Regional seismicity of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Observations from autonomous hydrophone arrays

Geophysical Journal International

Volumn 183, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 1559-1578

  Simao N ^a,b   Escartin J ^b   Goslin, J ^a,b   Haxel, J ^c   Cannat, M ^b   Dziak, R ^c  

^a UNIVERSITÉ EUROPÉENNE DE BRETAGNE   (France)

^b Universite de Bretagne Occidentale   (France)

^c OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Atlantic Ocean; Mid ocean ridge processes; Rheology and friction of fault zones; Seismicity and tectonics; Spatial analysis; Time series analysis

Indexed keywords

AFTERSHOCK SEQUENCE; ATLANTIC OCEAN; BOUGUER ANOMALY; DETACHMENT FAULT; DETECTION THRESHOLD; DYKE INTRUSION; HYDROPHONE ARRAYS; MAINSHOCK; MID ATLANTIC RIDGE; MID-OCEAN RIDGE PROCESSES; MID-OCEAN RIDGES; NORMAL FAULTS; REGIONAL ANALYSIS; RIDGE EARTHQUAKES; SEISMIC ACTIVITY; SEISMIC SEQUENCE; SEISMICITY AND TECTONICS; SERPENTINIZATION; SPATIAL ANALYSIS; STRAIN RELEASE; TELESEISMIC;

EARTHQUAKES; ELASTICITY; FRICTION; HYDROPHONES; OCEANOGRAPHY; REGIONAL PLANNING; RHEOLOGY; SPATIAL VARIABLES MEASUREMENT; TECTONICS; TIME SERIES; VISCOSITY;

TIME SERIES ANALYSIS;

AFTERSHOCK; BOUGUER ANOMALY; DETACHMENT FAULT; DETECTION METHOD; EARTHQUAKE MAGNITUDE; FAULT ZONE; GEOPHYSICAL ARRAY; HYDROPHONE; NORMAL FAULT; RHEOLOGY; SEISMICITY; SEISMOTECTONICS; SERPENTINIZATION; SPATIAL ANALYSIS; TELESEISMIC WAVE; TIME SERIES ANALYSIS;

ATLANTIC OCEAN; MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE;

EID: 78449280516     PISSN: 0956540X     EISSN: 1365246X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04815.x     Document Type: Article

References (92)

