Plate Tectonic Cycle. K-6 Science Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blueford, J. R.; And Others

Plate Tectonics Cycle is one of the units of a K-6 unified science curriculum program. The unit consists of four organizing sub-themes: (1) volcanoes (covering formation, distribution, and major volcanic groups); (2) earthquakes (with investigations on wave movements, seismograms and sub-suface earth currents); (3) plate tectonics (providing maps…

Reducing risk where tectonic plates collide

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gomberg, Joan S.; Ludwig, Kristin A.

2017-06-19

Most of the world’s earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and volcanic eruptions are caused by the continuous motions of the many tectonic plates that make up the Earth’s outer shell. The most powerful of these natural hazards occur in subduction zones, where two plates collide and one is thrust beneath another. The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) “Reducing Risk Where Tectonic Plates Collide—A USGS Plan to Advance Subduction Zone Science” is a blueprint for building the crucial scientific foundation needed to inform the policies and practices that can make our Nation more resilient to subduction zone-related hazards.

Initiation of plate tectonics from post-magma ocean thermochemical convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foley, Bradford J.; Bercovici, David; Elkins-Tanton, Linda T.

2014-11-01

Leading theories for the presence of plate tectonics on Earth typically appeal to the role of present day conditions in promoting rheological weakening of the lithosphere. However, it is unknown whether the conditions of the early Earth were favorable for plate tectonics, or any form of subduction, and thus, how subduction begins is unclear. Using physical models based on grain-damage, a grainsize-feedback mechanism capable of producing plate-like mantle convection, we demonstrate that subduction was possible on the Hadean Earth (hereafter referred to as proto-subduction or proto-plate tectonics), that proto-subduction differed from modern day plate tectonics, and that it could initiate rapidly. Scaling laws for convection with grain-damage show that though either higher mantle temperatures or higher surface temperatures lead to slower plates, proto-subduction, with plate speeds of ≈1.75 cm/yr, can still be maintained in the Hadean, even with a CO2 rich primordial atmosphere. Furthermore, when the mantle potential temperature is high (e.g., above ≈2000 K), the mode of subduction switches to a "sluggish subduction" style, where downwellings are drip like and plate boundaries are diffuse. Finally, numerical models of post-magma ocean mantle convection demonstrate that proto-plate tectonics likely initiates within ˜100 Myr of magma ocean solidification, consistent with evidence from Hadean zircons. After the initiation of proto-subduction, non-plate-tectonic "sluggish subduction" prevails, giving way to modern style plate tectonics as both the mantle interior and climate cool. Hadean proto-subduction may hasten the onset of modern plate tectonics by drawing excess CO2 out of the atmosphere and cooling the climate.

Why is understanding when Plate Tectonics began important for understanding Earth?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korenaga, J.

2015-12-01

Almost all kinds of geological activities on Earth depend critically on the operation of plate tectonics, but did plate tectonics initiate right after the solidification of a putative magma ocean, or did it start much later, e.g., sometime during the Archean? This problem of the initiation of plate tectonics in the Earth history presents us a unique combination of observational and theoretical challenges. Finding geological evidence for the onset of plate tectonics is difficult because plate tectonics is a dynamic process that continuously destroys a remnant of the past. We therefore need to rely on more secondary traces, the interpretation of which often involves theoretical considerations. At the same time, it is still hard to predict, on a firm theoretical ground, when plate tectonics should have prevailed, because there is no consensus on why plate tectonics currently takes place on Earth. Knowing when plate tectonics began is one thing, and understanding why it did so is another. The initiation of plate tectonics is one of the last frontiers in earth science, which encourages a concerted effort from both geologists and geophysicists to identify key geological evidence and distinguish between competing theories of early Earth evolution. Such an endeavor is essential to arrive at a self-contained theory for the evolution of terrestrial planets.

Plate tectonics of the Mediterranean region.

PubMed

McKenzie, D P

1970-04-18

The seismicity and fault plane solutions in the Mediterranean area show that two small rapidly moving plates exist in the Eastern Mediterranean, and such plates may be a common feature of contracting ocean basins. The results show that the concepts of plate tectonics apply to instantaneous motions across continental plate boundaries.

Post-rift Tectonic History of the Songliao Basin, NE China: Cooling Events and Post-rift Unconformities Driven by Orogenic Pulses From Plate Boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Ying; Stepashko, Andrei; Liu, Keyu; He, Qingkun; Shen, Chuanbo; Shi, Bingjie; Ren, Jianye

2018-03-01

The classic lithosphere-stretching model predicts that the post-rift evolution of extensional basin should be exclusively controlled by decaying thermal subsidence. However, the stratigraphy of the Songliao Basin in northeastern China shows that the post-rift evolution was punctuated by multiple episodes of uplift and exhumation events, commonly attributed to the response to regional tectonic events, including the far-field compression from plate margins. Three prominent tectonostratigraphic post-rift unconformities are recognized in the Late Cretaceous strata of the basin: T11, T03, and T02. The subsequent Cenozoic history is less constrained due to the incomplete record of younger deposits. In this paper, we utilize detrital apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology to unravel the enigmatic timing and origin of post-rift unconformities. Relating the AFT results to the unconformities and other geological data, we conclude that in the post-rift stage, the basin experienced a multiepisodic tectonic evolution with four distinct cooling and exhumation events. The thermal history and age pattern document the timing of the unconformities in the Cretaceous succession: the T11 unconformity at 88-86 Ma, the T03 unconformity at 79-75 Ma, and the T02 unconformity at 65-50 Ma. A previously unrecognized Oligocene unconformity is also defined by a 32-24 Ma cooling event. Tectonically, all the cooling episodes were regional, controlled by plate boundary stresses. We propose that Pacific dynamics influenced the wider part of eastern Asia during the Late Cretaceous until Cenozoic, whereas the far-field effects of the Neo-Tethys subduction and collision processes became another tectonic driver in the later Cenozoic.

Learning Plate Tectonics Using a Pre-Analogy Step

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glesener, G. B.; Sandoval, W. A.

2011-12-01

Previous research has shown that children tend to demonstrate lower performance on analogical reasoning tasks at a causal relations level compared to most adults (Gentner & Toupin, 1986). This tendency is an obstacle that geoscience educators must overcome because of the high frequency of analogies used in geoscience pedagogy. In particular, analog models are used to convey complex systems of non-everyday/non-observable events found in nature, such as plate tectonics. Key factors in successful analogical reasoning that have been suggested by researchers include knowledge of the causal relations in the base analog (Brown & Kane, 1988; Gentner, 1988; Gentner & Toupin, 1986), and development of learning strategies and metaconceptual competence(Brown & Kane, 1988). External factors, such as guiding cues and hints have been useful cognitive supports that help students reason through analogical problems (Gick & Holyoak, 1980). Cognitive supports have been seen by researchers to decrease processing demands on retrieval and working memory (Richland, Zur, & Holyoak, 2007). We observed third and fourth graders learning about plate tectonics beginning with a pre-analogy step-a cognitive support activity a student can do before working with an analogy to understand the target. This activity was designed to aid students in developing their understanding of object attributes and relations within an analog model so that more focus can be placed on mapping the corresponding higher-order relations between the base and target. Students learned targeted concepts of plate tectonics, as measured by pre to post gains on items adapted from the Geosciences Concept Inventory. Analyses of classroom interaction showed that students used the object attributes and higher-order relations highlighted in the pre-analogy activity as resources to reason about plate boundaries and plate movement during earthquakes.

Plate tectonics on the Earth triggered by plume-induced subduction initiation.

PubMed

Gerya, T V; Stern, R J; Baes, M; Sobolev, S V; Whattam, S A

2015-11-12

Scientific theories of how subduction and plate tectonics began on Earth--and what the tectonic structure of Earth was before this--remain enigmatic and contentious. Understanding viable scenarios for the onset of subduction and plate tectonics is hampered by the fact that subduction initiation processes must have been markedly different before the onset of global plate tectonics because most present-day subduction initiation mechanisms require acting plate forces and existing zones of lithospheric weakness, which are both consequences of plate tectonics. However, plume-induced subduction initiation could have started the first subduction zone without the help of plate tectonics. Here, we test this mechanism using high-resolution three-dimensional numerical thermomechanical modelling. We demonstrate that three key physical factors combine to trigger self-sustained subduction: (1) a strong, negatively buoyant oceanic lithosphere; (2) focused magmatic weakening and thinning of lithosphere above the plume; and (3) lubrication of the slab interface by hydrated crust. We also show that plume-induced subduction could only have been feasible in the hotter early Earth for old oceanic plates. In contrast, younger plates favoured episodic lithospheric drips rather than self-sustained subduction and global plate tectonics.

Plate Tectonics on Earth-like Planets: Implications for Habitability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noack, L.; Breuer, D.

2011-12-01

Plate tectonics has been suggested to be essential for life (see e.g. [1]) due to the replenishment of nutrients and its role in the stabilization of the atmosphere temperature through the carbon-silicate cycle. Whether plate tectonics can prevail on a planet should depend on several factors, e.g. planetary mass, age of the planet, water content (at the surface and in the interior), surface temperature, mantle rheology, density variations in the mantle due to partial melting, and life itself by promoting erosion processes and perhaps even the production of continental rock [2]. In the present study, we have investigated how planetary mass, internal heating, surface temperature and water content in the mantle would factor for the probability of plate tectonics to occur on a planet. We allow the viscosity to be a function of pressure [3], an effect mostly neglected in previous discussions of plate tectonics on exoplanets [4, 5]. With the pressure-dependence of viscosity allowed for, the lower mantle may become too viscous in massive planets for convection to occur. When varying the planetary mass between 0.1 and 10 Earth masses, we find a maximum for the likelihood of plate tectonics to occur for planetary masses around a few Earth masses. For these masses the convective stresses acting at the base of the lithosphere are strongest and may become larger than the lithosphere yield strength. The optimum planetary mass varies slightly depending on the parameter values used (e.g. wet or dry rheology; initial mantle temperature). However, the peak in likelihood of plate tectonics remains roughly in the range of one to five Earth masses for reasonable parameter choices. Internal heating has a similar effect on the occurrence of plate tectonics as the planetary mass, i.e. there is a peak in the probability of plate tectonics depending on the internal heating rate. This result suggests that a planet may evolve as a consequence of radioactive decay into and out of the plate

Plate tectonics and planetary habitability: current status and future challenges.

PubMed

Korenaga, Jun

2012-07-01

Plate tectonics is one of the major factors affecting the potential habitability of a terrestrial planet. The physics of plate tectonics is, however, still far from being complete, leading to considerable uncertainty when discussing planetary habitability. Here, I summarize recent developments on the evolution of plate tectonics on Earth, which suggest a radically new view on Earth dynamics: convection in the mantle has been speeding up despite its secular cooling, and the operation of plate tectonics has been facilitated throughout Earth's history by the gradual subduction of water into an initially dry mantle. The role of plate tectonics in planetary habitability through its influence on atmospheric evolution is still difficult to quantify, and, to this end, it will be vital to better understand a coupled core-mantle-atmosphere system in the context of solar system evolution. © 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.

Multi-Agent Simulations of Earth's Dynamics: Towards a Virtual Laboratory for Plate Tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigne, C.; Combes, M.; Tisseau, C.; LeYaouanq, S.; Parenthoen, M.; Tisseau, J.

2012-12-01

plate velocities and heat flux that are in good agreement with observations. The long-term thermal evolution of the Earth obtained with our model shows a slow monotonous decrease of mantle mean temperature, with a cooling rate of around 50-100 K per billion years, which is in good agreement with petrological and geochemical constraints. Heat flux and plate velocities show a more irregular evolution, because tectonic events, such as a continental breakup, give rise to abrupt changes in Earth's surface dynamics and heat loss. Therefore MACMA is a powerful tool to study in a systematic way the effect of local events (subduction initiation, continental breakup, ridge vanishing) on plate reorganizations and global surface dynamics.

Plate tectonics, habitability and life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spohn, Tilman; Breuer, Doris

2016-04-01

The role of plate tectonics in defining habitability of terrestrial planets is being increasingly discussed (e.g., Elkins-Tanton, 2015). Plate tectonics is a significantly evolved concept with a large variety of aspects. In the present context, cycling of material between near surface and mantle reservoirs is most important. But increased heat transport through mixing of cold lithosphere with the deep interior and formation of continental crust may also matter. An alternative mechanism of material cycling between these reservoirs is hot-spot volcanism combined with crust delamination. Hot-spot volcanism will transport volatiles to the atmosphere while delamination will mix crust, possibly altered by sedimentation and chemical reactions, with the mantle. The mechanism works as long as the stagnant lithosphere plate has not grown thicker than the crust and as long as volcanic material is added onto the crust. Thermal evolution studies suggest that the mechanism could work for the first 1-2 Ga of planetary evolution. The efficiency of the mechanism is limited by the ratio of extrusive to intrusive volcanism, which is thought to be less than 0.25. Plate tectonics would certainly have an advantage by working even for more evolved planets. A simple, most-used concept of habitability requires the thermodynamic stability of liquid water on the surface of a planet. Cycling of CO2between the atmosphere, oceans and interior through subduction and surface volcanism is an important element of the carbonate-silicate cycle, a thermostat feedback cycle that will keep the atmosphere from entering into a runaway greenhouse. Calculations for a model Earth lacking plate tectonics but degassing CO2, N, and H2O to form a surface ocean and a secondary atmosphere (Tosi et al, 2016) suggest that liquid water can be maintained on the surface for 4.5Ga. The model planet would then qualify as habitable. It is conceivable that the CO2 buffering capability of its ocean together with silicate

Optimal Planet Properties For Plate Tectonics Through Time And Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stamenkovic, Vlada; Seager, Sara

2014-11-01

Both the time and the location of planet formation shape a rocky planet’s mass, interior composition and structure, and hence also its tectonic mode. The tectonic mode of a planet can vary between two end-member solutions, plate tectonics and stagnant lid convection, and does significantly impact outgassing and biogeochemical cycles on any rocky planet. Therefore, estimating how the tectonic mode of a planet is affected by a planet’s age, mass, structure, and composition is a major step towards understanding habitability of exoplanets and geophysical false positives to biosignature gases. We connect geophysics to astronomy in order to understand how we could identify and where we could find planet candidates with optimal conditions for plate tectonics. To achieve this goal, we use thermal evolution models, account for the current wide range of uncertainties, and simulate various alien planets. Based on our best model estimates, we predict that the ideal targets for plate tectonics are oxygen-dominated (C/O<1) (solar system like) rocky planets of ~1 Earth mass with surface oceans, large metallic cores super-Mercury, rocky body densities of ~7000kgm-3), and with small mantle concentrations of iron 0%), water 0%), and radiogenic isotopes 10 times less than Earth). Super-Earths, undifferentiated planets, and especially hypothetical carbon planets, speculated to consist of SiC and C, are not optimal for the occurrence of plate tectonics. These results put Earth close to an ideal compositional and structural configuration for plate tectonics. Moreover, the results indicate that plate tectonics might have never existed on planets formed soon after the Big Bang—but instead is favored on planets formed from an evolved interstellar medium enriched in iron but depleted in silicon, oxygen, and especially in Th, K, and U relative to iron. This possibly sets a belated Galactic start for complex Earth-like surface life if plate tectonics significantly impacts the build up

A seismic reflection image for the base of a tectonic plate.

PubMed

Stern, T A; Henrys, S A; Okaya, D; Louie, J N; Savage, M K; Lamb, S; Sato, H; Sutherland, R; Iwasaki, T

2015-02-05

Plate tectonics successfully describes the surface of Earth as a mosaic of moving lithospheric plates. But it is not clear what happens at the base of the plates, the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB). The LAB has been well imaged with converted teleseismic waves, whose 10-40-kilometre wavelength controls the structural resolution. Here we use explosion-generated seismic waves (of about 0.5-kilometre wavelength) to form a high-resolution image for the base of an oceanic plate that is subducting beneath North Island, New Zealand. Our 80-kilometre-wide image is based on P-wave reflections and shows an approximately 15° dipping, abrupt, seismic wave-speed transition (less than 1 kilometre thick) at a depth of about 100 kilometres. The boundary is parallel to the top of the plate and seismic attributes indicate a P-wave speed decrease of at least 8 ± 3 per cent across it. A parallel reflection event approximately 10 kilometres deeper shows that the decrease in P-wave speed is confined to a channel at the base of the plate, which we interpret as a sheared zone of ponded partial melts or volatiles. This is independent, high-resolution evidence for a low-viscosity channel at the LAB that decouples plates from mantle flow beneath, and allows plate tectonics to work.

The integration of palaeogeography and tectonics in refining plate tectonic models: an example from SE Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masterton, S. M.; Markwick, P.; Bailiff, R.; Campanile, D.; Edgecombe, E.; Eue, D.; Galsworthy, A.; Wilson, K.

2012-04-01

-mechanical events and regional tectonics. These data are interpreted to constrain depositional systems and tectonophysiographic terranes. Palaeotopography and palaeobathymetry are derived from these tectonophysiographic terranes and depositional systems, and are further constrained using geological relationships, thermochronometric data, palaeoaltimetry indicators and modern analogues. Throughout this process, our plate model is iteratively tested against our palaeogeographies and their environmental consequences. Both the plate model and the palaeogeographies are refined until we have obtained a consistent and scientifically robust result. In this presentation we show an example from Southeast Asia, where the plate model complexity and wide variation in hypotheses has huge implications for the palaeogeographic interpretation, which can then be tested using geological observations from well and seismic data. For example, the Khorat Plateau Basin, Northeastern Thailand, comprises a succession of fluvial clastics during the Cretaceous, which include the evaporites of the Maha Sarakham Formation. These have been variously interpreted as indicative of saline lake or marine incursion depositional environments. We show how the feasibility of these different hypotheses is dependent on the regional palaeogeography (whether a marine link is possible), which in turn depends on the underlying plate model. We show two models with widely different environmental consequences. A more robust model that takes into account all these consequences, as well as data, can be defined by iterating through the consequences of the plate model and geological observations.

History and Evolution of Precambrian plate tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, Ria; Gerya, Taras

2014-05-01

Plate tectonics is a global self-organising process driven by negative buoyancy at thermal boundary layers. Phanerozoic plate tectonics with its typical subduction and orogeny is relatively well understood and can be traced back in the geological records of the continents. Interpretations of geological, petrological and geochemical observations from Proterozoic and Archean orogenic belts however (e.g., Brown, 2006), suggest a different tectonic regime in the Precambrian. Due to higher radioactive heat production the Precambrian lithosphere shows lower internal strength and is strongly weakened by percolating melts. The fundamental difference between Precambrian and Phanerozoic tectonics is therefore the upper-mantle temperature, which determines the strength of the upper mantle (Brun, 2002) and the further tectonic history. 3D petrological-thermomechanical numerical modelling experiments of oceanic subduction at an active plate at different upper-mantle temperatures show these different subduction regimes. For upper-mantle temperatures < 175 K above the present day value a subduction style appears which is close to present day subduction but with more frequent slab break-off. At upper-mantle temperatures 175 - 250 K above present day values steep subduction continues but the plates are weakened enough to allow buckling and also lithospheric delamination and drip-offs. For upper-mantle temperatures > 250 K above the present day value no subduction occurs any more. The whole lithosphere is delaminating and due to strong volcanism and formation of a thicker crust subduction is inhibited. This stage of 200-250 K higher upper mantle temperature which corresponds roughly to the early Archean (Abbott, 1994) is marked by strong volcanism due to sublithospheric decompression melting which leads to an equal thickness for both oceanic and continental plates. As a consequence subduction is inhibited, but a compressional setup instead will lead to orogeny between a continental

Alternative Conceptions of Plate Tectonics Held by Nonscience Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Scott K.; Libarkin, Julie C.; Kortz, Karen M.; Jordan, Sarah C.

2011-01-01

The theory of plate tectonics is the conceptual model through which most dynamic processes on Earth are understood. A solid understanding of the basic tenets of this theory is crucial in developing a scientifically literate public and future geoscientists. The size of plates and scale of tectonic processes are inherently unobservable,…

The Plate Tectonics Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hein, Annamae J.

2011-01-01

The Plate Tectonics Project is a multiday, inquiry-based unit that facilitates students as self-motivated learners. Reliable Web sites are offered to assist with lessons, and a summative rubric is used to facilitate the holistic nature of the project. After each topic (parts of the Earth, continental drift, etc.) is covered, the students will…

How the interior viscosity structure of a terrestrial planet controls plate driving forces and plate tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoeink, T.; Lenardic, A.; Jellinek, M.; Richards, M. A.

2011-12-01

One of the fundamental unresolved problems in Earth and planetary science is the generation of plate tectonics from mantle convection. Important achievements can be made when considering rheological properties in the context of mantle convection dynamics. Among these milestones are (1) a deeper understanding of the balance of forces that drive and resist plate motion and (2) the dynamic generation of narrow plate boundaries (that lead to a piecewise continuous surface velocity distribution). Extending classic plate-tectonic theory we predict a plate driving force due to viscous coupling at the base of the plate from fast flow in the asthenosphere. Flow in the asthenosphere is due to shear-driven contributions from an overriding plate and due to additional pressure-driven contributions. We use scaling analysis to show that the extent to which this additional plate-driving force contributes to plate motions depends on the lateral dimension of plates and on the relative viscosities and thicknesses of lithosphere and asthenosphere. Whereas slab-pull forces always govern the motions of plates with a lateral extent greater than the mantle depth, asthenosphere-drive forces can be relatively more important for smaller (shorter wavelength) plates, large relative asthenosphere viscosities or large asthenosphere thicknesses. Published plate velocities, tomographic images and age-binned mean shear wave velocity anomaly data allow us to estimate the relative contributions of slab-pull and asthenosphere-drive forces driving the motions of the Atlantic and Pacific plates. At the global scale of terrestrial planets, we use 3D spherical shell simulations of mantle convection with temperature-, depth- and stress dependent rheology to demonstrate that a thin low-viscosity layer (asthenosphere) governs convective stresses imparted to the lithosphere. We find, consistent with theoretical predictions, that convective stresses increase for thinner asthenospheres. This result might

Subduction controls the distribution and fragmentation of Earth’s tectonic plates.

PubMed

Mallard, Claire; Coltice, Nicolas; Seton, Maria; Müller, R Dietmar; Tackley, Paul J

2016-07-07

The theory of plate tectonics describes how the surface of Earth is split into an organized jigsaw of seven large plates of similar sizes and a population of smaller plates whose areas follow a fractal distribution. The reconstruction of global tectonics during the past 200 million years suggests that this layout is probably a long-term feature of Earth, but the forces governing it are unknown. Previous studies, primarily based on the statistical properties of plate distributions, were unable to resolve how the size of the plates is determined by the properties of the lithosphere and the underlying mantle convection. Here we demonstrate that the plate layout of Earth is produced by a dynamic feedback between mantle convection and the strength of the lithosphere. Using three-dimensional spherical models of mantle convection that self-consistently produce the plate size–frequency distribution observed for Earth, we show that subduction geometry drives the tectonic fragmentation that generates plates. The spacing between the slabs controls the layout of large plates, and the stresses caused by the bending of trenches break plates into smaller fragments. Our results explain why the fast evolution in small back-arc plates reflects the marked changes in plate motions during times of major reorganizations. Our study opens the way to using convection simulations with plate-like behaviour to unravel how global tectonics and mantle convection are dynamically connected.

How mantle slabs drive plate tectonics.

PubMed

Conrad, Clinton P; Lithgow-Bertelloni, Carolina

2002-10-04

The gravitational pull of subducted slabs is thought to drive the motions of Earth's tectonic plates, but the coupling between slabs and plates is not well established. If a slab is mechanically attached to a subducting plate, it can exert a direct pull on the plate. Alternatively, a detached slab may drive a plate by exciting flow in the mantle that exerts a shear traction on the base of the plate. From the geologic history of subduction, we estimated the relative importance of "pull" versus "suction" for the present-day plates. Observed plate motions are best predicted if slabs in the upper mantle are attached to plates and generate slab pull forces that account for about half of the total driving force on plates. Slabs in the lower mantle are supported by viscous mantle forces and drive plates through slab suction.

Plate tectonics on the terrestrial planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Thienen, P.; Vlaar, N. J.; van den Berg, A. P.

2004-05-01

Plate tectonics is largely controlled by the buoyancy distribution in oceanic lithosphere, which correlates well with the lithospheric age. Buoyancy also depends on compositional layering resulting from pressure release partial melting under mid-ocean ridges, and this process is sensitive to pressure and temperature conditions which vary strongly between the terrestrial planets and also during the secular cooling histories of the planets. In our modelling experiments we have applied a range of values for the gravitational acceleration (representing different terrestrial planets), potential temperatures (representing different times in the history of the planets), and surface temperatures in order to investigate under which conditions plate tectonics is a viable mechanism for the cooling of the terrestrial planets. In our models we include the effects of mantle temperature on the composition and density of melt products and the thickness of the lithosphere. Our results show that the onset time of negative buoyancy for oceanic lithosphere is reasonable (less than a few hundred million years) for potential temperatures below ˜ 1500 ° C for the Earth and ˜ 1450 ° C for Venus. In the reduced gravity field of Mars a much thicker stratification is produced and our model indicates that plate tectonics could only operate on reasonable time scales at a potential mantle temperature below about 1300-1400 °C.

Geophysical Limitations on the Habitable Zone: Volcanism and Plate Tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noack, Lena; Rivoldini, Attilio; Van Hoolst, Tim

2016-04-01

Planets are typically classified as potentially life-bearing planets (i.e. habitable planets) if they are rocky planets and if a liquid (e.g. water) could exist at the surface. The latter depends on several factors, like for example the amount of available solar energy, greenhouse effects in the atmosphere and an efficient CO2-cycle. However, the definition of the habitable zone should be updated to include possible geophysical constraints, that could potentially influence the CO2-cycle. Planets like Mars without plate tectonics and no or only limited volcanic events can only be considered to be habitable at the inner boundary of the habitable zone, since the greenhouse effect needed to ensure liquid surface water farther away from the sun is strongly reduced. We investigate if the planet mass as well as the interior structure can set constraints on the occurrence of plate tectonics and outgassing, and therefore affect the habitable zone, using both parameterized evolution models [1] and mantle convection simulations [1,2]. We find that plate tectonics, if it occurs, always leads to sufficient volcanic outgassing and therefore greenhouse effect needed for the outer boundary of the habitable zone (several tens of bar CO2), see also [3]. One-plate planets, however, may suffer strong volcanic limitations. The existence of a dense-enough CO2 atmosphere allowing for the carbon-silicate cycle and release of carbon at the outer boundary of the habitable zone may be strongly limited for planets: 1) without plate tectonics, 2) with a large planet mass, and/or 3) a high iron content. Acknowledgements This work has been funded by the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme initiated by the Belgian Science Policy Office through the Planet Topers alliance, and results within the collaboration of the COST Action TD 1308. References Noack, L., Rivoldini, A., and Van Hoolst, T.: CHIC - Coupling Habitability, Interior and Crust, INFOCOMP 2015, ISSN 2308-3484, ISBN 978

On the relative significance of lithospheric weakening mechanisms for sustained plate tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Araceli Sanchez-Maes, Sophia

2018-01-01

Plate tectonics requires the bending of strong plates at subduction zones, which is difficult to achieve without a secondary weakening mechanism. Two classes of weakening mechanisms have been proposed for the generation of ongoing plate tectonics, distinguished by whether or not they require water. Here we show that the energy budget of global subduction zones offers a simple yet decisive test on their relative significance. Theoretical studies of mantle convection suggest bending dissipation to occupy only 10-20 % of total dissipation in the mantle, and our results indicate that the hydrous mechanism in the shallow part of plates is essential to satisfy the requirement. Thus, surface oceans are required for the long-term operation of plate tectonics on terrestrial worlds. Establishing this necessary and observable condition for sustained plate tectonics carries important implications for planetary habitability at large.

On the breakup of tectonic plates by polar wandering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, H.-S.

1974-01-01

The equations for the stresses in a homogeneous shell of uniform thickness caused by a shift of the axis of rotation are derived. The magnitude of these stresses reaches a maximum value of the order of 10 to the 9th power dyn/sq cm, which is sufficient for explaining a tectonic breakup. In order to deduce the fracture pattern according to which the breakup of tectonic plates can be expected the theory of plastic deformation of shells is applied. The analysis of this pattern gives an explanation of the existing boundary systems of the major tectonic plates as described by Morgan (1968), LePichon (1968) and Isacks et al. (1968).

On volcanism and thermal tectonics on one-plate planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Solomon, S. C.

1978-01-01

For planets with a single global lithospheric shell or 'plate', the thermal evolution of the interior affects the surface geologic history through volumetric expansion and the resultant thermal stress. Interior warming of such planets gives rise to extensional tectonics and a lithospheric stress system conductive to widespread volcanism. Interior cooling leads to compressional tectonics and lithospheric stresses that act to shut off surface volcanism. On the basis of observed surface tectonics, it is concluded that the age of peak planetary volume, the degree of early heating, and the age of youngest major volcanism on the one-plate terrestrial planets likely decrease in the order Mercury, Moon, Mars.

Plate tectonics drive tropical reef biodiversity dynamics.

PubMed

Leprieur, Fabien; Descombes, Patrice; Gaboriau, Théo; Cowman, Peter F; Parravicini, Valeriano; Kulbicki, Michel; Melián, Carlos J; de Santana, Charles N; Heine, Christian; Mouillot, David; Bellwood, David R; Pellissier, Loïc

2016-05-06

The Cretaceous breakup of Gondwana strongly modified the global distribution of shallow tropical seas reshaping the geographic configuration of marine basins. However, the links between tropical reef availability, plate tectonic processes and marine biodiversity distribution patterns are still unknown. Here, we show that a spatial diversification model constrained by absolute plate motions for the past 140 million years predicts the emergence and movement of diversity hotspots on tropical reefs. The spatial dynamics of tropical reefs explains marine fauna diversification in the Tethyan Ocean during the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic, and identifies an eastward movement of ancestral marine lineages towards the Indo-Australian Archipelago in the Miocene. A mechanistic model based only on habitat-driven diversification and dispersal yields realistic predictions of current biodiversity patterns for both corals and fishes. As in terrestrial systems, we demonstrate that plate tectonics played a major role in driving tropical marine shallow reef biodiversity dynamics.

Emergence of silicic continents as the lower crust peels off on a hot plate-tectonic Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chowdhury, Priyadarshi; Gerya, Taras; Chakraborty, Sumit

2017-09-01

The rock record and geochemical evidence indicate that continental recycling has been occurring since the early history of the Earth. The stabilization of felsic continents in place of Earth's early mafic crust about 3.0 to 2.0 billion years ago, perhaps due to the initiation of plate tectonics, implies widespread destruction of mafic crust during this time interval. However, the physical mechanisms of such intense recycling on a hotter, (late) Archaean and presumably plate-tectonic Earth remain largely unknown. Here we use thermomechanical modelling to show that extensive recycling via lower crustal peeling-off (delamination but not eclogitic dripping) during continent-continent convergence was near ubiquitous during the late Archaean to early Proterozoic. We propose that such destruction of the early mafic crust, together with felsic magmatism, may have caused both the emergence of silicic continents and their subsequent isostatic rise, possibly above the sea level. Such changes in the continental character have been proposed to influence the Great Oxidation Event and, therefore, peeling-off plate tectonics could be the geodynamic trigger for this event. A transition to the slab break-off controlled syn-orogenic recycling occurred as the Earth aged and cooled, leading to reduced recycling and enhanced preservation of the continental crust of present-day composition.

Comment on "Intermittent plate tectonics?".

PubMed

Korenaga, Jun

2008-06-06

Silver and Behn (Reports, 4 January 2008, p. 85) proposed that intermittent plate tectonics may resolve a long-standing paradox in Earth's thermal evolution. However, their analysis misses one important term, which subsequently brings their main conclusion into question. In addition, the Phanerozoic eustasy record indicates that the claimed effect of intermittency is probably weak.

Plate tectonics beyond plate boundaries: the role of ancient structures in intraplate orogenesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heron, Philip; Pysklywec, Russell; Stephenson, Randell

2015-04-01

The development of orogens that occur at a distance from plate boundaries (i.e., `intraplate' deformation) cannot be adequately explained through conventional plate tectonic theory. Intraplate deformation infers a more complex argument for lithospheric and mantle interaction than plate tectonic theory allows. As a result, the origins of intraplate orogenesis are enigmatic. One hypothesis is the amalgamation of continental material (i.e., micro-plates) leaves inherent scars on the crust and mantle lithosphere. Previous studies into continent-continent collisions identify a number of scenarios from accretionary tectonics that affect the crust and mantle (namely, the development of a Rayleigh-Taylor instability, lithospheric underplating, lithospheric delamination, and lithospheric subduction). Any of these processes may weaken the lithosphere allowing episodic reactivation of faults within continental interiors. Hence, continental convergence (i.e., shortening) at a time after continental collision may cause the already weakened crust and mantle lithosphere to produce intraplate deformation. In order to better understand the processes involved in deformation away from plate boundaries, we present suites of continental shortening models (using the high-resolution thermal-mechanical modelling code SOPALE) to identify the preferred style of deformation. We model ancient structures by applying weak subduction scarring, changing the rheological conditions, and modifying the thermal structure within the lithosphere. To highlight the role of surface processes on plate and lithosphere deformation, the effect of climate-driven erosion and deposition on the tectonic structure of intraplate deformation is also addressed. We explore the relevance of the models to previously studied regions of intraplate orogenesis, including the Pyrenees in Europe, the Laramide orogen in North America, Tien Shan orogen in Central Asia, and Central Australia. The findings of the simulations with

Plate tectonics drive tropical reef biodiversity dynamics

PubMed Central

Leprieur, Fabien; Descombes, Patrice; Gaboriau, Théo; Cowman, Peter F.; Parravicini, Valeriano; Kulbicki, Michel; Melián, Carlos J.; de Santana, Charles N.; Heine, Christian; Mouillot, David; Bellwood, David R.; Pellissier, Loïc

2016-01-01

The Cretaceous breakup of Gondwana strongly modified the global distribution of shallow tropical seas reshaping the geographic configuration of marine basins. However, the links between tropical reef availability, plate tectonic processes and marine biodiversity distribution patterns are still unknown. Here, we show that a spatial diversification model constrained by absolute plate motions for the past 140 million years predicts the emergence and movement of diversity hotspots on tropical reefs. The spatial dynamics of tropical reefs explains marine fauna diversification in the Tethyan Ocean during the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic, and identifies an eastward movement of ancestral marine lineages towards the Indo-Australian Archipelago in the Miocene. A mechanistic model based only on habitat-driven diversification and dispersal yields realistic predictions of current biodiversity patterns for both corals and fishes. As in terrestrial systems, we demonstrate that plate tectonics played a major role in driving tropical marine shallow reef biodiversity dynamics. PMID:27151103

Metamorphism, Plate Tectonics, and the Supercontinent Cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Michael

duality of thermal regimes is the hallmark of modern plate tectonics and the duality of metamorphic belts is the characteristic imprint of plate tectonics in the rock record. The occurrence of both G-UHTM and E-HPGM belts since the Neoarchean manifests the onset of a 'Proterozoic plate tectonics regime', although the style of tectonics likely involved differences. The 'Proterozoic plate tectonics regime' evolved during a Neoproterozoic transition to the 'modern plate tectonics regime' characterized by colder subduction and subduction of continental crust deep into the mantle and its (partial) return from depths of up to 300 km, as chronicled by the appearance of HPM-UHPM in the rock record. The age distribution of metamorphic belts that record extreme conditions of metamorphism is not uniform, and metamorphism occurs in periods that correspond to amalgamation of continental lithosphere into supercratons (e.g. Superia/Sclavia) or supercontinents (e.g. Nuna (Columbia), Rodinia, Gondwana, and Pangea).

Quantitative tests for plate tectonics on Venus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaula, W. M.; Phillips, R. J.

1981-01-01

Quantitative comparisons are made between the characteristics of plate tectonics on the earth and those which are possible on Venus. Considerations of the factors influencing rise height and relating the decrease in rise height to plate velocity indicate that the rate of topographic dropoff from spreading centers should be about half that on earth due to greater rock-fluid density contrast and lower temperature differential between the surface and interior. Statistical analyses of Pioneer Venus radar altimetry data and global earth elevation data is used to identify 21,000 km of ridge on Venus and 33,000 km on earth, and reveal Venus ridges to have a less well-defined mode in crest heights and a greater concavity than earth ridges. Comparison of the Venus results with the spreading rates and associated heat flow on earth reveals plate creation rates on Venus to be 0.7 sq km/year or less and indicates that not more than 15% of Venus's energy is delivered to the surface by plate tectonics, in contrast to values of 2.9 sq km a year and 70% for earth.

Generation of plate tectonics via grain-damage and pinning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bercovici, D.; Ricard, Y. R.

2012-12-01

Weakening and shear localization in the lithosphere are essential ingredients for understanding how and whether plate tectonics is generated from mantle convection on terrestrial planets. The grain-damage and pinning mechanism of Bercovici & Ricard (2012) for lithospheric shear--localization proposes that damage to the interface between phases in a polycrystalline material like peridotite (composed primarily of olivine and pyroxene) increases the number of small Zener pinning surfaces that constrain mineral grains to ever smaller sizes regardless of creep mechanism. This effect allows a self-softening feedback in which damage and grain-reduction can co-exist with a grain-size dependent diffusion creep rheology; moreoever, grain growth and weak-zone healing are greatly impeded by Zener pinning thereby leading to long-lived relic weak zones. This mechanism is employed in two-dimensional flow calculations to test its ability to generate toroidal (strike-slip) motion from convective type flow and to influence plate evolution. The fluid dynamical calculations employ source-sink driven flow as a proxy for convective poloidal flow (upwelling/downwelling and divergent/convergent motion), and the coupling of this flow with non-linear rheological mechanisms excites toroidal or strike-slip motion. The numerical experiments show that pure dislocation-creep rheology, and grain-damage without Zener pinning (as occurs in a single-phase assemblages) permit only weak localization and toroidal flow; however, the full grain-damage with pinning readily allows focussed localization and intense, plate-like toroidal motion and strike-slip deformation. Rapid plate motion changes are also tested with abrupt rotations of the source-sink field after a plate-like configuration is developed; the post-rotation flow and material property fields are found to never recover or lose memory of the original configuration, leading to suboptimally aligned plate boundaries (e.g., strike-slip margins non

Seismology: tectonic strain in plate interiors?

PubMed

Calais, E; Mattioli, G; DeMets, C; Nocquet, J-M; Stein, S; Newman, A; Rydelek, P

2005-12-15

It is not fully understood how or why the inner areas of tectonic plates deform, leading to large, although infrequent, earthquakes. Smalley et al. offer a potential breakthrough by suggesting that surface deformation in the central United States accumulates at rates comparable to those across plate boundaries. However, we find no statistically significant deformation in three independent analyses of the data set used by Smalley et al., and conclude therefore that only the upper bounds of magnitude and repeat time for large earthquakes can be inferred at present.

Mantle convection and plate tectonics: toward an integrated physical and chemical theory

PubMed

Tackley

2000-06-16

Plate tectonics and convection of the solid, rocky mantle are responsible for transporting heat out of Earth. However, the physics of plate tectonics is poorly understood; other planets do not exhibit it. Recent seismic evidence for convection and mixing throughout the mantle seems at odds with the chemical composition of erupted magmas requiring the presence of several chemically distinct reservoirs within the mantle. There has been rapid progress on these two problems, with the emergence of the first self-consistent models of plate tectonics and mantle convection, along with new geochemical models that may be consistent with seismic and dynamical constraints on mantle structure.

Plate-tectonic boundary formation by grain-damage and pinning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bercovici, David

2015-04-01

Shear weakening in the lithosphere is an essential ingredient for understanding how and why plate tectonics is generated from mantle convection on terrestrial planets. I present continued work on a theoretical model for lithospheric shear-localization and plate generation through damage, grain evolution and Zener pinning in two-phase (polycrystalline) lithospheric rocks. Grain size evolves through the competition between coarsening, which drives grain-growth, with damage, which drives grain reduction. The interface between phases controls Zener pinning, which impedes grain growth. Damage to the interface enhances the Zener pinning effect, which then reduces grain-size, forcing the rheology into the grain-size-dependent diffusion creep regime. This process thus allows damage and rheological weakening to co-exist, providing a necessary shear-localizing feedback. Moreover, because pinning inhibits grain-growth it promotes shear-zone longevity and plate-boundary inheritance. This theory has been applied recently to the emergence of plate tectonics in the Archean by transient subduction and accumulation of plate boundaries over 1Gyr, as well as to rapid slab detachment and abrupt tectonic changes. New work explores the saturation of interface damage at low interface curvature (e.g., because it is associated with larger grains that take up more of the damage, and/or because interface area is reduced). This effect allows three possible equilibrium grain-sizes for a given stress; a small-grain-size high-shear state in diffusion creep, a large grain-size low shear state in dislocation creep, and an intermediate state (often near the deformation map phase-boundary). The low and high grain-size states are stable, while the intermediate one is unstable. This implies that a material deformed at a given stress can acquire two stable deformation regimes, a low- and high- shear state; these are indicative of plate-like flows, i.e, the coexistence of both slowly deforming plates

Barrel organ of plate tectonics - a new tool for outreach and education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broz, Petr; Machek, Matěj; Šorm, Zdar

2016-04-01

Plate tectonics is the major geological concept to explain dynamics and structure of Earth's outer shell, the lithosphere. In the plate tectonic theory processes in the Earth lithosphere and its dynamics is driven by the relative motion and interaction of lithospheric plates. Geologically most active regions on Earth often correlate with the lithospheric plate boundaries. Thus for explaining the earth surface evolution, mountain building, volcanism and earthquake origin it is important to understand processes at the plate boundaries. However these processes associated with plate tectonics usually require significant period of time to take effects, therefore, their entire cycles cannot be directly observed in the nature by humans. This makes a challenge for scientists studying these processes, but also for teachers and popularizers trying to explain them to students and to the general public. Therefore, to overcome this problem, we developed a mechanical model of plate tectonics enabling demonstration of most important processes associated with plate tectonics in real time. The mechanical model is a wooden box, more specifically a special type of barrel organ, with hand painted backdrops in the front side. These backdrops are divided into several components representing geodynamic processes associated with plate tectonics, specifically convective currents occurring in the mantle, sea-floor spreading, a subduction of the oceanic crust under the continental crust, partial melting and volcanism associated with subduction, a formation of magmatic stripes, an ascent of mantle plume throughout the mantle, a volcanic activity associated with hot spots, and a formation and degradation of volcanic islands on moving lithospheric plate. All components are set in motion by a handle controlled by a human operator, and the scene is illuminated with colored lights controlled automatically by an electric device embedded in the box. Operation of the model may be seen on www

Rubidium-strontium geochronology and plate-tectonic evolution of the southern part of the Arabian Shield

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fleck, Robert J.; Greenwood, W.R.; Hadley, D.G.; Anderson, R.E.; Schmidt, D.L.

1980-01-01

Rubidium-strontium studies of Precambrian volcanic and plutonic rocks of the Arabian Shield document an early development of the Arabian craton between 900 and 680 m.y. (million years) ago. Geologic studies indicate an island-arc environment characterized by andesitic (dioritic) magmas, volcaniclastic sedimentation, rapid deposition, and contemporaneous deformation along north or northwest-trending axes. Magmatic trends show consistent variation in both composition and geographic location as a function of age. The oldest units belong to an assemblage of basaltic strata exposed in western Saudi Arabia that yield an age of 1165:!:110 m.y. The oldest andesitic strata studied yield an age of 912:!:76 m.y. The earliest plutonic units are diorite to trondhjemite batholiths that range from 800 to 9,00 m.y. in age and ,occur along the western and southern parts of Saudi Arabia. Younger plutonic units, 680 to 750 m.y. in age, range from quartz diorite to granodiodte and become more abundant in the central and northeastern parts of the Arabian Shield. Initial 'Sr/ 86 Sr ratios for both dioritic groups range from 0.7023 to 0.7030 and average 0.7027. The absence of sialic detritus in sedimentary units and the evidence for an island-arc environment suggest the early development of the Arabian craton at a convergent plate margin between plates of oceanic lithosphere. Active subduction apparently extended from at least 900 m.y. to about 680 m.y. Subsequent to this subduction-related magmatism and tectonism, called the Hijaz tectonic cycle, the Arabian craton was sutured to the late Precambrian African plate in a collisional event. This period of orogeny, represented in Arabia and eastern Africa by the Mozambiquian or Pan-African event, extended from some time before 650 m.y. to at least 540 m.y. and perhaps 520 m.y. B.P. Although the tectonic processes of subduction and continental collision during the 900+ to 500-m.y. period require similar directions of plate convergence, the

Laboratory plate tectonics: a new experiment.

PubMed

Gans, R F

1976-03-26

A "continent" made of a layer of hexagonally packed black polyethylene spheres floating in clear silicon oil breaks into subcontinents when illuminated by an ordinary incandescent light bulb. This experiment may be a useful model of plate tectonics driven by horizontal temperature gradients. Measurements of the spreading rate are made to establish the feasibility of this model.

A new plate tectonic concept for the eastern-most Mediterranean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huebscher, C.; McGrandle, A.; Scaife, G.; Spoors, R.; Stieglitz, T.

2012-04-01

Owing to the seismogenic faults bordering the Levant-Sinai realm and the discovery of giant gas reservoirs in the marine Levant Basin the scientific interest in this tectonically complex setting increased in recent years. Here we provide a new model for the Levant Basin architecture and adjacent plate boundaries emphasizing the importance of industrial seismic data for frontier research in earth science. PSDM seismics, residual gravity and depth to basement maps give a clear line of evidence that the Levant Basin, formerly considered as a single tectonic entity, is divided into two different domains. Highly stretched continental crust in the southern domain is separated from deeper and presumably Tethyan oceanic crust in the north. A transform continuing from southwest Cyprus to the Carmel Fault in northern Israel is considered as the boundary. If this interpretation holds, the Carmel-Cyprus Transform represents a yet unknown continent-ocean boundary in the eastern Mediterranean, thus adding new constrains for the Mediterranean plate tectonic puzzle. The Eratosthenes Seamount, considered as the spearhead of incipient continental collision in the eastern Mediterranean, is interpreted as a carbonate platform that developed above a volcanic basement. NW-SE trending strike-slip faults are abundant in the entire Levant region. Since this trend also shapes the topography of the Levant hinterland including Quaternary deposits their recent tectonic activity is quite likely. Thus, our study supports previous studies which attributed the evolution of submarine canyons and Holocene triggering of mass failures not only to salt tectonics or depositional processes, but also to active plate-tectonics.

Impacts and glacio-eustasy, plate-tectonic episodes, geomagnetic reversals: a concept to facilitate detection of impact events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burek, Peter J.; Wänke, Heinrich

1988-03-01

It is suggested that the Cretaceous/Tertiary (C/T)-impact destabilised and then profoundly changed the climatic structure of the Earth for Cenozoic times by establishing freezing conditions at the poles via the C/T-dust veil and the subsequent H 2O-greenhouse evaporation (polar snow fields/ice caps, see level fall: TP1). It is also suggested that the C/T-impact affected the Earth's mantle (shock-induced phase transitions) and via chain reactions also the core-mantle boundary. This mantle-effect could possibly explain the Laramian plate-tectonic episode (± 65 Ma) and reversal T29 R/N, which occurred ˜ 150 000 years after the C/T-boundary, as long term impact effects. The combination of these and the multitude of associated events (c.f. faunal breaks) appear to correlate episodically in the geological past. It is proposed, that these repetitions can be used as a potential approach to narrow the search for impact-traces. Also, more examples of correlations between impact events and their possible effects are needed to ensure that the implications of the C/T-impact are generally valid.

The generation of plate tectonics from mantle convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bercovici, David

2003-01-01

In the last decade, significant progress has been made toward understanding how plate tectonics is generated from mantle dynamics. A primary goal of plate-generation studies has been the development of models that allow the top cold thermal boundary layer of mantle convection, i.e. the lithosphere, to develop broad and strong plate-like segments separated by narrow, weak and rapidly deforming boundaries; ideally, such models also permit significant strike-slip (toroidal) motion, passive ridges (i.e. pulled rather than pried apart), and self-consistent initiation of subduction. A major outcome of work so far is that nearly all aspects of plate generation require lithospheric rheologies and shear-localizing feedback mechanisms that are considerably more exotic than rheologies typically used in simple fluid-dynamical models of mantle flow. The search for plate-generating behavior has taken us through investigations of the effects of shear weakening ('stick-slip') and viscoplastic rheologies, of melting at ridges and low-viscosity asthenospheres, and of grain-size dependent rheologies and damage mechanics. Many such mechanisms, either by themselves or in combination, have led to self-consistent fluid-mechanical models of mantle flow that are remarkably plate-like, which is in itself a major accomplishment. However, many other important problems remain unsolved, such as subduction intiation and asymmetry, temporal evolution of plate geometry, rapid changes in plate motion, and the Archaean initiation of the plate-tectonic mode of convection. This paper presents a brief review of progress made in the plate-generation problem over the last decade, and discusses unresolved issues and future directions of research in this important area.

Intermittent plate tectonics?

PubMed

Silver, Paul G; Behn, Mark D

2008-01-04

Although it is commonly assumed that subduction has operated continuously on Earth without interruption, subduction zones are routinely terminated by ocean closure and supercontinent assembly. Under certain circumstances, this could lead to a dramatic loss of subduction, globally. Closure of a Pacific-type basin, for example, would eliminate most subduction, unless this loss were compensated for by comparable subduction initiation elsewhere. Given the evidence for Pacific-type closure in Earth's past, the absence of a direct mechanism for termination/initiation compensation, and recent data supporting a minimum in subduction flux in the Mesoproterozoic, we hypothesize that dramatic reductions or temporary cessations of subduction have occurred in Earth's history. Such deviations in the continuity of plate tectonics have important consequences for Earth's thermal and continental evolution.

Plate Tectonics and Continental Drift: Classroom Ideas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stout, Prentice K.

1983-01-01

Suggests various classroom studies related to plate tectonics and continental drift, including comments on and sources of resource materials useful in teaching the topics. A complete list of magazine articles on the topics from the Sawyer Marine Resource Collection may be obtained by contacting the author. (JN)

Ocean Basin Evolution and Global-Scale Plate Reorganization Events Since Pangea Breakup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, R. Dietmar; Seton, Maria; Zahirovic, Sabin; Williams, Simon E.; Matthews, Kara J.; Wright, Nicky M.; Shephard, Grace E.; Maloney, Kayla T.; Barnett-Moore, Nicholas; Hosseinpour, Maral; Bower, Dan J.; Cannon, John

2016-06-01

We present a revised global plate motion model with continuously closing plate boundaries ranging from the Triassic at 230 Ma to the present day, assess differences among alternative absolute plate motion models, and review global tectonic events. Relatively high mean absolute plate motion rates of approximately 9-10 cm yr-1 between 140 and 120 Ma may be related to transient plate motion accelerations driven by the successive emplacement of a sequence of large igneous provinces during that time. An event at ˜100 Ma is most clearly expressed in the Indian Ocean and may reflect the initiation of Andean-style subduction along southern continental Eurasia, whereas an acceleration at ˜80 Ma of mean rates from 6 to 8 cm yr-1 reflects the initial northward acceleration of India and simultaneous speedups of plates in the Pacific. An event at ˜50 Ma expressed in relative, and some absolute, plate motion changes around the globe and in a reduction of global mean plate speeds from about 6 to 4-5 cm yr-1 indicates that an increase in collisional forces (such as the India-Eurasia collision) and ridge subduction events in the Pacific (such as the Izanagi-Pacific Ridge) play a significant role in modulating plate velocities.

Creep of phyllosilicates at the onset of plate tectonics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amiguet, Elodie; Reynard, Bruno; Caracas, Razvan

Plate tectonics is the unifying paradigm of geodynamics yet the mechanisms and causes of its initiation remain controversial. Some models suggest that plate tectonics initiates when the strength of lithosphere is lower than 20-200 MPa, below the frictional strength of lithospheric rocks (>700 MPa). At present-day, major plate boundaries such as the subduction interface, transform faults, and extensional faults at mid-oceanic ridge core complexes indicate a transition from brittle behaviour to stable sliding at depths between 10 and 40 km, in association with water-rock interactions forming phyllosilicates. We explored the rheological behaviour of lizardite, an archetypal phyllosilicate of the serpentinemore » group formed in oceanic and subduction contexts, and its potential influence on weakening of the lithospheric faults and shear zones. High-pressure deformation experiments were carried out on polycrystalline lizardite - the low temperature serpentine variety - using a D-DIA apparatus at a variety of pressure and temperature conditions from 1 to 8 GPa and 150 to 400 C and for strain rates between 10{sup -4} and 10{sup -6} s{sup -1}. Recovered samples show plastic deformation features and no evidence of brittle failure. Lizardite has a large rheological anisotropy, comparable to that observed in the micas. Mechanical results and first-principles calculations confirmed easy gliding on lizardite basal plane and show that the flow stress of phyllosilicate is in the range of the critical value of 20-200 MPa down to depths of about 200 km. Thus, foliated serpentine or chlorite-bearing rocks are sufficiently weak to account for plate tectonics initiation, aseismic sliding on the subduction interface below the seismogenic zone, and weakening of the oceanic lithosphere along hydrothermally altered fault zones. Serpentinisation easing the deformation of the early crust and shallow mantle reinforces the idea of a close link between the occurrence of plate tectonics and

Subduction hinge migration: The backwards component of plate tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stegman, D.; Freeman, J.; Schellart, W.; Moresi, L.; May, D.

2005-12-01

There are approximately 50 distinct segments of subduction zones in the world, of which 40% have oceanic lithosphere subducting under oceanic lithosphere. All of these ocean-ocean systems are currently experiencing hinge-rollback, with the exception of 2 (Mariana and Kermadec). In hinge-rollback, the surface trace of the suduction zone (trench) is moving in the opposite direction as the plate is moving (i.e. backwards). Coincidentally, the fastest moving plate boundary in the world is actually the Tonga trench at an estimated 17 cm/yr (backwards). Although this quite important process was recognized soon after the birth of plate tectonic theory (Elsasser, 1971), it has received only a limited amount of attention (Garfunkel, 1986; Kincaid and Olson, 1987) until recently. Laboratory models have shown that having a three dimensional experiment is essential in order to build a correct understanding of subduction. We have developed a numerical model with the neccessary 3-D geometry capable of investigating some fundamental questions of plate tectonics: How does hinge-rollback feedback into surface tectonics and mantle flow? What can we learn about the forces that drive plate tectonics by studying hinge-rollback? We will present a quantatitive analysis of the effect of the lateral width of subduction zones, the key aspect to understanding the nature of hinge-rollback. Additionally, particular emphasis has been put on gaining intuition through the use of movies (a 3-D rendering of the numerical models), illustrating the time evolution of slab interactions with the lower mantle as seen in such fields as velocity magnitude, strain rate, viscosity, as well as the toroidal and poloidal components of induced flow. This investigation is well-suited to developing direct comparisons with geological and geophysical observations such as geodetically determined hinge retreat rates, geochemical and petrological observations of arc volcanics and back-arc ridge basalts, timing and

Silurian to Early Carboniferous plate tectonic model of Central Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golonka, Jan; Barmuta, Jan; Barmuta, Maria

2014-05-01

The presented plate tectonic model focuses on Silurian to Early Carboniferous evolution of Central Europe with special attention given to the Sudetes region (north and north-east part of the Bohemian Massif). During our studies, we tested alternative models focused on the position of the Armorican terranes, known as the Armorican Terrane Assembly (ATA) (e.g.: Matte, 2001) and tried to refine the existing reconstructions, which describe Armorica as an individual continent during the Late Silurian and Devonian (e.g. Lewandowski, 2003, Winchester, 2002). Our plate tectonic model depict that these small blocks were scattered along the northern margin of Gondwana, where they formed the "Armorican Spour" as suggested by Kroner and Romer (2013). The seaways were present between blocks. Because of the north dipping subduction zone along the southern margin of the Laurussia continent the back-arc basin and island arc were formed. The narrowing of the Rheic ocean led to the complicated collision of Gondwana and Laurussia. Three main stages of this event can be distinguished: (1) collision of the Armorican Spour with the Laurussian island arc, (2) back-arc basin closure, (3) final Gondwana and Laurussian collision. Those stages correlate well with Variscan Subduction Zone System proposed by Kroner and Romer (2013). Interactive modeling performed in GPlates, shows that the presented model is valid from kinematic and geometrical point of view. Kroner U., Romer R., L., 2013, Two plates - many subduction zones: the Variscan orogeny reconsidered. Gondwana Research, 24: 298-329. Lewandowski M., 2003, Assembly of Pangea: Combined paleomagnetic and paleoclimatic approach, Advances in Geophysics, 46: 199-236 Matte P., 2001, The Variscan collage and orogeny (480 290 Ma) and the tectonic definition of the Armorica microplate: a review. Terra Nova, 13: 122¨C128. Winchester J., A., The Pace TMR Network Team, 2002, Palaeozoic amalgamation of Central Europe: new results from recent

Plate tectonics hiati as the cause of global glaciations: 2. The late Proterozoic 'Snowball Earth'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osmaston, M. F.

2003-04-01

A fundamental reappraisal of the mechanisms that drive plate tectonics has yielded the remarkable conclusion that, for at least the past 130 Ma, the principal agent has not been ridge-push or slab-pull but a CW-directed torque (probably of electromagnetic origin at the CMB) reaching the deep (>600 km, e.g.[1]) tectospheric keel of the Antarctica craton. Major changes in spreading direction marked both ends of the 122--85 Ma Cretaceous Superchron and started by forming the Ontong Java Plateau. Action of MORs as gearlike linkages has driven Africa and India CCW since Gondwana breakup and continues to drive the Pacific plate CCW. In the Arctic there is now no cratonic keel to pick up any corresponding polar torque, so northern hemisphere plate tectonics is far less active. The thesis of this contribution is that in the Neoproterozoic the lack of cratons at high latitudes would have deprived plate tectonics of this motivation, causing MORs to die (see below) and a major fall in sea-level, leading to global glaciation as outlined in Part 1 for the Huronian events. Like that seen during that first hiatus, dyke-swarm volcanism could have arisen from thermal shrinkage of the global lithosphere, providing CO2 and ash-covering that interrrupted glacial episodes. In oceanic settings this volcanism would have lowered pH and supplied Fe2+ for shallow bio-oxygenic action to deposit as BIF. My multifacet studies of the subduction process convince me that the rapid development of "flat-slab" interface profiles involves the physical removal of hanging-wall material in front of the downbend by basal subduction tectonic erosion (STE). Historically this, and its inferred ubiquity in the Archaean as the precursor to PSM (Part 1), suggests that the required subducting-plate buoyancy is thermal. Accordingly, a redesign [2] of the MOR process has incorporated the heat-containing LVZ as an integral part of the plate and luckily provides a lot more ridge-push to ensure the subduction of

Constraining Initiation and Onset Time of Plate Tectonics on Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roller, G.

2014-12-01

The onset time for modern-style plate tectonics is still heavily debated among geoscientists. Proposed timings range from the Phanerozoic to the Hadean. Here I present a new theoretical approach to tackle this question. I combine ideas of nuclear astrophysics and geochronology and apply the concept of sudden nucleosynthesis to calculate so-called nucleogeochronometric Rhenium-Osmium model ages. Sudden nucleosynthesis has been suggested by nuclear theory [1-2] as a possible mechanism for the creation of the heavy isotopes. Hence, this concept may generally be used to identify rapid (r-) neutron-capture process events. For Earth, nucleogeochronometric model age calculations based upon published pyroxenite and komatiite data [3-5] point to an r-process event around 3 Ga. Since the r-process requires high neutron densities and temperatures within seconds, a gravitational core collapse forming at least a part of the inner core is discussed as a possible cause, thus initiating modern-style plate tectonics at that time. This age is in line with an earlier proposed value of 2.7 Ga for an inner core forming event [6], pronounced changes in the magnitude of the geomagnetic field and geological evidence like the onset of extensive plutonism and crust formation starting around the Archean-Proterozoic transition. Besides, results from nucleogeochronometric age calculations for published peridotitic pentlandites [7] lead to corrections as to their previously inconsistent model ages: These are now in good agreement with their Proterozoic 1.43 Ga isochronous regression line, supporting the model. [1] Burbidge et al. (1957) Revs. Mod. Phys. 29, 547 - 650. [2] Hoyle et al. (1960) ApJ 132, 565 - 590. [3] Reisberg et al. (1991) Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 105, 196 - 213. [4] Roy-Barman et al. (1996) Chem. Geol. 130, 55 - 64. [5] Luck et al. (1984) Earth Planet Sci. Lett. 68, 205 - 208. [6] Hale (1987) Nature 329, 233 -237. [7] Smit et al. (2010) Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 74, 3292 - 3306.

Caribbean tectonics and relative plate motions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke, K.; Dewey, J. F.; Cooper, C.; Mann, P.; Pindell, J. L.

1984-01-01

During the last century, three different ways of interpreting the tectonic evolution of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean have been proposed, taking into account the Bailey Willis School of a permanent pre-Jurassic deep sea basin, the Edward Suess School of a subsided continental terrain, and the Alfred Wegener School of continental separation. The present investigation is concerned with an outline of an interpretation which follows that of Pindell and Dewey (1982). An attempt is made to point out ways in which the advanced hypotheses can be tested. The fit of Africa, North America, and South America is considered along with aspects of relative motion between North and South America since the early Jurasic. Attention is given to a framework for reconstructing Caribbean plate evolution, the evolution of the Caribbean, the plate boundary zones of the northern and southern Caribbean, and the active deformation of the Caribbean plate.

Convection and plate tectonics on extrasolar planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sotin, C.; Grasset, O.; Schubert, G.

