16 December 1966, Volume 154, Number 3755 B I EN;

blocks will be of essentially reversed

polarity, and the width and polarity of
blocks successively more distant from
the central block will depend on the
reversal time scale for Earth's field in
Spreading of the Ocean Floor: the past.
Vine and Wilson considered that the
bulk of the magnetization resides in a
New Evidence comparatively thin layer, 1 or 2 kilo-
meters of basaltic extrusives and in-
Magnetic anomalies may record histories of the ocean trusives, coating a main crustal layer
of serpentinite (8). If the frequency
basins and Earth's magnetic field for 2 X 108 years. of extrusion and intrusion of this ma-
terial is approximately normally dis-
F. J. Vine tributed about the axis of the ridge
(9), all blocks other than the central
block will be contaminated with young-
er material, possibly of opposite polar-
Controversy regarding continental north-south topographic scars on the ity, in which case their bulk resultant
drift has raged within the earth sciences floor of the Indian Ocean that may or effective magnetization will be re-
for more than 40 years. Within the well be caused by the northward drift duced. In this way a model has been
last decade it has been enlivened by of India since Jurassic time. Wilson developed in which the magnetization
the results of paleomagnetic research (5) has suggested that drift and ocean- of the central block is assumed to be
and exploration of the ocean basins floor spreading in the South Atlantic twice that of the others. This model
(1). Throughout, one of the main and East Pacific may be recorded in derives from work on a very small
stumbling blocks has been the lack of the form of fracture zones and aseis- but detailed survey of an area on the
a plausible mechanism to initiate and mic volcanic ridges. It has also been crest of Carlsberg Ridge in the north-
maintain drift. Recently, however, the postulated that the history of a spread- west Indian Ocean (10).
concept of spreading of the ocean ing ocean floor may be recorded in The idea was an attempt to explain
floor, as proposed by Hess (2), has terms of the permanent (remanent) two interesting and enigmatic features
renewed for many the feasibility of magnetization of the oceanic crust. of oceanic magnetic anomalies: the
drift and provided an excellent work- Vine and Matthews (6) have sug- well-known central anomaly associated
ing hypothesis for the interpretation gested that variations in the intensity with the axes of ridges, first observed
and investigation of the ocean floors. and polarity of Earth's magnetic field by Ewing, Hirshman, and Heezen (11);
The hypothesis invokes slow convec- may be "fossilized" in the oceanic and the remarkable striped pattern of
tion within the upper mantle by creep crust, and that this condition in turn anomalies revealed by surveys of
processes, drift being initiated above an should be manifest in the result- Earth's magnetic field in the north-
upwelling, and continental fragments ing short-wavelength disturbances or eastern Pacific (for example, Fig. 1).
riding passively away from such a rift anomaliese" in Earth's magnetic field, These anomalies are known to retain
on a conveyor belt of upper-mantle observed at or above Earth's surface. their characteristic shape and spacing
material; movements of the order of a Thus the conveyor belt can also be for thousands of kilometers along their
few centimeters per annum are re- thought of as a tape recorder. As new length (12) and are quite unlike anom-
quired. Thus the oceanic crust is a sur- oceanic crust forms and cools through alies observed over the continents. They
face expression of the upper mantle the Curie temperature at the center are very difficult to simulate if one as-
and is considered to be derived from of an oceanic ridge, the permanent sumes any reasonable lithologic con-
it, in part by partial fusion, and in component of its magnetization, which trasts within the oceanic crust, or
part by low-temperature modification. predominates, will assume the ambient plausible geologic structures. Intuitive-
This model, as developed by Hess and direction of Earth's magnetic field. A ly it was felt that in some way the
Dietz (3), can be shown to account rate of spreading of a few centimeters anomalies must be a surface expression
for many features of the ocean basins per annum and a duration of 700,000 of convection within the mantle. The
and continental margins. years for the present polarity (7) im- thesis assumes therefore that the linear
It seems reasonable to assume that, ply a central "block" of crust, a few anomalies of the northeastern Pacific
if drift has occurred, some record of tens of kilometers in width, in which
it should exist within the ocean basins. the magnetization is uniformly and The author is an instructor in the department
of geology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ.
Heezen and Tharp (4) have delineated "normally" directed. The adjacent 08540.
16 DECEMBER 1966 1405
are quite ubiquitous over the deep afflictties cept for the central anomaly. Vacquier
ocean basins; that they are interrupted (12) maintained, therefore, that there
only by anomalies associated with iso- At the time this concept was pro- are no linear anomalies paralleling the
lated seamounts or volcanic ridges, posed there was very little concrete central anomaly over the crests of
and by fracture zones which offset the evidence to support it, and in some ridges.
anomaly pattern-,-as was shown by ways it posed more problems than it 3) The idea did not, very obviously,
Vacquier in the northeast Pacific (12). solved. There were, for example, at explain the fact that the low-amplitude,
Of the three basic assumptions of least three rather awkward points that short-wavelength anomalies observed
the Vine and Matthews hypothesis, it did not explain: on either side of the axis of a ridge
field reversals (7) and the importance 1.) Many workers felt and feel that give way to higher-amplitude, long-
of remanence (13) have recently be- the northeast Pacific anomalies do not wavelength anomalies over the more
come more firmly established and wide- parallel any existing or preexisting distant flanks-an observation original-
ly held; thus in demonstrating the ef- oceanic ridge (14). ly made by Vine and Matthews (6)
ficacy of the idea one might provide 2) Whereas one can visually corre- and emphasized by Heirtzler and Le
virtual proof of the third assumption: late anomalies on widely spaced pro- Pichon (15). With the increase in depth
ocean-floor spreading, and its various files in the northeastern Pacific, one of the magnetic material as one moves
implications. cannot do this over ridge crests, ex- from the ridge crest to the flanks, one
would expect disappearance of shorter
wavelengths but not an increase in
135? 130' 125'
amplitude.
CHARLOrrC

Corollaries

The second difficulty is clearly rather

fundamental, but has persisted because
until recently no large, detailed survey
#1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~51 of the crest of a midocean ridge was
thought to be available. However, in
1963 the U.S. Naval Oceanographic

