Petrological Evidence for Prominent Melt-Mush Reactions During Slow-Spreading Oceanic Accretion

Abstract

The structure of the lithosphere and the associated magmatic systems found in different locations along slow-spreading ridges can vary dramatically, from melt-starved to magmatically robust segments. A growing number of studies suggest that the evolution of the magmatic crust being governed solely by fractional crystallization is too simplistic. Reactions between migrating melts and their surroundings play a key role during accretion, yet the full extent of their impact is still to be resolved. We present here the results of a petrological, microstructural, and in situ geochemical study of two drilled sequences from the Kane Megamullion and Atlantis Massif oceanic core complexes. We show that melt-mush reactions generate locally strong textural and/or geochemical heterogeneity at the cm-scale, but their impact can also be identified at the 100 m-scale. We found evidence for assimilation at various degrees of primitive lithologies of potential mantle origin within the gabbroic sequence at both locations, in addition to typical melt-mush reactions previously described in other slow-spread magmatic systems. Observations and numerical modeling confirm the similarity of the reactions impacting both sequences. However, the regime of the reactions (ranges of assimilation to crystallization ratios) seems to vary between Kane Megamullion and Atlantis Massif, variations which likely result from differences in melt fractions present during melt-mush reactions. We infer relying on our observations and previous studies that the regime of the reactions is most likely controlled by the melt flux during the formation of the two sections.