Roger C. Searle

Tectonic pattern of the Azores spreading centre and triple junction

Abstract The major tectonic elements of the Azores triple junction have been mapped using long-range side-scan sonar. The data enable the Mid-Atlantic Ridge axis to be located with a precision of a few kilometres. Major faults and other tectonic and volcanic elements of the ridge maintain their regional trend of 010° to 020° past the triple junction area. There is no oblique spreading, and only minor transform offsets of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge occur here. The main effect of the triple junction or Azores hot spot is to diminish the amplitude of the median valley to 200 m or less. There is no axial high: a topographic high seen on several profiles is located to the east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge spreading axis and does not appear to have any fundamental significance. The third arm of the triple junction includes the Azores srreading centre which appears to have developed as a series of en echelon rifted basins (the Terceira Rift) extending from Formigas Trough at 36.8°N, 24.5°W to a point near 39.3°N, 28.8°W. There are indications that recent activity in the spreading centre may be concentrated in a series of ridges which flank the older rifted basins. Until recently the northwest end of the Terceira Rift was connected to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge axis either directly at an RRR junction, or via a transform fault. The triple junction has probably moved south during the last 6 Ma to a positin on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 38.7°N. Initiation of the Azores spreading centre may have occurred during the 36 Ma B.P. rearrangement of poles, with an RFF triple junction north from the East Azores fracture zone to the North Azores fracture zone and transferring a wedge of European plate to the African plate. The tectonic elements revealed by this study are in good agreement with inferred earthquake mechanisms and with the RM2 plate tectonic model of Minster and Jordan, but east-west motion between North America and Africa does not seem to be compatible with the other motions at the triple junction unless it is of very recent (2>3 Ma) origin.

Large landslides from oceanic volcanoes

Abstract GLORIA sidescan sonar surveys have shown that large landslides are ubiquitous around the submarine flanks of Hawaiian volcanoes, and GLORIA has also revealed large landslides offshore from Tristan da Cunha and El Hierro. On both of the latter islands, steep flanks formerly attributed to tilting or marine erosion have been reinterpreted as landslide headwalls mantled by younger lava flows. Large landslides have also been inferred from several oceanic islands elsewhere by other workers using different evidence, and we suggest that seacliffs previously attributed to marine erosion of many additional islands may instead be headwalls of still other landslides. These landslides occur in a wide range of settings and probably represent only a small sample from a large population. They may explain the large volumes of archipelagic aprons and the stellate shapes of many oceanic volcanoes. Large landslides and associated tsunamis pose hazards to many islands.

En echelon axial volcanic ridges at the Reykjanes Ridge: a life cycle of volcanism and tectonics

Abstract New deep-towed sidescan records and multibeam bathymetric data along the Reykjanes Ridge allow us to assess the varying thermal effect of the Icelandic hotspot. The increasing predominance of faulting speculated to be derived from mantle upwelling and outflow over simple extensional neotectonics is traced from northeast to southwest. Numerous en echelon volcanic ridges built along the plate boundary are seen in various stages of growth and decay, and a “cycle” of alternating construction and dismemberment is proposed. Unfaulted, short, narrow, lensoid ridges, occasionally in small groups are interpreted as immature and developing axial volcanic ridges. Broad convex-flanked ridges appear to be mature sites of volcanic construction where the magma supply has been maintained. Narrow, “bow”-form ridges, occasionally with rectilinear flanks, represent axial volcanic ridges which have ceased construction and are in initial stages of disaggregation. Isolated polygonal blocks, generally seen off-axis represent the most advanced stage of dismantling of the surface crustal accretionary features. While this cyclicity is speculated to be related to periodic magmatic and tectonic focusing and defocusing along the axis due to the restricted magma supply at this slow spreading ridge, it is recognised that this needs modelling. Although the oblique spreading of the Reykjanes Ridge allows one to clearly distinguish between structures attributable to plate spreading from those related to small-scale accretionary processes, we propose that the major processes identified in this study are directly applicable to all slow-spreading sections of mid-ocean ridges.

Hydrothermal vent fields and chemosynthetic biota on the world's deepest seafloor spreading centre.

