Gravity anomalies of the ridge-transform system in the South Atlantic between 31 and 34.5° S: Upwelling centers and variations in crustal thickness

To decipher the distribution of mass anomalies near the earth's surface and their relation to the major tectonic elements of a spreading plate boundary, we have analyzed shipboard gravity data in the vicinity of the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 31–34.5° S. The area of study covers six ridge segments, two major transforms, the Cox and Meteor, and three small offsets or discordant zones. One of these small offsets is an elongate, deep basin at 33.5° S that strikes at about 45° to the adjoining ridge axes.By subtracting from the free-air anomaly the three-dimensional (3-D) effects of the seafloor topography and Moho relief, assuming constant densities of the crust and mantle and constant crustal thickness, we generate the mantle Bouguer anomaly. The mantle Bouguer anomaly is caused by variations in crustal thickness and the temperature and density structure of the mantle. By subtracting from the mantle Bouguer anomaly the effects of the density variations due to the 3-D thermal structure predicted by a simple model of passive flow in the mantle, we calculate the residual gravity anomalies. We interpret residual gravity anomalies in terms of anomalous crustal thickness variations and/or mantle thermal structures that are not considered in the forward model. As inferred from the residual map, the deep, major fracture zone valleys and the median, rift valleys are not isostatically compensated by thin crust. Thin crust may be associated with the broad, inactive segment of the Meteor fracture zone but is not clearly detected in the narrow, active transform zone. On the other hand, the presence of high residual anomalies along the relict trace of the oblique offset at 33.5° S suggests that thin crust may have been generated at an oblique spreading center which has experienced a restricted magma supply. The two smaller offsets at 31.3° S and 32.5° S also show residual anomalies suggesting thin crust but the anomalies are less pronounced than that at the 33.5° S oblique offset. There is a distinct, circular-shaped mantle Bouguer low centered on the shallowest portion of the ridge segment at about 33° S, which may represent upwelling in the form of a mantle plume beneath this ridge, or the progressive, along-axis crustal thinning caused by a centered, localized magma supply zone. Both mantle Bouguer and residual anomalies show a distinct, local low to the west of the ridge south of the 33.5° S oblique offset and relatively high values at and to the east of this ridge segment. We interpret this pattern as an indication that the upwelling center in the mantle for this ridge is off-axis to the west of the ridge.     

Geophysical Evidence of a Relict Oceanic Crust in the Southwestern Scotia Sea

The southwestern part of the Scotia Sea, at the corner of the Shackleton Fracture Zone with the South Scotia Ridge has been investigated, combining marine magnetic profiles, multichannel seismic reflection data, and satellite-derived gravity anomaly data. From the integrated analysis of data, we identified the presence of the oldest part of the crust in this sector, which tentative age is older than anomaly C10 (28.7 Ma). The area is surrounded by structural features clearly imaged by seismic data, which correspond to gravity lows in the satellite-derived map, and presents a rhomboid-shaped geometry. Along its southern boundary, structural features related to convergence and possible incipient subduction beneath the continental South Scotia Ridge have been evidenced from the seismic profile. We interpret this area, now located at the edge of the south-western Scotia Sea, as a relict of ocean-like crust formed during an earlier, possibly diffuse and disorganized episode of spreading at the first onset of the Drake Passage opening. The successive episode of organized seafloor spreading responsible for the opening of the Drake Passage that definitively separated southern South America from the Antarctic Peninsula, instigated ridge-push forces that can account for the subduction-related structures found along the western part of the South Scotia Ridge. This seafloor accretion phase occurred from 27 to about 10 Ma, when spreading stopped in the western Scotia Sea Ridge, as resulted from the identification of the marine magnetic anomalies.     

