long submarine lava flows observations and results from numerical modeling long 100 km lava flows are relatively common on mars and venus and have been identified on the moon but they are rarely documented on earth however although 75 of the earth s surface is covered by water only a small percentage of the ocean floor has been investigated at a resolution sufficient to unequivocally identify the boundaries of long submarine lava flows even so basaltic lava flows as long as 110 km have been identified on the deep 1500 m seafloor near hawaii and the east pacific rise ambient conditions on the deep ocean floor may favor the development of long lava flows for the following reasons first high pressures 15 mpa keep volatiles dissolved in basaltic lavas preventing viscosity increases associated with exsolution and vesiculation second seawater rapidly quenches the surface of submarine basalt flows so that an insulating glass layer 1 5 cm thick encases submarine flows within seconds after their emplacement this glass rind effectively insulates the molten flow interior from additional heat loss making submarine basalt flows behave as well insulated subaerial tube fed flows thus for identical basalt flows emplaced on the deep seafloor and subaerially a submarine flow could advance farther before stopping results of numerical modeling indicate that thin 1 m submarine basalt flows behave similarly to identical subaerial flows but thicker submarine flows may advance significantly farther than their subaerial counterparts

the june july 1993 seismo acoustic event at coaxial segment juan de fuca ridge evidence for a lateral dike injection the coaxial segment juan de fuca ridge was the site of an intense swarm of earthquakes that began at 21 43 gmt on june 26 1993 julian day 177 the swarm started near 46 15 n and migrated northward over the next 40 hours to 46 36 n where the majority of 676 events occurred during the following 3 weeks of activity the earthquakes propagated nne at a velocity of 0 3 0 1 m s 1 from the southern to northern swarm sites the activity went undetected by land based seismic networks along the oregon and washington coasts suggesting that the earthquakes were all m 4 0 the character of this earthquake swarm is very similar to dike injections observed at krafla and kilauea volcanoes the earthquake activity and subsequent migration probably represent a lateral dike injection into faults and fissures comprising the coaxial segment the reservoir acting as the dike s source likely resides beneath or to the south of the initial southern swarm of earthquakes the large magma supply at axial volcano cannot be ruled out as the source for the coaxial dike even though axial volcano exhibited no earthquake activity related to the coaxial swarm the t wave earthquake swarm reported here is the first deep ocean observation of volcanic seismicity associated with what most likely was a mid ocean ridge dike injection event

toothpaste lava characteristics and origin of a lava structural type transitional between pahoehoe and aa toothpaste lava an important basalt structural type which illustrates the transition from pahoehoe to aa is particularly well displayed on the 1960 kapoho lava of kilauea volcano its transitional features stem from a viscosity higher than that of pahoehoe and a rate of flow slower than that of aa viscosity can be quantified by the limited settling of olivine phenocrysts and rate of flow by field observations related to the low angle slope on which the lava flowed much can be learned about the viscosity rheologic condition and flow velocity of lavas long after solidification by analyses of their structural characteristics and it is possible to make at least a semiquantitative assessment of the numerical values of these parameters

controls on extrusion at mid ocean ridges a magma lens can erupt to form extrusives only if it is under greater pressure than the static pressure in a column of magma reaching from the lens to the surface the excess pressure results partly from overburden pressure caused by the presence of high and low density rocks dikes and extrusives respectively above the lens the thicker the pile of low density extrusives the lower the average overburden density thus extrusion above a lens should be self regulating in that thickening the extrusive layer reduces the driving pressure for subsequent eruptions flexural stresses may affect extrusion by altering the pressure on a magma chamber for ridges lacking an axial valley we predict that deeper magma lenses should correlate with thicker extrusive layers consistent with recent observations

