Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Crustal Reflectivity (Oceanic) and Magma Chamber

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Synonyms

Melt lens; Spreading center and ridge

Definition

  • Axial magma chamber (Melt lens) is a thin melt lens observed at ocean spreading centers.

  • Layer 2A or Lava is the top layer of oceanic igneous crust.

  • Layer 2B is a dike sequence and lies above the axial melt lens.

  • Layer 3 (gabbro) forms the lower oceanic crust.

  • Moho is a boundary between the crust and mantle.

  • Pg is a seismic ray that travels through the crust.

  • PmP is a reflection from the crust–mantle boundary.

  • Pn is a ray that travels in the upper mantle.

  • Tomography is a technique to image the velocity structure of the earth.

Introduction

Over 70% of the earth’s crust is formed by the cooling and crystallization of melt at ocean spreading centers, which represent over 55,000 km of chains of volcanoes in the middle of the oceans, called mid-ocean ridges. At ocean spreading centers, the oceanic plate separates causing the mantle to move upward, reducing the pressure and causing the melting of the mantle. Since the newly formed...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 549.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 599.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Barclay, A. H., Toomey, D. R., and Solomon, S. C., 1998. Seismic structure and crustal magmatism at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 35° N. Journal of Geophysical Research, 103, 17827–17844.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barth, G. A., and Mutter, J. C., 1996. Variability in oceanic crustal thickness and structure: multichannel seismic reflection results from the northern East Pacific Rise. Journal of Geophysical Research, 101, 17951–17975.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bazin, S., Harding, A. J., Kent, G. M., Orcutt, J. A., Singh, S. C., Tong, C. H., Pye, J. W., Barton, P. J., Sinha, M. C., White, R. S., Hobbs, R. W., and van Avendonk, H. J. A., 2003. A three-dimensional study of axial low velocity beneath the 9° 03′ N overlapping spreading center. Geophysical Research Letters, 30, 1–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boudier, F., Nicolas, A., and Ildefonse, B., 1996. Magma chambers in the Oman ophiolite: fed from the top and the bottom. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 144, 238–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canales, J.-P., Detrick, R. S., Toomey, D. R., and Wilcock, W. S. D., 2003. Segment-scale variations in the crustal structure of 150–300 kyr old fast spreading oceanic crust (East Pacific Rise, 8° 15′ N–10° 5′ N) from wide-angle seismic refraction profiles. Geophysical Journal International, 152, 766–794.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canales, J.-P., Singh, S. C., Detrick, R. S., Carbotte, S. M., Harding, A. J., Kent, G. M., Diebold, J. B., Babcock, J., and Nedimovic, M. R., 2006. Seismic evidence for variations in axial magma chamber properties along the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 246, 353–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canales, J. P., Nedimovic, M. R., Kent, G. M., Carbotte, S. M., and Detrick, R. S., 2009. Seismic reflection images of a lear-axis melt sill within the lower crust at the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Nature, 460, 89–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carton, H. D., Carbotte, S. M., Mutter, J. C., Canales, J., Nedimovic, M. R., Marjanovic, M., Aghaei, O., Xu, M., Han, S., Stowe, L., 2009. Characteristics of the crustal magma body in the 2005–2006 eruption area at 9° 50′ N on the East Pacific Rise from 3D multi-channel seismic data. AGU, Fall meeting, Abstract OS11B-02.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charvis, P., Laesanpura, A., Gallart, J., Hirn, A., Lepine, J., de Voogd, B., Minshull, T. A., Hello, Y., and Pontoise, B., 1999. Spatial distribution of hotspot material added to the lithosphere under La Reunion, from wide-angle seismic data. Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, 2875–2893.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christeson, G., McIntosh, K., and Karson, J., 2007. Inconsistency in correlation of layer 2A and lava layer thickness in oceanic crust. Nature, 445, 418–421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collier, J. S., and Singh, S. C., 1997. Detailed structure of the top of the melt body beneath the East Pacific Rise at 9°40′ N from waveform inversion of seismic reflection data. Journal of Geophysical Research, 102, 20287–20304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collier, J. S., and Sinha, M., 1990. Seismic images of a magma chamber beneath the Lau Basin back-arc spreading centre. Nature, 346, 646–648.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, J. A., Purdy, G. M., and Brocher, T. M., 1989. Seismic velocity structure at Deep Sea Drilling Site 504B, Panama Basin: evidence for thin oceanic crust. Journal of Geophysical Research, 94, 9283–9302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Detrick, R. S., Buhl, P., Vera, E., Mutter, J., Orcutt, J., Madsen, J., and Brocher, T., 1987. Multi-channel seismic imaging of a crustal magma chamber along the East Pacific Rise. Nature, 326, 35–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Detrick, R. S., White, R. S., and Purdy, G. M., 1993. Crustal structure of North Atlantic Fracture Zone. Reviews of Geophysics, 31, 439–458.