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Waveform modeling of the seismic response of a mid-ocean ridge axial melt sill

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Abstract

Seismic reflections from axial magma lens (AML) are commonly observed along many mid-ocean ridges, and are thought to arise from the negative impedance contrast between a solid, high-speed lid and the underlying low-speed, molten or partially molten (mush) sill. The polarity of the AML reflection (P AML P) at vertical incidence and the amplitude vs offset (AVO) behavior of the AML reflections (e.g., P AML P and S-converted P AML S waves) are often used as a diagnostic tool for the nature of the low-speed sill. Time-domain finite difference calculations for two-dimensional laterally homogeneous models show some scenarios make the interpretation of melt content from partial-offset stacks of P- and S-waves difficult. Laterally heterogeneous model calculations indicate diffractions from the edges of the finite-width AML reducing the amplitude of the AML reflections. Rough seafloor and/or a rough AML surface can also greatly reduce the amplitude of peg-leg multiples because of scattering and destructive interference. Mid-crustal seismic reflection events are observed in the three-dimensional multi-channel seismic dataset acquired over the RIDGE-2000 Integrated Study Site at East Pacific Rise (EPR, cruise MGL0812). Modeling indicates that the mid-crustal seismic reflection reflections are unlikely to arise from peg-leg multiples of the AML reflections, P-to-S converted phases, or scattering due to rough topography, but could probably arise from deeper multiple magma sills. Our results support the identification of Marjanović et al. (Nat Geosci 7(11):825–829, 2014) that a multi-level complex of melt lenses is present beneath the axis of the EPR.

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Acknowledgements

We thank editor Roger Urgeles and three other anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful and insightful comments and suggestions. We thank Tom Bolmer and Steve Swift for setting up the workstation for our time-domain finite difference seismic modeling. We thank Milena Marjanović for sharing the migration image. This research is funded by Hundred-Talent Program of Chinese Academy of Science (M. Xu) and National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant 41676044.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou, 510301, Guangdong, China

    Min Xu

  2. Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    Min Xu, R. A. Stephen & J. Pablo Canales

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  1. Min Xu
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  2. R. A. Stephen
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  3. J. Pablo Canales
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Correspondence to Min Xu.

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Xu, M., Stephen, R.A. & Canales, J.P. Waveform modeling of the seismic response of a mid-ocean ridge axial melt sill. Mar Geophys Res 38, 373–391 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-017-9303-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-017-9303-x

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