ECORD Summer School 2009

"Geodynamics of Mid-Ocean Ridges"

31 August - 11 September 2009
at the MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences and the IODP
Bremen Core Repository, University of Bremen, Germany

The thematic focus of the summer school was on slow spreading mid-ocean ridges, which are more diverse in lithology and structure than fast-spread oceanic crust. Some portions of the slow-spreading ridges produce basaltic volcanic centers on the axis, with accretion occurring through a crustal magma chamber at the ridge axis. Other portions of the slow-spreading ridges feature modes of crustal accretion that are dominantly tectonic. Oceanic core complexes form episodically, commonly near the ends of slow-spreading segments. The domal cores of these features are interpreted as exposures of lower crust and/or upper mantle rocks exhumed along low-angle detachment faulting. In these areas, Ocean Drilling offers a unique opportunity to access lithologies that were initially emplaced at the base of the lithosphere. Drilling in proximity of hydrothermal vents has provided a wealth of new insights into the fluid-rock interactions and the development of seafloor massive sulfide deposits. Slow-spread crust is also a rich and diverse habitat for microbial communities.

Topics ranging from mantle melting to tectonic exhumation of mantle to hydrothermal/microbial interactions were covered in lectures. Participants have been introduced to a full range of IODP related topics from general introduction to the program to compiling IODP proposals. Ocean Drilling cores from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge stored at the IODP Bremen Core Repository (BCR) have been used to get an insight into “shipboard” methodologies applied on the drilling vessels of the program: a wide spectrum of methods including core curation, visual core description, physical properties measurements, and petrographic observations have been taught according to the high standards on IODP expeditions.

 ECORDSummerSchool.pdf

 Program_ECORD_SummerSchool_2009.pdf

 ECORD_Summer_School_2009_Participants_presentations.pdf

Lecturers:

• Ursula Röhl (University of Bremen)
• Dierk Hebbeln (University of Bremen)
• Benoit Ildefonse (Université Montpellier)
• Wolfgang Bach (University of Bremen)

A total of 32 PhD students and young post-docs from several European countries, Japan and Canada participated in the ECORD Summer School 2009.