About 90% of Earth’s volcanism is associated with convergent or divergent plate boundaries and can thus be explained by plate tectonics. However, understanding the origin of anomalous volcanism within continental and oceanic plate interiors (i.e. intraplate volcanism), as well as unusual on-boundary volcanism such as Iceland, is less straightforward. Such volcanism is commonly attributed to mantle plumes but in recent years alternative models have been proposed such as rifted oceanic magmatic plateaus, sublithospheric drainage, and intraplate extension. At the same time, continental crust has been detected in the roots of many oceanic LIPs. Modern improvements in instrumentation, techniques and data availability have also greatly expanded our understanding of Earth dynamics and structure.
Understanding what drives anomalous magmatism is critical to understanding the evolution of Earth’s mantle, surface dynamics, volcanism, and chemistry through time including the climate, initiation of plate tectonics, and life. It is also key to understanding lithospheric deformation in the presence of magmatism, past and present volcanic catastrophes, and the environmental impacts of magmatism through time such as the coupling between LIP eruptions and mass extinctions. This knowledge is also crucial to the understanding of magmatism on other planetary bodies in the solar system and beyond.
This session brings together cross-disciplinary work on intraplate and unusual on-boundary magmatism to encourage communication between researchers with diverse ideas, observations, approaches, and backgrounds. We welcome contributions applying any methods including but not limited to, geochemistry, geophysics, volcanology, numerical and analogue modelling, field observations and remote sensing. Studies focusing on LIP magmatism, wide magmatic rift systems, or magmatism associated with continental material offshore or in oceanic LIPs are particularly encouraged. Innovative studies across all spatio-temporal scales and thought-provoking ideas that challenge conventions are particularly welcomed.