Volcanic evolution of an ultraslow-spreading ridge

Nearly 30% of ocean crust forms at mid-ocean ridges where the spreading rate is less than 20 mm per year. According to the seafloor spreading paradigm, oceanic crust forms along a narrow axial zone and is transported away from the rift valley. However, because quantitative age data of volcanic erupt...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2023-07, Vol.14 (1), p.4134-4134, Article 4134
Main Authors: Stubseid, H H, Bjerga, A, Haflidason, H, Pedersen, L E R, Pedersen, R B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Cores
Eruptions
Evolution
Lava
Lava flows
Mid-ocean ridges
Ocean floor
Oceanic crust
Ridges
Rift valleys
Sea floor spreading
Seafloor spreading
Spreading
Valleys
Volcanic activity
Volcanic eruptions
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Nearly 30% of ocean crust forms at mid-ocean ridges where the spreading rate is less than 20 mm per year. According to the seafloor spreading paradigm, oceanic crust forms along a narrow axial zone and is transported away from the rift valley. However, because quantitative age data of volcanic eruptions are lacking, constructing geological models for the evolution of ultraslow-spreading crust remains a challenge. In this contribution, we use sediment thicknesses acquired from ~4000 km of sub-bottom profiler data combined with C ages from sediment cores to determine the age of the ocean floor of the oblique ultraslow-spreading Mohns Ridge to reveal a systematic pattern of young volcanism outside axial volcanic ridges. Here, we present an age map of the upper lava flows within the rift valley of a mid-ocean ridge and find that nearly half of the rift valley floor has been rejuvenated by volcanic activity during the last 25 Kyr.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-39925-0