A longitudinal seismic reflection profile of the Reykjanes Ridge: Part II — Implications for the mantle hot spot hypothesis

Abstract

A longitudinal seismic reflection profile of the Reykjanes Ridge, together with earthquake seismicity patterns, is interpreted in terms of the mantle plume hypothesis. Between 52°N and 57°N Reykjanes Ridge is cut by about 12 fractures whose trend, inferred from other data, is approximately east-west. North of 57° there is little or no indication of east-west fracturing. The 57°N transition from fractured to unfractured basement occurs about 900 km southwest of the postulated Iceland mantle plume. The fractured province exhibits higher seismicity and rougher basement, on transverse profiles, than does the unfractured province. A similar transition to rougher, more seismic ridge crest also occurs 900 km northeast of Iceland. We propose that flowage of hot, basalt-rich asthenosphere away from the Iceland hot spot keeps the axial lithosphere hot, thin, sparsely fractured, and relatively aseismic out to 900 km from the plume. Similar effects are evident in the vicinity of some other plumes located near spreading axes. Some plumes also exhibit a greater number of earthquakes at some distance from the spreading axis — possibly a reflection of non-axial igneous activity or fracturing due to local, plume-generated stresses. The regional basement slope along the longitudinal profile is about 8 × 10 −4. If this slope represents a balance between viscous and gravity forces in the flow, a viscosity of the order 10 19 poises can be estimated from the Poiseuille equation. A peculiarly flat, opaque reflector was discovered near the Reykjanes axis, about 300 km southwest of Iceland. Several hypotheses are advanced to account for such reflectors by the exceptional volcanic activity associated with high plume discharge.