M.C. Neves
Patterns of stress at midocean ridges and their offsets due to seafloor subsidence
Neves, M.C.; Bott, M.H.P.; Searle, R.C.
Authors
M.H.P. Bott
R.C. Searle
Abstract
The effect of the seafloor subsidence on the horizontal stress field is investigated by combining the finite element method with a formulation that allows us to compute the two-dimensional (2D) horizontal stresses arising from isostatically compensated vertical loads. The topographic load created by the elevation of midocean ridges relative to old ocean floor is shown to be a significant source of ridge-parallel tensile stresses. These may predominate over the ridge-perpendicular stresses and explain observations at midocean ridge offsets such as (1) oblique normal faulting at ridge-transform intersections trending up to 60° relative to the ridge axis, and (2) nontransform offsets consisting of structures oriented at 45° relative to the ridge trend. At midocean ridge overlaps, rotation of the ridge-parallel tensile stresses favours rift propagation at more than 45° relative to the ridge trend. It is suggested that propagating rift tips that bend abruptly lead to partially unlocked offsets, and as a result large overlaps may eventually start to rotate and evolve into a microplate.
Citation
Neves, M., Bott, M., & Searle, R. (2004). Patterns of stress at midocean ridges and their offsets due to seafloor subsidence. Tectonophysics, 386(3-4), 223-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2004.06.010
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Date | 2004-08 |
Deposit Date | Feb 20, 2007 |
Journal | Tectonophysics |
Print ISSN | 0040-1951 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 386 |
Issue | 3-4 |
Pages | 223-242 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2004.06.010 |
Keywords | Stress; Ridge-offset; Seafloor subsidence; Oceanic lithosphere. |
You might also like
Mid-Ocean Ridges
(2013)
Book
Deep-tow three component magnetic measurement, solutions for calibration and interpretation
(2012)
Journal Article
Downloadable Citations
About Durham Research Online (DRO)
Administrator e-mail: dro.admin@durham.ac.uk
This application uses the following open-source libraries:
SheetJS Community Edition
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
PDF.js
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
Font Awesome
SIL OFL 1.1 (http://scripts.sil.org/OFL)
MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html)
CC BY 3.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Powered by Worktribe © 2024
Advanced Search