Tjörnes fracture zone. New and old seismic evidences for the link between the North Iceland rift zone and the Mid-Atlantic ridge

2008 ◽  
Vol 447 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 117-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ragnar Stefansson ◽  
Gunnar B. Gudmundsson ◽  
Pall Halldorsson
Keyword(s):  
Fracture Zone ◽  
Rift Zone ◽  
The North ◽  
Mid Atlantic Ridge ◽  
Tjörnes Fracture Zone

Megafauna of the Charlie–Gibbs Fracture Zone (northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge) based on video observations

2013 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 1143-1150 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.V. Gebruk ◽  
E.M. Krylova
Keyword(s):  
Fracture Zone ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
East Atlantic ◽  
Species Occurrence ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Local Species Richness ◽  
Video Observations ◽  
Local Species ◽  
Mid Atlantic Ridge

Megafauna from the Charlie–Gibbs Fracture Zone (northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge) based on video observations from submersibles was analysed. Species composition was examined, frequency of species occurrence on the fracture wall and its base (depth range from 1740 m to 3100 m) and density of megafauna in the depression at the fracture zone bottom (4200–4500 m depth) were evaluated. At depths between 1700 and 2500 m hexactinellid sponges were most common and diverse. Deeper parts of the wall and its base were dominated by anthozoans (especially gorgonian corals) and echinoderms. A set of dominant species in the lower bathyal in the study area was different from that on the lower continental slope in the north-east Atlantic (Porcupine Seabight). An important contribution to local species richness of ‘rare’ species was demonstrated. The elpidiid holothurian, Kolga nana, occurred at high density in the abyssal depression.

scholarly journals Demosponges from the Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge shed more light on the diversity and biogeography of North Atlantic deep-sea sponges

2015 ◽  
Vol 95 (7) ◽  
pp. 1475-1516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paco Cárdenas ◽  
Hans Tore Rapp
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Fracture Zone ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
Mid Atlantic Ridge ◽  
The North Atlantic

In July–August 2004, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Ecosystems (MAR-Eco) expedition collected Demospongiae (Porifera) from the Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) north of the Azores, between 41°N and 61°N. Demosponges were found at 10 stations, at depths ranging from 753 to 3046 m. Twenty-two species were identified: 17 Tetractinellida, one Polymastiida, one Suberitida, two Poecilosclerida and one Dendroceratida. The study of this material is an opportunity to revise the taxonomy and the North Atlantic distribution of each of these deep-sea species. Some species are particularly rare and poorly known (Tetilla longipilis, Tetilla sandalina, Craniella azorica, Polymastia corticata) and two are new to science:Forcepia(Forcepia)toxaferasp. nov. andIotroata paravaridenssp. nov. This study suggests that the MAR is not a longitudinal barrier for the dispersal of deep-sea demosponges while on the contrary, the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ) may be a latitudinal border for the dispersal of deep-sea demosponges, due to great depths and currents.

scholarly journals Interannual Variability in the Pathways of the North Atlantic Current over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Impact of Topography

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy S. Bower ◽  
Wilken-Jon von Appen
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Fracture Zone ◽  
Subpolar Gyre ◽  
North Atlantic Current ◽  
The North ◽  
Mid Atlantic Ridge ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Atlantic Current

Abstract Recent studies have indicated that the North Atlantic Ocean subpolar gyre circulation undergoes significant interannual-to-decadal changes in response to variability in atmospheric forcing. There are also observations, however, suggesting that the southern limb of the subpolar gyre, namely, the eastward-flowing North Atlantic Current (NAC), may be quasi-locked to particular latitudes in the central North Atlantic by fracture zones (gaps) in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This could constrain the current’s ability to respond to variability in forcing. In the present study, subsurface float trajectories at 100–1000 m collected during 1997–99 and satellite-derived surface geostrophic velocities from 1992 to 2006 are used to provide an improved description of the detailed pathways of the NAC over the ridge and their relationship to bathymetry. Both the float and satellite observations indicate that in 1997–99, the northern branch of the NAC was split into two branches as it crossed the ridge, one quasi-locked to the Charlie–Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ; 52°–53°N) and the other to the Faraday Fracture Zone (50°–51°N). The longer satellite time series shows, however, that this pattern did not persist outside the float sampling period and that other branching modes persisted for one or more years, including an approximately 12-month time period in 2002–03 when the strongest eastward flow over the ridge was at ∼49°N. Schott et al. showed how northward excursions of the NAC can temporarily block the westward flow of the Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water through the CGFZ. From the 13-yr time series of surface geostrophic velocity, it is estimated that such blocking may occur on average 6% of the time, although estimates for any given 12-month period range from 0% to 35%.

Evidence for the Emergence of the Hercynian Front on the North American Continent

1975 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1474-1479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Z. Cherkis ◽  
Henry S. Fleming ◽  
James V. Massingill ◽  
Robert H. Feden
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
North American ◽  
Fracture Zone ◽  
Magnetic Measurements ◽  
American Continent ◽  
The West ◽  
North American Continent ◽  
The North ◽  
Mid Atlantic Ridge ◽  
Marine Seismic

Recent marine seismic reflection, bathymetric and magnetic measurements made across the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone have clearly shown that the fracture zone extends to the east of 17 °west longitude. Projections to the west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge extend the fracture zone to the North American Continental margin northeast of Newfoundland. Projection of the structural trends of the Hercynian Front from the European continental margin offer a remarkable linearity with the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone on the west. Remnants of the Hercynian Front have been identified in New Brunswick. Flemish Cap, which foundered during the initial phase of the latest opening of the Atlantic is believed to have been located on the fracture zone's southern edge, before drifting southeasterly to its present position. The alignment of the Hercynian Front with the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone is linked up on the North American continent and is offered as a possible clue to the pre-drift configuration of the Laurasian continent.

