Person: Langmuir, Charles
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Langmuir
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Langmuir, Charles
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Publication Comment on "Sensitivity of Seafloor Bathymetry to Climate-Driven Fluctuations in Mid-Ocean Ridge Magma Supply"(American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2016) Huybers, Peter; Langmuir, Charles; Katz, Richard; Ferguson, D.; Proistosescu, Cristian; Carbotte, S.Recent studies have proposed that the bathymetric fabric of the seafloor formed at mid-ocean ridges records rapid (23,000 to 100,000 years) fluctuations in ridge magma supply caused by sealevel changes that modulate melt production in the underlying mantle. Using quantitative models of faulting and magma emplacement, we demonstrate that, in fact, seafloor-shaping processes act as a low-pass filter on variations in magma supply, strongly damping fluctuations shorter than about 100,000 years. We show that the systematic decrease in dominant seafloor wavelengths with increasing spreading rate is best explained by a model of fault growth and abandonment under a steady magma input. This provides a robust framework for deciphering the footprint of mantle melting in the fabric of abyssal hills, the most common topographic feature on Earth.Publication The mean composition of ocean ridge basalts(Wiley-Blackwell, 2013) Gale, Allison; Dalton, Colleen A.; Langmuir, Charles; Su, Yongjun; Schilling, Jean-GuyThe mean composition of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) is determined using a global data set of major ele- ments, trace elements, and isotopes compiled from new and previously published data. A global catalog of 771 ridge segments, including their mean depth, length, and spreading rate enables calculation of average compositions for each segment. Segment averages allow weighting by segment length and spreading rate and reduce the bias introduced by uneven sampling. A bootstrapping statistical technique provides rigorous error estimates. Based on the characteristics of the data, we suggest a revised nomenclature for MORB. “ALL MORB” is the total composition of the crust apart from back-arc basins, N-MORB the most likely basalt composition encountered along the ridge >500 km from hot spots, and D-MORB the depleted end-member. ALL MORB and N-MORB are substantially more enriched than early estimates of normal ridge basalts. The mean composition of back-arc spreading centers requires higher extents of melting and greater concentrations of fluid-mobile elements, reflecting the influence of water on back-arc petro- genesis. The average data permit a re-evaluation of several problems of global geochemistry. The K/U ratio reported here (12,340 ` 840) is in accord with previous estimates, much lower than the estimate of Arevalo et al. (2009). The low Sm/Nd and 143Nd/144Nd ratio of ALL MORB and N-MORB provide constraints on the hypothesis that Earth has a non-chondritic primitive mantle. Either Earth is chondritic in Sm/Nd and the hypothesis is incorrect or MORB preferentially sample an enriched reservoir, requiring a large depleted reservoir in the deep mantle.Publication The Processes of Melt Differentiation in Arc Volcanic Rocks: Insights from OIB-type Arc Magmas in the Central Mexican Volcanic Belt(Oxford University Press (OUP), 2013) Straub, S. M.; Gomez-Tuena, A.; Zellmer, G. F.; Espinasa-Perena, R.; Stuart, F. M.; Cai, Y.; Langmuir, Charles; Martin-Del Pozzo, A. L.; Mesko, G. T.Andesite petrogenesis is inextricably linked to plate processing at convergent margins. The details of andesite formation, however, remain poorly understood because the signatures of the initial arc mantle melts are often modified in the overlying crust. To distinguish initial mantle from crustal signatures in arc magmas, we studied two compositionally zoned Holocene monogenetic volcanoes, Texcal Flow and Volcan Chichinautzin, in the central Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB). Texcal Flow and V. Chichinautzin erupt ‘ocean island basalt (OIB)-type’, high-Nb (17–36 ppm), olivine-phyric basalts to basaltic andesites (49·4–57·3 wt % SiO2; Mg# = 68–50) that show an arc affinity in their major element oxides. At both volcanoes melt SiO2 increases with time. However, systematic changes of melt SiO2 with 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd, the overall low 87Sr/86Sr = 0·70305–0·70453 and high 143Nd/144Nd = 0·51273–0·51299 relative to continental crust, and the high 3He/4He = 7–8 Ra of olivine phenocrysts preclude melt silica enrichment by crustal assimilation and fractional crystallization. Instead, the data require the existence of silicic initial mantle melts. The high Ni abundances of olivines suggest that the silicic melts originate from segregations of ‘reaction pyroxenites’ that formed in the peridotite mantle wedge following multiple infiltrations of silicic slab components. Sequential melting of zoned silica-deficient to silica-excess pyroxenites can reproduce the time-progressive evolution of melt silica content at Texcal Flow and V. Chichinautzin. As initial melts always have high Mg# > 70 regardless of their SiO2 content, the low-Mg# values of the magmas erupted must reflect loss of moderate amounts (<15%) of olivine and possibly pyroxenes at crustal levels. Fractional crystallization and recharge mixing nearly erase all mantle signatures in the most silicic V. Chichinautzin magmas, so that their origin can