Structural variability within the Kane Oceanic Core Complex from full waveform inversion and reverse time migration of streamer data

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2020. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 47(7), (2020): e2020GL087405, doi:10.1029/2020GL087405.The origin and distribution of the gabbroic bodies provide crucial information to understand the formation and evolution processes of the oceanic core complexes (OCCs). Nevertheless, images of the shape of the gabbroic bodies across the domes and gabbroic intrusion into the mantle have remained elusive. High‐resolution acoustic early‐arrival full waveform inversion tomography models obtained along and across the Kane OCC characterize the detailed lateral variability in structure and composition of the upper ~2 km of this well‐developed OCC. Reverse time migration images show the gabbroic plutons embedded in mantle rocks are seismically transparent, while more reflective sections correspond to the layered magmatic crust. Lithological interpretation shows heterogeneous distribution of gabbroic bodies within the Kane OCC, indicating strong spatial and temporal variability in magmatism during fault exhumation. Our results will also be of high value for future scientific ocean drilling efforts in the area.Seismic data acquisition was funded by NSF Grant OCE99‐87004. Data files can be obtained from Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance (IEDA) (https://doi.org/10.1594/IEDA/314508) (Tucholke & Collins, 2014). The velocity models and migrated seismic sections shown in the paper are freely available for download from 4TU. Centre for Research Data (doi:10.4121/uuid:3ef55160-4a5a-4d1a-b734-fe2b8d2871ae). Full waveform inversion was performed with the software TomoPlus (GeoTomo LLC) licensed to SCSIO. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41676044 and 91858207) and Special Foundation for National Science and Technology Basic Research Program of China (2018FY100505). M. X. acknowledges supports from Guangdong NSF research team project (2017A030312002), K. C. Wong Education Foundation (GJTD‐2018‐13), Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (GML2019ZD0205), and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA13010105). J. P. C. acknowledges support from the Independent Research and Development Program at WHOI. J. P. Wang and X. R. Mu from China University of Petroleum are thanked for helping with the RTM setup.2020-09-2

Three-dimensional seismic structure of a Mid-Atlantic Ridge segment characterized by active detachment faulting (Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse, 25°55′N-26°20′N)

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): Q0AG13, doi:10.1029/2012GC004454.We use air gun shots recorded by ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) to generate a three-dimensional (3D) P-wave tomographic velocity model of the Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse (TAG) segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and to search for evidence of reflections from a shallow crustal fault interface. Near-vertical reflections were observed in some of the seismic records from OBSs deployed within the active seismicity zone defined by microearthquake hypocenters. Forward modeling of synthetic seismograms indicates that these reflections are consistent with a fault interface dipping at a low angle toward the ridge axis. Our observations suggest that the fault zone may extend beneath the volcanic blocks forming the eastern valley wall. Our 3D tomographic results show that the across-axis structural asymmetry associated with detachment faulting extends at least 15 km to the east of the ridge axis, indicating that detachment faulting and uplifting of deep lithologies has been occurring at the TAG segment for at least the last ∼1.35 Myr. The velocity model contains a 5 km by 8 km velocity anomaly within the detachment footwall. This anomaly, which is present beneath the active TAG hydrothermal mound, is characterized by a velocity inversion at 1.5–2.0 km below seafloor underlain by reduced P-wave velocities (∼6.2–6.5 km/s compared to surrounding areas ∼7.0–7.2 km/s) extending down to 3.5 km below seafloor. The velocity anomaly likely results from some combination of thermal and/or hydrothermal processes, and in either case our results suggest that hydrothermal fluids circulate within the upper section of the detachment footwall beneath the active mound.This research was supported by grants from the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (41076029, 41176053, 91028002) and the U.S.-NSF (OCE-0137329). M.Z. was supported by China Scholarship Council for 6 months of cooperative research at WHOI. J.P.C. acknowledges support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Endowed Fund for Innovative Research.2013-05-0

Dry Juan de Fuca slab revealed by quantification of water entering Cascadia subduction zone

