Work

Seafloor expression of oceanic detachment faulting reflects gradients in mid-ocean ridge magma supply

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Oceanic detachment faulting is a major mode of seafloor accretion at slow and ultraslow spreading mid-ocean ridges, and is associated with dramatic changes in seafloor morphology. Detachments form expansive dome structures with corrugated surfaces known as oceanic core complexes (OCCs), and often transition to multiple regularly-spaced normal faults that form abyssal hills parallel to the spreading axis. Previous studies have attributed these changes to along-axis gradients in lithospheric strength or magma supply. However, despite the recognition that magma supply can influence fault style and seafloor morphology, the mechanics controlling the transition from oceanic detachment faults to abyssal hill faults and the relationship to along-axis variations in magma supply remain poorly understood. This study investigates this issue using two complementary modeling approaches. The first consists of semi-analytical, two-dimensional (2-D) cross-axis models designed to address the fundamental mechanical controls on the longevity of normal faults. These 2-D model sections are juxtaposed in the along-axis direction to examine the response of the plan-view pattern of faults to along-axis variations in magmatic accretion in the absence of along-axis mechanical coupling. The second approach uses three-dimensional (3-D), time-dependent numerical models that simulate faulting and magma intrusion in a visco-elasto-plastic continuum. The primary variable studied through both approaches is the along-axis gradient in the fraction M of seafloor spreading that is accommodated by magmatism . The 2-D and 3-D results predict different abyssal hill spacing and orientation, however the plan-view geometry of self-emerging detachment faults predicted by the 3-D numerical models are well explained by the juxtaposed 2-D models. This indicates a first-order control by cross-axis effects of changing values of M . These models are also shown to explain the along-axis extent and plan-view curvature of the well-developed 13°20′N and Mt. Dent OCCs (Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Cayman Rise) in terms of quantifiable along-axis gradients in magma emplacement rates.

Source: Earth and Planetary Science Letters

DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.04.001

Authors: Samuel M. Howell, Jean-Arthur Olive, Garrett Ito, Mark D. Behn, Javier Escartín, Boris Kaus