27 research outputs found

    Ridge segmentation, tectonic evolution and rheology of slow-spreading oceanic crust

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    Submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution August, 1996Two-thirds of the Earth's surface is oceanic crust formed by magmatic and tectonic processes along mid-ocean ridges. Slow-spreading ridges, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, are discontinuous and composed of ridge segments. Segments are thus fundamental units of magmatic accretion and tectonic deformation that control the evolution of the crust. The objective of this Thesis is to constrain the tectonic processes that occur at the scale of slowspreading segments, to identify the factors controlling segment propagation, and to provide constraints on lithospheric strength with laboratory deformation experiments. In chapter 2, bathymetry and gravity from various areas along the global mid-ocean ridge system are analyzed to quantify systematic variations at the scale of individual segments. There is a marked asymmetry in bathymetry and gravity in the vicinity of segment offsets. We develop a model of faulting to explain these observations. Low-angle faults appear to accommodate tectonic extension at the inside corners of ridge-offset intersections, and result in substantially uplifted terrain with thin crust with respect to that at the outside corners or centers of segments. Results from Chapter 3 indicate that the crust magmatically emplaced on axis is not maintained off-axis. This transition is revealed by both statistical and spectral analyses of bathymetry and gravity. Tectonic extension varies along the length of a segment, resulting in thinning and uplift of the crust at ridge-offset inside corners, and a decorrelation between bathymetry and gravity patterns. Tectonic deformation substantially reshapes the oceanic crust that is magmatically emplaced on-axis, and strongly controls the crustal structure and seafloor morphology off-axis. Satellite gravity data over the Atlantic shown in Chapter 4 reveal a complex history of ridge segmentation, and provides constraints on the processes driving the propagation of segments. The pattern of segmentation is controlled mainly by the geometry of the ridge axis, and secondarily by hot spots. Segments migrate primarily down regional gradients associated with hot spot swells. However, the lack of correlation between gradients and propagation rate, and the propagation up gradient of some offsets, suggest that additional factors control propagation (e.g., variations in lithospheric strength). Most non-transform offsets are short-lived and migrating, while transform offsets are long-lived and stable. Both the propagation of segments (Chapter 4) tectonism along a segment (Chapters 2 and 3) are controlled by the lithospheric rheology. In Chapter 5 I present results from laboratory deformation experiments on serpentinite. These experiments demonstrate that serpentinites are considerably weaker than peridotites or gabbros, display a non-dilatant style of brittle deformation, and strain is accommodated by shear cracking. Serpentinites may weaken the lithosphere, enhance strain localization along faults, and control the style of faulting.A fellowship from Caixa de Pensions "La Caixa" in Barcelona provided me with all the required financial support to come to WHOI. The work presented in this thesis was also supported by the National Science Foundation grants OCE-90l2576, OCE-930078, OCE-9313812, and Office of Naval Research grant N00014-9l-J-1433

    A record of eruption and intrusion at a fast spreading ridge axis : axial summit trough of the East Pacific Rise at 9–10°N

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    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2009. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 10 (2009): Q10T07, doi:10.1029/2008GC002354.High-resolution side-scan sonar, near-bottom multibeam bathymetry, and deep-sea photo and bathymetry traverses are used to map the axial summit trough (AST) at the East Pacific Rise between 9 and 10°N. We define three ridge axis morphologic types: no AST, narrow AST, and wide AST, which characterize distinct ridge crest domains spanning tens of kilometers along strike. Near-bottom observations, modeling of deformation above intruding dikes, and comparisons to the geologic and geophysical structure of the ridge crest are used to develop a revised model of AST genesis and evolution. This model helps constrain the record of intrusive and extrusive magmatism and styles of lava deposition along the ridge crest at time scales from hundreds to tens of thousands of years. The grabens in the narrow-AST domain (9°43′–53′N) are consistent with deformation above the most recent (<10) diking events beneath the ridge crest. Frequent high–effusion rate extrusive volcanism in this domain (several eruptions every ∼100 years) overprints near-axis deformation and maintains a consistent AST width. The most recent eruption at the ridge crest occurred in this area and did not significantly modify the physical characteristics of the AST. The grabens in the wide-AST domain (9°23′–43′N) originated with similar dimensions to the narrow AST. Spreading, driven primarily by the intrusion of shallow dikes within a narrow axial zone, causes the initial graben bounding faults to migrate away from the axis. Infrequent extrusive volcanism (several eruptions every ∼1000 years) fills a portion of the subsidence that accumulates over time but does not significantly modify the width of the AST. Outside of these domains, lower–effusion rate constructional volcanism without efficient drain-back fills and erases the signature of the AST. The relative frequency of intrusive versus extrusive magmatic events controls the morphology of the ridge crest and appears to remain constant over millennial time scales within the domains we have identified; however, over longer time scales (∼10–25 ka), domain-specific intrusive-to-extrusive ratios do not appear to be fixed in space, resulting in a fairly consistent volcanic accretion over the length scale of the second-order ridge segment between 9°N and 10°N.This work was supported by NSF grants OCE-0525863 to D. Fornari and S. A. Soule; OCE-0732366 to S. A. Soule; and OCE-9819261 to H. Schouten, M. Tivey, and D. Fornari and by CNRS to J. Escartın

