Research Area: Chemistry and Physics of the Earth System
Coordinators: Riccardo Tribuzio, Alessio Sanfilippo, Matteo Maino, Valentin Basch, Carlotta Ferrando, Mattia Bonazzi, Camilla Sani, Davide Mariani
ERC sectors: PE10_10 Mineralogy, petrology, igneous petrology, metamorphic petrology; PE10_5 Geology, tectonics, volcanology; PE10_11 Geochemistry, cosmochemistry, crystal chemistry, isotope geochemistry, thermodynamics
1. Mantle Geochemistry
The upper mantle is heterogeneous. Geochemically depleted peridotites are associated with recycled material of variable ages and compositions. This association demonstrates continuous melting and refertilization processes throughout Earth's history. Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts (MORB) and Ocean Island Basalts (OIB) originate from partial melting of this heterogeneous mantle and therefore provide indirect evidence of its composition and how it evolves over time. We use the trace element and radiogenic isotope geochemistry of mantle peridotites and associated basalts to gain insights into the origin and evolution of the Earth's mantle.
2. Melt Migration and Melt-Rock Reactions in Magma Chambers
The lower oceanic crust forms from the solidification of melts residing in shallow magma chambers. Here, melt crystallization forms deep-sea gabbros, before part of the melt is extracted to form the basalts erupted on the surface. However, more complex processes can occur within these persistent magma chambers, such as chemical interactions between pre-existing crystals and melts migrating from deep within. These processes modify the chemistry of the erupted basalts. Terrain, textural data, and detailed geochemical studies of deep-sea gabbros are needed to elucidate the role of these migration and interaction processes, with implications for the chemical evolution of the oceanic crust.
3. Metamorphic Evolution and High-Temperature Alteration in the Oceanic Lithosphere
Water penetrates the oceanic crust, where it interacts with gabbros and the mantle at different temperatures. Water has a fundamental impact on the cooling and solidification of the oceanic crust and can act as a lubricant, allowing the exhumation of deep sections on the ocean floor. However, the depth reached by the percolation of marine fluids and the relationship between hydrothermalism and deformation in these settings are still hotly debated. Pertrological studies of deformed gabbros and associated peridotites are used to gain insight into the conditions under which hydrothermalism and alteration of the oceanic crust develop.
4. Geodynamics of Mid-Ocean Ridges: Oceans and Fossil Analogues
Spreading rates and potential temperatures govern the architecture of mid-ocean ridges. They vary in composition, magmatism, lithospheric accretion styles, and hydrothermalism. At the same time, the temporal evolution of mid-ocean ridge systems depends on the geodynamic context in which they develop. Studies that focus on the differences in structure and composition of the oceanic lithosphere, from continental rifting systems to present-day oceans, are essential to understanding temporal variations in oceanic crustal emplacement and its impacts on global cycles.
5. Formation of the Crust-Mantle Boundary in a Continental Environment
The inaccessibility of deep continental crust means that the processes governing the differentiation of primitive melts injected at deep crustal levels are poorly understood. Melts can be modified by various processes, such as fractional crystallization, magma mixing, crustal assimilation, and interaction with pre-existing crystals. The Ivrea-Verbano Zone of the northwestern Italian Alps exposes a nearly complete section of continental lower crust. It represents a unique geological object for elucidating the magmatic processes that form the lower continental crust, a window into the inaccessible crust-mantle boundary in a continental environment.
