AGU Chapman Conference on Detachments in Oceanic Lithosphere: Deformation, Magmatism, Fluid Flow and Ecosystems

Rodon Hotel, Agros, Cyprus, 8-16 June 2010

Conference Objectives

Oceanic core complexes (OCCs) are deep sections of the oceanic lithosphere exhumed to the seafloor by long-lived detachment faults formed along the flanks of ultra-slow to intermediate-spreading mid-ocean ridges. These structures have attracted interest because: (1) provide windows into the oceanic lithosphere, (2) are an important component of lithospheric accretion along ridges, (3) host a large variety of high- and low-temperature hydrothermal fields and associated ecosystems, (4) represent an extreme case of strain localization and tectonic deformation, and (5) may provide insights into the origin and nature of continental metamorphic core complexes and detachment faulting in extensional continental margins. The goals of the conference are:

• To share results and synthesize our current knowledge of OCCs, oceanic detachment faulting, and associated geological, chemical, and biological phenomena
• To identify relevant scientific questions that remain unanswered, put forward new questions, and define both scientific experiments and an approach strategy to address them.

This will require the community to address the following science questions:

1. How and under which conditions does detachment-faulting lead to the formation and development of OCCs? What are the mechanisms and conditions that promote and sustain strain localization over long periods of time, and the development of an OCC?
2. What is the lithological structure of OCCs and its variability at scales of meters to tens of kilometers? What is the link between deformation and magmatic emplacement?
3. What drives hydrothermal circulation in OCCs and detachment faults? What are the feedbacks between fluid circulation, deformation, and magmatic processes?
4. What is the biodiversity and characteristics of ecosystems associated with OCCs, and how are they related to the style of hydrothermal circulation within OCCs and along detachment faults?
5. What are the similarities and differences between oceanic and continental detachment faulting (including extensional margins)? How can current knowledge on continental core complex formation, continental breakup and initiation of seafloor spreading inform and contribute to advance research on OCCs?