A short electromagnetic profile across the Kane Oceanic Core Complex

Rob L. Evans (1) , Javier Escartin (2) , Mathilde Cannat (2)

1 WHOI - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
2 IPGP - Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris

A short seafloor electromagnetic profile across part of the Kane Oceanic Core Complex shows a large variation in seafloor electrical properties (uppermost 30m) with a sharp transition from conductive to resistive seafloor over a distance of less than 350m. The transition is in a location consistent with a sharp, but deeper, lateral gradient in seismic velocity, inferred to mark a transition from serpentinized peridotite to either gabbro or pristine mantle rocks, and is close to a mapped outcrop of serpentinized peridotites. We relate this variability in shallow structure primarily to changes in porosity related to composition.

Domaines: Tectonique; Géophysique [physics.geo-ph]

Rob L. Evans, Javier Escartin, Mathilde Cannat. A short electromagnetic profile across the Kane Oceanic Core Complex. Geophysical Research Letters, 2010, 37 (15), pp.L15309. ⟨10.1029/2010GL043813⟩. ⟨hal-02330254⟩