500' Office (16) made a detailed aeromag-

netic survey of Reykjanes Ridge, south-
west of Iceland (Fig. 2) (17). The ridge
was chosen because it clearly forms
part of the northerly extension of the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge through Iceland,
and because earlier traverses had indi-
cated a typical central anomaly over
its crest (18). A diagram summarizing
the anomalies revealed by this survey
appears in Fig. 3. The area summa-
rized, approximating a 400-kilometer
square, shows a pattern of linear anom-
450 1______45
4 Ft alies paralleling the central anomaly
and symmetrically disposed about it.
This finding, together with the sym-
metry and linearity of the magnetic
anomalies about the Juan de Fuca and
Gorda ridges (Fig. 1), recently de-
scribed by Wilson (19), provides con-
vincing confirmation of the two most
obvious corollaries of a literal inter-
pretation of the Vine-Matthews hy-
pothesis: (i) linear magnetic anomalies
should parallel or subparallel ridge
crests, and (ii) for many latitudes and
orientations the anomalies should be
L350 1300 125 symmetric about the axis of the ridge.
If one pursues a literal application
of the idea, a further possibility is
Fig. 1. Summary diagram of total magnetic-field anomalies southwest of Vancouver simulation of anomalies at ridge crests
Island. Areas of positive anomaly are shown in black. Straight lines indicate faults
offsetting the anomaly pattern; arrows, the axes of the three short ridge lengths by assuming the reversal time scale for
within this area-from north to south, Explorer, Juan de Fuca, and Gorda ridges. the last 4 million years proposed by
See also Fig. 15. [Based on fig. 1 of Raff and Mason (27); courtesy Geol. Soc. Amer.] Cox, Doell, and Dairymple (7), the
1406 SCIENCE, VOL. 154
 60OW 30% 00

621N

58eN ~~~30-
W 25'W -

_600~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0

/EYKJANES RIDGE
MAGNETICS

301W 2,5W

Fig. 2 (left). The location of Reykjanes Ridge, southwest of Iceland, and the area of Fig. 3. The 1000-fathom submarine contour
is shown, together with the 500-fathom contours for Rockall Bank. Fig. 3 (right). Summary diagram of the magnetic
anomalies observed over Reykjanes Ridge (see Fig. 2). Straight lines indicate the axis of the ridge and the central positive
anomaly (17).

