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Evidence for spreading-rate dependence in the displacement-length ratios of abyssal hill faults at mid-ocean ridges

¹ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964, USA
² Department of Geology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA

New data from the eastern flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (25–27°N) show that slow-spreading abyssal hill faults maintain maximum displacement-length ratios that are systematically greater than those reported on the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise. Lower displacement-length ratios in the fast-spreading environment may reflect the importance of fault linkage (rather than lateral propagation) in determining the lengths of abyssal hill faults and the limited ability of fault systems that evolve within an extremely thin lithosphere to acquire additional displacement during or following linkage.

Key Words: mid-ocean ridges • faults • faulting • fault scarps • abyssal hills

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