Noble gases confirm plume related mantle degassing beneath Southern Africa

Stuart Gilfillan; D Gyore; Gareth Johnson; Clare Elizabeth Bond; Nigel Hicks; Robert Lister; David Jones; Yannick Kremer; Stuart R. Haszeldine; Finlay M. Stuart; Stephanie  Flude

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-12944-6

Noble gases confirm plume related mantle degassing beneath Southern Africa

Stuart Gilfillan^* (Corresponding Author), D Gyore, Gareth Johnson, Clare Elizabeth Bond, Nigel Hicks, Robert Lister, David Jones, Yannick Kremer, Stuart R. Haszeldine, Finlay M. Stuart, Stephanie Flude

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Southern Africa is characterised by unusually elevated topography and abnormal heat flow. This can be explained by thermal perturbation of the mantle, but the origin of this is unclear. Geophysics has not detected a thermal anomaly in the upper mantle and there is no geochemical evidence of an asthenosphere mantle contribution to the Cenozoic volcanic record of the region. Here we show that natural CO2 seeps along the Ntlakwe-Bongwan fault within KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, have C-He isotope systematics that support an origin from degassing mantle melts. Neon isotopes indicate that the melts originate from a deep mantle source that is similar to the mantle plume beneath Réunion, rather than the convecting upper mantle or sub-continental lithosphere. This confirms the existence of the Quathlamba mantle plume and importantly provides the first evidence in support of upwelling deep mantle beneath Southern Africa, helping to explain the regions elevation and abnormal heat flow.

Original language	English
Article number	5028
Pages (from-to)	1-7
Number of pages	7
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	10
Early online date	5 Nov 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12944-6 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40780-2
Publication status	Published - 5 Nov 2019

Bibliographical note

Author Correction: Noble gases confirm plume-related mantle degassing beneath Southern Africa; S M V Gilfillan, D Györe, S Flude, G Johnson, C E Bond, N Hicks, R Lister, D G Jones, Y Kremer, R S Haszeldine, F M Stuart, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 2023, p. 5162. Nature communications http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40780-2

Keywords

geochemistry
geodynamics

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Clare Bond
- School of Geosciences, Geology and Geophysics - Personal Chair
- Centre for Energy Transition
Person: Academic

Cite this

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title = "Noble gases confirm plume related mantle degassing beneath Southern Africa",

abstract = "Southern Africa is characterised by unusually elevated topography and abnormal heat flow. This can be explained by thermal perturbation of the mantle, but the origin of this is unclear. Geophysics has not detected a thermal anomaly in the upper mantle and there is no geochemical evidence of an asthenosphere mantle contribution to the Cenozoic volcanic record of the region. Here we show that natural CO2 seeps along the Ntlakwe-Bongwan fault within KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, have C-He isotope systematics that support an origin from degassing mantle melts. Neon isotopes indicate that the melts originate from a deep mantle source that is similar to the mantle plume beneath R{\'e}union, rather than the convecting upper mantle or sub-continental lithosphere. This confirms the existence of the Quathlamba mantle plume and importantly provides the first evidence in support of upwelling deep mantle beneath Southern Africa, helping to explain the regions elevation and abnormal heat flow.",

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note = "Author Correction: Noble gases confirm plume-related mantle degassing beneath Southern Africa; S M V Gilfillan, D Gy{\"o}re, S Flude, G Johnson, C E Bond, N Hicks, R Lister, D G Jones, Y Kremer, R S Haszeldine, F M Stuart, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 2023, p. 5162. Nature communications http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40780-2",

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AU - Haszeldine, Stuart R.

AU - Stuart, Finlay M.

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N1 - Author Correction: Noble gases confirm plume-related mantle degassing beneath Southern Africa; S M V Gilfillan, D Györe, S Flude, G Johnson, C E Bond, N Hicks, R Lister, D G Jones, Y Kremer, R S Haszeldine, F M Stuart, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 2023, p. 5162. Nature communications http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40780-2

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AB - Southern Africa is characterised by unusually elevated topography and abnormal heat flow. This can be explained by thermal perturbation of the mantle, but the origin of this is unclear. Geophysics has not detected a thermal anomaly in the upper mantle and there is no geochemical evidence of an asthenosphere mantle contribution to the Cenozoic volcanic record of the region. Here we show that natural CO2 seeps along the Ntlakwe-Bongwan fault within KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, have C-He isotope systematics that support an origin from degassing mantle melts. Neon isotopes indicate that the melts originate from a deep mantle source that is similar to the mantle plume beneath Réunion, rather than the convecting upper mantle or sub-continental lithosphere. This confirms the existence of the Quathlamba mantle plume and importantly provides the first evidence in support of upwelling deep mantle beneath Southern Africa, helping to explain the regions elevation and abnormal heat flow.

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Noble gases confirm plume related mantle degassing beneath Southern Africa

Abstract

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Clare Bond

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