only additional parameter being the (21) in reconstructing the fit of the Ridge (half width, 600 km) is ap-
rate of spreading; the scale (Fig. 4) continents around the Atlantic. In this proximately 1 centimeter per annum
has recently received striking independ- instance the deep to the southeast of -that is, the rate of "drifting" is ap-
ent confirmation from the work of Rockall may represent an initial abor- proximately 2 centimeters per annum.
Opdyke et al. (20) on deep-sea sedi- tive split; the oceanic area to the
mentary cores. northwest, centered on Reykjanes Ridge,
a subsequent and more persistent site Other Ridges
of spreading of the ocean floor. There
Reykjanes Ridge is every indication from the existing The model proposed by Vine and
bathymetry (17) that the ridge crest Matthews (6) and developed by Vine
Observed anomaly profiles obtained is linear and not interrupted or off- and Wilson (8) has been applied to
during four crossings of the crest of set by transverse fractures. four widely separated areas on the
Reykjanes Ridge are compared (Fig. 5) This area therefore, 1200 kilometers midoceanic ridge system (Figs. 6-9)
with simulations obtained by assump- in width, may well record a compara- by assumption of the reversal time
tion of reversal time scales for the last tively simple and straightforward ex- scale shown in Fig. 4 and a rate
4 million years and a rate of spreading ample of drifting and spreading. The of spreading compatible with the width
of 1 centimeter per annum for each oldest rocks in the Thulean or Brito- of the central anomaly. An observed
limb of the ridge. The model assumed is Arctic Tertiary Igneous province oc- profile across Juan de Fuca Ridge,
analogous to the one I have described cur in northwestern Scotland and east- southwest of Vancouver Island (Fig.
(8, model 2), but the depths have ern Greenland. Preliminary potassium- 1) (8, 19), is compared (Fig. 6) with
been made compatible with the depth argon dates from Arran, Mull, and a simulated profile based on a rate
to the ridge crest in this area and with other centers in the British Isles sug- of spreading of 2.9 centimeters per
the altitude at which the survey was gest an age of approximately 60 inil- annum per limb of the spreading sys-
flown. In performance of the survey, lion years (perhaps slightly greater) tem. A profile across the East Pacific
58 parallel courses were flown normal (22). If it is assumed that this igneous Rise, just north of the Eltanin Frac-
to the ridge axis, but the crest was not activity indicates the initiation of drift ture Zone (23), is compared (Fig. 7)
traversed by the first four and last in this area, then the implied average with a computed profile based on a
five courses: thus crossings 15, 25, 35, rate of spreading from Reykjanes rate of spreading of 4.4 centimeters
and 45 are shown as being representa-
tive. The correlation between the ob- Jaramillo 0iduvai
served and computed anomalies is very BRUNHES l GAUSS-
encouraging and suggests a rate of
spreading of rather less than 1 centi-
NORMAL FIELD a /// A M
,
meter per annum. K-Ar AGE 0 1I0 2-0 3-0 4 0 M. YRS
When one applies the concept of
continental drift to this region, it seems
REVERSEDFIELD AV/A
< MATUYAMA - > <- GILBERT
reasonable to assume that Rockall
Bank, southeast of the ridge (Fig. 2), Mammoth
is a continental fragment, as was as- Fig. 4. Geomagnetic-polarity epochs deduced from paleomagnetic results and potassium-
sumed by Bullard, Everett, and Smith argon dating. [Based on Cox, Doell, and Dalrymple, and Doell and Dalrymple (7)]
1 DECEMBER 1966 1407
per annum. Clearly this rate, implying width of the envelope of the central boundaries independently without refer-
a rate of separation of nearly 9 centi- magnetic anomalies indicated by ence to a reversal time scale (8). In
meters per annurn, is an order of mag- Heirtzler and Le Pichon (15, fig. 3), Fig. 11 boundaries inferred from the
nitude greater than the commonly may well be an expression of this observed profiles across the East Pa-
quoted rates of I or 2 centimeters phenomenon. cific Rise and Juan de Fuca and Rey-
per annum; the significance and pos- kjanes ridges (Figs. 5-7) are plotted
sible implications of this difference are against the reversal time scale of Cox,
discussed later. The Red Sea Doell, and Dalrymple (7), according
Observed profiles across Carlsberg to their distances from the axis of the
Ridge in the northwest Indian Ocean In Fig. 10 a modification of the ridge. The dashed line in this graph
and across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in model has been applied at two points indicates a similar plot for the bound-
the South Atlantic are compared (Figs. on the Red Sea rift. If the axial de- aries at the Juan de Fuca Ridge and
8 and 9) with simulations based on a pression and zone of magnetic anom- the time scale assumed by Vine and
rate of spreading of 1.5 centimeters alies in the Red Sea are considered Wilson (8).
per annum. As Backus has pointed to indicate the initiation of continental In this earlier time scale the Jara-
out (24), one may expect the width drift by spreading of the ocean floor millo event (Fig. 4) had not been
of the anomalies in the South Atlantic (25), then clearly such a simulation differentiated, and the most recent re-
to increase southward, reflecting a pro- should be attempted. However, the versal was placed at 1 million years
gressive increase in the rate of spread- depth to this embryonic ocean floor ago. Consequently the narrow peaks
ing, because of the rotation of South and its crustal section (26) are not on either side of the central positive
America relative to Africa (21) and typical of an oceanic ridge, and this anomaly in Fig. 6 were correlated
the resultant southward increase in sep- floor almost certainly includes some with the Olduvai event. This correla-
aration. The increase southward, in the assimilated or floundered continental tion implied a very erratic rate of
material. spreading and a much slower average
In Fig. 10 a slightly thickened "vol- rate of 1.5 centimeters per annum
REYKJANES RIDGE 60 N canic" layer has been truncated against (8) .
nonmagnetic continental material ac- It will be seen that, had the authors
cording to the width of the central had more faith in the idea and the
depression and anomalies at each point. probability of a more constant rate of
15 li 35
The same rate of spreading, 1 centi- spreading, for inertial reasons, they
meter per annum, has been assumed could have predicted the Jaramillo
at both points, hence the different event. The recent detailing of this event
lengths of the reversal time scale in- by Doell and Dalrymple (7) and its
volved. independent discovery by Opdyke
One would not expect the anomaly et al. (20) are therefore of consider-
pattern in the Red Sea rift to be as able interest and importance in inter-
clear-cut as that over the more mature pretation of the magnetic anomalies.
Juan de Fuca or Reykjanes ridges; On correlation of the crustal bound-
25 IXA 45
nevertheless the approximation of the aries with the new time scale (Fig.
simulated to the observed anomalies 11), the implied rates of spreading are
is encouraging. The dates of rifting more constant and much faster than
implied from these models should not before. Moreover, rather remarkably,
be taken to indicate the initiation here the deviations from linearity for the
of crustal extension. In initiating drift East Pacific Rise and Juan de Fuca
in a typical shield area (that is, be- Ridge- 11,000 kilometers apart-are
neath possibly 35 kilometers of conti- exactly analogous. The only discrepan-
MODELS I cmlyr
nental crust, in this area), an utpwell- cy occurs in the region of the Mam-
ing in the mantle may well start by moth event, concerning which there is
producing "necking" (thinning) of the a suggestion, from the profile resulting
crust, normal faulting, and intrusion
and extrusion of basic igneous material
-all effects producing extension and Figs. 6-9 (facing page). Observed mag-
netic profiles at various points on the
thinning of the crust and the possi- midocean ridge system are compared with
KM 50 0 50 50 0 F.L.
bility of marine transgression prior to simulated profiles based on the reversal
4 KM the initiation of drift and the emplace- time scale of Fig. 4, a constant rate of
ment of quasi-oceanic crust. spreading, and the model outlined in the
Fig. 5. Profiles observed across Reykjanes text (47). The observed profiles are taken
Ridge, together with computed profiles. from Raff and Mason (27, pl. 1) for Juan
The model to the left assumes the, reversal de Fuca Ridge [see also Vine and Wilson
time scale of Fig. 4; that to the right, the The Reversal Time Scale (8, fig. 3)]; the Eltanin-19 profile (East
"revised" time scale of Figs. 12 and 13 Pacific Rise) ofl Pitman and He~irtzler(23,
(45) . All observed and computed profiles In simulating the anomalies observed fig. 2); the Owen profiles (northwest In-
have been drawn to the same proportion; dian Ocean) ofl Matthews, Vine, and Cann
10 kilometers horizontally is equivalent centrally over oceanic ridges, inl terms (46, fig. 2); and the Zapiola-2 profile (South
to 100 gammavertically(1 gamma- l0- of normal-reverse boundaries within Atlantic) of Helirtzler:and Le Pichon (15,
oersted). F.L., flight level. the oceanic crust, one can deduce these fig. 1). S.L., sea 'level.
1408 SCIENCE, VOL. 154
Juan De Fuca Ridge 460 N East Pacific Rise 510 S
Profile Reversed Profile Reversed

[5007
[500

MODEL 2 9 cm /yr
MODEL 4 4 cm/yr

100 0 100 KM 100 0 100 KM

_ _ S.L. S. L.
3.3
- 3.3 5 KM
-5 KM

Northwest Indian Ocean 50 N South Atlantic 380 S

jCo
PROFILE 'B'

* A>X~~~~~~A

PROFILE B .5007

d OOt

MODEL [15 cm/yr

MODEL 1-5 cm/yr

0
50 50 KM 50 0 50 KM
, - S.L.
~~~_
- t _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - 3.3SL
-$--

1 _~~~~
~~-5 = KM
16 DECEMBER 1966 1409
RED SEA 20 N o N
16 KMS

4-4 cm/yr
140 EAST PACIFI RISE
X 1 C 0

< 4 u f
loo-
O~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ X2
~~~~~ 9 c/m/yr
MODELS t cm/yr 0

