Rapid hydrothermal cooling above the axial melt lens at fast-spreading mid-ocean ridge

Axial melt lenses sandwiched between the lower oceanic crust and the sheeted dike sequences at fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges are assumed to be the major magma source of oceanic crust accretion. According to the widely discussed "gabbro glacier'' model, the formation of the lower oceanic crust requires efficient cooling of the axial melt lens, leading to partial crystallization and crystal-melt mush subsiding down to lower crust. These processes are believed to be controlled by periodical magma replenishment and hydrothermal circulation above the melt lens. Here we quantify the cooling rate above melt lens using chemical zoning of plagioclase from hornfelsic recrystallized sheeted dikes drilled from the East Pacific at the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Hole 1256D. Weestimate the cooling rate using a forward modelling approach based on CaAl-NaSi interdiffusion in plagioclase. The results show that cooling from the peak thermal overprint at 1000-10506 degrees C to 6006 degrees C are yielded within about 10-30 years as a result of hydrothermal circulation above melt lens during magma starvation. The estimated rapid hydrothermal cooling explains how the effective heat extraction from melt lens is achieved at fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges.DFG/KO1723/12-1DFG/KO1723/12-

ICDP Oman Drilling Project: varitextured gabbros from the dike–gabbro transition within drill core GT3A

Typical gabbroic rocks from dike–gabbro transitions of fast-spreading systems are the so-called “varitextured gabbros”, often showing considerable variations in mineral mode, texture and grain size, which are regarded as the frozen fillings of axial melt lenses. Here, we present a detailed petrographic, microanalytical and bulk-chemical investigation of 36 mafic rocks from the drill hole GT3A, which represent mostly varitextured gabbros, revealing a complex formation with several evolution stages. Poikilitic domains formed first, corresponding to an early crystallization stage, where only plagioclase and clinopyroxene of more primitive composition crystallized. Later, domains of granular textures containing also interstitial amphibole and Fe–Ti oxide were formed. This stage is characterized by a magma evolution that underwent crystal fractionation established by lower temperatures due to more efficient hydrothermal cooling at the margin of the AML. A last stage is characterized by pervasive hydrothermal alteration, where all primary minerals have been altered under temperature conditions, varying from the magmatic regime down to greenschist facies. A highlight of this stage is amphiboles showing noticeable compositional zoning. The observation of peculiar microgranular domains, representing relics of stoped exogenic material from the sheeted dike complex, documents the upward migration of an AML in a replenishment event, forcing the AML to burn through previously altered sheeted dikes. This process is responsible for significant assimilation of hydrothermally altered components, indicated by a marked Cl enrichment in the outer zones of magmatic amphiboles. Petrological modeling involving gabbros and basalts revealed that the GT3A rock suite followed a fractional crystallization evolution trend, with a primitive MORB as parental melt with an estimated water content of 0.2 wt % to 0.8 wt %. The modeled liquid lines of descent suggest a magmatic evolution via fractional crystallization, where the basalts correspond to frozen liquids, while the gabbros, especially the more primitive ones, show a significant cumulate component

A Reference Section Through Fast‐Spread Lower Oceanic Crust, Wadi Gideah, Samail Ophiolite (Sultanate of Oman): Trace Element Systematics and REE Crystallization Temperatures – Implications for Hybrid Crustal Accretion

Oceanic gabbros are the most abundant rocks close to Earth’s surface. Here we present new data from a consistent profile through the paleocrust of the Samail ophiolite (Oman), which is thought to provide the best analogue for modern fast-spreading oceanic crust. Incompatible trace elements of co-existing plagioclase and clinopyroxene fractionate from the mineral core to rim and up section from layered to foliated to varitextured gabbros. Layered gabbro parental melts correspond to mid-ocean-ridge basalts (MORB), and plagioclase Ca# shows a pronounced inverse zonation. Likely, they crystallized in situ from hydrous melts, compositionally buffered by replenishment at equilibrium to MORB and near steady-state boundary conditions. Further upsection, the compositional variability increases. Foliated gabbro rim and core compositions indicate increased fractionation and disequilibrium to MORB, triggered by open-system fractional crystallization within a heterogeneous magma plumbing structure, characterized by magma mixing, varying ambient water activities, and boundary conditions. Varitextured gabbros are chemically diverse with parental melts partially more primitive than MORB, suggesting that primitive melts directly reach the axial melt lens (AML). REE-in-plagioclase-clinopyroxene thermometry compared to and supported by anorthite-in-plagioclase thermometry reveals a relationship of urn:x-wiley:21699313:media:jgrb55525:jgrb55525-math-0001 [°C]=6.1±0.2*An+706±19. Crystallization temperatures of the layered gabbros cover a narrow range of 1216±14°C. Considerable temperature variability of 1077-1231°C is observed further upsection, featuring a thermal minimum within the foliated gabbros. This minimum is assumed to represent a zone where the fractionated descending crystal mushes originating from the AML meet with evolved liquids expelled from deeper crustal levels. Our findings suggest hybrid accretion of fast-spread crust

HETEAC: The Aerosol Classification Model for EarthCARE

We introduce the Hybrid End-To-End Aerosol Classification (HETEAC) model for the upcoming EarthCARE mission. The model serves as the common baseline for development, evaluation, and implementation of EarthCARE algorithms. It shall ensure the consistency of different aerosol products from the multi-instrument platform as well as facilitate the conform specification of broad-band optical properties necessary for the EarthCARE radiative closure efforts. The hybrid approach ensures the theoretical description of aerosol microphysics consistent with the optical properties of various aerosol types known from observations. The end-to-end model permits the uniform representation of aerosol types in terms of microphysical, optical and radiative properties

Silica-rich lavas in the oceanic crust: experimental evidence for fractional crystallization under low water activity

International audienceWe experimentally investigated phase relations and phase compositions as well as the influence of water activity ( aH2O) and redox conditions on the equilibrium crystallization path within an oceanic dacitic potassium-depleted system at shallow pressure (200 MPa). Moreover, we measured the partitioning of trace elements between melt and plagioclase via secondary ion mass spectrometry for a highly evolved experiment (SiO2 = 74.6 wt%). As starting material, we used a dacitic glass dredged at the Pacific-Antarctic Rise. Phase assemblages in natural high-silica systems reported from different locations of fast-spreading oceanic crust could be experimentally reproduced only in a relatively small range of temperature and melt-water content ( T ~950 °C; melt H2O 2O. Low FeO contents under water-saturated conditions and the characteristic enrichment of Al2O3 in high aH2O experiments, in particular, contradict natural observations, while experiments with low aH2O match the natural trend. Moreover, the observation that highly evolved experimental melts remain H2O-poor while they are relatively enriched in chlorine implies a decoupling between these two volatiles during crustal contamination