Study of southern CHAONAN sag lower continental slope basin deposition character in Northern South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Y.

2009-12-01

Northern South China Sea Margin locates in Eurasian plate,Indian-Australia plate,Pacific Plates.The South China Sea had underwent a complicated tectonic evolution in Cenozoic.During rifting,the continental shelf and slope forms a series of Cenozoic sedimentary basins,including Qiongdongnan basin,Pearl River Mouth basin,Taixinan basin.These basins fill in thick Cenozoic fluviolacustrine facies,transitional facies,marine facies,abyssal facies sediment,recording the evolution history of South China Sea Margin rifting and ocean basin extending.The studies of tectonics and deposition of depression in the Southern Chaonan Sag of lower continental slope in the Norther South China Sea were dealt with,based on the sequence stratigraphy and depositional facies interpretation of seismic profiles acquired by cruises of“China and Germany Joint Study on Marine Geosciences in the South China Sea”and“The formation,evolution and key issues of important resources in China marginal sea",and combining with ODP 1148 cole and LW33-1-1 well.The free-air gravity anomaly of the break up of the continental and ocean appears comparatively low negative anomaly traps which extended in EW,it is the reflection of passive margin gravitational effect.Bouguer gravity anomaly is comparatively low which is gradient zone extended NE-SW.Magnetic anomaly lies in Magnetic Quiet Zone at the Northern Continental Margin of the South China Sea.The Cenozoic sediments of lower continental slope in Southern Chaonan Sag can be divided into five stratum interface:SB5.5,SB10.5,SB16.5,SB23.8 and Hg,their ages are of Pliocene-Quaternary,late Miocene,middle Miocene,early Miocene,paleogene.The tectonic evolution of low continental slope depressions can be divided into rifting,rifting-depression transitional and depression stages,while their depositional environments change from river to shallow marine and abyssa1,which results in different topography in different stages.The topographic evolvement in the study area includes three stages,that is Eogene,middle stage of lately Oligocene to early Miocene and middle Miocene to Present.Result shows that there are a good association of petroleum source rocks,reservoir rocks and seal rocks and structural traps in the Cenozoic and Mesozoic strata,as well as good conditions for the generation-migration-accumulation-preservation of petroleum in the lower continatal slope of Southern Chaoshan Sag.So the region has good petroleum prospect. Key words:Northern South China Sea;Chaoshan Sag; lower continental slope; deposition.

Phanerozoic geological evolution of the Equatorial Atlantic domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basile, Christophe; Mascle, Jean; Guiraud, René

2005-10-01

The Phanerozoic geological evolution of the Equatorial Atlantic domain has been controlled since the end of Early Cretaceous by the Romanche and Saint Paul transform faults. These faults did not follow the PanAfrican shear zones, but were surimposed on Palæozoic basins. From Neocomian to Barremian, the Central Atlantic rift propagated southward in Cassiporé and Marajó basins, and the South Atlantic rift propagated northward in Potiguar and Benue basins. During Aptian times, the Equatorial Atlantic transform domain appeared as a transfer zone between the northward propagating tip of South Atlantic and the Central Atlantic. Between the transform faults, oceanic accretion started during Late Aptian in small divergent segments, from south to north: Benin-Mundaú, deep Ivorian basin-Barreirinhas, Liberia-Cassiporé. From Late Aptian to Late Albian, the Togo-Ghana-Ceará basins appeared along the Romanche transform fault, and Côte d'Ivoire-Parà-Maranhão basins along Saint Paul transform fault. They were rapidly subsiding in intra-continental settings. During Late Cretaceous, these basins became active transform continental margins, and passive margins since Santonian times. In the same time, the continental edge uplifted leading either to important erosion on the shelf or to marginal ridges parallel to the transform faults in deeper settings.

The Subject of Data in Submissions to the CLCS: Documenting the outer limits of the Northern Continental Shelf of the Faroe Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vang Heinesen, Martin; Mørk, Finn

2017-04-01

The first partial submissions made by the Kingdom of Denmark, in respect of the continental shelf north of the Faroe Islands (North Faroe Margin, NFM), was submitted to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in April 2009 as the result of 7 years of preparation which also included 4 additional continental shelf regions around the Faroe Islands and Greenland, on which individual partial submissions were made subsequently. The NFM covers parts of the NW European continental margin, it continues onto the Faroe-Iceland Ridge and the extinct Ægir (spreading) Ridge and overlaps with the continental margin of Iceland and Norway in the sediment rich Ægir Basin located between the European margin to the south and south-east, and the Jan Mayen Micro-continental margin to the west and north-west. Prior to the onset of the continental shelf project of the Kingdom of Denmark, arrangements had already been made with Norway and Iceland regarding the sharing of existing data and acquisition of new seismic data in the overlapping regions. Before that, the main database in the area included a comprehensive multi-beam bathymetric data set covering large parts of the Ægir Ridge with scattered single beam bathymetric lines in the remaining regions. It also comprised a number of single- and multi-channel seismic lines and a long refraction seismic line transecting the entire eastern part of the basin, from the Norwegian shelf to the Ægir Ridge, in addition to local side scan sonar and regional potential field data. During the project, additional high quality multi-channel seismic data, extensive multi-beam bathymetric data, and a comprehensive high resolution aeromagnetic dataset were acquired, allowing detailed mapping of the morphological and geological nature of the margin, including accurate identification of the base of the continental slope and mapping of the sediment thickness and sediment continuation in the basin. This data proved to be crucial for the documentation to the CLCS of the outer limits of the continental shelf to the north of the Faroe Islands.

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

Bird, P.R.; Johns, C.C.; Clark-Lowes, D.D.

Western Turkey consists of a number of tectonic terranes joined together by a network of suture zones. The terranes originated as microcontinental plates that rifted away from the continental margins forming the northern and southern boundaries of the Tethyan sea. These micro-continents were united by a series of collisions beginning in the Late Triassic and ending in the Miocene, with the final closure of the Tethyan sea. The sedimentary cover of the microcontinents consists of Paleozoic and Mesozoic passive margin and rift basin sequences containing numerous potential source and reservoir intervals. Most of these sequences show affinities with Gondwanaland, withmore » the notable exception of the Istanbul nappe, which is strongly Laurasian in character. Forearc basin sequences were also deposited on the margins of the microcontinents during early Tertiary plate convergence. Ensuing continental collisions resulted in compressional deformation of sedimentary cover sequences. The intensity of deformation ranged from basin inversion producing numerous potential hydrocarbon traps, to large-scale overthrusting. Following continental suturing, continued compression in eastern Turkey has been accommodated since the Miocene by westward escape of continental lithosphere between the North and South Anatolian transform faults. Neotectonic pull-apart basins formed in response to these movements, accumulating large thicknesses of Miocene-Pliocene carbonates and clastic sediments. Potential reservoirs in the Neotectonic basins may be sourced either in situ or from underlying Paleozoic and Mesozoic source rocks that remain within the hydrocarbon generating window today.« less

The George V Land Continental Margin (East Antarctica): new Insights Into Bottom Water Production and Quaternary Glacial Processes from the WEGA project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caburlotto, A.; de Santis, L.; Lucchi, R. G.; Giorgetti, G.; Damiani, D.; Macri', P.; Tolotti, R.; Presti, M.; Armand, L.; Harris, P.

2004-12-01

The George Vth Land represents the ending of one of the largest subglacial basin (Wilkes Basin) of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). Furthermore, its coastal areas are zone of significant production of High Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW). Piston and gravity cores and high resolution echo-sounding (3.5 kHz) and Chirp profiles collected in the frame of the joint Australian and Italian WEGA (WilkEs Basin GlAcial History) project provide new insights into the Quaternary history of the EAIS and the HSSW across this margin: from the sediment record filling and draping valleys and banks along the continental shelf, to the continuous sedimentary section of the mound-channel system on the continental rise. The discovery of a current-lain sediment drift (Mertz Drift, MD) provides clues to understanding the age of the last glacial erosive events, as well as to infer flow-pathways of bottom-water masses changes. The MD shows disrupted, fluted reflectors due to glacial advance during the LGM (Last Glacial Maximum) in shallow water, while undisturbed sediment drift deposited at greater water depth, indicates that during the LGM the ice shelf was floating over the deep sector of the basin. The main sedimentary environment characterising the modern conditions of the continental rise is dominated by the turbiditic processes with a minor contribution of contour currents action. Nevertheless, some areas (WEGA Channel) are currently characterised by transport and settling of sediment through HSSW, originating in the shelf area. This particular environment likely persisted since pre-LGM times. It could indicate a continuous supply of sedimentary material from HSSW during the most recent both glacial and interglacial cycles. This would be consistent with the results obtained in the continental shelf suggesting that the Ice Sheet was not grounding over some parts of the continental shelf. Furthermore, the comparison of the studied area with other Antarctic margins indicate that, contrary to what happens on the Antarctic Peninsula margin, the relation between the Quaternary sedimentation and the glacial - interglacial cycles are less evident in the lithofacies observed on the continental rise area. This characteristic suggests a different glacial dynamic along the Wilkes Land continental margin that is less sensitive to the small climatic changes, with respect to the western (Antarctic Peninsula) margin.

Crustal structure and extension mode in the northwestern margin of the South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Jinwei; Wu, Shiguo; McIntosh, Kirk; Mi, Lijun; Liu, Zheng; Spence, George

2016-06-01

Combining multi-channel seismic reflection and gravity modeling, this study has investigated the crustal structure of the northwestern South China Sea margin. These data constrain a hyper-extended crustal area bounded by basin-bounding faults corresponding to an aborted rift below the Xisha Trough with a subparallel fossil ridge in the adjacent Northwest Sub-basin. The thinnest crust is located in the Xisha Trough, where it is remnant lower crust with a thickness of less than 3 km. Gravity modeling also revealed a hyper-extended crust across the Xisha Trough. The postrift magmatism is well developed and more active in the Xisha Trough and farther southeast than on the northwestern continental margin of the South China Sea; and the magmatic intrusion/extrusion was relatively active during the rifting of Xisha Trough and the Northwest Sub-basin. A narrow continent-ocean transition zone with a width of ˜65 km bounded seaward by a volcanic buried seamount is characterized by crustal thinning, rift depression, low gravity anomaly and the termination of the break-up unconformity seismic reflection. The aborted rift near the continental margin means that there may be no obvious detachment fault like that in the Iberia-Newfoundland type margin. The symmetric rift, extreme hyper-extended continental crust and hotter mantle materials indicate that continental crust underwent stretching phase (pure-shear deformation), thinning phase and breakup followed by onset of seafloor spreading and the mantle-lithosphere may break up before crustal-necking in the northwestern South China Sea margin.

Tectonic escape in the evolution of the continental crust

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke, K.; Sengor, C.

1986-01-01

The continental crust originated by processes similar to those operating today and continents consist of material most of which originated long ago in arc-systems that have later been modified, especially at Andean margins and in continental collisions where crustal thickening is common. Collision-related strike-slip motion is a general process in continental evolution. Because buoyant continental (or arc) material generally moves during collision toward a nearby oceanic margin where less buoyant lithosphere crops out, the process of major strike-slip dominated motion toward a 'free-face' is called 'tectonic escape'. Tectonic escape is and has been an element in continental evolution throughout recorded earth-history. It promotes: (1) rifting and the formation of rift-basins with thinning of thickened crust; (2) pervasive strike-slip faulting late in orogenic history which breaks up mountain belts across strike and may juxtapose unrelated sectors in cross-section; (3) localized compressional mountains and related foreland-trough basins.

Arctic and N Atlantic Crustal Thickness and Oceanic Lithosphere Distribution from Gravity Inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusznir, Nick; Alvey, Andy

2014-05-01

The ocean basins of the Arctic and N. Atlantic formed during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic as a series of distinct ocean basins, both small and large, leading to a complex distribution of oceanic crust, thinned continental crust and rifted continental margins. The plate tectonic framework of this region was demonstrated by the pioneering work of Peter Ziegler in AAPG Memoir 43 " Evolution of the Arctic-North Atlantic and the Western Tethys" published in 1988. The spatial evolution of Arctic Ocean and N Atlantic ocean basin geometry and bathymetry are critical not only for hydrocarbon exploration but also for understanding regional palaeo-oceanography and ocean gateway connectivity, and its influence on global climate. Mapping crustal thickness and oceanic lithosphere distribution represents a substantial challenge for the Polar Regions. Using gravity anomaly inversion we have produced comprehensive maps of crustal thickness and oceanic lithosphere distribution for the Arctic and N Atlantic region, We determine Moho depth, crustal basement thickness, continental lithosphere thinning and ocean-continent transition location using a 3D spectral domain gravity inversion method, which incorporates a lithosphere thermal gravity anomaly correction (Chappell & Kusznir 2008). Gravity anomaly and bathymetry data used in the gravity inversion are from the NGA (U) Arctic Gravity Project and IBCAO respectively; sediment thickness is from a new regional compilation. The resulting maps of crustal thickness and continental lithosphere thinning factor are used to determine continent-ocean boundary location and the distribution of oceanic lithosphere. Crustal cross-sections using Moho depth from the gravity inversion allow continent-ocean transition structure to be determined and magmatic type (magma poor, "normal" or magma rich). Our gravity inversion predicts thin crust and high continental lithosphere thinning factors in the Eurasia, Canada, Makarov, Podvodnikov and Baffin Basins consistent with these basins being oceanic. Larger crustal thicknesses, in the range 20 - 30 km, are predicted for the Lomonosov, Alpha and Mendeleev Ridges. Crustal basement thicknesses of 10-15 km are predicted under the Laptev Sea which is interpreted as highly thinned continental crust formed at the eastward continuation of Eurasia Basin sea-floor spreading. Thin continental or oceanic crust of thickness 7 km or less is predicted under the North Chukchi Basin and has major implications for understanding the Mesozoic and Cenozoic plate tectonic history of the Siberian and Chukchi Amerasia Basin margins. Restoration of crustal thickness and continent-ocean boundary location from gravity inversion may be used to test and refine plate tectonic reconstructions. Using crustal thickness and continental lithosphere thinning factor maps with superimposed shaded-relief free-air gravity anomaly, we improve the determination of pre-breakup rifted margin conjugacy and sea-floor spreading trajectory within the Arctic and N Atlantic basins. By restoring crustal thickness & continental lithosphere thinning maps of the Eurasia Basin & NE Atlantic to their initial post-breakup configuration we show the geometry and segmentation of the rifted continental margins at their time of breakup, together with the location of highly-stretched failed breakup basins and rifted micro-continents. We interpret gravity inversion crustal thicknesses underneath Morris Jessop Rise & Yermak Plateau as continental crust which provided a barrier to the tectonic and palaeo-oceanic linkage between the Arctic & North Atlantic until the Oligocene. Before this time, we link the seafloor spreading within the Eurasia Basin to that in Baffin Bay.

