Ridge Segments Research Articles

Effect of parameter values on fingerprint filtering

Fingerprint is presently the most significant biometric for human verification and identification. The reason being its highest degree of uniqueness, availability, durability and consistency when compared with other biometrics such as face, nose, iris, ear, palm print and signature. The use of fingerprint in human identity management spans through stages of enrolment, enhancement, feature extraction and pattern matching. The enhancement stage involves ridge segmentation, normalization, orientation estimation, frequency estimation, filtering, binarization and thinning. Filtering is the stage at which all forms of noise and contaminations introduced into the image during enrolment are removed. The removal of noise and contaminations is necessary for accurate feature extraction and pattern matching. In some of the existing fingerprint image filtering algorithms, accurate and appropriate parameter selections are essential for obtaining optimal and satisfactory results. In this research, the existing Gabor filter was modified and the values of some standard parameters were varied. Experimental study on the adequacy of the modified algorithm and its parameter values on fingerprint filtering were investigated on the standard FVC2002 fingerprint database. Comparative analysis of the obtained results with what were obtained from some existing algorithms shows satisfactory and acceptable performances of the modified algorithm.

Gas hydrate distribution and hydrocarbon maturation north of the Knipovich Ridge, western Svalbard margin

AbstractA bottom‐simulating reflector (BSR) occurs west of Svalbard in water depths exceeding 600 m, indicating that gas hydrate occurrence in marine sediments is more widespread in this region than anywhere else on the eastern North Atlantic margin. Regional BSR mapping shows the presence of hydrate and free gas in several areas, with the largest area located north of the Knipovich Ridge, a slow spreading ridge segment of the Mid Atlantic Ridge system. Here heat flow is high (up to 330 mW m−2), increasing toward the ridge axis. The coinciding maxima in across‐margin BSR width and heat flow suggest that the Knipovich Ridge influenced methane generation in this area. This is supported by recent finds of thermogenic methane at cold seeps north of the ridge termination. To evaluate the source rock potential on the western Svalbard margin, we applied 1‐D petroleum system modeling at three sites. The modeling shows that temperature and burial conditions near the ridge were sufficient to produce hydrocarbons. The bulk petroleum mass produced since the Eocene is at least 5 kt and could be as high as ~0.2 Mt. Most likely, source rocks are Miocene organic‐rich sediments and a potential Eocene source rock that may exist in the area if early rifting created sufficiently deep depocenters. Thermogenic methane production could thus explain the more widespread presence of gas hydrates north of the Knipovich Ridge. The presence of microbial methane on the upper continental slope and shelf indicates that the origin of methane on the Svalbard margin varies spatially.

Seafloor spreading event in western Gulf of Aden during the November 2010–March 2011 period captured by regional seismic networks: evidence for diking events and interactions with a nascent transform zone

In November 2010, intense seismic activity including 29 events with a magnitude above 5.0, started in the western part of the Gulf of Aden, where the structure of the oceanic spreading ridge is characterized by a series of N115°-trending slow-spreading segments set within an EW-trending rift. Using signals recorded by permanent and temporary networks in Djibouti and Yemen, we located 1122 earthquakes, with a magnitude ranging from 2.1 to 5.6 from 01 November 2010 to 31 March 2011. By looking in detail at the space-time distribution of the overall seismicity, and both the frequency and the moment tensor of large earthquakes, we reexamine the chronology of this episode. In addition we also interpret the origin of the activity using high-resolution bathymetric data, as well as from observations of sea-floor cable damage caused by high temperatures and lava flows. The analysis allows us to identify distinct active areas. Firstly, we interpret that this episode is mainly related to a diking event along a specific ridge segment, located at E044°. In light of previous diking episodes in nearby subaerial rift segments, for which field constraints and both seismic and geodetic data exist, we interpret the space-time evolution of the seismicity of the first few days. Migration of earthquakes suggests initial magma ascent below the segment center. This is followed by a southeastward dike propagation below the rift immediately followed by a northwestward dike propagation below the rift ending below the northern ridge wall. The cumulative seismic moment associated with this sequence reaches 9.1 × 1017 Nm, and taking into account a very low seismic versus geodetic moment, we estimate an horizontal opening of ∼0.58 to 2.9 m. The seismic activity that followed occurred through several bursts of earthquakes aligned along the segment axis, which are interpreted as short dike intrusions implying fast replenishment of the crustal magma reservoir feeding the dikes. Over the whole period, the opening is estimated to ∼1.76-8.8 m across the segment. A striking feature of this episode is that the seismicity remained confined within one individual segment, whereas the adjacent en-echelon segments were totally quiescent, suggesting that the magma supply system of one segment is disconnected from those of the neighboring segments. Second, we identify activity induced by the first intrusion with epicenters aligned along a N035°E-trending, ∼30 km long at the northwestern end of the active opening segment. This group encompasses more than 7 earthquakes with magnitude larger than 5.0, and with strike-slip focal mechanisms consistent with the faults identified in the bathymetry and the structural pattern of the area. We propose that a transform fault is currently in formation which indicates an early stage of the ridge segmentation, at the locus of the trend change of the spreading ridge, which also corresponds to the boundary between a clear oceanic lithosphere and the zone of transform between continental and oceanic crust.

