Life and death of axial volcanic ridges: segmentation and crustal accretion at the Reykjanes Ridge

Peirce, C. and Sinha, M.C. (2008) Life and death of axial volcanic ridges: segmentation and crustal accretion at the Reykjanes Ridge. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 274 (1-2), 112-120. (doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.07.011).

Abstract

In this paper we present a description of ridge segmentation and segment evolution at the slow spreading Reykjanes Ridge, based on the combined and integrated interpretation of several geophysical datasets acquired along this section of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. At the Reykjanes Ridge, segmentation is manifest at the seabed most clearly as axial volcanic ridges (AVRs). These correspond to third-order segments, while multiple adjacent AVRs collectively represent the larger-scale pattern of second-order segmentation. AVRs are known to undergo a life cycle of multiple phases of magmatic accretion, tectonic extension and dismemberment.

Our combined interpretation of the results of the previously independently analysed datasets indicates that magma influx from the mantle to the crust associated with these cycles is initially focused towards second-order segment centres. Adjacent AVRs within a second-order segment are progressively rejuvenated from the segment centre towards the segment tips during each cycle, with the redistribution of magma along-axis occurring within individual AVRs at mid-crustal to upper-crustal level during the magmatic phase. In some cases, offset basins between adjacent AVRs are characterised by significant crustal melt accumulation and increased crustal thickness, indicating that they are currently sites of incipient AVR growth. The initiation of new AVRs within former offset basins, and the abandonment of other AVRs, indicates that third-order segments have a finite and limited life span.

As part of this study we have mapped the geometry and location of all abandoned (inactive), relict AVRs preserved off-axis to form the basis of a reconstruction of the pattern of asymmetric spreading. Using this reconstruction we have developed a new model of AVR evolution, spanning 2 Myr of crustal accretion, that reveals nested scales and phases of accretion, in which each AVR undergoes multiple tectonomagmatic cycles before ending its life once it has migrated sufficiently far across the median valley to become isolated from its melt supply. Once extinct, AVRs are rafted further off-axis and are preserved in the morphology of the seabed and the thickness of layer 2a.

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