scholarly journals The spreading rate dependence of three-dimensional mid-ocean ridge gravity structure

1992 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Lin ◽  
Jason Phipps Morgan
Eos ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 80 (16) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Singh ◽  
M. C. Sinha ◽  
A. J. Harding ◽  
G. M. Kent ◽  
P. J. Barton ◽  
...  

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Sun ◽  
Tao Wu ◽  
Xuesong Liu ◽  
Xue-Gang Chen ◽  
Chun-Feng Li

Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) in the South China Sea (SCS) record deep crust-mantle processes during seafloor spreading. We conducted a petrological and geochemical study on the MORBs obtained from the southwest sub-basin of the SCS at site U1433 and U1434 of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 349. Results show that MORBs at IODP site U1433 and U1434 are unaffected by seawater alteration, and all U1433 and the bulk of U1434 rocks belong to the sub-alkaline low-potassium tholeiitic basalt series. Samples collected from site U1433 and U1434 are enriched mid-ocean ridge basalts (E-MORBs), and the U1434 basalts are more enriched in incompatible elements than the U1433 samples. The SCS MORBs have mainly undergone the fractional crystallization of olivine, accompanied by the relatively weak fractional crystallization of plagioclase and clinopyroxene during magma evolution. The magma of both sites might be mainly produced by the high-degree partial melting of spinel peridotite at low pressures. The degree of partial melting at site U1434 was lower than at U1433, ascribed to the relatively lower spreading rate. The magmatic source of the southwest sub-basin basalts may be contaminated by lower continental crust and contributed by recycled oceanic crust component during the opening of the SCS.


Geology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clément de Sagazan ◽  
Jean-Arthur Olive

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.


Nature ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 406 (6796) ◽  
pp. 614-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Kent ◽  
S. C. Singh ◽  
A. J. Harding ◽  
M. C. Sinha ◽  
J. A. Orcutt ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Panton ◽  
J. Davies ◽  
Tim Elliott ◽  
Morten Andersen ◽  
Donald Porcelli ◽  
...  

For mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) and ocean island basalts (OIBs), measurements of Pb isotope ratios show broad linear correlations with a certain degree of scatter. In 207Pb/204Pb - 206Pb/204Pb space, the best fit line defines a pseudo-isochron age (τPb) of ~1.9 Gyr.Previous modelling suggests a relative change in the behaviours of U and Pb between 2.25-2.5 Ga, resulting in net recycling of HIMU (high U/Pb) material in the latter part of Earth's history, to explain the observed τPb. However, simulations in which fractionation is controlled by a single set of partition coefficients throughout the model runs fail to reproduce τPb and the observed scatter in Pb isotope ratios. We build on these models with 3D mantle convection simulations including parameterisations for melting, U recycling from the continents and preferential removal of Pb from subducted oceanic crust.We find that both U recycling after the great oxygenation event (GOE) and Pb extraction after the onset of plate tectonics, are required in order to fit the observed gradient and scatter of both the 207Pb/204Pb - 206Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb - 206Pb/204Pb arrays. Unlike much previous work, our model does not require accumulations of subducted oceanic crust to persist at the CMB for long periods of time in order to match geochemical observations.


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