Marine Geology

Salahuddin Husein

Dept. of Geological Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada 2009

01. Introduction

Mapping the Oceans

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Mapping the Oceans

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This map shows the geographic limits of the four major oceans and many of the various seas of the world.

Depth Measurement

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1. Before the early 20th century line sounding 2. In the 1920s echo-sounder The ship transmits a series of acoustic pulses through the water, which are reflected from the sea-floor and received as echoes (assumption: the speed of sound in seawater is standardized to 1500 m/s).

The leadsman

An echo-sounder record

Mapping the Ocean Floors

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Diagram showing how echo sounding and seismic profiling are used to study the seafloor. Some of the energy generated at the energy source is reflected from various horizons back to the suface where it is detected by hydrophones.

Mapping the Ocean Floors

(a) GLORIA (Geological Long Range Incline Asdic) scans 30 km width of sea-floor to either side of its track. (b) TOBI (Towed Ocean Bottom Instrument) scans 3 km width of sea-floor to either side of its track.

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Image of a side scan sonar

Underwater Geology
Before 1930: dredging The 2nd world war: geophysical investigations 1960s 1970s: plate tectonic revolution 1960s: Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Glomar Challenger 1963: submersible for fieldwork 1985: Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) JOIDES Resolution

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The JOIDES Resolution is capable of drilling the deep seafloor.

The submersible Alvin is used for observation and sampling of the deep seafloor.

02. The Shape of Ocean Basins

Basic Concepts of Plate Tectonics

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Vertically exagerated diagram showing the basic concepts of plate tectonics.

Basic Concepts of Plate Tectonics

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The world pattern of plates, ocean ridges, trenches and transform faults in relation to earthquake epicentres indicated by purple dots. The arrow length corresponds to a relative velocity of 5 cm/yr.

Basic Concepts of Plate Tectonics

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The sequence of magnetic anomalies preserved within the oceanic crust on both sides of an oceanic ridge is formed when basaltic magma intrudes and cools below the Curie point and records Earth's magnetic polarity at the time. Seafloor spreading splits the previously formed crust in half so that it moves away from the oceanic ridge. Repeated intrusions record of normal and reversed polarity. The magnetic anomalies are recorded by a magnetometer, which measures the strength of the magnetic field.

The Main Features of Ocean Basins

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The distribution of levels on the Earths surface: histogram (a) and the hypsographic curve (b)

The Main Features of Ocean Basins

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Topographic profile to show the surface of the Earth between South America and Africa. Vertical exaggeration x 100.

Continental Margins: Passive Margins

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One possible configuration of an aseismic (or passive) continental margin, showing the continental rise in relation to shelf and slope.

Continental Margins: Passive Margins

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A seismic-reflection profile across the western continental slope and continental rise of Africa, shows that the profile of several submarine canyons near upper part of the slope and the thick accummulation of undeformed sediments on the continental margin. The continental slope merges into the adjacent abyssal plains, which cover the abyssal hills.

Continental Margins: Passive Margins

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Submarine fans formed by the deposition of sediments carried down submarine canyons by turbidity currents. Much of the continental rise is composed of overlapping submarine fans.

Continental Margins: Passive Margins

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Submarine cable breaks caused by an earthquake-generated turbidity current south of Newfoundland. This profile of the seafloor shows the locations of the cables and the times at which they were severed. The vertical dimension in this profile is highly exaggerated. The profile labeled 'no vertical exaggeration' shows what the seafloor actually looks like in this area.

Continental Margins: Active Margins

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A seismic-reflection profile across the central part of the Aleutian Trench, shows that the steep flank of the trench alongside the Aleutian island arc (right) and the gentle slope toward the ocean basin. The trench is the surface expression of a subducting plate.

Continental Margins: Active Margins

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(b)

a) The western margin of South America, showing segments of the Peru Chile Trench that are deeper than 5.5 km. The red dots are active volcanoes. b) The vertical broken lines indicate the position of the deepest part of the trench corresponding to the blue line in (a). The vertical exaggeration is x 25. (a)

Continental Margins: Active Margins

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A seismic reflection profile (with line interpretation) across the Middle America Trench (just north of the Peru-Chile Trench), showing extensional faulting downwards into the trench on the outer wall, and thrust-faulting within the accretionary prism forming the inner wall. The vertical exaggeration is x 1.5.

