Thin Lithosphere Drives Volcanic Activity Across North Atlantic Region

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery revealing that the intense volcanic activity in Iceland and the North Atlantic region is linked to the presence of thin lithosphere beneath the eastern part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province. This thin lithosphere focused the flow of hot mantle plume material, leading to localized uplift and magmatism, which shaped volcanic features such as the Giant’s Causeway and the Antrim Lava Group. The study, supported by ESA’s Science for Society projects, used innovative methods including thermodynamic inversion of satellite gravity data from ESA’s GOCE mission to uncover these geological processes. Additionally, seismic imaging has shown that broad, quasi-vertical mantle plumes extend from the core-mantle boundary to depths of about 1,000 kilometers, connecting ultralow-velocity zones to hotspot volcanoes like those in Iceland, Hawaii, and Samoa. These findings challenge the classical view of narrow thermal plumes and suggest a complex thermochemical origin, highlighting sluggish mantle circulation below 1,000 kilometers depth. Understanding these mechanisms is crucial, as large igneous provinces have historically influenced Earth's climate and mass extinctions through volcanic gas emissions and environmental impacts.