Fluid flow in the South Eugene Island area,offshore Louisiana: results of numerical simulations

Numerical simulations of heat and fluid transport in the South Eugene Island (SEI) area, offshore Louisiana, suggest fluids migrate from deep, abnormally pressured sediments, along fault zones, and into overlying oil and gas reservoirs. In the simulations, fluid flow along the fault produces a narrow thermal anomaly around the fault. A negative thermal anomaly forms adjacent to the thermal maximum when permeable sediments dip away from the fault zone. In the simulations, this negative thermal anomaly dissipates 100–200 years after it forms. The presence of a similar negative thermal anomaly in the SEI area suggests that fluid movement in the area is a recent event. The observation that the thermal maximum in the study area is not centered about the fault zone further suggests that the primary vertical conduit for fluid flow in the SEI area is not a major fault but minor splay faults in the hanging wall.     

Seafloor spreading anomalies and crustal ages of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

The Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the central Pacific is one of the few regions in the world’s oceans that are still lacking full coverage of reliable identifications of seafloor spreading anomalies. This is mainly due to the geometry of the magnetic lineations’ strike direction sub-parallel to the Earth’s magnetic field vector near the equator resulting in low amplitude magnetic anomalies, and the remoteness of the region which has hindered systematic surveying in the past. Following recently granted research licenses for manganese nodules in the CCZ by the International Seabed Authority, new magnetic data acquired with modern instrumentation became available which combined with older underway data make the identification of seafloor spreading anomalies possible for large parts of the CCZ and adjacent areas. The spreading rates deduced from the seafloor spreading patterns show a sharp increase at the end of Chron 21 (47.5 Ma) which corresponds to the age of the bend in the Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain and an associated plate tectonic reorganisation in the Central Pacific. An accurate map of crustal ages for the central-eastern Pacific based on our anomaly picks may provide a basis for improved plate tectonic reconstructions of the region.     

冲绳海槽北段地磁场特征及其地质解释

根据磁异常的分布特征,冲绳海槽北段可以分成三个异常区：东海陆架边缘异常区、东海陆坡异常区和冲绳海槽北段异常区。在东海陆架边缘区,磁异常以正为主,最大可达＋ ３５０ｎＴ,该区所对应的磁性基底埋深较浅,一般在２～３ｋｍ 。在东海陆坡异常区,除了有ＮＮＥ向展布的负异常外,在此背景上还发育了一些沿ＮＷＷ 向展布的次级异常,推测本异常区的磁异常与ＮＷ 向的基底断裂有关。冲绳海槽北段异常区所在宽缓负异常的大背景下又有几处正异常条带分布,则是在吐噶喇断裂带控制作用下所产生的磁性较强而又不均匀的火成岩体的反应     

Possible spreading centers in the Japan sea

The magnetic anomaly profiles across the Japan and the Yamato Basins are analyzed to find possible spreading centers. Magnetic anomalies are first transformed and then the correlation coefficient of symmetry of the pattern of profile is computed along each profile. If the coefficient of symmetry has a notable maximum at a point and such a point lines up for different profiles, the line of these points of maximum symmetry may be a spreading center. Three possible spreading centers are obtained. Two are situated at about the axis of the Japan and the Yamato Basins, and the other is at the topographic extension of the Yamato Ridge. The age of the opening has not been identified on the magnetic time scale yet, but the strike of the proposed spreading centers suggests a pre-Eocene time.     

Results from a detailed aeromagnetic survey across the northeast Newfoundland margin,Part I: Spreading anomalies and relationship between magnetic anomalies and the ocean-continent boundary

A detailed aeromagnetic survey carried out across the northeast Newfoundland margin clearly shows the presence of sea floor spreading anomalies 25 to 34. Correlation of these anomalies with synthetic profiles shows an increase in the rate of spreading soon after anomaly 27 time. Three fracture zones can be identified by dislocations in the magnetic anomalies; their positions are confirmed on the depth to basement map of this region. An eastward extension of the southernmost fracture zone at latitude 49 N matches well with the Faraday Fracture Zone across the Mid Atlantic Ridge, and with a basement ridge known as Pastouret Ridge mapped off Goban Spur. By combining the present survey data with the previously collected shipborne measurements, we have also traced the westward continuation of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone under the Newfoundland shelf.A large amplitude magnetic anomaly lies along the margin and separates two zones with different magnetic characteristics: long wavelength small amplitude anomalies on the landward side, and quasi lineated anomalies on the seaward side. Seismic data compilations show that this large anomaly coincides with the ocean-continent boundary at most places north of Flemish Cap. Modelling of the magnetic anomalies indicate that the large amplitude anomaly is caused by the juxtaposition of highly magnetized oceanic crust against weakly magnetized continental crust; this situation is similar to that observed across the Goban Spur margin, which is a conjugate of the Flemish Cap margin. The presence of highly magnetized oceanic crust landward of anomaly 34 and within the Cretaceous Magnetic Quiet Zone is attested to by the presence of similar large amplitude anomalies south of the Flemish Cap and Goban Spur regions, but these do not mark the ocean-continent transition.     

