The crustal structure of the Reykjanes Ridge at 59° 30'N

Summary. In order to examine the development of the oceanic crust in the neighbourhood of a slowly spreading ridge, a seismic refraction experiment was carried out at 59° 30'N on the Reykjanes Ridge. Three 120 km long overlapped split profiles were shot parallel to the trend of the ridge, on the eastern flank, and recorded on up to five recording sonobuoys. The profiles were at distances of 0, 30 and 90km from the ridge axis, corresponding to approximate crustal ages of 0, 3 and 9 Myr. Data from the main profiles were supplemented by using a large chamber air gun during recovery of the buoys.
The analysis of the data combined standard travel-time interpretation, the 'tau' method of systematic travel-time inversion and detailed amplitude modelling using the Reflectivity Method to calculate synthetic seismograms. Detailed velocity-depth models were constructed for each of the profiles.
There is no indication of a significant magma chamber at the ridge crest, although a slight velocity inversion in layer 3 suggests a zone of elevated temperature. Away from the crest there was a slight positive velocity gradient in layer 3. Layer 2 was most effectively modelled by a region of varying velocity gradients, which thinned with age and the transition to layer 3 is marked by a sharp change in velocity gradient. The transition to mantle velocities is also best modelled by a high velocity gradient rather than an interface.
Although some lateral variation in properties is apparent along the profiles, the lateral velocity gradients were sufficiently weak to allow an effective analysis in terms of laterally uniform models.     

An alternative interpretation of the Cayman trough evolution from a reidentification of magnetic anomalies

Magnetic data were collected during the Wilkes (1973) and Seacarib II (1987) cruises to the Cayman trough. A new interpretation of magnetic data is carried out. An isochron pattern is drawn up from our anomaly identifications. An early Eocene age (49 Ma, Ypresian) for Cayman trough opening is proposed instead of the late Oligocene or middle Eocene ages suggested by previous studies. Our plate tectonic reconstruction is simpler and fits the on-land geology (Jamaica and Cuba) and the tectonics. Our reconstruction shows a southward propagation of the spreading centre between magnetic anomalies 8 and 6 (26 and 20 Ma). The trough width increases by 30 km in this period. The southward propagation of the Cayman spreading centre from the Middle Oligocene to the Early Miocene induced the development of the restraining bend of the Swan Islands, the formation of a 1 km high scarp on the eastern trace of the Cayman trough transform fault (Walton fault) and the formation of a pull-apart basin (Hendrix pull-apart). Magnetic anomalies and magnetization maps give information about the deformation and the rocks. The proposed evolutionary model of the Cayman trough from the inception of seafloor spreading to the present configuration is presented in relation to the tectonic escape of the northern boundary of the Caribbean plate from the Maastrichtian to the Present.     

A simple thermal-mechanical model for mid-ocean ridge topographic variation

Summary. A simple dynamic model, based on the geometry of mantle divergence and thermal parameters controlling equilibrium size of the axial magma chamber, explains the variation in topography along mid-ocean ridges. Among morphological characters accounted for are: (1) the change from axial-valley to axial-high type ridge crests with increasing spreading rate, (2) the localized occurrence of deeps at ridge-transform intersections, and (3) the correlation of average transform spacing with spreading rate. The model also yields an explanation for anomalous ridge topography associated with oceanic hot spots. Incorporation of smaller-scale bathymetric and ophiolite data into this scheme permits construction of a comprehensive model of ocean crust accretion.     