IGG-CNR, ISMAR-CNR, Università di Parma, Università di Milano la Statale, Muenster University, Universitè de Montpellier, Universitaire Européen de la Mer Brest, Russian Academy of Science, Japan Agency for Marine Science and Technology, Saudi Geological Survey, Chinese Academy of Science, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
1. PRIN 2017 KY5ZX8. Oceanic Megatransforms: a new class of grain boundaries
2. Bilateral CNR/RFBR (Russia) A new Class of Plate Boundaries: Oceanic Megatransforms
3. PNRA16-002. An intra-oceanic rift along the western Antartic-Pacific plate boundary: geophysical and petrological constraints
4. IODP 800 Full "SloMo, the nature of crust-mantle boundary at slow spreading ridges
5. IODP 971Full2 “Kane OCC; drilling the lower crust and mantle at the slow spreading MAR”
6. IODP-941-full “The nature of the Back-Arc basin lower crust and upper mantle at the Godzilla Megamullion”
7. ICDP DIVE 'Drilling the Ivrea-Verbano zonE (DIVE), International Continental Scientific Drilling Program
8. Geochemistry of dikes and Harrats in the Res Sea System
1. Mantle Geochemistry
Sanfilippo, A., Sani, C., Rasul, N., Stewart, I., Vigliotti, L., Widinly, N., Osemi, A., Ligi, M. (2021). Hidden but Ubiquitous: The Pre-Rift Continental Mantle in the Red Sea Region, Frontiers in Earth Science, 666
Sani, C., Sanfilippo, A., Ferrando, C., Peyve, A., Skolotnev, S., Muccini, F., Zanetti, A., Basch, V., Palmiotto, C., Bonatti, E., Ligi, M. (2020). Ultra-depleted melt refertilization of mantle peridotites in a large intra-transform domain (Doldrums Fracture Zone; 7–8° N, Mid Atlantic Ridge). Lithos, 374, 105698.
Sanfilippo A., Salters VJM, Tribuzio R., Zanetti A. (2019). Role of ancient, ultra-depleted mantle in Mid-Ocean-Ridge magmatism. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 511: 89–98
Sanfilippo A., Tribuzio R., Ottolini L.; Hamada M. (2017). Water, lithium and trace element compositions of olivine from replacive mantle dunites (Lanzo South massif, Western Alps): implications for melt extraction at Mid Ocean Ridges. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 214, pp. 51-72.
2. Melt Migration and Melt-Rock Reactions in Magma Chambers
Ferrando C., France, L., Basch, V., Sanfilippo, A., Tribuzio, R., Boulanger M., (2021). Grain size variations record segregation of residual melts in Skow Spreding Oceanic Crust (atlantis Bank, 57°E, Southwest Indian Ridge). Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 126 (4), e2020JB020997
Renna, M.R., Armandola, S., Becker, H., Sanfilippo, A., Tribuzio, R., Wang, Z. (2021). Fractionation of highly siderophile and chalcogen elements in the lower oceanic crust: Insights from the troctolites of the Alpine-Apennine Jurassic ophiolites. Lithos, doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2020.105873
Sanfilippo, A, MacLeod, C.J., Tribuzio, R., Lissenberg, C.J, Zanetti, A. (2020). Early-Stage Melt-Rock Reaction in a Cooling Crystal Mush Beneath a Slow-Spreading Mid-Ocean Ridge (IODP Hole U1473A, Atlantis Bank, Southwest Indian Ridge). Frontiers in Earth Science, vol. 8, ISSN: 2296-6463, doi: 10.3389/feart.2020.579138
Renna M.R., Tribuzio R., Sanfilippo A., Thirlwall M. (2018) Role of melting process and melt-rock reaction in the formation of Jurassic MORB-type basalts (Alpine ophiolites). Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 173 31
Sanfilippo, A., Morishita, T., Senda, R., (2016). Rhenium-osmium isotope fractionation at the oceanic crust-mantle boundary. Geology, 44 (2), pp. 167-170. DOI: 10.1130/G37428.1
3. Metamorphic Evolution and High-Temperature Alteration in the Oceanic Lithosphere
Casini, L., Maino, M., Sanfilippo, A., Ildefonse, B., Dick, HJB. (2021). High‐Temperature Strain Localization and the Nucleation of Oceanic Core Complexes (16.5° N, Mid‐Atlantic Ridge). Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 126, 9, e2021JB022215.
