Mid Oceanic Ridge (MOR)

Dr. Meraj Alam

IGNTU, Amarkantak
Igneous Petrogenesis
1. Mid-ocean ridges
2. Continental rifts
3. Island Arcs
4. Active continental margins
5. Back-arc basins
6. Ocean Islands
7. Intraplate hotspot activity, carbonatites, or kimberlites
 Mid Oceanic Ridge
Mid-ocean ridges produce ~ 21 km3 of lava per year
~60% of the earth’s surface is covered with oceanic crust
 Overview
 Mid-Ocean Ridge. A linear, narrow volcanic and tectonic
region which marks the constructive boundary between
two tectonic plates. It is divided into segments by transform
faults and other offsets.
 Magmatism: Magmatism is the production and migration
of magma, which is molten rock produced from the partial
or complete melting of solid materials within a planetary
body.
 Volcanism: Volcanism is the eruption of molten rock, hot
gases, or solidified rock fragments from an opening (“vent”)
in the Earth’s crust. Volcanism occurs on Earth and other
planets and moons. Most of the volcanism on Earth occurs
at mid-ocean ridges, almost always sight unseen.
 Mid Oceanic Ridge
 Mid-Ocean Ridge Magmatism. The dominant type of lava
resulting from magmatic activity at mid-ocean ridges is
basalt, also called mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB).
 Mid-Ocean Ridge Volcanism. Volcanic eruptions at ocean
ridges vary in style, intensity, and duration around the
globe as a function of parameters such as magma chamber
depth, magma supply rate, and eruption depth beneath sea
level.
 The dominant eruption styles either produce fissure-fed
lava flows or point-source, single vent volcanic lava mounds.
Nearly all volcanic products at ridges exhibit rapid quench
textures, formed by the freezing of molten magma upon
contact with cold seawater.
 Mid Oceanic Ridge
Structure of the Mid Oceanic Ridge
Mid Ocean Ridge Basalts
Mid Ocean Ridge Basalts (MORBS)
(MORBS)
Olivine and Quartz Tholeiites
Rock types in the mantle
Peridotite is the dominant rock type of the Earth’s upper mantle
 Lherzolite: unaltered mantle; mostly composed of olivine,
orthopyroxene (commonly enstatite), and clinopyroxene
(diopside), and have relatively high proportions of basaltic
ingredients (garnet and clinopyroxene).
 Dunite (mostly olivine) and Harzburgite (olivine + orthopyroxene)
are refractory residuum after basalt has been extracted by partial
melting
 Wehrlite: mostly composed of olivine plus clinopyroxene.

wehrlite lherzolite
Ridge Segments and Spreading Rates
Table 13-1. Spreading Rates of Some Mid-Ocean
Ridge Segments
• Slow-spreading ridges: Category Ridge Latitude Rate (cm/a)*
Fast East Pacific Rise 21-23oN 3
< 3 cm/a 13oN 5.3
11oN 5.6
8-9oN 6
2 oN 6.3
• Fast-spreading ridges: 20-21oS 8
33oS 5.5
> 4 cm/a 54oS 4
56oS 4.6
Slow Indian Ocean SW 1
SE 3-3.7
• Temporal variations are Central 0.9
Mid-Atlantic Ridge 85oN 0.6
also known 45oN 1-3
36oN 2.2
23oN 1.3
48oS 1.8
From Wilson (1989). Data from Hekinian (1982), Sclater et al .
(1976), Jackson and Reid (1983). *half spreading
 Mid-ocean Ridges

Spreading rate influences thermal structure,

physical structure, crustal thickness and amount of
melting
 Oceanic Crust and
Upper Mantle Structure

Typical Ophiolite

Wehrlite: a Peridotite mostly

composed of olivine plus
clinopyroxene

Lithology and thickness of a typical

ophiolite sequence, based on the
Samial Ophiolite in Oman. After
Boudier and Nicolas (1985) Earth
Planet. Sci. Lett., 76, 84-92.
 Oceanic Crust and Upper Mantle Structure

