Contrasting volcanic-tectonic processes during the past 2 Ma on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: submersible mapping,petrological and magnetic results at lat. 34°52′ N and 33°55′ N

In August–September of 1995, 20 Nautile dives and detailed magnetic surveys (spaced every 1.8 km) were undertaken on two segments of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between the Oceanographer and Hayes fractures zones. These two segments are only 65 km apart and show strong morphology and gravity contrasts. OH1 is shallower and has a large mantle Bouguer anomaly (MBA) bull's eye, whereas OH3 is deeper and has a smaller MBA bull's eye.Thirteen dives were devoted to segment OH1. The Median Ridge (MR) located on the central high (1700 m deep) is topped by 100 to 300 m high circular volcanoes. The volcanics consists mainly of porphyritic and/or vesicular pillows and volcaniclastics. The NVZ (2200 m deep), located in the valley floor east of the MR, consists of near aphyric fluid lava flows. A chain of off-axis volcanoes, displaying a magnetic continuity with surroundings, extends on both sides of the axis. Three volcanoes on the east side and one on the west side of the axis were explored and sampled by submersible. The off-axis increase of weathering, Fe-Mn coating and magnetic signature suggest that the volcanoes were built at or near the ridge axis. The spacing of NS elongated hills bearing circular volcanoes and separated large magnetic signature (2 to 4 km) depressions suggests that several similar volcanic events occured during the past 2 Ma. The last 1 Ma episode involves (1) the construction of an axial ridge (MR) by fissure eruptions and the formation of circular summit volcanoes by focused volcanism, and (2) the extrusion of fluid magma in the depressions formed by further fissuring and faulting of the MR.     

Export of Greenland Sea water across the Mohn Ridge induced by summer storms

The Mohn Ridge separates the Greenland Sea and the Lofoten Basin. Previous studies identified the export across the Mohn Ridge(EMR) from the Greenland Basin into the Lofoten Basin using water mass analysis and the tracer diffusion method, but there is still lack of direct current measurements. A surface mooring with four current meters was deployed on the Mohn Ridge from June 5 to June 18 in 2015, when three cyclones passed in the adjacent area. In the absence of cyclones, the flow on the Mohn R...     

Variations in melt supply along an orthogonal supersegment of the Southwest Indian Ridge(16°–25°E)

The orthogonal supersegment of the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge at 16°–25°E is characterized by significant along-axis variations of mantle potential temperature. A detailed analysis of multibeam bathymetry,gravity, and magnetic data were performed to investigate its variations in magma supply and crustal accretion process. The results revealed distinct across-axis variations of magma supply. Specifically, the regionally averaged crustal thickness reduced systematically from around 7 Ma to the present, indicating a regionally decreasing magma supply. The crustal structure is asymmetric in regional scale between the conjugate ridge flanks, with the faster-spreading southern flank showing thinner crust and greater degree of tectonic extension. Geodynamic models of mantle melting suggested that the observed variations in axial crustal thickness and major element geochemistry can be adequately explained by an eastward decrease in mantle potential temperature of about40°C beneath the ridge axis. In this work, a synthesized model was proposed to explain the axial variations of magma supply and ridge segmentation stabilities. The existence of large ridge-axis offsets may play important roles in controlling melt supply. Several large ridge-axis offsets in the eastern section(21°–25°E) caused sustained along-axis focusing of magma supply at the centers of eastern ridge segments, enabling quasi-stable segmentation. In contrast, the western section(16°–21°E), which lacks large ridge-axis offsets, is associated with unstable segmentation patterns.     

Impact of the East African Rift System on the routing of the deep-water drainage network offshore Tanzania,western Indian Ocean

The East African Rift System (EARS) exerted a major influence on river drainage basins and regional climate of east Africa during the Cenozoic. Recent studies have highlighted an offshore branch of the EARS in the western Indian Ocean, where the Kerimbas Graben and the Davie Ridge represent its sea floor expression. To date, a clear picture of the impact and timing of this EARS offshore branch on the continental margin of the western Indian Ocean, and associated sediment dispersal pathways, is still missing. This study presents new evidence for four giant canyons along the northern portion of the Davie Ridge offshore Tanzania. Seismic and multibeam bathymetric data highlight that the southernmost three canyons are now inactive, supra-elevated relative to the adjacent sea floor of the Kerimbas Graben and disconnected from the modern slope systems offshore the Rovuma and Rufiji River deltas. Regional correlation of dated seismic horizons, integrated with well data and sediment samples, proves that the tectonic activity driving the uplift of the Davie Ridge in this area has started during the middle-upper Miocene and is still ongoing, as suggested by the presence of fault escarpments at the sea floor and by the location and magnitude of recent earthquakes. Our findings contribute to placing the Kerimbas Graben and the Davie Ridge offshore Tanzania in the regional geodynamic context of the western Indian Ocean and show how the tectonics of the offshore branch of the EARS modified the physiography of the margin, re-routing the deep-water drainage network since the middle Miocene. Future studies are needed to understand the influence of changing sea floor topography on the western Indian Ocean circulation and to evaluate the potential of the EARS offshore tectonics in generating tsunamigenic events.     

南大西洋洋中脊调查区小型底栖生物丰度和生物量研究

“大洋一号”调查船于2011年5—6月在南大西洋中脊14°S附近进行了7个站位的小型底栖生物采样。共鉴定出小型底栖生物10个类群。小型底栖生物平均丰度为(60.63±54.77) ind/10 cm²,平均干重生物量为(9.42±8.92) μg/10 cm²。线虫是其中的优势类群,丰度为(47.42±47.99)ind/10 cm²,占总丰度的78.21%,另外,肉鞭动物和桡足类分别占总丰度的16.63%和3.91%。生物量前3位的类群依次为桡足类、线虫和肉鞭动物。小型底栖生物密度随沉积物深度增加而减少,约73.55%的生物丰度分布在0～2 cm层内。个体大小方面,有75.32%的小型底栖生物粒径处于32～125 μm范围内。     

大西洋中脊玄武岩岩浆源区性质、潜在温度及其指示意义

洋中脊玄武岩（MORB）的微量元素成分和同位素比值具有变化范围大的特点,这些变化很难简单地用地幔部分熔融和结晶分异等岩浆演化过程来解释。传统观点认为洋中脊玄武岩的地球化学成分的多样性是由其下部地幔成分的大尺度不均一性决定的。这种地幔不均一性则是外来物质的加入造成的,如再循环的地壳物质、下大陆岩石圈、交代的岩石圈和外地核等成分加入到上地幔中。在本研究中,我们对大西洋洋中脊的玄武岩展开研究工作,评估了玄武岩源区的温压条件并综合对比了微量元素和同位素比值。靠近地幔柱的洋中脊玄武岩的地球化学和同位素成分具有较大的变化。地幔柱对洋中脊地区的影响范围可以达到1400公里,但并不是每个地幔柱都能够影响其周围1400km范围内的所有洋中脊脊段。未受地幔柱影响的洋中脊玄武岩成分和地幔潜在温度均没有异常表现。我们认为上述现象是由于地幔柱柱头形状不同造成的。地幔柱的流动形状可以分为管状和饼状两种,饼状地幔柱影响其周围的地幔是没有方向性的,而管状地幔柱对其周围地幔的影响在方向上具有选择性。沿着大西洋中脊的玄武岩的元素和同位素比值变化较大,暗示其源区具有较高的不均一性。我们认为该地区地幔不均一性主要是由于上地幔中加入了俯冲板片和拆沉下地壳造成的。另外,地幔柱的活动也不容忽视,它们影响了其周围部分洋脊段的成分变化。     

Crustal structure of the ultra-slow spreading Knipovich Ridge,North Atlantic,along a presumed amagmatic portion of oceanic crustal formation

The ultra-slow, asymmetrically-spreading Knipovich Ridge is the northernmost part of the Mid Atlantic ridge system. In the autumn of 2002 a combined ocean-bottom seismometer multichannel seismic (OBS/MCS) and gravity survey along the spreading direction of the Knipovich Ridge was carried out. The main objective of the study was to gain an insight into the crustal structure and composition of what is assumed to be an amagmatic segment of oceanic crust. P-wave velocity and Vp/Vs models were built and complemented by a gravity model. The 190 km long transect reveals a much more complex crustal structure than anticipated. The magmatic crust is thinner than the global average of 7.1 ± 1.0 km. The young fractured portion of Oceanic Layer 2 has low seismic velocities while the older part has normal seismic velocities and is broken into several rotated fault blocks seen as thickness variations of Layer 2. The youngest part of Oceanic Layer 3 is also dominated by low velocities, indicative of fracturing, seawater circulation and thermal expansion. The remaining portion of Layer 3 exhibits inverse variations in thickness and seismic velocity. This is explained by a sequence of periods of faster spreading (estimated to be up to 8 mm/year from interpretation of magnetic anomalies) when more normal gabbroic crust was being generated and periods of slower spreading (5.5 mm/year) when amagmatic stretching and serpentinization of the upper mantle occurred, and crust composed of mixed gabbro and serpentinized mantle was generated. The volumetric changes and upward fluid migration, associated with the process of serpentinization in this part of the crust, caused disruption to the overlying sedimentary layers.     

西北冰洋阿尔法脊晚第四纪的陆源沉积物记录及其古环境意义

通过西北冰洋阿尔法脊B84A孔中—晚第四纪以来的沉积物颜色旋回,Mn、Ca元素相对含量、颜色反射率、有孔虫丰度、冰筏碎屑(IRD)含量、粒度组分及其敏感性分析的综合研究,建立了B84A孔的地层年代框架,其沉积物被划分为MIS 12～MIS 1的沉积序列。阿尔法脊B84A孔可以识别出12个IRD事件,它们大多出现在冰消期,并认为其源区为加拿大北极群岛地区。这些IRD事件反映了加拿大北极冰盖的崩塌和气候变化。阿尔法脊B84A孔沉积物的环境敏感组分分别为细组分(4～9μm)和粗组分(19～53μm),两者的变化趋势相反,主要由海冰和洋流进行搬运,指示了洋流的强度变化。B84A孔的平均沉积速率约为0.4 cm/ka,与阿尔法脊周围地区沉积速率相近。相比于近岸的高沉积速率,其限制因素主要为大面积海冰覆盖造成的较低的生产力和由于长距离搬运造成的较低的陆源输入量。     

新疆东准噶尔克拉麦里蛇绿岩地球化学：洋脊俯冲的产物

新疆东准噶尔克拉麦里蛇绿岩中的镁铁质岩兼具有洋中脊玄武岩(MORB)和岛弧拉斑玄武岩(IAB)的特征,岩石地球化学特征表现为轻稀土(LREE)亏损、平坦或略微富集,不同程度地亏损高场强元素(HFSE)而富集大离子亲石元素(LILE),成分上非常相似于受洋脊俯冲影响的 Chile Ridge 和 Cocos Ridge 玄武岩。可以认为其可能形成于受洋脊俯冲影响的岛弧或弧前扩张环境。相对较高的ε_(Nd)(t)(7.2～9.8)、低 Nb/Zr、Ta/Yb 比值,说明在洋脊俯冲的影响下,其源区可能存在有至少三种组分:弧下地幔、来自消减板片流体和俯冲沉积物、MORB 地幔。     

Geochemical characteristics of mafic and ultramafic rocks from the Naga Hills Ophiolite,India:Implications for petrogenesis

The Naga Hills Ophiolite(NHO) represents one of the fragments of Tethyan oceanic crust in the Himalayan Orogenic system which is exposed in the Phek and Kiphire districts of Nagaland, India. The NHO is composed of partially serpentinized dunite, peridotite, gabbro, basalt, minor plagiogranite,diorite dyke and marine sediments. The basalts are mainly composed of fine grained plagioclase feldspar, clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene and show quenching and variolitic textures. The gabbros are characterized by medium to coarse grained plagioclase, orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene with ophitic to sub-ophitic textures. The ultramafic cumulates are represented by olivine, Cpx and Opx.Geochemically, the basalts and gabbros are sub-alkaline to alkaline and show tholeiitic features.The basalts are characterized by 44.1-45.6 wt.% of SiO_2 with 28-38 of Mg#, and the gabbros by38.7-43.7 wt.% of SiO_2, and 26-79 of Mg#. The ultramafic rocks are characterized by 37.4-52.2 wt.% of SiO_2, and 80-88 of Mg#. In multi-element diagrams(spidergrams) both basalts and gabbros show fractionated trends with strong negative anomalies of Zr. Nb. Sr and a gentle negative anomaly of P.However, the rare earth element(REE) plots of the basalts and gabbros show two distinct patterns. The first pattern, represented by light REE(LREE) depletion, suggests N-MORB features and can be interpreted as a signature of Paleo-Tethyan oceanic crust. The second pattern, represented by LREE enrichment with negligible negative Eu anomaly, conforms to E-MORB, and may be related to an arc tectonic setting. In V vs. Ti/1000, Cr vs. Y and AFM diagrams, the basalts and gabbros plot within Island Arc Tholeiite(IAT) and MORB fields suggesting both ridge and arc related settings. The ultramafic rocks exhibit two distinct patterns both in spidergrams and in REE plots. In the spidergram, one group displays highly enriched pattern, whereas the other group shows near flat pattern compared to primordial mantle. In the REE plot, one group displays steeper slopes [(La/Yb)N = 4.340-4.341], whereas the other displays moderate to flat slopes [(La/Yb)N = 0.97-1.67] and negative Eu-anomalies. Our study suggests that the ultramafic rocks represent two possible mantle sources(fertile and refractory).