Imaging the pulsing Iceland mantle plume through the Eocene
The temperature of mantle plumes may vary on geologic time scales, from a few million years to tens of millions of years. In special circumstances such as near Iceland in the North Atlantic, where the plume underlies an oceanic spreading center, temporal variations in the oceanic crustal thicknes...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Geological Society of America Inc
2007
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40479 |
| _version_ | 1848755882121232384 |
|---|---|
| author | Parkin, C. Lunnon, Z. White, R. Christie, P. Kusznir, N. Roberts, A. Chappell, A. Eccles, J. Fletcher, R. Healy, David Hurst, N. Roberts, A. Smith, L. Spitzer, R. Tymms, V. |
| author_facet | Parkin, C. Lunnon, Z. White, R. Christie, P. Kusznir, N. Roberts, A. Chappell, A. Eccles, J. Fletcher, R. Healy, David Hurst, N. Roberts, A. Smith, L. Spitzer, R. Tymms, V. |
| author_sort | Parkin, C. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The temperature of mantle plumes may vary on geologic time scales, from a few million years to tens of millions of years. In special circumstances such as near Iceland in the North Atlantic, where the plume underlies an oceanic spreading center, temporal variations in the oceanic crustal thickness provide a sensitive proxy for the mantle temperature if, as is likely, the crustal thickness is controlled primarily by passive decompression of mantle rising beneath the spreading center. We show from both seismic refl ection imaging and wide-angle ocean bottom seismometer data from the Norwegian Sea that the temperature of the Iceland mantle plume decreased by ~50 °C over the fi rst 5 m.y. following continental breakup and then oscillated by ~25 °C over an ~3 m.y. period. Similar temperature variations on a 3–6 m.y. time scale, creating strong lineations in the gravity fi eld, are inferred from the regional North Atlantic. They occur both in the period immediately following breakup and at the present-day Reykjanes Ridge south of Iceland, where they create V-shaped ridges as the mantle thermal anomalies propagate away from the center of the plume beneath Iceland. We propose that mantle plume temperature variations of ~25 °C have occurred in the Iceland plume with a similar amplitude and frequency since at least 49 Ma, and are likely to be a feature of all mantle plumes. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:03:22Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-40479 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:03:22Z |
| publishDate | 2007 |
| publisher | Geological Society of America Inc |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-404792017-09-13T13:39:37Z Imaging the pulsing Iceland mantle plume through the Eocene Parkin, C. Lunnon, Z. White, R. Christie, P. Kusznir, N. Roberts, A. Chappell, A. Eccles, J. Fletcher, R. Healy, David Hurst, N. Roberts, A. Smith, L. Spitzer, R. Tymms, V. oceanic crust crustal - thickness seaward-dipping refl ectors North Atlantic seismic refraction mantle plumes The temperature of mantle plumes may vary on geologic time scales, from a few million years to tens of millions of years. In special circumstances such as near Iceland in the North Atlantic, where the plume underlies an oceanic spreading center, temporal variations in the oceanic crustal thickness provide a sensitive proxy for the mantle temperature if, as is likely, the crustal thickness is controlled primarily by passive decompression of mantle rising beneath the spreading center. We show from both seismic refl ection imaging and wide-angle ocean bottom seismometer data from the Norwegian Sea that the temperature of the Iceland mantle plume decreased by ~50 °C over the fi rst 5 m.y. following continental breakup and then oscillated by ~25 °C over an ~3 m.y. period. Similar temperature variations on a 3–6 m.y. time scale, creating strong lineations in the gravity fi eld, are inferred from the regional North Atlantic. They occur both in the period immediately following breakup and at the present-day Reykjanes Ridge south of Iceland, where they create V-shaped ridges as the mantle thermal anomalies propagate away from the center of the plume beneath Iceland. We propose that mantle plume temperature variations of ~25 °C have occurred in the Iceland plume with a similar amplitude and frequency since at least 49 Ma, and are likely to be a feature of all mantle plumes. 2007 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40479 10.1130/G23273A.1 Geological Society of America Inc restricted |
| spellingShingle | oceanic crust crustal - thickness seaward-dipping refl ectors North Atlantic seismic refraction mantle plumes Parkin, C. Lunnon, Z. White, R. Christie, P. Kusznir, N. Roberts, A. Chappell, A. Eccles, J. Fletcher, R. Healy, David Hurst, N. Roberts, A. Smith, L. Spitzer, R. Tymms, V. Imaging the pulsing Iceland mantle plume through the Eocene |
| title | Imaging the pulsing Iceland mantle plume through the Eocene |
| title_full | Imaging the pulsing Iceland mantle plume through the Eocene |
| title_fullStr | Imaging the pulsing Iceland mantle plume through the Eocene |
| title_full_unstemmed | Imaging the pulsing Iceland mantle plume through the Eocene |
| title_short | Imaging the pulsing Iceland mantle plume through the Eocene |
| title_sort | imaging the pulsing iceland mantle plume through the eocene |
| topic | oceanic crust crustal - thickness seaward-dipping refl ectors North Atlantic seismic refraction mantle plumes |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40479 |