Marine Geology, 17 (1974): M27--M34

© Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands

Letter Section

Tectonic role o f oceanic fracture z o n e s

GIORGIO RANALLI
Department of Geology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ont. (Canada)
(Received May 8, 1974)
(Accepted for publication July 5, 1974)

ABSTRACT

Ranalli, G., 1974. Tectonic role of oceanic fracture zones. Mar. Geol., 17: M27--M34.
A critical analysis of the geometric properties of oceanic fracture zones leads to the
conclusion that their identification with ridge--ridge transform faults is an oversimplifica-
tion. Models are presented, and examples are given, of processes (asymmetric spreading and
differential spreading) which can alter the ridge-fracture zone pattern and extend active
shear within lithospheric plates. These processes have a number of interesting tectonic
consequences and could offer an explanation for, among other things, belts of intra-plate
seismic activity and reversal of slip directions along a strike-slip fault.

INTRODUCTION

Within the framework of the plate-tectonics hypothesis, most oceanic frac-

ture zones are considered to be ridge--ridge transform faults. As such, they are
supposed to have the following properties (Wilson, 1965):
(1) the direction of motion along the active part of the fault is opposite to
that expected from the offset of ridge segments, that is, there is a fundamental
difference between transform and transcurrent faults;
(2) the offset between ridge segments does n o t change with time, the ridge-
fracture zone pattern recording the geometry o f the initial rift; and
(3) the only active part of the fault is that between ridge terminations, with
shear ending abruptly at both ends.
Geometrically, the strike of fracture zones determines the direction of mo-
tion of adjacent plates o f which they form the c o m m o n boundary, and all
fracture zones c o m m o n to t w o plates must lie on circles concentric a b o u t the
pole of relative motion (Morgan, 1968). The deformation is assumed n o t to
extend in the interior of plates.
This somewhat simplified description of the properties of fracture zones
and of their role in plate tectonics has not been immune from criticism.
M28

Garfunkel (1972) has convincingly demonstrated that there is no fundamental

difference between transform and transcurrent faults. Van Andel (1971) has
pointed out that fracture zones often affect a plate beyond the accreting
boundaries, and that their tectonic role is more complex and varied than
generally assumed. In this paper, these lines of criticism are brought together
in an attempt to show, with examples, that none of the three points entering
Wilson's definition of ridge--ridge transform faults is necessarily valid. Further-
more, a reappraisal of the tectonic role of fracture zones leads me to qualify
some of the basic assumptions of plate tectonics, and to emphasize the
importance of internal deformation of plates.

CRITICISM O F T H E T R A N S F O R M FAULT CONCEPT

In order to simplify the following argument, the sea-floor spreading rate is

assumed to be steady and the geometry is referred to a plane. A plane geom-
etry does n o t restrict the validity of the conclusions, and extension to spher-
ical geometry is immediate. I shall consider the properties of ridge--ridge trans-
form faults, as stated by Wilson, one by one. A restatement of Garfunkel's
(1972) demonstration of the identity of transform and transcurrent faults is
included for completeness.

There is no fundamental difference between transform and transucrrent faults

All strike-slip faults must terminate on structures where surface area is in-
creased or decreased. The apparent differences between oceanic transform
faults and continental transcurrent faults are the result of the scale of observa-
tion and of the age of the rocks in which the fault is embedded (Garfunkel,
1972). With reference to Fig.l, it is evident that mapping restricted to the area
S (i.e., restricted to the fault segment a'b') leads to the conclusion that the
fault is dextral strike-slip. This would be called "transcurrent" on continents,
where it is embedded in rocks older than the faulting process. Once, however,
the fault is embedded in rocks younger than the faulting process (i.e., in
oceans) the term " t r a n s f o r m " is applied to it. There is no contradiction in the
direction of slip. The idea that the fault could be sinistral transcurrent comes
from the erroneous assumption that the two ridge segments have been dis-
played by slippage along the fault plane in the classical way. Actually, how-
ever, all "transcurrent" faults are " t r a n s f o r m " faults, in the sense t h a t they
must terminate on structures where surface area is increased or decreased. The
unequivocal term "strike-slip", referring only to the t y p e of motion, is the bes
to designate faults with horizontal displacements.

The ridge-fracture zone pattern may not reflect the geometry o f the initial rift

There is no reason to assume that spreading is always symmetric with respec

to the ridge axis. Asymmetric spreading has been detected south of Australia
 M29

{A)

" ' " " "1" " "{"

-.'. ' ~ ' ~"-. ''.-" ' : ~ "' ~"' ."" ' :, " ". ' ,' '". ".

iii~i i::~ii!i i!:~!!li i:' • :.2.: :.: :Li-+)--.J :

-.'.'.-." ".'.'.'." • .'.

