Collaborative Research: Towards quantifying eruptive timing and volcanic accretion on the Southern East Pacific Rise

Collaborative Research: Eruptive timing and volcanic accretion on the Southern East Pacific Rise

Seventy percent of Earth's surface is covered by ocean crust created by volcanoes at underwater mid-ocean ridges. It is important to accurately describe the size, shape, and frequency of submarine lava flows to understand how mid-ocean ridge volcanic systems work. A recent National Academies report identifies description of eruptive sizes and frequencies as one of the outstanding grand challenges in volcano science. However, distinguishing and accurately dating individual submarine lava flows remains challenging due to inadequate dating techniques, as well as considerable technical challenges associated with making observations and collecting samples from the seafloor. This project takes multiple approaches to measuring eruptive timing on the Southern East Pacific Rise (a mid-ocean ridge in the south Pacific). Data from self-driving underwater vehicles (AUV-autonomous underwater vehicle) will be combined with submersible observations and sample collection. Sample chemistry and magnetic signals help determine age and eruption frequency of surface flows, while the AUV data provide high-resolution mapping of the sea floor and additional information related to sub-surface lava flow distributions. The results will be combined into a model that can be and applied to other mid-ocean ridge settings. The proposed work will provide a comparison to the well-studied 9°N section of the northern East Pacific Rise, expanding the small number of intensively-studied ridge segments.

The size, shape, and eruptive frequency of submarine lava flows are important first-order variables in our understanding of many mid-ocean ridge processes, including volcanic construction; magma recharge, flux, and storage; and the stability of hydrothermal systems and biological communities. A recent National Academies report identifies the quantification of eruptive sizes and frequencies as integral to one of the outstanding grand challenges in volcano science. However, distinguishing and accurately dating individual submarine flows in the geological record remains challenging due to inadequate radiometric techniques, as well as the considerable technical challenges associated with making observations and collecting samples from the seafloor. Further, for a process that is episodic, there is no commonly-accepted statistical framework for reporting or interpreting eruptive intervals. While considerable effort has gone into documenting eruptive history at 9°N on EPR and at Axial seamount on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, constraining a spatially and temporally variable global system requires significantly more data, and perhaps new approaches. The proposed work takes an integrated approach to quantifying eruptive timing on the Southern East Pacific Rise by combining AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) mapping with HOV (human occupied vehicle) observations and sample collection. Near-bottom sidescan and bathymetric data will guide sampling locations and provide important interpretive context, as well as the possibility of calculating flow volumes. Geochemical data will be combined with temporal constraints provided by geomagnetic paleointensity to define eruptive clusters. Near-bottom magnetic anomaly data will be used to link the surface paleomagnetic data with a depth-integrated signal and provide important constraints on 3D statistical models of flow distributions, which are also constrained by estimates of layer 2A thickness from existing seismic reflection data. Combined, these methods will enable identification of flow units, quantifying eruptive frequency, and assessing accretionary processes. The resulting statistical model can be tested against and applied to other mid-ocean ridge settings. Further, the proposed work will provide a point of contrast to the well-studied 9°N segment and expand the small number of intensively-studied ridge segments.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.