Layer 1

A thin layer of
pelagic
sediment
 Oceanic Crust and Upper Mantle Structure
Layer 2 is basaltic
Subdivided into
two sub-layers

Layer 2A & B =
pillow basalts
Layer 2C = vertical
sheeted dikes
Layer 2 A  B with fracture in-filling by
mineral deposition (some call both A, and
then call 2B sheeted dikes)

Layer 2C = vertical sheeted dikes emplaced

in the shallow brittle extensional
environment at the ridge axis
Many dikes have only a single chill margin
 later dikes split and intruded earlier
ones
 Oceanic Crust and
Upper Mantle
Structure
Discontinuous diorite
and tonalite
(“plagiogranite”)
bodies = late
differentiated liquids
Tonalite is an igneous, plutonic (intrusive)
rock, of felsic composition, with phaneritic
texture. Similar to Granite except Feldspar
is mostly present as plagioclase, with less
than 10% alkali feldspar.
Layer 3 more complex and controversial
Believed to be mostly gabbros, crystallized from a shallow
axial magma chamber (feeds the dikes and basalts)

Layer 3A = upper
isotropic and
lower, somewhat
foliated
(“transitional”)
gabbros
Layer 3B is more
layered, & may
exhibit cumulate
textures
Layer 4 = ultramafic rocks

Ophiolites: base of 3B grades

into layered cumulate wehrlite
& gabbro
Wehrlite intruded into layered
gabbros
Below  cumulate dunite with
harzburgite xenoliths
The ultramafic igneous rock, harzburgite, is a variety
of peridotite consisting mostly of the two minerals,
olivine and low-calcium (Ca) pyroxene (enstatite)

Below this is a tectonite -

harzburgite and dunite:
unmelted fraction of the
partially melted (depleted)
mantle.
The boundary between layers 3 and 4 is, broadly speaking, the
Moho
Upper portion of layer 4 is thought to be layered, and of cumulate
origin (olivine and pyroxenes sink to the bottom of the axial
magma chamber)
Below this is the original, unlayered, residual mantle material
Exactly what is the crust/mantle boundary?
1) Top of the original mantle
2) Mafic/ultramafic transition (top of the added ultramafic
cumulates)
Is the mantle defined by petrogenesis or by
composition?
A number of authors distinguish a seismic Moho from a
petrological Moho
MORB Petrography and Major Element Chemistry
 A “typical” MORB is an olivine Tholeiite with low K2O
(< 0.2%) and low TiO2 (< 2.0%)
 MORBs are chemically distinct from basalts of other
petrogenetic associations
 Glass samples are very important chemically, because
they represent liquid compositions, whereas the
chemistry of phyric samples can be modified by crystal
accumulation
 In MORBS, Fe-Ti
oxides are restricted
to the groundmass,
and thus form late in
the MORB sequence

Hence the early Fe-enrichment

characteristic of the tholeiite
trend on an ACF diagram – the
iron doesn’t precipitate out
until late, so it becomes
relatively more abundant in
early glass as Mg++ is used
up. Ulvöspinel - TiFe O
2 4
 Table 13-2. Average Analyses and CIPW Norms of MORBs
The major element (BVTP Table [Link])

chemistry of MORBs Oxide (wt%)

SiO2
All
50.5
MAR
50.7
EPR
50.2
IOR
50.9
TiO2 1.56 1.49 1.77 1.19
Al2O3 15.3 15.6 14.9 15.2
MAR : Mid-Atlantic Ridge FeO* 10.5 9.85 11.3 10.3
MgO 7.47 7.69 7.10 7.69
CaO 11.5 11.4 11.4 11.8
EPR : East-Pacific Rise Na2O 2.62 2.66 2.66 2.32
K2O 0.16 0.17 0.16 0.14
IOR: Indian Ocean Ridge P2O5 0.13 0.12 0.14 0.10
Total 99.74 99.68 99.63 99.64
Normative minerals: q Norm
Quartz, or Orthoclase, ab q 0.94 0.76 0.93 1.60
Albite, an Anorthite, di or 0.95 1.0 0.95 0.83
ab 22.17 22.51 22.51 19.64
Diopside, hy Hyperthene, an 29.44 30.13 28.14 30.53
Ol Olivine, mt Magnetite, il di 21.62 20.84 22.5 22.38
Ilmenite, ap Apatite hy 17.19 17.32 16.53 18.62
ol 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
mt 4.44 4.34 4.74 3.90
il 2.96 2.83 3.36 2.26
MORBs vary a little in composition ap 0.30 0.28 0.32 0.23
All: Ave of glasses from Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean ridges.
EPR the most different MAR: Ave. of MAR glasses. EPR: Ave. of EPR glasses.
IOR: Ave. of Indian Ocean ridge glasses.
MORBs cannot all be
primary magmas;
most are derivative
magmas resulting
from fractional
crystallization
Even when we compare for
constant Mg# considerable
variation is still apparent.
Figure shows the variation in
K2O with Mg# for the MAR
data set of Schilling et al.
(1983)

