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Deep mantle earthquakes linked to CO2 degassing at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Author

Listed:
  • Zhiteng Yu

    (Ministry of Natural Resources
    CNRS-Ifremer-UBO-UBS
    CNRS)

  • Satish C. Singh

    (CNRS)

  • Cédric Hamelin

    (7 Sondre Skogveien)

  • Léa Grenet

    (CNRS-Ifremer-UBO-UBS)

  • Marcia Maia

    (CNRS-Ifremer-UBO-UBS)

  • Anne Briais

    (CNRS-Ifremer-UBO-UBS)

  • Lorenzo Petracchini

    (Cnr-Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria)

  • Daniele Brunelli

    (Cnr-Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria
    University of Modena)

Abstract

Volatiles (CO2, H2O) play a fundamental role in mantle melting beneath ocean spreading centers, but what role they play during the melt migration remains unknown. Using seismological data recorded by ocean-bottom seismometers, here we report the presence of deep earthquakes at 10–20 km depth in the mantle along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge axis, much below the brittle-ductile boundary. Syntheses of regional basaltic rock samples and their geochemical analyses indicate the presence of an abnormally high quantity of CO2 (~0.4–3.0 wt%) in the primary melts. As the degassing of a high concentration of dissolved CO2 produces volume change, we suggest that deep earthquakes in the mantle result from the degassing of CO2. The large concentration of CO2 in the primitive melt will influence the presence of melt beneath the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary at sub-solidus temperatures.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhiteng Yu & Satish C. Singh & Cédric Hamelin & Léa Grenet & Marcia Maia & Anne Briais & Lorenzo Petracchini & Daniele Brunelli, 2025. "Deep mantle earthquakes linked to CO2 degassing at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-55792-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55792-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Oleg Melnik & Vladimir Lyakhovsky & Nikolai M. Shapiro & Natalia Galina & Olga Bergal-Kuvikas, 2020. "Deep long period volcanic earthquakes generated by degassing of volatile-rich basaltic magmas," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-7, December.
    2. M. Le Voyer & K.A. Kelley & E. Cottrell & E.H. Hauri, 2017. "Heterogeneity in mantle carbon content from CO2-undersaturated basalts," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, April.
    3. Alberto E. Saal & Erik H. Hauri & Charles H. Langmuir & Michael R. Perfit, 2002. "Vapour undersaturation in primitive mid-ocean-ridge basalt and the volatile content of Earth's upper mantle," Nature, Nature, vol. 419(6906), pages 451-455, October.
    4. Rajdeep Dasgupta & Marc M. Hirschmann, 2006. "Melting in the Earth's deep upper mantle caused by carbon dioxide," Nature, Nature, vol. 440(7084), pages 659-662, March.
    5. Marco Ligi & Enrico Bonatti & Anna Cipriani & Luisa Ottolini, 2005. "Water-rich basalts at mid-ocean-ridge cold spots," Nature, Nature, vol. 434(7029), pages 66-69, March.
    6. Jie Chen & Wayne C. Crawford & Mathilde Cannat, 2023. "Microseismicity and lithosphere thickness at a nearly-amagmatic oceanic detachment fault system," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-7, December.
    7. Zhikai Wang & Satish C. Singh, 2022. "Seismic evidence for uniform crustal accretion along slow-spreading ridges in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
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