Preliminary results are in from mid-ocean ridge three-dimensional seismic reflection survey

The first three-dimensional (3-D) seismic reflection survey of a mid-ocean ridge was shot in 1997 and, while it is still too early for firm interpretations of the data, it can be confirmed that significant crustal melt bodies have been located and one widely accepted model does not seem to apply to the presence of a robust magma supply there. The survey the Anatomy of a Ridge-Axis Discontinuity (ARAD) experiment, was centered over an overlapping spreading center (OSC) system that offsets the ridge axis at 9°03′ north latitude on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) (Figure 1). It was conducted aboard the R/V Maurice Ewing during September and October and included a coincident 3-D crustal seismic tomography experiment.