{"title":"Link between crustal thickness and Moho transition zone at 9°N East Pacific Rise","authors":"Zhikai Wang , Satish C. Singh , J. Pablo Canales","doi":"10.1016/j.epsl.2025.119309","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Oceanic crust is formed from basaltic melt produced by decompression melting due to mantle upwelling at mid-ocean ridges. This crust is separated from the underlying mantle either by a sharp Mohorovičić (Moho) discontinuity or a thick Moho transition zone (MTZ). Determining the relationship between the oceanic crustal structure and the MTZ is critical for understanding the crustal accretion processes at mid-ocean ridges. However, this relationship remains elusive due to the lack of high-resolution velocity model of the oceanic crust and MTZ. Here, we present result from the application of full waveform inversion to wide-angle seismic data acquired over a young oceanic crust near the 9°N East Pacific Rise, allowing us to obtain the crustal and MTZ thicknesses along a ∼70 km-long segment. We find that the crustal thickness and the MTZ thickness vary along the segment and they are inversely correlated, although the total cumulative thickness does not vary much along the profile. These variations could be attributed to the different melt migration efficiency or the variations in mantle thermal/chemical structure, indicating mantle heterogeneity along the ridge.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11481,"journal":{"name":"Earth and Planetary Science Letters","volume":"658 ","pages":"Article 119309"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Earth and Planetary Science Letters","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X25001086","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Oceanic crust is formed from basaltic melt produced by decompression melting due to mantle upwelling at mid-ocean ridges. This crust is separated from the underlying mantle either by a sharp Mohorovičić (Moho) discontinuity or a thick Moho transition zone (MTZ). Determining the relationship between the oceanic crustal structure and the MTZ is critical for understanding the crustal accretion processes at mid-ocean ridges. However, this relationship remains elusive due to the lack of high-resolution velocity model of the oceanic crust and MTZ. Here, we present result from the application of full waveform inversion to wide-angle seismic data acquired over a young oceanic crust near the 9°N East Pacific Rise, allowing us to obtain the crustal and MTZ thicknesses along a ∼70 km-long segment. We find that the crustal thickness and the MTZ thickness vary along the segment and they are inversely correlated, although the total cumulative thickness does not vary much along the profile. These variations could be attributed to the different melt migration efficiency or the variations in mantle thermal/chemical structure, indicating mantle heterogeneity along the ridge.
期刊介绍:
Earth and Planetary Science Letters (EPSL) is a leading journal for researchers across the entire Earth and planetary sciences community. It publishes concise, exciting, high-impact articles ("Letters") of broad interest. Its focus is on physical and chemical processes, the evolution and general properties of the Earth and planets - from their deep interiors to their atmospheres. EPSL also includes a Frontiers section, featuring invited high-profile synthesis articles by leading experts on timely topics to bring cutting-edge research to the wider community.