Anomalous seismic crustal structure of oceanic fracture zones

Summary. The seismic structure of crust found within fracture zones falls outside the range of velocity structures observed for normal oceanic crust in the North Atlantic. The crust in fracture zones is frequently very thin and is characterized by low crustal velocities and by the conspicuous absence of a refractor with a velocity typical of oceanic layer 3. Anomalous crust is present in both large- and small-offset fracture zones. Since they are among the most common tectonic features in the ocean basins, and are particularly closely spaced on slow-spreading ridges, fracture zones represent a major source of seismic crustal heterogeneity. We interpret the anomalous crust as a thin, intensely fractured, faulted and hydrothermally altered basaltic and gabbroic section overlying ultramafics that, in places, are extensively serpentinized. The unusually thin crust found within fracture zones and the gradual crustal thinning over a distance of several tens of kilometres on either side of the fracture zones can be explained by two main processes; firstly the cold lithosphere edge opposite the spreading centre at the ridgetransform intersection modifies the normal intrusive and extrusive processes of the spreading centre leading to the accretion of an anomalous and thin igneous section; and secondly each spreading ridge segment is fed from a separate subcrustal magma supply point, so as the magma flows laterally down the spreading centre it generates a crustal section of decreasing thickness, culminating in the very thin crust of the fracture zones at either end of the ridge segment.     

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地起伏地形近地层微气象特征

利用2018年10月8日至2019年1月31日塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地起伏地形上高大沙垄高点和低点的温度、相对湿度、风速和大气压同步观测资料,对比分析沙漠起伏地形上秋冬季的微气象特征。结果表明:塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地高大沙垄造成的地形起伏,使得沙垄高点和沙垄低点气温、比湿和风速日变化差异明显。沙垄高点和沙垄低点气温差异主要体现在夜间,与沙漠腹地夜间存在逆温现象有关,表现出沙垄高点气温明显高于沙垄低点,观测期气温差异平均值为6.6 ℃。沙垄低点气温日较差高于沙垄高点。2018年10、11、12月,气温随高度变化出现逆温现象与沙垄高点气温高于沙垄低点气温在时间上相互对应。两个站点比湿较小,平均比湿分别为0.68 g·kg^-1和0.99 g·kg^-1。比湿日变化趋势随季节发生显著变化,主要与大气稳定度增加、冬季水汽增多及夜间逆湿现象逐渐显著相关。地形位置较高的沙垄高点风速比沙垄低点大,风速差异主要体现在夜间。2018年11月2、14、15、20日和2019年1月30日,沙垄高点风速维持在1.9~4.6 m·s^-1,平均3.2 m·s^-1,沙垄低点风速维持在0.8~4\^5 m·s^-1,平均2.5 m·s^-1。     

Recovering magnetic susceptibility from electromagnetic data over a one-dimensional earth

While the inversion of electromagnetic data to recover electrical conductivity has received much attention, the inversion of those data to recover magnetic susceptibility has not been fully studied. In this paper we invert frequency-domain electromagnetic (EM) data from a horizontal coplanar system to recover a 1-D distribution of magnetic susceptibility under the assumption that the electrical conductivity is known. The inversion is carried out by dividing the earth into layers of constant susceptibility and minimizing an objective function of the susceptibility subject to fitting the data. An adjoint Green's function solution is used in the calculation of sensitivities, and it is apparent that the sensitivity problem is driven by three sources. One of the sources is the scaled electric field in the layer of interest, and the other two, related to effective magnetic charges, are located at the upper and lower boundaries of the layer. These charges give rise to a frequency-independent term in the sensitivities. Because different frequencies penetrate to different depths in the earth, the EM data contain inherent information about the depth distribution of susceptibility. This contrasts with static field measurements, which can be reproduced by a surface layer of magnetization. We illustrate the effectiveness of the inversion algorithm on synthetic and field data and show also the importance of knowing the background conductivity. In practical circumstances, where there is no a priori information about conductivity distribution, a simultaneous inversion of EM data to recover both electrical conductivity and susceptibility will be required.     

Interpreting magnetic data by integral moments

The use of the integral moments for interpreting magnetic data is based on a very elegant property of potential fields, but in the past it has not been completely exploited due to problems concerning real data. We describe a new 3-D development of previous 2-D results aimed at determining the magnetization direction, extending the calculation to second-order moments to recover the centre of mass of the magnetization distribution. The method is enhanced to reduce the effects of the regional field that often alters the first-order solutions. Moreover, we introduce an iterative correction to properly assess the errors coming from finite-size surveys or interaction with neighbouring anomalies, which are the most important causes of the failing of the method for real data. We test the method on some synthetic examples, and finally, we show the results obtained by analysing the aeromagnetic anomaly of the Monte Vulture volcano in Southern Italy.     

