Multiple mantle lithologies and volcanic chemistry

Last updated: August 2026

About

Ocean-island basalts provide direct samples of material transported from Earth's mantle to its surface. Their chemistry reflects mantle temperature, lithospheric thickness, melting depth, melt transport, and the presence of recycled materials such as pyroxenite and eclogite. Recovering those controls from erupted lavas remains an important inverse problem.

This project will develop multi-lithology melting models and use geochemical observations to infer the conditions beneath volcanic islands. It will test when a small recycled component can dominate erupted compositions and which observations distinguish source composition from melting and transport effects.

Research questions

• How do peridotite, pyroxenite, and eclogite contribute to ocean-island basalt chemistry?
• How do mantle temperature and lithospheric thickness alter melting depth and melt composition?
• Which geochemical observations constrain mantle source properties most strongly?

Methods and data

Projects can combine thermodynamic and melting models with published lava geochemistry, statistical inference, and numerical plume models. The work can focus on a single ocean island or compare several volcanic provinces.

Possible projects

Possible directions include building a multi-lithology melting model, quantifying the sensitivity of lava chemistry to source composition, or developing an inversion that estimates mantle temperature and melting conditions from geochemical data.

Essential background

Useful preparation includes geochemistry, petrology, Earth science, physics, programming, or quantitative data analysis. Students can acquire numerical skills during the project.