Seismicity of the Arctic mid-ocean Ridge system

Abstract In this article, we investigate the influence of the Arctic mid-ocean ridge system (AMORS), including the Gakkel and Mohns ridges, and the Knipovich ridge–Lena trough (KL) segment, on seismicity of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago area (NZ) and the northernmost margin of the East-European Platform (EEP) for 1980–2019. For each individual area, the annual seismic energy was obtained by adding the energies of all earthquakes. To do this, we have converted various types of magnitude by different seismic networks into moment magnitude Mw. We compiled the updated catalog for the NZ, the northern EEP, and the northern part of the Ural fold belt (UFB). As a result, we constructed time distributions of annual seismic energy releases for each composing ridges of AMORS, NZ, and EEP combined with UFB. A model based on the Elsasser’s one describing the transfer of lithospheric stress disturbances in the horizontal direction was built, and quantitative calculations of the disturbance propagations from AMORS were performed. Results are in good agreement with the annual seismic energy time lags between rifts and NZ and EEP together with the UFB. We calculated correlation coefficients between the seismic energy releases over the time for the structures, enabling identification of the characteristic excitation cycles and estimation of the interval of disturbance transfer from AMORS. As a result, disturbances from the Gakkel ridge appear 3 yr later in NZ, from the KL segment in 4 yr, and from the Mona ridge in 8 yr. For the EEP + UBF combined area, we found the following disturbances spreading lags as 7 yr for the Mona ridge, 4 yr for the KL segment, and 5 yr for the Gakkel ridge. The obtained damping amplitudes of the disturbance spreading from the arctic ridges are sufficient to affect the intraplate seismic activity.

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A subduction influence on ocean ridge basalts outside the Pacific subduction shield

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-25027-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

A. Y. Yang ◽

C. H. Langmuir ◽

Y. Cai ◽

P. Michael ◽

S. L. Goldstein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Upper Mantle ◽

The Arctic ◽

Mantle Flow ◽

Mantle Heterogeneity ◽

Gakkel Ridge ◽

The Pacific ◽

Mid Ocean Ridge ◽

The Pacific Ocean ◽

Back Arc ◽

Ocean Ridge

AbstractThe plate tectonic cycle produces chemically distinct mid-ocean ridge basalts and arc volcanics, with the latter enriched in elements such as Ba, Rb, Th, Sr and Pb and depleted in Nb owing to the water-rich flux from the subducted slab. Basalts from back-arc basins, with intermediate compositions, show that such a slab flux can be transported behind the volcanic front of the arc and incorporated into mantle flow. Hence it is puzzling why melts of subduction-modified mantle have rarely been recognized in mid-ocean ridge basalts. Here we report the first mid-ocean ridge basalt samples with distinct arc signatures, akin to back-arc basin basalts, from the Arctic Gakkel Ridge. A new high precision dataset for 576 Gakkel samples suggests a pervasive subduction influence in this region. This influence can also be identified in Atlantic and Indian mid-ocean ridge basalts but is nearly absent in Pacific mid-ocean ridge basalts. Such a hemispheric-scale upper mantle heterogeneity reflects subduction modification of the asthenospheric mantle which is incorporated into mantle flow, and whose geographical distribution is controlled dominantly by a “subduction shield” that has surrounded the Pacific Ocean for 180 Myr. Simple modeling suggests that a slab flux equivalent to ~13% of the output at arcs is incorporated into the convecting upper mantle.

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Carbon Fluxes and Primary Magma CO2Contents Along the Global Mid‐Ocean Ridge System

Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems ◽

10.1029/2018gc007630 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 1387-1424 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Marion Le Voyer ◽

Erik H. Hauri ◽

Elizabeth Cottrell ◽

Katherine A. Kelley ◽

Vincent J. M. Salters ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Fluxes ◽

Primary Magma ◽

Mid Ocean Ridge ◽

Ocean Ridge ◽

Ridge System

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Rhabdothermus arcticus gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the family Thermaceae isolated from a hydrothermal vent chimney in the Soria Moria vent field on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY ◽

10.1099/ijs.0.027839-0 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 61 (9) ◽

pp. 2197-2204 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Bjørn O. Steinsbu ◽

Brian J. Tindall ◽

Vigdis L. Torsvik ◽

Ingunn H. Thorseth ◽

Frida L. Daae ◽

...

Keyword(s):

The Arctic ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Organic Substrates ◽

Mid Ocean Ridge ◽

The Family ◽

Optimum Ph ◽

Casamino Acids ◽

Ocean Ridge ◽

Complex Organic ◽

Acetate Butyrate

A novel thermophilic member of the family Thermaceae, designated strain 2M70-1T, was isolated from the wall of an active white smoker chimney collected in the Soria Moria vent field at 71 °N in the Norwegian–Greenland Sea. Cells of the strain were Gram-negative, non-motile rods. Growth was observed at 37–75 °C (optimum 65 °C), at pH 6–8 (optimum pH 7.3) and in 1–5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 2.5–3.5 %). The isolate was aerobic but could also grow anaerobically using nitrate or elemental sulfur as electron acceptors. The strain was obligately heterotrophic, growing on complex organic substrates like yeast extract, Casamino acids, tryptone and peptone. Pyruvate, acetate, butyrate, sucrose, rhamnose and maltodextrin were used as complementary substrates. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 68 mol%. Cells possessed characteristic phospholipids and glycolipids. Major fatty acids constituted saturated and unsaturated iso-branched and saturated anteiso-branched forms. Menaquinone 8 was the sole respiratory lipoquinone. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences placed the strain in the family Thermaceae in the phylum ‘Deinococcus–Thermus’, which is consistent with the chemotaxonomic data. On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic data, strain 2M70-1T ( = JCM 15963T = DSM 22268T) represents the type strain of a novel species of a novel genus, for which the name Rhabdothermus arcticus gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed.

