Hydrothermal vent temperatures track magmatic inflation and forecast eruptions at the East Pacific Rise, 9°50'N.

ABSTRACT: Hydrothermal vent temperatures fluctuate in response to transient magmatic and tectonic activity at the axis of mid-ocean ridges (MORs) and modulate energy fluxes from the deep Earth to the ocean. Such fluctuations have thus far only been documented on time scales of minutes to years, because of the scarcity of long, continuous observations. Here, we assemble a ~35-year-long time series of exit fluid temperatures from five hydrothermal vents on the East Pacific Rise axis, between 9°46'-51'N. This dataset reveals a steady increase in maximum venting temperatures atop the central part of the axial magma lens (AML), from ~350 °C to ~390 °C between the 1991-92 and 2005-06 eruptions. Temperatures decreased back to ~350 °C shortly after the 2005-06 eruption and have been rising ever since. We in

SUBMITTER: Barreyre T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12557535 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature