Examining the effects of mid ocean ridge topography on 3D marine magnetometric resistivity model responses

Abstract

Methods which measure seafloor resistivity are uniquely suited to studying hydrothermal circulation in the crust. The magnetometric resistivity (MMR) technique is a galvanic method which uses a bipole current source with a magnetometer receiver. The resistivity of the subsurface can be estimated from the magnetic field read in MMR. In order to analyze and invert MMR data taken near Mid Ocean Ridges, it is important to understand the effects of ridge topography on MMR models. To analyze these effects a 3D MMR forward modeling program MMR3D_fwd is used to model Mid Ocean Ridges with varying slopes, resistivities, and source/receiver geometries. The modeled magnetic fields are compared with models with a flat seafloor to determine the impact of the ridge topography. Results show that for some of the ridges modeled, the effects of the topography were significant, suggesting that in some instances it is important to include ridge topography in forward models to obtain accurate results from data inversion.