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Published Online November 23, 2006
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1133950

Reports

Submitted on August 16, 2006
Accepted on November 7, 2006

A Seafloor Spreading Event Captured by Seismometers

M. Tolstoy 1*, J. P. Cowen 2, E. T. Baker 3, D. J. Fornari 4, K. H. Rubin 5, T. M. Shank 4, F. Waldhauser 1, D. R. Bohnenstiehl 1, D. W. Forsyth 6, R. C. Holmes 1, B. Love 7, M. R. Perfit 8, R. T. Weekly 1, S. A. Soule 4, B. Glazer 2

1 Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.
2 Department of Oceanography, SOEST, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
3 Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA, WA 98115 USA.
4 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA.
5 Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
6 Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
7 School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
8 Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
M. Tolstoy , E-mail: tolstoy{at}ldeo.columbia.edu

Two-thirds of Earth's surface is formed at mid-ocean ridges, yet seafloor spreading events are poorly understood because they occur far beneath the ocean surface. At 9°50'N on the East Pacific Rise, ocean bottom seismometers recently recorded the microearthquake character of a mid-ocean ridge eruption, including precursory activity. A gradual ramp-up in activity rates since seismic monitoring began at this site in October 2003 suggests that eruptions may be forecast in the fast-spreading environment. The pattern culminates in an intense but brief (~6-hr) inferred diking event on January 22nd 2006, followed by rapid tapering to markedly decreased levels of seismicity.


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)