Seafloor Mapping

Fault scarps at Mid-Ocean Ridges (MOR) are recognizable on the seafloor, and often measured to estimate the tectonic component of plate divergence. This estimate, based on linear fault scarp parameters, is referred to here as apparent tectonic strain (ATS).

At fast-spreading centers, faults develop within the axial summit trough (AST; 0 to 250 m around the axis) primarily by diking-induced deformation originating from the axial magma lens (AML). The formation of the prominent abyssal-hill-bounding faults beyond the axial high (>2,000 m) is typically associated with the unbending of the lithosphere as it cools and spreads away from the AST.

Watch the video introduction for this paper on YouTube or Bilibili. The ocean, as a vast interconnected body of water on Earth, plays an essential role in Earth’s planetary dynamics, climate change, and the evolution of human society and decision-making processes.

See more maps: Chen et al., (2023): Ocean Sciences with the Spilhaus Projection: A Seamless Ocean Map for Spatial Data Recognition. Scientific Data. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02309-6 Chen, Jie (2022): Spilhaus World Ocean Map.

Chen, Jie (2022): Bathymetry map showing slow and ultraslow spreading ridges. figshare. Figure. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19561030.v1 Figure design inspiration comes from Bing Dwen Dwen (Beijing 2022 Olympic Mascot).

Chen, Jie (2021): Global distribution of hydrothermal vents with respect to spreading rate. figshare. Figure. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.17357678.v2 Datasets are from multiple sources: topography (Weatherall et al., 2015), crustal age (Seton et al.

Chen, Jie (2021): The global Mid-Ocean Ridge system. figshare. Figure. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16628449.v1 (a) Topography, (b) teleseismic earthquakes (Mb>4), (c) age of oceanic crust, and (d) heat flow. Datasets are from multiple sources: topography (Weatherall et al.

Chen, Jie (2021): Bathymetry map showing global Mid-Ocean Ridge, hydrothermal vent fields, and detachment faults. figshare. Figure. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14680419.v2

Chen, Jie (2021): Bathymetry map of the Southwest Indian Ridge. figshare. Figure. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14933397.v2

Chen, Jie (2021): Seafloor mapping: multiple styles of bathymetry maps showing the Mid-Ocean Ridges. figshare. Figure. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16529472.v1