Heterogeneous Earth’s mantle drilled at an embryonic ocean

Alessio Sanfilippo (), Ashutosh Pandey, Norikatsu Akizawa, Eirini Poulaki, Emily Cunningham, Manon Bickert, Chao Lei, Paola Vannucchi, Emily R. Estes, Alberto Malinverno, Noriaki Abe, Agata Stefano, Irina Y. Filina, Qi Fu, Swanne B. L. Gontharet, Lorna E. Kearns, Ravi Kiran Koorapati, Maria Filomena Loreto, Luca Magri, Walter Menapace, Victoria L. Pavlovics, Philippe A. Pezard, Milena A. Rodriguez-Pilco, Brandon D. Shuck, Xiangyu Zhao, Carlos Garrido, Daniele Brunelli, Tomoaki Morishita and Nevio Zitellini
Additional contact information
Alessio Sanfilippo: University of Pavia
Ashutosh Pandey: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram
Norikatsu Akizawa: University of Tokyo
Eirini Poulaki: Louisiana State University
Emily Cunningham: University of Utah
Manon Bickert: IFREMER
Chao Lei: China University of Geosciences
Paola Vannucchi: University of Florence
Emily R. Estes: Texas A&M University
Alberto Malinverno: Columbia University
Noriaki Abe: Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)
Agata Stefano: University of Catania
Irina Y. Filina: University of Nebraska
Qi Fu: University of Houston
Swanne B. L. Gontharet: Sorbonne Université, Campus Pierre et Marie Curie
Lorna E. Kearns: University of Texas at Austin
Ravi Kiran Koorapati: Binghamton University
Maria Filomena Loreto: Italian National Research Council
Luca Magri: University of Tasmania
Walter Menapace: ICM-CSIC
Victoria L. Pavlovics: University of Utah
Philippe A. Pezard: Geosciences Montpellier
Milena A. Rodriguez-Pilco: Texas A&M University at Galveston
Brandon D. Shuck: Louisiana State University
Xiangyu Zhao: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Carlos Garrido: Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (IACT)
Daniele Brunelli: Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Tomoaki Morishita: Kanazawa University
Nevio Zitellini: Italian National Research Council

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Mantle processes control plate tectonics and exert an influence on biogeochemical cycles. However, the proportion of mantle sampled in-situ is minimal, as it is buried beneath igneous crust and sediments. Here we report the lithological characteristics of two mantle sections from an embryonic ocean drilled by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Contrary to the mantle drilled at Mid Ocean Ridges (MORs) and hyperextended passive margins, our findings reveal exceptionally heterogeneous and fertile mantle lithologies, ranging from fertile lherzolites to depleted harzburgites and dunites, interlayered with pyroxenites. Plagioclase- and clinopyroxene-rich layers, hydrous potassic magmatic veins, and mafic intrusions indicate substantial mantle refertilization and delayed inception of magmatic crust. We propose that magma-poor rifts do not require a chemically depleted mantle, too refractory to melt. Deep lithospheric processes such as mantle refertilization and prolonged lithospheric thinning delayed melt focusing and the formation of a steady-state spreading center.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57121-0

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