CHEMISTRY AND PETROLOGY OF BASALTS FROM LEG 37 OF DEEP-SEA DRILLING PROJECT

The purpose of this study was (1) to characterize chemically and petrographically the basalts from the oceanic crust at the drilling sites of leg 37, (2) to investigate spatial and secular variations among these basalts as a function of distance from the mid-Atlantic ridge and depth in the stratigraphic sequence, (3) to study the deepest hole 332B to gain insight into the processes operating at the mid-Atlantic ridge which resulted in the observed complex stratigraphy, and (4) to evaluate the role of petrogenetic processes responsible for the basalt types that have been sampled in the cores. Results are examined in detail.