ALBERT

Description: Microbathymetry data, in situ observations, and sampling along the 138200N and 138200N oceanic core complexes (OCCs) reveal mechanisms of detachment fault denudation at the seafloor, links between tectonic extension and mass wasting, and expose the nature of corrugations, ubiquitous at OCCs. In the initial stages of detachment faulting and high-angle fault, scarps show extensive mass wasting that reduces their slope. Flexural rotation further lowers scarp slope, hinders mass wasting, resulting in morphologically complex chaotic terrain between the breakaway and the denuded corrugated surface. Extension and drag along the fault plane uplifts a wedge of hangingwall material (apron). The detachment surface emerges along a continuous moat that sheds rocks and covers it with unconsolidated rubble, while local slumping emplaces rubble ridges overlying corrugations. The detachment fault zone is a set of anostomosed slip planes, elongated in the alongextension direction. Slip planes bind fault rock bodies defining the corrugations observed in microbathymetry and sonar. Fault planes with extension-parallel stria are exposed along corrugation flanks, where the rubble cover is shed. Detachment fault rocks are primarily basalt fault breccia at 138200N OCC, and gabbro and peridotite at 138300N, demonstrating that brittle strain localization in shallow lithosphere form corrugations, regardless of lithologies in the detachment zone. Finally, faulting and volcanism dismember the 138300N OCC, with widespread present and past hydrothermal activity (Semenov fields), while the Irinovskoe hydrothermal field at the 138200N core complex suggests a magmatic source within the footwall. These results confirm the ubiquitous relationship between hydrothermal activity and oceanic detachment formation and evolution.

Description: The relationships between tectonic processes, magmatism, and hydrothermal venting along ∼600 km of the slow-spreading Mariana back-arc between 12.7°N and 18.3°N reveal a number of similarities and differences compared to slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges. Analysis of the volcanic geomorphology and structure highlights the complexity of the back-arc spreading center. Here, ridge segmentation is controlled by large-scale basement structures that appear to predate back-arc rifting. These structures also control the orientation of the chains of cross-arc volcanoes that characterize this region. Segment-scale faulting is oriented perpendicular to the spreading direction, allowing precise spreading directions to be determined. Four morphologically distinct segment types are identified: dominantly magmatic segments (Type I); magmatic segments currently undergoing tectonic extension (Type II); dominantly tectonic segments (Type III); and tectonic segments currently undergoing magmatic extension (Type IV). Variations in axial morphology (including eruption styles, neovolcanic eruption volumes, and faulting) reflect magma supply, which is locally enhanced by cross-arc volcanism associated with N-S compression along the 16.5°N and 17.0°N segments. In contrast, cross-arc seismicity is associated with N-S extension and increased faulting along the 14.5°N segment, with structures that are interpreted to be oceanic core complexes—the first with high-resolution bathymetry described in an active back-arc basin. Hydrothermal venting associated with recent magmatism has been discovered along all segment types.

Description: The Woodlark Basin is one of the rare places on earth where the transition from continental breakup to seafloor spreading can be observed. The potential juxtaposition of continental rocks, a large magmatic heat source, crustal-scale faulting, and hydrothermal circulation has made the Woodlark Basin a prime target for seafloor mineral exploration. However, over the past 20 years, only two locations of active hydrothermalism had been found. In 2009 we surveyed 435 km of the spreading axis for the presence of hydrothermal plumes. Only one additional plume was found, bringing the total number of plumes known over 520 km of ridge axis to only 3, much less than at ridges with similar spreading rates globally. Particularly the western half of the basin (280 km of axis) is apparently devoid of high temperature plumes despite having thick crust and a presumably high magmatic budget. This paucity of hydrothermal activity may be related to the peculiar tectonic setting at Woodlark, where repeated ridge jumps and a re-location of the rotation pole both lead to axial magmatism being more widely distributed than at many other, more mature and stable mid-ocean ridges. These factors could inhibit the development of both a stable magmatic heat source and the deeply penetrating faults needed to create long-lived hydrothermal systems. We conclude that large seafloor massive sulfide deposits, potential targets for seafloor mineral exploration, will probably not be present along the spreading axis of the Woodlark Basin, especially in its younger, western portion.