the role of seamount volcanism in crustal construction at the mid atlantic ridge 24 30 n an analysis of approximately 6000 km2 of sea beam swaths indicates that the floor of the median valley of the mid atlantic ridge mar between 24 30 n is strewn with near circular volcanoes we have identified 481 seamounts in the height range 50 650 m because many of the features which appear to be seamounts do not meet our criteria fully they have not been counted and our numbers are likely a minimum estimate of the population the large abundance of seamounts on the median valley floor indicates that seamount volcanism plays an important role in the accretionary processes at this section of the mar the summit height distribution of the mar seamount population is consistent with the exponential frequency size distribution model for off axis eastern pacific seamounts jordan et al 1983 smith and jordan 1987 the model parameters for the mar population yield an average of about 195 seamounts per one thousand square kilometers and a characteristic height of about 60 m shape statistics compiled from the 481 seamounts give parameters that are exactly the same or cover the same range in values as those obtained from a study of pacific seamounts in the height range 140 3800 m smith 1988 implying a universal control on seamount construction based on the volcanic morphology we identify 18 spreading segments along the ridge all except two contain a prominent axial volcanic ridge many of the seamounts identified are associated with the axial ridges from the sea beam swaths we infer that the ridges are composed of piled up seamounts and hummocky flows and interpret them to be the primary sites of crustal construction this style of volcanism contrasts strongly with that observed at the east pacific rise where seamounts are virtually absent at the spreading axis the construction of seamounts and hummocky flows may be directly related to the fact that the mar is fed by magma chambers that are limited in size and frequency we suggest that small magma pockets with slow eruption rates produce seamounts either from pipes or initial fissure eruptions that collapse to construct a single edifice small magma bodies with somewhat higher eruption rates produce hummocky fissure fed flows using buoyancy arguments the heights of the mar seamounts are related to the depth of the magma bodies we hypothesize that small magma bodies rise buoyantly to the base of the hydrothermally cooled brittle lid where they are trapped and then erupt if this hypothesis is correct the thickness of the brittle lid controls seamount height and the exponential distribution of seamount summit heights implies that the thickness of the brittle hd follows an exponential distribution in time and space with characteristic thickness 1 4 1 9 km if seamounts and hummocky flows are fed each from their own discrete magma body trapped at the brittle ductile transition then the lower crust of the mar will be made up of the products of a multitude of small plutons

volcanics and structure of the famous narrowgate rift evidence for cyclic evolution amar 1 a near bottom photographic survey on the mid atlantic ridge from the famous region south to transform b reveals structural and volcanologic evidence for an alternating widening and narrowing rift valley extension wedges appear to be propagating south from transform a and north from transform b these merge at mt mars where the rift valley is narrowest and shallowest narrowgate giving the valley a symmetrical hourglass shape three major volcanic en echelon lineaments trend n10 e 10 oblique to the strike of the inner walls faulting and fissuring are antisymmetrical across the rift valley in contrast to the major extension this contrasting antisymmetry reflects the surficial distribution of stress across crust of varying strengths whereas the large scale wedge phenomenon determines the periodicity of transition from a narrow valley to a wide valley using vector analysis the extension wedges are propagating at about 9 cm yr toward each other at this rate a narrow rift valley will be fully transformed into a wide rift in 0 64 m y

researches on detection of 3 d underground cave based on tem technique because of unreasonable coal mining in china there are many unknown underground caves and the inhabited environment of humans is threatened by many geologic hazards such as cracking of the buildings ground subsidence etc to make the coal companies aware of the harmfulness of these hazards it is urgent to determine the reasons for the hazards in this paper transient electromagnetic method tem is used to detect the ground resistance caves instead of the time consuming and expensive direct drilling survey numerical results of the 3 d synthetic model and real field survey data are given the results showed that the tem method can be used to detect a complicated air filled underground 3 d cave and coincide with the results of direct drilling survey

seismic images of active magma systems beneath the east pacific rise between 17 05 and 17 35 s seismic reflection data from the east pacific rise between 17 059 and 17 359s image a magma lens that varies regularly in depth and width as ridge morphology changes confirming the notion that axial morphology can be used to infer ridge magmatic state however at 17 269s where the ridge is locally shallow and broad the magma lens is markedly shallower and wider than predicted from regional trends in this area submersible dives reveal recent volcanic eruptions these observations indicate that it is where the width and depth of the magma chamber differ from regional trends indicating an enhanced magmatic budget that is diagnostic of current magmatism

volcanic eruptions on mid ocean ridges new evidence from the superfast spreading east pacific rise 17 19 s uniform sediment cover were recovered from lava that buries older faulted terrain the boundary in lava composition coincides with a change in depth to the top of an axial magma lens seismic reflector consistent with magmas from two separate reservoirs being erupted in the same event chemical compositions from throughout the area indicate that lavas with identical compositions can be emplaced in separate volcanic eruptions within individual segments a comparison of our results to global data on submarine mid ocean ridge eruptions suggests consistent dependencies of erupted volume activated fissure lengths and chemical heterogeneity with spreading rate consistent with expected eruptive characteristics from ridges with contrasting thermal properties and magma reservoir depths index terms 3035 marine geology and geophysics midocean ridge processes 8414 volcanology eruption mechanisms 8439 volcanology physics and chemistry of magma bodies 3655 mineralogy and petrology major element composition keywords lava flow chemical heterogeneity erupted volume lava morphology side scan sonar

