![]() It also suggests that migration and mixing of water-induced melt with the high-temperature melt may occur beneath the ridge axis. The presence of a thinned lithosphere at transform faults could explain observations of volcanism, thickened crust and intra-transform spreading centres at transform faults. Below 32 km is interpreted to be a low-temperature, water-induced melting zone that elevates the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary, causing substantial thinning of the lithosphere at the transform fault. ![]() The water is considered to be sourced from seawater-derived fluids that infiltrate deep into the fault. We performed three-dimensional thermal modelling that suggests the anomaly is probably due to extensive serpentinization down to ~16 km, overlying a hydrated, shear mylonite zone down to 32 km. Here we present ultra-long offset seismic data from the Romanche transform fault in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean that indicates the presence of a low-velocity anomaly extending to ~60 km below sea level. However, the deep structure of these faults remains enigmatic. Away from active transform boundaries, former oceanic transform faults also form the fracture zones that cover the ocean floor. Seismic studies of earthquakes from transform faults soon revealed that the motion was opposite, as predicted.Transform faults accommodate the lateral motions between lithospheric plates, producing large earthquakes. This is clear when it is realized that the plate boundaries are confined to the spreading centres and transform faults, not to the inactive part of the fracture zone. For example, if a ridge crest was offset to the left by a transform fault, implying leftward movement on a fault joining the offset crests, the movement across the transform fault was instead to the right. Morgan’s theory made a very dramatic prediction: namely, that the direction of motion on the transform faults was opposite to the offsets of the ridge crests. Tuzo Wilson recognized the seismic nature of transform faults and other features and explained the phenomenon as a transfer of motion from one spreading centre to another. About the same time Morgan was forming his theory, the Canadian geologist and geophysicist J. The inactive portions of the fracture zone on the ridge flanks are scars on the ocean floor created in the transform faults. ![]() Morgan proposed that opposing plates along an oceanic ridge crest offset by fracture zones are divided by the spreading centres and transform faults. Jason Morgan, one of the several outstanding pioneers in plate tectonics, recognized that transform faults are zones where opposing lithospheric plates slip past one another. Transform faults are the only segments of fracture zones that are seismically active. The spatial orientation of transform faults is typically parallel to plate motions however, this is not always the case. A transform fault may occur in the portion of a fracture zone that exists between different offset spreading centres or that connects spreading centres to deep-sea trenches in subduction zones. Transform fault, in geology and oceanography, a type of fault in which two tectonic plates slide past one another. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions. ![]() Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.
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