Is the Troodos ophiolite (Cyprus) a complete, transform fault–bounded Neotethyan ridge segment?

We report new paleomagnetic data from the sheeted dike complex of the Troodos ophiolite (Cyprus) that indicate that its northern limit is marked by a hitherto unrecognized oceanic transform fault system. The style, magnitude, and scale of upper crustal fault-block rotations in the northwestern Troodos region mirror those observed adjacent to the well-known Southern Troodos transform fault zone along the southern edge of the ophiolite. A pattern of increasing clockwise rotation toward the north, coupled with consistent original dike strikes and inclined net rotation axes across this region, is compatible with distributed deformation adjacent to a dextrally slipping transform system with a principal displacement zone just to the north of the exposed ophiolite. Combined with existing constraints on the spreading fabric, this implies segmentation of the Troodos ridge system on length scales of ∼40 km, and suggests that a coherent strip of Neotethyan lithosphere, representing a complete ridge segment bounded by transforms, has been uplifted to form the currently exposed Troodos ophiolite. Moreover, the inferred length scale of the ridge segment is consistent with formation at a slow-spreading rate during Tethyan seafloor spreading and with a supra-subduction zone environment, as indicated by geochemical constraints.

Melt extraction and mantle source at a Southwest Indian Ridge Dragon Bone amagmatic segment on the Marion Rise

This paper works on the trace and major element compositions of spatially associated basalts and peridotites from the Dragon Bone amagmatic ridge segment at the eastern flank of the Marion Platform on the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge. The rare earth element compositions of basalts do not match the pre-alteration Dragon Bone peridotite compositions, but can be modeled by about 5 to 10% non-modal batch equilibrium melting from a DMM source. The Dragon Bone peridotites are clinopyroxene-poor harzburgite with average spinel Cr#~27.7. The spinel Cr# indicates a moderate degree of melting. However, CaO and Al2O3 of the peridotites are lower than other abyssal peridotites at the same Mg# and extent of melting. This requires a pyroxene-poor initial mantle source composition compared to either hypothetical primitive upper mantle or depleted MORB mantle sources. We suggest a hydrous melting of the initial Dragon Bone mantle source, as wet melting depletes pyroxene faster than dry. According to the rare earth element patterns, the Dragon Bone peridotites are divided into two groups. Heavy REE in Group 1 are extremely fractionated from middle REE, which can be modeled by ~7% fractional melting in the garnet stability field and another ~12.5 to 13.5% in the spinel stability field from depleted and primitive upper mantle sources, respectively. Heavy REE in Group 2 are slightly fractionated from middle REE, which can be modeled by ~15 to 20% fractional melting in the spinel stability field from a depleted mantle source. Both groups show similar melting degree to other abyssal peridotites. If all the melt extraction occurred at the middle oceanic ridge where the peridotites were dredged, a normal ~6km thick oceanic crust is expected at the Dragon Bone segment. However, the Dragon Bone peridotites are exposed in an amagmatic ridge segment where only scattered pillow basalts lie on a partially serpentinized mantle pavement. Thus their depletion requires an earlier melting occurred at other place. Considering the hydrous melting of the initial Dragon Bone mantle source, we suggest the earlier melting event occurred in an arc terrain, prior to or during the closure of the Mozambique Ocean in the Neproterozoic, and the subsequent assembly of Gondwana. Then, the Al2O3 depleted and thus buoyant peridotites became the MORB source for Southwest Indian Ridge and formed the Marion Rise during the Gondwana breakup.

