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Rapid dike emplacement leads to eruptions and hydrothermal plume release during seafloor spreading events

¹ Cooperative Institute for Marine Resource Studies, Oregon State University, and Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, Oregon 97365, USA
² Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Rayleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
³ Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817, USA
⁴ Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, Washington 98115, USA
⁵ Department of Geology and Geophysics, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817, USA
⁶ Cooperative Institute for Marine Resource Studies, Oregon State University, and Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, Oregon 97365, USA

The creation of ocean crust by rapid injection of magma at mid-ocean ridges can lead to eruptions of lava onto the seafloor and release of "event plumes," which are huge volumes of anomalously warm water enriched in reduced chemicals that rise up to 1 km above the seafloor. Here, we use seismic data to show that seafloor eruptions and the release of hydrothermal event plumes correspond to diking episodes with high injection velocities and rapid onset of magma emplacement within the rift zone. These attributes result from high excess magma pressure at the dike source, likely due to a new influx of melt from the mantle. These dynamic magmatic conditions can be detected remotely and may predict the likelihood of event plume release during future seafloor spreading events.

Key Words: dike injection • earthquakes • hydroacoustics • ridge • Juan de Fuca