Research progress in the interaction between mantle plume and mid-ocean ridge triple junction
1. Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 511458, China;
2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
3. Qingdao Technical College, Qingdao 266555, China;
4. China-Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Science, CAS-HEC, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Received date: 2023-09-18
Revised date: 2024-04-12
Online published: 2024-07-10
Mantle plume and mid-ocean ridge are two fundamental ways to generate submarine magmatism and create oceanic crust. A series of mid-ocean ridge triple junction examples in global oceans are summarized and compared in terms of interaction between mantle plume and mid-ocean ridge (plume-ridge interaction), by which most oceanic plateaus are formed. Traditionally, fluid activity in the Earth's interior has been inferred from the characteristics, trends, and volumes of volcanic structures, as well as the distribution and chemical composition of magmatic rocks, by means of fieldwork and sampling in areas affected by the plume-ridge interaction. Nowadays, computer numerical simulation technology can be used to test the assumptions and hypotheses in prior studies and make the geodynamic process of plume-ridge interaction more quantitative, precise and rational. Researchers have conducted a number of numerical simulations of plume-ridge interaction, but their models are usually simplified. Future modelling needs to incorporate more influencing factors and set the model parameters closer to the real
situation. With this goal, we suggest additional initial conditions that may affect the numerical simulation results. We also propose solutions for several potential problems in the work of plume-ridge interaction modelling.