Influence of grain size evolution and water content on the seismic structure of the oceanic upper mantle

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree Master of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 2007Grain size is an important material property that has significant effects on the viscosity, dominant deformation mechanism, attenuation, and shear wave velocity of the oceanic upper mantle. Several studies have investigated the kinetics of grain size evolution, but have yet to incorporate these evolution equations into large-scale flow models of the oceanic upper mantle. We construct self-consistent 1.5-D steady-state Couette flow models for the oceanic upper mantle to constrain how grain size evolves with depth assuming a composite diffusion-dislocation creep rheology. We investigate the importance of water content by examining end-member models for a dry, wet, and dehydrated mantle (with dehydration above ~60-70 km depth). We find that grain size increases with depth, and varies with both plate age and water content. Specifically, the dehydration model predicts a grain size of ~11 mm at a depth of 150 km for 75 Myr-old oceanic mantle. This results in a viscosity of ~1019 Pa s, consistent with estimates from geoid and glacial rebound studies. We also find that deformation is dominated by dislocation creep beneath ~60-70 km depth, in agreement with observations of seismic anisotropy in the oceanic upper mantle. The calculated grain size profiles are input into a Burger's model system to calculate seismic quality factor (Q) and shear wave velocity (Vs). For ages older than 50 Myrs, we find that Q and Vs predicted by the dehydration case best match seismic reference models for Q and the low seismic shear wave velocity zone (LVZ) observed in the oceanic upper mantle

Implications of grain size evolution on the seismic structure of the oceanic upper mantle

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters 282 (2009): 178-189, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2009.03.014.We construct a 1-D steady-state channel flow model for grain size evolution in the oceanic upper mantle using a composite diffusion-dislocation creep rheology. Grain size evolution is calculated assuming that grain size is controlled by a competition between dynamic recrystallization and grain growth. Applying this grain size evolution model to the oceanic upper mantle we calculate grain size as a function of depth, seafloor age, and mantle water content. The resulting grain size structure is used to predict shear wave velocity (VS) and seismic quality factor (Q). For a plate age of 60 Myr and an olivine water content of 1000 H/106Si, we find that grain size reaches a minimum of ~15 mm at ~150 km depth and then increases to ~20–30 mm at a depth of 400 km. This grain size structure produces a good fit to the low seismic shear wave velocity zone (LVZ) in oceanic upper mantle observed by surface wave studies assuming that the influence of hydrogen on anelastic behavior is similar to that observed for steady state creep. Further it predicts a viscosity of ~1019 Pa s at 150 km depth and dislocation creep to be the dominant deformation mechanism throughout the oceanic upper mantle, consistent with geophysical observations. We predict larger grain sizes than proposed in recent studies, in which the LVZ was explained by a dry mantle and a minimum grain size of 1 mm. However, we show that for a 1 mm grain size, diffusion creep is the dominant deformation mechanism above 100– 200 km depth, inconsistent with abundant observations of seismic anisotropy from surface wave studies. We therefore conclude that a combination of grain size evolution and a hydrated upper mantle is the most likely explanation for both the isotropic and anisotropic seismic structure of the oceanic upper mantle. Our results also suggest that melt extraction from the mantle will be significantly more efficient than predicted in previous modeling studies that assumed grain sizes of ~1 mm.Funding for this research was provided by NSF Grants EAR-06-52707 and EAR-07-38880

Prediction of silicate melt viscosity from electrical conductivity : a model and its geophysical implications

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 14 (2013): 1685–1692, doi:10.1002/ggge.20103.Our knowledge of magma dynamics would be improved if geophysical data could be used to infer rheological constraints in melt-bearing zones. Geophysical images of the Earth's interior provide frozen snapshots of a dynamical system. However, knowledge of a rheological parameter such as viscosity would constrain the time-dependent dynamics of melt bearing zones. We propose a model that relates melt viscosity to electrical conductivity for naturally occurring melt compositions (including H2O) and temperature. Based on laboratory measurements of melt conductivity and viscosity, our model provides a rheological dimension to the interpretation of electromagnetic anomalies caused by melt and partially molten rocks (melt fraction ~ >0.7).We acknowledge partial support under NASA USRA subaward 02153–04, NSF EAR 0739050, and the ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) Exploration Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.2013-12-1

