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- Title
Modification of Along‐Ridge Topography and Crustal Thickness by Mantle Plume and Oceanic Transform Fault at Ultra‐Slow Spreading Mohns Ridge.
- Authors
Zhang, Yinuo; Zhang, Fan; Zhang, Xubo; Zhang, Tao; Lin, Jian; Zhou, Zhiyuan; Zhang, Jiangyang
- Abstract
The mantle plumes modify geophysical and geochemical features along and across mid‐ocean ridges. Despite abundant studies of plume‐ridge interaction, few geodynamic studies focus on the Arctic Ocean. The Jan Mayen Hotspot is located at the southern end of the Mohns Ridge and offset by the Jan Mayen Transform Fault, which creates an ideal area to study plume‐ridge‐transform fault interaction at the ultra‐slow spreading ridge. Through analyzing geophysical observations, we revealed that the M factor and crustal thickness decrease and the axial relief increases northeastward along the Mohns Ridge within a distance of ∼370 km to the Jan Mayen Hotspot. Combined with modeling results, the properties of the Jan Mayen plume were estimated, which has a diameter of 75 km, a temperature anomaly of 100°C, and a buoyancy flux of 0.22 Mg/s. Additionally, our model results indicate that the along‐ridge dispersion of plume is slightly enhanced by the transform fault. Plain Language Summary: Mid‐ocean ridges are places in the ocean where the Earth's plates separate and new crust is formed. Hotspots and oceanic transform faults modify the seafloor topography and chemical composition of the igneous crust. In the Arctic Ocean, the Mohns Ridge is located between 70°N and 74°N, with the nearby Jan Mayen Hotspot and Jan Mayen Transform Fault to the south, making it a natural laboratory for the investigation of plume‐ridge‐transform interaction. This study combines different types of geophysical data and numerical models to quantify how plumes and transform faults influence the seafloor topography and crustal structure at the ultra‐slow spreading Mohns Ridge. The findings reveal that the Jan Mayen mantle plume affects the seafloor togography and crustal thickness over several hundreds of kilometers along the Mohns Ridge. The presence of an oceanic transform fault above the mantle plume reduces the thermal anomaly for adjacent ridge segments but enhances the along‐ridge plume dispersion. By comparing the observed data with model results, the properties (i.e., diameter, temperature amomaly, and buoyancy flux) of the Jan Mayen mantle plume were estimated. This study provides valuable insights into how plumes and transform faults modify ridge spreading processes. Key Points: The crustal thickness, axial relief, and the fraction of magma emplacement to plate separation (M) along the Mohns Ridge are calculatedNumerical models estimate a diameter of 75 km, a thermal anomaly of 100°C, and a buoyancy flux of 0.22 Mg/s for the Jan Mayen mantle plumePlume‐ridge interactions affect along‐ridge topography and crustal thickness, and transform faults could enhance the interaction distance
- Subjects
MANTLE plumes; MID-ocean ridges; SUBMARINE topography; TOPOGRAPHY; GEOPHYSICAL observations; BUOYANCY
- Publication
Geophysical Research Letters, 2023, Vol 50, Issue 23, p1
- ISSN
0094-8276
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2023GL105871