1. Akaike, H., 1973. Maximum likelihood identification of Gaussian autoregressive moving average models, Biometrika, 60(2), 255-265.
2. Behn, M.D. & Ito, G., 2008. Magmatic and tectonic extension at mid-ocean ridges: 1. Controls on fault characteristics, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 9(8), Q08O10, doi:.
3. Bevington, P. & Robinson, K.D., 2003. Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences, 3rd edn, McGraw-Hill, New York
4. Blackman, D.K. et al., 2002. Geology of the Atlantis massif (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30°N): implications for the evolution of an ultramafic oceanic core complex, Mar. Geophys. Res., 23(5/6), 443-469.
5. Bohnenstiehl, D.R. & Tolstoy, M., 2003. Comparison of teleseismic- and hydroacoustic-derived earthquake locations along the north-central Mid-Atlantic Ridge and equatorial East-Pacific Rise, Seismol. Res. Lett., 74(6), 790-801.
6. Bohnenstiehl, D.R., Tolstoy, M., Dziak, R.P., Fox, C.G. & Smith, D.K., 2002. Aftershock sequences in the mid-ocean ridge environment: an analysis using hydroacoustic data, Tectonophysics, 354, 49-70.
7. Bohnenstiehl, D.R., Tolstoy, M., Smith, D.K., Fox, C.G. & Dziak, R.P., 2003. Time-clustering behavior of spreading-center seismicity between 15°N and 35°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: observations from hydroacoustic monitoring, Phys. Earth planet. Int., 138, 147-161.
8. Boschi, C., Früh-Green, G.L., Delacour, A., Karson, J.A. & Kelley, D.S., 2006. Mass transfer and fluid flow during detachment faulting and development of an oceanic core complex, Atlantis massif (MAR 30°N), Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 7(1), Q01004, doi:.
9. Cannat, M. et al., 1999. Mid-Atlantic Ridge-Azores hotspot interactions: along-axis migration of a hotspot-derived event of enhanced magmatism 10 to 4 Ma ago, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 173(3), 257-269.
10. Cho, I., Tada, T. & Kuwahara, Y., 2009. Stress triggering of large earthquakes complicated by transient aseismic slip episodes, J. geophys. Res., 114(B7), B07310, doi:.
11. Davis, S.D. & Frohlich, C., 1991a. Single-link cluster analysis, synthetic earthquake catalogues, and aftershock identification, Geophys. J. Int., 104(2), 289-306.
12. Davis, S.D. & Frohlich, C., 1991b. Single-Link cluster analysis of earthquake aftershocks: decay laws and regional variations, J. geophys. Res., 96(B4), 6335-6350.
13. DeMartin, B.J., Sohn, R.A., Canales, J.P. & Humphris, S.E., 2007. Kinematics and geometry of active detachment faulting beneath the Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse (TAG) hydrothermal field on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Geology, 35(8), 711-714.
14. Desbruyères, D. et al., 2001. Variations in deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near the Azores plateau. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 48(5), 1325-1346.
15. Detrick, R.S., Needham, H.D. & Renard, V., 1995. Gravity anomalies and crustal thickness variations along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between 33°N and 40°N, J. geophys. Res., 100(B3), 3767-3787.
16. Dick, H.J.B., Tivey, M.A. & Tucholke, B.E., 2008. Plutonic foundation of a slow-spreading ridge segment: oceanic core complex at Kane megamullion, 23°30N 45°20W, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 9(5), Q05014, doi:.
17. Dieterich, J., 1994. A constitutive law for rate of earthquake production and its application to earthquake clustering, J. geophys. Res., 99(B9), 2601-2618.
18. Dziak, R., Bohnenstiehl, D., Cowen, J., Baker, E., Rubin, K., Haxel, J. & Fowler, M., 2007. Rapid dike emplacement leads to eruptions and hydrothermal plume release during seafloor spreading events, Geology, 35(7), 579-582.
19. Dziak, R.P., 2001. Empirical relationship of T-wave energy and fault parameters of northeast Pacific Ocean earthquakes, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28(13), 2537-2540.
20. Dziak, R.P. & Fox, C.G., 1999b. The January 1998 earthquake swarm at Axial Volcano, Juan de Fuca Ridge: hydroacoustic evidence of a seafloor volcanic activity., Geophys. Res. Lett., 26(23), 3429-3432.
21. Dziak, R.P., Smith, D.K., Bohnenstiehl, D.R., Fox, C.G., Desbruyeres, D., Matsumoto, H., Tolstoy, M. & Fornari, D.J., 2004a. Evidence of a recent magma dike intrusion at the slow spreading Lucky Strike segment, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, J. geophys. Res., 109(B12102), doi:.
22. Dziak, R.P. et al., 2004b. P- and T-wave detection thresholds, Pn velocity estimate, and detection of lower mantle and core P-waves on ocean sound-channel hydrophones at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 94(2), 665-677.
