Hydrous regions of the mantle transition zone lie beneath areas of
intraplate volcanism
Abstract
Great volumes of water are carried downward into the mantle transition
zone (MTZ, 410-670 km depth) by subducting slabs. If this water is later
drawn upward, the resulting mantle melting may generate intraplate
volcanism (IPV). Despite its importance, the amount and spatial
distribution of water within the MTZ, and its impact on IPV, are poorly
constrained. Here we use a series of plate tectonic reconstructions to
estimate rates and positions of water injection into the MTZ by
subducted slabs during the past 400 Myr. This allows us to construct
maps of heterogeneous MTZ hydration, which we then compare to IPV
locations since 200 Ma. We find a statistically significant correlation
between wet regions of the MTZ and locations of IPV at the surface, but
only if water remains stored in the MTZ for periods of 30-100 Myr after
being carried there by slabs. We find that 42-68% of IPV is underlain
by wet MTZ, with higher correlations associated with longer MTZ
residence time, slower slab sinking rates, and longer time periods
between MTZ hydration and IPV eruption. The correlation is highest
during the Jurassic, when more extensive slab interaction with the MTZ
caused a wider area of the MTZ to become hydrated. Parts of the MTZ near
the western Pacific, southern Africa, and western Europe, have remained
dry by avoiding wet slabs. Hydrous upwellings rising from the MTZ, some
driven by interactions with subducting slabs, may be responsible for IPV
rising from wet MTZ regions.