Mantle plume trail beneath the ca. 1.1 Ga North American Midcontinent rift revealed by magnetotelluric data

Abstract

Whilst the 1.1 Ga North American Midcontinent Rift system (MCR) is formed in association with the Keweenaw mantle plume, the absence of a northern third rift arm or aulacogen (a general characteristic of mantle plumes) has previously not been well understood. To help clarify this unusual plume-rift relationship and to better establish the region affected by the Keweenaw mantle plume, we present the first electrical resistivity model of the MCR derived from three-dimensional inversion of EarthScope USArray and Lithoprobe magnetotelluric (MT) data, extending northwards into the Archean Superior Province. Our model shows a prominent highly conductive anomaly trending NW-SE at the base of Western Superior's cratonic lithospheric mantle, cross-cutting and extending for over 300 km on both sides of the western rift branch. We propose that this anomaly reflects the ancient signature of a plume trail, resulting from metasomatism and/or partial melting of the sulfide-rich basal lithospheric mantle during impingement of the Keweenaw mantle plume.