Seismic reflection images of a near-axis melt sill within the lower crust at the Juan de Fuca ridge.

The oceanic crust extends over two-thirds of the Earth's solid surface, and is generated along mid-ocean ridges from melts derived from the upwelling mantle. The upper and middle crust are constructed by dyking and sea-floor eruptions originating from magma accumulated in mid-crustal lenses at the spreading axis, but the style of accretion of the lower oceanic crust is actively debated. Models based on geological and petrological data from ophiolites propose that the lower oceanic crust is accreted from melt sills intruded at multiple levels between the Moho transition zone (MTZ) and the mid-crustal lens, consistent with geophysical studies that suggest the presence of melt within the lower crust. However, seismic images of molten sills within the lower crust have been elusive. Until now, only seismic reflections from mid-crustal melt lenses and sills within the MTZ have been described, suggesting that melt is efficiently transported through the lower crust. Here we report deep crustal seismic reflections off the southern Juan de Fuca ridge that we interpret as originating from a molten sill at present accreting the lower oceanic crust. The sill sits 5-6 km beneath the sea floor and 850-900 m above the MTZ, and is located 1.4-3.2 km off the spreading axis. Our results provide evidence for the existence of low-permeability barriers to melt migration within the lower section of modern oceanic crust forming at intermediate-to-fast spreading rates, as inferred from ophiolite studies.

Insights into dike nucleation and eruption dynamics from high-resolution seismic imaging of magmatic system at the East Pacific Rise.

Models of magmatic systems suggest that the architecture of crustal magma bodies plays an important role in where volcanic eruptions occur, but detailed field observations are needed to evaluate them. We present ultrahigh-resolution reflection images of magma bodies beneath a region of multiple eruptions along the East Pacific Rise derived from three-dimensional seismic surveying. The observations reveal magma bodies with elongate ridges and troughs vertically aligned with seafloor eruptive fissures that we interpret as remnant dike root zones where repeat dikes nucleate. We document a triangular feeder zone to the axially centered magma body from the off-axis source for a newly forming seamount of the Lamont chain and infer bottom-up eruption triggering due to recharge from this deeper source. The findings indicate that magma bodies are sculpted by both processes of magma recharge from below and magma extraction to the surface, leaving a morphological imprint that contributes to localization of dike nucleation and eruption sites at the East Pacific Rise.

Frozen magma lenses below the oceanic crust.

The Earth's oceanic crust crystallizes from magmatic systems generated at mid-ocean ridges. Whereas a single magma body residing within the mid-crust is thought to be responsible for the generation of the upper oceanic crust, it remains unclear if the lower crust is formed from the same magma body, or if it mainly crystallizes from magma lenses located at the base of the crust. Thermal modelling, tomography, compliance and wide-angle seismic studies, supported by geological evidence, suggest the presence of gabbroic-melt accumulations within the Moho transition zone in the vicinity of fast- to intermediate-spreading centres. Until now, however, no reflection images have been obtained of such a structure within the Moho transition zone. Here we show images of groups of Moho transition zone reflection events that resulted from the analysis of approximately 1,500 km of multichannel seismic data collected across the intermediate-spreading-rate Juan de Fuca ridge. From our observations we suggest that gabbro lenses and melt accumulations embedded within dunite or residual mantle peridotite are the most probable cause for the observed reflectivity, thus providing support for the hypothesis that the crust is generated from multiple magma bodies.

Reflection signature of seismic and aseismic slip on the northern Cascadia subduction interface.

At the northern Cascadia margin, the Juan de Fuca plate is underthrusting North America at about 45 mm x yr(-1) (ref. 1), resulting in the potential for destructive great earthquakes. The downdip extent of coupling between the two plates is difficult to determine because the most recent such earthquake (thought to have been in 1700) occurred before instrumental recording. Thermal and deformation studies indicate that, off southern Vancouver Island, the interplate interface is presently fully locked for a distance of approximately 60 km downdip from the deformation front. Great thrust earthquakes on this section of the interface (with magnitudes of up to 9) have been estimated to occur at an average interval of about 590 yr (ref. 3). Further downdip there is a transition from fully locked behaviour to aseismic sliding (where high temperatures allow ductile deformation), with the deep aseismic zone exhibiting slow-slip thrust events. Here we show that there is a change in the reflection character on seismic images from a thin sharp reflection where the subduction thrust is inferred to be locked, to a broad reflection band at greater depth where aseismic slip is thought to be occurring. This change in reflection character may provide a new technique to map the landward extent of rupture in great earthquakes and improve the characterization of seismic hazards in subduction zones.