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    Upper crustal evolution across the Juan de Fuca ridge flanks

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    2008GC002085.pdf (5.147Mb)
    Date
    2008-09-30
    Author
    Nedimovic, Mladen R.  Concept link
    Carbotte, Suzanne M.  Concept link
    Diebold, John B.  Concept link
    Harding, Alistair J.  Concept link
    Canales, J. Pablo  Concept link
    Kent, Graham M.  Concept link
    Metadata
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    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/3282
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GC002085
    DOI
    10.1029/2008GC002085
    Keyword
     Upper crustal evolution; Multichannel seismics; Traveltime modeling; Reflection imaging; Juan de Fuca ridge flanks 
    Abstract
    Recent P wave velocity compilations of the oceanic crust indicate that the velocity of the uppermost layer 2A doubles or reaches ∼4.3 km/s found in mature crust in <10 Ma after crustal formation. This velocity change is commonly attributed to precipitation of low-temperature alteration minerals within the extrusive rocks associated with ridge-flank hydrothermal circulation. Sediment blanketing, acting as a thermal insulator, has been proposed to further accelerate layer 2A evolution by enhancing mineral precipitation. We carried out 1-D traveltime modeling on common midpoint supergathers from our 2002 Juan de Fuca ridge multichannel seismic data to determine upper crustal structure at ∼3 km intervals along 300 km long transects crossing the Endeavor, Northern Symmetric, and Cleft ridge segments. Our results show a regional correlation between upper crustal velocity and crustal age. The measured velocity increase with crustal age is not uniform across the investigated ridge flanks. For the ridge flanks blanketed with a sealing sedimentary cover, the velocity increase is double that observed on the sparsely and discontinuously sedimented flanks (∼60% increase versus ∼28%) over the same crustal age range of 5–9 Ma. Extrapolation of velocity-age gradients indicates that layer 2A velocity reaches 4.3 km/s by ∼8 Ma on the sediment blanketed flanks compared to ∼16 Ma on the flanks with thin and discontinuous sediment cover. The computed thickness gradients show that layer 2A does not thin and disappear in the Juan de Fuca region with increasing crustal age or sediment blanketing but persists as a relatively low seismic velocity layer capping the deeper oceanic crust. However, layer 2A on the fully sedimented ridge-flank sections is on average thinner than on the sparsely and discontinuously sedimented flanks (330 ± 80 versus 430 ± 80 m). The change in thickness occurs over a 10–20 km distance coincident with the onset of sediment burial. Our results also suggest that propagator wakes can have atypical layer 2A thickness and velocity. Impact of propagator wakes is evident in the chemical signature of the fluids sampled by ODP drill holes along the east Endeavor transect, providing further indication that these crustal discontinuities may be sites of localized fluid flow and alteration.
    Description
    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2008. 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 9 (2008): Q09006, doi:10.1029/2008GC002085.
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    • Geology and Geophysics (G&G)
    Suggested Citation
    Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 9 (2008): Q09006
     

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