a 0
40

20- ~~~~~~EYK
ANES RIDGE

25 0
A,~
25 KM 50
~~~~~~0
...... 0 :: a. , X
hit, ALS L 0 3. 4
IZ biil i .....I 4 KM TIME-SCALE IN M. YRS

Fig. 10 (left). Observed profiles across the Red Sea [from Allan, Charnock, and Morelli (48); Drake and Girdler (26)] compared
with computed profiles based on a constant rate of spreading and a truncated model and time scale according to the width of
the central depression and zone of magnetic anomalies (49). Stippled area, "nonmagnetic' continental material. Fig. 11 (right).
Inferred normal-reverse boundaries within the crust plotted against the reversal time scale of Fig. 4. The dashed line represents a
similar plot for Juan de Fuca Ridge, if one assumes the earlier time scale-as did Vine and Wilson (8). Note the similar deviations
from linearity for the East Pacific Rise and Juan de Fuca Ridge.

from the very fast rate of spreading ing obtained centrally from this pro- tive peaks associated with the periods
in the South Pacific (Fig. 7), that file (Fig. 11) and deduces normal- of normal polarity between 4 and 5
this event is multiple; that is, it may reverse boundaries in the crust out to million years ago, and the broad posi-
include a short period of normal polar- a distance of 500 kilometers, one can tive resulting from the period between
ity (see Fig. 13). suggest a reversal time scale for the 9 and 10 million years ago, are clearly
If, therefore, one assumes constant last 11.5 million years (Fig. 13). identifiable in Fig. 1, together with other
rates of spreading for these two areas This extrapolation clearly depends on details of the time scale, centered on
(the averages obtained from Fig. 11), the continued applicability of the model Juan de Fuca and Gorda ridges.
one can replot the inferred boundaries and a constant rate of spreading, but The area covered by this survey ap-
on lines of constant spreading rates it presents at least two very interesting pears to be transacted by many trans-
and suggest slight revisions of the re- possibilities: (i) it can be compared current or transform faults, or both,
versal time scale, as are shown in Fig. with the time scales obtained by other separating apparently rotated blocks, as
12. Clearly, much more data should techniques as these scales are extended Raff and Mason (27) and Wilson (19)
be analyzed in this way to confirm back into the Pliocene (7, 20); and suggested. However, if one takes into
or invalidate this type of revision, but (ii) if the Vine-Matthews hypothesis is consideration the offset of the anomaly
it presents an interesting possibility. applicable to all active oceanic ridges pattern across these faults, one can
In discussing the magnetic anomalies as has been suggested, one can use this reconstruct a profile across and to the
associated with Juan de Fuca Ridge, time scale to simulate and predict cen- northwest of Juan de Fuca Ridge (Fig.
Vine and Wilson compared a profile tral anomalies at other latitudes and 14), and this profile remarkably re-
across this ridge with the only avail- orientations of the ridge system, as is sembles the one obtained in the South
able profile across the East Pacific illustrated for the time scale out to 4 Pacific, 1-1,000 kilometers away. Fur-
Rise (8, fig. 2). This rather rash com- million years in Figs. 5-10. Pitman thermore, if one deduces boundaries
parison has now been vindicated by and Heirtzler's (23) simulation, of the within the crust from the Juan de
the publication of four new profiles type suggested, for Reykjanes Ridge Fuca profile and plots these on the
across the East Pacific Rise by Pitman agrees very well with the observed vertical time lines obtained from the
and Heirtzler (23) (see also Figs. 6 profile. South Pacific profile in Fig. 13, there
and 7). Of these new profiles, the is a suggestion that the rate of spread-
Eltanin-19 profile (Fig. 14) shows, as ing in the Juan de Fuca area may
Pitman and Heirtzler emphasized, re- The East Pacific Rise have decreased within the Pliocene
markable symmetry about its mid- from a rate of 4 or 5 to 2.9 centi-
point; it is presumably most suitable In the Pacific, where the spreading meters per annum for the last 5.5
for deduction of the frequency and oc- rate appears to be much faster, many million years.
currence of reversals in the Pliocene. details of the reversal time scale are Clearly one cannot distinguish be-
Thus, if one assumes the rate of spread- apparent: For example, the four posi- tween an acceleration of the East Pa-
1410 SCIENCE, VOL. 154
cific Rise in the South Pacific and a tinent', and that are therefore actively ing the anomaly bands of Fig. 1 with
deceleration of Juan de Fuca Ridge ,causing continents to drift apart, should a spectrum of colors according to their
in the north, but the latter is con- be approximately median within the ages. Such a diagram reveals another
sidered more likely and leads to an ocean basins. Pacific ridges such as the short and less obvious ridge to the
interesting speculation. extinct Darwin Rise and the active north of Juan de Fuca Ridge, as is
The anomalous width and unique East Pacific Rise are not constrained indicated in Figs. 1 and 15; the short
features of the American Cordillera in this way, having been initiated pre- ridge, like the Gorda, has a pro-
in the western United States were em- sumably in oceanic areas. Therefore nounced topographic expression (31),
phasized by Wise (28), who consid- I follow Menard (29) and Wilson particularly near the continental mar-
ered that these features may be re- (5) in maintaining that the northeast gin, where the central magnetic pat-
lated to, or at least 'reflected in, the Pacific basin represents a flank of the tern is also clearest. The proximity of
apparently rotated oceanic crustal East Pacific Rise, the crest of which this new ridge to the Explorer seamount
blocks revealed by the magnetic survey has been modified, and arrested by the and the Explorer trench (31) has led
(Fig. 1). Wise felt that his hypothesis encroachment of North America. to its name: Explorer Ridge (see Fig.
was outrageous, but I should -like to The former east-west direction of 15).
develop- it further in the light of this spreading from the East Pacific Rise, South of Cape Mendocino, current
reinterpretation of the magnetic reflected in the north-south magnetic crustal spreading appears to be ac-
anomalies. anomalies of the northeast Pacific, has commodated along the San Andreas
I suggest that, to a first-order ap- apparently been replaced within the fault, as was proposed by Wilson
proximation, the more recent geologic Pliocene so that the present direction (30). In this area, between the Men-
history and structures of the western of motion is northwest-southeast, paral- docino and Murray fracture zones, the
United States can be ascribed to the leling the San Andreas fault, as Wilson former ridge crest has presumably been
progressive westward drift of the North (30) suggested. overridden and damped out, perhaps
American continent away from the In the area off Washington and Ore- not without attempts at modification
spreading Atlantic Ridge, and to the gon and to the north of the Mendocino as suggested by the northeasterly trend-
fact that the continent has overridden Fracture Zone, this change in direc- ing anomalies, near the continental
and partially resorbed first the trench tion has been accommodated by fault- margin, in the magnetic survey of this
system *and more recently *the crest of ing and a gradual stifling and reorienta- area (32) (see Fig. 15). However, it
