Gravitational lithosphere removal in continental interior has been inferred from various observations, including anomalous surface deflections and magmatism. We use numerical models and a simplified theoretical analysis to investigate how lithosphere removal can be recognized in the magmatic record. One style of removal is a Rayleigh-Taylor-type instability, where removal occurs through drippin...

New estimates of the thickness of the lunar highlands crust based on data from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission, allow us to reassess the abundances of refractory elements in the Moon. Previous estimates of the Moon fall into two distinct groups: earthlike and a 50% enrichment in the Moon compared with the Earth. Revised crustal thicknesses and compositional information from...

The generation and evolution of Earth's continental crust has played a fundamental role in the development of the planet. Its formation modified the composition of the mantle, contributed to the establishment of the atmosphere, and led to the creation of ecological niches important for early life. Here we show that in the Archean, the formation and stabilization of continents also controlled th...

Geochemical observations place several constraints on geophysical processes in the mantle, including a requirement to maintain several distinct reservoirs. Geophysical constraints limit plausible physical locations of these reservoirs to a thin basal layer, isolated deep 'piles' of material under large-scale mantle upwellings, high-viscosity blobs/plums or thin strips throughout the mantle, or ...

Oxygen isotope ratios of olivine in 23 tholeiites from the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project (HSDP) core (15 from Mauna Kea, 8 from Mauna Loa) and three samples of outcropping subaerial or dredged submarine Mauna Kea lavas have been measured by laser fluorination. The ~18o values are 4.6-5.4 %o, confirming previous observations that some Hawaiian lavas are derived from sources with ~18o values...

The Bransfield Strait is a tectonically active back-arc rift basin located between the South Shetland archipelago (SSI) and Antarctic Peninsula (AP). We use teleseismic P-wave receiver functions from twelve seismic stations in order to improve current understanding of crustal upper mantle structure region. calculate thickness average Vp/Vs ratio crust, Mantle Transition Zone (MTZ) their spatial...

At fast and superfast spreading mid-ocean ridges, such as the East Pacific Rise, a plate boundary is defined by a narrow (tens to hundreds of meters wide) neovolcanic zone within which the bulk of the upper oceanic crust is created. However, detailed near-bottom observations indicate that the volcanic construction may occasionally persist several kilometers off of the ridge axis. It has been pr...

Trace element signatures of mantle xenoliths along an east-west transect extending from the Sierra Nevada to the Colorado Plateau were investigated in this study. Those beneath the Sierra Nevada are highly enriched in fluid-mobile elements (Cs, Pb, U, and Sr) and, in particular, are characterized by low U/Pb and high Sr/Nd. These signatures imply that aqueous fluids derived by dehydration of se...

Multi-element abundances in twenty-four samples from the Serra Geral continental flood basalt system (Parana Basin) were determined by INAA to assess the trace element signature of primary magmatric sources. Isotopic Sr and Nd data were obtained on a 24-sample composite and three individual samples of the suite to constrain the influences of older enriched material. Twenty basaltic samples have...

Linear, north–south trending Peddavura greenstone belt occurs in easternmost part of the Dharwar Craton. It consists of pillowed basalts, basaltic andesites, andesites (BBA) and rhyolites interlayered with ferruginous chert that were formed under submarine condition. Rhyolites were divided into typeI and II based on their REE abundances and HREE fractionation. Rb–Sr and Sm–Nd isotope studies we...