Discovery of abundant hydrothermal venting on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge in the Arctic Ocean

Submarine hydrothermal venting along mid-ocean ridges is an important contributor to ridge thermal structure, and the global distribution of such vents has implications for heat and mass fluxes from the Earth's crust and mantle and for the biogeography of vent-endemic organisms. Previous studies have predicted that the incidence of hydrothermal venting would be extremely low on ultraslow-spreading ridges (ridges with full spreading rates <2 cm x yr(-1)-which make up 25 per cent of the global ridge length), and that such vent systems would be hosted in ultramafic in addition to volcanic rocks. Here we present evidence for active hydrothermal venting on the Gakkel ridge, which is the slowest spreading (0.6-1.3 cm x yr(-1)) and least explored mid-ocean ridge. On the basis of water column profiles of light scattering, temperature and manganese concentration along 1,100 km of the rift valley, we identify hydrothermal plumes dispersing from at least nine to twelve discrete vent sites. Our discovery of such abundant venting, and its apparent localization near volcanic centres, requires a reassessment of the geologic conditions that control hydrothermal circulation on ultraslow-spreading ridges.     

The influence of ridge migration on the magmatic segmentation of mid-ocean ridges

The Earth's mid-ocean ridges display systematic changes in depth and shape, which subdivide the ridges into discrete spreading segments bounded by transform faults and smaller non-transform offsets of the axis. These morphological changes have been attributed to spatial variations in the supply of magma from the mantle, although the origin of the variations is poorly understood. Here we show that magmatic segmentation of ridges with fast and intermediate spreading rates is directly related to the migration velocity of the spreading axis over the mantle. For over 9,500 km of mid-ocean ridge examined, leading ridge segments in the 'hotspot' reference frame coincide with the shallow magmatically robust segments across 86 per cent of all transform faults and 73 per cent of all second-order discontinuities. We attribute this relationship to asymmetric mantle upwelling and melt production due to ridge migration, with focusing of melt towards ridge segments across discontinuities. The model is consistent with variations in crustal structure across discontinuities of the East Pacific Rise, and may explain variations in depth of melting and the distribution of enriched lavas.     

Magmatic and amagmatic seafloor generation at the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge,Arctic Ocean

A high-resolution mapping and sampling study of the Gakkel ridge was accomplished during an international ice-breaker expedition to the high Arctic and North Pole in summer 2001. For this slowest-spreading endmember of the global mid-ocean-ridge system, predictions were that magmatism should progressively diminish as the spreading rate decreases along the ridge, and that hydrothermal activity should be rare. Instead, it was found that magmatic variations are irregular, and that hydrothermal activity is abundant. A 300-kilometre-long central amagmatic zone, where mantle peridotites are emplaced directly in the ridge axis, lies between abundant, continuous volcanism in the west, and large, widely spaced volcanic centres in the east. These observations demonstrate that the extent of mantle melting is not a simple function of spreading rate: mantle temperatures at depth or mantle chemistry (or both) must vary significantly along-axis. Highly punctuated volcanism in the absence of ridge offsets suggests that first-order ridge segmentation is controlled by mantle processes of melting and melt segregation. The strong focusing of magmatic activity coupled with faulting may account for the unexpectedly high levels of hydrothermal activity observed.     

Origin of a 'Southern Hemisphere' geochemical signature in the Arctic upper mantle

The Gakkel ridge, which extends under the Arctic ice cap for approximately 1,800 km, is the slowest spreading ocean ridge on Earth. Its spreading created the Eurasian basin, which is isolated from the rest of the oceanic mantle by North America, Eurasia and the Lomonosov ridge. The Gakkel ridge thus provides unique opportunities to investigate the composition of the sub-Arctic mantle and mantle heterogeneity and melting at the lower limits of seafloor spreading. The first results of the 2001 Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge Expedition (ref. 1) divided the Gakkel ridge into three tectonic segments, composed of robust western and eastern volcanic zones separated by a 'sparsely magmatic zone'. On the basis of Sr-Nd-Pb isotope ratios and trace elements in basalts from the spreading axis, we show that the sparsely magmatic zone contains an abrupt mantle compositional boundary. Basalts to the west of the boundary display affinities to the Southern Hemisphere 'Dupal' isotopic province, whereas those to the east-closest to the Eurasian continent and where the spreading rate is slowest-display affinities to 'Northern Hemisphere' ridges. The western zone is the only known spreading ridge outside the Southern Hemisphere that samples a significant upper-mantle region with Dupal-like characteristics. Although the cause of Dupal mantle has been long debated, we show that the source of this signature beneath the western Gakkel ridge was subcontinental lithospheric mantle that delaminated and became integrated into the convecting Arctic asthenosphere. This occurred as North Atlantic mantle propagated north into the Arctic during the separation of Svalbard and Greenland.     

