Scientists Capture 4.2-Meter Seafloor Collapse at Indian Ridge as 150 Million Cubic Meters of Magma Inject
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · Jul 8
Scientists Capture 4.2-Meter Seafloor Collapse at Indian Ridge as 150 Million Cubic Meters of Magma Inject
3 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Jul 8
Summary
April 2024 data from the Southeast Indian Ridge captured the first hour-by-hour “quantum event” of seafloor spreading, with the ridge axis failing and the valley floor collapsing 4.2 meters.
Less than two hours of dike intrusion injected an estimated 150 million cubic meters of magma into the crust, triggering earthquakes, reactivating faults and later feeding lava onto the seafloor.
Peak spreading reached 5 centimeters a minute, while measured horizontal shifts of 2 to 4 meters equaled roughly 30 to 60 years of motion at the ridge’s long-term rate.
Models showed much of the movement was aseismic, helping explain why earthquake records alone had long fallen short of the total spreading observed at mid-ocean ridges.
The Nature study suggests new seafloor forms in rare, violent bursts rather than steady creep, giving marine geophysicists a direct benchmark for tracking crust creation.