Sea-level and climate forcing of the Sr isotope composition of marginal basins in the late Miocene Mediterranean Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schildgen, T. F.; Cosentino, D.; Frijia, G.; Castorina, F.; Dudas, F. O.; Iadanza, A.; Cipollari, P.; Caruso, A.; Bowring, S. A.; Strecker, M. R.

2013-12-01

Sr isotope records from marginal marine basins track the mixing between sea water and local continental runoff. Because changes in sea level determine the amount of mixing between global marine and continental water, and climate affects the amount of continental runoff, both sea-level and climate changes can potentially be recorded in marine fossil Sr isotope composition. Our 128 new 87Sr/86Sr analyses on 73 oyster, foraminifera, and coral samples from eight late Miocene stratigraphic sections in southern Turkey, Crete, and Sicily show that 87Sr/86Sr in Mediterranean marginal basins started to depart from global ocean values several million years before the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC), with sub-basin 87Sr/86Sr commonly dropping 0.000100 below contemporaneous global ocean values. The marked departure coincided with tectonic uplift and basin shallowing along the margins of the Mediterranean Basin. In contrast, centrally-located basins within the Mediterranean (e.g., Cyprus, Sicily, Crete) only record departures during the MSC. Besides this general trend, our 57 new 87Sr/86Sr analyses from the astronomically tuned Lower Evaporite unit deposited during the MSC in the central Apennines (Italy) allow us to explore in detail the effect of sea-level and humidity changes on 87Sr/86Sr . Most of the variation in 87Sr/86Sr that we observe can be explained by changes in eustatic sea level, with greatest departures from global ocean values (with differences up to 0.000150) occurring during sea-level lowstands, which were characterized by relatively arid conditions in the Mediterranean. However, in a few cases, the greatest 87Sr/86Sr departures (up to 0.000300) occur during sea-level highstands, which are marked by more humid conditions. Because the correlations between peaks in Sr departures and highstands (humid conditions) occur only after episodes of prolonged aridity, variations of residence time of continental water (particularly groundwater) could have affected its Sr concentration, and hence the degree to which continental water could perturb 87Sr/86Sr in marine sub-basins. Although our results demonstrate that the forcing behind variations in Sr isotope composition in marginal marine basins is more complex than what is typically included in Sr isotope box models, they also imply that high-resolution records, particularly when combined with independent information on sea-level or climate changes, could offer unique insights into local tectonic, climatic, and sea-level variations.

Crustal structure and inferred extension mode in the northern margin of the South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, J.; Wu, S.; McIntosh, K. D.; Mi, L.; Spence, G.

2016-12-01

Combining multi-channel seismic reflection and satellite gravity data, this study has investigated the crustal structure and magmatic activities of the northern South China Sea (SCS) margin. Results show that a broad continent-ocean transition zone (COT) with more than 140 km wide is characterized by extensive igneous intrusion/extrusion and hyper-extended continental crust in the northeastern SCS margin, a broader COT with 220-265 km wide is characterized by crustal thinning, rift depression, structural highs with igneous rock and perhaps a volcanic zone or a zone of tilted fault blocks at the distal edge in the mid-northern SCS margin, and a narrow COT with 65 km wide bounded seawards by a volcanic buried seamount is characterized by extremely hyper-extended continental crust in the northwestern SCS margin, where the remnant crust with less than 3 km thick is bounded by basin-bounding faults corresponding to an aborted rift below the Xisha Trough with a sub-parallel fossil ridge in the adjacent Northwest Sub-basin. Results from gravity modeling and seismic refraction data show that a high velocity layer (HVL) is present in the outer shelf and slope below extended continental crust in the eastern portion of the northern SCS margin and is thickest (up to 10 km) in the Dongsha Uplift where the HVL gradually thins to east and west below the lower slope and finally terminates at the Manila Trench and Baiyun sag of the Pearl River Mouth Basin. The magmatic intrusions/extrusions and HVL may be related to partial melting caused by decompression of passive, upwelling asthenosphere which resulted primarily in post-rifting underplating and magmatic emplacement or modification of the crust. The northern SCS margin is closer to those of the magma-poor margins than those of volcanic margins, but the aborted rift near the northwestern continental margin shows that there may be no obvious detachment fault like that in the Iberia-Newfoundland type margin. The symmetric aborted rift, broad hyper-extended continental crust, locally distributed HVL, and hotter mantle materials indicate that continental crust underwent stretching phase (pure-shear deformation), thinning phase and breakup followed by onset of seafloor spreading and the mantle-lithosphere may break up before crustal-necking in the northern South China Sea margin.

Mesozoic architecture of a tract of the European-Iberian continental margin: Insights from preserved submarine palaeotopography in the Longobucco Basin (Calabria, Southern Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santantonio, Massimo; Fabbi, Simone; Aldega, Luca

2016-01-01

The sedimentary successions exposed in northeast Calabria document the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous tectonic-sedimentary evolution of a former segment of the European-Iberian continental margin. They are juxtaposed today to units representing the deformation of the African and Adriatic plates margins as a product of Apenninic crustal shortening. A complex pattern of unconformities reveals a multi-stage tectonic evolution during the Early Jurassic, which affected the facies and geometries of siliciclastic and carbonate successions deposited in syn- and post-rift environments ranging from fluvial to deep marine. Late Sinemurian/Early Pliensbachian normal faulting resulted in exposure of the Hercynian basement at the sea-floor, which was onlapped by marine basin-fill units. Shallow-water carbonate aprons and reefs developed in response to the production of new accommodation space, fringing the newborn islands which represent structural highs made of Paleozoic crystalline and metamorphic rock. Their drowning and fragmentation in the Toarcian led to the development of thin caps of Rosso Ammonitico facies. Coeval to these deposits, a thick (> 1 km) hemipelagic/siliciclastic succession was sedimented in neighboring hanging wall basins, which would ultimately merge with the structural high successions. Footwall blocks of the Early Jurassic rift, made of Paleozoic basement and basin-margin border faults with their onlapping basin-fill formations, are found today at the hanging wall of Miocene thrusts, overlying younger (Middle/Late Jurassic to Late Paleogene) folded basinal sediments. This paper makes use of selected case examples to describe the richly diverse set of features, ranging from paleontology to sedimentology, to structural geology, which are associated with the field identification of basin-margin unconformities. Our data provide key constraints for restoring the pre-orogenic architecture of a continental margin facing a branch of the Liguria-Piedmont ocean in the Western Tethys, and for estimating displacements and slip rates along synsedimentary faults.

An Assessment of Global Organic Carbon Flux Along Continental Margins

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thunell, Robert

2004-01-01

This project was designed to use real-time and historical SeaWiFS and AVHRR data, and real-time MODIS data in order to estimate the global vertical carbon flux along continental margins. This required construction of an empirical model relating surface ocean color and physical variables like temperature and wind to vertical settling flux at sites co-located with sediment trap observations (Santa Barbara Basin, Cariaco Basin, Gulf of California, Hawaii, and Bermuda, etc), and application of the model to imagery in order to obtain spatially-weighted estimates.

The South China sea margins: Implications for rifting contrasts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hayes, D.E.; Nissen, S.S.

2005-01-01

Implications regarding spatially complex continental rifting, crustal extension, and the subsequent evolution to seafloor spreading are re-examined for the northern and southern-rifted margins of the South China Sea. Previous seismic studies have shown dramatic differences in the present-day crustal thicknesses as the manifestations of the strain experienced during the rifting of the margin of south China. Although the total crustal extension is presumed to be the same along the margin and adjacent ocean basin, the amount of continental crustal extension that occurred is much less along the east and central segments of the margin than along the western segment. This difference was accommodated by the early formation of oceanic crust (creating the present-day South China Sea basin) adjacent to the eastern margin segment while continued extension of continental crust was sustained to the west. Using the observed cross-sectional areas of extended continental crust derived from deep penetration seismics, two end-member models of varying rift zone widths and varying initial crustal thicknesses are qualitatively examined for three transects. Each model implies a time difference in the initiation of seafloor spreading inferred for different segments along the margin. The two models examined predict that the oceanic crust of the South China Sea basin toward the west did not begin forming until sometime between 6-12 my after its initial formation (???32 Ma) toward the east. These results are compatible with crustal age interpretations of marine magnetic anomalies. Assuming rifting symmetry with conjugate margin segments now residing along the southern portions of the South China Sea basin implies that the total width of the zone of rifting in the west was greater than in the east by about a factor of two. We suggest the most likely causes of the rifting differences were east-west variations in the rheology of the pre-rift crust and associated east-west variations in the thermal structure of the pre-rift lithosphere. The calculated widths of rifted continental crust for the northern and southern margins, when combined with the differential widths of seafloor generated during the seafloor spreading phase, indicate the total crustal extension that occurred is about 1100 km and is remarkably consistent to within ???10% for all three (eastern, central, western) segments examined. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mesozoic Continental Sediment-dispersal Systems of Mexico Linked to Development of the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawton, T. F.; Molina-Garza, R. S.; Barboza-Gudiño, R.; Rogers, R. D.

2013-05-01

Major sediment dispersal systems on western Pangea evolved in concert with thermal uplift, rift and drift phases of the Gulf of Mexico Basin, and were influenced by development of a continental arc on Pangea's western margin. Existing literature and preliminary data from fieldwork, sandstone petrology and detrital zircon analysis reveal how major drainages in Mexico changed from Late Triassic through Late Jurassic time and offer predictions for the ultimate destinations of sand-rich detritus along the Gulf and paleo-Pacific margins. Late Triassic rivers drained away from and across the present site of the Gulf of Mexico, which was then the location of a major thermal dome, the Texas uplift of recent literature. These high-discharge rivers with relatively mature sediment composition fed a large-volume submarine fan system on the paleo-Pacific continental margin of Mexico. Predictably, detrital zircon age populations are diverse and record sources as far away as the Amazonian craton. This enormous fluvial system was cut off abruptly near the Triassic-Jurassic boundary by extensive reorganization of continental drainages. Early and Middle Jurassic drainage systems had local headwaters and deposited sediment in extensional basins associated with arc magmatism. Redbeds accumulated across northern and eastern Mexico and Chiapas in long, narrow basins whose locations and dimensions are recorded primarily by inverted antiformal massifs. The Jurassic continental successions overlie Upper Triassic strata and local subvolcanic plutons; they contain interbedded volcanic rocks and thus have been interpreted as part of the Nazas continental-margin arc. The detritus of these fluvial systems is volcanic-lithic; syndepositional grain ages are common in the detrital zircon populations, which are mixed with Oaxaquia-derived Permo-Triassic and Grenville age populations. By this time, interior Pangea no longer supplied sediment to the paleo-Pacific margin, possibly because the continental-margin arc blocked westward drainage and detritus was captured in rift basins. Latest Middle Jurassic fluvial systems formed as the Yucatan block rotated counterclockwise and the Gulf of Mexico began to open. Sediment dispersal, partly equivalent to salt deposition in the Gulf, was largely southward in southern Oaxaquia, but large-volume braided river systems on the Maya (Yucatan) block, represented by the Todos Santos Formation in Chiapas, evidently flowed northward along graben axes toward the western part of the Gulf of Mexico Basin. River systems of nuclear Mexico, or Oaxaquia, occupied a broad sedimentary basin west and south of a divide formed adjacent to the translating Maya block. Despite their big-river characteristics, these deposits contain mainly Grenville and Permo-Triassic grains derived from Oaxaquia basement and subordinate Early and Middle Jurassic grains derived from volcanic rocks and plutons of the arc. Early Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) marine flooding of the entire Gulf rim and nuclear Mexico, evidently resulting in part from marginal subsidence adjoining newly-formed oceanic crust, terminated fluvial deposition adjacent to the young Gulf of Mexico.

The wide-angle seismic image of a complex rifted margin, offshore North Namibia: Implications for the tectonics of continental breakup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Planert, Lars; Behrmann, Jan; Jokat, Wilfried; Fromm, Tanja; Ryberg, Trond; Weber, Michael; Haberland, Christian

2017-10-01

Voluminous magmatism during the South Atlantic opening has been considered as a classical example for plume related continental breakup. We present a study of the crustal structure around Walvis Ridge, near the intersection with the African margin. Two wide-angle seismic profiles were acquired. One is oriented NNW-SSE, following the continent-ocean transition and crossing Walvis Ridge. A second amphibious profile runs NW-SE from the Angola Basin into continental Namibia. At the continent-ocean boundary (COB) the mafic crust beneath Walvis Ridge is up to 33 km thick, with a pronounced high-velocity lower crustal body. Towards the south there is a smooth transition to 20-25 km thick crust underlying the COB in the Walvis Basin, with a similar velocity structure, indicating a gabbroic lower crust with associated cumulates at the base. The northern boundary of Walvis Ridge towards the Angola Basin shows a sudden change to oceanic crust only 4-6 km thick, coincident with the projection of the Florianopolis Fracture Zone, one of the most prominent tectonic features of the South Atlantic ocean basin. In the amphibious profile the COB is defined by a sharp transition from oceanic to rifted continental crust, with a magmatic overprint landward of the intersection of Walvis Ridge with the Namibian margin. The continental crust beneath the Congo Craton is 40 km thick, shoaling to 35 km further SE. The velocity models show that massive high-velocity gabbroic intrusives are restricted to a narrow zone directly underneath Walvis Ridge and the COB in the south. This distribution of rift-related magmatism is not easily reconciled with models of continental breakup following the establishment of a large, axially symmetric plume in the Earth's mantle. Rift-related lithospheric stretching and associated transform faulting play an overriding role in locating magmatism, dividing the margin in a magma-dominated southern and an essentially amagmatic northern segment.

Atlantic continental margin of the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grow, John A.; Sheridan, Robert E.; Palmer, A.R.

1982-01-01

The objective of this Decade of North American Geology (D-NAG) volume will be to focus on the Mesozoic and Cenozoic evolution of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin, including the onshore coastal plain, related onshore Triassic-Jurassic rift grabens, and the offshore basins and platforms. Following multiple compressional tectonic episodes between Africa and North America during the Paleozoic Era that formed the Appalachian Mountains, the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras were dominated by tensional tectonic processes that separated Africa and North America. Extensional rifting during Triassic and Early Jurassic times resulted in numerous tensional grabens both onshore and offshore, which filled with nonmarine continental red beds, lacustrine deposits, and volcanic flows and debris. The final stage of this breakup between Africa and North America occurred beneath the present outer continental shelf and continental slope during Early or Middle Jurassic time when sea-floor spreading began to form new oceanic crust and lithosophere between the two continents as they drifted apart. Postrift subsidence of the marginal basins continued in response to cooling of the lithosphere and sedimentary loading.Geophysical surveys and oil-exploration drilling along the U.S. Atlantic continental margin during the past 5 years are beginning to answer many questions concerning its deep structure and stratigraphy and how it evolved during the rifting and early sea-floor-spreading stages of the separation of this region from Africa. Earlier geophysical studies of the U.S. continental margin used marine refraction and submarine gravity measurements. Single-channel seismic-reflection, marine magnetic, aeromagnetic, and continuous gravity measurements became available during the 1960s.