23. Escartín, J., Hirth, G. & Evans, B., 1997. Effects of serpentinization on the lithospheric strength and the style of normal faulting at slow-spreading ridges, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 151, 181-189.
24. Escartín, J., Cannat, M., Pouliquen, G., Rabain, A. & Lin, J., 2001a. Crustal thickness of V-shaped ridges south of the Azores: Interaction of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (36°-39°N) and the Azores hot spot, J. geophys. Res., 106(B10), 21-719-21-735.
25. Escartín, J., Hirth, G. & Evans, B., 2001b. Strength of slightly serpentinized peridotites: implications for the tectonics of oceanic lithosphere, Geology, 29(11), 1023-1026.
26. Escartín, J., Mével, C., MacLeod, C.J. & McCaig, A.M., 2003a. Constraints on deformation conditions and the origin of oceanic detachments: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge core complex at 15°45'N, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 4(8), 1067, doi:.
27. Escartín, J., Smith, D.K. & Cannat, M., 2003b. Parallel bands of seismicity at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 12-14°N, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(12), 1620, doi:.
28. Escartín, J., Smith, D.K., Cann, J., Schouten, H., Langmuir, C.H. & Escrig, S., 2008. Central role of detachment faults in accretion of slow-spreading oceanic lithosphere, Nature, 455(7214), 790-794.
29. Fox, C.G., Matsumoto, H. & Tai-Kwan, A.L., 2001. Monitoring Pacific Ocean seismicity from an autonomous hydrophone array, J. geophys. Res., 106(B3), 4183-4206.
30. Frohlich, C. & Davis, S.D., 1990. Single-link cluster analysis as a method to evaluate spatial and temporal properties of earthquake catalogues, Geophys. J. Int., 100(1), 19-32.
31. Gente, P., Mével, C., Auzende, J., Karson, J. & Fouquet, Y., 1991. An example of a recent accretion on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: the Snake Pit neovolcanic ridge (MARK area, 23°22'N), Tectonophysics, 190(1), 1-29.
32. Gente, P. et al., 1995. Characteristics and evolution of the segmentation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between 20°N and 24°N during the last 10 million years, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 129(1-4), 55-71.
33. Gente, P., Dyment, J., Maia, M. & Goslin, J., 2003. Interaction between the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Azores hot-spot during the last 85-Myr: emplacement and rifting of the hot-spot-derived plateaus, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 4(10), 8514, doi:.
34. Goslin, J. et al., 1999. Extent of Azores plume influence on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge north of the hotspot, Geology, 27(11), 991-994.
35. Goslin, J., Lourenço, N., Dziak, R.P., Bohnenstiehl, D.R., Haxel, J. & Luis, J., 2005. Long-term seismicity of the Reykjanes Ridge (North Atlantic) recorded by a regional hydrophone array, Geophys. J. Int., 162, 516-524.
36. Gutenberg, B. & Richter, C.F., 1944. Frequency of earthquakes in California, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 34(4), 185-188.
37. Haxel, J.H. & Dziak, R.P., 2005. Evidence of explosive seafloor volcanic activity from the Walvis Ridge, South Atlantic Ocean, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L13609, doi:.
38. Hooft, E.E.E., Detrick, R.S., Toomey, D.R., Collins, J.A. & Lin, J., 2000. Crustal thickness and structure along three contrasting spreading segments of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 33.5°-35°N, J. geophys. Res., 105(B4), 8205-8226.
39. Humphris, S.E., Fornari, D.J., Scheirer, D.S., German, C.R. & Parson, L.M., 2002. Geotectonic setting of hydrothermal activity on the summit of Lucky Strike seamount (37°17N Mid-Atlantic Ridge), Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 3(8), 1049, doi:.
40. International Seismological Centre, 2007. On-line Bulletin. Available at:, Int. Seis. Cent., Thatcham, UK
41. Ito, G. & Behn, M.D., 2008. Magmatic and tectonic extension at mid-ocean ridges: 2. Origin of axial morphology, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 9, Q09O12, doi:.
42. Jaupart, C. & Tait, S., 1995. Dynamics of differentiation in magma reservoirs, J. geophys. Res., 100(B9), 17-615-17-636.
43. Kagan, Y.Y., 2002. Seismic moment distribution revisited: I. Statistical results, Geophys. J. Int., 148(3), 520-541.
44. Kelley, D.S. et al., 2005. A serpentinite-hosted ecosystem: the Lost City hydrothermal field, Science, 307(5714), 1428-1434.
45. Kisslinger, C., 1996. Aftershocks and fault-zone properties, Adv. geophys., 38, 1-36.