Mg# = 100 Mg++/ Mg++ + Fe++

Data from Schilling et al.

(1983) Amer. J. Sci., 283, 510-
586.
Characters about MORBs, and the processes beneath mid-
ocean ridges

 MORBs are not the completely uniform

magmas that they were once considered to be
 They show chemical trends consistent with
fractional crystallization of olivine,
plagioclase, and perhaps clinopyroxene
 As early forming crystals remove elements
from the melt, new chemical compositions
become frequent.
Magma chamber processes may be different at
fast-spreading ridges compared to slow ones

Fast ridge segments (EPR) display a broader range

of compositions, and produce a larger proportion
of evolved liquids than do slow segments

Also magmas erupted slightly off the axis of

ridges are more evolved than those at the axis
itself
 Petrography of Mid-ocean ridge basalts
 The petrographic characteristics of MORB reflect both
the chemical composition of the magma and its
cooling history.
 Grain size are variable, from glassy to highly
porphyritic types with 20-30% phenocrysts.
porphyritic basalts are common, and some highly
phyric types are probably accumulative in origin.
 The most commonly observed phenocryst assemblages
are;
Olivine ±Mg-Cr spinel
Plagioclase+ olivine ±Mg-Cr spinel
Plagioclase + olivine+ augite
 Petrography of Mid-ocean ridge basalts
Augite phenocrysts are rare and usually confined to
rocks with abundant olivine and plagioclase. Olivine
spinel and calcic plagioclase are the first minerals to
crystallize followed by augite and then Fe-Ti oxides.
In normal MORB, plagioclase is usually the dominant
phenocryst phase, accompanied by olivine.
Pyroxene is generally absent and bulk rock composition
may be modified by plagioclase and olivine
accumulation. In contrast, MORB from elevated ridge
segments include both olivine and pyroxene phyric
types.
This may reflect both differing magma compositions
and crystallization conditions in the two environments.
Petrography of Mid-ocean ridge basalts
 Chemical composition of erupted Magmas
In terms of their major element chemistry, MORB are
broadly similar to oceanic- island tholeiites, island –arc
tholeiites and continental flood tholeiites. However,
compared to such basalts they show characteristically
low concentrations of incompatible elements including
Ti and P and LIL elements (K, Rb, Ba).
 Low K2O contents appear to be a particularly useful
discriminant in distinguishing MORB from basalts
erupted in other tectonic settings.
Example: Hawaiian (Ocean Island) tholeiites typically
have lower Al2O3 contents Than MORB at comparable
degrees of differentiation .
Available geochemical data of MORB are strongly
biased towards the Atlantic ocean
Chemical composition of erupted Magmas
 Major elements

SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, FeO, MnO, MgO, CaO, Na2O, K2O,
P2O5 and H2O can all be considered as major elements in
the MORB Geochemistry.
Major elements
 Depleted mantle is the residue that remains after a given element
has been removed from Peridotite to form a basaltic melt. The
incompatible elements (e.g. K, Sr, Rb, U, and rare-earth elements)
are preferentially partitioned into a melt, and during ocean
crustal formation these elements in particular have been removed
from the mantle, leaving the mantle depleted in incompatibles.

