Bathymetric gradients of lineated abyssal hills: Inferring seafloor

spreading vectors and a new model for hills formed at ultra-fast rates
Kelly A. Kriner, Robert A. Pockalny

, Roger L. Larson
Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Horn Laboratory, South Ferry Road; Narragansett, RI 02882, United States
Received 28 July 2004; received in revised form 28 April 2005; accepted 2 May 2005
Available online 18 January 2006
Editor: R.D. van der Hilst
Abstract
Abyssal hill morphology provides a preliminary measure of the direction and rate of seafloor spreading, however, additional
information (e.g., magnetic anomaly data or a nearby mid-ocean ridge) is usually required to verify these estimates. Previous
attempts to identify a unique spreading rate proxy from abyssal hill dimensions (e.g., height, length, width) have largely failed due
to the relatively large scatter of data or the non-linear character of spreading rate trends. We present a new, stand-alone method of
determining both spreading rate and spreading direction using the distribution of azimuths for slopes facing toward and away from
the ridge axis. The spreading rate is determined with the peak height parameter, defined as the difference in the height (maximum
frequency) of the two dominant modes observed in the azimuthal histograms. This parameter exhibits a clear, nearly linear
spreading rate trend and allows half spreading rates to be estimated to within 1020 km/Myr. The spreading direction is determined
with the peak width parameter, which compares the average width of the two dominant modes in the azimuthal histograms. The
wider distribution of slope azimuths is oriented away form the paleo-ridge axis for all spreading rates, and thus spreading direction
can be determined. The trends in the peak height and width parameters are used to constrain a new model of abyssal hill formation
at ultra-fast spreading rates, which require greater off-axis extensional faulting resulting in a few large-throw faults on the outward-
facing hillsides, and many smaller throw faults on the inward-facing hillsides.
2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Abyssal hills; seafloor morphology; plate tectonics; mid-ocean ridges; slope analysis
1. Introduction
Abyssal hills constitute 80% of the seafloor and
thus are the most common landform on Earth [1]. The
morphology of abyssal hills is best observed on
relatively young ocean crust flanking mid-ocean ridges
where sediment accumulation has not masked their
appearance. In these settings, the hills are elongate
parallel to the ridge axis, have relief of 50500 m, and
characteristic width of 110 km [2]. The proximity of
abyssal hills to the ridge axis suggests these features are
the result of the interplay between tectonic and volcanic
processes occurring within the plate boundary zone.
Once formed, the hills are transported onto the ridge
flanks by plate motion and their basement morphology
is preserved.
Since the early days of seafloor mapping, it has been
realized the general morphology of abyssal hills varies
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
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doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2005.05.046
as a function of spreading rate; basically, slower
spreading rates generate larger abyssal hills [3]. With
the advent of swath mapping systems, this spreading
rate dependence has become even more apparent and a
three-dimensional description is available. In general,
abyssal hills created at slower spreading rates are higher,
wider and longer than those hills created at faster
spreading rates [2]. These relationships led to the
development and refinement of abyssal hill formation
models where tectonic processes dominate at slower
spreading rates and volcanic processes dominate at
faster spreading rates (Fig. 1). At slow spreading rates
(b25 km/Myr, half-rate), back-tilted or listric fault
blocks suggest a predominantly tectonic origin of
abyssal hills [4,5]. At intermediate spreading rates
(2540 km/Myr, half-rate), the split volcano model
suggests tectonic and volcanic processes contribute
equally as waxing phases of volcanism create an axial
rise that is subsequently bisected during waning
volcanic phases [6,7]. At fast spreading rates (4060
km/Myr, half-rate), the presence of a steady-state
magma chamber precludes the formation of split
volcanoes at the ridge axis, so the abyssal hills are
generated slightly farther off-axis by the formation of a
graben along the shoulders of the axial high [8]. In this
model, the fault scarp closest to the ridge axis is
subsequently covered by volcanic flows emanating from
the ridge axis.
The goal of many seafloor morphology studies has
been to identify a parameter or set of parameters that
can be used to determine the kinematic setting in
which a parcel of seafloor was created. This would be
particularly useful in sections of the seafloor where
conventional methods of determining spreading rates
with seafloor magnetic anomalies are compromised
due to the lack of correlatable magnetic anomalies in
crust created at northsouth trending mid-ocean ridges
near the magnetic equator and in crust created during
periods of uniform magnetic polarity (e.g., Cretaceous
magnetic superchron, 12184 Ma). Abyssal hill
morphology would initially seem to be an attractive
alternative within these magnetically challenged
regions; however, the spreading rate variability of
these first-order morphologic parameters (relief, width,
length) often is not linear and the scatter is too large
to identify a unique spreading rate. Even when
combined with lower-order parameters (e.g., vertical
skewness and kurtosis), a unique spreading rate cannot
be obtained [2].
