Comparative Study of Magmatism in East Pacific Rise Versus Nearby Seamounts:Constraints on Magma Supply and Thermal Structure Beneath Mid-ocean Ridge

Major elements of 2202 basalts from the East Pacific Rise （EPR） and 888 basalts from near- EPR seamounts are used to investigate their differences in magma crystallization pressures and mantle melting conditions. Crystallization pressure calculation from basalts with 5.0wt%〈MgO〈8.0wt % shows that magma crystallization pressures beneath near-EPR seamounts are positively and negatively correlated with Nas and Fes, respectively. However, these correlations are indistinct in axial lavas, which can be explained by chemical homogenization induced by extensive mixing processes. In each segment divided by major transforms and over-lapping spreading centers （OSCs）, near-EPR seamount lavas have higher magma crystallization pressures, higher Fes and lower Nas than the EPR lavas, which indicate cooler lithosphere, lower degrees and shallower melting depths beneath near-EPR seamounts than the EPR. The correlations between magma crystallization pressures and melting conditions beneath near-EPR seamounts imply that the source thermal state controls the melting degree and melt flux, and then melting process controls the shallow lithosphere temperature and magma crystallization depth （pressure）. The cooler mantle sources beneath near-EPR seamounts produce a lower degree of melting and a less robust magma supply, which results in a deep thermal equilibrium level and high magma crystallization pressure. The magma crystallization pressure decreases significantly as spreading rate of the EPR increases from ~80 mm/year in the north （16~N） to ~160 mm/year in the south （19~S）, while this trend is unobvious in near-EPR seamounts. This suggests that the magma supply controlled by spreading rate dominates the ridge crust temperature and magma crystallization depth, while the near-EPR seamount magma supply is not dominated by the axial spreading rate. Because most seamounts form and gain most of their volume within a narrow zone of 5-15 km from ridge axis, they provide good constraint on magma supply and thermal structure beneath the EPR. High magma crystallization pressures in seamounts indicate dramatic temperature decrease from the EPR. The crystallization pressures of seamount lavas are well correlated with mantle melting parameters but in a blurry relationship with axial spreading rate. Despite the adjacency of the EPR and nearby seamounts, the thermal structure beneath the near-EPR seamounts are controlled by their own magma supply and conductive cooling, chemically and thermally unaffected by magmatism beneath the ridge axis.

Large along-axis variations in magma supply and tectonism of the Southeast Indian Ridge near the Australian-Antarctic Discordance

We analyzed seafloor morphology and geophysical anomalies of the Southeast Indian Ridge(SEIR) to reveal the remarkable changes in magma supply along this intermediate fast-spreading ridge. We found systematic differences of the Australian-Antarctic Discordance(AAD) from adjacent ridge segments with the residual mantle Bouguer gravity anomaly(RMBA) being more positive, seafloor being deeper, morphology being more chaotic, M factors being smaller at the AAD. These systematic anomalies, as well as the observed Na8.0 being greater and Fe8.0 being smaller at AAD, suggest relatively starved magma supply and relatively thin crust within the AAD.Comparing to the adjacent ridges segments, the calculated average map-view M factors are relatively small for the AAD, where several Oceanic Core Complexes(OCCs) develop. Close to 30 OCCs were found to be distributed asymmetrically along the SEIR with 60% of OCCs at the northern flank. The OCCs are concentrated mainly in Segments B3 and B4 within the AAD at ~124°–126°E, as well as at the eastern end of Zone C at ~115°E. The relatively small map-view M factors within the AAD indicate stronger tectonism than the adjacent SEIR segments.The interaction between the westward migrating Pacific mantle and the relatively cold mantle beneath the AAD may have caused a reduction in magma supply, leading to the development of abundant OCCs.