Collaborative Research: Seismic Study of the Galicia S Detachment

像大西洋这样的海洋盆地是一个过程的最终产物，这个过程始于像东非这样的大陆裂谷，经过一个被认为以现代红海为代表的年轻的海洋盆地阶段，并以数百万年来海底扩张产生的更广泛的海洋盆地结束。洋中脊的岩浆和构造作用形成新的洋底的过程。尽管人们对这一过程有了大致的了解，但对其早期阶段的细节却知之甚少，因为地质证据被上面的沉积物、与早期裂谷有关的大规模火山活动、以及大多数地方厚厚的盐层所掩盖。位于北大西洋东部的加利西亚是一个例外，那里的裂谷几乎没有火山活动，也没有上覆的盐。因此，对于一个强大的国际团队来说，这是一个理想的地点，可以进行三维地震反射调查，对早期地质构造进行成像。该项目的许多更广泛的影响包括其强有力的国际合作，本科生、研究生和博士后的参与，以及对科学界重要的新数据的贡献。

Ocean basins such as the Atlantic are the end products of a process that begins with continental rifts such as East Africa, passes through a young ocean basin phase thought to be typified by the modern Red Sea, and ends with a broader ocean basin produced over many millions of years by seafloor spreading ? a process by which new ocean floor is created by magmatic and tectonic processes at mid-ocean ridges. Though the process is understood in an general way, the details of its earliest stages are poorly known because the geologic evidence is obscured by overlying sediments, massive volcanism associated with early rifting, and, in most places, thick deposits of salt. Located in the eastern North Atlantic, Galicia, is an exception, where rifting occurred with little volcanism, and there is no overlying salt. For that reason, it is an ideal locality for a strong international team to carry out this three-dimensional seismic reflection survey to image the early-formed geologic structure. Among the many broader impacts of this project are its strong international collaboration, participation by undergraduate students as well as a graduate student and a post-doctoral fellow, and the contribution of important new data to the scientific community.