The mid-ocean ridge is a remarkable feature of our planet,renowned as one of Earth's most vital zones for volcanic and seismic activity. It serves as a crucial setting for the transfer of energy and materials be-tween the ocean and lithosphere. As the archetypal divergent plate boundary,mid-ocean ridges are primarily sculpted by extensional tectonics and the associated development of normal faults. However,in a surprising twist,a thrust seismic event was detected in late 2022 along the 54°N segment of the Atlantic mid-ocean ridge. This arti-cle focuses on summarizing a recent paper that addresses this seismic event,featured in the prestigious journal Na-ture (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07247-w). The research,integrating seismic observations,geo-logical analyses,and numerical simulations across multiple disciplines,provides a detailed account of the thrust seismic activity at a classical divergent plate boundary. It delves into the imprint of these short-lived seismic events on the landscape's topography and geomorphology,elucidating the mechanisms behind the formation of compression stress zones within an extensional tectonic setting. The study not only challenges the long-held as-sumption that divergent plate boundaries are solely associated with extensional tectonics but also underscores the indispensable role of interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration of geological processes across different timescales in advancing solid Earth science research.
万方数据
维普
