A statistical correlation between Ridge Crest offsets and spreading rate

Ridge crest offsets follow the statistical distribution, N = A exp [−B ln (L/Lo)], where N is the cumulative number of ridge crest offsets with lengths greater than L, Lo is the cutoff length, and A and B are constants. We measured A and B for the slow spreading mid‐Atlantic ridge, the intermediate spreading Juan de Fuca Ridge, and the fast spreading east Pacific Rise. The predicted mean distances between offsets greater than 4 km long are 30, 32, and 74 km on the slow, intermediate and fast spreading ridge crests. These distances are in agreement with observations of other workers and calculations of modal ridge lengths.