Features of the Seismic Regime of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Abstract

Seismicity along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has been statistically assessed, and the features of some distributions of the earthquake parameters in this region have been studied. The region extends submeridionally in a narrow zone, symmetrically with respect to the equator from 60° S to 60° N. The locational features of the seismic network are considered with respect to the epicenters of earthquakes recorded in this region. The annual period of the flux of seismic events has been identified. Statistical distributions of the spatiotemporal interval between pairs of events in the entire catalog were studied in two-dimensional space, and for each event, the distance and time from all earthquakes in the catalog that occurred both before and after this event were determined. Spatiotemporal two-dimensional spectral analysis of the catalog data was performed, which revealed evidence of standing waves, whereas traveling waves were not detected. The results of the two-dimensional spectral analysis are discussed from the viewpoint of a single deep mechanism governing seismogenesis in the studied region.