~:.............
~::~::~::~::~i~!::~i~i~i~° ~ 4 Ii!iii!
Fig.1. Illustration of Garfunkel's demonstration o f the identity of transcurrent and trans-
form faults. A. Before the onset o f spreading; B, during spreading when the fault is for the
most part still embedded in rocks older than the faulting process; and C, during spreading
when the fault is embedded in rocks younger than the faulting process. Stippled areas:
continental lithosphere; double lines: centres of spreading; full line: active part of s t r i k e
slip fault; dashed line: inactive part o f strike-slip fault; heavy arrows: sea-floor spreading
rates; half-arrows: directions of slip.

iiiii!i!i
!....b.. [-
Fig.2. Asymmetric spreading. Thin lines represent magnetic lineations.Heavy arrows are
proportional to spreading rates. Other symbols as in Fig.1.

by Weissel and Hayes (1971). Since the total opening rate between Australia
and Antarctica is constant, asymmetric spreading causes lateral discontinuities
in sea-floor spreading rates which result in ridge offsets, and the geometry of
the initial rift is not preserved. This situation is illustrated in Fig.2. A con-
M30

tinuous opening rate requires that v'w + v ' E = v"W + V " E . If v'w = V'E, as de-
picted in Fig.2, then v"w > v'w = V'E > V"E. Along the fracture zone, there is
no slippage outside the segment bc, and dextral strike-slip movement, equal to
the total opening rate, along bc. The ridge segment to the south migrates east-
ward as a consequence of asymmetric spreading. The offset between corre-
sponding magnetic lineations varies along the fracture zone (as frequently ob-
served in practice), and the offset between ridge segments changes with time.
Note, however, that the geometric arrangement of ridge segments and mag-
netic lineations is a consequence of the pattern of spreading, and not of the
direction of slip along the active part of the fracture zone. If some offset
between ridge segments is initially present, it would increase or decrease, and
possibly reverse its direction, according to the geometric arrangement of
spreading. Incidentally, this implies that interpretatio n of the present ridge-
fracture zone pattern as reflecting the initial geometry of rifting-may in some
cases be unjustified. There is no compelling reason to exclude the hypothesis
that the initial accreting plate boundary was continuous and curvilinear.

Active strike-slip movement may continue beyond the part of the fracture
zone between ridge segments

As long as the total opening rate between two contiguous plates remains
constant, no internal deformation of the plates is required. Another situation
can be envisaged, however, leading both to changes in offsets between ridge
crests and active shear beyond them. This is the case of differential (i.e.,
incrementally discontinuous) spreading rates along contiguous ridge segments.
If the assumption of plate tectonics as to the internal rigidity of plates were
strictly valid, this case could not arise, since the opening rate varies continu-
ously from the pole of opening (Morgan, 1968). However, differential spread-
ing rates across fracture zones in the South Atlantic as large as approximately
25% of the spreading rate are shown by the data presented by Morgan himself,
and Ball and Harrison (1970) and Harrison and Ball (1973) have concluded
that many discontinuities in the offsets of magnetic lineations across fracture
zones could be the result of this process. In particular, they show that many
offsets of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge opposite the Caribbean are the result of
differential spreading rates. In their model, the resulting differential m o v e m e n
is taken up by relative movement of North and South America. Discor, tinuous
spreading is depicted schematically in Fig.3. In the first case (A), plate W is
assumed fixed, and no initial offset present; there is no active shear along ab,
sinistral strike-slip equal to 2 v" along bc, and dextral strike-slip equal to
2(v'--v") along cd. The differential motion on the fracture zone to the east of
the ridge segments results in shearing of plate E, possibly affecting also con-
tinental rocks, and must be taken up somewhere by a decrease in surface area
(not shown in the figure). When either plate is fixed, only one part of the
fracture zone b e y o n d ridge terminations is an active strike-slip fault; however,
other patterns are possible that cause slippage along the whole length of the
 M31

I 1

(A)

i/ilI
W
l .......

3 1

3 2 ! 3

woiiil
(S)

' ii

l .........~,'~' ~dE
FIv.l.
~,

• , . . . ° . .

Fig.3. Differential spreading (discrete difference in the spreading rate north and south of
the fracture zone). A. Plate W is fixed, no initial offset; B, ridge segments are fixed, initial
offset bc. Tildes indicate the p o s s ~ l e continuation of the fracture z o n e within continents.
Other symbols as in Fig. 1 and 2.

fracture zone. A simple situation is illustrated in Fig.3 (second case, B). Here
the ridge segments are assumed to be fixed, and an initial offset present. The
offset does not change with time; however, the strike-slip motion along the
fault is, from west to east, sinistral with rate equal to v'--v" on ab, sinistral
with rate equal to v' + v" on bc, and dextral with rate equal to v'----v" on cd. Not
only does the fracture zone show strike-slip motion beyond the inter-ridge
part but slippage is in opposite directions on opposite sides of the accreting
boundary. It should be noted that the apparent offset of magnetic lineations
changes along the fracture zone.
Other situations are possible, e.g., a combination of asymmetric spreading
and discontinuous opening rates. The above examples, however, are sufficient
to show that the identification of fracture zones with ridge--ridge transform
faults can be an oversimplification Ieading to incorrect conclusions. The occur-
rence of asymmetric spreading and differential spreading has been detected in
many parts of the world, and it is worthwhile to briefly consider how these
phenomena modify the framework of the plate tectonics hypothesis.
M32

REAPPRAISAL OF SOME ASPECTS OF PLATE TECTONICS

Some interesting results emerge from the preceding considerations. They

can be grouped into three categories: (a) internal deformation of plates;
(b) changes in slip direction along the same fault; (c) " l e a k y " fracture zones.

