Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2020, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (4): 100-115.doi: 10.11978/2019116CSTR: 32234.14.2019116

• Marine Geophysics • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Characteristics of gravity anomaly and crustal thickness of three largest oceanic plateaus

Yiming LUO1,2,3,4,6(), Jinchang ZHANG1,2,3, Jian LIN1,2,3,5,6()   

  1. 1.Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
    2.China-Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
    3.Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China
    4.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    5.Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
    6.Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
  • Received:2019-11-13 Revised:2019-12-25 Online:2020-07-20 Published:2020-07-27
  • Contact: Jian LIN E-mail:ymluo@scsio.ac.cn;jianlin@scsio.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    Foundation item: National Key Research and Development Program of China(2018YFC0309800);Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Guangzhou)(GML2019ZD0205);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41776058);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41890813);National Natural Science Foundation of China(91628301);National Natural Science Foundation of China(U1606401);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41706056);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41976066);Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province(2017A030313243);Chinese Academy of Sciences Project(QYZDY-SSW-DQC005);Chinese Academy of Sciences Project(133244KYSB20180029);Chinese Academy of Sciences Project(Y4SL021001)

Abstract:

The Ontong Java Plateau, Kerguelen Plateau, and Shatsky Rise are the three largest oceanic plateaus on Earth, exhibiting voluminous magmatism with areas of 1.90×106, 1.25×106, and 0.53×106 km2, respectively. In this study, we conducted a detailed comparative analysis of bathymetry, residual mantle Bouguer anomaly (RMBA), and gravity-derived relative crustal thickness of the three plateaus, correlating results with geological and geochemical constraints. Relative to adjacent normal seafloors, the Ontong Java Plateau is elevated by 4.3 km; the Kerguelen Plateau, by 5 km; and the Shatsky Rise, by 4 km. The corresponding peak-to-trough amplitudes in RMBA are about 250, 330, and 200 mGal, while the relative crustal thickness variations are of 11, 13, and 9 km, respectively, implying that the magma output forming these three oceanic plateaus is far more than that generated by a normal mid-ocean ridge. Moreover, all three plateaus were formed near mid-ocean ridge or ridge triple junction settings. Isotopic analyses of Nd, Pb, and Hf reveal that the Ontong Java Plateau is characterized by ocean island basalts (OIB); most of the Kerguelen Plateau is predominantly OIB, but is mixed with some mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB); and most of the Shatsky Rise volcanism shows East Pacific Rise-type MORB, with a few exceptions of OIB-like components. These features imply that these oceanic plateaus were probably formed by “plume-ridge interaction”. Two models are proposed herein: (1) the peripheral mid-ocean ridge is dragged onto the top of the mantle plume, and/or (2) the asthenosphere is fed by plume material nearby, resulting in melting anomalies and the resultant thickened crust along the mid-ocean ridge.

Key words: Ontong Java Plateau, Kerguelen Plateau, Shatsky Rise, gravity anomaly, crustal thickness, plume-ridge interaction

CLC Number: 

  • P738.2