addition of horizontal extension favors tabular channel morphology. Reactive flow is dominant deep beneath the ridge axis, while shear-driven instability is confined to the margins of the melting region.
GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
D. C. Spencer, R. F. Katz, I. J. Hewitt
Summary: Tidal heating significantly affects the structure of Jupiter's moon Io, with lithospheric thickness changes correlating with topography predictions. The relationship between lithospheric thickness and topography depends on the difference in chemical density between the lithosphere and mantle, and could be either positively correlated or weakly anti-correlated with the radially integrated heating rate.
Review
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Richard F. Katz, David W. Rees Jones, John F. Rudge, Tobias Keller
Summary: Mantle melt extraction is a fundamental process in shaping the Earth and plays a crucial role in predicting the response of magmas to glacial and sea-level variations. Research suggests that the ascent speed of melts is rapid, typically occurring through reactively channelized porous flow. Further understanding of the mechanisms of melt extraction, particularly in relation to mantle thermochemistry and rheological properties, is necessary.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Marc Rovira-Navarro, Richard F. Katz, Yang Liao, Wouter van der Wal, Francis Nimmo
Summary: The inferred density and hydrothermal activity within Enceladus suggest that its core is porous. Previous studies assumed viscoelastic behavior for the core; however, this study analyzes the poroviscoelastic response, which has a different tidal response due to pressure within the pores altering the stress field and inducing a Darcian porous flow. The researchers find that the ocean above the core hinders the development of a large-amplitude Darcian flow, indicating that Enceladus' core can only be the source of geological activity if it has low rigidity and very low viscosity.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Peter Huybers, Parker Liautaud, Cristian Proistosescu, Bridgit Boulahanis, Suzanne M. Carbotte, Richard F. Katz, Charles Langmuir
Summary: It is found that changes in sea level can influence the pattern of bathymetry flanking midocean ridges, and this influence is related to the periodic variations in melt supply. The analysis of bathymetry across different midocean ridge regions supports the predictions from the faulting model, and also reveals a connection between the sea floor fabric and the periods of Pleistocene sea-level variability and Earth's variations in axial tilt.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Adina E. Pusok, Richard F. Katz, Dave A. May, Yuan Li
Summary: Geophysical observations at mid-ocean ridges show asymmetry in indicators of magma production and non-monotonic variations in lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary depth. Models incorporating melting-induced buoyancy effects can explain these observations.
GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Hanwen Zhang, Timothy Davis, Richard F. Katz, Laura A. Stevens, Dave A. May
Summary: This study investigates the development and propagation of basal crevasses based on the theory of linear elastic fracture mechanics. By evaluating the effect of shear-stress variation on crevasse growth using a model, it is found that sticky patches can promote the propagation of crevasses, increase their length of propagation, and sometimes cause curved trajectories that incline upstream. Applying this phenomenon to ice sheets and glaciers helps to better understand the conditions for basal crevassing induced by sticky patches.
JOURNAL OF GLACIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thomas Breithaupt, Richard F. Katz, Lars N. Hansen, Kathryn M. Kumamoto
Summary: In applications critical to the geological, materials, and engineering sciences, deformation occurs at strain rates too small to be accessed experimentally. Empirical relationships are used to make predictions, but this leads to uncertainties. To address this, a theory of dislocation processes is constructed and validated for olivine deformation. The model explains strain rate, applied stress, and dislocation density relationships, and predicts rapid transient deformation in the upper mantle under Earth conditions.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
J. N. Hooker, R. F. Katz, S. E. Laubach, J. Cartwright, P. Eichhubl, E. Ukar, D. Bloomfield, T. Engelder
Summary: Arrays of natural opening-mode fractures exhibit systematic patterns in size and spatial arrangement. The depth of formation appears to play a critical role in controlling these patterns. While physical factors such as stress and strain are considered, temperature-dependent chemical processes have not been fully incorporated into fracture formation models.
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Luke M. M. Kearney, Christopher W. W. MacMinn, Richard F. F. Katz, Chris Kirkham, Joe Cartwright
Summary: This paper investigates the influence of compression and pressure diffusion on pressure release events, finding that pressure diffusion can significantly shorten the venting period, and plays an important role in fluid expulsion in mudstone-dominated basins.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES
(2023)