2012-04-01

The number of potential Earth-like exoplanets is still very limited compared to the overall number of detected exoplanets. But the different methods keep improving, giving hope for this number to increase significantly in the coming years. Based on the relationship between mass and radius, two of the easiest parameters that can be known for exoplanets, four categories of planets have been identified: (i) the gas giants including hot Jupiters, (ii) the icy giants that can be like their solar system cousins Uranus and Neptune or that can have lost their H2-He atmosphere and have become the so-called ocean planets, (iii) the Earth-like planets with a fraction of silicates and iron similar to that of the Earth, and (iv) the Mercury like planet that have a much larger fraction of iron. The hunt for exoplanets is very much focused on Earth-like planets because of the desire to find alien forms of life and the science goal to understand how life started and developed on Earth. One science question is whether heat transfer by subsolidus convection can lead to plate tectonics, a process that allows material to be recycled in the interior on timescales of hundreds of millions of years. Earth-like exoplanets may have conditions quite different from Earth. For example, COROT-7b is so close to its star that it is likely locked in synchronous orbit with one very hot hemisphere and one very cold hemisphere. It is also worth noting that among the three Earth-like planets of the solar system (Earth, Venus and Mars), only Earth is subject to plate tectonics at present time. Venus may have experienced plate tectonics before the resurfacing event that erased any clue that such a process existed. This study investigates some of the parameters that can influence the transition from stagnant-lid convection to mobile-lid convection. Numerical simulations of convective heat transfer have been performed in 3D spherical geometry in order to determine the stress field generated by convection

Pliocene eclogite exhumation at plate tectonic rates in eastern Papua New Guinea.

PubMed

Baldwin, Suzanne L; Monteleone, Brian D; Webb, Laura E; Fitzgerald, Paul G; Grove, Marty; Hill, E June

2004-09-16

As lithospheric plates are subducted, rocks are metamorphosed under high-pressure and ultrahigh-pressure conditions to produce eclogites and eclogite facies metamorphic rocks. Because chemical equilibrium is rarely fully achieved, eclogites may preserve in their distinctive mineral assemblages and textures a record of the pressures, temperatures and deformation the rock was subjected to during subduction and subsequent exhumation. Radioactive parent-daughter isotopic variations within minerals reveal the timing of these events. Here we present in situ zircon U/Pb ion microprobe data that dates the timing of eclogite facies metamorphism in eastern Papua New Guinea at 4.3 +/- 0.4 Myr ago, making this the youngest documented eclogite exposed at the Earth's surface. Eclogite exhumation from depths of approximately 75 km was extremely rapid and occurred at plate tectonic rates (cm yr(-1)). The eclogite was exhumed within a portion of the obliquely convergent Australian-Pacific plate boundary zone, in an extending region located west of the Woodlark basin sea floor spreading centre. Such rapid exhumation (> 1 cm yr(-1)) of high-pressure and, we infer, ultrahigh-pressure rocks is facilitated by extension within transient plate boundary zones associated with rapid oblique plate convergence.

JaMBES: A "New" Way of Calculating Plate Tectonic Reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chambord, A. I.; Smith, E. G. C.; Sutherland, R.

2014-12-01

Calculating the paleoposition of tectonic plates using marine geophysical data has been usually done by using the Hellinger criterion [Hellinger, 1981]. However, for the Hellinger software [Kirkwood et al., 1999] to produce stable results, we find that the input data must be abundant and spatially well distributed. Although magnetic anomalies and fracture zone data have been increasingly abundant since the 1960s, some parts of the globe remain too sparsely explored to provide enough data for the Hellinger code to provide satisfactory rotations. In this poster, we present new software to calculate the paleopositions of tectonic plates using magnetic anomalies and fracture zone data. Our method is based on the theory of plate tectonics as introduced by [Bullard et al., 1965] and [Morgan, 1968], which states that ridge segments (ie. magnetic lineations) and fracture zones are at right angles to each other. In order to test our software, we apply it to a region of the world where climatic conditions hinder the acquisition of magnetic data: the Southwest Pacific, between New Zealand and Antarctica from breakup time to chron 20 (c43Ma). Bullard, E., J. E. Everett, and A. G. Smith (1965), The fit of continents around the atlantic, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series A: Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 258(1088), 41-51. Hellinger, S. J. (1981), The uncertainties of finite rotations in plate tectonics, Journal of Geophysical Research, 86(B10), 9312-9318. Kirkwood, B. H., J. Y. Royer, T. C. Chang, and R. G. Gordon (1999), Statistical tools for estimating and combining finite rotations and their uncertainties, Geophysical Journal International, 137(2), 408-428. Morgan, W. J. (1968), Rises, trenches, great faults, and crustal blocks, Journal of Geophysical Research, 73(6), 1959-1982.

Plate tectonics and crustal deformation around the Japanese Islands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hashimoto, Manabu; Jackson, David D.

1993-01-01

We analyze over a century of geodetic data to study crustal deformation and plate motion around the Japanese Islands, using the block-fault model for crustal deformation developed by Matsu'ura et al. (1986). We model the area including the Japanese Islands with 19 crustal blocks and 104 faults based on the distribution of active faults and seismicity. Geodetic data are used to obtain block motions and average slip rates of faults. This geodetic model predicts that the Pacific plate moves N deg 69 +/- 2 deg W at about 80 +/- 3 mm/yr relative to the Eurasian plate which is much lower than that predicted in geologic models. Substantial aseismic slip occurs on the subduction boundaries. The block containing the Izu Peninsula may be separated from the rigid part of the Philippine Sea plate. The faults on the coast of Japan Sea and the western part of the Median Tectonic Line have slip rates exceeding 4 mm/yr, while the Fossa Magna does not play an important role in the tectonics of the central Japan. The geodetic model requires the division of northeastern Japan, contrary to the hypothesis that northeastern Japan is a part of the North American plate. Owing to rapid convergence, the seismic risk in the Nankai trough may be larger than that of the Tokai gap.

Thermal Evolution of the Earth from a Plate Tectonics Point of View

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigne, C.; Combes, M.; Le Yaouanq, S.; Husson, L.; Conrad, C. P.; Tisseau, C.

2011-12-01

Earth's thermal history is classically studied using scaling laws that link the surface heat loss to the temperature and viscosity of the convecting mantle. When such a parameterization is used in the global heat budget of the Earth to integrate the mantle temperature backwards in time, a runaway increase of temperature is obtained, leading to the so-called "thermal catastrophe". We propose a new approach that does not rely on convective scaling laws but instead considers the dynamics of plate tectonics, including temperature-dependent surface processes. We use a multi-agent system to simulate time-dependent plate tectonics in a 2D cylindrical geometry with evolutive plate boundaries. Plate velocities are computed using local force balance and explicit parameterizations for plate boundary processes such as trench migration, subduction initiation, continental breakup and plate suturing. The number of plates is not imposed but emerges naturally. At a given time step, heat flux is integrated from the seafloor age distribution and a global heat budget is used to compute the evolution of mantle temperature. This approach has a very low computational cost and allows us to study the effect of a wide range of input parameters on the long-term thermal evolution of the system. For Earth-like parameters, an average cooling rate of 60-70K per billion years is obtained, which is consistent with petrological and rheological constraints. Two time scales arise in the evolution of the heat flux: a linear long-term decrease and high-amplitude short-term fluctuations due to tectonic rearrangements. We show that the viscosity of the mantle is not a key parameter in the thermal evolution of the system and that no thermal catastrophe occurs when considering tectonic processes. The cooling rate of the Earth depends mainly on its ability to replace old insulating seafloor by young thin oceanic lithosphere. Therefore, the main controlling factors are parameters such as the resistance of

The influence of water on mantle convection and plate tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brändli, S.; Tackley, P. J.

2017-12-01

Water has a significant influence to mantle rheology and therefore also to the convection of the mantle and the plate tectonics. The viscosity of the mantle can be decreased by up to two orders of magnitude when water is present in the mantle. Another effect of the water is the change in the solidus of the mantle and therefore the melting regime. This two effects of water in the mantle have a significant influence to mantle convection and plate tectonics. The influx of water to the mantle is driven by plate tectonics as wet oceanic lithosphere is subducted into the mantle and then brought back to the lithosphere and the surface by MOR-, arc- and hotspot volcanism. Studies show that the amount of water in the mantle is about three times bigger than the amount of water in the oceans. To model this water cycle multiple additions to StagYY are necessary. With the enhanced code we calculated multiple steady state models with a wide range of parameters to study the effect of water on the mantle rheology and the behavior of the lithosphere. The results will help us to understand the earths interior and its reaction and behavior under partially hydrated conditions.

Extending Alaska's plate boundary: tectonic tremor generated by Yakutat subduction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wech, Aaron G.

2016-01-01

The tectonics of the eastern end of the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone are complicated by the inclusion of the Yakutat microplate, which is colliding into and subducting beneath continental North America at near-Pacific-plate rates. The interaction among these plates at depth is not well understood, and further east, even less is known about the plate boundary or the source of Wrangell volcanism. The drop-off in Wadati-Benioff zone (WBZ) seismicity could signal the end of the plate boundary, the start of aseismic subduction, or a tear in the downgoing plate. Further compounding the issue is the possible presence of the Wrangell slab, which is faintly outlined by an anemic, eastward-dipping WBZ beneath the Wrangell volcanoes. In this study, I performed a search for tectonic tremor to map slow, plate-boundary slip in south-central Alaska. I identified ∼11,000 tremor epicenters, which continue 85 km east of the inferred Pacific plate edge marked by WBZ seismicity. The tremor zone coincides with the edges of the downgoing Yakutat terrane, and tremors transition from periodic to continuous behavior as they near the aseismic Wrangell slab. I interpret tremor to mark slow, semicontinuous slip occurring at the interface between the Yakutat and North America plates. The slow slip region lengthens the megathrust interface beyond the WBZ and may provide evidence for a connection between the Yakutat slab and the aseismic Wrangell slab.

Inversion for the driving forces of plate tectonics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richardson, R. M.

1983-01-01

Inverse modeling techniques have been applied to the problem of determining the roles of various forces that may drive and resist plate tectonic motions. Separate linear inverse problems have been solved to find the best fitting pole of rotation for finite element grid point velocities and to find the best combination of force models to fit the observed relative plate velocities for the earth's twelve major plates using the generalized inverse operator. Variance-covariance data on plate motion have also been included. Results emphasize the relative importance of ridge push forces in the driving mechanism. Convergent margin forces are smaller by at least a factor of two, and perhaps by as much as a factor of twenty. Slab pull, apparently, is poorly transmitted to the surface plate as a driving force. Drag forces at the base of the plate are smaller than ridge push forces, although the sign of the force remains in question.

Activities for Plate Tectonics using GeoMapApp

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodwillie, A. M.

2016-12-01

The concept of plate tectonics is a fundamental component of our understanding of how Earth works yet authentic, high-quality geoscience data related to plate tectonics may not be readily available to all students. To compound matters, when data is accessible, students may not possess the skills or resources necessary to explore and analyse it. As a result, much emphasis at federal and state level is now placed upon encouraging students to work with more data and more technology more often and more rigourously. Easy-to-use digital platforms offer much potential for promoting inquiry-based learning at all levels of education. GeoMapApp is one such tool. Developed at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, GeoMapApp (http://www.geomapapp.org) is a free resource that integrates a wide range of research-grade geoscience data in one intuitive map-based interface. Simple strategies for data manipulation, visualisation and presentation allow uses to explore the data in meaningful ways. Layering and transparency capabilities further allow learners to use GeoMapApp to compare multiple data sets at once, and high-impact Save Session functionality allows a GeoMapApp project to be saved for sharing or later use. In this presentation, activities related to plate tectonics will be highlighted. One GeoMapApp activity helps students investigate plate boundaries by exploring earthquake and volcano locations. Another requires students to calculate the rate of seafloor spreading using crustal age data in various ocean basins. A third uses the GeoMapApp layering technique to explore the influence of geological forces in shaping the landscape. Each activity shown can be done by students on an individual basis, as pairs, or as groups. Educators report that student use of GeoMapApp fosters an increased sense of data "ownership" amongst students, promotes STEM skills, and provides them with access to authentic research-grade geoscience data using the same cutting

Global pattern of earthquakes and seismic energy distributions: Insights for the mechanisms of plate tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varga, P.; Krumm, F.; Riguzzi, F.; Doglioni, C.; Süle, B.; Wang, K.; Panza, G. F.

2012-03-01

In this paper, we analyse the distributions of number of events (N) and seismic energy (E) on the Earth's surface and along its radius as obtained from the global declustered catalogue of large independent events (M ≥ 7.0), dissipating about 95% of the Earth's elastic budget. The latitude distribution of the seismic event density is almost symmetric with respect to the equator and the seismic energy flux distribution is bimodal; both have their medians near the equator so that they are equally distributed in the two hemispheres. This symmetry with respect to the equator suggests that the Earth's rotational dynamics contributes to modulate the long-term tectonic processes. The distributions of number and energy of earthquakes versus depth are not uniform as well: 76% of the total earthquakes dissipates about 60% of the total energy in the first ~ 50 km; only 6% of events dissipates about 20% of the total amount of energy in a narrow depth interval, at the lower boundary of the upper mantle (550-680 km). Therefore, only the remaining 20% of energy is released along most of the depth extent of subduction zones (50-550 km). Since the energetic release along slabs is a minor fraction of the total seismic budget, the role of the slab pull appears as ancillary, if any, in driving plate tectonics. Moreover the concentration of seismic release in the not yet subducted lithosphere suggests that the force moving the plates acts on the uppermost lithosphere and contemporaneously all over the Earth's outer shell, again supporting a rotational/tidal modulation.

Could plate tectonics on Venus be concealed by volcanic deposits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaula, W. M.; Muradian, L. M.

1982-01-01

The present investigation is supplementary to a study reported by Kaula and Phillips (1981). From an analysis of Pioneer Venus altimetry, Kaula and Phillips had inferred that any heat loss from the planet by plate tectonics must be small compared to that from the earth. However, it has been suggested by others that plate tectonic may exist on Venus, but that the expected 'square root of s' dependence of the topographic drop off is not observed because it is concealed by lava flows. The present investigation has the objective to conduct an examination whether this suggestion of concealment by lava flow is correct. On the basis of the performed analysis, it is concluded that the results obtained by Kaula and Phillips appear to be well justified.

Prototypical Concepts and Misconceptions of Plate Tectonic Boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sibley, D. F.; Patino, L. C.

2003-12-01

Students of geology encounter many prototypical/exemplar concepts* that include representative, but not necessarily defining, features and characteristics. This study of students' prototypical representations of plate tectonic boundaries indicates that their representations are rich sources of information about their misconceptions about plate tectonics. After lectures in plate tectonics and mountain building, 353 students in a general education geology class were asked to draw a continent-continent convergent boundary. For this study, a correct answer is defined as having the major features in correct proportions as depicted in the plate boundary diagrams on the USGS web. Fifty-two percent of the drawings were either incorrect or incomplete such that they could not be interpreted. Only 48% were readily interpretable, and of these 22% drew the boundary correctly, showing a thickening of crust where two continents collide. Thirty-three percent drew the boundary showing concave slabs of continental crust as one might imagine two pieces of firm rubber pushed together on a rigid surface and 45% depicted mountains as one might imagine inverted ice cream cones on a rigid plank. Twenty-one senior class geology majors and graduate students were given the same assignment. Forty-eight percent rendered a correct drawing, whereas 38% drew the same ice cream cone on a plank type picture that 45% of the general education students drew. In a second class of 12 geology majors, only 1 student drew a cross section of a continent-ocean boundary similar to standard representation. Four of 12 drew mountains on the top of continental crust over a subduction zone but did not draw a compensating mass within the crust or lithosphere. Prototypical drawings provide more information about students' concepts than do most multiple-choice questions. For example, sixty-two percent of theses students who drew mountains similar to foam rubber pads pushed together on a desk or ice cream cones on a

Ever deeper phylogeographies: trees retain the genetic imprint of Tertiary plate tectonics.

PubMed

Hampe, Arndt; Petit, Rémy J

2007-12-01

Changes in species distributions after the last glacial maximum (c. 18 000 years bp) are beginning to be understood, but information diminishes quickly as one moves further back in time. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Magri et al. (2007) present the fascinating case of a Mediterranean tree species whose populations preserve the genetic imprints of plate tectonic events that took place between 25 million years and 15 million years ago. The study provides a unique insight into the pace of evolution of trees, which, despite interspecific gene flow, can retain a cohesive species identity over timescales long enough to allow the diversification of entire plant and animal genera.

Junior Secondary School Students' Conceptions about Plate Tectonics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Reece; Tomas, Louisa; Lewthwaite, Brian

2017-01-01

There are ongoing calls for research that identifies students' conceptions about geographical phenomena. In response, this study investigates junior secondary school students' (N = 95) conceptions about plate tectonics. Student response data was generated from semi-structured interviews-about-instances and a two-tiered multiple-choice test…

Petrologic implications of plate tectonics.

PubMed

Yoder, H S

1971-07-30

Petrologists can make significant contributions to the plate tectonic concept. Fixing the stability fields of the principal rock types involved will provide the limits of pressure and temperature of the various environments. Experimental determination of the partition coefficients of the trace elements will be helpful. Studies of the partial melting behavior of possible parental materials in the absence and presence of water, especially the undersaturated region, will contribute to the understanding of magma production. Experimental observations on the rheological properties of the peridotites below and just above the solidus will lead to a better evaluation of the convective mechanism. Measurement of the fundamental properties of rocks, such as the density of solids and liquids at high pressures and temperatures, would contribute to understanding the concepts of diapiric rise, magma segregation, and the low-velocity zone. Broader rock sampling of the oceanic areas of all environments will do much to define the petrologic provinces. The field petrologist specializing in the Paleozoic regions and Precambrian shields can contribute by examining those regions for old plate boundaries and devising new criteria for their recognition.

Extrusional Tectonics at Plate Corner: an Example in Northern Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, C. Y.; Lee, J. C.; Li, Z.; Yeh, C. H.; Lee, C. A.

2015-12-01

In northern Taiwan, contraction, transcurrent shearing, block rotation and extension are four essential tectonic deformation mechanisms involved in the progressive deformation of this arcuate collision mountain belt. The neotectonic evolution of the Taiwan mountain belt is mainly controlled not only by the oblique convergence between the Eurasian plate and the Philippine Sea plate but also the corner shape of the plate boundary. Based on field observations and analyses, and taking geophysical data (mostly GPS) and experimental modelling into account, we interpret the curved belt of northern Taiwan as a result of of contractional deformation (with compression, thrust-sheet stacking & folding, back thrust duplex & back folding) that induced vertical extrusion, combined with increasing transcurrent & rotational deformation (with transcurrent faulting, bookshelf-type strike-slip faulting and block rotation) that induced transcurrent/rotational extrusion and extension deformation which in turn induced extensional extrusion. As a consequence, a special type of extrusional folds was formed in association with contractional, transcurrent & rotational and extensional extrusions subsequently. The extrusional tectonics in northern Taiwan reflect a single, albeit complicated, regional pattern of deformation. The crescent-shaped mountain belt of Northeastern Taiwan develops in response to oblique indentation by an asymmetric wedge indenter and opening of the Okinawa trough at plate corner.

The Biggest Plates on Earth. Submarine Ring of Fire--Grades 5-6. Plate Tectonics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC), Rockville, MD.

This activity is designed to teach how tectonic plates move, what some consequences of this motion are, and how magnetic anomalies document the motion at spreading centers do. The activity provides learning objectives, a list of needed materials, key vocabulary words, background information, day-to-day procedures, internet connections, career…

Plate tectonic model for the oligo-miocene evolution of the western Mediterranean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Curtis R.

1980-10-01

This paper outlines a plate tectonic model for the Oligo-Miocene evolution of the western Mediterranean which incorporates recent data from several tectonic domains (Corsica, Sardinia, the Kabylies, Balearic promontory, Iberia, Algero-Provençal Basin and Tunisian Atlas). Following late Mesozoic anticlockwise rotation of the Iberian peninsula (including the Balearic promontory and Sardinia), late Eocene collision occurred between the Kabylies and Balearic promontory forming a NE-trending suture with NW-tectonic polarity. As a result of continued convergence between the African and European plates, a polarity flip occurred and a southward-facing trench formed south of the Kabylie—Balearic promontory suture. During late Oligocene time an E-W-trending arc and marginal basin developed behind the southward-facing trench in the area of the present-day Gulf of Lion. Opening of this basin moved the Corsica—Sardinia—Calabria—Petit Kabylie—Menorca plate southward, relative to the African plate. Early Miocene back-arc spreading in the area between the Balearic promontory and Grand Kabylie emplaced the latter in northern Algeria and formed the South Balearic Basin. Coeval with early Miocene back-arc basin development, the N-S-extension in the Gulf of Lion marginal basin changed to a more NW-SE direction causing short-lived extension in the area of the present-day Valencia trough and a 30° anticlockwise rotation of the Corsica-Sardinia-Calabria—Petit Kabylie plate away from the European plate. Early—middle Miocene deformation along the western Italian and northeastern African continental margins resulted from this rotation. During the early late Miocene (Tortonian), spreading within a sphenochasm to the southwest of Sardinia resulted in the emplacement of Petit Kabylie in northeastern Algeria.

Tectonics of the Philippine Sea plate before and after 52 Ma subduction initiation to form the Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishizuka, O.; Tani, K.; Harigane, Y.; Umino, S.; Stern, R. J.; Reagan, M. K.; Hickey-Vargas, R.; Yogodzinski, G. M.; Kusano, Y.; Arculus, R. J.

2016-12-01

Robust tectonic reconstruction of the evolving Philippine Sea Plate for the period immediately before and after subduction initiation 52 Ma to form the Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) arc is prerequisite to understand cause of subduction initiation (SI) and test competing hypotheses for SI such as spontaneous or induced nucleation. Understanding of nature and origin of overriding and subducting plates is especially important because plate density is a key parameter controlling SI based on numerical modeling (e.g., Leng and Gurnis 2015). There is increasing evidence that multiple geological events related to changing stress fields took place in and around Philippine Sea plate about the time of SI 52 Ma (Ishizuka et al., 2011). For our understanding of the early IBM arc system to increase, it is important to understand the pattern and tempo of these geological events, particularly the duration and extent of seafloor spreading in the proto arc associated with SI, and its temporal relationship with spreading in the West Philippine Basin (WPB). IODP Exp. 351 provided evidence of SI-related seafloor spreading west of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge (Arculus et al., 2015). Planned age determination of the basement crust at Site U1438 will constrain the timing and geometry of SI-related spreading and its relationship to variation in mode of spreading in the WPB including rotation of spreading axis. Some tectonic reconstructions suggest that part of the IBM arc could have formed on "young" WPB crust. Dredging of the northern Mariana forearc crust and mantle in 2014 aimed to test this hypothesis. Preliminary data indicates that early arc crustal section of the N. Mariana forearc is geochemically and temporally similar to that exposed in the Bonin and southern Mariana forearcs. New tectonic reconstructions for the nascent IBM system will be presented based on these observations.

Cenozoic forearc tectonics in northeastern Japan: Relationships between outer forearc subsidence and plate boundary kinematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Regalla, Christine

Here we investigate the relationships between outer forearc subsidence, the timing and kinematics of upper plate deformation and plate convergence rate in Northeast Japan to evaluate the role of plate boundary dynamics in driving forearc subsidence. The Northeastern Japan margin is one of the first non-accretionary subduction zones where regional forearc subsidence was argued to reflect tectonic erosion of large volumes of upper crustal rocks. However, we propose that a significant component of forearc subsidence could be the result of dynamic changes in plate boundary geometry. We provide new constraints on the timing and kinematics of deformation along inner forearc faults, new analyses of the evolution of outer forearc tectonic subsidence, and updated calculations of plate convergence rate. These data collectively reveal a temporal correlation between the onset of regional forearc subsidence, the initiation of upper plate extension, and an acceleration in local plate convergence rate. A similar analysis of the kinematic evolution of the Tonga, Izu-Bonin, and Mariana subduction zones indicates that the temporal correlations observed in Japan are also characteristic of these three non-accretionary margins. Comparison of these data with published geodynamic models suggests that forearc subsidence is the result of temporal variability in slab geometry due to changes in slab buoyancy and plate convergence rate. These observations suggest that a significant component of forearc subsidence at these four margins is not the product of tectonic erosion, but instead reflects changes in plate boundary dynamics driven by variable plate kinematics.

The magma ocean as an impediment to lunar plate tectonics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warren, Paul H.

1993-01-01

The primary impediment to plate tectonics on the moon was probably the great thickness of its crust and particularly its high crust/lithosphere thickness ratio. This in turn can be attributed to the preponderance of low-density feldspar over all other Al-compatible phases in the lunar interior. During the magma ocean epoch, the moon's crust/lithosphere thickness ratio was at the maximum theoretical value, approximately 1, and it remained high for a long time afterwards. A few large regions of thin crust were produced by basin-scale cratering approximately contemporaneous with the demise of the magma ocean. However, these regions probably also tend to have uncommonly thin lithosphere, since they were directly heated and indirectly enriched in K, Th, and U by the same cratering process. Thus, plate tectonics on the moon in the form of systematic lithosphere subduction was impeded by the magma ocean.

Feeling and Understanding Plate Tectonics - How can We attract Museum Visitors Attention?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, Gilla; Apel, Michael

2017-04-01

Earthquakes, volcano eruptions and other natural hazards are commonly paid attention to, if news about disastrous events reach us. The mission of an Earth Science or Natural History Museum, however, goes beyond explaining the causes of natural disasters, but should also present science history and cutting edge research. Since dealing with a subject, especially with one, which seems to be in the abstract, is more effective, we realised two new projects where our visitors can feel and understand plate tectonics in a more exciting way. In 2015 we installed an earthquake simulator in our permanent exhibition to allow our visitors the physical experience of an earthquake. Because of static restrictions the simulator is housed in a container outside the building where it can be visited as a booked program upon prior reservation or by joining public tours on Sundays and special occasions. The simulation of six real earthquakes in two spatial directions is accompanied by a movie presenting facts about the earthquake itself (e.g. location, magnitude, damage and victims), but also general information about plate tectonics. This standard program takes about 20 minutes. During an educational program, however, not only the simulator is visited, but also the permanent exhibition, where the guide can focus on different aspects and then might choose specific earthquakes and information blocs in the simulator. In addition workshops with experiments are offered for school classes and other groups. This allows us to offer an individual program fitting to the visitor group. In 2016 we converted an old movie room to a state of the art media room. In cooperation with Media Informatics students we developed a quiz for three different levels and various themes like earthquakes, volcanoes, history and plate tectonics in general. Starting the quiz, a virtual earthquake destroys a building which will be reconstructed if the participants answer multiple choice questions correctly. Though, the

Global geodynamic models constrained by tectonic reconstructions including plate deformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurnis, M.; Flament, N.; Spasojevic, S.; Williams, S.; Seton, M.; Müller, R. D.

2011-12-01

In order to investigate the effect of mantle flow on the Earth's surface, imposing the kinematics predicted by plate reconstructions in global convection models has become common practice. Such models are valuable to investigate the effect of the mantle flow beneath the lithosphere on surface topography. Changes in surface topography due to lithospheric deformation are so far not part of top-down tectonic models in which plates are treated as rigid in traditional tectonic reconstructions. We introduce a new generation of geodynamic models that are based on tectonic reconstructions with deforming plates at both passive and convergent margins. These models allow us to investigate the relationships between lithospheric deformation and mantle flow, and their combined effects on surface topography. In traditional tectonic reconstructions, continents are represented as rigid blocks that either overlap or are separated by gaps in full-fit reconstructions. Reconstructions that include a global network of topological plate polygons avoid continental overlaps and gaps, but velocities are still derived on the basis of the Euler poles for rigid blocks. To resolve these issues, we developed a series of deforming plate models using the open source plate modeling software GPlates. For a given area, our methodology requires the relative motions between major rigid continental blocks, and a definition of the regions in which continental lithosphere deformed between these blocks. We use geophysical and geological data to define the limit between rigid and deforming areas, and the deformation history of non-rigid blocks. The velocity field predicted by these reconstructions is then used as a time-dependent surface boundary condition in global 3-D geodynamic models. To incorporate the continental lithosphere in our global models, we embed compositionally distinct crust and continental lithosphere within the thermal lithosphere. We define three isostatic columns of different thickness

A Plate Tectonic Model for the Neoproterozoic with Evolving Plate Boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merdith, Andrew; Collins, Alan; Williams, Simon; Pisarevsky, Sergei; Müller, Dietmar

2017-04-01

The Neoproterozoic was dominated by the formation of the supercontinent Rodinia, its break-up and the subsequent amalgamation of Gondwana, during which, the planet experienced large climatic variations and the emergence of complex life. Here we present a topological plate model of the Neoproterozoic based on a synthesis of available geological and palaeomagnetic data. Subduction zones, which are well preserved in the geological record, are used as a proxy for convergent margins; evidence for mid-ocean ridges and transform motion is less clearly preserved, though passive margins are used as a proxy for spreading centres, and evidence for strike-slip motions are used to model transform boundaries. We find that the model presented here only predicts 70% of the total length of subduction active today, though it models similar lengths of both transform and divergent boundaries, suggesting that we have produced a conservative model and are probably underestimating the amount of subduction. Where evidence for convergent, divergent or transform motion is not preserved, we interpret the locations of plate boundaries based on the relative motions of cratonic crust as suggested through either palaeomagnetic data or the geological record. Using GPlates, we tie these boundaries together to generate a plate model that depicts the motion of tectonic plates through the Neoproterozoic. We omit India and South China from Rodinia completely, due to long-lived subduction preserved on margins of India and conflicting palaeomagnetic data for the Cryogenian, but tie them together due to similar Tonian aged accretionary patterns along their respective (present-day) north-western and northern margins, such that these two cratons act as a "lonely wanderer" for much of the Neoproterozoic, and form their own tectonic plate. We also introduce a Tonian-Cryogenian aged rotation of the Congo-São Francisco Craton relative to Rodinia to better fit palaeomagnetic data and account for thick passive

Global tectonic reconstructions with continuously deforming and evolving rigid plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurnis, Michael; Yang, Ting; Cannon, John; Turner, Mark; Williams, Simon; Flament, Nicolas; Müller, R. Dietmar

2018-07-01

Traditional plate reconstruction methodologies do not allow for plate deformation to be considered. Here we present software to construct and visualize global tectonic reconstructions with deforming plates within the context of rigid plates. Both deforming and rigid plates are defined by continuously evolving polygons. The deforming regions are tessellated with triangular meshes such that either strain rate or cumulative strain can be followed. The finite strain history, crustal thickness and stretching factor of points within the deformation zones are tracked as Lagrangian points. Integrating these tools within the interactive platform GPlates enables specialized users to build and refine deforming plate models and integrate them with other models in time and space. We demonstrate the integrated platform with regional reconstructions of Cenozoic western North America, the Mesozoic South American Atlantic margin, and Cenozoic southeast Asia, embedded within global reconstructions, using different data and reconstruction strategies.

The Role of Plate Tectonic-Climate Coupling and Exposed Land Area in the Development of Habitable Climates on Rocky Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foley, Bradford J.

2015-10-01

The long-term carbon cycle is vital for maintaining liquid water oceans on rocky planets due to the negative climate feedbacks involved in silicate weathering. Plate tectonics plays a crucial role in driving the long-term carbon cycle because it is responsible for CO2 degassing at ridges and arcs, the return of CO2 to the mantle through subduction, and supplying fresh, weatherable rock to the surface via uplift and orogeny. However, the presence of plate tectonics itself may depend on climate according to recent geodynamical studies showing that cool surface temperatures are important for maintaining vigorous plate tectonics. Using a simple carbon cycle model, I show that the negative climate feedbacks inherent in the long-term carbon cycle are uninhibited by climate's effect on plate tectonics. Furthermore, initial atmospheric CO2 conditions do not impact the final climate state reached when the carbon cycle comes to equilibrium, as long as liquid water is present and silicate weathering can occur. Thus an initially hot, CO2 rich atmosphere does not prevent the development of a temperate climate and plate tectonics on a planet. However, globally supply limited weathering does prevent the development of temperate climates on planets with small subaerial land areas and large total CO2 budgets because supply limited weathering lacks stabilizing climate feedbacks. Planets in the supply limited regime may become inhospitable for life and could experience significant water loss. Supply limited weathering is less likely on plate tectonic planets because plate tectonics promotes high erosion rates and thus a greater supply of bedrock to the surface.

Playing jigsaw with Large Igneous Provinces—A plate tectonic reconstruction of Ontong Java Nui, West Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hochmuth, Katharina; Gohl, Karsten; Uenzelmann-Neben, Gabriele

2015-11-01

The three largest Large Igneous Provinces (LIP) of the western Pacific—Ontong Java, Manihiki, and Hikurangi Plateaus—were emplaced during the Cretaceous Normal Superchron and show strong similarities in their geochemistry and petrology. The plate tectonic relationship between those LIPs, herein referred to as Ontong Java Nui, is uncertain, but a joined emplacement was proposed by Taylor (2006). Since this hypothesis is still highly debated and struggles to explain features such as the strong differences in crustal thickness between the different plateaus, we revisited the joined emplacement of Ontong Java Nui in light of new data from the Manihiki Plateau. By evaluating seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection data along with seismic reflection records of the margins of the proposed "Super"-LIP, a detailed scenario for the emplacement and the initial phase of breakup has been developed. The LIP is a result of an interaction of the arriving plume head with the Phoenix-Pacific spreading ridge in the Early Cretaceous. The breakup of the LIP shows a complicated interplay between multiple microplates and tectonic forces such as rifting, shearing, and rotation. Our plate kinematic model of the western Pacific incorporates new evidence from the breakup margins of the LIPs, the tectonic fabric of the seafloor, as well as previously published tectonic concepts such as the rotation of the LIPs. The updated rotation poles of the western Pacific allow a detailed plate tectonic reconstruction of the region during the Cretaceous Normal Superchron and highlight the important role of LIPs in the plate tectonic framework.

Earthquake stress drops, ambient tectonic stresses and stresses that drive plate motions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hanks, T.C.

1977-01-01

A variety of geophysical observations suggests that the upper portion of the lithosphere, herein referred to as the elastic plate, has long-term material properties and frictional strength significantly greater than the lower lithosphere. If the average frictional stress along the non-ridge margin of the elastic plate is of the order of a kilobar, as suggested by the many observations of the frictional strength of rocks at mid-crustal conditions of pressure and temperature, the only viable mechanism for driving the motion of the elastic plate is a basal shear stress of several tens of bars. Kilobars of tectonic stress are then an ambient, steady condition of the earth's crust and uppermost mantle. The approximate equality of the basal shear stress and the average crustal earthquake stress drop, the localization of strain release for major plate margin earthquakes, and the rough equivalence of plate margin slip rates and gross plate motion rates suggest that the stress drops of major plate margin earthquakes are controlled by the elastic release of the basal shear stress in the vicinity of the plate margin, despite the existence of kilobars of tectonic stress existing across vertical planes parallel to the plate margin. If the stress differences available to be released at the time of faulting are distributed in a random, white fasbion with a mean-square value determined by the average earthquake stress drop, the frequency of occurrence of constant stress drop earthquakes will be proportional to reciprocal faulting area, in accordance with empirically known frequency of occurrence statistics. ?? 1977 Birkha??user Verlag.

Nubia-Arabia-Eurasia plate motions and the dynamics of Mediterranean and Middle East tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reilinger, Robert; McClusky, Simon

2011-09-01

We use geodetic and plate tectonic observations to constrain the tectonic evolution of the Nubia-Arabia-Eurasia plate system. Two phases of slowing of Nubia-Eurasia convergence, each of which resulted in an ˜50 per cent decrease in the rate of convergence, coincided with the initiation of Nubia-Arabia continental rifting along the Red Sea and Somalia-Arabia rifting along the Gulf of Aden at 24 ± 4 Ma, and the initiation of oceanic rifting along the full extent of the Gulf of Aden at 11 ± 2 Ma. In addition, both the northern and southern Red Sea (Nubia-Arabia plate boundary) underwent changes in the configuration of extension at 11 ± 2 Ma, including the transfer of extension from the Suez Rift to the Gulf of Aqaba/Dead Sea fault system in the north, and from the central Red Sea Basin (Bab al Mandab) to the Afar volcanic zone in the south. While Nubia-Eurasia convergence slowed, the rate of Arabia-Eurasia convergence remained constant within the resolution of our observations, and is indistinguishable from the present-day global positioning system rate. The timing of the initial slowing of Nubia-Eurasia convergence (24 ± 4 Ma) corresponds to the initiation of extensional tectonics in the Mediterranean Basin, and the second phase of slowing to changes in the character of Mediterranean extension reported at ˜11 Ma. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that changes in Nubia-Eurasia convergence, and associated Nubia-Arabia divergence, are the fundamental cause of both Mediterranean and Middle East post-Late Oligocene tectonics. We speculate about the implications of these kinematic relationships for the dynamics of Nubia-Arabia-Eurasia plate interactions, and favour the interpretation that slowing of Nubia-Eurasia convergence, and the resulting tectonic changes in the Mediterranean Basin and Middle East, resulted from a decrease in slab pull from the Arabia-subducted lithosphere across the Nubia-Arabia, evolving plate boundary.

Is Active Tectonics on Madagascar Consistent with Somalian Plate Kinematics?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stamps, D. S.; Kreemer, C.; Rajaonarison, T. A.

2017-12-01

The East African Rift System (EARS) actively breaks apart the Nubian and Somalian tectonic plates. Madagascar finds itself at the easternmost boundary of the EARS, between the Rovuma block, Lwandle plate, and the Somalian plate. Earthquake focal mechanisms and N-S oriented fault structures on the continental island suggest that Madagascar is experiencing east-west oriented extension. However, some previous plate kinematic studies indicate minor compressional strains across Madagascar. This inconsistency may be due to uncertainties in Somalian plate rotation. Past estimates of the rotation of the Somalian plate suffered from a poor coverage of GPS stations, but some important new stations are now available for a re-evaluation. In this work, we revise the kinematics of the Somalian plate. We first calculate a new GPS velocity solution and perform block kinematic modeling to evaluate the Somalian plate rotation. We then estimate new Somalia-Rovuma and Somalia-Lwandle relative motions across Madagascar and evaluate whether they are consistent with GPS measurements made on the island itself, as well as with other kinematic indicators.

Coupling intensity and isostatic competition between subducting slab and overriding plate control trench motions and tectonics of the overriding plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, G.; Moresi, L. N.

2017-12-01

Trench motions not only reflect tectonic regimes on the overriding plate but also shed light on the competition between subducting slab and overriding plate, however, major controls over trench advance or retreat and their consequences are still illusive. We use 2D thermo-mechanical experiments to study the problem. We find that the coupling intensity particularly in the uppermost 200 km and the isostatic competition between subducting slab and overriding plate largely determine trench motion and tectonics of in the overriding plate. Coupling intensity is the result of many contributing factors, including frictional coefficient of brittle part of the subducting interface and the viscosity of the ductile part, thermal regime and rheology of the overriding plate, and water contents and magmatic activity in the subducting slab and overriding plate. In this study, we are not concerned with the dynamic evolution of individual controlling parameter but simply use effective media. For instance, we impose simple model parameters such as frictional coefficient and vary the temperature and strain-rate dependent viscosity of the weak layer between the subducting slab and overriding plate. In the coupled end-member case, strong coupling leads to strong corner flow, depth-dependent compression/extension, and mantle return flow on the overriding plate side. It results in fast trench retreat, broad overriding plate extension, and even slab breakoff. In the decoupled end-member case, weak coupling causes much weaker response on the overriding plate side compared with the coupled end-member case, and the subducting slab can be largely viewed as a conveyer belt. We find that the isostatic competition between the subducting slab and overriding plate also has a major control over trench motion, and may better be viewed in 3D models. This is consistent with the findings in previous 3D studies that trench motion is most pronounced close to the slab edge. Here we propose that the

Using the Mesozoic History of the Canadian Cordillera as a Case Study in Teaching Plate Tectonics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chamberlain, Valerie Elaine

1989-01-01

Reviews a model used in the teaching of plate tectonics which includes processes and concepts related to: terranes and the amalgamation of terranes, relative plate motion and oblique subduction, the effects of continent-continent collision, changes in plate motion, plate configuration, and the type of plate boundary. Diagrams are included.…

Extrusional Tectonics over Plate Corner: an Example in Northern Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Chia-Yu; Lee, Jian-Cheng; Li, Zhinuo; Lee, Ching-An; Yeh, Chia-Hung

2016-04-01

In northern Taiwan, contraction, transcurrent shearing, block rotation and extension are four essential tectonic deformation mechanisms involved in the progressive deformation of this arcuate collision mountain belt. The neotectonic evolution of the Taiwan mountain belt is mainly controlled not only by the oblique convergence between the Eurasian plate and the Philippine Sea plate but also the corner shape of the plate boundary. Based on field observations and analyses, and taking geophysical data (mostly GPS) and experimental modelling into account, we interpret the curved belt of northern Taiwan as a result of of contractional deformation (with compression, thrust-sheet stacking & folding, back thrust duplex & back folding) that induced vertical extrusion, combined with increasing transcurrent & rotational deformation (with transcurrent faulting, bookshelf-type strike-slip faulting and block rotation) that induced transcurrent/rotational extrusion and extension deformation which in turn induced extensional extrusion. As a consequence, a special type of extrusional folds was formed in association with contractional, transcurrent & rotational and extensional extrusions subsequently. The extrusional tectonics in northern Taiwan reflect a single, albeit complicated, regional pattern of deformation. The crescent-shaped mountain belt of Northeastern Taiwan develops in response to oblique indentation by an asymmetric wedge indenter, retreat of Ryukyu trench and opening of the Okinawa trough.

Models of convection-driven tectonic plates - A comparison of methods and results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

King, Scott D.; Gable, Carl W.; Weinstein, Stuart A.

1992-01-01

Recent numerical studies of convection in the earth's mantle have included various features of plate tectonics. This paper describes three methods of modeling plates: through material properties, through force balance, and through a thin power-law sheet approximation. The results obtained are compared using each method on a series of simple calculations. From these results, scaling relations between the different parameterizations are developed. While each method produces different degrees of deformation within the surface plate, the surface heat flux and average plate velocity agree to within a few percent. The main results are not dependent upon the plate modeling method and herefore are representative of the physical system modeled.

MANTLE CONVECTION, PLATE TECTONICS, AND VOLCANISM ON HOT EXO-EARTHS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Van Summeren, Joost; Conrad, Clinton P.; Gaidos, Eric, E-mail: summeren@hawaii.edu

Recently discovered exoplanets on close-in orbits should have surface temperatures of hundreds to thousands of Kelvin. They are likely tidally locked and synchronously rotating around their parent stars and, if an atmosphere is absent, have surface temperature contrasts of many hundreds to thousands of Kelvin between permanent day and night sides. We investigated the effect of elevated surface temperature and strong surface temperature contrasts for Earth-mass planets on the (1) pattern of mantle convection, (2) tectonic regime, and (3) rate and distribution of partial melting, using numerical simulations of mantle convection with a composite viscous/pseudo-plastic rheology. Our simulations indicate thatmore » if a close-in rocky exoplanet lacks an atmosphere to redistribute heat, a {approx}>400 K surface temperature contrast can maintain an asymmetric degree 1 pattern of mantle convection in which the surface of the planet moves preferentially toward subduction zones on the cold night side. The planetary surface features a hemispheric dichotomy, with plate-like tectonics on the night side and a continuously evolving mobile lid on the day side with diffuse surface deformation and vigorous volcanism. If volcanic outgassing establishes an atmosphere and redistributes heat, plate tectonics is globally replaced by diffuse surface deformation and volcanism accelerates and becomes distributed more uniformly across the planetary surface.« less

The San Andreas fault experiment. [gross tectonic plates relative velocity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, D. E.; Vonbun, F. O.

1973-01-01

A plan was developed during 1971 to determine gross tectonic plate motions along the San Andreas Fault System in California. Knowledge of the gross motion along the total fault system is an essential component in the construction of realistic deformation models of fault regions. Such mathematical models will be used in the future for studies which will eventually lead to prediction of major earthquakes. The main purpose of the experiment described is the determination of the relative velocity of the North American and the Pacific Plates. This motion being so extremely small, cannot be measured directly but can be deduced from distance measurements between points on opposite sites of the plate boundary taken over a number of years.

Plate tectonic history of the Arctic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke, K.

1984-01-01

Tectonic development of the Arctic Ocean is outlined, and geological maps are provided for the Arctic during the mid-Cenozoic, later Cretaceous, late Jurassic, early Cretaceous, early Jurassic and late Devonian. It is concluded that Arctic basin history is moulded by the events of the following intervals: (1) continental collision and immediately subsequent rifting and ocean formation in the Devonian, and continental rifting ocean formation, rapid rotation of microcontinents, and another episode of collision in the latest Jurassic and Cretaceous. It is noted that Cenozoic Arctic basin formation is a smaller scale event superimposed on the late Mesozoic ocean basin.

Filling in the juvenile magmatic gap: Evidence for uninterrupted Paleoproterozoic plate tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Partin, C. A.; Bekker, A.; Sylvester, P. J.; Wodicka, N.; Stern, R. A.; Chacko, T.; Heaman, L. M.

2014-02-01

Despite several decades of research on growth of the continental crust, it remains unclear whether the production of juvenile continental crust has been continuous or episodic throughout the Precambrian. Models for episodic crustal growth have gained traction recently through compilations of global U-Pb zircon age frequency distributions interpreted to delineate peaks and lulls in crustal growth through geologic time. One such apparent trough in zircon age frequency distributions between ∼2.45 and 2.22 Ga is thought to represent a pause in crustal addition, resulting from a global shutdown of magmatic and tectonic processes. The ∼2.45-2.22 Ga magmatic shutdown model envisions a causal relationship between the cessation of plate tectonics and accumulation of atmospheric oxygen over the same period. Here, we present new coupled U-Pb, Hf, and O isotope data for detrital and magmatic zircon from the western Churchill Province and Trans-Hudson orogen of Canada, covering an area of approximately 1.3 million km2, that demonstrate significant juvenile crustal production during the ∼2.45-2.22 Ga time interval, and thereby argue against the magmatic shutdown hypothesis. Our data is corroborated by literature data showing an extensive 2.22-2.45 Ga record in both detrital and magmatic rocks on every continent, and suggests that the operation of plate tectonics continued throughout the early Paleoproterozoic, while atmospheric oxygen rose over the same time interval. We argue that uninterrupted plate tectonics between ∼2.45 and 2.22 Ga would have contributed to efficient burial of organic matter and sedimentary pyrite, and the consequent rise in atmospheric oxygen documented for this time interval.

Plate Tectonism on Early Mars: Diverse Geological and Geophysical Evidence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dohm, J. M.; Maruyama, S.; Baker, V. R.; Anderson, R. C.; Ferris, Justin C.; Hare, Trent M.

2002-01-01

Mars has been modified by endogenic and exogenic processes similar in many ways to Earth. However, evidence of Mars embryonic development is preserved because of low erosion rates and stagnant lid convective conditions since the Late Noachian. Early plate tectonism can explain such evidence. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Seismic tomographic constraints on plate-tectonic reconstructions of Nazca subduction under South America since late Cretaceous (˜80 Ma)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y. W.; Wu, J.; Suppe, J.

2017-12-01

Global seismic tomography has provided new and increasingly higher resolution constraints on subducted lithospheric remnants in terms of their position, depth, and volumes. In this study we aim to link tomographic slab anomalies in the mantle under South America to Andean geology using methods to unfold (i.e. structurally restore) slabs back to earth surface and input them to globally consistent plate reconstructions (Wu et al., 2016). The Andean margin of South America has long been interpreted as a classic example of a continuous subduction system since early Jurassic or later. However, significant gaps in Andean plate tectonic reconstructions exist due to missing or incomplete geology from extensive Nazca-South America plate convergence (i.e. >5000 km since 80 Ma). We mapped and unfolded the Nazca slab from global seismic tomography to produce a quantitative plate reconstruction of the Andes back to the late Cretaceous 80 Ma. Our plate model predicts the latest phase of Nazca subduction began in the late Cretaceous subduction after a 100 to 80 Ma plate reorganization, which is supported by Andean geology that indicates a margin-wide compressional event at the mid-late Cretaceous (Tunik et al., 2010). Our Andean plate tectonic reconstructions predict the Andean margin experienced periods of strike-slip/transtensional and even divergent plate tectonics between 80 to 55 Ma. This prediction is roughly consistent with the arc magmatism from northern Chile between 20 to 36°S that resumed at 80 Ma after a magmatic gap. Our model indicates the Andean margin only became fully convergent after 55 Ma. We provide additional constraints on pre-subduction Nazca plate paleogeography by extracting P-wave velocity perturbations within our mapped slab surfaces following Wu et al. (2016). We identified localized slow anomalies within our mapped Nazca slab that apparently show the size and position of the subducted Nazca ridge, Carnegie ridge and the hypothesized Inca plateau

Development of the Plate Tectonics and Seismology markup languages with XML

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babaie, H.; Babaei, A.

2003-04-01

The Extensible Markup Language (XML) and its specifications such as the XSD Schema, allow geologists to design discipline-specific vocabularies such as Seismology Markup Language (SeismML) or Plate Tectonics Markup Language (TectML). These languages make it possible to store and interchange structured geological information over the Web. Development of a geological markup language requires mapping geological concepts, such as "Earthquake" or "Plate" into a UML object model, applying a modeling and design environment. We have selected four inter-related geological concepts: earthquake, fault, plate, and orogeny, and developed four XML Schema Definitions (XSD), that define the relationships, cardinalities, hierarchies, and semantics of these concepts. In such a geological concept model, the UML object "Earthquake" is related to one or more "Wave" objects, each arriving to a seismic station at a specific "DateTime", and relating to a specific "Epicenter" object that lies at a unique "Location". The "Earthquake" object occurs along a "Segment" of a "Fault" object, which is related to a specific "Plate" object. The "Fault" has its own associations with such things as "Bend", "Step", and "Segment", and could be of any kind (e.g., "Thrust", "Transform'). The "Plate" is related to many other objects such as "MOR", "Subduction", and "Forearc", and is associated with an "Orogeny" object that relates to "Deformation" and "Strain" and several other objects. These UML objects were mapped into XML Metadata Interchange (XMI) formats, which were then converted into four XSD Schemas. The schemas were used to create and validate the XML instance documents, and to create a relational database hosting the plate tectonics and seismological data in the Microsoft Access format. The SeismML and TectML allow seismologists and structural geologists, among others, to submit and retrieve structured geological data on the Internet. A seismologist, for example, can submit peer-reviewed and

Episodic tectonic plate reorganizations driven by mantle convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, Scott D.; Lowman, Julian P.; Gable, Carl W.

2002-10-01

Periods of relatively uniform plate motion were interrupted several times throughout the Cenozoic and Mesozoic by rapid plate reorganization events [R. Hey, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 88 (1977) 1404-1420; P.A. Rona, E.S. Richardson, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 40 (1978) 1-11; D.C. Engebretson, A. Cox, R.G. Gordon, Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Pap. 206 (1985); R.G. Gordon, D.M. Jurdy, J. Geophys. Res. 91 (1986) 12389-12406; D.A. Clague, G.B. Dalrymple, US Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 1350 (1987) 5-54; J.M. Stock, P. Molnar, Nature 325 (1987) 495-499; C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, M.A. Richards, Geophys. Res. Lett. 22 (1995) 1317-1320; M.A. Richards, C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 137 (1996) 19-27; C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, M.A. Richards, Rev. Geophys. 36 (1998) 27-78]. It has been proposed that changes in plate boundary forces are responsible for these events [M.A. Richards, C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 137 (1996) 19-27; C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, M.A. Richards, Rev. Geophys. 36 (1998) 27-78]. We present an alternative hypothesis: convection-driven plate motions are intrinsically unstable due to a buoyant instability that develops as a result of the influence of plates on an internally heated mantle. This instability, which has not been described before, is responsible for episodic reorganizations of plate motion. Numerical mantle convection experiments demonstrate that high-Rayleigh number convection with internal heating and surface plates is sufficient to induce plate reorganization events, changes in plate boundary forces, or plate geometry, are not required.

Commentary: The Feasibility of Subduction and Implications for Plate Tectonics on Jupiter's Moon Europa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kattenhorn, Simon A.

2018-03-01

A new modeling-based study by Johnson et al. (2017, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JE005370) lends support to the hypothesis that portions of Europa's surface may have been removed by the process of subduction, as suggested by Kattenhorn and Prockter (2014, https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2245). Using a simple 1-D model that tracks the thermal and density structure of a descending ice plate, Johnson et al. show that ice plates with 10% porosity and overall salt contents of 5%, which differ in salt content by 2.5% from the surrounding reference ice shell, are nonbuoyant and thus likely to sink through the underlying, convecting portion of the ice shell. The feasibility of subduction in an ice shell is critical to the existence of icy plate tectonics, which is hypothesized to exist at least locally on Europa, potentially making it the only other Solar System body other than Earth with a surface modified by plate tectonics.

Stability of active mantle upwelling revealed by net characteristics of plate tectonics.

PubMed

Conrad, Clinton P; Steinberger, Bernhard; Torsvik, Trond H

2013-06-27

Viscous convection within the mantle is linked to tectonic plate motions and deforms Earth's surface across wide areas. Such close links between surface geology and deep mantle dynamics presumably operated throughout Earth's history, but are difficult to investigate for past times because the history of mantle flow is poorly known. Here we show that the time dependence of global-scale mantle flow can be deduced from the net behaviour of surface plate motions. In particular, we tracked the geographic locations of net convergence and divergence for harmonic degrees 1 and 2 by computing the dipole and quadrupole moments of plate motions from tectonic reconstructions extended back to the early Mesozoic era. For present-day plate motions, we find dipole convergence in eastern Asia and quadrupole divergence in both central Africa and the central Pacific. These orientations are nearly identical to the dipole and quadrupole orientations of underlying mantle flow, which indicates that these 'net characteristics' of plate motions reveal deeper flow patterns. The positions of quadrupole divergence have not moved significantly during the past 250 million years, which suggests long-term stability of mantle upwelling beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean. These upwelling locations are positioned above two compositionally and seismologically distinct regions of the lowermost mantle, which may organize global mantle flow as they remain stationary over geologic time.

The fate of water within Earth and super-Earths and implications for plate tectonics

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The Earth is likely to have acquired most of its water during accretion. Internal heat of planetesimals by short-lived radioisotopes would have caused some water loss, but impacts into planetesimals were insufficiently energetic to produce further drying. Water is thought to be critical for the development of plate tectonics, because it lowers viscosities in the asthenosphere, enabling subduction. The following issue persists: if water is necessary for plate tectonics, but subduction itself hydrates the upper mantle, how is the upper mantle initially hydrated? The giant impacts of late accretion created magma lakes and oceans, which degassed during solidification to produce a heavy atmosphere. However, some water would have remained in the mantle, trapped within crystallographic defects in nominally anhydrous minerals. In this paper, we present models demonstrating that processes associated with magma ocean solidification and overturn may segregate sufficient quantities of water within the upper mantle to induce partial melting and produce a damp asthenosphere, thereby facilitating plate tectonics and, in turn, the habitability of Earth-like extrasolar planets. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The origin, history and role of water in the evolution of the inner Solar System’. PMID:28416729

The fate of water within Earth and super-Earths and implications for plate tectonics.

PubMed

Tikoo, Sonia M; Elkins-Tanton, Linda T

2017-05-28

The Earth is likely to have acquired most of its water during accretion. Internal heat of planetesimals by short-lived radioisotopes would have caused some water loss, but impacts into planetesimals were insufficiently energetic to produce further drying. Water is thought to be critical for the development of plate tectonics, because it lowers viscosities in the asthenosphere, enabling subduction. The following issue persists: if water is necessary for plate tectonics, but subduction itself hydrates the upper mantle, how is the upper mantle initially hydrated? The giant impacts of late accretion created magma lakes and oceans, which degassed during solidification to produce a heavy atmosphere. However, some water would have remained in the mantle, trapped within crystallographic defects in nominally anhydrous minerals. In this paper, we present models demonstrating that processes associated with magma ocean solidification and overturn may segregate sufficient quantities of water within the upper mantle to induce partial melting and produce a damp asthenosphere, thereby facilitating plate tectonics and, in turn, the habitability of Earth-like extrasolar planets.This article is part of the themed issue 'The origin, history and role of water in the evolution of the inner Solar System'. © 2017 The Authors.

Tectonic Plates of China

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-04-01

C. Sun and Ta-iang Teng Contractor: University of Southern California Principal Investigator: Professor Ta-liang Teng (213) 746-6124 Contract Number...83 i" I. INTRODUCTION Over the vast Chinese mainland, one of the most interesting and dynamic regions of the world, complex tectonics, coupled with...west Pacific and the Alpine- Himalaya tectonic belts, the multitude of Chinese tectonic com- plexities is evident from its enormous topographic relief

Tertiary plate tectonics and high-pressure metamorphism in New Caledonia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brothers, R.N.; Blake, M.C.

1973-01-01

The sialic basement of New Caledonia is a Permian-Jurassic greywacke sequence which was folded and metamorphosed to prehnite-pumpellyite or low-grade greenschist facies by the Late Jurassic. Succeeding Cretaceous-Eocene sediments unconformably overlie this basement and extend outwards onto oceanic crust. Tertiary tectonism occurred in three distinct phases. 1. (1) During the Late Eocene a nappe of peridotite was obducted onto southern New Caledonia from northeast to southwest, but without causing significant metamorphism in the underlying sialic rocks. 2. (2) Oligocene compressive thrust tectonics in the northern part of the island accompanied a major east-west subduction zone, at least 30 km wide, which is identified by an imbricate system of tectonically intruded melanges and by development of lawsonite-bearing assemblages in adjacent country rocks; this high-pressure mineralogy constituted a primary metamorphism for the Cretaceous-Eocene sedimentary pile, but was overprinted on the Mesozoic prehnite-pumpellyite metagreywackes. 3. (3) Post-Oligocene transcurrent faulting along a northwest-southeast line (the sillon) parallel to the west coast caused at least 150 km of dextral offset of the southwest frontal margin of the Eocene ultramafic nappe. At the present time, the tectonics of the southwest Pacific are related to a series of opposite facing subduction (Benioff) zones connected by transform faults extending from New Britain-Solomon Islands south through the New Hebrides to New Zealand and marking the boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates. Available geologic data from this region suggest that a similar geometry existed during the Tertiary and that the microcontinents of New Guinea, New Caledonia and New Zealand all lay along the former plate boundary which has since migrated north and east by a complex process of sea-floor spreading behind the active island arcs. ?? 1973.

Seismic potential of weak, near-surface faults revealed at plate tectonic slip rates

PubMed Central

Ikari, Matt J.; Kopf, Achim J.

2017-01-01

The near-surface areas of major faults commonly contain weak, phyllosilicate minerals, which, based on laboratory friction measurements, are assumed to creep stably. However, it is now known that shallow faults can experience tens of meters of earthquake slip and also host slow and transient slip events. Laboratory experiments are generally performed at least two orders of magnitude faster than plate tectonic speeds, which are the natural driving conditions for major faults; the absence of experimental data for natural driving rates represents a critical knowledge gap. We use laboratory friction experiments on natural fault zone samples at driving rates of centimeters per year to demonstrate that there is abundant evidence of unstable slip behavior that was not previously predicted. Specifically, weak clay-rich fault samples generate slow slip events (SSEs) and have frictional properties favorable for earthquake rupture. Our work explains growing field observations of shallow SSE and surface-breaking earthquake slip, and predicts that such phenomena should be more widely expected. PMID:29202027

Plate tectonics from VLBI and SLR global data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrison, Christopher G. A.; Robaudo, Stefano

1992-01-01

This study is based on data derived from fifteen years of observations of the SLR (side-looking radar) network and six years of the VLBI (very long baseline interferometry) network. In order to use all available information VLBI and SLR global data sets were combined in a least squares fashion to calculate station horizontal velocities. All significant data pertaining to a single site contribute to the station horizontal motion. The only constraint on the solution is that no vertical motion is allowed. This restriction does not greatly affect the precision of the overall solution given the fact that the expected vertical motion for most stations, even those experiencing post glacial uplift, is well under 1 cm/yr. Since the average baseline is under 4,000 km, only a small fraction of the station vertical velocity is translated into baseline rates so that the error introduced in the solution by restricting up-down station movement is minimal. As a reference, station velocities were then compared to the ones predicted by the NUVEL-1 geological model of DeMets et al. (1990). The focus of the study is on analyzing these discrepancies for global plate tectonics as well as regional tectonic settings. The method used also allows us not only to derive horizontal motion for individual stations but also to calculate Euler vectors for those plates that have enough stations located on the stable interior like North America, Pacific, Eurasia, and Australia.

Using a Web GIS Plate Tectonics Simulation to Promote Geospatial Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bodzin, Alec M.; Anastasio, David; Sharif, Rajhida; Rutzmoser, Scott

2016-01-01

Learning with Web-based geographic information system (Web GIS) can promote geospatial thinking and analysis of georeferenced data. Web GIS can enable learners to analyze rich data sets to understand spatial relationships that are managed in georeferenced data visualizations. We developed a Web GIS plate tectonics simulation as a capstone learning…

Plate Tectonics: The Way the Earth Works. Teacher's Guide. LHS GEMS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cuff, Kevin

This teacher guide presents a unit on plate tectonics and introduces hands-on activities for students in grades 6-8. In each unit, students act as real scientists and gather evidence by using science process skills such as observing, graphing, analyzing data, designing and making models, visualizing, communicating, theorizing, and drawing…

An Intracratonic Record of North American Tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovell, Thomas Rudolph

Investigating how continents change throughout geologic time provides insight into the underlying plate tectonic process that shapes our world. Researchers aiming to understand plate tectonics typically investigate records exposed at plate margins, as these areas contain direct structural and stratigraphic information relating to tectonic plate interaction. However, these margins are also susceptible to destruction, as orogenic processes tend to punctuate records of plate tectonics. In contrast, intracratonic basins are long-lived depressions located inside cratons, shielded from the destructive forces associated with the plate tectonic process. The ability of cratonic basins to preserve sedimentological records for extended periods of geologic time makes them candidates for recording long term changes in continents driven by tectonics and eustacy. This research utilizes an intracratonic basin to better understand how the North American continent has changed throughout Phanerozoic time. This research resolves geochronologic, thermochronologic, and sedimentologic changes throughout Phanerozoic time (>500 Ma) within the intracratonic Illinois Basin detrital record. Core and outcrop sampling provide the bulk of material upon which detrital zircon geochronologic, detrital apatite thermochronologic, and thin section petrographic analyses were performed. Geochronologic evidence presented in Chapters 2 and 3 reveal the Precambrian - Cretaceous strata of the intracratonic Illinois Basin yield three detrital zircon U-Pb age assemblages. Lower Paleozoic strata yield ages corresponding to predominantly cratonic sources (Archean - Mesoproterozoic). In contrast, Middle - Upper Paleozoic strata have a dominant Appalachian orogen (Neoproterozoic - Paleozoic) signal. Cretaceous strata yield similar ages to underlying Upper Paleozoic strata. We conclude that changes in the provenance of Illinois Basin strata result from eustatic events and tectonic forcings. This evidence

Transoceanic Dispersal and Plate Tectonics Shaped Global Cockroach Distributions: Evidence from Mitochondrial Phylogenomics.