Esker systems in the Gulf of Bothnia

Eskers, straight-to-sinuous ridges of waterlain sand and gravel, and their erosional meltwater channel counterparts are geomorphological imprints of the palaeo-glacial hydrological system. Esker networks hundreds of metres to hundreds of kilometres long are widespread features of Quaternary glaciations and are used to reconstruct regional and continental patterns of deglaciation. However, they have been less commonly reported from sedimentary marine environments. Esker systems from the southern Gulf of Bothnia are imaged with unprecedented clarity in new multibeam datasets which reveal a highly connected subglacial hydrological network and its relationship to an underlying drumlin field. Sinuous, elongate sediment ridges thread through a drumlin field which rises from about 80 to 50 m water depth in the southern Gulf of Bothnia (Fig. 1a–i). Individual ridge segments range from 4 km long and are c. 50–200 m wide and c. 2–20 m high. They connect into much longer esker chains over 15 km long, broken only by small gaps. The longer esker paths form a broadly dendritic network, with up to fourth-order ‘tributaries’, converging southward in the direction of ice-flow. Within tributary sections, localized braiding and anabranching occur; occasionally isolated distributaries do not reconnect to the main …

Continuous subsidence in the Thingvellir rift graben, Iceland: Geodetic observations since 1967 compared to rheological models of plate spreading

AbstractNorth America‐Eurasia relative plate motion across the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge in south Iceland is partitioned between overlapping ridge segments, the Western Volcanic Zone (WVZ) and the Eastern Volcanic Zone. The Thingvellir graben, a 4.7 km wide graben, lies along the central axis of the WVZ and has subsided >35 m during the Holocene. An ~8 km long leveling profile across the graben indicates a subsidence rate of ~1 mm yr−1 from 1990 to 2007, relative to the first (westernmost) benchmark. Modeled GPS velocities from 1994 to 2003 estimate a spreading rate of 6.7 ± 0.5 mm yr−1 or 35% of the full plate motion rate and up to 6.0 mm yr−1 subsidence. The combined geodetic observations show that the deformation zone is 10 times wider than the graben width. We utilize these geodetic observations to test the effects of ridge thermal structure on the kinematics across divergent boundaries. We apply a nonlinear rheology, thermomechanical model implemented in a finite element model. A 700°C isotherm is applied for the brittle to ductile transition in the crust, representing a dry olivine rheology. We adjust the depth of this isotherm to solve for the best fit model. The best fit model indicates that the 700°C isotherm is at 8 km depth below the ridge axis, which results in an average thermal gradient of 87.5°C km−1 in the upper crust. The thermomechanical model predicts a subsidence rate of 4 mm yr−1, comparable to our geodetic observations.

Magnetic signature of North-East Greenland, the Morris Jesup Rise, the Yermak Plateau, the central Fram Strait: Constraints for the rift/drift history between Greenland and Svalbard since the Eocene

