Porosity of the upper edifice of Axial Seamount

Research Article| January 01, 2007 Porosity of the upper edifice of Axial Seamount Lisa A. Gilbert; Lisa A. Gilbert 1Maritime Studies Program, Williams College and Mystic Seaport, 75 Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic, Connecticut 06355, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Russell E. McDuff; Russell E. McDuff 2School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-7940, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar H. Paul Johnson H. Paul Johnson 2School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-7940, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2007) 35 (1): 49–52. https://doi.org/10.1130/G22892A.1 Article history received: 11 Apr 2006 rev-recd: 18 Aug 2006 accepted: 28 Aug 2006 first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share MailTo Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Lisa A. Gilbert, Russell E. McDuff, H. Paul Johnson; Porosity of the upper edifice of Axial Seamount. Geology 2007;; 35 (1): 49–52. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G22892A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Seamounts are not solid basalt structures, but have relatively high porosities in their upper crustal sections. At Axial Seamount, off the coast of Oregon, United States, we used on-bottom gravity measurements with a Bell gravity meter within deep-sea submersible Alvin to determine a porosity of 31% for the uppermost ∼100 m of the edifice. The southwestern caldera wall has a porosity of 22% and the caldera floor has a slightly higher porosity of 33%. Seafloor observations and models indicate that these high porosities result from large-scale structural features such as lava tubes and cracks, large lava drain backs, or regions of open pillow basalts in the near subsurface. These high-porosity zones can affect the subsurface permeability, and models of hydrothermal upflow zones explain observed localized gravity anomalies. The variety of hydrothermal alteration, hydrothermally active areas, and open porous features appears to be related to the high porosity that is inferred from geophysical measurements on this active seafloor volcano. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.