210po 210pb dating of recent volcanic eruptions on the sea floor the globe encircling mid ocean ridge system accounts for most of the earth s volcanism and influences its heat budget morphology and the composition of the oceans it is therefore important to constrain the size frequency and compositional variability of ridge eruptions but this is made difficult by the remoteness of much of the sea floor and the paucity of applicable radioactive chronometers remote monitoring has provided indirect evidence for active ridge volcanism1 3 which in some cases has been strengthened by submersible observations4 5 but it has not been possible to date these eruptions directly here we present a new chronometer based on 210po 210pb radioactive disequilibrium which allows us to date glassy eruption products within a few years of their eruption our first results on lavas from 9 50 n on the east pacific rise confirm that the ridge erupted only months before sample collection and indicate that the eruptions extended over at least one year the chronometer begins with po volatilization during eruption all glasses analysed were 75 100 degassed a crystalline pillow interior was 20 degassed however implying that the flow surface may control po degassing during deep submarine eruptions although the 210po 210pb chronometer is useful for only a short time frame it should prove valuable for dating recent but unobserved submarine eruptions and determining details of eruptive sequences

the volcanic tectonic cycle of the famous and amar valleys mid atlantic ridge 36 47 n evidence from basalt glass and phenocryst compositional variations for a steady state magma chamber beneath the valley midsections amar 3 the 1978 amar expedition extended the investigation of the mid atlantic ridge that was begun by the 1973 1974 famous expedition from the northern end of the famous rift the original famous area to the narrow central and southern end of the famous rift narrowgate region and into the broad amar valley south of fracture zone b available field and geochemical data allow us to characterize in detail the volcanic tectonic cycle for these two segments of the mid ocean ridge system a dynamic model of the crust forming processes within these two rift valley segments is deduced from 1 variations in the chemical composition of the erupted basaltic liquids as preserved in chilled glassy margins 2 composition and petrographie relationships of megacrysts and phenocrysts that represent cumulus crystallization onto the floor of a shallow magma chamber of a primitive magma that has reached pyroxene saturation early in its evolution and 3 detailed stratigraphie and regional observations that characterize the periodicity of volcanic construction and superimposed tectonism related to the ongoing extension of the valley floor each volcanic cycle is composed of several eruptive episodes that are initially typified by rapidly extruded sheet flows of primitive composition the decreasing extrustion rates at the end of an eruptive event are associated with more evolved liquid compositions that reflect fractionation within the shallow conduits intermixing of magmas is indicated by the relatively limited variability in glass composition not explicable in terms of simple fractionation processes the common evidence of crystal resorption and the apparent disequilibrium between megacrysts phenocrysts and their enclosing glass this indicates control by a crustal magma chamber liquid and crystal compositions and textural relations can best be explained by a three stage crystallization history 1 crystallization of olivine plagioclase and clinopyroxene onto the floor of a magma chamber 2 partial resorption of mineral phases by a superheated undersaturated liquid above the floor 3 intratelluric crystallization of olivine and plagioclase clinopyroxene during rise of melt to the surface through the conduit system above the magma chamber a magma chamber model is suggested for the amar famous rift valleys that satisfies both seismic and geological constraints we propose that a small steady state magma chamber is maintained beneath the topographically higher midsections of each valley segment amar and narrowgate regions but that these thin and terminate near the intersecting fracture zones expansion and contracton of the central magma body is controlled by the fluctuating imbalance between magma supply and chamber crystallization the famous narrowgate rift is currently in a contraction period so that in the northern famous region primitive liquid has erupted at mount venus and mount pluto without intercepting and mixing into the steady state chamber that supplies the mixed magmas to the narrowgate region

seismic structure of the southern east pacific rise seismic data from the ultrafast spreading 150 to 162 millimeters per year southern east pacific rise show that the rise axis is underlain by a thin less than 200 meters thick extrusive volcanic layer seismic layer 2a that thickens rapidly off axis also beneath the rise axis is a narrow less than 1 kilometer wide melt sill that is in some places less than 1000 meters below the sea floor the small dimensions of this molten body indicate that magma chamber size does not depend strongly on spreading rate as predicted by many ridge crest thermal models however the shallow depth of this body is consistent with an inverse correlation between magma chamber depth and spreading rate these observations indicate that the paradigm of ridge crest magma chambers as small sill like midcrustal bodies is applicable to a wide range of intermediate and fast spreading ridges

geochronology and geochemistry of lavas from the 1996 north gorda ridge eruption abstract radiometric dating of three north gorda ridge lavas by the 210 po 210 pb method confirms that an eruption occurred during a period of increased seismic activity along the ridge during late february early march 1996 these lavas were collected following detection of enhanced t phase seismicity and subsequent ocean bottom photographs documented the existence of a large pillow mound of fresh appearing lavas 210 po 210 pb dating of these lavas indicates that an eruption coinciding with this seismicity did occur within analytical error and that followup efforts to sample the recent lava flows were successful compositions of the three confirmed young lavas and eleven other samples of this contiguous new flow sequence are distinct from older lavas from this area but are variable at a level outside analytical uncertainty these intraflow variations can not easily be related to a single common parent magma compositional variability within the new flow is compared to that of other recently documented individual flow sequences and this comparison reveals a strong positive correlation of compositional variance with flow volumes spanning a range of 2 orders of magnitude the geochemical heterogeneity in the north gorda new flow probably reflects incomplete mixing of magmas generated from a heterogeneous mantle source or from slightly different melting conditions of a single source the compositional variability range in sample ages up to 6 weeks and range in active seismicity 4 weeks imply that this relatively large flow was erupted over an interval of several weeks

