Abyssal hill topography as an indicator of episodicity in crustal accretion and deformation
Malinverno, A.; Pockalny, R.A. (1990). Abyssal hill topography as an indicator of episodicity in crustal accretion and deformation. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 99(1-2): 154-169
In: Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Elsevier: Amsterdam. ISSN 0012-821X; e-ISSN 1385-013X, more
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| Keywords |
Accretion > Crustal accretion
Deformation
Earth history
Magma
Mid-ocean ridges
Tectonics
Topographic features
Topographic features > Submarine features
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| Authors | | Top |
- Malinverno, A.
- Pockalny, R.A.
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| Abstract |
Recent studies of seafloor morphology suggest that abyssal hills are created at the ridge axis by the interplay of magmatic and tectonic processes; therefore, abyssal hills should be ideal indicators of episodicity. In this study, we use abyssal hill topography created near the ridge axis and subsequently transported onto the ridge flanks as a time series reflecting the episodicity in magmatism/tectonism at the ridge axis. If the creation of an abyssal hill is viewed as a discrete event, we can parameterize episodicity by considering a sequence of events of magnitude M (proportional to the relief or cross-sectional area of a hill) separated by time intervals Delta t (proportional to the spacing between hills). This analysis will allow us to decide if abyssal hills are periodic or if they are randomly distributed in time as a Poisson process. Ten profiles 200-1000 km long of unaveraged centerbeam Sea Beam, located along flowlines and covering a range of spreading rates (15-60 km/Ma half-rate), were used to measure locations and characteristics of the relief (cross-sectional area and height) of abyssal hills. |
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