Mid-Ocean Ridges Hydrothermal Interactions Between the Lithosphere and Oceans

About this book

Mid-ocean ridges play an important role in the plate-tectonic cycle of our planet. Extending some 50–60,000 km across the ocean-floor, the global mid-ocean ridge system is the site of creation of the oceanic crust and lithosphere that covers more than two thirds of the Earth's exterior. Approximately 75% of Earth's total heat flux occurs through oceanic crust, much of it at mid-ocean ridges through complex processes associated with magma solidification, heat transfer, and cooling of young oceanic lithosphere. While the majority of this heat loss occurs through conduction, approximately one third of the total heat loss at mid-ocean ridges is influenced by a convective process: hydrothermal circulation.

Contents

Preface
      Christopher R. German, Jian Lin, and Lindsay M. Parson vii
The Thermal Structure of the Oceanic Crust, Ridge-Spreading and Hydrothermal Circulation: How Well Do We Understand Their Inter-Connections?
      Christopher R. German and Jian Lin 1
Geophysical Constraints Upon the Thermal Regime of the Ocean Crust
      Martin C. Sinha and Rob L. Evans 19
The Rheology and Morphology of Oceanic Lithosphere and Mid-Ocean Ridges
      R. C. Searle and J. Escartfn 63
Modeling the Thermal State of the Oceanic Crust
      Yongshun John Chen 95
Some Hard Rock Constraints on the Supply of Heat to Mid-Ocean Ridges
      Mathilde Cannat, Joe Cann, and John Maclennnan 111
Effects of Hydrothermal Cooling and Magma Injection on Mid-Ocean Ridge Temperature Structure, Deformation, and Axial Morphology
      Mark D. Behn, Jian Lin, and Maria T. Zuber 151
Experimental Constraints on Thermal Cracking of Peridotite at Oceanic Spreading Centers
      Brian deMartin, Greg Hirth, and Brian Evans 167
Submarine Lava Flow Emplacement at the East Pacific Rise 9° 50'N: Implications for Uppermost Ocean Crust Stratigraphy and Hydrothermal Fluid Circulation
      Daniel Fornari, Maurice Tivey, Hans Schouten, Michael Perfit, Dana Yoerger, Al Bradley Margo Edwards, Rachel Haymon, Daniel Scheirer, Karen Von Damm, Timothy Shank, and Adam Soule 187
Hydrothermal Processes at Mid-Ocean Ridges: Results From Scale Analysis and Single-Pass Models
      Robert P. Lowell and Leonid N. Germanovich 219
On the Global Distribution of Hydrothermal Vent Fields
      Edward T. Baker and Christopher R. German 245
Ultramafic-Hosted Hydrothermal Systems at Mid-Ocean Ridges: Chemical and
      Physical Controls on pH, Redox and Carbon Reduction Reactions W. E. Seyfried, Jr., D. I. Foustoukos and D. E. Allen 267
Evolution of the Hydrothermal System at East Pacific Rise 9°50'N: Geochemical Evidence for Changes in the Upper Oceanic Crust
      Karen L. Von Damm 285
Vigorous Venting and Biology at Pito Seamount, Easter Microplate
      D. F. Naar, R. Hekinian, M. Segonzac, J. Francheteau, and the Pito Dive Team 305

Customer Reviews