PubMed

Bourguignon, Thomas; Tang, Qian; Ho, Simon Y W; Juna, Frantisek; Wang, Zongqing; Arab, Daej A; Cameron, Stephen L; Walker, James; Rentz, David; Evans, Theodore A; Lo, Nathan

2018-04-01

Following the acceptance of plate tectonics theory in the latter half of the 20th century, vicariance became the dominant explanation for the distributions of many plant and animal groups. In recent years, however, molecular-clock analyses have challenged a number of well-accepted hypotheses of vicariance. As a widespread group of insects with a fossil record dating back 300 My, cockroaches provide an ideal model for testing hypotheses of vicariance through plate tectonics versus transoceanic dispersal. However, their evolutionary history remains poorly understood, in part due to unresolved relationships among the nine recognized families. Here, we present a phylogenetic estimate of all extant cockroach families, as well as a timescale for their evolution, based on the complete mitochondrial genomes of 119 cockroach species. Divergence dating analyses indicated that the last common ancestor of all extant cockroaches appeared ∼235 Ma, ∼95 My prior to the appearance of fossils that can be assigned to extant families, and before the breakup of Pangaea began. We reconstructed the geographic ranges of ancestral cockroaches and found tentative support for vicariance through plate tectonics within and between several major lineages. We also found evidence of transoceanic dispersal in lineages found across the Australian, Indo-Malayan, African, and Madagascan regions. Our analyses provide evidence that both vicariance and dispersal have played important roles in shaping the distribution and diversity of these insects.

Early impact basins and the onset of plate tectonics. Ph.D. Thesis - Maryland Univ.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frey, H.

1977-01-01

The fundamental crustal dichotomy of the Earth (high and low density crust) was established nearly 4 billion years ago. Therefore, subductable crust was concentrated at the surface of the Earth very early in its history, making possible an early onset for plate tectonics. Simple thermal history calculations spanning 1 billion years show that the basin forming impact thins the lithosphere by at least 25%, and increases the sublithosphere thermal gradients by roughly 20%. The corresponding increase in convective heat transport, combined with the highly fractured nature of the thinned basin lithosphere, suggest that lithospheric breakup or rifting occurred shortly after the formation of the basins. Conditions appropriate for early rifting persisted from some 100,000,000 years following impact. We suggest a very early stage of high temperature, fast spreading "microplate" tectonics, originating before 3.5 billion years ago, and gradually stabilizing over the Archaean into more modern large plate or Wilson Cycle tectonics.

Melting-induced crustal production helps plate tectonics on Earth-like planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lourenço, Diogo L.; Rozel, Antoine; Tackley, Paul J.

2016-04-01

Within our Solar System, Earth is the only planet to be in a mobile-lid regime. It is generally accepted that the other terrestrial planets are currently in a stagnant-lid regime, with the possible exception of Venus that may be in an episodic-lid regime (Armann and Tackley, JGR 2012). Using plastic yielding to self-consistently generate plate tectonics on an Earth-like planet with strongly temperature-dependent viscosity is now well-established, but such models typically focus on purely thermal convection, whereas compositional variations in the lithosphere can alter the stress state and greatly influence the likelihood of plate tectonics. For example, Rolf and Tackley (GRL, 2011) showed that the addition of a continent can reduce the critical yield stress for mobile-lid behaviour by a factor of around two. Moreover, it has been shown that the final tectonic state of the system can depend on the initial condition (Tackley, G3 2000 - part 2). Weller and Lenardic (GRL, 2012) found that the parameter range in which two solutions are obtained increases with viscosity contrast. We can also say that partial melting has a major role in the long-term evolution of rocky planets: (1) partial melting causes differentiation in both major elements and trace elements, which are generally incompatible (Hofmann, Nature 1997). Trace elements may contain heat-producing isotopes, which contribute to the heat loss from the interior; (2) melting and volcanism are an important heat loss mechanism at early times that act as a strong thermostat, buffering mantle temperatures and preventing it from getting too hot (Xie and Tackley, JGR 2004b); (3) mantle melting dehydrates and hardens the shallow part of the mantle (Hirth and Kohlstedt, EPSL 1996) and introduces viscosity and compositional stratifications in the shallow mantle due to viscosity variations with the loss of hydrogen upon melting (Faul and Jackson, JGR 2007; Korenaga and Karato, JGR 2008). We present a set of 2D spherical

Tsunamis from Tectonic Sources along Caribbean Plate Boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez, A. M.; Chacon, S.; Zamora, N.; Audemard, F. A.; Dondin, F. J. Y.; Clouard, V.; Løvholt, F.; Harbitz, C. B.; Vanacore, E. A.; Huerfano Moreno, V. A.

2015-12-01

The Working Group 2 (WG2) of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CARIBE-EWS) in charge of Tsunami Hazards Assessment, has generated a list of tsunami sources for the Caribbean region. Simulating these worst-case, most credible scenarios would provide an estimate of the resulting effects on coastal areas within the Caribbean. In the past few years, several publications have addressed this issue resulting in a collection of potential tsunami sources and scenarios. These publications come from a wide variety of sources; from government agencies to academic institutions. Although these provide the scientific community with a list of sources and scenarios, it was the interest of the WG2 to evaluate what has been proposed and develop a comprehensive list of sources, therefore leaving aside proposed scenarios. The seismo-tectonics experts of the Caribbean within the WG2 members were tasked to evaluate comprehensively which published sources are credible, worst-cases, and consider other sources that have been omitted from available reports. Among these published sources are the GEM Faulted Earth Subduction Characterization Project, and the LANTEX/Caribe Wave annual exercise publications (2009-2015). Caribbean tectonic features capable of generating tsunamis from seismic dislocation are located along the Northeastern Caribbean, the Lesser Antilles Trench, and the Panamá and Southern Caribbean Deformed Belts. The proposed sources have been evaluated based on historical and instrumental seismicity as well as geological and geophysical studies. This paper presents the sources and their justification as most-probable tsunami sources based on the context of crustal deformation due to Caribbean plate interacting with neighboring North and South America plates. Simulations of these sources is part of a subsequent phase in which effects of these tectonically induced tsunamis

Intra-Arc extension in Central America: Links between plate motions, tectonics, volcanism, and geochemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phipps Morgan, Jason; Ranero, Cesar; Vannucchi, Paola

2010-05-01

This study revisits the kinematics and tectonics of Central America subduction, synthesizing observations of marine bathymetry, high-resolution land topography, current plate motions, and the recent seismotectonic and magmatic history in this region. The inferred tectonic history implies that the Guatemala-El Salvador and Nicaraguan segments of this volcanic arc have been a region of significant arc tectonic extension; extension arising from the interplay between subduction roll-back of the Cocos Plate and the ~10-15 mm/yr slower westward drift of the Caribbean plate relative to the North American Plate. The ages of belts of magmatic rocks paralleling both sides of the current Nicaraguan arc are consistent with long-term arc-normal extension in Nicaragua at the rate of ~5-10 mm/yr, in agreement with rates predicted by plate kinematics. Significant arc-normal extension can ‘hide' a very large intrusive arc-magma flux; we suggest that Nicaragua is, in fact, the most magmatically robust section of the Central American arc, and that the volume of intrusive volcanism here has been previously greatly underestimated. Yet, this flux is hidden by the persistent extension and sediment infill of the rifting basin in which the current arc sits. Observed geochemical differences between the Nicaraguan arc and its neighbors which suggest that Nicaragua has a higher rate of arc-magmatism are consistent with this interpretation. Smaller-amplitude, but similar systematic geochemical correlations between arc-chemistry and arc-extension in Guatemala show the same pattern as the even larger variations between the Nicaragua arc and its neighbors. We are also exploring the potential implications of intra-arc extension for deformation processes along the subducting plate boundary and within the forearc ‘microplate'.

Gravity anomalies, plate tectonics and the lateral growth of Precambrian North America

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, M. D.; Grieve, R. A. F.; Sharpton, V. L.

1988-01-01

The widespread gravity coverage of North America provides a picture of the gross structural fabric of the continent via the trends of gravity anomalies. The structural picture so obtained reveals a mosaic of gravity trend domains, many of which correlate closely with structural provinces and orogenic terranes. The gravity trend map, interpreted in the light of plate-tectonic theory, thus provides a new perspective for examining the mode of assembly and growth of North America. Suture zones, palaeosubduction directions, and perhaps, contrasting tectonic histories may be identified using gravity patterns.

Tectonic escape of the Caribbean plate since the Paleocene: a consequence of the Chicxulub meteor impact?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rangin, C.; Martinez-Reyes, J.; Crespy, A.; Zitter, T. A. C.

2012-04-01

The debate for Pacific exotic origin versus in situ inter American plate Atlantic origin of the Caribbean plate is active in the scientific community since decades. Independently of the origin of this plate, its fast motion towards the east at a present rate of 2cm/yr is accepted to have been initiated during the early-most Cenozoic. The Paleocene is a key period in the global evolution of Central America mainly marked also by the Chicxulub multiring meteor impact in Yucatan. We question here the genetic relationship between this impact event and the incipient tectonic escape of the Caribbean plate. The mostly recent published models suggest this impact has affected the whole crust down to the Moho, the upper mantle being rapidly and considerably uplifted. The crust was then fragmented 600km at least from the point of impact, and large circular depressions were rapidly filled by clastic sediments from Cantarell to Western Cuba via Chiapas and Belize. North of the impact, the whole Gulf of Mexico was affected by mass gravity sliding, initiated also during the Paleocene in Texas, remaining active in this basin up to present time. South of the impact, in the Caribbean plate, the Yucatan basin was rapidly opened, indicating a fast escape of the crustal material towards the unique free boundary, the paleo-Antilles subduction zone. Shear waves velocity data below the Caribbean plate suggest this crustal tectonic escape was enhanced by the fast eastward flowing mantle supporting a fragmented and stretched crust. The proposed model suggests Chicxulub impact (but also the hypothetic Beata impact) have fragmented brittle crust, then easily drifted towards the east. This could explain the Paleogene evolution of the Caribbean plate largely stretched during its early evolution. Geologically, this evolution could explain the absence of evident Paleogene oblique subduction along the Caribbean plate northern and southern margins, marked only by Mid Cretaceous dragged volcanic

This Dynamic Planet: World map of volcanoes, earthquakes, impact craters and plate tectonics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Simkin, Tom; Tilling, Robert I.; Vogt, Peter R.; Kirby, Stephen H.; Kimberly, Paul; Stewart, David B.

2006-01-01

Our Earth is a dynamic planet, as clearly illustrated on the main map by its topography, over 1500 volcanoes, 44,000 earthquakes, and 170 impact craters. These features largely reflect the movements of Earth's major tectonic plates and many smaller plates or fragments of plates (including microplates). Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are awe-inspiring displays of the powerful forces of nature and can be extraordinarily destructive. On average, about 60 of Earth's 550 historically active volcanoes are in eruption each year. In 2004 alone, over 160 earthquakes were magnitude 6.0 or above, some of which caused casualties and substantial damage. This map shows many of the features that have shaped--and continue to change--our dynamic planet. Most new crust forms at ocean ridge crests, is carried slowly away by plate movement, and is ultimately recycled deep into the earth--causing earthquakes and volcanism along the boundaries between moving tectonic plates. Oceans are continually opening (e.g., Red Sea, Atlantic) or closing (e.g., Mediterranean). Because continental crust is thicker and less dense than thinner, younger oceanic crust, most does not sink deep enough to be recycled, and remains largely preserved on land. Consequently, most continental bedrock is far older than the oldest oceanic bedrock. (see back of map) The earthquakes and volcanoes that mark plate boundaries are clearly shown on this map, as are craters made by impacts of extraterrestrial objects that punctuate Earth's history, some causing catastrophic ecological changes. Over geologic time, continuing plate movements, together with relentless erosion and redeposition of material, mask or obliterate traces of earlier plate-tectonic or impact processes, making the older chapters of Earth's 4,500-million-year history increasingly difficult to read. The recent activity shown on this map provides only a present-day snapshot of Earth's long history, helping to illustrate how its present surface came to

The dynamics of plate tectonics and mantle flow: from local to global scales.

PubMed

Stadler, Georg; Gurnis, Michael; Burstedde, Carsten; Wilcox, Lucas C; Alisic, Laura; Ghattas, Omar

2010-08-27

Plate tectonics is regulated by driving and resisting forces concentrated at plate boundaries, but observationally constrained high-resolution models of global mantle flow remain a computational challenge. We capitalized on advances in adaptive mesh refinement algorithms on parallel computers to simulate global mantle flow by incorporating plate motions, with individual plate margins resolved down to a scale of 1 kilometer. Back-arc extension and slab rollback are emergent consequences of slab descent in the upper mantle. Cold thermal anomalies within the lower mantle couple into oceanic plates through narrow high-viscosity slabs, altering the velocity of oceanic plates. Viscous dissipation within the bending lithosphere at trenches amounts to approximately 5 to 20% of the total dissipation through the entire lithosphere and mantle.

Cenozoic intraplate tectonics in Central Patagonia: Record of main Andean phases in a weak upper plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gianni, G. M.; Echaurren, A.; Folguera, A.; Likerman, J.; Encinas, A.; García, H. P. A.; Dal Molin, C.; Valencia, V. A.

2017-11-01

Contraction in intraplate areas is still poorly understood relative to similar deformation at plate margins. In order to contribute to its comprehension, we study the Patagonian broken foreland (PBF) in South America whose evolution remains controversial. Time constraints of tectonic events and structural characterization of this belt are limited. Also, major causes of strain location in this orogen far from the plate margin are enigmatic. To unravel tectonic events, we studied the Cenozoic sedimentary record of the central sector of the Patagonian broken foreland (San Bernardo fold and thrust belt, 44°30‧S-46°S) and the Andes (Meseta de Chalia, 46°S) following an approach involving growth-strata detection, U-Pb geochronology and structural modeling. Additionally, we elaborate a high resolution analysis of the effective elastic thickness (Te) to examine the relation between intraplate contraction location and variations in lithospheric strength. The occurrence of Eocene growth-strata ( 44-40 Ma) suggests that contraction in the Andes and the Patagonian broken foreland was linked to the Incaic phase. Detection of synextensional deposits suggests that the broken foreland collapsed partially during Oligocene to early Miocene. During middle Miocene times, the Quechua contractional phase produced folding of Neogene volcanic rocks and olistostrome deposition at 17 Ma. Finally, the presented Te map shows that intraplate contraction related to Andean phases localized preferentially along weak lithospheric zones (Te < 15 km). Hence, the observed strain distribution in the PBF appears to be controlled by lateral variations in the lithospheric strength. Variations in this parameter could be related to thermo-mechanical weakening produced by intraplate rifting in Paleozoic-Mesozoic times.

The Earth's Mantle Is Solid: Teachers' Misconceptions About the Earth and Plate Tectonics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Chris

2000-01-01

Discusses the misconceptions revealed by the teachers' answers and outlines more accurate answers and explanations based on established evidence and uses these to provide a more complete understanding of plate tectonic process and the structure of Earth. (Author/YDS)

Using Students' Sketches to Recognize Alternative Conceptions about Plate Tectonics Persisting from Prior Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Gary A.; Bermea, Shannon Belle

2012-01-01

Should instructors assume that students possess conceptual knowledge of plate tectonics when they reach a second college geoscience course? Five cohorts in a historical geology course over 5 y--a total of 149 students--completed an in-class assignment in which they drew sketches of plate boundaries with required annotations. Analysis of the…

Complex Plate Tectonic Features on Planetary Bodies: Analogs from Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stock, J. M.; Smrekar, S. E.

2016-12-01

We review the types and scales of observations needed on other rocky planetary bodies (e.g., Mars, Venus, exoplanets) to evaluate evidence of present or past plate motions. Earth's plate boundaries were initially simplified into three basic types (ridges, trenches, and transform faults). Previous studies examined the Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury and icy moons such as Europa, for evidence of features, including linear rifts, arcuate convergent zones, strike-slip faults, and distributed deformation (rifting or folding). Yet, several aspects merit further consideration. 1) Is the feature active or fossil? Earth's active mid ocean ridges are bathymetric highs, and seafloor depth increases on either side; whereas, fossil mid ocean ridges may be as deep as the surrounding abyssal plain with no major rift valley, although with a minor gravity low (e.g., Osbourn Trough, W. Pacific Ocean). Fossil trenches have less topographic relief than active trenches (e.g., the fossil trench along the Patton Escarpment, west of California). 2) On Earth, fault patterns of spreading centers depend on volcanism. Excess volcanism reduced faulting. Fault visibility increases as spreading rates slow, or as magmatism decreases, producing high-angle normal faults parallel to the spreading center. At magma-poor spreading centers, high resolution bathymetry shows low angle detachment faults with large scale mullions and striations parallel to plate motion (e.g., Mid Atlantic Ridge, Southwest Indian Ridge). 3) Sedimentation on Earth masks features that might be visible on a non-erosional planet. Subduction zones on Earth in areas of low sedimentation have clear trench -parallel faults causing flexural deformation of the downgoing plate; in highly sedimented subduction zones, no such faults can be seen, and there may be no bathymetric trench at all. 4) Areas of Earth with broad upwelling, such as the North Fiji Basin, have complex plate tectonic patterns with many individual but poorly linked ridge

Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Northeast China and Surrounding Areas Reproduced by Slab Subduction Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, T.; Moresi, L. N.; Zhao, D.; Sandiford, D.

2017-12-01

Northeast China lies at the continental margin of the western Pacific subduction zone where the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Eurasia Plate along the Kuril-Japan trench during the Cenozoic, after the consumption of the Izanagi Plate. The Izanagi Plate and the Izanagi-Pacific mid-ocean ridge recycled to the mantle beneath Eurasia before the early Cenozoic. Plate reconstructions suggest that (1) age of the incoming Pacific Plate at the trench increases with time; (2) convergence rate between the Pacific and Eurasia Plates increased rapidly from the late Eocene to the early Miocene. Northeast China and surrounding areas suffered widespread extension and magmatism during the Cenozoic, culminating in the opening of the Japan Sea and the rifting of the Baikal Rift Zone. The Japan Sea opened during the early Miocene and kept spreading until the late Miocene, since when compression tectonics gradually prevailed. The Baikal Rift Zone underwent slow extension in the Cenozoic but its extension rate has increased rapidly since the late Miocene. We investigate the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of Northeast China and surrounding areas with geodynamic models. Our study suggests that the rapid aging of the incoming Pacific Plate at the subduction zone leads to the increase of plate convergence and trench motion rates, and explains the observed sequence of regional tectonic events. Our geodynamic model, which reproduces the Cenozoic regional tectonic events, predicts slab morphology and stress state consistent with seismic observations, including over 1000 km of slab stagnant in the transition zone, and the along-dip principal compressional stress direction. Our model requires a value of the 660 km phase transition Clapeyron slope of -2.5 MPa/K to reproduce the stagnant slab and tectonic events in the study region. This suggests that the Pacific slab is hydrated in the transition zone, explaining geochemical characteristics of some regional Cenozoic igneous rocks which were

Subduction Drive of Plate Tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, W. B.

2003-12-01

Don Anderson emphasizes that plate tectonics is self-organizing and is driven by subduction, which rights the density inversion generated as oceanic lithosphere forms by cooling of asthenosphere from the top. The following synthesis owes much to many discussions with him. Hinge rollback is the key to kinematics, and, like the rest of actual plate behavior, is incompatible with bottom-up convection drive. Subduction hinges (which are under, not in front of, thin leading parts of arcs and overriding plates) roll back into subducting plates. The Pacific shrinks because bounding hinges roll back into it. Colliding arcs, increasing arc curvatures, back-arc spreading, and advance of small arcs into large plates also require rollback. Forearcs of overriding plates commonly bear basins which preclude shortening of thin plate fronts throughout periods recorded by basin strata (100 Ma for Cretaceous and Paleogene California). This requires subequal rates of advance and rollback, and control of both by subduction. Convergence rate is equal to rates of rollback and advance in many systems but is greater in others. Plate-related circulation probably is closed above 650 km. Despite the popularity of concepts of plumes from, and subduction into, lower mantle, there is no convincing evidence for, and much evidence against, penetration of the 650 in either direction. That barrier not only has a crossing-inhibiting negative Clapeyron slope but also is a compositional boundary between fractionated (not "primitive"), sluggish lower mantle and fertile, mobile upper mantle. Slabs sink more steeply than they dip. Slabs older than about 60 Ma when their subduction began sink to, and lie down on and depress, the 650-km discontinuity, and are overpassed, whereas younger slabs become neutrally buoyant in mid-upper mantle, into which they are mixed as they too are overpassed. Broadside-sinking old slabs push all upper mantle, from base of oceanic lithosphere down to the 650, back under

Plate tectonics on large exoplanets and the importance of the initial conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noack, Lena; Breuer, Doris

2013-04-01

Several numerical studies have been published in the past years speculating about the existence of plate tectonics on large exoplanets. These studies focus on various aspects like the mass of a planet [1,2,3,5], the interior heating rate and mantle temperatures [4,5] and the occurrence of water in the upper mantle [6]. Different trends in the propensity for plate tectonics have been observed in particular when varying the planetary mass: with increasing mass the surface mobilization is found to be either more [2,3,5], equally [3,6] or less [1,4] likely than on Earth. These studies and their implications are, however, difficult to compare as they assume different initial conditions and parameter sets, and either neglect the pressure effect on the viscosity or assume a rather small influence of the pressure on the rheology. Furthermore, the thermal evolution of the planets (i.e. cooling of core and decrease in radioactive heat sources with time) is typically neglected. In our study, we us the finite volume code GAIA [7] and apply a pseudo-plastic rheology. We investigate how a strong pressure-dependence of the viscosity [8] influences not only the convective regime in the lower mantle, but also the upper mantle and hence the likelihood to obtain plate tectonics. We investigate how our results change when assuming different initial conditions, focussing on the initial temperature in the lower mantle and at the core-mantle boundary. We find that the initial temperature conditions have a first-order influence on the likelihood of plate tectonics on large exoplanets and (as observed in earlier studies) surface mobilization may either be more, equally or less likely than on Earth. References [1] O'Neill, C. and A. Lenardic (2007), GRL 34, 1-4. [2] Valencia, D., O'Connell, R.J. and Sasselov, D.D. (2007), Astrophys. J. Let., 670(1):45-48. [3] van Heck, H.J. and Tackley, P.J. (2011), EPSL, 310:252-261. [4] Stein, C.; A. Finnenkötter, J. P. Lowman and U. Hansen (2011), GRL

Oil prospection using the tectonic plate model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pointu, Agnès

2015-04-01

Tectonic plate models are an intellectual setting to understand why oil deposits are so uncommon and unequally distributed and how models can be used in actual oil and gas prospection. In this case, we use the example of the Ghawar deposit (Saudi Arabia), one of the largest producing well in the world. In the first step, physical properties of rocks composing the oil accumulation are studied by laboratory experiments. Students estimate the porosity of limestone and clay by comparing their mass before and after water impregnation. Results are compared to microscopic observations. Thus, students come to the conclusion that oil accumulations are characterized by superposition of rocks with very different properties: a rich organic source rock (clays of the Hanifa formation), a porous reservoir rock to store the petroleum in (limestones of the Arab formation) and above an impermeable rock with very low porosity (evaporites of the Tithonien). In previous lessons, students have seen that organic matter is usually mineralized by bacteria and that this preservation requires particular conditions. The aim is to explain why biomass production has been so important during the deposit of the clays of the Hanifa formation. Tectonic plate models make it possible to estimate the location of the Arabian Peninsula during Jurassic times (age of Hanifa formation). In order to understand why the paleo-location of the Arabian Peninsula is important to preserve organic matter, students have different documents showing: - That primary production of biomass by phytoplankton is favored by climatic conditions, - That the position of continents determinate the ocean currents and the positions of upwelling zones and zones where organic matter will be able to be preserved, - That north of the peninsula there was a passive margin during Jurassic times. An actual seismic line is studied in order to highlight that this extensive area allowed thick sedimentary deposits to accumulate and that fast

Reconstructing plate motion paths where plate tectonics doesn't strictly apply

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Handy, M. R.; Ustaszewski, K.

2012-04-01

The classical approach to reconstructing plate motion invokes the assumption that plates are rigid and therefore that their motions can be described as Eulerian rotations on a spherical Earth. This essentially two-dimensional, map view of plate motion is generally valid for large-scale systems, but is not practicable for small-scale tectonic systems in which plates, or significant parts thereof, deform on time scales approaching the duration of their motion. Such "unplate-like" (non-rigid) behaviour is common in systems with a weak lithosphere, for example, in Mediterranean-type settings where (micro-)plates undergo distributed deformation several tens to hundreds of km away from their boundaries. The motion vector of such anomalous plates can be quantified by combining and comparing information from two independent sources: (1) Balanced cross sections that are arrayed across deformed zones (orogens, basins) and provide estimates of crustal shortening and/or extension. Plate motion is then derived by retrodeforming the balanced sections in a stepwise fashion from external to internal parts of mountain belts, then applying these estimates as successive retrotranslations of points on stable parts of the upper plate with respect to a chosen reference frame on the lower plate. This approach is contingent on using structural markers with tight age constraints, for example, depth-sensitive metamorphic mineral parageneses and syn-orogenic sediments with known paleogeographic provenance; (2) Geophysical images of 3D subcrustal structure, especially of the MOHO and the lithospheric mantle in the vicinity of the deformed zones. In the latter case, travel-time seismic tomography of velocity anomalies can be used to identify subducted lithospheric slabs that extend downwards from the zones of crustal shortening to the mantle transitional zone and beyond. Synthesizing information from these two sources yields plate motion paths whose validity can be tested by the degree of

Whole-mantle convection with tectonic plates preserves long-term global patterns of upper mantle geochemistry.

PubMed

Barry, T L; Davies, J H; Wolstencroft, M; Millar, I L; Zhao, Z; Jian, P; Safonova, I; Price, M

2017-05-12

The evolution of the planetary interior during plate tectonics is controlled by slow convection within the mantle. Global-scale geochemical differences across the upper mantle are known, but how they are preserved during convection has not been adequately explained. We demonstrate that the geographic patterns of chemical variations around the Earth's mantle endure as a direct result of whole-mantle convection within largely isolated cells defined by subducting plates. New 3D spherical numerical models embedded with the latest geological paleo-tectonic reconstructions and ground-truthed with new Hf-Nd isotope data, suggest that uppermost mantle at one location (e.g. under Indian Ocean) circulates down to the core-mantle boundary (CMB), but returns within ≥100 Myrs via large-scale convection to its approximate starting location. Modelled tracers pool at the CMB but do not disperse ubiquitously around it. Similarly, mantle beneath the Pacific does not spread to surrounding regions of the planet. The models fit global patterns of isotope data and may explain features such as the DUPAL anomaly and long-standing differences between Indian and Pacific Ocean crust. Indeed, the geochemical data suggests this mode of convection could have influenced the evolution of mantle composition since 550 Ma and potentially since the onset of plate tectonics.

Plate tectonics and hotspots: the third dimension.

PubMed

Anderson, D L; Tanimoto, T; Zhang, Y S

1992-06-19

High-resolution seismic tomographic models of the upper mantle provide powerful new constraints on theories of plate tectonics and hotspots. Midocean ridges have extremely low seismic velocities to a depth of 100 kilometers. These low velocities imply partial melting. At greater depths, low-velocity and high-velocity anomalies record, respectively, previous positions of migrating ridges and trenches. Extensional, rifting, and hotspot regions have deep (> 200 kilometers) low-velocity anomalies. The upper mantle is characterized by vast domains of high temperature rather than small regions surrounding hotspots; the asthenosphere is not homogeneous or isothermal. Extensive magmatism requires a combination of hot upper mantle and suitable lithospheric conditions. High-velocity regions of the upper 200 kilometers of the mantle correlate with Archean cratons.

The Lord Howe Rise continental ribbon: a fragment of eastern Gondwana that reveals the drivers of continental rifting and plate tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, S.; Hackney, R. I.; Bryan, S. E.; Kimura, J. I.; Müller, D.; Arculus, R. J.; Mortimer, N. N.; Collot, J.; Tamura, Y.; Yamada, Y.

2016-12-01

Plate tectonics and resulting changes in crustal architecture profoundly influence global climate, oceanic circulation, and the origin, distribution and sustainability of life. Ribbons of continental crust rifted from continental margins are one product of plate tectonics that can influence the Earth system. Yet we have been unable to fully resolve the tectonic setting and evolution of huge, thinned, submerged, and relatively inaccessible continental ribbons like the Lord Howe Rise (LHR), which formed during Cretaceous fragmentation of eastern Gondwana. Thinned continental ribbons like the LHR are not easily explained or predicted by plate-tectonic theory. However, because Cretaceous rift basins on the LHR preserve the stratigraphy of an un-accreted and intact continental ribbon, they can help to determine whether plate motion is self-organised—passively driven by the pull of negatively-buoyant subducting slabs—or actively driven by convective flow in the mantle. In a self-organising scenario, the LHR formed in response to ocean-ward retreat of the long-lived eastern Gondwana subduction zone and linked upper-plate extension. In the mantle-driven scenario, the LHR resulted from rifting near the eastern edge of Gondwana that was triggered by processes linked to emplacement of a silicic Large Igneous Province. These scenarios can be distinguished using the ribbon's extensional history and the composition and tectonic affinity of igneous rocks within rift basins. However, current knowledge of LHR rift basins is based on widely-distributed marine and satellite geophysical data, limited dredge samples, and sparse shallow drilling (<600 m below-seafloor). This limits our ability to understand the evolution of extended continental ribbons, but a recent deep crustal seismic survey across the LHR and a proposed IODP deep stratigraphic well through a LHR rift basin provide new opportunities to explore the drivers behind rifting, continental ribboning and plate tectonics.

Comparing the Plate-Tectonics-Related Misconceptions of High School Students and University Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kàdàr, Anett; Farsang, Andrea

2017-01-01

International research into the nature, emergence, and development of geographical misconceptions is substantial. However, Hungarian educational research lags behind in exploring this phenomenon in detail. The present study identified some plate-tectonics-related misconceptions of three distinctive groups of students: ninth-grade secondary school…

Tectonic activity evolution of the Scotia-Antarctic Plate boundary from mass transport deposit analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez, Lara F.; Bohoyo, Fernando; Hernández-Molina, F. Javier; Casas, David; Galindo-Zaldívar, Jesús; Ruano, Patricia; Maldonado, Andrés.

2016-04-01

The spatial distribution and temporal occurrence of mass transport deposits (MTDs) in the sedimentary infill of basins and submerged banks near the Scotia-Antarctic plate boundary allowed us to decode the evolution of the tectonic activity of the relevant structures in the region from the Oligocene to present day. The 1020 MTDs identified in the available data set of multichannel seismic reflection profiles in the region are subdivided according to the geographic and chronological distributions of these features. Their spatial distribution reveals a preferential location along the eastern margins of the eastern basins. This reflects local deformation due to the evolution of the Scotia-Antarctic transcurrent plate boundary and the impact of oceanic spreading along the East Scotia Ridge (ESR). The vertical distribution of the MTDs in the sedimentary record evidences intensified regional tectonic deformation from the middle Miocene to Quaternary. Intensified deformation started at about 15 Ma, when the ESR progressively replaces the West Scotia Ridge (WSR) as the main oceanic spreading center in the Scotia Sea. Coevally with the WSR demise at about 6.5 Ma, increased spreading rates of the ESR and numerous MTDs were formed. The high frequency of MTDs during the Pliocene, mainly along the western basins, is also related to greater tectonic activity due to uplift of the Shackleton Fracture Zone by tectonic inversion and extinction of the Antarctic-Phoenix Ridge and involved changes at late Pliocene. The presence of MTDs in the southern Scotia Sea basins is a relevant indicator of the interplay between sedimentary instability and regional tectonics.

Ogaden Basin subsidence history: Another key to the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden tectonic puzzle

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pigott, J.D.; Neese, D.; Carsten, G.

1995-08-01

Previous work has attempted to understand the tectonic evolution of the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden region through a focus upon plate kinematics and reconstruction of plate interactions in a two dimensional sense. A significant complement to the three dimensional puzzle can be derived from a critical examination of the vertical component, tectonic subsidence analysis. By removing the isostatic contributions of sediment loading and unloading, and fluctuations in sea level, the remaining thermal-mechanical contribution to a basin`s subsidence can be determined. Such an analysis of several Ogaden Basin wells reveals multiple pulses of tectonic subsidence and uplift which correspond to far-fieldmore » tectonic activities in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. One of the more dramatic is a Jurassic tectonic pulse circa 145-130 m.a., and a later extensional event which correlates to a major subsidence event ubiquitous through-out the Gulf of Aden, related to Gondwana Land breakup activities. Tectonic uplift during the Tertiary coincides with early Red Sea rifting episodes. Such activities suggest the Ogaden Basin has been a relatively stable East African cratonic basin, but with heating-extension events related to nearby plate interactions. In terms of hydrocarbon generation, the use of steady state present day geothermal gradients, coupled with subsidence analysis shows that potential Paleozoic and Mesozoic source rocks initiated generation as early as the Jurassic. The generating potential of Paleozoic source rocks would only be exacerbated by later heating events. Furthermore, cooling and tectonic uplift during the Tertiary would tend to arrest on-going hydrocarbon generation for Jurassic source rocks in the Ogaden area.« less

Plate tectonics on Venus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, D. L.

1981-01-01

The high surface temperature of Venus implies a permanently buoyant lithosphere and a thick basaltic crust. Terrestrial-style tectonics with deep subduction and crustal recycling is not possible. Overthickened basaltic crust partially melts instead of converting to eclogite. Because mantle magmas do not have convenient access to the surface the Ar-40 abundance in the atmosphere should be low. Venus may provide an analog to Archean tectonics on the earth.

Plate Tectonics and Taiwan Orogeny based on TAIGER Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, F. T.; Kuochen, H.; McIntosh, K. D.

2014-12-01

Plate tectonics framework is usually complex in a collision zone, where continental lithosphere is involved. In the young Taiwan orogeny, with geologic understanding and large new geodetic and subsurface datasets now available an environment has been created for testing tectonic hypotheses regarding collision and orogeny. Against the background of the commonly accepted view of Taiwan as a southward propagating, self-similar 2-D orogen, a fully 3-D structure is envisaged. Along the whole length of the island the convergence of the Eurasian plate (EUP) the Philippine Sea plate (PSP) takes shape with different plate configurations. In northern Taiwan the convergence occurs with simultaneous collision of the oceanic PSP with continental EUP and the northward subduction of the PSP; in the south, EUP, in the guise of the South China Sea rifted Eurasian continent, subducts toward the east; in central Taiwan collision of oceanic PSP with continental EUP dominates. When relocated seismicity and focal mechanisms are superposed on subsurface P and Vp/Vs velocity images the configurations and the kinematics of the PSP and EUP collision and subduction become clear. While in northern Taiwan the subduction/collision explains well the high peaks and their dwindling (accompanied by crustal thinning) toward the north. In the south, mountains rise above the east-dipping EUP subduction zone as the Eurasian continental shelf veers toward the southwest, divergent from the trend of the Luzon Arc - calling into question the frequently cited arc-continent collision model of Taiwan orogeny. High velocity anomaly and Benioff seismicity coexist in the south. Going north toward Central Taiwan the high velocity anomaly persists for another 150 km or so, but it becomes seismically quiescent. Above the quiescent section the PSP and EUP collide to build the main part of the Central Range and its parallel neighbor the eastern Coastal Range. Key implications regarding orogeny include: 1) Significant

The interpretation of crustal dynamics data in terms of plate interactions and active tectonics of the Anatolian plate and surrounding regions in the Middle East

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toksoz, M. Nafi; Reilinger, Robert

1992-01-01

A detailed study was made of the consequences of the Arabian plate convergence against Eurasia and its effects on the tectonics of Anatolia and surrounding regions of the eastern Mediterranean. A primary source of information is time rates of change of baseline lengths and relative heights determined by repeated SLR measurements. These SLR observations are augmented by a network of GPS stations in Anatolia, Aegea, and Greece, established and twice surveyed since 1988. The existing SLR and GPS networks provide the spatial resolution necessary to reveal the details of ongoing tectonic processes in this area of continental collision. The effort has involved examining the state of stress in the lithosphere and relative plate motions as revealed by these space based geodetic measurements, seismicity, and earthquake mechanisms as well as the aseismic deformations of the plates from conventional geodetic data and geological evidence. These observations are used to constrain theoretical calculations of the relative effects of: (1) the push of the Arabian plate; (2) high topography of Eastern Anatolia; (3) the geometry and properties of African-Eurasian plate boundary; (4) subduction under the Hellenic Arc and southwestern Turkey; and (5) internal deformation and rotation of the Anatolian plate.

Is Plate Tectonics Speeding up with Time?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Condie, K. C.; Korenaga, J.; Pisarevsky, S. A.

2014-12-01

Cooling of the mantle is often assumed to result in a decrease in average global plate speeds with time. However, deformation in collisional orogens indicates the frequency of craton collisions increases from about 5/100 Myr 2.5 Ga to 10/100 Myr 200 Ma. Likewise, angular plate velocities weighted by craton area increase from an average of 25 deg/100Myr at 2 Ga to about 50 deg/100 Myr in the last 200 Myr. The number of cratons decreases rapidly from > 20 to ≤ 15 between 1.9 and 1.75 Ga as numerous Archean blocks were sutured together. Orogens and passive margins show the same two cycles of ocean basin closing: an early cycle from 2.5-1.9 Ga and a later cycle, which corresponds to the supercontinent cycle ≤ 1.9 Ga. Also recorded in the geologic record during the last 200 Myr is a decrease in the duration of passive continental margins from 400 Myr at 1.2 Ga to < 100 Myr during the last 200 Myr. And finally, assuming Gondwana and Pangea represent stages in the growth of a single supercontinent, the period of the supercontinent cycle has dropped from about 1000 Myr at 1.5 Ga to < 500 Myr in the last 500 Myr. All of these observations are consistent with an increase in average plate speeds with time, which is consistent with the geodynamic model of Korenaga (2006) suggesting that plate tectonics is speeding up with time. This could be due to a decrease in the magnitude of lithosphere dehydration stiffening as ambient mantle temperature falls with time. Alternatively or in addition, gradual hydration of the mantle by subduction may decrease mantle viscosity and increase convection rates.

Subduction and Plate Edge Tectonics in the Southern Caribbean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levander, A.; Schmitz, M.; Niu, F.; Bezada, M. J.; Miller, M. S.; Masy, J.; Ave Lallemant, H. G.; Pindell, J. L.; Bolivar Working Group

2013-05-01

The southern Caribbean plate boundary consists of a subduction zone at at either end of a complex strike-slip fault system: In the east at the Lesser Antilles subduction zone, the Atlantic part of the South American plate subducts beneath the Caribbean. In the north and west in the Colombia basin, the Caribbean subducts under South America. In a manner of speaking, the two plates subduct beneath each other. Finite-frequency teleseismic P-wave tomography confirms this, imaging the Atlantic and the Caribbean plates subducting steeply in opposite directions to transition zone depths under northern South America (Bezada et al, 2010). The two subduction zones are connected by the El Pilar-San Sebastian strike-slip fault system, a San Andreas scale system that has been cut off at the Bocono fault, the southeastern boundary fault of the Maracaibo block. A variety of seismic probes identify subduction features at either end of the system (Niu et al, 2007; Clark et al., 2008; Miller et al. 2009; Growdon et al., 2009; Huang et al., 2010; Masy et al, 2011). The El Pilar system forms at the southeastern corner of the Antilles subduction zone with the Atlantic plate tearing from South America. The deforming plate edges control mountain building and basin formation at the eastern end of the strike-slip system. Tearing the Atlantic plate from the rest of South America appears to cause further lithospheric instability continentward. In northwestern South America the Caribbean plate very likely also tears, as its southernmost element subducts at shallow angles under northernmost Colombia but then rapidly descends to the transition zone under Lake Maracaibo (Bezada et al., 2010). We believe that the flat slab controls the tectonics of the Neogene Merida Andes, Perija, and Santa Marta ranges. The nonsubducting part of the Caribbean plate also underthrusts northern Venezuela to about the width of the coastal mountains (Miller et al., 2009). We infer that the edge of the underthrust

Grain-damage hysteresis and plate tectonic states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bercovici, David; Ricard, Yanick

2016-04-01

Shear localization in the lithosphere is an essential ingredient for understanding how and why plate tectonics is generated from mantle convection on terrestrial planets. The theoretical model for grain-damage and pinning in two-phase polycrystalline rocks provides a frame-work for understanding lithospheric shear weakening and plate-generation, and is consistent with laboratory and field observations of mylonites. Grain size evolves through the competition between coarsening, which drives grain-growth, and damage, which drives grain reduction. The interface between crystalline phases controls Zener pinning, which impedes grain growth. Damage to the interface enhances the Zener pinning effect, which then reduces grain-size, forcing the rheology into the grain-size-dependent diffusion creep regime. This process thus allows damage and rheological weakening to co-exist, providing a necessary positive self-weakening feedback. Moreover, because pinning inhibits grain-growth it promotes shear-zone longevity and plate-boundary inheritance. However, the suppression of interface damage at low interface curvature (wherein inter-grain mixing is inefficient and other energy sinks of deformational work are potentially more facile) causes a hysteresis effect, in which three possible equilibrium grain-sizes for a given stress coexist: (1) a stable, large-grain, weakly-deforming state, (2) a stable, small-grain, rapidly-deforming state analogous to ultramylonites, and (3) an unstable, intermediate grain-size state perhaps comparable to protomylonites. A comparison of the model to field data suggests that shear-localized zones of small-grain mylonites and ultra-mylonites exist at a lower stress than the co-existing large-grain porphyroclasts, rather than, as predicted by paleopiezometers or paleowattmeters, at a much higher stress; this interpretation of field data thus allows localization to relieve instead of accumulate stress. The model also predicts that a lithosphere that

Observing tectonic plate motions and deformations from satellite laser ranging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christodoulidis, D. C.; Smith, D. E.; Kolenkiewicz, R.; Klosko, S. M.; Torrence, M. H.

1985-01-01

The scope of geodesy has been greatly affected by the advent of artificial near-earth satellites. The present paper provides a description of the results obtained from the reduction of data collected with the aid of satellite laser ranging. It is pointed out that dynamic reduction of satellite laser ranging (SLR) data provides very precise positions in three dimensions for the laser tracking network. The vertical components of the stations, through the tracking geometry provided by the global network and the accurate knowledge of orbital dynamics, are uniquely related to the center of mass of the earth. Attention is given to the observations, the methodologies for reducing satellite observations to estimate station positions, Lageos-observed tectonic plate motions, an improved temporal resolution of SLR plate motions, and the SLR vertical datum.

The many impacts of building mountain belts on plate tectonics and mantle flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamato, Philippe; Husson, Laurent

2015-04-01

During the Cenozoic, the number of orogens on Earth increased. This observation readily indicates that in the same time, compression in the lithosphere became gradually more and more important. Such an increase of stresses in the lithosphere can impact on plate tectonics and mantle dynamics. We show that mountain belts at plate boundaries increasingly obstruct plate tectonics, slowing down and reorienting their motions. In turn, this changes the dynamic and kinematic surface conditions of the underlying flowing mantle. Ultimately, this modifies the pattern of mantle flow. This forcing could explain many first order features of Cenozoic plate tectonics and mantle flow. Among these, one can cite the compression of passive margins, the important variations in the rates of spreading at oceanic ridges, or the initiation of subduction, the onset of obduction, for the lithosphere. In the mantle, such change in boundary condition redesigns the pattern of mantle flow and, consequently, the oceanic lithosphere cooling. In order to test this hypothesis we first present thermo-mechanical numerical models of mantle convection above which a lithosphere rests. Our results show that when collision occurs, the mantle flow is highly modified, which leads to (i) increasing shear stresses below the lithosphere and (ii) to a modification of the convection style. In turn, the transition between a 'free' convection (mobile lid) and an 'upset' convection (stagnant -or sluggish- lid) highly impacts the dynamics of the lithosphere at the surface of the Earth. Thereby, on the basis of these models and a variety of real examples, we show that on the other side of a collision zone, passive margins become squeezed and can undergo compression, which may ultimately evolve into subduction or obduction. We also show that much further, due to the blocking of the lithosphere, spreading rates decrease at the ridge, a fact that may explain a variety of features such as the low magmatism of ultraslow

On the breakup of tectonic plates by polar wandering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, H. S.

1973-01-01

The observed boundary system of the major tectonic plates on the surface of the earth lends fresh support to the hypothesis of polar wandering. A dynamic model of the outer shell of the earth under the influence of polar shift is developed. The analysis falls into two parts: (1) deriving equations for stresses caused by polar shifting; and (2) deducing the pattern according to which the fracture of the shell can be expected. For stress analysis, the theory of plates and shells is the dominant feature of this model. In order to determine the fracture pattern, the existence of a mathematical theorem of plasticity is recalled: it says that the plastic flow begins to occur when a function in terms of the differences of the three principal stresses surpasses a certain critical value. By introducing the figures for the geophysical constants, this model generates stresses which could produce an initial break in the lithosphere.

Accelerated plate tectonics.

PubMed

Anderson, D L

1975-03-21

The concept of a stressed elastic lithospheric plate riding on a viscous asthenosphere is used to calculate the recurrence interval of great earthquakes at convergent plate boundaries, the separation of decoupling and lithospheric earthquakes, and the migration pattern of large earthquakes along an arc. It is proposed that plate motions accelerate after great decoupling earthquakes and that most of the observed plate motions occur during short periods of time, separated by periods of relative quiescence.

CRUSTAL TECTONICS AND SEISMICITY OF THE MIDDLE EAST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghalib, H. A.; Gritto, R.; Sibol, M. S.; Herrmann, R. B.; Aleqabi, G. I.; Caron, P. F.; Wagner, R. A.; Ali, B. S.; Ali, A. A.

2009-12-01

The Arabian plate describes a geological entity and a dynamic system that has been in continuous interaction with the African plate to the west and south and the Eurasian plate to the north and east. The western and southern boundaries are distinguished by see floor spreading along the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea and transform faulting along the Dead Sea, whereas the northern and eastern boundaries are portrayed by compressional suture zones under thrusting the Turkish and Iranian plateaus. Despite this favorable juxtaposition of continental land masses and the plethora of national seismic networks in every country of the Middle East, the majority of published research on the Arabian plate and surrounding tectonic blocks still depends primarily on global seismographic stations and occasional local networks. Since 2005, we deployed a number of seismic stations, and more recently a five elements array, in close proximity to the northeastern boundary of the Arabian plate. The primary objective of the effort is to better understand the regional seismicity and seismotectonics of the Arabian plate and surrounding regions. To date over a terabyte of high quality 100 sps continuous three-component broadband data have been collected and being analyzed to derive models representative of the greater Middle East tectonic setting. This goal is, in part, achieved by estimating local and regional seismic velocity models using receiver function and surface wave dispersion analyses, and by using these models to obtain accurate hypocenter locations and event focal mechanisms. The resulting events distribution reveals a distinct picture of the interaction between the seismicity and tectonics of the region. The highest seismicity rate seems to be confined to the active northern section of the Zagros thrust zone, while it decreases towards the southern end, before the intensity increases again in the Bandar Abbas region. Spatial distribution of the events and stations provide thorough

Introduction of the Concepts of Plate Tectonics into Secondary-School Earth Science Textbooks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glenn, William Harold

1992-01-01

Secondary school earth-science textbooks in print from 1960 through 1979 were examined to determine how rapidly concepts of plate tectonics were incorporated into those texts during the period when scientists' views about these concepts were evolving most rapidly. Suggests that delays were probably due to an unwillingness to engage in speculation…

A probabilistic approach towards understanding how planet composition affects plate tectonics - through time and space.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stamenkovic, V.

2017-12-01

We focus on the connections between plate tectonics and planet composition — by studying how plate yielding is affected by surface and mantle water, and by variable amounts of Fe, SiC, or radiogenic heat sources within the planet interior. We especially explore whether we can make any robust conclusions if we account for variable initial conditions, current uncertainties in model parameters and the pressure dependence of the viscosity, as well as uncertainties on how a variable composition affects mantle rheology, melting temperatures, and thermal conductivities. We use a 1D thermal evolution model to explore with more than 200,000 simulations the robustness of our results and use our previous results from 3D calculations to help determine the most likely scenario within the uncertainties we still face today. The results that are robust in spite of all uncertainties are that iron-rich mantle rock seems to reduce the efficiency of plate yielding occurring on silicate planets like the Earth if those planets formed along or above mantle solidus and that carbon planets do not seem to be ideal candidates for plate tectonics because of slower creep rates and generally higher thermal conductivities for SiC. All other conclusions depend on not yet sufficiently constrained parameters. For the most likely case based on our current understanding, we find that, within our range of varied planet conditions (1-10 Earth masses), planets with the greatest efficiency of plate yielding are silicate rocky planets of 1 Earth mass with large metallic cores (average density 5500-7000 kg m-3) with minimal mantle concentrations of iron (as little as 0% is preferred) and radiogenic isotopes at formation (up to 10 times less than Earth's initial abundance; less heat sources do not mean no heat sources). Based on current planet formation scenarios and observations of stellar abundances across the Galaxy as well as models of the evolution of the interstellar medium, such planets are

Multi-type Tectonic Responses to Plate Motion Changes of Mega-Offset Transform Faults at the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, F.; Lin, J.; Yang, H.; Zhou, Z.

2017-12-01

Magmatic and tectonic responses of a mid-ocean ridge system to plate motion changes can provide important constraints on the mechanisms of ridge-transform interaction and lithospheric properties. Here we present new analysis of multi-type responses of the mega-offset transform faults at the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (PAR) system to plate motion changes in the last 12 Ma. Detailed analysis of the Heezen, Tharp, and Udintsev transform faults showed that the extensional stresses induced by plate motion changes could have been released through a combination of magmatic and tectonic processes: (1) For a number of ridge segments with abundant magma supply, plate motion changes might have caused the lateral transport of magma along the ridge axis and into the abutting transform valley, forming curved "hook" ridges at the ridge-transform intersection. (2) Plate motion changes might also have caused vertical deformation on steeply-dipping transtensional faults that were developed along the Heezen, Tharp, and Udintsev transform faults. (3) Distinct zones of intensive tectonic deformation, resembling belts of "rift zones", were found to be sub-parallel to the investigated transform faults. These rift-like deformation zones were hypothesized to have developed when the stresses required to drive the vertical deformation on the steeply-dipping transtensional faults along the transform faults becomes excessive, and thus deformation on off-transform "rift zones" became favored. (4) However, to explain the observed large offsets on the steeply-dipping transtensional faults, the transform faults must be relatively weak with low apparent friction coefficient comparing to the adjacent lithospheric plates.

Tectonic controls on earthquake size distribution and seismicity rate: slab buoyancy and slab bending

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishikawa, T.; Ide, S.

2014-12-01

There are clear variations in maximum earthquake magnitude among Earth's subduction zones. These variations have been studied extensively and attributed to differences in tectonic properties in subduction zones, such as relative plate velocity and subducting plate age [Ruff and Kanamori, 1980]. In addition to maximum earthquake magnitude, the seismicity of medium to large earthquakes also differs among subduction zones, such as the b-value (i.e., the slope of the earthquake size distribution) and the frequency of seismic events. However, the casual relationship between the seismicity of medium to large earthquakes and subduction zone tectonics has been unclear. Here we divide Earth's subduction zones into over 100 study regions following Ide [2013] and estimate b-values and the background seismicity rate—the frequency of seismic events excluding aftershocks—for subduction zones worldwide using the maximum likelihood method [Utsu, 1965; Aki, 1965] and the epidemic type aftershock sequence (ETAS) model [Ogata, 1988]. We demonstrate that the b-value varies as a function of subducting plate age and trench depth, and that the background seismicity rate is related to the degree of slab bending at the trench. Large earthquakes tend to occur relatively frequently (lower b-values) in shallower subduction zones with younger slabs, and more earthquakes occur in subduction zones with deeper trench and steeper dip angle. These results suggest that slab buoyancy, which depends on subducting plate age, controls the earthquake size distribution, and that intra-slab faults due to slab bending, which increase with the steepness of the slab dip angle, have influence on the frequency of seismic events, because they produce heterogeneity in plate coupling and efficiently inject fluid to elevate pore fluid pressure on the plate interface. This study reveals tectonic factors that control earthquake size distribution and seismicity rate, and these relationships between seismicity and

Time variability in Cenozoic reconstructions of mantle heat flow: plate tectonic cycles and implications for Earth's thermal evolution.

PubMed

Loyd, S J; Becker, T W; Conrad, C P; Lithgow-Bertelloni, C; Corsetti, F A

2007-09-04

The thermal evolution of Earth is governed by the rate of secular cooling and the amount of radiogenic heating. If mantle heat sources are known, surface heat flow at different times may be used to deduce the efficiency of convective cooling and ultimately the temporal character of plate tectonics. We estimate global heat flow from 65 Ma to the present using seafloor age reconstructions and a modified half-space cooling model, and we find that heat flow has decreased by approximately 0.15% every million years during the Cenozoic. By examining geometric trends in plate reconstructions since 120 Ma, we show that the reduction in heat flow is due to a decrease in the area of ridge-proximal oceanic crust. Even accounting for uncertainties in plate reconstructions, the rate of heat flow decrease is an order of magnitude faster than estimates based on smooth, parameterized cooling models. This implies that heat flow experiences short-term fluctuations associated with plate tectonic cyclicity. Continental separation does not appear to directly control convective wavelengths, but rather indirectly affects how oceanic plate systems adjust to accommodate global heat transport. Given that today's heat flow may be unusually low, secular cooling rates estimated from present-day values will tend to underestimate the average cooling rate. Thus, a mechanism that causes less efficient tectonic heat transport at higher temperatures may be required to prevent an unreasonably hot mantle in the recent past.

Time variability in Cenozoic reconstructions of mantle heat flow: Plate tectonic cycles and implications for Earth's thermal evolution

PubMed Central

Loyd, S. J.; Becker, T. W.; Conrad, C. P.; Lithgow-Bertelloni, C.; Corsetti, F. A.

2007-01-01

The thermal evolution of Earth is governed by the rate of secular cooling and the amount of radiogenic heating. If mantle heat sources are known, surface heat flow at different times may be used to deduce the efficiency of convective cooling and ultimately the temporal character of plate tectonics. We estimate global heat flow from 65 Ma to the present using seafloor age reconstructions and a modified half-space cooling model, and we find that heat flow has decreased by ∼0.15% every million years during the Cenozoic. By examining geometric trends in plate reconstructions since 120 Ma, we show that the reduction in heat flow is due to a decrease in the area of ridge-proximal oceanic crust. Even accounting for uncertainties in plate reconstructions, the rate of heat flow decrease is an order of magnitude faster than estimates based on smooth, parameterized cooling models. This implies that heat flow experiences short-term fluctuations associated with plate tectonic cyclicity. Continental separation does not appear to directly control convective wavelengths, but rather indirectly affects how oceanic plate systems adjust to accommodate global heat transport. Given that today's heat flow may be unusually low, secular cooling rates estimated from present-day values will tend to underestimate the average cooling rate. Thus, a mechanism that causes less efficient tectonic heat transport at higher temperatures may be required to prevent an unreasonably hot mantle in the recent past. PMID:17720806

Titanium isotopic evidence for felsic crust and plate tectonics 3.5 billion years ago.

PubMed

Greber, Nicolas D; Dauphas, Nicolas; Bekker, Andrey; Ptáček, Matouš P; Bindeman, Ilya N; Hofmann, Axel

2017-09-22

Earth exhibits a dichotomy in elevation and chemical composition between the continents and ocean floor. Reconstructing when this dichotomy arose is important for understanding when plate tectonics started and how the supply of nutrients to the oceans changed through time. We measured the titanium isotopic composition of shales to constrain the chemical composition of the continental crust exposed to weathering and found that shales of all ages have a uniform isotopic composition. This can only be explained if the emerged crust was predominantly felsic (silica-rich) since 3.5 billion years ago, requiring an early initiation of plate tectonics. We also observed a change in the abundance of biologically important nutrients phosphorus and nickel across the Archean-Proterozoic boundary, which might have helped trigger the rise in atmospheric oxygen. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Tectonic plates, D (double prime) thermal structure, and the nature of mantle plumes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lenardic, A.; Kaula, W. M.

1994-01-01

It is proposed that subducting tectonic plates can affect the nature of thermal mantle plumes by determining the temperature drop across a plume source layer. The temperature drop affects source layer stability and the morphology of plumes emitted from it. Numerical models are presented to demonstrate how introduction of platelike behavior in a convecting temperature dependent medium, driven by a combination of internal and basal heating, can increase the temperature drop across the lower boundary layer. The temperature drop increases dramatically following introduction of platelike behavior due to formation of a cold temperature inversion above the lower boundary layer. This thermal inversion, induced by deposition of upper boundary layer material to the system base, decays in time, but the temperature drop across the lower boundary layer always remains considerably higher than in models lacking platelike behavior. On the basis of model-inferred boundary layer temperature drops and previous studies of plume dynamics, we argue that generally accepted notions as to the nature of mantle plumes on Earth may hinge on the presence of plates. The implication for Mars and Venus, planets apparently lacking plate tectonics, is that mantle plumes of these planets may differ morphologically from those of Earth. A corollary model-based argument is that as a result of slab-induced thermal inversions above the core mantle boundary the lower most mantle may be subadiabatic, on average (in space and time), if major plate reorganization timescales are less than those acquired to diffuse newly deposited slab material.

Tectonic lineaments in the cenozoic volcanics of southern Guatemala: Evidence for a broad continental plate boundary zone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baltuck, M.; Dixon, T. H.

1984-01-01

The northern Caribbean plate boundary has been undergoing left lateral strike slip motion since middle Tertiary time. The western part of the boundary occurs in a complex tectonic zone in the continental crust of Guatemala and southernmost Mexico, along the Chixoy-Polochic, Motogua and possibly Jocotan-Chamelecon faults. Prominent lineaments visible in radar imagery in the Neogene volcanic belt of southern Guatemala and western El Salvador were mapped and interpreted to suggest southwest extensions of this already broad plate boundary zone. Because these extensions can be traced beneath Quaternary volcanic cover, it is thought that this newly mapped fault zone is active and is accommodating some of the strain related to motion between the North American and Caribbean plates. Onshore exposures of the Motoqua-Polochic fault systems are characterized by abundant, tectonically emplaced ultramafic rocks. A similar mode of emplacement for these off shore ultramafics, is suggested.

Break-up of Gondwana and opening of the South Atlantic: Review of existing plate tectonic models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ghidella, M.E.; Lawver, L.A.; Gahagan, L.M.

2007-01-01

each model. We also plot reconstructions at four selected epochs for all models using the same projection and scale to facilitate comparison. The diverse simplifying assumptions that need to be made in every case regarding plate fragmentation to account for the numerous syn-rift basins and periods of stretching are strong indicators that rigid plate tectonics is too simple a model for the present problem.

Learning by exploring planets, plate tectonics, and the process of inquiry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartlett, M. G.

2006-12-01

Inquiry-based instruction should be question driven, involve good triggers for learning, emphasize researchable questions, build research skills, provide mechanisms for students to monitor their progress, and draw on the expertise of the instruction to promote inquiry and reflection. At Brigham Young University Hawaii, we have implemented an inquiry based approach to teaching introductory Earth science which provides students with little or no background in the sciences immediate access to participation in current research of genuine scientific interest. An example of this process is presented in which students are engaged in reflecting on whether plate tectonics is a general theory of planetary organization and evolution. Students use topographic, magnetic, spectral, and other data from NASA and ESA missions to determine whether "Earth-style" plate tectonics is functional on planets and moons elsewhere in the solar system. Students are engaged in a data- rich environment from which they must formulate and test multiple hypotheses. Throughout the process, students are engaged in small groups to identify what they need to learn to answer their questions, what resources are available to them, how best to report their findings, and how they can assess the amount of learning that is taking place. Students' responses to the course have been overwhelmingly positive and suggest that many of the students are internalizing the meta-cognitive skills the course is designed to inculcate.

Tectonic plates, difficulties for pupils to link models and scientific data.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

David-Ameline, Jacques

2014-05-01

In a secondary school in the west of France, I teach Biology and Geology to young pupils from 12 to 15 years old. This poster deals with the difficulties that pupils have to link the scientific data concerning the plate tectonics and the models. I choose to reproduce for pupils some situations that faced some first scientific people as they discovered arguments for the plate tectonics. For example, they have to discover the thickness of the plates by studying the speed of the seismic waves regarding the deepness. That means that they have to construct a curve starting with a table and then to analyze it. The first step is linked to math lessons and is quite easy for them. But the second one needs to mix the curve with its signification. This point is particularly hard and as we correct it, it appears like one moment of « pure science » because they seem to discover something none did before, with the power of their brain ! The second work on this subject is to study the representations of the subduction at an oceanic trench and of the mid-ocean ridge. They first look for drawing explaining what happens for the plates in those places and then they look for proofs that permitted to create those drawings. They really need help to make the difference between scientific data (pictures, curves...) and other drawings similar to the one they choose. For this subject working with documents is not easy because pupils have to ask themselves « what kind of document is it ?» before going further into their thinking. Nevertheless, they often succeed in those works because the teacher helps them a little. Those subjects open their eyes on what science is for a geological theme. It's also a good method to make them having fun doing science and to make them being seduced by making science.

Topography of Venus and earth - A test for the presence of plate tectonics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Head, J. W.; Yuter, S. E.; Solomon, S. C.