A compilation of several aeromagnetic surveys across North Greenland and the Fram Strait area is presented. Across North Greenland, the data are related to the known onshore geology. The correlation between the geological structure and the large-scale magnetic anomalies is excellent. Along the North Greenland coast, the data indicate that the Late Mesozoic Kap Washington volcanics might have a larger areal extent than known from onshore geological mapping. The submarine Morris Jesup Rise is characterized by strong positive magnetic anomalies, and the anomalies across the plateau indicate the presence of distinct volcanic centers. This massive magmatism has occurred latest in conjunction with the Oligocene initial stages of plate divergence between Svalbard and North Greenland that led to the development of Fram Strait. Both plateaux, the Morris Jesup Rise and the Yermak Plateau, are interpreted to be of continental origin and, in the initial rift stage of the Eurasia Basin around 56Ma, to have been contiguous with the Lomonosov Ridge. More toward the east in the Fram Strait interpretations of seismic and bathymetric data indicate the presence of an active segment of mid-ocean ridge, the Lena Trough. This approximately 280-km-long segment terminates in the south at the NW–SE striking Spitsbergen Fracture Zone, while in the north it bends to connect with the Gakkel Ridge. A shallow water pathway along the line of the trough might have existed between those times and ~21Ma, above the propagating rift system in the north and, further south, over extending and subsiding continental crust of the Svalbard and North-East Greenland margins. Magnetic anomaly identifications indicate that the Lena Trough has remained an ultraslow spreading system, or possibly even all of the magnetic lineations may be signals of serpentinized exhumed mantle rocks rather than of basaltic crust.

An abandoned rift in the southwestern part of the South Scotia Ridge (Antarctica): Implications for the genesis of the Bransfield Strait

AbstractThe western segment of the South Scotia Ridge is a narrow submarine ridge composed of continental crustal blocks, which hosts the left‐lateral boundary between the Scotia and Antarctic plates. This plate boundary segment gradually merges westward with the Bransfield Strait, a young (<4 Ma) basin located between the South Shetland Islands and the northern segment of the Antarctic Peninsula. Here we present a series of multichannel seismic profiles that reveal the presence of a linear chain of submarine volcanic edifices running parallel to the present‐day Scotia‐Antarctic plate boundary. These edifices consist of alkali basalts (~4 Ma), as shown by published data from a dredge haul. The occurrence, distribution, and shape of these magmatic manifestations suggest that they were emplaced in a rift‐related environment, associated with the activity of the former western segment of the Scotia‐Antarctic plate boundary. When spreading centers of the Phoenix‐Antarctic ridge NW of the South Shetland Islands became inactive at about 3.3 Ma, the former western Scotia‐Antarctic plate boundary was abandoned, and it moved to the present‐day location of the Bransfield Strait, where the motion was accommodated, and where active extension is ongoing. The proposed mechanism for the development of the Bransfield Strait, consistent with the temporal sequence of tectonic events, reconciles discrepancies in tectonic evolutionary models presented till now and does not require the presence of slab‐pull and/or slab retreat forces. The Bransfield Strait is not a classic back‐arc basin, but rather an actively extending marginal basin at the transition from mature rifting to incipient, punctiform spreading.

The Precambrian of Transangaria, Yenisei Ridge (Siberia): Neoproterozoic microcontinent, Grenville-age orogen, or reworked margin of the Siberian craton?

The Yenisei Ridge was traditionally perceived as an uplifted segment of the western Siberian craton affected by Neoproterozoic collision events. However, the suggestions for Archaean or Palaeoproterozoic (‘Siberian’) basement in Transangaria have not been confirmed by reliable geochronological data. A new view regards most of the Ridge, namely, its Transangarian segment, to be an exotic Neoproterozoic terrane that collided with Siberia in the late Neoproterozoic. This paper presents new U–Pb SHRIMP zircon ages demonstrating that Archaean rocks (2611±12Ma) actually exist in this territory. We also provide a review of published U–Pb zircon ages for igneous and metamorphic rocks of Transangaria together with our new age data. This geochronological dataset clarifies the geology of the Yenisei Ridge and leads to new conclusions, as follows. (1) It is likely that Transangaria was originally underlain by an Archaean–Palaeoproterozoic basement, similar to that of the Siberian craton. (2) Geochronological data do not confirm the idea of widespread “Greenvillian age” granitoides in Transangaria. (3) The Neoproterozoic evolution of the Yenisei Ridge segment of the Siberian craton margin includes the following events. (i) Collision of an unidentified terrane with the western margin (in recent coordinates) of the Siberian craton during 900–855Ma. The colliding terrane is no longer present in the current structure. (ii) Dextral shearing during 830–800Ma may have been caused by counter-clockwise rotation of the Siberian craton. (iii) Extensional conditions prevailed during 800–700Ma. The Isakovka oceanic basin formed at this time interval. (iv) Thrusting of the Isakovka island arc and accretionary prism onto the Siberian margin occurred during the late Neoproterozoic (650–630Ma) and caused high-pressure metamorphism.

