Lithosphere thickness controls the extent of mantle melting, depth of melt extraction and basalt compositions in all tectonic settings on Earth – A review and new perspectives

Basalts and basaltic rocks are the most abundant igneous rocks on the earth and their petrologic and geochemical studies have formed our knowledge base on the thermal structure and composition of the mantle with which we have developed workable models on the chemical differentiation of the earth. All this would not have been possible without innovative and painstaking experimental petrology on mantle peridotite melting, basaltic magma generation...