Segment-scale volcanic episodicity: evidence from the North Kolbeinsey Ridge, Atlantic
Segment-scale volcanic episodicity: evidence from the North Kolbeinsey Ridge, Atlantic
The upper oceanic crust is produced by magmatism at mid-ocean ridges, a process thought to be characterized by cyclic bouts of intense magmatic activity, separated by periods when faulting accommodates most or even all of the plate motion. It is not known whether there is a distinct periodicity to such magmatic–tectonic cycles. Here we present high-resolution sidescan sonar data from the neovolcanic zone of the North Kolbeinsey Ridge, a shallow slow-spreading ridge where high glacial and steady post-glacial sedimentation rates allow relative flow ages to be determined with a resolution of around 2 kyr using backscatter amplitude as a proxy for sediment thickness and hence age. We identify 18 lava flow fields covering 40% of the area surveyed. A group of 7 flow fields showing the highest (and similar) backscatter intensity are scattered along 75 km of axial valley surveyed, suggesting that at least this length of the segment was magmatically active within a 1.2 kyr time window. Based on conservative age estimates for all datable flows and estimated eruption volumes, the post-glacial volcanic activity imaged is insufficient to maintain crustal thickness, implying that episode(s) of enhanced activity must have preceded the volcanism we image.
Mid-Atlantic Ridge, slow-spreading ridge, autonomous underwater vehicle, sidescan sonar, sea-floor spreading, volcanism
81-87
Yeo, I.A.
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Devey, C.W,
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Le Bas, T.P.
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Augustin, N.
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Steinführer, A.
b9c81140-c862-406a-978d-3c3ebb0716d5
1 April 2016
Yeo, I.A.
562b95da-2357-482b-a17c-39b762b41313
Devey, C.W,
f4d553b6-441b-4069-be6b-2f8923dc403e
Le Bas, T.P.
f0dbad80-bb38-412c-be77-b8b9faef1854
Augustin, N.
7c83ff76-a3b8-4788-b40f-616062037694
Steinführer, A.
b9c81140-c862-406a-978d-3c3ebb0716d5
Yeo, I.A., Devey, C.W,, Le Bas, T.P., Augustin, N. and Steinführer, A.
(2016)
Segment-scale volcanic episodicity: evidence from the North Kolbeinsey Ridge, Atlantic.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 439, .
(doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2016.01.029).
Abstract
The upper oceanic crust is produced by magmatism at mid-ocean ridges, a process thought to be characterized by cyclic bouts of intense magmatic activity, separated by periods when faulting accommodates most or even all of the plate motion. It is not known whether there is a distinct periodicity to such magmatic–tectonic cycles. Here we present high-resolution sidescan sonar data from the neovolcanic zone of the North Kolbeinsey Ridge, a shallow slow-spreading ridge where high glacial and steady post-glacial sedimentation rates allow relative flow ages to be determined with a resolution of around 2 kyr using backscatter amplitude as a proxy for sediment thickness and hence age. We identify 18 lava flow fields covering 40% of the area surveyed. A group of 7 flow fields showing the highest (and similar) backscatter intensity are scattered along 75 km of axial valley surveyed, suggesting that at least this length of the segment was magmatically active within a 1.2 kyr time window. Based on conservative age estimates for all datable flows and estimated eruption volumes, the post-glacial volcanic activity imaged is insufficient to maintain crustal thickness, implying that episode(s) of enhanced activity must have preceded the volcanism we image.
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Accepted/In Press date: 24 January 2016
Published date: 1 April 2016
Keywords:
Mid-Atlantic Ridge, slow-spreading ridge, autonomous underwater vehicle, sidescan sonar, sea-floor spreading, volcanism
Organisations:
Marine Geoscience
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 389752
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/389752
ISSN: 0012-821X
PURE UUID: 8340150f-210f-4cd4-9c0c-8c58bd59da1a
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Date deposited: 14 Mar 2016 09:23
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 23:09
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Author:
I.A. Yeo
Author:
C.W, Devey
Author:
T.P. Le Bas
Author:
N. Augustin
Author:
A. Steinführer
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