东海DC-1, DC-2孔古地磁研究

本文报道了东海DC-1,DC-2孔古地磁研究结果,表明DC-l孔26.9m岩芯及DC-2孔61.0m岩芯段均以正极性为主,属布容正极性世 (Brunhcs)。其中DC-l孔18.86-19.18m的反向磁化带(倾角为—49.29°),经~(14)C测年为距今115lO土570a;DC-2孔29.95—30.54m处反向磁化带(倾角为—40.5°),经~(14)C测年为距今10250±lOOa。可与哥德堡事件(Gǒthcnburg)对比。对比地磁年表,DC-2孔37.80—38.0m为反极性事件与蒙哥事件(Mungo event)相当,7l.20—74.44m划为布莱克事件(B1akc event)。据此计算全新世沉积速率为2.12—2.84m/1000a,晚更新世沉积速率为O.65一O.69m/1000a。     

On the calculation of total heat, salt and tracer fluxes from ocean hydrothermal events

Total heat, salt, and other tracer masses released during a hydrothermal event are shown to be proportional to, but not necessarily equal to, volume integrals of resulting water column anomalies. Proportionality coefficients depend on anomaly definition, on background hydrographic and tracer profiles, on expansion coefficients of the equation of state at an appropriate pressure, and on tracer to heat anomaly ratios at the venting source. For Gorda Ridge event plumes, which are described in other papers of this issue, volume integrals of conventionally defined heat anomalies underestimate actual released heat by a factor of 2.4 if the discharge is not anomalously saline. Under certain combinations of hydrographic and source anomaly conditions, not unlike those found on the East Pacific Rise at 10°N, the apparent total heat released during an event can be deceivingly zero. This analysis also establishes a linear relationship between the ratio of tracer anomaly to heat anomaly at any point in the plume to the same ratio at the source. One consequence is that the ratio of anomalous ³He to heat in Gorda Ridge event plumes is approximately 2.4 larger in the water column than it is at the source. Results are independent of the entrainment process involved in event plume formation, and they are shown to hold true even for background hydrographic profiles that do not vary linearly with depth.     

Origin of the marine magnetic quiet zones in the Labrador and Greenland Seas

The central part of the northern Labrador Sea is a magnetic quiet zone, and is flanked by regions exhibiting well developed linear magnetic anomalies older than anomaly 24. The quiet zone dies out progressively to the south, where it becomes possible to correlate anomalies between adjacent profiles. A 45 degree change in spreading direction at anomaly 25 time was accompanied by a major jump in ridge position and orientation. As a consequence of this reorganisation, spreading in the northern Labrador Sea next occurred within a rift that was oriented at 45 degrees to the spreading direction, while to the south spreading occurred within in a rift that was orientated at 90 degrees to the spreading direction. Obliquity of spreading changed, between these limits, progressively along the ridge. The quiet zone may be present to the north because the oblique northern geometry resulted in a fragmented ridge composed of many small-offset transform faults joining many short spreading ridge segments. Each magnetic source block produced by magnetisation of sea floor at these small ridge segments will be surrounded by similar small blocks that have opposite polarity, so that none can be resolved at the sea surface. Supporting evidence comes from multi-channel seismic profiles across the Labrador Sea, which show that the basement is more textured within the quiet zone than outside, suggesting the presence of numerous small fracture zones in the quiet zone.A magnetic quiet zone is present in the northern Greenland Sea between margins that are oblique to the spreading direction. In contrast, there are clear lineated magnetic patterns in adjacent areas to north and south where the margins are orthogonal to the spreading direction. This quiet zone may also be due to the geometry of spreading.     

A topographic surface reduction of aeromagnetic anomaly field over the Tyrrhenian sea area (Italy)

This paper shows the results of a detailed reprocessing of aeromagnetic data, obtained by the downward projection to the seabed. The area of interest is centered over the Tyrrhenian Basin, whose bathymetric–topographic lay-out is characterized by a somewhat irregular trend. The origin of the intense depth variations depends on the Tyrrhenian structural setting, that is associated with the presence of several tectonic lineaments, seamounts or volcanic islands. The data were characterized by good quality and dense sampling, but they have been reprocessed in order either to solve some problems in the original compilation, and to reduce the distortion of the geomagnetic anomaly field caused by the difference of distance between the survey level and the magnetic source. The reprocessed magnetic map is proposed as an effective analysis tool for the Tyrrhenian area that is characterized by high susceptibility lithotypes. Downward projection of the aeromagnetic data by BTM algorithm increases the definition of the anomalous magnetic signal without distortions in the geometric pattern of the field, thus showing a more stable and effective association between the magnetic anomalies and their geological sources. This effect is particularly true for high frequency anomalies that are directly comparable after the topographic projection because the depth filtering effect is attenuated. Moreover, the BTM method has been applied for the first time to a regional scale survey that shows substantial advantages because no fictitious anomalies in the high frequency sector of the spectrum were generated. This has been a typical effect of the traditional downward projection methods widely used before. The final result is a BTM anomaly map that is able to show the structural connections between the geological magnetic sources of the Tyrrhenian Sea area.     

Paleomagnetic data on the sedimentation rate near the Mendeleev Rise (Arctic Ocean)

Seven cores of bottom sediments were collected during the cruise of R/V Akademik Fedorov in 2000 along the latitudinal profile crossing the Mendeleev Rise near 82° N, and then studied. The length of cores varies from 240 to 334 cm. In all cores, the boundary of the changing remanent magnetization vector corresponding to the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary was established reliably. In five cores, this boundary is at a depth of 86–102 cm; in two cores, collected to the west of the Mendeleev Rise, at depth levels of 188 and 208 cm. The correlation of paleomagnetic and lithological data demonstrates that the upper boundary of a bench of speckled pelites, overlapped by a bench of variegated pelites, is confined to the Olduvai episode or horizons lying slightly below. The average sedimentation rate of sediments from the Mendeleev Rise during the last 2–2.5 Ma have not exceeded 1–1.3 mm/ka, increasing towards the shelf seas of northeast Russia.     

南海西北海盆的构造特征及南海新生代的海底扩张

分析了南海西北海盆及其邻区的地形地貌、重磁场异常和地壳结构特征,并对穿过西北海盆和中央海盆的地震剖面进行精细解释。结果发现,西北海盆的地球物理场异常、地质构造和地壳厚度均呈ＮＥ走向展布,而中央海盆则表现为ＥＷ向特征;西北海盆中的新生代沉积比中央海盆多一套地层（Ｔ４－Ｔｇ）,说明西北海盆的年龄比中央海盆老。联系到南海西南海盆和西北海盆在区域构造、地球物理场异常和地形地貌特征等方面的相似,以及西南海盆和中央海盆由磁异常条带对比得出的年龄差异,我们认为,西北海盆和西南海盆是在第一次海底扩张时（４２－３５ＭａＢ．Ｐ．）形成的,中央海盆是在第二次海底扩张时形成的。     

Tectonic core of a sedimentary drift: a potential ridge propagation feature beneath the Blake Outer Ridge

The Blake Outer Ridge is a 480–kilometer long linear sedimentary drift ridge striking perpendicular to the North American coastline. By modeling free-air gravity anomalies we tested for the presence of a crustal feature that may control the location and orientation of the Blake Outer Ridge. Most of our crustal density models that match observed gravity anomalies require an increase in oceanic crustal thickness of 1–3 km on the southwest side of the Blake Outer Ridge relative to the northeast side. Most of these models also require 1–4 km of crustal thinning in zone 20–30 km southwest of the crest of the Blake Outer Ridge. Although these features are consistent with the structure of oceanic fracture zones, the Blake Outer Ridge is not parallel to adjacent known fracture zones. Magnetic anomalies suggest that the ocean crust beneath this feature formed during a period of mid-ocean ridge reorganization, and that the Blake Outer Ridge may be built upon the bathymetric expression of an oblique extensional feature associated with ridge propagation. It is likely that the orientation of this trough acted as a catalyst for sediment deposition with the start of the Western Boundary Undercurrent in the mid-Oligocene.     

Seamont magnetism in the Ionian Sea,eastern Mediterranean

Several seamounts in the Ionian Sea, the largest unit in the eastern Mediterranean, have magnetic anomalies. The magnetization vectors of six of these seamounts have been calculated. These paleomagnetic data suggest that the Ionian Sea is composed of several crustal units which came to their present location from different directions. This implies that there has been relative motion in the past between various land masses around the Ionian Sea. The possibility that the Ionian Sea is composed of several crustal units is supported by observations of the magnetic field over the area which is of different character in the north and south. The major limitation in applying the paleomagnetic data into an evolutionary scheme is that all the seamounts in the Ionian Sea as well as its crust are undated.     

东菲律宾海柱样沉积物的磁性特征

对东菲律宾海帕里西维拉海盆西侧F090102柱样进行了系统的古地磁和岩石磁学研究,测量了天然剩磁倾角、磁化率、饱和等温剩磁、非磁滞剩磁、-T曲线等磁学参数,进行了磁性地层的划分对比,识别出松山反极性时内的贾拉米洛和奥都维正极性亚时。对磁学参数及其有关比值的研究发现,岩心磁性矿物以低矫顽力磁铁矿为主,可能含有一定的钛磁铁矿。磁性矿物主要是陆源碎屑成因,岩心底段受到海底火山作用的影响。根据磁学参数随深度的变化将岩心分为3段,各段反映了沉积环境和古气候的变化。     

Spreading rates,rift propagation,and fracture zone offset histories during the past 5 my on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; 25°–27°30′ S and 31°–34°30′ S

The southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) is spreading at rates (34–38 mm yr⁻¹) that fall within a transitional range between those which characterize slow and intermediate spreading center morphology. To further our understanding of crustal accretion at these transitional spreading rates, we have carried out analysis of magnetic anomaly data from two detailed SeaBeam surveys of the MAR between 25°–27°30′S and 31°–34°30′S. Within these areas, the MAR is subdivided into 9 ridge segments bounded by large- and short-offset discontinuities of the ridge axis. From two-dimensional Fourier inversions of the magnetic anomaly data we establish the history of spreading within each ridge segment for the past 5 my and the evolution of the bounding ridge-axis discontinuities. We see evidence for the initiation and diminishment of small-offset discontinuities, and for the transition of rigid large-offset transform faults to less stable short-offset features. Individual ridge segments display independent spreading histories in terms of both the sense and amount of asymmetric spreading within each which have given rise to changes through time in the lengths of bounding ridge-axis discontinuities. Over the past 3–5 my, the short-offset discontinuities within the area have lengthened/shortened by approximately the same amount (∼ 10 km). During this same time period, larger-offset transform faults have remained comparatively constant in length. A shift in plate motion at anomaly 3 time may have given rise to change in the length of short-offset second-order discontinuities. However, the pattern of lengthening/shortening short-offset discontinuities we see is not simply related to the geometry of the plate boundary in these regions which precludes a simply relationship between plate motion changes and response at the plate boundary. We document a case of rapid (minimum 60 mm yr⁻¹) small-scale rift propagation, occurring between 2.5 and 1.8 my, associated with transition of the Moore transform fault to an oblique-trending ridge-axis discontinuity. Propagation across the Moore discontinuity and similar propagation within the 31°–34°30’S area may be associated with the reduced age contrast in lithosphere across second-order discontinuities. Total opening rates within our northern survey area decreased from anomaly 4′ to 2 time and rates within both areas have increased since the Jaramillo. Total opening rates measured for anomaly intervals differ along the plate boundary significantly, more than expected with changing distance to the pole of rotation. These differences imply a degree of short-term non-rigid plate behaviour which may be associated with ridge segments acting as independent spreading cells. Magnetic polarity transition widths from our inversion studies may be used to infer a zone of crustal accretion which is 3–6 km wide, within the inner floor of the rift valley. A systematic increase of transition width with age would be expected if deeper crustal sources dominate the magnetic signal in older crust but this is not observed. We present results from three-dimensional analysis of magnetic anomaly data which show magnetization highs located at the intersection of the MAR with both large- and short-offset discontinuities. Within the central anomaly the highs exceed 15 A m⁻¹ compared with a background of approximately 8–10 A m⁻¹ and they persist for at least 2.5 my. The highs may be caused by eruption of fractionated strongly magnetized basalts at ridge-axis discontinuities with both large and small offsets.     

白云凹陷地球物理场及深部结构特征

珠江口盆地白云凹陷是南海最具代表性的第三系深水陆坡沉积区。以穿过白云凹陷中部的一条深反射地震剖面(14s)为研究基础，采用综合地球物理研究方法分析了该区地球物理场特征，根据重力异常平面等值线勾画了白云凹陷的形态，并提取该测线相对应的重磁剖面数据，利用重磁资料和地震剖面进行了综合反演。以深剖面地震资料建立了地质模型，利用所得的重力数据进行了研究深部结构的正演拟合，实测与计算值拟合较好，支持中生代俯冲洋壳存在的观点；同时结合地震资料对深部结构进行了分析，该区莫霍面由陆向海抬升，呈阶梯状变化，地壳厚度逐渐减薄，具有大陆边缘陆壳向洋壳过渡的特征。根据地质模型还进行了变密度综合反演拟合来分析基底岩性特征，该区基底主要为中酸性岩浆岩，部分为变质岩和基性火山岩，岩石密度由陆向洋逐渐减小，磁性体分布不均。     

Initial phase of the West Scotia mid-oceanic ridge opening

The first map illustrating the position of anomaly C12 extending in the NE-SW direction (25°) in the eastern peripheral part of the West Scotia Ridge is presented. Calculations of the paleomagnetic anomalies show that the spreading initiated in the period corresponding to Chron C12r (31.116?C33.266 Ma ago). Chron C11r (30.217?C30.627 Ma ago) was marked by a 200 km northwestward jump of the spreading axis. The calculation of the Euler poles and the rotation angles made it possible to reconstruct the zone of the initial breakup between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula along the western periphery of the continental Terror Rise.     

ENSO相联系的热带太平洋上层海洋异常环流

本文使用SODA(simple ocean data assimilation)海洋同化资料,系统分析了厄尔尼诺-南方涛动(El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation,ENSO)循环中冷暖位相期间热带太平洋上层海洋环流的演变规律,探讨了形成海洋环流异常的新机制。结果表明,在厄尔尼诺成熟期,热带中东太平洋赤道潜流最弱,赤道两侧出现反气旋性环流异常;西太平洋赤道外热带海域出现气旋性环流异常,该区南、北赤道流、棉兰老流、黑潮、新几内亚沿岸潜流及南赤道逆流增强;北赤道逆流区出现异常气旋性环流串,北赤道逆流接近正常。在厄尔尼诺衰退期和拉尼娜发展期,热带中西太平洋赤道潜流达到极强,赤道两侧出现气旋性环流异常;西太平洋赤道外热带海域异常环流减弱,该处主要流场的强度减弱或处于正常状态;北赤道逆流区反转为异常西向流。结果表明, ENSO循环期间的上层海洋环流异常受到热带太平洋温跃层深度异常产生的压强梯度力异常调控,在赤道外热带海洋温跃层深度异常和科里奥利力共同作用产生大尺度海洋环流异常,而在赤道海域,海洋温跃层深度异常和Gill效应造成赤道潜流异常以及关于赤道对称的气旋或反气旋性环流异常。