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2017. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here under a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license granted to WHOI. It is made available for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Nature Geoscience 10 (2017): 864-870, doi:10.1038/ngeo3050.Water is carried by subducting slabs as a pore fluid and in structurally bound minerals, yet no comprehensive quantification of water content and how it is stored and distributed at depth within incoming plates exists for any segment of the global subduction system. Here we use seismic data to quantify the amount of pore and structurally bound water in the Juan de Fuca plate entering the Cascadia subduction zone. Specifically, we analyse these water reservoirs in the sediments, crust and lithospheric mantle, and their variations along the central Cascadia margin. We find that the Juan de Fuca lower crust and mantle are drier than at any other subducting plate, with most of the water stored in the sediments and upper crust. Variable but limited bend faulting along the margin limits slab access to water, and a warm thermal structure resulting from a thick sediment cover and young plate age prevents significant serpentinization of the mantle. The dryness of the lower crust and mantle indicates that fluids that facilitate episodic tremor and slip must be sourced from the subducted upper crust, and that decompression rather than hydrous melting must dominate arc magmatism in central Cascadia. Additionally, dry subducted lower crust and mantle can explain the low levels of intermediate-depth seismicity in the Juan de Fuca slab.This research was funded by the US NSF

Local seismicity of the Rainbow massif on the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2018. 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: Solid Earth 123 (2018): 1615-1630, doi:10.1002/2017JB015288.The Rainbow massif, an oceanic core complex located in a nontransform discontinuity on the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (36°N), is notable for hosting high‐temperature hydrothermal discharge through ultramafic rocks. Here we report results from a 9 month microearthquake survey conducted with a network of 13 ocean bottom seismometers deployed on and around the Rainbow massif as part of the MARINER experiment in 2013–2014. High rates (~300 per day) of low‐magnitude (average ML ~ 0.5) microearthquakes were detected beneath the massif. The hypocenters do not cluster along deeply penetrating fault surfaces and do not exhibit mainshock/aftershock sequences, supporting the hypothesis that the faulting associated with the exhumation of the massif is currently inactive. Instead, the hypocenters demarcate a diffuse zone of continuous, low‐magnitude deformation at relatively shallow (< ~3 km) depths beneath the massif, sandwiched in between the seafloor and seismic reflectors interpreted to be magmatic sills driving hydrothermal convection. Most of the seismicity is located in regions where seismic refraction data indicate serpentinized ultramafic host rock, and although the seismic network we deployed was not capable of constraining the focal mechanism of most events, our analysis suggests that serpentinization may play an important role in microearthquake generation at the Rainbow massif.NSF Grant Numbers: OCE‐0961680, OCE‐09611512018-07-2

Evolution of seismic layer 2B across the Juan de Fuca Ridge from hydrophone streamer 2-D traveltime tomography

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 Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 12 (2011): Q05009, doi:10.1029/2010GC003462.How oceanic crust evolves has important implications for understanding both subduction earthquake hazards and energy and mass exchange between the Earth's interior and the oceans. Although considerable work has been done characterizing the evolution of seismic layer 2A, there has been little analysis of the processes that affect layer 2B after formation. Here we present high-resolution 2-D tomographic models of seismic layer 2B along ∼300 km long multichannel seismic transects crossing the Endeavour, Northern Symmetric, and Cleft segments of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. These models show that seismic layer 2B evolves rapidly following a different course than layer 2A. The upper layer 2B velocities increase on average by 0.8 km/s and reach a generally constant velocity of 5.2 ± 0.3 km/s within the first 0.5 Myr after crustal formation. This suggests that the strongest impact on layer 2B evolution may be that of mineral precipitation due to “active” hydrothermal circulation centered about the ridge crest and driven by the heat from the axial magma chamber. Variations in upper layer 2B velocity with age at time scales ≥0.5 Ma show correlation about the ridge axis indicating that in the long term, crustal accretion processes affect both sides of the ridge axis in a similar way. Below the 0.5 Ma threshold, differences in 2B velocity are likely imprinted during crustal formation or early crustal evolution. Layer 2B velocities at propagator wakes (5.0 ± 0.2 km/s), where enhanced faulting and cracking are expected, and at areas that coincide with extensional or transtensional faulting are on average slightly slower than in normal mature upper layer 2B. Analysis of the layer 2B velocities from areas where the hydrothermal patterns are known shows that the locations of current and paleohydrothermal discharge and recharge zones are marked by reduced and increased upper layer 2B velocities, respectively. Additionally, the distance between present up-flow and down-flow zones is related to the amount of sediment cover because, as sediment cover increases and basement outcrops become covered, direct pathways from the igneous basement through the seafloor are cut off, forcing convective cells to find alternate paths.This research was supported by National Science Foundation grants OCE0002488 and OCE0648303 to S.M.C. and M.R.N., NSERC Discovery grant to M.R.N., and a Bruce C. Heezen Graduate Research Fellowship (Office of Naval Research grant N00014‐02‐1‐0691) to K.R.N

New insights into the rift to drift transition across the northeastern Nova Scotian margin from wide-angle seismic waveform inversion and reflection imaging

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2021. 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: Solid Earth 126(12), (2021): e2021JB022201, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JB022201.Sparse wide-angle seismic profiling supported by coincident reflection imaging has been instrumental for advancing our knowledge about rifted margins. Nevertheless, features of critical importance for understanding rifting processes have been poorly resolved. We derive a high-resolution velocity model by applying full waveform inversion to the dense OETR-2009 wide-angle seismic profile crossing the northeastern Nova Scotian margin. We then create a coincident reflection image by prestack depth migrating the multichannel seismic data. This allows for the first detailed interpretation of the structures related to the final stages of continental breakup and incipient oceanic accretion at the Eastern North America Margin. Our interpretation includes a hyperextended continental domain overlying partially serpentinized mantle, followed by a 10-km-wide domain consisting of a continental block surrounded by layered and bright reflectors indicative of magmatic extrusions. A major fault, representing the continent-ocean boundary, marks a sharp seaward transition to a 16-km-wide domain characterized by smoother basement with chaotic reflectors, where no continental materials are present and a 3-km-thick embryonic oceanic crust overlying partially serpentinized mantle is created by the breakup magmatism. Further seaward, thin oceanic crust overlies the serpentinized mantle suggesting magma-poor oceanic spreading with variable magma supply as determined from variable basement topography, 2–4 km thick volcanic layer, and magnetic anomalies. Our results demonstrate that magmatism played an important role in the lithospheric breakup of the area crossed by the OETR-2009 profile. Considering that the northeastern Nova Scotian margin has been classified as amagmatic, large margin-parallel variations in magma supply likely characterize a single rift segment.H. Jian was supported by the Ocean Frontier Institute International Postdoctoral Fellowship at Dalhousie University and NSF grant OCE-2001012

Segment-scale variations in seafloor volcanic and tectonic processes from multibeam sonar imaging, Mid-Atlantic Ridge Rainbow region (35°45′–36°35′N)

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2016. 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 17 (2016): 3560–3579, doi:10.1002/2016GC006433.Along-axis variations in melt supply and thermal structure can lead to significant variations in the mode of crustal accretion at mid-ocean ridges. We examine variations in seafloor volcanic and tectonic processes on the scale of individual ridge segments in a region of the slow spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge (35°45′–36°35′N) centered on the Rainbow nontransform discontinuity (NTD). We use multibeam sonar backscatter amplitude data, taking advantage of multifold and multidirectional coverage from the MARINER geophysical study to create a gridded compilation of seafloor reflectivity, and interpret the sonar image within the context of other data to examine seafloor properties and identify volcanic flow fields and tectonic features. Along the spreading segments, differences in volcanic productivity, faulting, eruption style, and frequency correlate with inferred magma supply. Regions of low magma supply are associated with more widely spaced faults, and larger volcanic flow fields that are more easily identified in the backscatter image. Identified flow fields with the highest backscatter occur near the ends of ridge segments. Their relatively smooth topography contrasts with the more hummocky, cone-dominated terrain that dominates most of the neovolcanic zone. Patches of seafloor with high, moderately high, and low backscatter intensity across the Rainbow massif are spatially correlated with observations of basalt, gabbro and serpentinized peridotite, and sediment, respectively. Large detachment faults have repeatedly formed along the inside corners of the Rainbow NTD, producing a series of oceanic core complexes along the wake of the NTD. A new detachment fault is currently forming in the ridge segment just north of the now inactive Rainbow massif.National Science Foundation Grant Numbers: OCE-0961151, OCE-09616802017-03-0

Downward continued multichannel seismic refraction analysis of Atlantis Massif oceanic core complex, 30°N, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

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): Q0AG07, doi:10.1029/2012GC004059.Detailed seismic refraction results show striking lateral and vertical variability of velocity structure within the Atlantis Massif oceanic core complex (OCC), contrasting notably with its conjugate ridge flank. Multichannel seismic (MCS) data are downward continued using the Synthetic On Bottom Experiment (SOBE) method, providing unprecedented detail in tomographic models of the P-wave velocity structure to subseafloor depths of up to 1.5 km. Velocities can vary up to 3 km/s over several hundred meters and unusually high velocities (~5 km/s) are found immediately beneath the seafloor in key regions. Correlation with in situ and dredged rock samples, video and records from submersible dives, and a 1.415 km drill core, allow us to infer dominant lithologies. A high velocity body(ies) found to shoal near to the seafloor in multiple locations is interpreted as gabbro and is displaced along isochrons within the OCC, indicating a propagating magmatic source as the origin for this pluton(s). The western two-thirds of the Southern Ridge is capped in serpentinite that may extend nearly to the base of our ray coverage. The distribution of inferred serpentinite indicates that the gabbroic pluton(s) was emplaced into a dominantly peridotitic host rock. Presumably the mantle host rock was later altered via seawater penetration along the detachment zone, which controlled development of the OCC. The asymmetric distribution of seismic velocities and morphology of Atlantis Massif are consistent with a detachment fault with a component of dip to the southeast. The lowest velocities observed atop the eastern Central Dome and conjugate crust are most likely volcanics. Here, an updated model of the magmatic and extensional faulting processes at Atlantis Massif is deduced from the seismic results, contributing more generally to understanding the processes controlling the formation of heterogeneous lithosphere at slow-rate spreading centers.NSF support was provided via grant OCE-0927442.2012-11-1

Three-dimensional seismic structure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge : an investigation of tectonic, magmatic, and hydrothermal processes in the Rainbow Area

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2017. 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: Solid Earth 122 (2017): 9580–9602, doi:10.1002/2017JB015051.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.NSF Grant Numbers: OCE-0961151, OCE-09616802018-06-2

Recent seismic studies at the East Pacific Rise 8°20'–10°10'N and Endeavour Segment : insights into mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal and magmatic processes

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): 100–112, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2012.08.As part of the suite of multidisciplinary investigations undertaken by the Ridge 2000 Program, new multichannel seismic studies of crustal structure were conducted at the East Pacific Rise (EPR) 8°20'–10°10'N and Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. These studies provide important insights into magmatic systems and hydrothermal flow in these regions, with broader implications for fast- and intermediate-spreading mid-ocean ridges. A mid-crust magma body is imaged beneath Endeavour Segment underlying all known vent fields, suggesting that prior notions of a tectonically driven hydrothermal system at this site can be ruled out. There is evidence at both sites that the axial magma body is segmented on a similar 5–20 km length scale, with implications for the geometry of high-temperature axial hydrothermal flow and for lava geochemistry. The new data provide the first seismic reflection images of magma sills in the crust away from the axial melt lens. These off-axis magma reservoirs are the likely source of more-evolved lavas typically sampled on the ridge flanks and may be associated with off-axis hydrothermal venting, which has recently been discovered within the EPR site. Clusters of seismic reflection events at the base of the crust are observed, and localized regions of thick Moho Transition Zone, with frozen or partially molten gabbro lenses embedded within mantle rocks, are inferred. Studies of the upper crust on the flanks of Endeavour Segment provide new insights into the low-temperature hydrothermal flow that continues long after crustal formation. Precipitation of alteration minerals due to fluid flow leads to changes in P-wave velocities within seismic Layer 2A (the uppermost layer of the oceanic crust) that vary markedly with extent of sediment blanketing the crust. In addition, intermediate-scale variations in the structure of Layers 2A and 2B with local topography are observed that may result from topographically driven fluid upflow and downflow on the ridge flanks.This research was supported by NSF OCE grants 0002488, 0002551, 0648303, 0648923, 0327872 and 0327885