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Data on the absolute value of the geomagnetic field intensity at the beginning of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron (C34n) was obtained from basalts of Hooker Island of the Franz Josef Land archipelago (FJL). These basalts are considered as one of the manifestations of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province. The record of the ancient geomagnetic field in the studied Early Cretaceous basalts was preserved well due to the presence of pseudo-single domain grains of primary magmatic titanomagnetite. The paleointensity, obtained by the Thellier–Coe method, satisfies the generally accepted reliability criteria, taking into consideration other necessary evidence. This information indicates that 125 Ma, during the formation of the FJL traps, the intensity of the geomagnetic field was four times lower than today. Our estimates show that the mean value of the virtual dipole moment was 1.7 × 1022 Am2. These results support the views about the low paleointensity at the Barremian–Aptian boundary and indicate a correlation between the intensity of the geomagnetic field, the frequency of reversals, and the formation of mantle plumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many intracontinental basins form as broad depressions through prolonged, slow subsidence of the continental lithosphere. Such long-lived basins can record lithospheric processes over hundreds of millions of years, serving as important archives of lithospheric evolution. Since continental amalgamation in the Mesoproterozoic, the lithosphere beneath the intracontinental Canning Basin has been subject to several tectonic events, with extensive crustal reworking evidenced through different upper crust data sets. However, knowledge of the structure of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle is lacking. As a consequence, understanding the coupled evolution between surface and deep lithospheric processes, crucial to resolving basin formation, development and survival, remains problematic. Here, we combine geochemical, geophysical and petrophysical data within a thermodynamic modelling framework to determine the thermochemical properties, rheology, density and seismic structure of the lithospheric and sublithospheric mantle beneath the Canning Basin. The results indicate a thick, rigid lithosphere with a maximum thickness of 185 km and strength of ca. 1 × 1013 Pa m, and an anomalously Fe-enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle with a Mg# of 88.6. This mantle structure is not consistent with pre-collisional fragments or a Precambrian collisional setting and may reflect magmatic refertilization during high-volume mafic magmatic events. Potential candidate events are the ∼1070 Ma Warakurna, ∼825 Ma Gairdner and ∼510 Ma Kalkarindji Large Igneous Provinces. The youngest of these is temporally and spatially correlated with and therefore interpreted to have influenced the Canning Basin formation. We propose that refertilization caused a negatively buoyant subcontinental lithospheric mantle and prolonged subsidence and preservation of the basin, while the strong lithosphere ensured lithospheric stability and longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crust of the South American platform recorded imprints of dynamic processes related with the opening of the Central and South Atlantic but has not been well measured. Crustal structure can be retrieved from teleseismic receiver functions using H – κ stacking, but nearly parallel stripes of high stacking values existing in stacking images for seismic stations in sedimentary area cause difficulties in identifying solutions. We show that some seemingly spurious stripes that do not point to any layer solution are helpful in the identification of the solution position. With the aid of the auxiliary stripes, we retrieved thicknesses and Vp / Vs of sedimentary and crystalline crust for 65 permanent stations of the Brazilian Seismographic Network and six new portable seismic stations in Brazil and Uruguay. The resulted sedimentary thickness and Vp / Vs exhibit a good correlation with the Phanerozoic sediments in the South American basins. The crust of Paraná–Etendeka Large Igneous Province (LIP) had been expected to be more mafic since it had ever been penetrated by mantle magma in the Cretaceous related to the south Atlantic opening. However, we found very low Vp / Vs (1.67) in the crystalline crust beneath the LIP, implying a more felsic crust and that no significant mafic intruding/underplating has occurred in the region. The more felsic crust may be formed in a special evolution early than the magmatic event, or during the magmatic event by releasing crustal volatiles. The resulted sedimentary thickness and Vp / Vs ratios exhibit a good correlation with the Phanerozoic sediments in the South American basins, which implies that Triassic–Jurassic and Cretaceous magmatism did not cause significant metamorphism in sediments formed before the magmatic events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP) exhibits prolonged melting over more than 50 Myr, an observation that is difficult to reconcile with the classic view that large igneous provinces (LIPs) originate from melting in plume heads. Hence, the suggested plume‐related origin and classification of HALIP as a LIP have been questioned. Here, we use numerical models that include melting and melt migration to investigate a rising plume interacting with lithosphere of variable thickness, that is, a basin‐to‐craton setting applicable to the Arctic. Models reveal that melt migration introduces significant spatial and temporal variations in melt volumes and pulses of melt production, including protracted melting for at least about 30–40 Myr, because of the dynamic feedback between migrating melt and local lithosphere thinning. For HALIP, plume material deflected from underneath the Greenland craton can re‐activate melting zones below the previously plume‐influenced Sverdrup Basin after a melt‐free period of about 10–15 Myr, even though the plume is already ∼500 km away. Hence, actively melting zones do not necessarily represent the location of the deeper plume stem at a given time, especially for secondary pulses. Additional processes such as (minor) plume flux variations or local lithospheric extension may alter the timing and volume of HALIP pulses, but are to first order not required to reproduce the long‐lived and multi‐pulse magmatism of HALIP. Since melting zones are always plume‐fed, we would expect HALIP magmatism to exhibit plume‐related trace element signatures throughout time, potentially shifting from mostly tholeiitic toward more alkalic compositions. Plain Language Summary: Typically, the arrival of a large mantle upwelling ("mantle plume") is expected to cause catastrophic large‐scale volcanism that lasts a few million years. However, a massive past volcanic event now distributed onshore and offshore across the Arctic (the High Arctic Large Igneous Province—HALIP) defies this definition. This wide‐spread magmatism exhibits dates spanning more than 50 Myr, with several pulses of activity. Based on this prolonged magmatism, it has been questioned whether all of it can be attributed to a mantle plume, despite the geochemistry of basalts indicating a plume source. Here, we show that a plume can cause prolonged and multi‐pulse magmatism if it interacts with an increase in lithosphere thickness. Once the plume moves below the thicker lithosphere, hot plume material is channeled along the base of the lithosphere toward the adjacent thinner part, where it can reactivate previous melting regions. At this time, the active plume can be about 500 km away from the melting region, hence plume‐related melt cannot be used as a proxy for the plume position at the given time. Based on the models, we suggest that the prolonged HALIP magmatism was caused by a plume interacting with the edge of a craton. Key Points: Mantle plumes interacting with changes in lithosphere thickness at craton edges can cause prolonged melting with pulses in the same regionRejuvenated melting happens underneath previously melt‐affected thinned lithosphere several hundred km downstream of the plume stemThe timing and duration of rejuvenated melting in models correspond to and therefore may explain observations of magmatic pulses from High Arctic Large Igneous Province [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite magnetic surveys have revealed features consistent with magnetization at depth in the lithosphere. Previous studies have reported magnetic minerals preserved in mantle nodules and in some eclogite facies rocks. Deep crustal rocks are another possible source for these deep lithospheric signals, but have not been extensively studied, in many cases due to the difficulty in obtaining samples unaffected by later near-surface alteration processes. Here, we used a combined approach involving petrophysical, rock magnetic and scanning magnetic microscopy (SMM) analyses on unaltered pristine ultramafic samples from the Reinfjord Ultramafic Complex in northern Norway. The focus was to identify the magnetic carriers using SMM and link the magnetic anomalies mapped in thin section to distinct rock magnetic measurements. The dominant magnetic carriers are Cr-magnetite exsolved from grains of Al-chromite, and magnetite exsolution lamellae from clinopyroxene. In addition, some samples have exsolved magnetite from Al-Cr-spinel and Fe-rich exsolution from Cr-spinel as carriers. Rock magnetic measurements suggest that these primary magnetic carriers, could retain magnetization to considerable crustal depths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The widespread High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP) exhibits prolonged melting over more than 50 Myr, an observation that is difficult to reconcile with the classic view that large igneous provinces (LIPs) originate from melting in plume heads. Hence, the suggested plume‐related origin and classification of HALIP as a LIP have been questioned. Here, we use numerical models that include melting and melt migration to investigate a rising plume interacting with lithosphere of variable thickness, that is, a basin‐to‐craton setting applicable to the Arctic. Models reveal that melt migration introduces significant spatial and temporal variations in melt volumes and pulses of melt production, including protracted melting for at least about 30–40 Myr, because of the dynamic feedback between migrating melt and local lithosphere thinning. For HALIP, plume material deflected from underneath the Greenland craton can re‐activate melting zones below the previously plume‐influenced Sverdrup Basin after a melt‐free period of about 10–15 Myr, even though the plume is already ∼500 km away. Hence, actively melting zones do not necessarily represent the location of the deeper plume stem at a given time, especially for secondary pulses. Additional processes such as (minor) plume flux variations or local lithospheric extension may alter the timing and volume of HALIP pulses, but are to first order not required to reproduce the long‐lived and multi‐pulse magmatism of HALIP. Since melting zones are always plume‐fed, we would expect HALIP magmatism to exhibit plume‐related trace element signatures throughout time, potentially shifting from mostly tholeiitic toward more alkalic compositions.

The deformation mechanism in southeastern Tibet since the continental collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates could be explained by several models, including two major classic end-member models, the rigid-block extrusion model and the crustal flow model. Crustal channel flow is likely an important tectonic regime for properly explaining a large number of geological and geophysical observations but remains in competition with the block extrusion model. Consequently, detecting ductile flow connectivity would play a key role in understanding the tectonic evolution of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Here, we established a high-resolution broad-band Q Pg model for the crust in SE Tibet by using a joint inversion tomography method based on both single- and two-station Pg data. We verified the stability of the Q Pg tomography by comparing the Q Pg values at 1 Hz between the joint inversion and the two-station method. Two low- Q Pg zones were observed, isolated by the high- Q Pg Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP). Strong Pg attenuation beneath the Songpan-Ganzi Block and Western Sichuan Block may indicate the presence of crustal material flow due to relatively weak rheological strength. Cooled basaltic magma remnants in the inner zone of the ELIP likely block the southeastward migration of crustal materials driven by the gravity and lateral pressure gradient, and restrict the flow to the Western Sichuan Block, resulting in surface uplift and crustal thickening. Strong Pg attenuation near the Xiaojiang Fault and the Red River Fault may result from mantle upwelling in this region. Our Q Pg model, combined with previous results, suggests that the tectonic deformation in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau has been mainly controlled by the effects of crustal channel flow and asthenospheric upwelling since the Late Miocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) facilitate massive transfers of CO2 and other volatiles from the mantle to atmosphere, contributing to past global warming and environmental disruption. However, the scale and evolution of magmatic CO2 fluxes during these events remain uncertain due to the tendency of CO2 to degas deep in magmatic systems. Here we estimate LIP CO2 using an approach based on an observed correlation between gas CO2/S ratios and trace elements in volcanic rocks. We apply this method to a compilation of published geochemical data for tholeiitic LIP lavas and to a new major and trace element dataset for alkaline rocks from the Siberian Traps. Our results indicate that CO2/S and therefore CO2 in tholeiitic and alkaline magma suites from LIPs span 1–2 orders of magnitude, emphasizing that changing CO2 concentrations can combine with magma flux to drive strong variations in CO2 release through the evolution of LIP magmatism.

Mass extinctions of Earth's deep past are impactful evidence of catastrophic loss of biodiversity. The Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME) is the oldest of these events, and one of the largest. A revised timeline for this event implies the need to reconsider its drivers. This is significant, as some may be similar to mechanisms behind current events. Lessons learned from previous mass extinctions are critical for understanding the current biodiversity crisis; they provide real data on the impact of extreme climate change, repeated perturbations of marine chemistry and redox state, and habitat loss, occurring at varying temporal scales. These insights support the growing concern about a coming wave of (marine) extinctions. Now driven by humans, and at unprecedented speed, some of the mechanisms we are now concerned about have analogues in deep-time extinctions, including the LOME. The Late Ordovician mass extinction event is the oldest of the five great extinction events in the fossil record. It has long been regarded as an outlier among mass extinctions, primarily due to its association with a cooling climate. However, recent temporally better resolved fossil biodiversity estimates complicate this view, providing growing evidence for a prolonged but punctuated biodiversity decline modulated by changes in atmospheric composition, ocean chemistry, and viable habitat area. This evolving view invokes extinction drivers similar to those that occurred during other major extinctions; some are even factors in the current human-induced biodiversity crisis. Even this very ancient and, at first glance, exceptional event conveys important lessons about the intensifying 'sixth mass extinction'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volcanism is a dominant natural source of mercury (Hg) to the atmosphere, biosphere, ocean and sediments. In recent years, sedimentary Hg contents have emerged as a tool to reconstruct volcanic activity, and particularly activity of (subaerially emplaced) large igneous provinces in geological deep time. More specifically, Hg has shown potential as a useful proxy to illuminate the previously elusive impact of such large-scale volcanism on marine and terrestrial paleo-environments. While Hg is now widely applied as volcanism tracer, non-volcanic factors controlling sedimentary Hg content are generally not well constrained. Part of this uncertainty stems from our inability to directly observe a natural unperturbed "steady-state" environment as a baseline, as the modern Hg cycle is heavily influenced by anthropogenic activity. Here we focus on the effects of ambient redox conditions in the water column and shallow sediments (early diagenesis), quantify their influence on the geological Hg record and thereby contribute to constraining their potential impact on the use of Hg as a proxy for deep-time volcanic activity. Constraining these factors is of critical importance for the application of Hg as such a proxy. Many periods in the geological past for which records have been generated, such as the Mesozoic Oceanic Anoxic Events, are marked by a variety of high-amplitude environmental perturbations, including widespread deoxygenation and deposition of organic-rich sediments. We estimate the impact of redox changes and early diagenesis on the geological Hg record using a suite of (sub)recent–Pleistocene and Upper Cretaceous sediments representing oxic to euxinic marine conditions. Our sample set includes a transect through an oxygen minimum zone and cores that record transient shifts in oxygenation state, as well as post-depositional effects – all unrelated to volcanism, to the best of our knowledge. We find substantial alterations to the Hg record and the total organic carbon and total sulfur content, which are typically assumed to be the most common carrier phases of Hg in marine sediments. Moreover, these biases can lead to signal alteration on a par with those interpreted to result from volcanic activity. Geochemical modifications are ubiquitous and their potential magnitude implies that the factors leading to biases in the geological record warrant careful consideration before interpretation. Factors of particular concern to proxy application are (1) the disproportionate loss of organic carbon and sulfur relative to Hg during oxidation that strongly modulates normalized Hg records, (2) the evasion of Hg in anoxic and mildly euxinic sediments and (3) sharp focusing of Hg during post-depositional oxidation of organic matter. We suggest that paired analyses of additional redox-sensitive trace elements such as molybdenum, and organic-matter characteristics, particularly the type of organic matter, could provide first-order constraints on the role that redox and diagenetic changes played in shaping the Hg record as part of checking the attribution of enrichments to volcanic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We identified a ca. 180 Ma diamondiferous lamproite event in Zambia, establishing a link between ultrapotassic volcanism and the early Jurassic Karoo flood basalt province of sub-Saharan Africa. The cratonic lamproites erupted through the Permo–Triassic Luangwa Rift structure, but MgO-rich ultrapotassic magma formation was unrelated to rifting and triggered by plume–lithosphere interactions during the Karoo LIP event. Elevated Li–Zn–Ti concentrations in magmatic olivine (up to 18.5 ppm Li at 86–90 mol.% forsterite) and strong Sr–Nd–Hf–Pb isotopic enrichment of the host lamproites (87Sr/86Sr = 0.70701–0.70855, εNd = −10.8 to −10, εHf = −20.3 to −19.1, 206Pb/204Pb = 16.8–17.5) suggest partial melting of phlogopite-metasomatized lithospheric mantle domains, at approximately 180–200 km depth. The mantle-like δ7Li values (+2.8 to +5.7‰) of the most pristine lamproite samples are compatible with source enrichment by asthenosphere-derived melts, without significant involvement of recycled sedimentary components. This geochemical fingerprint stands in sharp contrast to the negative δ7Li compositions of primitive K-rich volcanic rocks from collision zone settings, where the shallow mantle sources contain recycled sediment. Isotope modelling demonstrates that the sub-Saharan lamproites originate from a MARID-style metasomatized peridotitic mantle source that underwent incompatible element enrichment at ca. 1 Ga, during tectonic activity associated with Rodinia supercontinent formation. Plume-sourced basaltic and picritic magmas of the 180 Ma Karoo LIP interacted with such K-rich hydrous lithospheric mantle domains, thereby attaining enriched incompatible element and radiogenic isotope compositions. Nd–Hf isotope mass balance suggests that up to 25% of MARID-sourced lamproite melt component contributed to some of the high-Ti flood volcanic units. Although large quantities of volatiles can be transferred from Earth's mantle to the atmosphere via plume–lithosphere interactions, it is unlikely that outgassing of mantle-sourced sulphur can exceed the climatic impact caused by the release of much more abundant carbon from thick continental roots. Thus, the excess SO 2 required to account for transient atmospheric cooling during the early Jurassic, coincident with the Karoo LIP event, must have had a thermogenic origin near the surface of Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the geological sulfur cycle are inferred from the sulfur isotopic composition of marine barite. The structure of the 34S/32S record from the Mesozoic to present, which includes ∼50- and 100-Ma stepwise increases, has been interpreted as the result of microbial isotope effects or abrupt changes to tectonics and associated pyrite burial. Untangling the physical processes that govern the marine sulfur cycle and associated isotopic change is critical to understanding how climate, atmospheric oxygenation, and marine ecology have coevolved over geologic time. Here we demonstrate that the sulfur outgassing associated with emplacement of large igneous provinces can produce the apparent stepwise jumps in the isotopic record when coupled to long-term changes in burial efficiency. The record of large igneous provinces map onto the required outgassing events in our model, with the two largest steps in the sulfur isotope record coinciding with the emplacement of large igneous provinces into volatile-rich sedimentary basins. This solution provides a quantitative picture of the last 120 My of change in the oceans largest oxidant reservoir.

The Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP), which is located along the southeastern margin of Tibet, is widely regarded as the erosional remnants of voluminous Permian mafic volcanic successions that were associated with mantle plume activity. In addition, evidence for the eruption of the mantle plume and its signature of lithospheric modification should have been retained in the lithosphere after cooling of the plume. Here we use calculated compressional- and shear wave receiver functions (PRFs and SRFs, respectively) from >750 broad-band stations, together with heat flow and Bouguer gravity anomaly data, to investigate the seismic signature within the lithosphere beneath the southeastern margin of Tibet. Our results from the inner zone (INZ) of the ELIP indicate that the ∼60 km depth of the Moho interpreted from depth-migrated PRF images is consistent with that inferred from SRFs and is deeper than that in the region surrounding the INZ, which shows a continuous positive converted phase at ∼35–40 km depth. The crustal geometry and physical properties show a 15–20-km-thick mafic underplated layer that extends for 150–200 km in the E–W direction and ∼400 km in the N–S direction along the base of the crust in the northeastern INZ and its surrounding region. We interpret the underplated layer as the concealed Emeishan plume hotspot track and suggest that the head of the postulated mantle plume is centred approximately beneath Panzhihua City and its surroundings. We propose a new geodynamic model for the formation of the ELIP, in which the lower–middle crust has been strengthened by voluminous mafic intrusions and underplating, whereas the Yangtze Craton in the plume region has been destroyed by removing the base of the lithosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Generally, the upwelling of a mantle plume is suggested to have led to the formation of the Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP). However, this idea has been challenged by recent geological and seismological studies. In this investigation, three profiles of velocity perturbations crossing the ELIP are drawn following previous tomographic studies, and common conversion point (CCP) stacking of receiver functions in the ELIP is carried out. A slab-like high-velocity structure is revealed, which may be associated with the lithosphere of the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean (LPTO) subducting toward the northeast. CCP stacking of receiver functions shows that the LPTO generated imprints on the 410- and 660-km discontinuities. A comprehensive analysis suggests that the LPTO may have induced large-scale mantle upwelling, which contributed to the formation of the ELIP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permian magmatism occurred widely in the Tarim basin and adjacent areas of NW China, resulting in the emplacement of numerous carbonatite plutons and alkaline rock intrusions, which are likely to have been derived from mantle sources. In addition, at least one large igneous province (LIP) can be recognized in NW China; namely, the ca. 270–290 Ma Tarim LIP, and it can be inferred that the peak age of magma activity is ~ 280 Ma. Therefore, the mantle plume is limited spatially within southern Tianshan and the Tarim Basin and temporally in the Early Permian. Age and field evidence suggest a spatial and temporal relationship between the carbonatites and alkaline rocks within the Tarim LIP, and their genesis is related to the Tarim mantle plume. In this paper, we direct our attention to the mineral assemblages that are related to carbonatites and alkaline rocks which host REE deposits (Wajilitag, Boziguoer) in the northern Tarim Craton. Alkaline rocks typically are related to rifts and/or extensional tectonics, and we suggest that these magmatic and metallogenic events occurred during an extensional regime, possibly related to the Tarim mantle plume event that affected much of South Tianshan during the Permian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth's long‐term climate has been profoundly influenced by the episodic assembly and breakup of supercontinents at intervals of ca. 500 m.y. This reflects the cycle's impact on global sea level and atmospheric CO2 (and other greenhouse gases), the levels of which have fluctuated in response to variations in input from volcanism and removal (as carbonate) by the chemical weathering of silicate minerals. Supercontinent amalgamation tends to coincide with climatic cooling due to drawdown of atmospheric CO2 through enhanced weathering of the orogens of supercontinent assembly and a thermally uplifted supercontinent. Conversely, breakup tends to coincide with increased atmospheric CO2 and global warming as the dispersing continental fragments cool and subside, and weathering decreases as sea level rises. Supercontinents may also influence global climate through their causal connection to mantle plumes and large igneous provinces (LIPs) linked to their breakup. LIPs may amplify the warming trend of breakup by releasing greenhouse gases or may cause cooling and glaciation through sulfate aerosol release and drawdown of CO2 through the chemical weathering of LIP basalts. Hence, Earth's long‐term climatic trends likely reflect the cycle's influence on sea level, as evidenced by Pangea, whereas its influence on LIP volcanism may have orchestrated between Earth's various climatic states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple short-term (<105 years) global warming events ("hyperthermals") occurred throughout the early Eocene. Chemical weathering of continental silicate rocks is considered to have played a key role in recovery from these transient global warming events via consumption of excess atmospheric CO 2. However, although evidence of this negative feedback has been reported for the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the effectiveness of chemical weathering during other transient hyperthermals remains poorly constrained. Here, we newly report early Eocene marine Os isotope records including Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2), the I1 event, and ETM3 at Ocean Drilling Program Site 752 in the southern Indian Ocean. We demonstrate that marine 187Os/188Os increased during the hyperthermal events that were less severe than the PETM. The intensity of continental silicate weathering increased by 18%–22%, 17%–21%, and 13%–16% during ETM2, the I1 event, and ETM3, respectively, compared to the background conditions. Based on a reconsidered formulation of an Os mass-balance model, the intensity of continental silicate weathering during the PETM was reassessed to be a 34%–42% increase relative to the pre-PETM level. Thus, the continental chemical weathering flux during the Eocene hyperthermals may have been up to half as large as that of the PETM. It is noteworthy that the ordering of the changes in continental silicate weathering did not agree with the ordering of the seawater temperature rise among these events. This weathering–warming inconsistency might be attributable to (1) potential underestimation of continental silicate weathering due to the emplacement of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) and related basalt weathering, such as the North Atlantic Igneous Province and Siletzia in western North America, (2) changes in the background level of weathering intensity, and/or (3) a secular decrease in continental weatherability through the long-lasting early Eocene warming trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The southern Indian Ocean has several prominent aseismic ridges recognized as oceanic large igneous provinces (i.e., the Madagascar Ridge, Del Cano Rise, Crozet Plateau, and Conrad Rise) in the off‐axis areas of the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). However, previously obtained magnetic survey lines are sparse and not correctly aligned with the seafloor spreading direction; thus, the detailed spreading history, including the formation of these aseismic ridges, remains an open question. We reconstructed the tectonic history of two segments between the Discovery II and Gallieni fracture zones in the SWIR using newly obtained magnetic data (total and vector magnetic field) and an open‐source magnetic data set. We revealed that the southern Madagascar Ridge and the Del Cano Rise once formed a single bathymetric high and separated by at least Chron 30y, which is quite different from the global age model. In addition, the rises may have formed before Chron 34y, assuming an extinct ridge south of the Del Cano Rise. The two rises have been recognized as having formed by Marion hotspot plume‐induced excess volcanism around the active spreading ridge of the SWIR, which can explain locally isostatically compensated thicker‐than‐normal crust. However, linear magnetic anomalies have not been observed across the main part of these rises, suggesting that magmatic activity controlled by seafloor spreading is unlikely. Like other aseismic ridges in the southern Indian Ocean, these two rises may possibly have been formed partly by continental fragments rather than plume‐induced excess volcanism. Plain Language Summary: The southern Indian Ocean contains several bathymetric high regions previously interpreted as oceanic large igneous provinces. Hotspot‐ridge interaction is considered as the key factor in the formation of such large volcanic structures. However, the detailed seafloor spreading history and origin of these large volcanic structures are not understood as well as those in other oceans because of the vast and remote Indian Ocean. We conducted magnetic surveys and reconstructed a new tectonic history of two segments along the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). We found that the southern Madagascar Ridge and the Del Cano Rise once formed a single bathymetric high and that they separated by at least 66 million years ago. Moreover, the rises may have formed before 84 million years ago, assuming an extinct ridge south of the Del Cano Rise. The two rises might have formed by interaction between the Marion hotspot and SWIR; however, linear magnetic anomalies implying seafloor spreading are not observed in the main parts of these rises. This absence suggests that hotspot‐ridge interaction cannot fully explain the origin of these rises. We cannot exclude the possibility that the two rises are partly continental fragments rather than products of hotspot‐induced excess volcanism. Key Points: Revised seafloor ages up to Chron 31 in the Indian Ocean are obtained by new total and vector magnetic dataOur new tectonic scenario indicates that the Madagascar Plateau and Del Cano Rise once formed a single bathymetric highThe tectonics of oceanic plateaus in the Indian Ocean need to be reexamined, including continental fragment origin [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-marine tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) have apparently experienced at least 10 distinct episodes of intensified extinctions over the past 300 My. Eight of these ten non-marine extinction events are concurrent with known marine-extinction episodes, which previously yielded evidence for an underlying period of ~26.4 to 27.3 My. We performed circular spectral analysis and Fourier transform analysis of the ages of the ten recognised tetrapod-extinction events, and detected a statistically significant (99% confidence) underlying periodicity of ~27.5 My. We also find that the eight coeval non-marine/marine-extinction pulses all occurred at the times of eruptions of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) (continental flood-basalts and oceanic plateaus), with potentially severe environmental effects. Three of these co-extinction episodes are further correlated with the ages of the three largest (≥100-km diameter) impact craters of the last 260 My, which are also apparently capable of causing extinction events. These findings suggest that global cataclysmal events with an underlying periodicity of ~27.5 My were the cause of the coordinated periodic extinction episodes of non-marine tetrapods and marine organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the study of marine large igneous provinces, investigations often focus on the importance of mantle plumes in generating excess magmatism. Few