ON THE ORIGIN OF THE LOW-ANGLE REFLECTORS IN THE OCEANIC-CRUST OF THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE

In 1985 Yu. M. Pushcharovsky et al. [4] published a multichannel seismic reflection profile across the axial zone of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge along lat. 20-degrees-S. A set of the low-angle reflectors having the same sense of dip on both sides of the rift valley had been revealed in the oceanic crust. We suggest a tentative interpretation of these reflectors as low angle detachment faults formed during long pauses in volcanic activity when the crust was intensively extended in the similar way as in the continental rifts. The asymmetry and anomalous depth of some rift valleys in the Atlantic Ocean may also result from the extension of the oceanic crust.