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Seismic properties of gabbroic sections in oceanic core complexes: constraints from seafloor drilling

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Abstract

The physical properties of rock within Oceanic Core Complexes (OCC) provide information about the history of magmatism, deformation and alteration associated with detachment faulting and unroofing of their gabbroic sequences. New core and logging data from Atlantis Bank (AB) OCC are compared with prior deep sea drilling data from this site on the Southwest Indian Ridge, as well as from Atlantis Massif (AM) OCC on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The average seismic velocity at each site is typical for gabbroic rock. Downhole core and log variations are found to depend on both porosity and alteration. Porosity at millimeter to meter scale impacts P-wave velocities (6.0–6.4 km/s) in the upper several hundred meters at both OCC. Below ~ 600–800 m depth, in situ velocities are higher (6.6–6.9 km/s) for the remainder of the 1.5 km drilled to date, except in zones where alteration is significant. Variability of 0.5–1 km/s over depth intervals of a few meters is persistent where mineral alteration exceeds 10–20%, whereas variability drops to ± 0.1 km/s for intervals affected by little to no alteration. Seismic anisotropy is negligible overall, with just a few intervals showing consistent fast azimuth and magnitude of a few percent. The depth extent of alteration, probably related to the zone deformed below the detachment when active, is ~ 600–800 meters at both AB and AM.

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Acknowledgements

This research used samples and data provided by the International Ocean Drilling Program and the International Ocean Discovery Program. Funding for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation, via the US Science Support Program (DKB, AH).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Donna K. Blackman

  2. Center for Ocean Drilling Science, JAMSTEC, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan

    Natsue Abe

  3. Dept. Geology & Geophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Richard L. Carlson

  4. Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Gilles Guerin

  5. Geosciences Montpellier, CNRS, University of Montpellier, Université des Antilles, Montpellier, France

    Benoit Ildefonse

  6. Muskegon Community College, Muskegon, MI, USA

    Amber Kumpf

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  1. Donna K. Blackman
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Correspondence to Donna K. Blackman.

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Blackman, D.K., Abe, N., Carlson, R.L. et al. Seismic properties of gabbroic sections in oceanic core complexes: constraints from seafloor drilling. Mar Geophys Res 40, 557–569 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-019-09385-7

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