The Mid-Cayman spreading centre is an ultraslow-spreading ridge in the Caribbean Sea. Its extreme depth and geographic isolation from other mid-ocean ridges offer insights into the effects of pressure on hydrothermal venting, and the biogeography of vent fauna. Here we report the discovery of two hydrothermal vent fields on the Mid-Cayman spreading centre. The Von Damm Vent Field is located on the upper slopes of an oceanic core complex at a depth of 2,300 m. High-temperature venting in this off-axis setting suggests that the global incidence of vent fields may be underestimated. At a depth of 4,960 m on the Mid-Cayman spreading centre axis, the Beebe Vent Field emits copper-enriched fluids and a buoyant plume that rises 1,100 m, consistent with >400 °C venting from the worlds deepest known hydrothermal system. At both sites, a new morphospecies of alvinocaridid shrimp dominates faunal assemblages, which exhibit similarities to those of Mid-Atlantic vents.

Quantifying tectonic strain and magmatic accretion at a slow spreading ridge segment, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 29°N

High-resolution, deep-towed side-scan sonar data are used to characterize faulting and variations in tectonic strain along a segment of the slow spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 29°N. Sonar data allow us to identify individual fault scarps, to measure fault widths and spacing, and to calculate horizontal fault displacements (heave) and tectonic strain. We find that over long periods of time (>1 Myr on average), tectonic strain is ∼10% on average and does not vary significantly along axis. There is a marked asymmetry in tectonic strain that appears to be linked to asymmetric accretion along the whole segment, indicated by ∼50% lower tectonic strain on the east flank than on the west flank. These variations in tectonic strain do not correlate directly with changes in fault spacing and heave. Fault spacing and heave increase from the center of the segment toward the end (inside corner) on the west flank and from the outside to the inside corner across the axis. These parameters remain relatively constant along the segment on the east flank and across the axis at the segment center. Tectonic strain appears to be decoupled from magmatic accretion at timescales >1 Myr, as the decrease in magma supply from the segment center toward the end (inferred from variations in crustal thickness along the axis) is not correlated with a complementary increase in tectonic strain. Instead, tectonic strain remains relatively constant along the axis at ∼7% on the east flank and at ∼15% on the west flank. These results indicate that variations in fault development and geometry may reflect spatial differences in the rheology of the lithosphere and not changes in tectonic strain or magma supply along axis.

Gloria survey of the east pacific rise near 3.5°S: Tectonic and volcanic characteristics of a fast spreading mid-ocean rise

Abstract A long-range, sidescan sonar (GLORIA) survey of an approximately 100-km square area of the East Pacific Rise crest between 3°S and 4°S extends results obtained in the same area by Lonsdale (1977) using Deep-tow. The axial, linear volcano was found to be continuous over a distance of 75 km. The presence of major inward and outward facing fault scarps was confirmed, but the GLORIA data show several distinct differences between the two fault sets. The inward dipping faults are more numerous, more closely spaced, and longer than the outward dipping ones, and their dip-slopes backscatter sound more extensively than those of the outward dipping faults; moreover most of them appear to be formed within 2 km of the axis, whereas the majority of the outward dipping faults begin to develop between 5 and 8 km from the axis. These differences suggest that the two sets of faults have different origins. The horizontal pattern of inward dipping faults is similar to those observed on other mid-ocean rises at all spreading rates, though the lengths and separations of the scarps are slightly, and their throws considerably, less than on slower spreading rises. This common horizontal pattern suggests that inward dipping faults on all rises have a common mode of formation regardless of spreading rate. Horizontal tension is probably the dominant factor, but an additional mechanism is needed to explain the polarization of fault dips that occurs in the region 2–8 km from the axis. The similarity of major fault spacings on the East Pacific Rise to those on slower spreading rises suggests that faulting is invariant in space, rather than time, and that the lithosphere where these faults are formed (about 2 km from the spreading axis) has a similar, small thickness for all spreading rates. This is attributed to the regulating effect of hydrothermal circulation and plate cooling.