 Incompatibles present in a MORB melt generally solidify in late

fractionation minerals derived from the basaltic melt. WE
SHOULD USE ANALYSES OF GLASS (no crystal structure) at any
stage if we want melt compositions.

 The depleted mantle can still partially melt and form MORBs, all
you need is low pressure

 later MORBs will have less incompatibles such as LILE K+, as

some were already removed by earlier MORB formation.
 An incompatible element is an element that is unsuitable in
size and/or charge to fit in the cation sites of the possible
minerals. Elements that have difficulty in entering cation
sites of the early high temperature crystallization minerals
(Olivine, Ca-Plagioclase, Pyroxenes) are concentrated in the
melt phase of magma (liquid phase), and remain there until
late in the solidification of the magma.
 Another way to classify incompatible elements is by mass:
light rare earth elements are La - Sm, and heavy rare earth
elements (HREE) are Eu - Lu. Rocks or magmas rich in light
rare earth elements (LREE) are referred to as fertile, and
those with strong depletions in LREE are referred to as
depleted.
Generating enriched signatures in MORB
1) Low degrees of melting
2) Mantle source enrichment
 N-MORB: normal MORB
 T-MORB: transitional MORB
 E-MORB: enriched MORB
There are two
types of
MORBs with
Rare Earths:

Figure Data from

Schilling et al.
(1983) Amer. J.
Sci., 283, 510-586.
There are incompatible-rich and incompatible-poor
mantle source regions for MORB magmas
– N-MORB (normal MORB) taps the depleted upper
mantle source
 Mg# > 65: K2O < 0.10 TiO2 < 1.0
 Depleted in LREE, Low LILE e.g. K+
– E-MORB (enriched MORB, also called P-MORB for
plume) taps the (deeper) fertile mantle
 Mg# > 65: K2O > 0.10 TiO2 > 1.0
 Rich in LREE, higher in LILE e.g. K+
E-MORBs (squares) enriched in LREE over N-MORBs (red
triangles): regardless of Mg#
 Lack of distinct break suggests three MORB types
 E-MORBs La/Sm > 1.8

 N-MORBs La/Sm < 0.7

 T-MORBs (transitional) intermediate values

Data from Schilling et al.

(1983) Amer. J. Sci., 283,
510-586.
 N-MORBs: 87Sr/86Sr
< 0.7035 and 143Nd/144Nd > 0.5030, 
depleted mantle source

 E-MORBs extend to more enriched values  stronger

support distinct mantle reservoirs for N-type and E-type
MORBs

Data from Ito et al.

(1987) Chemical Geology,
62, 157-176; and LeRoex
et al. (1983) J. Petrol., 24,
267-318.
N-MORBs plot as a relatively tight cluster with 87Sr/86Sr
< 0.7035 and 143Nd/144Nd > 0.5030, both of which
indicate a depleted mantle source

E-MORBs extend the MORB array to more enriched values

(higher 87Sr/86Sr and lower 143Nd/144Nd), providing even
stronger support for the distinct mantle reservoirs for N-
type and E-type MORBs

T-MORBs exhibit intermediate mixed values

Concluding remarks
 MORBs have multiple source regions
 The mantle beneath the ocean basins is not
homogeneous
 N-MORBs tap an upper, depleted mantle
 E-MORBs tap a deeper enriched source

Idea:
 T-MORBs = mixing of N- and E- magmas during
ascent and/or in shallow chambers
 The time required for the isotopic systems to develop
suggests that these reservoirs have been distinct
for a very long time
 MORB Petrogenesis
Generation
 Separation of the plates
 Upward motion of mantle
material into extended zone
 Decompression partial melting
associated with near-adiabatic
rise
 N-MORB melting initiated ~
60-80 km depth in upper
depleted mantle where it
inherits depleted trace
element and isotopic
characters.
Continue with: % partial melting increases to ~ 15-40%
as diapirs of melting mantle rise toward the surface %
melted when reaches top depends on the source depth,
temperature, and the rate of rise (and spreading)