The electrical structure of the central Pacific upper mantle constrained by the NoMelt experiment

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 16 (2015): 1115–1132, doi:10.1002/2014GC005709.The NoMelt experiment imaged the mantle beneath 70 Ma Pacific seafloor with the aim of understanding the transition from the lithosphere to the underlying convecting asthenosphere. Seafloor magnetotelluric data from four stations were analyzed using 2-D regularized inverse modeling. The preferred electrical model for the region contains an 80 km thick resistive (>103 Ωm) lithosphere with a less resistive (∼50 Ωm) underlying asthenosphere. The preferred model is isotropic and lacks a highly conductive (≤10 Ωm) layer under the resistive lithosphere that would be indicative of partial melt. We first examine temperature profiles that are consistent with the observed conductivity profile. Our profile is consistent with a mantle adiabat ranging from 0.3 to 0.5°C/km. A choice of the higher adiabatic gradient means that the observed conductivity can be explained solely by temperature. In contrast, a 0.3°C/km adiabat requires an additional mechanism to explain the observed conductivity profile. Of the plausible mechanisms, H2O, in the form of hydrogen dissolved in olivine, is the most likely explanation for this additional conductivity. Our profile is consistent with a mostly dry lithosphere to 80 km depth, with bulk H2O contents increasing to between 25 and 400 ppm by weight in the asthenosphere with specific values dependent on the choice of laboratory data set of hydrous olivine conductivity and the value of mantle oxygen fugacity. The estimated H2O contents support the theory that the rheological lithosphere is a result of dehydration during melting at a mid-ocean ridge with the asthenosphere remaining partially hydrated and weakened as a result.Funding for the NoMELT experiment was provided by the National Science Foundation through the following grant numbers: OCE-0927172, OCE-0928270, OCE-1459649, and OCE-0928663.2015-10-1

Structure of the lithosphere beneath the Barotse Basin, western Zambia, from magnetotelluric data.

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2019. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Tectonics, 38(2), (2019):666-686. doi:10.1029/2018TC005246.A magnetotelluric survey in the Barotse Basin of western Zambia shows clear evidence for thinned lithosphere beneath an orogenic belt. The uppermost asthenosphere, at a depth of 60–70 km, is highly conductive, suggestive of the presence of a small amount of partial melt, despite the fact that there is no surface expression of volcanism in the region. Although the data support the presence of thicker cratonic lithosphere to the southeast of the basin, the lithospheric thickness is not well resolved and models show variations ranging from ~80 to 150 km in this region. Similarly variable is the conductivity of the mantle beneath the basin and immediately beneath the cratonic lithosphere to the southeast, although the conductivity is required to be elevated compared to normal lithospheric mantle. In a general sense, two classes of model are compatible with the magnetotelluric data: one with a moderately conductive mantle and one with more elevated conductivities. This latter class would be consistent with the impingement of a stringer of plume‐fed melt beneath the cratonic lithosphere, with the melt migrating upslope to thermally erode lithosphere beneath the orogenic belt that is overlain by the Barotse Basin. Such processes are potentially important for intraplate volcanism and also for development or propagation of rifting as lithosphere is thinned and weakened by melt. Both models show clear evidence for thinning of the lithosphere beneath the orogenic belt, consistent with elevated heat flow data in the region.Funding for MT acquisition and analysis was provided by the National Science Foundation grant EAR‐1010432 through the Continental Dynamics Program. The data used in this study are available for download at the IRIS Data Management Center through the DOI links cited in Jones et al. (2003–2008; https://doi.org/10.17611/DP/EMTF/SAMTEX) and Evans et al. (2012; https://doi.org/10.17611/DP/EMTF/PRIDE/ZAM). We would like to thank the field crew from the Geological Survey Department, Zambia, for their assistance in collecting data. Matthew Chamberlain, David Margolius, and Colin Skinner, formerly of Northeastern University, are also thanked for their field assistance. Data are available from the corresponding author pending their submission to the IRIS DMC repository at which point they will be publically available. This is Oklahoma State University, Boone Pickens School of Geology contribution number 2019‐99.2019-07-3

