Oceanic transform faults are strike-slip fault systems that separate spreading segments along the global mid-oceanic ridge spreading system. Transform faults represent an optimal environment for studying the mechanical behavior of strike-slip faults (e.g., the San Andreas fault) because of the relatively simple thermal, kinematic, and compositional structure of the oceanic lithosphere.
Previous numerical modeling studies have shown that the upper-mantle beneath transform faults is anomalously cold relative to adjacent intra-plate regions. However, these studies used highly simplified laws to simulate the material behavior of the crust and mantle. Here Behn et al. show that using a more realistic treatment of brittle deformation results in enhanced upwelling and significantly warmer temperatures along the transform, with the warmest temperatures occurring near the center of the fault. This warmer upper mantle temperature structure is consistent with a wide range of geophysical and geochemical observations from ridge-transform environments, including the depth of transform fault seismicity and geochemical anomalies along adjacent ridge segments. In addition, the elevated temperatures at the center of the fault may provide an explanation for the tendency of long transforms to break into a series of small intra-transform spreading centers during changes in plate motion.-Geological Society of America
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