65 research outputs found

    Volcanic Mound Fields on the East Pacific Rise, 16Ėš-19ĖšS: Low Effusion Rate Eruptions at Overlapping Spreading Centers for the Past 1 Myr

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    Volcanic mound fields identified on SeaMARC II and HMR1 12 kHz side-scan data from the southern East Pacific Rise (SEPR) occur near overlapping spreading centers (OSCs) and migration traces of OSCs. The volcanic mound fields appear as a distinctive hummocky seafloor fabric due to side-scan backscatter reflections from clusters of moundshaped reflectors. The lack of growth of the mound fields away from the ridge axis, and their occurrence in association with OSC traces, suggests that mound fields form along the ridge crest near OSCs. Volcanic mound fields are found where 120 kHz side-scan and visual observations find fields of pillow mounds. Since pillow mounds are constructed by low effusion rate eruptions, the volcanic mound fields found near the OSCs and in their migration traces indicate that volcanic effusion rates tend to be lower near ridge discontinuities than midsegment regions. This tendency for low effusion rate eruptions at OSCs is documented for the past _1 Myr. Three independent measurements of ridge segmentation, (1) volcanic segment boundaries marked by the low effusion rate eruptions, (2) tectonic segments defined by OSCs, and (3) magmatic segment boundaries based on continuity of parental magma composition, all coincide in the study area. High backscatter off-axis lava fields not associated with seamounts are found on seafloor younger than _0.2 Ma. The _0.2 Ma corridor corroborates previous results from the distribution of small isolated volcanoes that indicates randomly distributed off-axis eruptions mainly occur on crust younger than _0.2 Ma

    Intrusive dike complexes, cumulate cores, and the extrusive growth of Hawaiian volcanoes

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    The Hawaiian Islands are the most geologically studied hot-spot islands in the world yet surprisingly, the only large-scale compilation of marine and land gravity data is more than 45ā€‰years old. Early surveys served as reconnaissance studies only, and detailed analyses of the crustal-density structure have been limited. Here we present a new chain-wide gravity compilation that incorporates historical island surveys, recently published work on the islands of Hawaiā€˜i, Kauaā€˜i, and Niā€˜ihau, and >122,000ā€‰km of newly compiled marine gravity data. Positive residual gravity anomalies reflect dense intrusive bodies, allowing us to locate current and former volcanic centers, major rift zones, and a previously suggested volcano on Kaā€˜ena Ridge. By inverting the residual gravity data, we generate a 3-D view of the dense, intrusive complexes and olivine-rich cumulate cores within individual volcanoes and rift zones. We find that the Hāna and Kaā€˜ena ridges are underlain by particularly high-density intrusive material (>2.85ā€‰g/cm3) not observed beneath other Hawaiian rift zones. Contrary to previous estimates, volcanoes along the chain are shown to be composed of a small proportion of intrusive material (<30% by volume), implying that the islands are predominately built extrusively

    Magmatic Subsidence of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) at 18Ėš14\u27S Revealed Through Fault Restoration of Ridge Crest Bathymetry

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    The fault restoration technique of De Chabalier and Avouac [1994] is applied to an ultra-highresolution bathymetry data set from the East Pacific Rise (EPR) at 18140S. Fault offsets are calculated and subtracted from the original seafloor bathymetry to examine the morphology of the unfaulted seafloor surface within an area encompassing the ridge axis 400 [1] 1600 m in dimension. The restored topography reveals a gently sloping seafloor 200 m wide, which slopes 5 inward toward the spreading axis. We attribute this inward sloping seafloor to subsidence within the axial trough due to subsurface magmatic deflation. The vertical deformation field extracted from the bathymetry is used to characterize the ridge axis fault population present in the area. Median fault throws (9 m for inward-facing and 8 m for outwardfacing faults) are comparable to values measured for nearby mature abyssal hill fault populations, suggesting a genetic link. However, median fault spacings (70 and 46 m) are an order of magnitude smaller, and estimated total extensional strain is 3[1]ā€“4[1] greater than values measured for ridge flank faults. These differences indicate the axial fault population at 18140S cannot be rafted onto the ridge flanks to form abyssal hill faults without significant modification, presumably via volcanic burial. We attribute the dense faulting observed in this area to slip on axial fissures during subsidence of the crestal region. The surface subsidence of a volcanic edifice can be modeled in terms of volume change in the magma source reservoir and volume of magma withdrawn from the reservoir. Using the relationship derived for a sill-like magma body, we estimate that the axial depression at 18140S could represent magma withdrawal associated with a small number (4ā€“22) of the frequent dike injection and eruption events required to build the upper crust during the evolution of the trough. The subsidence volumes represented by the axial topography at 18140S are a small percentage of the underlying upper crustal sections (3ā€“4%), suggesting that only a minor mismatch between magma recharge and withdrawal from the axial melt lens during ongoing plate separation could account for this pronounced axial depression

