Analysis of microearthquakes at the non-transform offset of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge hosting the Rainbow hydrothermal system (36°14’N)

Abstract:

The Rainbow hydrothermal field is an active, ultramafic-hosted system located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) at 36° 14'N. It is located at a non-transform discontinuity (NTD) of the MAR at the AMAR-AMAR minor segment intersection [German et al., 1996]. Rainbow, in contrast to other ultramafic-hosted systems such as Lost City, is a high-temperature site with fluids up to 365 °C [Douville et al., 2002]. A magmatic heat source must be present to account for the long-lived, high-temperature, heat flux of 1-5 GW [Thurnherr and Richards, 2001], but the nearest, known neovolcanic activity is 15-20 km away on the AMAR segment [German and Parson, 1998]. In 2013, a long-term, ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) microearthquake network of 13 instruments was deployed as part of the MARINER geophysical experiment [Dunn et al., 2013]. Over 40,000 events were detected and located within ~16 km of the active hydrothermal field during the ~200 day deployment. We present hypocenters estimated using P- and S-wave arrival times and a crustal velocity model derived from the active-source tomography component of the MARINER experiment. Moment/magnitude estimates from spectral methods indicate that the majority of events have local magnitudes (M_L) of 0-1, with the largest events approaching M_L ~2. First arrival polarity data demonstrate that many of the events have non-double couple source mechanisms, and we explore the use of P/S-wave amplitude ratios to constrain these focal mechanisms. The detection of predominantly non-double events indicates processes other than simple fault slip (e.g., serpentinization) are contributing to the observed seismicity and deformation. We use the spatial distribution, magnitudes, rate, and source mechanisms of the seismic events to constrain the coupled processes of hydrothermal circulation and deformation at the Rainbow massif.