In this study, we explore the use of bathymetric
gradients (magnitude and direction of seafloor slope) to
determine the kinematic environment of abyssal hill
formation. Since the abyssal hill formation models
predict asymmetric distributions for volcanism and
tectonism on the sides of abyssal hills facing toward
and away from the ridge axis, our analysis compares the
Fig. 1. Three general models of abyssal hill formation and associated ridge morphologies for a) slow, b) intermediate, and c) fast spreading rates
(after Macdonald et al. [8]).
99 K.A. Kriner et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
slope characteristics of the two sides. Our results
indicate spreading rates can be predicted with improved
confidence and the direction of spreading can also be
determined. In addition, a new abyssal hill formation
model is proposed for seafloor created at ultra-fast
spreading rates (N60 km/Myr, half-rate).
2. Data and methods
2.1. Data
Gridded multibeam bathymetry data from 64 areas of
known spreading rates are used in this study (Fig. 2).
Each area consists of lineated abyssal hill topography
located adjacent to a mid-ocean ridge (Fig. 3, Table 1),
encompassing a 5050 km area of seafloor. Extreme
care was taken to ensure the areas were fully imaged
with overlapping swaths and were devoid of transform
faults, anomalously deformed seafloor, or excessive off-
axis volcanism. The bathymetry data were obtained
from the RIDGE Multibeam Synthesis Project [9] as
gridded data sets with grid node spacings ranging from
100 to 300 m (Table 1). The highest resolution (smallest
grid node spacing) is chosen for each area, and is
dependent on the resolution of the imaging systems used
to collect the data. To ensure the different node spacing
did not adversely affect our analyses, additional
bathymetric grids were created from the ping data with
grid intervals increasing in increments of 100 m [10].
The suite of slope analyses, described below in the
methods section, was applied and the results were
consistent for grid intervals less than 500 m. For grid
intervals greater than 500 m, the results deviated
significantly and became quite variable.
Spreading rates for the chosen areas were deter-
mined with two methods. In areas where high-quality
marine magnetics data are available, spreading rates
were determined directly by forward modeling of
magnetic anomaly data obtained from the NGDC
trackline geophysics archive [11]. In the areas where
magnetics data are inconclusive (e.g., near the
magnetic equator), the current spreading rate of the
adjacent ridge is used based on the global plate
motion model Nuvel-1A [12].
2.2. Methods
Abyssal hill asymmetry is evaluated by expanding on
a method previously developed by Shaw and Smith
[13,14] and Smith and Shaw [15] that compares the
distributions of bathymetric slopes. With this method,
the surface of an individual grid cell, defined by four
grid nodes, is parameterized by a unit vector oriented
normal to the grid cell surface. The unit vector is then
decomposed into azimuthal and dip components with
the GRDGRADIENT command available with the
Generic Mapping Tools software package [16]. The
distribution of slope angles, as a function of azimuth,
provides a measure of asymmetry in the cross-sectional
shape of abyssal hills. This was the method used be
Smith and Shaw [15] to demonstrate that abyssal hills
created at slow spreading rates are asymmetric in cross-
Fig. 2. General location of the multibeam bathymetry data used in this study. Within each of the four regions marked by boxes, 16 data sets were used,
8 from each side of the included spreading ridge (Table 1). The bathymetry examples in Fig. 3 are from areas within each of the four boxes.
100 K.A. Kriner et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
Fig. 3. Examples of lineated abyssal hill topography for a) slow, b) intermediate, c) fast, and d) ultra-fast spreading rates. The shaded box on each map
is an example of a selected region used in our analysis. The double-arrow line indicates the direction of spreading. The histograms in Figs. 4 and 7
correspond to the data set location shown in a). The inward and outward facing azimuths are also indicated in a).