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, R. A., Toomey, D. R., and Solomon, S. C., 2000. Three-dimensional seismic structure and physical properties of the crust and shallow mantle beneath the East Pacific Rise 9° 30′ N. Journal of Geophysical Research, 105, 23537–23555.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, R. A., Toomey, D. R., Detrick, R. S., and Wilcock, W. S. D., 2001. Continuous mantle melt supply beneath an overlapping spreading centre on the East Pacific Rise. Science, 291, 1955–1958.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dusunur, D., Seher, T., Combier, V., Escartin, J., Crawford, W., Cannat, M., Singh, S. C., Matias, L. M., and Miranda, J. M., 2009. Seismological constraints on the thermal structure and interaction of tectonic and magmatic processes around the Lucky Strike magma chamber, slow spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Marine Geophysical Research, 30, 105–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eittreim, S. L., Gnibidenko, H., Helsley, C. E., Sliter, R., Mann, D., and Ragozin, N., 1994. Oceanic crustal thickness and seismic character along a central Pacific transect. Journal of Geophysical Research, 99, 3139–3145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grevemeyer, I., Flueh, E. R., Reichert, C., Bialas, J., Klaschen, D., and Kopp, C., 2001. Crustal architecture and deep structure of the Ninetyeast Ridge hotspot trail from active-source ocean bottom seismology. Geophysical Journal International, 144, 414–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grevemeyer, I., Ranero, C. R., Flueh, E. R., Klaschen, D., and Bialas, J., 2007. Passive and active seismological study of bending-related faulting and mantle serpentinisation at the Middle American trench. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 258, 528–542.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallenborg, E., Harding, A. J., and Kent, G. M., 2003. Seismic structure of 15 Ma oceanic crust formed at an ultra-fast spreading East Pacific Rise: evidence for kilometer-scale fracturing from dipping reflectors. Journal of Geophysical Research, 108, 2532, doi:10.1029/2003JB002400.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harding, A. J., Kappus, M. E., Orcutt, J. A., Vera, E. E., Buhl, P., Mutter, J. C., Detrick, R., and Brocher, T., 1989. The structure of young oceanic crust 13° N on the East Pacific Rise from expanding spread profiles. Journal of Geophysical Research, 94, 12163–12196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harding, A. J., Kent, G. M., and Orcutt, A. J., 1993. A multi-channel seismic investigation of upper crustal structure at 9° N on the East Pacific Rise: implications for crustal accretion. Journal of Geophysical Research, 98, 13925–13944.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jokat, W., and Schmidt-Aursch, M. C., 2007. Geophysical characteristics of the ultra-slow spreading Gakkel Ridge, Arctic Ocean. Geophysical Journal International, 168, 983–998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelemen, P. B., Koga, K., and Shimizu, N., 1997. Geochemistry of gabbro sills in the crust-mantle transition zone of the Oman ophiolite: implications for the origin of the oceanic lower crust. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 146, 475–488.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kent, G. M., Harding, A. J., and Orcutt, J. A., 1993. Distribution of magma beneath the East Pacific Rise between the Clipperton Transform and the 9° 17′ N Deval from forward modelling of common depth point data. Journal of Geophysical Research, 98, 13945–13969.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kent, G. M., Harding, A. J., Orcutt, J. A., Detrick, R. S., Mutter, J. C., and Buhl, P., 1994. Uniform accretion of oceanic crust south of the Garrett transform at 14° 15′ S on the East Pacific Rise. Journal of Geophysical Research, 99, 9097–9116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kent, G. M., Singh, S. C., Harding, A. J., Sinha, M. C., Tong, V., Barton, P. J., Hobbs, R., White, R., Bazin, S., and Pye, J., 2000. Evidence from three-dimensional reflectivity images for enhanced melt supply beneath mid-ocean-ridge discontinuities. Nature, 406, 614–618.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nedimovic, M. R., Carbotte, S. M., Harding, A. J., Detrick, R. S., Canales, J. P., Diebold, J. B., Kent, G. M., Tischer, M., and Babcock, J. M., 2005. Frozen magma lenses below the oceanic crust. Nature, 436, 1149–1152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkin, C. J., and White, R. S., 2008. Influence of the Iceland mantle plume on the oceanic crustal generation in the North Atlantic. Geophysical Journal International, 173, 168–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranero, C. R., Reston, T. J., Belykh, I., and Gnibidenko, H., 1997. Reflective oceanic crust formed at a fast spreading centre in the Pacific. Geology, 25, 499–502.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranero, C. R., Phipps Morgan, J., McIntosh, K., and Reichert, C., 2003. Bending-related faulting and mantle serpentinization at the Middle America trench. Nature, 425, 367–373.