8 April, 2010 (16:00 GMT), 5 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.

Speaker: Dr Tiffany Barry, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Title: Cenozoic basalts in Mongolia; problems with interpreting intraplate volcanism.

Abstract:

Thirty million years of intermittent basalt volcanism throughout Mongolia poses some interesting problems as well as insights into mantle processes and intraplate magmatism. In this talk, I will examine the geochemical nature of the basalt volcanism in Mongolia and compare it with similarly aged basalts from southern Siberia and NE China. Using geochemistry, it is possible to place constraints on the depth and conditions of melting and infer potential source regions. But how can we explain such volcanism on thick continental crust when there is scant evidence for a long-lived mantle plume? In the talk I will explore potential models for melt generation beneath central Asia and assess them in light of recent geophysical evidence.