Collaborative Research: Testing Source vs. Crustal Processing in High-Mg# Arc Magmas by Os-O-He-Olivine Systematics

'Convergent plate margins' are major interfaces of the solid Earth geochemical cycle that are fundamental to the formation and maintenance of habitable Earth. At convergent plate margins, a lithospheric plate consisting of the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle is drawn - or subducted - beneath another lithospheric plate. At around 80-140 kilometers depth, the subducted plate releases material rich in climate-active volatile elements (H2O, halogens) and 'recycles' it back to the Earth's surface via the activity of volcanoes aligned in arcs. Such arcs form the 'Pacific Ring of Fire', which is renowned for volatile-rich, devastating eruptions of silicic magmas that can cause deadly climate perturbations (e.g. Tambora 1815) and tsunamis (e.g. Krakatoa 1883, 2018), and that are a permanent major threat to human habitation on the densely populated Earth. Thus, understanding how material cycling leads to silicic, explosive arc volcanism remains a theme at the core of geoscience research. A particular challenge when studying subduction recycling is that it takes place deep in the Earth's interior (between a few and 200 km) and thus cannot be observed directly. Scientists therefore rely on indirect observations obtained from components in magmas (e.g. olivine and spinel crystals) that carry information on processes occurring at many kilometers depth within the Earth. Two US-based women (one with a disability) plan to collect such information from volcanic rocks erupted from young Mexican volcanoes, in collaboration and exchange with national and international colleagues from the US, Mexico, Scotland and France. The project will train graduate and undergraduate students with the goal to promote diversity. K-12 teachers will be engaged in order to transfer the new research results into the Earth Science curriculum for middle and high school students, and the general public will be informed at regular annual Open Days.

This project focuses on olivine and its inclusions of Cr-spinel from mafic to silicic magmas in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB), a major subduction zone that is well-known for its high potential for catastrophic volcanic eruptions. Many studies propose that the silicic magmas gain their deadly explosive power through melt processing in the 45 km thick continental crustal basement on the which the TMVB is constructed. However, some studies suggest that the composition of olivine crystals contained in these magmas is inconsistent with this hypothesis. Remarkably, olivines from the central TMVB have delta18O and 3He/4He isotope signals that suggest that their host magmas were primarily formed in the mantle below the crustal basement, where they became silicic through incorporation a large amount of subducted slab material. In this project we will further test these two contrasting hypotheses by obtaining additional 187Os/188Os isotope data from olivine and bulk rocks that have been carefully selected from key locations in the central (Popocatepetl and Sierra Chichinautzin) and eastern (Serdan basin) TMVB, as well as from the rear-arc region where magmas are not significantly affected by subduction. The Os-He-O isotope ratios will be combined with data on the composition of olivine and included Cr-spinels to infer the temperatures and oxygen fugacity of olivine crystallization, enabling a holistic model on the mode of silicic melt formation. Overall, the project will provide new constraints on the connectivity between slab subduction and arc volcanism and its role in regulating the long-term evolution and maintenance of habitable Earth.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.