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[1] Multichannel seismic and bathymetric data from the Juan de Fuca Ridge (JDFR) provide constraints on axial and ridge flank structure for the past 4-8 Ma within three spreading corridors crossing Cleft, Northern Symmetric, and Endeavour segments. Along-axis data reveal south-to-north gradients in seafloor relief and presence and depth of the crustal magma lens, which indicate a warmer axial regime to the south, both on a regional scale and within individual segments. For young crust, cross-axis lines reveal differences between segments in Moho two-way traveltimes of 200-300 ms which indicate 0.5-1 km thicker crust at Endeavour and Cleft compared to Northern Symmetric. Moho traveltime anomalies extend beyond the 5-15 km wide axial high and coincide with distinct plateaus, 32 and 40 km wide and 200-400 m high, found at both segments. On older crust, Moho traveltimes are similar for all three segments ($2100 ± 100 ms), indicating little difference in average crustal production prior to $0.6 and 0.7 Ma. The presence of broad axis-centered bathymetric plateau with thickened crust at Cleft and Endeavour segments is attributed to recent initiation of ridge axiscentered melt anomalies associated with the Cobb hot spot and the Heckle melt anomaly. Increased melt supply at Cleft segment upon initiation of Axial Volcano and southward propagation of Endeavour segment during the Brunhes point to rapid southward directed along-axis channeling of melt anomalies linked to these hot spots. Preferential southward flow of the Cobb and Heckle melt anomalies and the regional-scale south-to-north gradients in ridge structure along the JDFR may reflect influence of the northwesterly absolute motion of the ridge axis on subaxial melt distribution.

Oceanic transform faults and fracture zones (FZs) represent major bathymetric features that keep the records of past and present strike-slip motion along conservative plate boundaries. Although they play an important role in ridge segmentation and evolution of the lithosphere, their structural characteristics, and their variation in space and time, are poorly understood. To address some of the unknowns, we conducted interdisciplinary geophysical studies in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, the region where some of the most prominent transform discontinuities have been developing. Here we present the results of the data analysis in the vicinity of the Chain FZ, on the South American Plate. The crustal structure across the Chain FZ, at the contact between ∼10 and 24 Ma oceanic lithosphere, is sampled along seismic reflection and refraction profiles. We observe that the crustal thickness within and across the Chain FZ ranges from ∼4.6-5.9 km, which compares with the observations reported for slow-slipping transform discontinuities globally. We attribute this presence of close to normal oceanic crustal thickness within FZs to the mechanism of lateral dike propagation, previously considered to be valid only in fast-slipping environments. Furthermore, the combination of our results with other data sets enabled us to extend the observations to morphotectonic characteristics on a regional scale. Our broader view suggests that the formation of the transverse ridge is closely associated with a global plate reorientation that was also responsible for the propagation and for shaping lower-order Mid-Atlantic Ridge segmentation around the equator.

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Detailed images of the midcrustal magmatic system beneath the East Pacific Rise (8°20′–10°10′N) are obtained from 2‐D and 3‐D‐swath processing of along axis seismic data and are used to characterize properties of the axial crust, cross‐axis variations, and relationships with structural segmentation of the axial zone. Axial magma lens (AML) reflections are imaged beneath much of the ridge axis (mean depth 1,640 ± 185 m), as are deeper sub‐AML (SAML) reflections (brightest events ~100–800 m below AML). Local shallow regions in the AML underlie two regions of shallow seafloor depth from 9°40′–55′N and 8°26′–33′N. Enhanced magma replenishment at present beneath both sites is inferred and may be linked to nearby off‐axis volcanic chains. SAML reflections, which are observed primarily from 9°20′ to 10°05′N, indicate a finely segmented magma reservoir similar to the AML above, composed of subhorizontal, 2‐ to 7 km‐long AML segments, often with stepwise changes in reflector depth from one segment to the next. We infer that these melt bodies are related to short‐lived melt instability zones. In many locations including where seismic constraints are strongest the intermediate scale (~15–40 km) structural segmentation of the ridge axis identified in this region coincides with (1) changes in average thickness of layer 2A (by 10%–15%), (2) changes in average depth of AML (<100 m), and (3) with the spacing of punctuated low velocity zones mapped in the uppermost mantle. The ~6 km dominant length of multiple AML segments within each of the larger structural segments may reflect the spacing of local sites of ascending magma from discrete melt reservoirs pooled beneath the crust.

S U M M A R YWe examine along-axis variations in melt content of the axial magma lens (AML) beneath the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise (EPR) using an amplitude variation with angle of incidence (AVA) crossplotting method applied to multichannel seismic data acquired in 2008. The AVA crossplotting method, which has been developed for and, so far, applied for hydrocarbon prospection in sediments, is for the first time applied to a hardrock environment. We focus our analysis on 2-D data collected along the EPR axis from 9• 29.8 N to 9• 58.4 N, a region which encompasses the sites of two well-documented submarine volcanic eruptions (1991-1992 and 2005-2006). AVA crossplotting is performed for a ∼53 km length of the EPR spanning nine individual AML segments (ranging in length from ∼3.2 to 8.5 km) previously identified from the geometry of the AML and disruptions in continuity. Our detailed analyses conducted at 62.5 m interval show that within most of the analysed segments melt content varies at spatial scales much smaller (a few hundred of metres) than the length of the fine-scale AML segments, suggesting high heterogeneity in melt concentration. At the time of our survey, about 2 yr after the eruption, our results indicate that the three AML segments that directly underlie the 2005-2006 lava flow are on average mostly molten. However, detailed analysis at finer-scale intervals for these three segments reveals AML pockets (from >62.5 to 812.5 m long) with a low melt fraction. The longest such mushy section is centred beneath the main eruption site at ∼9• 50.4 N, possibly reflecting a region of primary melt drainage during the 2005-2006 event. The complex geometry of fluid flow pathways within the crust above the AML and the different response times of fluid flow and venting to eruption and magma reservoir replenishment may contribute to the poor spatial correlation between incidence of hydrothermal vents and presence of highly molten AML. The presented results are an important step forward in our ability to resolve small-scale characteristics of the AML and recommend the AVA crossplotting as a tool for examining mid-ocean ridge magma-systems elsewhere.

Recent multi‐channel seismic studies of fast spreading and hot‐spot influenced mid‐ocean ridges reveal magma bodies located beneath the mid‐crustal Axial Magma Lens (AML), embedded within the underlying crustal mush zone. We here present new seismic images from the Juan de Fuca Ridge that show reflections interpreted to be from vertically stacked magma lenses in a number of locations beneath this intermediate‐spreading ridge. The brightest reflections are beneath Northern Symmetric segment, from ∼46°42′‐52′N and Split Seamount, where a small magma body at local Moho depths is also detected, inferred to be a source reservoir for the stacked magma lenses in the crust above. The imaged magma bodies are sub‐horizontal, extend continuously for along‐axis lengths of ∼1–8 km, with the shallowest located at depths of ∼100–1,200 m below the AML, and are similar to sub‐AML bodies found at the East Pacific Rise. At both ridges, stacked sill‐like lenses are detected beneath only a small fraction of the ridge length examined and are inferred to mark local sites of higher melt flux and active replenishment from depth. The imaged magma lenses are focused in the upper part of the lower crust, which coincides with the most melt rich part of the crystal mush zone detected in other geophysical studies and where sub‐vertical fabrics are observed in geologic exposures of oceanic crust. We infer that the multi‐level magma accumulations are ephemeral and may result from porous flow and mush compaction, and that they can be tapped and drained during dike intrusion and eruption events.