Open AccessSeismic evidence for volcanic activity discovered in central Arctic
Author(s) -
Müller Christian,
Jokat Wilfried
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/00eo00186
Subject(s) - geology , volcano , ridge , swarm behaviour , rift , seismology , earthquake swarm , tectonics , arctic , paleontology , induced seismicity , oceanography , mathematics , mathematical optimization
An earthquake swarm of well over 200 events was recently detected along the Gakkel Ridge in the central Arctic Ocean. The swarm occurred between January and August of 1999 and was localized between longitudes 70°E and 90°E (Figure 1a ) . Over the past few decades, only a few randomly clustered earthquakes had been detected along the 1800‐km‐long ridge. Evidence from moment tensor solutions indicates that this swarm originated as a tectonic rifting episode, with double‐couple normal faulting, and transitioned in early March of 1999 to more volcanic origin with strongly non‐double‐couple events. This is the first direct evidence of recent volcanic activity in the high Arctic. Because seismic activity is low at slow and ultra‐slow spreading ridges, the swarm provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate crustal processes along the ridge.