Most of the oceanic crust has a simple layered structure. The discovery that slow-spreading ridges exhibit a comparatively complex crustal structure and some of the largest extensional faults on Earth is leading to the recognition of a new mode of seafloor spreading.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Penrose Field Conference Participants Geotimes 17, 24–25 (1972).
Karson, J. A. & Dick, H. J. B. Mar. Geophys. Res. 6, 51–98 (1983).
Chapman Conf. Detachments in Oceanic Lithosphere (AGU, Cyprus, 2010); http://www.ipgp.fr/chapman2010
Cannat, M. J. Geophys. Res. 98, 4163–4172 (1993).
Dick, H. J. B., Lin, J. & Schouten, H. Nature 426, 405–412 (2003).
Escartin, J. et al. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 10421–10437 (1999).
Smith, D. K., Cann, J. R. & Escartin, J. Nature 442, 440–443 (2006).
Escartin, J. et al. Nature 455, 790–794 (2008).
Ohara, Y., Yoshida, T., Kato, Y. & Kasuga, S. Mar. Geophys. Res. 22, 47–61 (2001).
Tucholke, B. E., Behn, M. D., Buck, W. R. & Lin, J. Geology 36, 455–458 (2008).
Acknowledgements
Citations relating to the Chapman conference indicate those speakers who were invited to give overview talks. The ideas discussed here therefore represent a summary of ideas from various workers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cheadle, M., Grimes, C. To fault or not to fault. Nature Geosci 3, 454–456 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo910
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo910
This article is cited by
-
Continuous exhumation of mantle-derived rocks at the Southwest Indian Ridge for 11 million years
Nature Geoscience (2013)
-
Distribution of large-scale detachment faults on mid-ocean ridges in relation to spreading rates
Acta Oceanologica Sinica (2013)