    Tectonic evolution of 200 km of Mid-Atlantic Ridge over 10 million years : interplay of volcanism and faulting

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    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 16 (2015): 2303-2321, doi:10.1002/2015GC005797.We reconstruct the history of the mode of accretion of an area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge south of the Kane fracture zone using bathymetric morphology. The area includes 200 km of the spreading axis and reaches to 10 Ma on either side. We distinguish three tectonic styles: (1) volcanic construction with eruption and intrusion of magma coupled with minor faulting, (2) extended terrain with abundant large-offset faults, (3) detachment faulting marked by extension on single long-lived faults. Over 40% of the seafloor is made of extended terrain and detachment faults. The area includes products of seven spreading segments. The spreading axis has had detachment faulting or extended terrain on one or both sides for 70% of the last 10 Ma. In some parts of the area, regions of detachment faulting and extended terrain lie close to segment boundaries. Regions of detachment faulting initiated at 10 Ma close to the adjacent fracture zones to the north and south, and then expanded away from them. We discuss the complex evidence from gravity, seismic surveys, and bathymetry for the role of magma supply in generating tectonic style. Overall, we conclude that input of magma at the spreading axis has a general control on the development of detachment faulting, but the relationship is not strong. Other factors may include a positive feedback that stabilizes detachment faulting at the expense of volcanic extension, perhaps through the lubrication of active detachment faults by the formation of low friction materials (talc, serpentine) on detachment fault surfaces.2016-01-2

    Active long-lived faults emerging along slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges

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    Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 25, no. 1 (2012): 94–99, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2012.07.In the classic mid-ocean ridge model, new seafloor is generated through a combination of magmatic diking feeding lava flows at the spreading axis, and the formation of short-offset, high-angle normal faults that dip toward the axis. These processes lead to the formation of a layered magmatic crust and linear, ridge-parallel abyssal hills on both ridge flanks. This model of ocean crust generation applies well to fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges (i.e., > 80 mm yr–1), but it is not always valid at slower-spreading ridges. Instead, at slow-spreading ridges such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), which is opening at about 25 mm yr–1, the formation of long-lived faults (called detachments) on one flank of the ridge axis is an important process in seafloor formation (Cann et al., 1997; Karson, 1999; MacLeod et al., 2009; Schroeder et al., 2007; Smith et al., 2008; Tucholke et al., 1998). In fact, active detachment faults have been identified along nearly half of the MAR axis between 12° and 35°N (Escartín et al., 2008).This study was undertaken with US National Science Foundation (NSF) support to HS and DKS, and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique support to JE

    Quantifying diffuse and discrete venting at the Tour Eiffel vent site, Lucky Strike hydrothermal field

