Evaluating hot spot–ridge interaction in the Atlantic from regional-scale seismic observations
[1] We probe variations in mantle temperature, composition, and fabric along hot spot–influenced sections of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), using surface waves from nearby ridge earthquakes recorded on broadband island-based seismic stations. We invert frequency-dependent phase delays from these even...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.526.9024 http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~gaherty/Publications_files/gaherty_dunn_g3_2007.pdf |
| Summary: | [1] We probe variations in mantle temperature, composition, and fabric along hot spot–influenced sections of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), using surface waves from nearby ridge earthquakes recorded on broadband island-based seismic stations. We invert frequency-dependent phase delays from these events to estimate one-dimensional mean shear velocity and radial shear anisotropy profiles in the upper 200 km of the mantle within two seafloor age intervals: 5–10 Ma and 15–20 Ma. Mean shear velocity profiles correlate with apparent hot spot flux: lithosphere formed near the low-flux Ascension hot spot is characterized by high mantle velocities, while the MAR near the higher-flux Azores hot spot has lower velocities. The impact of the high-flux Iceland hot spot on mantle velocities along the nearby MAR is strongly asymmetric: the lithospheric velocities near the Kolbeinsey ridge are moderately slow, while velocities near the Reykjanes ridge estimated in previous studies are much slower. Within each region the increase in shear velocity with age is consistent with a half-space cooling model, and the velocity variations observed between Ascension, the Azores, and Kolbeinsey are consistent with approximately ±75 potential-temperature variation among these sites. In comparison, the Reykjanes lithosphere is too slow to result purely from half-space cooling of a high-temperature mantle source. We speculate that the anomalously low shear velocities within the lithosphere produced at the Reykjanes ridge result from high |
|---|