Tectonic shortening at plate spreading centers

The mid-ocean ridge is a remarkable feature of our planet, renowned as one of Earth's most vital zones for volcanic and seismic activity. It serves as a crucial setting for the transfer of energy and materials between the ocean and lithosphere. As the archetypal divergent plate boundary, mid-ocean ridges are primarily sculpted by extensional tectonics and the associated development of normal faults. However, in a surprising twist, a thrust seismic event was detected in late 2022 along the 54ºN segment of the Atlantic mid-ocean ridge. This article focuses on summarizing a recent paper that addresses this seismic event, featured in the prestigious journal Nature (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07247-w). The research, integrating seismic observations, geological analyses, and numerical simulations across multiple disciplines, provides a detailed account of the thrust seismic activity at a classical divergent plate boundary. It delves into the imprint of these short-lived seismic events on the landscape's topography and geomorphology, elucidating the mechanisms behind the formation of compression stress zones within an extensional tectonic setting. The study not only challenges the long-held assumption that divergent plate boundaries are solely associated with extensional tectonics but also underscores the indispensable role of interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration of geological processes across different timescales in advancing solid Earth science research.