Spreading-rate dependence of melt extraction at mid-ocean ridges from mantle seismic refraction data

A variety of observations indicate that mid-ocean ridges produce less crust at spreading rates below 20 mm yr(-1) (refs 1-3), reflecting changes in fundamental ridge processes with decreasing spreading rate. The nature of these changes, however, remains uncertain, with end-member explanations being decreasing shallow melting or incomplete melt extraction, each due to the influence of a thicker thermal lid. Here we present results of a seismic refraction experiment designed to study mid-ocean ridge processes by imaging residual mantle structure. Our results reveal an abrupt lateral change in bulk mantle seismic properties associated with a change from slow to ultraslow palaeo-spreading rate. Changes in mantle velocity gradient, basement topography and crustal thickness all correlate with this spreading-rate change. These observations can be explained by variations in melt extraction at the ridge, with a gabbroic phase preferentially retained in the mantle at slower spreading rates. The estimated volume of retained melt balances the approximately 1.5-km difference in crustal thickness, suggesting that changes in spreading rate affect melt-extraction processes rather than total melting.     

Central role of detachment faults in accretion of slow-spreading oceanic lithosphere

The formation of oceanic detachment faults is well established from inactive, corrugated fault planes exposed on sea floor formed along ridges spreading at less than 80 km Myr(-1) (refs 1-4). These faults can accommodate extension for up to 1-3 Myr (ref. 5), and are associated with one of the two contrasting modes of accretion operating along the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The first mode is asymmetrical accretion involving an active detachment fault along one ridge flank. The second mode is the well-known symmetrical accretion, dominated by magmatic processes with subsidiary high-angle faulting and the formation of abyssal hills on both flanks. Here we present an examination of approximately 2,500 km of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between 12.5 and 35 degrees N, which reveals asymmetrical accretion along almost half of the ridge. Hydrothermal activity identified so far in the study region is closely associated with asymmetrical accretion, which also shows high levels of near-continuous hydroacoustically and teleseismically recorded seismicity. Increased seismicity is probably generated along detachment faults that accommodate a sizeable proportion of the total plate separation. In contrast, symmetrical segments have lower levels of seismicity, which occurs primarily at segment ends. Basalts erupted along asymmetrical segments have compositions that are consistent with crystallization at higher pressures than basalts from symmetrical segments, and with lower extents of partial melting of the mantle. Both seismic evidence and geochemical evidence indicate that the axial lithosphere is thicker and colder at asymmetrical sections of the ridge, either because associated hydrothermal circulation efficiently penetrates to greater depths or because the rising mantle is cooler. We suggest that much of the variability in sea-floor morphology, seismicity and basalt chemistry found along slow-spreading ridges can be thus attributed to the frequent involvement of detachment faults in oceanic lithospheric accretion.     

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.     

Geophysical evidence for reduced melt production on the Arctic ultraslow Gakkel mid-ocean ridge

Most models of melt generation beneath mid-ocean ridges predict significant reduction of melt production at ultraslow spreading rates (full spreading rates &<20 mm x yr(-1)) and consequently they predict thinned oceanic crust. The 1,800-km-long Arctic Gakkel mid-ocean ridge is an ideal location to test such models, as it is by far the slowest portion of the global mid-ocean-ridge spreading system, with a full spreading rate ranging from 6 to 13 mm x yr(-1) (refs 4, 5). Furthermore, in contrast to some other ridge systems, the spreading direction on the Gakkel ridge is not oblique and the rift valley is not offset by major transform faults. Here we present seismic evidence for the presence of exceptionally thin crust along the Gakkel ridge rift valley with crustal thicknesses varying between 1.9 and 3.3 km (compared to the more usual value of 7 km found on medium- to fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges). Almost 8,300 km of closely spaced aeromagnetic profiles across the rift valley show the presence of discrete volcanic centres along the ridge, which we interpret as evidence for strongly focused, three-dimensional magma supply. The traces of these eruptive centres can be followed to crustal ages of approximately 25 Myr off-axis, implying that these magma production and transport systems have been stable over this timescale.     