Hydrothermal activity along the slow-spreading Lucky Strike ridge segment (Mid-Atlantic Ridge): Distribution, heatflux, and geological controls

We have reviewed available visual information from the seafloor, and recently acquired microbathymetry for several traverses across the Lucky Strike segment, to evaluate the distribution of hydrothermal activity. We have identified a new on-axis site with diffuse flow, Ewan, and an active vent structure ∼1.2 km from the axis, Capelinhos. These sites are minor relative to the Main field, and our total heatflux estimate for all active sites (200–1200 MW) is only slightly higher than previously published estimates. We also identify fossil sites W of the main Lucky Strike field. A circular feature ∼200 m in diameter located on the flanks of a rifted off-axis central volcano is likely a large and inactive hydrothermal edifice, named Grunnus. We find no indicator of focused hydrothermal activity elsewhere along the segment, suggesting that the enhanced melt supply and the associated melt lenses, required to form central volcanoes, also sustain hydrothermal circulation to form and maintain large and long-lived hydrothermal fields. Hydrothermal discharge to the seafloor occurs along fault traces, suggesting focusing of hydrothermal circulation in the shallow crust along permeable fault zones.

Heterogeneous and asymmetric crustal accretion: New constraints from multibeam bathymetry and potential field data from the Rainbow area of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (36°15'N)

AbstractAt slow‐spreading mid‐ocean ridges, crustal accretion style can vary significantly along and across ridge segments. In magma‐poor regions, seafloor spreading can be accommodated largely by tectonic processes, however, the internal structure and formation mechanism of such highly tectonized crust are not fully understood. We analyze multibeam bathymetry and potential field data from the Rainbow area of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (35°40'N–36°40'N), a section of the ridge that shows diverse accretion styles. We identify volcanic, tectonized and sedimented terrain and measure exposed fault area to estimate the tectonic strain, T, and the fraction of magmatic accretion, M. Estimated T values range from 0.2–0.4 on ridge segments to 0.6‐0.8 at the Rainbow nontransform discontinuity (NTD). At segment ends T is asymmetric, reflecting asymmetries in accretion rate, topography and faulting between inside and outside offset corners. Detachment faults have formed preferentially at inside corners, where tectonic strain is higher. We identify at least two oceanic core complexes on the fossil trace of the NTD, in addition to the Rainbow massif, which occupies the offset today. A gravity high and low magnetization suggest that the Rainbow massif, which hosts a high‐temperature hydrothermal system, was uplifted by a west dipping detachment fault. Asymmetric plate ages indicate localization of tectonic strain at the inside corners and migration of the detachment toward and across the ridge axis, which may have caused emplacement of magma into the footwall. Hydrothermal circulation and heat extraction is possibly favored by increased permeability generated by fracturing of the footwall and deep‐penetrating second‐generation faults.

Exumação das Rochas Mantélicas no Arquipélago de São Pedro e São Paulo, Oceano Atlântico Equatorial, e sua Implicação na Possível Geração de Hidrocarbonetos Abiogenéticos por Serpentinização