the East Pacific Rise. tion of the ridge crest to form Juan is interesting to reconstruct the ridge
As Hess has noted on the basis of de Fuca and Gorda ridges. This stifling crest as it would be had it not been
ocean-floor spreading (3), only ridges is illustrated by profiles in Fig. 14, but overridden and modified. If one cal-
that have been initiated beneath con- it is most graphically shown by color- culates the position of the ridge crest

KMS 4.4 cm/yr 50

1601
140- /0-4- m
EAST PACIFIC RISE 0 EAST PACIFIC RISE
120.
U

Ir 1000 o 300- 'loll

LI-

0
x ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x
TIME-SCALE AN DE FUCA 200T
0 60

U-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L
z
4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
100-
1
4FUC34 < 5A 8JUA 9 DE 10 1

0-

0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0
0 1 23 0 1 2- 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1,0
TIME- SCALE IN M.YRS TIME - SCALE IN M. YRS
Fig. 12 (left). Crustal boundaries replotted along lines of constant rates of spreading (that is,
best-fitting straight, lines in Fig. Ii);
slight revision of the reversal time scale are suggested. The "revised" time scale is the lower, ruled
scale. Fig. 13 (right).
Magnetic boundaries across the East Pacific Rise, deduced out to 500 kilometers from the crest and
plotted on a line representing
a constant spreading rate of 4.4 centimeters per annum. Similar boundaries from Juan de Fuca
Ridge are plotted out to 150 kilo-
meters on the assumption of a constant spreading rate of 2.9 centimeters per annum. The time scale out
to 5.5 million years is
based on both plots. Beyond that time the time scale is based on the East Pacific Rise
boundaries, and those deduced from Juan
de Fuca Ridge are simply plotted on these time lines.
16 DECEMBER 1966
1411
north of the Mendocino (had it not the picture is less clear; possible clues that the Clipperton fracture zone does
been stifled) and assumes the offsets from the oceanic magnetic anomalies not offset the present crest of the East
measured further west on the Mendo- are still confused because of the lack Pacific Rise (34), it seems probable
cino and Pioneer fractures (12), the of an extensive survey. However, from that this length of the present crest,
reconstructed ridge crest lies beneath the very nature of the Gulf of >.ali- at least as far south as the Clipperton
Utah and Arizona-the area of the fornia, from its close analogy with the fracture, is new and not a modification
Colorado Plateau uplift (see Fig. 15). Gulf of Aden (33), and in the light of the former crest, as are Juan de
South of the Murray fracture zone of the important observation by Menard Fuca and Gorda ridges.
This interpretation of the present
crustal motion in the northeast Pacific,
EAST PACIFIC RISE 51 S involving transform faults (30) and
northwest-southeast movement, seems
to accord with the anomalous nature
of the circum-P acific belt between Mexi-
co and Alaska. This region lacks trench
JUAN 'DE, FU ,, / / / 41 N systems and their associated planes of
deeper-focus earthquakes-an observa-
tion underlined by Girdler (35), and
a fact perhaps precluding east-west
g g W $ X , _ ,__ or northeast-southwest compression. I
r 2~~~~~~~~~~00 30
10I M a I must emphasize that my evidence (es-
A. A A RA A A A All ~~~~~~~~0 00o 300 000 sentially contained in Fig. 14) sug-
EMS gests that this change in direction oc-
10 AGE IN M- YES 0
curred within the last 10 million years
Fig. 14. The East Pacific Rise profile Eltanin-19 [Pitman and Heirtzler (23)] compared and that earlier, for example, quasi-
with a composite profile across and to the northwest of Juan de Fuca Ridge, and transform faults may have existed
with a profile normal to the strike of the anomalies across and to the west of Gorda along the continental extension of the
Ridge. [The last two profiles from Raff and Mason (27) and Vacquier et al. (50)]
Mendocino and Pioneer fracture
zones, producing the right lateral offset
60o0 of the various tectonic belts indicated
N by Wise (28) (see Fig. 15).
Thus the north-south magnetic
anomalies of the northeast Pacific are
considered to be related to a former
NORTH
crest of the East Pacific Rise. Further
support for this hypothesis comes from
EXPLORER' MRC the flank anomalies. New data (36)
JUAN E FUCA. have enabled Peter (37) to trace a
particular pattern of flank anomalies
approximately from north to south
%
t ~~~~MENDOCINO ut from the Aleutian trench to just south
40? of the Murray fracture zone, a dis-
tance of 2800 kilometers; the top two
profiles in Fig. 16 illustrate the pattern
along latitudes 35?40' and 36'30'N
(37). Christoffel and Ross (38), work-
ing south of New Zealand, have similar-
ly correlated flank anomalies on ad-
jacent north-south profiles at approxi-
mately 1730E (Fig. 16). It is sug-
20 - Eli 8 ~
a~~~~~~~~~~~le-9J - - ; gested that the two patterns are the
same except for difference in the rate
of spreading that formed them. The
two areas are 11,000 kilometers apart.
In addition, the pattern to the south
.~~~~~~~~~~~ P RPACiFIC
EAST of New Zealand bears the same relation
o0 a I RISE to the New Zealand Plateau, the pre-
G00 w 140f 1200 100 sumed northern boundary of the East
Pacific Rise in this area, as the north-
Fig. 15. The East Pacific Rise in the North Pacific.. Solid black lines indicate the
present crest and active transform faults [the crest south of the Gulf of California, east Pacific pattern bears to the western
from Menard (34)]. Thlin lines represent key magnetic anomalies: in particular, the boundary of the north-south anomalies
pair of anomalies traced by Peter (37) between 1600 and 1400W. The half-herringbone suggested by Raff and Peter (37).
pattern to the west suggests a possible boundary of the rise and its associated Judged from the lengths of the pat-
north-south 'magnetic anomalies. Broken lines indicate inactive faults or fractures. terns in the two areas (Fig. 16), the
Dotted lines enclose the circulm-Pacific cordillera within which the tectonic belts
olf Wise (28) are shown by ruled shading. ratio ofl the rates of spreading was
1412 SCIENCE, VOL. 154
3: 2 at the time of formation. In the Earth's Paleofield lion years, on the basis of a constant
South Pacific and to the south of New rate of spreading of 4.5 centimeters
Zealand the width of the East Pacific I have demonstrated that the fast per annum. Thus it is implied that the
Rise decreases southwestward, the de- rate of spreading in the Pacific shows East Pacific Rise, at least in the north
crease implying slower rates of spread- up incredible details in the reversal and south, and perhaps throughout the
ing. This implication was supported by time scale out to at least 4 and perhaps length of the Pacific, was initiated in
crossings of the ridge in this area by 11 million years ago. If one assumes the late Cretaceous, possibly at the time
U.S.S. Staten Island in 1961 (39), that the rate has always been high of the-extinction and beginning of sub-
showing that the width of the central (4 to 5 cm/ year) and that the hypothe- sidence of the Darwin Rise (29).
anomalies also decreases southwestward. sis continues to apply, changes in the Furthermore, the profile of Fig. 17,
The fast rate of spreading that I sug- intensity and polarity of Earth's mag- since it implies a particular sequence
gest for the East Pacific Rise has two netic field during the remainder of the of normal-reverse boundaries and
important implications regarding its Tertiary should be recorded in the changes in bulk magnetization within
