Variability of the axial morphology and of the gravity structure along the Central Spreading Ridge (North Fiji Basin): evidence for contrasting thermal regimes

The Central Spreading Ridge (CSR) is located in the central part of the North Fiji Basin, a complex back-arc basin created 12 Ma ago between the Pacific and Indo-Australian plates. The 3.5 Ma old CSR is the best developed, for both structure and magmatism, of all the spreading centers identified in the basin, and may be one of the largest spreading systems of the west Pacific back-arc basins. It is more than 800 km long and 50–60 km wide, and has been intensively explored during the French-Japanese STARMER project (1987–1991).The CSR is segmented into three first order segments named, from north to south, N160°, N15° and N-S according to their orientation. This segmentation pattern is similar to that found at mid-ocean ridges. The calculated spreading rate is intermediate and ranges from 83 mm/yr at 20°30 S to 50 mm/yr at 17°S. In addition, there is a change in the axial ridge morphology and gravity structure between the northern and southern sections of the CSR. The axial morphology changes from a deep rift valley (N160° segment), to a dome split by an axial graben (N15° segment) and to a rectangular flat top high (N-S segment). The Mantle Bouguer Anomalies obtained on the northern part of the CSR (N160°/N15° segments) show bull's eye structures associated with mantle upwelling at the 16°50S triple junction and also in the middle of the segments. The Mantle Bouguer Anomalies of the southern part of the ridge (N-S segment) are more homogeneous and consistent with the observed smooth topography associated with axial isostatic compensation.At these intermediate spreading rates the contrast in bathymetry and gravity structure between the segments may reflect differences in heat supply. We suggest that the N160° and N15° segments are cold with respect to the hot N-S segment. We use a non-steady-state thermal model to test this hypothesis. In this model, the accretion is simulated as a nearly steady-state seafloor spreading upon which are superimposed periodic thermal inputs. With the measured spreading rate of 50 mm/yr, a cooling cycle of 200,000 yr develops a thermal state that permits to explain the axial morphology and gravity structure observed on the N160° segment. A spreading rate of 83 mm/yr and a cooling cycle of 120,000 yr would generate the optimal thermal structure to explain the characteristics of the N-S segment. The boundaries between the hot N-S segment and its cold bounding segments are the 18°10 S and 20°30 S propagating rifts. A heat propagation event along the N-S segment at the expense of the adjacent colder failing segments, can explain the sharp changes in the observed morphology and structure between the segments.     

ALVIN investigation of an active propagating rift system,Galapagos 95.5° W

ALVIN investigations have defined the fine-scale structural and volcanic patterns produced by active rift and spreading center propagation and failure near 95.5° W on the Galapagos spreading center. Behind the initial lithospheric rifting, which is propagating nearly due west at about 50 km m.y.^–1, a triangular block of preexisting lithosphere is being stretched and fractured, with some recent volcanism along curving fissures. A well-organized seafloor spreading center, an extensively faulted and fissured volcanic ridge, develops ~ 10 km (~ 200,000 years) behind the tectonic rift tip. Regional variations in the chemical compositions of the youngest lavas collected during this program contrast with those encompassing the entire 3 m.y. of propagation history for this region. A maximum in degree of magmatic differentiation occurs about 9 km behind the propagating rift tip, in a region of diffuse rifting. The propagating spreading center shows a gentle gradient in magmatic differentiation culminating at the SW-curving spreading center tip. Except for the doomed rift, which is in a constructional phase, tectonic activity also dominates over volcanic activity along the failing spreading system. In contrast to the propagating rift, failing rift lavas show a highly restricted range of compositions consistent with derivation from a declining upwelling zone accompanying rift failure. The lithosphere transferred from the Cocos to the Nazca plate by this propagator is extensively faulted and characterized by ubiquitous talus in one of the most tectonically disrupted areas of seafloor known. The pseudofault scarps, where the preexisting lithosphere was rifted apart, appear to include both normal and propagator lavas and are thus more lithologically complex than previously thought. Biological communities, probably vestimentiferan tubeworms, occur near the top of the outer pseudofault scarp, although no hydrothermal venting was observed.     