studies, however, have addressed the role of plate boundary processes in promoting widespread and extensive mantle melting. This study investigates how spreading center geometry may have facilitated the emplacement of Shatsky Rise, an oceanic plateau in the western Pacific Ocean. The largest structure within Shatsky Rise, Tamu Massif, was created ∼140–150 Ma at the Pacific‐Izanagi‐Farallon (PIF) ridge‐ridge‐ridge triple junction. Moreover, the PIF triple junction was one of three triple junctions operating in close proximity at the time, as the nascent Pacific Plate (NPP) began to expand in size. This study suggests that the thermal conditions of the NPP, which likely resulted in a large area of thin lithosphere, could have significantly facilitated widespread mantle melting as well as the magmatic expression of any nearby mantle plume. Plain Language Summary: This study focuses on Shatsky Rise, a massive submarine magmatic plateau in the Pacific Ocean that covers an area comparable to California. Magnetics data show that this large igneous province (LIP) began to form ∼140–150 million years ago, near a setting in the plate tectonic system called a triple junction (TJ). TJs occur when three plate boundaries meet at a point; for Shatsky, the TJ consisted of three mid‐ocean ridges. High magmatic fluxes inferred for Shatsky, and particularly for Tamu Massif in the southern portion of the LIP, led previous investigations to suggest that a mantle plume was important in plateau generation. However, although a large number of studies have examined the role of mantle plumes in LIP formation, few investigations address how plate boundary geometry could enhance LIP magmatism. Focusing on the latter, this study finds that the area where Tamu Massif was formed was characterized by thin lithosphere. A broad region of thin lithosphere could have facilitated widespread mantle melting and promoted mantle plume magmatism. Since there are many cases around the globe where LIPs formed near TJs, the relationship between plate boundary geometry and excess magmatic activity should be evaluated for those LIPs also. Key Points: Spreading center geometry and ridge migration of the Pacific‐Izanagi‐Farallon triple junction contributed to Tamu Massif formationA broad area of thin lithosphere at the Pacific‐Izanagi‐Farallon triple junction promoted spatially widespread mantle and plume meltingThis study provides a mechanism for why marine large igneous provinces are often developed near mid‐ocean ridge triple junctions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find that Large Igneous Province (LIP) volcanism, mostly continental flood basalts (CFBs), along with the largest extraterrestrial impacts show significant correlations with mass-extinction events in the Phanerozoic geologic record. The ages of the 6 major marine mass extinctions (≥ 40% extinction of genera) of the last 541 My–the end-Ordovician (∼444 Ma), late Devonian (∼372 Ma), end-Guadalupian (∼259 Ma), end-Permian (∼252 Ma), end-Triassic (∼201 Ma), and end-Cretaceous (66 Ma) extinctions are significantly correlated with high-quality U Pb zircon and 40Ar/39Ar ages of 6 continental flood basalts (CFBs) –the Cape St. Mary's, Viluy, Emeishan, Siberian, CAMP, and the Deccan Basalts, The mass extinctions also coincide with stratigraphic Hg anomalies representing proxy evidence for the synchrony of the extinctions and the basaltic volcanism. Furthermore, ages of 6 minor extinction events (15% to 25% extinction of marine genera) at ∼ 94 Ma, 124 Ma, 134 Ma, 183 Ma, 290 Ma and 510 Ma also coincided with 6 well-dated CFB eruptions (the Madagascar, HALIP, Paranå/Etendeka, Karoo/Ferrar, Panjal and Kakarindji Basalts) and with associated Hg anomalies. At least 3 minor extinction events (at ∼ 145 Ma, 215 Ma and 227 Ma) apparently occurred close to times of oceanic plateau (OP) volcanism in the Pacific Ocean (Shatsky Rise, Angayucham and Wrangellia Basalts). Major and minor marine mass-extinction episodes at times of CFB eruptions were commonly accompanied by ocean anoxic/euxinic events, increased ocean acidity, high atmospheric p CO 2 , increases in UV-B radiation from ozone-layer destruction, and pulses of high ambient temperatures, providing potential immediate causes for the mass extinctions. The 4 most recent major marine extinctions (∼66 Ma, 201 Ma, 252 Ma, and 260 Ma) and a minor extinction (∼290 Ma) coincided with the ages of CFBs and with concurrent mass extinctions of non-marine vertebrates, indicating global-scale volcanogenic environmental crises on land and in the sea. The age of the abrupt end-Cretaceous major mass extinction (66 Ma) overlaps with the age of the Deccan eruptions, but is exactly coincident with the very large Chicxulub impact (180 km diameter crater), possibly the largest terrestrial impact of the last ∼3 By. The ages of the 3 next largest well-dated Phanerozoic terrestrial impact craters (≥100 km in diameter), the Popigai, Morokweng and Manicouagan craters, capable of causing widespread environmental effects, are concurrent with the ages of minor extinction events at ∼37 Ma, 145 Ma and 215 Ma. The significant correlations and the predicted severe environmental consequences of these major volcanic and impact events are very convincing that 12 CFB eruptions, at least 3 oceanic plateau eruptions, and the 4 largest impacts were involved with recognized biotic mass-extinction episodes of the last 541 My, and leave little room for alternate primary causes of the extinctions. • We find that the age of 15 pulses of Large Igneous Province (LIP) volcanism, mostly continental flood basalts (CFBs), and related severe climatic effects are significantly correlated with the ages of mass-extinction events in the Phanerozoic geologic record. • The four largest impact craters of the last 541 My are significantly correlated with the ages of four of the mass extinction events at ∼36, 66, 145, and 215 Ma. • Our results confirm the idea that the mass extinctions in the Phanerozoic were related to the catastrophic climatic effects of LIP volcanism and of the largest extraterrestrial impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) in the southwest Pacific is the largest oceanic large igneous provinces (LIP) on Earth. Detailed seismic structure of the plateau has not been understood well because of sparse seismic stations. We investigated seismic attenuation of the mantle beneath the plateau by analyzing data from temporary seismic stations on the seafloor and islands in and around the plateau. We analyzed the spectra of multiple ScS waves to determine the average attenuation of the mantle (Q ScS) beneath the plateau. We estimated the average Q ScS values for the paths with bounce points located in the plateau to be 309, which is significantly higher than the average (i.e., weaker attenuation than average) estimated in the western Pacific and is close to that of stable continents. We obtained positive residuals of 6 s for travel times of multiple ScS waves, which indicate that the average S velocity in the entire mantle beneath the OJP is low. While the positive residuals are at least partially attributable to the Pacific Large Low Shear Velocity Province (Pacific LLSVP), it is difficult to conclude whether low-velocity anomalies are required in the OJP upper mantle to explain the residuals from the multiple ScS analysis.

We present high-resolution palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic results from 92 successive volcanic units on a 2 km tall Lima Limo (LL) section of the Oligocene Ethiopian flood basalts (OEFB). A total of 85 well-defined flow-mean characteristic remanent magnetization directions representing seven stable magnetic polarity zones with six transitional/excursional directions were determined. These results indicate the identification of four more polarity reversals than previous palaeomagnetic studies; the resulting magnetostratigraphy has, therefore, more polarity zonation. Comparison of this result with the most recently revised geomagnetic polarity time scale (GPTS, hereafter GPTS2016), by using available radiometric age data, could not find a unique correlation. Instead, it strongly suggests the recording of at least one very brief polarity chron or putative geomagnetic excursion. Our magnetostratigraphic interpretation infers that the relative timing between the OEFB eruptions and the Oi-2 global cooling estimated two possible scenarios: one where the lowermost reverse-polarity (R1) interval for the LL section is correlated to Chron C11r of GPTS2016, same as the interpretations of earlier studies, would make a causal linkage between the OEFB eruptions and the Oi-2 cooling less possible; and, the eruption timing estimated in another scenario correlating the R1 to Chron C12r might preserve the probability of its causal influence in the Oi-2 cooling. The resulting overall mean pole for the LL section of this study, 78.2° N in latitude and 213.0° E in longitude (A 95 = 3.4°, N  = 79), is closer to other co-eval palaeomagnetic poles from different regions and the reference pole of Africa. Our analysis of geomagnetic palaeosecular variation (PSV) shows that, compared to the Plio-Pleistocene, the Early Oligocene has higher degrees of PSV but its slightly weaker latitude dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two subvertical gabbroic dikes with widths of ~ 350 m (East-Muren) and ≥ 500 m (West-Muren) crosscut continental flood basalts in the Antarctic extension of the ~ 180 Ma Karoo large igneous province (LIP) in Vestfjella, western Dronning Maud Land. The dikes exhibit unusual geochemical profiles; most significantly, initial (at 180 Ma) εNd values increase from the dike interiors towards the hornfelsed wallrock basalts (from − 15.3 to − 7.8 in East-Muren and more gradually from − 9.0 to − 5.5 in West-Muren). In this study, we utilize models of partial melting and energy-constrained assimilation‒fractional crystallization in deciphering the magmatic evolution of the dikes and their contact aureoles. The modeling indicates that both gabbroic dikes acquired the distinctly negative εNd values recorded by their central parts by varying degrees of assimilation of Archean crust at depth. This first phase of deep contamination was followed by a second event at or close to the emplacement level and is related to the interaction of the magmas with the wallrock basalts. These basalts belong to a distinct Karoo LIP magma type having initial εNd from − 2.1 to + 2.5, which provides a stark contrast to the εNd composition of the dike parental magmas (− 15.3 for East-Muren, − 9.0 for West-Muren) previously contaminated by Archean crust. For East-Muren, the distal hornfelses represent partially melted wallrock basalts and the proximal contact zones represent hybrids of such residues with differentiated melts from the intrusion; the magmas that were contaminated by the partial melts of the wallrock basalts were likely transported away from the currently exposed parts of the conduit before the magma–wallrock contact was sealed and further assimilation prevented. In contrast, for West-Muren, the assimilation of the wallrock basalt partial melts is recorded by the gradually increasing εNd of the presently exposed gabbroic rocks towards the roof contact with the basalts. Our study shows that primitive LIP magmas release enough sensible and latent heat to partially melt and potentially assimilate wallrocks in multiple stages. This type of multi-stage assimilation is difficult to detect in general, especially if the associated wallrocks show broad compositional similarity with the intruding magmas. Notably, trace element and isotopic heterogeneity in LIP magmas can be homogenized by such processes (basaltic cannibalism). If similar processes work at larger scales, they may affect the geochemical evolution of the crust and influence the generation of, for example, massif-type anorthosites and "ghost plagioclase" geochemical signature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negative organic carbon isotope excursion (CIE) associated with the end-Triassic mass extinction (ETE) is conventionally interpreted as the result of a massive flux of isotopically light carbon from exogenous sources into the atmosphere (e.g., thermogenic methane and/or methane clathrate dissociation linked to