Dynamical Mechanisms of Melt Migration beneath Mid-Ocean Ridges

Abstract

The mid-ocean ridge serves as the epicenter of oceanic spreading. It generates the majority of the Earth’s magmas and is the birthplace of new oceanic crusts. However, our current comprehension regarding the operation of the mantle beneath the mid-ocean ridge and the mechanism of melt migration remains rather hazy. In this paper, by taking into account the geomorphological and tectonic characteristics of the mid-ocean ridge as well as the arch tectonic effect, we put forward a mechanism for the melt migration dynamics of the mid-ocean ridge. Moreover, in combination with the theories of neutrino oscillation-induced decay of radioactive elements and magma formation, we discuss and account for the reasons underlying the formation of mid-ocean ridge dunite channels, new oceanic crusts, and striped magnetic anomalies. This mechanism reveals that the mid-ocean ridge and the ocean basins on either side together form an arch tectonic structure. Through this arch structure, the mid-ocean ridge is capable of transforming the gravity of its rock mass into circumferential stresses and then transferring them to the basins on both sides. As a result, the pressure exerted on the basins is significantly greater than the gravity of their own rock masses, while the force acting on the lower part of the mid-ocean ridge’s “abdomen” is much smaller than the gravity of the mid-ocean ridge’s rock mass itself. In this manner, within the mantle and asthenosphere beneath the ocean basin - mid-ocean ridge - ocean basin tectonic system, there exists a transverse stress that points from the ocean basin towards the ocean ridge. Meanwhile, the melts originating from the mantle and the asthenosphere possess a substantial vertical upward buoyancy. Under the combined action of these two forces, the melts migrate upward at a certain inclination and eventually converge in the narrow region at the top of the mid-ocean ridge and overflow, giving rise to the formation of new oceanic crusts. Simultaneously, the symmetric distribution of magnetic anomalies on both sides of the mid-ocean ridge is constructed.