The Pennsylvanian-early permian bird spring carbonate shelf, Southeastern California: Fusulinid biostratigraphy, paleogeographic evolution, and tectonic implications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stevens, C.H.; Stone, P.

2007-01-01

The Bird Spring Shelf in southeastern California, along with coeval turbidite basins to the west, records a complex history of late Paleozoic sedimentation, sea-level changes, and deformation along the western North American continental margin. We herein establish detailed correlations between deposits of the shelf and the flanking basins, which we then use to reconstruct the depositional history, paleogeography, and deformational history, including Early Permian emplacement of the regionally significant Last Chance allochthon. These correlations are based on fusulinid faunas, which are numerous both on the shelf and in the adjoining basins. Study of 69 fusulinid species representing all major fusulinid-bearing Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian limestone outcrops of the Bird Spring Shelf in southeastern California, including ten new species of the genera Triticites, Leptotriticites, Stewartina, Pseudochusenella, and Cuniculinella, forms the basis for our correlations. We group these species into six fusulinid zones that we correlate with fusulinid-bearing strata in east-central and southern Nevada, Kansas, and West Texas, and we propose some regional correlations not previously suggested. In addition, we utilize recent conodont data from these areas to correlate our Early Permian fusulinid zones with the standard Global Permian Stages, strengthening their chronostratigraphic value. Our detailed correlations between the fusulinid-bearing rocks of the Bird Spring Shelf and deep-water deposits to the northwest reveal relationships between the history of shelf sedimentation and evolution of basins closer to the continental margin. In Virgilian to early Asselian (early Wolfcampian) time (Fusulinid Zones 1 and 2), the Bird Spring Shelf was flanked on the west by the deep-water Keeler Basin in which calcareous turbidites derived from the shelf were deposited. In early Sakmarian (early middle Wolfcampian) time (Fusulinid Zone 3), the Keeler Basin deposits were uplifted and transported eastward on the Last Chance thrust. By middle Sakmarian (middle middle Wolfcampian) time (within Fusulinid Zone 4), emplacement of the Last Chance allochthon was complete, and subsidence caused by thrust loading had resulted in development of a new turbidite basin (Darwin Basin) along the former western part of the Bird Spring Shelf. At the same time, farther east into the craton, paralic facies began prograding westward, so that the youngest fusulinid-bearing limestones on the shelf in this area become progressively younger to the west. Eventually, in Artinskian to Kungurian (late Wolfcampian to Leonardian) time (Fusulinid Zones 5 and 6), deposition of fusulinid-bearing limestone on the shelf was restricted to a marginal belt between the prograding paralic facies to the east and the Darwin Basin to the west. Development of the Keeler Basin in Pennsylvanian to earliest Permian time was approximately coeval with collision between South America-Africa (Gondwana) and North America (Laurentia) on the Ouachita-Marathon orogenic belt. This basin developed inboard of a northwest-trending, sinistral fault zone that truncated the continental margin. Later, in the Early Permian, the Last Chance allochthon, which was part of a northeast-trending belt of deformation that extended into northeastern Nevada, was emplaced. This orogenic belt probably was driven by convergence at the continental margin to the northwest. This work adds significant detail to existing interpretations of the late Paleozoic as a time of major tectonic instability on the continental margin of southeastern California as it changed from a relatively passive margin that had characterized most of the Paleozoic to an active convergent margin that would characterize the Mesozoic. ?? 2007 The Geological Society of America. All rights reserved.

Permian plate margin volcanism and tuffs in adjacent basins of west Gondwana: Age constraints and common characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López-Gamundí, Oscar

2006-12-01

Increasing evidence of Permian volcanic activity along the South American portion of the Gondwana proto-Pacific margin has directed attention to its potential presence in the stratigraphic record of adjacent basins. In recent years, tuffaceous horizons have been identified in late Early Permian-through Middle Permian (280-260 Ma) sections of the Paraná Basin (Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay). Farther south and closer to the magmatic tract developed along the continental margin, in the San Rafael and Sauce Grande basins of Argentina, tuffs are present in the Early to Middle Permian section. This tuff-rich interval can be correlated with the appearance of widespread tuffs in the Karoo Basin. Although magmatic activity along the proto-Pacific plate margin was continuous during the Late Paleozoic, Choiyoi silicic volcanism along the Andean Cordillera and its equivalent in Patagonia peaked between the late Early Permian and Middle Permian, when extensive rhyolitic ignimbrites and consanguineous airborne tuffaceous material erupted in the northern Patagonian region. The San Rafael orogenic phase (SROP) interrupted sedimentation along the southwestern segment of the Gondwana margin (i.e., Frontal Cordillera, San Rafael Basin), induced cratonward thrusting (i.e., Ventana and Cape foldbelts), and triggered accelerated subsidence in the adjacent basins (Sauce Grande and Karoo) located inboard of the deformation front. This accelerated subsidence favored the preservation of tuffaceous horizons in the syntectonic successions. The age constraints and similarities in composition between the volcanics along the continental margin and the tuffaceous horizons in the San Rafael, Sauce Grande, Paraná, and Karoo basins strongly suggest a genetic linkage between the two episodes. Radiometric ages from tuffs in the San Rafael, Paraná, and Karoo basins indicate an intensely tuffaceous interval between 280 and 260 Ma.

The crustal structure of the continental margin east of the Falkland Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schimschal, Claudia Monika; Jokat, Wilfried

2018-01-01

The 1500 km long Falkland Plateau is the most prominent morphological structure in the southern South Atlantic Ocean, which crustal composition and development is mainly unknown. At the westernmost boundary of the plateau, the Falkland Islands' Precambrian geology provides the only insight into basement structure and age. The question of whether continental basement of a similar age and origin underlies the Falkland Plateau further east is strongly disputed. We present new high quality constraints on the crustal fabric of the plateau east of the Falkland Islands, based on wide-angle seismic and potential field data acquired in 2013. The P-wave velocity model, supported by amplitude and density modelling, shows that the Falkland Plateau Basin is filled with 8 km of sediments. Continental crust of 34 km thickness underlies the Falkland Islands. The eastern continental margin of the Falkland Islands can be classified as a volcanic rifted margin. The Falkland Plateau Basin is floored by up to 20 km thick oceanic crust. The exceptionally thick igneous crust and its high lower crustal velocities (up to 7.4 km/s) indicate the influence of a regional thermal mantle anomaly during its formation, which provided extra melt material. The wide-angle model revises published crustal models, which predicted thin oceanic or thick extended continental crust below the Falkland Plateau Basin. Our results provide a sound basis for future tectonic interpretations of the area.

Comparison of the tectonics and geophysics of the major structural belts between the northern and southern continental margins of the South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Kan-yuan; Huang, Ci-liu; Jiang, Shao-ren; Zhang, Yi-xiang; Su, Da-quan; Xia, Si-gao; Chen, Zhong-rong

1994-07-01

A comparison of the tectonics and geophysics of the major structural belts of the northern and the southern continental margins of South China Sea has been made, on the basis of measured geophysical data obtained by ourselves over a period of 8 years (1984-1991). This confirmed that the northern margin is a divergent one and the southern margin is characterized by clearly convergent features. The main extensional structures of the northern margin are, from north to south: (1) The Littoral Fault Belt, a tectonic boundary between the continental crust and a transitional zone, along the coast of the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian in South China. It is characterised by earthquake activities, high magnetic anomalies and a rapid change in crustal thickness. (2) The Northern and Southern Depression zones (i.e., the Pearl River Mouth Basin), this strikes NE-ENE and is a very large Cenozoic depression which extends from offshore Shantou westwards to Hainan Island. (3) The Central Uplift Zone. This includes the Dongsha Uplift, Shenhu Uplift and may be linked with the Penghu uplift and Taiwan shoals to the east, forming a large NE-striking uplift zone along the northern continental slope. It is characterized by high magnetic anomalies. (4) Southern Boundary Fault Belt of the transitional crust. This has positive gravity anomalies on the land side and negative ones on the sea side. (5) The Magnetic Quiet Zone. This is located south of the southern Boundary Fault Belt and between the continental margin and the Central Basin of the South China Sea. Magnetic anomalies in this belt are of small amplitude and low gradient. We consider the Magnetic Quiet Zone to be a very important tectonic zone. The major structures of southern continental margin southwards are: (1) The Northern Fault Belt of the Nansha Block. This extends along the continental slope north of the Liyue shoal (Reed Bank) and Zhongye reef, and is a tectonic boundary between oceanic crust and the Nansha Block continental crust. (2) The Nansha Block Uplift Zone. Due to the development of reefs and shoals, there are many channels and valleys. Our long-distance multichannel seismic profiles indicated that there are thick Paleogene sediments and thin Neogene sediments all over the central part of the block. (3) The Nansha Trough, a nappe structure formed by the southeastward drifting of Nansha Block and northwestward overthrusting of Palawan-northwest Borneo. (4) Zengmu Shoal Basin, southwest of the Nansha Block; the maximum thickness of Cenozoic strata is over 9 km in this important petroliferous basin.

Deep structure of the continental margin and basin off Greater Kabylia, Algeria - New insights from wide-angle seismic data modeling and multichannel seismic interpretation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aïdi, Chafik; Beslier, Marie-Odile; Yelles-Chaouche, Abdel Karim; Klingelhoefer, Frauke; Bracene, Rabah; Galve, Audrey; Bounif, Abdallah; Schenini, Laure; Hamai, Lamine; Schnurle, Philippe; Djellit, Hamou; Sage, Françoise; Charvis, Philippe; Déverchère, Jacques

2018-03-01

During the Algerian-French SPIRAL survey aimed at investigating the deep structure of the Algerian margin and basin, two coincident wide-angle and reflection seismic profiles were acquired in central Algeria, offshore Greater Kabylia, together with gravimetric, bathymetric and magnetic data. This 260 km-long offshore-onshore profile spans the Balearic basin, the central Algerian margin and the Greater Kabylia block up to the southward limit of the internal zones onshore. Results are obtained from modeling and interpretation of the combined data sets. The Algerian basin offshore Greater Kabylia is floored by a thin oceanic crust ( 4 km) with P-wave velocities ranging between 5.2 and 6.8 km/s. In the northern Hannibal High region, the atypical 3-layer crustal structure is interpreted as volcanic products stacked over a thin crust similar to that bordering the margin and related to Miocene post-accretion volcanism. These results support a two-step back-arc opening of the west-Algerian basin, comprising oceanic crust accretion during the first southward stage, and a magmatic and probably tectonic reworking of this young oceanic basement during the second, westward, opening phase. The structure of the central Algerian margin is that of a narrow ( 70 km), magma-poor rifted margin, with a wider zone of distal thinned continental crust than on the other margin segments. There is no evidence for mantle exhumation in the sharp ocean-continent transition, but transcurrent movements during the second opening phase may have changed its initial geometry. The Plio-Quaternary inversion of the margin related to ongoing convergence between Africa and Eurasia is expressed by a blind thrust system under the margin rising toward the surface at the slope toe, and by an isostatic disequilibrium resulting from opposite flexures of two plates decoupled at the continental slope. This disequilibrium is likely responsible for the peculiar asymmetrical shape of the crustal neck that may thus be a characteristic feature of inverted rifted margins.

Modelling of Continental Lithosphere Breakup and Rifted Margin Formation in Response to an Upwelling Divergent Flow Field Incorporating a Temperature Dependent Rheology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tymms, V. J.; Kusznir, N. J.

2005-05-01

We numerically model continental lithosphere deformation leading to breakup and sea floor spreading initiation in response to an imposed upwelling and divergent flow field applied to continental lithosphere and asthenosphere. The model is used to predict rifted continental margin lithosphere thinning and temperature structure. Model predictions are compared with observed rifted margin structure for four diverse case studies. Prior to application of the upwelling divergent flow field the continental lithosphere is undeformed with a uniform temperature gradient. The upwelling divergent flow field is defined kinematically using boundary conditions consisting of the upwelling velocity Vz at the divergence axis and the half divergence rate Vx . The resultant velocity field throughout the continuum is computed using finite element (FE) code incorporating a Newtonian temperature dependent rheology. The flow field is used to advect the continental lithosphere material and lithospheric and asthenospheric temperatures. Viscosity structure is hence modified and the velocities change correspondingly in a feedback loop. We find the kinematic boundary conditions Vz and Vx to be of first order importance. A high Vz/Vx (greater than10), corresponding to buoyancy assisted flow, leads to minimal mantle exhumation and a well defined continent ocean transition consistent with observations at volcanic margins. For Vz/Vx near unity, corresponding to plate boundary driven divergence, mantle exhumation over widths of up to 100 km is predicted which is consistent with observations at non-volcanic margins. The FE method allows the upwelling velocity Vz to be propagated upwards from the top of the asthenosphere to the Earth's surface without the requirement of imposing Vx. When continental breakup is achieved the half divergence velocity Vx can be applied at the lithosphere surface and the upwelling velocity Vz left free. We find this time and space dependent set of boundary conditions is more plausible than a constant corner flow type solution and predicts levels of depth dependent stretching and continent ocean transitions consistent with observation. Depth dependent lithosphere stretching, which is observed at rifted continental margins, is predicted to occur before continental breakup and sea-floor spreading initiation. The model may be used to predict surface heat flow and bathymetry, and to provide estimates of melt production rates and cumulative thickness. We compare model predictions with observed margin structure for four diverse rifted margins: the Lofoten Margin (a mature volcanic margin), Goban Spur (a mature non-volcanic margin), the Woodlark Basin (a neotectonic young ocean basin) and the Faroe-Shetland Basin (a failed attempt at continental breakup). This work forms part of the NERC Margins iSIMM project. iSIMM investigators are from Liverpool and Cambridge Universities, Badley Geoscience & Schlumberger Cambridge Research supported by the NERC, the DTI, Agip UK, BP, Amerada Hess Ltd, Anadarko, Conoco¬Phillips, Shell, Statoil and WesternGeco. The iSIMM team comprises NJ Kusznir, RS White, AM Roberts, PAF Christie, A Chappell, J Eccles, R Fletcher, D Healy, N Hurst, ZC Lunnon, CJ Parkin, AW Roberts, LK Smith, V Tymms & R Spitzer.

Paleocene calcareous nannofossils biostratigraphy from the Sergipe Sub-basin, northeastern Brazil: Implications for this depositional environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrade Oliveira, Geize Carolinne Correia; de Oliveira, Rick Souza; Monte Guerra, Rodrigo; de Lima Filho, Mario Ferreira

2018-03-01

This study reports on the biostratigraphy of Paleocene calcareous nannofossils and paleoenvironmental inferences based on five wells drilled on the offshore portion of the Sergipe Sub-basin. Five biostratigraphic zones were defined for the Paleocene in zones of Brazilian continental margin basins N-305, N-307, N-330, N-340 and N-350, and four hiatuses were identified based on the absence of marker species. These hiatuses were interpreted as excavations originated by turbulent to hyperpycnal flows, revealing an important application of biostratigraphy to better understand depositional environments that are often limited by little variation in lithology or low variation in the well log patterns. In Paleoecological terms, the Sergipe Sub-basin, in the Paleocene, experienced geological and environmental events similar to those of other sedimentary basins on the eastern passive continental margin of Brazil, but has a more complete biostratigraphic record of calcareous nannofossils.