101 K.A. Kriner et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
Table 1
Bathymetry data locations, spreading rates, grid node spacing, and imaging systems used
Sample
#
Adjacent ridge Bounding coordinates Half-rate
(km/my)
Grid nodes
pacing (m)
Imaging system
W E S N
1 N. Mid-Atlantic
Ridge (Slow spreading)
45.00 44.51 21.77 22.22 11.5 200 Hydrosweep and Seabeam
2 45.79 45.30 21.96 22.41 11.5 200
3 44.84 44.35 22.41 22.86 11.5 200
4 45.65 45.16 22.41 22.86 11.1 200
5 43.02 42.51 28.85 29.30 11.5 200
6 43.76 43.25 29.00 29.45 11.5 200
7 41.91 41.40 29.40 29.85 11.5 200
8 44.01 43.50 29.75 30.20 11.5 200
9 42.51 42.00 28.80 29.25 11.5 200
10 44.27 43.76 29.10 29.55 11.5 200
11 41.75 41.24 30.00 30.45 11.5 200
12 42.71 42.20 30.20 30.65 11.5 200
13 44.75 44.24 23.20 23.65 11.8 200
14 46.11 45.60 23.20 23.65 10.9 200
15 42.51 42.00 28.80 29.25 11.5 200
16 43.91 43.40 29.05 29.50 11.5 200
17 Southeast Indian
Ridge (Intermediate
spreading)
109.60 110.27 49.60 49.15 37.1 200 Seabeam
18 109.33 110.00 50.12 49.67 37.5 200
19 101.93 102.60 47.85 47.40 32.4 200
20 101.58 102.25 48.35 47.90 37.2 200
21 114.90 115.57 49.95 49.50 40.5 200
22 114.58 115.25 50.40 49.95 45.9 200
23 112.75 113.42 50.20 49.75 36.0 200
24 112.80 113.47 50.75 50.30 36.0 200
25 108.00 108.67 48.60 48.15 39.1 200
26 107.58 108.25 49.15 48.70 32.2 200
27 107.28 107.95 48.40 47.95 36.8 200
28 106.91 107.58 49.02 48.57 32.2 200
29 103.25 103.92 47.85 47.40 40.8 200
30 103.03 103.70 48.45 48.00 36.0 200
31 100.95 101.62 47.45 47.00 36.0 200
32 100.48 101.15 47.95 47.50 33.6 200
33 N. East-Pacific Rise
(Fast spreading)
104.20 103.75 14.45 14.90 42.1 300 SeaMARC II and
Hydrosweep 34 104.90 104.45 14.15 14.60 52.7 300
35 104.00 103.55 13.75 14.20 44.9 300
36 104.90 104.45 13.75 14.20 52.9 300
37 103.95 103.50 13.25 13.70 44.4 300
38 104.65 104.20 12.80 13.25 53.4 300
39 103.90 103.45 12.74 13.19 45.8 300
40 104.50 104.05 12.74 13.19 53.8 300
41 103.70 103.25 11.55 12.00 54.7 300
42 104.30 103.85 11.30 11.75 53.7 300
43 103.60 103.15 10.35 10.80 57.7 200
44 104.40 103.95 10.25 10.70 55.7 200
45 104.10 103.65 9.25 9.70 51.7 300
46 104.90 104.45 9.30 9.75 60.7 300
47 103.75 103.30 8.60 9.05 51.0 300
48 104.95 104.50 8.45 8.90 62.7 300
49 S. East-Pacific Rise
(Ultra-fast spreading)
107.60 107.15 7.85 7.40 69.5 100 SeaMARC II and
Hydrosweep and Seabeam 50 108.46 108.01 7.70 7.25 69.5 100
51 112.85 112.40 16.70 16.25 75.7 200
52 113.60 113.15 16.70 16.25 75.7 200
53 113.00 112.55 17.50 17.05 79.6 200
54 113.75 113.30 17.50 17.05 76.7 200
55 112.90 112.45 16.50 16.05 73.8 200
56 113.60 113.15 16.50 16.05 73.8 200
102 K.A. Kriner et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
section and that this asymmetry decreases or is
statistically insignificant at intermediate spreading rates.
For our study, we utilized the azimuthal distribution
of the vectors to obtain a measure of abyssal hill
asymmetry. This method is based on previous work
[14,15] that indicates the majority of slope azimuths are
oriented perpendicular to the abyssal hill lineations. This
results in a bimodal slope azimuth distribution with
histogram peaks that are typically about 180 apart and
centered on azimuths oriented perpendicular to the hills
(Figs. 3a, 4a and 5a). Each peak in the population
distribution is therefore comprised of those slopes on
opposite sides of the abyssal hills.
Two parameters are used to assess the cross-sectional
asymmetry of abyssal hill morphology. The first
parameter, peak height, is the difference in the height
(maximum frequency) of the two dominant modes
observed in the azimuthal histograms (Fig. 4). We
subtract the histogram height of the inward-facing side
(i.e., facing the ridge axis) from the histogram height of
the outward-facing side to obtain a positive or negative
peak height that depends on the sense of asymmetry.
A positive peak height indicates the inward-facing
side of the abyssal hill is steeper than the outward-facing
side. Conversely, a negative peak height indicates the
outward-facing side of the abyssal hill is steeper than the
inward-facing side. The magnitude of the peak height
increases as the asymmetry increases. A zero peak
height indicates a symmetric abyssal hill cross-section.
The second parameter, peak width, is the
difference in the average peak width (APW) of the
two dominant modes observed in the azimuthal
histograms (Figs. 4, 6). The initial step to calculate the
APW is to sum the peak widths (PW
i
) for each interval
of 10 (number of slopes) from the base (PW
1
) to the tip
(PW
N
) of each peak. Where PW
1
is determined to be the
larger of the two minimum values (number of slopes) for
both peaks, and interval PW
N
is calculated at the largest
increment of 10 for that peak. The APW is the sum of
the interval peak widths divided by the number of
intervals calculated (N).
APW
N
1
X
PW
i
=N
As with the peak height, the peak width is
calculated by subtracting the APWof the inward-facing
Table 1 (continued)
Sample
#
Adjacent ridge Bounding coordinates Half-rate
(km/my)
Grid nodes
pacing (m)
Imaging system
W E S N
57 113.00 112.55 17.00 16.55 74.7 200
58 113.70 113.25 17.00 16.55 74.8 200
59 113.35 112.90 19.00 18.55 80.6 200
60 114.00 113.55 18.50 18.05 69.9 200
61 113.10 112.65 18.00 17.55 81.6 200
62 113.80 113.35 17.95 17.50 73.8 200
63 113.47 113.00 20.00 19.53 84.5 200
64 114.20 113.75 19.75 19.30 73.8 200
Fig. 4. a) Cartesian histogramfor the data set shown in Fig. 3a, indicating the percentage of slopes that face each particular azimuth. The two peaks are
centered on azimuths perpendicular to the abyssal hill lineations. The difference in height between the two peaks (peak height) is a relative measure
of the cross-sectional asymmetry of the hills. b) Cartoon explaining that a longer running, more gently sloped hillside has a greater number of equally
spaced data points (taller azimuth peak) than a shorter, more steeply sloped hillside.
103 K.A. Kriner et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
side of abyssal hills from the APW of the outward-
facing side.
The APW is very similar to other measures of
variance (e.g., standard deviation). Instead of calculat-
ing the range over which 69% of a population occurs for
the standard deviation, the APW defines the average
width of the population curve above some defined
background value. Larger values of the APW indicate
the range of slope azimuths are more broadly distributed
and would suggest an undulating, sinuous or hummocky
topography (e.g, Fig. 5). A smaller APW indicates a
more uniform slope azimuth associated with more
lineated topography. We also experimented with the
standard deviation and kurtosis of the histogram peaks
as measures of azimuthal dispersion; however, the APW
parameter provides the best graphical description of the
key observations when the azimuthal data were
projected onto rose diagrams.
3. Results
The bathymetric slope azimuth distributions for 64
areas (Figs. 2, 3) from a range of known spreading rates
are analyzed. The results are plotted as histograms (e.g.,
Fig. 4a) and rose diagrams (e.g., Fig. 5a) and the results
are consistent with previous studies that have charac-
terized the linearity of abyssal hill topography with
bimodal distributions [1315]. However, our study has
quantified variations in the plots with the peak height
and peak width parameters to identify observed
changes in abyssal hill morphology as a function of
spreading rate.
Fig. 5. a) Rose diagram for the area shown in Fig. 3a, which is the same histogram data as shown in the Cartesian histogram Fig. 4a. The two peaks/
lobes are centered on azimuths perpendicular to the hill lineations. The angular width of the lobes (range in azimuths) is measured as the average
width in degrees of azimuth of the lobe, and is named Average Peak Width (APW). b) Awider rose lobe (greater range of azimuths) is interpreted as a
more volcanic surface, and the narrower lobe (smaller range of azimuths) is interpreted as a smoother, faulted surface.
Fig. 6. The peak width (PW) is calculated at intervals of 10 (number of slopes), from the base to the tip of each peak. The intervals start at the higher of
the two trough values (PW
1
) and end at the maximum interval for that peak (PW
N
). The APW (average peak width) is the sum of the peak width
calculations (
1
N
PW
i
) divided by the total number of intervals (N). This is done separately for each peak.
