Abstract. Curie depth offers a valuable constraint on the thermal structure of the lithosphere, based on its interpretation as the depth to 580 ∘C, but current methods underestimate the range of uncertainty. We formulate the estimation of Curie depth within a Bayesian framework to quantify its uncertainty across the British Isles. Uncertainty increases exponentially with Curie depth but this can be moderated by increasing the size of the spatial window taken from the magnetic anomaly. The choice of window size needed to resolve the magnetic thickness is often ambiguous but, based on our chosen spectral method, we determine that significant gains in precision can be obtained with window sizes 15–30 times larger than the deepest magnetic source. Our Curie depth map of the British Isles includes a combination of window sizes: smaller windows are used where the magnetic base is shallow to resolve small-scale features, and larger window sizes are used where the magnetic base is deep in order to improve precision. On average, the Curie depth increases from Laurentian crust (22.2±5.3 km) to Avalonian crust (31.2±9.2 km). The temperature distribution in the crust, and associated uncertainty, was simulated from the ensemble of Curie depth realizations assigned to a lower thermal boundary condition of a crustal model (sedimentary thickness, Moho depth, heat production, thermal conductivity), constructed from various geophysical and geochemical datasets. The uncertainty in the simulated heat flow field substantially increases from ±10 mW m−2 for shallow Curie depths at ∼15 km to ±80 mW m−2 for Curie depths >40 km. Surface heat flow observations are concordant with the simulated heat flow field except in regions that contain igneous bodies. Heat flow data within large batholiths in the British Isles exceed the simulated heat flow by ∼25 mW m−2 as a result of their high rates of heat production (4–6 µW m−3). Conversely, heat refraction around thermally resistive mafic volcanics and thick sedimentary layers induce a negative heat flow misfit of a similar magnitude. A northward thinning of the lithosphere is supported by shallower Curie depths on the northern side of the Iapetus Suture, which separates Laurentian and Avalonian terranes. Cenozoic volcanism in Northern Britain and Ireland has previously been attributed to a lateral branch of the proto-Icelandic mantle plume. Our results show that high surface heat flow (>90 mW m−2) and shallow Curie depth (∼15 km) occur within the same region, which supports the hypothesis that lithospheric thinning occurred due to the influence of a mantle plume. The fact that the uncertainty is only ±3–8 km in this region demonstrates that Curie depths are more reliable in hotter regions of the crust where the magnetic base is shallow.

Long-lived, widespread intraplate volcanism without age progression is one of the most controversial features of plate tectonics. Previously proposed edge-driven convection, asthenospheric shear, and lithospheric detachment fail to explain the ~5000-km-wide intraplate volcanic province from eastern Australia to Zealandia. We model the subducted slab volume over 100 million years and find that slab flux drives volcanic eruption frequency, indicating stimulation of an enriched mantle transition zone reservoir. Volcanic isotope geochemistry allows us to distinguish a high-μ (HIMU) reservoir [>1 billion years (Ga) old] in the slab-poor south, from a northern EM1/EM2 reservoir, reflecting a more recent voluminous influx of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle transition zone. We provide a unified theory linking plate boundary and slab volume reconstructions to upper mantle reservoirs and intraplate volcano geochemistry.

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Multiple geophysical methods have been proposed to resolve the thermal structure of the Earth's lithosphere with varying degrees of precision. Geotherms may be constructed from heat flow or xenolith data, but the spatial coverage of these are often limited. Seismic velocity has proven effective to infer upper-mantle temperature, but its application relies on building a compositional model suitable for the geological context and estimating attenuation from grainsize and water content. In contrast, magnetic data are among the most widespread geophysical datasets available on the surface of the Earth and can offer useful insight into its thermal structure.

Earth’s upper mantle, as sampled by mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) at oceanic spreading centers, has developed chemical and isotopic heterogeneity over billions of years through focused melt extraction and re-enrichment by recycled crustal components. Chemical and isotopic heterogeneity of MORB is dwarfed by the large compositional spectrum of lavas at convergent margins, identifying subduction zones as the major site for crustal recycling into and modification of the mantle. The fate of subduction-modified mantle and if this heterogeneity transmits into MORB chemistry remains elusive. Here, we investigate the origin of upper mantle chemical heterogeneity underneath the Western Gakkel Ridge region in the Arctic Ocean through MORB geochemistry and tectonic plate reconstruction. We find that seafloor lavas from the Western Gakkel Ridge region mirror geochemical signatures of an Early Cretaceous, paleo-subduction zone, and conclude that the upper mantle can preserve a long-lived, stationary geochemical memory of past geodynamic processes.