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodger, M., Watts, A. B., Greenroyd, C. J., Peirce, C., and Hobbs, R. W., 2006. Evidence for unusually thin oceanic crust and strong mantle beneath the Amazon Fan. Geology, 34, 1081–1084.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seher, T., Crawford, W., Singh, S. C., and Cannat, M., 2010a. Seismic layer 2A variations in the Lucky Strike segment at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from reflection measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research, 115, B07107, doi:10.1029/2009JB006783.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seher, T., Singh, S. C., Crawford, W., and Escartin, J., 2010b. Upper crustal velocity structure beneath the central Lucky Strike Segment from seismic refraction measurements. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 11, 5, doi:10.1029/2009GC002894.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seher, T., Crawford, W., Singh, S. C., Cannat, M., Combier, V., Dusunur, D., and Canales, J.-P., 2010c. Crustal velocity structure of the Lucky Strike segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (37°N) from seismic refraction measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research, 115, B03103, doi:10.1029/2009JB006650.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S. C., and Macdonald, K., 2009. Mantle skewness and ridge segmentation. Nature, 458, E11–E12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S. C., Midenet, S., and Djajadihardja, Y., 2009. Sesimic evidence of the locked and unlocked Sumatra subdction zone. EOS, 90, 471–472.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S. C., Kent, G. M., Collier, J. S., Harding, A. J., and Orcutt, J. A., 1998. Melt to mush variations in crustal magma properties along the ridge crest at the southern East Pacific Rise. Nature, 394, 874–878.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S. C., Collier, J. S., Kent, G. M. J. S., Harding, A. J., and Orcutt, J. A., 1999. Seismic evidence for a hydrothermal layer above the solid roof of axial magma chamber at the southern East Pacific Rise. Geology, 27, 219–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S. C., Harding, A., Kent, G., Sinha, M. C., Combier, V., Hobbs, R., Barton, P., White, R., Tong, V., Pye, J., and Orcutt, J. A., 2006a. Seismic reflection images of Moho underlying melt sills at the East Pacific Rise. Nature, 442, 287–290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S. C., Crawford, W., Carton, H., Seher, T., Combier, V., Cannat, M., Canales, J., Dusunur, D., Escartin, J., and Miranda, M., 2006b. Discovery of a magma chamber and faults beneath a hydrothermal field at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Nature, 442, 1029–1033.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S. C., Carton, H., Chauhan, A., et al., 2011. Extremely thin crust in the Indian Ocean possibly resulting from Plume-Ridge interaction. Geophysical Journal International, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04823.x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, M., and Singh, S. C., 2002. Composition and microstructure of magma bodies from effective medium theory. Geophysical Journal International, 149, 15–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toomey, D. R., Purdy, G. M., Solomon, S. C., and Wilcock, W. S. D., 1990. The three-dimensional seismic velocity structure of the East Pacific Rise near latitude 9°30′ N. Nature, 347, 639–645.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toomey, D. R., Jousselin, D., Dunn, R. A., Wilcock, W. S. D., and Detrick, R. S., 2007. Skew of mantle upwelling beneath the East Pacific Rise governs segmentation. Nature, 446, 409–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Avendonk, H. J. A., Harding, A. J., Orcutt, J. A., and McClain, J. S., 2001. Contrast in crustal structure across the Clipperton transform fault from travel time tomography. Journal of Geophysical Research, 106, 10961–10981.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vera, E. E., Mutter, J. C., Buhl, P., Orcutt, J. A., Harding, A. J., Kappus, M. E., Detrick, R. S., and Brocher, T. M., 1990. The structure of 0 to 0.2 m.y. old oceanic crust at 9° N on the East Pacific Rise from expanding spread profiles. Journal of Geophysical Research, 95, 15529–15556.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, A. B., ten Brink, U. S., Buhl, P., and Brocher, T. M., 1985. A multi-channel seismic study of lithospheric flexure across the Hawaiian Emperor seamount chain. Nature, 315, 105–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, R. S., McKenzie, D., and O’Nions, R. K., 1992. Oceanic crustal thickness from seismic measurements and rare earth element inversions. Journal of Geophysical Research, 97, 19683–19715.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Géoscience Marines, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, 1 rue Jussieu, Case 89, 75238, Paris, France

    Satish C. Singh

Authors
  1. Satish C. Singh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Satish C. Singh .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Geophysical Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Hyderabad, India

    Harsh K. Gupta

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this entry

Cite this entry

Singh, S.C. (2011). Crustal Reflectivity (Oceanic) and Magma Chamber. In: Gupta, H.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_58

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation