Intellectual Merit: This project will investigate a fundamental property of the Earth's interior - the relationship between mantle potential temperature, seismic velocity and attenuation, and the petrology of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs). In particular, we will test a hypothesis that variations in mantle potential temperature exist along the axis of the global mid-ocean ridge system, of up to 200 C. If this is true, such thermal variations should produce an observable seismic signature, as increased temperature leads to slower shear-wave velocities and to higher shear-wave attenuation. The mid-ocean ridge marks the boundary between tectonic plates at which the plates are separating, and beneath which the Earth's mantle undergoes melting and upwelling. In principal, petrological estimates of temperature within the mantle beneath the ridge crests should agree with seismological estimates of temperature. Agreement of the two approaches will test the interpretation that MORB sodium and iron content is the result of large variations in mantle potential temperature, and will provide greater clarity concerning the proper interpretation of both petrological and seismic data that can be applied beyond the ridge system using the seismic data, and through time making use of data from older rocks. This will provide greater confidence for the interpretation of data from two of the most fundamental tools for Earth scientists, seismology and petrological analysis of seafloor rock samples.
The proposed work consists of separate and joint examinations of seismological and petrological datasets. Several global seismic shear-wave velocity models will be used to constrain three-dimensional variations in wave speed along the entire mid-ocean ridge system. Consideration of velocity models developed by different groups using a range of seismic data and diverse techniques will help distinguish robust and reproducible features from those that are only weakly constrained. Global attenuation models will be used to assist the interpretation of the velocity anomalies, as the sensitivity of attenuation to factors such as temperature and composition complements the sensitivity of velocity. Recent progress in laboratory measurements of shear velocity and attenuation will permit a more rigorous interpretation of the seismologically observed quantities in terms of temperature and composition than has previously been possible. The petrological analysis will be enhanced relative to previous work by the existence of the global PetDB database, and extensive new datasets collected over the past several years that will substantially enhance the global coverage. New and improved procedures will be used to correct these data for chemical fractionation and inter-laboratory bias. The resulting dataset can then be used to estimate temperature along each ridge segment and to evaluate potential compositional variations. The combined analysis of the petrological and seismological datasets involves comparison of the two sets of data to look for correlations and intriguing patterns. A novel approach will be used also examine these datasets within the frequency domain to investigate the possibility of correlations at various length scales.
Broader Impacts: This project is inherently cross-disciplinary and takes advantage of a natural intersection in the inferences that can be made from seismological and petrological data. Regardless of the result, the implications of this work are far-reaching. The present-day distribution of temperature and composition throughout the Earth is strongly coupled to mantle flow and the tectonic processes that are observable at the Earth's surface. Understanding the relationship between temperature, composition, and petrology will allow back-projections of the Earth's thermal history. In addition, progress will be made toward resolving outstanding controversies surrounding the proper interpretation of petrological and seismological data. This project provides support for one graduate student who will benefit from involvement in an interdisciplinary project at an early stage in her career. Involvement of an undergraduate at Boston University will introduce a potential future graduate student to the research environment. The project provides funding for an early-career female scientist (Dalton) to gain experience working with both the graduate student and an established scientist from another discipline (Langmuir).
