[1] Mapping and sampling of 18 eruptive units in two study areas along the Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) provide insight into how magma supply affects mid-ocean ridge (MOR) volcanic eruptions. The two study areas have similar spreading rates (53 versus 55 mm/yr), but differ by 30% in the time-averaged rate of magma supply (0.3 Â 10 6 versus 0.4 Â 10 6 m 3 /yr/km). Detailed geologic maps of each study area incorporate observations of flow contacts and sediment thickness, in addition to sample petrology, geomagnetic paleointensity, and inferences from high-resolution bathymetry data. At the lower-magma-supply study area, eruptions typically produce irregularly shaped clusters of pillow mounds with total eruptive volumes ranging from 0.09 to 1.3 km 3 . At the higher-magma-supply study area, lava morphologies characteristic of higher effusion rates are more common, eruptions typically occur along elongated fissures, and eruptive volumes are an order of magnitude smaller (0.002-0.13 km 3 ). At this site, glass MgO contents (2.7-8.4 wt. %) and corresponding liquidus temperatures are lower on average, and more variable, than those at the lower-magma-supply study area (6.2-9.1 wt. % MgO). The differences in eruptive volume, lava temperature, morphology, and inferred eruption rates observed between the two areas along the GSC are similar to those that have previously been related to variable spreading rates on the global MOR system. Importantly, the documentation of multiple sequences of eruptions at each study area, representing hundreds to thousands of years, provides constraints on the variability in eruptive style at a given magma supply and spreading rate.

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To test models of tectonic, magmatic, and hydrothermal processes along slow‐spreading mid‐ocean ridges, we analyzed seismic refraction data from the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge INtegrated Experiments at Rainbow (MARINER) seismic and geophysical mapping experiment. Centered at the Rainbow area of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (36°14'N), this study examines a section of ridge with volcanically active segments and a relatively amagmatic ridge offset that hosts the ultramafic Rainbow massif and its high‐temperature hydrothermal vent field. Tomographic images of the crust and upper mantle show segment‐scale variations in crustal structure, thickness, and the crust‐mantle transition, which forms a vertical gradient rather than a sharp boundary. There is little definitive evidence for large regions of sustained high temperatures and melt in the lower crust or upper mantle along the ridge axes, suggesting that melts rising from the mantle intrude as small intermittent magma bodies at crustal and subcrustal levels. The images reveal large rotated crustal blocks, which extend to mantle depths in some places, corresponding to off‐axis normal fault locations. Low velocities cap the Rainbow massif, suggesting an extensive near‐surface alteration zone due to low‐temperature fluid‐rock reactions. Within the interior of the massif, seismic images suggest a mixture of peridotite and gabbroic intrusions, with little serpentinization. Here diffuse microearthquake activity indicates a brittle deformation regime supporting a broad network of cracks. Beneath the Rainbow hydrothermal vent field, fluid circulation is largely driven by the heat of small cooling melt bodies intruded into the base of the massif and channeled by the crack network and shallow faults.

New observations and geochemical analyses of volcanic features in the 170-km-long Western Volcanic Zone (WVZ) of Iceland constrain spatial and temporal variations in volcanic production and composition associated with the last major deglaciation. Subglacial eruptions represent a significant portion of the late Quaternary volcanic budget in Iceland. Individual features can have volumes up to ∼48 km 3 and appear to be monogenetic. Subaqueous to subaerial transition zones provide minimum estimates of ice sheet thickness at the time of eruption, although water-magma interactions and fluctuating lake levels during eruption can lead to complex lithological sequences. New major and trace element data for 36 glacial and postglacial eruptive units, combined with observations of lava surface quality, passage zone heights, and 3 He exposure ages of some glacial units, indicate a maximum in volcanic production in the WVZ during the last major ice retreat. Anomalously high volcanic production rates continue into the early postglacial period and coincide with significant incompatible element depletions and slightly higher CaO and SiO 2 and lower FeO content at a given MgO. Subglacial units with strong incompatible element depletions also have lava surfaces that lack evidence of subsequent glaciation. These units likely formed after the onset of deglaciation, when rapidly melting ice sheets increased decompression rates in the underlying mantle, leading to anomalously high melting rates in the depleted upper mantle. This process also can explain the eruption of extremely depleted picritic lavas during the early postglacial period. These new observations indicate that the increased volcanic activity associated with glacial unloading peaked earlier than previously thought, before Iceland was completely ice free.