Spreading rate dependence of gravity anomalies along oceanic transform faults

Mid-ocean ridge morphology and crustal accretion are known to depend on the spreading rate of the ridge. Slow-spreading mid-ocean-ridge segments exhibit significant crustal thinning towards transform and non-transform offsets, which is thought to arise from a three-dimensional process of buoyant mantle upwelling and melt migration focused beneath the centres of ridge segments. In contrast, fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges are characterized by smaller, segment-scale variations in crustal thickness, which reflect more uniform mantle upwelling beneath the ridge axis. Here we present a systematic study of the residual mantle Bouguer gravity anomaly of 19 oceanic transform faults that reveals a strong correlation between gravity signature and spreading rate. Previous studies have shown that slow-slipping transform faults are marked by more positive gravity anomalies than their adjacent ridge segments, but our analysis reveals that intermediate and fast-slipping transform faults exhibit more negative gravity anomalies than their adjacent ridge segments. This finding indicates that there is a mass deficit at intermediate- and fast-slipping transform faults, which could reflect increased rock porosity, serpentinization of mantle peridotite, and/or crustal thickening. The most negative anomalies correspond to topographic highs flanking the transform faults, rather than to transform troughs (where deformation is probably focused and porosity and alteration are expected to be greatest), indicating that crustal thickening could be an important contributor to the negative gravity anomalies observed. This finding in turn suggests that three-dimensional magma accretion may occur near intermediate- and fast-slipping transform faults.     

Contrasting crustal production and rapid mantle transitions beneath back-arc ridges

The opening of back-arc basins behind subduction zones progresses from initial rifting near the volcanic arc to seafloor spreading. During this process, the spreading ridge and the volcanic arc separate and lavas erupted at the ridge are predicted to evolve away from being heavily subduction influenced (with high volatile contents derived from the subducting plate). Current models predict gradational, rather than abrupt, changes in the crust formed along the ridge as the inferred broad melting region beneath it migrates away from heavily subduction-influenced mantle. In contrast, here we show that across-strike and along-strike changes in crustal properties at the Eastern Lau spreading centre are large and abrupt, implying correspondingly large discontinuities in the nature of the mantle supplying melt to the ridge axes. With incremental separation of the ridge axis from the volcanic front of as little as 5?km, seafloor morphology changes from shallower complex volcanic landforms to deeper flat sea floor dominated by linear abyssal hills, upper crustal seismic velocities abruptly increase by over 20%, and gravity anomalies and isostasy indicate crustal thinning of more than 1.9?km. We infer that the abrupt changes in crustal properties reflect rapid evolution of the mantle entrained by the ridge, such that stable, broad triangular upwelling regions, as inferred for mid-ocean ridges, cannot form near the mantle wedge corner. Instead, the observations imply a dynamic process in which the ridge upwelling zone preferentially captures water-rich low-viscosity mantle when it is near the arc. As the ridge moves away from the arc, a tipping point is reached at which that material is rapidly released from the upwelling zone, resulting in rapid changes in the character of the crust formed at the ridge.     

Ancient, highly heterogeneous mantle beneath Gakkel ridge, Arctic Ocean

The Earth's mantle beneath ocean ridges is widely thought to be depleted by previous melt extraction, but well homogenized by convective stirring. This inference of homogeneity has been complicated by the occurrence of portions enriched in incompatible elements. Here we show that some refractory abyssal peridotites from the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge (Arctic Ocean) have very depleted 187Os/188Os ratios with model ages up to 2 billion years, implying the long-term preservation of refractory domains in the asthenospheric mantle rather than their erasure by mantle convection. The refractory domains would not be sampled by mid-ocean-ridge basalts because they contribute little to the genesis of magmas. We thus suggest that the upwelling mantle beneath mid-ocean ridges is highly heterogeneous, which makes it difficult to constrain its composition by mid-ocean-ridge basalts alone. Furthermore, the existence of ancient domains in oceanic mantle suggests that using osmium model ages to constrain the evolution of continental lithosphere should be approached with caution.     

