scholarly journals Effects of variable magma supply on mid-ocean ridge eruptions: Constraints from mapped lava flow fields along the Galápagos Spreading Center

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Colman ◽  
John M. Sinton ◽  
Scott M. White ◽  
J. Timothy McClinton ◽  
Julie A. Bowles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lava Flow ◽  
Flow Fields ◽  
Spreading Center ◽  
Magma Supply ◽  
Mid Ocean Ridge ◽  
Galapagos Spreading Center ◽  
Ocean Ridge

scholarly journals Assessing the impact of sedimentation on fault spacing at the Andaman Sea spreading center

Geology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clément de Sagazan ◽  
Jean-Arthur Olive
Keyword(s):  
Active Faults ◽  
Spreading Rate ◽  
Andaman Sea ◽  
Spreading Center ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Mid Ocean Ridge ◽  
Plate Separation ◽  
Slow Spreading ◽  
Ocean Ridge ◽  
The Impact

The stabilizing effect of surface processes on strain localization, albeit predicted by several decades of geodynamic modeling, remains difficult to document in real tectonic settings. Here we assess whether intense sedimentation can explain the longevity of the normal faults bounding the Andaman Sea spreading center (ASSC). The structure of the ASSC is analogous to a slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge (MOR), with symmetric, evenly spaced axis-facing faults. The average spacing of faults with throws ≥100 m (8.8 km) is however large compared to unsedimented MORs of commensurate spreading rate, suggesting that sedimentation helps focus tectonic strain onto a smaller number of longer-lived faults. We test this idea by simulating a MOR with a specified fraction of magmatic plate separation (M), subjected to a sedimentation rate (s) ranging from 0 to 1 mm/yr. We find that for a given M ≥ 0.7, increasing s increases fault lifespan by ~50%, and the effect plateaus for s > 0.5 mm/yr. Sedimentation prolongs slip on active faults by leveling seafloor relief and raising the threshold for breaking new faults. The effect is more pronounced for faults with a slower throw rate, which is favored by a greater M. These results suggest that sedimentation-enhanced fault lifespan is a viable explanation for the large spacing of ASSC faults if magmatic input is sufficiently robust. By contrast, longer-lived faults that form under low M are not strongly influenced by sedimentation.

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