Quantifying the influence of magmatism and tectonism on ultraslow-spreading-ridge hydrothermal activity: Evidence from the Southwest Indian Ridge

Abstract

Hydrothermal activity in mid-ocean ridges (MORs) is an important intermediary for the mass and heat exchange between the ocean and lithosphere. The development of hydrothermal activity on MORs is primarily controlled by coupled magmatic and tectonic activities. In ultraslow-spreading ridges, deep-dipping low-angle normal faults with large offsets, typically detachment faults in the inside corners of ridge offsets, favor the formation of tectonic-related hydrothermal activities, whereas volcanic-related hydrothermal fields are typically developed in neovolcanic zones in this category of the ridge system. However, whether tectonic or magmatic activity is dominant and to what extent they control the formation of hydrothermal activities on ultraslow-spreading ridges remain unclear. Segments in the west and east of the Gallieni transform fault (TF) located in the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR), namely, western area (WA) and eastern area (EA), exhibit distinct magma-supply conditions that provide favorable conditions for examining the influence of magmatic and tectonic activities. We generated prediction models for these areas using the spatial analysis of the water depth, minor faults, large faults, ridge axis, nontransform discontinuity (NTD) inside corners, TF inside corners, Bouguer gravity anomaly, magnetic anomalies, and seismic activities. By employing the weights of evidence method, we reported that the formation of seafloor hydrothermal systems in SWIR was primarily correlated to the NTD inside corner, ridge axis, and minor fault (i.e., contrast values (C) of 4.186, 3.727, and 3.482 in WA and 4.278, 3.769, and 3.135 in EA). Furthermore, EA was significantly affected by the TF inside corner (C = 3.501), whereas WA was influenced by large faults (C = 4.062). Our results demonstrated that tectonism was the primary controlling factor in the development of hydrothermal activities in the study area, and the contribution of magmatism was secondary, even in WA, which has a relatively robust magma supply. We delimited prominent prospecting areas at each side based on posterior probability. Our results provided insights into the formation mechanisms of hydrothermal activities and support prospecting in MORs.