Low-degree mantle melting controls the deep seismicity and explosive volcanism of the Gakkel Ridge


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Vera.Schlindwein [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

The world’s strongest known spreading-related seismicity swarm occurred in 1999 in a segment of the Gakkel Ridge located at 85°E as a consequence of an effusive-explosive submarine volcanic eruption. The data of a seismic network deployed on ice floes were used to locate hundreds of local earthquakes down to ∼25 km depth and to build a seismic tomography model under the volcanic area. Here we show the seismicity and the distribution of seismic velocities together with the 3D magmatic-thermomechanical numerical model, which demonstrate how a magma reservoir under the Gakkel Ridge may form, rise and trigger volcanic eruptions in the rift valley. The ultraslow spreading rates with low mantle potential temperatures appear to be a critical factor in the production of volatile-rich, low-degree mantle melts that are focused toward the magma reservoirs within narrow magmatic sections. The degassing of these melts is the main cause of the explosive submarine eruptions.



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Published
Eprint ID
56208
DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-30797-4

Cite as
Koulakov, I. , Schlindwein, V. , Liu, M. , Gerya, T. , Jakovlev, A. and Ivanov, A. (2022): Low-degree mantle melting controls the deep seismicity and explosive volcanism of the Gakkel Ridge , Nature Communications, 13 (3122) . doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30797-4


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