Melting is terminated by conductive heat loss to the

surface near the top of the column, perhaps aided by the
consumption of clinopyroxene, which, when gone,
will create a discontinuous temperature jump in
melting
 Generation
 Region of melting
 The region of melting is
probably ~ 100 km wide, but is
focused into the 3-8 km wide
zone beneath the ridges
 Melt blobs separate at about 25-
35 km
 Melt blobs separate at about 25-
35 km where they are last in
equilibrium with harzburgite
residuum, and migrate to a
depth of 1-2 km immediately
beneath the ridge axis -> axial
magma chamber
• Idea:
Convective flow that
caused the
divergence at MOR
runs to Boundary
Layer.
• Lower enriched
mantle reservoir
may also be drawn
upward and an E-
MORB plume
initiated

Figure After Zindler et al. (1984)

Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 70, 175-195.
and Wilson (1989) Igneous
Petrogenesis, Kluwer.
Sinton and Detrick (1992) Model for magma chamber
beneath a slow-spreading ridge, such as the Mid-
Atlantic Ridge
– Model: With a reduced heat and magma supply, a steady-state eruptible
melt lens is absent. Instead a dike-like mush zone and a smaller
transition zone are beneath a well-developed rift valley
– Model assumption: Most of body well below the liquidus temperature.
– Prediction: convection and mixing is far less likely than at fast ridges.

2 Rift Valley
Depth (km)

Gabbro
6 Transition
zone
Moho Mush
8

10 5 0 5 10
Distance (km)
Model for magma chamber beneath a slow-spreading
ridge, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
• Most of body well below the liquidus temperature, so convection and
mixing is far less likely than at fast ridges
• numerous, small, ephemeral magma bodies occur at slow ridges
• Slow ridges are generally less differentiated than fast ridges - no
continuous liquid lenses, so magmas entering the axial area are more
likely to erupt directly to the surface

2 Rift Valley
Depth (km)

Gabbro
6 Transition
zone
Moho Mush
8

10 5 0 5 10
Distance (km)
Seismic velocities are still low beyond the mush (transition
zone where the partially molten material grades to cooler
solid gabbro)
The small sill-like liquid chamber seems difficult to
reconcile with the layered gabbros and cumulates, which
appear to be more compatible with a large liquid chamber
In situ crystallization in the mush zone, however may be a
viable alternative for gabbro formations
Much of the layering of ophiolite gabbros may be
secondary, imposed during deformation of the
spreading seafloor, and not by crystal settling
•Recent seismic work has failed to detect any chambers of this
size at ridges.
•Modern View: completely liquid body is a thin (tens to
hundreds of meters thick) and narrow (< 2 km wide) sill-like
lens 1-2 km beneath the seafloor
•Provides reflector noticed in detailed seismic profiles shot
along and across sections of the EPR
•Melt surrounded by a wider mush and transition zone of low
seismic velocity
•Transition zone transmits shear waves, but may still have a
minor amount of melt)
•“Magma chamber” = melt + mush zone (the liquid portion is
continuous through them)
•Lens maintained by reinjection.
A modern concept of the axial
magma chamber beneath a FAST Figure 13-15. After Perfit et al.
ridge (1994) Geology, 22, 375-379.
•Completely liquid body is a thin (tens to hundreds
of meters thick) and narrow (< 2 km wide) sill-like
lens 1-2 km beneath the seafloor
•Provides reflector noticed in detailed seismic
profiles shot along and across sections of the EPR
•Melt surrounded by a wider mush and transition
zone of low seismic velocity
•Transition zone transmits shear waves, but may still
have a minor amount of melt)
•“Magma chamber” = melt + mush zone (the liquid
portion is continuous through them)
•Lens maintained by reinjection.
  Melt body  continuous reflector up to several
kilometers along the ridge crest, with gaps at
fracture zones, small deviations in alignment
(devals) and offset spreading centers ( OSCs ).
 Large-scale chemical variations indicate poor
mixing along axis, and/or intermittent liquid
magma lenses, each fed by a source conduit

Figure After Sinton and

Detrick (1992) J. Geophys. Devals: subtle bends or tiny offsets less than 500
Res., 97, 197-216. meters in size.