Escartin Javier E.

Last Name

Escartin

First Name

Javier E.

ORCID

0000-0002-3416-6856

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Active long-lived faults emerging along slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges

(The Oceanography Society, 2012-03) Smith, Deborah K. ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Schouten, Hans A. ; Cann, Johnson R.

In the classic mid-ocean ridge model, new seafloor is generated through a combination of magmatic diking feeding lava flows at the spreading axis, and the formation of short-offset, high-angle normal faults that dip toward the axis. These processes lead to the formation of a layered magmatic crust and linear, ridge-parallel abyssal hills on both ridge flanks. This model of ocean crust generation applies well to fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges (i.e., > 80 mm yr–1), but it is not always valid at slower-spreading ridges. Instead, at slow-spreading ridges such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), which is opening at about 25 mm yr–1, the formation of long-lived faults (called detachments) on one flank of the ridge axis is an important process in seafloor formation (Cann et al., 1997; Karson, 1999; MacLeod et al., 2009; Schroeder et al., 2007; Smith et al., 2008; Tucholke et al., 1998). In fact, active detachment faults have been identified along nearly half of the MAR axis between 12° and 35°N (Escartín et al., 2008).
Globally aligned photomosaic of the Lucky Strike hydrothermal vent field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 37°18.5′N) : release of georeferenced data, mosaic construction, and viewing software

(American Geophysical Union, 2008-12-05) Escartin, Javier E. ; Garcia, Rafael ; Delaunoy, O. ; Ferrer, J. ; Gracias, Nuno ; Elibol, A. ; Cufi, X. ; Neumann, L. ; Fornari, Daniel J. ; Humphris, Susan E. ; Renard, J.

We present a georeferenced photomosaic of the Lucky Strike hydrothermal vent field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 37°18′N). The photomosaic was generated from digital photographs acquired using the ARGO II seafloor imaging system during the 1996 LUSTRE cruise, which surveyed a ∼1 km2 zone and provided a coverage of ∼20% of the seafloor. The photomosaic has a pixel resolution of 15 mm and encloses the areas with known active hydrothermal venting. The final mosaic is generated after an optimization that includes the automatic detection of the same benthic features across different images (feature-matching), followed by a global alignment of images based on the vehicle navigation. We also provide software to construct mosaics from large sets of images for which georeferencing information exists (location, attitude, and altitude per image), to visualize them, and to extract data. Georeferencing information can be provided by the raw navigation data (collected during the survey) or result from the optimization obtained from image matching. Mosaics based solely on navigation can be readily generated by any user but the optimization and global alignment of the mosaic requires a case-by-case approach for which no universally software is available. The Lucky Strike photomosaics (optimized and navigated-only) are publicly available through the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS, http://www.marine-geo.org). The mosaic-generating and viewing software is available through the Computer Vision and Robotics Group Web page at the University of Girona (http://eia.udg.es/∼rafa/mosaicviewer.html).
Hydrothermal activity along the slow-spreading Lucky Strike ridge segment (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) : distribution, heatflux, and geological controls

( 2015-09) Escartin, Javier E. ; Barreyre, Thibaut ; Cannat, Mathilde ; Garcia, Rafael ; Gracias, Nuno ; Deschamps, Anne ; Salocchi, Aura ; Sarradin, Pierre-Marie ; Ballu, Valerie

We have reviewed available visual information from the seafloor, and recently acquired microbathymetry for several traverses across the Lucky Strike segment, to evaluate the distribution of hydrothermal activity. We have identified a new on-axis site with diffuse flow, Ewan, and anactive vent structure ~1.2 km from the axis, Capelinhos. These sites are minor relative to the Main field, and our total heatflux estimate for all active sites (200-1200 MW) is only slightly higher than previously published estimates. We also identify fossil sites W of the main Lucky Strike field. A circular feature ~200 m in diameter located on the flanks of a rifted off-axis central volcano, is likely a large and inactive hydrothermal edifice, named Grunnus. We find no indicator of focused hydrothermal activity elsewhere along the segment, suggesting that the enhanced melt supply and the associated melt lenses, required to form central volcanoes, also sustain hydrothermal circulation to form and maintain large and long-lived hydrothermal fields. Hydrothermal discharge to the seafloor occurs along fault traces, suggesting focusing of hydrothermal circulation in the shallow crust along permeable fault zones.
Quantifying diffuse and discrete venting at the Tour Eiffel vent site, Lucky Strike hydrothermal field