海底地形对不同时间尺度岩浆供给变化的响应

利用有限差分数值模拟方法, 恢复洋中脊地形的形成过程, 模型中岩浆供给按一定的时间周期和幅度规律性地变化。结果表明: 只有当岩浆供给变化周期的时间尺度大于在洋中脊同一侧形成两条断层的时间间隔时, 才能影响海底地形的形成过程并被记录。结合数值模拟实验结果和不同类型洋中脊的地形特征, 认为快速扩张洋中脊是唯一可能在地形上记录到米兰科维奇气候周期(偏心率(100 ka)、倾斜度(41 ka)和岁差(23 ka)) 3个时间尺度岩浆变化周期的洋中脊类型, 中速扩张洋中脊和部分岩浆供给充足慢速扩张洋中脊的地形可能与100 ka尺度的岩浆供给变化周期有关, 大部分慢速扩张洋中脊海底地形不受100 ka及以下的岩浆供给变化周期影响。     

Microscopic deformation of the Neoarchean oceanic lithospheric mantle: evidence from the Zunhua Neoarchean ophiolitic mélange, North China Craton

The microstructures of the mantle tectonites in the Zunhua Neoarchean ophiolitic mélange are mainly coarse-mosaic structures with locally interstitial impregnated melts. Olivine and orthopyroxene occur as residual porphyroclastic blasts, dynamic recrystallization neoblasts or elongated to be tabular. The podiform chromitites are mostly strongly deformed with the development of pull-apart structure. These microstructures are typical high-temperature plastic deformation in oceanic upper mantle resulting from ocean-floor spreading. Besides the high-temperature plastic deformation, undeformed magmatic intrusions such as undeformed podiform chromitite, dunite and pyroxenite intrusions are also preserved in the mantle tectonite. Structures of high-temperature plastic deformation and intensive magmatic activity prove that the Zunhua ophiolite was formed under fast spreading oceanic ridge, similar to the Oman ophiolite. And the microstructures of country rocks, such as quartz ribbon, core and mantle structure, dynamic recrystallization and mica-fish stucture, etc., were formed during the uplift of ophiolitic mélange from the mid-crust to the upper-crust associated with continental collision.     

Modes of faulting at mid-ocean ridges

Abyssal-hill-bounding faults that pervade the oceanic crust are the most common tectonic feature on the surface of the Earth. The recognition that these faults form at plate spreading centres came with the plate tectonic revolution. Recent observations reveal a large range of fault sizes and orientations; numerical models of plate separation, dyke intrusion and faulting require at least two distinct mechanisms of fault formation at ridges to explain these observations. Plate unbending with distance from the top of an axial high reproduces the observed dip directions and offsets of faults formed at fast-spreading centres. Conversely, plate stretching, with differing amounts of constant-rate magmatic dyke intrusion, can explain the great variety of fault offset seen at slow-spreading ridges. Very-large-offset normal faults only form when about half the plate separation at a ridge is accommodated by dyke intrusion.     

南海玄武岩：扩张洋脊与海山

 南海存在两种火山岩：洋中脊玄武岩（MORB）和洋岛玄武岩（OIB）。国际大洋发现计划（IODP）第349、367、368、368X航次在南海海盆的成功钻取,获得了南海初始扩张（~34 Ma）和停止扩张（~15-16 Ma）前的洋壳样品。南海东部、西南次海盆及北缘洋-陆过渡带代表海盆发展的不同阶段,具有不同的地幔潜能温度、物质组成和洋脊扩张速度,因此产生的洋中脊玄武岩成分差异显著。南海地区在扩张晚期及停止扩张之后存在大规模地幔上涌,与其周缘地区的持续俯冲有关,产出的海山OIB不同于地幔柱活动产生的火山链。南海虽小,但蕴含的信息异常丰富,是窥探地球深部难得的天然窗口。     

Mantle wedge control on back-arc crustal accretion

At mid-ocean ridges, plate separation leads to upward advection and pressure-release partial melting of fertile mantle material; the melt is then extracted to the spreading centre and the residual depleted mantle flows horizontally away. In back-arc basins, the subducting slab is an important control on the pattern of mantle advection and melt extraction, as well as on compositional and fluid gradients. Modelling studies predict significant mantle wedge effects on back-arc spreading processes. Here we show that various spreading centres in the Lau back-arc basin exhibit enhanced, diminished or normal magma supply, which correlates with distance from the arc volcanic front but not with spreading rate. To explain this correlation we propose that depleted upper-mantle material, generated by melt extraction in the mantle wedge, is overturned and re-introduced beneath the back-arc basin by subduction-induced corner flow. The spreading centres experience enhanced melt delivery near the volcanic front, diminished melting within the overturned depleted mantle farther from the corner and normal melting conditions in undepleted mantle farther away. Our model explains fundamental differences in crustal accretion variables between back-arc and mid-ocean settings.     