the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province [CAMP]). Instead, we demonstrate that at its type locality in the Bristol Channel Basin (UK), the CIE was caused by a marine to nonmarine transition resulting from an abrupt relative sea level drop. Our biomarker and compoundspecific carbon isotopic data show that the emergence of microbial mats, influenced by an influx of fresh to brackish water, provided isotopically light carbon to both organic and inorganic carbon pools in centimeter-scale water depths, leading to the negative CIE. Thus, the iconic CIE and the disappearance of marine biota at the type locality are the result of local environmental change and do not mark either the global extinction event or input of exogenous light carbon into the atmosphere. Instead, the main extinction phase occurs slightly later in marine strata, where it is coeval with terrestrial extinctions and ocean acidification driven by CAMP-induced increases in PCO2; these effects should not be conflated with the CIE. An abrupt sea-level fall observed in the Central European basins reflects the tectonic consequences of the initial CAMP emplacement, with broad implications for all extinction events related to large igneous provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the evolution of large igneous provinces showed that the Archean and Early Paleoproterozoic mantle plumes were formed by high-Mg ultramafic rocks and looked like thermal plumes. However, this situation experienced a cardinal change in the mid-Paleoproterozoic ~2.3 Ga, when an irreversible change occurred in the composition of these plumes, providing evidence of an essentially new, geochemically enriched material being involved in the tectonomagmatic processes. Thermochemical plumes like these still exist today and, according to the modern paradigm, they are generated as the lowermost mantle is supplied with fluids released from the liquid outer core. This is in good agreement with the data on the material composition of these plumes containing both fragments of depleted ultramafic rocks of the mantle matrix (green spinel peridotites, mostly lherzolites) and veins of geochemically enriched rocks that were formed during incongruent melting of plume material due to fluids of core origin that were part of the plume material. It is shown that the magmatism during the first half of the Earth's history (Protogean) was different from that of the second half (Neogean) in being nearly completely devoid of elements related to the core-derived fluids (Ti, Nb, Ta, alkalies, etc.). Possible factors that have contributed to this evolution are considered. We discuss the effect this change has had on the tectonomagmatic processes, and on the ecology and evolution of the biosphere. That is to say, we show how events in the Earth's deep interiors affect to the surface processes. We show that the amazing stability of mantle plume composition during the last 2.3 billion years is more likely due to the fact that, in this case, crystallization in the core releases fluid components, which control the character of the intraplate magmatism throughout the Neogean. These fluids are constantly released from the solidifying liquid core along with newly generated mantle plumes, thus providing for stability in the composition of the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compilation of 178 more precise ages on 10 potential Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) across southern Africa, is compared to Earth's supercontinental cycles, where 5 more prominent LIP-events all formed during the assembly of supercontinents, rather than during breakup. This temporal bias is confirmed by a focused review of field relationships, where these syn-assembly LIPs formed behind active continental arcs; whereas, the remaining post-assembly – and likely breakup -related – LIPs never share such associations. Exploring the possibility of two radically different LIP-types, only the two younger breakup events (the Karoo LIP and Gannakouriep Suite) produced basalts with more enriched asthenospheric OIB-signatures; whereas, all assembly LIPs produced basalts with stronger lithospheric, as well as more or less primitive asthenospheric, signatures. A counterintuitive observation of Precambrian breakup LIPs outcropping as smaller fragments that are more peripherally located along craton margins, compared to assembly LIPs as well as the Phanerozoic Karoo breakup LIP, is explained by different preservation potentials during subsequent supercontinental cycles. Thus, further accentuating radical differences between (1) breakup LIPs, preferentially intruding along what evolves to become volcanic rifted margins that are more susceptible to deformation within subsequent orogens, and (2) assembly LIPs, typically emplaced along back-arc rifts within more protected cratonic interiors. A conditioned duality is proposed, where assembly LIPs are primarily sustained by thermal blanketing (as well as local arc hydration and rifting) below assembling supercontinents and breakup LIPs more typically form above impinging mantle plumes. Such a duality is further related to an overall dynamic Earth model whereby predominantly supercontinent-orientated ocean lithospheric subduction establishes/revitalizes large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) during assembly LIP-activity, and heating of such LLSVPs by the Earth's core subsequently leads to a derivation of mantle plumes during supercontinental breakup. Image 1 • More prominent Precambrian LIPs form during supercontinental assemblies. • Advocating a need for two radically different assembly and breakup LIP-types. • Breakup LIPs have a poorer preservation potential than assembly LIPs. • Assembly LIPs form from a thermally blanketed lithospheric/asthenopsheric mantle. • Breakup LIPs form from mantle plumes derived from supercontinent-generated LLSVPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a reanalysis of active‐source wide‐angle seismic data collected along the Greenland‐Iceland Ridge during the 1996 Seismic Investigation of the Greenland Margin (SIGMA) experiment. Interpreting the crustal structure of volcanic rifted margins has suffered from nonuniqueness because thick crust at the continent‐ocean transition may not be totally of igneous origin. In this regard, the Greenland‐Iceland Ridge presents a unique opportunity because, together with the Faroe‐Iceland Ridge, it is generally considered to constitute the Iceland hotspot track, and as such, the bulk of its crust may be considered to be of igneous origin. From 15 ocean‐bottom instruments deployed along a 290‐km‐long refraction transect, we collect 5,383 Pg and 1,118 PmP travel times, and we use joint refraction and reflection seismic tomography with adaptive importance sampling to invert them to construct a two‐dimensional compressional wave speed (Vp) model across the Greenland‐Iceland Ridge. Based on the covariation of crustal thickness and Vp, the western part of the transect may be almost entirely continental. Even the eastern part could include a significant fraction of preexisting continental crust. When considered together with the seismic structure of the Icelandic crust and its geochemical characteristics, our results suggest that the putative Iceland mantle plume could be considerably weaker than commonly assumed. Key Points: A compressional‐wave speed model was built for the Greenland‐Iceland Ridge crustThe ridge may contain a substantial amount of preexisting continental crustThe putative Iceland mantle plume can be considerably weaker than commonly thought [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents new 40Ar/39Ar age determination of basalts from the Franz Josef Land archipelago. The obtained set of dates confirms the predominance of products only of Early Cretaceous age, which is also confirmed by results of paleomagnetic studies. Analysis of the entire set of geochronological data, taking into account information on their magnetic polarity, indicates that the interval of active magmatism occurred at the latest Barremian–Aptian and corresponds to the beginning of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron (C34n) at about 125 Ma. Significantly older age estimates are not related to the time of formation of the FJL basalts as a part of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep‐rooted mantle plumes are thought to originate from the margins of the Large Low Shear Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) at the base of the mantle. Visible in seismic tomography, the LLSVPs are usually interpreted to be intrinsically dense thermochemical piles in numerical models. Although piles deflect lateral mantle flow upward at their edges, the mechanism for localized plume formation is still not well understood. In this study, we develop numerical models that show plumes rising from the margin of a dense thermochemical pile, temporarily increasing its local thickness until material at the pile top cools and the pile starts to collapse back toward the core‐mantle boundary (CMB). This causes dense pile material to spread laterally along the CMB, locally thickening the lower thermal boundary layer on the CMB next to the pile, and initiating a new plume. The resulting plume cycle is reflected in both the thickness and lateral motion of the local pile margin within a few hundred km of the pile edge, while the overall thickness of the pile is not affected. The period of plume generation is mainly controlled by the rate at which slab material is transported to the CMB, and thus depends on the plate velocity and the sinking rate of slabs in the lower mantle. A pile collapse, with plumes forming along the edges of the pile's radially extending corner, may, for example, explain the observed clustering of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) in the southeastern corner of the African LLSVP around 95–155 Ma. Plain Language Summary: Deep‐rooted upwellings in the Earth's mantle, so‐called "plumes", are responsible for volcanism such as Hawaii and seem to cluster around two continent‐sized regions at the core‐mantle boundary that show anomalously low seismic velocities. These regions have been suggested to have a different composition than the surrounding mantle, causing them to be denser and stiffer which allows them to survive billions of years at the base of the mantle without being completely eroded. In this study, we use numerical simulations to show that mantle plumes and dense piles at the core‐mantle boundary interact with each other, potentially resulting in a periodic plume initiation. A starting upwelling increases the pile thickness locally by pulling dense pile material upward. It then cools down, causing a density increase that results in gravitational collapse of the dense material toward the core‐mantle boundary. As a result, this material spreads along the boundary and pushes hot ambient mantle in front of it, thereby triggering a new upwelling, and the cycle starts from the beginning. The main control on how often upwellings are generated is the rate at which material from subduction zones at the Earth's surface reaches the core‐mantle boundary, which relates to the velocity of tectonic plates. Key Points: Plumes can be periodically generated at the margins of thermochemical piles by local pile collapseVariations in pile thickness and lateral motion of the pile edge reflect cycles of plume initiationThe period of plume cycles is controlled by plate velocity and the sinking rate of slabs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1860-Ma within-plate mafic rocks of the Eastern Murman Sill Province were studied in the northern part of the Murmansk Craton, where they compose sheet bodies (sills) up to 100 m thick in Archean granitoids and gneisses. The sills have a simple inner structure, show no macroscopic signs of in situ differentiation even in large bodies, and consist of homogenous medium-grained poikilophitic dolerites weakly varying in composition. Minor variations in mineral and chemical composition of the rocks allow us to regard the mafic sills as I-shaped sills. Their homogeneity is likely caused by the rapid crystallization of aphyric magmas. The studied sills are close to N-MORB in major-element composition, but significantly differ in trace element signatures. The low Cr and Ni