Collapse and resurgence of the Iceland mantle plume

Mantle plumes are a fundamental component of the Earth’s convective regime, but their long-term behaviour remains poorly understood. The Iceland plume, which is bisected by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, presents an opportunity to constrain plume evolution. Here, we reconstruct its influence upon seafloor spreading by exploiting the geochemistry of basalts drilled south of Iceland during International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 395. Trace element and isotopic measurements, combined with contextual geophysical observations, demonstrate that plume influence waned after continental break-up at ~ 55 Ma, collapsed rapidly at ~ 38 Ma, and then was progressively re-established to the present day. Recovered ~ 32 Ma basalt samples have rare earth element compositions equivalent to mid-Atlantic Ridge dredge samples located south of the present-day plume influence. These compositions can be modelled by passive upwelling and melting of depleted MORB mantle with a potential temperature of ~ 1300 ∘ C. In contrast, basalts recovered from younger (i.e. 0–14 Ma) sites show unequivocal evidence for plume influence. Together, these results imply dramatic changes in the extent of plume-ridge interaction across the North Atlantic region, providing key chemical constraints for geodynamic models of plume evolution and its imprint upon the geological record.