a self consistent model of melting magma migration and buoyancy driven circulation beneath mid ocean ridges numerical modeling and analysis are used to investigate the processes leading to the eruption of mantle derived magma at mid ocean ridges our model includes the following effects melting due to decompression magma migration by percolation and circulation of the mantle driven by both the oceanic plates and the distribution of buoyancy beneath the ridge the distribution of buoyancy is due to both the low density of the liquid and the difference in the density of the residual solids relative to unmelted mantle material the calculation of densities is based on a simple petrological model in which garnet spinel lherzolite melts to form a basaltic liquid and a harzburgite residue we find that the system spontaneously evolves to a state in which a rapid upwelling beneath the ridge axis faster than the plate velocity is confined laterally by stably stratified residual material beneath the newly formed plates this effect is exaggerated if a modest decrease in the shear viscosity of the solid upon melting is included our results provide a simple explanation for the narrowness of the zone of crustal formation at mid ocean ridges the model also predicts a transition from steady state to episodic crustal formation as the spreading velocity is reduced perhaps giving rise to along axis variations in the character of seafloor spreading the narrow rapid upwelling gives rise to substantial porosities at depths that are a large fraction of the depth to the solidus this may allow the liquid at depth to segregate into macroscopic channels which would account for the consensus from experimental petrology that the liquids parental to morb are derived from well below the base of the crust

possible giant metamorphic core complex at the center of artemis corona venus hundreds of circular features on venus known as coronae are characterized by annular fractures and commonly associated radial fractures and lava flows coronae are thought to have been produced by buoyant mantle diapirs that flatten and spread at the base of the lithosphere and cause fracturing uplift and magmatism the interior of artemis corona by far the largest corona at 2100 km diameter is divided in half by a northeast trending deformation belt that contains numerous rounded ridges resembling antiforms the largest of these ridges located at the center of artemis corona is 5 km high on its steep northwest flank where it is adjacent to a flat bottomed 10 km wide trough interpreted as a rift valley the 280 km long antiformal ridge is marked by perpendicular grooves that cross the 50 km wide ridge and extend southeastward as far as 120 km across adjacent plains the grooves abruptly terminate northwestward at the rift trough the large antiformal ridge terminates southwestward at a transform shear zone that parallels the grooves these features rift valley antiformal uplift grooves and transform shear zone are morphologically and geometrically similar to grooved elevated submarine metamorphic core complexes on the inside corners of ridge transform intersections of slow spreading ridges on earth as with submarine core complexes the grooved surface on venus is interpreted as the footwall of a large displacement normal fault and the grooves are inferred to be the product of plastic molding of the footwall to irregularities on the underside of the hanging wall followed by tectonic exhumation of the molded grooves and conveyer belt like transport up and over the large antiform and across the southeastern plains according to this interpretation the trend of the grooves records the direction of extension which is perpendicular to the thrusts at the leading edge of the annular thrust belt 1000 km to the southeast both may have formed at the same time as a result of uniform southeastward displacement of the southeastern half of the interior of artemis corona the location of this grooved core complex at the center of artemis corona may reflect genesis above the buoyant ascending tail of the corona producing mantle diapir

rheological evolution of the ocean crust a microstructural view rheological studies of the oceanic lithosphere have used direct observations of rocks and inferences based on thermal mechanical and experimental models modeling studies help to constrain an average crust and mantle rheology and the deep seated processes that control regional scale strength and stress field variations the smoothing of fine scale variations in such models can obscure many of the geological processes that influence strain localization and deformation partitioning in the ocean crust examination of deformation mechanisms and histories in ocean crust rocks provides a complementary approach to modeling examples of structures and deformation histories in diabases from deep sea drilling project ocean drilling program site 504b the hayes and atlantis fracture zones mid atlantic ridge and the troodos ophiolite cyprus are presented in conjunction with a synthesis of microstructural studies of the ocean crust over the last 25 years a survey of brittle quasi plastic and synmagmatic viscous deformation is used to demonstrate the influence of primary compositional and textural characteristics and variable magmatic and hydrothermal histories on deformation mechanisms and strain localization in the ocean crust geological evidence indicates that hydrothermal fluids strongly influence the nature of deformation and that effective stresses may be low due to fluid overpressures melt distribution will strongly influence strain localization at the base of the crust and synkinematic hydration during crystal plastic deformation plays a key role in the relative strengths of polyphase oceanic lithologies a schematic distribution of failure mechanisms in the ocean crust is used to discuss the controls on variations in lateral and vertical strength profiles and their possible relation to spreading rates although microstructural studies of ocean crust are still in their infancy they provide valuable constraints for rheological models and further insights to explain the distribution of seismicity at spreading centers and acoustic signatures

a new magma chamber model based on structural studies in the oman ophiolite abstract structural mapping in the mafic ultramafic transition zone and in the overlying crustal section of the oman ophiolite has revealed the importance of magmatic flow in the formation of layering in the gabbros and the mechanical coupling between this flow and the asthenospheric flow of the underlying peridotites the crustal section near the spreading axis and in particular the magma chamber are fed by two independent melts a dominant gabbroic melt episodically injected from depth and a subordinate wehrlitic crystal mixture produced by compaction of the transition zone layering in the gabbros can be partly produced by tectonic transposition of the gabbroic and wehrlitic mixtures during magmatic flow whatever its origin the layering orientation in the newly created crust does not necessarily reflect its original attitude the final orientation of the layering is determined by the attitude of the magmatic flow plane at the time it was frozen a new magma chamber model is proposed which solves some of the physical difficulties of previous models and accounts for the seismic imaging of magma chambers beneath oceanic ridges