46. Klein, F.W., Wright, T. & Nakata, J., 2006. Aftershock decay, productivity, and stress rates in Hawaii: indicators of temperature and stress from magma sources, J. geophys. Res., 111(B7), B07307, doi:.
47. Lin, J., Purdy, G.M., Schouten, H., Sempéré, J.-C. & Zervas, C., 1990. Evidence from gravity data for focused magmatic accretion along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Nature, 344, 627-632.
48. Liu, Y., Rice, J.R. & Larson, K.M., 2007. Seismicity variations associated with aseismic transients in Guerrero, Mexico, 1995-2006, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 262(3-4), 493-504.
49. Luis, F.J., Miranda, J.M., Galdeano, A., Patriat, P., Rossignol, J.C. & Mendes Victor, L.A., 1994. The Açores Triple Junction evolution since 10 Ma from an aeromagnetic survey of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 125, 439-459.
50. Maia, M., Goslin, J. & Gente, P., 2007. Evolution of the accretion processes along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge north of the Azores since 5.5 Ma: an insight into the interactions between the ridge and the plume, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 8(3), Q03013, doi:.
51. Marsaglia, G., Tsang, W.W. & Wang, J., 2003. Evaluating Kolmogorov's distribution, Journal of Statistical Software, 8(18), 1-4.
52. McCaig, A.M., Cliff, R.A., Escartín, J., Fallick, A.E. & MacLeod, C.J., 2007. Oceanic detachment faults focus very large volumes of black smoker fluids, Geology, 35(10), 935-938.
53. McGuire, J.J. & Segall, P., 2003. Imaging of aseismic fault slip transients recorded by dense geodetic networks, Geophys. J. Int., 155(3), 778-788.
54. McGuire, J.J., Boettcher, M.S. & Jordan, T.H., 2005. Foreshock sequences and short-term earthquake predictability on East Pacific Rise transform faults, Nature, 434(7032), 457-461.
55. Miller, L.H., 1956. Table of percentage points of Kolmogorov Statistics, J. Am. Stat. Assoc., 51(273), 111-121.
56. Nyffenegger, P. & Frohlich, C., 1998. Recommendations for determining p-values for aftershock sequences and catalogs, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 88(5), 1144-1154.
57. Nyffenegger, P. & Frohlich, C., 2000. Aftershock occurrence rate decay properties for intermediate and deep earthquake sequences, Geophys. Res. Lett., 27(8), 1215-1218.
58. Ogata, Y., 1983. Estimation of the parameters in the modified Omori formula for aftershock frequencies by the maximum likelihood procedure, J. Phys. Earth, 31(2), 115-124.
59. Ogata, Y. & Katsura, K., 1993. Analysis of temporal and spatial heterogeneity of magnitude frequency distribution inferred from earthquake catalogues, Geophys. J. Int., 113, 727-738.
60. Ogata, Y. & Shimazaki, K., 1984. Transition from aftershock to normal activity: the 1965 Rat Islands earthquake aftershock sequence, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 74(5), 1757-1765.
61. Pan, J. & Dziewonski, M., 2005. Comparison of mid-oceanic earthquake epicentral differences of travel time, centroid locations, and those determined by autonomous underwater hydrophone arrays, J. geophys. Res., 110, B07302, doi:.
62. Park, M., Odom, R.I. & Soukup, D.J., 2001. Modal scattering: a key to understanding oceanic T-waves, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28(17), 3401-3404.
63. Press, W.H., Teukolsky, S.A., Vetterling, W.T. & Flannery, B.P., 1996. Numerical Recipes in Fortran 90, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
64. Rabinowitz, N. & Steinberg, D.M., 1998. Aftershock decay of three recent strong earthquakes in the Levant, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 88(6), 1580-1587.
65. Rubin, A.M., 1995. Propagation of magma-filled cracks, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 23(1), 287-336.
66. Scholz, H., 1990. The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
67. Schorlemmer, D., Neri, G., Wiemer, S. & Mostaccio, A., 2003. Stability and significance tests for b-value anomalies: example from the Tyrrhenian Sea, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(16), 1835, doi:.
68. Schorlemmer, D., Wiemer, S. & Wyss, M., 2005. Variations in earthquake-size distribution across different stress regimes, Nature, 437, doi:.
69. Schroeder, T. & John, B.E., 2004. Strain localization on an oceanic detachment fault system, Atlantis massif, 30°N, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 5(11), Q11007, doi:.
70. Searle, R.C., Keeton, J.A., Owens, R.B., White, R.S., Mecklenburgh, R., Parsons, B. & Lee, S.M., 1998. The Reykjanes Ridge: structure and tectonics of a hot-spot-influenced, slow-spreading ridge, from multibeam bathymetry, gravity and magnetic investigations, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 160(3-4)(3-4), 463-478.