recent eruptions on the coaxial segment of the juan de fuca ridge implications for mid ocean ridge accretion processes the 1993 seismic swarm and volcanic eruption on the coaxial segment of the juan de fuca ridge was the first verified mid ocean ridge accretion event monitored by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration u s navy sound surveillance system sosus ambiguity in the location of the initial seismicity resulted in an uncertainty as to whether the dike intruded from the summit and north rift zone of the adjacent axial volcano or whether it arose locally within the coaxial segment however analyses of multibeam side scan sonar towed camera submersible and geochemical data show that the coaxial segment is morphologically structurally and geochemically distinct from the north rift zone of axial volcano there is no geologic or geochemical evidence that dike injections from axial volcano have extended north of 46 18 n in the past whereas the 1993 eruption site is at 46 31 n furthermore all seafloor manifestations of the 1993 dike injection lie along the central neovolcanic zone of the coaxial segment analyses of repeat seabeam surveys combined with seafloor observations show that two other eruptions of approximately the same volume as the 1993 eruption occurred along the coaxial segment in the 1981 1991 interval these three diking events may have relieved decades of accumulated stress over 35 km or more of this segment the spatial pattern and hydrothermal history of the 1993 event is consistent with a dike with a significant lateral component of injection

evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultraslow spreading gakkel ridge seafloor spreading is accommodated by volcanic and tectonic processes along the global mid ocean ridge system as spreading rate decreases the influence of volcanism also decreases and it is unknown whether significant volcanism occurs at all at ultraslow spreading rates 1 5 cm yr 1 here we present three dimensional sonar maps of the gakkel ridge earth s slowest spreading mid ocean ridge located in the arctic basin under the arctic ocean ice canopy we acquired this data using hull mounted sonars attached to a nuclear powered submarine the uss hawkbill sidescan data for the ultraslow spreading approximately 1 0 cm yr 1 eastern gakkel ridge depict two young volcanoes covering approximately 720 km2 of an otherwise heavily sedimented axial valley the western volcano coincides with the average location of epicentres for more than 250 teleseismic events detected in 1999 suggesting that an axial eruption was imaged shortly after its occurrence these findings demonstrate that eruptions along the ultraslow spreading gakkel ridge are focused at discrete locations and appear to be more voluminous and occur more frequently than was previously thought

widening of the krafla fissure swarm during the 1975 1981 volcano tectonic episode frequent distance measurements across the krafla fissure swarm north iceland recorded the extension accompanying the sequence of rifting events which started in december 1975 and lasted for 6 years an 80 to 90 km long section of the fissure swarm extended during this sequence of rifting and volcanic events maximum widening of about 8 m occurred 10 to 12 km north of leirhnjukur which is located above the center of the krafla magma reservoir from that location the amount of widening decreased north wards and is estimated to exceed 2 m where the seismicity indicated the northern termination of the present rifting off the north coast about 70 km north of leirhnjukur the amount of widening also decreased southwards and approached zero at 15 to 20 km south of leirhnjukur the ground deformation associated with these rifting events can be summarised as a narrow strip 1 to 2 km wide along the fissure swarm is heavily fractured with numerous open cracks parallel to the fissure swarm this fractured strip has subsided 2 to 3 m relative to its flanks the flanks of the fractured zone have been uplifted relative to regions farther away the uplift is not well constrained but tilt observations at several locations indicate about 1 m uplift the flanks of the rift zone have contracted perpendicular to the fissure swarm the maximum contractional strain exceeds 300 mm per km the amount of areal expansion windening of the fissure swarm times the length of the fractured zone associated with these rifting events is estimated to be about 0 30 km2 for individual events the area of expansion has been roungly proportional to the volume of subsidence above the krafla magma reservoir if the width of a new dike is equal widening of surface fissures the ratio of the subsidence volume to the area of expansion for the best observed events indicated a height of a new dike system as 2 4 to 2 8 km this ratio is significantly less for events of large lava production but even during these events the majority of magma leaving the krafla reservoir was apparently emplaced in subsurface fissures

