Skip to main content
Log in

The Structure Tectonosphere of the Mozambique and Madagascar Ridges by Geophysical Data

  • Published:
Moscow University Geology Bulletin Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The the southwestern part of the Indian Ocean, where the Mozambique and Madagascar ridges are located was studied. The ideas about the tectonic structure of these ridges are still under debate. The anomalous structure of the crust of these ridges can be explained either by underplating (thickening of the oceanic crust from below due to magmatism), or by stretching and thinning of the continental crust. Based on the data on anomalous gravitational and magnetic fields, seismotomography, and other geological and geophysical information, density modeling was performed along four profiles, which revealed differences in the crustal structure and evolution of the Mozambique and Madagascar ridges.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Barthelmes, F., Definition of Functionals of the Geopotential and Their Calculation from Spherical Harmonic Models. Theory and Formulas Used by the Calculation Service of the International Centre for Global Earth Models (ICGEM), Germany: Sci. Techn. Rep. TR09. https://doi.org/10.2312/GFZ.b103-0902-26

  2. Ben-Avraham, Z., Hartnady, C.J.H., and le Roex, A.P., Neotectonic activity on continental fragments in the Southwest Indian Ocean: Agulhas Plateau and Mozambique Ridge, J. Geophys. Res., 1995, vol. 100, B4, pp. 6199–6111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bulychev, A.A. and Zaitsev, A.N., Certificate of State Registration of Computer Program no. 2008611947 (18 April, 2008).

  4. Bulychev, A.A., Gainanov, A.G., Gilod, D.A, et al., Quantitative interpretation of satellite geophysical data, Fiz. Zemli, 1996, no. 3, pp. 21–26.

  5. Bulychev, A.A., Gilod, D.A., and Dubinin, E.P., Two-dimensional structural-density modelling of the tectonosphere structure in the southern part of the Indian Ocean, Geofiz. Issled., 2015, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 15–35.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Coffin, M.F. and Eldholm, O., Large igneous provinces: Crustal structure, dimensions, and external consequences, Rev. Geophys., 1994, vol. 32, pp. 1–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Gajnanov, A.G. and Panteleev, V.L., Morskaya gravirazvedka (Marine Gravity Survey), Moscow: Nedra, 1991 [in Russian].

  8. Gohl, K., Uenzelmann-Neben, G., and Grobys, N., Growth and dispersal of a Southeast African large igneous province, South Afr. J. Geol., 2012. https://doi.org/10.2113/gssajg.114.3-4.379

  9. König, M. and Jokat, W., The Mesozoic breakup of the Weddell Sea, J. Geophys. Res., 2006, vol. 111. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JB004035

  10. Meyer, B., Chulliat, A., and Saltus, R., Derivation and Error Analysis of the Earth Magnetic Anomaly Grid at 2 arc min Resolution Vers. 3 (EMAG2v3), Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst., 2017, vol. 18, pp. 4522–4537. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GC007280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Müller, D., Seton, M., Gaina, C., and Roest, W.R., Age, spreading rates, and spreading asymmetry of the world’s ocean crust, Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst., 2008, vol. 9, p. Q04006. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GC001743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Reguzzoni, M. and Sampietro, D., GEMMA: An Earth crustal model based on GOCE satellite data, Int. J. Appl. Earth Observ. Geoinform., 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2014.04.002

  13. Sandwell, D.T., Müller, D., Smith, W.H.F., et al., New global marine gravity from CryoSat-2 and Jason-1 reveals buried tectonic structure, Science, 2014, vol. 346, no. 6205, pp. 65–67. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1258213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Simmons, N.A., Myers, S.C., Johannesson, G., and Matzel, E., LLNL-G3Dv3: Global P wave tomography model for improved regional and teleseismic travel time prediction, J. Geophys. Res., 2012, vol. 117, no. B10. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JB009525

  15. Sorokhtin, O.G., Dependence of the Mid-Ocean Ridge topography on the spreading rate, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1973, vol. 208, no. 6, pp. 1338–1341.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Whittaker, J.M., Goncharov, A., Williams, S.E., et al., Global sediment thickness data set updated for the Australian–Antarctic southern ocean, Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst., 2013, vol. 14, no. 8, pp. 3297–3305. https://doi.org/10.1002/ggge.20181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Zhang, T., Lin, J., and Gao, J., Interactions between hotspots and the Southwest Indian Ridge during the last 90 Ma: implications on the formation of oceanic plateaus and intraplate seamounts, Sci. China Earth Sci., 2011, vol. 54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-011-4219-9

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to D. A. Ryzhova, M. V. Kosnyreva, E. P. Dubinin or A. A. Bulychev.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Translated by N. Astafiev

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ryzhova, D.A., Kosnyreva, M.V., Dubinin, E.P. et al. The Structure Tectonosphere of the Mozambique and Madagascar Ridges by Geophysical Data. Moscow Univ. Geol. Bull. 77, 18–27 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3103/S0145875222010124

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S0145875222010124

Keywords:

Navigation