Early Eocene sea floor spreading and continent-ocean boundary between Jan Mayen and Senja fracture zones in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea

Sea floor spreading anomalies in the Lofoten-Greenland basins reveal an unstable plate boundary characterized by several small-offset transforms for a period of 4 m.y. after opening. North of the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone, integrated analysis of magnetic and seismic data also document a distinct, persistent magnetic anomaly associated with the continent-ocean boundary and a locally, robust anomaly along the inner boundary of the break-up lavas. These results provide improved constraints on early opening plate reconstructions, which include a new anomaly 23-to-opening pole of rotation yielding more northerly relative motion vectors than previously recognized; and a solution of the enigmatic, azimuthal difference between the conjugate Eocene parts of the Greenland-Senja Fracture Zone if the Greenland Ridge is considered a continental sliver. The results confirm high, 2.36–2.40 cm yr^–1, early opening spreading rates, and are consistent with the start of sea floor spreading during Chron 24r. The potential field data along the landward prolongations of the Bivrost Fracture Zone suggest that its location is determined by a Mesozoic transfer system which has acted as a first-order, across-margin tectono-magmatic boundary between the regional Jan Mayen and Greenland-Senja Fracture Zone systems, greatly influencing the pre-, syn- and post-breakup margin development.     

The Wuqbah peridotite, central Oman Ophiolite: Petrological characteristics of the mantle in a fossil overlapping ridge setting

The Wuqbah peridotites (Wuqbah massif, central Oman Ophiolite) constitute the mantle part of a complete ophiolitic sequence and their field deformation geometry is thought to reflect mantle dynamics in a fossil overlapping ridge settings (Girardeau et al., 2002). These peridotites comprise dominantly residual harzburgites and dunites. Nearly 70% of the harzburgites are clinopyroxene-free, and the rest contains less than 1%. The mineral chemistry of olivine, pyroxenes and spinel, and whole rock major and rare-earth element data, indicate that the Wuqbah peridotites are all strongly refractory and that they record a major percolation event, marked by strong enrichments in incompatible elements. At the massif scale, the Central Zone contains rocks with the most refractory features (20% melt extraction), as expected in an area of mantle upwelling. In the overlapping ridge senario, it corresponds to the overlap zone whose formation is discussed.     

Community structure in mussel beds at Logatchev hydrothermal vents and a comparison of macrofaunal species richness on slow- and fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges

Species lists for vent fields on the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (MAR) from 14°N to 38°N suggest that there is a northern (>27°N), shallow (<2000 m) fauna and a southern (<27°N), deeper (>3000 m) endemic vent fauna, but little is known about how community structure varies along the ridge axis. In this study, quantitative samples of macrofaunal invertebrates associated with mussels (Bathymodiolus puteoserpentis) were collected at Logatchev (14°45′N), the southern‐most explored vent field on the MAR. Community structure (including species composition, species richness, diversity, and relative species abundances) in mussel beds at Logatchev was compared with that of Snake Pit (23°22′N) and Lucky Strike (37°17′N) mussel beds. The most striking feature of the Logatchev mussel‐bed macrofaunal invertebrate community was the tremendous abundance (up to 2390 individuals per liter of mussel‐volume sampled) and biomass of the ophiuroid, Ophioctenella acies. Logatchev and Snake Pit mussel beds share >50% of their associated macrofaunal species; these two sites share only 20–25% of their macrofaunal species with Lucky Strike. Species–effort curves and univariate measures of diversity (H′, J′) do not support the claim that diversity of vent organisms on the MAR is highest at Logatchev, at least when one assesses this within a habitat type. Multivariate analysis readily differentiates the species‐abundance characteristics of Logatchev, Snake Pit, and Lucky Strike mussel‐bed macrofaunas. The relationship between sea‐floor spreading rate and diversity was explored through comparison of species richness in mussel‐bed habitats on slow‐spreading (MAR), fast‐spreading [northern East Pacific Rise (EPR)], and ultra‐fast‐spreading (southern EPR) mid‐ocean ridges. Species richness was greater in samples from the faster‐spreading ridge axes, where vents are more closely spaced but shorter lived, than on slow‐spreading centers, where vents are further apart but longer lived.     

