Open AccessResearch Spotlight: Characterizing channels for transport of melt in mantle
Author(s) -
Kumar Mohi,
Ofori Leslie,
Tretkoff Ernie
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/eo091i038p00344-03
Subject(s) - mantle (geology) , geology , crust , earth's internal heat budget , mantle convection , mid ocean ridge , mantle wedge , geophysics , petrology , lithosphere , tectonics , paleontology
Rock in the Earth's mantle, for example, beneath mid‐ocean ridge spreading centers, melts as it upwells toward the surface. This buoyant melt rises through the mantle to the surface, where it solidifies and becomes part of the Earth's crust. However, the pathways through which mantle melt migrates have not been well understood. It had been suggested that channels through highly porous dunite rock provided pathways for mantle melt, but the depth and other features of these channels have not been known.