sediment in the black smoker area of the east pacific rise 18 5 s abstract a sediment profile perpendicular to the east pacific rise epr was investigated in an area in which massive sulfides have been observed along the axis of the epr a holocene to late pleistocene age is concluded for all of the up to 3 m long cores leading to sedimentation rates of 0 3 2 6 cm 1000 a the sediments are composed of hydrothermal precipitate calcareous tests and in traces hyaloclastic material the proportion of carbonate increases with increasing distance from the spreading center the hyaloclastic material is more or less weathered and is concentrated near the spreading center the hydrothermal component is composed mainly of iron and manganese hydroxides the proportion of hydrothermal matter in the sediment is higher near the axis of the epr also near the axis the elements b p cr and v are enriched in the hydrothermal component whereas mn zn cu fe and as are depleted the core profiles show a fluctuation in the proportion of hydrothermal material periods of higher hydrothermal input correlate with periods of the best calcite preservation diagenetic alteration of the sediment increases with increasing distance from the spreading center i e with decreasing sedimentation rate mo zr co ni rb th y ba la and ree are enriched in the sediment by diagenetic processes

variation in cross sectional area of the axial ridge along the east pacific rise evidence for the magmatic budget of a fast spreading center along the fast and ultrafast spreading east pacific rise the cross sectional area of the axial ridge varies significantly over length scales similar to its morphologic segmentation using an automated method we measure the ridge area volume per kilometer along axis where there is complete bathymetric coverage along 3500 km of the northern and southern east pacific rise our two study areas encompass numerous transform faults large overlapping spreading centers small overlapping spreading centers and smaller discontinuities first second third and fourth order discontinuities the cross sectional area variation mimics the undulation of the ridge crest depth local area maxima occur toward the middle of segments and the axial area decreases by 40 or more at first and second order discontinuities third order discontinuities are generally marked by smaller disruptions in the ridge area and fourth order offsets do not systematically correspond with features of the cross sectional area profile the correlation between shallower ridges and larger ridge areas breaks down at some locations because axial cross sectional area represents a longer term average of the ridge s magmatic state than axial depth a correlation between large ridge areas and negative residual gravity anomalies indicates that inflated ridges are underlain by low density crust and mantle also a correlation between larger area and higher mgo content of axial basalts suggests that inflated areas generally erupt hotter magmas which are presumably supplied more rapidly to the neovolcanic zone the cross sectional area of the axial ridge appears to correlate with the width of the axis centered low velocity zone in the crust these observations as well as the absence of large relict axial ridges off axis indicate that the axial ridge originates from buoyancy due to thermal expansion and the presence of melt in the crust and mantle within about 10 km of the rise axis portions of the northern east pacific rise underlain by a magma chamber reflector generally occur where the ridge cross sectional area is greatest this supports the connection between processes which inflate the axial ridge and those which heat the crust and upper mantle and produce melt thus while the axial high on fast spreading centers resembles a constructional volcano in cross section it is more like a long narrow balloon whose cross sectional area is a sensitive indicator of magma supply using this relationship we predict with 75 confidence that at least 45 of the unsurveyed northern east pacific rise 18 n to 13 n and 9 n to 5 n and at least 60 of the southern east pacific rise 4 s to 23 s is underlain by a magma chamber reflector

rapid emplacement of a mid ocean ridge lava flow on the east pacific rise at 9 46 51 n in april 1991 during a submersible diving expedition to the east pacific rise epr crest at 9 46 51 n a new volcanic eruption on the sea floor was discovered here we report results from numerical modeling of that eruption which indicate that 4 106 6 106 m3 of lava was emplaced in 1 2 h with an average eruption rate of 103 106 m3 s 1 comparable to rates observed in hawaii at kilauea s east rift zone if the rapid emplacement of the 1991 epr lava and its short eruption duration are typical of volcanic events at fast spreading mid ocean ridge crests these characteristics have broad implications for our ability to detect monitor and understand the evolution of magmatic and volcanic processes within the axial zone

evidence for volcanic eruption on the southern juan de fuca ridge between 1981 and 1987 the formation of new ocean crust at mid ocean ridges is known to be a discontinuous process in both space and time but little is known about the frequency and duration of eruptions along an active ridge segment here we present evidence from sea beam surveys and underwater photography for the eruption of lavas along a segment of the juan de fuca ridge between 1981 and 1987 although previous studies have inferred volcanic activity on ridges in areas where recent seismicity or young lava flows have been observed1 4 none has yet had direct evidence to date such a recent submarine eruption the temporal coincidence between this eruptive episode and the megaplumes huge sudden emissions of hot mineral laden water observed over this part of the ridge5 6 in 1986 and 1987 supports previous suggestions5 10 that megaplumes are caused by sea floor spreading events

submarine lineated sheet flows a unique lava morphology formed on subsiding lava ponds lineated sheet flows are flat lying glassy lava flows characterized by a regular surface pattern of parallel grooves or furrows aligned with the flow direction they are unique to the submarine environment we propose that the lineations are developed within the collapsed interiors of partially ponded lobate sheet flows that initially inflate and then drain out during emplacement during lava drainout the original lobate crust founders and a new crust begins to grow on the subsiding lava surface lineated flow texture is created where molten lava emerges laterally from beneath a growing crust the lineations are formed by raking of the emerging lava surface by irregularities on the bottom edge of the crust and are preserved owing to rapid chilling by seawater therefore lineated sheet flows are the product of a specific sequence of events over a short period of time during the course of a deep submarine eruption