On the quality of marine magnetic anomaly sources and sea-floor topography

Summary. The quality of marine magnetic anomaly sources is described with the power-density representation of a stochastic model of random temporal and spatial emplacement of the marine magnetic anomaly source in the oceanic crust. Typical values of sea-floor spreading and emplacement parameters define a high-fidelity process of recording and sea-surface detection of the palaeomagnetic field reversals for spreading rates over 20 mm yr^-1. An analogous stochastic model is developed for the formation of sea-floor topography by normal faulting. It is shown that the random process of normal faulting observed in the inner walls of the FAMOUS rift valley can account for the quality of the adjacent West Rift Mountains topography.     

Thermal evolution of the oceanic crust; its dependence on spreading rate and effect on crustal structure

Summary. The temperature field and rates of cooling and solidification of the oceanic crust and upper mantle at an ocean ridge have been calculated as a function of spreading rate. The thermal model of the accretion process incorporates latent heat release associated with solidification of the basalt. liquid forming the ocean crust and uses a heat supply boundary condition on the vertical ridge axis model boundary. It is assumed that while oceanic layer 2 cools rapidly by hydrothermal circulation, oceanic layer 3 cools predominantly by conduction. Basalt liquid injection into the upper part of oceanic layer 3 is shown to solidify instantaneously while that injected into lower crustal levels takes up to 0.4 Myr to solidify. Material solidifying instantaneously is interpreted as corresponding to the dolerite unit of the ocean crust while that taking a finite time to cool is interpreted as corresponding to the gabbroic unit. The rate of cooling of the crust is shown to be faster for slower spreading rates and consequently the thicknesses of the dolerite and gabbro units are predicted to thin and thicken respectively with increase in spreading rate. The width of the molten region, or magma chamber, within the crust at the ridge axis is shown to be approximately proportional to spreading rate with chamber half widths of 1.5 and 10.0 km for half spreading rate of 1.0 and 6.0 cm yr⁻¹. Below a critical half spreading rate of about 0.65 cm yr⁻¹ no molten region exists and the crust is entirely doleritic.     

Contribution of serpentinized ultramafics to marine magnetic anomalies at slow and intermediate spreading centres: insights from the shape of the anomalies

Detailed characteristics of marine magnetic anomalies 33r and 20r suggest that the magnetization of the deeper magnetic layers, including the lower crust and possibly the uppermost mantle, is horizontally displaced with respect to that of the upper crust. We examine the possibility that serpentinization of ultramafics in the lower crust and possibly the uppermost mantle delays the acquisition of magnetization and introduces a shift between the upper- and lower-crustal magnetization patterns. Thermal evolution models and the resulting magnetization patterns of the oceanic lithosphere are calculated for a wide range of physical parameters such as the Nusselt number and the depth of hydrothermal circulation in the crust, and the temperature range of serpentinization. The models with moderate hydrothermal cooling of the whole crust and serpentinization temperatures ranging between 200 and 300 C successfully explain the anomalous skewness and the 'hook shape' of observed sea-level magnetic anomalies created at slow and intermediate spreading rates.     

The acquisition of post-depositional detrital remanent magnetization in a variety of natural sediments

Summary. Post-depositional detrital remanent magnetization (pDRM) is the primary means whereby many sediments acquire their palaeomagnetic signal. We have studied the acquisition of this magnetization in a variety of natural sediments. Our technique involves determining the magnetic direction recorded by a sediment as a function of the water content present in the sediment when the sediment experiences a change in the direction of the applied magnetic field. Most of the sediments used in this study were collected wet from natural environments and were preserved in their original state until they were used in the experiments. Grain sizes were measured by the settling tube method which led to the determination of the clay, silt and sand fractions in each sediment. Isothermal remanent magnetization acquisition studies indicated that the predominant magnetic carriers were magnetite. In the pDRM acquisition studies two distinct modes of behaviour were found. For sediments with a sand content less than 60 per cent, the original direction of magnetization was preserved regardless of the water content. Such behaviour is not consistent with a theoretical model which assumes that at high water contents the magnetic carriers remain mobile within fluid-filled voids and hence are able to realign along a new magnetic field direction. For sediments with a sand content in excess of 60%, remagnetization along a new magnetic field direction occurred as expected, provided the sediments were sufficiently wet. Studies of natural sediments and corresponding samples of dried and reconstituted sediments have demonstrated that the magnetic characterization of a sediment can be reliably determined even for older, desiccated sediments.     

