1,721,543 research outputs found
Life and death of axial volcanic ridges: segmentation and crustal accretion at the Reykjanes Ridge
No full textIn this paper we present a description of ridge segmentation and segment evolution at the slow spreading Reykjanes Ridge, based on the combined and integrated interpretation of several geophysical datasets acquired along this section of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. At the Reykjanes Ridge, segmentation is manifest at the seabed most clearly as axial volcanic ridges (AVRs). These correspond to third-order segments, while multiple adjacent AVRs collectively represent the larger-scale pattern of second-order segmentation. AVRs are known to undergo a life cycle of multiple phases of magmatic accretion, tectonic extension and dismemberment.Our combined interpretation of the results of the previously independently analysed datasets indicates that magma influx from the mantle to the crust associated with these cycles is initially focused towards second-order segment centres. Adjacent AVRs within a second-order segment are progressively rejuvenated from the segment centre towards the segment tips during each cycle, with the redistribution of magma along-axis occurring within individual AVRs at mid-crustal to upper-crustal level during the magmatic phase. In some cases, offset basins between adjacent AVRs are characterised by significant crustal melt accumulation and increased crustal thickness, indicating that they are currently sites of incipient AVR growth. The initiation of new AVRs within former offset basins, and the abandonment of other AVRs, indicates that third-order segments have a finite and limited life span.As part of this study we have mapped the geometry and location of all abandoned (inactive), relict AVRs preserved off-axis to form the basis of a reconstruction of the pattern of asymmetric spreading. Using this reconstruction we have developed a new model of AVR evolution, spanning 2 Myr of crustal accretion, that reveals nested scales and phases of accretion, in which each AVR undergoes multiple tectonomagmatic cycles before ending its life once it has migrated sufficiently far across the median valley to become isolated from its melt supply. Once extinct, AVRs are rafted further off-axis and are preserved in the morphology of the seabed and the thickness of layer 2a.<br/
Three-dimensional crustal structure and magma chamber geometry at the intermediate-spreading, back-arc Valu Fa Ridge, Lau Basin - results of a wide-angle seismic tomographic inversion
No full textIn this paper the results of a tomographic analysis of a 3-D wide-angle seismic refraction data set acquired at the Valu Fa Ridge (VFR) in 1995 are presented. The VFR is an intermediate-spreading ridge located in the southern Lau back-arc basin in the southwest Pacific. The ridge comprises three morphological segments, the Southern, Central and Northern Valu Fa Ridges, separated by overlapping spreading centres (OSCs). Previous seismic experiments have identified a robust axial magmatic system beneath the central segment (CVFR) and the OSC with the northern segment (NVFR). The experiment described in this paper aimed to resolve details of the structure of this magma chamber and the adjacent post-rift crust.A regularized inversion scheme that minimizes model roughness was applied to the first-arrival traveltime picks made from the wide-angle data. A quantitative approach for determining data uncertainties is described based on the signal-to-noise ratio of the arrivals. Several initial model assumptions were tested, including one with a thin melt lens, representing a seismic reflector identified in previous studies, explicitly included in the initial model. The inversion results suggest that crustal layer 2 exhibits northward thickening, which mirrors a similar northward thickening of the whole crust. In addition, local thinning of layer 2 is identified in the vicinity of the boundary between pre- and post-rift crust, which is thought to represent thinning of the crust prior to the onset of rifting. Axial low-velocity anomalies are identified in layer 2B/C and layer 3. The models are consistent with a continuous ? 6 km wide negative velocity anomaly in layer 3 with an amplitude of ? 0.7-0.9 km s-1 relative to off-axis post-rift crust. This anomaly is consistent with the presence of an axial mush zone comprising a small percentage (< 1 per cent) of partial melt. The negative velocity anomaly in layer 2B/C is modelled with its largest amplitude (?0.5 km s-1) beneath the northern OSC. Possible origins for this anomaly include locally thicker crust or locally higher porosity near the OSC, or a high-temperature anomaly associated with the axial magmatic system
Crustal structure, accretionary processes and rift propagation: a gravity study of the intermediate-spreading Valu Fa Ridge, Lau Basin
No full textTemporal and spatial cyclicity of accretion at slow-spreading ridges: evidence from the Reykjanes Ridge