Geology and physiography of the continental margin north of Alaska and implications for the origin of the Canada Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grantz, Arthur; Eittreim, Stephen L.; Whitney, O.T.

1979-01-01

The continental margin north of Alaska is of Atlantic type. It began to form probably in Early Jurassic time but possibly in middle Early Cretaceous time, when the oceanic Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean is thought to have opened by rifting about a pole of rotation near the Mackenzie Delta. Offsets of the rift along two fracture zones are thought to have divided the Alaskan margin into three sectors of contrasting structure and stratigraphy. In the Barter Island sector on the east and the Chukchi sector on the west the rift was closer to the present northern Alaska mainland than in the Barrow sector, which lies between them. In the Barter Island and Chukchi sectors the continental shelf is underlain by prisms of clastic sedimentary rocks that are inferred to include thick sections of Jurassic and Neocomian (lower Lower Cretaceous) strata of southern provenance. In the intervening Barrow sector the shelf is underlain by relatively thin sections of Jurassic and Neocomian strata derived from northern sources that now lie beneath the outer continental shelf. The rifted continental margin is overlain by a prograded prism of Albian (upper Lower Cretaceous) to Tertiary clastic sedimentary rocks that comprises the continental terrace of the western Beaufort and northern Chukchi Seas. On the south the prism is bounded by Barrow arch, which is a hingeline between the northward-tilted basement surface beneath the continental shelf of the western Beaufort Sea and the southward-tilted Arctic Platform of northern Alaska. The Arctic platform is overlain by shelf clastic and carbonate strata of Mississippian to Cretaceous age, and by Jurassic and Cretaceous clastic strata of the Colville foredeep. Both the Arctic platform and Colville foredeep sequences extend from northern Alaska beneath the northern Chukchi Sea. At Herald fault zone in the central Chukchi Sea they are overthrust by more strongly deformed Cretaceous to Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of Herald arch, which trends northwest from Cape Lisburne. Hope basin, an extensional intracontinental sedimentary basin of Tertiary age, underlies the Chukchi Sea south of Herald arch.

Is the Gop rift oceanic? A reevaluation of the Seychelles-India conjugate margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guan, Huixin; Werner, Philippe; Geoffroy, Laurent

2016-04-01

Recent studies reevaluated the timing and evolution of the breakup process between the Seychelles continental ridge and India, and the relationship between this evolution and mantle melting associated with the Deccan Igneous Province1,2,3. Those studies, mainly based on gravity and seismic refraction surveys, point that the oceanic domain located between the Seychelles and the Laxmi Ridge (here designed as the Carlsberg Basin) is the youngest oceanic domain between India and the Seychelles. To the East of the Laxmi Ridge, the aborted Gop Rift is considered as an older highly magmatic extensional continental system with magmatism, breakup and oceanic spreading being coeval with or even predating the emplacement of the major pulse of the Deccan trapps. This interpretation on the oceanic nature of the Gop Rift conflicts with other extensive surveys based on magnetic and seismic reflection data4 which suggest that the Gop Rift is an extended syn-magmatic continental domain. In our work based (a) on the existing data, (b) on new deep-seismic reflection surveys (already published by Misra5) down to the Moho and underlying mantle and (c) on new concepts on the geometry of volcanic passive margins, we propose a distinct interpretation of the Seychelles-India system. As proposed by former authors6,7, the Indian margin suffered some continental stretching and thinning before the onset of the Deccan traps during the Mesozoic. Thus continental crust thickness cannot be used easily as a proxy of syn-magmatic stretching-thinning processes or even to infer the presence or not of oceanic-type crust based, solely, on crustal thickness. However, some remarkable features appear on some of the deep penetration seismic lines we studied. We illustrate that the whole Seychelles/India system, before the opening of the present-day "Carlsberg Basin" may simply be regarded as a pair of sub-symmetric conjugate volcanic passive margins (VPMs) with inner and outer SDR wedges dipping towards the Gop Rift axis. We propose that the conspicuous buoyant central part of the Gop Rift is likely associated with a continental C-Block as described in a recent paper on conjugated VPMs8, at least in the southern part of the Gop Rift. The crust below the Laxmi basin is probably transitional continental i.e. strongly intruded. West of India and west of the Laxmi Ridge, the transition to the Carlsberg Basin occurs along a clearly-expressed transform fault, not through an extended and thinned continental margin. We reinterpret the whole system based on those observations and propositions, giving some explanations on controversial magnetic anomalies based on similar observations from the southern Atlantic Ocean. 1: Collier et al., 2008. Age of the Seychelles-India break-up. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 2: Minshull et al., 2008. The relationship between riftingand magmatism in the northeastern Arabian Sea. Nature Geoscience. 3 : Armitage et al., 2010. The importance of rift history for volcanic margin. Nature. 4 : Krishna et al., 2006. Nature of the crust in the Laxmi Basin (14 degrees-20 degrees N), western continental margin of India. Tectonics. 5 : Misra et al., 2015. Repeat ridge jumps and microcontinent separation: insights from NE Arabian Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology. 6 : Biswas, 1982. Rift basins in the western margin of India and their hydrocarbon prospects. Bull. Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. 7 : Chatterjee et al., 2013. The longest voyage: Tectonic, magmatic, and paleoclimatic evolution of the Indian plate during its northward flight from Gondwana to Asia. Gondwana Research. 8 : Geoffroy et al., 2015. Volcanic passive margins: anotherway to break up continents. Scientific Reports.

The Research of Tectonic Framework and the Fault Activity in Large Detachment Basin System on Northern Margin of South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, L., Sr.; Ren, J.

2017-12-01

The South China Sea (SCS) is one of the largest marginal sea on southeast Asia continental margin, developed Paleogene extension-rifting continental margin system which is rare in the world and preserving many deformed characterizes of this kind system. With the investigation of the SCS, guiding by the development of tectonics and geo-physics, especially the development of tectonics and the high quality seismic data based on the development of geo-physics, people gradually accept that the northern margin of the SCS has some detachment basin characterizes. After researching the northern margin of the SCS, we come up with lithosphere profiles across the shelf, slope and deep sea basin in the northeast of the SCS to confirm the tectonic style of ocean-continental transition and the property of the detachment fault. Furthermore, we describe the outline of large detachment basins at northern SCS. Based on the large number of high-quality 2D and 3D deep seismic profile(TWT,10s), drilling and logging data, combined with domestic and international relevant researches, using basin dynamics and tectono-stratigraphy theory, techniques and methods of geology and geophysics, qualitative and quantitative, we describe the formation of the detachment basin and calculate the fault activity rate, stretching factor and settlement. According to the research, we propose that there is a giant and complete detachment basin system in the northern SCS and suggest three conclusions. First of all, the detachment basin system can be divided into three domains: proximal domain covering the Yangjiang Sag, Shenhu uplift and part of Shunde Sag, necking zone covering part of the Shunde Sag and Heshan Sag, distal domain covering most part of Heshan Sag. Second, the difference of the stretching factor is observed along the three domains of the detachment basin system. The factor of the proximal domain is the minimum among them. On the other side, the distal domain is the maximum among them. This phenomenon can be concluded as the factor is gradually increasing from the continent to the ocean. Third, the development of detachment basin is episodic which can be divided into two stages approximately: the rifting and thermal subsidence.

Natural constraints on exploring Antarctica's continental margin, existing geophysical and geological data basis, and proposed drilling program

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

Anderson, J.B.

1987-05-01

There have been a number of multichannel seismic reflection and seismic refraction surveys of the Antarctic continental shelf. While glacial erosion has left acoustic basement exposed on portions of the inner shelf, thick sedimentary sequences occur on the passive margin of east Antarctica. The thickness and age of these strata vary due to different breakup histories of the margin. Several sedimentary basins have been identified. Most are rift basins formed during the early stages of Antarctica's separation from other Gondwana continents and plateaus. The west Antarctic continental shelf is extensive, being approximately twice the size of the Gulf of Mexicomore » shelf. It has been poorly surveyed to date, owing mainly to its perennial sea ice cover. Gradual subduction of the spreading center from south to north along the margin resulted in old active margin sequences being buried beneath passive margin sequences. The latter should increase in thickness from north to south along the margin although no data bear this out. Hydrocarbon potential on the northern portion of the west Antarctic margin is considered low due to a probable lack of reservoir rocks. Establishment of ice sheets on Antarctica caused destruction of land vegetation and greatly restricted siliciclastic sand-producing environments. So only sedimentary basins which contain pre-early Miocene deposits have good hydrocarbon prospectivity. The Antarctic continental shelf is the deepest in the world, averaging 500 m and in places being more than a kilometer deep. The shelf has been left rugged by glacial erosion and is therefore prone to sediment mass movement. Widespread sediment gravity flow deposits attest to this. The shelf is covered with sea ice most of the year and in a few areas throughout the year. Icebergs, drift freely in the deep waters of the shelf; drift speeds of 1 to 2.5 km/year are not uncommon.« less

3D Process-Oriented Gravity Modelling applied north of 49°S on the Argentine continental margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pedraza De Marchi, Ana C.; Ghidella, Marta E.; Tocho, Claudia N.

2018-01-01

The Process-Oriented Gravity Modelling (POGM) technique represents a useful way to distinguish the contribution that different geological processes make to the observed gravity in passive margins. The POGM is an innovative gravity modelling approach that can give us information about the role that processes such as sedimentation and magmatic underplating, together with their loading effects, may play in the evolution of a margin. In this work, the POGM methodology has been applied with in a 2D and 3D approach. 2D profiles spaced every one arc-minute in the area of the Argentine continental margin, between 38.5°S and 49°S latitude and 64°W and 50°W longitude, were used to generate the latter. The 3D POGM was also solved and the result was compared with that obtained from 2D profiles. The comparison with the observed anomaly, using the 3D approach from 2D profiles gave results with enhanced resolution. The best fit between the calculated and observed gravity anomaly is given by an effective elastic thickness of 15 km. A cortical thickness map obtained as a result of the POGM calculations shows basin areas characterized by a thinned crust and a structural variation where the continental-oceanic boundary (COB) could be indicated. Besides, results of POGM allow us to detect an alignment between the Valdés and Rawson basins and possibly a third basin as a probable aulacogen. A stretching factor analysis shows that in these basins a stretching period existed but it did not reach the stage of oceanic crust formation. A strong positive residue in the Colorado basin is shown by the flexural isostatic anomaly, suggesting that the basin may continue in subsidence.

The Blake Plateau Basin and Carolina Trough

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dillon, William P.; Popenoe, Peter; Sheridan, R.E.; Grow, John A.

1988-01-01

Presently, the continental margin of the southeastern United States (Fig. 1) forms a zone of transition between the actively building, steep-fronted carbonate platform of the Bahamas and the typical eastern North American terrigenous clastic-dominated, drowned, shelf-slope-rise configuration. This region of the continental margin is underlain by two major sedimentary basins—the Blake Plateau Basin and the Carolina Trough (Fig. 2)—which are different in shape, basement structure, and history. Indeed, the two southern basins show some of the greatest contrasts of any basins of eastern North America, especially in their early response to rifting and in the change from rifting to drifting. The region has experienced abrupt major changes in geological conditions, most notably the onset of Gulf Stream flow in the early Tertiary.Morphologically, the area is dominated by the broad, flat Blake Plateau at about 800-1,000 m water depth (Fig. 1). The plateau is bounded to the east by the extremely steep Blake Escarpment, descending to 5,000 m water depths. To the west, a short continental slope rises to a continental shelf. This Blake Plateau morphology characterizes the margin east of Florida and north of the Bahamas. North of Florida the margin merges into the typical shelf-slope-rise morphology. Just north of the Blake Escarpment and its northern projection, the Blake Spur, the Blake Ridge extends away from the continental slope at water depths exceeding 2,000 m (Fig. 1). This broad ridge is a Cenozoic, sedimentary drift deposit controlled by bottom currents. (For the reader who is beginning to wonder why half of the features of this region seem to be named "Blake", the Blake was a Coast Survey steamer from which investigations off the southeastern U.S. were carried out in 1877 to 1880. Ferromanganese nodules were discovered on the Blake Plateau at that time [Murray, 1885].)

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohriak, Webster; Talwani, Manik

In compiling this volume, we have aimed to develop and enhance our current understanding of the structural evolution and sedimentation processes along divergent continental margins. To counteract the unfortunate situation of a lack of modem seismic and potential fields data on circum-Atlantic passive margins in the literature, we have linked new data from oil companies with that of research institutions. To update the data offered in most volumes used as reference works for the study of continental margins, now upwards of 20 years old, and to remedy the dispersal of important, more recent contributions in specialized journals, we present a current synthesis of materials in one volume focused on the deeper geology of the sedimentary basins along continental margins. In the early 1990s, as oil companies and other institutions developed tools to probe deeper into the architecture of passive margin sedimentary basins, a great amount of data based on regional deep seismic profiles evolved rapidly from its specialized niche as geophysical interpretation of the Earth's interior to widespread use by those same companies and institutions. At the same time, these findings demonstrated that some breakthroughs in data acquisition, processing and interpretation initially achieved by research institutions could almost instantaneously be globalized throughout different research groups, thereby influencing the thinking of geoscientists worldwide.

