Mantle process beneath Philippine Sea back‐arc spreading ridges: A synthesis of peridotite petrology and tectonics

Abstract  In order to obtain a general view of the mantle process beneath a back‐arc basin spreading ridge, the diversity of peridotite petrology and tectonic occurrences in two back‐arc basin spreading ridges from the Philippine Sea were examined: the Parece Vela Rift and the Mariana Trough. The Parece Vela Basin spreading ridge (Parece Vela Rift) was a physically fast/intermediate‐spreading ridge, although many tectono‐magmatic features resemble those of slow‐ to ultraslow‐spreading ridges. Two unusual features of the Parece Vela Rift further demonstrate the uniqueness of the ridge: full‐axial development of oceanic core complexes and exposure of mantle peridotite at segment midpoints. The Parece Vela Rift yields a lithological assemblage of residual but still fertile lherzolite/harzburgite, plagioclase‐bearing harzburgite and dunite; similar assemblages are reported from the equatorial Mid‐Atlantic Ridge at the Romanche Fracture Zone and the ultraslow‐spreading ridges from the Indian and Arctic Oceans. The tectono‐magmatic characteristics of the Parece Vela Rift suggest that diffuse porous melt flow and pervasive melt–mantle interaction were the important mantle processes there. Globally, this ‘porous melt flow‐type’ mantle process is likely to occur beneath a segment midpoint of the ridge having a thick lithosphere, typically an ultraslow‐spreading ridge. In contrast, the Mariana Trough is a typical slow‐spreading ridge, exposing mantle peridotite at segment ends. The Mariana Trough yields a lithological assemblage of residual harzburgite and veined harzburgite, a common assemblage among the global abyssal peridotite suite. The tectono‐magmatic characteristics of the Mariana Trough suggest that channeled melt/fluid flow and limited melt–mantle interaction are the important mantle processes there, because of the colder wall‐rock peridotite in the segment end. This ‘channeled melt flow‐type’ mantle process is likely to occur in the shallow lithospheric mantle at the segment ends of any spreading ridges.