Seafloor gravity evidence for hydrothermal alteration of the sediments in Middle Valley, Juan de Fuca Ridge

Gravity data collected at two different levels, sea-surface and seafloor, are compared and interpreted to characterize the effect of hydrothermal circulation an the sediment density in Middle Valley, a deeply sedimented spreading center on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The sea-surface gravity data constrain density variations at depth beneath the seafloor, whereas sea-bottom measurements are more sensitive to shallow sources. At least two different types of hydrothermal signatures in the sediments can be distinguished from the gravity data: short-wavelength anomalies associated with sulfide deposits and broader anomalies associated with areas of lithified sediments. In Middle Valley, three distinct gravity anomalies were identified. (a) An anomaly over a sulfide mound, south of Bent Hill, shows that the sulfide body extends to depths of 120 to 180 m and has been fed by several near-surface conduits. (b) An anomaly at the base of the fault bordering the valley to the east is interpreted as a regional anomaly combined with the local effect of lithified sediments and possibly sulfide deposits. (c) An anomaly paralleling an intra-valley fault, that limits the deepest part of the graben, is interpreted as indicating lithification of the upper sediment layer. A high heat flow anomaly is located 1 to 2 km east of this fault, suggesting that sediment lithification occurred in a wide band above the fault and eastward to the current high heat flow area, due to the progressive migration of the hot fluid circulation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.