(American Geophysical Union, 2012-04-19) Mittelstaedt, Eric ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Gracias, Nuno ; Olive, Jean-Arthur L. ; Barreyre, Thibaut ; Davaille, Anne ; Cannat, Mathilde ; Garcia, Rafael

The relative heat carried by diffuse versus discrete venting of hydrothermal fluids at mid-ocean ridges is poorly constrained and likely varies among vent sites. Estimates of the proportion of heat carried by diffuse flow range from 0% to 100% of the total axial heat flux. Here, we present an approach that integrates imagery, video, and temperature measurements to accurately estimate this partitioning at a single vent site, Tour Eiffel in the Lucky Strike hydrothermal field along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Fluid temperatures, photographic mosaics of the vent site, and video sequences of fluid flow were acquired during the Bathyluck'09 cruise (Fall, 2009) and the Momarsat'10 cruise (Summer, 2010) to the Lucky Strike hydrothermal field by the ROV Victor6000 aboard the French research vessel the “Pourquoi Pas”? (IFREMER, France). We use two optical methods to calculate the velocities of imaged hydrothermal fluids: (1) for diffuse venting, Diffuse Flow Velocimetry tracks the displacement of refractive index anomalies through time, and (2) for discrete jets, Particle Image Velocimetry tracks eddies by cross-correlation of pixel intensities between subsequent images. To circumvent video blurring associated with rapid velocities at vent orifices, exit velocities at discrete vents are calculated from the best fit of the observed velocity field to a model of a steady state turbulent plume where we vary the model vent radius and fluid exit velocity. Our results yield vertical velocities of diffuse effluent between 0.9 cm s−1 and 11.1 cm s−1 for fluid temperatures between 3°C and 33.5°C above that of ambient seawater, and exit velocities of discrete jets between 22 cm s−1 and 119 cm s−1 for fluid temperatures between 200°C and 301°C above ambient seawater. Using the calculated fluid velocities, temperature measurements, and photo mosaics of the actively venting areas, we calculate a heat flux due to diffuse venting from thin fractures of 3.15 ± 2.22 MW, discrete venting of 1.07 ± 0.66 MW, and, by incorporating previous estimates of diffuse heat flux density from Tour Eiffel, diffuse flux from the main sulfide mound of ∼15.6 MW. We estimate that the total integrated heat flux from the Tour Eiffel site is 19.82 ± 2.88 MW and that the ratio of diffuse to discrete heat flux is ∼18. We discuss the implication of these results for the characterization of different vent sites within Lucky Strike and in the context of a compilation of all available measurements of the ratio of diffuse to discrete heat flux.
Tectonic evolution of 200 km of Mid-Atlantic Ridge over 10 million years : interplay of volcanism and faulting

(John Wiley & Sons, 2015-07-22) Cann, Johnson R. ; Smith, Deborah K. ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Schouten, Hans A.

We reconstruct the history of the mode of accretion of an area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge south of the Kane fracture zone using bathymetric morphology. The area includes 200 km of the spreading axis and reaches to 10 Ma on either side. We distinguish three tectonic styles: (1) volcanic construction with eruption and intrusion of magma coupled with minor faulting, (2) extended terrain with abundant large-offset faults, (3) detachment faulting marked by extension on single long-lived faults. Over 40% of the seafloor is made of extended terrain and detachment faults. The area includes products of seven spreading segments. The spreading axis has had detachment faulting or extended terrain on one or both sides for 70% of the last 10 Ma. In some parts of the area, regions of detachment faulting and extended terrain lie close to segment boundaries. Regions of detachment faulting initiated at 10 Ma close to the adjacent fracture zones to the north and south, and then expanded away from them. We discuss the complex evidence from gravity, seismic surveys, and bathymetry for the role of magma supply in generating tectonic style. Overall, we conclude that input of magma at the spreading axis has a general control on the development of detachment faulting, but the relationship is not strong. Other factors may include a positive feedback that stabilizes detachment faulting at the expense of volcanic extension, perhaps through the lubrication of active detachment faults by the formation of low friction materials (talc, serpentine) on detachment fault surfaces.
Central role of detachment faults in accretion of slow-spreading oceanic lithosphere