the role of density in the accumulation of basaltic melts at mid ocean ridges it is commonly assumed that magma ponds at a level of neutral buoyancy in the shallow crust where melt densities are equal to the bulk density of the surrounding crust at the east pacific rise this neutral buoyancy level lies only 100 400 m below the sea floor significantly shallower than the depths 1 2 km of the magma bodies imaged in multichannel reflection data suggesting that other factors must control the collection of melt in these reservoirs the apparent inverse relationship between magma chamber depth and spreading rate at intermediate and fast spreading ridges suggests that the thermal structure of the rise axis not the buoyancy of melt is the primary factor that controls the depth at which melt ponds in crustal magma chambers beneath mid ocean ridges

quantification of submarine lava flow morphology through analog experiments we developed a technique for determining paleoeffusion rates and emplacement times for submarine lava flows using observations of flow morphology and estimates of eruption volume eruption temperature lava viscosity and preflow topography using laboratory simulations and correlating these results with sea floor observations four submarine lava flow morphologies are considered to be diagnostic of specific effusion rates jumbled folded and lineated sheets and striated pillows we applied this approach to the coaxial flow emplaced in less than 14 days on the juan de fuca ridge in early summer 1993 and we calculated an effusion rate of 100 m3 s giving an emplacement time of 10 days

formation of large summit troughs along the east pacific rise as collapse calderas an evolutionary model summit troughs wider than 500 m and 30 110 m deep are present along 15 20 of the fast spreading east pacific rise epr they occur only along ridge segments with large cross sectional areas indicative of a time averaged robust magma supply where available seismic data confirm that these troughs are underlain by an axial magma chamber amc 1 2 1 6 km below the seafloor furthermore detailed investigation of the large summit troughs which notch the epr between 17 56 and 18 35 s indicates that the vertical relief of the troughs tends to be maximum where the amc is shallowest both of these observations are inconsistent with the predictions from a model in which large summit troughs form by rifting of the brittle upper crust during phases of amagmatic extension rather we propose that they represent elongated collapsed calderas that form when the melt supply to formerly inflated amcs wanes or nearly ceases because seismic studies constrain the melt lens along the epr to be only 30 80 m thick the proposed existence of collapsed calderas 40 110 m deep implies that the entire magma reservoir comprising the melt lens and the underlying crystal mush zone deforms and compacts during periods of waning magma supply in particular we suggest that a voluminous crystal mush zone will stretch in response to steady state seafloor spreading when the magma supply temporarily decreases the resulting caldera will further widen with each subsequent dike intrusion when an abundant melt supply finally resumes the associated tumescence of the neovolcanic zone and profuse lava flows will combine to smooth out the caldera

paleointensity record in zero age submarine basalt glasses testing a new dating technique for recent morbs abstract thellier thellier paleointensity experiments were conducted on a collection of glasses from three very recent submarine axial flows two were erupted along the juan de fuca ridge at around 46 n and one along the east pacific rise south at around 18 s the within sample dispersion of paleointensity results from the animal farm flow epr south is very low and leads to a well defined mean value of 35 6 1 t 95 error on the mean based on 11 glass chips from four independent samples today s geomagnetic field intensity in the area is 31 2 t comparing animal farm results with published field model reference curves developed for the past 400 yr suggests an eruptive date estimated between 1880 a d and 1950 a d taking into account different sources of errors this is consistent with qualitative evidence for the age of this flow and constitutes the first precise demonstration of using paleointensity as a dating tool for very recent mid ocean ridge basalts morbs however in the juan de fuca area results show a more erratic pattern with samples varying by up to 30 higher and lower from the expected value of about 55 t the dispersion is attributed to the large local crustal magnetic anomalies in this area that can lead to inconsistent intensity values over the same unit local magnetic anomalies should thus always be checked when doing paleointensity on morb samples which should also be distributed as widely as possible in a flow unit when no significant magnetic anomalies are detected the paleointensity dating tool is anticipated to be especially efficient to investigate the volcanic cyclicity along the epr axis during the last several hundred years

