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Crustal Accretion

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Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences

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Synonyms

Formation of ocean crust

Definition

Crustal Accretion. Formation of ocean crust at mid-ocean ridges, by a combination of magmatic, tectonic, and hydrothermal processes.

Introduction

Since the early 1970s, the classical model of a uniformly layered ocean crust, with from top to bottom basaltic lava flows, basaltic sheeted dikes, and gabbros, known as the “Penrose” model (Anonymous, 1972), has considerably evolved, with complementary contributions from ophiolite studies, seafloor geology, marine geophysics, and scientific ocean drilling. At the global scale, there is substantial variability of the mid-ocean ridge morphology and hence of crustal architecture. This results from various modes of accretion that are controlled by magma supply to the ridge, which itself primarily depends on the spreading rate. This article briefly describes the current end-member models for crustal accretion at fast-spreading (>~80 mm/year) and slow-spreading (<~40 mm/year) ridges.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Géosciences Montpellier, CNRS and Université de Montpellier, CC 60, 34095, Cedex 5, Montpellier, France

    Benoît Ildefonse

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  1. Benoît Ildefonse
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Correspondence to Benoît Ildefonse .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

    Jan Harff

  2. Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Martin Meschede

  3. Leibiniz Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Sven Petersen

  4. Academy of Sciences, Humanities, and Lit c/o Helmholtz-Center for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany

    Jörn Thiede

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Ildefonse, B. (2014). Crustal Accretion. In: Harff, J., Meschede, M., Petersen, S., Thiede, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_8-1

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