Buffering of mantle conditions through water cycling and thermal feedbacks maintains magmatism over geologic time

The Earth has remained magmatically and volcanically active over its full geologic history despite continued planetary cooling and a lack of thermal equilibrium in the mantle. Here we investigate this conundrum using data-constrained numerical models of deep-water cycling and thermal history. We find that the homologous temperature - the ratio of upper mantle to melting temperatures - initially declined but has been buffered at a nearly constant value since 2.5-2.0 billion years ago. Melt buffering is a result of the dependence of melting temperature and mantle viscosity on both mantle temperature and water content. We show that thermal and water cycling feedbacks lead to a self-regulated mantle evolution, characterised by a near-constant mantle viscosity. This occurs even though the mantle remains far from thermal equilibrium. The added feedback from water-dependent melting allows magmatism to be co-buffered over geological time. Thus, we propose that coupled thermal and water cycling feedbacks have maintained melting on Earth and associated volcanic/magmatic activity. Deep-water cycling enables a self-regulated mantle evolution which maintains a near-constant mantle viscosity and can explain why magmatism has continued despite planetary cooling throughout Earth's history, suggests data-constrained numerical modelling

Automated summary

Despite planetary cooling and a lack of thermal equilibrium in the mantle, data-constrained numerical models show that the self-regulated mantle evolution, maintained by thermal and water cycling feedbacks, has allowed magma and volcanic activity to continue on Earth. Thus, the deep-water cycling and coupled feedback mechanisms have played a crucial role in maintaining a near-constant mantle viscosity and sustaining magmatic activity throughout Earth's history.