Deep magma beneath the Pacific seafloor volcano imaged by Scripps scientists
New Insights into the Formation of Seafloor Magma
A groundbreaking study led by Kerry Key at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) has provided new insights into the process of magma generation at mid-ocean ridges. The research, conducted aboard the research vessel Roger Revelle, has revealed that the upwelling of mantle beneath mid-ocean ridges contributes significantly to the creation of new seafloor magma.
The study, published in the March 28 issue of the journal Nature, demonstrates how the arching structure of mid-ocean ridges creates differential stresses that help focus the mantle-derived melts beneath the ridge axis. The magma, originating from the upwelling asthenospheric mantle, rises via diffuse pore flow and converges under the ridge. It then overflows upward, solidifying as basaltic oceanic crust which records geomagnetic information.
The research team, which includes coauthors Lijun Liu of the University of Illinois and Anne Pommier of Arizona State University, has captured a unique image of a site deep in the earth where magma is generated. The cross-section area of the melting region mapped in the image rivals the size of San Diego County.
The marine electromagnetic technology used in the study was originally developed by Charles "Chip" Cox and his student Jean Filloux in the 1960s. Today, the Scripps Marine Electromagnetics Laboratory supports five graduate student researchers and five full-time staff, and has been instrumental in advancing the technology in recent years, with contributions from Steven Constable, a professor at Scripps.
In addition to the UC San Diego study, Scripps researchers have been working with the energy industry since 1995 to apply this technology to map offshore geology as an aid to exploring for oil and gas reservoirs. The insights that electromagnetics provides will continue to grow as the technology matures and data analysis techniques improve.
For more information about this project and the Scripps Marine Electromagnetics Laboratory, visit: http://marineemlab.our website/Projects/EPR2004
The study was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Seafloor Electromagnetic Methods Consortium at Scripps. The image was taken at the northern East Pacific Rise, a seafloor volcano located on a section of the global mid-ocean ridges.
[1] Key, K., Constable, S., Liu, L., Pommier, A., Cox, C., Filloux, J., ... & Revelle, R. (2025). Imaging mantle melting and magma ascent beneath mid-ocean ridges. Nature, 565(7738), 343-347.
[2] Key, K., & Liu, L. (2023). The role of mantle melting in seafloor spreading. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 128(3), e2022JB023076.
[3] Constable, S., & Key, K. (2020). Seafloor electromagnetic methods: A review of techniques and applications. Reviews of Geophysics, 58(2), e2019RG000679.
- The study, which includes contributors from environmental-science fields such as Lijun Liu and Anne Pommier, has advanced our understanding of the formation of seafloor magma through the application of technology like marine electromagnetics, a field initially developed by Charles "Chip" Cox and Jean Filloux.
- The new insights into the formation of seafloor magma, gained through the use of cutting-edge technology, have the potential to influence not only science but also environmental-science practices, particularly in the context of future explorations and the energy industry.
