Using a new technique, researchers will re-analyze existing seafloor geodetic data from a 6-transponder array deployed across the axial valley at the Cleft Segment of the intermediate rate Juan de Fuca spreading center. By adding the ship's hydrophone as one of the GPS-located points and accounting for its motion and sound speed stratification, the researchers have previously demonstrated the capacity to improve velocity estimates from marine geodetic networks. The application of this method to the Cleft Segment data will constrain the pattern of deformation across the spreading ridge, including resolving whether this area is the locus of asymmetric spreading, distinguishing among crustal transport hypotheses, and determining where plate motion initiates. Broader impacts include the contributions of the refined analyses to advancing marine geodetic studies, training of a graduate student, and enhancement of our understanding of deformational processes in the zone of crustal formation.
