T-SECTOR: Testing Solid Earth Climate connections Through mid Ocean Ridge time series
ERC Synergy Grant aimed at establishing for the first time a link between climate and solid earth (plate tectonic) processes, more specifically between glacial cycles (sea level) and mid-ocean ridge volcanism
Funding Period: October 1, 2023 - September 30, 2029
Principal investigators:
Prof. Kaj Hoernle (corresponding PI; GEOMAR) - igneous geochemistry
Prof. Heidrun Kopp (GEOMAR) - geophysics
Prof. Martin Frank (GEOMAR) - paleo-oceanography
Prof. Charles Langmuir (Harvard University) - igneous petrology
A key challenge in understanding the Earth system is quantifying the feedback between climate and the solid Earth, which requires long-term studies. One critical time series is the climate (sea level) record, showing transitions between ice ages and warm periods over millions of years, involving significant mass shifts between continents (ice) and oceans. Volcanic activity is sensitive to these pressure changes, but its response to glacial cycles is largely unknown for the global mid-ocean ridge system (MOR), where 80% of Earth's volcanism occurs.
Models suggest that sea level fluctuations affect crustal thickness, lava chemistry, and hydrothermal activity at MORs. However, creating high-resolution time series has been difficult because sediments quickly cover the sea floor as it moves away from the ridge, making direct sampling a challenge. Recent studies show that MOR eruptions leave glass samples on nearby sediments that can be preserved for up to 105,000 years. These carbonate-rich sediments can be precisely dated using oxygen isotope stratigraphy, offering a record of ridge eruptions (glasses) and hydrothermal activity (trace metals), which can be sampled by gravity coring.
Through closely spaced cores collected during multiple research cruises, we aim to create a high-resolution time series of volcanic and hydrothermal activity directly linked to climate records. Additionally, seismic techniques can track changes in crustal thickness over time. We propose to gather integrated data from slow, intermediate, and fast-spreading ridge segments over the past 1.5 million years in unprecedented detail. These results will allow us to test the influence of glacial cycles on MOR processes and provide the first high-resolution time series of ocean ridge magmatism, opening a new frontier in scientific exploration.
