serpentinization

Granitic intrusions enhance strain localization and rapid mantle exhumation along an oceanic detachment fault

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Map of the Tyrrhenian Sea showing IODP Expedition 402 drill sites with core photos and lithology logs.

Scientists drilling into the Tyrrhenian Sea seafloor as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program recovered rock cores showing granite intrusions mixed with peridotite along an ancient detachment fault. Dating and chemical analysis show the granites formed about 4 million years ago some 7 to 9 kilometres down, then were rapidly brought to the seafloor … Read more…

Heterogeneous Earth’s mantle drilled at an embryonic ocean

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Mantle processes control plate tectonics and exert an influence on biogeo- chemical cycles. However, the proportion of mantle sampled in-situ is minimal, as it is buried beneath igneous crust and sediments. Here we report the lithological characteristics of two mantle sections from an embryonic ocean drilled by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) in the … Read more…