This paper presents the mantle rock exhumation at Saint Peter and Saint Paul Islets, Equatorial Atlantic Ocean, and its implication to possible generation of abiogenic hydrocarbons by serpentinization. In Saint Paul transform fault zone, there are two contrasting tectonic processes for mantle exhumation: Extension at amagmatic spreading centre and compression along a pressure ridge. On the ocean bottom, the ultramafic rocks of exhumed mantle react chemically with sea-water generating heat and abiogenic hydrocarbons, the phenomenon called serpentinisation. The amagmatic spreading with megamullion formation occurs along inter-transform ridge segments. The ultramafic rocks are originated from uppermost mantle and have advanced serpentinisation and little expressive plastic deformation. The olivine porphyroblasts show brittle fracturing. On the other hand, the pressure-ridge occurs along the transform fault span where the fault directions and relative plate motion are oblique. Due to the direction discordance, the strike-slip movement of the transform fault generates compression stress perpendicular to the fault. This stress squeezes out the underlying deep mantle from the ductile deformation depth up to the Earth's surface. The pressure ridge at Saint Peter and Saint Paulo Islet, namely Brachiosaurus Ridge, is the only confirmed example of mantle exhumation above sea level in Atlantic Ocean. The mantle rocks have little expressive serpentinisation and extremely developed plastic deformation, showing mylonitic texture. The porphyroclasts and matrix show either brittle fracturing or plastic deformation.

Mid-ocean ridge basalt generation along the slow-spreading, South Mid-Atlantic Ridge (5–11°S): Inferences from 238U–230Th–226Ra disequilibria

U-series disequilibria have provided important constraints on the physical processes of partial melting that produce basaltic magma beneath mid-ocean ridges. Here we present the first 238U–230Th–226Ra isotope data for a suite of 83 basalts sampled between 5°S and 11°S along the South Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This section of the ridge can be divided into 5 segments (A0–A4) and the depths to the ridge axis span much of the global range, varying from 1429 to 4514m. Previous work has also demonstrated that strong trace element and radiogenic isotope heterogeneity existed in the source regions of these basalts. Accordingly, this area provides an ideal location in which to investigate the effects of both inferred melt column length and recycled materials. 226Ra–230Th disequilibria indicate that the majority of the basalts are less than a few millennia old such that their 230Th values do not require any age correction. The U–Th isotope data span a significant range from secular equilibrium up to 32% 230Th excess, also similar to the global range, and vary from segment to segment. However, the (230Th/238U) ratios are not negatively correlated with axial depth and the samples with the largest 230Th excesses come from the deepest ridge segment (A1). Two sub-parallel and positively sloped arrays (for segments A0–2 and A3 and A4) between (230Th/238U) and Th/U ratios can be modelled in various ways as mixing between melts from peridotite and recycled mafic lithologies. Despite abundant evidence for source heterogeneity, there is no simple correlation between (230Th/238U) and radiogenic isotope ratios suggesting that at least some of the trace element and radiogenic isotope variability may have been imparted to the source regions >350kyr prior to partial melting to produce the basalts. In our preferred model, the two (230Th/238U) versus Th/U arrays can be explained by mixing of melts from one or more recycled mafic lithologies with melts derived from chemically heterogeneous peridotite source regions.

Origin of washboard moraines of the Des Moines Lobe: Spatial analyses with LiDAR data

The Des Moines Lobe (DML)—the largest lobe along the southern margin of the Laurentide ice sheet—deposited low-relief (1–5m) transverse moraine ridges, herein called washboard moraines, that are most prominent in central Iowa. Their origin as either subglacial or ice-marginal features bears on the dynamics of the lobe, geomorphic reconstructions of it, and interpretations of similar ridges elsewhere. Data from airborne laser swath mapping provide the first digital elevation models with sufficient spatial resolution to study in detail the geometric attributes of these topographically subtle features. Spectral analysis of profiles perpendicular to ridge crests indicates that most of them are spaced with statistically significant periodicities, with dominant wavelengths of 70–150m. Normalizing and stacking these profiles indicate that, on average, they display no systematic asymmetry. Locally, washboard moraines are intersected by discontinuous longitudinal ridge segments. Trends of the crests of moraines are scalloped, with cusps that point upglacier and are coincident with outwash trains, which were overridden by the lobe. Our interpretation of these data is that the moraines formed subglacially as crevasse-squeeze ridges. Overridden outwash trains likely supported low basal water pressures and resulted in anomalously slow basal slip, causing upglacier deflection of crevasses that extended to the bed. This crevasse-squeeze interpretation reinforces evidence that the DML surged to its maximum position. Bering Glacier, as a temperate, surge-type glacier that deposited crevasse-squeeze ridges similar to the washboard moraines of the DML, may be a good analog for the lobe.

