Collaborative research: Isotopic Investigation of Gakkel Ridge peridotites to determine the length scale, origin and age of heterobeneities in the sub-ridge mantle

洋脊岩浆作用是地球上最重要的化学分异过程。绘制代表地幔的岩石中的化学和矿物学非均质性（即，橄榄岩）并将它们与海底喷发的熔岩（即，玄武岩）提供了地球热量收支的基本信息，并有助于约束地幔对流模型。 本研究对2001年AMORE考察队在北极海底Gakkel洋中脊扩张中心采集的橄榄岩进行了地球化学研究。 这次探险带回了一个橄榄岩的宝库，其范围和保存都是无与伦比的。有了这些岩石，我们对大洋中脊过程的理解的基本问题现在可以得到回答。 这项研究的目标包括确定橄榄岩的成分变化，因为这告诉我们地幔的结构和异质性，检查是否在局部范围内观察到的熔体消耗与当前的熔融过程或代表以前的熔融事件，并确定进入熔融区的亚脊地幔的年龄分布。 主要和微量元素分析，岩相学，钕和锇同位素系统学将被用来帮助回答这些问题。 这项工作的更广泛影响包括培训学生，并将初中和高中学生及其教师纳入研究。

Ridge magmatism is by volume the most important chemical differentiation process on the planet. Mapping the chemical and mineralogical heterogeneities in rocks representative of the mantle (i.e., peridotites) and linking them to the lavas erupted on the seafloor (i.e., basalts) provides essential information on Earth's heat budget and helps to constrain mantle convection models. This research carries out geochemical studies of peridotites collected from the Gakkel mid-ocean ridge spreading center on the Arctic seafloor by the 2001 AMORE expedition. This expedition returned a treasure trove of peridotites that is unsurpassed in its extent and preservation. With these rocks, questions fundamental to our understanding of mid-ocean ridge processes can now be answered. Goals of this research include determining compositional variations of the peridotites because this tells us about the structure and heterogeneity of the mantle, examining if melt depletions observed on a local scale are related to the current melting process or represent previous melting events, and determining the age distribution of the sub-ridge mantle that enters the melting zone. Major and trace element analyses, petrography, and neodymium and osmium isotope systematics will be used to help answer these questions. Broader impacts of the work include training students and including middle and high school students and their teachers in the research.