Editing Serpentinization (section)

=== Mid-ocean ridges ===
Conditions are highly favorable for serpentinization at slow to ultraslow spreading mid-ocean ridges.<ref name=Mevel2003/> Here the rate of [[crustal extension]] is high compared with the volume of magmatism, bringing ultramafic mantle rock very close to the surface where fracturing allows seawater to infiltrate the rock.<ref name=Lowell2002/>

Serpentinization at slow spreading mid-ocean ridges can cause the seismic Moho discontinuity to be placed at the serpentinization front, rather than the base of the crust as defined by normal petrological criteria.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Minshull |first1=T. A. |last2=Muller |first2=M. R. |last3=Robinson |first3=C. J. |last4=White |first4=R. S. |last5=Bickle |first5=M. J. |title=Is the oceanic Moho a serpentinization front? |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |date=1998 |volume=148 |issue=1 |pages=71–80 |doi=10.1144/GSL.SP.1998.148.01.05|bibcode=1998GSLSP.148...71M |s2cid=128410328 }}</ref><ref name="Mevel2003" /> The Lanzo Massif of the Italian Alps shows a sharp serpentinization front that may be a relict seismic Moho.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Debret |first1=B. |last2=Nicollet |first2=C. |last3=Andreani |first3=M. |last4=Schwartz |first4=S. |last5=Godard |first5=M. |title=Three steps of serpentinization in an eclogitized oceanic serpentinization front (Lanzo Massif - Western Alps): ECLOGITIZED SERPENTINIZATION FRONT (LANZO) |journal=Journal of Metamorphic Geology |date=February 2013 |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=165–186 |doi=10.1111/jmg.12008|s2cid=140540631 }}</ref>