104 K.A. Kriner et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
3.1. Abyssal hill asymmetry and spreading rate
A clear trend is observed in the peak height
distribution when the histograms are viewed as a
function of spreading rate (Fig. 7). At slower spreading
rates, the histogram peaks of the outward-facing sides of
the abyssal hills are taller than the peak for the inward-
facing sides; this pattern is reversed at faster spreading
rates (i.e., the peak height values pass through zero).
To quantify this trend, the peak height parameter (e.g.,
outward-facing peak minus inward-facing peak) is
plotted against spreading rate. It exhibits a roughly
linear decrease as function of increasing spreading rate.
For slow and intermediate spreading rates (b40 km/
Myr, half-rate), the peak height values are all positive,
which indicates the inward-facing slopes are steeper
than the outward-facing slopes. At fast-spreading rates
(4060 km/Myr, half-rate), the peak height decreases,
suggesting more symmetric abyssal hills. At ultra-fast
spreading rates (N60 km/Myr, half-rate), the majority of
the peak height values are negative, which indicates
the sense of asymmetry has switched and the outward-
facing slopes are now steeper than the inward-facing
slopes. If enough data points are included in the analysis
(e.g., Fig. 7), the overall trend is nearly linear as a
function of spreading rate.
A similar decrease in abyssal hill asymmetry as a
function of spreading rate has also been observed in
other abyssal hill morphology studies. Smith and Shaw
[15] used conventional Sea Beam multibeam data and
characteristic slope analyses to show the inward-facing
slopes of abyssal hills created at slow spreading rates
were significantly steeper than the outward-facing
slopes. At intermediate spreading rates, the magnitude
of the measured asymmetry decreased to the point where
the difference between inward-and outward-facing
slopes was statistically insignificant. Carbotte and
Macdonald [17] used a range of surface- and deep-
towed side-scan data to show the percentage of inward-
facing fault scarps was greatest for slow spreading
ridges. The relative difference in inward- versus
outward-facing scarps decreased linearly as a function
of spreading rate, suggesting a symmetric abyssal hill
cross-section. All of these studies exhibit the same
general trend in the cross-sectional asymmetry as a
function of spreading rate. In our study, however, we
show the sense of asymmetry of abyssal hills created at
ultra-fast spreading rates actually reverses to steeper
outward-facing slopes.
3.2. Comparison of inward-and outward-facing
azimuth distributions
Another pattern is observed when the slope azimuth
distributions are displayed as rose diagrams (Fig. 5).
These plots reinforce the bimodal distribution of slope
azimuths by the presence of two lobes corresponding to
the inward- and outward-facing slopes of abyssal hills.
The interesting aspect of these plots, however, is that the
lobe corresponding to the outward-facing slope is
almost always the wider or broader lobe. We use the
peak width parameter to quantify the relative
difference between the outward-and inward-facing
average peak width. In all cases but two, the outward-
facing slopes have a broader distribution of slopes than
the inward-facing slopes (Fig. 8). The average peak
Fig. 7. peak height values for all 64 data sets plotted versus spreading rate. Positive values indicate the outward-facing side is more gently sloped
(taller azimuth peak), and negative values indicate the inward-facing side is more gently sloped. The mean peak height and 95% confidence limits
are shown for each spreading rate interval. A best-fit line (dashed line) for the individual data points and associated equation are shown.
105 K.A. Kriner et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
width is 9 and does not change significantly as a
function spreading rate. The variability of the peak
width is fairly uniform for spreading rates greater than
30 km/Myr (half-rate), but increases for abyssal hills
created at slow spreading rates.
4. Discussion
4.1. Inferring spreading rates
The observed correlation between the peak height
and spreading rate (Fig. 7) suggests this parameter may
be used to infer spreading rates for areas of the seafloor
where such information is lacking. For instance, positive
peak height values would indicate spreading rates
were definitely less than 40 km/Myr (half-rate), and
more than likely less than 60 km/Myr (half-rate).
Negative peak height values would likely indicate
spreading rates greater than 6065 km/Myr (half-rate).
Knowing the difference between abyssal hills created at
fast versus ultra-fast spreading rates may initially seem
trivial; however, there are large portions of the seafloor
for which no spreading rate information is available. For
example, crust created during the Cretaceous magnetic
superchron (12184 Ma) in the southwest Pacific has
estimated spreading rates very near the changeover from
positive to negative peak height values. Since the
spreading rates here are interpolated over a long period
(36 million years), the actual spreading rates likely
varied during this time. The peak height parameter
would be very useful in identifying which sections of
the seafloor in such regions were created above or below
this threshold spreading rate.
