Porosity of the melting zone and variations in the solid mantle upwelling rate beneath Hawaii: Inferences from {sup 238}U-{sup 230}Th-{sup 226}Ra and {sup 235}U-{sup 231}Pa disequilibria
Measurements of {sup 238}U-{sup 230}Th-{sup 226}Ra and {sup 235}U-{sup 231}Pa disequilibria in a suite of tholeiitic-to-basanitic lavas provide estimates of porosity, solid mantle upwelling rate and melt transport times beneath Hawaii. The observation that ({sup 230}Th/{sup 238}U) {gt} 1 indicates that garnet is required as a residual phase in the magma sources for all of the lavas. Both chromatographic porous flow and dynamic melting of a garnet peridotite source can adequately explain the combined U-Th-Ra and U-Pa data for these Hawaiian basalts. For chromatographic porous flow, the calculated maximum porosity in the melting zone ranges from 0.3--3% for tholeiites and 0.1--1% for alkali basalts and basanites, and solid mantle upwelling rates range from 40 to 100 cm/yr for tholeiites and from 1 to 3 cm/yr for basanites. For dynamic melting, the escape or threshold porosity is 0.5--2% for tholeiites and 0.1--0.8% for alkali basalts and basanites, and solid mantle upwelling rates range from 10 to 30 cm/yr for tholeiites and from 0.1 to 1 cm/yr for basanites. Assuming a constant melt productivity, calculated total melt fractions range from 15% for the tholeiitic basalts to 3% for alkali basalts and basanites.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (US); Los Alamos National Lab., NM (US); Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 20006271
- Journal Information:
- Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 63, Issue 23-24; Other Information: PBD: Dec 1999; ISSN 0016-7037
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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