Back-Arc Spreading Systems

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 166. New ocean crust is continuously created where tectonic plates diverge. A distinctive type of oceanic crust is formed by back-arc spreading systems that parallel oceanic island arcs on the side away from the subducting plate. Volatile-rich and spatially variable, back-arc spreading systems are a natural laboratory for multi-disciplinary studies of seafloor creation, the flow of magma from the deep earth, and the hydrothermal ecosystems that this flow sustains. Derived from the prestigious Ridge 2000 InterRidge Theoretical Institute held in 2004, Back-Arc Spreading Systems: Geological, Biological, Chemical, and Physical Interactions reviews the state of the science, with select case studies. Experienced researchers in, and students of, marine geology, biological oceanography, marine geochemistry, volcanology, petrology, and geo- and paleomagnetism will find this volume a significant resource now and for the near future.