[1] Gakkel ridge is the slowest spreading mid-ocean ridge with full spreading rates <10 mm/yr. In 1999, a teleseismic earthquake swarm signaled the onset of an eruptive episode at 85°E. The Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge expedition in 2001 detected a hydrothermal event plume and explosive seismoacoustic signals. In 2007, the Arctic Gakkel Vents Expedition found direct evidence for recent submarine explosive activity on the seafloor at $4000 m. The newest data motivated a reassessment of the seismoacoustic events of 2001. We undertake 2-D finite difference wavefield modeling to relocate the source of the signals and investigate the possible source mechanism; the explosion sounds likely result from submarine Strombolian eruptions with bursting gas bubbles rising from a magma reservoir along a major fault at the southern rift valley wall.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.