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Carbon concentration increases with depth of melting in Earth’s upper mantle
Author(s)
Language
English
Obiettivo Specifico
Status
Published
JCR Journal
JCR Journal
Peer review journal
Yes
Title of the book
Issue/vol(year)
/14(2021)
ISSN
1752-0894
Publisher
Nature PG
Pages (printed)
697–703
Issued date
September 2021
Abstract
Carbon in the upper mantle controls incipient melting of carbonated peridotite and so acts as a critical driver of plate tectonics. The carbon-rich melts that form control the rate of volatile outflux from the Earth’s interior, contributing to climate evolution over geological times. However, attempts to constrain the carbon concentrations of the mantle source beneath oceanic islands and continental rifts is complicated by pre-eruptive volatile loss from magmas. Here, we compile literature data on magmatic gases, as a surface expression of the pre-eruptive volatile loss, from 12 oceanic island and continental rift volcanoes. We find that the levels of carbon enrichment in magmatic gases correlate with the trace element signatures of the corresponding volcanic rocks, implying a mantle source control. We use this global association to estimate that the mean carbon concentration in the upper mantle, down to 200 km depth, is approximately 350 ppm (range 117–669 ppm). We interpret carbon mantle heterogeneities to reflect variable extents of mantle metasomatism from carbonated silicate melts. Finally, we find that the extent of carbon enrichment in the upper mantle positively correlates with the depth at which melting starts. Our results imply a major role of carbon in driving melt formation in the upper mantle.
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article
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