Collaborative Research: Integrated Geological Interpretationof Deep-Tow Sonar, Submersible, and Petrological Observations of the Upper and Lower Oceanic Crust

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9317611 Delaney This project is to analyse deeply-towed side-scan sonar data collected during recent studies in the Kane Fracture Zone on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Delaney (University of Washington) and his colleague Karson (Duke University) propose to integrate the results of the Kane Fracture Zone study with similar side-scan sonar data from Blanco Fracture Zone in the Pacific, as well as submersible observations and rock samples from both areas. The overall goal of the project is to decipher the structure and rock types involved in the formation of lower (Kane) and upper (Blanco) ocean crust, which are exposed at these sites due to their tectonic settings. The proposed work builds on previous observations, including four separate field programs over seven years, collaborative among these investigators and French colleagues (the French submersible Nautile was used for the two diving programs). Studies in the Kane Fracture Zone region integrate with recent Ocean Drilling Program drilling in this area by JOIDES Resolution, and provide a regional context in which to interpret these drilling cores. Both programs provide a unique opportunity to examine the continuity and detail of ocean crustal structure in a region where it is exposed along steep cliffs at the sea floor. This provides an opportunity to investigate both spatial and temporal continuity of tectonic and intracrustal petrologic processes of crustal formation, which is not possible to the level of detail proposed here using the "standard" techniques of drilling or seismic reflection profiling. ***