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    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 13 (2012): Q04008, doi:10.1029/2011GC003991.The relative heat carried by diffuse versus discrete venting of hydrothermal fluids at mid-ocean ridges is poorly constrained and likely varies among vent sites. Estimates of the proportion of heat carried by diffuse flow range from 0% to 100% of the total axial heat flux. Here, we present an approach that integrates imagery, video, and temperature measurements to accurately estimate this partitioning at a single vent site, Tour Eiffel in the Lucky Strike hydrothermal field along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Fluid temperatures, photographic mosaics of the vent site, and video sequences of fluid flow were acquired during the Bathyluck'09 cruise (Fall, 2009) and the Momarsat'10 cruise (Summer, 2010) to the Lucky Strike hydrothermal field by the ROV Victor6000 aboard the French research vessel the “Pourquoi Pas”? (IFREMER, France). We use two optical methods to calculate the velocities of imaged hydrothermal fluids: (1) for diffuse venting, Diffuse Flow Velocimetry tracks the displacement of refractive index anomalies through time, and (2) for discrete jets, Particle Image Velocimetry tracks eddies by cross-correlation of pixel intensities between subsequent images. To circumvent video blurring associated with rapid velocities at vent orifices, exit velocities at discrete vents are calculated from the best fit of the observed velocity field to a model of a steady state turbulent plume where we vary the model vent radius and fluid exit velocity. Our results yield vertical velocities of diffuse effluent between 0.9 cm s−1 and 11.1 cm s−1 for fluid temperatures between 3°C and 33.5°C above that of ambient seawater, and exit velocities of discrete jets between 22 cm s−1 and 119 cm s−1 for fluid temperatures between 200°C and 301°C above ambient seawater. Using the calculated fluid velocities, temperature measurements, and photo mosaics of the actively venting areas, we calculate a heat flux due to diffuse venting from thin fractures of 3.15 ± 2.22 MW, discrete venting of 1.07 ± 0.66 MW, and, by incorporating previous estimates of diffuse heat flux density from Tour Eiffel, diffuse flux from the main sulfide mound of ∼15.6 MW. We estimate that the total integrated heat flux from the Tour Eiffel site is 19.82 ± 2.88 MW and that the ratio of diffuse to discrete heat flux is ∼18. We discuss the implication of these results for the characterization of different vent sites within Lucky Strike and in the context of a compilation of all available measurements of the ratio of diffuse to discrete heat flux.E. Mittelstaedt was supported by the International Research Fellowship Program of the U.S. National Science Foundation (OISE-0757920). Funding for the 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010 cruises was provided by CNRS/ IFREMER through the MoMAR program (France), by ANR (France), the Mothseim Project NT05–3 42213 to J. Escartín and by grant CTM2010–15216/MAR from the Spanish Ministry of Science to R. Garcia and J. Escartín. T. Barreyre was supported by University Paris Diderot (Paris 7 – France) and Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP, France).2012-10-1

    Hydrothermal activity along the slow-spreading Lucky Strike ridge segment (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) : distribution, heatflux, and geological controls

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    Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters 431 (2015): 1730185, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2015.09.025.We have reviewed available visual information from the seafloor, and recently acquired microbathymetry for several traverses across the Lucky Strike segment, to evaluate the distribution of hydrothermal activity. We have identified a new on-axis site with diffuse flow, Ewan, and anactive vent structure ~1.2 km from the axis, Capelinhos. These sites are minor relative to the Main field, and our total heatflux estimate for all active sites (200-1200 MW) is only slightly higher than previously published estimates. We also identify fossil sites W of the main Lucky Strike field. A circular feature ~200 m in diameter located on the flanks of a rifted off-axis central volcano, is likely a large and inactive hydrothermal edifice, named Grunnus. We find no indicator of focused hydrothermal activity elsewhere along the segment, suggesting that the enhanced melt supply and the associated melt lenses, required to form central volcanoes, also sustain hydrothermal circulation to form and maintain large and long-lived hydrothermal fields. Hydrothermal discharge to the seafloor occurs along fault traces, suggesting focusing of hydrothermal circulation in the shallow crust along permeable fault zones.This work has been partly financed by ANR (France) Mothseim Project NT05-3 42213 toJE, and by EU-RTN-MOMARNET to MC. The French Ministry of Research financed ship, ROV and AUV time (Graviluck’06, MOMAR’08, Bathyluck’09, MOMARSAT cruises in 2010-2015

    CARB-ES-19 Multicenter Study of Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli From All Spanish Provinces Reveals Interregional Spread of High-Risk Clones Such as ST307/OXA-48 and ST512/KPC-3

