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Diapirs as the source of the sediment signature in arc lavas

Nature Geoscience volume 4, pages 641–646 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Island arc lavas, erupted above subduction zones, commonly contain a geochemical component derived from partial melting of subducted sediment. It is debated whether this sediment melt signature, with enriched trace element concentrations and isotope ratios, forms at relatively low or high temperatures. Here we compile and analyse the geochemistry of metamorphosed sedimentary rocks that have been exposed to pressures between 2.7 and 5 GPa during subduction at a range of locations worldwide. We find that the trace elements that form the sediment melt signature are retained in the sediments until the rocks have experienced temperatures exceeding 1,050 °C. According to thermal models, these temperatures are much higher than those at the surface of subducted slabs at similar pressures. This implies that the sediment melt signature cannot form at the slab surface. Using instability calculations, we show that subducted sediments detach from the downgoing slab at temperatures of 500–850 °C to form buoyant diapirs. The diapirs rise through the overlying hot mantle wedge, where temperatures exceed 1,050 °C, undergo dehydration melting, and release the trace elements that later form the sediment melt signature in the erupted lavas. We conclude that sediment diapirism may reduce the transport of trace elements and volatiles such as CO2 into the deep mantle.

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Figure 1: Comparison of pelitic UHP metasediment compositions to average shale, greywacke and loess compositions.
Figure 2: Density of subducted sediments at UHP conditions.
Figure 3: Density of the average UHP metasediment along typical subduction zone geotherms.
Figure 4: Calculated timescale for the initiation of a sediment diapir.
Figure 5: Summary of conditions for sediment diapir formation in global subduction zones.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S. McLennan for assistance in compiling shale and greywacke compositions, I. Wada for providing her slab top thermal models, and C. Conrad, A. Shaw, T. Plank and J. Connolly for insightful conversations. Funding for this work was provided by NSF and WHOI’s Deep Ocean Exploration Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, 360 Woods Hole Road MS #22, USA

    Mark D. Behn

  2. Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964, USA

    Peter B. Kelemen

  3. Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA

    Greg Hirth

  4. Department of Earth Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA

    Bradley R. Hacker

  5. Institut für Mineralogie und Kristallchemie, Universität Stuttgart, D-70174 Stuttgart, Germany

    Hans-Joachim Massonne

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Contributions

M.D.B., P.B.K. and G.H. performed the instability calculations. B.R.H., P.B.K. and H-J.M. compiled the UHP metapelite database. P.B.K. compiled the shale and greywacke database and produced the geochemical figures. M.D.B. took the lead in preparing the manuscript with significant input from all authors.

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Correspondence to Mark D. Behn.

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Behn, M., Kelemen, P., Hirth, G. et al. Diapirs as the source of the sediment signature in arc lavas. Nature Geosci 4, 641–646 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1214

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