heat budget: (i) any systematic varia- oceanic crust and associated magnetic the crust, may enable one to predict
tion in the heat flow, caused by con- anomalies, out to the boundary of the and correlate anomalies in other oceanic
vection beneath, should be much clearer East Pacific Rise. areas, jut as one could, from the
here than in the Atlantic or Indian Immediately north of the Mendocino South Pacific profile, for the North
Oceans; and (ii) the elevation of the fracture zone one can reconstruct such Pacific (Fig. 14) and North Atlantic
Rise, which is presumably related to a profile from the crest of Gorda Ridge (23); in fact, until this is done, the
thermal expansion or partial fusion to the boundary of the north-south speculative nature of this time scale
within the upper mantle, should persist anomalies at 168?W. This profile cannot be overemphasized.
to greater distances from its crest-as (Fig. 17) has been calibrated with a Ridges in other oceanic areas have
it appears to do. suggested time scale beyond 10 mil- been initiated beneath continents, and

N.E. PACIFIC
146 W on 36 N
Fig. 16 (left). The anomaly pattern correlated between profiles
s 1 V / by Peter and Raff in the North Pacific (37) and Christoffel
W \a , E and Ross in the South Pacific (38). It is suggested that the only
| I I .1 ', * ' difference between the two is the rate of spreading that formed
_ A them.

S. PACIFIC '2' O ' 1 /

"% 57 S on '173 ./ E ,
A Fig. 17 (below). East-west profile immediately north of the
s o I\ I
, / Mendocino Fracture Zone (approximately 41'N). Lengths AA
/ r and BB are from Raff (37); the length CC is equivalent to
:::
* , F / g | <
*
' . S | 00 T
g* I, shown
those l , $in Fig. 16. The lower section is taken from the
contour maps of Vacquier et al. (50) and Raff and Mason (27).
The profile has been calibrated with a possible time scale
~I~\
ofi
A
/;\\ 4 from the crest of Gorda Ridge out to the boundary of the
East Pacific Rise at 1680W.

o 100 200 300 400 500 KM

:10 W
BOW
'1 160 155,
lC llo C
r r
] [~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5001

60 M. YRS 70 60

Ij55 W A150 15 140

I
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
] [500t

50 M. YRS 40 30
140 W 135. I i 126

]X a ; - 15007~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0

20 M.YRS 10 0
0 500 KM

16 DECEMBER 1966 1413

 to the flanks. This change to higher able to correlate axial-zone anomalies
amplitude and longer-wavelength anom- on profiles in the equatorial Atlantic
alies is often rather abrupt (15). If is considered to result partly from this
the Vine and Matthews hypothesis is difference in character. Moreover, the
applicable beyond the central, axial model for this latitude and orientation
o
l zones of ridges, this change in char- would predict zero or near-zero
anomalies, so that one is recording
acter may reflect a change in the intensi-
ty or frequency, or both, of reversals only background noise caused by
of Earth's magnetic field. If the fre- topography and second-order magnetic
- I quency of reversals is high, the result-contrasts within the crust.
ing "blocks" of material of a particular The concept of transform faults (30)
10 30 40 50
polarity will be narrow; their width very neatly explains many oceanic
0 20 KMS
will depend on the rate of spreading, fracture zones, especially in the At-
WIDTH OF 'BLOCK'
but if they are a few kilometers in lantic and Indian oceans. There the
Fig. 18. A schematic diagram illustratingwidth they will give rise to a con- faults appear to accommodate changes
the way in which the amplitude of the siderably reduced anomaly (Fig. 1-8). in direction of the ridge crest in split-
anomaly, associated with a "block" of
Narrower blocks may well have no
oceanic crust of a particular polarity, is ting the continents, and parts of these
considerably reduced if the width of the obvious individual expression in the oceans are probably riddled with minor
block is less than 5 or 6 kilometers. magnetic anomaly but will tend to lower transform fractures that obscure the
the bulk resultant magnetization of the magnetic symmetry on any random
surrounding block. Thus this boundary profile. In the northeast Pacific, how-
this fact may well be recorded in the between the flank and axial-zone anom- ever, the fractures seem to be rather
form of marine transgressions or basic alies may reflect an increase in the fre-
different in character and are often not
igneous intrusions on the present-day quency of reversals of Earth's field, to-
very obviously accommodating to a
continental margins (40). By use of gether possibly with a decrease in its general change in direction of the ridge
these criteria the main part of the Mid- intensity. crest (Fig. 15). It seems essential to
Atlantic Ridge is perhaps 150 to 200 Clearly, if this is the case, the bound-
assume ocean-floor spreading to explain
million years old; the northwest In- ary should occur at different distances the large offsets on these fractures at
dian Ocean Ridge, 80 to 100 million from ridge axes according to the averageall, but within this framework there
years old. These ages are compatible rate of spreading in that region. A seem to be two possibilities: transform
with the rates of spreading that I have preliminary investigation of many ridge faults, or a different velocity of spread-
deduced at the centers of these ridges- profiles suggests that this change may ing on either side of the fracture zone
approximately 1.5 centimeters per have occurred approximately 25 mil- (3). By matching anomalies across the
annum. lion years ago. Changes in the fre- fractures one will be able to distin-
Of the three points originally unex- quency of reversal seem quite probable guish between these two possibilities, ac-
plained by the Vine-Matthews hypothe- when one bears in mind that for the cording to whether the offset remains
sis, two have been answered; the re- whole of the Permian and part of the constant or changes along the length
maining difficulty concerns the change Upper Carboniferous the field appears of the- fault. As yet no evidence indi-
in character of the anomalies as one to have been of a single polarity (41). cates pronounced differential spreading.
moves from the axial zone of a ridge The fact that Vacquier (12) was un- Finally, the Vine and Matthews hy-
pothesis may provide the best criterion
for distinguishing between active and
LABRADOR SEA 570 N inactive ridges. Ridges that have ac-
tively spread during the last 1 million
years should be characterized by a cen-
AA- A T
~~~~~~~~1000
tral magnetic anomaly of appropriate
sign and shape. Investigation of ap-
proximately 100 available crossings of
the worldwide ridge system indicates
30-00 good agreement between observed and
FMS
predicted anomalies, two sectors ex-
cepted (42). Magnetic profiles across
the Labrador Sea (43) show a certain
S.E. of SOUTH AFRICA 48? S possible symmetry about the center but
do not reveal a central anomaly (Fig.
19). If actively spreading, this ridge
should be characterized by a very pro-
nounced central anomaly because of
the high latitude (compare Fig. 5);
this lack of central anomaly fits well
3000
FMS with the concept of an extinct and
buried ridge, as was revealed by the
reflection seismic data (44), although
Fig. 19. Observed magnetic profiles and bathymetry recorded by Vema across the occasional shallow-focus earthquakes in-
Labrador Sea and to the southeast of South Africa (51). Note the absence of a
central magnetic anomaly in each case. dicate some residual activity.