oceanic corrugated surfaces and the strength of the axial lithosphere at slow spreading ridges abstract we analyse the topography and gravity signature of 39 corrugated surfaces formed over the past 26 myrs in the footwall of axial detachment faults at the eastern southwest indian ridge these corrugated surfaces appear to have formed at a melt supply about half the global melt supply average for mid ocean ridges and we find that their presently elevated topography relative to adjacent non corrugated seafloor was mostly acquired at the end of their formation at the termination stage this configuration which also characterizes many off axis corrugated surfaces in other oceans suggests that the plate flexural rigidity was very low during the formation of the corrugated surface and increased significantly at the termination stage following buck 1988 we hypothesize that stresses related to bending of the plate cause internal deformation and damage in the footwall of the fault which is associated with weakening as a possible mechanism for enhanced footwall weakening while corrugated surfaces form we propose the formation of weak shear zones coated with hydrous minerals such as talc amphibole chlorite and serpentine in mantle derived ultramafics next to gabbro intrusions if this hypothesis is correct the amount of footwall weakening and roll over along axial detachment faults at slow spreading ridges may be controlled both by access to hydrothermal fluids in the footwall of the detachment and by the abundance and distribution of gabbros intrusions in exhumed ultramafics

geotectonic significance of gneissic amphibolites from the vema fracture zone equatorial mid atlantic ridge a large collection of gneissic amphibolites was recovered by two close dredge hauls from the deepest part of the north facing slope of the transverse ridge forming the south wall of the vema fracture zone serpentinites and various types of gabbroic rocks ranging from undeformed slightly uralitized gabbros and norites to flaser and mylonitic gabbros were associated with the gneissic amphibolites in the shallowest of the dredge hauls petrological studies indicate that the amphibolites were derived from similar gabbroic rocks that reequilibrated under stress in the conditions of the amphibolite facies on the other hand the associated meta gabbros display sequences of secondary minerals indicating complex cooling and cataclastic histories without reaching metamorphic equilibrium we tentatively suggest that the gneissic amphibolites and associated metagabbros formed in a vertical shear zone generated in oceanic layer 3 by tectonism associated with the vema fracture zone hydrothermal circulation of seawater along the highly permeable shear zone was activated by magmatic intrusions k ar dating suggests within relatively large analytical uncertainties that the amphibolite metamorphism took place 10 m y ago i e at a time when the dredging sites were located in the vicinity of the spreading center

morphology and tectonics of the kane transform from sea beam bathymetry data high resolution sea beam data have been used to construct an accurate regional scale bathymetric map of the kane transform a large offset slowly slipping 30 mm yr central north atlantic transform the kane transform trends about 100 nearly orthogonal to the regional trend of the adjacent mid atlantic ridge mar rift valley the transform valley walls are composed of an alternating series of ridges and troughs which parallel the regional trend of the mar the ridges narrow and deepen toward the transform valley over distances of 10 20 km and the intervening troughs widen into distinct closed contour depressions that appear to be relict nodal basins the morphologic elements found on either side of the transform valley exhibit along strike continuity and represent undisrupted displacement markers the swath of terrain sandwiched between these markers is only several kilometers wide and is made up of elongate basins and ridges that integrate to create a distinctive transform parallel grain this interval the transform tectonized zone ttz marks the time averaged location of strike slip tectonism as parcels of crust move from each intersection along the transform interface the ttz is widest 6 km near the eastern ridge transform intersection rti and narrows to a strand less than 3 km wide along the central and western portions of the transform along the eastern portion of the transform valley a narrow 3 km median ridge several hundred meters high can be traced for more than 40 km along the valley floor and a similar but shorter feature is also present near the western rti at both rtis the neovolcanic zone from the adjacent rift valley can be traced as a series of constructional edifices across the entire intersection area to the opposing transform valley wall at the eastern rti the neovolcanic zone wraps around the eastern edge of the nodal basin while at the western rti it appears to bisect a paired nodal basin located in the intersection area a line drawn connecting the ends of each neovolcanic zone lies within the narrow ttz and has a strike of 098 using the bathymetric map of the kane transform as a record of the time integrated tectonic evolution of this large slowly slipping ridge transform ridge plate boundary we have constructed a simple model for the evolution of rtis our model emphasizes the interplay between temporal variations in crustal production rates i e variations in the volume of basaltic melt production along oceanic spreading centers and extensional tectonism this model can explain the existence of nodal basins at rtis and relict nodal basins along transforms and fracture zones as well as the occurrence of regularly spaced ridge and trough topography on the ridge flanks

multi channel seismic imaging of a crustal magma chamber along the east pacific rise a reflection observed on multi channel seismic profiles along and across the east pacific rise between 8 50 n and 13 30 n is interpreted to arise from the top of a crustal magma chamber located 1 2 2 4 km below the sea floor the magma chamber is quite narrow 4 6 km wide but can be traced as a nearly continuous feature for tens of kilometres along the rise axis

pervasive silicification and hanging wall overplating along the 13 20 n oceanic detachment fault mid atlantic ridge the corrugated detachment fault zone of the active 13820 0 n oceanic core complex mid atlantic ridge was investigated with a deep sea vehicle to assess the links between deformation alteration and magmatism at detachment fault zones we present a study of 18 in situ fault rock samples from striated fault outcrops on the flanks of microbathymetric corrugations all the samples are mafic breccias that are mostly derived from a diabase protolith with two of them also showing mixing with ultramafic clasts brec cias are cataclastic and display variable deformation textures recording numerous slip events and showing pervasive silicification throughout the fault zone deformation silicification relationships are also complex showing both static and syntectonic quartz precipitation undeformed quartz overprints the fault breccia textures and reflective and striated fault surfaces cross cut silicified rocks in situ detachment fault rocks are mainly fault breccias with almost exclusively basaltic clasts with rare ultramafic ones a lithology and texture never observed previously at other oceanic detachment fault zones we propose the lower dyke complex in the hanging wall crust at the volcanic rift valley floor is the most plausible diabase source mechanical mixing of predominantly mafic and rare ultramafic clasts suggests an underlying ultramafic footwall and that mafic accretion operates in the shallowest crust 1 2 km at the base of the dyke complex at temperatures 4008c silicification is produced by silica rich fluids syntectonically channeled along the fault zone and likely derived from hydrothermal alteration of basaltic rocks likely mixed with serpentinization derived fluids plain language summary this paper presents a textural mineralogical and microstructural study of the fault rocks recovered in situ on the 13820 0 n detachment fault zone mid atlantic ridge during the odemar cruise in 2013 this detachment is unique for the presence of mafic material integrated within the fault zone as breccias and the pervasive silicification observed throughout all the detachment surface our paper discusses the origin of the mafic breccias and proposes that they were captured from the base of the dyke complex within the hanging wall during the fault exhumation our study reveals furthermore that quartz mineralization occurred in depth during the exhumation and is likely linked with the presence of mafic material within the fault zone our study indicates a complex relationship between silicification and deformation during which quartz re crystallized under quasi static conditions between periods of deformation this work also demonstrates that extreme strain localization can be achieved in the absence of weak alteration phases talc serpentine but with instead high friction material quartz suggesting that elevated pore fluid pressures play an important role