A more precise measure of seafloor spreading rates,
or range of spreading rates, may be obtained by fitting a
regression curve and error estimates to the peak
height data (Fig. 7). Based on the linear trend and the
standard deviation of the peak height graph, the
spreading rate of a given parcel of seafloor can be
determined to within about 1020 km/Myr (half-rate).
The linear trend in the peak height parameter is one of
the measured abyssal hill morphology parameters that
show a nearly uniform and monotonic trend as a
function of spreading rate. Other parameters, such as
abyssal hill roughness [2,18], exhibit a general decrease
as a function of spreading rate; however, the roughness
increases again at ultra-fast spreading rates producing an
ambiguity if this parameter is used to estimate spreading
rate. The combination of the peak height with these
other abyssal hill morphology parameters, such as
seafloor roughness, and abyssal hill height, length or
aspect ratio, may provide even better means for
determining spreading rates.
4.2. Inferring spreading direction
Abyssal hill lineations are frequently used to estimate
the general direction of seafloor spreading, however, in
some situations it is difficult to determine which side of
the abyssal hills point toward or away from the paleo-
spreading ridge, and hence the true spreading direction.
Plots of the azimuthal distribution of abyssal hill slopes,
presented as rose diagrams (Fig. 5a), indicate the
broader lobe coincides almost invariably with the side
of the abyssal hill facing away from the ridge axis of
origin. The peak width parameter quantifies this rose
Fig. 8. peak width values for all 64 samples plotted versus spreading rate. A positive value indicates a larger average width for the outward-facing
lobe and is interpreted as a hillside with a broader distribution of slope azimuths. The mean peak width and 95% confidence limits are shown for
each spreading rate interval.
106 K.A. Kriner et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
diagram trend and supports the observation that the
wider lobe is consistently associated with the outward-
facing slope (Fig. 8).
Identifying the paleo-spreading direction from multi-
beam bathymetry data alone has many applications. In
tectonically complex areas of seafloor (e.g., microplates
and triple junctions) with variable spreading histories,
knowing the paleo-spreading direction would be
essential for tectonic reconstructions. The relative
direction of the paleo-spreading ridge, as well as its
approximate orientation can be determined by the
peak width method without the need for any other
information about the surrounding area. This can aid in
seafloor reconstruction studies as well as allow study of
areas where other data for identifying spreading
direction, or position relative to a spreading ridge, are
unavailable.
Our technique is quick and easy to use, and does not
require extensive pre-editing of the data. It may be
performed while at sea during the collection of new
bathymetry data, as well as on previously collected data
from many different surveys. Thus, it can be used to
help guide a survey in near-realtime or to subsequently
analyze the results.
4.3. Implications for models of abyssal hill formation
The slope azimuth distribution histograms (Figs. 4a,
7) indicate the degree of hill asymmetry decreases as
spreading rate increases (i.e., peak height values
approach zero). A transition occurs from fast to ultra-
fast spreading rates as negative peak height values
become more common at faster rates. For ultra-fast
rates, the peak height is generally negative (Fig. 8)
indicating the outward-facing hillsides are generally the
more steeply sloped sides. These results support
previously proposed models of abyssal hill morphology
and formation for slow to fast spreading rates [8] (Fig.
1). At ultra-fast rates, however, the change in the sense
of abyssal hill asymmetry (Fig. 7) does not allow for the
simple extrapolation of formation models applicable to
fast spreading rates. Below we review previous models
for hills formed at slow, intermediate, and fast rates, and
propose new models for hill morphology and formation
at ultra-fast rates.
4.3.1. Slow to fast spreading rates
At slow spreading rates (b25 km/my, half rate),
magma supply is lowest and the crust is relatively cool
and brittle [19,20]. Hills formed in this environment are
a result of back-tilted fault blocks and have a large
asymmetry (Figs. 1a and 9a). Large-throw normal
faulting forms the inward-facing hillsides, which creates
a steeper, smoother surface. The outward-facing sides
are relatively unfaulted, creating a rougher and more
gently sloped surface.
At intermediate spreading rates (2540 km/my, half
rate), magma supply is intermittent [19,20]. Axial
volcanoes form during times of higher magma supply
and are then split and rafted away by continued
spreading during times of low magma supply (Figs. 1b
and 9b). Large-throw normal faulting also forms the
inward-facing sides of these hills, though the hillsides
are not as steeply sloped as those of the slow rate hills.
The outward-facing sides are formed by the axial
volcanic flows, resulting in a more gently sloped surface
than the inward-facing side. These hills have a smaller
and more variable asymmetry than the slow-rate hills
(Fig. 7).