Full text linkA unifying model of oceanic crustal development at slow spreading rates is presented in which accretion follows a cyclic pattern of magmatic construction and tectonic destruction, controlled by along-axis variation in melt supply and coupled to along-axis variation in spreading rate and across-axis asymmetry in spreading.This study focuses on the Reykjanes Ridge, Mid-Atlantic Ridge south of Iceland, which is divided along its entire length into numerous axial volcanic ridges (AVR). Five adjacent AVRs have been analysed, located between 57°30'N and 58°30'N and south of any strong Iceland hotspot influence. The seabed morphology of each AVR is investigated using sidescan sonar data to determine relative age and eruptive history. Along-axis gravity profiles for each AVR are modelled relative to a seismically derived crustal reference model, to reveal the underlying crustal thickness and density structure. Correlating these models with seabed features, crustal structure, ridge segment morphology and relative ages, a model of cyclic ridge segmentation is developed in which accretion results in adjacent AVRs with a range of crustal features which, when viewed collectively, reveal that second-order segments on the Reykjanes Ridge have an along-axis length of 70 km and comprise several adjacent AVRs which, in turn, reflect the pattern of third-order segmentation. Tectono-magmatic accretion is shown to operate on the scale of individual AVRs, as well as on the scale of the second-order segment as a whole
Morphology and genesis of slow-spreading ridges - seabed scattering and seismic imaging within the ocean crust
Full text linkA grid of 32 across-axis and five axis-parallel multichannel seismic (MCS) reflection profiles were acquired at an axial volcanic ridge (AVR) segment at 57° 45'N, 32° 35'W on the slow-spreading Reykjanes Ridge, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, to determine the along-axis variation and geometry of the axial magmatic system and to investigate the relationship between magma chamber structure, the along-axis continuity and segmentation of melt supply to the crust, the development of faulting and the thickness of oceanic layer 2A.Seismic reflection profiles acquired at mid-ocean ridges are prone to being swamped by high amplitude seabed scattered noise which can either mask or be mistaken for intracrustal reflection events. In this paper, we present the results of two approaches to this problem which simulate seabed scatter and which can either be used to remove or simply predict events within processed MCS profiles.The 37 MCS profiles show clear intracrustal seismic events which are related to the structure of oceanic layer 2, to the axial magmatic system and to the faults which dismember each AVR as it ages through its tectono-magmatic life cycle and which form the median valley walls. The layer 2A event can be mapped around the entirety of the survey area between 0.1 and 0.5 s two-way traveltime below the seabed, being thickest at AVR centres, and thinning both off-axis and along-axis towards AVR tips. Both AVR-parallel and ridge-parallel trends are observed, with the pattern of on-axis layer 2A thickness variation preserved beneath relict AVRs which are rafted off-axis largely intact.Each active AVR is underlain by a mid-crustal melt lens reflection extending almost along its entire length. Similar reflection events are observed beneath the offset basins between adjacent AVRs. These are interpreted as new AVRs at the start of their life cycle, developing centrally within the median valley. The east–west spacings of relict AVRs and offset basins is 5–7 km, corresponding to a life span of the order of 0.5–0.7 Myr, during which AVRs appear to undergo multiple 20–60 Kyr tectono-magmatic cycles.<br/
Uplift at lithospheric swells--II: is the Cape Verde mid-plate swell supported by a lithosphere of varying mechanical strength?
Full text linkThe Cape Verde mid-plate swell is the largest amplitude oceanic mid-plate swell on Earth at ?1800 km in diameter, with a crest ?2.2 km high, and long-wavelength positive geoid, gravity and heat flow anomalies of 8 m, 30 mGal and 10–15 mW m?2, respectively. These characteristics and its location on the slow moving-to-stationary African Plate, which concentrates the volcanism and associated geophysical anomalies within a relatively small areal extent, makes it an ideal location to test various proposed mechanisms for swell support.Wide-angle seismic refraction data have been acquired along a ?474 km profile extending north–south from the swell crest. In this paper, the 2-D velocity–depth crustal model derived from forward modelling of phase traveltime picks is tested using two independent inversion approaches. The final crustal velocity–depth model derived from the combined modelling, shows no evidence for widespread thickened crust or for lower crustal velocities exceeding 7.3 km s?1 that are indicative of undercrustal magmatic material.Using the final velocity–depth model to constrain the crust for 3-D ‘whole plate’ lithospheric flexure modelling of island loading alone, we show that the lithosphere of the Cape Verde region appears stronger than expected for its age. Regional-scale modelling suggests that the majority of the swell height is supported by dynamic upwelling within the asthenosphere coupled with, but to a lesser degree, the effect of a region of low density in the deeper lithosphere, originating most likely from conductive reheating of the overlying plate due to its slow-to-stationary motion. When this regional upward-acting buoyancy force is considered in the context of the shorter wavelength flexure associated with island loading, modelling suggests that the apparent high plate strength is a consequence of, in effect, a regional unbending of a lithosphere that has a long-term strength typical for its age
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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