Decay of a post-depositional remanent magnetization in wet sediments due to the effect of drying

Summary. The decay of the post-depositional remanent magnetization (post-DRM) during desiccation in magnetic field free space is measured as a function of the loss of water. The decay is ascribed to the drying effect and the time decay of viscous remanent magnetization (VRM). The VRM forms only 10 per cent of the total of loss of remanent magnetization. The decay due to the drying effects depends both on the loss of water and on either the evaporation rate or the period of storage. The percentage of loss of magnetization is independent of its intensity.
A critical drying stage appears (about 60 per cent in water content on a dry basis) which is characterized as a vanishing point of mobile particles or particle units. The mobile particles or units play an important role both in acquisition and demagnetization through physical rotational motion within wet sediments before the critical drying stage. More than 80 per cent of the total loss of the post-DRM is destroyed before the desiccation proceeds to the critical drying stage. The decay of post-DRh4 is concluded to be mainly due to the physically random rotation of the magnetic particles trapped in shallow energy wells which are overcome by the torques caused by the application of the alternating magnetic field less than 200 Oe.     

Scattering of horizontally-polarized shear waves by surface irregularities

Summary. The problem of the scattering of harmonic SH waves by an arbitrary surface irregularity in an otherwise semi-infinite elastic, homogeneous, isotropic two-dimensional half-space is examined in this study in order to ascertain the effect of topography on this type of seismic ground motion and to develop a useful scheme which can realistically handle arbitrary two-dimensional topography. Three geometric models are considered: a semicircular hill which is of academic interest; a mountain with a Gaussian shape which utilizes realistic dimensions and the combination of a ridge and a depression that models a region in Sylmar, California.
A singular Fredholm integral equation of the second kind for the displacement at the free surface is developed and solved numerically. In the case of the semicircular hill, horizontal ground motion can be more than twice that occurring in the case of smooth topography. The mountain simulated by a Gaussian profile experiences at its crest amplifications for certain angles of incidence and de-amplifications for other angles of incidence, as well as displacements whose amplitudes vary slowly with frequency on the side of the mountain which is in the same direction as the incident waves. The ridge-depression combination which is approximated by a sixth-order polynomial actually experienced shattered earth at its ridge crest during the San Fernando, California earthquake of 1971. This amplification is also exhibited by the results of the analysis which, predicts amplifications of over 75 per cent at the top of the ridge for waves arriving on the same side as the ridge.     

A three-dimensional radially anisotropic model of shear velocity in the whole mantle

We present a 3-D radially anisotropic S velocity model of the whole mantle (SAW642AN), obtained using a large three component surface and body waveform data set and an iterative inversion for structure and source parameters based on Non-linear Asymptotic Coupling Theory (NACT). The model is parametrized in level 4 spherical splines, which have a spacing of ∼ 8°. The model shows a link between mantle flow and anisotropy in a variety of depth ranges. In the uppermost mantle, we confirm observations of regions with   V_SH > V_SV   starting at ∼80 km under oceanic regions and ∼200 km under stable continental lithosphere, suggesting horizontal flow beneath the lithosphere. We also observe a   V_SV > V_SH   signature at ∼150–300 km depth beneath major ridge systems with amplitude correlated with spreading rate for fast-spreading segments. In the transition zone (400–700 km depth), regions of subducted slab material are associated with   V_SV > V_SH   , while the ridge signal decreases. While the mid-mantle has lower amplitude anisotropy (<1 per cent), we also confirm the observation of radially symmetric   V_SH > V_SV   in the lowermost 300 km, which appears to be a robust conclusion, despite an error in our previous paper which has been corrected here. The 3-D deviations from this signature are associated with the large-scale low-velocity superplumes under the central Pacific and Africa, suggesting that   V_SH > V_SV   is generated in the predominant horizontal flow of a mechanical boundary layer, with a change in signature related to transition to upwelling at the superplumes.     

