Evolution of Propagator Wakes on the Kolbeinsey Ridge from an Integrated Geophysical Perspective

Authors

• Ethan Stowell, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Irina Filina

Date of this Version

8-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

Undergraduate thesis, August 2026

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Comments

Copyright 2026, Ethan Stowell. Used by permission

Abstract

Oceanic lithosphere is formed following the extension and rifting of a continent, with new material generated at mid-ocean ridges. While ridges generally spread in the direction of extension, individual spreading centers are offset by perpendicular transform faults that break the ridges into individual segments. Ridge propagation, in which one ridge segment grows at the expense of another’s shortening, has been identified in global investigations as a poorly understood component of axial reorganization. This process leaves propagator wake structures composed of faults and pseudofaults visible as lows in Earth’s gravitational field, and transferred lithosphere with a distorted magnetic signature. This study focuses on the actively spreading Kolbeinsey Ridge located North of Iceland between the Tjörnes and Jan Mayen Fracture zones. In this study, we revisit and build upon the geometries of two propagator wakes established in a legacy study (Appelgate,1997), and identify a third wake along the Kolbeinsey Ridge. We constrained the features’ geometries using gravity, bathymetry, and earthquake data. We then integrated magnetic chron data to analyze critical times of the ridge propagation initiation and change(s) in the propagation direction to reconstruct the evolution of the Kolbeinsey Ridge from 10.9 Ma to present. The southernmost wake presents a V-shape from unidirectional northward propagation. The W-shaped central wake and double-W-shaped northern wake indicate events where propagation has reversed in direction multiple times. This study correlates the timing and vector solution of critical propagation events with changing spreading asymmetry to better understand the mechanism(s) driving ridge propagation.

Advisor: Irina Filina