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Benthic Communities on the Mohn’s Treasure Mound: Implications for Management of Seabed Mining in the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2020.00490 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Author(s):

Eva Ramirez-Llodra ◽

Ana Hilario ◽

Emil Paulsen ◽

Carolina Ventura Costa ◽

Torkild Bakken ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Benthic Communities ◽

The Arctic ◽

Mid Ocean Ridge ◽

Ocean Ridge ◽

Seabed Mining

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Simultaneous Leaching of Seafloor Massive Sulfides and Polymetallic Nodules

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min9080482 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 482 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Przemyslaw Kowalczuk ◽

Hassan Bouzahzah ◽

Rolf Kleiv ◽

Kurt Aasly

Keyword(s):

Industrial Applications ◽

The Arctic ◽

Central Pacific ◽

Massive Sulfides ◽

Central Pacific Ocean ◽

Polymetallic Nodules ◽

Mid Ocean Ridge ◽

Different Types ◽

Loki’S Castle ◽

Ocean Ridge

Simultaneous leaching of seafloor massive sulfides (SMS) from Loki’s Castle on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge (AMOR) and polymetallic nodules (PN) from Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Central Pacific Ocean was studied. Leaching tests were conducted using sulfuric acid and sodium chloride, at a temperature of 80 °C for 48 h under reflux. The effect of PN-to-SMS ratio was examined. It was shown that simultaneous leaching of two different types of marine resources was possible resulting in high dissolution rates of metals. The proposed process has many advantages as it does not require pyrometallurgical pretreatment, and yields solid products (i.e., silica, barite, elemental sulfur, albite, microcline, muscovite), which might be utilized for various industrial applications.

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Crustal structure near the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres ◽

10.1029/jb087ib03p01773 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 87 (B3) ◽

pp. 1773 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

H. R. Jackson ◽

I. Reid ◽

R. K. H. Falconer

Keyword(s):

Crustal Structure ◽

The Arctic ◽

Mid Ocean Ridge ◽

Ocean Ridge

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Microbial diversity of Loki's Castle black smokers at the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

Geobiology ◽

10.1111/gbi.12009 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 548-561 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

A. Jaeschke ◽

S. L. Jørgensen ◽

S. M. Bernasconi ◽

R. B. Pedersen ◽

I. H. Thorseth ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Diversity ◽

The Arctic ◽

Mid Ocean Ridge ◽

Black Smokers ◽

Loki’S Castle ◽

Ocean Ridge

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Melvicalathis, a new brachiopod genus (Terebratulida: Chlidonophoridae) fromdeep sea volcanic substrates, and the biogeographic significance of the mid-oceanridge system

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.1866.1.6 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 1866 (1) ◽

pp. 136 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

DAPHNE E. LEE ◽

MURRAY R. GREGORY ◽

CARSTEN LÜTER ◽

OLGA N. ZEZINA ◽

JEFFREY H. ROBINSON ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Deep Sea ◽

New Genus ◽

Significant Component ◽

Ocean Ridges ◽

Southeast Indian Ridge ◽

Mid Ocean Ridge ◽

History Of ◽

Cryptic Habitats ◽

Ocean Ridge ◽

Ridge System

Brachiopods form a small but significant component of the deep-sea benthos in all oceans. Almost half of the 40 brachiopod species so far described from depths greater than 2000 m are small, short-looped terebratulides assigned to two superfamilies, Terebratuloidea and Cancellothyridoidea. In this study we describe Melvicalathis, a new genus of cancellothyridoid brachiopod (Family Chlidonophoridae; Subfamily Eucalathinae) from ocean ridge localities in the south and southeast Pacific Ocean, and cryptic habitats within lava caves in glassy basalt dredged from the Southeast Indian Ridge, Indian Ocean. These small, punctate, strongly-ribbed, highly spiculate brachiopods occur at depths between 2009 m and 4900 m, and appear to be primary colonisers on the inhospitable volcanic rock substrate. The ecology and life-history of Melvicalathis and related deep-sea brachiopods are discussed. Brachiopods are rarely reported from the much-studied but localised hydrothermal vent faunas of the mid ocean ridge systems. They are, however, widespread members of a poorly known deep-sea benthos of attached, suspension-feeding epibionts that live along the rarely sampled basalt substrates associated with mid-ocean ridge systems. We suggest that these basalt rocks of the mid-ocean ridge system act as deep-sea “superhighways” for certain groups of deep-sea animals, including brachiopods, along which they may migrate and disperse. Although the mid-ocean ridges form the most extensive, continuous, essentially uniform habitat on Earth, their biogeographic significance may not have been fully appreciated.

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