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    Carbapenemases; High-risk clones; Whole genome sequencingCarbapenemasas; Clones de alto riesgo; Secuenciación del genoma completoCarbapenemases; Clons d'alt risc; Seqüenciació del genoma sencerObjectives: CARB-ES-19 is a comprehensive, multicenter, nationwide study integrating whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in the surveillance of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (CP-Kpn) and E. coli (CP-Eco) to determine their incidence, geographical distribution, phylogeny, and resistance mechanisms in Spain. Methods: In total, 71 hospitals, representing all 50 Spanish provinces, collected the first 10 isolates per hospital (February to May 2019); CPE isolates were first identified according to EUCAST (meropenem MIC > 0.12 mg/L with immunochromatography, colorimetric tests, carbapenem inactivation, or carbapenem hydrolysis with MALDI-TOF). Prevalence and incidence were calculated according to population denominators. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the microdilution method (EUCAST). All 403 isolates collected were sequenced for high-resolution single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing, core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST), and resistome analysis. Results: In total, 377 (93.5%) CP-Kpn and 26 (6.5%) CP-Eco isolates were collected from 62 (87.3%) hospitals in 46 (92%) provinces. CP-Kpn was more prevalent in the blood (5.8%, 50/853) than in the urine (1.4%, 201/14,464). The cumulative incidence for both CP-Kpn and CP-Eco was 0.05 per 100 admitted patients. The main carbapenemase genes identified in CP-Kpn were blaOXA–48 (263/377), blaKPC–3 (62/377), blaVIM–1 (28/377), and blaNDM–1 (12/377). All isolates were susceptible to at least two antibiotics. Interregional dissemination of eight high-risk CP-Kpn clones was detected, mainly ST307/OXA-48 (16.4%), ST11/OXA-48 (16.4%), and ST512-ST258/KPC (13.8%). ST512/KPC and ST15/OXA-48 were the most frequent bacteremia-causative clones. The average number of acquired resistance genes was higher in CP-Kpn (7.9) than in CP-Eco (5.5). Conclusion: This study serves as a first step toward WGS integration in the surveillance of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in Spain. We detected important epidemiological changes, including increased CP-Kpn and CP-Eco prevalence and incidence compared to previous studies, wide interregional dissemination, and increased dissemination of high-risk clones, such as ST307/OXA-48 and ST512/KPC-3.This research was supported by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (numbers PI18CIII/00030 and PI21CIII/00039). It was also supported by Plan Nacional de I + D + i 2013–2016, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases (grants RD16CIII/0004/0002, RD16/0016/0001, RD16/0016/0003, RD16/0016/0004, RD16/0016/0006, RD16/0016/0007, RD16/0016/0008, RD16/0016/0010, and RD16/0016/0011). Cofinanced by the European Development Regional Fund “A way to achieve Europe,” Operative Program Intelligent Growth 2014–2020. CIBER – Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CB21/13/00095, CB21/13/00012, CB21/13/00049, CB21/13/00054, CB21/13/00055, CB21/13/00068, CB21/13/00081, CB21/13/00084, and CB21/13/00099) (CIBERINFEC) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Unión Europea – NextGenerationEU also supported this work

    Drilling constraints on lithospheric accretion and evolution at Atlantis Massif, Mid-Atlantic Ridge 30°N

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    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 116 (2011): B07103, doi:10.1029/2010JB007931.Expeditions 304 and 305 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program cored and logged a 1.4 km section of the domal core of Atlantis Massif. Postdrilling research results summarized here constrain the structure and lithology of the Central Dome of this oceanic core complex. The dominantly gabbroic sequence recovered contrasts with predrilling predictions; application of the ground truth in subsequent geophysical processing has produced self-consistent models for the Central Dome. The presence of many thin interfingered petrologic units indicates that the intrusions forming the domal core were emplaced over a minimum of 100–220 kyr, and not as a single magma pulse. Isotopic and mineralogical alteration is intense in the upper 100 m but decreases in intensity with depth. Below 800 m, alteration is restricted to narrow zones surrounding faults, veins, igneous contacts, and to an interval of locally intense serpentinization in olivine-rich troctolite. Hydration of the lithosphere occurred over the complete range of temperature conditions from granulite to zeolite facies, but was predominantly in the amphibolite and greenschist range. Deformation of the sequence was remarkably localized, despite paleomagnetic indications that the dome has undergone at least 45° rotation, presumably during unroofing via detachment faulting. Both the deformation pattern and the lithology contrast with what is known from seafloor studies on the adjacent Southern Ridge of the massif. There, the detachment capping the domal core deformed a 100 m thick zone and serpentinized peridotite comprises ∼70% of recovered samples. We develop a working model of the evolution of Atlantis Massif over the past 2 Myr, outlining several stages that could explain the observed similarities and differences between the Central Dome and the Southern Ridge
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