At fast spreading rates (4060 km/my half rate),
magma supply is more steady state and the crust is
warmer and more ductile [19,20]. Hills created in this
environment result from off-axis rifting of the seafloor
which creates fault bounded grabens, followed by
volcanic flows originating at or near the axis that flow
outward and partially cover the innermost fault scarp [8]
(Fig. 9c). Since the rifts form the valleys between hills,
one rifting episode creates half of two abyssal hills. The
scarp that is covered by volcanic flows forms the
outward facing side of one hill, while the scarp not
covered by flows forms the inward facing side of
another hill. Two rifting episodes result in one complete
hill with a volcanically covered outward-facing hillside.
These hills are usually more symmetric than slow or
intermediate abyssal hills, and occasionally result in a
steeper outward-facing side (Fig. 7), possibly dependant
on the amount of volcanism. Regardless of which side is
steeper, the inward-facing side generally remains the
relatively smoother surface, as indicated by the smaller
peak width (Fig. 8).
4.3.2. New models for ultra-fast spreading rates
The observations we must satisfy for abyssal hills
formed at ultra-fast rates (N60 km/my half rate) are
that the outward-facing hillsides are generally steeper
and yet always rougher (larger peak width) than the
inward facing hillsides. Ultra-fast spreading rates are
accompanied by greater extensional stresses acting on
the crust. This results in a magma supply that is closest
to steady state and very high volume, with extensive off-
axis volcanism occurring up to several kilometers from
the spreading axis [21]. Hills created in this environment
begin to form similarly to those of fast rates, by off-axis
rifting and volcanic flows. More extensive volcanism
107 K.A. Kriner et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
and/or greater extensional faulting at ultra-fast rates
further modifies the abyssal hills, making them slightly
larger than those of fast rates [2,18] and reversing the
sense of asymmetry (Fig. 7). We now speculate on how
this might happen.
One obvious scenario to explain our results is that
volcanism at ultra-fast spreading rates may include large
sheet flows originating from the ridge axis and flowing
outward into the off-axis rift scarps. These volcanic
flows would cover the outward-facing rift scarps to a
larger extent than at fast rates, making the outward
facing hillsides more gently sloped than those of fast
rate hills. However, this would only increase the
asymmetry of ultra-fast hills over that of fast hills,
without changing the sense or sign of the asymmetry.
This is not supported by the peak height results,
which suggest a reversal in the sense of asymmetry for
most ultra-fast hills (negative peak height) (Fig. 7).
Another potential scenario is that volcanism at ultra-
fast spreading rates may also include off-axis volcanism,
with off-axis faults acting as conduits to the shallow
magma chamber [21,22]. The rift faults that create the
inward-facing hillsides may extend deep enough to tap
the shallow magma chamber, creating volcanic flows
that partially cover the inward-facing hillsides. This
would decrease the steepness of the inward-facing
Fig. 9. Four models of abyssal hill morphology and formation as a function of half spreading rate proposed by this study. The spreading center is to the
right, and the direction of spreading is to the left in all cases. In the new model for ultra-fast rates, fewer and longer throw faults on the outward-facing
hillsides relative to more and shorter throw faults on the inward-facing hillsides causes the observed reversal in the peak height parameter.
108 K.A. Kriner et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
hillsides, possibly enough to cause the inward-facing
sides to be more gently sloped than the outward-facing
sides. This would reverse the sense of asymmetry
observed at slower spreading rates. The peak height
results support this model (negative values for ultra-fast
rates) (Fig. 7). However, the volcanic flows would have
to be more extensive on the inward-facing side than
those produced from the near-axis flows that cover the
outward-facing side. This is contradicted by the peak
width results that indicate that the inward-facing side is
always the more planar side (Fig. 8).
A primarily tectonic scenario assumes extensional
stress at ultra-fast spreading rates is partially accommo-
dated by inward-facing listric faults, which causes a
back tilting of the abyssal hills, as they rotate outwards
along these faults. The back tilting results in a steeper
outward-facing hillside and a more gently sloped
inward-facing hillside. This would cause a reversal in
the asymmetry of the hills (steeper side outward) while
maintaining the asymmetry in roughness (more planar,
faulted side inwards). This model is supported by both
the peak height results (Fig. 7) and the peak width
results (Fig. 8); however, we question the likelihood of
this model. Though inward-dipping listric faults have
been proposed to occur near the ridge axis [23], we
believe rotation is more likely to occur inwards along
outward-dipping listric faults, which result from the
collapse of the magma chamber at the ridge axis [24
26]. Inward rotation would increase the asymmetry of
the abyssal hills without reversing the sense of
asymmetry, and therefore, not be supported by our
observations.