Structural-tectonic zoning of the Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrov, Oleg; Sobolev, Nikolay; Morozov, Andrey; Shokalsky, Sergey; Kashubin, Sergey; Grikurov, Garrik; Tolmacheva, Tatiana; Rekant, Pavel; Petrov, Evgeny

2017-04-01

Structural-tectonic zoning of the Arctic is based on the processing of geological and geophysical data and bottom sampling materials produced within the project "Atlas of Geological Maps of the Circumpolar Arctic." Zoning of the Arctic territories has been conducted taking into account the Earth's crust types, age of consolidated basement, and features of geological structure of the sedimentary cover. Developed legend for the zoning scheme incorporates five main groups of elements: continental and oceanic crust, folded platform covers, accretion-collision systems, and provinces of continental cover basalts. An important feature of the structural-tectonic zoning scheme is designation of continental crust in the central regions of the Arctic Ocean, the existence of which is assumed on the basis of numerous geological data. It has been found that most of the Arctic region has continental crust with the exception of the Eurasian Basin and the central part of the Canada Basin, which are characterized by oceanic crust type. Thickness of continental crust from seismic data varies widely: from 30-32 km on the Mendeleev Rise to 18-20 km on the Lomonosov Ridge, decreasing to 8-10 km in rift structures of the Podvodnikov-Makarov Basin at the expense of reduction of the upper granite layer. New data confirm similar basement structure on the western and eastern continental margins of the Eurasian oceanic basin. South to north, areas of Neoproterozoic (Baikalian) and Paleozoic (Ellesmerian) folding are successively distinguished. Neoproterozoic foldbelt is observed in Central Taimyr (Byrranga Mountains). Continuation of this belt in the eastern part of the Arctic is Novosibirsk-Chukchi fold system. Ellesmerian orogen incorporates the northernmost areas of Taimyr and Severnaya Zemlya, wherefrom it can be traced to the Geofizikov Spur of the Lomonosov Ridge and further across the De Long Archipelago and North Chukchi Basin to the north of Alaska Peninsula and in the Beaufort Sea. From the north, Ellesmerides are limited by the Precambrian continental blocks - North Kara and Mendeleev Rise, the sedimentary cover within which is represented by undisturbed Paleozoic and Mesozoic deposits. Analysis of the geological and tectonic maps and the map of the Arctic basement structure indicates that the heterogeneous crustal structure of the Arctic Ocean and its continental framing were formed as a result of simultaneous development and interaction of three large paleo-oceans in the Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic - Paleo-Asian, Proto-Atlantic and Paleo-Pacific oceans. A conceptual model that represents our understanding of structural relationships and crustal types of the main Arctic Basin structures is quite simple. The Arctic Basin is bounded by continental margins with continental crust: relatively elevated Barents-Kara - in the west, and generally submerged Amerasia margin - in the east. The latter represents a continental "bridge" formed by thinned and stretched continental crust. It connects two opposite continents - Laurentia and Eurasia, and is essentially a fragmented, tectonically mobile structure.

Constraints Imposed by Rift Inheritance on the Compressional Reactivation of a Hyperextended Margin: Mapping Rift Domains in the North Iberian Margin and in the Cantabrian Mountains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadenas, P.; Fernández-Viejo, G.; Pulgar, J. A.; Tugend, J.; Manatschal, G.; Minshull, T. A.

2018-03-01

The Alpine Pyrenean-Cantabrian orogen developed along the plate boundary between Iberia and Europe, involving the inversion of Mesozoic hyperextended basins along the southern Biscay margin. Thus, this margin represents a natural laboratory to analyze the control of structural rift inheritance on the compressional reactivation of a continental margin. With the aim to identify former rift domains and investigate their role during the subsequent compression, we performed a structural analysis of the central and western North Iberian margin, based on the interpretation of seismic reflection profiles and local constraints from drill-hole data. Seismic interpretations and published seismic velocity models enabled the development of crustal thickness maps that helped to constrain further the offshore and onshore segmentation. Based on all these constraints, we present a rift domain map across the central and western North Iberian margin, as far as the adjacent western Cantabrian Mountains. Furthermore, we provide a first-order description of the margin segmentation resulting from its polyphase tectonic evolution. The most striking result is the presence of a hyperthinned domain (e.g., Asturian Basin) along the central continental platform that is bounded to the north by the Le Danois High, interpreted as a rift-related continental block separating two distinctive hyperextended domains. From the analysis of the rift domain map and the distribution of reactivation structures, we conclude that the landward limit of the necking domain and the hyperextended domains, respectively, guide and localize the compressional overprint. The Le Danois block acted as a local buttress, conditioning the inversion of the Asturian Basin.

Subduction and exhumation of a continental margin in the Scandinavian Caledonides: Insights from ultrahigh pressure metamorphism, late orogenic basins and 3D numerical modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cuthbert, Simon

2017-04-01

The Scandinavian Caledonides (SC) represents a plate collision zone of Himalayan style and scale. Three fundamental characteristics of this orogen are: (1) early foreland-directed, tectonic transport and stacking of nappes; (2) late, wholesale reversal of tectonic transport; (3) ultrahigh pressure metamorphism of felsic crust derived from the underthrusting plate at several levels in the orogenic wedge and below the main thrust surface, indicating subduction of continental crust into the mantle. The significance of this for crustal evolution is the profound remodeling of continental crust, direct geochemical interaction of such crust and the mantle and the opening of accommodation space trapping large volumes of clastic detritus within the orogen. The orogenic wedge of the SC was derived from the upper crust of the Baltica continental margin (a hyper-extended passive margin), plus terranes derived from an assemblage of outboard arcs and intra-oceanic basins and, at the highest structural level, elements of the Laurentian margin. Nappe emplacement was driven by Scandian ( 430Ma) collision of Baltica with Laurentia, but emerging Middle Ordovician ages for diamond-facies metamorphism for the most outboard (or rifted) elements of Baltica suggest prior collision with an arc or microcontinent. Nappes derived from Baltica continental crust were subducted, in some cases to depths sufficient to form diamond. These then detached from the upper part of the down-going plate along major thrust faults, at which time they ceased to descend and possibly rose along the subduction channel. Subduction of the remaining continental margin continued below these nappes, possibly driven by slab-pull of the previously subducted Iapetus oceanic lithosphere and metamorphic densification of subducted felsic continental margin. 3D numerical modelling based upon a Caledonide-like plate scenario shows that if a continental corner or promontory enters the subduction zone, the continental margin descends to greater depths than for a simple orthogonal collision and its modelled thermal evolution is consistent with UHP metamorphic assemblages recorded in the southern part of the SC. Furthermore, a tear initiates at the promontary tip along the ocean-continent junction and propagates rapidly along the orogen. The buoyant upthrust of the subducted margin can then lead to reversal of the motion vector of the entire subducting continent, which withdraws the subducted lithospheric margin out of the subduction channel ("eduction"). Because of the diachroneity of slab failure, the continent also rotates, which causes the eduction vector to change azimuth over time. These model behaviours are consistent with the late orogenic structural evolution of the southern SC. However, during the final exhumation stage the crust may not have acted entirely coherently, as some eduction models propose: There is evidence that some inboard Baltica crust experienced late, shallow subduction before detaching as giant "flakes" that carried the orogenic wedge piggyback, forelandwards. Eduction and flake-tectonics could have operated coevally; the model system does not preclude this. Finally, the traction of a large educting (or extruding) mass of continental margin against the overlying orogenic wedge may have stretched and ruptured the wedge, resulting in opening of the late-orogenic Old Red Sandstone molasse basins.

Coincidence or not? Interconnected gas/fluid migration and ocean-atmosphere oscillations in the Levant Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazar, Michael; Lang, Guy; Schattner, Uri

2016-08-01

A growing number of studies on shallow marine gas/fluid systems from across the globe indicate their abundance throughout geological epochs. However, these episodic events have not been fully integrated into the fundamental concepts of continental margin development, which are thought to be dictated by three elements: tectonics, sedimentation and eustasy. The current study focuses on the passive sector of the Levant Basin on the eastern Mediterranean continental margin where these elements are well constrained, in order to isolate the contribution of gas/fluid systems. Single-channel, multichannel and 3D seismic reflection data are interpreted in terms of variance, chaos, envelope and sweetness attributes. Correlation with the Romi-1 borehole and sequence boundaries constrains interpretation of seismic stratigraphy. Results show a variety of fluid- or gas-related features such as seafloor and subsurface pockmarks, volumes of acoustic blanking, bright spots, conic pinnacle mounds, gas chimneys and high sweetness zones that represent possible secondary reservoirs. It is suggested that gas/fluid migrate upwards along lithological conduits such as falling-stage systems tracts and sequence boundaries during both highstands and lowstands. In all, 13 mid-late Pleistocene sequence boundaries are accompanied by independent evidence of 13 eustatic sea-level drops. Whether this connection is coincidental or not requires further research. These findings fill gaps between previously reported sporadic appearances throughout the Levant Basin and margin and throughout geological time from the Messinian until the present day, and create a unified framework for understanding the system as a whole. Repetitive appearance of these features suggests that their role in the morphodynamics of continental margins is more important than previously thought and thus may constitute one of the key elements of continental margin development.

Asymmetric rifting, breakup and magmatism across conjugate margin pairs: insights from Newfoundland to Ireland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peace, Alexander L.; Welford, J. Kim; Foulger, Gillian R.; McCaffrey, Ken J. W.

2017-04-01

Continental extension, subsequent rifting and eventual breakup result in the development of passive margins with transitional crust between extended continental crust and newly created oceanic crust. Globally, passive margins are typically classified as either magma-rich or magma-poor. Despite this simple classification, magma-poor margins like the West Orphan Basin, offshore Newfoundland, do exhibit some evidence of localized magmatism, as magmatism to some extent invariably accompanies all continental breakup. For example, on the Newfoundland margin, a small volcanic province has been interpreted near the termination of the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone, whereas on the conjugate Irish margin within the Rockall Basin, magmatism appears to be more widespread and has been documented both in the north and in the south. The broader region over which volcanism has been identified on the Irish margin is suggestive of magmatic asymmetry across this conjugate margin pair and this may have direct implications for the mechanisms governing the nature of rifting and breakup. Possible causes of the magmatic asymmetry include asymmetric rifting (simple shear), post-breakup thermal anomalies in the mantle, or pre-existing compositional zones in the crust that predispose one of the margins to more melting than its conjugate. A greater understanding of the mechanisms leading to conjugate margin asymmetry will enhance our fundamental understanding of rifting processes and will also reduce hydrocarbon exploration risk by better characterizing the structural and thermal evolution of hydrocarbon bearing basins on magma-poor margins where evidence of localized magmatism exists. Here, the latest results of a conjugate margin study of the Newfoundland-Ireland pair utilizing seismic interpretation integrated with other geological and geophysical datasets are presented. Our analysis has begun to reveal the nature and timing of rift-related magmatism and the degree to which magmatic asymmetry exists between these conjugate margins. The main implications from this work are that different processes may have operated during and after rifting on these conjugate margins. This concept should be carried forward when conducting conjugate margin studies elsewhere, particularly when exploring for hydrocarbons as prospectivity on one margin may not be predictive for its conjugate as different thermal and structural regimes may have been in operation during conjugate basin evolution.

Cenozoic sedimentation in the Mumbai Offshore Basin: Implications for tectonic evolution of the western continental margin of India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nair, Nisha; Pandey, Dhananjai K.

2018-02-01

Interpretation of multichannel seismic reflection data along the Mumbai Offshore Basin (MOB) revealed the tectonic processes that led to the development of sedimentary basins during Cenozoic evolution. Structural interpretation along three selected MCS profiles from MOB revealed seven major sedimentary sequences (∼3.0 s TWT, thick) and the associated complex fault patterns. These stratigraphic sequences are interpreted to host detritus of syn- to post rift events during rift-drift process. The acoustic basement appeared to be faulted with interspaced intrusive bodies. The sections also depicted the presence of slumping of sediments, subsidence, marginal basins, rollover anticlines, mud diapirs etc accompanied by normal to thrust faults related to recent tectonics. Presence of upthrusts in the slope region marks the locations of local compression during collision. Forward gravity modeling constrained with results from seismic and drill results, revealed that the crustal structure beneath the MOB has undergone an extensional type tectonics intruded with intrusive bodies. Results from the seismo-gravity modeling in association with litholog data from drilled wells from the western continental margin of India (WCMI) are presented here.

Magma-poor vs. magma-rich continental rifting and breakup in the Labrador Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gouiza, M.; Paton, D.

2017-12-01

Magma-poor and magma-rich rifted margins show distinct structural and stratigraphic geometries during the rift to breakup period. In magma-poor margins, crustal stretching is accommodated mainly by brittle faulting and the formation of wide rift basins shaped by numerous graben and half-graben structures. Continental breakup and oceanic crust accretion are often preceded by a localised phase of (hyper-) extension where the upper mantle is embrittled, serpentinized, and exhumed to the surface. In magma-rich margins, the rift basin is narrow and extension is accompanied by a large magmatic supply. Continental breakup and oceanic crust accretion is preceded by the emplacement of a thick volcanic crust juxtaposing and underplating a moderately thinned continental crust. Both magma-poor and magma-rich rifting occur in response to lithospheric extension but the driving forces and processes are believed to be different. In the former extension is assumed to be driven by plate boundary forces, while in the latter extension is supposed to be controlled by sublithospheric mantle dynamics. However, this view fails in explaining observations from many Atlantic conjugate margins where magma-poor and magma-rich segments alternate in a relatively abrupt fashion. This is the case of the Labrador margin where the northern segment shows major magmatic supply during most of the syn-rift phase which culminate in the emplacement of a thick volcanic crust in the transitional domain along with high density bodies underplating the thinned continental crust; while the southern segment is characterized mainly by brittle extension, mantle seprentinization and exhumation prior to continental breakup. In this work, we use seismic and potential field data to describe the crustal and structural architectures of the Labrador margin, and investigate the tectonic and mechanical processes of rifting that may have controlled the magmatic supply in the different segments of the margin.

Petrology of the igneous rocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccallum, I. S.

1987-01-01

Papers published during the 1983-1986 period on the petrology and geochemistry of igneous rocks are discussed, with emphasis on tectonic environment. Consideration is given to oceanic rocks, subdivided into divergent margin suites (mid-ocean ridge basalts, ridge-related seamounts, and back-arc basin basalts) and intraplate suites (oceanic island basalts and nonridge seamounts), and to igneous rocks formed at convergent margins (island arc and continental arc suites), subdivided into volcanic associations and plutonic associations. Other rock groups discussed include continental flood basalts, layered mafic intrusions, continental alkalic associations, komatiites, ophiolites, ash-flow tuffs, anorthosites, and mantle xenoliths.

Tectonic evolution and extension at the Møre Margin - Offshore mid-Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Theissen-Krah, S.; Zastrozhnov, D.; Abdelmalak, M. M.; Schmid, D. W.; Faleide, J. I.; Gernigon, L.

2017-11-01

Lithospheric stretching is the key process in forming extensional sedimentary basins at passive rifted margins. This study explores the stretching factors, resulting extension, and structural evolution of the Møre segment on the Mid-Norwegian continental margin. Based on the interpretation of new and reprocessed high-quality seismic, we present updated structural maps of the Møre margin that show very thick post-rift sediments in the central Møre Basin and extensive sill intrusion into the Cretaceous sediments. A major shift in subsidence and deposition occurred during mid-Cretaceous. One transect across the Møre continental margin from the Slørebotn Subbasin to the continent-ocean boundary is reconstructed using the basin modelling software TecMod. We test different initial crustal configurations and rifting events and compare our structural reconstruction results to stretching factors derived both from crustal thinning and the classical backstripping/decompaction approach. Seismic interpretation in combination with structural reconstruction modelling does not support the lower crustal bodies as exhumed and serpentinised mantle. Our extension estimate along this transect is 188 ± 28 km for initial crustal thickness varying between 30 and 40 km.

Anomalous heat flow belt along the continental margin of Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamza, Valiya M.; Vieira, Fabio P.; Silva, Raquel T. A.

