Structure of oceanic core complexes: Constraints from seafloor gravity measurements made at the Atlantis Massif

[1] Using the DSV Alvin, the relative seafloor gravimeter ROVDOG was deployed at 18 sites on the Atlantis Massif (located at the ridge-transform intersection of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Atlantis Transform Fault near 30degreesN, 42degreesW). These data along with previously collected shipboard gravity and bathymetry provide constraints on the density structure of this oceanic core complex. A series of quasi 3-D forward models suggests that symmetric east and west-dipping density interfaces bound the core of the massif with dip angles of 16degrees-24degrees in the east and 16degrees-28degrees in the west, creating a wedge with a density of 3150-3250 kg/m(3). The dip angle in the east is steeper than that of the surface slope, suggesting that the detachment fault surface does not coincide with the density boundary. The resulting low-density layer is interpreted as a zone of serpentinization.