( 2008-08) Escartin, Javier E. ; Smith, Deborah K. ; Cann, Johnson R. ; Schouten, Hans A. ; Langmuir, Charles H. ; Escrig, Stéphane

The formation of oceanic detachment faults is well established from inactive, corrugated fault planes exposed on seafloor formed along ridges spreading at less than 80 km/My1-4. These faults can accommodate extension for up to 1-3 Myrs5, and are associated with one of two contrasting modes of accretion operating along the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). The first is symmetrical accretion, dominated by magmatic processes with subsidiary high-angle faulting and formation of abyssal hills on both flanks. The second is asymmetrical accretion involving an active detachment fault6 along one ridge flank. An examination of ~2500 km of the MAR between 12.5 and 35°N reveals asymmetrical accretion along almost half of the ridge. Hydrothermal activity identified to date in the study region is closely associated with asymmetrical accretion, which also exhibits high-levels of near continuous hydroacoustically and teleseismically recorded seismicity. Enhanced seismicity is probably generated along detachment faults accommodating a sizeable proportion of the total plate separation. In contrast, symmetrical segments have lower levels of seismicity, which concentrates primarily at their ends. Basalts erupted along asymmetrical segments have compositions that are consistent with crystallization at higher pressures than basalts from symmetrical segments, and with lower extents of partial melting of the mantle. Both seismic and geochemical evidence indicate that the axial lithosphere is thicker and colder at asymmetrical sections of the ridge, either because associated hydrothermal circulation efficiently penetrates to greater depths, or because the rising mantle is cooler. We suggest that much of the variability in seafloor morphology, seismicity and basalt chemistry found along slow-spreading ridges can be thus attributed to the frequent involvement of detachments in oceanic lithospheric accretion.
Heat flow variations on a slowly accreting ridge : constraints on the hydrothermal and conductive cooling for the Lucky Strike segment (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 37°N)

(American Geophysical Union, 2006-07-27) Lucazeau, Francis ; Bonneville, Alain ; Escartin, Javier E. ; von Herzen, Richard P. ; Gouze, Philippe ; Carton, Helene ; Cannat, Mathilde ; Vidal, Valerie ; Adam, Claudia

We report 157 closely spaced heat flow measurements along the Lucky Strike segment in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) for ages of the ocean floor between 0 and 11 Ma. On the eastern flank of a volcanic plateau delimiting off-axis and axial domains, the magnitude of heat flow either conforms to the predictions of conductive lithospheric cooling models or is affected by localized anomalies. On the western flank it is uniformly lower than conductive model predictions. We interpret the observed patterns of heat flow by lateral fluid circulation in a highly permeable oceanic basement. The circulation geometries are probably 3-D rather than 2-D and are determined by the configuration of the basement/sediment interface and the distribution of effectively unsedimented seamounts where water recharge can occur. Two major hydrothermal circulation systems can possibly explain the observations off-axis: the first would involve lateral pore water flow from west to east, and the second would have a reverse flow direction. The wavelengths and magnitudes of heat flow anomalies require Darcy velocities of the order of 1–4 m/year, which are similar to those proposed for fast-accreted crust elsewhere. However, a large proportion of this MAR domain remains unaffected by hydrothermal cooling, which is a relatively unusual observation but confirms the validity of conductive thermal models for seafloor ages between 5 and 10 Ma. Closer to the ridge axis (<5 Myr old crust), water circulation affects the overall axial domain, as larger proportions of basement are exposed. As much as 80–90% of the heat flux from the axial domain may be transferred to the Lucky Strike vent field, in agreement with the estimated discharge.
Structure, temporal evolution, and heat flux estimates from the Lucky Strike deep-sea hydrothermal field derived from seafloor image mosaics

(American Geophysical Union, 2012-04-19) Barreyre, Thibaut ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Garcia, Rafael ; Cannat, Mathilde ; Mittelstaedt, Eric ; Prados, Ricard