Depleted components in the source of hotspot magmas: Evidence from the Ninetyeast Ridge (Kerguelen)

Although most ocean island basalts (OIB) are enriched in incompatible elements relative to mid-ocean ridge basalts, OIB depleted in these elements also occur on some islands. The Ninetyeast Ridge (NER) in the eastern Indian Ocean is a 5000 km long hotspot track defined by submarine basaltic volcanoes that were islands when they formed from 43 to 77 Ma. A subset of NER basalts, described as depleted, has high abundances of Sc, Y and Lu, which are relatively compatible in clinopyroxene and especially in garnet. It is unusual for magmas to have the trace element characteristics of a mineral. A likely explanation is that the depleted NER basalts were derived from a source that was created as a garnet- and clinopyroxene-bearing residue during partial melting. When this residue formed, the extent of melting must have been low as not all of the garnet and clinopyroxene was melted. To provide sufficient time for the relatively high Lu/Hf of the residue to develop the high 176Hf/177Hf that is characteristic of depleted NER basalts, this melting event must have been ancient. In the second much younger melting event that formed the NER, the extent of melting was sufficiently high to eliminate garnet and clinopyroxene from the ancient residue. Basalts erupted on a segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near the Azores were also derived from an ancient garnet-bearing residue. Residues from ancient partial melting events involving low extents of melting are the dominant source of mid-ocean ridge basalts and depleted magmas associated with the Kerguelen and Azores hotspots. In contrast, a very different process has been inferred for creating the source of depleted Icelandic basalts. Their source was gabbro containing cumulate plagioclase and clinopyroxene. Such gabbros are common in the lower oceanic crust, and if recycled into the Icelandic hotspot they are a source of depleted Icelandic basalts.

Tectonic reconstruction of batholith formation based on the spatiotemporal distribution of Cretaceous–Paleogene granitic rocks in southwestern Japan

AbstractThe spatiotemporal distribution of Cretaceous–Paleogene granitic rocks in southwestern Japan is investigated to understand the origin of the granitic batholith belt and to reconstruct the tectonic setting of emplacement. New U–Pb zircon ages for 92 samples collected from a region measuring 50 km (E–W) by 200 km (N–S) reveals a stepwise northward younging of granitic rocks aged between 95 and 30 Ma with an age‐data gap between 60 and 48 Ma. Based on the spatiotemporal distribution of granite ages, we examine two plausible models to explain the pattern of magmatic activity: (i) subduction of a segmented spreading ridge and subsequent slab melting (ridge‐subduction model), and (ii) subduction with a temporally variable subduction angle and corresponding spatial distribution of normal arc magmatism (subduction angle model). We optimize the model parameters to fit the observed magmatism in time and space, and compare the best‐fit models. As to ridge subduction model, the best‐fit solution indicates that the spreading ridge started to subduct at approximately 100 Ma, and involved a 45‐km‐wide section of the ridge segment, a subduction obliquity of 30°, and a slow migration velocity (∼1.6 cm/y) of the ridge. These values are within the ranges of velocities observed for present‐day ridge subduction at the Chile trench. On the other hand, the best‐fit solution of subduction angle model indicates that the subduction angle decreases stepwise from 37° at 95 Ma, 32° at 87 Ma, 22° at 72 Ma, to 20° at 65 Ma, shifting magmatic region towards the continental side. These results and comparison, together with constraints on the geometry of the tectonic setting provided by previous studies, suggest that the ridge subduction model better explains the limited duration of magmatism, although both models broadly fit the data and cannot be ruled out.