1414 SCIENCE, VOL. 154

 The second area is the ridge system the South Pacific enables one to de- 19. J. T. Wilson , Science 150, 462 (1965).
20. N. D, Opdyke, B. Glass, J. D. Hays, J.
to the southeast of South Africa (Fig. duce by extrapolation considerable de- Foster, ibid. 154, 349 (1966.).
19); it appears that the central anomaly tails of the reversal time scale back 21. E. C. Bullard, J. E. Everett, A. G. Smith,
Phil. Trans. Roy. -Soc. London Ser. A 258,
is consistently absent, although more to 11.5 million years ago. Again, this 41 (1965).
22. J. A. Miller and P. E. Brown, Geol. Mag.
data are required for confirmation. It scale can be applied to other parts of 102, 106 (1965).
is further suggested that, with the ex- the ridge system. Thus one is led to the 23. W. C. Pitman and J. R. Heirtzler, Science,
in press.
ception of Prince Edward Island Rise, suggestion that the crest of the East 24. G. E. Backus, Nature 201, 591 (1I964) .
the depths in this area are not typical Pacific Rise in the northeast Pacific 25. R. W. Girdler, ibid. 194, 521 ( 1962) .
26. C. L. Drake and R. W. Girdler, Geo phys.
of a mature oceanic ridge. Such moun- has been overridden and modified by the J. 8, 473 (1961).
tainous bathymetry and seismic activity westward drift of North America, with 27. A. D. Raff and R. G-. Mason, Bllll. Geol. Soc.
Amer. 72, 1267 ( 1961 )
as there is can probably be attributed the production of the anomalous width 28. D. U. Wise, ibid . 74, 357 ( 1963) .
29. H. W. Menard, Marine of the
to transverse fractures and residual and unique features of the American Pacific New
Geology
(McGraw-Hill, York, 1964).
shearing and igneous activity. cordillera in the western United States. 30. J. T. Wilson, Nature 207, 343 (1965).
31. D. A. McManus, Marine Geol. 3, 429 ( 1965) .
If this observation is significant and The oceanic magnetic anomalies also 32. R. G. Mason and A. D. Raff, Buli. Geol. Soc.
the ridge systems in these areas are indicate that there was a change in di- Anger. 72, 1259 ( 1961 )
33. G. A. Rusnak, R. L. Fisher, E. P. Shepard,
not actively spreading, the active part rection of crustal spreading in this re- in Marine Geology of the Gulf of California,
of the ridge system at present appears gion during Pliocene time from east- T. H. vans Andel and G. G. Shor, Eds. (Amer.
Assoc. Petroleum Geologists (Memoir 3 ),
to form two isolated lengths, each west to southeast-northwest. 1964), p. 59; A. S. Laughton, Phil. Trans.
Roy. Soc. London Ser. A 259, 150 ( 1966) .
traversing half the circumference of A profile from the crest to the 34. H. W. Menard, J. Geophys. Res. 71., 682 (1966).
Earth: one extends from the Red Sea boundary of the East Pacific Rise, and 35. R. W. Girdler, Geophys. J. 8, 537 ( 1964) .
36. Recorded by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic
and the Gulf of Aden, south of Aus- the difference between axial-zone and Survey.
tralia, and across the east Pacific to the flank anomalies over ridges, suggest in- 37. A. D. Raff, J. Geophysv. Res. 7.1, 263 (1966);
G. Peter, ibid., p. 5365.
Gulf of California; the other, down the crease in the frequency of reversal of 3 8. D. A. Christoffel and D. I. Ross, ibid . 70,
whole length of the Atlantic. This con- Earth's magnetic field, together, pos- 2857 ( 1965) .
39. Operation Deep Freeze 61 1960-1961 Marine
cept contrasts with the continuous na- sibly, with decrease in its intensity, ap- Geophysical Investigations ( U.S. Navy Hydro-
graphic Office, Washington, D.C.,
ture of the worldwide ridge system proximately 25 million years ago. 53.
1962), p.

