Tolstoy M, Cowen JP, Baker ET, Fornari DJ, Rubin KH, Shank TM, Waldhauser F, Bohnenstiehl DR, Forsyth DW, Holmes RC, Love B, Perfit MR, Weekly RT, Soule SA, Glazer B. A sea-floor spreading event captured by seismometers.
Science 2006;
314:1920-2. [PMID:
17124289 DOI:
10.1126/science.1133950]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Two-thirds of Earth's surface is formed at mid-ocean ridges, yet sea-floor spreading events are poorly understood because they occur far beneath the ocean surface. At 9 degrees 50'N on the East Pacific Rise, ocean-bottom seismometers recently recorded the microearthquake character of a mid-ocean ridge eruption, including precursory activity. A gradual ramp-up in activity rates since seismic monitoring began at this site in October 2003 suggests that eruptions may be forecast in the fast-spreading environment. The pattern culminates in an intense but brief (approximately 6-hour) inferred diking event on 22 January 2006, followed by rapid tapering to markedly decreased levels of seismicity.
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