Ocean Ridges: Ridge Topography

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Representative east-west topographic (bathymetric) profiles across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (a) (spreading rate: 1-2 cm/yr) and across the East Pacific Rise (b) (spreading rate: 6-8 cm/yr).

Ocean Ridges: Ridge Topography

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Spreading rate helps control many features of an oceanic ridge. Fast-spreading ridges, such as the Pacific ridge, usually have gentle slopes and lack of a prominent rift valley. Slow-spreading ridges, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, have steeper flanks and a prominent rift valley.

Ocean Ridges: Ridge Topography

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A seismic-reflection profile across the mid-Atlantic Ridge, at 44o north latitude, shows that the crest of the ridge is marked by a deep rift valley that can be traced along the entire length of the ridge. Sediment is thickest down the flanks of the ridge, but it hins rapidly near the crest. The idealized diagram of the ridge was based on a series of profiles.

Ocean Ridges: Age-Depth Relationships

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Observed and theoritical relationships between the depth to the top of the oceanic crust and its age. The solid line is a best-fit curve through observed points. The dashed line is a theoritical elevation curve, calculated on the assumption that an increase of depth with age is caused by the thermal contraction of the lithosphere as the plate cools on moving away from the ridge axis. Magnetic anomaly numbers refer to the linear magnetic stripes on the ocean floor, which are arranged symmetrically about ridge axis.

Transform Faults and Fracture Zones

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Both transform faults (heavy lines) and their inactive extensions, fracture zones (dashed lines), are small circles centred on the pole of relative rotation of the two plates. The spreading rate is related to the angular rate of plate separation and distance from the rotation pole. Spreading rates therefore increase gradually with distance from the rotation pole, as indicated by different lengths of arrows.

Transform Faults and Fracture Zones

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A seismic-reflection profile across the Murray Fracture Zone, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, shows that the fracture is expressed by a pronounced vertical cliff that separates areas of contrasting topography. On the left side of the fault, seamounts are abundant. To the right, the seafloor is relatively smooth and featureless. Note how this contrast in topography on the block diagram is produced by strike-slip faults. Bote the seismic profile is parallel to the front of the idealized block diagram.

Transform Faults and Fracture Zones

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A large-offset transform fault (a slow-shearing rate) has a narrow zone of deformation.

Transform Faults and Fracture Zones

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A small-offset transform fault (a high-shearing rate) has a wide zone of deformation.

The Deep Ocean Floor: Abyssal Plains

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A topographic profile across an abyssal plain and continental rise and slope.

A seismic reflection profile across part of the Madeira abyssal plain (north-east Atlantic). The vertical exaggeration is x 20.

The Deep Ocean Floor: Abyssal Plains

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A seismic-reflection profile across the abyssal floor of the Atlantic Ocean, shows that abyssal hills buried with sediment, which forms the smooth abyssal plains.

The Deep Ocean Floor: Seamounts

Seamounts: > 1 km heigth Abyssal hills: < 1 km heigth Guyots: flat-topped seamounts.

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Topographic profiles across some on-land volcanoes and some seamounts

The Deep Ocean Floor: Seamounts

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A seismic-reflection profile across the seamounts in the central Pacific Ocean, shows that the general configuration of typical seamounts rising above the ocean floor. Seamounts are submarine volcanoes, which usually occur in groups or chains. Some rise above sea level to form islands.

The Deep Ocean Floor: Submarine Volcanoes

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Four seamount and island chains in the Pacific Ocean. The youngest volcanoes are at south-eastern end of each chain, and the age of the seamount at the bend in the HawaiianEmperor Chain is shown. The age range along is 43 Ma over a distance of 3400 km.

The Deep Ocean Floor: Submarine Volcanoes

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Schematic diagram (not to scale) illustrating how a volcano island chain could be formed by an oceanic plate moving over a stationary hot spot or mantle plume. The age of the islands increases towards the left. New island will appear on the right as the motion continues.

The Deep Ocean Floor: Aseismic Ridges

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These are some prominent and more or less continuous feature traversing the deep ocean floor, which in some cases rise to more than 3000 m above it. Example: The remarkably long and straight Ninety-east Ridge in the Indian Ocean. The available evidence supports a hot-spot mechanism for the origin of these features.