Evidence from three-dimensional seismic reflectivity images for enhanced melt supply beneath mid-ocean-ridge discontinuities

Quantifying the melt distribution and crustal structure across ridge-axis discontinuities is essential for understanding the relationship between magmatic, tectonic and petrologic segmentation of mid-ocean-ridge spreading centres. The geometry and continuity of magma bodies beneath features such as overlapping spreading centres can strongly influence the composition of erupted lavas and may give insight into the underlying pattern of mantle flow. Here we present three-dimensional images of seismic reflectivity beneath a mid-ocean ridge to investigate the nature of melt distribution across a ridge-axis discontinuity. Reflectivity slices through the 9 degrees 03' N overlapping spreading centre on East Pacific Rise suggest that it has a robust magma supply, with melt bodies underlying both limbs and ponding of melt beneath large areas of the overlap basin. The geometry of melt distribution beneath this offset is inconsistent with large-scale, crustal redistribution of melt away from centres of upwelling. The complex distribution of melt seems instead to be caused by a combination of vertical melt transport from the underlying mantle and subsequent focusing of melt beneath a magma freezing boundary in the mid-crust.     

Arctic Ocean: hydrothermal activity on Gakkel Ridge

In the hydrothermal circulation at mid-ocean ridges, sea water penetrates the fractured crust, becomes heated by its proximity to the hot magma, and returns to the sea floor as hot fluids enriched in various chemical elements. In contradiction to earlier results that predict diminishing hydrothermal activity with decreasing spreading rate, a survey of the ultra-slowly spreading Gakkel Ridge (Arctic Ocean) by Edmonds et al. and Michael et al. suggests that, instead of being rare, the hydrothermal activity is abundant--exceeding by at least a factor of two to three what would be expected by extrapolation from observation on faster spreading ridges. Here we use helium-3 (3He), a hydrothermal tracer, to show that this abundance of venting sites does not translate, as would be expected, into an anomalous hydrothermal 3He output from the ridge. Because of the wide implications of the submarine hydrothermal processes for mantle heat and mass fluxes to the ocean, these conflicting results call for clarification of the link between hydrothermal activity and crustal production at mid-ocean ridges.     

Mineralogy of the mid-ocean-ridge basalt source from neodymium isotopic composition of abyssal peridotites

Inferring the melting process at mid-ocean ridges, and the physical conditions under which melting takes place, usually relies on the assumption of compositional similarity between all mid-ocean-ridge basalt sources. Models of mantle melting therefore tend to be restricted to those that consider the presence of only one lithology in the mantle, peridotite. Evidence from xenoliths and peridotite massifs show that after peridotite, pyroxenite and eclogite are the most abundant rock types in the mantle. But at mid-ocean ridges, where most of the melting takes place, and in ophiolites, pyroxenite is rarely found. Here we present neodymium isotopic compositions of abyssal peridotites to investigate whether peridotite can indeed be the sole source for mid-ocean-ridge basalts. By comparing the isotopic compositions of basalts and peridotites at two segments of the southwest Indian ridge, we show that a component other than peridotite is required to explain the low end of the (143)Nd/(144)Nd variations of the basalts. This component is likely to have a lower melting temperature than peridotite, such as pyroxenite or eclogite, which could explain why it is not observed at mid-ocean ridges.     

Present-day spreading motion of the mid-Atlantic ridge

Over a long period of time, the spreading rate of the mid-Atlantic ridge has been ascertained by the geological age of the magnetic stripe laid out on either side of the mid-ocean ridge in conjunction with the annals of the magnetic reversal history. Is the mid-Atlantic ridge still spreading today? How fast is it moving or are there any changes? All these questions remain unsolved. Based on the newest ITRF2000 velocity field published by the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS), the contemporary global plate motion model ITRF2000VEL is constructed, independent of any plate model hypothesis. Solutions for relative Euler’s vectors of plate pairs as North America-Eurasia, North America-Africa and South America-Africa are obtained, implying current spreading rates of the mid-Atlantic ridge. Comparing them with results from the NNR-NUVEL1A model displays the present-day motion characteristics of the mid-Atlantic ridge that the mid-ridge of the South Atlantic, whose spreading is slowing down, spreads faster than the North Atlantic, whose spreading is speeding up.