1981-01-01

Comparisons of earth and Venus topography by use of Pioneer/Venus radar altimetry are examined. Approximately 93% of the Venus surface has been mapped with a horizontal resolution of 200 km and a vertical resolution of 200 m. Tectonic troughs have been indicated in plains regions which cover 65% of Venus, and hypsometric comparisons between the two planets' elevation distributions revealed that while the earth has a bimodal height distribution, Venus displays a unimodal configuration, with 60% of the planet surface within 500 m of the modal planet radius. The effects of mapping the earth at the same resolution as the Venus observations were explored. Continents and oceans were apparent, and although folded mountains appeared as high spots, no indications of tectonic activity were discernible. A NASA Venus Orbiting Imaging radar is outlined, which is designed to detect volcanoes, folded mountain ranges, craters, and faults, and thereby allow definition of possible plate-tectonic activity on Venus.

A model of convergent plate margins based on the recent tectonics of Shikoku, Japan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bischke, R. E.

1974-01-01

A viscoelastic finite element plate tectonic model is applied to displacement data for the island of Shikoku, Japan. The flow properties and geometry of the upper portions of the earth are assumed known from geophysical evidence, and the loading characteristics are determined from the model. The nature of the forces acting on the Philippine Sea plate, particularly in the vicinity of the Nankai trough, is determined. Seismic displacement data related to the 1946 Nankaido earthquake are modeled in terms of a thick elastic plate overlying a fluidlike substratum. The sequence of preseismic and seismic displacements can be explained in terms of two independent processes operating on elastic lithospheric plates: a strain accumulation process caused by vertical downward forces acting on or within the lithosphere in the vicinity of the trench, and a strain release process caused by plate failure along a preexisting zone on weakness. This is a restatement of Reid's elastic rebound theory in terms of elastic lithospheric plates.

Acoustic monitoring of earthquakes along the Blanco Transform Fault zone and Gorda Plate and their tectonic implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dziak, Robert Paul

Hydroacoustic tertiary (T-) waves are seismically generated acoustic waves that propagate over great distances in the ocean sound channel with little loss in signal strength. Hydrophone recorded T-waves can provide a lower earthquake detection threshold and an improved epicenter location accuracy for oceanic earthquakes than land-based seismic networks. Thus detection and location of NE Pacific ocean earthquakes along the Blanco Transform Fault (BTFZ) and Gorda plate using the U.S. Navy's SOSUS (SOund SUrveillance System) hydrophone arrays afford greater insight into the current state of stress and crustal deformation mechanics than previously available. Acoustic earthquake information combined with bathymetry, submersible observations, earthquake source- parameter estimates, petrologic samples, and water-column chemistry renders a new tectonic view of the southern Juan de Fuca plate boundaries. Chapter 2 discusses development of seismo-acoustic analysis techniques using the well-documented April 1992 Cape Mendocino earthquake sequence. Findings include a hydrophone detection threshold estimate (M ~ 2.4), and T-wave propagation path modeling to approximate earthquake acoustic source energy. Empirical analyses indicate that acoustic energy provides a reasonable magnitude and seismic moment estimate of oceanic earthquakes not detected by seismic networks. Chapters 3 documents a probable volcanogenic T-wave event swarm along a pull-apart basin within the western BTFZ during January 1994. Response efforts yielded evidence of anomalous water-column 3He concentrations, pillow- lava volcanism, and the first discovery of active hydrothermal vents along an oceanic fracture zone. Chapter 4 discusses the detection of a NE-SW trending microearthquake band along the mid-Gorda plate which was active from initiation of SOSUS recording in August 1991 through July 1992, then abruptly ceased. It is proposed that eventual termination of the Gorda plate seismicity band is due to

Tectonic Implications of Intermediate-depth Earthquakes Beneath the Northeast Caribbean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mejia, H.; Pulliam, J.; Huerfano, V.; Polanco Rivera, E.

2016-12-01

The Caribbean-North American plate boundary transitions from normal subduction beneath the Lesser Antilles to oblique subduction at Hispaniola before becoming exclusively transform at Cuba. In the Greater Antilles, large earthquakes occur all along the plate boundary at shallow depths but intermediate-depth earthquakes (50-200 km focal depth) occur almost uniquely beneath eastern Hispaniola. Previous studies have suggested that regional tectonics may be dominated by, for example, opposing subducting slabs, tearing of the subducting North American slab, or "slab push" by the NA slab. In addition, the Bahamas Platform, located north of Hispaniola, is likely causing compressive stresses and clockwise rotation of the island. A careful examination of focal mechanisms of intermediate-depth earthquakes could clarify regional tectonics but seismic stations in the region have historically been sparse, so constraints on earthquake depths and focal mechanisms have been poor. In response, fifteen broadband sensors were deployed in the Dominican Republic in 2014, increasing the number of stations to twenty-two. To determine the roles earthquakes play in regional tectonics, a event catalog was created joining data from our stations and other regional stations for which event depths are greater than 50 km and magnitudes are greater than 3.5. All events have been relocated and focal mechanisms are presented for as many events as possible. Multiple probable fault planes are computed for each event. Compressive (P) and tensional (T) axes, from fault planes, are plotted in 3-dimensions with density distribution contours determined of each axis. Examining relationships between axes distributions and events helps constrain tectonic stresses at intermediate-depths beneath eastern Hispaniola. A majority of events show primary compressive axes oriented in a north-south direction, likely produced by collision with the Bahamas Platform.

EAG Eminent Speaker: Two types of Archean continental crust: plume and plate tectonics on early Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Kranendonk, M. J.

2012-04-01

Over 4.5 billion years, Earth has evolved from a molten ball to a cooler planet with large continental plates, but how and when continents grew and plate tectonics started remain poorly understood. In this paper, I review the evidence that 3.5-3.2 Ga continental nuclei of the Pilbara (Australia) and Kaapvaal (southern Africa) cratons formed as thick volcanic plateaux over hot, upwelling mantle and survived due to contemporaneous development of highly depleted, buoyant, unsubductable mantle roots. This type of crust is distinct from, but complimentary to, high-grade gneiss terranes, as exemplified by the North Atlantic Craton of West Greenland, which formed through subduction-accretion tectonics on what is envisaged as a vigorously convecting early Earth with small plates. Thus, it is proposed that two types of crust formed on early Earth, in much the same way as in modern Earth, but with distinct differences resulting from a hotter Archean mantle. Volcanic plateaux provided a variety of stable habitats for early life, including chemical nutrient rich, shallow-water hydrothermal systems and shallow marine carbonate platforms.

The Role of the Mantle on Structural Reactivation at the Plate Tectonics Scale (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vauchez, A. R.; Tommasi, A.

2009-12-01

rift, and by the analysis of the CPO in mantle xenoliths collected in such areas. These observations are consistent with recent multi-scale numerical models showing that olivine CPO frozen in the lithospheric mantle result in an anisotropic mechanical behaviour. In a plate submitted to extension, CPO-induced anisotropy favours the reactivation in transtension of lithospheric-scale strike slip faults that are oblique to the imposed tensional stresses. Further investigation is needed to constrain the role of an inherited mechanical anisotropy of the lithosphere during compressional events and the possible feedbacks between an anisotropic viscous deformation of the lithospheric mantle and the seismic cycle. In both cases, crust-mantle coupling is likely for large-scale structures and mantle CPO may influence the kinematics of tectonic systems, at least during the initial stages of their evolution.

GIS Plate Tectonic Reconstruction of the Gulf of California-Salton Trough Oblique Rift

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skinner, L. A.; Bennett, S. E.; Umhoefer, P. J.; Oskin, M. E.; Dorsey, R. J.; Nava, R. A.

2011-12-01

We present GIS-based plate tectonic reconstruction maps for the Gulf of California-Salton Trough oblique rift. The maps track plate boundary deformation in 2 and 1 Myr slices (6-2 Ma and 2 Ma-present) using a custom ArcGIS add-in tool to close extensional basins and restore slip on dextral faults. The tool takes a set of polygons depicting present day locations of tectonic blocks and sequentially restores displacement of their centroids along a vector specific to that time slice. Tectonic blocks are defined by faults, geology, seismic data, and bathymetry/topography. Spreading center and fault-slip rates were acquired from geologic data, cross-Gulf tie points, GPS studies, and aeromagnetic data. A recent GPS study indicated that ~92% of modern-day Pacific-North America (PAC-NAM) plate motion is localized between the Baja California microplate and North America. Relative plate motion azimuth varies from ~302° in the southern Gulf to ~314° in the Salton Trough. Baja-North America GPS rates agree remarkably with ~6 Ma geologic offsets across the Gulf and are used during reconstruction steps back to 6 Ma. In the southern Gulf, unpublished GPS data indicate that modern plate motion is partitioned between the plate boundary, Gulf-margin system, and borderland faults west of Baja California. The Alarcon and Guaymas spreading centers initiated at 2.4 Ma and 6 Ma (Lizarralde et al., 2007), respectively, while the Farallon, Pescadero, and Carmen spreading centers began between ~2-1 Ma (Lonsdale, 1989). Therefore, the 2, 4, and 6 Ma reconstruction steps include a long transtensional fault zone along much of the southern Gulf, connecting the Guaymas spreading center with either the Alarcon spreading center or East Pacific Rise. In the northern Gulf, transtensional strain initiated in coastal Sonora by ~7 Ma and migrated westward as the Gulf opened. At ~6 Ma strain migrated west into marine pull-apart basins that now lie within the eastern Gulf. Seismic reflection studies

Interaction between central volcanoes and regional tectonics along divergent plate boundaries: Askja, Iceland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trippanera, Daniele; Ruch, Joël; Acocella, Valerio; Thordarson, Thor; Urbani, Stefano

2018-01-01

Activity within magmatic divergent plate boundaries (MDPB) focuses along both regional fissure swarms and central volcanoes. An ideal place to investigate their mutual relationship is the Askja central volcano in Iceland. Askja consists of three nested calderas (namely Kollur, Askja and Öskjuvatn) located within a hyaloclastite massif along the NNE-SSW trending Icelandic MDPB. We performed an extensive field-based structural analysis supported by a remote sensing study of tectonic and volcanic features of Askja's calderas and of the eastern flank of the hyaloclastite massif. In the massif, volcano-tectonic structures trend N 10° E to N 40° E, but they vary around the Askja caldera being both parallel to the caldera rim and cross-cutting on the Western side. Structural trends around the Öskjuvatn caldera are typically rim parallel. Volcanic vents and dikes are preferentially distributed along the caldera ring faults; however, they follow the NNE-SSW regional structures when located outside the calderas. Our results highlight that the Askja volcano displays a balanced amount of regional (fissure-swarm related) and local (shallow-magma-chamber related) tectonic structures along with a mutual interaction among these. This is different from Krafla volcano (to the north of Askja) dominated by regional structures and Grímsvötn (to the South) dominated by local structures. Therefore, Askja represents an intermediate tectono-magmatic setting for volcanoes located in a slow divergent plate boundary. This is also likely in accordance with a northward increase in the spreading rate along the Icelandic MDPB.

ADOPT: A tool for automatic detection of tectonic plates at the surface of convection models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallard, C.; Jacquet, B.; Coltice, N.

2017-08-01

Mantle convection models with plate-like behavior produce surface structures comparable to Earth's plate boundaries. However, analyzing those structures is a difficult task, since convection models produce, as on Earth, diffuse deformation and elusive plate boundaries. Therefore we present here and share a quantitative tool to identify plate boundaries and produce plate polygon layouts from results of numerical models of convection: Automatic Detection Of Plate Tectonics (ADOPT). This digital tool operates within the free open-source visualization software Paraview. It is based on image segmentation techniques to detect objects. The fundamental algorithm used in ADOPT is the watershed transform. We transform the output of convection models into a topographic map, the crest lines being the regions of deformation (plate boundaries) and the catchment basins being the plate interiors. We propose two generic protocols (the field and the distance methods) that we test against an independent visual detection of plate polygons. We show that ADOPT is effective to identify the smaller plates and to close plate polygons in areas where boundaries are diffuse or elusive. ADOPT allows the export of plate polygons in the standard OGR-GMT format for visualization, modification, and analysis under generic softwares like GMT or GPlates.

Archean greenstone-tonalite duality: Thermochemical mantle convection models or plate tectonics in the early Earth global dynamics?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerrich, Robert; Polat, Ali

2006-03-01

Mantle convection and plate tectonics are one system, because oceanic plates are cold upper thermal boundary layers of the convection cells. As a corollary, Phanerozoic-style of plate tectonics or more likely a different version of it (i.e. a larger number of slowly moving plates, or similar number of faster plates) is expected to have operated in the hotter, vigorously convecting early Earth. Despite the recent advances in understanding the origin of Archean greenstone-granitoid terranes, the question regarding the operation of plate tectonics in the early Earth remains still controversial. Numerical model outputs for the Archean Earth range from predominantly shallow to flat subduction between 4.0 and 2.5 Ga and well-established steep subduction since 2.5 Ga [Abbott, D., Drury, R., Smith, W.H.F., 1994. Flat to steep transition in subduction style. Geology 22, 937-940], to no plate tectonics but rather foundering of 1000 km sectors of basaltic crust, then "resurfaced" by upper asthenospheric mantle basaltic melts that generate the observed duality of basalts and tonalities [van Thienen, P., van den Berg, A.P., Vlaar, N.J., 2004a. Production and recycling of oceanic crust in the early earth. Tectonophysics 386, 41-65; van Thienen, P., Van den Berg, A.P., Vlaar, N.J., 2004b. On the formation of continental silicic melts in thermochemical mantle convection models: implications for early Earth. Tectonophysics 394, 111-124]. These model outputs can be tested against the geological record. Greenstone belt volcanics are composites of komatiite-basalt plateau sequences erupted from deep mantle plumes and bimodal basalt-dacite sequences having the geochemical signatures of convergent margins; i.e. horizontally imbricated plateau and island arc crust. Greenstone belts from 3.8 to 2.5 Ga include volcanic types reported from Cenozoic convergent margins including: boninites; arc picrites; and the association of adakites-Mg andesites- and Nb-enriched basalts. Archean cratons

Effects of tectonic plate deformation on the geodetic reference frame of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez Franco, G. A.; Avalos, D.; Esquivel, R.

2013-05-01

Positioning for geodetic applications is commonly determined at one observation epoch, but tectonic drift and tectonic deformation cause the coordinates to be different for any other epoch. Finding the right coordinates at a different epoch from that of the observation time is necessary in Mexico in order to comply the official reference frame, which requires all coordinates to be referred to the standard epoch 2010.0. Available models of horizontal movement in rigid tectonic plates are used to calculate the displacement of coordinates; however for a portion of Mexico these models fail because of miss-modeled regional deformation, decreasing the quality of users' data transformed to the standard epoch. In this work we present the progress achieved in measuring actual horizontal motion towards an improved modeling of horizontal displacements for some regions. Miss-modeled velocities found are as big as 23mm/a, affecting significantly applications like cadastral and geodetic control. Data from a large set of GNSS permanent stations in Mexico is being analyzed to produce the preliminary model of horizontal crustal movement that will be used to minimize distortions of the reference frame.

Uplift of Zagros Mountains slows plate convergence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balcerak, Ernie

2013-05-01

Research has indicated that mountain ranges can slow down the convergence between two tectonic plates on timescales as short as a few million years, as the growing mountains provide enough tectonic force to impact plate motions. Focusing on the convergence of the Arabian and Eurasian plates at the Zagros mountain range, which runs across Iran and Iraq, Austermann and Iaffaldano reconstructed the relative motion of the plates using published paleomagnetic data covering the past 13 million years, as well as current geodetic measurements. They show that the convergence of the two plates has decreased by about 30% over the past 5 million years. Looking at the geological record to infer past topography and using a computer model of the mantle-lithosphere system, the authors examined whether the recent uplift across the Zagros Mountains could have caused the observed slowdown. They also considered several other geological events that might have influenced the convergence rate, but the authors were able to rule those out as dominant controls. The authors conclude that the uplift across the Zagros Mountains in the past 5 million years did indeed play a key role in slowing down the convergence between the Eurasian and Arabian plates. (Tectonics, doi:10.1002/tect.20027, 2013)

Wet Tectonics: A New Planetary Synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grimm, K. A.

2005-12-01

Most geoscientists (and geoscience textbooks) describe plate tectonics as a `solid-Earth' phenomenon, with fluids playing an important role in discrete geodynamic processes. As a community of diverse research specialists, the critical role of water is being widely elucidated, however these diverse studies do not address the fundamental origin and operation of the global plate tectonic phenomenon, and its expressions in planetary geodynamics and geomorphology. The Wet Tectonics hypothesis extends well beyond the plate tectonics paradigm, to constitute a new synthesis of diverse geoscience specializations and self-organizing complexity into a simple, internally consistent and explicitly testable model. The Wet Tectonics hypothesis asserts that Earth's plate tectonic system arose from and is the explicit and dynamic result of water interacting with the hot silicate mantle. The tectosphere is defined as an interactive functional (rather than structural, compositional or rheological) entity, a planetary-scale dynamic system of plate formation, plate motion, and rock/volatile recycling. Earth's tectosphere extends from the base of the asthenosphere to the top of the crust, arising and evolving as a dynamic pattern of organization that creates, orders and perpetuates itself. Earth's tectosphere is energetically-open, materially ajar (steady-state operation may not require sub-asthenospheric inputs; shifts between distinct tectonic modes may result from changes in coupling between the tectosphere and subasthenospheric reservoirs) and chemically-closed (i.e. the tectosphere recycles its own wastes). Water is a fundamental requirement in all of the constituent processes of Earth's tectosphere, including seafloor spreading, slab cooling/subsidence, plate motion, asthenosphere rheology, and subduction (where crustal and volatile recycling occur). As a working hypothesis, we suggest that the dynamic and persistent hydrosphere and tectosphere on planet Earth are fully

Plate tectonic evolution of the southern margin of Eurasia in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golonka, J.

2004-03-01

Thirteen time interval maps were constructed, which depict the Triassic to Neogene plate tectonic configuration, paleogeography and general lithofacies of the southern margin of Eurasia. The aim of this paper is to provide an outline of the geodynamic evolution and position of the major tectonic elements of the area within a global framework. The Hercynian Orogeny was completed by the collision of Gondwana and Laurussia, whereas the Tethys Ocean formed the embayment between the Eurasian and Gondwanian branches of Pangea. During Late Triassic-Early Jurassic times, several microplates were sutured to the Eurasian margin, closing the Paleotethys Ocean. A Jurassic-Cretaceous north-dipping subduction boundary was developed along this new continental margin south of the Pontides, Transcaucasus and Iranian plates. The subduction zone trench-pulling effect caused rifting, creating the back-arc basin of the Greater Caucasus-proto South Caspian Sea, which achieved its maximum width during the Late Cretaceous. In the western Tethys, separation of Eurasia from Gondwana resulted in the formation of the Ligurian-Penninic-Pieniny-Magura Ocean (Alpine Tethys) as an extension of Middle Atlantic system and a part of the Pangean breakup tectonic system. During Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous times, the Outer Carpathian rift developed. The opening of the western Black Sea occurred by rifting and drifting of the western-central Pontides away from the Moesian and Scythian platforms of Eurasia during the Early Cretaceous-Cenomanian. The latest Cretaceous-Paleogene was the time of the closure of the Ligurian-Pieniny Ocean. Adria-Alcapa terranes continued their northward movement during Eocene-Early Miocene times. Their oblique collision with the North European plate led to the development of the accretionary wedge of the Outer Carpathians and its foreland basin. The formation of the West Carpathian thrusts was completed by the Miocene. The thrust front was still propagating eastwards in

The life cycle of continental rifts: Numerical models of plate tectonics and mantle convection.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulvrova, Martina; Brune, Sascha; Williams, Simon

2017-04-01

Plate tectonic processes and mantle convection form a self-organized system whose surface expression is characterized by repeated Wilson cycles. Conventional numerical models often capture only specific aspects of plate-mantle interaction, due to imposed lateral boundary conditions or simplified rheologies. Here we study continental rift evolution using a 2D spherical annulus geometry that does not require lateral boundary conditions. Instead, continental extension is driven self-consistently by slab pull, basal drag and trench suction forces. We use the numerical code StagYY to solve equations of conservation of mass, momentum and energy and transport of material properties. This code is capable of computing mantle convection with self-consistently generated Earth-like plate tectonics using a pseudo-plastic rheology. Our models involve an incompressible mantle under the Boussinesq approximation with internal heat sources and basal heating. Due to the 2D setup, our models allow for a comparably high resolution of 10 km at the mantle surface and 15 km at the core mantle boundary. Viscosity variations range over 7 orders of magnitude. We find that the causes for rift initiation are often related to subduction dynamics. Some rifts initiate due to increasing slab pull, others because of developing trench suction force, for instance by closure of an intra-oceanic back-arc basin. In agreement with natural settings, our models reproduce rifts forming in both young and old collision zones. Our experiments show that rift dynamics follow a characteristic evolution, which is independent of the specific setting: (1) continental rifts initiate during tens of million of years at low extension rates (few millimetres per year) (2) the extension velocity increases during less than 10 million years up to several tens of millimetres per year. This speed-up takes place before lithospheric break-up and affects the structural architecture of rifted margins. (3) high divergence rates

Diffuse Extension of the Southern Mariana Margin: Implications for Subduction Zone Infancy and Plate Tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, F.; Stern, R. J.; Kelley, K. A.; Ohara, Y.; Sleeper, J. D.; Ribeiro, J. M.; Brounce, M. N.

2017-12-01

Opening of the southern Mariana margin takes place in contrasting modes: Extension normal to the trench forms crust that is passively accreted to a rigid Philippine Sea plate and forms along focused and broad accretion axes. Extension also occurs parallel to the trench and has split apart an Eocene-Miocene forearc terrain accreting new crust diffusely over a 150-200 km wide zone forming a pervasive volcano-tectonic fabric oriented at high angles to the trench and the backarc spreading center. Earthquake seismicity indicates that the forearc extension is active over this broad area and basement samples date young although waning volcanic activity. Diffuse formation of new oceanic crust and lithosphere is unusual; in most oceanic settings extension rapidly focuses to narrow plate boundary zones—a defining feature of plate tectonics. Diffuse crustal accretion has been inferred to occur during subduction zone infancy, however. We hypothesize that, in a near-trench extensional setting, the continual addition of water from the subducting slab creates a weak overriding hydrous lithosphere that deforms broadly. This process counteracts mantle dehydration and strengthening proposed to occur at mid-ocean ridges that may help to focus deformation and melt delivery to narrow plate boundary zones. The observations from the southern Mariana margin suggest that where lithosphere is weakened by high water content narrow seafloor spreading centers cannot form. These conditions likely prevail during subduction zone infancy, explaining the diffuse contemporaneous volcanism inferred in this setting.

Incorporation of New and Old Tectonics Concepts Into a Modern Course in Tectonics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatcher, Robert D., Jr.

1983-01-01

Describes a graduate-level tectonics course which includes the historical basis for modern tectonics concepts and an in-depth review of pros/cons of plate tectonics. Tectonic features discussed include: ocean basins; volcanic arcs; continental margins; continents; orogenic belts; foreland fold and thrust belts; volcanic/plutonic belts of orogens;…

A review of the tectonic evolution of the Northern Pacific and adjacent Cordilleran Orogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jakob, Johannes; Gaina, Carmen; Johnston, Stephen T.

2014-05-01

Numerous plate kinematic models for the North Pacific realm have been developed since the advent of plate tectonics in the early seventies (e.g Atwater (1970), Mammerickx and Sharman (1988)). Although published kinematic models are consistent with the broad scale features of the North Pacific, the link between plate motions and the evolution of the North American Cordillera remains poorly understood. Part of the problem lies in conflicting interpretations of geological versus paleomagnetic data sets, with the result being a lack of consensus regarding: the paleolocation of key geological units; the paleogeography of terrane formation and amalgamation; the motion, boundaries and even existence of oceanic plates; and the character (e.g. trend of subduction) and position of plate boundaries within the northern Pacific basin. Remnants of the Farallon and Kula plates, and some short-lived microplates, demonstrate the complicated tectonic evolution of the oceanic realm west of the North American margin (e.g. Rea and Dixon (1983); McCrory and Wilson (2013); Shephard et al. (2013)). The creation and destruction of major tectonic plates and microplates has presumably left a record in the Cordilleran orogen of western North America. However, working backward from the geological relationships to plate reconstructions remains difficult. Here we investigate the relationship between the plate motions of the Pacific Ocean and the terrane movements in the North American Cordillera by revising the marine magnetic and gravity anomalies of the northern Pacific. In particular, we reevaluate plate boundaries at times of major changes in plate geometry of the Pacific, Kula, Chinook and Farallon plates from C34n onward. Our focus is also on the plate geometries of the Resurrection, Eshamy and Siletz-Crescent plates during the time between anomaly C26 and C12, and the links between plate interactions and on-shore tectonic events recorded in the geological record of Vancouver Island

New observations on mid-plate volcanism and the tectonic history of the Pacific plate, Tahiti to Easter microplate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Searle, R. C.; Francheteau, J.; Cornaglia, B.

1995-04-01

We describe the geology and tectonics of a continuous swathe of seafloor between Tahiti and the western edge of the Easter microplate imaged by GLORIA and Sea Beam on two separate cruise transits in 1987 and 1988. The data reveal that mid-plate volcanism is common in this region, even on deep seafloor hundreds of kilometres from major lines of seamounts and islands. This supports the idea of a thin weak lithosphere over the Pacific Superswell, and the idea that the tops of major mantle plumes may spread out over diameters of the order of 1000 km. The mid-plate volcanism occurs in two distinct forms. Over most of our traverse it appears as fields of relatively young and acoustically strongly backscattering lava flows, often accompanied by groups of numerous small, circular volcanoes. East of 122° W (about chron 5A), however, we observed a distinct form: major, sharp-crested, constructional volcanic ridges, many tens of kilometres long, individually trending ENE, but lying en-echelon along an E-W regional trend. These ridges appear morphologically identical to the 'cross-grain ridges' seen elsewhere in the Pacific. We attribute their formation to magma supplied from the regionally hot mantle leaking along tectonic lines of weakness. However, although these ridges are parallel to fracture zone trends seen farther west, they are morphologically very different from any known fracture zone. Moreover, individual ridges are somewhat oblique to the tectonic spreading fabric around them, and so do not seem to follow actual fracture zone traces. The whole line of en-echelon ridges lies along part of the predicted trace of Fracture Zone 2 of Okal and Cazenave [15], and is probably its morphological expression. However, nowhere did we see a convincing 'conventional' fracture zone trace in or following the predicted position or orientation. We suggest instead that magma from an independent source has used lines of weakness along minor fracture zones to produce these en

Has Earth's Plate Tectonics Led to Rapid Core Cooling?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Montserrat Navarro, A.; Morgan, J. P.; Vannucchi, P.; Connolly, J. A.

2016-12-01

Earth's mantle and core are convecting planetary heat engines. The mantle convects to lose heat from secular cooling, internal radioactivity, and core heatflow across its base. Its convection generates plate tectonics, volcanism, and the loss of 35 TW of mantle heat through Earth's surface. The core convects to lose heat from secular cooling, small amounts of internal radioactivity, and the freezing-induced growth of a compositionally denser inner core. Until recently, the geodynamo was thought to be powered by 4 TW of heatloss across the core-mantle boundary. More recent determinations of the outer core's thermal conductivity (Pozzo et al., 2012; Gomi et al., 2013) would imply that >15 TW of power should conduct down its adiabat. Secular core cooling has been previously thought to be too slow for this, based on estimates for the Clapeyron Slope for high-pressure freezing of an idealized pure-iron core (cf. Nimmo, 2007). The 500-1000 kg m-3 seismically-inferred jump in density between the liquid outer core and solid inner core allows a direct estimate of the Clapeyron Slope for the outer core's actual composition which contains 0.08±0.02 lighter elements (S,Si,O,Al, H,…) mixed into a Fe-Ni alloy. A PREM-like 600 kg m-3 density jump yields a Clapeyron Slope for which there has been 774K of core cooling during the freezing and growth of the inner core, cooling that has been releasing an average of 21 TW of power during the past 3 Ga. If so, core cooling could easily have powered Earth's long-lived geodynamo. Another implication is that the present-day mantle is strongly `bottom-heated', and diapiric mantle plumes should dominate deep mantle upwelling. This mode of core and mantle convection is consistent with slow, 37.5K/Ga secular cooling of Earth's mantle linked to more rapid secular cooling of the core (cf. Morgan, Rüpke, and White, 2016). Efficient plate subduction, hence plate tectonics, is a key ingredient for such rapid secular core cooling.We also show

Tectonic implications of post-30 Ma Pacific and North American relative plate motions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bohannon, R.G.; Parsons, T.

1995-01-01

The Pacific plate moved northwest relative to North America since 42 Ma. The rapid half rate of Pacific-Farallon spreading allowed the ridge to approach the continent at about 29 Ma. Extinct spreading ridges that occur offshore along 65% of the margin document that fragments of the subducted Farallon slab became captured by the Pacific plate and assumed its motion proper to the actual subduction of the spreading ridge. This plate-capture process can be used to explain much of the post-29 Ma Cordilleran North America extension, strike slip, and the inland jump of oceanic spreading in the Gulf of California. Much of the post-29 Ma continental tectonism is the result of the strong traction imposed on the deep part of the continental crust by the gently inclined slab of subducted oceanic lithosphere as it moved to the northwest relative to the overlying continent. -from Authors

Global Ocean Sedimentation Patterns: Plate Tectonic History Versus Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goswami, A.; Reynolds, E.; Olson, P.; Hinnov, L. A.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2014-12-01

Global sediment data (Whittaker et al., 2013) and carbonate content data (Archer, 1996) allows examination of ocean sedimentation evolution with respect to age of the underlying ocean crust (Müller et al., 2008). From these data, we construct time series of ocean sediment thickness and carbonate deposition rate for the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian ocean basins for the past 120 Ma. These time series are unique to each basin and reflect an integrated response to plate tectonics and climate change. The goal is to parameterize ocean sedimentation tied to crustal age for paleoclimate studies. For each basin, total sediment thickness and carbonate deposition rate from 0.1 x 0.1 degree cells are binned according to basement crustal age; area-corrected moments (mean, variance, etc.) are calculated for each bin. Segmented linear fits identify trends in present-day carbonate deposition rates and changes in ocean sedimentation from 0 to 120 Ma. In the North and South Atlantic and Indian oceans, mean sediment thickness versus crustal age is well represented by three linear segments, with the slope of each segment increasing with increasing crustal age. However, the transition age between linear segments varies among the three basins. In contrast, mean sediment thickness in the North and South Pacific oceans are numerically smaller and well represented by two linear segments with slopes that decrease with increasing crustal age. These opposing trends are more consistent with the plate tectonic history of each basin being the controlling factor in sedimentation rates, rather than climate change. Unlike total sediment thickness, carbonate deposition rates decrease smoothly with crustal age in all basins, with the primary controls being ocean chemistry and water column depth.References: Archer, D., 1996, Global Biogeochem. Cycles 10, 159-174.Müller, R.D., et al., 2008, Science, 319, 1357-1362.Whittaker, J., et al., 2013, Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst. DOI: 10.1002/ggge.20181

The Composition and Mineralogy of Exoplanets, Using the Hypatia Catalogue: Implications for Extrasolar Plate Tectonics and Mantle Convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putirka, K. D.; Rarick, J.

2018-05-01

Many exoplanets have pyroxenite mantle mineralogies, which may impede plate tectonics, due higher mantle viscosities and lid yield strengths; majorite-rich transition zones on these may also prevent subducted slabs from reaching lower mantle depths.

3-D Simulation of Tectonic Evolution in Mariana with a Coupled Model of Plate Subduction and Back-Arc Spreading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashima, A.; Matsu'Ura, M.

2006-12-01

We obtained the expressions for internal deformation fields due to a moment tensor in an elastic-viscoelastic layered holf-space. This unified formulation of internal deformation fields for shear faulting and crack opening enabled us to deal with the problem of tectonic deformation at a composite type of plate boundary zones. The tectonic deformation can be ascribed to mechanical interaction at plate boundaries, which make a closed circuit with the mode of relative plate motion changing from divergence to convergence through transcurrent motion. One of the rational ways to represent mechanical interaction at plate boundaries is specifying the increase rates of normal or tangential displacement discontinuity across plate interfaces. On the basis of such a basic idea we developed a 3-D simulation model for the nonlinear, coupled system of plate subduction and back-arc spreading in Mariana. Through numerical simulations we revealed the evolution process of back-arc spreading. At the first stage, steady plate subduction (shear faulting at a plate interface) gradually forms tensile stress fields in the back-arc region of the overriding plate. When the accumulated tensile stress reaches a critical level, back-arc spreading (crack opening) starts at a structurally weak portion of the overriding plate. The horizontal motion of the frontal part of the overriding plate due to back-arc spreading pushes out the plate boundary toward the oceanic plate. In steady-state plate subduction the shear stress acting on a plate interface must balance with the maximum frictional resistance (shear strength) of the plate interface. Therefore, the increase of shear stress at the plate interface leads to the increase of slip rate at the plate interface. The local increase of slip rate at the plate interface produces the additional tensile stress in the back-arc region. The increased tensile stress must be canceled out by the additional crack opening. Such a feedback mechanism between plate

Generation of plate tectonics with two-phase grain-damage and pinning: Source-sink model and toroidal flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bercovici, David; Ricard, Yanick

2013-03-01

theory therefore readily satisfies key plate-tectonic metrics of localized toroidal motion and plate-boundary inheritance, and thus provides a predictive theory for the generation of plate tectonics on Earth and other planets.

Gondwana Tales: an inquiry approach to plate tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domènech Casal, Jordi

2014-05-01

Plate tectonics and its effects on the constitution of seas and continents are key models in science education. Fossil evidences are usually taught in demostrative key when Wegener's discoverings about Pangea are introduced. In order to introduce inquiry-based science education (IBSE) approaches to this topic, we propose "Gondwana Tales", an activity where students are asked to use fossil data to reconstruct the geologic history of an imaginary planet. Grouped in independent teams, each team is furnished with stratigraphic columns from several sites containing faunistic successions of real organisms existing in the past in Earth. Students are told to reconstruct a model of the evolution of the continents, by making calculations of relative ages of the fossils, and relating each fossil to a geologic era. The different teams have incomplete and complementary information. After a first step where they have to propose a partial model based on incomplete data, each team receives a "visitor scientist" from another team, this implying an informal scientific communication event. This process is performed several times, engaging a discussion in each team and getting a final consensus model created by the whole class. Correct answer is not given to the students, even at the end of the activity, to keep the activity under the parameters of real scientific experience, where there is not a "correct answer" to compare. Instead of this, and following the IBSE standards, a reflection on the process is proposed to students. The lack of complete information and the need to collaborate are part of classroom dynamics focused to the understanding of the process of creation of the scientific knowledge. This activity is part of the C3 Project on Creation of Scientific Knowledge that is being applied in the school.

The alternative concept of global tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anokhin, Vladimir; Kholmyansky, Mikhael

2016-04-01

The existing plate tectonic paradigm becomes more questionable in relation to the new facts of the Earth. The most complete to date criticism of plate tectonics provisions contained in the article (Pratt, 2000). Authors can recall a few facts that contradict the idea of long-range movement of plates: - The absence of convection cells in the mantle, detected by seismic tomography; - The presence of long-lived deep regmatic network in the crust, not distorted by the movement of plates; - The inability of linking the global geometry of the of mutual long-distance movement of plates. All this gives reason to believe that correct, or at least a satisfactory concept of global tectonics are not exist now. After overcoming the usual inertia of thinking the plate paradigm in the foreseeable future will replace by different concept, more relevant as the observable facts of the Earth and the well-known physical laws. The authors suggest that currently accumulated sufficient volume of facts and theoretical ideas for the synthesis of a new general hypothesis of the structure and dynamics of the Earth. Analysis of the existing tectonic theory suggests that most of their provisions are mutually compatible. Obviously, plume tectonics perfectly compatible with any of classical models. It contradicts the only plate tectonics (movement of hot spots in principle not linked either with each other or with the general picture of the plate movements, the presence of mantle convection and mantle streams are mutually exclusive, and so on). The probable transfer of the heated material down up within the Earth may occur in various forms, the simplest of which (and, consequently, the most probable) are presented plumes. The existence in the mantle numerous large volumes of decompressed substances (detected seismic tomography), can be correlated with the bodies of plumes at different stages of uplift. Plumes who raise to the bottom of the lithosphere, to spread out to the sides and form a set

Seismic tomographic constraints on plate-tectonic reconstruction of Nazca subduction under South America since late Cretaceous (~80 Ma)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yi-Wei; Wu, Jonny; Suppe, John; Liu, Han-Fang

2016-04-01

Our understanding of the global plate tectonics is based mainly on seafloor spreading and hotspot data obtained from the present earth surface, which records the growth of present ocean basins. However, in convergent tectonic settings vast amounts of lithosphere has been lost to subduction, contributing to increasing uncertainty in plate reconstruction with age. However, subducted lithosphere imaged in seismic tomography provides important information. By analyzing subducted slabs we identify the loci of subduction and assess the size and shape of subducted slabs, giving better constrained global plate tectonic models. The Andean margin of South America is a classic example of continuous subduction up to the present day, providing an opportunity to test the global plate prediction that ~24×10e6 km2 (4.7% of earth surface) lithosphere has been subducted since ~80 Ma. In this study, we used 10 different global seismic tomographies and Benioff zone seismicity under South America. To identify slabs, we first compared all data sets in horizontal slices and found the subducted Nazca slab is the most obvious structure between the surface and 750 km depth, well imaged between 10°N and 30°S. The bottom of the subducted Nazca slab reaches its greatest depth at 1400 km at 3°N (Carnegie Andes) and gradually shallows towards the south with 900 km minimum depth at 30°S (Pampean Andes). To assess the undeformed length of subducted slab, we used a refined cross-sectional area unfolding method from Wu et al. (in prep.) in the MITP08 seismic tomography (Li et al., 2008). Having cut spherical-Earth tomographic profiles that parallel to the Nazca-South America convergence direction, we measured slab areas as a function of depth based on edges defined by steep velocity gradients, calculating the raw length of the slab by the area and dividing an assumed initial thickness of oceanic lithosphere of 100km. Slab areas were corrected for density based on the PREM Earth model

Kinematic signature of India/Australia plates break-up

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iaffaldano, G.; Bunge, H.

2008-12-01

The paradigm of Plate Tectonics states that the uppermost layer of the Earth is made of a number of quasi- rigid blocks moving at different rates in different directions, while most of the deformation is focused along their boundaries. Perhaps one of the most interesting and intriguing processes in Plate Tectonics is the generation of new plate boundaries. The principle of inertia implies that any such event would invariably trigger changes in plate motions, because the budget of mantle basal-drag and plate-boundary forces would be repartitioned. A recent episode is thought to have occurred in the Indian Ocean, where a variety of evidences - including localized seismicity along the Nienty East Ridge, compression-generated unconformities of ocean-floor sediments, and identified paleomagnetic isochrones - suggest the genesis of a boundary separating the India and Australia plates. Here we use global numerical models of the coupled mantle/lithosphere system to show for the first time that an event of separation between India and Australia, having occurred sometime between 11 and 8 Myrs ago, has left a distinct signature in the observed record of plate motions. Specifically, while motions of India and Australia relative to fixed Eurasia are almost indistinguishable prior to 11 Myrs ago, their convergence to Eurasia since then differs significantly, by as much as 2 cm/yr. Finally, we speculate about possible causes for the separation between India and Australia plates.

Kinematic signature of India/Australia plates break-up

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iaffaldano, G.; Bunge, H.-P.

2009-04-01

The paradigm of Plate Tectonics states that the uppermost layer of the Earth is made of a number of quasi-rigid blocks moving at different rates in different directions, while most of the deformation is focused along their boundaries. Perhaps one of the most interesting and intriguing processes in Plate Tectonics is the generation of new plate boundaries. The principle of inertia implies that any such event would invariably trigger changes in plate motions, because the budget of mantle basal-drag and plate-boundary forces would be repartitioned. A recent episode is thought to have occurred in the Indian Ocean, where a variety of evidences - including localized seismicity along the Nienty East Ridge, compression-generated unconformities of ocean-floor sediments, and identified paleomagnetic isochrones - suggest the genesis of a boundary separating the India and Australia plates. Here we use global numerical models of the coupled mantle/lithosphere system to show for the first time that an event of separation between India and Australia, having occurred sometime between 11 and 8 Myrs ago, has left a distinct signature in the observed record of plate motions. Specifically, while motions of India and Australia relative to fixed Eurasia are almost indistinguishable prior to 11 Myrs ago, their convergence to Eurasia since then differs significantly, by as much as 2 cm/yr. Finally, we speculate about possible causes for the separation between India and Australia plates.

The boundary between the Indian and Asian tectonic plates below Tibet

PubMed Central

Zhao, Junmeng; Yuan, Xiaohui; Liu, Hongbing; Kumar, Prakash; Pei, Shunping; Kind, Rainer; Zhang, Zhongjie; Teng, Jiwen; Ding, Lin; Gao, Xing; Xu, Qiang; Wang, Wei

2010-01-01

The fate of the colliding Indian and Asian tectonic plates below the Tibetan high plateau may be visualized by, in addition to seismic tomography, mapping the deep seismic discontinuities, like the crust-mantle boundary (Moho), the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB), or the discontinuities at 410 and 660 km depth. We herein present observations of seismic discontinuities with the P and S receiver function techniques beneath central and western Tibet along two new profiles and discuss the results in connection with results from earlier profiles, which did observe the LAB. The LAB of the Indian and Asian plates is well-imaged by several profiles and suggests a changing mode of India-Asia collision in the east-west direction. From eastern Himalayan syntaxis to the western edge of the Tarim Basin, the Indian lithosphere is underthrusting Tibet at an increasingly shallower angle and reaching progressively further to the north. A particular lithospheric region was formed in northern and eastern Tibet as a crush zone between the two colliding plates, the existence of which is marked by high temperature, low mantle seismic wavespeed (correlating with late arriving signals from the 410 discontinuity), poor Sn propagation, east and southeast oriented global positioning system displacements, and strikingly larger seismic (SKS) anisotropy. PMID:20534567

The boundary between the Indian and Asian tectonic plates below Tibet.

PubMed

Zhao, Junmeng; Yuan, Xiaohui; Liu, Hongbing; Kumar, Prakash; Pei, Shunping; Kind, Rainer; Zhang, Zhongjie; Teng, Jiwen; Ding, Lin; Gao, Xing; Xu, Qiang; Wang, Wei

2010-06-22

The fate of the colliding Indian and Asian tectonic plates below the Tibetan high plateau may be visualized by, in addition to seismic tomography, mapping the deep seismic discontinuities, like the crust-mantle boundary (Moho), the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB), or the discontinuities at 410 and 660 km depth. We herein present observations of seismic discontinuities with the P and S receiver function techniques beneath central and western Tibet along two new profiles and discuss the results in connection with results from earlier profiles, which did observe the LAB. The LAB of the Indian and Asian plates is well-imaged by several profiles and suggests a changing mode of India-Asia collision in the east-west direction. From eastern Himalayan syntaxis to the western edge of the Tarim Basin, the Indian lithosphere is underthrusting Tibet at an increasingly shallower angle and reaching progressively further to the north. A particular lithospheric region was formed in northern and eastern Tibet as a crush zone between the two colliding plates, the existence of which is marked by high temperature, low mantle seismic wavespeed (correlating with late arriving signals from the 410 discontinuity), poor Sn propagation, east and southeast oriented global positioning system displacements, and strikingly larger seismic (SKS) anisotropy.

Two-dimensional thermal modeling associated with subduction of the Philippine Sea plate in southern Kyushu, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suenaga, Nobuaki; Yoshioka, Shoichi; Matsumoto, Takumi; Ji, Yingfeng

2018-01-01

In Hyuga-nada, southern Kyushu in southwest Japan, afterslip events were found in association with the two large interplate earthquakes, which occurred on October 19 and December 3, 1996. In Kyushu, low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) and tectonic tremors are not common, but a considerable concentration of tectonic tremors is observed beneath the Pacific coast of the Miyazaki prefecture. To investigate the generation mechanisms of these seismic events, we performed 2-D box-type time-dependent thermal modeling in southern Kyushu. As a result, the temperature range of the upper surface of the subducting Philippine Sea (PHS) plate, where the afterslip occurred, reached approximately 300 to 350 °C. The temperatures where the tectonic tremors occurred ranged from 450 to 650 °C in the mantle wedge corner. We also estimated the spatial distribution of water content within the subducting PHS plate, using phase diagrams of hydrous mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) and ultramafic rock. Then, we found that no characteristic phase transformations accompany the dehydration of the subducting PHS plate in the afterslip region, but phase transformation from lawsonite blueschist to lawsonite eclogite is expected within the oceanic crust of the PHS plate just below the active region of the tectonic tremors. Our estimated water content distribution is consistent with the VP/VS ratio calculated from the seismic tomography. Therefore, we conclude that the occurrence of the afterslip is controlled by the temperature condition at the plate boundary, and occurs near the down-dip limit of the seismogenic zone. On the other hand, determining the major factors leading to the occurrence of the tectonic tremors is difficult, we estimated the temperature in the mantle wedge is ranging from 450 °C to 650 °C, and dehydration of 1.0 wt% would be expected from the subducting PHS plate near the active region of the tectonic tremors.

Investigation of the Cooling Capacity of Plate Tectonics and Flood Volcanism in the Evolution of Earth, Mars and Venus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Thienen, P.; Vlaar, N. J.; van den Berg, A. P.

2003-12-01

The cooling of the terrestrial planets from their presumed hot initial states to the present situation has required the operation of one or more efficient cooling mechanisms. In the recent history of the Earth, plate tectonics has been responsible for most of the planetary cooling. The high internal temperature of the early Earth, however, prevented the operation of plate tectonics because of the greater inherent buoyancy of thicker oceanic lithosphere (basaltic crust and depleted mantle) produced from a hotter mantle. A similar argument is valid for Venus, and also for Mars. An alternative cooling mechanism may therefore have been required during a part of the planetary histories. Starting from the notion that all heat output of planets is through their surfaces, we have constructed two parametric models to evaluate the cooling characteristics of two cooling mechanisms: plate tectonics and basalt extrusion / flood volcanism. We have applied these models to the Earth, Mars and Venus for present-day and presumed early thermal conditions. Our model results show that for a steadily (exponentially) cooling Earth, plate tectonics is capable of removing all the required heat at a rate comparable to or even lower than its current rate of operation during its entire history, contrary to earlier speculations. The extrusion mechanism may have been an important cooling agent in the early Earth, but requires global eruption rates two orders of magnitude greater than those of known Phanerozoic flood basalt provinces. This may not be a problem, since geological observations indicate that flood volcanism was both stronger and more ubiquitous in the early Earth. Because of its smaller size, Mars is capable of cooling conductively through its lithosphere at significant rates. As a result may have cooled without an additional cooling mechanism during its entire history. Venus, on the other hand, has required the operation of an additional cooling agent for probably every cooling

Thermochronology and tectonics of the Leeward Antilles: Evolution of the southern Caribbean Plate boundary zone

USGS Publications Warehouse

van der Lelij, Roelant; Spikings, Richard A.; Kerr, Andrew C.; Kounov, Alexandre; Cosca, Michael; Chew, David; Villagomez, Diego

2010-01-01

Tectonic reconstructions of the Caribbean Plate are severely hampered by a paucity of geochronologic and exhumation constraints from anastomosed basement blocks along its southern margin. New U/Pb, 40Ar/39Ar, apatite fission track, and apatite (U-Th)/He data constrain quantitative thermal and exhumation histories, which have been used to propose a model for the tectonic evolution of the emergent parts of the Bonaire Block and the southern Caribbean Plate boundary zone. An east facing arc system intruded through an oceanic plateau during ~90 to ~87 Ma and crops out on Aruba. Subsequent structural displacements resulted in >80°C of cooling on Aruba during 70–60 Ma. In contrast, exhumation of the island arc sequence exposed on Bonaire occurred at 85–80 Ma and 55–45 Ma. Santonian exhumation on Bonaire occurred immediately subsequent to burial metamorphism and may have been driven by the collision of a west facing island arc with the Caribbean Plate. Island arc rocks intruded oceanic plateau rocks on Gran Roque at ~65 Ma and exhumed rapidly at 55–45 Ma. We attribute Maastrichtian-Danian exhumation on Aruba and early Eocene exhumation on Bonaire and Gran Roque to sequential diachronous accretion of their basement units to the South American Plate. Widespread unconformities indicate late Eocene subaerial exposure. Late Oligocene–early Miocene dextral transtension within the Bonaire Block drove subsidence and burial of crystalline basement rocks of the Leeward Antilles to ≤1 km. Late Miocene–recent transpression caused inversion and ≤1 km of exhumation, possibly as a result of the northward escape of the Maracaibo Block.

Global tectonics and space geodesy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, Richard G.; Stein, Seth

1992-01-01

Much of the success of plate tectonics can be attributed to the near rigidity of tectonic plates and the availability of data that describe the rates and directions of motion across narrow plate boundaries of about 1 to 60 kilometers. Nonetheless, many plate boundaries in both continental and oceanic lithosphere are not narrow but are hundreds to thousands of kilometers wide. Wide plate boundary zones cover approximately 15 percent of earth's surface area. Space geodesy, which includes very long baseline radio interferometry, satellite laser ranging, and the global positioning system, provides the accurate long-distance measurements needed to estimate the present motion across and within wide plate boundary zones. Space geodetic data show that plate velocities averaged over years are remarkably similar to velocities avaraged over millions of years.

Global tectonics and space geodesy.

PubMed

Gordon, R G; Stein, S

1992-04-17

Much of the success of plate tectonics can be attributed to the near rigidity of tectonic plates and the availability of data that describe the rates and directions of motion across narrow plate boundaries \\m=~\\1 to 60 kilometers wide. Nonetheless, many plate boundaries in both continental and oceanic lithosphere are not narrow but are hundreds to thousands of kilometers wide. Wide plate boundary zones cover \\m=~\\15 percent of Earth's surface area. Space geodesy, which includes very long baseline radio interferometry, satellite laser ranging, and the global positioning system, is providing the accurate long-distance measurements needed to estimate the present motion across and within wide plate boundary zones. Space geodetic data show that plate velocities averaged over years are remarkably similar to velocities averaged over millions of years.

On the Enigmatic Birth of the Pacific Plate within the Panthalassa Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boschman, L.; Van Hinsbergen, D. J. J.

2016-12-01

The oceanic Pacific Plate started forming in Early Jurassic time within the vast Panthalassa Ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangea and contains the oldest lithosphere that can directly constrain the geodynamic history of the circum-Pangean Earth. Here, we show that the geometry of the oldest marine magnetic anomalies of the Pacific Plate attests of a unique plate kinematic event that sparked the plate's birth in virtually a point location, surrounded by the Izanagi, Farallon and Phoenix Plates. We reconstruct the unstable triple junction that caused the plate reorganization leading to the birth of the Pacific Plate and present a model of the plate tectonic configuration that preconditioned this event. We show that a stable, but migrating triple junction involving the gradual cessation of intra-oceanic Panthalassa subduction culminated in the formation of an unstable transform-transform-transform triple junction. The consequent plate boundary reorganization resulted in the formation of a stable triangular three-ridge system from which the nascent Pacific Plate expanded. We link the birth of the Pacific Plate to the regional termination of intra-Panthalassa subduction. Remnants thereof have been identified in the deep lower mantle of which the locations may provide paleolongitudinal control on the absolute location of the early Pacific Plate. Our results constitute an essential step in unraveling the plate tectonic evolution of `Thalassa Incognita' comprising the comprehensive Panthalassa Ocean surrounding Pangea.

On the enigmatic birth of the Pacific Plate within the Panthalassa Ocean.

PubMed

Boschman, Lydian M; van Hinsbergen, Douwe J J

2016-07-01

The oceanic Pacific Plate started forming in Early Jurassic time within the vast Panthalassa Ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangea, and contains the oldest lithosphere that can directly constrain the geodynamic history of the circum-Pangean Earth. We show that the geometry of the oldest marine magnetic anomalies of the Pacific Plate attests to a unique plate kinematic event that sparked the plate's birth at virtually a point location, surrounded by the Izanagi, Farallon, and Phoenix Plates. We reconstruct the unstable triple junction that caused the plate reorganization, which led to the birth of the Pacific Plate, and present a model of the plate tectonic configuration that preconditioned this event. We show that a stable but migrating triple junction involving the gradual cessation of intraoceanic Panthalassa subduction culminated in the formation of an unstable transform-transform-transform triple junction. The consequent plate boundary reorganization resulted in the formation of a stable triangular three-ridge system from which the nascent Pacific Plate expanded. We link the birth of the Pacific Plate to the regional termination of intra-Panthalassa subduction. Remnants thereof have been identified in the deep lower mantle of which the locations may provide paleolongitudinal control on the absolute location of the early Pacific Plate. Our results constitute an essential step in unraveling the plate tectonic evolution of "Thalassa Incognita" that comprises the comprehensive Panthalassa Ocean surrounding Pangea.

Cenozoic lithospheric deformation in Northeast Asia and the rapidly-aging Pacific Plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ting; Moresi, Louis; Zhao, Dapeng; Sandiford, Dan; Whittaker, Joanne

2018-06-01

Northeast Asia underwent widespread rifting and magmatic events during the Cenozoic. The geodynamic origins of these tectonic events are often linked to Pacific plate subduction beneath Northeast Asia. However, the Japan Sea did not open until the late Oligocene, tens of millions of years after Pacific Plate subduction initiation in the Paleocene. Moreover, it is still not clear why the Baikal Rift Zone extension rate increased significantly after the late Miocene, while the Japan Sea opening ceased at the same time. Geodynamic models suggest these enigmatic events are related to the rapidly-aging Pacific Plate at the trench after Izanagi-Pacific spreading ridge subduction. Subduction of the young Pacific Plate delayed the Japan Sea opening during the Eocene while advection of the old Pacific Plate towards the trench increases seafloor age rapidly, allowing the Japan Sea to open after the early Miocene. The Japan Sea opening promotes fast trench retreat and slab stagnation, with subduction-induced wedge zone convection gradually increasing its extent during this process. The active rifting center associated with wedge zone convection upwelling also shifts inland-ward during slab stagnation, preventing further Japan Sea spreading while promoting the Baikal Rift Zone extension. Our geodynamic model provides a good explanation for the temporal-spatial patterns of the Cenozoic tectonic and magmatic events in Northeast Asia.

Using Google Earth to Explore Multiple Data Sets and Plate Tectonic Concepts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodell, L. P.

2015-12-01

Google Earth (GE) offers an engaging and dynamic environment for exploration of earth science data. While GIS software offers higher-level analytical capability, it comes with a steep learning curve and complex interface that is not easy for the novice, and in many cases the instructor, to negotiate. In contrast, the intuitive interface of GE makes it easy for students to quickly become proficient in manipulating the globe and independently exploring relationships between multiple data sets at a wide range of scales. Inquiry-based, data-rich exercises have been developed for both introductory and upper-level activities including: exploration of plate boundary characteristics and relative motion across plate boundaries; determination and comparison of short-term and long-term average plate velocities; crustal strain analysis (modeled after the UNAVCO activity); and determining earthquake epicenters, body-wave magnitudes, and focal plane solutions. Used successfully in undergraduate course settings, for TA training and for professional development programs for middle and high school teachers, the exercises use the following GE data sets (with sources) that have been collected/compiled by the author and are freely available for non-commercial use: 1) tectonic plate boundaries and plate names (Bird, 2003 model); 2) real-time earthquakes (USGS); 3) 30 years of M>=5.0 earthquakes, plotted by depth (USGS); 4) seafloor age (Mueller et al., 1997, 2008); 5) location and age data for hot spot tracks (published literature); 6) Holocene volcanoes (Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program); 7) GPS station locations with links to times series (JPL, NASA, UNAVCO); 8) short-term motion vectors derived from GPS times series; 9) long-term average motion vectors derived from plate motion models (UNAVCO plate motion calculator); 10) earthquake data sets consisting of seismic station locations and links to relevant seismograms (Rapid Earthquake Viewer, USC/IRIS/DELESE).

Assessment of the cooling capacity of plate tectonics and flood volcanism in the evolution of Earth, Mars and Venus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Thienen, P.; Vlaar, N. J.; van den Berg, A. P.

2005-06-01

Geophysical arguments against plate tectonics in a hotter Earth, based on buoyancy considerations, require an alternative means of cooling the planet from its original hot state to the present situation. Such an alternative could be extensive flood volcanism in a more stagnant-lid like setting. Starting from the notion that all heat output of the Earth is through its surface, we have constructed two parametric models to evaluate the cooling characteristics of these two mechanisms: plate tectonics and basalt extrusion/flood volcanism. Our model results show that for a steadily (exponentially) cooling Earth, plate tectonics is capable of removing all the required heat at a rate of operation comparable to or even lower than its current rate of operation, contrary to earlier speculations. The extrusion mechanism may have been an important cooling agent in the early Earth, but requires global eruption rates two orders of magnitude greater than those of known Phanerozoic flood basalt provinces. This may not be a problem, since geological observations indicate that flood volcanism was both stronger and more ubiquitous in the early Earth. Because of its smaller size, Mars is capable of cooling conductively through its lithosphere at significant rates, and as a result may have cooled without an additional cooling mechanism. Venus, on the other hand, has required the operation of an additional cooling agent for probably every cooling phase of its possibly episodic history, with rates of activity comparable to those of the Earth.

The effect of plate-scale rheology and plate interactions on intraplate seismicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

So, Byung-Dal; Capitanio, Fabio A.

2017-11-01

We use finite element modeling to investigate on the stress loading-unloading cycles and earthquakes occurrence in the plate interiors, resulting from the interactions of tectonic plates along their boundary. We model a visco-elasto-plastic plate embedding a single or multiple faults, while the tectonic stress is applied along the plate boundary by an external loading visco-elastic plate, reproducing the tectonic setting of two interacting lithospheres. Because the two plates deform viscously, the timescale of stress accumulation and release on the faults is self-consistently determined, from the boundary to the interiors, and seismic recurrence is an emerging feature. This approach overcomes the constraints on recurrence period imposed by stress (stress-drop) and velocity boundary conditions, while here it is unconstrained. We illustrate emerging macroscopic characteristics of this system, showing that the seismic recurrence period τ becomes shorter as Γ and Θ decreases, where Γ =ηI /ηL, the viscosity ratio of the viscosities of the internal fault-embedded to external loading plates, respectively, and Θ =σY /σL the stress ratio of the elastic limit of the fault to far-field loading stress. When the system embeds multiple, randomly distributed faults, stress transfer results in recurrence period deviations, however the time-averaged recurrence period of each fault show the same dependence on Γ and Θ, illustrating a characteristic collective behavior. The control of these parameters prevails even when initial pre-stress was randomly assigned in terms of the spatial arrangement and orientation on the internal plate, mimicking local fluctuations. Our study shows the relevance of macroscopic rheological properties of tectonic plates on the earthquake occurrence in plate interiors, as opposed to local factors, proposing a viable model for the seismic behavior of continent interiors in the context of large-scale, long-term deformation of interacting tectonic

The Viability and Style of the Modern Plate-Tectonic Subduction Process in a Hotter Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Hunen, J.; van den Berg, A.; Vlaar, N. J.

2001-12-01

The Earth was probably warmer during the Archean and Proterozoic, and a 50 to 300 K mantle temperature increase has been suggested. This resulted in a thicker basaltic oceanic crust and underlying harzburgitic layer, and increased buoyancy of the lithosphere. This phenomenon has raised questions about the style or even the existence of plate tectonics in a younger Earth. Buoyant, low-angle subduction (e.g. below overriding plates) could have been more important, but also alternative tectonic styles, such as small-scale layered convection within the thickened crust have been proposed. We conducted 2-D Cartesian numerical model calculations to quantify the viability of the subduction process for an Earth with a higher potential temperature.As the basalt-to-eclogite transition in the crust plays an important role in the buoyancy of the oceanic plate and slab, and therefore also in its propensity to subduct, the kinetics of this phase transition is included in the numerical model. One set of model results suggest that flat subduction below a continuously overriding lithosphere, or lithospheric doubling, can give rise to flat subduction up to a mantle temperature, which is not much higher (38 to 75 K) than today. An even hotter mantle is too weak to support the flat slab, so that fast, steep Benioff subduction develops. We performed another set of model calculations to examine the possibility of modern-style subduction in a hotter Earth, without extra driving forces such as lithospheric doubling. We use again the mechanism of lithospheric doubling, but only to trigger the subduction process, and switch it off after a few million years, when `active' subduction developes. For a mantle temperature increase up to 150 K, we find subduction to be essentially the same as today, but subduction rates increase with increasing mantle temperature and increasing eclogitisation rates. For a 225 K mantle temperature increase, considerable amounts of the dense eclogitic crust

Is a 50 Ma Event Recorded in the Absolute Plate Motion of Africa?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maher, S. M.; Wessel, P.; Müller, R.; Harada, Y.

2012-12-01

There is considerable evidence for a global plate tectonic reorganization at ~Chron 21, as suggested by observed changes in global relative plate motion (RPM). The timings of these events appear to coincide with the age of the Hawaiian Emperor Bend (HEB), i.e., ~47-50 Ma. This 120° bend has traditionally been the poster child for the fixed hotspot hypothesis, suggesting the Pacific plate underwent a change in absolute plate motion (APM) as it moved over a more or less stationary Hawaiian hotspot. However, palaeomagnetic evidence favors southward motion of the Hawaii hotspot during the Emperor stage, limiting the amount of APM change required. In the Indo-Atlantic realm, RPMs involving Africa all seem compatible with a change in Africa APM around ~50 Ma. If this global plate reorganization took place there should also be physical evidence on the Africa plate itself due to the change in Africa APM. A candidate for such evidence may be the Réunion-Mascarene bend, which exhibits many HEB-like features. However, the Réunion hotspot also created the Chagos-Laccadive ridge as it encountered (and later crossed) the Carlsberg Ridge, and the oldest Mascarene section closest to the Seychelles may be continental in origin; thus there is some uncertainty in how to interpret the geometry. Furthermore, published APM models have had difficulty modeling this abrupt change in orientation. To reexamine this problem we derived a new Africa APM model that goes back to ~65 Ma using the Hybrid Polygonal Finite Rotation Method. The modeling incorporates the geometry and ages of seamount chains on the Africa plate and their associated hotspots as suitable constraints on an Africa APM model. The present as well as earlier positions of hotspots can be adjusted to get the best fit for the model. We examine how models with or without a ~50 Ma bend satisfy the geometries and age progressions of hotspot chains on the Africa plate and how well the predictions match observed paleolatitudes.

