Congratulations Thorsten!!

Thorsten Nagel was awarded 739.948 DKK over a three year period, starting this summer to study the chemical flux from subducted sediments into the overlying mantle wedge using exposed ultra-high-pressure terrains in Sweden, Switzerland and Slovenia. Det Frie Forskningsråd | Natur og Univers (FNU) is awarding the grant. We expect he will be in the field later this year. Check back to read more news on his progress and to see some field photos.

Abstract:

Volcanic arcs follow subducting plate boundaries on the overriding plate side. Their feeding sources are located in the mantle wedge above the plate interface at depth but the chemical compositions of lavas indicate significant chemical contribution from sediments and crust of the down-going plate below. How the chemical charge from the slab is transferred into the mantle wedge is presently a major controversy in earth science. We propose to study chemical interaction between subducted sediments and mantle rocks in three recently identified paleo subduction channels in Switzerland, Slovenia, and Sweden, which are exhumed form sub-arc depth. We want to unravel (1) how mantle rocks react with solute-rich supercritical liquids from meta-sediments to form new mineral assemblages, (2) how these reactions filter elements from the rising liquids, and (3) how pervasive this overprint is. The study will allow reconstructing matter fluxes at the plate interface at sub-arc depth.

You can see Thorsten's abstract and all other abstracts for the 47 projects funded through Independent Research | Natural Sciences to DFF-projects, here.