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Event Address
Zoom
Event Start
1800
Event End
1900
Event Details
Title: Dynamic Earth Models for frontier kimberlite exploration
Speaker: Nicolas Flament
Date and time: Aug 20, 2024 1800 (NSW)
Regstration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_M9Emiw4nQueg05JnWFofDg#/registration
Abstract:
Understanding mantle convection plays a frontier role in advancing kimberlite exploration. Kimberlite melts, which commonly transport diamonds from depths of over 120 km and occasionally more than 660 km, commonly form at approximately 300 km depth. This study investigates the deep mantle processes that transport heat to the source depths of kimberlite magmatism. Possible kimberlite formation environments include the lower mantle and transition zone, subduction zones, and mantle upwelling regions.
We leverage the proposed statistical relationship between kimberlites and basal mantle structures to create global maps of relative kimberlite potential. These maps reveal the association of kimberlite eruptions with both fixed and mobile basal mantle structures over the past 320 million years. The findings suggest that broad mantle upwelling, rather than narrow mantle plumes, may link kimberlite eruptions to deep Earth processes, transporting heat to shallower depths where localized geodynamic processes induce eruptions.