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Journal of Petrology Volume 42 Number 2 Pages 321-354 2001
© Oxford University Press 2001

Melt Generation and Movement beneath Theistareykir, NE Iceland*

LUCY SLATER1,{dagger}, DAN McKENZIE1,{ddagger}, KARL GRÖNVOLD2 and NOBU SHIMIZU3

1INSTITUTE OF THEORETICAL GEOPHYSICS, BULLARD LABORATORIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY, MADINGLEY ROAD, CAMBRIDGE CB3 OEZ, UK
2NORDIC INSTITUTE OF VOLCANOLOGY, REYKJAVIK, ICELAND
3WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION, WOODS HOLE, MA 02543, USA

A detailed study of the volume and composition of all the lavas from the Theistareykir segment of the Northern Volcanic Zone of Iceland was designed to study basaltic melt generation and movement beneath a spreading ridge. The trace element compositions of the lavas are variable, and those of melt inclusions in olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase phenocrysts even more so. We show that this variability can be produced by mixing instantaneous melts produced by isentropic decompression of mantle whose initial potential temperature is 1480°C, and that the calculated volume and composition of the average melt is consistent with geophysical and petrological observations. Pressure and temperature estimates suggest that the phenocrysts form in the upper mantle, at depths of 30–40 km, and trap melts formed at greater depths. Some mixing of the instantaneous melts occurs before the melt is trapped, and more mixing occurs before the lavas are erupted. A similar model can account for the composition of melt inclusions from the FAMOUS area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and from the Gorda and Juan de Fuca Ridges.

KEY WORDS: basalt; Iceland; melt inclusions; melting; ridges


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