Signatures of Residual Melts, Magmatic and Seawater-Derived Fluids in Oceanic Lower-Crust Gabbro from the Vema Lithospheric Section, Central Atlantic

We present new data on mineral assemblages, mineral chemistry (major and trace element compositions), and fluid inclusions to reconstruct the magmatic to hydrothermal history of gabbroic rocks dredged in association with serpentinized mantle peridotites from the tectonically exposed Vema lithospheric section (central Atlantic). Textural relations and mineral chemistry of the samples indicate a two-stage magmatic evolution, from an early coarse-grained pyroxene–plagioclase cumulate to overprinted assemblages, including interstitial Fe–Ti oxides and titanian hornblende. Titanian hornblende in the gabbros is a product of interaction of crystal aggregates with an evolved residual melt or with a late-magmatic aqueous fluid at 800–900 C. The different contribution of residual melt and magmatic aqueous fluid is inferred from the behaviour of incompatible elements and plagioclase composition. One gabbro sample shows features indicative of a later stage hydrothermal event: formation of Feand Cl-rich hornblende sealing fractures in plagioclase, olivine coronas at orthopyroxene–magnetite grain boundaries, plagioclase-hosted high-salinity fluid inclusions associated with local enrichment of plagioclase in anorthite and Sr, and local augite to diopside re-equilibration. These features record the interaction of gabbro with seawater-derived fluid at temperature up to about 600 C. The high-salinity inclusions and reducing hydrothermal reactions in the gabbro indicate that the fluid phase characteristics may have been acquired through a preceding lower-temperature (<500 C) interaction of seawater with mantle peridotite (serpentinization) followed by infiltration of the modified aqueous solution into the higher-temperature (about 600 C) gabbroic zone in a geodynamic environment of a slow-spreading ridge segment end. Compositional features of the hydrothermal fluid were: salinity 20–22 wt % (NaCl eq.), Ca/(CaþNa) 0 12, and log fO21⁄4 –19 6 to –18 8.

Geochemical variability in MORB controlled by concurrent mixing and crystallisation

The isotopic and elemental diversity in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) traces the history of mantle differentiation, recycling and convective stirring. However, to interpret this record it is critical to account for the magma transport and storage processes modifying the primary geochemical variability of mantle derived melts. Magma mixing during low pressure differentiation is a key petrological process that controls the chemical variability of basalts throughout the global mid-ocean ridge system. Mixing occurs concurrent with crystallisation and must in general be dominant over any assimilatory processes in controlling the chemical evolution of basalts with MgO concentrations >5 wt% MgO. The effect of this mixing is to collapse the diversity of melt compositions leaving the mantle into the narrow range expressed in most mid-ocean ridge settings. In this context magma mixing can be viewed as contaminating the variance structure of primitive mantle melts, which leads to irreversible information loss on the sources and processes involved in melt generation unless primitive, unmixed, liquids and crystal phases are erupted. However, where we can track magma mixing, the homogenisation itself offers the potential to be an important petrological tool, which constrains the storage and transport processes magma experiences during its ascent through the mantle and crust. In the global dataset interrogated here systematic mixing trends are visible up to the length scales of first order ridge segmentation (∼300 km), indicating the possible links between surface tectonics and the record of mantle heterogeneity in basalts. The importance of magma mixing at mid-ocean ridges hints at the need to reevaluate the MORB-ocean island basalt chemical dichotomy, given the poorly understood mixing processes operating during intraplate magma transport from mantle to surface.

Seismic observation of an extremely magmatic accretion at the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge

AbstractThe oceanic crust is formed by a combination of magmatic and tectonic processes at mid‐ocean spreading centers. Under ultraslow spreading environment, however, observations of thin crust and mantle‐derived peridotites on the seafloor suggest that a large portion of crust is formed mainly by tectonic processes, with little or absence of magmatism. Using three‐dimensional seismic tomography at an ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge segment containing a central volcano at 50°28′E, here we report the presence of an extremely magmatic accretion of the oceanic crust. Our results reveal a low‐velocity anomaly (−0.6 km/s) in the lower crust beneath the central volcano, suggesting the presence of partial melt, which is accompanied by an unusually thick crust (~9.5 km). We also observe a strong along‐axis variation in crustal thickness from 9.5 to 4 km within 30–50 km distance, requiring a highly focused melt delivery from the mantle. We conclude that the extremely magmatic accretion is due to localized melt flow toward the central volcano, which was enhanced by the significant along‐axis variation in lithosphere thickness at the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge.