Faulting and Magmatism at Mid-Ocean Ridges

About this book

Seafloor spreading at mid-ocean ridges was recognized more than 30 years ago as the key which unlocked the plate tectonic revolution. Ridges are not only the locus of the most voluminous magmatic activity on Earth, but they are also the largest and most active extensional tectonic regime on the planet. The abyssal hills of the seafloor, formed at mid-ocean ridges, are the most widespread morphologic features on the planet. Beneath these ridges, oceanic lithosphere forms nearly 60% of the volume of the Earth's rigid outer shell. As impressive as this may be, it is worth recalling that similar volumes have been created repeatedly in the cycle of spreading and subduction of oceanic tracts that characterizes plate tectonics.

Contents

Preface
      W. Roger Buck, Paul T. Delaney, Jeffrey A. Karson, Yves Lagabrielle vii
Global Systematics of Mid-Ocean Ridge Morphology
         Christopher Small  1
Linkages Between Faulting, Volcanism, Hydrothermal Activity and Segmentation on Fast Spreading Centers
      Ken C. Macdonald  27
Magmatism at Mid-Ocean Ridges: Constraints from Volcanological and Geochemical Investigations
      Michael R. Perfit and William W. Chadwick, Jr  59
Geological Consequences of Dike Intrusion at Mid-Ocean Ridge Spreading Centers
      Daniel Curewitz and Jeffrey A. Karson  117
Formation and Development of Fissures at the East Pacific Rise: Implications for Faulting and Magmatism at Mid-Ocean Ridges
      Dawn J. Wright  137
Ultramafic-Mafic Plutonic Rock Suites Exposed Along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (100N-300N): Symmetrical-Asymmetrical Distribution and Implications for Seafloor Spreading Processes
      Yves L'agabrielle, Daniel Bideau, Mathilde Cannat, Jeffrey A. Karson, and Catherin Mevel  153
Internal Structure of Oceanic Lithosphere: A Perspective from Tectonic Windows
      Jeffrey A . Karson  177
Structure of Modern Oceanic Crust and Ophiolites and Implications for Faulting and Magmatism at Oceanic Spreading Centers
      Yildirim Dilek, Eldridge M. Moores, and Harald Furnes 219
Periodic Formation of Magma Fractures and Generation of Layered Gabbros in the Lower Crust Beneath Oceanic Spreading Ridges
      Peter B. Kelemen and Einat Aharanov  267
The Rheology of the Lower Oceanic Crust: Implications for Lithospheric Deformation at Mid-Ocean Ridges
      Greg Hirth, Javier Escartin and Jian Lin  291
Mechanics of Stretching Elastic-Plastic-Vicous Layers: Applications to Slow-Spreading Mid-Ocean Ridges
      Alexei N. B. Poliakov and W. Roger Buck  305
Normal Fault Growth in Three Dimensions in Continental and Oceanic Crust
      Patience A. Cowie  325

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