scholarly journals Magmatism versus serpentinization—crustal structure along the 13°N segment at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

2020 ◽  
Vol 221 (2) ◽  
pp. 981-1001
Author(s):  
C Peirce ◽  
A H Robinson ◽  
M J Funnell ◽  
R C Searle ◽  
C J MacLeod ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wave Velocity ◽  
Fracture Zone ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Poisson’S Ratio ◽  
Poisson's Ratio ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Ridge Axis ◽  
Seismic Modelling ◽  
The North ◽  
Mid Atlantic Ridge

SUMMARY A region of oceanic core complexes (OCCs) exists at 13°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that is regarded as a type site. This site includes two OCCs at 13°20′N and 13°30′N, thought to be in the active and dying stages of evolution, and two together called the Ashadze Complex (centred at 13°05′N) that are considered to be relict. Here we describe the results of S-wave seismic modelling along an ∼200-km-long 2-D transect traversing, south-to-north, through both the Mercurius and Marathon fracture zones, the southern outside corner of the 13°N segment, the OCCs, the ridge axis deviation in trend centred at 13°35′N, and the youngest oceanic crust of the eastern ridge flank to the north. Our inversion model, and the corresponding Vp/Vs ratio, show that the majority of the crust beneath the 13°30′N OCC comprises metamorphosed lithologies that have been exhumed to the shallowest subseabed level, while basaltic lithologies underlie the 13°20′N OCC. The transition between these contrasting crustal structures occurs over a distance of <5 km, and extends to at least ∼2 km depth below seafloor. The northern and southern OCCs of the Ashadze Complex have contrasting structures at shallow depth, with the northern OCC having a faster S-wave velocity in the upper crust. A Vp/Vs ratio of >1.9 (and equivalent Poisson's ratio of >0.3) indicates exhumed and/or metamorphosed lithologies beneath the bathymetric depression between them and within the crust beneath the southern OCC. Between the northern and southern flanks of the Marathon fracture zone and northern flank of Mercurius fracture zone, the lower crust has a relatively low Vp/Vs ratio suggesting that the deformation associated with Marathon fracture zone, which facilitates fluid ingress, extends laterally within the lower crust. Marathon fracture zone itself is underlain by a broad zone of low S-wave velocity (∼2.0 km s−1) up to ∼20 km wide from the seabed to at least the mid-crust, that is mirrored in a high Vp/Vs ratio and lower density, particularly deeper than ∼1 km below seabed within its bathymetric footprint. Volcanic domains are highlighted by a low Vp/Vs ratio of <1.6 (and equivalent Poisson's ratio of <0.15). Our combined seismic and density models favour the localized model of OCC evolution. They also show a considerable ridge-parallel variability in the amount and distribution of magmatic versus metamorphosed crust. Our results suggest that the current focus of magmatism lies to the north of the 13°20′N OCC, where the magmatic accretion-type seabed morphology observed is mirrored in the pattern of microseismicity, suggesting that its inward-facing median-valley-wall fault may link to the 13°20′N OCC detachment surface. Magmatism and active faulting behind (to the west) the footwall breakaway of the 13°30′N OCC, and the microseismicity concentrated in a band along its southern flank, suggest a readjustment of ridge geometry along axis is underway. As part of this, a transform offset is forming that will ultimately accommodate the 13°30′N OCC in its inside corner on the eastern flank of the ridge axis to the north.

scholarly journals Local Earthquake Tomography in the Tjörnes Fracture Zone (North Iceland)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Abril ◽  
Ari Tryggvason ◽  
Ólafur Gudmundsson ◽  
Rebekka Steffen
Keyword(s):  
Fracture Zone ◽  
Local Earthquake Tomography ◽  
Local Earthquake ◽  
Tjörnes Fracture Zone

Ultrastructural characteristics of spermatogenesis in three species of deep-sea hydrothermal vent mytilids

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 308-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Le Pennec ◽  
Peter G. Beninger
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
The North ◽  
Male Gametes ◽  
Bathymodiolus Thermophilus ◽  
Nutritional Biology ◽  
Protandric Hermaphroditism ◽  
Mid Atlantic Ridge ◽  
Ultrastructural Characteristics ◽  
Species Specific

To enhance our understanding of the reproductive biology of deep-sea hydrothermal vent mytilids, the histology of the male gonad and the ultrastructure of its gametes were studied in Bathymodiolus thermophilus, B. puteoserpentis, and B. elongatus. Specimens of B. thermophilus were collected at the 13°N site on the East Pacific ridge, while B. puteoserpentis were sampled from the Snake Pit site of the mid-Atlantic ridge and B. elongatus were obtained from the North Fiji Basin. Gonad histology conformed to the typical bivalve profile; the differences in the proportions of acinal and interacinal tissue, as well as differences in acinal fullness in B. puteoserpentis, indicate that gametogenesis is discontinuous in these deep-sea mytilids. Evidence of protandric hermaphroditism was observed in B. elongatus, which exhibited acini containing both maturing and residual male gametes and immature oocytes. The ultrastructural characteristics of the male gametes conform to those described for littoral bivalve species, and the spermatozoon is of the primitive type. No species-specific differences in spermatozoon ultrastructure were discerned. No evidence of bacterial inclusions was found in either the gametes or the associated gonad cells in any of the species examined. The male gametes are thus probably not vectors for the endosymbiotic bacteria that characterize the nutritional biology of the adults in this genus.

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