Compared with crustal magma systems, little is known about the deep sources of volcanic supply chains. Interdisciplinary efforts can help answer key questions about how magma migrates from the mantle.
Earth's mantle
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Hawai’i’s Depleted Peridotite Delivers More Magma
The source for the isotopically-enriched Hawaiian magmas contains peridotites that experienced near-surface melting prior incorporation in the plume.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Water Stored in the Mantle for Millions of Years May Be Linked to Continental Volcanism
New research shows that intraplate volcanism is more likely to occur over areas of the mantle that are more hydrated—particularly those that have been hydrated for a long, long time.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Modeling Mantle Dynamics as the Earth Slowly Cools
An update of the convection code ASPECT enables full coupling of plume dynamics with buoyancy effects of transition zone phase relations, showing how early layering gave way to whole-mantle plumes.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Deep Beneath California’s Sierra Nevada, Earth’s Lithosphere May Be Peeling Away
Evidence for lithospheric foundering, or the process of denser material sinking into the mantle, is emerging.
Posted inScience Updates
Beneath Greenland, Insights for Energy Transitions and Climate Models
Emerging consensus on the structure and dynamics of Greenland’s lithosphere may help improve forecasts of climate and sea level change and develop solutions for sustainable resource use.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Magmatic Fluids and Melts May Lie Beneath Dormant German Volcanoes
New processing strategies applied to old seismic data reveal potential pockets of magmatic fluids or melts from the upper mantle.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Magma Diversity in Iceland
Iceland’s recent basalt eruptions originated at the crust-mantle boundary and show chemical variability over remarkably short timescales of weeks, suggesting exchanges between diverse magma sources.
Posted inNews
Scientists May Have Found Another Viscosity Shift in the Mantle
The proposed distinction could improve Earth models.
Posted inNews
Mantle Motion Matters for Mapping Modern (and Ancient) Ice
Mantle motions have major effects on topography and the distribution of ice sheets. The motions are key for researchers trying to properly parse past mantle movement.