only be inferred from their association with the more mafic precursory melts. The pyroxenite model implies that ∼15–18 wt % of the erupted melt mass, and possibly more, is slab-derived. We infer that the elements Fe, Mg, Ca and Ti are principally mantle-derived, whereas significant amounts of the elements Si, K, Na, P and possibly Al may be contributed from slab. As blends of mantle and slab materials, the OIB-type Texcal Flow and V. Chichinautzin magmas provide limited indication of the composition of the sub-arc mantle prior to subduction modification, which is inferred to be similar to primitive mantle, but less enriched than the sources of the intraplate magmas behind the MVB volcanic front.Publication Constraints on melting processes and plume-ridge interaction from comprehensive study of the FAMOUS and North Famous segments, Mid-Atlantic Ridge(Elsevier BV, 2013) Gale, Allison; Laubier, Muriel; Escrig, S.; Langmuir, CharlesDetailed major element, trace element and isotopic study of the FAMOUS and North Famous segments within the geochemical gradient south of the Azores platform provides new constraints on controls on chemical variations at the segment scale and the origin of plume geochemical gradients. A comprehensive investigation of 110 samples along the entire length of the FAMOUS segment, coupled with a recent extensive melt inclusion study by Laubier et al. (2012), shows large trace element diversity within a single segment and substantial isotopic variability that largely correlates with trace element variations. Substantial variations are also present along the short (18 km) North Famous segment despite the presence of an axial volcanic ridge. These results confirm multiple supply of magmas along the length of these segments, the lack of a centrally supplied magma chamber, and the ability of melting processes to deliver highly diverse melts over short distances and times. With the exception of one group of high Al2O3, low SiO2 magmas (HiAl–LoSi) largely recovered in the original small FAMOUS area, the data can be simply explained by a two-component mixing model coupled with melting variations. The HiAl–LoSi magmas reflect assimilation and mixing in the crust, an interpretation supported by the diverse melt inclusions in these lavas.Since the mantle heterogeneity reflects two-component mixing, the end members can be constrained. Surprisingly, source mixing between the Azores plume and depleted mantle cannot produce the observations. This is evident regionally from the fact that nearly all basalts have highly incompatible trace element ratios (e.g., Th/La, Nb/La) as high or higher than the most plume-influenced MORB near the Azores hotspot, despite being over 300 km farther south and much less enriched isotopically. To account for the elevated highly incompatible trace element ratios, a metasomatic component formed by adding deep, low-degree melts of Azores plume material to a depleted mantle is required. The regional gradient south of the Azores then requires different processes along its length. Close to the Azores, plume material mixes with depleted mantle. The pure plume influence is spatially restricted, and enrichment farther to the south is caused by shallow mantle metasomatized by low-degree melts from deep plume flow. North Famous lavas are spatially closer to the Azores and yet are more depleted in trace elements and isotopes than FAMOUS lavas, suggesting delivery of the enriched component to individual segments is influenced by additional factors such as segment size and offset. The extent to which these processes operate in other regions of plume–ridge interaction remains to be investigated.Publication Links from Mantle to Microbe at the Lau Integrated Study Site: Insights from a Back-Arc Spreading Center(The Oceanography Society, 2012) Tivey, Margaret; Becker, Erin; Beinart, Roxanne; Fisher, Charles; Girguis, Peter; Langmuir, Charles; Michael, Peter; Reysenbach, Anna-LouiseThe Lau Integrated Study Site (ISS) has provided unique opportunities for study of ridge processes because of its back-arc setting in the southwestern Pacific. Its location allows study of a biogeographical province distinct from those of eastern Pacific and mid-Atlantic ridges, and crustal compositions along the ridge lie outside the range of mid-ocean ridge crustal compositions. The Lau ISS is located above a subduction zone, at an oblique angle. The underlying mantle receives water and other elements derived from the downgoing lithospheric slab, with an increase in slab influence from north to south. Water lowers the mantle melting temperature and leads to greater melt production where the water flux is greater, and to distinctive regional-scale gradients along the ridge. There are deeper faulted axial valleys with basaltic volcanism in the north and inflated axial highs with andesites in the south. Differences in igneous rock composition and release of magmatic volatiles affect compositions of vent fluids and deposits. Differences in vent fluid compositions and small-scale diffuse-flow regimes correlate with regional-scale patterns in microbial and megafaunal distributions. The interdisciplinary research effort at the Lau ISS has successfully identified linkages between subsurface processes and deep-sea biological communities, from mantle to microbe to megafauna.Publication Glacial cycles drive variations in the production of oceanic crust(American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2015) Crowley, John