03. The Evolution of Ocean Basins

Introduction

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The Earths oldest rock around 3850 Ma old include both water-lain sediments and evidence of ancient oceanic crust. It follows that oceans have been forming since the beginning of the geological record, and probably before that.

However, the shape of most past ocean basins has to be worked out from observations of remnants preserved in continental areas. That is because ocean basins are relatively short-lived features of this planet: no oceanic crust older than about 180 Ma is known from the present oceans.

Stages in the Evolution of Ocean Basins

Stage Examples Dominant motions Characteristic features Crustal extension and uplift Rift valleys

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1. Embryonic East African rift valleys 2. Young

Red Sea, Gulf of Subsidence and Mexico spreading

Narrow seas with parallel coasts and a central depression

3. Mature

Atlantic Ocean

Spreading

Ocean basin with active mid-ocean ridge

Ocean basin with active spreading axis; also numerous island arcs and adjacent trenches around margins Young mountains

4. Declining

Pacific Ocean

Spreading and shrinking

5. Terminal

Mediterranian Sea

Shrinking and uplift Shrinking and uplift

6. Relict scar Indus suture in the Himalayas

Young mountains

Stages in the Evolution of Ocean Basins

The history of plate movement during the last 200 Ma has been reconstructed from all available geologic and geophysical data. These mas show the general directions of movement from the time Pangea began to break up until the continents moved to their present positions.

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Stages in the Evolution of Ocean Basins

Paleogeographic reconstruction, compiled from topographic, paleoclimatic and paleomagnetic data. Panthalassa was the huge ocean that dominated one hemisphere. Pangea was the supercontinent in the other hemisphere, of which Eurasia and Gondwanaland were two components.

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Stages in the Evolution of Ocean Basins

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Stages of continental rifting are shown in this series of diagrams. The major geologic processes at divergent plate boundaries are tensional stress, block faulting, and basaltic volcanism.

The Birth of an Ocean

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The East African Rift valleys show where the continent is being up-arched and pulled apart. If the spreading continues, the rift system may evolve into an elongate sea like the Red Sea to the north.

The Birth of an Ocean

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The thinning of the continental crust beneath the African Rift valleys is indicated by gravity measurements as shown in this cross section. Beneath the valleys, the top of the asthenosphere is near the base of the crust, only 25 km below the surface. The East African Rift valleys represent the first stage of continental rifting.

The Birth of an Ocean

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The Red Sea is a narrow ocean basin separating Arabia from Africa. Its margins are steep fault scarps, but much of the Red Sea is floored by thin continental crust. However, a narrow zone of oceanic crust extends along the Red Sea axis through most of its length. The Red Sea represents the second stage of continental rifting, in which an ebryonic ocean develops.

The Birth of an Ocean

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A cross section of the Red Sea illustrates the major structural elements of this stage of rifting. Continental crust is thinned by movement along a series of curved normal faults. The thinned continental crust is overlain by a salt layer up to 1 km thick. New oceanic crust occupies the central part of the rift.

The Birth of an Ocean

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A passive continental margins shows features formed during rifting. Tilted fault blocks that formed during initial rifting define the margins of continental crust. Continental sedimentary deposits consisting of alluvial fan conglomerate and playa lake evaporites may be preserved in narrow grabens. As the continent susides, reefs and associated beach and lagoon sediments are deposited, and eventually the entire margin is covered by a thick accummulation of shallow-marine sediment that grades into deep-marine sediment. Poorly sorted dirty sandstone and shale are deposited by turbidity currents in the deep water.

The Major Ocean Basins

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The age of the ocean floor, showing strips of floor of different ages derived mainly from measurements of magnetic anomaly stripes.

Small Ocean Basins

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Small ocean basins originate in several ways. Those in the western Pacific (a) and western Atlantic (b) developed when island arcs isolated part of the sea from the main ocean basins. The Mediterranian basin and the Black and Caspian seas (c) represent remnants of the ancient Tethys sea, which was closed by the convergence of India and Africa with Europe and Asia.

04. The Structure and Formation of Oceanic Lithosphere

The Structure of Oceanic Lithosphere

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Knowledge of the nature of the oceanic crust and upper mantle comes from four main sources: 1. Geophysical techniques (seismic, magnetic, gravity and heat flow). 2. Examination and measurement of physical properties of rocks by dredging and coring. 3. Direct observation and photography of the sea-bed using submersibles. 4. Land-based studies of ophiolites.