    Evidence for a broadly distributed Samoan-plume signature in the northern Lau and North Fiji Basins

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    Author Posting. Ā© American Geophysical Union, 2014. 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 15 (2014): 986ā€“1008, doi:10.1002/2013GC005061.Geochemical enrichment of lavas in the northern Lau Basin may reflect the influx of Samoan-plume mantle into the region. We report major and trace element abundances and He-Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb-isotopic measurements for 23 submarine volcanic glasses covering 10 locations in the northern Lau and North Fiji Basins, and for three samples from Wallis Island, which lies between Samoa and the Lau Basin. These data extend the western limit of geochemical observations in the Basins and improve the resolution of North-South variations in isotopic ratios. The Samoan hot spot track runs along the length of the northern trace of the Lau and North Fiji Basins. We find evidence for a Samoan-plume component in lavas as far West as South Pandora Ridge (SPR), North Fiji Basin. Isotopic signatures in SPR samples are similar to those found in Samoan Upolu shield lavas, but show a slight shift toward MORB-like compositions. We explain the origin of the enriched signatures by a model in which Samoan-plume material and ambient depleted mantle undergo decompression melting during upwelling after transiting from beneath the thick Pacific lithosphere to beneath the thin lithosphere in the northern Lau and North Fiji Basins. Other lavas found in the region with highly depleted isotopic signatures may represent isolated pockets of depleted mantle in the basins that evaded this enrichment process. We further find that mixing between the two components in our model, a variably degassed high-3He/4He Samoan component and depleted MORB, can explain the diversity among geochemical data from the northern Lau Basin.M.G.J. acknowledges support from NSF grants OCE-1061134, OCE-1153894, and EAR-1145202 and J.B.T. acknowledges support from the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant ANR-10-BLANC-0603 M&Msā€”Mantle Meltingā€”Measurements, Models, Mechanisms).2014-10-1

    Effects of variable magma supply on mid-ocean ridge eruptions : constraints from mapped lava flow fields along the GalƔpagos Spreading Center

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    Author Posting. Ā© 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): Q08014, doi:10.1029/2012GC004163.Mapping and sampling of 18 eruptive units in two study areas along the GalĆ”pagos 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 Ɨ 106 versus 0.4 Ɨ 106 m3/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 km3. 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 (0.002ā€“0.13 km3). At this site, glass MgO contents (2.7ā€“8.4 wt. %) and corresponding liquidus temperatures are lower on average, and more variable, than those at the lower-magma-supply study area (6.2ā€“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.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation grants OCE08ā€“49813, OCE08ā€“50052, and OCE08ā€“ 49711.2013-02-2

    Frozen magma lenses below the oceanic crust

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    Author Posting. Ā© The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Nature Publishing Group for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Nature 436 (2005): 1149-1152, doi:10.1038/nature03944.The Earth's oceanic crust crystallizes from magmatic systems generated at mid-ocean ridges. Whereas a single magma body residing within the mid-crust is thought to be responsible for the generation of the upper oceanic crust, it remains unclear if the lower crust is formed from the same magma body, or if it mainly crystallizes from magma lenses located at the base of the crust. Thermal modelling, tomography, compliance and wide-angle seismic studies, supported by geological evidence, suggest the presence of gabbroic-melt accumulations within the Moho transition zone in the vicinity of fast- to intermediate-spreading centres. Until now, however, no reflection images have been obtained of such a structure within the Moho transition zone. Here we show images of groups of Moho transition zone reflection events that resulted from the analysis of approximately 1,500 km of multichannel seismic data collected across the intermediate-spreading-rate Juan de Fuca ridge. From our observations we suggest that gabbro lenses and melt accumulations embedded within dunite or residual mantle peridotite are the most probable cause for the observed reflectivity, thus providing support for the hypothesis that the crust is generated from multiple magma bodies

