21st Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference

Start Date: 
Sunday, August 14, 2011
End Date: 
Friday, August 19, 2011

Location: Prague Congress Centre, Prague, Czech Republic

Web: http://www.goldschmidt2011.org/

Includes the following sessions:

04a: Chemical geodynamics: 25 years of mantle components

Convenors: Albrecht Hofmann (albrecht.hofmann@mpic.de), Francis Albarede (francis.albarede@ens-lyon.fr), Matthew Jackson (jacksonm@bu.edu), Thorsten Becker (thorstinski@gmail.com)

In the 25 years since the publication of the landmark paper on chemical geodynamics by Zindler and Hart, more species have been proposed for the mantle zoo, but the relationship of this geochemical zoo to the geodynamics and petrology of the mantle remains a subject of lively debate. We invite contributions that investigate the creation, existence and sampling of mantle components and their geodynamic interpretation throughout the thermo-chemical history of the Earth's mantle.

Keynote: Stan Hart (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute)

04c: Plumes, mid-ocean ridges, and plates: examining their role and interaction with observations and models

Convenors: Kaj Hoernle (khoernle@ifm-geomar.de), Anthony Koppers (akoppers@coas.oregonstate.edu), William Sager (sager@ocean.tamu.edu), Christoph Beier (christoph.beier@gzn.uni-erlangen.de)

Establishing the relative roles of plate-driven and plume-driven processes in the generation of mantle melting anomalies requires integration of geochemical, geophysical and geological observations to test models. We seek contributions that try to disentangle the effects of plate tectonics, mantle temperature, compositional heterogeneity and flow field in controlling mantle melting at mid-ocean ridges and within plates (seamounts, hotspot tracks and Large Igneous Provinces) on oceanic and continental crust/lithopshere. We encourage submissions from both the observational and modelling perspectives of these types of concepts.

04g: Merging experiments, models, and geochemical observations of mantle melting

Convenors: Paul Asimow (asimow@gps.caltech.edu), Claude Herzberg (herzberg@rci.rutgers.edu), Sebastien Pilet (sebastien.pilet@unil.ch)

Recent experimental, analytical and modelling studies have enhanced our understanding of the complexities of mantle melting beneath plate boundary and/or intraplate settings. We seek contributions that focus on mantle melting processes from the perspective(s) of new experimental, modelling and observational data.

Keynote speaker: Peter Kelemen (Columbia University)

04i: Origin of Large Igneous Provinces: linking geochemistry, geochronology, geophysics, geodynamics and climate modeling

Convenors: Alex Sobolev (alexander.sobolev@mpic.de), Andrea Marzoli (andrea.marzoli@unipd.it), Stephan Sobolev (stephan@gfz-potsdam.de), Fred Jourdan (f.jourdan@curtin.edu.au)

The Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) are known for their enormous productivity of magma at areas of up to several million km2 in less than a few million years. They are likely associated with catastrophic thinning of lithosphere; they may initiate continental break-up and are often related to the global environmental catastrophes and mass extinction events. Despite the obvious importance of understanding the origin of LIPs, controversy surrounds even the basic idea that LIPs form through melting in the heads of thermal mantle plumes, and their timing relative to geodynamic and biological events remains disputed. This session aims at bringing together experts in petrology, geochemistry, geochronology, geophysics, geodynamics and palaeoclimatology to address key problems of LIP origin. Particularly welcome are geodynamic models of LIP origin and models of their climatic impact, as well as new observations on their composition, timing, lithospheric structure and environmental influence.

05c: Continent formation through time

Convenor: Stephen Parman (stephen_parman@brown.edu)

Although processes associated with plate tectonics (subduction, arc volcanism, and island arc accretion) are generally accepted as controlling crust-generation during post-Archaean times, it is still not clear how early in Earth’s history plate tectonics operated or whether continent formation occurred by fundamentally different processes. What role did slab melting, melting during crustal thickening, and large plumes play in making continents in the past, and what insights can be gained from modern examples of such processes? How has the composition of continental crust and its building blocks changed with time? We invite contributions using a variety of approaches (field observation; petrologic, geochronologic and isotopic study; numerical and experimental modeling; etc.) to address these problems.

05h: Kimberlite, carbonatite, and strongly alkaline magmatism: source forming processes and relations to basaltic magmatism

Convenors: Sebastian Tappe (tappe@ualberta.ca), Dejan Prelevic (prelevic@uni-mainz.de), Graham Pearson (gdpearson@ualberta.ca)

This session welcomes studies that investigate the formation of the mantle source regions of kimberlites, carbonatites, and strongly alkaline magmas such as lamproites through geochemical, petrological (including experiments), and modelling techniques. A particular focus is on the potential links between strongly alkaline magma generation and large-scale tectonic events such as continental rifting and lithosphere delamination. Submissions that advance our understanding of the timing and style of kimberlite, carbonatite, and alkaline magma source enrichment, and those discussing whether alkaline magmatism is a cause or a consequence of mantle metasomatism are especially encouraged. We also encourage contributions that compare and contrast the mantle source components identified in strongly alkaline magmas with those considered important in shallow and deep basaltic magma sources.

Keynote speaker: Richard Carlson (Carnegie Institute of Washington)

City: 
Prague, Czech Republic