a view of the lower crustal component of hydrothermal systems at the mid atlantic ridge an extensive suite of hydrothermally altered gabbros was recovered by alvin and dredging from the mid atlantic ridge in the vicinity of the eastern ridge transform intersection rti of the kane fracture zone mark where tectonic extension has provided a window into the lower crustal component of hydrothermal cells four alteration types are distinguished on the basis of metamorphic assemblage mineral composition and deformation textures a conceptual model is presented that places temperature fluid rock ratio relationships in conjunction with styles of deformation into a spatial and temporal framework exsolution of late stage magmatic fluids in the vicinity of the magma hydrothermal interface at temperatures 700 c marks the onset of fluid rock interaction in the mark gabbros kelley et al this issue with subsequent alteration involving seawater derived fluids being strongly influenced by deformation mechanisms in zones of ductile shear hydration was initiated at temperatures between 550 and 700 c and moderate fluid rock ratios elsewhere in the lower crust the onset of seawater penetration occurred at temperatures of 400 550 c and was facilitated by brittle fracturing early vein networks indicate very low initial fluid rock ratios and are interpreted as being related to the solidification of plutons later fractures indicate higher water rock ratios and may be related to the downward propagation of shallow fault systems throughout the crust fluid rock interaction ceased at temperatures 180 300 c subsequent cataclastic deformation associated with the unroofing and emplacement of crustal blocks in the rti massif produced moderate fluid rock ratios within localized zones hydrothermal alteration in the crustal section exposed at mark was initiated at lower temperatures and water rock interaction proceeded to lower temperatures than many other plutonic suites these differences must reflect the temporal and spatial evolution of magmatic and tectonic extension that is particular to each section of sampled crust

submarine metamorphism of gabbros from the mid cayman rise petrographic and mineralogic constraints on hydrothermal processes at slow spreading ridges the coarse grained submersible collected rocks from the mid cayman rise in our study span a vertical section of about 700 m and range from amphibolite to gabbro petrographic and mineralogic studies showed that 1 some deformation is present in all rocks 2 the distribution of deformation is not uniform within a specimen and 3 alteration has taken place preferentially in the deformed zones the abundance of amphibole decreases with sample depth and argues that seawater flux into the oceanic crust decreased with depth the compositional changes in rocks indicate that partially exchanged seawater was the metamorphic fluid that supplied na k and h2o to and removed ca from the rock in all about 15 of the original rock has been transformed to amphibolite in the 700 m vertical section our study indicates that deformation of oceanic crust is necessary for providing pathways for seawater penetration which in turn is necessary for the submarine metamorphism to occur if deformation continues to take place during the spreading of seafloor alteration may also continue to occur along newly formed fractures and cracks

shear zones as a result of intraplate tectonics in oceanic crust the example of the basal complex of fuerteventura canary islands ductile shear zones affecting igneous rocks pyroxenites syenites gabbros and carbonatites belonging to the basal complex of the island of fuerteventura are described here they develop typical mylonites with their cortege of structures and crystallographic fabrics an evolution from brittle to ductile conditions has been recognized and interpreted as being due to the ascent of alkaline magmas and related fluids and subsequent emplacement of weak rocks carbonatites syenites along the shear zones local metamorphic changes favour the ductile behaviour via a reaction enhanced softening mechanism the shear zones are arranged in a nearly orthorhombic pattern kinematic criteria suggest an extensional tectonic scenario with a bulk irrotational nonplane deformation the long axis of the finite deformation ellipsoid is e w and horizontal the available data allow us to establish this deformation as being from the late oligocene to the early miocene this is tentatively related to the plate tectonics evolution and mantle anomalies in the northwestern corner of the african plate

physical modeling of slow seafloor spreading a properly scaled thermo mechanical experimental model of slow seafloor spreading is developed to investigate the mechanism of lithosphere accretion the melt of a specially fabricated hydrocarbon compositional system is cooled from above in a tank the crystallizing upper layer the lithosphere possesses semiplastic semibrittle properties horizontal tension of the layer is produced by a paddle drawn at a constant rate spreading in the model is very unstable asymmetric and involves regular jumps of the spreading center scaling up the experimental results to match seafloor spreading gives the length of the jumps of the order of 10 km and the period of the order of 105 106 years the jumps normally occur in the wall of a rift valley resulting in quasiplastic stretching of the lithosphere at this place and then in the formation of two intersecting major normal fault zones crossing the plate from some shallow depth to the base the wedge separated by these zones rises up symmetrically prior to the cessation of movement along one zone with motion only continuing along the other from this moment the deformation becomes asymmetrical the material crystallized at the base of the lithosphere is dragged along the active zone to the upper horizons of the plate and to the surface this process leads to both the nonisostatic uplifting of the central part of the pulled block and subsidence near the inlet on the surface of the fault detachment zone which forms the center of this asymmetric lithospheric accretion at a specific stage under the action of both horizontal tension and vertical nonisostatic forces the strength of the pulling block is exceeded within the rift valley the result is the next jump of the spreading center to the point of breakage and a repetition of the whole cycle the jump can also occur at other places weakened during previous cycles normally the asymmetry of the spreading alternates at a new center the dimensions of the valley as well as the overall seafloor relief are strongly dependent on the spreading rate v the lower the v value the rougher the relief the jumps of the spreading centers are not synchronous along the plate boundary moreover they can be of different types with varying distances and in opposite directions on adjacent segments of the spreading axis leading to the occurrence of transfer or accommodation zones

microstructures of the cayman trough cabbros many different deformation textures are observed in submersible collected gabbros from the mid cayman rise spreading center indicating considerable variation in conditions of deformation in this slowly spreading ridge features suggesting flow range from mechanical twins and bent crystals low strain to complete recrystallization with a well developed foliation high strain textures suggesting fracture include zones 0 1 10 mm wide of extremely reduced grain size cracked grains with undulose extinction and crosscutting fractures these textures occur separately next to and overprinting each other of the variables controlling the deformation features temperature and water pressure are most easily estimated minimum temperature during deformation is suggested by minimum temperature during deformation of mineral assemblages unaffected by this deformation this temperature is above 500 550 c for the majority of the features observed observations suggest enhanced recrystallization where primary minera

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

fluid rock interactions in the lower oceanic crust thermodynamic models of hydrothermal alteration rocks from the lower oceanic crust show both petrologic and isotopic evidence for extensive alteration by circulating hydrothermal fluids derived from seawater deeply circulating fluids may have a substantial but as yet largely undetermined impact on the thermal regime of spreading centers magmatic processes at mid ocean ridges and elemental fluxes at ridge hydrothermal systems in the present study the consequences of water rock interactions during the penetration of seawater into hot lower oceanic crust were investigated using thermodynamic reaction path models alteration assemblages predicted for reaction of an evolving seawater with olivine gabbro gabbronorite and troctolite during heating from 300 to 900 c closely resemble alteration assemblages observed in rock samples from the lower oceanic crust these assemblages include sodic plagioclase actinolite diopsidic clinopyroxene epidote chlorite prehnite analcime quartz at lower temperatures 300 500 c and plagioclase hornblende diopside chlorite trace magnetite at intermediate temperatures 500 700 c the relative abundances of these alteration products show much greater variation with temperature than with water rock w r ratio indicating that variations in the amounts of hydrated minerals such as amphiboles may not be an accurate indication of the w r ratio experienced by rocks in the lower crust since the same amount of fluid may produce widely differing amounts of amphibole at slightly different temperatures depending on the temperature of interaction some rocks in the lower oceanic crust may have experienced much higher w r ratios than has previously been proposed based on the amount of amphibole present at higher temperatures 750 900 c the models predict that very little alteration occurs before the fluid equilibrates with the rock producing only trace amounts of amphibole as an alteration phase with the remainder of the rock retaining its igneous mineral composition essentially unchanged this result suggests that extensive penetration of rocks by aqueous fluids may occur in the lower ocean crust at temperatures 700 c and leave very little conspicuous petrologic evidence for their presence such cryptic alteration is consistent with isotopic evidence for hydrothermal alteration of oxygen and sr isotopes by seawater in lower ocean crust rock samples which otherwise retain their igneous compositions and textures taken together the model results allow for much more extensive circulation of fluids in the lower oceanic crust and at much higher temperatures than has been proposed by previous studies based on petrologic interpretations

deep tow seismic profiles from the vema transform and ridge transform intersection a recently developed near bottom reflection profiling system has been used to obtain high resolution seismic sections across the vema transform fault at the western ridge transform intersection deep towed 3 5 khz echo sounder data show evidence of fresh lava flows at the seabed within the nodal deep over one kilometre of sediment fills the bottom of the ridge transform intersection deep many strong discontinuous reflectors within the sedimentary section caused by lava layers indicate that the intersection deep has been the site of sustained igneous activity on the eastern side of the deep is a large uplifted fault block created as the newly formed crust moved out of the spreading centre dipping strata within the fault block document back tilting as the new crust is extended by normal faulting profiles across the active transform fault reveal that the zone of deformation throughout the one kilometre thick sediment column is narrow suggesting that the location of the fault has remained stable throughout at least the last million years

multistage hydrothermal alteration of gabbroic rocks from the failed mathematician ridge oxygen isotopic mineralogical and fluid inclusion data are presented for fresh and hydrothermally altered gabbroic rocks from the failed mathematician ridge the mathematician ridge though initially a fast spreading ridge presently has a deep central rift valley more typical of slow spreading rifts the inner rift walls expose rare plutonic rocks uncomplicated by proximity to deep large offset fracture zones undeformed mathematician ridge gabbros preserve most of the original texture and phase compositions and have been only slightly mineralogically or isotopically modified by post crystallization hydrothermal alteration metagabbros have been subjected to a pervasive ductile deformation and recrystallization to foliated rocks composed of aluminous amphibole low calcium plagioclase and ilmenite oxygen isotope and phase chemical data suggest this event began at temperatures of up to 700 c water rock ratios of less than one and produced modified seawater fluids with isotopic compositions of 3 5 6 0 the amphibolites are cross cut by multiple generation quartz epidote veins forming a network replacement of the amphibole grade mineralogies by greenschist grade mineralogies fluid oxygen isotopic compositions of 2 4 and a two phase separation in the fluid captured in conjugate vapor fluid inclusions are all associated with the formation of this network fluid inclusion data for the quartz indicate initial temperatures of over 500 c these samples may represent rocks from the 1 2 km deep plumbing system of black smoker type venting

metamorphism in oceanic layer 3 gorringe bank eastern atlantic gorringe bank is an anomalously high structure of the eastern part of the north atlantic which was known to be composed of mantle derived peridotites layer 4 and gabbros layer 3 during the submersible cruise cyagor ii in 1981 the contact between layer 4 and layer 3 was observed on mount gettysburg and interpreted as tectonic the overlying series of gabbro was extensively sampled on both mounts composing the bank gettysburg and ormonde coarse grained to pegmatoid clinopyroxene gabbros predominate and are associated with differentiated rocks ferrogabbros and diorites cumulate gabbros are missing the gabbroic section sampled is therefore interpreted as the upper part of the plutonic section most samples were strongly recrystallized during two distinct events metamorphism occurred close to the ridge axis from interaction of a seawater derived fluid with still hot gabbros high temperature shear zones favoured fluid circulation but the water rock ratio estimated from the sodium input was very small in undeformed rocks 1 the low w r ratio explains the strong evolution of the fluid phase and therefore some particular compositions of secondary minerals low temperature alteration occurred when the gabbros were tectonically emplaced close to the sea bottom

mechanisms for the origin of mid ocean ridge axial topography implications for the thermal and mechanical structure of accreting plate boundaries to better understand the implications of ridge axis morphology for the thermal and mechanical structure of accreting plate boundaries we examine mechanisms for the creation of stress supported axial topography and its dependence on parameters such as spreading rate asthenosphere viscosity and plate thickness near the ridge axis three basic mechanisms are considered 1 asthenospheric upwelling in a narrow steady state conduit beneath a ridge axis 2 mantle flow stresses due to plate spreading extending ridge axis lithosphere or melt segregation and associated mantle compaction and 3 topography supported by moments due to horizontal extensional stresses in a thickening lithosphere if mid ocean ridge topography is due to asthenosphere rising in a narrow conduit at the ridge axis then the conduit structure cannot be thermally controlled as the associated thermal structure has relatively broad flat isotherms instead of a conduitlike shape mantle flow associated with plate spreading alone induces no stress supported topography thus the intuitive notion that diverging flow at the ridge axis due solely to plate spreading produces the axial valley is incorrect vertical mantle flow at the base of a stretching accreting lithosphere and mantle flow associated with melt segregation can however lead to stress supported axial topography however for these mantle flow related processes to produce significant amounts of axial relief the mantle viscosity beneath the ridge axis must be on the order of 1020 pa s 1021 p poise significantly higher than generally accepted values of 1018 pa s 1019 p horizontal extensional stresses in a strong brittle lithosphere that thickens with distance from the ridge axis can produce axial topography of the form and amplitude observed on slow spreading ridges a continuum idealization of deformation due to faulting is used to examine this mechanism this model predicts the axial valley width is controlled by the plate thickness near the ridge axis an 8 km thick plate near the ridge axis would produce the 30 km wide axial valley observed at slow spreading ridges an increased lithosphere thickness of only several kilometers over the half width of the axial valley can produce kilometer scale relief to examine whether a plate 8 10 km thick at the ridge axis that thickens by several kilometers within 15 km of the axis is plausible at a slow spreading ridge thermal models that include both the heat of magmatic crustal accretion on the ridge axis and upwelling mantle flow beneath the axis are formulated hydrothermal cooling that increases the effective conductivity by about a factor of 10 is required for an 8 km thick plate to exist at a slow spreading ridge axis however even with this enhanced hydrothermal cooling the plate thickness at a fast spreading ridge axis and the resulting horizontal force in the plate are too small to result in appreciable topography while mid ocean ridge axial topography is strongly influenced by spreading rate other factors also shape axial structure for example the anomalously shallow slow spreading reykjanes ridge has an axial structure more like that of a fast spreading ridge and the anomalously deep intermediate spreading australian antarctic discordance has a median valley axial structure typical of a slower spreading ridge in addition within a given spreading segment there is often a systematic deepening of the ridge axis toward transform offsets these non spreading rate dependent axial topographic variations may be produced by variations in magmatic heat input associated with crustal emplacement which shapes the thermal structure and lithosphere thickness near the ridge axis

along axis variations in seafloor spreading in the mark area recent investigations with the manned submersible alvin and the angus deep towed camera sled greatly extended the known range of variations in the style of seafloor spreading along the axis of the mid atlantic ridge five transects of the spreading centre at intervals of10 20 km south of the kane fracture zone at 24 n latitude demonstrate dramatic changes in the style and magnitude of tectonic extension development of the neovolcanic zone expression of hydrothermal venting types oflithologic exposures and morphology of the median valley

a constant influx model for dike propagation implications for magma reservoir dynamics 1 most observations of seismicity rate during dike propagation on basaltic volcanoes show 1 rate stationarity despite possible variations of the dike tip velocity 2 frequent lack of clear and monotonic hypocenter migration following dike propagation and 3 event occurrences located backward with respect to the dike tip position on these bases the origin of the seismicity contemporary to dike intrusion within basaltic volcanoes cannot be solely related to the crack tip propagation seismicity rather appears to be the response of the edifice itself to the volumetric deformation induced by the magma intruding the solid matrix the volume change induced into the volcano edifice over time by the intruding magma is equal to the magma flux injected into the dike from the reservoir the consequence of this is that the stationary seismicity rate observed during the intrusion is a proxy for the magma flux withdrawn from the reservoir we consider a two phase dike propagation model including a first vertical propagation followed by a lateral migration along a lithological discontinuity we explore 1 under which geophysical conditions the vertical dike is fed at constant flow rate of magma and 2 dike propagation patterns implications entailed by constant volumetric flux on the piton de la fournaise volcano case study suggest a minimum size for the magma reservoir of about 1 km3 and a maximum value for the initial magma reservoir overpressure of about 2 2 mpa considering similar magma inflow rates during vertical and lateral dike propagation phases we reproduce independent estimates of propagation velocities rise times and injected volumes when applying the model to the august 2003 piton de la fournaise eruption

rock mechanics observations pertinent to the rheology of the continental lithosphere and the localization of strain along shear zones emphasized in this paper are the deformation processes and rheologies of rocks at high temperatures and high effective pressures conditions that are presumably appropriate to the lower crust and upper mantle in continental collision zones much recent progress has been made in understanding the flexure of the oceanic lithosphere using rock mechanics based yield criteria for the inelastic deformations at the top and base at mid plate depths stresses are likely to be supported elastically because bending strains and elastic stresses are low the collisional tectonic regime however is far more complex because very large permanent strains are sustained at mid plate depths and this requires us to include the broad transition between brittle and ductile flow moreover important changes in the ductile flow mechanisms occur at the intermediate temperatures found at mid plate depths two specific contributions of laboratory rock rheology research are considered in this paper first the high temperature steady state flow mechanisms and rheology of mafic and ultramafic rocks are reviewed with special emphasis on olivine and crystalline rocks rock strength decreases very markedly with increases in temperature and it is the onset of flow by high temperature ductile mechanisms that defines the base of the lithosphere the thickness of the continental lithosphere can therefore be defined by the depth to a particular isotherm tc above which at geologic strain rates the high temperature ductile strength falls below some arbitrary strength isobar e g 100 mpa for olivine tc is about 700 800 c but for other crustal silicates tc may be as low as 400 600 c suggesting that substantial decoupling may take place within thick continental crust and that strength may increase with depth at the moho as suggested by a number of workers on independent grounds put another way the moho is a rheological discontinuity a second class of laboratory observations pertains to the general phenomenon of ductile faulting in which ductile strains are localized into shear zones ductile faults have been produced in experiments of five different rock types and is generally expressed as strain softening in constant strain rate tests or as an accelerating creep rate stage at constant differential stress a number of physical mechanisms have been identified that may be responsible for ductile faulting including the onset of dynamic recrystallization phase changes hydrothermal alteration and hydrolytic weakening microscopic evidence for these processes as well as larger scale geological and geophysical observations suggest that ductile faulting in the middle to lower crust and upper mantle may greatly influence the distribution and magnitudes of differential stresses and the style of deformation in the overlying upper continental lithosphere

tectonic structure evolution and the nature of oceanic core complexes and their detachment fault zones 13 20 n and 13 30 n mid atlantic ridge microbathymetry data in situ observations and sampling along the 13 20 n and 13 20 n oceanic core complexes occs reveal mechanisms of detachment fault denudation at the seafloor links between tectonic extension and mass wasting and expose the nature of corrugations ubiquitous at occs in the initial stages of detachment faulting and high angle fault scarps show extensive mass wasting that reduces their slope flexural rotation further lowers scarp slope hinders mass wasting resulting in morphologically complex chaotic terrain between the breakaway and the denuded corrugated surface extension and drag along the fault plane uplifts a wedge of hangingwall material apron the detachment surface emerges along a continuous moat that sheds rocks and covers it with unconsolidated rubble while local slumping emplaces rubble ridges overlying corrugations the detachment fault zone is a set of anostomosed slip planes elongated in the along extension direction slip planes bind fault rock bodies defining the corrugations observed in microbathymetry and sonar fault planes with extension parallel stria are exposed along corrugation flanks where the rubble cover is shed detachment fault rocks are primarily basalt fault breccia at 13 20 n occ and gabbro and peridotite at 13 30 n demonstrating that brittle strain localization in shallow lithosphere form corrugations regardless of lithologies in the detachment zone finally faulting and volcanism dismember the 13 30 n occ with widespread present and past hydrothermal activity semenov fields while the irinovskoe hydrothermal field at the 13 20 n core complex suggests a magmatic source within the footwall these results confirm the ubiquitous relationship between hydrothermal activity and oceanic detachment formation and evolution

emplacement of deep crustal and mantle rocks on the west median valley wall of the mark area mar 23 n abstract exposures of deep crustal and mantle rocks within the axial rift valley characterize accretion processes in the slow spreading mid atlantic ridge nine dives of the submersible nautile explored the western axial valley wall in the northern cell of the mark area mid atlantic ridge kane fracture zone where peridotite and gabbro outcrops had been previously reported in order to constrain the structure and determine emplacement mechanisms the ridge transform intersection massif on the western wall shows a section of gabbros from 6000 to 2500 mbsl locally overlain by metabasalts and metadolerites capped by slightly weathered basalts the morphology is controlled by ridge parallel faults dipping moderately 40 65 to the east transform parallel scarps present in the northernmost dives become rare toward the south brittle deformation along moderately dipping fault scarps produced a dense microcrack network filled with greenschist facies minerals chlorite actinolite epidote quartz locally overprinting high temperature ductile deformation fabrics the small hill located at 23 20 in the western wall shows good exposures of serpentinized peridotite between 3700 and 3100 mbsl above 3100 mbsl the summit of the hill is composed of pillow basalts and sediments the peridotite outerops display a strong schistosity dipping 20 40 to the east parallel to striated normal fault planes some steeper east facing fault scarps truncate the lower dipping fault surfaces the serpentinites deriving from a harzburgitic protolith are cut by rare dikelets of highly differentiated gabbro these new data combined with previous results of alvin dives are used to draw a generalized geological map of the western axial valley wall this map suggests a variation in the thickness of crustal units and composition along strike in the northern cell of the mark area the gabbro body disappears toward the south where basalts appear to directly overlie the mantle peridotites which are cut by isolated gabbroic dikelets low angle stretching affecting this heterogeneous lithosphere is probably responsible for the exposure of gabbros in the intersection massif and of peridotites further south