Here we demonstrate with a study of the Lucky Strike hydrothermal field that image mosaicing over large seafloor areas is feasible with new image processing techniques, and that repeated surveys allow temporal studies of active processes. Lucky Strike mosaics, generated from >56,000 images acquired in 1996, 2006, 2008 and 2009, reveal the distribution and types of diffuse outflow throughout the field, and their association with high-temperature vents. In detail, the zones of outflow are largely controlled by faults, and we suggest that the spatial clustering of active zones likely reflects the geometry of the underlying plumbing system. Imagery also provides constraints on temporal variability at two time-scales. First, based upon changes in individual outflow features identified in mosaics acquired in different years, we document a general decline of diffuse outflow throughout the vent field over time-scales up to 13 years. Second, the image mosaics reveal broad patches of seafloor that we interpret as fossil outflow zones, owing to their association with extinct chimneys and hydrothermal deposits. These areas encompass the entire region of present-day hydrothermal activity, suggesting that the plumbing system has persisted over long periods of time, loosely constrained to hundreds to thousands of years. The coupling of mosaic interpretation and available field measurements allow us to independently estimate the heat flux of the Lucky Strike system at ~200 to 1000 MW, with 75% to >90% of this flux taken up by diffuse hydrothermal outflow. Based on these heat flux estimates, we propose that the temporal decline of the system at short and long time scales may be explained by the progressive cooling of the AMC, without replenishment. The results at Lucky Strike demonstrate that repeated image surveys can be routinely performed to characterize and study the temporal variability of a broad range of vent sites hosting active processes (e.g., cold seeps, hydrothermal fields, gas outflows, etc.), allowing a better understanding of fluid flow dynamics from the sub-seafloor, and a quantification of fluxes.
The Kallisti Limnes, carbon dioxide-accumulating subsea pools

(Nature Publishing Group, 2015-07-16) Camilli, Richard ; Nomikou, Paraskevi ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Ridao, Pere ; Mallios, Angelos ; Kilias, Stephanos P. ; Argyraki, Ariadne ; Andreani, Muriel ; Ballu, Valerie ; Campos, Ricard ; Deplus, Christine ; Gabsi, Taoufic ; Garcia, Rafael ; Gracias, Nuno ; Hurtos, Natalia ; Magi, Lluis ; Mevel, Catherine ; Moreira, Manuel ; Palomeras, Narcis ; Pot, Olivier ; Ribas, David ; Ruzie, Lorraine ; Sakellariou, Dimitris

Natural CO2 releases from shallow marine hydrothermal vents are assumed to mix into the water column, and not accumulate into stratified seafloor pools. We present newly discovered shallow subsea pools located within the Santorini volcanic caldera of the Southern Aegean Sea, Greece, that accumulate CO2 emissions from geologic reservoirs. This type of hydrothermal seafloor pool, containing highly concentrated CO2, provides direct evidence of shallow benthic CO2 accumulations originating from sub-seafloor releases. Samples taken from within these acidic pools are devoid of calcifying organisms, and channel structures among the pools indicate gravity driven flow, suggesting that seafloor release of CO2 at this site may preferentially impact benthic ecosystems. These naturally occurring seafloor pools may provide a diagnostic indicator of incipient volcanic activity and can serve as an analog for studying CO2 leakage and benthic accumulations from subsea carbon capture and storage sites.
Magmatic plumbing at Lucky Strike volcano based on olivine-hosted melt inclusion compositions

(John Wiley & Sons, 2015-01-20) Wanless, V. Dorsey ; Shaw, Alison M. ; Behn, Mark D. ; Soule, Samuel A. ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Hamelin, Cedric

Here we present volatile, major, and trace element concentrations of 64 olivine-hosted melt inclusions from the Lucky Strike segment on the mid-Atlantic ridge. Lucky Strike is one of two locations where a crustal melt lens has been seismically imaged on a slow-spreading ridge. Vapor-saturation pressures, calculated from CO2 and H2O contents of Lucky Strike melt inclusions, range from approximately 300–3000 bars, corresponding to depths of 0.5–9.9 km below the seafloor. Approximately 50% of the melt inclusions record crystallization depths of 3–4 km, corresponding to the seismically imaged melt lens depth, while an additional ∼35% crystallize at depths > 4 km. This indicates that while crystallization is focused within the melt lens, significant crystallization also occurs in the lower crust and/or upper mantle. The melt inclusions span a range of major and trace element concentrations from normal to enriched basalts. Trace element ratios at all depths are heterogeneous, suggesting that melts are not efficiently homogenized in the mantle or crust, despite the presence of a melt lens. This is consistent with the transient nature of magma chambers proposed for slower-spreading ridges. To investigate the petrogenesis of the melt inclusion compositions, we compare the measured trace element compositions to theoretical melting calculations that consider variations in the melting geometry and heterogeneities in the mantle source. The full range of compositions can be produced by slight variations in the proportion of an Azores plume and depleted upper mantle components and changes in the total extent of melting.
A record of eruption and intrusion at a fast spreading ridge axis : axial summit trough of the East Pacific Rise at 9–10°N

(American Geophysical Union, 2009-10-22) Soule, Samuel A. ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Fornari, Daniel J.

High-resolution side-scan sonar, near-bottom multibeam bathymetry, and deep-sea photo and bathymetry traverses are used to map the axial summit trough (AST) at the East Pacific Rise between 9 and 10°N. We define three ridge axis morphologic types: no AST, narrow AST, and wide AST, which characterize distinct ridge crest domains spanning tens of kilometers along strike. Near-bottom observations, modeling of deformation above intruding dikes, and comparisons to the geologic and geophysical structure of the ridge crest are used to develop a revised model of AST genesis and evolution. This model helps constrain the record of intrusive and extrusive magmatism and styles of lava deposition along the ridge crest at time scales from hundreds to tens of thousands of years. The grabens in the narrow-AST domain (9°43′–53′N) are consistent with deformation above the most recent (<10) diking events beneath the ridge crest. Frequent high–effusion rate extrusive volcanism in this domain (several eruptions every ∼100 years) overprints near-axis deformation and maintains a consistent AST width. The most recent eruption at the ridge crest occurred in this area and did not significantly modify the physical characteristics of the AST. The grabens in the wide-AST domain (9°23′–43′N) originated with similar dimensions to the narrow AST. Spreading, driven primarily by the intrusion of shallow dikes within a narrow axial zone, causes the initial graben bounding faults to migrate away from the axis. Infrequent extrusive volcanism (several eruptions every ∼1000 years) fills a portion of the subsidence that accumulates over time but does not significantly modify the width of the AST. Outside of these domains, lower–effusion rate constructional volcanism without efficient drain-back fills and erases the signature of the AST. The relative frequency of intrusive versus extrusive magmatic events controls the morphology of the ridge crest and appears to remain constant over millennial time scales within the domains we have identified; however, over longer time scales (∼10–25 ka), domain-specific intrusive-to-extrusive ratios do not appear to be fixed in space, resulting in a fairly consistent volcanic accretion over the length scale of the second-order ridge segment between 9°N and 10°N.
Fault rotation and core complex formation : significant processes in seafloor formation at slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 13°–15°N)

(American Geophysical Union, 2008-03-05) Smith, Deborah K. ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Schouten, Hans A. ; Cann, Johnson R.

The region of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) between the Fifteen-Twenty and Marathon fracture zones displays the topographic characteristics of prevalent and vigorous tectonic extension. Normal faults show large amounts of rotation, dome-shaped corrugated detachment surfaces (core complexes) intersect the seafloor at the edge of the inner valley floor, and extinct core complexes cover the seafloor off-axis. We have identified 45 potential core complexes in this region whose locations are scattered everywhere along two segments (13° and 15°N segments). Steep outward-facing slopes suggest that the footwalls of many of the normal faults in these two segments have rotated by more than 30°. The rotation occurs very close to the ridge axis (as much as 20° within 5 km of the volcanic axis) and is complete by ∼1 My, producing distinctive linear ridges with roughly symmetrical slopes. This morphology is very different from linear abyssal hill faults formed at the 14°N magmatic segment, which display a smaller amount of rotation (typically <15°). We suggest that the severe rotation of faults is diagnostic of a region undergoing large amounts of tectonic extension on single faults. If faults are long-lived, a dome-shaped corrugated surface develops in front of the ridges and lower crustal and upper mantle rocks are exposed to form a core complex. A single ridge segment can have several active core complexes, some less than 25 km apart that are separated by swales. We present two models for multiple core complex formation: a continuous model in which a single detachment surface extends along axis to include all of the core complexes and swales, and a discontinuous model in which local detachment faults form the core complexes and magmatic spreading forms the intervening swales. Either model can explain the observed morphology.
Temporal variability and tidal modulation of hydrothermal exit-fluid temperatures at the Lucky Strike deep-sea vent field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

(John Wiley & Sons, 2014-04-02) Barreyre, Thibaut ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Sohn, Robert A. ; Cannat, Mathilde ; Ballu, Valerie ; Crawford, Wayne C.

We deployed autonomous temperature sensors at black smoker chimneys, cracks, and diffuse flow areas at the Lucky Strike hydrothermal field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, ~37°17'N) between summer 2009 and summer 2012 and contemporaneously measured tidal pressures and currents as part of the long-term MoMAR experiment to monitor hydrothermal activity. We classify the temperature data according to the hydrogeologic setting of the measurement sites: a high-temperature regime (>190°C) representing discharge of essentially unmixed, primary hydrothermal fluids through chimneys, an intermediate-temperature regime (10–100°C) associated with mixing of primary fluids with cold pore fluids discharging through cracks, and a low-temperature regime (<10°C) associated with a thermal boundary layer forming over bacterial mats associated with diffuse outflow of warm fluids. Temperature records from all the regimes exhibit variations at semi-diurnal tidal periods, and cross-spectral analyses reveal that high-temperature discharge correlates to tidal pressure while low-temperature discharge correlates to tidal currents. Intermediate-temperature discharge exhibits a transitional behavior correlating to both tidal pressure and currents. Episodic perturbations, with transient temperature drops of up to ~150°C, which occur in the high-temperature and intermediate-temperature records, are not observed on multiple probes (including nearby probes at the same site), and they are not correlated with microearthquake activity, indicating that the perturbation mechanism is highly localized at the measurement sites within the hydrothermal structures. The average temperature at a given site may increase or decrease at annual time scales, but the average temperature of the hydrothermal field, as a whole, appears to be stable over our 3 year observation period.
Widespread active detachment faulting and core complex formation near 13°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

( 2006-06-02) Smith, Deborah K. ; Cann, Johnson R. ; Escartin, Javier E.

Oceanic core complexes are massifs in which lower crustal and upper mantle rocks are exposed at the sea floor. They form at mid-ocean ridges through slip on detachment faults rooted below the spreading axis. To date, most studies of core complexes have been based on isolated inactive massifs that have spread away from ridge axes. A new survey of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) near 13°N reveals a segment in which a number of linked detachment faults extend for 75 km along one flank of the spreading axis. The detachment faults are apparently all currently active and at various stages of development. A field of extinct core complexes extends away from the axis for at least 100 km. The new data document the topographic characteristics of actively-forming core complexes and their evolution from initiation within the axial valley floor to maturity and eventual inactivity. Within the surrounding region there is a strong correlation between detachment fault morphology at the ridge axis and high rates of hydroacoustically-recorded earthquake seismicity. Preliminary examination of seismicity and seafloor morphology farther north along the MAR suggests that active detachment faulting is occurring in many segments and that detachment faulting is more important in the generation of ocean crust at this slow-spreading ridge than previously suspected.
Sensitivity of seafloor bathymetry to climate-driven fluctuations in mid-ocean ridge magma supply

( 2015-09) Olive, Jean-Arthur L. ; Behn, Mark D. ; Ito, Garrett T. ; Buck, W. Roger ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Howell, Samuel M.

Recent studies have proposed that the bathymetric fabric of the seafloor formed at mid-ocean ridges records rapid (23–100 kyr) fluctuations in ridge magma supply caused by sea level changes that modulate melt production in the underlying mantle. Using quantitative models of faulting and magma emplacement, we demonstrate that, in fact, seafloor-shaping processes act as a low-pass filter on variations in magma supply, strongly damping fluctuations shorter than ~100 kyr. We show that the systematic decrease in dominant seafloor wavelengths with increasing spreading rate is best explained by a model of fault growth and abandonment under a steady magma input. This provides a robust framework for deciphering the footprint of mantle melting in the fabric of abyssal hills, the most common topographic feature on Earth.
Magmatic and tectonic extension at the Chile Ridge : evidence for mantle controls on ridge segmentation

(John Wiley & Sons, 2016-06-24) Howell, Samuel M. ; Ito, Garrett T. ; Behn, Mark D. ; Martinez, Fernando ; Olive, Jean-Arthur ; Escartin, Javier E.

We use data from an extensive multibeam bathymetry survey of the Chile Ridge to study tectonomagmatic processes at the ridge axis. Specifically, we investigate how abyssal hills evolve from axial faults, how variations in magmatic extension influence morphology and faulting along the spreading axis, and how these variations correlate with ridge segmentation. The bathymetry data are used to estimate the fraction of plate separation accommodated by normal faulting, and the remaining fraction of extension, M, is attributed primarily to magmatic accretion. Results show that M ranges from 0.85 to 0.96, systematically increasing from first-order and second-order ridge segment offsets toward segment centers as the depth of ridge axis shoals relative to the flanking highs of the axial valley. Fault spacing, however, does not correlate with ridge geometry, morphology, or M along the Chile Ridge, which suggests the observed increase in tectonic strain toward segment ends is achieved through increased slip on approximately equally spaced faults. Variations in M along the segments follow variations in petrologic indicators of mantle melt fraction, both showing a preferred length scale of 50 ± 20 km that persists even along much longer ridge segments. In comparison, mean M and axial relief fail to show significant correlations with distance offsetting the segments. These two findings suggest a form of magmatic segmentation that is partially decoupled from the geometry of the plate boundary. We hypothesize this magmatic segmentation arises from cells of buoyantly upwelling mantle that influence tectonic segmentation from the mantle, up.
Interplay between faults and lava flows in construction of the upper oceanic crust : the East Pacific Rise crest 9°25′–9°58′N

(American Geophysical Union, 2007-06-07) Escartin, Javier E. ; Soule, Samuel A. ; Fornari, Daniel J. ; Tivey, Maurice A. ; Schouten, Hans A. ; Perfit, Michael R.

The distribution of faults and fault characteristics along the East Pacific Rise (EPR) crest between 9°25′N and 9°58′N were studied using high-resolution side-scan sonar data and near-bottom bathymetric profiles. The resulting analysis shows important variations in the density of deformational features and tectonic strain estimates at young seafloor relative to older, sediment-covered seafloor of the same spreading age. We estimate that the expression of tectonic deformation and associated strain on “old” seafloor is ~5 times greater than that on “young” seafloor, owing to the frequent fault burial by recent lava flows. Thus the unseen, volcanically overprinted tectonic deformation may contribute from 30% to 100% of the ~300 m of subsidence required to fully build up the extrusive pile (Layer 2A). Many longer lava flows (greater than ~1 km) dam against inward facing fault scarps. This limits their length at distances of 1–2 km, which are coincident with where the extrusive layer acquires its full thickness. More than 2% of plate separation at the EPR is accommodated by brittle deformation, which consists mainly of inward facing faults (~70%). Faulting at the EPR crest occurs within the narrow, ~4 km wide upper crust that behaves as a brittle lid overlying the axial magma chamber. Deformation at greater distances off axis (up to 40 km) is accommodated by flexure of the lithosphere due to thermal subsidence, resulting in ~50% inward facing faults accommodating ~50% of the strain. On the basis of observed burial of faults by lava flows and damming of flows by fault scarps, we find that the development of Layer 2A is strongly controlled by low-relief growth faults that form at the ridge crest and its upper flanks. In turn, those faults have a profound impact on how lava flows are distributed along and across the ridge crest.
Lucky Strike seamount : implications for the emplacement and rifting of segment-centered volcanoes at slow spreading mid-ocean ridges

(John Wiley & Sons, 2014-11-07) Escartin, Javier E. ; Soule, Samuel A. ; Cannat, Mathilde ; Fornari, Daniel J. ; Dusunur, D. ; Garcia, Rafael

The history of emplacement, tectonic evolution, and dismemberment of a central volcano within the rift valley of the slow spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the Lucky Strike Segment is deduced using near-bottom sidescan sonar imagery and visual observations. Volcano emplacement is rapid (<1 Myr), associated with focused eruptions, and with effusion rates feeding lava flows that bury tectonic features developed prior to and during volcano construction. This volcanic phase likely requires efficient melt pooling and a long-lived crustal magma chamber as a melt source. A reduction in melt supply triggers formation of an axial graben rifting the central volcano, and the onset of seafloor spreading may eventually split it. At Lucky Strike, this results in two modes of crustal construction. Eruptions and tectonic activity focus at a narrow graben that bisects the central volcano and contains the youngest lava flows, accumulating a thick layer of extrusives. Away from the volcano summit, deformation and volcanic emplacement is distributed throughout the rift valley floor, lacking a clear locus of accretion and deformation. Volcanic emplacement on the rift floor is characterized by axial volcanic ridges fed by dikes that propagate from the central axial magma chamber. The mode of rapid volcano construction and subsequent rifting observed at the Lucky Strike seamount is common at other central volcanoes along the global mid-ocean ridge system.
Integrating Multidisciplinary Observations in Vent Environments (IMOVE): decadal progress in deep-sea observatories at hydrothermal vents

(Frontiers Media, 2022-05-13) Matabos, Marjolaine ; Barreyre, Thibaut ; Juniper, S. Kim ; Cannat, Mathilde ; Kelley, Deborah S. ; Alfaro-Lucas, Joan M. ; Chavagnac, Valerie ; Colaço, Ana ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Escobar Briones, Elva ; Fornari, Daniel J. ; Hasenclever, Jörg ; Huber, Julie A. ; Laës-Huon, Agathe ; Lantéri, Nadine ; Levin, Lisa A. ; Mihaly, Steven F. ; Mittelstaedt, Eric ; Pradillon, Florence ; Sarradin, Pierre-Marie ; Sarradin, Pierre-Marie ; Sarrazin, Jozée ; Tomasi, Beatrice ; Venkatesan, Ramasamy ; Vic, Clément

The unique ecosystems and biodiversity associated with mid-ocean ridge (MOR) hydrothermal vent systems contrast sharply with surrounding deep-sea habitats, however both may be increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activity (e.g., mining activities at massive sulphide deposits). Climate change can alter the deep-sea through increased bottom temperatures, loss of oxygen, and modifications to deep water circulation. Despite the potential of these profound impacts, the mechanisms enabling these systems and their ecosystems to persist, function and respond to oceanic, crustal, and anthropogenic forces remain poorly understood. This is due primarily to technological challenges and difficulties in accessing, observing and monitoring the deep-sea. In this context, the development of deep-sea observatories in the 2000s focused on understanding the coupling between sub-surface flow and oceanic and crustal conditions, and how they influence biological processes. Deep-sea observatories provide long-term, multidisciplinary time-series data comprising repeated observations and sampling at temporal resolutions from seconds to decades, through a combination of cabled, wireless, remotely controlled, and autonomous measurement systems. The three existing vent observatories are located on the Juan de Fuca and Mid-Atlantic Ridges (Ocean Observing Initiative, Ocean Networks Canada and the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory). These observatories promote stewardship by defining effective environmental monitoring including characterizing biological and environmental baseline states, discriminating changes from natural variations versus those from anthropogenic activities, and assessing degradation, resilience and recovery after disturbance. This highlights the potential of observatories as valuable tools for environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the context of climate change and other anthropogenic activities, primarily ocean mining. This paper provides a synthesis on scientific advancements enabled by the three observatories this last decade, and recommendations to support future studies through international collaboration and coordination. The proposed recommendations include: i) establishing common global scientific questions and identification of Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) specific to MORs, ii) guidance towards the effective use of observatories to support and inform policies that can impact society, iii) strategies for observatory infrastructure development that will help standardize sensors, data formats and capabilities, and iv) future technology needs and common sampling approaches to answer today’s most urgent and timely questions.
Hydrothermally-induced melt lens cooling and segmentation along the axis of fast- and intermediate-spreading centers

(American Geophysical Union, 2011-07-28) Fontaine, Fabrice J. ; Olive, Jean-Arthur L. ; Cannat, Mathilde ; Escartin, Javier E. ; Perol, Thibaut

The heat output and thermal regime of fast and intermediate spreading centers are strongly controlled by boundary layer processes between the hydrothermal system and the underlying crustal magma chamber (AMC), which remain to be fully understood. Here, we model the interactions between a shallow two-dimensional cellular hydrothermal system at temperatures <700°C, and a deeper AMC at temperatures up to 1200°C. We show that hydrothermal cooling can freeze the AMC in years to decades, unless melt injections occur on commensurate timescales. Moreover, the differential cooling between upflow and downflow zones can segment the AMC into mush and melt regions that alternate on sub-kilometric length scales. These predictions are consistent with along-axis variations in AMC roof depth observed in ophiolites and oceanic settings. In this respect, fine-scale geophysical investigations of the structure of AMCs may help constrain hydrothermal recharge locations associated with active hydrothermal sites.

Escartin Javier E.

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