DETECTION OF HYDROTHERMAL PLUMES ON THE NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE -RESULTS FROM OPTICAL MEASUREMENTS

Citation
Cs. Chin et al., DETECTION OF HYDROTHERMAL PLUMES ON THE NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE -RESULTS FROM OPTICAL MEASUREMENTS, Earth and planetary science letters, 162(1-4), 1998, pp. 1-13
Citations number
47
Categorie Soggetti
Geochemitry & Geophysics
ISSN journal
0012821X
Volume
162
Issue
1-4
Year of publication
1998
Pages
1 - 13
Database
ISI
SICI code
0012-821X(1998)162:1-4<1:DOHPOT>2.0.ZU;2-X
Abstract
Several water column surveys conducted on the northern Mid-Atlantic Ri dge have been instrumental in the discovery of three new hydrothermal venting sites, and seven other active segments. Hydrothermal sources h ave yet to be pinpointed in six of these segments. In this study, the observed frequency of high-temperature venting from 23 degrees N to 41 degrees N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), a distance of approximatel y 1900 km, is one venting system per 150 km of ridge. Combining these data with those of other investigators for the region from 12 degrees N to 41 degrees N leads to an approximate venting frequency of one sit e per 90 km of ridge, although venting frequencies on sections of the MAR within this region are as high as one site per 25 km. To support t his frequency of venting, and considering the larger dimensions of the MAR rift valley, the ratio of axial to off-axis heat loss must be hig her on the MAR than on faster spreading ridges. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.