stretching of the deep crust at the slow spreading southwest indian ridge abstract the 500 metres of gabbro drilled in the southwest indian ocean during odp leg 118 allow direct observation of early high temperature extensional deformation in the deep crust of a slow spreading rift valley about 30 of the recovered gabbros have been plastically stretched at progressively decreasing temperatures granulite to lower amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions increasing water rock ratio and probably increasing deviatoric stresses the early solid state strain in granulite facies metamorphic conditions produced low dipping foliations and low strain gradients at this stage mylonitic shear zones only formed in oxide rich gabbros strain localization in the deepest and hottest part of the oceanic crust thus appears to have been influenced by the magmatic stratigraphy in upper to lower amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions the ductile strength of the gabbro was probably higher and deformation concentrated in mylonitic shear bands which may have provided access to seawater derived fluids strain localization at this stage was accompanied by brittle failure and boudinage in the mylonitic foliation of individual porphyroclasts or of thick gabbro intervals the influence of such brittle failure on hydrothermal circulations was critical it allowed for extensive crust seawater interactions at high temperatures upper amphibolite facies conditions in a spreading context where continuous magma supply provides heat and new crustal material to the axial region the mechanical behaviour of the ridge axis lithosphere should be controlled by continuous ductile deformation in granulite facies conditions this may lead to the steady state necking configuration described by tapponnier and francheteau 1978 alternatively a discontinuity of the magma supply allowing the lower crust of the axial region to cool below granulite facies temperatures should cause mylonitic shear zones characteristic of amphibolite facies deformation to extend deeper into the axial domain eventually leading to the detachment fault configuration proposed by karson in press as magma supply to slow spreading oceanic ridges is likely to be discontinuous necking and faulting periods should alternate through time

uniform sense normal simple shear of the continental lithosphere geophysical studies suggest that the thin crust characteristic of the basin and range province extends eastward beneath the west margin of the colorado plateau and rocky mountain regions in arizona and utah zones perhaps over 100 km wide may be defined bounded on the west by the east limit of upper crustal normal faults that account for more that 10 extension and on the east by the east limit of thinning beneath the colorado plateau a discrepancy exists within these zones between the negligible extension measurable in the upper crust and the substantial extension apparent from crustal thinning assuming the discrepant zone crust was as thick as or thicker than the colorado plateau rocky mountain crust prior to extensional tectonism if various theories appealing to crustal erosion are dismissed mass balance problems evident in the discrepant zones are most easily resolved by down to the east normal simple shear of the crust moving lower and middle crustal rocks that initially were within the zones up and to the west to where they now are locally exposed in the basin and range province west of the discrepant zones in both arizona and utah east directed extensional allochthons with large displacement are exposed these geophysical and geological observations complement one another if it is accepted that the entire crust in both arizona and utah failed during extension on gently east dipping east directed low angle normal faults and shear zones over a region several hundred kilometres wide large scale uniform sense normal simple shear of the crust suggests the entire lithosphere may do the same such a hypothesis predicts major lithospheric thinning without crustal thinning will occur in plateau areas in the direction of crustal shear in the case of the arizona utah and red sea extensional systems and possibly the death valley extensional terrain a broad topographic arch typically 1500 2000 m higher than the extended terrain is present suggesting lithospheric thinning in areas predicted by the hypothesis

ephemeral magma chambers in the trinity peridotite northern california abstract the trinity massif comprises the major lithologies of an ophiolite as defined at the 1972 penrose conference previous studies have shown however that it differs from the semail oman or table mountain newfoundland ophiolitic massifs particularly because its crustal section is thin and because its mantle section has vertical plastic flow planes these features have led to an interpretation of the trinity massif as a fragment of slow spreading oceanic lithosphere le sueur et al 1984 boudier and nicolas 1985 in this paper we show that the trinity gabbros occur in discontinuous kilometre sized pockets intrusive into the mantle peridotites the internal stratigraphy and the petrological characteristics of these gabbros suggest that they formed in short lived magma chambers these ephemeral magma chambers developed after the end of the plastic deformation in the surrounding mantle when it had cooled down to lithospheric temperatures we discuss the possibility that these small and ephemeral magma chambers formed at a slow spreading oceanic ridge

evolution of oceanic gabbros from dsdp leg 82 influence of the fluid phase on metamorphic crystallizations abstract gabbro breccias were recovered from an anomalously shallow level of the ocean crust during dsdp leg 82 the rocks display evidence of metamorphic crystallization related either to localized deformation or to hydrothermal circulation of a seawater derived fluid under static conditions secondary phases consist of plagioclase amphibole and minor clinopyroxene ilmenite sphene and chlorite petrological study indicates that deformation took place at high temperature under anhydrous conditions and was followed by hydrothermal circulation the compositions of secondary minerals i e strong zonations presence of chlorine in amphiboles varying compositions of secondary plagioclase indicate that reactions of the gabbros with the fluids occurred at a low water rock ratio relations between cl na and k in amphiboles suggest penetration of at least two distinct fluids of different compositions metamorphic crystallization stopped when greenschist facies conditions were reached 350 c probably because hydrothermal circulation faded out

submarine push moraine formation during the early fennoscandian ice sheet deglaciation abstract the glacial history in the topographically confined paleo ice stream drainage route of vestfjorden north norway was analysed based on bathymetric data high resolution seismology and 14 c ams dated gravity cores the inner part of the fjord is characterised by axial parallel mega scale lineations whereas the outer part is dominated by two marginal morainal bank systems the vaeroy inner and rost outer marginal moraine systems comprise several transverse zigzag shaped ridges seismic records show thrusted and folded sediment blocks within the ridges the landforms are inferred to reflect basal processes and the transition from warm based inner fjord to cold based outer fjord conditions i e fast flow followed by basal freeze on sediment deformation and morainal bank formation the moraines formed during the final part of two paleo ice sheet re advances 14 c ams dating indicates a maximum age of 13 7 14 c ka bp 16 2 cal ka bp for the rost system whereas the vaeroy system is inferred to be slightly older than 12 5 14 c ka bp 14 5 cal ka bp this demonstrates that the northern part of the fennoscandian ice sheet behaved in a much more dynamic way during the early deglaciation than previously assumed

