Steady-state creation of crust-free lithosphere at cold spots in mid-ocean ridges

Research Article| November 01, 2001 Steady-state creation of crust-free lithosphere at cold spots in mid-ocean ridges Enrico Bonatti; Enrico Bonatti 1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università La Sapienza, Rome, Italy, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Daniele Brunelli; Daniele Brunelli 2Istituto di Geologia Marina, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Paola Fabretti; Paola Fabretti 2Istituto di Geologia Marina, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Marco Ligi; Marco Ligi 2Istituto di Geologia Marina, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Rosana Asunta Portaro; Rosana Asunta Portaro 2Istituto di Geologia Marina, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Monique Seyler Monique Seyler 3Laboratoire de Petrologie, ESA 7058, Université de Paris 6-7 and Université de Lille 1, Villenueve d'Ascq, France Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Enrico Bonatti 1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università La Sapienza, Rome, Italy, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964, USA Daniele Brunelli 2Istituto di Geologia Marina, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy Paola Fabretti 2Istituto di Geologia Marina, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy Marco Ligi 2Istituto di Geologia Marina, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy Rosana Asunta Portaro 2Istituto di Geologia Marina, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy Monique Seyler 3Laboratoire de Petrologie, ESA 7058, Université de Paris 6-7 and Université de Lille 1, Villenueve d'Ascq, France Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 20 Feb 2001 Revision Received: 04 Jun 2001 Accepted: 09 Jul 2001 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2001) 29 (11): 979–982. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0979:SSCOCF>2.0.CO;2 Article history Received: 20 Feb 2001 Revision Received: 04 Jun 2001 Accepted: 09 Jul 2001 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Enrico Bonatti, Daniele Brunelli, Paola Fabretti, Marco Ligi, Rosana Asunta Portaro, Monique Seyler; Steady-state creation of crust-free lithosphere at cold spots in mid-ocean ridges. Geology 2001;; 29 (11): 979–982. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0979:SSCOCF>2.0.CO;2 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 Mid-ocean ridges create oceanic lithosphere consisting normally of basaltic crust a few kilometers thick overlying a peridotitic mantle. However, lithosphere free of basaltic crust formed during the past ∼30 m.y. at an ∼50-km-long stretch of Mid-Atlantic Ridge south of the Romanche Fracture Zone, giving rise to a >500-km-long strip of ocean floor exposing mostly mantle peridotites that have undergone an unusually low (≤5%) degree of melting, mixed with peridotites that reacted with a small fraction of basaltic melt. This lithosphere contains <10% of scattered gabbroic pockets, representing melt frozen above 25 km depth within a relatively cold subaxial lithosphere. Numerical modeling excludes dry melting below this crust-free lithosphere, because of the cooling effect of the long- offset Romanche transform combined with a regional mantle thermal minimum; however, modeling allows a limited extent of hydrous melting. This unusual lithosphere, unable to expel the melt fraction, characterizes cold spots along mid-ocean ridges. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.