Science. 1971 Dec 24;174(4016):1329-31. doi: 10.1126/science.174.4016.1329.
Transverse ridges consisting of protrusions into crustal fractures of ultramafic bodies derived from the upper mantle exist at the intersection of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with equatorial fracture zones. Shallow-water limestones containing detrital grains of quartz, microcline, and orthoclase 1 millimeter in diameter were found on the summit of one such transverse ultramafic body at the Vema Fracture Zone; these findings are explained on the assumption that the limestones were deposited within a narrow, shallow proto-Atlantic and were left behind during the further opening of the Atlantic. Transverse ultramafic bodies from the offset zones of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge behave as nonspreading blocks plastered between spreading crustal plates.
横向山脊由超镁铁质体进入地壳裂缝的突起组成，这些超镁铁质体来源于上地幔，存在于中大西洋脊与赤道断裂带的交汇处。在维马断裂带的一个这样的横向超镁铁质体的山顶上发现了含有直径 1 毫米的碎屑石英、微斜长石和正长石的浅水石灰岩；这些发现的解释是假设石灰岩是在一个狭窄的、浅的原始大西洋内沉积的，并在大西洋进一步张开时被遗留下来。从中大西洋脊的偏移带延伸出来的横向超镁铁质体表现为贴附在扩张地壳板块之间的非扩张块体。