Surface magnetic anomaly study on the eastern part of the Forlandsundet Graben

A surface magnetic survey was carried out by use of a proton magnetometer over wide strandflats along the eastern coast of Forlandsundet, western Spitsbergen, to decipher subsurface structures and lithologies. Distinctive linear high-anomaly segments and zones were recognised on the magnetic anomaly maps. These zones coincide well with the eastern marginal fault of the Tertiary Forlandsundet Graben and associated faults north of St Jonsfjorden, while they reflect bedrock lithologies in the south. The high-anomaly segments, which constitute the zones, are locally aligned in a left-stepping, en echelon arrangement within the zones, indicating a dextral transpressional stress regime on the eastern marginal fault of the graben during a certain time. Sudden termination and bends of the segments define a later transverse fault system.     

Mechanisms for the formation of ridge-axis topography atslow-spreading ridges: a lithospheric-plate flexural model

The seafloor topography of a slow-spreading ridge shows a number of well-documented regularities at the ridge segment scale as the result of the complex interplay between ridge-axis magmatic and tectonic processes. This paper describes the results of a detailed analysis of the seafloor topography of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near the Atlantis transform, where marine gravity data provide independent, although non-unique, constraints on subseafloor density structure. Using a combined topography and gravity data set, we identified the specific contributions of subseafloor density structure to the seafloor topography. We show that the observed along-axis deepening (0.3–0.8 km) from the midpoint of a ridge segment towards the non-transform offsets in the study area can be explained by the vertical deflection of a zero-age plate in response to along-axis crustal thickness variations. However, this effect can only account for 50–60 per cent of the observed 1.5–1.7 km deepening towards the Atlantis transform, suggesting the presence of significant stresses in the lithosphere near a transform. Results of plate flexural calculations also predict a more elevated rift flank at the inside corner of the ridge–transform intersection than at the conjugate outside corner. Such an asymmetry in rift flank topography is calculated to be greatest near a transform fault with a significant volume of deep transform valley and when adjacent plates across the transform fault are mechanically decoupled or only weakly coupled. Together these results illustrate the complex interplay between various tectonic processes at a slow-spreading ridge.     

The Palaeomagnetism of the Great Dyke of Southern Rhodesia

i
Oriented cores have been secured from fourteen sites in the Great Rhodesian Dyke, by means of a portable sampling drill. The natural remanent magnetizations showed high dispersion at all sites except one. After demagnetization in alternating magnetic fields, nine sites gave well grouped directions of primary magnetization. These sites include five rock types distributed among three Complexes of the Great Dyke and two satellite dykes, over 200 miles of the length of the Dyke and through several thousand feet in depth as the rocks were originally intruded. The nine site mean directions of primary magnetization are closely grouped and are believed to represent directions of thermo-remanent magnetization at the date of intrusion of the Great Dyke. It is suggested that the dates of magnetization at the sites must cover a sufficient time interval to give a mean pole position close to the axial geocentric dipole freed from secular variation. On the assumption of a geocentric dipole field, the position of the mean South magnetic pole is 211/2 °N, 611/2 °E, with radius of 95 per cent confidence 9°. This pole position is close to positions of North magnetic poles given by studies of the palaeo-magnetism of the Pilansberg Dykes and Bushveld gabbro.     

