Magnetic Anomaly Amplitudes on the Gakkel Ridge: Indicators of Ridge Variability

For most of its length, the Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean's Eurasia Basin is characterized by a discontinuous magnetic signature with regions of missing or low-amplitude central anomalies punctuated by short, high-amplitude segments. The ridge segment in between the Morris Jesup Rise and the Yermak Plateau has an unusually large amplitude central magnetic anomaly that is more than four times the amplitude of the flanking anomalies. This ridge segment is straight, without large offsets, for about 150 km. The difference in character between the central anomaly in this segment and the rest of Gakkel Ridge is striking. The western half of the Gakkel Ridge and the Eurasia Basin were surveyed in 1998-99 by a Naval Research Laboratory aerogeophysical campaign that measured magnetics, gravity, and sea-surface topography. The new magnetic data densify the historical US Navy aeromagnetic data and improve the resolution of the magnetic anomaly field in this region. This new field highlights the variability of the Gakkel Ridge over time, showing regions of strong anomalies that are continuous along strike and anomalies that fade away or become discontinuous. In particular, anomalies 15y to 21o show regions of high amplitudes on both sides of the ridge for varying distances along strike. We suggest that these high-amplitude segments were formed at times when the Gakkel Ridge at this location had a high-amplitude central magnetic anomaly like the present day high-amplitude segment or the shorter ones distributed along the ridge. The higher central anomaly amplitudes may be associated with variations in geochemistry and/or melt delivery along the ridge. Recent dredging of zero-aged crust along the Gakkel Ridge showed a good but not perfect correlation of high-amplitude central anomalies and basalt recovery (P. Michael, personal communication). This magnetic data set in conjunction with future dredging provides an opportunity to constrain past ridge variability.