Axial Intrusion Zone beneath the Median Valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 37°N Detected by Explosion Seismology

Abstract

Summary. Four seismic refraction lines, three of which had shots every 250 m, were shot across, along and parallel to the median valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 37° N. A method has been developed for calculating the effect on the travel times of the rough sea-floor relief beneath the profiles and has been used to correct all the travel times for this effect. Most arrivals were from a main refractor of apparent velocity 5·4 to 6·3 km s−1; only beyond 35 km were faster arrivals observed from an 8·09 ± 36 km s−1 refractor. The main refractor corresponds in depth, at least approximately, to the top of Layer 3 of the ocean basins but its velocity is significantly less than normal for Layer 3, perhaps due to dip. A study of time residuals along two profiles across the median valley indicates the presence of a 2 to 3 km wide low velocity zone (about 3·2 km s−1) beneath the median valley floor. This zone extends over the upper 2·5 km of the crust and is believed to represent a zone of intrusion through which magma passes on its way to the sea floor.