琼东南盆地古近纪沉积充填演化及其区域构造意义

琼东南盆地是发育于南海西北部的新生代张性断陷盆地。始新统和早渐新统崖城组属过充填型或平衡充填类型，在盆地各个断陷内均具有砂岩-泥岩-砂岩三重沉积充填结构；晚渐新统陵水组在北部坳陷带属过充填及平衡充填类型，发育砂岩-泥岩-砂岩三重沉积充填结构，而在中央坳陷带则属由砂岩-泥岩二重沉积充填结构组成的欠充填型。古近纪盆地的沉积充填结构演化反映了始新世-早渐新世断陷阶段与晚渐新世断拗阶段的盆地演化历史，其中，晚渐新世盆地断拗阶段的发育是南海海底单期扩张过程的结果。     

The role of floating mucilage in the invasive spread of the benthic microalga Chrysophaeum taylorii

Chrysophaeum taylorii Lewis & Bryan (Pelagophyceae) is a mucilage‐producing benthic microalga that has recently begun to spread in the Mediterranean Sea, where a range expansion is occurring. This paper presents the results of three field experiments that aimed to increase the knowledge on mucilage provision mechanisms for this benthic microalga and to evaluate the importance of mucilage in its range expansion. By means of two correlative field experiments (several years of data were considered to encompass the variability of mucilage cover) we found that, on the sea bottom, mucilage cover does not depend on epilithic cell density and that both its cover and settling are affected by water flow. We also tested the hypothesis that cells embedded in floating mucilage fall on the underlying substratum, where their abundance depends on water flow. To this aim, in the field we manipulated the presence of floating mucilaginous aggregates in cages with different levels of exposure to winds. The abundance of C. taylorii cells on the substratum under cages with mucilage was compared with that of two control treatments: cages without mucilage and mucilage in still water, in the field and lab, respectively. The results suggested that mucilage can represent an excellent strategy for the species to disperse, as C. taylorii cells fall from the floating mucilage and, if the water flow is unimportant, settle on hard substrata just underneath the cage. This study enriches the portfolio of knowledge of the dispersal strategies of microalgae and contributes to the understanding of the spread of invasive species.     

Seafloor magnetic lineation off the Otway/West Tasmania Basins: ridge jumps and the subsidence history of the southeast Australian margins

The seafloor off the Otway/West Tasmanian Basins has an east‐west magnetic lineation attributable to seafloor spreading and notionally identified with the set of seafloor spreading anomalies A8‐A20. Anomaly A20 (45 Ma) lies immediately south of a magnetic quiet zone that extends northward past the continent‐ocean boundary (COB). The Southeast Indian Ocean has a constant angular width between the formerly conjugate margins of Australia and Antarctica, consistent with spreading that started along the entire margin about 96 Ma.The proximity of A20 to the Australian COB in some spreading ridge segments is therefore postulated as due to jumps of the spreading ridge to Australia with concomitant transfer of the older oceanic part of the Australian Plate to the Antarctic Plate. Accordingly, the age of the oldest seafloor at the COB in seven original ridge segments is estimated to step from about 96 to 82, 79, and 75 Ma. Break‐up marks a change in the subsidence of the margin from rapid, during rifting by continental extension, to slow during thermal subsidence of the seafloor. Subsequent ridge jumps to the COB are expected to cause uplift or at least still‐stand of the adjacent continental margin. The subsidence history of the Otway/West Tasmanian margin, as indicated by oil exploration wells, is sympathetic with the timing of the postulated ridge jumps in the adjacent seafloor, as is that of the Great Australian Bight Basin with adjacent seafloor to the west, and of the Bass and Gippsland Basins with the Tasman Sea adjacent to the east. The growth of structure at 80 Ma in the outer Gippsland Basin corresponds with a jump to Australia of the Tasman Sea ridge at 82 and 75 Ma, and at 65 Ma in the Great Australian Bight and Otway Basins to a ridge jump to Australia of the adjacent seafloor. The growth of structure at 60 Ma in the Bass Basin and at 55 Ma in the Gippsland Basin corresponds with the abandonment of the Tasman Sea ridge at A24 (55 Ma) during a re‐organization of spreading in the southwest Pacific.     