concentrations in the dolerites indicate the high degrees of fractional crystallization, while the low HREE and HFSE contents suggest that primary komatiite melts were formed through the high-degree melting of a depleted mantle source. The absence of phenocrysts in chilled dolerites prevented the use mineralogic and petrographic criteria for estimating the crystallization conditions in intermediate magma chambers. AlphaMELTS 1.9 and PRIMELT3 MEGA modelling results indicate that the primary melts could be formed through a high-degree melting of ascending high-temperature mantle plume, with subsequent contamination and fractional crystallization in mid-crustal intermediate magma chambers. The Nd and Sr isotopic composition of the dolerites and constituent minerals suggests that the crustal contamination included several stages. The first, most significant crustal contribution (up to 10%) was related to the contamination by Archean tonalites in the intermediate mid-crustal chambers. This provided negative εNd values and radiogenic Sr isotopic composition (Sri = 0.702–0.704) in the dolerites. The second stage included the upper-crustal contamination during lateral propagation of melts along gentle weakened zones, which resulted in the wide variations of Sr-Nd isotopic composition in rocks and minerals. The third stage was related to the contamination by 87Sr-enriched fluid that is supported by the sharp increase of Sri (up to 0.708) at constant Nd isotopic composition in gabbro-pegmatites. Such fluid could be formed via biotite dehydration caused by heating of host granites by large volume of emplaced mafic melts. The age, volume, and composition of the studied dolerites and similarity with coeval mafic rocks in the Superior Craton indicate that the I-shaped mafic sills in the Murmansk Craton could be formed on the periphery of the Circum Superior large igneous province. It suggests that the Murmansk Craton of the Fennoscandian Shield and the Superior Craton of the Canadian Shield at 1860 Ma were joined into a single consolidated lithospheric block that host within-plate mafic rocks and likely represented an early core of the Paleoproterozoic Nuna supercontinent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southwest (SW) China is located in a transition site from the active Tibetan Plateau to the stable Yangtze craton, which has complicated tectonic deformation and severe seismic hazards. We combine data from ambient noise, teleseismic body and surface waves, and petroleum wells and seismic-reflection profiles to better constrain the crustal shear velocity structure in SW China. We jointly invert the Rayleigh wave dispersion (5–40 s period), Rayleigh wave ZH ratio (20–60 s period), and P -wave receiver function for 114 permanent stations with a stepwise linearized joint inversion method. Compared to previous tomography results, we observe higher shear velocity in the sedimentary rocks within the Sichuan Basin, which is consistent with sonic logging measurements. Our model reveals widespread low-velocity zones in the mid-lower crust, and their boundaries correlate well with major fault systems. Between two main mid-crustal low-velocity channels, a prominent high-velocity region surrounded by earthquakes is observed in the inner zone of the Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP) and around the Anninghe-Zemuhe fault zone. These observations are comparable to regional tomography results using very dense arrays. Based on the results, we suggest that mid-lower crustal ductile flow and upper-crustal rigid fault movement play equally important roles in controlling the regional deformation styles and earthquake distribution in SW China. Our results also resolve thick crust–mantle transition zones beneath the eastern Tibetan Plateau and the inner zone of the ELIP due to 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' crust–mantle interactions, respectively. Our new model can serve as a reference crustal model for future high resolution model construction in SW China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

H–κ stacking is used routinely to infer crustal thickness and bulk-crustal V P /V S ratio from teleseismic receiver functions. The method assumes that the largest amplitude P -to- S conversions beneath the seismograph station are generated at the Moho. This is reasonable where the crust is simple and the Moho marks a relatively abrupt transition from crust to mantle, but not if the crust–mantle transition is gradational and/or complex intracrustal structure exists. We demonstrate via synthetic seismogram analysis that H–κ results can be strongly dependent on the choice of stacking parameters (the relative weights assigned to the Moho P -to- S conversion and its subsequent reverberations, the choice of linear or phase-weighted stacking, input crustal P -wave velocity) and associated data parameters (receiver function frequency content and the sample of receiver functions analysed). To address this parameter sensitivity issue, we develop an H–κ approach in which cluster analysis selects a final solution from 1000 individual H–κ results, each calculated using randomly selected receiver functions, and H–κ input parameters. 10 quality control criteria that variously assess the final numerical result, the receiver function data set, and the extent to which the results are tightly clustered, are used to assess the reliability of H–κ stacking at a station. Analysis of synthetic data sets indicates H–κ works reliably when the Moho is sharp and intracrustal structure is lacking but is less successful when the Moho is gradational. Limiting the frequency content of receiver functions can improve the H–κ solutions in such settings, provided intracrustal structure is simple. In cratonic Canada, India and Australia, H–κ solutions generally cluster tightly, indicative of simple crust and a sharp Moho. In contrast, on the Ethiopian plateau, where Palaeogene flood-basalts overlie marine sediments, H–κ results are unstable and erroneous. For stations that lie on thinner flood-basalt outcrops, and/or in regions where Blue Nile river incision has eroded through to the sediments below, limiting the receiver function frequency content to longer periods improves the H–κ solution and reveals a 6–10 km gradational Moho, readily interpreted as a lower crustal intrusion layer at the base of a mafic (V P /V S = 1.77–1.87) crust. Moving off the flood-basalt province, H–κ results are reliable and the crust is thinner and more felsic (V P /V S = 1.70–1.77), indicating the lower crustal intrusion layer is confined to the region covered by flood-basaltic volcanism. Analysis of data from other tectonically complex settings (e.g. Japan, Cyprus) shows H–κ stacking results should be treated cautiously. Only in regions of relatively simple crust can H–κ stacking analysis be considered truly reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last few decades, the interest in studying intraplate mafic events has increased dramatically, mostly towards the events of Large Igneous Province (LIP) scale. These events provide crucial temporal and spatial constraints for reconstructing global-scale paleogeography back into Precambrian times. Compared to the Kalahari and West Africa cratons, the intraplate record of the Greater Congo craton (GCC) in central-eastern Africa remains largely poorly constrained. Ninety-seven events are currently documented, but only fourteen have been precisely dated and could be considered as potential LIPs. Except for the ca. 1380–1360 Ma Kunene–Kibaran LIP, which contains multiple precisely dated units, most other dated events are based on only a single U Pb age. We present herein a compilation (and ArcGIS database) of these intraplate mafic events in the GCC. Such information is useful for constraining Precambrian paleogeographic reconstructions involving the GCC, for providing a context for coeval and potentially related mineralization, and for identifying key magmatic units for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doleritic dykes with regional orientations WNW-ESE to NW-SE, cut the Paleoproterozoic Birimian formations of the Liptako basement (Ouest-Niger). Mineralogical compositions studied from these doleritic dykes consist of augite (Wo 21-40 -En 24-45 -Fs 13-54), pigeonite (Wo 8-12 -En 45-59 -Fs 31-41), plagioclase, alkali feldspars, titano-magnetite, ilmenite, edenite, apatite, biotite and chlorite. The geochemical affinity of the doleritic dykes in the two trends is similar to oceanic plateau basalts (OPB), with high iron content relative to Mg. Negative Nb, Ti and Ta anomalies and the Y/Nb ratio (1.59–3.15) indicate a continental tholeiitic character for while light rare earth element enrichment, low to moderate Ti contents and the Th/Yb (0.28–0.59) and Nb/Yb (3.25–7.46) ratios suggest sources similar to E-MORB. Their Th/Nb (0.06–0.10), Th/Yb (0.28–0.59), TiO 2 /Yb (0.54–0.82) ratios suggest that the magma was generated by partial melting (5–17%) of a residual spinel-garnet lherzolite, that could have been part of a mantle plume. Relatively low Mg# (36–51) reflect some degrees of fractional crystallization, with some of this differentiation recorded between the margins and interiors of dykes. This differentiation was accompanied by unusually low degrees of crustal contamination, as indicated by relatively low Th/Ta ratios (1.18–2.03). This petrological and geochemical information provides new constraints on the origin of these WNW to NE trending mafic dykes of the West African Craton. • Mineralogical composition of the dykes determined by electron microprobe. • Spatial distribution of chemical elements on the crystals revealed by chemical mapping. • Similar affinity to oceanic plateau basalts and E-MORB suggested by whole rock analyses. • Garnet-spinel lherzolite source and an intraplate setting indicated by geotectonic diagrams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood basalt volcanism involves large volumes of magma emplaced into the crust and surface environment on geologically short timescales. The mechanics of flood basalt emplacement, including dynamics of the crustal magma transport system and the tempo of individual eruptions, are not well-constrained. Here we study two exhumed dikes from the Columbia River Flood Basalt province in northeast Oregon, USA, using apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronology to constrain dike emplacement histories. Sample transects perpendicular to the dike margins document transient heating of granitic host rocks. We model heating as due to dike emplacement, considering a thermal model with distinct melt-fraction temperature relationships for basaltic magma and granitic wallrock, and a parameterization of unsteady flow within the dike. We model partial resetting of thermochronometers by considering He diffusion in spherical grains as a response to dike heating. A Bayesian Markov-Chain Monte Carlo framework is used to jointly invert for six parameters related to dike emplacement and grain-scale He diffusion. We find that the two dikes, despite similar dimensions on an outcrop scale, exhibit different spatial patterns of thermochronometer partial resetting away from the dike. These patterns predict distinct emplacement histories. We extend previous modeling of a presumed feeder dike at Maxwell Lake in the Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon, finding posterior probability distribution functions (PDFs) that predict steady heating from sustained magma flow over 1–6 years and elevated farfield host rock temperatures. This suggests regional-scale heating in the vicinity of Maxwell Lake, which might arise from nearby intrusions. The other dike, within the Cornucopia subswarm, is predicted to have a 1–4 year thermally active lifespan with an unsteady heating rate suggestive of low magma flow rate compared to Maxwell Lake, in a cool near-surface thermal environment. In both cases, misfit of near-dike partial resetting of thermochronometers by models suggests either heat transfer via fluid advection in host rocks or pulsed magma flow in the dikes. Our results highlight the diversity of dike emplacement histories within the Columbia River Flood Basalt province and the power of Bayesian inversion methods for quantifying parameter trade-offs and uncertainty in thermal models.