Basch, V., Sanfilippo, A., Sani, C., Ohara, Y., Snow, J., Ishizuka, O., Harigane, Y., Michibayashi, K., Sen, A., Akizawa, N., Okino, K., Fujii, M., Yamashita, H. (2020). Crustal Accretion in a Slow Spreading Back‐Arc Basin: Insights From the Mado Megamullion Oceanic Core Complex in the Shikoku Basin. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, vol. 21, ISSN: 1525-2027, doi: 10.1029/2020GC009199
Tribuzio R., Manatschal G., Renna M.R., Ottolini L., Zanetti A. (2020) Tectono-magmatic Interplay and Related Metasomatism in Gabbros of the Chenaillet Ophiolite (Western Alps). Journal of Petrology 60 2483-2508
Nozaka T., Akitoua T., Abe N., Tribuzio R. (2019) Biotite in olivine gabbros from Atlantis Bank: Evidence for amphibolite-facies metasomatic alteration of the lower oceanic crust. Lithos 348-349 105176
Tribuzio R., Renna M.R., Dallai L., Zanetti A. (2014) The magmatic-hydrothermal transition in the lower oceanic crust: clues from the Ligurian ophiolites, Italy. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 130: 188-211
4. Geodynamics of Mid-Ocean Ridges: Oceans and Fossil Analogues
Sanfilippo, A., Salters, V., Sokolov, S.Y., Peyve, A.A., Stracke, A. (2021). Ancient, refractory asthenosphere revealed by mantle re-melting in the Arctic Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Skolotnev S., Sanfilippo A., Peyve A.A., Muccini F., Sokolov S.Y., Sani C., Dobroliubova K., Ferrando C., Chamov N., Palmiotto C., Pertsev A., Bonatti E., Cuffaro M., Gryaznova A., Sholukhov K.N., Bich A.M., Ligi M., (2020). Large-scale structure of the Doldrums multi-fault transform system (7-8ºN Equatorial Atlantic): Preliminary results from the 45th Expedition of the R/V A. N. Strakhov. Ofioliti
Sanfilippo A., Dick H.J.B., Marschall H., Lissenmeberg J., Urann B., (2018). Emplacement and high-temperature evolution of gabbros of the 16.5 ºN oceanic core complexes (Mid-Atlantic Ridge): insights into the compositional variability of the lower oceanic crust. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, doi.org/10.1029/2018GC007512
Decarlis A., Gillard M., Tribuzio R., Epin M.E., Manatschal G. (2018) Breaking up continents at magma-poor rifted margins: a seismic v. outcrop perspective. Journal of the Geological Society 175 875-882
Liu T., Wu F.-Y., Liu C.‑Z., Tribuzio R., Ji W.‑B., Zhang C., Xu Y., Zhang W.‑Q. (2018) Variably evolved gabbroic intrusions within the Xigaze ophiolite (Tibet): new insights into the origin of ophiolite diversity. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 173 91
5. Formation of the Crust-Mantle Boundary in a Continental Environment
Ferrari E., Tribuzio R., Bosch D., Bruguier O. (2021) Constraints on the post-Variscan thermal evolution of the Ivrea crustal section (Italian-Swiss Alps) from U-Pb dating of relict rutile in middle crust amphibolites. Lithos 406-407 106500
Antonicelli M., Tribuzio R., Liu T., Wu F.-Y. (2020) Contaminating melt flow in magmatic peridotites from the lower continental crust (Rocca d'Argimonia sequence, Ivrea-Verbano Zone). European Journal of Mineralogy 32 587-612
Berno D., Tribuzio R., Zanetti A., Hémond C. (2020) Evolution of mantle melts intruding the lowermost continental crust: constraints from the Monte Capio-Alpe Cevia mafic-ultramafic sequences (Ivrea-Verbano Zone, northern Italy). Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 175 2
Bonazzi M., Langone A., Tumiati S., Dellarole E., Mazzucchelli M., Giovanardi T., Zanetti A. (2020) Mantle-Derived Corundum-Bearing Felsic Dykes May Survive Only within the Lower (Refractory/Inert) Crust: Evidence from Zircon Geochemistry and Geochronology (Ivrea-Verbano Zone, Southern Alps, Italy). Geosciences 10:281
Langone Antonio, Padrón-Navarta J.A., Zanetti A., Mazzucchelli M., Tiepolo M., Giovanardi T., Bonazzi M. (2017) Ductile-brittle deformation effects on crystalchemistry and U-Pb ages of magmatic and metasomatic zircons from a dyke of the Finero Mafic Complex (Ivrea-Verbano Zone). Lithos 284-285: 493-511