南海西北次海扩张时代和洋壳性质:沉积地层及重磁依据

利用沉积地层被动超覆和基底重磁异常特征对南海西北次海形成时代和洋壳性质进行了探讨。推断南海西北次海初始扩张时间为早渐新世,结束扩张时间为晚渐新世早期。地层变形、被动超覆特征、洋壳基底形态及对称性特点反映出两期洋壳扩张事件。第一期发生在早渐新世。由于洋壳扩张,上始新统被拉断,在洋壳边界处上始新统突然终止现象明显。受洋壳横向扩张推挤和纵向沉降作用影响,上始新统明显变形,并向扩张中心倾覆。第二期洋壳扩张发生在晚渐新世早期。该期洋壳扩张持续时间短,扩张幅度小,下渐新统被拉开的距离有限。由于南海西北次海形成期间不同部位地壳伸展减薄程度不同,南海西北次海洋壳基底呈北东部较宽,向南西方向变窄,并逐渐尖灭的不规则三角形。根据盆地边缘上始新统向海盆中心方向的断点/线和重磁异常资料,推测西北次海南西侧洋壳边界位于海盆基底坡角处附近,洋壳较窄;而北东侧洋壳边界位于海底坡角处附近,洋壳相对较宽。另外,重磁异常表明,在洋壳基底中有陆壳残留块体存在。上述这些现象说明南海西北次海在洋壳萌芽阶段就先天夭折,停止发育。     

Exotic rifted passive margin of a back-arc basin off western Pangea: geochemical evidence from the Early Mesozoic Ayú Complex,southern Mexico

Recent detrital zircon studies of metamorphosed and polydeformed rocks of the early Mesozoic Ayú Complex in southern Mexico suggest an allochthonous origin along the western Pangean margin. Bulk-rock geochemistry of the ca. 170–200 Ma ortho-amphibolites suggests a composition ranging from alkalic and transitional basalts to normalized mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-MORB) tholeiites. Rare earth element (REE) patterns of alkaline basalts (Group I) are characterized by steep negative slopes, whereas transitional basalts (Group II) show moderate light REE (LREE) enrichment. Subalkalic Group III displays slight LREE enrichment and Group IV has relatively flat REE patterns with slight depletion in LREEs. Multiple trace element plots of Group III–IV amphibolites reveal strongly negative Nb–Ta anomalies caused by subduction zone contamination. Initial ?_Nd values (t = 190 Ma) of the amphibolites range from +9.01 to –2.16. Alkalic basalts have negative ?_Nd values, suggesting derivation from an older subcontinental mantle source (T _DM = 877 and 791 Ma). Group II–IV amphibolites have positive ?_Nd values ranging from +2.31 to +9.01, indicating a transition from an older to a relatively juvenile mantle source that is typical of a back-arc setting. The geochemistry of the metasedimentary rocks suggests derivation from an acid-arc source. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns are characterized by enriched LREEs, flat HREE, and negative Eu anomalies. Sm–Nd systematics indicate that most samples were derived from cratonic basement and plot within the Oaxacan Complex envelope with ?_Nd values (t = 195 Ma) ranging from –5.53 to –7.65. We interpret two samples with higher ?_Nd values (–1.42 and +1.06) to reflect the additional influence of a more juvenile component. The amphibolites and metasedimentary rocks of the Ayú Complex document back-arc activity and are inferred to be correlative with various western Mexican Triassic–Jurassic mafic suites and the Potosí fan that formed along the western rifted margin of Pangea.