seismic structure and indicators of magma budget along the southern east pacific rise in this paper we re examine the relationship between seismically constrained variations in crustal structure along the southern east pacific rise sepr and the segment scale variations in axial depth morphology basalt geochemistry and hydrothermal activity that have often been attributed to along axis differences in the supply of magma to the mid ocean ridge along 800 km of the fast spreading sepr good correlations exist between axial depth ridge cross sectional area mantle bouguer anomaly and the mgo weight percent of basalts recovered from the rise axis these correlations indicate along axis changes in crustal thickness and temperature consistent with variations in magma supply on time scales of 100 000 years in contrast we show that the depth and width of the midcrustal magma sill the thickness of seismic layer 2a and the intensity of hydrothermal venting are poorly correlated with regional variations in ridge depth and cross sectional area we suggest that the emplacement geometry width of the intrusion zone and flow lengths not magma supply controls extrusive layer seismic layer 2a thickness we hypothesize that magma lens properties and hydrothermal activity are closely linked to spreading events dike intrusion eruptions faulting which occur on much shorter timescales 10 100 years than the longer term variations in magma supply reflected in along axis changes in the shape and depth of the ridge axis

geological chemical and biological evidence for recent volcanism at 17 5 s east pacific rise the superfast spreading portion of the east pacific rise at 17 5 s is a magmatically robust section of mid ocean ridge plumes characterized by high volatile metal ratios which has been hypothesized to be indicative of recent magmatism were found between 17 22 s and 17 35 s in november december 1993 dives with the french submersible nautile in december 1993 observed young sheet flows and widespread venting centered on the segment s shoalest point at 17 26 s eight submersible dives made one year later with the japanese submersible shinkai 6500 in september november 1994 found glassy unsedimented lavas a range of diffuse and high temperature vents and several types of biologic communities on the ridge crest beneath the volatile rich 1993 plumes the diffuse vents range from small areas in the youngest lavas characterized by very low temperature flow 10 c and a relatively low macrofaunal diversity to larger areas where the apparent older surface was covered with a dense and diverse biotope including anemones tubeworms mussels and serpulids several inactive vents marked by dead mussel clam beds are present in the southernmost portion of the site in the older lavas submersible mapping indicates that the youngest lava l0 unit erupted for at least 4 km along the strike of the ridge at the southern site and for 5 10 km at the northern site the flow is up to 400 m in width at the southern site and may be as much as 1 2 km in width at the northern site comparison of the observed 1993 fe s h2s heat and 3he heat plume values with time series measurements at sites on the northern east pacific rise and the juan de fuca ridge where the onset of the magmatic event is known implies that the last magmatic event at 17 5 s occurred within several years prior to 1993 continued rapid cooling of the underlying heat source is implied from the significant diminishment in the light scattering intensity and rise height of the overlying plumes recorded during 1994 submersible dives the type and diversity of the vent biota found on the l0 vents also suggests a young system the spatial and temporal scales of the accretion event at the 17 5 s epr site are similar in scale to eruptions on the intermediate rate spreading north cleft segment juan de fuca ridge but the 17 5 s event has more subtle gradients in the effusion rate of the eruptions and thermal and chemical character of the hydrothermal system

volcanic eruption of the mid ocean ridge along the east pacific rise crest at 9 45 52 n direct submersible observations of seafloor phenomena associated with an eruption event in april 1991 in april 1991 we witnessed from the submersible alvin a suite of previously undocumented seafloor phenomena accompanying an in progress eruption of the mid ocean ridge on the east pacific rise crest at 9 45 n 52 n the volume of the eruption could not be precisely determined although comparison of pre and post eruption seabeam bathymetry indicate that any changes in ridge crest morphology resulting from the eruption were 10 m high effects of the eruption included 1 increased abundance and redistribution of hydrothermal vents disappearance of numerous vent communities and changes in characteristics of vent fauna and mineral deposits within the eruption area since december 1989 2 murkiness of bottom waters up to tens of meters above the seafloor due to high densities of suspended mineral and biogenic particulates 3 destruction of a vent community by lava flows mass wasting and possible hydrovolcanic explosion at a site known as tubeworm barbecue in the axial summit caldera asc at 9 50 6 n 4 near critical temperatures of hydrothermal vent fluids ranging up to 403 c 5 temporal variations over a 2 week interval in both temperatures and chemical isotopic compositions of hydrothermal fluids 6 unusual compositions of end member vent fluids with ph values ranging to a record low of 2 5 salinities ranging as low as 0 3 wt nacl one twelfth that of seawater and dissolved gases reaching high concentrations 65 mmol l for both co2 and h2s 7 venting at temperatures above 380 c of visually detectable white vapor that transformed to plumes of gray smoke a few centimeters above vent orifices 8 disorganized venting of both high temperature fluids black and gray smoke and large volumes of cooler diffuse hydrothermal fluids directly from the basaltic seafloor rather than from hydrothermal mineral constructions 9 rapid and extensive growth of flocculent white bacterial mats species unknown on and under the seafloor in areas experiencing widespread venting of diffuse hydrothermal fluid and 10 subseafloor downslope migration of magma normal to the ridge axis in a network of small scale 1 5 m diameter lava tubes and channels to distances at least 100 200 m outside the asc we suggest that in april 1991 intrusion of dikes in the eruption area to 200 m beneath the asc floor resulted in phase separation of fluids near the tops of the dikes and a large flux of vapor rich hydrothermal fluids through the overlying rubbly cavernous lavas low salinities and gas rich compositions of hydrothermal fluids sampled in the eruption area are appropriate for a vapor phase in a seawater system undergoing subcritical liquid vapor phase separation boiling and phase segregation hydrothermal fluids streamed directly from fissures and pits that may have been loci of lava drainback and or hydrovolcanic explosions these fissures and pits were lined with white mats of a unique fast growing bacteria that was the only life associated with the brand new vents the prolific bacteria which covered thousands of square meters on the ridge crest and were also abundant in subseafloor voids may thrive on high levels of gases in the vapor rich hydrothermal fluids initially escaping the hydrothermal system white bacterial particulates swept from the seafloor by hydrothermal vents swirled in an unprecedented biogenic blizzard up to 50 m above the bottom the bacterial proliferation of april 1991 is likely to be a transient bloom that will be checked quickly either by decline of dissolved gas concentrations in the fluids as rapid heat loss brings about cessation of boiling and or by grazing as other organisms are re established in the biologically devastated area

