Sinton John M.

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Sinton
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John M.
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  • Article
    Constructing the crust along the Galapagos Spreading Center 91.3°–95.5°W : correlation of seismic layer 2A with axial magma lens and topographic characteristics
    (American Geophysical Union, 2004-10-21) Blacic, Tanya M. ; Ito, Garrett T. ; Canales, J. Pablo ; Detrick, Robert S. ; Sinton, John M.
    Multichannel seismic reflection data are used to infer crustal accretion processes along the intermediate spreading Galapagos Spreading Center. East of 92.5°W, we image a magma lens beneath the ridge axis that is relatively shallow (1.0–2.5 km below the seafloor) and narrow (∼0.5–1.5 km, cross-axis width). We also image a thin seismic layer 2A (0.24–0.42 km) that thickens away from the ridge axis by as much as 150%. West of 92.7°W, the magma lens is deeper (2.5–4.5 km) and wider (0.7–2.4 km), and layer 2A is thicker (0.36–0.66 km) and thickens off axis by <40%. The positive correlation between layer 2A thickness and magma lens depth supports the interpretation of layer 2A as the extrusive volcanic layer with thickness controlled by the pressure on the magma lens and its ability to push magma to the surface. Our findings also suggest that narrower magma lenses focus diking close the ridge axis such that lava flowing away from the ridge axis will blanket older flows and thicken the extrusive crust off axis. Flow of lava away from the ridge axis is probably promoted by the slope of the axial bathymetric high, which is largest east of 92.5°W. West of ∼94°W the “transitional” axial morphology lacks a prominent bathymetric high and layer 2A no longer thickens off axis. We detect no magma lens west of 94.7°W where a small axial valley appears. The above changes can be linked to the westward decrease in the magma and heat flux associated with the fading influence of the Galapagos hot spot on the Galapagos Spreading Center.
  • Article
    Morphology and segmentation of the western Galápagos Spreading Center, 90.5°–98°W : plume-ridge interaction at an intermediate spreading ridge
    (American Geophysical Union, 2003-12-13) Sinton, John M. ; Detrick, Robert S. ; Canales, J. Pablo ; Ito, Garrett T. ; Behn, Mark D.
    Complete multibeam bathymetric coverage of the western Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) between 90.5°W and 98°W reveals the fine-scale morphology, segmentation and influence of the Galápagos hot spot on this intermediate spreading ridge. The western GSC comprises three morphologically defined provinces: A Western Province, located farthest from the Galápagos hot spot west of 95°30′W, is characterized by an axial deep, rift valley morphology with individual, overlapping, E-W striking segments separated by non-transform offsets; A Middle Province, between the propagating rift tips at 93°15′W and 95°30′W, with transitional axial morphology strikes ∼276°; An Eastern Province, closest to the Galápagos hot spot between the ∼90°50′W Galápagos Transform and 93°15′W, with an axial high morphology generally less than 1800 m deep, strikes ∼280°. At a finer scale, the axial region consists of 32 individual segments defined on the basis of smaller, mainly <2 km, offsets. These offsets mainly step left in the Western and Middle Provinces, and right in the Eastern Province. Glass compositions indicate that the GSC is segmented magmatically into 8 broad regions, with Mg # generally decreasing to the west within each region. Striking differences in bathymetric and lava fractionation patterns between the propagating rifts with tips at 93°15′W and 95°30′W reflect lower overall magma supply and larger offset distance at the latter. The structure of the Eastern Province is complicated by the intersection of a series of volcanic lineaments that appear to radiate away from a point located on the northern edge of the Galápagos platform, close to the southern limit of the Galápagos Fracture Zone. Where these lineaments intersect the GSC, the ridge axis is displaced to the south through a series of overlapping spreading centers (OSCs); abandoned OSC limbs lie even farther south. We propose that southward displacement of the axis is promoted during intermittent times of increased plume activity, when lithospheric zones of weakness become volcanically active. Following cessation of the increased plume activity, the axis straightens by decapitating southernmost OSC limbs during short-lived propagation events. This process contributes to the number of right stepping offsets in the Eastern Province.
