KNIPAS is a dedicated state-of-the-art passive seismic survey that explores the still poorly known spreading processes at ultraslow spreading ridges. These ridges are characterized by pronounced variations in melt supply along axis. We want to understand how melts can travel to the widely spaced volcanic centres and force there their way upwards through the cold, thick lithosphere. The role and extent of serpentinisation in lithospheric deformation is a further key research question of this project. For the first time ever at an ultraslow spreading ridge, we instrumented an entire ridge segment of 160 km length around Logachev volcano with 27 ocean bottom seismometers and recorded local earthquake activity for a period of 11-13 months. Seismic refraction profiles were acquired during MSM67 across the volcano to image its structure with unprecedented detail. The aim of MSM68 was to recover all instruments and to map in detail the rift valley and flanks of Knipovich Ridge. The comprehensive seismological dataset of KNIPAS will enable us to study spatial variations of seismicity, thermal structure and lithospheric thickness along an entire segment of an ultraslow spreading ridge. With modern passive seismic methods (receiver functions and surface wave/ambient noise methods), that we will adapt for the special conditions of marine seismic surveys, we want to proof the existence of pronounced variations of lithospheric thickness and reveal seismic velocity variations in the lithosphere that may give information on its composition.
