Near-Bottom High Resolution Magnetic Observations Over and Around an Active Oceanic Core Complex, MAR 13°N

Oceanic Core complexes (OCCs) associated with major detachment faults represent an important mode of seafloor spreading and crustal accretion processes at slow spreading rates. The processes of plate construction and modification at such sites are highly asymmetric, and plate accretion (spreading) rates may also be asymmetric. As part of a program to further understand these asymmetric processes and the geometry of the associated detachments, in January-February 2016 we carried out ten dives of 24 hr duration using the AUV Autosub 6000 to acquire high resolution, near-bottom magnetic field and seafloor topography in an area rich in OCCs on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 13°N. Autosub ran at a nominal height of 115-150 m above seafloor with a speed of approximately 1 ms-1. Two closely-spaced, W-E profiles were run across the 13°20'N OCC, which is believed to be the footwall of an active detachment, and two more closely spaced W-E profiles were run at 13°25'N, midway between OCC 1320 and the next OCC to the north, which is actively or has recently stopped slipping. Three more widely-spaced (approximately 5 km) W-E profiles were interspersed between these. All these profiles were designed to extend between the expected positions of the Jaramillo anomalies (0.99 Ma), approximately 14 km either side of the ridge axis. The remainder of the dives ran over and around the 13° 30'N OCC in grids with lines 500 m apart. High-resolution (4 m grid) seafloor topography was measured concurrently with magnetics using a Kongsberg EM2040 multibeam sonar and Applied Physics Systems 1540 fluxgate magnetometer. Preliminary examination of the data shows the OCC largely surrounded to the north, south and east (young) sides by recent hummocky volcanism, which correlates with high-amplitude, short wavelength magnetic anomalies. The western side of the OCC, which should be older, has more subdued magnetic anomaly character and volcanic relief. The smooth, striated dome of the OCC has uniformly low-amplitude, long wavelength magnetic anomalies, suggesting the presence there of an internally coherent magnetic source with lower magnetisations than the volcanics, possibly a faulted formation of gabbros and/or serpentinites.