  • Article
    Effects of variable magma supply on mid-ocean ridge eruptions : constraints from mapped lava flow fields along the Galápagos Spreading Center
    (American Geophysical Union, 2012-08-25) Colman, Alice ; Sinton, John M. ; White, Scott M. ; McClinton, J. Timothy ; Bowles, Julie A. ; Rubin, Kenneth H. ; Behn, Mark D. ; Cushman, Buffy ; Eason, Deborah E. ; Gregg, Tracy K. P. ; Gronvold, Karl ; Hidalgo, Silvana ; Howell, Julia ; Neill, Owen ; Russo, Chris
    Mapping and sampling of 18 eruptive units in two study areas along the Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) provide insight into how magma supply affects mid-ocean ridge (MOR) volcanic eruptions. The two study areas have similar spreading rates (53 versus 55 mm/yr), but differ by 30% in the time-averaged rate of magma supply (0.3 × 106 versus 0.4 × 106 m3/yr/km). Detailed geologic maps of each study area incorporate observations of flow contacts and sediment thickness, in addition to sample petrology, geomagnetic paleointensity, and inferences from high-resolution bathymetry data. At the lower-magma-supply study area, eruptions typically produce irregularly shaped clusters of pillow mounds with total eruptive volumes ranging from 0.09 to 1.3 km3. At the higher-magma-supply study area, lava morphologies characteristic of higher effusion rates are more common, eruptions typically occur along elongated fissures, and eruptive volumes are an order of magnitude smaller (0.002–0.13 km3). At this site, glass MgO contents (2.7–8.4 wt. %) and corresponding liquidus temperatures are lower on average, and more variable, than those at the lower-magma-supply study area (6.2–9.1 wt. % MgO). The differences in eruptive volume, lava temperature, morphology, and inferred eruption rates observed between the two areas along the GSC are similar to those that have previously been related to variable spreading rates on the global MOR system. Importantly, the documentation of multiple sequences of eruptions at each study area, representing hundreds to thousands of years, provides constraints on the variability in eruptive style at a given magma supply and spreading rate.
  • Article
    Evidence for a broadly distributed Samoan-plume signature in the northern Lau and North Fiji Basins
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2014-04-11) Price, Allison A. ; Jackson, Matthew G. ; Blichert-Toft, Janne ; Hall, Paul S. ; Sinton, John M. ; Kurz, Mark D. ; Blusztajn, Jerzy S.
    Geochemical enrichment of lavas in the northern Lau Basin may reflect the influx of Samoan-plume mantle into the region. We report major and trace element abundances and He-Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb-isotopic measurements for 23 submarine volcanic glasses covering 10 locations in the northern Lau and North Fiji Basins, and for three samples from Wallis Island, which lies between Samoa and the Lau Basin. These data extend the western limit of geochemical observations in the Basins and improve the resolution of North-South variations in isotopic ratios. The Samoan hot spot track runs along the length of the northern trace of the Lau and North Fiji Basins. We find evidence for a Samoan-plume component in lavas as far West as South Pandora Ridge (SPR), North Fiji Basin. Isotopic signatures in SPR samples are similar to those found in Samoan Upolu shield lavas, but show a slight shift toward MORB-like compositions. We explain the origin of the enriched signatures by a model in which Samoan-plume material and ambient depleted mantle undergo decompression melting during upwelling after transiting from beneath the thick Pacific lithosphere to beneath the thin lithosphere in the northern Lau and North Fiji Basins. Other lavas found in the region with highly depleted isotopic signatures may represent isolated pockets of depleted mantle in the basins that evaded this enrichment process. We further find that mixing between the two components in our model, a variably degassed high-3He/4He Samoan component and depleted MORB, can explain the diversity among geochemical data from the northern Lau Basin.