stressed by most authors, but fits well Within the framework of ocean-floor 40. A. L. Du Toit, Our Wandering Continents
(Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1937).
with the "tennis ball" pattern of con- spreading, it is suggested that magnetic 41. E. Irving, 17rans. Anter. Geophys. Union 47,
vection within the upper mantle (3), anomalies may indicate the nature of 78 ( abstr. ) (1l966) .
42. M. Talwani has drawn my attention to the
in which the seam of the ball should oceanic fracture zones and distinguish fact that the central anomaly may also be
approximate down currents and com- the parts of the ridge system that are absent over the extension of the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge across the Eurasian B asin of the
pressional features on Earth's surface. actively spreading. Thus data derived Arctic; N. A. Ostenso, Texans. Amer. Geophys.
Union 46, 107 (abstr.) (1965); E. R. King,
during the past year lend remarkable I. Zietz, L. R. Alldredge, Btlll. Geol. Soc.
support to the hypothesis that magnetic Amer. 77, 619 ( 1966) .
43. E. A. Godby, R. C. Baker, M. E. Bower,
Summary anomalies may reveal the history of the P. J. Hood, J. Geophys. Res. 71, 511 ( 1966) .
ocean basins. 44. C. L. Drake, N. J. Campbell, G. Sander,
J. E. Nafe, Natllre 200, 1085 (1963).
It is suggested that the entire history References and Notes
45. For the two models in Fig. 5 the intensity
of Earth's field was taken as 51,600 gamma;
of the ocean basins, in terms of ocean- 1. E. C. Bullard, Quart. J. Geol. Soc. London its dip, +74.3 ?; the magnetic bearing of the
floor spreading, is contained frozen in 120, 1 (1964). profile, 153'?. Normal or reverse magnetiza,-
2. H. H. Hess, in Petrologic Studies, A. E. J. tion is with respect to an axial dipole vector.
the oceanic crust. Variations in the in- Engel et al., Eds. (Geol. Soc. Amer., New Effective susceptibility assumed, +-0.01- ex-
tensity and polarity of Earth's mag- York, 1962), p. 599; perhaps first and in- cept for the central block (+0.02).
dependently suggested by A. Holmes, Trans. 46. D. H. Matthews, F. J. Vine, J. R. Cann,
netic field are considered to be re- Geol. Soc. Glasgow 18, 599 (1928). Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 76, 675 ( 1965) .
3. H. H. Hess, in Submarine 47. For the models shown
corded in the remanent magnetism of Geology and
and dip of Earth's
in, Figs. 6-9 the
Geophysics (vol. 17, Colston papers), W. F. intensity field and the
the igneous rocks as they solidified Whittard and R. Bradshaw, Eds. (Butter- magnetic bearing of the profile assumed in
worths, London, 1965), p. 317; R. S. Dietz, each case, are, respectively: Juan de Fuca,
and cooled through the Curie tempera- Amer. J. Sci. 264, 177 (1966). 54,000 gamma, +66?, East
087?; Pacific
ture at the crest of an oceanic ridge, 4. B. C. Heezen and M. Tharp, Phil. Trans. Roy. Rise, 48,700 gamma, -62.6?, 102?* N.W.
Soc. London Ser. A. 258, 90 (1965); 259, Indiana Ocean, 37,620 gamma, -6', 044?;
and subsequently spread away from it 137 (1966). South Atlantic, 28,500 gamma, -53.5?, 114?.
at a steady rate. The hypothesis is 5. J. T. Wilson, Nature 207, 907 (1965). Intensity and direction of magnetization as for
6. F. J. Vine and D. H. Matthews, ibid. 199, Fig. 5 (45) [see Vine and Wilson (8,
supported by the extreme linearity and 947 (1963). fig. 3)].
continuity of oceanic magnetic anom- 7. A. Cox, R. R. Doell, G. B. Dalrymple, Science 48. T. D. Allan, EI4. Charnock, C. Morelli,
144, 1537 (1964); R. R. Doell and G. B. Nature 20@4 1245 ( 1964) .
alies and their symmetry about the axes Dalrymple, ibid. 152, 1060 (1966). 49. Parameters assumed for the Red Sea models
8. F. J. Vine and J. T. Wilson, ibid. 150, 485 in Fig. 10: intensity and dip of Earth's field,
of ridges. (1965). 38,500 gamma and +24? respectively; magne-
If the proposed reversal time scale 9. B. D. Loncarevic, C. S. Mason, D. H. Mat- tic bearing of profiles, 054?. Intensity and
thews, Can. J. Earth Sci. 3, 327 (1966). direction of magnetization as for Fig. 5 (45).
for the last 4 million years is combined 10. J. R. Cann and F. J. Vine, Phil. Trans. Roy. 50. V. Vacquier, A. D. Raff, R. E. Warren, Bull.
with the model, computed anomaly Soc. London Ser. A 259, 198 (1966). Geol. Soc. Aener. 72, 1251 ( 1961) .
11. M. Ewing, J. Hirshman, B. C. Heezen, in 51. J. R. Heirtzler, Tech. Rep. No. 2 (Lamont
profiles show remarkably good agree- International Oceanographic Congress Pre- Geological Observatory, 1961) .
ment with those observed, and one can prints, M. Sears, Ed. (AAAS, 1959), p. 24. 52. Work aided by NSF grant GP 3451 and an
12. V. Vacquier, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London ONR contract [Nonr-1858(10)] with Princeton
deduce rates of spreading for all active Ser. A 258, 77 (1965). Univ. I thank J. R. Heirtzler, W. C. Pitman,
13. J. M. Ade-Hall, Geophys. J. 9, 85 (1964). and G. Peter for allowing me access to then-
parts of the midoceanic ridge system 14. G. Peter and H. B. Stewart, Nature 206, 1017 unpublished papers and data relating to Rey-
for which magnetic profiles or surveys (1965). kjanes Ridge, the East Pacific Rise. and the
15. J. R. Heirtzler and X. Le Pichon, J. Geo-
are available. The rates obtained are in phys. Res. 70, 4013 (1965).
exact agreement with those needed to 16. At the suggestion of Lamont Geological
Observatory.
account for continental drift. 17. J. R. Heirtzler, X. Le Pichon, J. G. Baron,
An exceptionally high rate of spread- Deep-Sea Res. 13, 427 (1966).
18. 0. E. Avery, TR 161 (U.S. Navy Oceano-
ing (approximately 4.5 cm/year) in graphic Office, Washington, D.C., 1963).

16 DECEMBER 1966 1415