2018-01-01

A comprehensive analysis of thermal gradient and heat flow data was carried out for sedimentary basins situated in the continental margin of Brazil (CMB). The results point to the existence of a narrow belt within CMB, where temperature gradients are higher than 30 °C/km and the heat flow is in excess of 70 mW/m2. This anomalous geothermal belt is confined between zones of relatively low to normal heat flow in the adjacent continental and oceanic regions. The width of the belt is somewhat variable, but most of it falls within the range of 100-300 km. The spatial extent is relatively large in the southern (in the basins of Pelotas, Santos and Campos) and northern (in the basins of Potiguar and Ceará) parts, when compared with those in the central parts (in the basins of South Bahia, Sergipe and Alagoas). The characteristics of heat flow anomalies appear to be compatible with those produced by thermal sources at depths in the lower crust. Hence, magma emplacement at the transition zone between lower crust and upper mantle is considered the likely mechanism producing such anomalies. Seismicity within the belt is relatively weak, with focal depths less than 10 km for most of the events. Such observations imply that "tectonic bonding" between continental and oceanic segments, at the transition zone of CMB, is relatively weak. Hence, it is proposed that passive margins like CMB be considered as constituting a type of plate boundary that is aseismic at sub-crustal levels, but allows for escape of significant amounts of earth's internal heat at shallow depths.

Pennsylvanian and Early Permian paleogeography of east-central California: Implications for the shape of the continental margin and the timing of continental truncation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stone, Paul; Stevens, Calvin H.

1988-04-01

Pennsylvanian and Early Permian paleogeographic features in east-central California include a southeast-trending carbonate shelf edge and turbidite basin that we infer paralleled a segment of the western margin of the North American continent. This segment of the continental margin was oblique to an adjoining segment on the north that trended southwestward across Nevada into easternmost California. We propose that the southeast-trending segment of the margin originated by tectonic truncation of the originally longer southwest-trending segment in Early or Middle Pennsylvanian to late Early Permian time, significantly earlier than a previously hypothesized Late Permian or Early Triassic continental truncation event. We interpret the truncating structure to have been a sinistral transform fault zone along which a continental fragment was removed and carried southeastward into the Caborca-Hermosillo region of northern Mexico, where it is now represented by exposures of Late Proterozoic and Paleozoic miogeoclinal rocks.

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

Finley, P.D.; Krason, J.; Dominic, K.

Multichannel and selected single-channel seismic lines of the continental margin sediments of the Colombia basin display compelling evidence for large accumulations of natural gas hydrate. Seismic bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs), interpreted to mark the base of the hydrate stability zone, are pronounced and very widespread along the entire Panama-Colombia lower continental slope. BSRs have also been identified at two locations on the abyssal plain. Water depths for these suspected hydrate occurrences range from 900 to 4000 m. Although no gas hydrate samples have been recovered from this area, biogenic methane is abundant in Pliocene turbidites underlying the abyssal plain. Moremore » deeply buried rocks beneath the abyssal plain are thermally mature. Thermogenic gas from these rocks may migrate upward along structural pathways into the hydrate stability zone and form hydrate. Impermeable hydrate layers may form caps over large accumulations of free gas, accounting for the very well-defined BSRs in the area. The abyssal plain and the deformed continental margin hold the highest potential for major economic accumulations of gas hydrate in the basin. The extensive continuity of BSRs, relatively shallow water depths, and promixity to onshore production facilities render the marginal deformed belt sediments the most favorable target for future economic development of the gas hydrate resource within the Colombia basin. The widespread evidence of gas hydrates in the Colombia basin suggests a high potential for conventional hydrocarbon deposits offshore of Panama and Colombia.« less

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 Phanerozoic tectonic evolution of the Circum-North Pacific is recorded mainly in the orogenic collages of the Circum-North Pacific mountain belts that separate the North Pacific from the eastern part of the North Asian Craton and the western part of the North American Craton. These collages consist of tectonostratigraphic terranes that are composed of fragments of igneous arcs, accretionary-wedge and subduction-zone complexes, passive continental margins, and cratons; they are overlapped by continental-margin-arc and sedimentary-basin assemblages. The geologic history of the terranes and overlap assemblages is highly complex because of postaccretionary dismemberment and translation during strike-slip faulting that occurred subparallel to continental margins.We analyze the complex tectonics of this region by the following steps. (1) We assign tectonic environments for the orogenic collages from regional compilation and synthesis of stratigraphic and faunal data. The types of tectonic environments include cratonal, passive continental margin, metamorphosed continental margin, continental-margin arc, island arc, oceanic crust, seamount, ophiolite, accretionary wedge, subduction zone, turbidite basin, and metamorphic. (2) We make correlations between terranes. (3) We group coeval terranes into a single tectonic origin, for example, a single island arc or subduction zone. (4) We group igneous-arc and subduction- zone terranes, which are interpreted as being tectonically linked, into coeval, curvilinear arc/subduction-zone complexes. (5) We interpret the original positions of terranes, using geologic, faunal, and paleomagnetic data. (6) We construct the paths of tectonic migration. Six processes overlapping in time were responsible for most of the complexities of the collage of terranes and overlap assemblages around the Circum-North Pacific, as follows. (1) During the Late Proterozoic, Late Devonian, and Early Carboniferous, major periods of rifting occurred along 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

Geology of continental margins

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

Not Available

With continued high interest in offshore petroleum exploration, the 1977 AAPG Short Course presents the latest interpretations of new data bearing on the geology and geophysics of continental margins. Seven well-known earth scientists have organized an integrated program covering major topics involved in the development of ocean basins and continental margins with emphasis on the slopes and rises. The discussion of plate tectonics and evolution of continental margins is followed by presentations on the stratigraphy and structure of pull-apart and compressional margins. Prospective petroleum source rocks, their organic content, rate of burial, and distribution on slopes and rises of differentmore » margin types is covered. Prospective reservoir rock patterns are related to depositional processes and to the sedimentary and structural histories for different types of continental margins. Finally, the seismic recognition of depositional facies on slopes and rises for different margin types with varying rates of sediment supply during eustatic sea-level changes are discussed. The course with this syllabus offers an invaluable opportunity for explorationists to refresh their understanding of the geology associated with an important petroleum frontier. In addition, the course sets forth a technical frame of reference for the case-histoy papers to be presented later in the AAPG Research Symposium on the Petroleum Potential of Slopes, Rises, and Plateaus.« less

Style of extensional tectonism during rifting, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bohannon, R.G.

1989-01-01

Geologic and geophysical studies from the Arabian continental margin in the southern Red Sea and LANDSAT analysis of the northern Somalia margin in the Gulf of Aden suggest that the early continental rifts were long narrow features that formed by extension on closely spaced normal faults above moderate- to shallow-dipping detachments with break-away zones defining one rift flank and root zones under the opposing rift flank. The rift flanks presently form the opposing continental margins across each ocean basin. The detachment on the Arabian margin dips gently to the west, with a breakaway zone now eroded above the deeply dissected terrain of the Arabian escarpment. A model is proposed in which upper crustal breakup occurs on large detachment faults that have a distinct polarity. -from Author

Deep structure of the Algerian continental margin in the region of the Great Kabylies - Insights from wide-angle seismic data modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aidi, Chafik; Klingelhoefer, F.; Yelles-Chaouche, A.; Beslier, M.; Bracene, R.; Philippe, S.; Djellit, H.; Galve, A.; Bounif, A.; Schenini, L.; Sage, F.; Charvis, P.

2013-12-01

During the Algerian-French SPIRAL cruise (Sismique Profonde et Investigation Régionale du Nord de l'Algérie) conducted onboard R/V Atalante (September-October 2009), one deep reflection and wide-angle seismic profile with total length of 140 km was acquired on the Algerian margin, offshore Greater Kabylia. 40 ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) were deployed on the profile, located perpendicular to the margin and it was additionally extended on land using 26 seismological stations. A 8350 in3 tuned air-gun array consisting of 10 Bolt air-guns was used to generate deep frequency shots to allow for a good penetration. A coincident multi-channel seismic profile was acquired using a 3040 in3 seismic source and a 4.5 km 360 channel digital seismic streamer. Underway geophysical measurements included gravimetric and magnetic data. The combined profile with a total length of about 260 km, crosses from north to south the Algero-Provençal basin, the central Algerian margin and onshore the crystalline basement of the Kabylides bloc up to the southward limit of the internal zones. We present results concerning the sedimentary and crustal structures in the study area using tomographic inversion, forward and gravimetric modelling. Modelling of the wide-angle and multi-channel seismic data reveals that the thickness of the sedimentary cover along the profile varies from several hundreds of metres onland in Tiziouzou basin (R. Bracéne 2001), to ~4 km at the foot of the margin and then decreasing northward to less than 3 km. The Messinian evaporitic units have been modelled by a high velocity layer, representing a velocity inversion with underlying pre-Messinian Miocene sedimentary layers. Progressive thinning of the continental crust towards the North is observed, with thicknesses decreasing from ~20 km at the foot of the margin to 4-5 km in the deep basin. Seismic velocities range between 6.2 and 6.6 km/s in the continental domain and 5.2 - 6.8 km/s in the deep basin. The uppermost crust of the deep margin is characterised by low velocities of only 4.5-5.0 km/s probably due to fracturing during the thinning of the crust. The transition between continental crust and crust of oceanic origin is located about 60 km from the coast. Its extension is very narrow (< 20 km) with a possibility of it being absent in this region. The crust underlying the basin at the foot of the continental slope is characterised by a thickness of only 3-5 km which is about 2 km thinner than normal oceanic crust. Seismic velocities however indicate that the crust is of oceanic origin and does not represent exhumed and partly serpentinised mantle material, although the presence of small amounts of mantle material in an otherwise igneous crust cannot be ruled out. Similar thin oceanic crust has been imaged in other Mediterranean Basins, such as the Liguro-Provençal basin (Gailler et al., 2009).

Spreading and slope instability at the continental margin offshore Mt Etna, imaged by high-resolution 2D seismic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gross, Felix; Krastel, Sebastian; Behrmann, Jan-Hinrich; Papenberg, Cord; Geersen, Jacob; Ridente, Domenico; Latino Chiocci, Francesco; Urlaub, Morelia; Bialas, Jörg; Micallef, Aaron

2015-04-01

Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe. Its volcano edifice is located on top of continental crust close to the Ionian shore in east Sicily. Instability of the eastern flank of the volcano edifice is well documented onshore. The continental margin is supposed to deform as well. Little, however, is known about the offshore extension of the eastern volcano flank and its adjacent continental margin, which is a serious shortcoming in stability models. In order to better constrain the active tectonics of the continental margin offshore the eastern flank of the volcano, we acquired and processed a new marine high-resolution seismic and hydro-acoustic dataset. The data provide new detailed insights into the heterogeneous geology and tectonics of shallow continental margin structures offshore Mt Etna. In a similiar manner as observed onshore, the submarine realm is characterized by different blocks, which are controlled by local- and regional tectonics. We image a compressional regime at the toe of the continental margin, which is bound to an asymmetric basin system confining the eastward movement of the flank. In addition, we constrain the proposed southern boundary of the moving flank, which is identified as a right lateral oblique fault movement north of Catania Canyon. From our findings, we consider a major coupled volcano edifice instability and continental margin gravitational collapse and spreading to be present at Mt Etna, as we see a clear link between on- and offshore tectonic structures across the entire eastern flank. The new findings will help to evaluate hazards and risks accompanied by Mt Etna's slope- and continental margin instability and will be used as a base for future investigations in this region.

Abbot Ice Shelf, the Amundsen Sea Continental Margin and the Southern Boundary of the Bellingshausen Plate Seaward of West Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cochran, J. R.; Tinto, K. J.; Bell, R. E.

2014-12-01

The Abbot Ice Shelf extends 450 km along the coast of West Antarctica between 103°W and 89°W and straddles the boundary between the Bellingshausen Sea continental margin, which overlies a former subduction zone, and Amundsen Sea rifted continental margin. Inversion of NASA Operation IceBridge airborne gravity data for sub-ice bathymetry shows that the western part of the ice shelf, as well as Cosgrove Ice Shelf to the south, are underlain by a series of east-west trending rift basins. The eastern boundary of the rifted terrain coincides with the eastern boundary of rifting between Antarctica and Zealandia and the rifts formed during the early stages of this rifting. Extension in these rifts is minor as rifting quickly jumped north of Thurston Island. The southern boundary of the Cosgrove Rift is aligned with the southern boundary of a sedimentary basin under the Amundsen Embayment continental shelf to the west, also formed by Antarctica-Zealandia rifting. The shelf basin has an extension factor, β, of 1.5 - 1.7 with 80 -100 km of extension occurring in an area now ~250 km wide. Following this extension early in the rifting process, rifting centered to the north of the present shelf edge and proceeded to continental rupture. Since then, the Amundsen Embayment continental shelf has been tectonically quiescent and has primarily been shaped though subsidence, sedimentation and the passage of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet back and forth across it. The former Bellingshausen Plate was located seaward of the Amundsen Sea margin prior to its incorporation into the Antarctic Plate at ~62 Ma. During the latter part of its existence, Bellingshausen plate motion had a clockwise rotational component relative to Antarctica producing convergence between the Bellingshausen and Antarctic plates east of 102°W. Seismic reflection and gravity data show that this convergence is expressed by an area of intensely deformed sediments beneath the continental slope from 102°W to 95°W and by incipient subduction beneath the Bellingshausen Gravity Anomaly on the western edge of a salient of the Antarctic plate near 94°W. West of 102°W, relative motion was extensional and occurred in a diffuse zone occupied by the Marie Byrd Seamounts that are dated at 65-56 Ma and extend 800 km along the continental margin near the base of the continental rise.

Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far East, Alaska, and the Canadian Cordillera

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nokleberg, Warren J.; Bundtzen, Thomas K.; Eremin, Roman A.; Ratkin, Vladimir V.; Dawson, Kenneth M.; Shpikerman, Vladimir I.; Goryachev, Nikolai A.; Byalobzhesky, Stanislav G.; Frolov, Yuri F.; Khanchuk, Alexander I.; Koch, Richard D.; Monger, James W.H.; Pozdeev, Anany I.; Rozenblum, Ilya S.; Rodionov, Sergey M.; Parfenov, Leonid M.; Scotese, Christopher R.; Sidorov, Anatoly A.

