En echelon axial volcanic ridges at the Reykjanes Ridge: a life cycle of volcanism and tectonics

Physics

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Scientific paper

New deep-towed sidescan records and multibeam bathymetric data along the Reykjanes Ridge allow us to assess the varying thermal effect of the Icelandic hotspot. The increasing predominance of faulting speculated to be derived from mantle upwelling and outflow over simple extensional neotectonics is traced from northeast to southwest. Numerous en echelon volcanic ridges built along the plate boundary are seen in various stages of growth and decay, and a ``cycle'' of alternating construction and dismemberment is proposed. Unfaulted, short, narrow, lensoid ridges, occasionally in small groups are interpreted as immature and developing axial volcanic ridges. Broad convex-flanked ridges appear to be mature sites of volcanic construction where the magma supply has been maintained. Narrow, ``bow''-form ridges, occasionally with rectilinear flanks, represent axial volcanic ridges which have ceased construction and are in initial stages of disaggregation. Isolated polygonal blocks, generally seen off-axis represent the most advanced stage of dismantling of the surface crustal accretionary features. While this cyclicity is speculated to be related to periodic magmatic and tectonic focusing and defocusing along the axis due to the restricted magma supply at this slow spreading ridge, it is recognised that this needs modelling. Although the oblique spreading of the Reykjanes Ridge allows one to clearly distinguish between structures attributable to plate spreading from those related to small-scale accretionary processes, we propose that the major processes identified in this study are directly applicable to all slow-spreading sections of mid-ocean ridges.

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