ALBERT

Beschreibung: At the Blanco transform fault system (BTFS) off Oregon, 138 local earthquakes and 84 double-couple focal mechanisms from ocean-bottom-seismometer recordings jointly discussed with bathymetric features reveal a highly segmented transform system without prominent fracture zone traces longer than 100 km. In the west, seismicity is focused at deep troughs (i.e., the West and East Blanco, and Surveyor Depressions). In the east, the BTFS lacks a characteristic transform valley and instead developed the Blanco Ridge, which is the most seismically active feature, showing strike-slip and dip-slip faulting. Sandwiched between the two main segments of the BTFS is the Cascadia depression, representing a short intra-transform spreading segment. Seismic slip vectors reveal that stresses at the eastern BTFS are roughly in line with plate motion. In contrast, stresses to the west are clockwise skewed, indicating ongoing reorganization of the OTF system. As we observed no prominent fracture zones at the BTFS, plate tectonic reconstructions suggest that the BTFS developed from non-transform offsets rather than pre-existing transform faults during a series of ridge propagation events. Our observations suggest that the BTFS can be divided into two oceanic transform systems. The eastern BTFS is suggested to be a mature transform plate boundary since ∼0.6 Ma. In contrast, the western BTFS is an immature transform system, which is still evolving to accommodate far-field stress change. The BTFS acts as a natural laboratory to yield processes governing the development of oceanic transform faults. Key Points Local seismicity of the Blanco transform fault system (BTFS) reveals along-strike variations dominated by strike-slip and oblique dip-slip The BTFS developed from non-transform offsets rather than discrete transform faults in response to plate rotation and ridge propagation The BTFS consists of a mature plate boundary in the east and an immature system in the west, separated by a central spreading center

Beschreibung: Oceanic transform faults (OTFs) are an inherent part of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics, whereas the process controlling their morphology remains enigmatic. Here, we systematically quantify variations in transform morphology and their dependence on spreading rate and age-offset, based on a compilation of shipborne bathymetric data from 94 OTFs at ultraslow- to intermediate-spreading ridges. In general, the length, width and depth of OTFs scale systematically better with age-offset rather than spreading rate. This observation supports recent geodynamic models proposing that cross-transform extension scaling with age-offset, is a key process of transform dynamics. On the global scale, OTFs with larger age-offsets tend to have longer, wider, and deeper valleys. However, at small age-offsets (〈5 Myr), scatters in the depth and width of OTFs increase, indicating that small age-offset OTFs with weak lithospheric strength are easily affected by secondary tectonic processes.