Our preferred scenario assumes the extensional stress
at ultra-fast spreading rates is partially accommodated
by a large number of small-throw normal faults on the
inward-facing hillsides, and a lesser number of larger
throw faults on the outward-facing side (Fig. 9d). Due to
the age-related thickening and shallow depth of the
lithosphere/asthenosphere boundary layer, the brittle
crust is thinner on the inward-facing side of the hills,
making it easier to form many smaller faults. On the
outward side, larger faults form through the thicker
brittle layer, which can accommodate the same amount
of strain over a fewer number of faults. The large
amount of extensional stress created by such high
spreading rates may not be fully accommodated by
increased magma upwelling at the ridge axis, so greater
amounts off-axis faulting are required to accommodate
the increased extension. The additional extension at
higher spreading rates is also consistent with elevated
strain rates predicted by unbending of the lithosphere
within 15 km of the ridge axis [27]. The larger number
of small faults on the inward side creates a longer
running, more gently sloped surface than that created on
the outward side by the fewer, larger throw faults. This
would cause the inward-facing side to be the more
gently sloped side, giving the hills a reversed sense of
asymmetry. Since the outward-facing scarps were
initially formed by flows emanating from the ridge
axis, as observed at fast-spreading rates, the hills at
ultra-fast rates should inherit roughly the same peak
width values. The additional off-axis faulting would
likely affect the slope distributions of the inward- and
outward-facing hill sides the same. This model is
supported by both the peak height results (Fig. 7)
and the peak width results (Fig. 8).
5. Conclusions
Our results indicate the distribution of bathymetric
slopes obtained with gridded multibeam bathymetry
data can be used to identify paleo-spreading rates, to
determine paleo-spreading directions, and to evaluate
abyssal hill asymmetry. Paleo-spreading rates are
determined with the peak height parameter, which
compares the peak or maximum frequency of slope
azimuth distributions for the outward-and inward-facing
sides of abyssal hills. Our results indicate the peak
height parameter has higher peaks for hillsides facing
away from the ridge axis at slow spreading rates. This
pattern reverses at ultra-fast spreading rates. When
plotted as a function of increasing spreading rate, the
peak height parameter exhibits a roughly linear
decrease, which can be used to obtain an estimate of
paleo-spreading rate. Paleo-spreading direction is iden-
tified with the wider lobe of the slope azimuth rose
diagram, either visually or by calculating the peak
width. The spreading direction is the azimuth at the
center of the wider lobe, assuming orthogonal spreading
(Fig. 8). The variation of abyssal hill asymmetry with
spreading rate is also evaluated using bathymetric slope
distributions. For all spreading rates, the inward-facing
hillsides are more uniform (narrower range of slope
azimuths) and are consistent with a tectonic/faulted
origin, while the outward-facing hillsides have a
relatively wider slope azimuth that is consistent with a
volcanic origin (Fig. 8).
The results from this study support previous models
for hill formation at slow, intermediate and fast
spreading rates (Fig. 9 a, b, and c). Slow hills are
formed as back-tilted fault blocks, intermediate hills
form as split volcanoes, and fast hills form by a
combination of rifting and volcanism. We discuss four
scenarios (below) for hill formation at ultra-fast rates.
109 K.A. Kriner et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242 (2006) 98110
The first three models are not supported by the results of
our study.
1) Large sheet flows originating at the spreading axis
and covering the outward facing rift scarps would not
result in a reversed sense of asymmetry (Fig. 7).
2) Off-axis volcanism, resulting from inward-facing
faults tapping a magma reservoir would cover the
inward-facing scarps. This would create hills that are
not asymmetrical in roughness (Fig. 8).
3) Back tilting of the hills along listric faults would
create hills that reverse the sense of cross-sectional
asymmetry, though we do not believe this model to
be likely.
4) We prefer a model of greater off-axis extensional
faulting resulting in a few large-throw faults on the
outward-facing hillsides, and many smaller throw
faults on the inward-facing hillsides (Fig. 9d). This
model is more likely to create hills that have a
reversed sense of cross-sectional asymmetry and
agree with peak width observations.
Acknowledgments
This research was partially sponsored by the State of
Rhode Island and NSF grants OCE-9818776 and OCE-
9912236 to R. A. Pockalny and R.L. Larson. John Goff,
Deborah Smith, and Rob van der Hilst provided
comprehensive and useful reviews.
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