9712176 Shen A comprehensive analysis of the local seismicity along a 300 km-long stretch of the Southern East Pacific Rise, 15 to 18 degrees south, and off-axis out to 400 km on either flank is possible using data from the MELT ocean-bottom seismometer experiment. This experiment deployed 51 seismometers for 7 months, and provides an opportunity to detect tectonic and magmatic events and intraplace seismicity at a super-fast spreading ridge. The study has two components. The first is to characterize seismic activity at and near the ridge axis, to relate seismicity to variations along-strike in volcanic and tectonic features of the axial zone, and to use the spatial and temperal patterns of seismicity to evaluate the existing models of the basic processes of the formation of the ocean crust. The second component is to assess the level and nature of intraplate seismicity and its correlation with seafloor age, seamounts, gravity lineations, or other tectonic features.