2005-01-01

The Proterozoic and Phanerozoic metallogenic and tectonic evolution of the Russian Far East, Alaska, and the Canadian Cordillera is recorded in the cratons, craton margins, and orogenic collages of the Circum-North Pacific mountain belts that separate the North Pacific from the eastern North Asian and western North American Cratons. The collages consist of tectonostratigraphic terranes and contained metallogenic belts, which are composed of fragments of igneous arcs, accretionary-wedge and subduction-zone complexes, passive continental margins, and cratons. The terranes are overlapped by continental-margin-arc and sedimentary-basin assemblages and contained metallogenic belts. The metallogenic and geologic history of terranes, overlap assemblages, cratons, and craton margins has been complicated by postaccretion dismemberment and translation during strike-slip faulting that occurred subparallel to continental margins. Seven processes overlapping in time were responsible for most of metallogenic and geologic complexities of the region (1) In the Early and Middle Proterozoic, marine sedimentary basins developed on major cratons and were the loci for ironstone (Superior Fe) deposits and sediment-hosted Cu deposits that occur along both the North Asia Craton and North American Craton Margin. (2) In the Late Proterozoic, Late Devonian, and Early Carboniferous, major periods of rifting occurred along the ancestral margins of present-day Northeast Asia and northwestern North America. The rifting resulted in fragmentation of each continent, and 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. The rifting also resulted in formation of various massive-sulfide metallogenic belts. (3) From about the late Paleozoic through the mid-Cretaceous, a succession of island arcs and contained igneous-arc-related metallogenic belts and tectonically paired subduction zones formed near continental margins. (4) From about mainly the mid-Cretaceous through the present, a succession of continental-margin igneous arcs (some extending offshore into island arcs) and contained metallogenic belts, and tectonically paired subduction zones formed along the continental margins. (5) From about the Jurassic to the present, oblique convergence and rotations caused orogen-parallel sinistral, and then dextral displacements within the plate margins of the Northeast Asian and North American Cratons. The oblique convergences and rotations resulted in the fragmentation, displacement, and duplication of formerly more continuous arcs, subduction zones, passive continental margins, and contained metallogenic belts. These fragments were subsequently accreted along the margins of the expanding continental margins. (6) 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, subduction zones, and contained metallogenic belts to continental margins. In this region, the multiple arc accretions were accompanied and followed by crustal thickening, anatexis, metamorphism, formation of collision-related metallogenic belts, and uplift; this resulted in the substantial growth of the North Asian and North American continents. (7) In the middle and late Cenozoic, oblique to orthogonal convergence of the Pacific Plate with present-day Alaska and Northeast Asia resulted in formation of the present ring of volcanoes and contained metallogenic belts 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 part of the Aleutian- Wrangell arc. Associated with dextral-slip faulting was crustal extrusion of terranes from western Alaska into the Bering Sea.

Compressional reactivation of hyperextended domains on a rifted margin: a requirement for a reappraisal of traditional restoration procedures?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadenas Martínez, P.; Fernandez Viejo, G.; Pulgar, J. A.

2017-12-01

The North Iberian margin is an inverted hyperextended rifted margin that preserves the initial stages of compressional reactivation. Rift inheritance conditioned in a determinant way the contractional reactivation. The underthrusting of the hyperextended distal domains beneath the platform and the formation of an accretionary wedge at the toe of the slope focused most of the compression. The underthrusting gave place to the formation of a crustal root and the uplifting of the Cantabrian Mountains onshore. Meanwhile, the main rift basins within the continental platform were slightly inverted. Plate kinematic reconstructions and palinspatic restorations have provided different shortening values. Thereby, the amount of shortening linked with the Cenozoic compression is still unclear and a matter of debate on this area.In this work, we present a full cross-section at the central part of the North Iberian margin developed from the restoration of a high quality depth migrated seismic profile running from the continental platform to the Biscay abyssal plain. A shortening calculation gives an estimate of about 1 km within the Asturian Basin, in the continental platform, while in the accretionary wedge at the bottom of the slope, shortening values ranges between 12 km and 15 km. The limited values estimated within the Asturian Basin support the mild inversion observed within this basin, which preserves most of the extensional imprint. Within the abyssal plain, shortening values differ from previous estimations and cannot account for a high amount of compression in the upper crust. Deformation of the hyperextended crust and the exhumed mantle domains inherited from the rifting processes would have accommodated most of the compression. Restoration of these domains seems to be the key to decipher the structure and the tectonic evolution of the reactivated rifted margin but cannot be solved accurately using traditional restoration methods. This leads to a reappraisal of the traditional way of restoring compressional belt transects and particularly, when previous hyperextended domains within the rifted margins are involved.

The North Sakhalin Neogene total petroleum system of eastern Russia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindquist, S.J.

2000-01-01

The North Sakhalin Basin Province of eastern Russia contains one Total Petroleum System (TPS) ? North Sakhalin Neogene ? with more than 6 BBOE known, ultimately recoverable petroleum (61% gas, 36% oil, 3% condensate). Tertiary rocks in the basin were deposited by the prograding paleo-Amur River system. Marine to continental, Middle to Upper Miocene shale to coaly shale source rocks charged marine to continental Middle Miocene to Pliocene sandstone reservoir rocks in Late Miocene to Pliocene time. Fractured, self-sourced, Upper Oligocene to Lower Miocene siliceous shales also produce hydrocarbons. Geologic history is that of a Mesozoic Asian passive continental margin that was transformed into an active accretionary Tertiary margin and Cenozoic fold belt by the collision of India with Eurasia and by the subduction of Pacific Ocean crustal plates under the Asian continent. The area is characterized by extensional, compressional and wrench structural features that comprise most known traps.

Oblique strike-slip motion off the Southeastern Continental Margin of India: Implication for the separation of Sri Lanka from India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desa, Maria Ana; Ismaiel, Mohammad; Suresh, Yenne; Krishna, Kolluru Sree

2018-05-01

The ocean floor in the Bay of Bengal has evolved after the breakup of India from Antarctica since the Early Cretaceous. Recent geophysical investigations including updated satellite derived gravity map postulated two phases for the tectonic evolution of the Bay of Bengal, the first phase of spreading occurred in the NW-SE direction forming its Western Basin, while the second phase occurred in the N-S direction resulting in its Eastern Basin. Lack of magnetic data along the spreading direction in the Western Basin prompted us to acquire new magnetic data along four tracks (totaling ∼3000 km) to validate the previously identified magnetic anomaly picks. Comparison of the synthetic seafloor spreading model with the observed magnetic anomalies confirmed the presence of Mesozoic anomalies M12n to M0 in the Western Basin. Further, the model suggests that this spreading between India and Antarctica took place with half-spreading rates of 2.7-4.5 cm/yr. The trend of the fracture zones in the Western Basin with respect to that of the Southeastern Continental Margin of India (SCMI) suggests that SCMI is an oblique transform margin with 37° obliquity. Further, the SCMI consists of two oblique transform segments separated by a small rift segment. The strike-slip motion along the SCMI is bounded by the rift segments of the Northeastern Continental Margin of India and the southern margin of Sri Lanka. The margin configuration and fracture zones inferred in its conjugate Western Enderby Basin, East Antarctica helped in inferring three spreading corridors off the SCMI in the Western Basin of the Bay of Bengal. Detailed grid reconstruction models traced the oblique strike-slip motion off the SCMI since M12n time. The strike-slip motion along the short northern transform segment ended by M11n time. The longer transform segment, found east of Sri Lanka lost its obliquity and became a pure oceanic transform fault by M0 time. The eastward propagation of the Africa-Antarctica spreading center initiated the anticlockwise separation of Sri Lanka from India by M12n time. Seafloor spreading south of Sri Lanka due to the India-Antarctica spreading episode and the simultaneously occurring strike-slip motion east of Sri Lanka restricted this separation resulting in a failed rift. Thus Sri Lanka with strike-slip motion to its east, failed rift towards west, continental extension to its north and rifting to its south behaved as a short lived microplate during the Early Cretaceous period and remained attached to India thereafter.

Alpine inversion of the North African margin and delamination of its continental lithosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roure, FrançOis; Casero, Piero; Addoum, Belkacem

2012-06-01

This paper aims at summarizing the current extent and architecture of the former Mesozoic passive margin of North Africa from North Algeria in the west up to the Ionian-Calabrian arc and adjacent Mediterranean Ridge in the east. Despite that most paleogeographic models consider that the Eastern Mediterranean Basin as a whole is still underlain by remnants of the Permo-Triassic or a younger Cretaceous Tethyan-Mesogean ocean, the strong similarities documented here in structural styles and timing of inversion between the Saharan Atlas, Sicilian Channel and the Ionian abyssal plain evidence that this portion of the Eastern Mediterranean Basin still belongs to the distal portion of the North African continental margin. A rim of Tethyan ophiolitic units can be also traced more or less continuously from Turkey and Cyprus in the east, in onshore Crete, in the Pindos in Greece and Mirdita in Albania, as well as in the Western Alps, Corsica and the Southern Apennines in the west, supporting the hypothesis that both the Apulia/Adriatic domain and the Eastern Mediterranean Basin still belong to the former southern continental margin of the Tethys. Because there is no clear evidence of crustal-scale fault offsetting the Moho, but more likely a continuous yet folded Moho extending between the foreland and the hinterland beneath the Mediterranean arcs, we propose here a new model of delamination of the continental lithosphere for the Apennines and the Aegean arcs. In this model, only the mantle lithosphere of Apulia and the Eastern Mediterranean is still locally subducted and recycled in the asthenosphere, most if not all the northern portion of the African crust and coeval Moho being currently decoupled from its former, currently delaminated and subducted mantle lithosphere.

Deep structure of the Mid-Norwegian continental margin (the Vøring and Møre basins) according to 3-D density and magnetic modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maystrenko, Yuriy Petrovich; Gernigon, Laurent; Nasuti, Aziz; Olesen, Odleiv

2018-03-01

A lithosphere-scale 3-D density/magnetic structural model of the Møre and Vøring segments of the Mid-Norwegian continental margin and the adjacent areas of the Norwegian mainland has been constructed by using both published, publically available data sets and confidential data, validated by the 3-D density and magnetic modelling. The obtained Moho topography clearly correlates with the major tectonic units of the study area where a deep Moho corresponds to the base of the Precambrian continental crust and the shallower one is located in close proximity to the younger oceanic lithospheric domain. The 3-D density modelling agrees with previous studies which indicate the presence of a high-density/high-velocity lower-crustal layer beneath the Mid-Norwegian continental margin. The broad Jan Mayen Corridor gravity low is partially related to the decreasing density of the sedimentary layers within the Jan Mayen Corridor and also has to be considered in relation to a possible low-density composition- and/or temperature-related zone in the lithospheric mantle. According to the results of the 3-D magnetic modelling, the absence of a strong magnetic anomaly over the Utgard High indicates that the uplifted crystalline rocks are not so magnetic there, supporting a suggestion that the entire crystalline crust has a low magnetization beneath the greater part of the Vøring Basin and the northern part of the Møre Basin. On the contrary, the crystalline crust is much more magnetic beneath the Trøndelag Platform, the southern part of the Møre Basin and within the mainland, reaching a culmination at the Frøya High where the most intensive magnetic anomaly is observed within the study area.

Great earthquakes along the Western United States continental margin: implications for hazards, stratigraphy and turbidite lithology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, C. H.; Gutiérrez Pastor, J.; Goldfinger, C.; Escutia, C.

2012-11-01

We summarize the importance of great earthquakes (Mw ≳ 8) for hazards, stratigraphy of basin floors, and turbidite lithology along the active tectonic continental margins of the Cascadia subduction zone and the northern San Andreas Transform Fault by utilizing studies of swath bathymetry visual core descriptions, grain size analysis, X-ray radiographs and physical properties. Recurrence times of Holocene turbidites as proxies for earthquakes on the Cascadia and northern California margins are analyzed using two methods: (1) radiometric dating (14C method), and (2) relative dating, using hemipelagic sediment thickness and sedimentation rates (H method). The H method provides (1) the best estimate of minimum recurrence times, which are the most important for seismic hazards risk analysis, and (2) the most complete dataset of recurrence times, which shows a normal distribution pattern for paleoseismic turbidite frequencies. We observe that, on these tectonically active continental margins, during the sea-level highstand of Holocene time, triggering of turbidity currents is controlled dominantly by earthquakes, and paleoseismic turbidites have an average recurrence time of ~550 yr in northern Cascadia Basin and ~200 yr along northern California margin. The minimum recurrence times for great earthquakes are approximately 300 yr for the Cascadia subduction zone and 130 yr for the northern San Andreas Fault, which indicates both fault systems are in (Cascadia) or very close (San Andreas) to the early window for another great earthquake. On active tectonic margins with great earthquakes, the volumes of mass transport deposits (MTDs) are limited on basin floors along the margins. The maximum run-out distances of MTD sheets across abyssal-basin floors along active margins are an order of magnitude less (~100 km) than on passive margins (~1000 km). The great earthquakes along the Cascadia and northern California margins cause seismic strengthening of the sediment, which results in a margin stratigraphy of minor MTDs compared to the turbidite-system deposits. In contrast, the MTDs and turbidites are equally intermixed on basin floors along passive margins with a mud-rich continental slope, such as the northern Gulf of Mexico. Great earthquakes also result in characteristic seismo-turbidite lithology. Along the Cascadia margin, the number and character of multiple coarse pulses for correlative individual turbidites generally remain constant both upstream and downstream in different channel systems for 600 km along the margin. This suggests that the earthquake shaking or aftershock signature is normally preserved, for the stronger (Mw ≥ 9) Cascadia earthquakes. In contrast, the generally weaker (Mw = or <8) California earthquakes result in upstream simple fining-up turbidites in single tributary canyons and channels; however, downstream mainly stacked turbidites result from synchronously triggered multiple turbidity currents that deposit in channels below confluences of the tributaries. Consequently, both downstream channel confluences and the strongest (Mw ≥ 9) great earthquakes contribute to multi-pulsed and stacked turbidites that are typical for seismo-turbidites generated by a single great earthquake. Earthquake triggering and multi-pulsed or stacked turbidites also become an alternative explanation for amalgamated turbidite beds in active tectonic margins, in addition to other classic explanations. The sedimentologic characteristics of turbidites triggered by great earthquakes along the Cascadia and northern California margins provide criteria to help distinguish seismo-turbidites in other active tectonic margins.

The limits of seaward spreading and slope instability at the continental margin offshore Mt Etna, imaged by high-resolution 2D seismic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gross, Felix; Krastel, Sebastian; Geersen, Jacob; Behrmann, Jan Hinrich; Ridente, Domenico; Chiocci, Francesco Latino; Bialas, Jörg; Papenberg, Cord; Cukur, Deniz; Urlaub, Morelia; Micallef, Aaron

2016-01-01

Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe. Instability of its eastern flank is well documented onshore, and continuously monitored by geodetic and InSAR measurements. Little is known, however, about the offshore extension of the eastern volcano flank, defining a serious shortcoming in stability models. In order to better constrain the active tectonics of the continental margin offshore the eastern flank of the volcano, we acquired a new high-resolution 2D reflection seismic dataset. The data provide new insights into the heterogeneous geology and tectonics at the continental margin offshore Mt Etna. The submarine realm is characterized by different blocks, which are controlled by local- and regional tectonics. A compressional regime is found at the toe of the continental margin, which is bound to a complex basin system. Both, the clear link between on- and offshore tectonic structures as well as the compressional regime at the easternmost flank edge, indicate a continental margin gravitational collapse as well as spreading to be present at Mt Etna. Moreover, we find evidence for the offshore southern boundary of the moving flank, which is identified as a right lateral oblique fault north of Catania Canyon. Our findings suggest a coupled volcano edifice/continental margin instability at Mt Etna, demonstrating first order linkage between on- and offshore tectonic processes.

