Seismic evidence for uniform crustal accretion along slow-spreading ridges in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean

The crustal accretion along mid-ocean ridges is known to be spreading-rate dependent. Along fast-spreading ridges, two-dimensional sheet-like mantle upwelling creates relatively uniform crust. In contrast, the crust formed along slow-spreading ridges shows large along-axis thickness variations with thicker crust at segment centres, which is hypothesised to be due a three-dimensional plume-like mantle upwelling or due to focused melt migration to segment centres. Using wide-angle seismic data acquired from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, here we show that the crustal thickness is nearly uniform (~5.5 km) across five crustal segments for crust formed at the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge with age varying from 8 to 70 Ma. The crustal velocities indicate that this crust is predominantly of magmatic origin. We suggest that this uniform magmatic crustal accretion is due to a two-dimensional sheet-like mantle upwelling facilitated by the long-offset transform faults in the equatorial Atlantic region and the presence of a high concentration of volatiles in the primitive melt in the mantle.

Influence of late Pleistocene sea-level variations on midocean ridge spacing in faulting simulations and a global analysis of bathymetry

We address the hypothesis that changes in Pleistocene sea level have consequences for abyssal-hill bathymetry. A model illustrates how reductions in magma production caused by rising sea level could trigger faults at 100-ky intervals at intermediate spreading-rate ridges (>2.3 cm/y) and at 41-ky intervals at faster spreading-rate ridges (>3.8 cm/y). Analysis of 17 different regional ridge systems gives characteristic length scales that closely align with the predictions from the faulting model. Furthermore, a robust spectral peak is found at the 41-ky obliquity period at fast-spreading ridges. Together, these results constitute strong evidence for a pervasive influence of Pleistocene variations in glaciation and sea level on the pattern of abyssal hills.

It is established that changes in sea level influence melt production at midocean ridges, but whether changes in melt production influence the pattern of bathymetry flanking midocean ridges has been debated on both theoretical and empirical grounds. To explore the dynamics that may give rise to a sea-level influence on bathymetry, we simulate abyssal hills using a faulting model with periodic variations in melt supply. For 100-ky melt-supply cycles, model results show that faults initiate during periods of amagmatic spreading at half-rates >2.3 cm/y and for 41-ky melt-supply cycles at half-rates >3.8 cm/y. Analysis of bathymetry across 17 midocean ridge regions shows characteristic wavelengths that closely align with the predictions from the faulting model. At intermediate-spreading ridges (half-rates >2.3 cm/y and ≤3.8 cm/y) abyssal hill spacing increases with spreading rate at 0.99 km/(cm/y) or 99 ky (n= 12; 95% CI, 87 to 110 ky), and at fast-spreading ridges (half-rates >3.8 cm/y) spacing increases at 38 ky (n= 5; 95% CI, 29 to 47 ky). Including previously published analyses of abyssal-hill spacing gives a more precise alignment with the primary periods of Pleistocene sea-level variability. Furthermore, analysis of bathymetry from fast-spreading ridges shows a highly statistically significant spectral peak (P < 0.01) at the 1/(41-ky) period of Earth’s variations in axial tilt. Faulting models and observations both support a linkage between glacially induced sea-level change and the fabric of the sea floor over the late Pleistocene.

Development of a Lightweight Inertial Gravimeter for Use on Board an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle: Measurement Principle, System Design and Sea Trial Mission

The purpose of this paper is to present the design, development and testing of an innovative instrument called GraviMob, which allows performing dynamic measurements of underwater gravity anomalies. After recalling the interest in underwater gravimetry, we describe the system, the core of which consists of triads of accelerometers rigidly attached to an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). The article also presents the mathematical methods for estimating the east, north and vertical components of the local gravity vector. An unscented Kalman filter, integrating AUV position and orientation data, performs estimation of gravity in a frame adapted to its interpretation. To assess its performance, GraviMob was tested in the Mediterranean Sea during the year 2016. A comparison of the surface gravimetric signal previously acquired by the French Navy indicates that the maximum discrepancy between the vertical gravity component and its reference is below 4 mGal. Components of the vertical deflection calculated from GraviMob’s measurements were compared with those calculated from recent gravity field models. While a remarkable agreement was found on the north component, there remains a discrepancy (7 arcsec) on the east component which can be largely reduced by refining the estimation of the orientation of GraviMob’s sensitive axes in the AUV.

Spreading rate dependence of gravity anomalies along oceanic transform faults

Mid-ocean ridge morphology and crustal accretion are known to depend on the spreading rate of the ridge. Slow-spreading mid-ocean-ridge segments exhibit significant crustal thinning towards transform and non-transform offsets, which is thought to arise from a three-dimensional process of buoyant mantle upwelling and melt migration focused beneath the centres of ridge segments. In contrast, fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges are characterized by smaller, segment-scale variations in crustal thickness, which reflect more uniform mantle upwelling beneath the ridge axis. Here we present a systematic study of the residual mantle Bouguer gravity anomaly of 19 oceanic transform faults that reveals a strong correlation between gravity signature and spreading rate. Previous studies have shown that slow-slipping transform faults are marked by more positive gravity anomalies than their adjacent ridge segments, but our analysis reveals that intermediate and fast-slipping transform faults exhibit more negative gravity anomalies than their adjacent ridge segments. This finding indicates that there is a mass deficit at intermediate- and fast-slipping transform faults, which could reflect increased rock porosity, serpentinization of mantle peridotite, and/or crustal thickening. The most negative anomalies correspond to topographic highs flanking the transform faults, rather than to transform troughs (where deformation is probably focused and porosity and alteration are expected to be greatest), indicating that crustal thickening could be an important contributor to the negative gravity anomalies observed. This finding in turn suggests that three-dimensional magma accretion may occur near intermediate- and fast-slipping transform faults.