Exploring Self-Consistent Models of Solid and Melt Flow Beneath Mid-Ocean Ridges

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9618224 Forsythe Numerical modeling of self-consistent two-dimensional treatments of solid mantle flow coupled with magma flow beneath mid-ocean ridges will be undertaken in order to put constraints on the flow processes occurring at this tectonic setting. Specifically, a model that incorporates chemical heterogeneity in the mantle will be integrated into the flow model in an effort to understand the complex geochemical signature of incompatible elements in mid-ocean ridge basalts. The ability of the models to qualitatively explain the composition of mid-ocean ridge basalts from diverse areas will be tested and the results incorporated into geophysical models interactively. This project represents a fully integrated, collaborative effort designed to produce a theoretical model of mantle flow and melt production beneath mid-ocean ridges that reconciles the diverse constraints of major and trace-element and isotopic composition of mid-ocean ridge basalts with seismological and geophysical observations.