Atlantis Massif
{{Short description|Underwater geologic feature in the North Atlantic Ocean}}
{{Infobox seamount
| name = Atlantis Massif
| map = Map00323 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg
| map_caption = Undersea topography of the Atlantis Massif highlighting the location of the Lost City Hydrothermal Field
| depth = {{convert|700|m|ft|0}}
| height = {{convert|14000|ft|m|0}}
| Summit =
| location = North Atlantic Ocean
| group =
| coordinates = {{coord|30.13|N|42.13|W|type:mountain_region:XZ_source:dewiki|display=inline,title}}
| country =
| type = Undersea massif
| volcanic_group = Lost City Hydrothermal Field
| age = Early Pleistocene
~2-1.5 Ma
| last_eruption =
| discovered = 2000
| Discovered_by =
| first_visit = 2016
| translation =
| pronunciation =
| photo = Expl2236 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg
| photo_caption = The seafloor of the Atlantis Massif, showing white corals and an apparent spotted fish
}}
The Atlantis Massif is a prominent undersea massif in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a dome-shaped region approximately {{convert|10|mi|km|0}} across and rising about {{convert|14000|ft|m|0}} from the sea floor. It is located at approximately 30°8′N latitude 42°8′W longitude; just east of the intersection of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with the Atlantis Transform Fault. The highest point of the massif is around {{convert|700|m|ft|0}} beneath the surface.{{cite journal |last1=Blackman |first1=Donna |title=Geology of the Atlantis Massif (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30° N): Implications for the evolution of an ultramafic oceanic core complex |journal=Marine Geophysical Researches |date=2002 |volume=23 |issue=5 |pages=443–469|doi=10.1023/B:MARI.0000018232.14085.75 |bibcode=2002MarGR..23..443B }}
Description
It is believed that the massif was formed underneath the nearby Mid-Atlantic Ridge but was pulled from under the ridge during the movement of the plates, about 1.5 to 2 million years ago. Geologic studies of the massif have indicated that it is not composed of the black basalt typical of the ocean floor but rather of dense green peridotite, which is usually found in the mantle. The central dome is corrugated and striated in a way that is representative of an exposed ultramafic oceanic core complex.
An expedition to the area in 1996 made an important advance in the study of the ocean floor. It found that a steeply sloping detachment fault is associated with the oceanic core complex structure. The dome was caused by mantle material being extruded to the surface. Another expedition discovered the Lost City hydrothermal field near the summit of the ridge in 2000.
Another expedition in 2016, the IODP 357 expedition, targeted this massif, drilling cores.{{Cite web |url = http://www.iodp.org/completed-old-iodp-expeditions?version=1|title = Completed Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expeditions – IODP|last = Sweeney|first = Aaron|website = www.iodp.org|access-date = 2016-02-29|url-status = dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307133826/http://www.iodp.org/completed-old-iodp-expeditions?version=1|archivedate = 2016-03-07}}
External links
- [http://www.lostcity.washington.edu/graphics/images/AtlantisMassif_viewN.jpg View of the Massif]
- [http://www.lostcity.washington.edu/science/geology/atlantis_mountain.html University of Washington: The Atlantis Massif]
- [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?2002MarGR..23..443B Harvard University: Geology of the Atlantis Massif]