Comment on "Glacial cycles drive variations in the production of oceanic crust".
Crowley et al. (Reports, 13 March 2015, p. 1237) propose that abyssal hill topography can be generated by variations in volcanism at mid-ocean ridges modulated by Milankovitch cycle-driven changes in sea level. Published values for abyssal hill characteristic widths versus spreading rate do not generally support this hypothesis. I argue that abyssal hills are primarily fault-generated rather than volcanically generated features.
Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
John A
JA
Goff