CHEN 9300512 The object of this study is to understand the specific mechanisms in which the 3-D mid-ocean topography is controlled by various loading forces arising from ridge segmentation. In the first phase of the study, a new 3-D ridge thermal model will be developed that will include heat input associated with along-axis variations in crustal emplacement, crustal hydrothermal cooling, and lateral heat transfer across the steep walls of rift valleys and transform troughs. In the second phase, the hypothesis that the observed ridge morphology is generated from the 3-D lithospheric deformation will be tested. And in the third phase, the results of the theoretical models will be compared with data from four well surveyed areas of the mid-ocean ridge.
