Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

High mantle temperatures following rifting caused by continental insulation

Nature Geoscience volume 6, pages 391–394 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

This article has been updated

Abstract

The distribution of continents is thought to influence the temperature of the underlying mantle. Over geological timescales, insulation effects generate a build-up of heat that may cause increased magmatism1,2,3,4, such as flood basalt volcanism5,6, and ultimately rift the continents, causing them to break apart and new ocean basins to form. Here we use analyses of the major element geochemistry of lava samples collected from oceanic crust in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to quantify the effect of continental insulation. The lavas formed at mid-ocean ridges following continental rifting and break up, and preserve a record of upper mantle temperatures over the past 170 Myr. We find that samples from the Pacific Ocean—formed more than 2,000 km from the nearest continental margin—do not record raised mantle temperatures. In contrast, samples from the Atlantic Ocean that formed close to the margin of the rifted continent reveal an upper mantle temperature immediately after continental rifting that was up to 150 °C higher than the present-day average; mantle temperatures remained high for 60–70 Myr. We conclude that the Atlantic thermal anomaly was created by continental insulation, and persisted in the mantle beneath the Atlantic Ocean long after the continental fragments had dispersed.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Fractionation-corrected major element compositions of lavas drilled from ancient oceanic crust.
Figure 2: Temporal variations in the composition of MORBs from the Atlantic and Pacific.
Figure 3: Major element compositions of MORBs from spreading ridges in young ocean basins.
Figure 4: Evolution of mantle temperature with time following continental break-up.

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

  • 06 December 2016

    In the version of this Letter originally published, the affiliations were not present in the online version. This has now been corrected.

References

  1. Anderson, D. L. Hotspots, polar wander, Mesozoic convection and the geoid. Nature 297, 391–393 (1982).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Grigne, C. & Labrosse, S. Effects of continents on Earth cooling: Thermal blanketing and depletion in radioactive elements. Geophys. Res. Lett. 28, 2707–2710 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Lenardic, A., Moresi, L-N., Jellinek, A. M. & Manga, M. Continental insulation, mantle cooling, and the surface area of oceans and continents. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 234, 317–333 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Zhong, S. & Gurnis, M. Dynamic feedback between a continental-like raft and thermal convection. J. Geophys. Res. 98, 12219–12232 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Coltice, N., Phillips, B. R., Bertrand, H., Ricard, Y. & Rey, P. Global warming of the mantle at the origin of flood basalts over supercontinents. Geology 35, 391–394 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Coltice, N., Bertrand, H., Rey, P., Jourdan, F., Phillips, B. R. & Ricard, Y. Global warming of the mantle beneath continents back to the Archaean. Gondwana Res. 15, 254–266 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Gaffin, S. Ridge volume dependence on seafloor generation rate and inversion using long-term sealevel change. Am. J. Sci. 287, 596–611 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Berner, R. A. & Kothavala, Z. GEOCARB III: A revised model of atmospheric CO2 over Phanerozoic time. Am. J. Sci. 301, 182–204 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Hardie, L. A. Secular variation in seawater chemistry: An explanation for the coupled secular variation in the mineralogies of marine limestones and potash evaporites over the past 600 m.y. Geology 24, 279–283 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Marty, B. & Tolstikhin, I. N. CO2 fluxes from mid-ocean ridges, arcs and plumes. Chem. Geol. 145, 233–248 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Elderfield, H. & Schultz, A. Mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal fluxes and the chemical composition of the ocean. Annu. Rev. Earth. Planet. Sci. 24, 191–224 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Larson, R. L. Latest pulse of Earth: Evidence for a mid-Cretaceous superplume. Geology 19, 547–550 (1991).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Humler, E., Langmuir, C. H. & Daux, V. Depth versus age: New perspectives from the chemical compositions of ancient crust. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 173, 7–23 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Machetel, P. & Humler, E. High mantle temperature during Cretaceous avalanche. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 208, 125–133 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Klein, E. M. & Langmuir, C. H. Global correlations of ocean ridge basalt chemistry and axial depth and crustal thickness. J. Geophys. Res. 92, 8089–8115 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Niu, Y., Bideau, D., Hekinian, R. & Batiza, R. Mantle compositional control on the extent of mantle melting, crust production, gravity anomaly, ridge morphology, and ridge segmentation: A case study at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 33–35° N. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 186, 383–399 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Regelous, M. et al. Variations in the geochemistry of magmatism on the East Pacific Rise at 10° 30′ N since 800 ka. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 168, 45–63 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Stein, C. A. & Stein, S. A model for the global variation in oceanic depth and heat flow with lithospheric age. Nature 359, 123–129 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Niu, Y. & O’Hara, M. J. Global correlations of ocean ridge basalt chemistry with axial depth: A new perspective. J. Petrol. 49, 633–664 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Waters, C. L., Sims, K. W., Perfit, M. R., Blichert-Toft, J. & Blusztajn, J. Perspective on the genesis of E-MORB from chemical and isotopic heterogeneity at 9–10° N East Pacific Rise. J. Petrol. 52, 565–602 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Janney, P. E. & Castillo, P. R. Geochemistry of the oldest Atlantic oceanic crust suggests mantle plume involvement in the early history of the central Atlantic Ocean. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 192, 291–302 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Janney, P. E. & Castillo, P. R. Geochemistry of Mesozoic Pacific mid-ocean ridge basalt: Constraints on melt generation and the evolution of the Pacific upper mantle. J. Geophys. Res. 102, 5207–5229 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Fisk, M. & Kelley, K. A. Probing the Pacific’s oldest MORB glass: Mantle chemistry and melting conditions during the birth of the Pacific Plate. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 202, 741–752 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Humler, E. & Besse, J. A correlation between mid-ocean-ridge basalt chemistry and distance to continents. Nature 419, 607–609 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Ligi, M. et al. Birth of an ocean in the Red Sea: Initial pangs. Geochem. Geophys. Geosys. 13, Q08009 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Kelley, K. A. et al. Mantle melting as a function of water content beneath back-arc basins. J. Geophys. Res. 111, B09208 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Herzberg, C. et al. Temperatures in ambient mantle and plumes: Constraints from basalts, picrites and komatiites. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 8, Q02006 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Rolf, T., Coltice, N. & Tackley, P. J. Linking continental drift, plate tectonics and the thermal state of the Earth’s mantle. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 351–352, 134–146 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Whittaker, J. M., Müller, R. D., Roest, W. R., Wessel, P. & Smith, W. H. F. How supercontinents and superoceans affect seafloor roughness. Nature 456, 938–941 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Müller, R. D., Sdrolias, M., Gaina, C., Steinberger, B. & Heine, C. Long-term sea-level fluctuations driven by ocean basin dynamics. Science 319, 1357–1362 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research used samples provided by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). Funding for this research was provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grants RE3020/1-1 and 1-2), and P.A.B. acknowledges a doctoral fellowship of the Erika Gierhl Foundation. We thank A. Richter, H. Brätz, C. Kaatz, N. Hohmann, F. Stöckhert, C. Weinzierl, F. S. Genske and the curators at Bremen and Gulf Coast Core Repositories for their help during sampling and data analysis, and the Smithsonian Institution for providing MORB glass standards.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schloßgarten 5, 91054 Erlangen, Germany

    Philipp A. Brandl, Marcel Regelous, Christoph Beier & Karsten M. Haase

Authors
  1. Philipp A. Brandl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marcel Regelous
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Christoph Beier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Karsten M. Haase
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Sample collection, preparation and electron probe analyses carried out by P.A.B. All authors contributed to data interpretation and manuscript writing.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Philipp A. Brandl or Marcel Regelous.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 6498 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Brandl, P., Regelous, M., Beier, C. et al. High mantle temperatures following rifting caused by continental insulation. Nature Geosci 6, 391–394 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1758

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1758

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing