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)

View/ Open
Date
2006-07-27Author
Lucazeau, Francis
Concept link
Bonneville, Alain
Concept link
Escartin, Javier E.
Concept link
von Herzen, Richard P.
Concept link
Gouze, Philippe
Concept link
Carton, Helene
Concept link
Cannat, Mathilde
Concept link
Vidal, Valerie
Concept link
Adam, Claudia
Concept link
Metadata
Show full item recordCitable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/1210As published
https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GC001178DOI
10.1029/2005GC001178Keyword
Heat flow; Mid-Atlantic RidgeAbstract
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.
Description
Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2006. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 7 (2006): Q07011, doi:10.1029/2005GC001178.
Collections
Suggested Citation
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 7 (2006): Q07011Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Crustal structure of the Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse (TAG) segment (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 26°10′N) : implications for the nature of hydrothermal circulation and detachment faulting at slow spreading ridges
Canales, J. Pablo; Sohn, Robert A.; deMartin, Brian J. (American Geophysical Union, 2007-08-09)New seismic refraction data reveal that hydrothermal circulation at the Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse (TAG) hydrothermal field on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 26°10′N is not driven by energy extracted from shallow or mid-crustal ... -
Interannual variability in the pathways of the North Atlantic Current over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the impact of topography
Bower, Amy S.; von Appen, Wilken-Jon (American Meteorological Society, 2008-01)Recent studies have indicated that the North Atlantic Ocean subpolar gyre circulation undergoes significant interannual-to-decadal changes in response to variability in atmospheric forcing. There are also observations, ... -
Nutrients and iron in shipboard aerosol and rain samples collected during R/V Hugh R. Sharp cruise HRS1414 in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and northern South-Atlantic Bight from July to August of 2014 (DANCE project)
Sedwick, Peter N.; Mulholland, Margaret; Najjar, Raymond (Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). Contact: bco-dmo-data@whoi.edu, 2019-08-15)Shipboard aerosol and rain samples were collected during R/V Hugh R. Sharp cruise HRS1414 offshore in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and northern South-Atlantic Bight from July to August of 2014. Samples were analyzed for nutrients ...