Salters
Vincent J. M.
Salters
Vincent J. M.
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ArticleDevelopment and evolution of detachment faulting along 50 km of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 16.5°N(John Wiley & Sons, 2014-12-05) Smith, Deborah K. ; Schouten, Hans A. ; Dick, Henry J. B. ; Cann, Johnson R. ; Salters, Vincent J. M. ; Marschall, Horst R. ; Ji, Fuwu ; Yoerger, Dana R. ; Sanfilippo, Alessio ; Parnell-Turner, Ross ; Palmiotto, Camilla ; Zheleznov, Alexei ; Bai, Hailong ; Junkin, Will ; Urann, Ben ; Dick, Spencer ; Sulanowska, Margaret ; Lemmond, Peter ; Curry, ScottA multifaceted study of the slow spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) at 16.5°N provides new insights into detachment faulting and its evolution through time. The survey included regional multibeam bathymetry mapping, high-resolution mapping using AUV Sentry, seafloor imaging using the TowCam system, and an extensive rock-dredging program. At different times, detachment faulting was active along ∼50 km of the western flank of the study area, and may have dominated spreading on that flank for the last 5 Ma. Detachment morphologies vary and include a classic corrugated massif, noncorrugated massifs, and back-tilted ridges marking detachment breakaways. High-resolution Sentry data reveal a new detachment morphology; a low-angle, irregular surface in the regional bathymetry is shown to be a finely corrugated detachment surface (corrugation wavelength of only tens of meters and relief of just a few meters). Multiscale corrugations are observed 2–3 km from the detachment breakaway suggesting that they formed in the brittle layer, perhaps by anastomosing faults. The thin wedge of hanging wall lavas that covers a low-angle (6°) detachment footwall near its termination are intensely faulted and fissured; this deformation may be enhanced by the low angle of the emerging footwall. Active detachment faulting currently is limited to the western side of the rift valley. Nonetheless, detachment fault morphologies also are present over a large portion of the eastern flank on crust >2 Ma, indicating that within the last 5 Ma parts of the ridge axis have experienced periods of two-sided detachment faulting.
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PreprintIsotopic constraints on the genesis and evolution of basanitic lavas at Haleakala, Island of Maui, Hawaii( 2016-08) Phillips, Erin H. ; Sims, Kenneth W. W. ; Sherrod, David R. ; Salters, Vincent J. M. ; Blusztajn, Jerzy S. ; Dulai, HenriettaTo understand the dynamics of solid mantle upwelling and melting in the Hawaiian plume, we present new major and trace element data, Nd, Sr, Hf, and Pb isotopic compositions, and 238U-230Th-226Ra and 235U-231Pa-227Ac activities for 13 Haleakala Crater nepheline normative basanites with ages ranging from ~900 to 4100 yr B.P.. These basanites of the Hana Volcanics exhibit an enrichment in incompatible trace elements and a more depleted isotopic signature than similarly aged Hawaiian shield lavas from Kilauea and Mauna Loa. Here we posit that as the Pacific lithosphere beneath the active shield volcanoes moves away from the center of the Hawaiian plume, increased incorporation of an intrinsic depleted component with relatively low 206Pb/204Pb produces the source of the basanites of the Hana Volcanics. Haleakala Crater basanites have average (230Th/238U) of 1.23 (n=13), average age-corrected (226Ra/230Th) of 1.25 (n=13), and average (231Pa/235U) of 1.67 (n=4), significantly higher than Kilauea and Mauna Loa tholeiites. U-series modeling shows that solid mantle upwelling velocity for Haleakala Crater basanites ranges from ~0.7 to 1.0 cm/yr, compared to ~10 to 20 cm/yr for tholeiites and ~1 to 2 cm/yr for alkali basalts. These modeling results indicate that solid mantle upwelling rates and porosity of the melting zone are lower for Hana Volcanics basanites than for shield-stage tholeiites from Kilauea and Mauna Loa and alkali basalts from Hualalai. The melting rate, which is directly proportional to both the solid mantle upwelling rate and the degree of melting, is therefore greatest in the center of the Hawaiian plume and lower on its periphery. Our results indicate that solid mantle upwelling velocity is at least 10 times higher at the center of the plume than at its periphery under Haleakala.
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ArticleIsotope and trace element insights into heterogeneity of subridge mantle(John Wiley & Sons, 2014-06-16) Mallick, Soumen ; Dick, Henry J. B. ; Sachi-Kocher, Afi ; Salters, Vincent J. M.Geochemical data for abyssal peridotites are used to determine the relationship to mid-ocean ridge basalts from several locations at ridge segments on the SW Indian Ridge (SWIR), the Mid-Cayman-Rise (MCR), and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). Based on chemical and petrological criteria peridotites are categorized as being either dominantly impregnated with melt or being residual after recent melting. Those that are considered impregnated with melt also have isotopic compositions similar to the basalts indicating impregnation by an aggregate MORB melt. A SWIR and MCR residual peridotite Nd-isotopic compositions partly overlap the Nd-isotopic compositions of the basalts but extend to more radiogenic compositions. The differences between peridotite and basalt Nd-isotopic compositions can be explained by incorporating a low-solidus component with enriched isotopic signature in the subridge mantle: a component that is preferentially sampled by the basalts. At the MAR, peridotites and associated basalts have overlapping Nd-isotopic compositions, suggesting a more homogeneous MORB mantle. The combined chemistry and petrography indicates a complex history with several depletion and enrichment events. The MCR data indicate that a low-solidus component can be a ubiquitous component of the asthenosphere. Residual abyssal peridotites from limited geographic areas also show significant chemical variations that could be associated with initial mantle heterogeneities related to events predating the ridge-melting event. Sm-Nd model ages for possible earlier depletion events suggest these could be as old as 2.4 Ga.
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ArticleDomains of depleted mantle : new evidence from hafnium and neodymium isotopes(American Geophysical Union, 2011-08-02) Salters, Vincent J. M. ; Mallick, Soumen ; Hart, Stanley R. ; Langmuir, Charles H. ; Stracke, AndreasIsotope systematics of basalts provide information on the distribution of mantle components and the length scale of mantle heterogeneity. To obtain this information, high data and sampling density are crucial. We present hafnium and neodymium isotope data on more than 400 oceanic volcanics. Over length scales of several hundred to over one thousand kilometers hafnium and neodymium isotopes of mid-ocean ridge basalts are correlated and form an array of parallel trends on a global scale. On a larger scale these domains differ in the amount of highly depleted mantle material with radiogenic hafnium and neodymium isotope ratios. Compared to the Atlantic and Indian Ocean basins the asthenosphere of the Pacific basin seems to have a more uniform and a less radiogenic Hf isotopic composition for a given Nd isotopic composition. The parallel arrays of mid-ocean ridge basalts provide strong constraints on the makeup of the MORB mantle and are evidence for the presence of a highly depleted and highly radiogenic neodymium and hafnium component. This component, because of its highly depleted character, is unrecognized in the strontium-neodymium-lead isotope systems alone. Alternatively, the parallel arrays can have an ancient origin of systematic variations in the degree of depletion. Each array then represents the variations in this fossil melting regime. Individual ocean island basalt suites display different slopes in hafnium-neodymium isotope space, which are also best explained by varying amounts of highly residual mantle rather than isotopic differences in enriched mantle components as previously invoked. The ocean island basalt arrays diverge at the depleted end and project to radiogenic compositions that are similar to those of the asthenosphere through which they travel. This is strong evidence that the plume material interacts with its surrounding mantle as it ascends. The isotopic compositions of the ocean island and ridge basalts suggest that their systematics are influenced by a heretofore unrecognized depleted component.