FUJI Dome: A large detachment fault near 64°E on the very slow‐spreading southwest Indian Ridge

A continuous, domed detachment surface (FUJI Dome) has been imaged on the very slow-spreading southwest Indian Ridge using deep-towed side-scan sonar, and has been investigated by manned submersible and sea-surface geophysics. The Dome is morphologically similar to other oceanic detachments, core complexes or mega-mullions. In addition to bathymetric mullions observed in ship-borne bathymetry, finer scale spreading-parallel striations were imaged with the side scan. On the detachment surface, metabasalt crops out near the termination, probably as part of a thin fault sliver. Gabbro and troctolite probably crop out near the summit of the dome. The rest of the detachment surface is covered with sediment and rubble which is basaltic except for a single sample of serpentinite. Most of the detachment surface dips toward the ridge axis at 10°–20°, but near the breakaway it is strongly rotated outward, and dips away from the axis at up to 40°. Normal, undeformed volcanic seafloor crops out adjacent to the detachment. Modeling of sea surface magnetic data suggest the detachment was active from 1.95 Ma for about 1 Ma during a period of reduced and asymmetric magmatic accretion. Modeling of sea surface and seafloor gravity requires laterally fairly uniform but high density material under the Dome, and precludes steeply dipping contacts between bodies with large density contrasts at shallow levels under the Dome.

Fault structure and detailed evolution of a slow spreading ridge segment: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 29 degrees N

We present preliminary results of a detailed near-bottom study of the morphology and tectonics of the 29°N “Broken Spur” segment on the slow spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge, using principally the TOBI deep-towed instrument. The survey covered two-thirds of the segment length, including all of its southern non-transform boundary, and extended off-axis of 40 km (3.3 Ma) on either side. We obtained nearly complete near-bottom sidescan sonar coverage and deep-towed three-component magnetic observations along 2-km-spaced E–W tracks. Sidescan data reveal new details of fault structure and evolution. Faults grow by along-axis linkage. In the inside corner, they also link in the axis-normal direction by curving to meet the next outer (older) fault; this leads to wider-spaced faults compared to segment centre or outside corner. Outward facing faults exist but are rare. The non-transform offset is characterised by faults that are highly oblique, not parallel, to the spreading direction, and show cross-cutting relations with ridge-parallel faults to the north, suggesting along-axis migration of the offset. Almost all volcanic activity occurs within 5 km of the axis. Most fault growth is complete within 15 km of the axis (1.2 Ma), though large scarps continue to be degraded by mass-wasting beyond there. Crustal magnetisation is strongly three-dimensional. The current neovolcanic zone is slightly oblique to earlier reversal boundaries, and its magnetisation rises to a maximum of 30 A m−1 near its southern tip. The central magnetisation high tapers southwards and is asymmetric, with a sharp western but gradual eastern boundary. We infer a highly asymmetric accretion of layer 2 near the segment end. Older magnetic anomalies are kinked and sometimes missing. We interpret these observations as evidence of a rapid, 18 km southward migration of the segment boundary during the past 1.8 Ma, and present a series of reconstructions illustrating this tectonic history.

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

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 degrees 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 similar to 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.

Extremely asymmetric magmatic accretion of oceanic crust at the ends of slow-spreading ridge segments

We report the results of a deep-towed magnetic survey of part of a Mid-Atlantic Ridge spreading segment. Analysis of the magnetic reversals indicates that for the past 0.7 m.y., magmatic accretion at the end of the segment has been effectively one sided, with new crust being added only to the outside corner of the ridge offset (eastern flank), and not to the inside corner (western flank). Spreading on the inside corner was accommodated by significant displacement on a single, large fault. The area between the fault and the axial volcanic ridge was effectively a thin static sliver at the plate boundary during this process. In the short term, asymmetric magmatic accretion was probably accomplished by progressively shifting the axial volcanic ridge to a new location at the inside corner (western) edge of the old one. Asymmetric spreading is unlikely to be sustainable as a steady-state process. The termination of a period of asymmetric spreading may be achieved either by establishing a new axial volcanic ridge to a position on the outside corner (eastern) plate (thus isolating the old axial volcanic ridge on the inside-corner plate), or by simply arresting movement on the large fault, and reverting to symmetric spreading at the axial volcanic ridge. Highly asymmetric accretion may be a common process at slow-spreading segments, particularly near discontinuities. This asymmetry cannot be maintained for long periods, and may be directly linked to intervals of spreading by tectonic extension.