The Structure of Oceanic Lithosphere

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Gravity, heat flow, and seismic wave velocities at a midocean ridge reveal much about the internal structure and origins of oceanic crust.

The Structure of Oceanic Lithosphere

The major rock units in an ophiolite sequence are shown in this idealized diagram. The uppermost layer consists of deep-marine sediments. Most of the rest of the crust is made of igneous rocks. Pillow basalts and sheeted dikes form thin layers. Massive gabbro underlain by layered gabbro forms the rest of the crust. Peridotites, tectonites deformed in the mantle, are the lowest rocks found in some ophiolites.

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Ophiolites are thought to be fragments of the ocean floor thrust onto the continents. Correlations with seismically determined layers of the oceanic crust are shown on the left.

The Structure of Oceanic Lithosphere

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The structure of the oceanic crust consists of four distinct layers. Layer 1 is a relatively thin sequence of oceanic sediments, composed of the shells of microscopic marine organisms mixed with red clay. Layer 2 is pillow basalt fed by numerous dikes. Layer 3 is almost entirely composed of basalt dikes in vertical sheets. Layer 4 is gabbro, which is believed to represent magma that was generated at a spreading center and cooled slowly at depth.

The Structure of Oceanic Lithosphere

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Deep-sea muds (layer 1).

Fragment of basaltic lava from layer 2 (crystals too small to see because of rapid cooling after eruption onto the seafloor).

The Structure of Oceanic Lithosphere

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Fragment of basaltic dyke from layer 2 (discernible crystals, a fraction of a mm in size, indicative of less rapid cooling than the lava).

Gabbro from layer 3 (large crystals, several mm across, as a result of slow cooling and crystallization at depth).

The Structure of Oceanic Lithosphere

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Layered gabbro in the Oman ophiolite appears to have a structure like sedimentary rocks. Early-formed crystals rich in iron and magnesium settle to the base of the magma chamber and accumulate in distinct layers. Some layers are graded, and others show cross-bedding.

Peridotite from layer 4.

The Structure of Oceanic Lithosphere

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Pillow basalt along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Little or no sediment covers the basalt because this part of the seafloor is very young. The large elliptical pillow is approximately 1 m long.

The Formation of Oceanic Lithosphere

The axes of the ocean ridge systems are the most active volcanic zones on Earth, where spreading axes generate new oceanic lithisphere at rates of between 10 and 200 km per million years (1-20 cm/yr). The total volume of oceanic crust (layer 2 + layer 3) produced at spreading axes has averaged in the region of 16-26 km3 per year throughout the past 150 Ma.

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The Formation of Oceanic Lithosphere

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The horizontal layering of the crust is not the result of simple superposition, but results from spreading during lateral growth of pillow basalts, sheeted dikes, and gabbro.

The Formation of Oceanic Lithosphere

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Magma forms by decompression melting under ocean ridges. The black line is the beginning-of-melting curve (the solidus) for mantle peridotite. The blue arrow shows the temperature-pressure path followed by mantle that rises directly below the oceanic ridge. When conditions in the upwelling mantle cross the beginning-of-melting curve, basaltic magma is produced at about 30 km depth. The melt can rise upward to form the basaltic crust of the ocean basins.

The Formation of Oceanic Lithosphere

An idealized cross section of a midoceanic ridge shows that hot mantle rises and then moves laterally. As it rises, pressure decreases and partial melting occurs. The less-dense droplets of lava rise buoyantly and collect into a chamber. Heat is extracted from the roof of the chamber by conduction and by convection of seawater thorugh the hot, permeable crust.

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The magma in the chamber consequently cools and crystallizes along the floor and walls of the chamber to form gabbro. As the roof is stretched by plate divergence, sheeted dikes propagate to the surface. The magma erupts to form pillow basalts that add to the roof of the chamber and thicken the crust. Small shields and fissure-fed flows cap the volcanic system.The hydrothermal fluids flow through small vents along the fissure systems to form submarine hot springs that cool as they mix with the surrounding seawater. Sulfides and other minerals dissolved in the fluid crystallize as the fluid cools and changes composition, and mounds of these minerals form.