71. Sella, G.F., Dixon, T.H. & Mao, A., 2002. REVEL: a model for recent plate velocities from space geodesy, J. geophys. Res., 107(B4), doi:.
72. Sempéré, J.-C. et al., 1995. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge between 29°N and 31°30'N in the last 10 Ma, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 130(1-4), 45-55.
73. Shaw, B.E., 1995. Frictional weakening and slip complexity in earthquake faults, J. geophys. Res., 100(B9), doi:.
74. Shaw, P.R., 1992. Ridge segmentation, faulting and crustal thickness in the Atlantic ocean, Nature, 358, 490-493.
75. Singh, S.C. et al., 2006. Discovery of a magma chamber and faults beneath a Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal field, Nature, 442(7106), 1029-1032.
76. Smith, D.K., Tolstoy, M., Fox, C.G., R., B.D., Matsumoto, H. & Fowler, M.J., 2002. Hydroacoustic monitoring of seismicity at the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29(11), doi:.
77. Smith, D.K., Escartín, J., Cannat, M., Tolstoy, M., Fox, C.G., Bohnenstiehl, D.R. & Bazin, S., 2003. Spatial and temporal distribution of seismicity along the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (15°-35°N), J. geophys. Res., 108(B3), 2167, doi:.
78. Smith, D.K., Cann, J.R. & Escartín, J., 2006. Widespread active detachment faulting and core complex formation near 13°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Nature, 442(7101), 440-443.
79. Smith, D.K., Escartín, J., Schouten, H. & Cann, J.R., 2008. Fault rotation and core complex formation: significant processes in seafloor formation at slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 13°-15°N), Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 9(03), Q03003, doi:.
80. Sohn, R.A., Thomson, R.E., Rabinovich, A.B. & Mihaly, S.F., 2009. Bottom pressure signals at the TAG deep-sea hydrothermal field: evidence for short-period, flow-induced ground deformation, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36(19), L19301, doi:.
81. Talandier, J. & Okal, E.A., 1998. On the mechanism of conversion of seismic waves to and from T waves in the vicinity of island shores, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 88, 621-632.
82. Thibaud, R., Gente, P. & Maia, M., 1998. A systematic analysis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge morphology and gravity between 15°N and 40°N: constraints of the thermal structure, J. geophys. Res., 103(B10), 24-223-24-243.
83. Tolstoy, M., Harding, A.J. & Orcutt, J.A., 1993. Crustal thickness on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: bull's-eye gravity anomalies and focused accretion, Science, 262(5134), 726-729.
84. Tucholke, B., Lin, J. & Kleinrock, M., 1998. Megamullions and mullion structure defining oceanic metamorphic core complexes on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge., J. geophys. Res., 103(B5), 9857-9866.
85. Utsu, T., Ogata, Y. & Matsu'ura, R.S., 1995. The centenary of the Omori formula for a decay law of aftershock activity, J. Phys. Earth, 43, 1-33.
86. Wiemer, S. & Wyss, M., 2002. Mapping spatial variability of the frequency-magnitude distribution of earthquakes, Adv. geophys., 45, 259-302.
87. Wiemer, S., Gerstenberger, M. & Hauksson, E., 2002. Properties of the aftershock sequence of the 1999 Mw 7.1 Hector Mine earthquake: implications for aftershock hazard, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 92(4), 1227-1240.
88. Williams, C.M., Stephen, R.A. & Smith, D.K., 2006. Hydroacoustic events located at the intersection of the Atlantis (30°N) and Kane (23°40'N) transform faults with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 7(6), Q06015, doi:.
89. Woessner, J. & Wiemer, S., 2005. Assessing the quality of earthquake catalogues: estimating the magnitude of completeness and its uncertainty, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 95(2), 684-698.
90. Wyss, M., Hasegawa, A. & Nakajima, J., 2001a. Source and path of magma for volcanoes in the subduction zone of northeastern Japan, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28(9), 1819-1822.
91. Wyss, M., Klein, F., Nagamine, K. & Wiemer, S., 2001b. Anomalously high b-values in the south flank of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii: evidence for the distribution of magma below Kilauea's east rift zone, J. Volc. Geother. Res., 106(1-2), 23-37.
92. Yang, Y. & Forsyth, D.W., 2003. Improving epicentral and magnitude estimation of earthquakes from T-phases by considering the excitation function, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 93, 2106-2122.