Imaging the Alboran Domain from a marine MT survey

European Geosciences Union General Assembly 22-27 April 2012, Vienna, Austria.-- 1 pageOn the Western edge of the Mediterranean, the slow convergence of the Iberian and African plates is marked by very intricate tectonic activity, marked by a combination of small-scale subduction and sub-lithospheric downwelling. Delamination or convective instability has also been proposed to have occurred beneath this domain during the past 25 My. And different geodynamic models have been proposed to explain the lithospheric structure of the arc-shaped belt (Betic and Rif orogenies) and the opening of the Alboran Basin. As part of several international projects carried out in this area, magnetotelluric (MT) methods have been used to explore the crust and upper mantle. The measurements of mantle electrical conductivity are a well known complement to measurements of seismic velocity. Conductivity is sensitive to temperature, composition and hydration of the mantle, and therefore MT is widely used to provide constraints on mantle processes. We present results of electromagnetic studies in the Western Mediterranean, focusing specially in the recently work on the Alboran sea as part of a marine MT survey. Land MT studies have already imaged an area of low resistivity coincident with an area of low velocities without earthquake hypocenters, interpreted as asthenospheric material intruded by the lateral lithospheric tearing and breaking-off of the east-directed subducting Ligurian slab under the Alboran Domain. The marine data show complex MT response functions with strong distortion due to seafloor topography and coast effect, suggesting a fairly resistive lithosphere beneath the seafloor. The marine MT data also shows an anomalous conductive slab towards the Eastern Alboran basin, suggesting a possible hydration of mantle material from an Eastward subducting slab. Both the land and marine MT data suggest that the most likely scenario for the opening of the Alboran Basin is related to the westward rollback of the Ligurian subducting slab.Peer Reviewe

Imaging the Alboran Domain using a Marine Electromagnetic Survey

AAPG European Regional Conference & Exhibition. Exploring The Mediterranean: New Concepts In An Ancient Seaway, 8-10 April 2013, Barcelona, SpainOn the Western edge of the Mediterranean, the slow convergence of the Iberian and African plates is marked by very intricate tectonic activity, marked by a combination of small-scale subduction and sub-lithospheric downwelling. Delamination or convective instability has also been proposed to have occurred beneath this domain during the past 25 My. And different geodynamic models have been proposed to explain the lithospheric structure of the arc-shaped belt (Betic and Rif orogenies) and the opening of the Alboran Basin. As part of several international projects carried out in this area, magnetotelluric (MT) methods have been used to explore the crust and upper mantle. We present results of electromagnetic studies in the Western Mediterranean, focusing specially in the recently work on the Alboran sea as part of a marine MT survey. Land MT studies have already imaged an area of low resistivity coincident with an area of low velocities without earthquake hypocenters, interpreted as asthenospheric material intruded by the lateral lithospheric tearing and breaking-off of the east-directed subducting Ligurian slab under the Alboran Domain. The marine data show complex MT response functions with strong distortion due to seafloor topography and coast effect, suggesting a fairly resistive lithosphere beneath the seafloor. The 3D marine MT inversion model shows an anomalous conductive slab towards the Eastern Alboran basin, suggesting a possible hydration of mantle material from an Eastward subducting slab. Both the land and marine MT data suggest that the most likely scenario for the opening of the Alboran Basin is related to the westward rollback of the Ligurian subducting slabPeer Reviewe