Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Open Access Thesis
Department
School Psychology
Abstract
Although oceanic transform faults (OTFs) are ubiquitous plate boundaries, the geological processes occurring along these systems remain underexplored. The Gofar OTF of the East Pacific Rise has gained attention due to its predictable, yet enigmatic, earthquake cycle. Here, we present results from the first ever controlled-source electromagnetic survey of an OTF, which sampled Gofar. We find that the fault is characterized by a subvertical conductor, which extends into the lower crust and thus implies deep fluid penetration. We also image subhorizontal crustal conductors distributed asymmetrically about the fault. We interpret these subhorizontal anomalies as crustal brines, and we suggest that the high permeability of the fault combined with the influence of melt in the transform domain can promote hydrothermal circulation and brine condensation at OTFs
Recommended Citation
Chesley, Christine and Enright, Katherine, "Evidence for crustal brines and deep fluid infiltration in an oceanic transform fault" (2025). All Student Scholarship. 450.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/etd/450
Comments
Rob Evans, Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. Jessica M. Warren, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA. Andrew C. Gase, Department of Geoscience, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA. Jacob Perez, Cecil H. and Ida Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Christopher Armerding, Cecil H. and Ida Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Hannah Brewer, Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. Paige Koenig, Geology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA. Eric Attias, Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Bailey L. Fluegel, Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. Jae-Deok Kim, Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. Natalie Hummel, Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. Katherine Enright, School of Psychology, University of Southern Maine, Portland, OR 04103, USA. Emilia Topp-Johnson, Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA. Margaret S. Boettcher, School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA.