04/21/2008 10:00
04/24/2008 10:00
Etc/GMT
A session on "Ridges, Ophiolites, and Rifting" will be organized at the "Reunion Annuelle des Sciences de la Terre" meeting in Nancy (France), April 21-24, 2008.
Conveners: David Jousselin, Mathilde Cannat
The Oceanic lithosphere covers about the three quarters of the Earth surface. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to understand the processes involved in its formation for a better view of the global Earth dynamic. However, several key questions concerning the elementary processes involved in the accretion of oceanic ridges are still debated.
How is rifting initiated? Is mantle flow the result of viscous drag from the separating plates, or is mantle flow dynamic? What are the relationships among mantle flow, melt flow, mantle composition, ridge morphology, and segmentation? How does hydrothermal circulation affect characteristics of the melt zone, crustal structure and composition, and ridge morphology?
Geophysical advances have lead to recent results that are not taken into account in most popular models. In parallel, the study of ophiolithes is still a fruitful alternative way of exploration. These studies, coupled to deep drilling programs, and to the establishment of under-sea observatories, are leading to radical changes in our comprehension of ridge processes. This session aims at gathering recent observations, which have been carried out on current and incipient oceanic ridges, and on various ophiolitic complexes, in order to debate on the various hypotheses made about the genesis of the ocean crust
For more information on the meeting, sessions, registration: http://www.rst2008.u-nancy.fr/
