Evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge
Seafloor spreading is accommodated by volcanic and tectonic processes along the global mid-ocean ridge system. As spreading rate decreases, the influence of volcanism also decreases, and it is unknown whether significant volcanism occurs at all at ultraslow spreading rates (<1.5 cm yr -1). Here w...
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ftcolumbiauniv:oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/d8-b9mw-3041 2023-05-15T14:29:13+02:00 Evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge Edwards, Margo Kurras, Gregory Tolstoy, Maya Bohnenstiehl, Delwayne R. Coakley, Bernard J. Cochran, James R. 2001 https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-b9mw-3041 English eng https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-b9mw-3041 Geophysics Marine geophysics Mid-ocean ridges Sea-floor spreading Volcanism Articles 2001 ftcolumbiauniv https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-b9mw-3041 2019-06-29T22:19:36Z Seafloor spreading is accommodated by volcanic and tectonic processes along the global mid-ocean ridge system. As spreading rate decreases, the influence of volcanism also decreases, and it is unknown whether significant volcanism occurs at all at ultraslow spreading rates (<1.5 cm yr -1). Here we present three-dimensional sonar maps of the Gakkel ridge, Earth's slowest spreading mid-ocean ridge, located in the Arctic basin under the Arctic Ocean ice canopy. We acquired this data using hull-mounted sonars attached to a nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Hawkbill. Sidescan data for the ultraslow-spreading (~1.0 cm yr- 1) eastern Gakkel ridge depict two young volcanoes covering approximately 720 km2 of an otherwise heavily sedimented axial valley. The western volcano coincides with the average location of epicentres for more than 250 teleseismic events detected in 1999, suggesting that an axial eruption was imaged shortly after its occurrence. These findings demonstrate that eruptions along the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge are focused at discrete locations and appear to be more voluminous and occur more frequently than was previously thought. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Basin Arctic Arctic Ocean Columbia University: Academic Commons Arctic Arctic Ocean Gakkel Ridge ENVELOPE(90.000,90.000,87.000,87.000) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Columbia University: Academic Commons |
op_collection_id |
ftcolumbiauniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Geophysics Marine geophysics Mid-ocean ridges Sea-floor spreading Volcanism |
spellingShingle |
Geophysics Marine geophysics Mid-ocean ridges Sea-floor spreading Volcanism Edwards, Margo Kurras, Gregory Tolstoy, Maya Bohnenstiehl, Delwayne R. Coakley, Bernard J. Cochran, James R. Evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge |
topic_facet |
Geophysics Marine geophysics Mid-ocean ridges Sea-floor spreading Volcanism |
description |
Seafloor spreading is accommodated by volcanic and tectonic processes along the global mid-ocean ridge system. As spreading rate decreases, the influence of volcanism also decreases, and it is unknown whether significant volcanism occurs at all at ultraslow spreading rates (<1.5 cm yr -1). Here we present three-dimensional sonar maps of the Gakkel ridge, Earth's slowest spreading mid-ocean ridge, located in the Arctic basin under the Arctic Ocean ice canopy. We acquired this data using hull-mounted sonars attached to a nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Hawkbill. Sidescan data for the ultraslow-spreading (~1.0 cm yr- 1) eastern Gakkel ridge depict two young volcanoes covering approximately 720 km2 of an otherwise heavily sedimented axial valley. The western volcano coincides with the average location of epicentres for more than 250 teleseismic events detected in 1999, suggesting that an axial eruption was imaged shortly after its occurrence. These findings demonstrate that eruptions along the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge are focused at discrete locations and appear to be more voluminous and occur more frequently than was previously thought. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Edwards, Margo Kurras, Gregory Tolstoy, Maya Bohnenstiehl, Delwayne R. Coakley, Bernard J. Cochran, James R. |
author_facet |
Edwards, Margo Kurras, Gregory Tolstoy, Maya Bohnenstiehl, Delwayne R. Coakley, Bernard J. Cochran, James R. |
author_sort |
Edwards, Margo |
title |
Evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge |
title_short |
Evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge |
title_full |
Evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge |
title_fullStr |
Evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge |
title_sort |
evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultraslow-spreading gakkel ridge |
publishDate |
2001 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-b9mw-3041 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(90.000,90.000,87.000,87.000) |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Gakkel Ridge |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Gakkel Ridge |
genre |
Arctic Basin Arctic Arctic Ocean |
genre_facet |
Arctic Basin Arctic Arctic Ocean |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-b9mw-3041 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-b9mw-3041 |
_version_ |
1766303281788747776 |