W.; Katz, Richard F.; Huybers, Peter; Langmuir, Charles; Park, Sung-HyunGlacial cycles redistribute water between oceans and continents, causing pressure changes in the upper mantle, with consequences for the melting of Earth’s interior. Using Plio-Pleistocene sea-level variations as a forcing function, theoretical models of mid-ocean ridge dynamics that include melt transport predict temporal variations in crustal thickness of hundreds of meters. New bathymetry from the Australian-Antarctic ridge shows statistically significant spectral energy near the Milankovitch periods of 23, 41, and 100 thousand years, which is consistent with model predictions. These results suggest that abyssal hills, one of the most common bathymetric features on Earth, record the magmatic response to changes in sea level. The models and data support a link between glacial cycles at the surface and mantle melting at depth, recorded in the bathymetric fabric of the sea floor.Publication Response to Comment on "Glacial cycles drive variations in the production of oceanic crust"(American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2015) Crowley, J. W.; Katz, R. F.; Huybers, Peter; Langmuir, Charles; Park, S.-H.Publication Domains of depleted mantle: New evidence from hafnium and neodymium isotopes(Wiley-Blackwell, 2011) Salters, Vincent J. M.; Mallick, Soumen; Hart, Stanley R.; Langmuir, Charles; 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.Publication What processes control the chemical compositions of arc front stratovolcanoes?(Wiley-Blackwell, 2015) Turner, Stephen; Langmuir, CharlesArc front stratovolcanoes have global chemical systematics that constrain processes at convergent margins. Positive correlations exist for arc averages among “fluid mobile,” “high field strength,” and “large ion lithophile” elements. 143Nd/144Nd and 87Sr/86Sr from rear-arc lavas lacking subduction signature align with the oceanic “mantle array,” and correlate with arc front 143Nd/144Nd. Most chemical parameters (but not isotopes) also correlate well with crustal thickness and slightly less well with the slab thermal parameter, but not with the depth of the slab nor model slab surface temperatures. Successful models of arc volcanism should account for these global regularities. Two distinct models can quantitatively account for the observations—different extents of melting of the mantle wedge caused by variations in wedge thermal structure, or varying contributions from the subducting slab owing to variations in the slab thermal structure. Both successful model scenarios require a significant flux of melted ocean crust to the mantle source of all volcanic arcs. The wedge melting model has constant contributions from ocean crust, sediment, and mantle wedge to lavas globally, while the slab model varies slab contributions with slab temperature. The wedge melting model fit improves by incorporating convergence rate and slab dip, which should affect the wedge thermal structure; the slab model is not supported by a similar analysis. The wedge model also more easily accommodates the isotope data. The two models predict different primary H2O contents, with large variations in H2O for the wedge model, and relatively constant H2O for the slab model. An evaluation of the effects of varying sediment compositions on arc lavas will benefit from considering the very different consequences of the two models.Publication Enriched Basalts at Segment Centers: The Lucky Strike (37°17′N) and Menez Gwen (37°50′N) Segments of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge(American Geophysical Union, 2011) Gale, Allison; Escrig, S.; Gier, Elizabeth J.; Langmuir, Charles; Goldstein, Steven L.Basalts from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge change progressively in composition with increasing distance from the Azores platform. Study of the Lucky Strike and Menez Gwen segments reveals much complexity in the gradient. Both segments contain only basalts enriched relative to normal mid-oceanic ridge basalt, but in two distinct groups. Moderately enriched basalts occur throughout the segments, with proximal Menez Gwen enriched relative to Lucky Strike. Highly enriched basalts occur at segment centers. Incompatible element ratios of the highly enriched basalts exceed those of the Azores platform, while isotopic compositions are less enriched. These observations can be explained by a low-degree melt of garnet-bearing Azores mantle added to mantle depleted by previous melt extraction. Melting this “metasomatized” mantle produces lavas that match the enriched samples. The Azores gradient cannot be explained by simple two-component mixing; rather, it reflects recent melt extraction and addition processes related to southward flow of the Azores plume. The Azores gradient also permits tests of segmentation models. Central supply models predict step functions in chemical compositions between segments. Within-segment gradients require vertical supply. Central supply is supported by robust central volcanoes, thicker crust at segment centers, and a step function in isotopes between the segments. The lava diversity at segment centers, however, requires batches of distinct magma that are preserved through melting and melt delivery. Within-segment gradients in moderately incompatible element ratios support a component of multiple supply. The data suggest partial homogenization of magma within a segment and preferential melt focusing to segment centers with some vertical transport.