The continent‐ocean transition on the northwestern South China Sea

Rifted margins are created as a result of stretching and breakup of continental lithosphere that eventually leads to oceanic spreading and formation of a new oceanic basin. A cornerstone for understanding what processes control the final transition to seafloor spreading is the nature of the continent‐ocean transition (COT). We reprocessed multichannel seismic profiles and use available gravity data to study the structure and variability of the COT along the Northwest subbasin (NWSB) of the South China Sea. We have interpreted the seismic images to discern continental from oceanic domains. The continental‐crust domain is characterized by tilted fault blocks generally overlain by thick syn‐rift sedimentary units, and underlain by fairly continuous Moho reflections typically at 8–10 s twtt. The thickness of the continental crust changes greatly across the basin, from ~20 to 25 km under the shelf and uppermost slope, to ~9–6 km under the lower slope. The oceanic‐crust domain is characterized by a highly reflective top of basement, little faulting, no syntectonic strata and fairly constant thickness (over tens to hundreds of km) of typically 6 km, but ranging from 4 to 8 km. The COT is imaged as a ~5–10 km wide zone where oceanic‐type features directly abut or lap on continental‐type structures. The South China margin continental crust is cut by abundant normal faults. Seismic profiles show an along‐strike variation in the tectonic structure of the continental margin. The NE‐most lines display ~20–40 km wide segments of intense faulting under the slope and associated continental‐crust thinning, giving way to a narrow COT and oceanic crust. Towards the SW, faulting and thinning of the continental crust occurs across a ~100–110 km wide segment with a narrow COT and abutting oceanic crust. We interpret this 3D structural variability and the narrow COT as a consequence of the abrupt termination of continental rifting tectonics by the NE to SW propagation of a spreading centre. We suggest that breakup occurred abruptly by spreading centre propagation rather than by thinning during continental rifting. We propose a kinematic evolution for the oceanic domain of the NWSB consisting of a southward spreading centre propagation followed by a first narrow ridge jump to the north, and then a younger larger jump to the SE, to abandon the NWSB and create the East subbasin of the South China Sea.     

Resolution of superimposed magnetizations in the Devonian John O'Groats Sandstone, North Scotland

Summary. The John O'Groats Sandstone, on the north-east tip of Scotland, is the uppermost unit of a thick Old Red Sandstone sequence from the uppermost Middle Devonian. Samples from 13 sites have been treated by thermal and acid leaching techniques making use of the convergence of re -magnetization circles when stable end points were not reached. In some cases, in which the magnetic constituents were asymmetrically distributed, splitting the specimens proved useful. Two axes of magnetization have been identified. The easiest to determine, called the A axis, is present most frequently in the reversed sense, at roughly Dec 190°, Inc -40°. The normal component can also be detected as stable end points on acid leaching. The A -axis magnetization is carried mainly by the pigmented cement. The B axis, which is aligned NNE-SSW and almost horizontal, is less well defined. Both the A - and B -axis orientations cited are after making corrections for structural tilts that are present at some of the sites. The direction of the B -axis magnetization agrees well with that of other Devonian units from west of the Great Glen Fault and is interpreted as having been acquired during, or shortly after, deposition. The A magnetization is interpreted as having been acquired during the Mesozoic, probably associated with regional burial and subsequent tectonic uplift of the area during the Jurassic. Later tectonic movements to produce at least the major structural tilts post-date the A magnetization and may be related to crustal unrest at the opening of the modern Atlantic. The John O'Groats directions are compatible with similar directions found in the Duncansby Neck, a volcanic vent that penetrates the Sandstone.     

Three-dimensional topography corrections of magnetotelluric data

Topographic effects due to irregular surface terrain may prevent accurate interpretation of magnetotelluric (MT) data. Three-dimensional (3-D) topographic effects have been investigated for a trapezoidal hill model using an edge finite-element method. The 3-D topography generates significant MT anomalies, and has both galvanic and inductive effects in any polarization. This paper presents two different correction algorithms, which are applied to the impedance tensor and to both electric and magnetic fields, respectively, to reduce topographic effects on MT data. The correction procedures using a homogeneous background resistivity derived from a simple averaging method effectively decrease distortions caused by surface topography, and improve the quality of subsurface interpretation. Nonlinear least-squares inversion of topography-corrected data successfully recovers most of structures including a conductive or resistive dyke.