| Abstract |
The Rift Valley between 36° 42'N and 36° 55'N in the Atlantic Ocean is 31 km wide, with half-widths of 12 and 19 km for the western and eastern sides respectively. Both outer edges of the Rift Valley stand about 1500 m above an Inner Floor where very fresh pillow lavas occur. The Inner Floor probably includes the locus of new crust ; and its bordering slopes, which are particularly well-defined on the western side, limit to less than about 2.5 km the width of the zone over which new crust may have evolved with little or no vertical displacement. The width of the locus of new crust may be less than 0.5 km between 36° 45'N and 36° 47'N, where the deepest slopes of the Rift Valley walls nearly merge. Near 36° 50'N, the Inner Floor accommodates an approximately 1 km wide, 4 km long Central High, with a height of up to 250 m. In this area, the locus of new crust may also occupy a very narrow zone ; it may lie either along the Central High or along a trough flanking the Central High. The magnetic anomaly pattern indicates that, since the beginning of the Brunhes epoch (6.9 X 10(5) yr B.P.), the eastern limb has grown approximately twice as fast as the western limb. Using extrapolated spreading rates, the ages of the outer edges of the Rift Valley are 1.3 and 1.7 m.y. for the eastern and western sides respectively. Comparison with data for the Rift Valley in other parts of the ocean further suggests that the residence time of new crust in the Rift Valley is about 1.5 m.y. Uplift of crust from the Inner Floor, which may be dominated by lithospheric thickening, may thus be primarily a function of age. [NOT CONTROLLED OCR] |