Venus: Mantle convection, hotspots, and tectonics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, R. J.

1989-01-01

The putative paradigm that planets of the same size and mass have the same tectonic style led to the adaptation of the mechanisms of terrestrial plate tectonics as the a priori model of the way Venus should behave. Data acquired over the last decade by Pioneer Venus, Venera, and ground-based radar have modified this view sharply and have illuminated the lack of detailed understanding of the plate tectonic mechanism. For reference, terrestrial mechanisms are briefly reviewed. Venusian lithospheric divergence, hotspot model, and horizontal deformation theories are proposed and examined.

Seismic‐wave attenuation determined from tectonic tremor in multiple subduction zones

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yabe, Suguru; Baltay, Annemarie S.; Ide, Satoshi; Beroza, Gregory C.

2014-01-01

Tectonic tremor provides a new source of observations that can be used to constrain the seismic attenuation parameter for ground‐motion prediction and hazard mapping. Traditionally, recorded earthquakes of magnitude ∼3–8 are used to develop ground‐motion prediction equations; however, typical earthquake records may be sparse in areas of high hazard. In this study, we constrain the distance decay of seismic waves using measurements of the amplitude decay of tectonic tremor, which is plentiful in some regions. Tectonic tremor occurs in the frequency band of interest for ground‐motion prediction (i.e., ∼2–8  Hz) and is located on the subducting plate interface, at the lower boundary of where future large earthquakes are expected. We empirically fit the distance decay of peak ground velocity from tremor to determine the attenuation parameter in four subduction zones: Nankai, Japan; Cascadia, United States–Canada; Jalisco, Mexico; and southern Chile. With the large amount of data available from tremor, we show that in the upper plate, the lower crust is less attenuating than the upper crust. We apply the same analysis to intraslab events in Nankai and show the possibility that waves traveling from deeper intraslab events experience more attenuation than those from the shallower tremor due to ray paths that pass through the subducting and highly attenuating oceanic crust. This suggests that high pore‐fluid pressure is present in the tremor source region. These differences imply that the attenuation parameter determined from intraslab earthquakes may underestimate ground motion for future large earthquakes on the plate interface.

Plate tectonics 2.5 billion years ago: evidence at kolar, South India.

PubMed

Krogstad, E J; Balakrishnan, S; Mukhopadhyay, D K; Rajamani, V; Hanson, G N

1989-03-10

The Archean Kolar Schist Belt, south India, is a suture zone where two gneiss terranes and at least two amphibolite terranes with distinct histories were accrted. Amphibolites from the eastern and western sides of the schist belt have distinct incompatible element and isotopic characteristics sugesting that their volcanic protoliths were derived from dint mantle sources. The amphibolite and gneiss terranes were juxtaposed by horizontal compression and shearing between 2530 and 2420 million years ago (Ma) along a zone marked by the Kolar Schist Belt. This history of accretion of discrete crustal terranes resembles those of Phanerozoic convergent margins and thus suggests that plate tectonics operated on Earth by 2500 Ma.

Plate tectonics 2.5 billion years ago - Evidence at Kolar, south India

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krogstad, E. J.; Hanson, G. N.; Balakrishnan, S.; Rajamani, V.; Mukhopadhyay, D. K.

1989-01-01

The Archean Kolar Schist Belt, south India, is a suture zone where two gneiss terranes and at least two amphibolite terranes with distinct histories were accreted. Amphibolites from the eastern and western sides of the schist belt have distinct incompatible element and isotopic characteristics suggesting that their volcanic protoliths were derived from different mantle sources. The amphibolite and gneiss terranes were juxtaposed by horizontal compression and shearing between 2530 and 2420 million years ago (Ma) along a zone marked by the Kolar Schist Belt. This history of accretion of discrete crustal terranes resembles those of Phanerozoic convergent margins and thus suggests that plate tectonics operated on earth by 2500 Ma.

On the enigmatic birth of the Pacific Plate within the Panthalassa Ocean

PubMed Central

Boschman, Lydian M.; van Hinsbergen, Douwe J. J.

2016-01-01

The oceanic Pacific Plate started forming in Early Jurassic time within the vast Panthalassa Ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangea, and contains the oldest lithosphere that can directly constrain the geodynamic history of the circum-Pangean Earth. We show that the geometry of the oldest marine magnetic anomalies of the Pacific Plate attests to a unique plate kinematic event that sparked the plate’s birth at virtually a point location, surrounded by the Izanagi, Farallon, and Phoenix Plates. We reconstruct the unstable triple junction that caused the plate reorganization, which led to the birth of the Pacific Plate, and present a model of the plate tectonic configuration that preconditioned this event. We show that a stable but migrating triple junction involving the gradual cessation of intraoceanic Panthalassa subduction culminated in the formation of an unstable transform-transform-transform triple junction. The consequent plate boundary reorganization resulted in the formation of a stable triangular three-ridge system from which the nascent Pacific Plate expanded. We link the birth of the Pacific Plate to the regional termination of intra-Panthalassa subduction. Remnants thereof have been identified in the deep lower mantle of which the locations may provide paleolongitudinal control on the absolute location of the early Pacific Plate. Our results constitute an essential step in unraveling the plate tectonic evolution of “Thalassa Incognita” that comprises the comprehensive Panthalassa Ocean surrounding Pangea. PMID:29713683

Discrimination of Man-Made Events and Tectonic Earthquakes in Utah Using Data Recorded at Local Distances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tibi, R.; Young, C. J.; Koper, K. D.; Pankow, K. L.

2017-12-01

Seismic event discrimination methods exploit the differing characteristics—in terms of amplitude and/or frequency content—of the generated seismic phases among the event types to be classified. Most of the commonly used seismic discrimination methods are designed for regional data recorded at distances of about 200 to 2000 km. Relatively little attention has focused on discriminants for local distances (< 200 km), the range at which the smallest events are recorded. Short-period fundamental mode Rayleigh waves (Rg) are commonly observed on seismograms of man-made seismic events, and shallow, naturally occurring tectonic earthquakes recorded at local distances. We leverage the well-known notion that Rg amplitude decreases dramatically with increasing event depth to propose a new depth discriminant based on Rg-to-Sg spectral amplitude ratios. The approach is successfully used to discriminate shallow events from deeper tectonic earthquakes in the Utah region recorded at local distances (< 150 km) by the University of Utah Seismographic Stations (UUSS) regional seismic network. Using Mood's median test, we obtained probabilities of nearly zero that the median Rg-to-Sg spectral amplitude ratios are the same between shallow events on one side (including both shallow tectonic earthquakes and man-made events), and deeper earthquakes on the other side, suggesting that there is a statistically significant difference in the estimated Rg-to-Sg ratios between the two populations. We also observed consistent disparities between the different types of shallow events (e.g., explosions vs. mining-induced events), implying that it may be possible to separate the sub-populations that make up this group. This suggests that using local distance Rg-to-Sg spectral amplitude ratios one can not only discriminate shallow from deeper events, but may also be able to discriminate different populations of shallow events. We also experimented with Pg-to-Sg amplitude ratios in multi

Origin of the Dongsha Event in the South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Zhiyuan; Sun, Longtao; Pang, Xiong; Zheng, Jinyun; Sun, Zhen

2017-12-01

Post-rift tectonic activities have been widely observed in the northern continental margin of the South China Sea, especially during the late Miocene. Large numbers of faults became active. Unconformities, uplift of faulted blocks, sequence tilting, erosion along the Dongsha massif and canyon incision were also discriminated at this stage in the Pearl River Mouth basin (PRMB) and the area to the east. This tectonism has been named Dongsha Event. A number of hypotheses have been put forward to explain the mechanism of the Dongsha Event, such as high-velocity lower crustal flow, magmatic underplating, and arc-continent collision. To investigate the tectonic dynamics, sequence contact relationships, fault activities, and magmatism were analyzed along large numbers of seismic profiles that cover the eastern PRMB and Southwest Taiwan Basin. The timing, affected regions, and differences in the intensity of tectonic deformation were assessed, upon which the plate bending model was favored. In order to check the reasonableness of plate bending model, effective elastic thickness and other geodynamic parameters were calculated constrained by uplift area width and regarding the trench as sediment filling. A maximum Te value of 27 km and a minimum value of 4 km were obtained. Integrating with the former stress field calculation, we conclude that the Dongsha Event was mainly affected by subduction and collision of the South China Sea toward the Philippine Sea plate. This event commenced at about 10 Ma and peaked at around 3.6 Ma. Although the high effective elastic thickness required is a problem to be addressed, this research provides by far the most comprehensive evidences to the mechanism of the Dongsha Event.

A PILOT SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE OF EXTRASOLAR EARTH-ANALOG PLATE TECTONICS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jura, M.; Klein, B.; Xu, S.

Relative to calcium, both strontium and barium are markedly enriched in Earth's continental crust compared to the basaltic crusts of other differentiated rocky bodies within the solar system. Here, we both re-examine available archived Keck spectra to place upper bounds on n(Ba)/n(Ca) and revisit published results for n(Sr)/n(Ca) in two white dwarfs that have accreted rocky planetesimals. We find that at most only a small fraction of the pollution is from crustal material that has experienced the distinctive elemental enhancements induced by Earth-analog plate tectonics. In view of the intense theoretical interest in the physical structure of extrasolar rocky planets,more » this search should be extended to additional targets.« less

Kimberlites in western Liberia - An overview of the geological setting in a plate tectonic framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haggerty, S. E.

1982-12-01

Evidence which includes Landsat images is presented for prolonged periods of tectonism, marginal to and extending within the intracratonic region of the West African platform. Also found are indications of intermittent, or perhaps even sustained activity, dating back to more than three billion years. The petrology and mineral chemistry of kimberlites, and their associated nodule suites in the present region, are broadly similar to those from kimberlite localities throughout the African continent, and should therefore be considered as part of a major province. Attention is drawn to the lineament control of kimberlites, and the coincidence of these lineaments with the basement fabric and with faults. The proposed interpretation for the distribution of West African kimberlites is in essential agreement with the intraplate and intracratonic model of Dawson (1970) and Sykes (1978), which calls upon the reactivation of paleofaults and sutures during plate tectonism.

Tectonic Structure of the Middle America Pacific Margin and Incoming Cocos Plate From Costa Rica to Guatemala

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranero, C. R.; Weinrebe, W.; Grevemeyer, I.; Phipps Morgan, J.; Vannucchi, P.; von Huene, R.

2003-12-01

A new multibeam bathymetry and magnetic survey with R/V SONNE in summer 2003 has mapped the continental margin and incoming plate of NW Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala, extending existing coverage from offshore Costa Rica and part of Nicaragua to a full coverage map of about 1200 km long by 100 km wide area along the plate boundary. The incoming plate along Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala is of similar age and was formed at superfast spreading rates; however, its morphology changes drastically along strike. The seafloor-spreading inherited morphology is very smooth along Nicaragua, but with ridges up to 800 m high in Guatemala, with a transition across El Salvador. The development and dimensions of the dominant inherited fabric seems to be related to discontinuities at the paleospreading center. A series of troughs oblique to the main fabric may indicate the location of pseudofaults and correspond to areas where the seafloor fabric is most prominent. Bending of the oceanic plate into the trench reactivates the inherited fabric forming a well pervasive faulting system along the oceanic trench slope. The continental slope displays three morphotectonic units that roughly correspond to the upper, middle and lower slope, although the across slope width of each unit is fairly variable. Small canyons and gullies that form at the sudden dip change across the shelf break carve the upper slope. The canyons coalesce and become shallower as the dip decreases downslope. Locally some large canyons continue into the slope toe. The middle slope is a rough terrain variable in width and dip sculptured by pervasive normal faulting and locally by mass wasting processes. The lower slope is formed by en echelon terraces striking similar to the rough terrain of the incoming plate and mimicking the half graben morphology of the underthusting plate. The three morphotectonic slope domains represent differences in tectonic activity, with more stable upper slope, a middle slope

Stress Transfer Processes during Great Plate Boundary Thrusting Events: A Study from the Andaman and Nicobar Segments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrade, V.; Rajendran, K.

2010-12-01

The response of subduction zones to large earthquakes varies along their strike, both during the interseismic and post-seismic periods. The December 26, 2004 earthquake nucleated at 3° N latitude and its rupture propagated northward, along the Andaman-Sumatra subduction zone, terminating at 15°N. Rupture speed was estimated at about 2.0 km per second in the northern part under the Andaman region and 2.5 - 2.7 km per second under southern Nicobar and North Sumatra. We have examined the pre and post-2004 seismicity to understand the stress transfer processes within the subducting plate, in the Andaman (10° - 15° N ) and Nicobar (5° - 10° N) segments. The seismicity pattern in these segments shows distinctive characteristics associated with the outer rise, accretionary prism and the spreading ridge, all of which are relatively better developed in the Andaman segment. The Ninety East ridge and the Sumatra Fault System are significant tectonic features in the Nicobar segment. The pre-2004 seismicity in both these segments conform to the steady-state conditions wherein large earthquakes are fewer and compressive stresses dominate along the plate interface. Among the pre-2004 great earthquakes are the 1881 Nicobar and 1941 Andaman events. The former is considered to be a shallow thrust event that generated a small tsunami. Studies in other subduction zones suggest that large outer-rise tensional events follow great plate boundary breaking earthquakes due to the the up-dip transfer of stresses within the subducting plate. The seismicity of the Andaman segment (1977-2004) concurs with the steady-state stress conditions where earthquakes occur dominantly by thrust faulting. The post-2004 seismicity shows up-dip migration along the plate interface, with dominance of shallow normal faulting, including a few outer rise events and some deeper (> 100 km) strike-slip faulting events within the subducting plate. The September 13, 2002, Mw 6.5 thrust faulting earthquake at

Archean upper crust transition from mafic to felsic marks the onset of plate tectonics.

PubMed

Tang, Ming; Chen, Kang; Rudnick, Roberta L

2016-01-22

The Archean Eon witnessed the production of early continental crust, the emergence of life, and fundamental changes to the atmosphere. The nature of the first continental crust, which was the interface between the surface and deep Earth, has been obscured by the weathering, erosion, and tectonism that followed its formation. We used Ni/Co and Cr/Zn ratios in Archean terrigenous sedimentary rocks and Archean igneous/metaigneous rocks to track the bulk MgO composition of the Archean upper continental crust. This crust evolved from a highly mafic bulk composition before 3.0 billion years ago to a felsic bulk composition by 2.5 billion years ago. This compositional change was attended by a fivefold increase in the mass of the upper continental crust due to addition of granitic rocks, suggesting the onset of global plate tectonics at ~3.0 billion years ago. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Sea Level Change due to Time-Dependent Long-Wavelength Dynamic Topography Inferred from Plate Tectonic Reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conrad, Clinton P.; Steinberger, Bernhard; Torsvik, Trond H.

2017-04-01

Earth's surface is deflected vertically by stresses associated with convective mantle flow. Although dynamic topography is important for both sea level change and continental uplift and subsidence, the time history of dynamic topography is difficult to constrain because the time-dependence of mantle flow is not known. However, the motions of the tectonic plates contain information about the mantle flow patterns that drive them. In particular, we show that the longest wavelengths of mantle flow are tightly linked to the dipole and quadrupole moments (harmonic degrees 1 and 2) of plate motions. This coupling allows us to infer patterns of long-wavelength mantle flow, and the associated dynamic topography, from tectonic plate motions. After calibrating this linkage using models of present-day mantle flow, we can use reconstructions of global plate motions to infer the basic patterns of long-wavelength dynamic topography back to 250 Ma. We find relatively stable dynamic uplift persists above large-scale mantle upwelling beneath Africa and the Central Pacific. Regions of major downwelling encircled the periphery of these stable upwellings, alternating between primarily east-west and north-south orientations. The amplitude of long-wavelength dynamic topography was likely largest in the Cretaceous, when global plate motions were fastest. Continental motions over this time-evolving dynamic topography predict patterns of continental uplift and subsidence that are confirmed by geological observations of continental surfaces relative to sea level. Net uplift or subsidence of the global seafloor can also induce eustatic sea level changes. We infer that dispersal of the Pangean supercontinent away from stable upwelling beneath Africa may have exposed the seafloor to an increasingly larger area of growing positive dynamic topography during the Mesozoic. This net uplift of the seafloor caused 60 m of sea level rise during the Triassic and Jurassic, ceasing in the Cenozoic once

Extending Whole-earth Tectonics To The Terrestrial Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, V. R.; Maruyama, S.; Dohm, J. M.

Based on the need to explain a great many geological and geophysical anomalies on Mars, and stimulated by the new results from the Mars Global Surveyor Mission, we propose a conceptual model of whole-EARTH (Episodic Annular Revolving Thermal Hydrologic) tectonics for the long-term evolution of terrestrial planets. The theory emphasizes (1) the importance of water in planetary evolution, and (2) the physi- cal transitions in modes of mantle convection in relation to planetary heat produc- tion. Depending on their first-order geophysical parameters and following accretion and differentiation from volatile-rich planetessimals, terrestrial planets should evolve through various stages of mantle convection, including magma ocean, plate tectonic, and stagnant lid processes. If a water ocean is able to condense from the planet's early steam atmosphere, an early regime of plate tectonics will follow the initial magma ocean. This definitely happened on earth, probably on Mars, and possibly on Venus. The Mars history led to transfer of large amounts of water to the mantle during the pe- riod of heavy bombardment. Termination of plate tectonics on Mars during the heavy bombardment period led to initiation of superplumes at Tharsis and Elysium, where long-persistent volcanism and water outbursts dominated much of later Martian his- tory. For Venus, warming of the early sun made the surface ocean unstable, eliminating its early plate-tectonic regime. Although Venus now experiences stagnant-lid convec- tion with episodic mantle overturns, the water subducted to its lower mantle during the ancient plate-tectonic regime manifests itself in the initation of volatile-rich plumes that dominate its current tectonic regime.

Tomographic Signatures of Ridge Subduction Along Western North America: Implications for Northern Cordillera Plate Tectonics Since the Cretaceous

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Y. A.; Wu, J.

2017-12-01

A number of northern Cordillera plate reconstructions have predicted subduction of the Kula-Farallon ridge and possibly other ridges along western North America after the late Mesozoic. The timing and location of these predicted ridge subduction events have been controversial, with implications for rapid northward terrane motions (i.e. the Baja-British Columbia hypothesis). In contrast, Sigloch and Mihalynuk (2013) proposed an archipelago-style plate model that placed one or several Jurassic-Cretaceous ocean basins between the Farallon plate and western North America, which apparently would preclude any sustained Kula-Farallon ridge subduction along western North America. In this study we test the viability of these models by mapping and unfolding subducted slabs from MITP08 tomography (Li et al., 2008) between Alaska and California within the upper 1500 km mantle. Our aim was to locate significant slab gaps that might be related to ancient ridge subduction `slab windows'. Tomographic velocities were extracted and displayed on our mapped slabs following the methods of Wu et al. (2016) to assist with the identification of slab gaps or windows. Near Alaska, we mapped the Aleutian slab and a detached slab that was previously identified as the `K slab' by Sigloch and Mihalynuk (2013). When unfolded these slabs apparently account for Pacific-Kula convergence towards Alaska since the late Cretaceous. We did not find evidence for a ridge subduction-related slab gap under the Alaskan region. Between northern Canada to California, we mapped the Juan de Fuca slab and several detached slabs at 1000 to 1500 km depths that were previously identified by Sigloch and Mihalynuk (2013). The velocity perturbations within our mapped slabs revealed slower P-wavespeed `slab gaps' under southernmost Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia between the mapped Kula and Juan de Fuca plate. We did not find evidence of the hypothesized Resurrection plate. We compare our mapped slab gaps to

Playing jigsaw with large igneous provinces - a plate-tectonic reconstruction of Ontong Java Nui

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hochmuth, Katharina; Gohl, Karsten; Uenzelmann-Neben, Gabriele; Werner, Reinhard

2015-04-01

Ontong Java Nui is a Cretaceous large igneous province (LIP), which was rifted apart into various smaller plateaus shortly after its emplacement around 125 Ma in the central Pacific. It incorporated the Ontong Java Plateau, the Hikurangi Plateau and the Manihiki Plateau as well as multiple smaller fragments, which have been subducted. Its size has been estimated to be approximately 0.8% of the Earth's surface. A volcanic edifice of this size has potentially had a great impact on the environment such as its CO2 release. The break-up of the "Super"-LIP is poorly constrained, because the break-up and subsequent seafloor spreading occurred within the Cretaceous Quiet Period. The Manihiki Plateau is presumably the centerpiece of this "Super"-LIP and shows by its margins and internal fragmentation that its tectonic and volcanic activity is related to the break-up of Ontong Java Nui. By incorporating two new seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection lines across two of the main sub-plateaus of the Manihiki Plateau, we can classify the break-up modes of the individual margins of the Manihiki Plateau. The Western Plateaus experienced crustal stretching due to the westward motion of the Ontong Java Plateau. The High Plateau shows sharp strike-slip movements at its eastern boundary towards an earlier part of Ontong Java Nui, which is has been subducted, and a rifted margin with a strong volcanic overprint at its southern edges towards the Hikurangi Plateau. These observations allow us a re-examination of the conjugate margins of the Hikurangi Plateau and the Ontong Java Plateau. The repositioning of the different plateaus leads to the conclusion that Ontong Java Nui was larger (~1.2% of the Earth's surface at emplacement) than previously anticipated. We use these finding to improve the plate tectonic reconstruction of the Cretaceous Pacific and to illuminate the role of the LIPs within the plate tectonic circuit in the western and central Pacific.

Mantle convection with plates and mobile, faulted plate margins.

PubMed

Zhong, S; Gurnis, M

1995-02-10

A finite-element formulation of faults has been incorporated into time-dependent models of mantle convection with realistic rheology, continents, and phase changes. Realistic tectonic plates naturally form with self-consistent coupling between plate and mantle dynamics. After the initiation of subduction, trenches rapidly roll back with subducted slabs temporarily laid out along the base of the transition zone. After the slabs have penetrated into the lower mantle, the velocity of trench migration decreases markedly. The inhibition of slab penetration into the lower mantle by the 670-kilometer phase change is greatly reduced in these models as compared to models without tectonic plates.

"Discovering Plate Boundaries in Data-Rich Environments": Supporting Pre-service Teachers involvement in Unique Practices of Geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrie, A. S.; Moore, J.

2012-12-01

Plate tectonics is one of the core scientific concepts in both the NRC K-12 standards documents (#ESS2.B) and College Board Standards for Science (#ES.1.3). These documents also mention the scientific practices expected to improve as students are learning plate tectonics: interpreting data based on their observations of maps and argumentation around the evidence based on data. Research on students' understanding of maps emphasizes the difficulty of reading maps in science classrooms.We are conducting an ethnographic case study of the process of learning and teaching by novice teachers in the middle school science major at a mid-Atlantic University. The participants of the study are third-year majors (in the middle school science program and middle students at a suburban middle school. The study uses the data from four different fields (geography, geochronology, volcanology and seismology) to help involve preservice teachers in the practices of geosciences.The data for the study includes video and audio records of novice teachers' learning and teaching processes as well as teachers' reflections about their learning and on teaching Plate Tectonics by using real data. The video and audio data will be compiled and synthesized into event maps and transcripts, which are necessary for sociolinguistic analysis. Event maps provide an overall view of the events and are used to map the learning and teaching events into timely sequences and phases based on the subtopics and types of educational activities. Transcripts cover in detail the discussion and activity observed at each phase of the learning and teaching events. After compilation, event maps and transcripts will be analyzed by using Discourse analysis with an ethnographic perspective in order to identify novice teachers' challenges and the improvement they want to make on their teaching and assessment artifacts. The preliminary findings of the project identified challenges faced by novice teachers learning and teaching

Jules Verne Voyager, Jr: An Interactive Map Tool for Teaching Plate Tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamburger, M. W.; Meertens, C. M.

2010-12-01

We present an interactive, web-based map utility that can make new geological and geophysical results accessible to a large number and variety of users. The tool provides a user-friendly interface that allows users to access a variety of maps, satellite images, and geophysical data at a range of spatial scales. The map tool, dubbed 'Jules Verne Voyager, Jr.', allows users to interactively create maps of a variety of study areas around the world. The utility was developed in collaboration with the UNAVCO Consortium for study of global-scale tectonic processes. Users can choose from a variety of base maps (including "Face of the Earth" and "Earth at Night" satellite imagery mosaics, global topography, geoid, sea-floor age, strain rate and seismic hazard maps, and others), add a number of geographic and geophysical overlays (coastlines, political boundaries, rivers and lakes, earthquake and volcano locations, stress axes, etc.), and then superimpose both observed and model velocity vectors representing a compilation of 2933 GPS geodetic measurements from around the world. A remarkable characteristic of the geodetic compilation is that users can select from some 21 plates' frames of reference, allowing a visual representation of both 'absolute' plate motion (in a no-net rotation reference frame) and relative motion along all of the world's plate boundaries. The tool allows users to zoom among at least three map scales. The map tool can be viewed at http://jules.unavco.org/VoyagerJr/Earth. A more detailed version of the map utility, developed in conjunction with the EarthScope initiative, focuses on North America geodynamics, and provides more detailed geophysical and geographic information for the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The ‘EarthScope Voyager’ can be accessed at http://jules.unavco.org/VoyagerJr/EarthScope. Because the system uses pre-constructed gif images and overlays, the system can rapidly create and display maps to a large number of users

Maps, Plates, and Mount Saint Helens.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lary, Barbara E.; Krockover, Gerald H.

1987-01-01

Describes a laboratory activity on plate tectonics which focuses on the connection between plate tectonics and the different types of volcanoes. Provides questions for discussion and includes suggestions for extending the activity. (ML)

Beginning the Modern Regime of Subduction Tectonics in Neoproterozoic time: Inferences from Ophiolites of the Arabian-Nubian Shield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stern, R.

2003-04-01

It is now clear that the motive force for plate tectonics is provided by the sinking of dense lithosphere in subduction zones. Correspondingly, the modern tectonic regime is more aptly called ``subduction tectonics" than plate tectonics, which only describes the way Earth's thermal boundary layer adjusts to subduction. The absence of subduction tectonics on Mars and Venus implies that special circumstances are required for subduction to occur on a silicate planet. This begs the question: When did Earth's oceanic lithosphere cool sufficiently for subduction to began? This must be inferred from indirect lines of evidence; the focus here is on the temporal distribution of ophiolites. Well-preserved ophiolites with ``supra-subduction zone" (SSZ) affinities are increasingly regarded as forming when subduction initiates as a result of lithospheric collapse (± a nudge to get it started), and the formation of ophiolitic lithosphere in evolving forearcs favors their emplacement and preservation. The question now is what percentage of ophiolites with ``supra-subduction zone" (SSZ) chemical signatures formed in forearcs during subduction initiation events? Most of the large, well-preserved ophiolites (e.g., Oman, Cyprus, California, Newfoundland) may have this origin. If so, the distribution in space and time of such ophiolites can be used to identify ``subduction initiation" events, which are important events in the evolution of plate tectonics. Such events first occurred at the end of the Archean (˜2.5Ga) and again in the Paleoproterozoic (˜1.8 Ga), but ophiolites become uncommon after this. Well-preserved ophiolites become abundant in Neoproterozoic time, at about 800±50 Ma. Ophiolites of this age are common and well-preserved in the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Saudi Arabia. ANS ophiolites mostly contain spinels with high Cr#, indicating SSZ affinities. Limited trace element data on pillowed lavas supports this interpretation

Plate tectonic controls on atmospheric CO2 levels since the Triassic.

PubMed

Van Der Meer, Douwe G; Zeebe, Richard E; van Hinsbergen, Douwe J J; Sluijs, Appy; Spakman, Wim; Torsvik, Trond H

2014-03-25

Climate trends on timescales of 10s to 100s of millions of years are controlled by changes in solar luminosity, continent distribution, and atmosphere composition. Plate tectonics affect geography, but also atmosphere composition through volcanic degassing of CO2 at subduction zones and midocean ridges. So far, such degassing estimates were based on reconstructions of ocean floor production for the last 150 My and indirectly, through sea level inversion before 150 My. Here we quantitatively estimate CO2 degassing by reconstructing lithosphere subduction evolution, using recent advances in combining global plate reconstructions and present-day structure of the mantle. First, we estimate that since the Triassic (250-200 My) until the present, the total paleosubduction-zone length reached up to ∼200% of the present-day value. Comparing our subduction-zone lengths with previously reconstructed ocean-crust production rates over the past 140 My suggests average global subduction rates have been constant, ∼6 cm/y: Higher ocean-crust production is associated with longer total subduction length. We compute a strontium isotope record based on subduction-zone length, which agrees well with geological records supporting the validity of our approach: The total subduction-zone length is proportional to the summed arc and ridge volcanic CO2 production and thereby to global volcanic degassing at plate boundaries. We therefore use our degassing curve as input for the GEOCARBSULF model to estimate atmospheric CO2 levels since the Triassic. Our calculated CO2 levels for the mid Mesozoic differ from previous modeling results and are more consistent with available proxy data.

Plate tectonic controls on atmospheric CO2 levels since the Triassic

PubMed Central

Van Der Meer, Douwe G.; Zeebe, Richard E.; van Hinsbergen, Douwe J. J.; Sluijs, Appy; Spakman, Wim; Torsvik, Trond H.

2014-01-01

Climate trends on timescales of 10s to 100s of millions of years are controlled by changes in solar luminosity, continent distribution, and atmosphere composition. Plate tectonics affect geography, but also atmosphere composition through volcanic degassing of CO2 at subduction zones and midocean ridges. So far, such degassing estimates were based on reconstructions of ocean floor production for the last 150 My and indirectly, through sea level inversion before 150 My. Here we quantitatively estimate CO2 degassing by reconstructing lithosphere subduction evolution, using recent advances in combining global plate reconstructions and present-day structure of the mantle. First, we estimate that since the Triassic (250–200 My) until the present, the total paleosubduction-zone length reached up to ∼200% of the present-day value. Comparing our subduction-zone lengths with previously reconstructed ocean-crust production rates over the past 140 My suggests average global subduction rates have been constant, ∼6 cm/y: Higher ocean-crust production is associated with longer total subduction length. We compute a strontium isotope record based on subduction-zone length, which agrees well with geological records supporting the validity of our approach: The total subduction-zone length is proportional to the summed arc and ridge volcanic CO2 production and thereby to global volcanic degassing at plate boundaries. We therefore use our degassing curve as input for the GEOCARBSULF model to estimate atmospheric CO2 levels since the Triassic. Our calculated CO2 levels for the mid Mesozoic differ from previous modeling results and are more consistent with available proxy data. PMID:24616495

Multi-phase structural and tectonic evolution of the Andaman Sea Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masterton, Sheona; Hill, Catherine; Sagi, David Adam; Webb, Peter; Sevastjanova, Inga

2017-04-01

We present a new regional tectonic interpretation for Myanmar and the Andaman Sea, built within the framework of global plate motions. In our model the Present Day Andaman Sea region has been subjected to multiple phases of extension, culminating in its mid-Miocene to Present Day opening as a rhomboidal pull-apart basin. The Andaman Sea region is historically thought to have developed as a consequence of back-arc opening associated with plate convergence at the Andaman-Nicobar subduction system. We have undertaken detailed structural interpretation of potential field, Landsat and SRTM data, supported by 2-D crustal models of the Andaman Sea. From this analysis we identified several major north-south striking faults and a series of northeast-southwest striking structures across the region. We have also mapped the extent of the Andaman-Nicobar Accretionary Prism, a fore arc trough and volcanic arc, which we associate with a phase of traditional trench-parallel back-arc extension from the Paleocene to the middle Miocene. A regional tectonic event occurred during the middle Miocene that caused the cessation of back-arc extension in the Present Day Andaman Sea and an eastward shift in the locus of arc-related volcanism. At that time, N-S striking faults onshore and offshore Myanmar were reactivated with widespread right-lateral motion. This motion, accompanied by extension along new NE-SW striking faults, facilitated the opening of the Central Andaman Basin as a pull-apart basin (rhombochasm) in which a strike-slip tectonic regime has a greater impact on the mode of opening than the subduction process. The integration of our plate model solution within a global framework allows identification of major plate reorganisation events and their impact on a regional scale. We therefore attribute the onset of pull-apart opening in the Andaman Sea to ongoing clockwise rotation of the western Sundaland margin throughout the late Paleogene and early Miocene, possibly driven by the

Tectonics of the Scotia-Antarctica plate boundary constrained from seismic and seismological data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Civile, D.; Lodolo, E.; Vuan, A.; Loreto, M. F.

2012-07-01

The plate boundary between the Scotia and Antarctic plates runs along the broadly E-W trending South Scotia Ridge. It is a mainly transcurrent margin that juxtaposes thinned continental and transitional crust elements with restricted oceanic basins and deep troughs. Seismic profiles and regional-scale seismological constraints are used to define the peculiarities of the crustal structures in and around the southern Scotia Sea, and focal solutions from recent earthquakes help to understand the present-day geodynamic setting. The northern edge of the western South Scotia Ridge is marked by a sub-vertical, left-lateral master fault. Locally, a narrow wedge of accreted sediments is present at the base of the slope. This segment represents the boundary between the Scotia plate and the independent South Shetland continental block. Along the northern margin of the South Orkney microcontinent, the largest fragment of the South Scotia Ridge, an accretionary prism is present at the base of the slope, which was possibly created by the eastward drift of the South Orkney microcontinent and the consequent subduction of the transitional crust present to the north. East of the South Orkney microcontinent, the physiography and structure of the plate boundary are less constrained. Here the tectonic regime exhibits mainly strike-slip behavior with some grade of extensional component, and the plate boundary is segmented by a series of NNW-SSE trending release zones which favored the fragmentation and dispersion of the crustal blocks. Seismic data have also identified, along the north-western edge of the South Scotia Ridge, an elevated region - the Ona Platform - which can be considered, along with the Terror Rise, as the conjugate margin of the Tierra del Fuego, before the Drake Passage opening. We propose here an evolutionary sketch for the plate boundary (from the Late Oligocene to the present) encompassing the segment from the Elephant Island platform to the Herdman Bank.

Venusian tectonics: Convective coupling to the lithosphere?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, R. J.

1987-01-01

The relationship between the dominant global heat loss mechanism and planetary size has motivated the search for tectonic style on Venus. Prior to the American and Soviet mapping missions of the past eight years, it was thought that terrestrial style plate tectonics was operative on Venus because this planet is approximately the size of the Earth and is conjectured to have about the same heat source content per unit mass. However, surface topography mapped by the altimeter of the Pioneer Venus spacecraft did not show any physiographic expression of terrestrial style spreading ridges, trenches, volcanic arcs or transform faults, although the horizontal resolution was questionable for detection of at least some of these features. The Venera 15 and 16 radar missions mapped the northern latitudes of Venus at 1 to 2 km resolution and showed that there are significant geographic areas of deformation seemingly created by large horizontal stresses. These same high resolution images show no evidence for plate tectonic features. Thus a fundamental problem for venusian tectonics is the origin of large horizontal stresses near the surface in the apparent absence of plate tectonics.

Tectonic evolution of the northern African margin in Tunisia from paleostress data and sedimentary record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouaziz, Samir; Barrier, Eric; Soussi, Mohamed; Turki, Mohamed M.; Zouari, Hédi

2002-11-01

A reconstruction of the tectonic evolution of the northern African margin in Tunisia since the Late Permian combining paleostress, tectonic stratigraphic and sedimentary approaches allows the characterization of several major periods corresponding to consistent stress patterns. The extension lasting from the Late Permian to the Middle Triassic is contemporaneous of the rifting related to the break up of Pangea. During Liassic times, regional extensional tectonics originated the dislocation of the initial continental platform. In northern Tunisia, the evolution of the Liassic NE-SW rifting led during Dogger times to the North African passive continental margin, whereas in southern Tunisia, a N-S extension, associated with E-W trending subsiding basins, lasted from the Jurassic until the Early Cretaceous. After an Upper Aptian-Early Albian transpressional event, NE-SW to ENE-WSW trending extensions prevailed during Late Cretaceous in relationship with the general tectonic evolution of the northeastern African plate. The inversions started in the Late Maastrichtian-Paleocene in northern Tunisia, probably as a consequence of the Africa-Eurasia convergence. Two major NW-SE trending compressions occurred in the Late Eocene and in the Middle-Late Miocene alternating with extensional periods in the Eocene, Oligocene, Early-Middle Miocene and Pliocene. The latter compressional event led to the complete inversion of the basins of the northwestern African plate, originating the Maghrebide chain. Such a study, supported by a high density of paleostress data and including complementary structural and stratigraphic approaches, provides a reliable way of determining the regional tectonic evolution.

Tectonics and Current Plate Motions of Northern Vancouver Island and the Adjacent Mainland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Y.; Leonard, L. J.; Henton, J.; Hyndman, R. D.

2016-12-01

Northern Vancouver Island comprises a complex transition zone along the western margin of the North America plate, between the subducting Juan de Fuca plate to the south and the transcurrent Queen Charlotte Fault to the north off Haida Gwaii. The tectonic history and seismic potential for this region are unclear. Here we present current plate motions for northern Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland, determined from continuous and campaign GPS measurements processed in a consistent manner. Immediately to the north of the mid-Vancouver Island Nootka Fault Zone, the northern limit of Juan de Fuca plate subduction, GPS velocity vectors show slower Explorer plate subduction than the Juan de Fuca Plate. Off northernmost Vancouver Island, the Winona Block is possibly converging at a slow rate that decreases northward to zero. We find a constant northward margin-parallel translation of up to 5 mm/year from northern Vancouver Island extending to Alaska. The southern limit of this translation coincides with areas of high heat flow that may reflect extension and the northern limit of episodic tremor and slip (ETS) on the Cascadia megathrust. The origin of the northward translation is poorly understood. We find a mainland coastal shear zone extends as far south as northern Vancouver Island where the offshore plate boundary is likely subduction. The pattern of the observed coastal shear cannot reflect interseismic locking on a major offshore transcurrent fault. The geodetically determined mainland coastal zone velocities decrease landward from 5 to 0 mm/yr across a region where no active faults have been identified and there is very little current seismicity. In Haida Gwaii, oblique convergence is apparent in the GPS data, consistent with partitioning between margin-parallel and margin-perpendicular strain. After removing the margin parallel translation from the data, we determine an average maximum locking depth of 15 km for the Queen Charlotte transcurrent fault

Tectonics and volcanism on Mars: a compared remote sensing analysis with earthly geostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baggio, Paolo; Ancona, M. A.; Callegari, I.; Pinori, S.; Vercellone, S.

1999-12-01

The recent knowledge on Mars' lithosphere evolution does not find yet sufficient analogies with the Earth's tectonic models. The Viking image analysis seems to be even now frequently, rather fragmentary, and do not permits to express any coherent relationships among the different detected phenomena. Therefore, today it is impossible to support any reliable kinematic hypothesis. The Remote-Sensing interpretation is addressed to a Viking image mosaic of the known Tharsis Montes region and particularly focused on the Arsia Mons volcano. Several previously unknown lineaments, not directly linked to volcano-tectonics, were detected. Their mutual relationships recall transcurrent kinematics that could be related to similar geostructural models known in the Earth plate tectonic dynamics. Several concordant relationships between the Arsia Mons volcano and the brittle extensive tectonic features of earthly Etnean district (Sicily, South Italy), interpreted on Landsat TM images, were pointed out. These analogies coupled with the recently confirmed strato- volcano topology of Tharsis Montes (Head and Wilson), the layout distribution of the effusive centers (Arsia, Pavonis and Ascraeus Montes), the new tectonic lineaments and the morphological features, suggest the hypothesis of a plate tectonic volcanic region. The frame could be an example in agreement with the most recent interpretation of Mars (Sleep). A buried circular body, previously incorrectly interpreted as a great landslide event from the western slope of Arsia Mons volcano, seems really to be a more ancient volcanic structure (Arsia Mons Senilis), which location is in evident relation with the interpreted new transcurrent tectonic system.

Indian and African plate motions driven by the push force of the Réunion plume head.

PubMed

Cande, Steven C; Stegman, Dave R

2011-07-06

Mantle plumes are thought to play an important part in the Earth's tectonics, yet it has been difficult to isolate the effect that plumes have on plate motions. Here we analyse the plate motions involved in two apparently disparate events--the unusually rapid motion of India between 67 and 52 million years ago and a contemporaneous, transitory slowing of Africa's motion--and show that the events are coupled, with the common element being the position of the Indian and African plates relative to the location of the Réunion plume head. The synchroneity of these events suggests that they were both driven by the force of the Réunion plume head. The recognition of this plume force has substantial tectonic implications: the speed-up and slowdown of India, the possible cessation of convergence between Africa and Eurasia in the Palaeocene epoch and the enigmatic bends of the fracture zones on the Southwest Indian Ridge can all be attributed to the Réunion plume. ©2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

A harbinger of plate tectonics: a commentary on Bullard, Everett and Smith (1965) 'The fit of the continents around the Atlantic'.

PubMed

Dewey, John F

2015-04-13

In the 1960s, geology was transformed by the paradigm of plate tectonics. The 1965 paper of Bullard, Everett and Smith was a linking transition between the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics. They showed, conclusively, that the continents around the Atlantic were once contiguous and that the Atlantic Ocean had grown at rates of a few centimetres per year since the Early Jurassic, about 160 Ma. They achieved fits of the continental margins at the 500 fathom line (approx. 900 m), not the shorelines, by minimizing misfits between conjugate margins and finding axes, poles and angles of rotation, using Euler's theorem, that defined the unique single finite difference rotation that carried congruent continents from contiguity to their present positions, recognizing that the real motion may have been more complex around a number of finite motion poles. Critically, they were concerned only with kinematic reality and were not restricted by considerations of the mechanism by which continents split and oceans grow. Many of the defining features of plate tectonics were explicit or implicit in their reconstructions, such as the torsional rigidity of continents, Euler's theorem, closure of the Tethyan ocean(s), major continental margin shear zones, the rapid rotation of small continental blocks (Iberia) around nearby poles, the consequent opening of small wedge-shaped oceans (Bay of Biscay), and misfit overlaps (deltas and volcanic piles) and underlaps (stretched continental edges). This commentary was written to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

Vernal Point and Plate Tectonics: Indo-Australian

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chavez C, Teodosio; Chavez-Sumarriva, Israel; Chavez S, Nadia

2013-04-01

A precession coordinate system (eccentricity -100Ka, obliquity -40Ka and precession -25Ka) developed by Milankovicht was the precession of the equinoxes, where the vernal point retrograde 1° every 72 years approximately and enter (0°) into the Aquarius constellation on March 20, 1940. On earth this entry was verify through: a) stability of the magnetic equator in the south central zone of Peru and in the north zone of Bolivia, b) the greater intensity of equatorial electrojet (EEJ) in Peru and Bolivia since 1940. The vernal point is a maximum conductivity sensitive axis in the EEJ given at the equinoxes. There was a relationship between the equatorial electrojet - magnetic equator - crust, and besides there was a long history of studies of coupling between earthquake-ionosphere that can be founded in the following revisions: Liperovsky et al. (1990); Gaivoronskaya (1991); Liperovsky et al. (1992); Parrot et al. (1993); Pulinets et al. (1994) and Gokhberg et al. (1995). In IUGG (2007), Cusco was propose as a prime meridian (72° W == 0°) that was parallel to the Andes; the objective was to synchronize the earth sciences phenomena (e.g. geology, geophysics, etc.). The coordinate system had the vernal point from meridian (72° W == 0°) and March 20, 1940. The retrograde movement of the vernal point was the first precessional degree (2012 = 1940 + 72); from the new prime meridian (72° W == 0°) it has obtained the opposite meridian (72° E == 180°). The first precessional degree (2012) near the meridian (72 ° E) was related to the date of April 11, 2012 where a massive earthquake of 8.6 on the Richter scale, followed by several aftershocks, one of 8.2 degrees struck Indonesia with epicenter near Banda Aceh. Five months after that date, Matthias Delescluse et.al (2012), Han Yue et.al (2012), and Fred F. Pollitz et.al, (2012), explained that the two violent earthquakes would be evidence of a break in the Indo-Australian Plate Tectonics caused earthquakes around

Pleistocene Arid and Wet Climatic Variability: Imprint of Glacial Climate, Tectonics and Oceanographic Events in the Sediments of the se Indian Ocean, Western Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McHugh, C. M.; Castaneda, J.; Kominz, M. A.; Gallagher, S. J.; Gurnis, M.; Ishiwa, T.; Mamo, B. L.; Henderiks, J.; Christensen, B. A.; Groeneveld, J.; Yokoyama, Y.; Mustaque, S.; Iqbal, F.

2017-12-01

uplift event, possibly related to the ongoing collision of the Australian plate with the Java Trench. These tectonic events could have caused faulting and mass-transport affecting the western Australian margin. Nevertheless, the Pleistocene climatic signal is strong overprinting the possible effects of tectonic events.

Pleistocene Arid and Wet Climatic Variability: Imprint of Glacial Climate, Tectonics and Oceanographic Events in the Sediments of the se Indian Ocean, Western Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McHugh, C. M.; Castaneda, J.; Kominz, M. A.; Gallagher, S. J.; Gurnis, M.; Ishiwa, T.; Mamo, B. L.; Henderiks, J.; Christensen, B. A.; Groeneveld, J.; Yokoyama, Y.; Mustaque, S.; Iqbal, F.

2016-12-01

uplift event, possibly related to the ongoing collision of the Australian plate with the Java Trench. These tectonic events could have caused faulting and mass-transport affecting the western Australian margin. Nevertheless, the Pleistocene climatic signal is strong overprinting the possible effects of tectonic events.

Plate tectonic constraints on the cessation of subduction beneath the Baja California peninsula, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stock, J. M.

2007-05-01

I review published models, existing global plate tectonic data and published marine geophysical observations west of Baja California to assess the timing and conditions under which subduction ceased along the W margin of Baja California. The relative motion of the Farallon microplate fragments can be reconstructed using Pacific- North America global plate motions (from the Pacific-Antarctica-Nubia-North America plate circuit) added to the local velocities of the microplates with respect to the Pacific plate. Because the Pacific plate was moving obliquely away from North America, the time at which subduction stopped has often been taken to be the time at which the microplates joined the Pacific plate (the ages of dead spreading centers preserved west of North America on the Pacific plate). The timing of cessation of subduction west of what is now northern Baja California is not recorded by a dead ridge offshore but is inferred to be coincident with extension and rotation in the continental borderland (early-middle Miocene). The Arguello microplate stopped spreading relative to the Pacific plate at about 13 Ma, providing a younger age limit on the cessation of subduction in the sector N of the Shirley transform fault. The time of cessation of spreading of the Magdalena-Pacific (M-P) ridge has been proposed by Michaud et al. (2006 Geology) to be as young as 8 Ma. However, the clockwise rotation of the M-P ridge before it ceased, and its inferred slow spreading rate away from the Pacific plate implies transcurrent motion with virtually no convergence between the Magdalena microplate and the North America plate during the last stages of activity of the M-P ridge. Subduction can occur by motion of forearc fragments without any convergence of the major bounding plates (e.g., the modern South Shetland Trench), but this may be ruled out for Baja California due to the small spatial scale of the microplates compared to the scale of the stable Baja California peninsula block

Precambrian plate tectonic setting of Africa from multidimensional discrimination diagrams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, Sanjeet K.

2017-01-01

New multi-dimensional discrimination diagrams have been used to identify plate tectonic setting of Precambrian terrains. For this work, nine sets of new discriminant-function based multi-dimensional discrimination diagrams were applied for thirteen case studies of Precambrian basic, intermediate and acid magmas from Africa to highlight the application of these diagrams and probability calculations. The applications of these diagrams indicated the following results: For northern Africa: to Wadi Ghadir ophiolite, Egypt indicated an arc setting for Neoproterozoic (746 ± 19 Ma). For South Africa: Zandspruit greenstone and Bulai pluton showed a collision and a transitional continental arc to collision setting at about Mesoarchaean and Neoarchaean (3114 ± 2.3 Ma and 2610-2577 Ma); Mesoproterozoic (1109 ± 0.6 Ma and 1100 Ma) ages for Espungabera and Umkondo sills were consistent with an island arc setting. For eastern Africa, Iramba-Sekenke greenstone belt and Suguti area, Tanzania showed an arc setting for Neoarchaean (2742 ± 27 Ma and 2755 ± 1 Ma). Chila, Bulbul-Kenticha domain, and Werri area indicated a continental arc setting at about Neoproterozoic (800-789 Ma); For western Africa, Sangmelima region and Ebolowa area, southern Cameroon indicated a collision and continental arc setting, respectively for Neoarchaean (∼2800-2900 Ma and 2687-2666 Ma); Finally, Paleoproterozoic (2232-2169 Ma) for Birimian supergroup, southern Ghana a continental arc setting; and Paleoproterozoic (2123-2108 Ma) for Katiola-Marabadiassa, Côte d'Ivoire a transitional continental arc to collision setting. Although there were some inconsistencies in the inferences, most cases showed consistent results of tectonic settings. These inconsistencies may be related to mixed ages, magma mixing, crustal contamination, degree of mantle melting, and mantle versus crustal origin.

Using Tectonic Tremor to Constrain Seismic-wave Attenuation in Cascadia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Littel, G.; Thomas, A.; Baltay, A.

2017-12-01

In addition to fast, seismic slip, many subduction zones also host slow, largely aseismic slip, accompanied by a weak seismic signal known as tectonic tremor. Tremor is a small amplitude, low-frequency seismic signal that originates at the plate interface, down-dip of where large earthquakes typically occur. The Cascadia subduction zone has not seen a large megathrust earthquake since 1700, yet its recurrence interval of 350-500 years motivates heightened interest in understanding the seismic hazard of the region. Of great importance is to understand the degree to which waves are attenuated as they leave the plate interface and travel towards populated regions of interest. Ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) relate ground motion to a number of parameters, including earthquake magnitude, depth, style of faulting, and anelastic attenuation, and are typically determined empirically from earthquake ground motion recordings. In Cascadia, however, earthquakes of the moderate size typically used to constrain GMPEs occur relatively infrequently compared to tectonic tremor events, which, in contrast, occur periodically approximately every 10-19 months. Studies have shown that the abundant tectonic tremor in Cascadia, despite its small amplitudes, can be used to constrain seismic wave attenuation in GMPEs. Here we quantify seismic wave attenuation and determine its spatial variations in Cascadia by performing an inversion using tremor ground motion amplitudes, taken as peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV) from 1 min window waveforms of each individual tremor event. We estimate the anelastic attenuation parameter for varying regional sections along the Cascadia margin. Changes in seismic-wave attenuation along the Cascadia Subduction Zone could result in significantly different ground motions in the event of a very large earthquake, hence quantifying attenuation may help to better estimate the severity of shaking in densely populated

A source-sink model of the generation of plate tectonics from non-Newtonian mantle flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bercovici, David

1995-01-01

A model of mantle convection which generates plate tectonics requires strain rate- or stress-dependent rheology in order to produce strong platelike flows with weak margins as well as strike-slip deformation and plate spin (i.e., toroidal motion). Here, we employ a simple model of source-sink driven surface flow to determine the form of such a rheology that is appropriate for Earth's present-day plate motions. In this model, lithospheric motion is treated as shallow layer flow driven by sources and sinks which correspond to spreading centers and subduction zones, respectively. Two plate motion models are used to derive the source sink field. As originally implied in the simpler Cartesian version of this model, the classical power law rheologies do not generate platelike flows as well as the hypothetical Whitehead-Gans stick-slip rheology (which incorporates a simple self-lubrication mechanism). None of the fluid rheologies examined, however, produce more than approximately 60% of the original maximum shear. For either plate model, the viscosity fields produced by the power law rheologies are diffuse, and the viscosity lows over strike-slip shear zones or pseudo-margins are not as small as over the prescribed convergent-divergent margins. In contrast, the stick-slip rheology generates very platelike viscosity fields, with sharp gradients at the plate boundaries, and margins with almost uniformly low viscosity. Power law rheologies with high viscosity contrasts, however, lead to almost equally favorable comparisons, though these also yield the least platelike viscosity fields. This implies that the magnitude of toroidal flow and platelike strength distributions are not necessarily related and thus may present independent constraints on the determination of a self-consistent plate-mantle rheology.

Cenozoic tectonic events at the border of the Paraná Basin, São Paulo, Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandes, A. J.; Amaral, G.

2002-03-01

In the last decade, even in areas that had been considered tectonically stable, a great amount of Cenozoic, including the Quaternary period, structural data have been collected throughout Brazil. The main goal of this study is to describe the Cenozoic structures and tectonic evolution of an area that is located at the border of the Paraná Basin in the state of São Paulo. The research methods consisted of the analysis of: (1) brittle structure data, mainly conjugate fractures and fault slip data; (2) lineaments traced on air photos and TM Landsat and radar images; and (3) a second-order base surface map. The study area, during the Cenozoic, has been affected by five strike-slip tectonic events, which generated mainly strike-slip faults, and secondarily normal and reverse ones. The events were named, from the oldest to the youngest, E1-NE, E2-EW, E3-NW, E4-NS, and E5-NNE; and the maximum principal stresses σ1 strike approximately NE-SW, E-W, NW-SE, N-S, and NNE-SSW, respectively. Event E2-EW seems to have been contemporaneous with the deposition of the Rio Claro Formation, the most important Cenozoic deposit of probable Neogenic age, and also to have controlled the distribution of its deposits. Event E3-NW was the strongest one in the area, as is pointed out by structural data, and the maximum principal stress σ1 of event E5-NNE is partially concordant with the orientation of σH-max of well break-out data in the Paraná Basin, suggesting a Neotectonic activity for this event. Finally, discontinuities parallel and correlated to the directions of strike-slip faults of the Cenozoic events seem to have actively controlled the sculpturing of the relief in the study area.

Revealing the cascade of slow transients behind a large slow slip event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frank, W.; Rousset, B.; Lasserre, C.; Campillo, M.

2017-12-01

Capable of reaching similar magnitudes to large megathrust earthquakes (Mw > 7), slow slip events play a major role in accommodating tectonic motion on plate boundaries. These slip transients are the slow release of built-up tectonic stress that are geodetically imaged as a predominantly aseismic rupture, which is smooth in both time and space. We demonstrate here that large slow slip events are in fact a complex cascade of short-duration slow transients. Using a dense catalog of low-frequency earthquakes as a guide, we investigate the Mw 7.5 slow slip event that occurred in 2006 along the subduction interface 40 km beneath Guerrero, Mexico. We show that while the long-period surface displacement as recorded by GPS suggests a six month duration, motion in the direction of tectonic release only sporadically occurs over 55 days and its surface signature is attenuated by rapid relocking of the plate interface. These results demonstrate that our current conceptual model of slow and continuous rupture is an artifact of low-resolution geodetic observations of a superposition of small, clustered slip events. Our proposed description of slow slip as a cascade of slow transients implies that we systematically overestimate the duration T and underestimate the moment magnitude M of large slow slip events.

Seismic Wave Velocity in the Subducted Oceanic Crust from Autocorrelation of Tectonic Tremor Signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ducellier, A.; Creager, K.

2017-12-01

Hydration and dehydration of minerals in subduction zones play a key role in the geodynamic processes that generate seismicity and that allow tectonic plates to subduct. Detecting the presence of water in the subducted plate is thus crucial to better understand the seismogenesis and the consequent seismic hazard. A landward dipping, low velocity layer has been detected in most subduction zones. In Cascadia, this low velocity zone is characterized by a low S-wave velocity and a very high Poisson's ratio, which has been interpreted as high pore-fluid pressure in the upper half part of the subducted oceanic crust. Most previous studies were based on seismic reflection imaging, receiver function analysis, or body wave tomography, with seismic sources located far from the low velocity zone. In contrast, the sources of the tectonic tremors generated during Episodic Tremor and Slip (ETS) events are located on the plate boundary. As the sources of the tremors are much closer to the low velocity zone, seismic waves recorded during ETS events should illuminate the area with greater precision. Most methods to detect and locate tectonic tremors and low-frequency earthquakes are based on the cross correlation of seismic signals; either signals at the same station for different events, or the same event at different stations. We use the autocorrelation of the seismic signal recorded by eight arrays of stations, located in the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Each tremor, assumed to be on the plate boundary, generates a direct wave and reflected and converted waves from both the strong shear-wave velocity contrast in the mid-oceanic crust, and from the Moho of the subducted oceanic crust. The time lag between the arrivals of these different waves at a seismic station corresponds to a peak of amplitude on the autocorrelation signals. Using the time lags observed for different locations of the tremor source, we intend to invert for the seismic wave velocity of the subducted oceanic

Effects of Student-Generated Diagrams versus Student-Generated Summaries on Conceptual Understanding of Causal and Dynamic Knowledge in Plate Tectonics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gobert, Janice D.; Clement, John J.

1999-01-01

Grade five students' (n=58) conceptual understanding of plate tectonics was measured by analysis of student-generated summaries and diagrams, and by posttest assessment of both the spatial/static and causal/dynamic aspects of the domain. The diagram group outperformed the summary and text-only groups on the posttest measures. Discusses the effects…

Episodic Cenozoic volcanism and tectonism in the Andes of Peru

USGS Publications Warehouse

Noble, D.C.; McKee, E.H.; Farrar, E.; Petersen, U.

1974-01-01

Radiometric and geologic information indicate a complex history of Cenozoic volcanism and tectonism in the central Andes. K-Ar ages on silicic pyroclastic rocks demonstrate major volcanic activity in central and southern Peru, northern Chile, and adjacent areas during the Early and Middle Miocene, and provide additional evidence for volcanism during the Late Eocene. A provisional outline of tectonic and volcanic events in the Peruvian Andes during the Cenozoic includes: one or more pulses of igneous activity and intense deformation during the Paleocene and Eocene; a period of quiescence, lasting most of Oligocene time; reinception of tectonism and volcanism at the beginning of the Miocene; and a major pulse of deformation in the Middle Miocene accompanied and followed through the Pliocene by intense volcanism and plutonism. Reinception of igneous activity and tectonism at about the Oligocene-Miocene boundary, a feature recognized in other circum-Pacific regions, may reflect an increase in the rate of rotation of the Pacific plate relative to fixed or quasifixed mantle coordinates. Middle Miocene tectonism and latest Tertiary volcanism correlates with and probably is genetically related to the beginning of very rapid spreading at the East Pacific Rise. ?? 1974.

Evidence for long-lived subduction of an ancient tectonic plate beneath the southern Indian Ocean: Ancient Slab Beneath the Indian Ocean

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simmons, N. A.; Myers, S. C.; Johannesson, G.

In this study, ancient subducted tectonic plates have been observed in past seismic images of the mantle beneath North America and Eurasia, and it is likely that other ancient slab structures have remained largely hidden, particularly in the seismic-data-limited regions beneath the vast oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. Here we present a new global tomographic image, which shows a slab-like structure beneath the southern Indian Ocean with coherency from the upper mantle to the core-mantle boundary region—a feature that has never been identified. We postulate that the structure is an ancient tectonic plate that sank into the mantle along anmore » extensive intraoceanic subduction zone that migrated southwestward across the ancient Tethys Ocean in the Mesozoic Era. Slab material still trapped in the transition zone is positioned near the edge of East Gondwana at 140 Ma suggesting that subduction terminated near the margin of the ancient continent prior to breakup and subsequent dispersal of its subcontinents.« less

Evidence for long-lived subduction of an ancient tectonic plate beneath the southern Indian Ocean: Ancient Slab Beneath the Indian Ocean

DOE PAGES

Simmons, N. A.; Myers, S. C.; Johannesson, G.; ...

2015-11-14

In this study, ancient subducted tectonic plates have been observed in past seismic images of the mantle beneath North America and Eurasia, and it is likely that other ancient slab structures have remained largely hidden, particularly in the seismic-data-limited regions beneath the vast oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. Here we present a new global tomographic image, which shows a slab-like structure beneath the southern Indian Ocean with coherency from the upper mantle to the core-mantle boundary region—a feature that has never been identified. We postulate that the structure is an ancient tectonic plate that sank into the mantle along anmore » extensive intraoceanic subduction zone that migrated southwestward across the ancient Tethys Ocean in the Mesozoic Era. Slab material still trapped in the transition zone is positioned near the edge of East Gondwana at 140 Ma suggesting that subduction terminated near the margin of the ancient continent prior to breakup and subsequent dispersal of its subcontinents.« less

Shallow very-low-frequency earthquakes accompanied with slow slip event along the plate boundary of the Nankai trough

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakano, M.; Hori, T.; Araki, E.; Kodaira, S.; Ide, S.

2017-12-01

Recent improvements of seismic and geodetic observations have revealed the existence of a new family of slow earthquakes occurring along or close to the plate boundary worldwide. In the viewpoint of the characteristic time scales, the slow earthquakes can be classified into several groups as low-frequency tremor or tectonic tremor (LFT) dominated in several hertz, very-low-frequency earthquake (VLFE) dominated in 10 to 100 s, and short- and long-term slow-slip event (SSE) with durations of days to years. In many cases, these slow earthquakes are accompanied with other types of slow events. However, the events occurring offshore, especially beneath the toe of accretionary prism, are poorly understood because of the difficulty to detect signals. Utilizing the data captured from oceanfloor observation networks which many efforts have recently been taken to develop is necessary to improve our understandings for these events. Here, we investigated CMT analysis of shallow VLFEs using data obtained from DONET oceanfloor observation networks along the Nankai trough, southwest of Japan. We found that shallow VLFEs have almost identical history of moment release with that of synchronous SSE which occurred at the same region recently found by Araki et al. (2017). VLFE sources show updip migrations during the activity, coincident with the migration of SSE source. From these findings we conclude that these slow events share the same fault slip, and VLFE represent high-frequency fluctuations of slip during SSE. This result imply that shallow SSE along the plate interface would have occurred in the background during the shallow VLFE activities repeatedly observed along the Nankai trough, but the SSE was not reported because of difficult detections.