tectonics alteration and the fractal distribution of hydrothermal veins in the lower ocean crust abstract gabbros from hole 735b preserve the igneous structural and metamorphic history beneath the southwest indian ridge down to middle amphibolite facies conditions the gabbro was isolated from the zone of lithospheric necking by detachment faulting unroofing and block uplift at the inside corner high of the atlantis ii transform lower crustal accretion as preserved in the core is a complex integration of igneous hydrothermal and tectonic processes alteration began at anhydrous granulite conditions as surface faulting penetrated the brittle ductile transition to form brittle ductile shear zones in the amphibolite facies hydrous alteration around these zones was extensive while undeformed sections remained virtually unaltered amphibole veins formed during the brittle ductile deformation have a high fractal dimension reflecting an unclustered distribution consistent with high strain and cracking rates in the zone of lithospheric necking beneath the ridge however the fractal dimensions of the two major gneissic amphibolite zones in hole 735b are different and suggest that they represent discrete fault zones formed at different times below middle amphibolite facies a dramatic drop in the extent of alteration reflects cooling cracking and alteration under static conditions similar to layered intrusions initially fracture and vein formation exploited undeformed sections where elastic strain accumulated during cooling from high temperatures was unrelieved by recrystallization plagioclase diopside veins formed at this time have the same orientation as higher temperature veins but a mineralogy reflecting much lower rock permeabilities and a low fractal dimension reflecting a tight clustering of veins as would be anticipated for crack formation at low strain rates late zeolite and carbonate veins and irregular smectite lined near vertical cracks also have a very low fractal dimension reflecting clustering appropriate to low strain near static conditions these however show no preference for undeformed sections of the core and are oriented with subvertical and subhorizontal maxima this indicates crack formation under the present day stress field thus elastic strain due to cooling from high temperatures and extension during lithospheric necking dissipated after plagioclase diopside vein formation

structure of young oceanic crust at 13 n on the east pacific rise from expanding spread profiles we present the results of the analysis of expanding spread profiles esps collected on and near the axis of the east pacific rise at 13 n these profiles were collected at 0 1 1 2 1 3 6 and 9 5 km from the rise axis and all but the most distant profile show a distinct low velocity zone lvz located within layer 3 of the oceanic crust at the ridge crest the top of the magma chamber is at the base of layer 2 while 3 6 km off axis the roof of the lvz is 1 1 km below the top of layer 3 the profile farthest from the ridge could possibly have a residual lvz confined to the lower 1 5 km of the crust the total width of the lvz as determined from the esp data is at least 6 km and possibly much greater this wide lvz apparently contradicts multichannel seismic data which show cross axis reflections from the magma chamber with a width of 5 km we suggest that a resolution of this apparent contradiction lies in a model of the rise axis with a small and transient central magma chamber of high partial melt fraction surrounded by a much larger and permanent region of hot rock with only isolated pockets of partial melt the esp data are sensitive to this larger region while the reflection data accurately map the presence or absence of the central magma chamber with its high impedance contrast we identify the presence of a layer at the top of the oceanic crust with initial p wave velocities between 2 35 and 2 6 km s while the s wave velocity is estimated as being 0 8 km s the layer thickness lies between 100 and 200 m these velocities are consistent with previous estimates for the pacific and recent results for the atlantic the thickness of this layer is consistent with that of layer 2a determined from geophysical measurements at deep sea drilling project hole 504b

the mid ocean ridge axial valley as a steady state neck abstract in this paper the mid ocean ridge axial valley is modelled as a steady state lithospheric neck in which lithospheric stretching balances lithospheric accretion conversely the axial high is a steady state lithospheric bulge the lithosphere is modelled as a thin plate with a newtonian rheology it is shown that an axial valley will occur if the rate of viscosity increase away from the ridge axis is faster than the rate at which accretion decreases an axial high will occur if the opposite condition holds this is consistent with the observation that axial valleys occur at low spreading rates and axial highs at high spreading rates by fitting our model to profiles across the mid atlantic ridge and the east pacific rise and assuming the lithospheric thickness at the ridge axis to be 5 km we find accretion widths of 6 8 km we find the width over which there is a significant increase in lithospheric viscosity to be also 6 8 km

hydrothermal alteration in a modern suprasubduction zone the tonga forearc crust an extensive suite of hydrothermally altered basalts gabbros and plagiogranites was recovered from the trench facing slope of the tonga forearc the tectonic setting lithology and geochemistry of these samples make them a unique collection for comparison with suprasubduction zone ssz ophiolites petrography mineral chemistry and geothermometry are used to constrain the metamorphic evolution of ocean crust formed in a modern ssz setting seawater derived hydrothermal fluids first penetrated the lower crust along grain boundaries and microscopic fracture networks at temperatures 800 c as the plutonic sequence cooled amphibole progressively replaced the mafic phases followed by chlorite and epidote below 550 c basalts record peak alteration temperatures up to 773 c however most were altered at lower temperatures typical of mid ocean ridge mor volcanic sequences kelman 1998 epidosites formed by pervasive alteration of basalt and plagiogranite at greenschist facies conditions and at high water rock ratios pervasively altered gabbros and basalts display evidence of late cataclastic deformation and or contain veins that is likely related to a later tectonic event such as trench rollback the range of alteration temperatures and mineral assemblages in basalts and gabbros are similar to those described from both ssz ophiolites and mors however the degree of alteration in basalts and the presence of epidosites in the tonga collection are most similar to alteration characteristics in ssz ophiolites the initiation of high temperature brittle deformation in the absence of ductile deformation suggests that the tonga forearc crust was constructed in a magma rich environment similar to fast spreading mors