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Mid-Ocean Ridge Magmatism and Volcanism

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Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences

Definitions

Mid-Ocean Ridge. A linear, narrow volcanic and tectonic region which marks the constructive boundary between two tectonic plates. It is divided into segments by transform faults and other offsets. The global ridge system cuts through every major ocean basin and comes ashore in a few places like Iceland. It forms an approximately 65,000 km long, globe-encircling, largely submarine mountain chain.

Magmatism. Magmatism is the production and migration of magma, which is molten rock produced from the partial or complete melting of solid materials within a planetary body. When magma erupts on the surface, it is known as lava.

Volcanism. Volcanism is the eruption of molten rock, hot gases, or solidified rock fragments from an opening (“vent”) in the Earth’s crust. Volcanism occurs on Earth and other planets and moons. Most of the volcanism on Earth occurs at mid-ocean ridges, almost always sight unseen.

Mid-Ocean Ridge Magmatism. By far, the dominant type of lava resulting from...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology & Geophysics, SOEST, University of Hawaii, 1680 East West Rd, 96822, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Ken H. Rubin

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  1. Ken H. Rubin
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Correspondence to Ken H. Rubin .

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  1. Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

    Jan Harff

  2. Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Martin Meschede

  3. Leibiniz Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Sven Petersen

  4. Academy of Sciences, Humanities, and Lit c/o Helmholtz-Center for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany

    Jörn Thiede

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Rubin, K.H. (2014). Mid-Ocean Ridge Magmatism and Volcanism. In: Harff, J., Meschede, M., Petersen, S., Thiede, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_28-3

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