Tectonic implications of Mesozoic magmatism to initiation of Cenozoic basin development within the passive South China Sea margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mai, Hue Anh; Chan, Yu Lu; Yeh, Meng Wan; Lee, Tung Yi

2018-04-01

The South China Sea (SCS) is one of the classical example of a non-volcanic passive margin situated within three tectonic plates of the Eurasian, Indo-Australian and Philippine Sea plate. The development of SCS resulted from interaction of various types of plate boundaries, and complex tectonic assemblage of micro blocks and accretionary prisms. Numerous models were proposed for the formation of SCS, yet none can fully satisfy different aspects of tectonic forces. Temporal and geographical reconstruction of Cretaceous and Cenozoic magmatism with the isochrones of major basins was conducted. Our reconstruction indicated the SE margin of Asia had gone through two crustal thinning events. The sites for rifting development are controlled by localized thermal weakening of magmatism. NW-SE extension setting during Late Cretaceous revealed by magmatism distribution and sedimentary basins allow us to allocate the retreated subduction of Pacific plate to the cause of first crustal thinning event. A magmatic gap between 75 and 65 Ma prior to the initiation of first basin rifting suggested a significant modification of geodynamic setting occurred. The Tainan basin, Pearl River Mouth basin, and Liyue basins started to develop since 65 Ma where the youngest Late Cretaceous magmatism concentrated. Sporadic bimodal volcanism between 65 and 40 Ma indicates further continental extension prior to the opening of SCS. The E-W extension of Malay basin and West Natuna began since late Eocene followed by N-S rifting of SCS as Neotethys subducted. The SCS ridge developed between Pearl River Mouth basin and Liyue basin where 40 Ma volcanic activities concentrated. The interaction of two continental stretching events by Pacific followed by Neotethys subduction with localized magmatic thermal weakening is the cause for the non-volcanic nature of SCS.

Dynamics of Mid-Palaeocene North Atlantic rifting linked with European intra-plate deformations.

PubMed

Nielsen, Søren B; Stephenson, Randell; Thomsen, Erik

2007-12-13

The process of continental break-up provides a large-scale experiment that can be used to test causal relations between plate tectonics and the dynamics of the Earth's deep mantle. Detailed diagnostic information on the timing and dynamics of such events, which are not resolved by plate kinematic reconstructions, can be obtained from the response of the interior of adjacent continental plates to stress changes generated by plate boundary processes. Here we demonstrate a causal relationship between North Atlantic continental rifting at approximately 62 Myr ago and an abrupt change of the intra-plate deformation style in the adjacent European continent. The rifting involved a left-lateral displacement between the North American-Greenland plate and Eurasia, which initiated the observed pause in the relative convergence of Europe and Africa. The associated stress change in the European continent was significant and explains the sudden termination of a approximately 20-Myr-long contractional intra-plate deformation within Europe, during the late Cretaceous period to the earliest Palaeocene epoch, which was replaced by low-amplitude intra-plate stress-relaxation features. The pre-rupture tectonic stress was large enough to have been responsible for precipitating continental break-up, so there is no need to invoke a thermal mantle plume as a driving mechanism. The model explains the simultaneous timing of several diverse geological events, and shows how the intra-continental stratigraphic record can reveal the timing and dynamics of stress changes, which cannot be resolved by reconstructions based only on plate kinematics.

Andean tectonics: Implications for Satellite Geodesy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allenby, R. J.

1984-01-01

Current knowledge and theories of large scale Andean tectonics as they relate to site planning for the NASA Crustal Dynamics Program's proposed high precision geodetic measurements of relative motions between the Nazca and South American plates are summarized. The Nazca Plate and its eastern margin, the Peru-Chile Trench, is considered a prototype plate marked by rapid motion, strong seismicity and well defined boundaries. Tectonic activity across the Andes results from the Nazca Plate subducting under the South American plate in a series of discrete platelets with different widths and dip angles. This in turn, is reflected in the tectonic complexity of the Andes which are a multitutde of orogenic belts superimposed on each other since the Precambrian. Sites for Crustal Dynamics Program measurements are being located to investigate both interplate and extraplate motions. Observing operations have already been initiated at Arequipa, Peru and Easter Island, Santiago and Cerro Tololo, Chile. Sites under consideration include Iquique, Chile; Oruro and Santa Cruz, Bolivia; Cuzco, Lima, Huancayo and Bayovar, Peru; and Quito and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Based on scientific considerations, Santa Cruz, Huancayo (or Lima), Quito and the Galapagos Islands should be replaced by Isla San Felix, Chile; Brazilia or Petrolina, Brazil; and Guayaquil, Ecuador. If resources permit, additional important sites would be Buenaventura and Villavicencio or Puerto La Concordia, Colombia; and Mendoza and Cordoba, Argentina.

A harbinger of plate tectonics: a commentary on Bullard, Everett and Smith (1965) ‘The fit of the continents around the Atlantic’

PubMed Central

Dewey, John F.

2015-01-01

In the 1960s, geology was transformed by the paradigm of plate tectonics. The 1965 paper of Bullard, Everett and Smith was a linking transition between the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics. They showed, conclusively, that the continents around the Atlantic were once contiguous and that the Atlantic Ocean had grown at rates of a few centimetres per year since the Early Jurassic, about 160 Ma. They achieved fits of the continental margins at the 500 fathom line (approx. 900 m), not the shorelines, by minimizing misfits between conjugate margins and finding axes, poles and angles of rotation, using Euler's theorem, that defined the unique single finite difference rotation that carried congruent continents from contiguity to their present positions, recognizing that the real motion may have been more complex around a number of finite motion poles. Critically, they were concerned only with kinematic reality and were not restricted by considerations of the mechanism by which continents split and oceans grow. Many of the defining features of plate tectonics were explicit or implicit in their reconstructions, such as the torsional rigidity of continents, Euler's theorem, closure of the Tethyan ocean(s), major continental margin shear zones, the rapid rotation of small continental blocks (Iberia) around nearby poles, the consequent opening of small wedge-shaped oceans (Bay of Biscay), and misfit overlaps (deltas and volcanic piles) and underlaps (stretched continental edges). This commentary was written to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. PMID:25750142

Transpressional Tectonics across the N. American-Caribbean Plate Boundary: Preliminary Results of a Multichannel Seismic Survey of Lake Azuei, Haiti.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hearn, C. K.; Cormier, M. H.; Sloan, H.; Wattrus, N. J.; Boisson, D.; Brown, B.; Guerrier, K.; King, J. W.; Knotts, P.; Momplaisir, R.; Sorlien, C. C.; Stempel, R.; Symithe, S. J.; Ulysse, S. M. J.

2017-12-01

On January 12, 2010, a Mw 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, killing over 200,000 people and devastating the Capital city of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding regions. It ruptured a previously unknown blind-thrust fault that abuts the Enriquillo Plantain Garden Fault (EPGF), one of two transform faults that define the North American-Caribbean plate boundary. That earthquake highlighted how transpression across this complex boundary is accommodated by slip partitioning into strike-slip and compressional structures. Because the seismic hazard is higher for a rupture on a reverse or oblique-slip fault than on a vertical strike-slip fault, the need to characterize the geometry of that fault system is clear. Lake Azuei overlies this plate boundary 60 km east of the 2010 epicenter. The lake's 23 km long axis trends NW-SE, parallel to the Haitian fold-and-thrust belt and oblique to the EPGF. This tectonic context makes it an ideal target for investigating the partitioning of plate motion between strike-slip and compressional structures. In January 2017, we acquired 222 km of multichannel seismic (MCS) profiles in the lake, largely concurrent with subbottom seismic (CHIRP) profiles. The MCS data were acquired using a high-frequency BubbleGun source and a 75 m-long, 24-channel streamer, achieving a 24 seismic fold with a penetration of 200 m below lakebed. With the goal of resolving tectonic structures in 3-D, survey lines were laid out in a grid with profiles spaced 1.2 km apart. Additional profiles were acquired at the SE end of the lake where most of the tectonic activity is presumably occurring. The co-located CHIRP and MCS profiles document the continuity of tectonic deformation between the surficial sediments and the deeper strata. Preliminary processing suggests that a SW-dipping blind thrust fault, expressed updip as a large monocline fold, may control the western edge of the lake. Gentle, young folds that protrude from the flat lakebed are also imaged with the CHIRP

A source-sink model of the generation of plate tectonics from non-Newtonian mantle flow

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bercovici, D.

1995-02-01

A model of mantle convection which generates plate tectonics requires strain rate- or stress-dependent rheology in order to produce strong platelike flows with weak margins as well as strike-slip deformation and plate spin (i.e., toroidal motion). Here, we employ a simple model of source-sink driven surface flow to determine the form of such a rheology that is appropriate for Earth`s present-day plate motions. In this model, lithospheric motion is treated as shallow layer flow driven by sources and sinks which correspond to spreading centers and subduction zones, respectively. Two plate motion models are used to derive the source sink field.more » As originally implied in the simpler Cartesian version of this model, the classical power law rheologies do not generate platelike flows as well as the hypothetical Whitehead-Gans stick-slip rheology (which incorporates a simple self-lubrication mechanism). None of the fluid rheologies examined, however, produce more than approximately 60% of the original maximum shear. For either plate model, the viscosity fields produced by the power law rheologies are diffuse, and the viscosity lows over strike-slip shear zones or pseudo-margins are not as small as over the prescribed convergent-divergent margins. In contrast, the stick-slip rheology generates very platelike viscosity fields, with sharp gradients at the plate boundaries, and margins with almost uniformly low viscosity. Power law rheologies with high viscosity contrasts, however, lead to almost equally favorable comparisons, though these also yield the least platelike viscosity fields. This implies that the magnitude of toroidal flow and platelike strength distributions are not necessarily related and thus may present independent constraints on the determination of a self-consistent plate-mantle rheology.« less

Tectonic Storytelling with Open Source and Digital Object Identifiers - a case study about Plate Tectonics and the Geopark Bergstraße-Odenwald

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löwe, Peter; Barmuta, Jan; Klump, Jens; Neumann, Janna; Plank, Margret

2014-05-01

The communication of advances in research to the common public for both education and decision making is an important aspect of scientific work. An even more crucial task is to gain recognition within the scientific community, which is judged by impact factor and citation counts. Recently, the latter concepts have been extended from textual publications to include data and software publications. This paper presents a case study for science communication and data citation. For this, tectonic models, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), best practices for data citation and a multimedia online-portal for scientific content are combined. This approach creates mutual benefits for the stakeholders: Target audiences receive information on the latest research results, while the use of Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) increases the recognition and citation of underlying scientific data. This creates favourable conditions for every researcher as DOI names ensure citeability and long term availability of scientific research. In the developed application, the FOSS tool for tectonic modelling GPlates is used to visualise and manipulate plate-tectonic reconstructions and associated data through geological time. These capabilities are augmented by the Science on a Halfsphere project (SoaH) with a robust and intuitive visualisation hardware environment. The tectonic models used for science communication are provided by the AGH University of Science and Technology. They focus on the Silurian to Early Carboniferous evolution of Central Europe (Bohemian Massif) and were interpreted for the area of the Geopark Bergstraße Odenwald based on the GPlates/SoaH hardware- and software stack. As scientific story-telling is volatile by nature, recordings are a natural means of preservation for further use, reference and analysis. For this, the upcoming portal for audiovisual media of the German National Library of Science and Technology TIB is expected to become a critical service

Hot-field tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zonenshain, L. P.; Kuzmin, M. I.; Bocharova, N. Yu.

1991-12-01

Intraplate, hot spot related volcanic occurrences do not have a random distribution on the Earth's surface. They are concentrated in two large regions (up to 10,000 km in diameter), the Pacific and the African, and two smaller areas (2000-3000 km in diameter), the Central Asian and the Tasmanian. These regions are considered as manifestations of hot fields in the mantle, whereas the regions lying in between are expressions of cold fields in the mantle. Large-scale anomalies coincide with the hot fields: topographic swells, geoid highs, uplifts of the "asthenospheric table", inferred heated regions in the lowermost mantle according to seismic tomographic images, geochemical anomalies showing the origin of volcanics from undepleted mantle sources. Hot fields are relatively stable features, having remained in the same position on the Earth's surface during the last 120 Ma, although they have other configurations and other positions in the Late Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic. Available data show that two main hot fields (Pacific and African) are possibly moving one with respect to the other, converging along the Eastern Pacific subduction system and diverging along that of the Western Pacific. If so, well-known differences between these subduction systems can also be connected with related displacement of the hot fields. Hot fields are assumed to correspond to upwelling branches of mantle and rather deep mantle convection, and cold fields to downwelling branches. Thus, hot fields can be regarded as expressions of deeper tectonics, comparative to the plate tectonics, which is operating in the upper layers of the Earth. We call it hot-field tectonics. Plate tectonics is responsible for the opening and closure of oceans and for the formation of orogenic belts, whereas hot-field tectonics accounts for a larger cyclicity of the Earth's evolution and for amalgamation and break up of Pangea-type supercontinents. Hot-field tectonics seems to be the only process to have existed

Petrogenesis of the NE Gondwanan uppermost Ediacaran-Lower Cretaceous siliciclastic sequence of Jordan: Provenance, tectonic, and climatic implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amireh, Belal S.

2018-04-01

special influence of local intracratonic syn-rift rhyolitic extrusions, where their plate tectonic setting is not represented by the standard plate tectonics-provenance diagrams, or to the rather unusual effect of the Late Ordovician glacial event.

Plate tectonic reconstruction of the northeast Eurasian margin and Alaska since 50 Ma using subducted slab constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, J. E.; Suppe, J.; Chen, Y. W.

2016-12-01

Seismic tomographic studies have revealed a swath of flat slab anomalies in the mantle transition zone at 410 to 660 km depths under Japan, Korea and NE China that continue northwards at deeper depths under the Russian Far East. These slab anomalies are remarkable because they appear to be continuous from their western edge far inland (>2000 km) under the NE Eurasian margin to the present-day NW Pacific subduction zones, which suggests they are Pacific slabs that were subducted in the Cenozoic. Other studies have proposed that some of these slabs were subducted at an ancient subduction zone during the Mesozoic or earlier. Here we discuss the fate of these slabs and their implications for the plate tectonic reconstruction of the NW Pacific margin along NE Asia and Alaska. We present both new and recently published slab mapping (Wu et al., 2016; JGR Solid Earth) including 30 major and minor slabs mapped in 3D from MITP08 global seismic tomography. We unfolded our mapped slabs to a spherical Earth model to estimate their pre-subduction size, shape and locations. The slab constraints were input into GPlates software to constrain a new regional NW Pacific plate tectonic reconstruction in the Cenozoic. Mapped slabs included the Marianas, Izu-Bonin, Japan and Kuril slabs, the Philippine Sea slabs and Aleutian slabs under the Bering Sea. Our mapped western Pacific slabs between the southernmost Izu-Bonin trench and the western Aleutians had unfolded E-W lengths of 3400 to 4900 km. Our plate model shows that these slabs are best reconstructed as Pacific slabs that were subducted in the Cenozoic and account for fast Pacific subduction along the NE Eurasian margin since plate reorganization at 50 Ma. Our mapped northern Kuril slab edge near the western Aleutians and a southern edge at the southernmost Izu-Bonin trench are roughly east-west and consistent with the orientations of Pacific absolute motions since 50 Ma. We interpret these long E-W slab edges as STEP fault

GPS and seismological constraints on active tectonics and arc-continent collision in Papua New Guinea: Implications for mechanics of microplate rotations in a plate boundary zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, Laura M.; Stevens, Colleen; Silver, Eli; McCaffrey, Rob; Loratung, Wesley; Hasiata, Suvenia; Stanaway, Richard; Curley, Robert; Rosa, Robert; Taugaloidi, Jones

2004-05-01

The island of New Guinea is located within the deforming zone between the Pacific and Australian plates that converge obliquely at ˜110 mm/yr. New Guinea has been fragmented into a complex array of microplates, some of which rotate rapidly about nearby vertical axes. We present velocities from a network of 38 Global Positioning System (GPS) sites spanning much of the nation of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The GPS-derived velocities are used to explain the kinematics of major tectonic blocks in the region and the nature of strain accumulation on major faults in PNG. We simultaneously invert GPS velocities, earthquake slip vectors on faults, and transform orientations in the Woodlark Basin for the poles of rotation of the tectonic blocks and the degree of elastic strain accumulation on faults in the region. The data are best explained by six distinct tectonic blocks: the Australian, Pacific, South Bismarck, North Bismarck, and Woodlark plates and a previously unrecognized New Guinea Highlands Block. Significant portions of the Ramu-Markham Fault appear to be locked, which has implications for seismic hazard determination in the Markham Valley region. We also propose that rapid clockwise rotation of the South Bismarck plate is controlled by edge forces initiated by the collision between the Finisterre arc and the New Guinea Highlands.

Scaling and spatial complementarity of tectonic earthquake swarms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Passarelli, Luigi; Rivalta, Eleonora; Jónsson, Sigurjón; Hensch, Martin; Metzger, Sabrina; Jakobsdóttir, Steinunn S.; Maccaferri, Francesco; Corbi, Fabio; Dahm, Torsten

2018-01-01

Tectonic earthquake swarms (TES) often coincide with aseismic slip and sometimes precede damaging earthquakes. In spite of recent progress in understanding the significance and properties of TES at plate boundaries, their mechanics and scaling are still largely uncertain. Here we evaluate several TES that occurred during the past 20 years on a transform plate boundary in North Iceland. We show that the swarms complement each other spatially with later swarms discouraged from fault segments activated by earlier swarms, which suggests efficient strain release and aseismic slip. The fault area illuminated by earthquakes during swarms may be more representative of the total moment release than the cumulative moment of the swarm earthquakes. We use these findings and other published results from a variety of tectonic settings to discuss general scaling properties for TES. The results indicate that the importance of TES in releasing tectonic strain at plate boundaries may have been underestimated.

Indentation and Lateral Escape in Western Ishtar Terra, Venus — An Analog for Deformation of the Archean Abitibi Subprovince, Superior Craton, Canada Without Plate Tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, L. B.; Bédard, J. H.

2015-05-01

Radar about Lakshmi Planum, Venus, shows regional transcurrent shear zones, folds and thrusts formed by indentation and lateral escape. The Archean Abitibi subprovince Canada shows identical structures suggesting a similar, non-plate tectonic origin.

Tectonic evolution of the terrestrial planets.

PubMed

Head, J W; Solomon, S C

1981-07-03

The style and evolution of tectonics on the terrestrial planets differ substantially. The style is related to the thickness of the lithosphere and to whether the lithosphere is divided into distinct, mobile plates that can be recycled into the mantle, as on Earth, or is a single spherical shell, as on the moon, Mars, and Mercury. The evolution of a planetary lithosphere and the development of plate tectonics appear to be influenced by several factors, including planetary size, chemistry, and external and internal heat sources. Vertical tectonic movement due to lithospheric loading or uplift is similar on all of the terrestrial planets and is controlled by the local thickness and rheology of the lithosphere. The surface of Venus, although known only at low resolution, displays features both similar to those on Earth (mountain belts, high plateaus) and similar to those on the smaller planets (possible impact basins). Improved understanding of the tectonic evolution of Venus will permit an evaluation of the relative roles of planetary size and chemistry in determining evolutionary style.

The interior of Venus and Tectonic implications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, R. J.; Malin, M. C.

1983-01-01

It is noted in the present consideration of the Venus lithosphere and its implications for plate tectonics that the major linear elevated regions of Venus, which are associated with Beta Regio and Aphrodite Terra, do not seem to have the shape required for sure interpretation as the divergent plate boundaries of seafloor spreading. Such tectonics instead appear to be confined to the median plains, and may not be resolvable in the Pioneer Venus altimetry data. The ratios of gravity anomalies to topographic heights indicate that surface load compensation occurs at depths greater than about 100 km under the western Aphrodite Terra and 400 km under Beta Regio, with at least some of this compensation probably being maintained by mantle convection. It is also found that the shape of Venus's hypsogram is very different from the ocean mode of the earth's hypsogram, and it is proposed that Venus tectonics resemble intraplate, basin-and-swell tectonics on earth.

Plate tectonic regulation of global marine animal diversity.

PubMed

Zaffos, Andrew; Finnegan, Seth; Peters, Shanan E

2017-05-30

Valentine and Moores [Valentine JW, Moores EM (1970) Nature 228:657-659] hypothesized that plate tectonics regulates global biodiversity by changing the geographic arrangement of continental crust, but the data required to fully test the hypothesis were not available. Here, we use a global database of marine animal fossil occurrences and a paleogeographic reconstruction model to test the hypothesis that temporal patterns of continental fragmentation have impacted global Phanerozoic biodiversity. We find a positive correlation between global marine invertebrate genus richness and an independently derived quantitative index describing the fragmentation of continental crust during supercontinental coalescence-breakup cycles. The observed positive correlation between global biodiversity and continental fragmentation is not readily attributable to commonly cited vagaries of the fossil record, including changing quantities of marine rock or time-variable sampling effort. Because many different environmental and biotic factors may covary with changes in the geographic arrangement of continental crust, it is difficult to identify a specific causal mechanism. However, cross-correlation indicates that the state of continental fragmentation at a given time is positively correlated with the state of global biodiversity for tens of millions of years afterward. There is also evidence to suggest that continental fragmentation promotes increasing marine richness, but that coalescence alone has only a small negative or stabilizing effect. Together, these results suggest that continental fragmentation, particularly during the Mesozoic breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, has exerted a first-order control on the long-term trajectory of Phanerozoic marine animal diversity.

Plate tectonic regulation of global marine animal diversity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaffos, Andrew; Finnegan, Seth; Peters, Shanan E.

2017-05-01

Valentine and Moores [Valentine JW, Moores EM (1970) Nature 228:657-659] hypothesized that plate tectonics regulates global biodiversity by changing the geographic arrangement of continental crust, but the data required to fully test the hypothesis were not available. Here, we use a global database of marine animal fossil occurrences and a paleogeographic reconstruction model to test the hypothesis that temporal patterns of continental fragmentation have impacted global Phanerozoic biodiversity. We find a positive correlation between global marine invertebrate genus richness and an independently derived quantitative index describing the fragmentation of continental crust during supercontinental coalescence-breakup cycles. The observed positive correlation between global biodiversity and continental fragmentation is not readily attributable to commonly cited vagaries of the fossil record, including changing quantities of marine rock or time-variable sampling effort. Because many different environmental and biotic factors may covary with changes in the geographic arrangement of continental crust, it is difficult to identify a specific causal mechanism. However, cross-correlation indicates that the state of continental fragmentation at a given time is positively correlated with the state of global biodiversity for tens of millions of years afterward. There is also evidence to suggest that continental fragmentation promotes increasing marine richness, but that coalescence alone has only a small negative or stabilizing effect. Together, these results suggest that continental fragmentation, particularly during the Mesozoic breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, has exerted a first-order control on the long-term trajectory of Phanerozoic marine animal diversity.

Investigating the Subduction History of the Southwest Pacific using Coupled Plate Tectonic-Mantle Convection Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, K. J.; Flament, N. E.; Williams, S.; Müller, D.; Gurnis, M.

2014-12-01

The Late Cretaceous to mid Eocene (~85-45 Ma) evolution of the southwest Pacific has been the subject of starkly contrasting plate reconstruction models, reflecting sparse and ambiguous data. Disparate models of (1) west-dipping subduction and back-arc basin opening to the east of the Lord Howe Rise, (2) east-dipping subduction and back-arc basin closure to the east of the Lord Howe Rise, and (3) tectonic quiescence with no subduction have all been proposed for this time frame. To help resolve this long-standing problem we test a new southwest Pacific reconstruction using global mantle flow models with imposed plate motions. The kinematic model incorporates east to northeast directed rollback of a west-dipping subduction zone between 85 and 55 Ma, accommodating opening of the South Loyalty back-arc basin to the east of New Caledonia. At 55 Ma there is a plate boundary reorganization in the region. West-dipping subduction and back-arc basin spreading end, and there is initiation of northeast dipping subduction within the back-arc basin. Consumption of South Loyalty Basin seafloor continues until 45 Ma, when obduction onto New Caledonia begins. West-dipping Tonga-Kermadec subduction initiates at this time at the relict Late Cretaceous-earliest Eocene subduction boundary. We use the 3D spherical mantle convection code CitcomS coupled to the plate reconstruction software GPlates, with plate motions and evolving plate boundaries imposed since 230 Ma. The predicted present-day mantle structure is compared to S- and P-wave seismic tomography models, which can be used to infer the presence of slab material in the mantle at locations where fast velocity anomalies are imaged. This workflow enables us to assess the forward-modeled subduction history of the region.

Revealing the cluster of slow transients behind a large slow slip event.

PubMed

Frank, William B; Rousset, Baptiste; Lasserre, Cécile; Campillo, Michel

2018-05-01

Capable of reaching similar magnitudes to large megathrust earthquakes [ M w (moment magnitude) > 7], slow slip events play a major role in accommodating tectonic motion on plate boundaries through predominantly aseismic rupture. We demonstrate here that large slow slip events are a cluster of short-duration slow transients. Using a dense catalog of low-frequency earthquakes as a guide, we investigate the M w 7.5 slow slip event that occurred in 2006 along the subduction interface 40 km beneath Guerrero, Mexico. We show that while the long-period surface displacement, as recorded by Global Positioning System, suggests a 6-month duration, the motion in the direction of tectonic release only sporadically occurs over 55 days, and its surface signature is attenuated by rapid relocking of the plate interface. Our proposed description of slow slip as a cluster of slow transients forces us to re-evaluate our understanding of the physics and scaling of slow earthquakes.

Inherited segmentation of the Iberian-African margins and tectonic reconstruction of a diffuse plate boundary.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernàndez, Manel; Torne, Montserrat; Vergés, Jaume; Casciello, Emilio

2016-04-01

Diffuse plate-boundary regions are characterized by non-well defined contacts between tectonic plates thus making difficult their reconstruction through time. The Western Mediterranean is one of these regions, where the convergence between the African and Iberian plates since Late Cretaceous resulted in the Betic-Rif arcuate orogen, the Gulf of Cadiz imbricate wedge, and the Alboran back-arc basin. Whereas the Iberia-Africa plate boundary is well defined west to the Gorringe Bank and along the Gloria Fault, it becomes much more diffuse eastwards with seismicity spreading over both the south-Iberian and north-African margins. Gravity data, when filtered for short wavelengths, show conspicuous positive Bouguer anomalies associated with the Gorringe Bank, the Gulf of Cadiz High and the Ronda/Beni-Bousera peridotitic massifs reflecting an inherited Jurassic margin segmentation. The subsequent Alpine convergence between Africa and Iberia reactivated these domains, producing crustal-scale thrusting in the Atlantic segments and eventually subduction in the proto-Mediterranean segments. The Jurassic segmentation of the Iberia-Africa margins substantiates the double-polarity subduction model proposed for the region characterized by a change from SE-dipping polarity in the Gorringe, Gulf of Cadiz and Betic-Rif domains, to NW-dipping polarity in the proto-Algerian domain. Therefore, the Algerian and Tyrrhenian basins in the east and the Alboran basin in the west are the result of SSE-E and NW-W retreating slabs of oceanic and/or hyper-extended Tethyan domains, respectively.

The interpretation of crustal dynamics data in terms of plate interactions and active tectonics of the Anatolian Plate and surrounding regions in the Middle East

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toksoz, M. Nafi

1987-01-01

The long term objective of this project is to interpret NASA's Crustal Dynamics measurements (SLR) in the Eastern Mediterranean region in terms of relative plate motions and intraplate deformation. The approach is to combine realistic modeling studies with an analysis of available geophysical and geological observations to provide a framework for interpreting NASA's measurements. This semi-annual report concentrates on recent results regarding the tectonics of Anatolia and surrounding regions from ground based observations. Also briefly reported on is progress made in using GPS measurements to densify SLR observations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Episodic vs. Continuous Accretion in the Franciscan Accretionary Prism and Direct Plate Motion Controls vs. More Local Tectonic Controls on Prism Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumitru, T. A.; Ernst, W. G.; Wakabayashi, J.

2011-12-01

blocks in olistotromes and the bulk of the terrane may be mid-Cretaceous trench sediments. (4) New data from the Central mélange belt are pending. (5) Detrital zircon ages suggest much of the voluminous Coastal belt was deposited in a short, rapid surge in the Middle Eocene, coincident with major extension, core complex development, volcanism, and erosion in sediment source areas in Idaho-Montana. Rapid Tyee Fm deposition in coastal Oregon occurred at virtually the same time from the same sources. (6) Exposed post-Eocene Franciscan rocks are rare. It is tempting to ascribe subduction zone tectonic events directly to changes in relative motions between the subducting and overriding lithospheric plates. However, in modern subduction zones, varying sediment supply to the trench appears to be a more important control on accretionary prism evolution and this seems to be the case in the Franciscan as well. Franciscan accretion was apparently influenced primarily by complex continental interior tectonics controlling sediment supply from the North American Cordillera (which may in part reflect plate motion changes), rather than directly by changes in the motions of tectonic plates.

Supercontinents, mantle dynamics and plate tectonics: A perspective based on conceptual vs. numerical models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Masaki; Santosh, M.

2011-03-01

The periodic assembly and dispersal of supercontinents through the history of the Earth had considerable impact on mantle dynamics and surface processes. Here we synthesize some of the conceptual models on supercontinent amalgamation and disruption and combine it with recent information from numerical studies to provide a unified approach in understanding Wilson Cycle and supercontinent cycle. Plate tectonic models predict that superdownwelling along multiple subduction zones might provide an effective mechanism to pull together dispersed continental fragments into a closely packed assembly. The recycled subducted material that accumulates at the mantle transition zone and sinks down into the core-mantle boundary (CMB) provides the potential fuel for the generation of plumes and superplumes which ultimately fragment the supercontinent. Geological evidence related to the disruption of two major supercontinents (Columbia and Gondwana) attest to the involvement of plumes. The re-assembly of dispersed continental fragments after the breakup of a supercontinent occurs through complex processes involving 'introversion', 'extroversion' or a combination of both, with the closure of the intervening ocean occurring through Pacific-type or Atlantic-type processes. The timescales of the assembly and dispersion of supercontinents have varied through the Earth history, and appear to be closely linked with the processes and duration of superplume genesis. The widely held view that the volume of continental crust has increased over time has been challenged in recent works and current models propose that plate tectonics creates and destroys Earth's continental crust with more crust being destroyed than created. The creation-destruction balance changes over a supercontinent cycle, with a higher crustal growth through magmatic influx during supercontinent break-up as compared to the tectonic erosion and sediment-trapped subduction in convergent margins associated with supercontinent

Plate motion changes drive Eastern Indian Ocean microcontinent formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whittaker, J. M.; Williams, S.; Halpin, J.; Wild, T.; Stilwell, J.; Jourdan, F.; Daczko, N. R.

2016-12-01

The roles of plate tectonic or mantle dynamic forces in rupturing continental lithosphere remain controversial. Particularly enigmatic is the rifting of microcontinents from mature continental rifted margin - several well-studied microcontinent calving events coincide in space and time with mantle plume activity, but the significance of plumes in driving microcontinent formation remains controversial, and a role for plate-driven processes has also been suggested. In 2011, our team discovered two new microcontinents in the eastern Indian Ocean, the Batavia and Gulden Draak microcontinents. These microcontinents are unique as they are the only surviving remnants of the now-destroyed or highly deformed Greater Indian margin and provide us with an opportunity to test existing models of microcontinent formation against new observations. Here, we explore models for microcontinent formation using our new data from the Eastern Indian Ocean in a plate tectonic reconstruction framework. We use Argon dating and paleontology results to constrain calving from greater India at 101-104 Ma. This region had been proximal to the active Kerguelen plume for 30 Myrs but we demonstrate that calving did not correspond with a burst of volcanic activity. Rather, it is likely that plume-related thermal weakening of the Indian passive margin preconditioned it for microcontinent formation but calving was triggered by changes in plate tectonic boundary forces. Changes in the relative motions between Indian and Australia led to increasing compressive forces along the long-offset Wallaby-Zenith Fracture Zone, which was eventually abandoned during the jump of the spreading ridge into the Indian continental margin.

Crustal architecture and tectonic evolution of the Cauvery Suture Zone, southern India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chetty, T. R. K.; Yellappa, T.; Santosh, M.

2016-11-01

The Cauvery suture zone (CSZ) in southern India has witnessed multiple deformations associated with multiple subduction-collision history, with incorporation of the related accretionary belts sequentially into the southern continental margin of the Archaean Dharwar craton since Neoarchean to Neoproterozoic. The accreted tectonic elements include suprasubduction complexes of arc magmatic sequences, high-grade supracrustals, thrust duplexes, ophiolites, and younger intrusions that are dispersed along the suture. The intra-oceanic Neoarchean-Neoproterozoic arc assemblages are well exposed in the form of tectonic mélanges dominantly towards the eastern sector of the CSZ and are typically subjected to complex and multiple deformation events. Multi-scale analysis of structural elements with detailed geological mapping of the sub-regions and their structural cross sections, geochemical and geochronological data and integrated geophysical observations suggest that the CSZ is an important zone that preserves the imprints of multiple cycles of Precambrian plate tectonic regimes.

Disparate Tectonic Settings of Devastating Earthquakes in Mexico, September 2017

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, J.; Chen, W. P.; Ning, J.

2017-12-01

Large earthquakes associated with thrust faulting along the plate interface typically pose the highest seismic risk along subduction zones. However, both damaging earthquakes in Mexico of September 2017 are notable exceptions. The Tehuantepec event on the 8th (Mw 8.1) occurred just landward of the trench but is associated with normal faulting, akin to the large (Ms 8) historical event of 1931 that occurred about 200 km to the northwest along this subduction zone. The Puebla earthquake (on the 19th, Mw 7.1) occurred almost 300 km away from the trench where seismic imaging had indicated that the flat-lying slab steepens abruptly and plunges aseismically into the deep mantle. Here we show that both types of tectonic settings are in fact common along a large portion of the Mexican subduction zone, thus identifying source zones of potentially damaging earthquakes away from the plate interface. Additionally, modeling of broadband waveforms made clear that another significant event (Mw 6.1) on the 23rd, is associated with shallow normal faulting in the upper crust, not directly related to the two damaging earthquakes.

Tectonic predictions with mantle convection models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coltice, Nicolas; Shephard, Grace E.

2018-04-01

Over the past 15 yr, numerical models of convection in Earth's mantle have made a leap forward: they can now produce self-consistent plate-like behaviour at the surface together with deep mantle circulation. These digital tools provide a new window into the intimate connections between plate tectonics and mantle dynamics, and can therefore be used for tectonic predictions, in principle. This contribution explores this assumption. First, initial conditions at 30, 20, 10 and 0 Ma are generated by driving a convective flow with imposed plate velocities at the surface. We then compute instantaneous mantle flows in response to the guessed temperature fields without imposing any boundary conditions. Plate boundaries self-consistently emerge at correct locations with respect to reconstructions, except for small plates close to subduction zones. As already observed for other types of instantaneous flow calculations, the structure of the top boundary layer and upper-mantle slab is the dominant character that leads to accurate predictions of surface velocities. Perturbations of the rheological parameters have little impact on the resulting surface velocities. We then compute fully dynamic model evolution from 30 and 10 to 0 Ma, without imposing plate boundaries or plate velocities. Contrary to instantaneous calculations, errors in kinematic predictions are substantial, although the plate layout and kinematics in several areas remain consistent with the expectations for the Earth. For these calculations, varying the rheological parameters makes a difference for plate boundary evolution. Also, identified errors in initial conditions contribute to first-order kinematic errors. This experiment shows that the tectonic predictions of dynamic models over 10 My are highly sensitive to uncertainties of rheological parameters and initial temperature field in comparison to instantaneous flow calculations. Indeed, the initial conditions and the rheological parameters can be good enough

Meso-Cenozoic intraplate contraction in Central and Western Europe: a unique tectonic event?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kley, Jonas; Jähne, Fabian; Malz, Alexander

2014-05-01

From the British Isles to Poland, Europe experienced contractional deformation in Late Cretaceous and Paleogene time. The closest contemporaneous plate margins were the incipient Mid-Atlantic rift in the west and northwest, and the Mediterranean system of subduction zones in the south. Each of these plate margins was located more than 1000 km away from the site of deformation. This tectonic event thus represents an outstanding example of large-scale intraplate shortening and may serve as a template for comparison with modern examples. Its effects are seen in a ca. 500 km wide strip that stretches in NW-SE-direction along the Tornquist Line, a regional fault zone separating thick lithosphere of the Baltic Shield from much thinner lithosphere to the southwest. Most faults and folds also trend NW-SE, but some are linked by large N-S-striking transfer zones. In the southeast, the shortening structures are truncated by the Neogene Carpathian thrust front; their original extent is unknown. In the west, the fault zones fan out into more northerly trends in the Central North Sea and more easterly trends in the Channel area before dying out on the shelf. Late Cretaceous (ca. 90-70 Ma) shortening dominates from Poland to the North Sea, while the main shortening event in Southern Britain is of Paleogene age. Many Late Cretaceous to Paleogene structures have been conditioned by Permian or Triassic through Early Cretaceous extensional faulting, whereas some large basement uplifts and reverse faults have no demonstrable inheritance from earlier extension. The thick, mobile Zechstein salt has modified extensional and contractional structures, but both extend beyond its depositional borders. Even where thick evaporates underlie the Mesozoic sedimentary cover, the basement is typically involved in the deformation, except for localized thin-skinned imbricate thrusting and salt-cored anticlines. Different structural styles do not appear to correlate with the magnitude of shortening

Tectonics and volcanism of Eastern Aphrodite Terra, Venus - No subduction, no spreading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, Vicki L.; Phillips, Roger J.

1993-01-01

Eastern Aphrodite Terra, a deformed region with high topographic relief on Venus, has been interpreted as analogous to a terrestrial extensional or convergent plate boundary. However, analysis of geological and structural relations indicates that the tectonics of eastern Aphrodite Terra is dominated by blistering of the crust by magma diapirs. The findings imply that, within this region, vertical tectonism dominates over horizontal tectonism and, consequently, that this region is neither a divergent nor a convergent plate boundary.

Tectonic Terminology: Some Proposed Changes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Mason L.

1978-01-01

Plate tectonics concepts require a definition of fault, a new term to compliment epeirogeny, and a clarification of transform fault characteristics. This article makes proposals for these changes. (Author/MA)

Rheological decoupling at the Moho and implication to Venusian tectonics.

PubMed

Azuma, Shintaro; Katayama, Ikuo; Nakakuki, Tomoeki

2014-03-18

Plate tectonics is largely responsible for material and heat circulation in Earth, but for unknown reasons it does not exist on Venus. The strength of planetary materials is a key control on plate tectonics because physical properties, such as temperature, pressure, stress, and chemical composition, result in strong rheological layering and convection in planetary interiors. Our deformation experiments show that crustal plagioclase is much weaker than mantle olivine at conditions corresponding to the Moho in Venus. Consequently, this strength contrast may produce a mechanical decoupling between the Venusian crust and interior mantle convection. One-dimensional numerical modeling using our experimental data confirms that this large strength contrast at the Moho impedes the surface motion of the Venusian crust and, as such, is an important factor in explaining the absence of plate tectonics on Venus.

Tectonic map of Uruguay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez Bettucci, L.; Oyhantcabal, P.

2008-05-01

A compilation of available data about the geology of Uruguay allowed the definition of its main events and tectonic units. Based on a critical revision of different tectonic hypothesis found in the literature, a parsimonious tectonic evolution schema is presented, in the context of Western Gondwana. The tectonic map illustrates the general features of the structure and main tectonic units of Uruguay. The Precambrian shield, cropping out in the South and Southeast of the country is an Archean to Paleoprtoerozoic basement divided in three main tectonostratigraphic terrranes: the Piedra Alta (PAT) a juvenile Paleoproterozoic unit not reworked by later events; the Nico Pérez (NPT) a complex unit composed of several blocks where Archean to Mesoproterozoic events are recognised. The NPT was strongly reworked by Neoproterozoic (Brasiliano) orogeny. The Dom Feliciano Belt cropping out in eastern Uruguay is related to Western Gondwana amalgamation. Different tectonic settings are considered: pre-Brasiliano Basement inliers; supracrustal successions representing the evolution from a back- arc to a foreland basin; a magmatic arc; and post-collisional basins and related magmatism. In lower Paleozoic the Paraná foreland basin was generated as a consequence of orogenic events. The sedimentary successions in Uruguay include continental to shallow marine deposits where the influence of carboniferous to Permian glacial episode is recorded. The Mesozoic record is characterised by the influence of extension related to the break-up of Gondwana and the formation of the Atlantic Ocean: huge amounts of tholeiitic basalt were erupted (near 30.000 km3 in Uruguay), followed by cretaceous sediments in the northern area of the country while in the south-east, bimodal magmatism and sediments of the same age are associated to rift basins. The Cenozoic is characterised by tectonic quiescence. Subsidence is only observed in the western region (Chaco-Paraná Basin) and in the east (Laguna Mer

Satellite Elevation Magnetic and Gravity Models of Major South American Plate Tectonic Features

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vonfrese, R. R. B.; Hinze, W. J.; Braile, L. W.; Lidiak, E. G.; Keller, G. R. (Principal Investigator); Longacre, M. B.

1984-01-01

Some MAGSAT scalar and vector magnetic anomaly data together with regional gravity anomaly data are being used to investigate the regional tectonic features of the South American Plate. An initial step in this analysis is three dimensional modeling of magnetic and gravity anomalies of major structures such as the Andean subduction zone and the Amazon River Aulacogen at satellite elevations over an appropriate range of physical properties using Gaus-Legendre quadrature integration method. In addition, one degree average free-air gravity anomalies of South America and adjacent marine areas are projected to satellite elevations assuming a spherical Earth and available MAGSAT data are processed to obtain compatible data sets for correlation. Correlation of these data sets is enhanced by reduction of the MAGSAT data to radial polarization because of the profound effect of the variation of the magnetic inclination over South America.

Plate tectonics of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verzhbitsky, E. V.; Kononov, M. V.; Kotelkin, V. D.

2007-10-01

Geophysical data on the northern part of the Pacific Ocean were systematized to compile a map of geomagnetic and geothermal studies of the Bering Sea. The absence of reliable data about the formation time of the Bering Sea structures of oceanic and continental origins is noted; this hampered the assessment of the geodynamical processes in the North Pacific. Based on the geophysical data, we estimated the age of the structures of the Bering Sea floor such as the Commander Basin (21 My), the Shirshov Ridge (95 and 33 My in the northern and southern parts, respectively), the Aleutian Basin (70 My), the Vitus Arch (44 My), the Bowers Ridge (30 My), and the Bowers Basin (40 My). These values are confirmed by the geological, geophysical, and kinematic data. A numerical modeling of the formation of extensive regional structures (Emperor Fracture Zone, Chinook Trough, and others) in the Northern Pacific is carried out. A conclusion was made on the basis of the geological and geothermal analysis that the northern and southern parts of the Shirshov Ridge have different geological ages and different tectonic structures. The northern part of the ridge is characterized by an upthrust-nappe terrain origin, while the southern part has originated from a torn-away island arc similar to the origin of the Bowers Ridge. The sea floor of the Aleutian Basin represents a detached part of the Upper Cretaceous Kula plate, on which spreading processes took place in the Vitus Arch area in the Eocene. The final activity phase in the Bering Sea began 21 My B.P. by spreading of the ancient oceanic floor of the Commander Basin. Based on the age estimations of the structures of the Bering Sea floor, the results of the modeling of the process of formation of regional fracture zones and of the geomagnetic, geothermal, tectonic, geological, and structural data, we calculated and compiled a kinematic model (with respect to a hot spot reference system) of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean for 21

Plate-Tectonic Circulation is Driven by Cooling From the Top and is Closed Within the Upper Mantle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, W. B.

2001-12-01

Subduction drives plate tectonics and is due to cooling from the top: circulation is self-organized, and likely is closed above the discontinuity near 660 km. The contrary consensus that plate tectonics is driven by bottom heating and involves the entire mantle combines misunderstood kinematics with flawed concepts of through-the-mantle plumes and subduction. Plume conjecture came from the Emperor-Hawaii progression, the 45 Ma inflection in which was assumed to mark a 60-degree change in direction of that part of the Pacific plate over a fixed plume. Smooth spreading patterns around the east and south margin of the Pacific plate, and paleomagnetic data, disprove such a change. Speculations that plumes move, jump, etc. do not revive falsified conjecture. Geochemical distinctions between enriched island and depleted ridge basalts (which overlap) are expected products of normal upper-mantle processes, not plumes. MORB traverses solidus-T asthenosphere, whereas OIB zone-refines through subsolidus lithosphere and crust, crystallizing refractories to retain T of diminishing melt while assimilating and retaining fusibles. Tomographic inference of deep-mantle subduction is presented misleadingly and may reflect methodological and sampling artifacts (downward smearing, and concentration of recorded body waves in bundles within broad anomalies otherwise poorly sampled). Planetological and other data require hot Earth accretion, and thorough early fractionation, from material much more refractory than primitive meteorites, and are incompatible with the little-fractionated lower mantle postulated to permit whole-mantle circulation. The profound seismic discontinuity near 660 km is a thermodynamic and physical barrier to easy mass transfer in either direction. Refractory lower mantle convects slowly, perhaps in layers, and loses primarily original heat, whereas upper mantle churns rapidly, and the 660 decoupling boundary must have evolved into a compositional barrier also

Impacts and tectonism in Earth and moon history of the past 3800 million years

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stothers, Richard B.

1992-01-01

The moon's surface, unlike the Earth's, displays a comparatively clear record of its past bombardment history for the last 3800 Myr, the time since active lunar tectonism under the massive premare bombardment ended. From Baldwin's (1987) tabulation of estimated ages for a representative sample of large lunar craters younger than 3800 Ma, six major cratering episodes can be discerned. These six bombardment episodes, which must have affected the Earth too, appear to match in time the six major episodes of orogenic tectonism on Earth, despite typical resolution errors of +/- 100 Myr and the great uncertainties of the two chronologies. Since more highly resolved events during the Cenozoic and Mesozoic Eras suggest the same correlation, it is possible that large impacts have influenced plate tectonics and other aspects of geologic history, perhaps by triggering flood basalt eruptions.

Plate tectonic regulation of global marine animal diversity

PubMed Central

Zaffos, Andrew; Finnegan, Seth

2017-01-01

Valentine and Moores [Valentine JW, Moores EM (1970) Nature 228:657–659] hypothesized that plate tectonics regulates global biodiversity by changing the geographic arrangement of continental crust, but the data required to fully test the hypothesis were not available. Here, we use a global database of marine animal fossil occurrences and a paleogeographic reconstruction model to test the hypothesis that temporal patterns of continental fragmentation have impacted global Phanerozoic biodiversity. We find a positive correlation between global marine invertebrate genus richness and an independently derived quantitative index describing the fragmentation of continental crust during supercontinental coalescence–breakup cycles. The observed positive correlation between global biodiversity and continental fragmentation is not readily attributable to commonly cited vagaries of the fossil record, including changing quantities of marine rock or time-variable sampling effort. Because many different environmental and biotic factors may covary with changes in the geographic arrangement of continental crust, it is difficult to identify a specific causal mechanism. However, cross-correlation indicates that the state of continental fragmentation at a given time is positively correlated with the state of global biodiversity for tens of millions of years afterward. There is also evidence to suggest that continental fragmentation promotes increasing marine richness, but that coalescence alone has only a small negative or stabilizing effect. Together, these results suggest that continental fragmentation, particularly during the Mesozoic breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, has exerted a first-order control on the long-term trajectory of Phanerozoic marine animal diversity. PMID:28507147

Jadeitites and Plate Tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harlow, George E.; Tsujimori, Tatsuki; Sorensen, Sorena S.

2015-05-01

Jadeitite is a relatively rare, very tough rock composed predominantly of jadeite and typically found associated with tectonic blocks of high-pressure/low-temperature metabasaltic rocks (e.g., eclogite, blueschist) in exhumed serpentinite-matrix mélanges. Studies over the past ˜20 years have interpreted jadeitite either as the direct hydrous fluid precipitate from subduction channel dewatering into the overlying mantle wedge or as the metasomatic replacement by such fluids of oceanic plagiogranite, graywacke, or metabasite along the channel margin. Thus, jadeitites directly sample and record fluid transport in the subduction factory and provide a window into this geochemical process that is critical to a major process in the Earth system. They record the remarkable transport of large ion lithophile elements, such as Li, Ba, Sr, and Pb, as well as elements generally considered more refractory, such as U, Th, Zr, and Hf. Jadeitite is also the precious form of jade, utilized since antiquity in the form of tools, adornments, and symbols of prestige.

Numerical modelling of instantaneous plate tectonics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minster, J. B.; Haines, E.; Jordan, T. H.; Molnar, P.

1974-01-01

Assuming lithospheric plates to be rigid, 68 spreading rates, 62 fracture zones trends, and 106 earthquake slip vectors are systematically inverted to obtain a self-consistent model of instantaneous relative motions for eleven major plates. The inverse problem is linearized and solved iteratively by a maximum-likelihood procedure. Because the uncertainties in the data are small, Gaussian statistics are shown to be adequate. The use of a linear theory permits (1) the calculation of the uncertainties in the various angular velocity vectors caused by uncertainties in the data, and (2) quantitative examination of the distribution of information within the data set. The existence of a self-consistent model satisfying all the data is strong justification of the rigid plate assumption. Slow movement between North and South America is shown to be resolvable.

Tectonics of the Philippine Sea Plate as Seen From GPS Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kato, T.; Kotake, Y.

2002-12-01

We analyzed the Global Positioning System (GPS) data in and around the Philippine Sea plate (PHS) to provide a velocity field for discussing tectonics of the plate and the mechanism of subduction process around PHS. In the present study, first, we revised the previously determined Euler vector of PHS relative to stable Eurasia using newly obtained data. Eastern part of Europe was assumed to be in a rigid block according to Nocquet et al. (2001) and we estimated the seven parameters of Helmert Transformation of this block relative to ITRF97. Then these parameters were used to estimate the Euler vector of PHS relative to stable Eurasia. For this purpose, we re-analyzed GPS data of up until 2001 at Chichi-jima, Okino-Tori Shima, Minami-Daito, Palau, Aogashima and Hachijo islands in ITRF97 reference together with surrounding IGS sites. Results suggest that the Euler vector of PHS relative to _gstable Eurasia_h is to be (61.4N, 163.7E, 1.003deg/my). Contrary to our previous estimate, the result suggests that Palau may be considered as in the rigid part of PHS. In contrast, the northern Izu islands are suggested to be affected by local volcanic disturbances. Then, we studied tectonic motions of Mariana arc and Palau-Yap arc. The Mariana Islands have been repeatedly observed since 1992. Kotake (2000) analyzed data at Anatahan, Guguan, Pagan and Agrigan as well as Saipan and Guam sites and showed that the velocities are much slower than what we expect from rigid motion of PHS. Residual velocities at these islands clearly show eastward motion of the Mariana Islands, suggesting that the Mariana Islands are subject to the spreading of the Mariana Trough. The rotation pole of the Mariana block was re-estimated as (20.6N, 145.2E) and angular velocity to be 4.17deg/ma, according to the re-estimated PHS motion. The position of the rotation pole is a few degrees south to the geographical hinge point of the Mariana arc and west Mariana ridge at about 24N. Estimated eastward

Plate Motions, Regional Deformation, and Time-Variation of Plate Motions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, R. G.

1998-01-01

The significant results obtained with support of this grant include the following: (1) Using VLBI data in combination with other geodetical, geophysical, and geological data to bound the present rotation of the Colorado Plateau, and to evaluate to its implications for the kinematics and seismogenic potential of the western half of the conterminous U.S. (2) Determining realistic estimates of uncertainties for VLBI data and then applying the data and uncertainties to obtain an upper bound on the integral of deformation within the "stable interior" of the North American and other plates and thus to place an upper bound on the seismogenic potential within these regions. (3) Combining VLBI data with other geodetic, geophysical, and geologic data to estimate the motion of coastal California in a frame of reference attached to the Sierra Nevada-Great Valley microplate. This analysis has provided new insights into the kinematic boundary conditions that may control or at least strongly influence the locations of asperities that rupture in great earthquakes along the San Andreas transform system. (4) Determining a global tectonic model from VLBI geodetic data that combines the estimation of plate angular velocities with individual site linear velocities where tectonically appropriate. and (5) Investigation of the some of the outstanding problems defined by the work leading to global plate motion model NUVEL-1. These problems, such as the motion between the Pacific and North American plates and between west Africa and east Africa, are focused on regions where the seismogenic potential may be greater than implied by published plate tectonic models.

Rheological decoupling at the Moho and implication to Venusian tectonics

PubMed Central

Azuma, Shintaro; Katayama, Ikuo; Nakakuki, Tomoeki

2014-01-01

Plate tectonics is largely responsible for material and heat circulation in Earth, but for unknown reasons it does not exist on Venus. The strength of planetary materials is a key control on plate tectonics because physical properties, such as temperature, pressure, stress, and chemical composition, result in strong rheological layering and convection in planetary interiors. Our deformation experiments show that crustal plagioclase is much weaker than mantle olivine at conditions corresponding to the Moho in Venus. Consequently, this strength contrast may produce a mechanical decoupling between the Venusian crust and interior mantle convection. One-dimensional numerical modeling using our experimental data confirms that this large strength contrast at the Moho impedes the surface motion of the Venusian crust and, as such, is an important factor in explaining the absence of plate tectonics on Venus. PMID:24638113

Eastern Indian Ocean microcontinent formation driven by plate motion changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whittaker, J. M.; Williams, S. E.; Halpin, J. A.; Wild, T. J.; Stilwell, J. D.; Jourdan, F.; Daczko, N. R.

2016-11-01

The roles of plate tectonic or mantle dynamic forces in rupturing continental lithosphere remain controversial. Particularly enigmatic is the rifting of microcontinents from mature continental rifted margins, with plume-driven thermal weakening commonly inferred to facilitate calving. However, a role for plate tectonic reorganisations has also been suggested. Here, we show that a combination of plate tectonic reorganisation and plume-driven thermal weakening were required to calve the Batavia and Gulden Draak microcontinents in the Cretaceous Indian Ocean. We reconstruct the evolution of these two microcontinents using constraints from new paleontological samples, 40Ar/39Ar ages, and geophysical data. Calving from India occurred at 101-104 Ma, coinciding with the onset of a dramatic change in Indian plate motion. Critically, Kerguelen plume volcanism does not appear to have directly triggered calving. Rather, it is likely that plume-related thermal weakening of the Indian passive margin preconditioned it for microcontinent formation but calving was triggered by changes in plate tectonic boundary forces.

High-resolution numerical modeling of tectonic underplating in circum-Pacific subduction zones: toward a better understanding of deformation in the episodic tremor and slip region?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menant, A.; Angiboust, S.; Gerya, T.; Lacassin, R.; Simoes, M.; Grandin, R.

2017-12-01

Study of now-exhumed ancient subduction systems have evidenced km-scale tectonic units of marine sediments and oceanic crust that have been tectonically underplated (i.e. basally accreted) from the downgoing plate to the overriding plate at more than 30-km depth. Such huge mass transfers must have a major impact, both in term of long-term topographic variations and seismic/aseismic deformation in subduction zones. However, the quantification of such responses to the underplating process remains poorly constrained. Using high-resolution visco-elasto-plastic thermo-mechanical models, we present with unprecedented details the dynamics of formation and destruction of underplated complexes in subductions zones. Initial conditions in our experiments are defined in order to fit different subduction systems of the circum-Pacific region where underplating process is strongly suspected (e.g. the Cascadia, SW-Japan, New Zealand, and Chilean subduction zones). It appears that whatever the subduction system considered, underplating of sediments and oceanic crust always occur episodically forming a coherent nappe stacking at depths comprised between 10 and 50 km. At higher depth, a tectonic mélange with a serpentinized mantle wedge matrix developed along the plates interface. The size of these underplated complexes changes according to the subduction system considered. For instance, a 15-km thick nappe stacking is obtained for the N-Chilean subduction zone after a series of underplating events. Such an episodic event lasts 4-5 Myrs and can be responsible of a 2-km high uplift in the forearc region. Subsequent basal erosion of these underplated complexes results in their only partial preservation at crustal and mantle depth, suggesting that, after exhumation, only a tiny section of the overall underplated material can be observed nowadays in ancient subduction systems. Finally, tectonic underplating in our numerical models is systematically associated with (1) an increasing

Survey explores active tectonics in northeastern Caribbean

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carbó, A.; Córdoba, D.; Muñoz-Martín, A.; Granja, J.L.; Martín-Dávila, J.; Pazos, A.; Catalán, M.; Gómez, M.; ten Brink, Uri S.; von Hillebrandt, Christa; Payero, J.

2005-01-01

There is renewed interest in studying the active and complex northeastern Caribbean plate boundary to better understand subduction zone processes and for earthquake and tsunami hazard assessments [e.g., ten Brink and Lin, 2004; ten Brink et al., 2004; Grindlay et al., 2005]. To study the active tectonics of this plate boundary, the GEOPRICO-DO (Geological, Puerto Rico-Dominican) marine geophysical cruise, carried out between 28 March and 17 April 2005 (Figure 1), studied the active tectonics of this plate boundary.Initial findings from the cruise have revealed a large underwater landslide, and active faults on the seafloor (Figures 2a and 2c). These findings indicate that the islands within this region face a high risk from tsunami hazards, and that local governments should be alerted in order to develop and coordinate possible mitigation strategies.

Modelling and visualizing distributed compressional plate deformation using GPlates2.0: The Arctic Eurekan Orogeny

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gion, Austin; Williams, Simon; Müller, Dietmar

2017-04-01

Present-day distributed plate deformation is being mapped and simulated in great detail, largely based on satellite observations. In contrast, the modelling of and data assimilation into deforming plate models for the geological past is still in its infancy. The recently released GPLates2.0 (www.gplates.org) software provides a framework for building plate models including diffuse deformation. Here we present an application example for the Eurekan orogeny, a Paleogene tectonic event driven by sea floor spreading in the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay, resulting in compression between NW Greenland and the Canadian Arctic. The complexity of the region has prompted the development of countless tectonic models over the last 100 years. Our new tectonic model incorporates a variety of geological field and geophysical observations to model rigid and diffuse plate deformation in this region. Compression driven by Greenland's northward motion contemporaneous with sea floor spreading in the Labrador Sea, shortens Ellesmere Island in a "fan" like pattern, creating a series of thrust faults. Our model incorporates two phases of tectonic events during the orogeny from 63-35 Ma. Phase one from 63 to 55 Ma incorporates 85 km of Paleocene extension between Ellesmere Island and Devon Island with extension of 20 km between Axel Heiberg Island and Ellesmere Island and 85 km of left-lateral strike-slip along the Nares Strait/Judge Daly Fault System, matching a range of 50-100 km indicated by the offset of marker beds, facies contacts, and platform margins between the conjugate Greenland and Ellesmere Island margins. Phase two from 55 to 35 Ma captures 30 km of east-west shortening and 200 km of north-south shortening from Ellesmere Island to the Canadian Arctic Island margins. Our model extends the boundaries of the Eurekan Orogeny northward, considering its effect on the Lomonosov Ridge, Morris Jessup Rise, and the Yermak Plateau , favouring a model in which the Lomonosov Ridge moves

High precision U-PB geochronology and implications for the tectonic evolution of the Superior Province

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, D. W.; Corfu, F.; Krogh, T. E.

1986-01-01

The underlying mechanisms of Archean tectonics and the degree to which modern plate tectonic models are applicable early in Earth's history continue to be a subject of considerable debate. A precise knowledge of the timing of geological events is of the utmost importance in studying this problem. The high precision U-Pb method has been applied in recent years to rock units in many areas of the Superior Province. Most of these data have precisions of about + or - 2-3 Ma. The resulting detailed chronologies of local igneous development and the regional age relationships furnish tight constraints on any Archean tectonic model. Superior province terrains can be classified into 3 types: (1) low grade areas dominated by meta-volcanic rocks (greenstone belts); (2) high grade, largely metaplutonic areas with abundant orthogneiss and foliated to massive I-type granitoid bodies; and (3) high grade areas with abundant metasediments, paragneiss and S-type plutons. Most of the U-Pb age determinations have been done on type 1 terrains with very few having been done in type 3 terrains. A compilation of over 120 ages indicates that the major part of igneous activity took place in the period 2760-2670 Ma, known as the Kenoran event. This event was ubiquitous throughout the Superior Province.

Numerical modeling of intraplate seismicity with a deformable loading plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

So, B. D.; Capitanio, F. A.

2017-12-01

We use finite element modeling to investigate on the stress loading-unloading cycles and earthquakes occurrence in the plate interiors, resulting from the interactions of tectonic plates along their boundary. We model a visco-elasto-plastic plate embedding a single or multiple faults, while the tectonic stress is applied along the plate boundary by an external loading visco-elastic plate, reproducing the tectonic setting of two interacting lithospheres. Because the two plates deform viscously, the timescale of stress accumulation and release on the faults is self-consistently determined, from the boundary to the interiors, and seismic recurrence is an emerging feature. This approach overcomes the constraints on recurrence period imposed by stress (stress-drop) and velocity boundary conditions, while here it is unconstrained. We illustrate emerging macroscopic characteristics of this system, showing that the seismic recurrence period τ becomes shorter as Γ and Θ decreases, where Γ = ηI/ηL the viscosity ratio of the viscosities of the internal fault-embedded to external loading plates, respectively, and Θ = σY/σL the stress ratio of the elastic limit of the fault to far-field loading stress. When the system embeds multiple, randomly distributed faults, stress transfer results in recurrence period deviations, however the time-averaged recurrence period of each fault show the same dependence on Γ and Θ, illustrating a characteristic collective behavior. The control of these parameters prevails even when initial pre-stress was randomly assigned in terms of the spatial arrangement and orientation on the internal plate, mimicking local fluctuations. Our study shows the relevance of macroscopic rheological properties of tectonic plates on the earthquake occurrence in plate interiors, as opposed to local factors, proposing a viable model for the seismic behavior of continent interiors in the context of large-scale, long-term deformation of interacting tectonic

Cenozoic tectonic and climatic events in southern Iberian Peninsula: Implications for the evolutionary history of freshwater fish of the genus Squalius (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae).

PubMed

Perea, Silvia; Cobo-Simon, Marta; Doadrio, Ignacio

2016-04-01

Southern Iberian freshwater ecosystems located at the border between the European and African plates represent a tectonically complex region spanning several geological ages, from the uplifting of the Betic Mountains in the Serravalian-Tortonian periods to the present. This area has also been subjected to the influence of changing climate conditions since the Middle-Upper Pliocene when seasonal weather patterns were established. Consequently, the ichthyofauna of southern Iberia is an interesting model system for analyzing the influence of Cenozoic tectonic and climatic events on its evolutionary history. The cyprinids Squalius malacitanus and Squalius pyrenaicus are allopatrically distributed in southern Iberia and their evolutionary history may have been defined by Cenozoic tectonic and climatic events. We analyzed MT-CYB (510 specimens) and RAG1 (140 specimens) genes of both species to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships and to estimate divergence times and ancestral distribution ranges of the species and their populations. We also assessed their levels of genetic structure and diversity as well as the amount of gene flow between populations. To investigate recent paleogeographical and climatic factors in southern Iberia, we modeled changes-through-time in sea level from the LGM to the present. Phylogenetic, geographic and population structure analyses revealed two well-supported species (S. malacitanus and S. pyrenaicus) in southern Iberia and two subclades (Atlantic and Mediterranean) within S. malacitanus. The origin of S. malacitanus and the separation of its Atlantic and Mediterranean populations occurred during the Serravalian-Tortonian and Miocene-Pliocene periods, respectively. These divergence events occurred in the Middle Pliocene and Pleistocene in S. pyrenaicus. In both species, Atlantic basins possessed populations with higher genetic diversity than Mediterranean, which may be explained by the Janda Lagoon. The isolation of S. malacitanus was

Tectonics and metallogenic provinces

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guild, P.W.

1983-01-01

Various theories have been advanced to explain the well-known uneven distribution of metals and ore-deposit types in space and time. Primordial differences in the mantle, preferential concentration of elements in the crust, the prevalence of ore-forming processes at certain times and (or) places, and combinations of one or several of these factors have all been called upon to account for the "metallogenic provinces," which can be defined loosely as regions containing similar deposits of one or a group of metals or minerals. Because many, perhaps most, provinces have complex, multistage origins, the relative importance of inheritance vs. process is still controversial. In recent years the geographic relationship of many geologically young provinces to present-day plate-tectonic positions (accreting or consuming margins, intraplate structures, etc.) has been widely recognized, and the presumption is strong that older provinces had similar relationships to former plates. As most ore deposits resulted from a favorable conjunction of geological processes that are no longer operative, elucidation of their genesis requires reconstruction of the geologic history of the province, with particular emphasis on events coeval with mineralization. Tectonic analysis is an important aspect of this reconstruction; data from orbiting satellites have contributed greatly to this analysis, as the voluminous literature of the past decade testifies. Both the synoptic view of large areas and the ability to emphasize faint contrasts have revealed linear, curvilinear, and circular features not previously recognized from field studies. Some of these undoubtedly reflect basement structures that have contributed to the development, or limit the extent, of metallogenic provinces. Their recognition and delineation will be increasingly valuable to the assessment of resources available and as guides to exploration for the ores needed by future generations. ?? 1983.

Precise GPS/Acoustic Positioning of Seafloor Reference Points for Tectonic Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spiess, F. N.; Chadwell, C.; Hildebrand, J. A.; Young, L. E.; Purcell, G. H., Jr.; Dragert, H.

1998-01-01

Global networks for crustal strain measurement provide important constraints for studies of tectonic plate motion and deformation. To date, crustal strain measurements have been possible only in terrestrial settings: on continental plates and island sites within oceanic plates.

Geodynamics of kimberlites on a cooling Earth: Clues to plate tectonic evolution and deep volatile cycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tappe, Sebastian; Smart, Katie; Torsvik, Trond; Massuyeau, Malcolm; de Wit, Mike

2018-02-01

Kimberlite magmatism has occurred in cratonic regions on every continent. The global age distribution suggests that this form of mantle melting has been more prominent after 1.2 Ga, and notably between 250-50 Ma, than during early Earth history before 2 Ga (i.e., the Paleoproterozoic and Archean). Although preservation bias has been discussed as a possible reason for the skewed kimberlite age distribution, new treatment of an updated global database suggests that the apparent secular evolution of kimberlite and related CO2-rich ultramafic magmatism is genuine and probably coupled to lowering temperatures of Earth's upper mantle through time. Incipient melting near the CO2- and H2O-bearing peridotite solidus at >200 km depth (1100-1400 °C) is the petrologically most feasible process that can produce high-MgO carbonated silicate melts with enriched trace element concentrations akin to kimberlites. These conditions occur within the convecting asthenospheric mantle directly beneath thick continental lithosphere. In this transient upper mantle source region, variable CHO volatile mixtures control melting of peridotite in the absence of heat anomalies so that low-degree carbonated silicate melts may be permanently present at ambient mantle temperatures below 1400 °C. However, extraction of low-volume melts to Earth's surface requires tectonic triggers. Abrupt changes in the speed and direction of plate motions, such as typified by the dynamics of supercontinent cycles, can be effective in the creation of lithospheric pathways aiding kimberlite magma ascent. Provided that CO2- and H2O-fluxed deep cratonic keels, which formed parts of larger drifting tectonic plates, existed by 3 Ga or even before, kimberlite volcanism could have been frequent during the Archean. However, we argue that frequent kimberlite magmatism had to await establishment of an incipient melting regime beneath the maturing continents, which only became significant after secular mantle cooling to below

The origin of strike-slip tectonics in continental rifts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebinger, C. J.; Pagli, C.; Yun, S. H.; Keir, D.; Wang, H.

2016-12-01

Although continental rifts are zones of lithospheric extension, strike-slip tectonics is also accommodated within rifts and its origin remains controversial. Here we present a combined analysis of recent seismicity, InSAR and GPS derived strain maps to reveal that the plate motion in Afar is accommodated primarily by extensional tectonics in all rift arms and lacks evidences of regional scale bookshelf tectonics. However in the rifts of central Afar we identify crustal extension and normal faulting in the central part of the rifts but strike-slip earthquakes at the rift tips. We investigate if strike-slip can be the result of Coulomb stress changes induced by recent dyking but models do not explain these earthquakes. Instead we explain strike-slips as shearing at the tips of a broad zone of spreading where extension terminates against unstretched lithosphere. Our results demonstrate that plate spreading can develop both strike-slip and extensional tectonics in the same rifts.

Rigid and non-rigid micro-plates: Philippines and Myanmar-Andaman case studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rangin, Claude

2016-01-01

Generally, tectonic plates are considered as rigid. Oblique plate convergence favors the development of micro-plates along the converging boundaries. The north-south-trending Philippines archipelago (here named Philippine Mobile Belt, PMB), a few hundreds kilometers wide, is one of such complex tectonic zones. We show here that it is composed of rigid rotating crustal blocks (here called platelets). In Myanmar, the northernmost tip of the Sumatra-Andaman subduction system is another complex zone made of various crustal blocks in-between convergent plates. Yet, contrary to PMB, it sustains internal deformation with platelet buckling, altogether indicative of a non-rigid behavior. Therefore, the two case studies, Philippine Mobile Belt and Myanmar-Andaman micro-plate (MAS), illustrate the complexity of micro-plate tectonics and kinematics at convergent plate boundaries.

The interpretation of crustal dynamics data in terms of plate interactions and active tectonics of the Anatolian Plate and surrounding regions in the Middle East

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toksoz, M. Nafi

1988-01-01

The long-term objective of this project is to interpret NASA's Crustal Dynamics measurements (SLR) in the Eastern Mediterranean region in terms of relative plate movements and intraplate deformation. The approach is to combine realistic modeling studies with analysis of available geophysical and geological observations to provide a framework for interpreting NASA's measurements. This semi-annual report concentrates on recent results regarding the tectonics of Anatolia and surrounding regions from ground based observations. Also reported on briefly is progress in the use of the Global Positioning System to densify SLR observations in the Eastern Mediterranean. Reference is made to the previous annual report for a discussion of modeling results.

Madagascar's Escape from Africa: New Constraints and Understanding for Plate Tectonic Reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phethean, J. J. J.; Davies, R. J.; Van Hunen, J.; Kalnins, L. M.; McCaffrey, K. J. W.

2015-12-01

We present a new plate tectonic reconstruction for the drift of Madagascar away from East Africa using the new Sandwell and Smith gravity dataset (V23.1). Detailed interpretation of free-air and Bouguer anomalies, together with gravity gradients, has allowed interpretation of the extinct mid ocean ridge and associated fracture zone lineaments from the Western Somali Basin. Combined with temporal constraints from previous ocean magnetic anomaly interpretations, this analysis produces a reconstruction that supports Reeves' (2014) tight fit of Gondwana fragments. Furthermore, it sheds light on the nature of the Davie Fracture Zone (DFZ) and the position of the continent-ocean boundary (COB) in the region. The model predicts that the COB lies along the Rovuma Basin; and that offshore Tanzania is most likely a segmented and obliquely rifted margin, not a transform continental margin along the DFZ as previously thought. This places the COB up to several hundred kilometres farther inboard than previous interpretations, which is supported by new seismic evidence of oceanic crust inboard of the DFZ. We show the DFZ to be a major ocean-ocean fracture zone formed by the coalescence of several smaller fracture zones during a change in plate motions as Madagascar escaped from Africa. This new geodynamical understanding has important implications for petroleum industry activities in East Africa, as the expected heat flow varies dramatically between oceanic and continental crust. Reeves, C., 2014. The position of Madagascar within Gondwana and its movements during Gondwana dispersal. J. Afr. Earth. Sci. 94, 45-57.

Global Tectonics of Enceladus: Numerical Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czechowski, Leszek

2016-10-01

Introduction: Enceladus, a satellite of Saturn, is the smallest celestial body in the Solar System where volcanic and tectonic activities are observed. Every second, the mass of 200 kg is ejected into space from the South Polar Terrain (SPT) - [1]. The loss of matter from the body's interior should lead to global compression of the crust. Typical effects of compression are: thrust faults, folding and subduction. However, such forms are not dominant on Enceladus. We propose here special tectonic process that could explain this paradox. Our hypotheses states that the mass loss from SPT is the main driving mechanism of the following tectonic processes: subsidence of SPT, flow in the mantle and motion of adjacent tectonic plates. The hypotheses is presented in [2], [3] and[4].We suggest that the loss of the volatiles results in a void, an instability, and motion of solid matter to fill the void. The motion is presented at the Fig.1 and includes:Subsidence of the 'lithosphere' of SPT.Flow of the matter in the mantle.Motion of plates adjacent to SPT towards the active regionMethods and results: The numerical model of processes presented is developed. It is based on the equations of continuous media..If emerging void is being filled by the subsidence of SPT only, then the velocity of subsidence is 0.05 mmyr-1. However, numerical calculations indicate that all three types of motion are usually important. The role of a given motion depends on the viscosity distribution. Generally, for most of the models the subsidence is 0.02 mmyr-1, but mantle flow and plates' motion also play a role in filling the void. The preliminary results of the numerical model indicate also that the velocity of adjacent plates could be 0.02 mmyr-1 for the Newtonian rheology.Note that in our model the reduction of the crust area is not a result of compression but it is a result of the plate sinking. Therefore the compressional surface features do not have to be dominant. The SPT does not have to be

Integrating EarthScope Data to Constrain the Long-Term Effects of Tectonism on Continental Lithosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porter, R. C.; van der Lee, S.

2017-12-01

One of the most significant products of the EarthScope experiment has been the development of new seismic tomography models that take advantage of the consistent station design, regular 70-km station spacing, and wide aperture of the EarthScope Transportable Array (TA) network. These models have led to the discovery and interpretation of additional compositional, thermal, and density anomalies throughout the continental US, especially within tectonically stable regions. The goal of this work is use data from the EarthScope experiment to better elucidate the temporal relationship between tectonic activity and seismic velocities. To accomplish this, we compile several upper-mantle seismic velocity models from the Incorporated Research Institute for Seismology (IRIS) Earth Model Collaboration (EMC) and compare these to a tectonic age model we compiled using geochemical ages from the Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance: EarthChem Database. Results from this work confirms quantitatively that the time elapsed since the most recent tectonic event is a dominant influence on seismic velocities within the upper mantle across North America. To further understand this relationship, we apply mineral-physics models for peridotite to estimate upper-mantle temperatures for the continental US from tomographically imaged shear velocities. This work shows that the relationship between the estimated temperatures and the time elapsed since the most recent tectonic event is broadly consistent with plate cooling models, yet shows intriguing scatter. Ultimately, this work constrains the long-term thermal evolution of continental mantle lithosphere.

Thick-skinned tectonics closing the Rifian Corridor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capella, Walter; Matenco, Liviu; Dmitrieva, Evelina; Roest, Wilmer M. J.; Hessels, Suzanne; Hssain, Mohamed; Chakor-Alami, Abdelwahid; Sierro, Francisco J.; Krijgsman, Wout

2017-07-01

Tectonic processes in the Gibraltar region are associated with Africa-Iberia convergence and the formation of the Betic-Rif orogenic system. The Late Miocene shortening recorded in the Rif orogen resulted in gradual shallowing and eventual closure of the Rifian Corridor, a narrow marine gateway connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea. This closure is associated with paleoenvironmental changes that ultimately led to the Mediterranean Messinian Salinity Crisis. Here we present a structural analysis based on a combination of field kinematic data and interpretation of reflection seismic lines acquired for petroleum exploration to understand the deformational phases associated with the closure of the Rifian Corridor. We show the succession of three Late Miocene to present day events, an initial thin-skinned nappe thrusting, followed by regional subsidence and continued by thick-skinned contraction. The transition from in sequence thin-skinned tectonics during subduction to thick-skinned contraction during continental collision resulted in significant acceleration of tectonic uplift and associated exhumation. This is related to a change in the regional deformation linked to plate convergence, but possibly also coupled with deep lithospheric or dynamic topography processes. Such a mechanism is also common for other Mediterranean orogens during late stages of slab retreat, where accelerated tectonics resulted in rapid sedimentation and associated basins evolution. We conclude that the thick-skinned contraction in the Rif orogeny initiated in the late Tortonian, has created a cumulative uplift in the order of 1 km, and provided high enough uplift rates to close the Rifian Corridor.

Workshop on the Tectonic Evolution of Greenstone Belts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

The Workshop on the Tectonic Evolution of Greenstone Belts, which is part of the Universities Space Research Association, Lunar and Planetary Institute, of Houston, Texas, met there on Jan. 16-18, 1986. A number of plate tectonic hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origin of Archean and Phanerozoic greenstone/ophiolite terranes. These hypotheses are explored in the abstracts.

Extrusive and Intrusive Magmatism Greatly Influence the Tectonic Mode of Earth-Like Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lourenco, D.; Tackley, P. J.; Rozel, A.; Ballmer, M.

2017-09-01

Plate tectonics on Earth-like planets is typically modelling using a strongly temperature-dependent visco-plastic rheology. Previous analyses have generally focussed on purely thermal convection. However, we have shown that the influence of compositional heterogeneity in the form of continental or oceanic crust can greatly influence plate tectonics by making it easier (i.e. it occurs at a lower yield stress or friction coefficient). Here we present detailed results on this topic, in particular focussing on the influence of intrusive vs. extrusive magmatism on the tectonic mode.

Forced relative displacements of the core and mantle as the basic mechanism of secular changes of the Earth shape and lithosphere plates tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barkin, Yury

2010-05-01

The summary. In the work planetary changes of a figure of the Earth and geoid in present epoch are discussed. Contrast and asymmetric geodetic changes of northern and southern hemispheres are revealed. The phenomenon of lengthening of latitude circles of a southern hemisphere and shortening of lengths of latitude circles of northern hemisphere, the phenomenon of expansion of a southern hemisphere and, accordingly, compression of northern hemisphere in relation to the center of mass of the Earth have been predicted. The reasons of the planetary tendency of displacement (drift) of plates in northern direction are studied. The geodynamic model is developed, on which the basic moving force in tectonics of plates is a gravitational influence of a moveable core of the Earth on all layers of the mantle, and also on blocks of the crust and lithosphere plates. In a base of all tectonic and geological reorganizations the mechanism of the forced relative oscillations and swings of the core and the mantle of the Earth in various time scales, including geological timescale lays. 1 Mechanism of formation and changes of the pear-shaped form of the Earth. According to developed geodynamic model a pear-shaped form of planets is not their given property for all time (as believed before scientists), and is the dynamic response to the slow forced relative displacements of the core and mantle [1]. Than more a relative displacement of the core and mantle (eccentricity of the core in some geology epoch), is especially clearly expressed pear-shaped form. The planet Mars possesses a big pear-shaped form and by our estimations the core of this planet is displaced in northern direction (to latitude in approximately 60° N) on 20-25 km [2]. An eccentricity of the Earth core is less (estimations give displacement about 3-4 km in direction to Brazil [3]) and it pear-shaped form is much less. 2 The phenomenon of asymmetric lengthening of latitude circles of southern and northern hemispheres of

A Cenozoic tectonic model for Southeast Asia - microplates and basins

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maher, K.A.

1995-04-01

A computer-assisted Cenozoic tectonic model was built for Southeast Asia and used to construct 23 base maps, 2 to 6 million years apart. This close temporal spacing was necessary to constrain all the local geometric shifts in a consistent and geologically feasible fashion. More than a hundred individual blocks were required to adequately treat Cenozoic microplate processes at a basic level. The reconstructions show tectonic evolution to be characterized by long periods of gradual evolution, interrupted by brief, widespread episodes of reorganization in fundamental plate geometries and kinematics. These episodes are triggered by major collisions, or by accumulation of smallermore » changes. The model takes into account difficulties inherent in the region. The Pacific and Indo-Australian plates and their predecessors have driven westward and northward since the late Paleozoic, towards each other and the relatively stationary backstop of Asia. Southeast Asia is therefore the result of a long-lived, complex process of convergent tectonics, making it difficult to reconstruct tectonic evolution as much of the continental margin and sea floor spreading record was erased. In addition, the region has been dominated by small-scale microplate processes with short time scales and internal deformation, taking place in rapidly evolving and more ductile buffer zones between the major rigid plate systems. These plate interaction zones have taken up much of the relative motion between the major plates. Relatively ephemeral crustal blocks appear and die within the buffer zones, or accrete to and disperse from the margins of the major plate systems. However, such microplate evolution is the dominant factor in Cenozoic basin evolution. This detailed testonic model aids in comprehension and prediction of basin development, regional hydrocarbon habitat, and petroleum systems.« less

Crustal deformation and volcanism at active plate boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geirsson, Halldor

Most of Earth's volcanoes are located near active tectonic plate boundaries, where the tectonic plates move relative to each other resulting in deformation. Likewise, subsurface magma movement and pressure changes in magmatic systems can cause measurable deformation of the Earth's surface. The study of the shape of Earth and therefore studies of surface deformation is called geodesy. Modern geodetic techniques allow precise measurements (˜1 mm accuracy) of deformation of tectonic and magmatic systems. Because of the spatial correlation between tectonic boundaries and volcanism, the tectonic and volcanic deformation signals can become intertwined. Thus it is often important to study both tectonic and volcanic deformation processes simultaneously, when one is trying to study one of the systems individually. In this thesis, I present research on crustal deformation and magmatic processes at active plate boundaries. The study areas cover divergent and transform plate boundaries in south Iceland and convergent and transform plate boundaries in Central America, specifically Nicaragua and El Salvador. The study is composed of four main chapters: two of the chapters focus on the magma plumbing system of Hekla volcano, Iceland and the plate boundary in south Iceland; one chapter focuses on shallow controls of explosive volcanism at Telica volcano, Nicaragua; and the fourth chapter focuses on co- and post-seismic deformation from a Mw = 7.3 earthquake which occurred offshore El Salvador in 2012. Hekla volcano is located at the intersection of a transform zone and a rift zone in Iceland and thus is affected by a combination of shear and extensional strains, in addition to co-seismic and co-rifting deformation. The inter-eruptive deformation signal from Hekla is subtle, as observed by a decade (2000-2010) of GPS data in south Iceland. A simultaneous inversion of this data for parameters describing the geometry and source characteristics of the magma chamber at Hekla, and

An explicit plate kinematic model for the orogeny in the southern Uralides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Görz, Ines; Hielscher, Peggy

2010-10-01

The Palaeozoic Uralides formed in a three plate constellation between Europe, Siberia and Kazakhstan-Tarim. Starting from the first plate tectonic concepts, it was controversially discussed, whether the Uralide orogeny was the result of a relative plate motion between Europe and Siberia or between Europe and Kazakhstan. In this study, we use a new approach to address this problem. We perform a structural analysis on the sphere, reconstruct the positions of the Euler poles of the relative plate rotation Siberia-Europe and Tarim-Europe and describe Uralide structures by their relation to small circles about the two Euler poles. Using this method, changes in the strike of tectonic elements that are caused by the spherical geometry of the Earth's surface are eliminated and structures that are compatible with one of the relative plate motions can be identified. We show that only two Euler poles controlled the Palaeozoic tectonic evolution in the whole West Siberian region, but that they acted diachronously in different regions. We provide an explicit model describing the tectonism in West Siberia by an Euler pole, a sense of rotation and an approximate rotation angle. In the southern Uralides, Devonian structures resulted from a plate rotation of Siberia with respect to Europe, while the Permian structures were caused by a relative plate motion of Kazakhstan-Tarim with respect to Europe. The tectonic pause in the Carboniferous period correlates with a reorganization of the plate kinematics.

Intermittent Granular Dynamics at a Seismogenic Plate Boundary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meroz, Yasmine; Meade, Brendan J.

2017-09-01

Earthquakes at seismogenic plate boundaries are a response to the differential motions of tectonic blocks embedded within a geometrically complex network of branching and coalescing faults. Elastic strain is accumulated at a slow strain rate on the order of 10-15 s-1 , and released intermittently at intervals >100 yr , in the form of rapid (seconds to minutes) coseismic ruptures. The development of macroscopic models of quasistatic planar tectonic dynamics at these plate boundaries has remained challenging due to uncertainty with regard to the spatial and kinematic complexity of fault system behaviors. The characteristic length scale of kinematically distinct tectonic structures is particularly poorly constrained. Here, we analyze fluctuations in Global Positioning System observations of interseismic motion from the southern California plate boundary, identifying heavy-tailed scaling behavior. Namely, we show that, consistent with findings for slowly sheared granular media, the distribution of velocity fluctuations deviates from a Gaussian, exhibiting broad tails, and the correlation function decays as a stretched exponential. This suggests that the plate boundary can be understood as a densely packed granular medium, predicting a characteristic tectonic length scale of 91 ±20 km , here representing the characteristic size of tectonic blocks in the southern California fault network, and relating the characteristic duration and recurrence interval of earthquakes, with the observed sheared strain rate, and the nanosecond value for the crack tip evolution time scale. Within a granular description, fault and blocks systems may rapidly rearrange the distribution of forces within them, driving a mixture of transient and intermittent fault slip behaviors over tectonic time scales.

From P-T-age to secular change and global tectonic regimes (or Essene in reverse - from granulites to blueschists and eclogites over time)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, M.

2006-12-01

predominantly Phanerozoic phenomena. HPM-UHPM registers low thermal gradients and deep subduction of continental crust during the early stage of the collision process in Phanerozoic subduction-to-collision orogens. Although counterintuitive, many HPM-UHPM belts appear to have developed by closure of small ocean basins in the process of accretion of a continental terrane during a period of supercontinent introversion (Wilson cycle ocean basin opening and closing). A duality of metamorphic belts - reflecting a duality of thermal regimes - appears in the record only since the Neoarchean Era. A duality of thermal regimes is the hallmark of modern plate tectonics and the duality of metamorphic belts is the characteristic imprint of plate tectonics in the rock record. The occurrence of both G- UHTM and E-HPGM belts since the Neoarchean manifests the onset of a `Proterozoic plate tectonics regime', although the style of tectonics likely involved differences from modern Earth. Although the style of Proterozoic subduction remains cryptic, the change in tectonic regime whereby interactions between discrete lithospheric plates generated tectonic settings with contrasting thermal regimes was a landmark event in Earth history. The `Proterozoic plate tectonics regime' evolved during a Neoproterozoic transition to the `modern plate tectonics regime' characterized by colder subduction, and subduction of continental crust deep into the mantle and its (partial) return from depths of up to 300 km, as chronicled by the appearance of blueschists and HPM-UHPM in the rock record.

Geohistory analysis of the Santa Maria basin, California, and its relationship to tectonic evolution of the continental margin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCrory, P.A.; Arends, R.G.; Ingle, J.C. Jr.

1991-02-01

The Santa Maria basin of central California is a geologically complex area located along the tectonically active California continental margin. The record of Cenozoic tectonism preserved in Santa Maria strata provides an opportunity to compare the evolution of the region with plate tectonic models for Cenozoic interactions along the margin. Geohistory analysis of Neogene Santa Maria basin strata provides important constraints for hypotheses of the tectonic evolution of the central California margin during its transition from a convergent to a transform plate boundary. Preliminary analyses suggest that the tectonic evolution of the Santa Maria area was dominated by coupling betweenmore » adjacent oceanic plates and the continental margin. This coupling is reflected in the timing of major hiatuses within the basin sedimentary sequence and margin subsidence and uplift which occurred during periods of tectonic plate adjustment. Stratigraphic evidence indicates that the Santa Maria basin originated on the continental shelf in early Miocene time. A component of margin subsidence is postulated to have been caused by cessation of spreading on adjacent offshore microplates approximately 19-18 ma. A sharp reduction in rate of tectonic subsidence in middle Miocene time, observed in the Santa Maria basin both onshore and offshore, was coeval with rotation of crustal blocks as major shearing shifts shoreward. Tectonic uplift of two eastern sites, offshore Point Arguello and near Point Sal, in the late Miocene may have been related to a change to transpressional motion between the Pacific and North American plates, as well as to rotation of the western Transverse Ranges in a restraining geometry.« less

Geomorphology and Neogene tectonic evolution of the Palomares continental margin (Western Mediterranean)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez de la Peña, Laura; Gràcia, Eulàlia; Muñoz, Araceli; Acosta, Juan; Gómez-Ballesteros, María; R. Ranero, César; Uchupi, Elazar

2016-10-01

The Palomares continental margin is located in the southeastern part of Spain. The margin main structure was formed during Miocene times, and it is currently part of the wide deformation zone characterizing the region between the Iberian and African plates, where no well-defined plate boundary occurs. The convergence between these two plates is here accommodated by several structures, including the left lateral strike-slip Palomares Fault. The region is characterized by sparse, low to moderate magnitude (Mw < 5.2) shallow instrumental earthquakes, although large historical events have also occurred. To understand the recent tectonic history of the margin we analyze new high-resolution multibeam bathymetry data and re-processed three multichannel seismic reflection profiles crossing the main structures. The analysis of seafloor morphology and associated subsurface structure provides new insights of the active tectonic features of the area. In contrast to other segments of the southeastern Iberian margin, the Palomares margin contains numerous large and comparatively closely spaced canyons with heads that reach near the coast. The margin relief is also characterized by the presence of three prominent igneous submarine ridges that include the Aguilas, Abubacer and Maimonides highs. Erosive processes evidenced by a number of scars, slope failures, gullies and canyon incisions shape the present-day relief of the Palomares margin. Seismic images reveal the deep structure distinguishing between Miocene structures related to the formation of the margin and currently active features, some of which may reactivate inherited structures. The structure of the margin started with an extensional phase accompanied by volcanic accretion during the Serravallian, followed by a compressional pulse that started during the Latemost Tortonian. Nowadays, tectonic activity offshore is subdued and limited to few, minor faults, in comparison with the activity recorded onshore. The deep Algero

Global evaluation of erosion rates in relation to tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hecht, Hagar; Oguchi, Takashi

2017-12-01

Understanding the mechanisms and controlling factors of erosion rates is essential in order to sufficiently comprehend bigger processes such as landscape evolution. For decades, scientists have been researching erosion rates where one of the main objectives was to find the controlling factors. A variety of parameters have been suggested ranging from climate-related, basin morphometry and the tectonic setting of an area. This study focuses on the latter. We use previously published erosion rate data obtained mainly using 10Be and sediment yield and sediment yield data published by the United States Geological Survey. We correlate these data to tectonic-related factors, i.e., distance to tectonic plate boundary, peak ground acceleration ( PGA), and fault distribution. We also examine the relationship between erosion rate and mean basin slope and find significant correlations of erosion rates with distance to tectonic plate boundary, PGA, and slope. The data are binned into high, medium, and low values of each of these parameters and grouped in all combinations. We find that groups with a combination of high PGA (> 0.2.86 g) and long distance (> 1118.69 km) or low PGA (< 0.68 g) and short distance (< 94.34 km) are almost inexistent suggesting a strong coupling between PGA and distance to tectonic plate boundary. Groups with low erosion rates include long distance and/or low PGA, and groups with high erosion rates include neither of these. These observations indicate that tectonics plays a major role in determining erosion rates, which is partly ascribable to steeper slopes produced by active crustal movements. However, our results show no apparent correlation of slope with erosion rates, pointing to problems with using mean basin-wide slope as a slope indicator because it does not represent the complex slope distribution within a basin.

"Tectonic Petrameter," An Alternative Method to Teaching the Geologic Time Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Posner, E. S.

2011-12-01

I have over a decade of experience as a performance poet and am now a graduate student in the geosciences. I have created a performance poem / play script, "Tectonic Petrameter," as an alternative method of teaching the geologic time scale. "The Archean came next and it was a blast. Tectonic plates were smaller and they moved pretty fast. In an enthusiastic flash of ash, volcanic islands smashed together." The use of rhyme and rhythm presents a different and interdisciplinary approach to teaching Earth history that appeals to a wide range of learning styles and makes science fun, while clearly describing important concepts in geology and events in Earth history. "Now it's time to get down with the Coal Swamp Stomp! Tap your feet to the beat of the formation of peat like a plant plantation soaking up the bright heat." "Tectonic Petrameter" by itself is an illustrated spoken-word poem that leads audiences from all levels of scientific background on an excitingly educational journey through geologic time. I will perform my 10-minute memorized poem and present results from my ongoing study to assess the effectiveness of "Tectonic Petrameter" as a teaching tool in K-12 and introductory undergraduate classroom curricula. I propose that using "Tectonic Petrameter" as a performance piece and theatrical play script in K-12 and introductory undergraduate classrooms, as well as in broader community venues, may be an avenue for breaking down barriers related to teaching about Earth's long and complex history. Digital copies of "Tectonic Petrameter" will be made available to interested parties.

Plates and Mantle Convection: A Far-From Equilibrium Self-Organized System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, S. D.; Lowman, J. P.; Gable, C. W.

2001-12-01

A common observation of plate tectonics is that plate velocities change over short time scales. Some have speculated that these reorganization events are triggered by evolving plate boundaries. This work presents an alternative mechanism, due to the interaction of mobil plates and internally heated convection. We present numerical models of 3D Cartesian convection in an internally-heated fluid with mobile plates that exhibit rapid changes in plate motion. A persistent feature of these calculations is that plate motion is relatively uniform punctuated by rapid reorganization events where plate speed and direction change over a short time period. The rapid changes in plate motion result solely from the interaction of internally-heated convection and the mobile plates. Without plates, the convective planform of an internally-heated fluid evolves into a pattern with a larger number of small cells. When plates are included, the fluid is dominated by plate-scale structures; however, isolated regions develop where heat builds up. These isolated regions are near the location of mature slabs where the plates are older and thicker. As the system evolves, the temperature (and buoyancy) in these isolated regions increases, they become unstable and, as they rise, the net force on the plate is no longer dominated by `slab pull' from the mature slab. The plate reorganization allows the system to transfer heat from the short-wavelength, internal-heating scale, to the longer-wavelength, plate-cooling scale. As we will demonstrate, the interaction between plate motions and the mantle is sufficiently dynamic that evolving plate boundaries are not necessary to achieve rapid changes in plate motion.

Beyond plate tectonics - Looking at plate deformation with space geodesy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jordan, Thomas H.; Minster, J. Bernard

1988-01-01

The requirements that must be met by space-geodetic systems in order to constrain the horizontal secular motions associated with the geological deformation of the earth's surface are explored. It is suggested that in order to improve existing plate-motion models, the tangential components of relative velocities on interplate baselines must be resolved to an accuracy of less than 3 mm/yr. Results indicate that measuring the velocities between crustal blocks to + or - 5 mm/yr on 100-km to 1000-km scales can produce geologically significant constraints on the integrated deformation rates across continental plate-boundary zones such as the western United States.

Global Miocene tectonics and the modern world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, Paul Edwin; Szatmari, Peter

2009-11-01

An amazing congruence of seemingly unrelated, diverse global events began in the Middle and Upper Miocene and established our modern world. Two global orogenic belts were active, mostly in the Middle and Upper Miocene, while backarc basins formed along the eastern margin of Asia. Coincident with these events global temperatures cooled in both the ocean and atmosphere, desertification occurred from Central Asia into and across most of northern Africa and also in Australia, and in southern South America. Coincident with the expansion of the Antarctic ice cap at 14 Ma, there was initial widespread deep sea erosion and changes in patterns of deep sea sedimentation. Muddy pelagic sedimentation increased six-fold in the North and Central Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and global changes in circulation lead to more diatomites in the Pacific and fewer in the Atlantic. By the end of the Miocene most of the Mediterranean Sea had evaporated. Broadly coincident with these events, many old, large river systems were destroyed and new ones formed as much of the world's landscape changed. Collectively, these global on-shore tectonic and ocean-atmospheric events provide the foundation for our modern world—a mixture of new and rejuvenated orogenic belts and their far-field effects (distant epiorogenic uplift, rain-shadow deserts, large alluvial aprons, and distant deltas) as inherited Gondwanan landscapes persisted remote from plate boundaries. Thus at the end of the Miocene much of the world's landscape, except for that changed by Pleistocene continental glaciation, would be recognizable to us today. We argue that all of these events had the same ultimate common cause-an internal Earth engine-that drove plate motions in two broad ways: first, the opening and closing of seven key gateways to deep-water oceanic currents radically altered global heat transfer and changed a lingering Greenhouse to an Icehouse world; secondly, these events were in part coincident with renewed heat flow

Teaching And Learning Tectonics With Web-GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anastasio, D. J.; Sahagian, D. L.; Bodzin, A.; Teletzke, A. L.; Rutzmoser, S.; Cirucci, L.; Bressler, D.; Burrows, J. E.

2012-12-01

Tectonics is a new curriculum enhancement consisting of six Web GIS investigations designed to augment a traditional middle school Earth science curriculum. The investigations are aligned to Disciplinary Core Ideas: Earth and Space Science from the National Research Council's (2012) Framework for K-12 Science Education and to tectonics benchmark ideas articulated in the AAAS Project 2061 (2007) Atlas of Science Literacy. The curriculum emphasizes geospatial thinking and scientific inquiry and consists of the following modules: Geohazards, which plate boundary is closest to me? How do we recognize plate boundaries? How does thermal energy move around the Earth? What happens when plates diverge? What happens when plate move sideways past each other? What happens when plates collide? The Web GIS interface uses JavaScript for simplicity, intuition, and convenience for implementation on a variety of platforms making it easier for diverse middle school learners and their teachers to conduct authentic Earth science investigations, including multidisciplinary visualization, analysis, and synthesis of data. Instructional adaptations allow students who are English language learners, have disabilities, or are reluctant readers to perform advanced desktop GIS functions including spatial analysis, map visualization and query. The Web GIS interface integrates graphics, multimedia, and animation in addition to newly developed features, which allow users to explore and discover geospatial patterns that would not be easily visible using typical classroom instructional materials. The Tectonics curriculum uses a spatial learning design model that incorporates a related set of frameworks and design principles. The framework builds on the work of other successful technology-integrated curriculum projects and includes, alignment of materials and assessments with learning goals, casting key ideas in real-world problems, engaging students in scientific practices that foster the use of key

Intermittent Granular Dynamics at a Seismogenic Plate Boundary.

PubMed

Meroz, Yasmine; Meade, Brendan J

2017-09-29

Earthquakes at seismogenic plate boundaries are a response to the differential motions of tectonic blocks embedded within a geometrically complex network of branching and coalescing faults. Elastic strain is accumulated at a slow strain rate on the order of 10^{-15}  s^{-1}, and released intermittently at intervals >100  yr, in the form of rapid (seconds to minutes) coseismic ruptures. The development of macroscopic models of quasistatic planar tectonic dynamics at these plate boundaries has remained challenging due to uncertainty with regard to the spatial and kinematic complexity of fault system behaviors. The characteristic length scale of kinematically distinct tectonic structures is particularly poorly constrained. Here, we analyze fluctuations in Global Positioning System observations of interseismic motion from the southern California plate boundary, identifying heavy-tailed scaling behavior. Namely, we show that, consistent with findings for slowly sheared granular media, the distribution of velocity fluctuations deviates from a Gaussian, exhibiting broad tails, and the correlation function decays as a stretched exponential. This suggests that the plate boundary can be understood as a densely packed granular medium, predicting a characteristic tectonic length scale of 91±20  km, here representing the characteristic size of tectonic blocks in the southern California fault network, and relating the characteristic duration and recurrence interval of earthquakes, with the observed sheared strain rate, and the nanosecond value for the crack tip evolution time scale. Within a granular description, fault and blocks systems may rapidly rearrange the distribution of forces within them, driving a mixture of transient and intermittent fault slip behaviors over tectonic time scales.

Biogeographical Consequences of Cenozoic Tectonic Events within East Asian Margins: A Case Study of Hynobius Biogeography

PubMed Central

Li, Jun; Fu, Cuizhang; Lei, Guangchun

2011-01-01

Few studies have explored the role of Cenozoic tectonic evolution in shaping patterns and processes of extant animal distributions within East Asian margins. We select Hynobius salamanders (Amphibia: Hynobiidae) as a model to examine biogeographical consequences of Cenozoic tectonic events within East Asian margins. First, we use GenBank molecular data to reconstruct phylogenetic interrelationships of Hynobius by Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses. Second, we estimate the divergence time using the Bayesian relaxed clock approach and infer dispersal/vicariance histories under the ‘dispersal–extinction–cladogenesis’ model. Finally, we test whether evolutionary history and biogeographical processes of Hynobius should coincide with the predictions of two major hypotheses (the ‘vicariance’/‘out of southwestern Japan’ hypothesis). The resulting phylogeny confirmed Hynobius as a monophyletic group, which could be divided into nine major clades associated with six geographical areas. Our results show that: (1) the most recent common ancestor of Hynobius was distributed in southwestern Japan and Hokkaido Island, (2) a sister taxon relationship between Hynobius retardatus and all remaining species was the results of a vicariance event between Hokkaido Island and southwestern Japan in the Middle Eocene, (3) ancestral Hynobius in southwestern Japan dispersed into the Taiwan Island, central China, ‘Korean Peninsula and northeastern China’ as well as northeastern Honshu during the Late Eocene–Late Miocene. Our findings suggest that Cenozoic tectonic evolution plays an important role in shaping disjunctive distributions of extant Hynobius within East Asian margins. PMID:21738684

Revisit of Criteria and Evidence for the Tectonic Erosion vs Accretion in East Asian Margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kimura, G.; Hamahashi, M.

2015-12-01

Accretionary and erosive margins provide tectonic end-members in subduction zone and how these tectonic processes might be recorded and recognizable in ancient subduction complexes remains a challenging issue. Tectonic erosion includes sediment subduction and basal erosion along the plate boundary megathrust and drags down the crust of the upper plate into the mantle. Geologic evidence for the erosion is commonly based on lost geological tectono-stratigraphic data, i.e. gaps in the record and indirect phenomena such as subsidence of the forearc slopes. A topographically rough surface such as seamount has been suggested to work like an erosive saw carving the upper plate. Another mechanism of basal erosion has been suggested to be hydrofracturing of upper plate materials due to dehydration-induced fluid pressures, resulting in entrainment of upper plate materials into the basal décollement. Considering the interaction between the ~30 km thick crust of the upper plate and subducting oceanic plate, a subduction dip angle of ~15°, and convergent rate of ~10 cm/year, at least ~1 Ma of continuous basal erosion is necessary to induce clear subsidence of the forearc because the width of plate interface between the upper crustal and subducting plates is about 115 km (30/cos15°). In several examples of subduction zones, for example the Japan Trench and the Middle America Trench off Costa Rica, the subsidence of a few thousand metres of the forearc, combined with a lack of accretionary prism over a period of several million years, suggest that the erosive condition needs to be maintained for several to tens of million years.Such age gaps in the accretionary complex, however, do not automatically imply that tectonic erosion has taken place, as other interpretations such as no accretion, cessation of subduction, and/or later tectonic modification, are also possible. Recent drilling in the forearc of the Nankai Trough suggests that the accretion was ceased between ~12 Ma to

Areas of Unsolved Problems in Caribbean Active Tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, P.

2015-12-01

I review some unsolved problems in Caribbean active tectonics. At the regional and plate scale: 1) confirm the existence of intraplate deformation zones of the central Caribbean plate that are within the margin of error of ongoing GPS measurements; 2) carry out field studies to evaluate block models versus models for distributed fault shear on the densely populated islands of Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands; 3) carry out paleoseismological research of key plate boundary faults that may have accumulated large strains but have not been previously studied in detail; 4) determine the age of onset and far-field effects of the Cocos ridge and the Central America forearc sliver; 4) investigate the origin and earthquake-potential of obliquely-sheared rift basins along the northern coast of Venezuela; 5) determine the age of onset and regional active, tectonic effects of the Panama-South America collision including the continued activation of the Maracaibo block; and 6) validate longterm rates on active subduction zones with improving, tomographic maps of subducted slabs. At the individual fault scale: 1) determine the mode of termination of large and active strike -slip faults and application of the STEP model (Septentrional, Polochic, El Pilar, Bocono, Santa Marta-Bucaramanaga); 2) improve the understanding of the earthquake potential on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone given "off-fault" events such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake; how widespread is this behavior?; and 3) estimate size of future tsunamis from studies of historic or prehistoric slump scars and mass transport deposits; what potential runups can be predicted from this information?; and 4) devise ways to keep rapidly growing, circum-Caribbean urban populations better informed and safer in the face of inevitable and future, large earthquakes.

Phanerozoic tectonic evolution of the Circum-North Pacific

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nokleberg, Warren J.; Parfenov, Leonid M.; Monger, James W.H.; Norton, Ian O.; Khanchuk, Alexander I.; Stone, David B.; Scotese, Christopher R.; Scholl, David W.; Fujita, Kazuya

2000-01-01

the ancestral margins of present-day Northeast Asia and northwestern North America. The rifting resulted in the fragmentation of each continent and the formation of cratonal and passive continental-margin terranes that eventually migrated and accreted to other sites along the evolving margins of the original or adjacent continents. (2) From about the Late Triassic through the mid-Cretaceous, a succession of island arcs and tectonically paired subduction zones formed near the continental margins. (3) From about mainly the mid-Cretaceous through the present, a succession of igneous arcs and tectonically paired subduction zones formed along the continental margins. (4) From about the Jurassic to the present, oblique convergence and rotations caused orogenparallel sinistral and then dextral displacements within the upper-plate margins of cratons that have become Northeast Asia and North America. The oblique convergences and rotations resulted in the fragmentation, displacement, and duplication of formerly more nearly continuous arcs, subduction zones, and passive continental margins. These fragments were subsequently accreted along the expanding continental margins. (5) From the Early Jurassic through Tertiary, movement of the upper continental plates toward subduction zones resulted in strong plate coupling and accretion of the former island arcs and subduction zones to the continental margins. Accretions were accompanied and followed by crustal thickening, anatexis, metamorphism, and uplift. The accretions resulted in substantial growth of the North Asian and North American Continents. (6) During the middle and late Cenozoic, oblique to orthogonal convergence of the Pacifi c plate with present-day Alaska and Northeast Asia resulted in formation of the modern-day ring of volcanoes around the Circum-North Pacific. Oblique convergence between the Pacific plate and Alaska also resulted in major dextral-slip faulting in interior and southern Alaska and along the western p

Current deformation in the Tibetan Plateau: a stress gauge in the large-scale India-Asia collision tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capitanio, F. A.

2017-12-01

The quantification of the exact tectonic forces budget on Earth has remained thus far elusive. Geodetic velocities provide relevant constraints on the current dynamics of the coupling between collision and continental tectonics, however in the Tibetan plateau these support contrasting, non-unique models. Here, we compare numerical models of coupled India-Asia plate convergence, collision and continent interiors tectonics to the geodetically-constrained motions in the Tibetan Plateau to provide a quantitative assessment of the driving forces of plate tectonics in the area. The models develop a range of long-term evolutions remarkably similar to the Asian tectonics in the Cenozoic, reproducing the current large-scale motions pattern under a range of conditions. Balancing the convergent margin forces, following subduction, and the far-field forcing along the trail of the subducting continent, the geodetic rates in the Tibetan Plateau can be matched. The comparisons support the discussion on the likely processes at work, allowing inferences on the drivers of plateau formation and its role on the plate margin-interiors tectonics. More in general, the outcomes highlight the unique role of the Tibetan Plateau as a pressure gauge for the tectonic forces on Earth.

The effect of plumes and a free surface on mantle dynamics with continents and self-consistent plate tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Charitra; Rozel, Antoine; Tackley, Paul

2014-05-01

Rolf et al. (EPSL, 2012) and Coltice et al. (Science, 2012) investigated the thermal and dynamical influences of continents on plate tectonics and the thermal state of Earth's mantle, but they did not explicitly consider the influence of mantle plumes. When present, strong mantle plumes arising from the deep mantle can impose additional stresses on the continents, thereby facilitating continental rifting (Storey, Nature 1995; Santosh et al., Gondwana Research 2009) and disrupting the supercontinent cycle (Philips and Bunge, Geology 2007). In recent years, several studies have characterized the relation between the location of the plumes and the continents, but with contradicting observations. While Heron and Lowman (GRL, 2010; Tectonophysics, 2011) propose regions where downwelling has ceased (irrespective of overlying plate) as the preferred location for plumes, O'Neill et al. (Gondwana Research, 2009) show an anti-correlation between the average positions of subducting slabs at continental margins, and mantle plumes at continental/oceanic interiors. Continental motion is attributed to the viscous stresses imparted by the convecting mantle and the extent of this motion depends on the heat budget of the mantle. Core-mantle boundary (CMB) heat flux, internal heating from decay of radioactive elements, and mantle cooling contribute to this heat budget. Out of these sources, CMB heat flux is not well defined; however, the recent determination that the core's thermal conductivity is much higher than previously thought requires a CMB heat flow of at least 12 TW (de Koker et al., PNAS 2012; Pozzo et al., Nature 2012; Gomi et al., PEPI 2013), much higher than early estimates of 3-4 TW (Lay et al., Nature 2008). Thus, it is necessary to characterize the effect of increased CMB heat flux on mantle dynamics. In almost all mantle convection simulations, the top boundary is treated as a free-slip surface whereas Earth's surface is a deformable free surface. With a free

Tectonic Tremor and the Collective Behavior of Low-Frequency Earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frank, W.; Shapiro, N.; Husker, A. L.; Kostoglodov, V.; Campillo, M.; Gusev, A. A.

2015-12-01

Tectonic tremor, a long duration, emergent seismic signal observed along the deep roots of plate interfaces, is thought to be the superposition of repetitive shear events called low-frequency earthquakes (LFE) [e.g. Shelly et al., Nature, 2007]. We use a catalog of more than 1.8 million LFEs regrouped into more than 1000 families observed over 2 years in the Guerrero subduction zone in Mexico, considering each family as an individual repetitive source or asperity. We develop a statistical analysis to determine whether the subcatalogs corresponding to different sources represent random Poisson processes or if they exhibit scale-invariant clustering in time, which we interpret as a manifestation of collective behavior. For each individual LFE source, we compare their level of collective behavior during two time periods: during the six-month-long 2006 Mw 7.5 slow-slip event and during a calm period with no observed slow slip. We find that the collective behavior of LFEs depends on distance from the trench and increases when the subduction interface is slowly slipping. Our results suggest that the occurrence of strong episodes of tectonic tremors cannot be simply explained by increased rates of low frequency earthquakes at every individual LFE source but correspond to an enhanced collective behavior of the ensemble of LFE asperities.

Tectonics and Relative Plate Motions Around the Andaman Sea and Sumatra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eguchi, T.; Murakoshi, T.

2005-12-01

interplate seismic events. We have constrained 'plate motion polygons' at selected points by modifying the result of Eguchi (1991). For example, by assuming the NUVEL 1 model and introducing the shear faulting with the averaged rate of 2.6 cm/y along the Sumatra fault system, we obtained the ENE-WSW plate convergence with the rate of 1.2 cm/y at 12N and the convergence of 3.0 +- 0.3 cm/y at 5N, between the Indo-Australia plate and the fore-arc block at the western Java trench subduction zone. We, however, cannot constrain the instantaneous rotation vectors of the relative plate motions, mainly because of limited observation data.

A Simple Class Exercise on Plate Tectonic Motion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bates, Denis E. B.

1990-01-01

Presented is an activity in which students construct a model of plate divergence with two sheets of paper to show the separation of two continental plates in a system of spreading ridges and faults. Diagrams and procedures are described. (CW)

How tectonics controlled post-collisional magmatism within the Dinarides: Inferences based on study of tectono-magmatic events in the Kopaonik Mts. (Southern Serbia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mladenović, Ana; Trivić, Branislav; Cvetković, Vladica

2015-04-01

In this study, we report evidence about coupling between tectonic and magmatic processes in a complex orogenic system. The study focuses on the Kopaonik Mts. situated between the Dinarides and the Carpatho-Balkanides (Southern Serbia), and a perfect area for investigating tectono-magmatic evolution. We combine a new data set on tectonic paleostress tensors with the existing information on Cenozoic magmatic rocks in the wider Kopaonik Mts. area. The paleostress study revealed the presence of four brittle deformational phases. The established link between fault mechanism and igneous processes suggests that two large tectono-magmatic events occurred in this area. The Late Eocene-Early Miocene tectono-magmatic event was generally characterized by transpressional tectonics that provided conditions for formation of basaltic underplating and subsequent lower crustal melting and generation of I-type magmas. Due to predominant compression in the first half of this event, these magmas could not reach the upper crustal levels. Later on, limited extensional pulses that occurred before the end of this event opened pathways for newly formed mantle melts to reach shallower crustal levels and mix with the evolving I-type magmas. The second event is Middle-Late Miocene in age. It was first associated with clear extensional conditions that caused advancing of basaltic melts to mid-crustal levels. This, in turn, induced the elevation of geotherms, melting of shallow crust and S-type granite formation. This event terminated with transpression that produced small volumes of basaltic melts and finally closed the igneous scene in this part of the Balkan Peninsula. Although we agree that the growth of igneous bodies is usually internally controlled and can be independent from the ambient structural pattern, we have strong reasons to believe that the integration of regional scale observations of fault kinematics with crucial petrogenetic information can be used for establishing spatial

Tectonics of the Nazca-Antarctic plate boundary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson-Fontana, Sandra; Larson, Roger L.; Engeln, Joseph F.; Lundgren, Paul; Stein, Seth

1987-01-01

A new bathymetric chart of part of the Chile transform system is constructed, based mainly on an R/V Endeavor survey from 100 deg W to its intersection with the East Ridge of the Juan Fernandez microplate. A generally continuous lineated trend can be followed through the entire region, with the transform valley being relatively narrow and well-defined from 109 deg W to approximately 104 deg 30 min W. The fracture zone then widens to the east, with at least two probable en echelon offsets to the south at 104 deg and 102 deg W. Six new strike-slip mechanisms along the Chile Transform and one normal fault mechanism near the northern end of the Chile Rise, inverted together with other plate-motion data from the eastern portion of the boundary, produce a new best-fit Euler pole for the Nazca-Antarctic plate pair, providing tighter constraints on the relative plate motions.

Bases of creation of new concept in global tectonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anokhin, Vladimir

2014-05-01

With the accumulation of new facts about the structure of the Earth existing plate paradigm is becoming more doubtful. In fact, it is supported by the opinion of the majority specialist-theorist interested in its preservation and substantial use of administrative resources. The author knows well what is totalitarianism, and regretfully sees signs of it in monopolistic domination of the world geotectonic «the only correct» plate tectonics theory. Scientists have been looking for the factual material in the field, most belong to the plate theory skeptical, to the extent that believe their own eyes more than books. Believing that science is a search for truth, not only grants, the author proposes to critically reconsider the position in modern geotectonic and look for a way out of the impasse. Obviously, if we are not satisfied with the existing paradigm, we should not be limited by its critics, and must seek an alternative concept, avoiding errors, for which we criticize plate tectonic. The new concept should be based on all the facts, using only the necessary minimum of modeling. Methodological principles of creation of the concept are presented to the author of the following: - strict adherence to scientific logic; - the constant application of the principle of Occam's razor; - ranking of existing tectonic information on groups, in descending order of reliability: 1) established facts 2) the facts to be checked 3) empirical generalizations 4) physical and other models, including the facts and their generalizations 5) theoretical constructions based on empirical generalizations and models 6) hypotheses arising from the grounded theoretical constructions 7) the concepts 8) ideas (Professor's theory or idea can cost less than a fact from a student). - generalization, rethinking the information according to the indicated rankings, including outside the boards paradigm; - establishment of boundary conditions of the action and the eligibility of the consequences of all

Shallow very-low-frequency earthquakes accompany slow slip events in the Nankai subduction zone.

PubMed

Nakano, Masaru; Hori, Takane; Araki, Eiichiro; Kodaira, Shuichi; Ide, Satoshi

2018-03-14

Recent studies of slow earthquakes along plate boundaries have shown that tectonic tremor, low-frequency earthquakes, very-low-frequency events (VLFEs), and slow-slip events (SSEs) often accompany each other and appear to share common source faults. However, the source processes of slow events occurring in the shallow part of plate boundaries are not well known because seismic observations have been limited to land-based stations, which offer poor resolution beneath offshore plate boundaries. Here we use data obtained from seafloor observation networks in the Nankai trough, southwest of Japan, to investigate shallow VLFEs in detail. Coincident with the VLFE activity, signals indicative of shallow SSEs were detected by geodetic observations at seafloor borehole observatories in the same region. We find that the shallow VLFEs and SSEs share common source regions and almost identical time histories of moment release. We conclude that these slow events arise from the same fault slip and that VLFEs represent relatively high-frequency fluctuations of slip during SSEs.

Earth's glacial record and its tectonic setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eyles, N.

1993-09-01

clearly established glacial parentage. The same remarks apply to many successions of laminated and thin-bedded facies interpreted as "varvites". Despite suggestions of much lower values of solar luminosity (the weak young sun hypothesis), the stratigraphic record of Archean glaciations is not extensive and may be the result of non-preservation. However, the effects of very different Archean global tectonic regimes and much higher geothermal heat flows, combined with a Venus-like atmosphere warmed by elevated levels of CO 2, cannot be ruled out. The oldest unambiguous glacial succession in Earth history appears to be the Early Proterozoic Gowganda Formation of the Huronian Supergroup in Ontario; the age of this event is not well-constrained but glaciation coincided with regional rifting, and may be causally related to, oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere just after 2300 Ma. New evidence that oxygenation is tectonically, not biologically driven, stresses the intimate relationship between plate tectonics, evolution of the atmosphere and glaciation. Global geochemical controls, such as elevated atmospheric CO 2 levels, may be responsible for a long mid-Proterozoic non-glacial interval after 2000 Ma that was terminated by the Late Proterozoic glaciations just after 800 Ma. A persistent theme in both Late Proterozoic and Phanerozoic glaciations is the adiabatic effect of tectonic uplift, either along collisional margins or as a result of passive margin uplifts in areas of extended crust, as the trigger for glaciation; the process is reinforced by global geochemical feedback, principally the drawdown of atmospheric CO 2 and Milankovitch "astronomical" forcing but these are unlikely, by themselves, to inititiate glaciation. The same remarks apply to late Cenozoic glaciations. Late Proterozoic glacially-influenced strata occur on all seven continents and fall into two tectonostratigraphic types. In the first category are thick sucessions of turbidites and mass flows deposited along

Topography, surface properties, and tectonic evolution. [of Venus and comparison with earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgill, G. E.; Warner, J. L.; Malin, M. C.; Arvidson, R. E.; Eliason, E.; Nozette, S.; Reasenberg, R. D.

1983-01-01

Differences in atmospheric composition, atmospheric and lithospheric temperature, and perhaps mantle composition, suggest that the rock cycle on Venus is not similar to the earth's. While radar data are not consistent with a thick, widespread and porous regolith like that of the moon, wind-transported regolith could be cemented into sedimentary rock that would be indistinguishable from other rocks in radar returns. The elevation spectrum of Venus is strongly unimodal, in contrast to the earth. Most topographic features of Venus remain enigmatic. Two types of tectonic model are proposed: a lithosphere too thick or buoyant to participate in convective flow, and a lithosphere which, in participating in convective flow, implies the existence of plate tectonics. Features consistent with earth-like plate tectonics have not been recognized.

Regional geology and tectonics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nokleberg, Warren J.; Bundtzen, Thomas K.; Nokleberg, Warren J.; Price, Raymond A.; Scholl, David W.; Stone, David B.

2017-01-01

This chapter describes the regional geology and tectonic origins of the major geologic units for the Northern Cordillera. The goals of the chapter are to: (1) provide a summary and regional overview of this vast region that contains a complicated geologic history; and (2) describe the major geologic units and tectonic events that cover a broad geologic time span from the Proterozoic to the Holocene (Recent).

Plate tectonic reconstruction of South and East Asia since 43 Ma using seismic tomographic constraints: role of the subducted ';East Asia Sea' (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, J. E.; Suppe, J.; Renqi, L.; Kanda, R. V.

2013-12-01

Lithosphere that subducts at convergent plate boundaries provides a potentially decipherable plate tectonic record. In this study we use global seismic tomography to map subducted slabs in the upper and lower mantle under South and East Asia to constrain plate reconstructions. The mapped slabs include the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and Banda Sea, the Molucca Sea, Celebes Sea, the Philippine Sea and Eurasia, New Guinea and other lower mantle detached slabs. The mapped slabs were restored to the earth surface and used with Gplates software to constrain a globally-consistent, fully animated plate reconstruction of South and East Asia. Three principal slab elements dominate possible plate reconstructions: [1] The mapped Pacific slabs near the Izu-Bonin and the Marianas trenches form a subvertical slab curtain or wall extending down to 1500 km in the lower mantle. The ';slab curtain' geometry and restored slabs lengths indicate that the Pacific subduction zone has remained fixed within +/- 250 km of its present position since ~43 Ma. In contrast, the Tonga Pacific slab curtain records at least 1000 km trench rollback associated with expansion of back-arc basins. [2] West of the Pacific slab curtain, a set of flat slabs exist in the lower mantle and record a major 8000km by 2500-3000km ocean that existed at ~43 Ma. This now-subducted ocean, which we call the ';East Asian Sea', existed between the Ryukyu Asian margin and the Lord Howe hotspot, present-day eastern Australia, and fills a major gap in Cenozoic plate reconstructions between Indo-Australia, the Pacific Ocean and Asia. [3] An observed ';picture puzzle' fit between the restored edges of the Philippine Sea, Molucca Sea and Indian Ocean slabs suggests that the Philippine Sea was once part of a larger Indo-Australian Ocean. Previous models of Philippine Sea plate motions are in conflict with the location of the East Asian Sea lithosphere. Using the mapped slab constraints, we propose the following 43 Ma to 0 plate

Venus magmatic and tectonic evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, R. J.; Hansen, V. L.

1993-01-01

Two years beyond the initial mapping by the Magellan spacecraft, hypotheses for the magmatic and tectonic evolution of Venus have become refined and focused. We present our view of these processes, attempting to synthesize aspects of a model for the tectonic and magmatic behavior of the planet. The ideas presented should be taken collectively as an hypothesis subject to further testing. The quintessence of our model is that shear and buoyancy forces in the upper boundary layer of mantle convection give rise to a spatially and temporally complex pattern of strain in a one-plate Venusian lithosphere and modulate the timing and occurrence of magmatism on a global basis.

Puzzling features of western Mediterranean tectonics explained by slab dragging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spakman, Wim; Chertova, Maria V.; van den Berg, Arie.; van Hinsbergen, Douwe J. J.

2018-03-01

The recent tectonic evolution of the western Mediterranean region is enigmatic. The causes for the closure of the Moroccan marine gateway prior to the Messinian salinity crisis, for the ongoing shortening of the Moroccan Rif and for the origin of the seismogenic Trans-Alboran shear zone and eastern Betics extension are unclear. These puzzling tectonic features cannot be fully explained by subduction of the east-dipping Gibraltar slab in the context of the regional relative plate motion frame. Here we use a combination of geological and geodetic data, as well as three-dimensional numerical modelling of subduction, to show that these unusual tectonic features could be the consequence of slab dragging—the north to north-eastward dragging of the Gibraltar slab by the absolute motion of the African Plate. Comparison of our model results to patterns of deformation in the western Mediterranean constrained by geological and geodetic data confirm that slab dragging provides a plausible mechanism for the observed deformation. Our results imply that the impact of absolute plate motion on subduction is identifiable from crustal observations. Identifying such signatures elsewhere may improve the mantle reference frame and provide insights on subduction evolution and associated crustal deformation.

Parallel Extension Tectonics (PET): Early Cretaceous tectonic extension of the Eastern Eurasian continent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Junlai; Ji, Mo; Ni, Jinlong; Guan, Huimei; Shen, Liang

2017-04-01

the exhumation of the mccs, and triggered plutonic emplacement and volcanic eruptions of hybrid magmas. During the late stage, the nature of mantle lithosphere in North China was changed from the ancient SCLM to the juvenile SCLM. Extensional structures in eastern Eurasian continent provide a general architecture of the extensional tectonics of a rifted continent. Progressive extension resulted a sudden collaps of the crust (lithosphere) at ca. 130 to 120 Ma, associated with exhumation of mcc's and giant syn-kinematic magmatism, and post-kinematic magmatism. Parallel extension of both the crust and the mantle resulted in detachment faulting and magmatism, and also contributed to inhomogeneous thinning of the NCC lithosphere. Paleo-Pacific plate subduction and roll-back of the subducting oceanic plate contributed to the PET tectonic processes.

