Crustal structure of Ascension Island from wide-angle seismic data:: implications for the formation of near-ridge volcanic islands

The study of the internal structure of volcanic islands is important for understanding how such islands form and how the lithosphere deforms beneath them. Studies to date have focused on very large volcanic edifices (e.g., Hawaiian Islands, Marquesas), but less attention has been paid to smaller islands, which are more common. Ascension Island, a 4-km high volcanic edifice with a basal diameter of 60 kin, is located in the equatorial Atlantic (8 degreesS), 90 km west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on 7 Ma oceanic lithosphere. We present results of a wide-angle seismic profile crossing the island revealing a crustal thickness of 12-13 kin, an overthickened layer 3 (7 kin thick) and little evidence of lithospheric flexure. Together these results suggest Ascension Island may be older than previously assumed and may have begun forming at an on-axis position around 6-7 Ma. This hypothesis is further supported by the presence of a young 1.4-km high edifice directly adjacent to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with a volume about 1/7 that of Ascension Island, possibly representing the earliest stages of seamount formation. Excess magmatism appears to be related to the tectonic setting at the ridge-fracture zone intersection. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.