Local variations in lithology, thermal conditions and redox state control mechanisms of carbon storage and release in the continental mantle

The continental lithosphere is an enormous reservoir for carbon, but its sequestration and release over geological time are poorly understood. Recent advances indicate that estimates of the amount of carbon released by gradual degassing from the mantle need to be revised upwards, whereas the carbon supplied by plumes may have been overestimated in the past. Variations in rock types and oxidation state may be very local, exerting strong influences on carbon storage and release mechanisms. Deep subduction of thick sedimentary packages may be prevented by diapirism, whereas thinner sequences may be subducted. Carbonates stored in the transition zone melt when they heat up, a process which is recognised by coupled stable isotope systems (e.g. Mg, Zn, Ca). There is no uniform “mantle oxygen fugacity”, and heterogeneous oxidation conditions are likely to exist, particularly at the thermal boundary layer and in the lowermost lithosphere where very local mixtures of rock types coexist. The infiltration of carbonate-rich melts from either subduction or melting of the uppermost asthenosphere leads to trapping of carbon by redox freezing or as carbonate-rich dykes in this zone. Deeply-derived, reduced melts may form additional diamond reservoirs, recognised as polycrystalline diamonds associated with websteritic silicate minerals.

Carbon is released by either edge-driven convection, which tears down sections of the thermal boundary layer and lower lithosphere so that they melt by a mixture of heating and oxidation, or by lateral advection of solids beneath rifts. Both mechanisms are concentrated at changes in lithosphere thickness and result in carbonate-rich melts, explaining the spatial association of craton edges and carbonate-rich magmatism. High-pressure experiments on individual rock types, and increasingly on reactions between rocks and melts, are fine-tuning our understanding of processes and providing unexpected results that are not seen in experiments on single rocks. Future research should concentrate on elucidating local variations and integrating these with the interpretation of geophysical signals. Global concepts such as average sediment compositions and a uniform mantle oxidation state are not appropriate models for small scale processes; an increased focus on local variations will help to refine carbon budget models.