basaltic lava domes lava lakes and volcanic segmentation on the southern east pacific rise meter scale dsl 120 sonar mapping and coregistered argo ii photographic observations reveal changes in eruptive style that closely follow the third order structural segmentation of the ridge axis on the southern east pacific rise 17 11 18 37 s near segment ends we observe abundant basaltic lava domes which average 20 m in height and 200 m in basal diameter and have pillow lava as the dominant lava morphology the ubiquity of pillow lava suggests low effusion rate eruptions the abundance of lava domes suggests that the fissure eruptions were of sufficient duration to focus and produce a line of volcanic edifices near segment centers we observe fewer but larger lava domes voluminous drained and collapsed lava lakes and smooth lobate and sheet lava flows with very little pillow lava the abundance of sheet flows suggests that high effusion rate eruptions are common fewer lava domes and large lava lakes suggest that fissure eruptions do not focus to point sources this pattern was observed on eight third order ridge segments suggesting that a fundamental volcanic segmentation of the ridge occurs on this scale the third order segment boundaries also correlate with local maxima in the seismic axial magma chamber reflector depth throughout the study area and decreased across axis width of the region of seismic layer 2a thickening along the one segment where sufficient cross axis seismic lines exist the geochemically defined magmatic segment boundaries in the study area match the locations of our volcanic segment boundaries although rock sampling density is not adequate to constrain the variation across all the third order volcanic segments that we identify these observations suggest that variation in the processes of crustal accretion along axis occurs at a length scale of tens of kilometers on superfast spreading 140 km myr full rate mid ocean ridges

porphyroblast rotation eppur si muove in a number of recent papers the theory has been postulated that porphyroblasts as a rule do not rotate with respect to geographical coordinates and can be used to determine the original orientation of older foliations complex inclusion patterns in spiral garnets have even been used to advocate a new model of orogenesis involving several alternating phases of horizontal shortening and extension critical assessment of the assumptions and data used to support the theory of irrotational porphyroblasts reveals numerous flaws millipede structures used as proof for flow partitioning can also form by other flow geometries evidence quoted to support irrotational behaviour of porphyroblasts is unsound porphyrobl asts do occur in sets with a preferred orientation of the internal foliation trace but these cannot be shown to represent original orientations microstructures which resemble truncation planes in spiral garnets are used as evidence that these structures developed by several phases of deformation and as proof for periodic extension and horizontal shortening in orogenesis they can however also be explained by intermittent growth of a rotating porphyroblast during a single phase of deformation finally porphyroblast sets in which orientation is a function of aspect ratio indicate that porphyroblast rotation with respect to kinematic axes does occur in at least some situations

geology of the northern cleft segment juan de fuca ridge recent lava flows sea floor spreading and the formation of megaplumes geologic mapping and lava sampling were carried out after the discovery of large bursts of hydrothermal fluids megaplumes over the southern juan de fuca ridge in 1986 and 1987 our investigations of the northernmost section of the cleft segment have discovered 1 semicontinuous low temperature venting and one major high temperature vent site along 17 km of the neovolcanic zone and 2 very glassy lightly sedimented sheet flows and pillow mounds superimposed on older terrain over about 24 km along the northern most part the pillow mounds are documented to have erupted between 1981 and 1987 the occurrence of the megaplumes during this same time period strengthens the hypothesis that megaplumes are caused by sea floor extension events although the basalts from the entire length of the neovolcanic zone of the cleft segment appear to have been derived from the same mantle source a systematic northward increase in mg number along the segment within the neovolcanic zone indicates less shallow level differentiation to the north possibly related to the development of new magma chambers during the recent phase of sea floor spreading that has occurred there