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Title: Redox variations in Mauna Kea lavas, the oxygen fugacity of the Hawaiian plume, and the role of volcanic gases in Earth’s oxygenation

Abstract

The behavior of C, H, and S in the solid Earth depends on their oxidation states, which are related to oxygen fugacity (fO2). Volcanic degassing is a source of these elements to Earth’s surface; therefore, variations in mantle fO2 may influence the fO2 at Earth’s surface. However, degassing can impact magmatic fO2 before or during eruption, potentially obscuring relationships between the fO2 of the solid Earth and of emitted gases and their impact on surface fO2. We show that low-pressure degassing resulted in reduction of the fO2 of Mauna Kea magmas by more than an order of magnitude. The least degassed magmas from Mauna Kea are more oxidized than midocean ridge basalt (MORB) magmas, suggesting that the upper mantle sources of Hawaiian magmas have higher fO2 than MORB sources. One explanation for this difference is recycling of material from the oxidized surface to the deep mantle, which is then returned to the surface as a component of buoyant plumes. It has been proposed that a decreasing pressure of volcanic eruptions led to the oxygenation of the atmosphere. Extension of our findings via modeling of degassing trends suggests that a decrease in eruption pressure would not produce this effect. If degassingmore » of basalts were responsible for the rise in oxygen, it requires that Archean magmas had at least two orders of magnitude lower fO2 than modern magmas. As a result, estimates of fO2 of Archean magmas are not this low, arguing for alternative explanations for the oxygenation of the atmosphere.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [2]
  1. California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States)
  2. California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI Identifier:
1376255
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-06CH11357
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 114; Journal Issue: 34; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of Sciences
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; ocean island basalts; oxygen fugacity; Hawaii volcanism; volcanic degassing; Great Oxidation Event

Citation Formats

Brounce, Maryjo, Stolper, Edward, and Eiler, John. Redox variations in Mauna Kea lavas, the oxygen fugacity of the Hawaiian plume, and the role of volcanic gases in Earth’s oxygenation. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1073/pnas.1619527114.
Brounce, Maryjo, Stolper, Edward, & Eiler, John. Redox variations in Mauna Kea lavas, the oxygen fugacity of the Hawaiian plume, and the role of volcanic gases in Earth’s oxygenation. United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1619527114
Brounce, Maryjo, Stolper, Edward, and Eiler, John. Mon . "Redox variations in Mauna Kea lavas, the oxygen fugacity of the Hawaiian plume, and the role of volcanic gases in Earth’s oxygenation". United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1619527114. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1376255.
@article{osti_1376255,
title = {Redox variations in Mauna Kea lavas, the oxygen fugacity of the Hawaiian plume, and the role of volcanic gases in Earth’s oxygenation},
author = {Brounce, Maryjo and Stolper, Edward and Eiler, John},
abstractNote = {The behavior of C, H, and S in the solid Earth depends on their oxidation states, which are related to oxygen fugacity (fO2). Volcanic degassing is a source of these elements to Earth’s surface; therefore, variations in mantle fO2 may influence the fO2 at Earth’s surface. However, degassing can impact magmatic fO2 before or during eruption, potentially obscuring relationships between the fO2 of the solid Earth and of emitted gases and their impact on surface fO2. We show that low-pressure degassing resulted in reduction of the fO2 of Mauna Kea magmas by more than an order of magnitude. The least degassed magmas from Mauna Kea are more oxidized than midocean ridge basalt (MORB) magmas, suggesting that the upper mantle sources of Hawaiian magmas have higher fO2 than MORB sources. One explanation for this difference is recycling of material from the oxidized surface to the deep mantle, which is then returned to the surface as a component of buoyant plumes. It has been proposed that a decreasing pressure of volcanic eruptions led to the oxygenation of the atmosphere. Extension of our findings via modeling of degassing trends suggests that a decrease in eruption pressure would not produce this effect. If degassing of basalts were responsible for the rise in oxygen, it requires that Archean magmas had at least two orders of magnitude lower fO2 than modern magmas. As a result, estimates of fO2 of Archean magmas are not this low, arguing for alternative explanations for the oxygenation of the atmosphere.},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1619527114},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
number = 34,
volume = 114,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Aug 07 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Mon Aug 07 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

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