    Upper crustal structure and axial topography at intermediate spreading ridges : seismic constraints from the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge

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    Author Posting. Ā© American Geophysical Union, 2005. 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 110 (2005): B12104, doi:10.1029/2005JB003630.We use multichannel seismic reflection data to image the upper crustal structure of 0-620 ka crust along the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge (JdFR). The study area comprises two segments spreading at intermediate rate with an axial high morphology with narrow (Cleft) and wide (Vance) axial summit grabens (ASG). Along most of the axis of both segments we image the top of an axial magma chamber (AMC). The AMC along Cleft deepens from south to north, from 2.0 km beneath the RIDGE Cleft Observatory and hydrothermal vents near the southern end of the segment, to 2.3 km at the northern end near the site of the 1980ā€™s eruptive event. Along the Vance segment, the AMC also deepens from south to north, from 2.4 km to 2.7 km. Seismic layer 2A, interpreted as the basaltic extrusive layer, is 250-300 m thick at the ridge axis along the Cleft segment, and 300-350 m thick along the axis of the Vance segment. However off-axis layer 2A is similar in both segments (500-600 m), indicating ~90% and ~60% off-axis thickening at the Cleft and Vance segments, respectively. Half of the thickening occurs sharply at the walls of the ASG, with the remaining thickening occurring within 3-4 km of the ASG. Along the full length of both segments, layer 2A is thinner within the ASG, compared to the ridge flanks. Previous studies argued that the ASG is a cyclic feature formed by alternating periods of magmatism and tectonic extension. Our observations agree with the evolving nature of the ASG. However, we suggest that its evolution is related to large changes in axial morphology produced by small fluctuations in magma supply. Thus the ASG, rather than being formed by excess volcanism, is a rifted flexural axial high. The changes in axial morphology affect the distribution of lava flows along the ridge flanks, as indicated by the pattern of layer 2A thickness. The fluctuations in magma supply may occur at all spreading rates, but its effects on crustal structure and axial morphology are most pronounced along intermediate spreading rate ridges.This study was supported by the National Science Foundation grants OCE-0002551 to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, OCE-0002488 to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and OCE-0002600 to Scripps Institution of Oceanography

    Oculopalatal tremor explained by a model of inferior olivary hypertrophy and cerebellar plasticity

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    The inferior olivary nuclei clearly play a role in creating oculopalatal tremor, but the exact mechanism is unknown. Oculopalatal tremor develops some time after a lesion in the brain that interrupts inhibition of the inferior olive by the deep cerebellar nuclei. Over time the inferior olive gradually becomes hypertrophic and its neurons enlarge developing abnormal soma-somatic gap junctions. However, results from several experimental studies have confounded the issue because they seem inconsistent with a role for the inferior olive in oculopalatal tremor, or because they ascribe the tremor to other brain areas. Here we look at 3D binocular eye movements in 15 oculopalatal tremor patients and compare their behaviour to the output of our recent mathematical model of oculopalatal tremor. This model has two mechanisms that interact to create oculopalatal tremor: an oscillator in the inferior olive and a modulator in the cerebellum. Here we show that this dual mechanism model can reproduce the basic features of oculopalatal tremor and plausibly refute the confounding experimental results. Oscillations in all patients and simulations were aperiodic, with a complicated frequency spectrum showing dominant components from 1 to 3 Hz. The modelā€™s synchronized inferior olive output was too small to induce noticeable ocular oscillations, requiring amplification by the cerebellar cortex. Simulations show that reducing the influence of the cerebellar cortex on the oculomotor pathway reduces the amplitude of ocular tremor, makes it more periodic and pulse-like, but leaves its frequency unchanged. Reducing the coupling among cells in the inferior olive decreases the oscillationā€™s amplitude until they stop (at āˆ¼20% of full coupling strength), but does not change their frequency. The dual-mechanism model accounts for many of the properties of oculopalatal tremor. Simulations suggest that drug therapies designed to reduce electrotonic coupling within the inferior olive or reduce the disinhibition of the cerebellar cortex on the deep cerebellar nuclei could treat oculopalatal tremor. We conclude that oculopalatal tremor oscillations originate in the hypertrophic inferior olive and are amplified by learning in the cerebellum
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