Global Models of Ridge-Push Force, Geoid, and Lithospheric Strength of Oceanic plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahatsente, Rezene

2017-12-01

An understanding of the transmission of ridge-push related stresses in the interior of oceanic plates is important because ridge-push force is one of the principal forces driving plate motion. Here, I assess the transmission of ridge-push related stresses in oceanic plates by comparing the magnitude of the ridge-push force to the integrated strength of oceanic plates. The strength is determined based on plate cooling and rheological models. The strength analysis includes low-temperature plasticity (LTP) in the upper mantle and assumes a range of possible tectonic conditions and rheology in the plates. The ridge-push force has been derived from the thermal state of oceanic lithosphere, seafloor depth and crustal age data. The results of modeling show that the transmission of ridge-push related stresses in oceanic plates mainly depends on rheology and predominant tectonic conditions. If a lithosphere has dry rheology, the estimated strength is higher than the ridge-push force at all ages for compressional tectonics and at old ages (>75 Ma) for extension. Therefore, under such conditions, oceanic plates may not respond to ridge-push force by intraplate deformation. Instead, the plates may transmit the ridge-push related stress in their interior. For a wet rheology, however, the strength of young lithosphere (<75 Ma) is much less than the ridge-push force for both compressional and extensional tectonics. In this case, the ridge-push related stress may dissipate in the interior of oceanic plates and diffuses by intraplate deformation. The state of stress within a plate depends on the balance of far-field and intraplate forces.

Tectonic evolution of the Neoproterozoic Tandilia sedimentary cover, Argentina: New evidence of contraction and extensional events in the southwest Gondwana margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernández, Mariano; Arrouy, María Julia; Scivetti, Nicolás; Franzese, Juan R.; Canalicchio, José M.; Poiré, Daniel G.

2017-11-01

At the northwestern portion of the Tandilia System, a detailed structural analysis on the Precambrian sedimentary units exposed in the quarries of the Olavarría-Sierras Bayas area was carried out. These units exhibit deformational structures of several scales, from centimeters to hundreds of meters. The hundreds of meters scale involves E-W- and NW-SE-trending normal faults and NW-SE- and NE-SW-trending contractional folds. The centimeters to meters scale involves veins, joints, normal faults, shear fractures and stylolites, with a prevailing ∼ E-W to NW-SE trend. All these structures were formed by two major tectonic events. The first was the folding event at ∼580 Ma, with NNE-SSW to NE-SW and NW-SE direction of contraction. The second was the extensional faulting event, given by the widespread NNE-SSW-directed extension event during the Atlantic Ocean opening (Jurassic-Cretaceous). Both major events would have been controlled by the reactivation of basement anisotropies. These major tectonic events controlled the deformation of the Precambrian sedimentary cover of the Tandilia system, leading to an economically important aspect in the mining development of the Olavarría-Sierras Bayas area.

DISCUSSION: When and How did Plate Tectonics Begin, What Came Before, and Why is this Controversy important for Understanding the Earth and Exoplanets?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stern, R. J.; Gerya, T.; Sobolev, S. V.; Tackley, P.

2015-12-01

Because all 5 presentations in the Union session "When and How did Plate Tectonics Begin, What Came Before, and Why is this Controversy important for Understanding the Earth and Exoplanets?" will have 5 minute discussion periods, the scheduled 15 minute end-of-session discussion period is intended to allow other perspectives to be presented by the scientific community. We invite brief (2 powerpoint slides) comments from the community about any aspect of the topic at hand. We encourage anyone who has something pertinent or interesting to say to submit 2 powerpoint slides directly to any one of the four co-convenors listed on this abstract. The first slide should be a simple title with the name and affiliation of the commenter. The second slide should be the content of the comment. The convenors will compile all of these that are submitted up to the noon on the day before the session occurs, when we will upload the compiled files in the order that they were received (if we have received digital scans of signed waivers by that time, see below). During the discussion, we will call on those who have submitted 2 slides to the podium to make their points in 2 minutes or less (total time from being called to leaving the podium). Because this AGU Union session including the discussion period will be live-streamed and recorded, all Discussion Session commenters will be required to sign an AGU waiver acknowledging this and giving permission to be recorded. These will be sent via e-mail to those who submit 2 slide powerpoints. Commenters that do not sign and return the waiver will be scheduled after all commenters who have returned signed waivers and AGU will terminate live streaming and recording accordingly. If no one submits anything then we will have open discussion from the floor. We will also advertise the Monte Verita conference in Locarno Switzerland 17-22 July 2016. This conference will explore in greater detail the 5 key aspects of Plate Tectonic evolution briefly

Present tectonics of the southeast of Russia as seen from GPS observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shestakov, N. V.; Gerasimenko, M. D.; Takahashi, H.; Kasahara, M.; Bormotov, V. A.; Bykov, V. G.; Kolomiets, A. G.; Gerasimov, G. N.; Vasilenko, N. F.; Prytkov, A. S.; Timofeev, V. Yu.; Ardyukov, D. G.; Kato, T.

2011-02-01

The present tectonics of Northeast Asia has been extensively investigated during the last 12 yr by using GPS techniques. Nevertheless, crustal velocity field of the southeast of Russia near the northeastern boundaries of the hypothesized Amurian microplate has not been defined yet. The GPS data collected between 1997 February and 2009 April at sites of the regional geodynamic network were used to estimate the recent geodynamic activity of this area. The calculated GPS velocities indicate almost internal (between network sites) and external (with respect to the Eurasian tectonic plate) stability of the investigated region. We have not found clear evidences of any notable present-day tectonic activity of the Central Sikhote-Alin Fault as a whole. This fault is the main tectonic unit that determines the geological structure of the investigated region. The obtained results speak in favour of the existence of a few separate blocks and a more sophisticated structure of the proposed Amurian microplate in comparison with an indivisible plate approach.

Mapping Yakutat Subduction with Tectonic Tremor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wech, A.

2015-12-01

Subduction of the Yakutat microplate (YAK) in south-central Alaska may be responsible for regional high topography, large slip during the 1964 earthquake, and the anomalous gap in arc volcanism, but the exact geodynamics and its relationship with the underlying Pacific Plate (PP) are not fully understood. Refraction data support distinct subducting layers, and both GPS and body wave tomography suggest the YAK extends from the Cook Inlet volcanoes in the west to the Wrangell volcanic field in the east. Earthquakes, however, are limited to normal faulting within the PP with an abrupt eastern boundary 80 km west of the inferred YAK edge, and more recent active source seismic data suggest subduction of one homogenous thickened oceanic plateau. Here, I perform a search for tectonic tremor to investigate the role of tremor and slow slip in the system. I scan continuous waveforms from 2007-2015 using all available data from permanent and campaign seismic stations in south-central Alaska. Using envelope cross-correlation, I detect and locate ~9,000 tectonic tremor epicenters, providing a map of the transition zone downdip of the 1964 earthquake. Tremor epicenters occur downdip of discrete slow slip events, and tremor rates do not correlate temporally with slow slip behavior. Depth resolution is poor, but horizontal locations are well constrained and spatially correlate with the velocity images of the YAK. Likewise, tremor extends 80 km further east than intraslab seismicity. Tremor swarms occur intermittently and manifest as ambient tremor. I interpret tremor to mark slow, semi-continuous slip occurring at the boundary between the YAK and North American plates, whose interface continues beyond the eastern edge of the PP. In this model, the YAK is welded to the underlying PP in the west, but extends past the eastern terminus of the PP. This geometry explains the correlation between tremor and the YAK, the discrepancy between deep seismicity and tremor, and the paucity of

Early Earth plume-lid tectonics: A high-resolution 3D numerical modelling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, R.; Gerya, T.

2016-10-01

Geological-geochemical evidence point towards higher mantle potential temperature and a different type of tectonics (global plume-lid tectonics) in the early Earth (>3.2 Ga) compared to the present day (global plate tectonics). In order to investigate tectono-magmatic processes associated with plume-lid tectonics and crustal growth under hotter mantle temperature conditions, we conduct a series of 3D high-resolution magmatic-thermomechanical models with the finite-difference code I3ELVIS. No external plate tectonic forces are applied to isolate 3D effects of various plume-lithosphere and crust-mantle interactions. Results of the numerical experiments show two distinct phases in coupled crust-mantle evolution: (1) a longer (80-100 Myr) and relatively quiet 'growth phase' which is marked by growth of crust and lithosphere, followed by (2) a short (∼20 Myr) and catastrophic 'removal phase', where unstable parts of the crust and mantle lithosphere are removed by eclogitic dripping and later delamination. This modelling suggests that the early Earth plume-lid tectonic regime followed a pattern of episodic growth and removal also called episodic overturn with a periodicity of ∼100 Myr.

Escape tectonics and the extrusion of Alaska: Past, present, and future

USGS Publications Warehouse

Redfield, T.F.; Scholl, D. W.; Fitzgerald, P.G.; Beck, M.E.

2007-01-01

The North Pacific Rim is a tectonically active plate boundary zone parts of which may be characterized as a laterally moving orogenic stream. Crustal blocks are transported along large-magnitude strike-slip faults in western Canada and central Alaska toward the Aleutian-Bering Sea subduction zones. Throughout much of the Cenozoic, at and west of its Alaskan nexus, the North Pacific Rim orogenic Stream (NPRS) has undergone tectonic escape. During transport, relatively rigid blocks acquired paleomagnetic rotations and fault-juxtaposed boundaries while flowing differentially through the system, from their original point of accretion and entrainment toward the free face defined by the Aleutian-Bering Sea subduction zones. Built upon classical terrane tectonics, the NPRS model provides a new framework with which to view the mobilistic nature of the western North American plate boundary zone. ?? 2007 The Geological Society of America.

A New Test of Plate Tectonics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shea, James Herbert

1989-01-01

Discussed are two techniques that can be used to directly test the theory that the plates which make up the crust of the earth are still moving. Described are the use of satellite laser ranging and very long baseline interferometry. Samples of data and their analysis are provided. (CW)

Strike-slip tectonics within the northernmost Philippine Sea plate in an arc-continent collisional setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Wei; Jiang, Xiaodian; Guo, Yufan; Xing, Junhui; Li, Congying; Sun, Yang

2017-09-01

The geological processes in the northernmost Philippine Sea plate, which is bounded by the Suruga and Sagami troughs, are a typical example of an active collision zone. We attempt to illustrate the stress field through seismic estimations and geodetic analysis and propose the kinematic mode of the northernmost tip of the Philippine Sea plate. Seven events (M ≥ 4.0) are chosen for waveform inversion by the ISOLA software to distinguish the stress field. In particular, six of the chosen events, which exhibit strike-slip motion, are distributed in the eastern area, where few focal mechanisms have been reported by previous studies. According to the available focal mechanisms, strike-slip faults with similar P and T axes are widely distributed in the study area. The stress inversion suggests that the northern area is characterized by a NW-SE compression and a NE-SW extension stress regime, although some spatial differences exist. As indicated by an analysis of the geodesy, epicenters, focal mechanisms, gravity anomalies and velocity structure, the deformation in the northernmost tip is mainly accommodated by several conjugate strike-slip fault systems with steep dips that center on the Izu volcanic line. Generally, the maximum principal stress of the kinematics is derived from the collision between the Philippine Sea plate and Central Japan. Because of the different subduction angles, rates and directions of the down-going plate, diverging slab-pull forces along the Suruga and Sagami troughs may be causing the NE-NNE extension in most of the areas that are bounded by the two troughs. The extension propagates southwards along the Izu volcanic line and reaches the area adjacent to Miyake-jima.

Subduction and Plate Edge Tectonics in the Southern Caribbean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levander, A.; Schmitz, M.; Niu, F.; Bezada, M. J.; Miller, M. S.; Masy, J.; Ave Lallemant, H. G.; Pindell, J. L.

2012-12-01

The southern Caribbean plate boundary consists of a subduction zone at at either end connected by a strike-slip fault system: In the east at the Lesser Antilles subduction zone, the Atlantic part of the South American plate subducts beneath the Caribbean. In the north and west in the Colombia basin, the Caribbean subducts under South America. In a manner of speaking, the two plates subduct beneath each other. Finite-frequency teleseismic P-wave tomography confirms this, imaging the Atlantic and the Caribbean subducting steeply in opposite directions to transition zone depths under northern South America (Bezada et al, 2010). The two subduction zones are connected by the El Pilar-San Sebastian strike-slip fault system, a San Andreas scale system that has been cut off at the Bocono fault, the southeastern boundary of the Maracaibo block. A variety of seismic probes identify where the two plates tear as they begin to subduct (Niu et al, 2007; Clark et al., 2008; Miller et al. 2009; Growdon et al., 2009; Huang et al., 2010; Masy et al., 2011). The El Pilar system forms at the southeastern corner of the Antilles subduction zone with the Atlantic plate tearing from South America. The deforming plate edges control mountain building and basin formation at the eastern end of the strike-slip system. In northwestern South America the Caribbean plate very likely also tears, as its southernmost element subducts at shallow angles under northernmost Colombia and the northern, nonsubducting part underthrusts the continental edge. The subducting segment rapidly descends to transition zone depths under Lake Maracaibo (Bezada et al., 2010). We believe that the flat slab produces the Merida Andes, the Perija, and the Santa Marta ranges. The nonsubducting part of the Caribbean plate underthrusts northern Venezuela to about the width of the coastal mountains (Miller et al., 2009), where the plate edge supports the coastal mountains, and controls continuing deformation.

Convergent Plate Boundary Processes in the Archean: Evidence from Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polat, A.

2014-12-01

The structural, magmatic and metamorphic characteristics of Archean greenstone belts and associated TTG (tonalite, trondhjemite and granodiorite) gneisses in southern West Greenland are comparable to those of Phanerozoic convergent plate margins, suggesting that Archean continents grew mainly at subduction zones. These greenstone belts are composed mainly of tectonically juxtaposed fragments of oceanic crust including mafic to ultramafic rocks, with minor sedimentary rocks. Volcanic rocks in the greenstone belts are characterized mainly by island arc tholeiitic basalts, picrites, and boninites. The style of deformation and geometry of folds in 10 cm to 5 m wide shear zones are comparable to those occur on 1 to 50 km scale in the greenstone belts and TTG gneisses, suggesting that compressional tectonic processes operating at convergent plate boundaries were the driving force of Archean crustal accretion and growth. Field observations and trace element data suggest that Archean continental crust grew through accretion of mainly island arcs and melting of metamorphosed mafic rocks (amphibolites) in thickened arcs during multiple tectonothermal events. Fold patterns on cm to km scale are consistent with at least three phases of deformation and multiple melting events generating TTG melts that intruded mainly along shear zones in accretionary prism and magmatic arcs. It is suggested that Archean TTGs were produced by three main processes: (1) melting of thickened oceanic island arcs; (2) melting of subducted oceanic crust; and (3) differentiation of basaltic melts originating from metasomatized sub-arc mantle wedge peridotites.

NEPTUNE: an under-sea plate scale observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beauchamp, P. M.; Heath, G. R.; Maffei, A.; Chave, A.; Howe, B.; Wilcock, W.; Delaney, J.; Kirkham, H.

2002-01-01

The NEPTUNE project will establish a linked array of undersea observatories on the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate. This observatory will provide a new kind of research platform for real-time, long-term, plate-scale studies in the ocean and Earth sciences.

Global organization of tectonic deformation on Venus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilotti, Frank; Connors, Chris; Suppe, John

1993-03-01

The geographic organization of surface deformation on Venus as on Earth is a key to understanding the global tectonic system. To date we have mapped the distribution of three unambiguous tectonic land forms on Venus: (1) linear foldbelts analogous to those at plate margins of the Earth; (2) linear rift zones, analogous to continental rifts on the Earth; and (3) distributed plains deformation in the form of wrinkle ridges and extensional faults and fractures. The linear foldbelts are the dominant structural style in the Northern Hemisphere; ninety percent of the planet's foldbelts lie above the equator. In contrast, compressive deformation in the Southern Hemisphere is dominated by two large, sweeping patterns of wrinkle ridges. The two hemispheres are divided by an equatorial region that is largely covered by rift zones and several large tessera blocks. A tectonic model of generally poleward convergence of the Northern Hemisphere explains the distribution of foldbelts and rift zones. In our model, a northern hemispherical plate (or system of plates) moves poleward and deforms along discrete, predominately longitudinal bands. We recognize four types of foldbelts based on their relationships to other large-scale tectonic features on Venus. There are foldbelts that lie within the low plains, foldbelts associated with coronae, novae and chasmata, foldbelts that lie at the margins of poly-deformed tessera plateaus, and the folded mountain belts around Lakshmi Planum. We see a geometric increase in the area of fold belts when normalized to percent area at a given latitude. This increase is consistent with our model of poleward convergence. Also, the orientations of most foldbelts are either approximately north-south or parallel to lines of latitude in the northern hemisphere. This observation is also consistent with the model in that the longitudinal bands are the result of the decreasing area of the sphere as the plate moves poleward and the latitudinal belts are the

Global organization of tectonic deformation on Venus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bilotti, Frank; Connors, Chris; Suppe, John

1993-01-01

The geographic organization of surface deformation on Venus as on Earth is a key to understanding the global tectonic system. To date we have mapped the distribution of three unambiguous tectonic land forms on Venus: (1) linear foldbelts analogous to those at plate margins of the Earth; (2) linear rift zones, analogous to continental rifts on the Earth; and (3) distributed plains deformation in the form of wrinkle ridges and extensional faults and fractures. The linear foldbelts are the dominant structural style in the Northern Hemisphere; ninety percent of the planet's foldbelts lie above the equator. In contrast, compressive deformation in the Southern Hemisphere is dominated by two large, sweeping patterns of wrinkle ridges. The two hemispheres are divided by an equatorial region that is largely covered by rift zones and several large tessera blocks. A tectonic model of generally poleward convergence of the Northern Hemisphere explains the distribution of foldbelts and rift zones. In our model, a northern hemispherical plate (or system of plates) moves poleward and deforms along discrete, predominately longitudinal bands. We recognize four types of foldbelts based on their relationships to other large-scale tectonic features on Venus. There are foldbelts that lie within the low plains, foldbelts associated with coronae, novae and chasmata, foldbelts that lie at the margins of poly-deformed tessera plateaus, and the folded mountain belts around Lakshmi Planum. We see a geometric increase in the area of fold belts when normalized to percent area at a given latitude. This increase is consistent with our model of poleward convergence. Also, the orientations of most foldbelts are either approximately north-south or parallel to lines of latitude in the northern hemisphere. This observation is also consistent with the model in that the longitudinal bands are the result of the decreasing area of the sphere as the plate moves poleward and the latitudinal belts are the

Geometry of the Cocos Plate Under North American Plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez-Campos, X.

2015-12-01

The Cocos plate subducts under the North American plate with a complex geometry, and previous seismicity studies revealed some of this complexity. However, details of the geometry and the depth that the plate penetrates werelargely unknown. Since 2004, temporary experiments and the expansion of the permanent network of the Servicio Sismológico Nacional (SSN, Mexican National Seismological Service) have improved resolution of the plate geometry and have helped to map its descent into the upper mantle. Going from northwest to southeast, the Cocos plate appears to be fragmenting into north and south segments. The north segment subducts with an angle of ~30º and the south with an angle of ~10-15º. The transition is smooth near the trench and progresses to a tear at depth; this coincides with the projection of the Orozco Fracture Zone to depth. Also, this transition marks the limit of the presence to the south of an ultra slow velocity layer (USL) on top of the slab.South of this transition, the Cocos plate subducts horizontally , underplating the North American plate for a distance of ~140 to ~300 km from the trench. Along this horizontal region, silent slow events (SSE) and tectonic tremor (TT) have been observed. At a distance of 300 km from the trench (beneath central Mexico), the plate dives into the mantle with an angle of 76º to a depth of 500 km. This geometry changes abruptly to the south, marking the eastern limit of the USL. This change seems to be also characterized by a tear on the slab. Finally to the south, the Cocos plate subducts with a constant angle of 26º. This presentation summarizes the work of many contributors including A. Arciniega-Ceballos, M. Brudzinski, E. Cabral-Cano, T. Chen, R. Clayton,F. Cordoba-Montiel,P. Davis,S. Dougherty,F. Green, M. Gurnis, D. V. Helmberger, A. Husker,A. Iglesias, Y. Kim, V. Manea, D. Melgar, M. Rodríguez-Domínguez,S. K. Singh, T.-R. A. Song, C. M. Valdés-González, D. Valencia-Cabrera

Tectonic deformation in southern California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, David D.

1993-01-01

Our objectives were to use modem geodetic data, especially those derived from space techniques like Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), and the Global Positioning System (GPS) to infer crustal deformation in southern California and relate it to plate tectonics and earthquake hazard. To do this, we needed to collect some original data, write computer programs to determine positions of survey markers from geodetic observables, interpret time dependent positions in terms of velocity and earthquake caused episodic displacements, and construct a model to explain these velocities and displacements in terms of fault slip and plate movements.

Evolution of Plate Tectonics on Earth since the Mid-Mesoarchean was Controlled by Sedimentary Fluxes from Continents to Oceans and Mantle Temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobolev, S. V.; Brown, M.

2017-12-01

Plate tectonics (PT) is the most important geological process operating on Earth, making it unique among the rocky planets in the Solar System. The question of how PT was initiated and which factors controlled its evolution over Earth's history are widely discussed, but remain controversial. It is broadly accepted that a necessary condition for initiation and stable operation of PT is maintaining low strength along plate boundaries, particularly along the subduction zone interfaces in the subduction channels. Examples from the South American Andes and other convergent margins show that unconsolidated continental sediments in trenches serve as an efficient lubricant for subduction; if these are lacking, friction in the subduction channel and strength of the plate boundary are significantly increased. We suggest that lubrication of subduction by accumulation of continental sediments in trenches played a crucial role during the evolution of PT on Earth since the mid-Mesoarchean. We posit that continental emergence and enhanced surface erosion caused an increasing flux of sediments into the oceans, which in turn lubricated subduction channels and intensified PT. Thus, peaks in orogenesis, as confirmed by several proxies, during periods of supercraton/supercontinent assembly represent periods of vigorous subduction and continental sedimentation in trenches prior to terminal collision. Conversely, a decrease in plate boundary length and a reduction in continental sediment accumulation in trenches during periods of stability after supercraton/supercontinent assembly is the likely reason for periods of lower PT vigor, including the so called `boring billion' between 1.8 and 0.8 Ga. The largest surface erosion and subduction-lubrication event occurred at the end of the `snowball' Earth epoch in the Neoproterozoic and likely accelerated the most recent episode of vigorous PT. Based on analysis of various geological observations, we suggest that the cyclic behavior of PT on

Subcontinental-scale crustal velocity changes along the Pacific-North America plate boundary.

PubMed

Davis, J L; Wernicke, B P; Bisnath, S; Niemi, N A; Elósegui, P

2006-06-29

Transient tectonic deformation has long been noted within approximately 100 km of plate boundary fault zones and within active volcanic regions, but it is unknown whether transient motions also occur at larger scales within plates. Relatively localized transients are known to occur as both seismic and episodic aseismic events, and are generally ascribed to motions of magma bodies, aseismic creep on faults, or elastic or viscoelastic effects associated with earthquakes. However, triggering phenomena and systematic patterns of seismic strain release at subcontinental (approximately 1,000 km) scale along diffuse plate boundaries have long suggested that energy transfer occurs at larger scale. Such transfer appears to occur by the interaction of stresses induced by surface wave propagation and magma or groundwater in the crust, or from large-scale stress diffusion within the oceanic mantle in the decades following clusters of great earthquakes. Here we report geodetic evidence for a coherent, subcontinental-scale change in tectonic velocity along a diffuse approximately 1,000-km-wide deformation zone. Our observations are derived from continuous GPS (Global Positioning System) data collected over the past decade across the Basin and Range province, which absorbs approximately 25 per cent of Pacific-North America relative plate motion. The observed changes in site velocity define a sharp boundary near the centre of the province oriented roughly parallel to the north-northwest relative plate motion vector. We show that sites to the west of this boundary slowed relative to sites east of it by approximately 1 mm yr(-1) starting in late 1999.

Seismic behaviour of mountain belts controlled by plate convergence rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dal Zilio, Luca; van Dinther, Ylona; Gerya, Taras V.; Pranger, Casper C.

2018-01-01

The relative contribution of tectonic and kinematic processes to seismic behaviour of mountain belts is still controversial. To understand the partitioning between these processes we developed a model that simulates both tectonic and seismic processes in a continental collision setting. These 2D seismo-thermo-mechanical (STM) models obtain a Gutenberg-Richter frequency-magnitude distribution due to spontaneous events occurring throughout the orogen. Our simulations suggest that both the corresponding slope (b value) and maximum earthquake magnitude (MWmax) correlate linearly with plate convergence rate. By analyzing 1D rheological profiles and isotherm depths we demonstrate that plate convergence rate controls the brittle strength through a rheological feedback with temperature and strain rate. Faster convergence leads to cooler temperatures and also results in more larger seismogenic domains, thereby increasing both MWmax and the relative number of large earthquakes (decreasing b value). This mechanism also predicts a more seismogenic lower crust, which is confirmed by a transition from uni- to bi-modal hypocentre depth distributions in our models. This transition and a linear relation between convergence rate and b value and MWmax is supported by our comparison of earthquakes recorded across the Alps, Apennines, Zagros and Himalaya. These results imply that deformation in the Alps occurs in a more ductile manner compared to the Himalayas, thereby reducing its seismic hazard. Furthermore, a second set of experiments with higher temperature and different orogenic architecture shows the same linear relation with convergence rate, suggesting that large-scale tectonic structure plays a subordinate role. We thus propose that plate convergence rate, which also controls the average differential stress of the orogen and its linear relation to the b value, is the first-order parameter controlling seismic hazard of mountain belts.

The tectonic and volcanic evolution of Venus: Catastrophic or gradual?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Solomon, Sean C.

1993-01-01

Radar imaging and altimetry data from the Magellan mission have yielded important new constraints on the tectonic and volcanic history of Venus and on its internal dynamics. The planet lacks global plate tectonics, but a number of chasm systems and corona moat structures have arcuate planforms, asymmetric topogrpahic profiles, and relief analogous to deep-sea trenches on Earth and may be products of limited lithospheric underthrusting or subduction. Several lines of evidence point to a crust and upper mantle stronger than would be predicted by simple extrapolation from Earth and the 450 K greater surface temperature; these include the unrelaxed depths of impact craters, apparently large values of elastic lithosphere thickness, and large ratios of gravity to topography. The density of impact craters indicates an averate crater retention age of about 500 My, but not more than 5% of the recognized craters have been volcanically embayed. This last observation has led to the proposal that Venus has been subjected to one or more global resurfacing events, the latest about 500 My ago, and that the volcanic flux during intervals between such events has been low. That more recent tectonic activity has been widespread, however, is indicated by the high relief and slopes of mountains, chasm walls, and plateau margins; the significant fraction (0.3) of impact craters deformed by younger faults; and the postformational vertical deformation of long channels. Interior dynamical scenarios advanced to account for episodic volcanic resurfacing include catastrophic overturn of a global lithosphere thickened by cooling or compositional buoyancy and strongly time-dependent mantle convective heat flux. Outgassing considerations and analogy with Earth and other terrestrial planets, however, suggests that such catastrophic models are unlikely. If the mantle of Venus cooled more efficiently than that of Earth because of, say, different boundary conditions, a different flow law, or a

Refining plate reconstructions of the North Atlantic and Ellesmerian domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shephard, Grace E.; Abdelmalak, Mansour M.; Buiter, Susanne; Piepjohn, Karsten; Jones, Morgan; Torsvik, Trond; Faleide, Jan Inge; Gaina, Carmen

2017-04-01

Located at the intersection of major tectonic plates, the North Atlantic and western Arctic domains have experienced both widespread and localized deformation since the Paleozoic. In conventional tectonic reconstructions, the plates of Greenland, Eurasia and North America are assumed to be rigid. However, prior to the onset of seafloor spreading, rifting lithosphere experiences significant thinning that is usually not accounted for. This leads to significant (in excess of 300 km in places) over- and under-laps between conjugate continent-ocean boundaries, an incomplete history of basin evolution, and loose correlations between climatic, volcanic, oceanographic and, geologic events. Furthermore, a handful of alternative regional reconstructions now exist, which predict different timings, rates and locations of relative motion and associated deformation. Assumptions of reference crustal thicknesses and the nature of lower crustal bodies, as well as the location of basin hinge lines have to-date not yet been incorporated into a consistent regional kinematic model. Notably, the alternative models predict varying episodes of compression or quiescence, not just orthogonal or oblique rifting. Here, we present new temporal and spatial-dependent results related to (1) the dominant rifting episodes across the North Atlantic (Carboniferous, Late Permian, Late Jurassic-Early Cenozoic and Late Cretaceous-Paleogene), and (2) restoration of compression and strike-slip motion between northern Greenland, Ellesmere Island (North America) and Spitsbergen (Eurasia) related to the Eurekan Orogeny. We achieve this by integrating a series of conjugate seismic profiles, calculated stretching factors, dated volcanic events, structural mapping and mass-balanced restorations into a global plate motion model via GPlates software. We also test alternative models of rift velocities (as kinematic boundary conditions) with 2-D lithosphere and mantle numerical models, and explore the importance of

Active NE-SW Compressional Strain Within the Arabian Plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Floyd, M. A.; ArRajehi, A.; King, R. W.; McClusky, S.; Reilinger, R. E.; Douad, M.; Sholan, J.; Bou-Rabee, F.

2012-12-01

Motion of the Arabian plate with respect to Eurasia has been remarkably steady over more than 25 Myr as revealed by comparison of geodetic and plate tectonic reconstructions (e.g., McQuarrie et al., 2003, GRL; ArRajehi et al., 2010, Tectonics). While internal plate deformation is small in comparison to the rate of Arabia-Eurasia convergence, the improved resolution of GPS observations indicate ~ NE-SW compressional strain that appears to affect much of the plate south of latitude ~ 30°N. Seven ~ NE-SW oriented inter-station baselines all indicated shortening at rates in the range of 0.5-2 mm/yr, for the most part with 1-sigma velocity uncertainties < 0.4 mm/yr. Plate-scale strain rates exceed 2×10-9/yr. The spatial distribution of strain can not be resolved from the sparse available data, but strain appears to extend at least to Riyadh, KSA, ~ 600 km west of the Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt that forms the eastern, collisional boundary of the Arabian plate with Eurasia (Iran). Geodetic velocities in the plate tectonic reference frame for Arabia, derived from magnetic anomalies in the Red Sea (Chu and Gordon, 1998, GJI), show no significant E-W motion for GPS stations located along the Red Sea coast (i.e., geodetic and plate tectonic spreading rates across the Red Sea agree within their resolution), in contrast to sites in the plate interior and along the east side of the plate that indicate east-directed motions. In addition, NE-SW contraction is roughly normal to ~ N-S striking major structural folds in the sedimentary rocks within the Arabian Platform. These relationships suggest that geodetically observed contraction has characterized the plate for at least the past ~ 3 Myr. Broad-scale contraction of the Arabian plate seems intuitively reasonable given that the east and north sides of the plate are dominated by active continental collision (Zagros, E Turkey/Caucasus) while the west and south sides are bordered by mid-ocean ridge spreading (Red Sea and Gulf of

Middle Proterozoic uplift events in the Dunbar dome of northeastern Wisconsin, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peterman, Z.E.; Sims, P.K.; Zartman, R.E.; Schulz, K.J.

1985-01-01

Isotopic ages of granitic and metamorphic rocks exposed in the Dunbar structural dome of northeastern Wisconsin identify a protracted series of tectonic and "hydrothermal" events that culminated in major regional uplift during Middle Proterozoic (Keweenawan; ca 1,100 Ma) continental rifting and volcanism. The major rock-forming events and the structural development of the dome occurred during the interval 1,862+/-4 Ma to 1,836+/-6 Ma. Whole-rock Rb-Sr ages are partly reset in response to a widely recognized but cryptic event in Wisconsin and Michigan at about 1,630 Ma. The scale and systematic character of the whole-rock resetting strongly suggests the presence of a fluid phase derived in situ from water dissolved in the silicates or externally from a subthrust plate of low-grade metamorphic rocks. The regional nature of the 1,630-Ma disturbance possibly indicates that it is related to a major tectonic event such as an active plate margin far to the south. Rb-Sr biotite ages for the Dunbar dome (this study), the southern complex of the Marquette district (Van Schmus and Woolsey 1975) and the Felch trough area (Aldrich and others 1965) provide a remarkably coherent pattern that reflects multiple episodes of differential uplift. Younger events superimposed on a regional 1,630-Ma imprint are recorded at 1,330 Ma and 1,140 Ma. The 1,330 Ma disturbance could reflect stabilization following intrusion of the Wolf River batholith at 1,485 Ma. The 1,140-Ma uplift event occurred during Keweenawan rifting and volcanism as a result of stresses imposed on a mosaic of fault-bounded blocks with possible subcrustal influence. The remarkably small variance in the 1,140-Ma biotite age peak argues for rapid uplift and cooling, and hence rapid erosion. Detritus from the uplift probably was being shed into nearby tectonic basins most of which did not survive subsequent uplift and erosion. ?? 1985 Springer-Verlag.

Detection of earthquake swarms at subduction zones globally: Insights into tectonic controls on swarm activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishikawa, T.; Ide, S.

2017-07-01

Earthquake swarms are characterized by an increase in seismicity rate that lacks a distinguished main shock and does not obey Omori's law. At subduction zones, they are thought to be related to slow-slip events (SSEs) on the plate interface. Earthquake swarms in subduction zones can therefore be used as potential indicators of slow-slip events. However, the global distribution of earthquake swarms at subduction zones remains unclear. Here we present a method for detecting such earthquake sequences using the space-time epidemic-type aftershock-sequence model. We applied this method to seismicity (M ≥ 4.5) recorded in the Advanced National Seismic System catalog at subduction zones during the period of 1995-2009. We detected 453 swarms, which is about 6.7 times the number observed in a previous catalog. Foreshocks of some large earthquakes are also detected as earthquake swarms. In some subduction zones, such as at Ibaraki-Oki, Japan, swarm-like foreshocks and ordinary swarms repeatedly occur at the same location. Given that both foreshocks and swarms are related to SSEs on the plate interface, these regions may have experienced recurring SSEs. We then compare the swarm activity and tectonic properties of subduction zones, finding that swarm activity is positively correlated with curvature of the incoming plate before subduction. This result implies that swarm activity is controlled either by hydration of the incoming plate or by heterogeneity on the plate interface due to fracturing related to slab bending.

Tectonic stress pattern in the Chinese Mainland from the inversion of focal mechanism data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Ju; Weifeng, Sun; Xiaojing, Ma

2017-04-01

The tectonic stress pattern in the Chinese Mainland and kinematic models have been subjected to much debate. In the past several decades, several tectonic stress maps have been figured out; however, they generally suffer a poor time control. In the present study, 421 focal mechanism data up to January 2010 were compiled from the Global/Harvard CMT catalogue, and 396 of them were grouped into 23 distinct regions in function of geographic proximity. Reduced stress tensors were obtained from formal stress inversion for each region. The results indicated that, in the Chinese Mainland, the directions of maximum principal stress were ˜NE-SW-trending in the northeastern region, ˜NEE-SWW-trending in the North China region, ˜N-S-trending in western Xinjiang, southern Tibet and the southern Yunnan region, ˜NNE-SSW-trending in the northern Tibet and Qinghai region, ˜NW-SE-trending in Gansu region, and ˜E-W-trending in the western Sichuan region. The average tectonic stress regime was strike-slip faulting (SS) in the eastern Chinese Mainland and northern Tibet region, normal faulting (NF) in the southern Tibet, western Xinjiang and Yunnan region, and thrust faulting (TF) in most regions of Xinjiang, Qinghai and Gansu. The results of the present study combined with GPS velocities in the Chinese Mainland supported and could provide new insights into previous tectonic models (e.g., the extrusion model). From the perspective of tectonics, the mutual actions among the Eurasian plate, Pacific plate and Indian plate caused the present-day tectonic stress field in the Chinese Mainland.

Interactions between tectonics, silicate weathering, and climate explored with carbon cycle modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penman, D. E.; Caves Rugenstein, J. K.; Ibarra, D. E.; Winnick, M.

2017-12-01

Earth's long-term carbon cycle is thought to benefit from a stabilizing negative feedback in the form of CO2 consumption by the chemical weathering of silicate minerals: during periods of elevated atmospheric pCO2, chemical weathering rates increase, thus consuming more atmospheric CO2 and cooling global climate, whereas during periods of low pCO2, weathering rates decrease, allowing buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere and warming. At equilibrium, CO2 consumption by silicate weathering balances volcanic CO2 degassing at a specific atmospheric pCO2 dictated by the relationship between total silicate weathering rate and pCO2: Earth's "weathering curve." We use numerical carbon cycle modeling to demonstrate that the shape and slope of the weathering curve is crucial to understanding proposed tectonic controls on pCO2 and climate. First, the shape of the weathering curve dictates the equilibrium response of the carbon cycle to changes in the rate of background volcanic/solid Earth CO2 degassing, which has been suggested to vary significantly with plate tectonic reorganizations over geologic timescales. Second, we demonstrate that if tectonic events can significantly change the weathering curve, this can act as an effective driver of pCO2 and climate on tectonic timescales by changing the atmospheric pCO2 at which silicate weathering balances a constant volcanic/solid Earth degassing rate. Finally, we review the complex interplay of environmental factors that affect modern weathering rates in the field and highlight how the resulting uncertainty surrounding the shape of Earth's weathering curve significantly hampers our ability to quantitatively predict the response of pCO2 and climate to tectonic forcing, and thus represents a substantial knowledge gap in Earth science. We conclude with strategies for closing this knowledge gap by using precise paleoclimatic reconstructions of intervals with known tectonic forcings.

Specific variations of air temperature and relative humidity around the time of Michoacan earthquake M8.1 Sept. 19, 1985 as a possible indicator of interaction between tectonic plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pulinets, S. A.; Dunajecka, M. A.

2007-02-01

The recent development of the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere (LAI) coupling model and experimental data of remote sensing satellites on thermal anomalies before major strong earthquakes have demonstrated that radon emanations in the area of earthquake preparation can produce variations of the air temperature and relative humidity. Specific repeating pattern of humidity and air temperature variations was revealed as a result of analysis of the meteorological data for several tens of strong earthquakes all over the world. The main physical process responsible for the observed variations is the latent heat release due to water vapor condensation on ions produced as a result of air ionization by energetic α-particles emitted by 222Rn. The high effectiveness of this process was proved by the laboratory and field experiments; hence the specific variations of air humidity and temperature can be used as indicator of radon variations before earthquakes. We analyzed the historical meteorological data all over the Mexico around the time of one of the most destructive earthquakes (Michoacan earthquake M8.1) that affected the Mexico City on September 19, 1985. Several distinct zones of specific variations of the air temperature and relative humidity were revealed that may indicate the different character of radon variations in different parts of Mexico before the Michoacan earthquake. The most interesting result on the specific variations of atmosphere parameters was obtained at Baja California region close to the border of Cocos and Rivera tectonic plates. This result demonstrates the possibility of the increased radon variations not only in the vicinity of the earthquake source but also at the border of interacting tectonic plates. Recent results on Thermal InfraRed (TIR) anomalies registered by Meteosat 5 before the Gujarat earthquake M7.9 on 26 of January 2001 supports the idea on the possibility of thermal effects at the border of interacting tectonic plates.

DELP Symposium: Tectonics of eastern Asia and western Pacific Continental Margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eastern Asia and the western Pacific make up a broad region of active plate tectonic interaction. The area is a natural laboratory for studying the processes involved in the origin and evolution of volcanic island arcs, marginal basins, accretionary prisims, oceanic trenches, accreted terranes, ophiolite emplacement, and intracontinental deformation. Many of our working concepts of plate tectonics and intraplate deformation were developed in this region, even though details of the geology and geophysics there must be considered of a reconnaissance nature.During the past few years researchers have accumulated a vast amount of new and detailed information and have developed a better understanding of the processes that have shaped the tectonic elements in this region. To bring together scientists from many disciplines and to present the wide range of new data and ideas that offer a broader perspective on the interrelations of geological, geochemical, geophysical and geodetic studies, the symposium Tectonics of Eastern Asia and Western Pacific Continental Margin was held December 13-16, 1988, at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan, under the auspicies of DELP (Dynamics and Evolution of the Lithosphere Project).

Florida: A Jurassic transform plate boundary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klitgord, Kim D.; Popenoe, Peter; Schouten, Hans

1984-01-01

Magnetic, gravity, seismic, and deep drill hole data integrated with plate tectonic reconstructions substantiate the existence of a transform plate boundary across southern Florida during the Jurassic. On the basis of this integrated suite of data the pre-Cretaceous Florida-Bahamas region can be divided into the pre-Jurassic North American plate, Jurassic marginal rift basins, and a broad Jurassic transform zone including stranded blocks of pre-Mesozoic continental crust. Major tectonic units include the Suwannee basin in northern Florida containing Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, a central Florida basement complex of Paleozoic age crystalline rock, the west Florida platform composed of stranded blocks of continental crust, the south Georgia rift containing Triassic sedimentary rocks which overlie block-faulted Suwannee basin sedimentary rocks, the Late Triassic-Jurassic age Apalachicola rift basin, and the Jurassic age south Florida, Bahamas, and Blake Plateau marginal rift basins. The major tectonic units are bounded by basement hinge zones and fracture zones (FZ). The basement hinge zone represents the block-faulted edge of the North American plate, separating Paleozoic and older crustal rocks from Jurassic rifted crust beneath the marginal basins. Fracture zones separate Mesozoic marginal sedimentary basins and include the Blake Spur FZ, Jacksonville FZ, Bahamas FZ, and Cuba FZ, bounding the Blake Plateau, Bahamas, south Florida, and southeastern Gulf of Mexico basins. The Bahamas FZ is the most important of all these features because its northwest extension coincides with the Gulf basin marginal fault zone, forming the southern edge of the North American plate during the Jurassic. The limited space between the North American and the South American/African plates requires that the Jurassic transform zone, connecting the Central Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico spreading systems, was located between the Bahamas and Cuba FZ's in the region of southern Florida. Our

Australian Northwest Shelf: a Late Neogene Reversible Tectonic Event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kominz, M. A.; Gurnis, M.; Gallagher, S. J.; Expedition 356 Scientists, I.

2017-12-01

The Northwest Shelf (NWS) of Australia is characterized by several offshore basins with active rifting in Permian and Jurassic time. Thus, by the Late Neogene this continental margin should be a very slowly subsiding passive margin. However, thick, poorly dated sediments have been noted in this region leading to speculation that this part of Australia has undergone down-warping in this time period. The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 356 was designed, in part, to better constrain this even in both time and space. Post-cruise Airy-backstripping analyses of samples from four IODP 356 well sites, located as far south as the Perth Basin and as far North as the Carnarvon Basin, suggest that, in fact, this region has undergone a latest Miocene (≈ 8 to 6 Ma) subsidence event followed by a later (≈ 2 to 1 Ma) uplift event. Age constraints are from micropaleontology with some refinement using climate cycle-stratigraphy. Water depth constraints are from benthic foraminifera and from quantitative ratios of benthic foraminifera to planktonic foraminifera. These event cannot be explained as related to either the high-magnitude glacial eustatic changes nor can the uplift event be eliminated and ascribed to sediments filling the accommodation space generated in the earlier event. The magnitude and duration of the vertical movements are remarkably similar and suggests that the subsidence is reversible. Reversibility is a key aspect of a dynamic topography signal. However, it is difficult to produce a mantle anomaly that reproduces the subsidence and subsequent uplift with the requisite amplitude and rates as observed in the NWS of Australia. Additionally, the subduction of the Australian Plate into the Java Trench is too distant to affect this region of Australia. Modeling of a flexural warping due to in-plane stress related to collision of Timor with the Java trench is

Seismo-stratigraphic evolution of the northern Austral Basin and its possible relation to the Andean tectonics, onshore Argentina.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sachse, Victoria; Anka, Zahie; Pagan, Facundo; Kohler, Guillermina; Cagnolatti, Marcelo; di Primio, Rolando; Rodriguez, Jorge

2013-04-01

The Austral Basin is situated in a formerly and recently high active tectonic zone in southern Argentina. The opening of the South Atlantic to the east, the opening of the Drake Passage in the south, and the subduction related to the rise of the Andes to the west, had major influence on the study area. To identify the impact of the tectonic events on basin geometry, sediment thickness and depocenter migration through time, 2D seismic interpretation was performed for an area of approx. 180.000 km² covering the onshore northern Austral Basin. A total of 10 seismic horizons were mapped and tied to the stratigraphy from well reports, representing 9 syn- and post- rift sequences. The main units are: Basement (U1), Jurassic Tobifera Formation (U2), Early Cretaceous (U3), Late Cretaceous (U4), sub-unit Campanian (U4A), Paleocene (U5), Eocene (U6), Oligocene (U7), Miocene (U8), and Plio-Pleistocene (U9). Main tectonic events are identified representing the break-up phase forming graben systems and the evolution from the ancient backarc Rocas Verdes Basin to the foreland Austral Basin. Inversion and changes in the tectonic regime are concomitant with onlapping and thinning of the base of the Upper Cretaceous to Campanian sediments, while the Top of the Upper Cretaceous represents a Maastrichtian unconformity. Units depth maps show a triangular geometry since the Jurassic, tracing the north-eastern basement high and deepening to the south. Since the Campanian the former geometry of basin fill changed and deepening to the south stopped. Beginning of the foreland phase is assigned to this time as well as changes in the stress regime. Paleogene times are marked by a relatively high sedimentation rate coupled with enduring thermal subsidence, on-going rise of the Andes and changes in the convergence rates of the Nazca relative to the South American plate. Onset of sediment supply from the Andes (Incaic phase) resulted in enhanced sedimentation rates during the Paleocene

Indentation tectonics in northern Taiwan: insights from field observations and analog models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Chia-Yu; Lee, Jian-Cheng; Malavieille, Jacques

2017-04-01

In northern Taiwan, contraction, extension, transcurrent shearing, and block rotation are four major tectonic deformation mechanisms involved in the progressive deformation of this arcuate mountain belt. The recent evolution of the orogen is controlled not only by the oblique convergence between the Eurasian plate and the Philippine Sea plate but also by the corner shape of the plate boundary. Based on field observations, analyses, geophysical data (mostly GPS) and results of experimental models, we interpret the curved shape of northern Taiwan as a result of contractional deformation (involving imbricate thrusting and folding, backthrusting and backfolding). The subsequent horizontal and vertical extrusion, combined with increasing transcurrent & rotational deformation (bookshelf-type strike-slip faulting and block rotation) induced transcurrent/ rotational extrusion and extrusion related extensional deformation. A special type of extrusional folds characterizes that complex deformation regime. The tectonics in northern Taiwan reflects a single, regional pattern of deformation. The crescent-shaped mountain belt develops in response to oblique indentation by an asymmetric wedge indenter, retreat of Ryukyu trench and opening of the Okinawa trough. Three sets of analog sandbox models are presented to illustrate the development of tectonic structures and their kinematic evolution

Geological evidence for the geographical pattern of mantle return flow and the driving mechanism of plate tectonics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alvarez, W.

1982-08-10

Tectonic features at the earth's surface can be used to test models for mantle return flow and to determine the geographic pattern of this flow. A model with shallow return and deep continental roots places the strongest constraints on the geographical pattern of return flow and predicts recognizable surface manifestations. Because of the progressive shrinkage of the Pacific (averaging 0.5 km/sup 2//yr over the last 180 m.y.) this model predicts upper mantle outflow through the three gaps in the chain of continents rimming the Pacific (Carribbean, Drake Passage, Australian-Antartic gap). In this model, upper mantle return flow streams originating atmore » the western Pacific trenches and at the Java Trench meet south of Australia, filling in behind this rapidly northward-moving continent and provding an explanation for the negative bathymetric and gravity anomalies of the 'Australian-Antarctic-Discordance'. The long-continued tectonic movements toward the east that characterize the Caribbean and the eastenmost Scotia Sea may be produced by viscous coupling to the predicted Pacific outflow through the gaps, and the Caribbean floor slopes in the predicted direction. If mantle outflow does not pass through the gaps in the Pacific perimeter, it must pass beneath three seismic zones (Central America, Lesser Antiles, Scotia Sea); none of these seismic zones shows foci below 200 km. Mantle material flowing through the Caribbean and Drake Passage gaps would supply the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, while the Java Trench supplies the Indian Ocean ridges, so that deep-mantle upwellings need not be centered under spreading ridges and therefore are not required to move laterally to follow ridge migrations. The analysis up to this point suggests that upper mantle return flow is a response to the motion of the continents. The second part of the paper suggest driving mechanism for the plate tectonic process which may explain why the continents move.« less

Galapagos Tectonics and Evolution (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hey, R. N.

2010-12-01

Galapagos is now considered one of the type-examples of hotspot-ridge interaction, although in the early years of plate tectonics it was generally thought that this interpretation was demonstrably wrong, with two influential groups insisting that non-hotspot models were required for this area. The key to understanding Galapagos tectonic evolution was the recognition that small ridge axis jumps toward the hotspot had occurred, producing complicated magnetic anomalies and asymmetric lithospheric accretion. My dissertation work, guided by Jason Morgan, showed that this simple modification to plate tectonic theory could resolve the seemingly compelling geometric arguments against the Cocos and Carnegie aseismic ridges being Galapagos hotspot tracks, and further that if Galapagos were a hotspot near Fernandina, fixed with respect to the Hawaii hotspot, there should be aseismic ridges on the Cocos and Nazca plates with the observed Cocos and Carnegie ridge geometry, both aseismic ridges forming when the hotspot was ridge-centered, but only the Carnegie ridge since the plate boundary migrated north of the hotspot. A great deal of subsequent research has shown that some areas are considerably more complicated than originally thought, but the following basic model still appears to hold. The Farallon plate split apart along the Grijalva scarp, possibly a preexisting Pacific-Farallon FZ that intersected the hotspot at this time (although alternative interpretations exist), probably in response to tensional stress caused by slab pull in different directions at the Mid-America and Peru-Chile trenches. This break-up allowed more orthogonal subduction of independent Cocos and Nazca plates beginning shortly after 25 Ma. The original Cocos-Nazca ridge trended E-NE, but soon reorganized into N-S spreading segments. The subsequent evolution involved substantial northward ridge migration and ridge jumps, mostly toward the Galapagos hotspot. Recent ridge jumps have occurred in

Andean subduction orogeny: feedbacks between tectonics, relief evolution and global climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lacassin, Robin; Armijo, Rolando; Coudurier-Curveur, Aurélie; Carrizo, Daniel

2016-04-01

The Andean subduction margin, largest tectonic relief on the Earth (13 km vertically from the trench to the Altiplano) has a stepped morphology, which results of the evolution over the past 50 Myr of two parallel flat-ramp thrust systems, at the - previously unidentified - West Andean Thrust (WAT), and at the subduction interface. The evolution of those thrusts appears concomitant with increasing aridity in the Atacama Desert, which keeps a large-scale record of interplaying tectonics and Cenozoic climate change. The coastal morphology is dominated by the Atacama Bench, a giant uplifted terrace at 1-2km asl. Geomorphic and climatic data, numerical experiments of drainage formation are consistent with the development of a flat Atacama morphology close to sea level, interrupted at ≤10 Ma by tectonic uplift prevailing to the present. This suggests recent trench-ward relief growth by incorporation of the coastal Atacama Bench to the Andes reliefs. Thrust splay structures and other complexities above the subduction interface may explain this relief growth, as well as the distribution of asperities under the oceanward forearc, and the down-dip segmentation of coupling and seismicity on the megathrust. Combining those results with geological knowledge at the scale of the whole Central Andes, we show that the Andean orogeny results from protracted processes of bivergent crustal shortening in a wide region squeezed between the rigid Marginal Block and the S America Plate. The overall growth curve of Andean orogeny over the past 50 Myr appears synchronous with the onset of the "ramp-shaped" temperature decrease since the Early Eocene climatic optimum. Andean growth and global cooling may have operated under the same forcing mechanism at plate-scale, involving viscous flow in the mantle. But Andean growth appears modulated by climatic feedbacks causative of stepwise reductions of erosive power over the Andean margin. The first of such events is coeval with Late Eocene

Active tectonic deformation of the western Indian plate boundary: A case study from the Chaman Fault System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crupa, Wanda E.; Khan, Shuhab D.; Huang, Jingqiu; Khan, Abdul S.; Kasi, Aimal

2017-10-01

Collision of the Eurasian and Indian plates has resulted in two spatially offset subduction zones, the Makran subduction zone to the south and the Himalayan convergent margin to the north. These zones are linked by a system of left-lateral strike-slip faults known as the Chaman Fault System, ∼1200 km, which spans along western Pakistan. Although this is one of the greatest strike-slip faults, yet temporal and spatial variation in displacement has not been adequately defined along this fault system. This study conducted geomorphic and geodetic investigations along the Chaman Fault in a search for evidence of spatial variations in motion. Four study areas were selected over the span of the Chaman Fault: (1) Tarnak-Rud area over the Tarnak-Rud valley, (2) Spinatizha area over the Spinatizha Mountain Range, (3) Nushki area over the Nushki basin, and (4) Kharan area over the northern tip of the Central Makran Mountains. Remote sensing data allowed for in depth mapping of different components and faults within the Kohjak group. Wind and water gap pairs along with offset rivers were identified using high-resolution imagery and digital-elevation models to show displacement for the four study areas. The mountain-front-sinuosity ratio, valley height-to-width-ratio, and the stream-length-gradient index were calculated and used to determine the relative tectonic activity of each area. These geomorphic indices suggest that the Kharan area is the most active and the Tarnak-Rud area is the least active. GPS data were processed into a stable Indian plate reference frame and analyzed. Fault parallel velocity versus fault normal distance yielded a ∼8-10 mm/yr displacement rate along the Chaman Fault just north of the Spinatizha area. InSAR data were also integrated to assess displacement rates along the fault system. Geodetic data support that ultra-slow earthquakes similar to those that strike along other major strike-slip faults, such as the San Andreas Fault System, are

Role of tectonic inheritance in the instauration of Tunisian Atlassic fold-and-thrust belt: Case of Bouhedma - Boudouaou structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghanmi, Mohamed Abdelhamid; Ghanmi, Mohamed; Aridhi, Sabri; Ben Salem, Mohamed Sadok; Zargouni, Fouad

2016-07-01

Tectonic inversion in the Bouhedma-Boudouaou Mountains was investigated through recent field work and seismic lines interpretation calibrated with petroleum well data. Located to the Central-Southern Atlas of Tunisia, this area signed shortened intra-continental fold-and-thrust belts. Two dissymmetric anticlines characterize Bouhedma - Boudouaou major fold. These structures show a strong virgation respectively from E-W to NNE-SSW as a response to the interference between both tectonic inversion and tectonic inheritance. This complex geometry is driven by Mesozoic rifting, which marked an extensional inherited regime. A set of late Triassic-Early Jurassic E-W and NW-SE normal faults dipping respectively to the North and to the East seems to widely affect the overall geodynamic evolution of this domain. They result in major thickness changes across the hanging wall and the footwall blocks in response with the rifting activity. Tectonic inversion is inferred from convergence between African and European plates since late Cretaceous. During Serravalian - Tortonian event, NW-SE trending paroxysm led to: 1) folding of pre-inversion and syn-inversion strata, 2) reactivation of pre-existing normal faults to reverse ones and 3) orogeny of the main structures with NE-SW and E-W trending. The compressional feature still remains active during Quaternary event (Post-Villafranchian) with N-S trending compression. Contraction during inversion generates folding and internal deformation as well as Fault-Propagation-Fold and folding related strike.

Stratigraphy, sedimentology and tectonic evolution of the Upper Cretaceous/Paleogene succession in north Eastern Desert, Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Ayyat, Abdalla M.; Obaidalla, Nageh A.

2013-05-01

, fine-grained limestones and fine siliciclastic shales (Sudr, Dakhla, Tarawan and Esna formations). The northeastern parts are marked by little contents of planktonic foraminifera and dolomitized, slumped carbonates, intercalated with basinal facies. Tectonically, four remarkable syn-depositional tectonic events (SdTEs) controlled the evolution of the studied succession. These events took place strongly within the Campanian-Ypresian time interval and were still active till Late Eocene. These events took place at: the Santonian/Campanian (S/C) boundary; the Campanian/Maastrichtian (C/M) boundary; the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/P) boundary; and the Middle Paleocene-Early Eocene interval. These tectonic events are four pronounced phases in the tectonic history of the Syrian Arc System (SAS), the collision of the Afro-Arabian and Eurasian plates as well as the closure of the Tethys Sea.

Influence of increasing convergence obliquity and shallow slab geometry onto tectonic deformation and seismogenic behavior along the Northern Lesser Antilles zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laurencin, M.; Graindorge, D.; Klingelhoefer, F.; Marcaillou, B.; Evain, M.

2018-06-01

In subduction zones, the 3D geometry of the plate interface is one of the key parameters that controls margin tectonic deformation, interplate coupling and seismogenic behavior. The North American plate subducts beneath the convex Northern Lesser Antilles margin. This convergent plate boundary, with a northward increasing convergence obliquity, turns into a sinistral strike-slip limit at the northwestern end of the system. This geodynamic context suggests a complex slab geometry, which has never been imaged before. Moreover, the seismic activity and particularly the number of events with thrust focal mechanism compatible with subduction earthquakes, increases northward from the Barbuda-Anguilla segment to the Anguilla-Virgin Islands segment. One of the major questions in this area is thus to analyze the influence of the increasing convergence obliquity and the slab geometry onto tectonic deformation and seismogenic behavior of the subduction zone. Based on wide-angle and multichannel reflection seismic data acquired during the Antithesis cruises (2013-2016), we decipher the deep structure of this subduction zone. Velocity models derived from wide-angle data acquired across the Anegada Passage are consistent with the presence of a crust of oceanic affinity thickened by hotspot magmatism and probably affected by the Upper Cretaceous-Eocene arc magmatism forming the 'Great Arc of the Caribbean'. The slab is shallower beneath the Anguilla-Virgin Islands margin segment than beneath the Anguilla-Barbuda segment which is likely to be directly related to the convex geometry of the upper plate. This shallower slab is located under the forearc where earthquakes and partitioning deformations increase locally. Thus, the shallowing slab might result in local greater interplate coupling and basal friction favoring seismic activity and tectonic partitioning beneath the Virgin Islands platform.

The Rapid Drift of the Indian Tectonic Plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, P.; Yuan, X.; Kumar, R.; Kind, R.; Li, X.; Chadha, R.

2007-12-01

The breakup of the supercontinent Gondwanaland into Africa, Antarctica, Australia and India about 140 million years ago and consequently the opening of the Indian Ocean was caused by heating of the lithosphere from below by a large plume whose relicts are the Marion, Kerguelen and Reunion plumes. Plate reconstructions based on paleomagnetic data suggest that the Indian plate attained a very high speed (18-20 cm/yr during late Cretaceous) subsequent to its breakup from the Gondwanaland and slowed down to ~5 cm/yr since the continental collision with Asia during the last ~50 Ma. The Australian and African plates moved comparatively lesser distances and at much lesser speed of 2-4 cm/yr. Antarctica remained almost stationary. This super mobility makes India unique compared to the other fragments of Gondwanaland. We propose that when the parts of Gondwanaland were separated by the plume, the penetration of their lithospheric roots into the asthenosphere played an important role in determining their speed. We estimated the thickness of the lithospheric plates of the different parts of Gondwanaland around the Indian Ocean using the S-receiver function technique. We found that the part of Gondwanaland with clearly the thinnest lithosphere has travelled with the highest speed - India. The lithospheric root in South Africa, Australia and Antarctica is between 180 and 300 km deep. The Indian lithosphere is in contrast only about 100 km thick. Our interpretation is that the plume that partitioned Gondwanaland has also melted the lower half of the Indian lithosphere thus permitting faster motion due to the ridge push or slab pull.

Block Tectonic Motion on Venus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byrne, P. K.; Ghail, R.; Sengor, A. M. C.; Klimczak, C.; Solomon, S. C.

2017-12-01

Despite close similarities in mass and bulk composition to Earth, Venus apparently shows no evidence for Earth-like plate tectonics, except perhaps for limited plume-induced subduction. We use Magellan radar data to survey numerous examples of low-lying areas infilled with plains lavas and delimited by networks of narrow belts of substantial tectonic deformation; such sites include those at Lavinia and Llorona Planitiæ and to the north of Helen Planitia. This deformation is locally extensional or shortening in style but very often also includes structures that denote substantial lateral motion. Cross-cutting relations suggest that this motion occurred both before and after the lavas were emplaced. Together, these observations imply that many of the belt-bounded areas have acted as relatively rigid blocks that experienced considerable horizontal movement relative to each other, in a manner similar to blocks that constitute parts of the Terran continental lithosphere. On Earth, continental deformation is enabled by the low strength of the lower crust and/or upper mantle. On Venus, the shallow brittle-ductile transition (BDT), a result of the planet's elevated surface temperature, likely acts in a similar way to decouple the upper and lower crust. Subcrustal lid rejuvenation, a recently proposed mechanism for renewal of the mantle portion of Venus' stagnant lithospheric lid through thinning and recycling, could drive the horizontal movement of these rigid blocks. It may be, then, that the blocks move as continental blocks do on Earth, with mantle motion transferred to the surface and manifest as narrow zones of tectonic deformation akin to, for example, the Tian Shan and Altin Tagh ranges that bound the Tarim Basin in northwestern China. The shallow BDT on Venus precludes the blocks from subducting, and so their fate is to shorten, lengthen, or retain their geometry at the expense of adjacent blocks. We suggest that this behavior is analogous to plate-tectonic