Our study of mantle xenoliths in the Cretaceous lamprophyre diatremes and late Cenozoic plateau basalts of western Syria has shown that the ancient lower crust that existed in the Cretaceous and was composed of garnet granulites and eclogite-like rocks was replaced by mantle peridotites in the late Cenozoic. We conclude that the heads of the local (secondary) plumes of the present-day Afro-Arabian thermochemical mantle plume responsible for the regional basaltic magmatism reached the basement of the ancient upper sialic crust, where they spread, leading to a displacement of the mafic lower crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Igneous and detrital zircons have six major U/Pb isotopic age peaks in common (2700 Ma, 1875 Ma, 1045 Ma, 625 Ma, 265 Ma and 90 Ma). For igneous rocks, each age peak is comprised of subpeaks with distinct geographic distributions and a subpeak age range per age peak ≤100 Myr. There are eight major LIP age peaks (found on ≥ 10 crustal provinces) of which only four are in common to major detrital zircon age peaks (2715 Ma, 1875 Ma, 825 Ma, 90 Ma). Of the whole-rock Re depletion ages, 58% have corresponding detrital zircon age peaks and 55% have corresponding LIP age peaks. Ten age peaks are found in common to igneous zircon, detrital zircon, LIP, and Re depletion age time series (3225 Ma, 2875 Ma, 2145 Ma, 2085 Ma, 1985 Ma, 1785 Ma, 1455 Ma, 1175 Ma, 825 Ma, and 90 Ma), and these are very robust peaks on a global scale as recorded in both crustal and mantle rocks. About 50% of the age peaks in each of these time series correspond to predicted peaks in a 94-Myr mantle cycle, including four of the ten peaks in common to all four time series (2875 Ma, 1785 Ma, 825 Ma and 90 Ma). Age peak widths and subpeak ranges per age peak suggest that mantle events responsible for age peaks are <100 Myr and many <50 Myr in duration. Age peak geographic distributions show three populations (≤1000 Ma, 2500–1000 Ma, ≥2500 Ma), with the number of new provinces in which age peaks are represented decreasing with time within each population. The breaks between the populations (at 2.5 Ga and 1 Ga) fall near the onsets of two transitions in Earth history. The First Transition may represent a change from stagnant-lid tectonics into plate tectonics and the Second Transition, the onset of subduction of continental crust. The major factor controlling geographic distribution of age peaks is the changing locations of orogeny. Before ∼2 Ga, age subpeaks and peaks are housed in orogens within or around the edges of crustal provinces, mostly in accretionary orogens, but beginning at 1.9 Ga, collisional orogens become more important. The coincidence in duration between magmatic flare-ups in Phanerozoic arcs and duration of age subpeaks (10–30 Myr) is consistent with subpeaks representing periods of enhanced arc-related magmatism, probably caused by increased subduction flux. The correlation of isotopic age peaks between time series supports a cause and effect relationship between mantle plume activity, continental magma production at convergent margins, and crustal deformation. Correlation of over half of the detrital zircon age peaks (and six of the nine major peaks) with Re depletion age peaks supports an interpretation of the zircon peaks as crustal growth rather than selective preservation peaks. Image 1 • A 94 myr mantle cycle is recognized on Earth to at least 4 Ga. • Zircon age peaks comprise subpeaks with distinct geographic distributions and ages. • Ten robust age peaks occur in common to zircon, LIP and Re/Os time series. • Correlation of many zircon and mantle Re/Os age peaks supports crustal growth. • Rapid changes in igneous age peak distributions occur at 2.5 and 1.0 Ga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have devised a new absolute Late Jurassic‐Cretaceous Pacific plate model using a fixed hot spot approach coupled with paleomagnetic data from Pacific large igneous provinces (LIPs) while simultaneously minimizing plate velocity and net lithosphere rotation (NR). This study was motivated because published Pacific plate models for the 83.5‐ to 150‐Ma time interval are variably flawed, and their use affects modeling of the entire Pacific‐Panthalassic Ocean and interpretation of its margin evolution. These flaws could be corrected, but the revised models would imply unrealistically high plate velocities and NR. We have developed three new Pacific realm models with varying degrees of complexity, but we focus on the one that we consider most realistic. This model reproduces many of the Pacific volcanic paths, modeled paleomagnetic latitudes fit well with direct observations, plate velocities and NR resulting from the model are low, and all reconstructed Pacific LIPs align along the surface‐projected margin of the Pacific large low shear wave velocity province. The emplacement of the Shatsky Rise LIP at ~144 Ma probably caused a major plate boundary reorganization as indicated by a major jump of the Pacific‐Izanagi‐Farallon triple junction and a noteworthy change of the Pacific‐Izanagi seafloor spreading direction at around chron M20 time. Key Points: We devised a new absolute Late Jurassic‐Cretaceous Pacific plate modelThis study was motivated because published Pacific plate models (83.5–150 Ma) are variably flawedThe emplacement of the Shatsky Rise Large Igneous Province at ~144 Ma caused a major plate boundary reorganization [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are extraordinary igneous and tectonic events that have influenced the planet in profound ways, including the major turnovers in the history of life. The LIP concept, definitions, and terminology first nucleated in a 1990 workshop jointly arranged by Joint Oceanographic Institutions and U.S. Science Support Program, subsequently presented in a series of seminal papers by Millard F. Coffin and Olav Eldholm in the early 1990's. They combined existing data and information from continental flood basalts with the emerging geophysical understanding of oceanic plateaus and rifted continental margins. The new terminology had major implications within the geosciences and beyond. However, when investigating how geoscientists described and interpreted these vast provinces prior to the 1990's, we are left with a series of questions. Who first realized that LIPs represent extraordinary events in the history of the Earth, what terminology was used, and why were geologists interested in this type of events? Here we discuss some of the key developments in LIP research, including mapping projects, expeditions, international programs, correlations across continents, and the history of the terminology. We focus our discussion on four cases, the Karoo LIP, the Siberian Traps, the North Atlantic Igneous Province, and the Ontong Java Plateau, comprising key examples of LIPs with long histories of study and exploration. We conclude that the past 150 years of LIP-related research and endeavor was largely driven by a need to understand fundamental aspects of Earth evolution, including continental drift, plate tectonic reconstructions, the origin of basalt, mantle processes and plumes, and the role of volcanism in driving mass extinctions and climatic changes. • First thorough discussion of the origin of the LIP terminology • We have reviewed the research relatedthe Karoo LIP, the Siberian Traps, the Ontong Java Plateau, and the North Atlantic Igneous Province. • We conclude that the past 150 years of LIP research was largely driven by a need to understand fundamental aspects of Earth evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are generally considered to be related to mantle plumes and to have a great importance to the supercontinent break-up events, climate change and biological evolution over Earth's history. The high melt production rates of LIPs can be achieved under rigorous melting conditions: an abnormally high temperature, substantial decompression, addition of fusible components, or remarkable enrichment in water. Although it has been repeatedly noticed that water enrichment has occurred in many Phanerozoic LIPs, the significance of water enrichment in the mantle source for the generation of LIPs has not been explicitly highlighted. The southeastern Asian basalt province (SABP), which is thought to have formed by the Hainan mantle plume from a pyroxenite-bearing source, was emplaced over a small area of about 0.037 Mkm2 over a long period of time from 28.5 Ma to Holocene, thus differing from a typical LIP (>0.1 Mkm3 in volume emplaced in one or multiple pulses of less than 5 Ma). In this work, we measured H 2 O contents of high-Mg# clinopyroxene phenocrysts (12–179 ppm H 2 O) from Cenozoic basalts in the northern Hainan Island, which is part of the SABP. These data were utilized to estimate the water content of the mantle source of these basalts, yielding values in the range of 84–360 ppm H 2 O, which are significantly lower than those obtained for many Phanerozoic LIPs (thousands of ppm). After calculating the mantle potential temperature for the Hainan basalts about 170 °C higher than that for the MORB source mantle, we consider that the paucity of source water likely depressed the melt productivity and the velocity of plume upwelling, and induced the Hainan plume to stall at depths of 350–500 km, inhibiting the formation of a LIP by the Hainan plume, despite the occurrence of other favorable conditions. Hence, our results from the SABP provide evidence for the significance of water enrichment in the mantle source in the formation of LIPs. The low water content in the Hainan plume can be attributed to the incorporation of subducted slabs that had experienced significant dehydration. • T p for Hainan basalts is ∼170 °C higher than that for the MORB source mantle. • The mantle source of Hainan basalts contains pyroxenite. • Water contents in the mantle source of Hainan basalts range from 84 to 360 ppm. • The Hainan plume is drier than other LIP-generating plumes. • Water enrichment plays a significant role in the formation of LIPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) are large piles