A Dual-Level Magmatic System Beneath the East Pacific Rise, 9°N

Data from three co-located wide-angle ocean-bottom seismograph experiments were used to make a new two-dimensional tomographic image of the East Pacific Rise at 9°N. The upper half of the crustal magmatic system has a different seismic structure than the lower half, presumably corresponding with differences in melt storage and crustal cooling. The upper region is narrow (∼4.5 km wide at 2–3 km depth bsf) and estimated to contain higher melt fractions; the lower region broadens with depth and contains lower melt fractions. The shape of the system suggests steeply-dipping isotherms and relatively stronger hydrothermal circulation in the upper gabbroic section of the crust, with moderately flattening isotherms and less circulation in the lower gabbroic section.