Description: Serpentinized peridotite and gabbronorite represent the host rocks to the active, ultramafic-hosted Logatchev hydrothermal field at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. We use trace element, δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr data from bulk rock samples and mineral separates in order to constrain the controls on the geochemical budget within the Logatchev hydrothermal system. The trace element data of serpentinized peridotite show strong compositional variations indicating a range of processes. Some peridotites experienced geochemical modifications associated with melt-rock interaction processes prior to serpentinization, which resulted in positive correlations of increasing high field strength element (HFSE) concentrations and light rare earth element (LREE) contents. Other serpentinites and lizardite mineral separates are enriched in LREE, lacking a correlation with HFSE due to interaction with high-temperature, black-smoker type fluids. The enrichment of serpentinites and lizardite separates in trace elements, as well as locally developed negative Ce-anomalies, indicate that interaction with low-T ambient seawater is another important process in the Logatchev hydrothermal system. Hence, mixing of high-T hydrothermal fluids during serpentinization and/or re-equilibration of O-isotope signatures during subsequent low-T alteration is required to explain the trace element and δ18O temperature constraints. Highly radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr signatures of serpentinite and lizardite separates provide additional evidence for interaction with seawater-derived fluids. Sparse talc alteration at the Logatchev site are most likely caused by Si-metasomatism of serpentinite associated with the emplacement of shallow gabbro intrusion(s) generating localized hydrothermal circulation. In summary the geochemistry of serpentinites from the Logatchev site document subsurface processes and the evolution of a seafloor ultramafic hydrothermal system.

Description: Key points:  First insights into the crustal structure of the northeastern Lau Basin, along a 290 km transect at 17°20’S.  Crust in southern Fonualei Rift and Spreading Center was created by extension of arc crust and variable amount of magmatism.  Magmatic underplating is present in some parts of the southern Niuafo’ou Microplate The northeastern Lau Basin is one of the fastest opening and magmatically most active back‐arc regions on Earth. Although the current pattern of plate boundaries and motions in this complex mosaic of microplates is reasonably understood, the internal structure and evolution of the back‐arc crust are not. We present new geophysical data from a 290 km long east‐west oriented transect crossing the Niuafo’ou Microplate (back‐arc), the Fonualei Rift and Spreading Centre (FRSC) and the Tofua Volcanic Arc at 17°20’S. Our P‐wave tomography model and density modelling suggests that past crustal accretion inside the southern FRSC was accommodated by a combination of arc crustal extension and magmatic activity. The absence of magnetic reversals inside the FRSC supports this and suggests that focused seafloor spreading has until now not contributed to crustal accretion. The back‐arc crust constituting the southern Niuafo’ou Microplate reveals a heterogeneous structure comprising several crustal blocks. Some regions of the back‐arc show a crustal structure similar to typical oceanic crust, suggesting they originate from seafloor spreading. Other crustal blocks resemble a structure that is similar to volcanic arc crust or a ‘hydrous’ type of oceanic crust that has been created at a spreading center influenced by slab‐derived water at distances 〈 50 km to the arc. Throughout the back‐arc region we observe a high‐velocity (Vp 7.2‐7.5 km s‐1) lower crust, which is an indication for magmatic underplating, which is likely sustained by elevated upper mantle temperatures in this region.

Description: Spreading centers in the proximity of back‐rolling subduction zones constitute an ideal natural laboratory to investigate the interaction of magmatism and tectonism during the early evolution of back‐arc basins. Using 32 days of ocean bottom seismometer data, we located 697 microeathquakes at the southern Fonualei Rift and Spreading Center (S‐FRSC). The majority of epicenters concentrate along the central region of the axial valley, marking the active ridge axis. Only odd events were associated with the prominent faults bounding the axial valley. About 450 events are spatially clustered around 17°42’S and their waveforms show a pronounced similarity. Most of these events are associated with a 138 hours lasting earthquake swarm. The tectonic structure of the ridge axis in the S‐FRSC resembles a series of left‐stepping en echelon segments, expressed at the seafloor by numerous volcanic ridges. The recorded earthquake swarm is located at the stepover of two en echelon segments suggesting that the earthquake swarm is mainly tectonically driven. The events directly beneath our seismic network indicate a maximum depth of brittle faulting down to about 14 km below the seafloor. This is within the maximum depth range of brittle faulting at ultraslow mid‐ocean ridges. Since the thickness of the brittle lithosphere is mainly controlled by temperature, our results suggest a sub‐axial thermal structure similar to that of ultraslow mid‐ocean ridges of similar opening rates.