of seaward thickening volcanic wedges imaged seismically along most rifted continental margins. Despite their global ubiquity, it is still debated whether the primary cause of SDR formation is tectonic faulting or magmatic loading. To study how SDRs might form, we developed the first two‐dimensional thermomechanical model that can account for both tectonics and magmatism development of SDRs during rifting. We focus here on the magmatic loading mechanism and show that the shape of SDRs may provide unprecedented constraints on lithospheric strength at volcanic rifting margins. For mapping SDRs geometries to lithospheric strength, a sequence of model lithospheric rheologies are treated, ranging from analytic thin elastic plates to numerical thick elasto‐visco‐plastic crust and mantle layers with temperature and stress‐dependent viscosity. We then analyzed multichannel seismic depth‐converted images of SDRs from Vøring and Argentinian rifted margins in terms of geometric parameters that can be compared to our model results. This results in estimates for the lithospheric thickness during rifting at the two margins of 3.4 and 5.7 km. The plate thickness correlates inversely with mantle potential temperature at these margins during rifting, as estimated by independent studies. Key Points: Develop 2‐D thermal‐mechanical models with realistic rheology to account for effects of tectonic and magmatic loads on seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) formationProvide mappings between SDR geometries and effective elastic thickness (Te) analytically as well as lithospheric strength numericallyRifting Vøring and Argentinian margins have lithospheric thickness of 3.4 and 5.7 km, inversely correlated with corresponding mantle potential temperatures [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Absolute "places of birth" of 155 Phanerozoic carbonatites are reconstructed. • 69% of Phanerozoic carbonatite massifs could be linked with mantle superplumes. • 31% of carbonatites originated close to subduction graveyards in lower mantle. Abstract Geodynamic origin of carbonatites is debated for several decades. One of hypotheses links their origin to large-volume mantle plumes rising from the core-mantle boundary (CMB). Some evidence exists for temporal and spatial relationships between the occurrences of carbonatites and large igneous provinces (LIPs), and both carbonatites and LIPs can be related to mantle plumes. A good example is the carbonatites of the Maymecha-Kotuy Province in the Polar Siberia, which were formed at the same time as the Siberian superplume event at ca. 250 Ma. In this study we use a recently published absolute plate kinematic modelling to reconstruct the position of 155 Phanerozoic carbonatites at the time of their emplacement. We demonstrate that 69% of carbonatites may be projected onto the central or peripheral parts of the large low shear-wave velocity provinces (LLSVPs) in the lowermost mantle. This correlation provides a strong evidence for the link between the carbonatite genesis and the locations of deep-mantle plumes. A large group of carbonatites (31%) has no obvious links to LLSVPs and, on the contrary, they plot above the "faster-than-average S-wave" zones in the deep mantle, currently located beneath North and Central America and China. We propose that their origin may be associated with remnants of subducted slabs in the mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Olivine-free metasomatic mantle-derived xenoliths, frequently recovered from kimberlite and lamprophyre intrusions on the continents, are seldom described from oceanic settings. We report the mineralogy, geochemistry and Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb-Os isotopic compositions of a unique K-rich, hydrous mantle nodule sourced from a 34 Ma ultramafic lamprophyre (alnöite) pipe on the island of Malaita, Ontong Java Plateau, SW Pacific. The Ontong Java Plateau, the most voluminous oceanic large igeous province, has a >100 km thick lithospheric root reminiscent of thick lithospheres that characterize cratonic settings. The phlogopite, amphibole, clinopyroxene and ilmenite-rich nature of the Malaita metasomatic nodule bears striking similarity to cratonic mica-amphibole-rutile-ilmenite-diopside (MARID) suite xenoliths, and it provides a tangible example of heavily overprinted oceanic mantle lithosphere. The nodule phlogopite 40Ar/39Ar age of 44.7 ± 1.8 Ma (95% confidence level) predates the 34 Ma alnöites, but is contemporaneous with 44 Ma alkali basalts on Malaita. Geodynamic reconstructions of the Ontong Java Plateau position within the Pacific realm demonstrate that alnöite magma and K-rich metasomatic nodule formation occurred within a strictly oceanic environment during the Eocene, away from subduction zones. The elevated incompatible trace element concentrations coupled with low highly siderophile element contents suggest that the K-rich metasomatic nodule formed by olivine-absent crystallisation from low-volume mantle-derived melt comparable to alnöite, but not the Malaita alkali basalts. A genetic link between the Malaita metasomatic nodule and alnöite is further suggested by overlapping Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sr 45Ma = 0.70419–0.70423; εNd 45Ma = +3.5; εHf 45Ma = +5.3; 206Pb/204Pb 45Ma = 18.66–18.71; 207Pb/204Pb 45Ma = 15.61). These isotopic compositions are generally more enriched than those of mantle-derived peridotites and 122 Ma plateau-building basalts at Ontong Java, but share similarities with pyroxenite xenoliths from Malaita previously interpreted to represent ancient recycled crustal material. Mixing models between melts derived from fertile mantle and the more enriched pyroxenite, as well as recycled sedimentary material, can account for the composition of the K-rich metasomatic nodule. Extremely low contents of highly siderophile elements and high 187Os/188Os 45Ma (0.1824–0.1997) can also be reconciled with the involvement of recycled crustal components in the complex origin of the K-rich hydrous nodule. K-rich hydrous metasomatized mantle lithosphere could represent an enriched source component that is required for the formation of many oceanic intraplate basaltic provinces. As such, strongly metasomatized oceanic lithosphere provides an alternative to recycled crust components within the convecting mantle to explain enriched mantle signatures observed in oceanic basalts worldwide. However, constraining the volumetric abundance of strongly metasomatized oceanic lithosphere, possibly revealed by seismic mid-lithospheric discontinuities, is required before its importance can be established. The existence of K-rich metasomatic components within oceanic plateau lithosphere may also have implications for Archean continental crust formation models. The K-rich mantle component required to explain sanukitoid magma formation associated with continental crust building TTG magmatism may not be restricted to a subduction channel environment, but it can equally reside within overthickened oceanic lithosphere. Thus, oceanic plateaus away from subduction zones could have served as nucleation points for growth of continental crust during the Archean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP), a Cretaceous oceanic flood basalt province, presumably formed at the initiation of the Galápagos hotspot. During the M81 cruise of the German R/V METEOR, we sampled the Beata Ridge, a prominent submarine structure in the Caribbean Sea belonging to the CLIP. The ridge offers the opportunity to directly sample basement sequences of the central, submarine part of the CLIP, complementing numerous studies of accreted CLIP sequences exposed on land around the margins of this LIP. The majority of the recovered Beata Ridge samples are volcanic, implying that at least parts of the Beata Ridge were formed during a large extrusive event in contrast to previous assumptions that the structure is primarily composed of intrusive rocks. Several stratigraphically controlled profiles were sampled along the western slope of the Beata Ridge using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Kiel 6000 and revealed variously alternating sequences of magmatic rocks (lavas, pillow breccias, tuffs and gabbros) and sediment fields. We report new 40Ar/39Ar age and geochemical (major and trace element, Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotope) data for the recovered magmatic samples. Although the 40Ar/39Ar analyses display partially disturbed age spectra, they suggest an age range of 92.4–76.9 Ma. Thus our age data show for the first time that the Beata Ridge also formed during the main magmatic stage of the CLIP (~95–83 Ma). Previous studies suggested that the Beata Ridge was formed during a second, lower-volume magmatic phase of the CLIP (~81–71 Ma), possibly related to decompression melting during an extensional phase in the Caribbean. Most samples display relatively flat chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns commonly observed throughout the CLIP, but light REE enriched and depleted compositions are also present. The occurrence of enriched and depleted incompatible element and radiogenic isotope signatures implies a heterogeneous mantle source region, as is observed for other LIPs worldwide. Since a high degree of geochemical variability is observed over short stratigraphic intervals within the ROV profiles, melt homogenization did not operate as effectively as commonly assumed for LIPs. Instead the plume head probably preserved some domains of enriched and depleted components. Most of the melts during the main stage have intermediate compositions (with flat REE patterns), representing mixtures of the enriched and depleted components. Highlights • At least parts of the Beata Ridge formed during the main CLIP stage at 95–83 Ma. • Sampling of numerous volcanic rocks indicates a broad extrusive magmatic event. • Depleted and enriched geochemical signatures point to a heterogeneous mantle source. • Geochemical heterogeneities can occur on a small scale of tens of kilometers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]