Internal deformation of plates

It is c o m m o n l y assumed that lithospheric plates are rigid and that deforma-

tion and relative displacement take place only at, or near, plate boundaries
(Morgan, 1968). However, the occurrence of strike-slip movement along
fracture zones b e y o n d their inter-ridge parts shows that, unless the number of
plates is multiplied ad infinitum, relative internal displacements within a plate
are possible. The assumption of rigidity, therefore, is only a first-order approx-
imation and must n o t be taken too literally. In some cases the active shear
along fracture zones can be taken up by relative movement between sub-plates
(Ball and Harrison, 1970; Harrison and Ball, 1973}. There are instances, how-
ever, in which the discontinuous increase in surface area generated by dif-
ferential spreading rates is likely to be accommodated in a diffuse way (flow,
faulting, or a combination of the two) within a plate. Some apparently puz-
zling intra-plate tectonic and seismic features can be explained in this way. In
the North Atlantic, the Kelvin Seamount Chain off eastern North America
finds a natural continental extension in the northwest trending Boston-Ottawa
seismic belt (Diment et al., 1972); the latter may be a zone of weakness devel-
oped during the Mesozoic (Sbar and Sykes, 1973). I suggest differential spread
ing along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as a possible cause of this intra-plate belt of
seismic activity. A similar interpretation could perhaps be offered for the intra
plate inhomogeneous stresses considered to be the cause of the seismic activity
in the Australian continent (Cleary and Simpson, 1971).

Changes in slip direction along the same fault

Spatial discontinuities in spreading rates along contiguous ridge segments

can result in strike-slip movements of opposite directions along segments of
the fracture zone situated on opposite sides of the ridge crest. If these fracture
zones extend to continental areas, the corresponding strike-slip faults on op-
posite sides of an ocean can have opposite directions of slip. Slip directions,
therefore, are n o t a critical test of the hypothesis that the two matching seg-
ments of the fault were once continuous. As an example of this t y p e of
problem, it may be mentioned that Wilson's (1962) reconstruction of the
Cabot fault in Newfoundland and of the Great Glen fault in Scotland as the
two ends of the same pre-drift fault cannot be discounted solely on the grounq
that the movements in Scotland are predominantly sinistral while in Newfoun
land t h e y appear to be dextral (cf., Pitcher, 1969, for a comparison of the two
fault systems).
 M33

"Leaky" fracture zones

The fracture zones in the Atlantic Ocean opposite the Caribbean, identified
b y Harrison and Ball (1973) as being active sinistral strike-slip faults along their
westward continuation, are not parallel b u t diverge westward. This implies a
north--south extension in the southwestern North Atlantic. Since there does
not appear to be any systematic variation in lithospheric thickness, new
material must be added in a direction transverse with respect to the fracture
zones. " L e a k y " fracture zones, generating some new sea floor, have been
postulated by Menard and A t w a t e r (1968) to a c c o m m o d a t e changes in the
direction of spreading. Thompson and Melson (1972) have concluded on the
basis of petrological evidence that a "closed" fracture zone model with purely
strike-slip movement does not fit the field observations of equatorial Atlantic
fracture zones b u t that a " l e a k y " type of fracture zone with generation of new
sea floor along it is required. Some similar mechanism must be operative along
the sub-parallel sinistral strike-slip faults between the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and
the Caribbean. Consequently, the tectonic role of fracture zones, as pointed
o u t by Van Andel (1971) is not limited to passive slippage of two lithospheric
plates past each other.
In conclusion, oceanic fracture zones are n o t simply "transform faults",
and their pattern of activity is more complex than c o m m o n l y assumed. A
detailed analysis of their interrelationship with accreting plate boundaries shows
that some basic tenets of the plate tectonics hypothesis might at best be valid
only as first approximations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Some of the ideas expressed in this paper began to take shape during a
sojourn at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, in
discussions, with members of the (then) Marine Geophysics Section. I also wish
to thank Dr. R.L. Brown of the Department of Geology, Carleton University,
for providing me with some information on the Cabot and Great Glen faults.
This research was financially supported b y National Research Council of
Canada grant no.A7971.

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1128--1129.
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eastern United States. In: E.C. Robertson (Editor), The Nature of the Solid Earth.
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Garfunkel, Z., 1972. Transcurrent and transform faults: a problem of terminology. Geol.
Soc. Am. Bull., 83: 3491--3496.
M34

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