Tectonostratigraphic reconstruction Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary in the northwestern Andes: from extensional tectonics to arc accretion.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zapata, S.; Patino, A. M.; Cardona, A.; Mejia, D.; Leon, S.; Jaramillo, J. S.; Valencia, V.; Parra, M.; Hincapie, S.

2014-12-01

Active continental margins characterized by continuous convergence experienced overimposed tectonic configurations that allowed the formation of volcanic arcs, back arc basins, transtensional divergent tectonics or the accretion of exotic volcanic terranes. Such record, particularly the extensional phases, can be partially destroyed and obscure by multiple deformational events, the accretion of exotic terranes and strike slip fragmentation along the margin. The tectonic evolution of the northern Andes during the Mesozoic is the result of post Pangea extension followed by the installation of a long-lived Jurassic volcanic arc (209 - 136 ma) that apparently stops between 136 Ma and 110 Ma. The Quebradagrande Complex has been define as a single Lower Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary unit exposed in the western flank of the Central Cordillera of the Colombian Andes that growth after the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous magmatic hiatus. The origin of this unit have been related either to an oceanic volcanic arc or a marginal basin environment. The existence of such contrasting models reflect the regional perspective followed in published studies and the paucity of detail analysis of the volcano-sedimentary sequences.We integrate multiple approaches including structural mapping, stratigraphy, geochemistry, U-Pb provenance and geochronology to improve the understanding of this unit and track the earlier phases of accumulation that are mask on the overimposed tectonic history. Our preliminary results suggest the existence of different volcano-sedimentary units that accumulated between 100 Ma and 82 Ma.The older Lower Cretaceous sequences was deposited over Triassic metamorphic continental crust and include a upward basin deepening record characterized by thick fan delta conglomerates, followed by distal turbidites and a syn-sedimentary volcanic record at 100 ma. The other sequence include a 85 - 82 Ma fringing arc that was also formed close to the continental margin or associated with a continental terrane.This two volcano-sedimentary domains were finally juxtaposed due to the collision with an allochthonous oceanic arc that collide with the Continental margin in the Late Cretaceous marking the initiation of the Andean Orogeny.

The Portland Basin: A (big) river runs through it

USGS Publications Warehouse

Evarts, Russell C.; O'Connor, Jim E.; Wells, Ray E.; Madin, Ian P.

2009-01-01

Metropolitan Portland, Oregon, USA, lies within a small Neogene to Holocene basin in the forearc of the Cascadia subduction system. Although the basin owes its existence and structural development to its convergent-margin tectonic setting, the stratigraphic architecture of basin-fill deposits chiefly reflects its physiographic position along the lower reaches of the continental-scale Columbia River system. As a result of this globally unique setting, the basin preserves a complex record of aggradation and incision in response to distant as well as local tectonic, volcanic, and climatic events. Voluminous flood basalts, continental and locally derived sediment and volcanic debris, and catastrophic flood deposits all accumulated in an area influenced by contemporaneous tectonic deformation and variations in regional and local base level.

The Lamu Basin deepwater fold-and-thrust belt: An example of a margin-scale, gravity-driven thrust belt along the continental passive margin of East Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruciani, Francesco; Barchi, Massimiliano R.

2016-03-01

In recent decades, advances in seismic processing and acquisition of new data sets have revealed the presence of many deepwater fold-and-thrust belts (DW-FTBs), often developing along continental passive margins. These kinds of tectonic features have been intensively studied, due to their substantial interest. This work presents a regional-scale study of the poorly explored Lamu Basin DW-FTB, a margin-scale, gravity-driven system extending for more than 450 km along the continental passive margin of Kenya and southern Somalia (East Africa). A 2-D seismic data set was analyzed, consisting of both recently acquired high-quality data and old reprocessed seismic profiles, for the first detailed structural and stratigraphic interpretation of this DW-FTB. The system originated over an Early to mid-Cretaceous shale detachment due to a mainly gravity-spreading mechanism. Analysis of synkinematic strata indicates that the DW-FTB was active from the Late Cretaceous to the Early Miocene, but almost all of the deformation occurred before the Late Paleocene. The fold-and-thrust system displays a marked N-S variation in width, the northern portion being more than 150 km wide and the southern portion only a few dozen kilometers wide; this along-strike variation is thought to be related to the complex tectonosedimentary evolution of the continental margin at the Somalia-Kenya boundary, also reflected in the present-day bathymetry. Locally, a series of volcanic edifices stopped the basinward propagation of the DW-FTB. A landward change in the dominant structural style, from asymmetric imbricate thrust sheets to pseudo-symmetric detachment folds, is generally observed, related to the landward thickening of the detached shales.

Abbot Ice Shelf, structure of the Amundsen Sea continental margin and the southern boundary of the Bellingshausen Plate seaward of West Antarctica.

PubMed

Cochran, James R; Tinto, Kirsty J; Bell, Robin E

2015-05-01

Inversion of NASA Operation IceBridge airborne gravity over the Abbot Ice Shelf in West Antarctica for subice bathymetry defines an extensional terrain made up of east-west trending rift basins formed during the early stages of Antarctica/Zealandia rifting. Extension is minor, as rifting jumped north of Thurston Island early in the rifting process. The Amundsen Sea Embayment continental shelf west of the rifted terrain is underlain by a deeper, more extensive sedimentary basin also formed during rifting between Antarctica and Zealandia. A well-defined boundary zone separates the mildly extended Abbot extensional terrain from the deeper Amundsen Embayment shelf basin. The shelf basin has an extension factor, β , of 1.5-1.7 with 80-100 km of extension occurring across an area now 250 km wide. Following this extension, rifting centered north of the present shelf edge and proceeded to continental rupture. Since then, the Amundsen Embayment continental shelf appears to have been tectonically quiescent and shaped by subsidence, sedimentation, and the advance and retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The Bellingshausen Plate was located seaward of the Amundsen Sea margin prior to incorporation into the Antarctic Plate at about 62 Ma. During the latter part of its independent existence, Bellingshausen plate motion had a clockwise rotational component relative to Antarctica producing convergence across the north-south trending Bellingshausen Gravity Anomaly structure at 94°W and compressive deformation on the continental slope between 94°W and 102°W. Farther west, the relative motion was extensional along an east-west trending zone occupied by the Marie Byrd Seamounts. Abbot Ice Shelf is underlain by E-W rift basins created at ∼90 Ma Amundsen shelf shaped by subsidence, sedimentation, and passage of the ice sheet Bellingshausen plate boundary is located near the base of continental slope and rise.

Abbot Ice Shelf, structure of the Amundsen Sea continental margin and the southern boundary of the Bellingshausen Plate seaward of West Antarctica

PubMed Central

Cochran, James R; Tinto, Kirsty J; Bell, Robin E

2015-01-01

Inversion of NASA Operation IceBridge airborne gravity over the Abbot Ice Shelf in West Antarctica for subice bathymetry defines an extensional terrain made up of east-west trending rift basins formed during the early stages of Antarctica/Zealandia rifting. Extension is minor, as rifting jumped north of Thurston Island early in the rifting process. The Amundsen Sea Embayment continental shelf west of the rifted terrain is underlain by a deeper, more extensive sedimentary basin also formed during rifting between Antarctica and Zealandia. A well-defined boundary zone separates the mildly extended Abbot extensional terrain from the deeper Amundsen Embayment shelf basin. The shelf basin has an extension factor, β, of 1.5–1.7 with 80–100 km of extension occurring across an area now 250 km wide. Following this extension, rifting centered north of the present shelf edge and proceeded to continental rupture. Since then, the Amundsen Embayment continental shelf appears to have been tectonically quiescent and shaped by subsidence, sedimentation, and the advance and retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The Bellingshausen Plate was located seaward of the Amundsen Sea margin prior to incorporation into the Antarctic Plate at about 62 Ma. During the latter part of its independent existence, Bellingshausen plate motion had a clockwise rotational component relative to Antarctica producing convergence across the north-south trending Bellingshausen Gravity Anomaly structure at 94°W and compressive deformation on the continental slope between 94°W and 102°W. Farther west, the relative motion was extensional along an east-west trending zone occupied by the Marie Byrd Seamounts. Key Points: Abbot Ice Shelf is underlain by E-W rift basins created at ∼90 Ma Amundsen shelf shaped by subsidence, sedimentation, and passage of the ice sheet Bellingshausen plate boundary is located near the base of continental slope and rise PMID:26709352

Petroleum geology of the mid-Atlantic continental margin, offshore Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bayer, K.C.; Milici, R.C.

1989-01-01

The Baltimore Canyon Trough, a major sedimentary basin on the Atlantic continental shelf, contains up to 18 km of Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata. The basin has been studied extensively by multichannel common depth point (CDP) seismic reflection profiles and has been tested by drilling for hydrocarbon resources in several places. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata contained in the basin were deposited in littoral to bathyal depositional settings and contain immature to marginally mature oil-prone and gas-prone kerogen. The more deeply buried strata of Early Mesozoic age are more likely to be thermally mature than are the younger strata with respect to hydrocarbon generation, but contain terrestrially derived coaly organic matter that would be prone to yield gas, rather than oil. An analysis of available CDP seismic reflection data has indicated that there are several potential hydrocarbon plays in the area offshore of Virginia. These include: (1) Lower Mesozoic synrift basins that appear similar to those exposed in the Appalachian Piedmont, (2) a stratigraphic updip pinchout of strata of Early Mesozoic age in the offshore region near the coast, (3) a deeply buried paleoshelf edge, where seismic reflectors dip sharply seaward; and (4) a Cretaceous/Jurassic shelf edge beneath the present continental rise. Of these, the synrift basins and Cretaceous/Jurassic shelf edge are considered to be the best targets for exploration. ?? 1989.

Paleomagnetic tests for tectonic reconstructions of the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Woyla Group, Sumatra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Advokaat, Eldert; Bongers, Mayke; van Hinsbergen, Douwe; Rudyawan, Alfend; Marshal, Edo

2017-04-01

SE Asia consists of multiple continental blocks, volcanic arcs and suture zones representing remnants of closing ocean basins. The core of this mainland is called Sundaland, and was formed by accretion of continental and arc fragments during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic. The former positions of these blocks are still uncertain but reconstructions based on tectonostratigraphic, palaeobiogeographic, geological and palaeomagnetic studies indicate the continental terranes separated from the eastern margin of Gondwana. During the mid-Cretaceous, more continental and arc fragments accreted to Sundaland, including the intra-oceanic Woyla Arc now exposed on Sumatra. These continental fragments were derived from Australia, but the former position of the Woyla Arc is unconstrained. Interpretations on the former position of the Woyla Arc fall in two end-member groups. The first group interprets the Woyla Arc to be separated from West Sumatra by a small back-arc basin. This back arc basin opened in the Late Jurassic, and closed mid-Cretaceous, when the Woyla Arc collided with West Sumatra. The other group interprets the Woyla Arc to be derived from Gondwana, at a position close to the northern margin of Greater India in the Late Jurassic. Subsequently the Woyla Arc moved northwards and collided with West Sumatra in the mid-Cretaceous. Since these scenarios predict very different plate kinematic evolutions for the Neotethyan realm, we here aim to place paleomagnetic constraints on paleolatitudinal evolution of the Woyla Arc. The Woyla Arc consists mainly of basaltic to andesitic volcanics and dykes, and volcaniclastic shales and sandstones. Associated limestones with volcanic debris are interpreted as fringing reefs. This assemblage is interpreted as remnants of an Early Cretaceous intra-oceanic arc. West Sumatra exposes granites, surrounded by quartz sandstones, shales and volcanic tuffs. These sediments are in part metamorphosed. This assemblage is interpreted as a Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Andean margin above a NE dipping subduction zone. We sampled limestones of the Woyla Group, and sediments of the West Sumatra margin for paleomagnetic analyses. Here we present new paleomagnetic data from Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous limestones of the Woyla Arc. Preliminary results suggest that the Woyla Arc was formed near equatorial latitudes. This precludes interpretations that the Woyla arc was derived from Gondwana, near the northern Indian margin. To account for (1) synchronous magmatism at the Woyla Arc and the West Sumatra continental margin, and (2) the juxtaposition of unmetamorphosed units of the Woyla Arc to highly metamorphosed units of the West Sumatra margin, we interpret the Woyla Group to be intra-oceanic arc formed above a SW dipping subduction zone in the Early Cretaceous, which was subsequently thrusted over the West Sumatra margin during the mid-Cretaceous.

Colorado Basin Structure and Rifting, Argentine passive margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Autin, Julia; Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena; Loegering, Markus; Anka, Zahie; Vallejo, Eduardo; Rodriguez, Jorge; Marchal, Denis; Reichert, Christian; di Primio, Rolando

2010-05-01

The Argentine margin presents a strong segmentation with considerable strike-slip movements along the fracture zones. We focus on the volcanic segment (between the Salado and Colorado transfer zones), which is characterized by seaward dipping reflectors (SDR) all along the ocean-continent transition [e.g. Franke et al., 2006; Gladczenko et al., 1997; Hinz et al., 1999]. The segment is structured by E-W trending basins, which differs from the South African margin basins and cannot be explained by classical models of rifting. Thus the study of the relationship between the basins and the Argentine margin itself will allow the understanding of their contemporary development. Moreover the comparison of the conjugate margins suggests a particular evolution of rifting and break-up. We firstly focus on the Colorado Basin, which is thought to be the conjugate of the well studied Orange Basin [Hirsch et al., 2009] at the South African margin [e.g. Franke et al., 2006]. This work presents results of a combined approach using seismic interpretation and structural, isostatic and thermal modelling highlighting the structure of the crust. The seismic interpretation shows two rift-related discordances: one intra syn-rift and the break-up unconformity. The overlying sediments of the sag phase are less deformed (no sedimentary wedges) and accumulated before the generation of oceanic crust. The axis of the Colorado Basin trends E-W in the western part, where the deepest pre-rift series are preserved. In contrast, the basin axis turns to a NW-SE direction in its eastern part, where mainly post-rift sediments accumulated. The most distal part reaches the margin slope and opens into the oceanic basin. The general basin direction is almost orthogonal to the present-day margin trend. The most frequent hypothesis explaining this geometry is that the Colorado Basin is an aborted rift resulting from a previous RRR triple junction [e.g. Franke et al., 2002]. The structural interpretation partly supports this hypothesis and shows two main directions of faulting: margin-parallel faults (~N30°) and rift-parallel faults (~N125°). A specific distribution of the two fault sets is observed: margin-parallel faults are restrained to the most distal part of the margin. Starting with a 3D structural model of the basin fill based on seismic and well data the deeper structure of the crust beneath the Colorado Basin can be evaluate using isostatic and thermal modelling. Franke, D., et al. (2002), Deep Crustal Structure Of The Argentine Continental Margin From Seismic Wide-Angle And Multichannel Reflection Seismic Data, paper presented at AAPG Hedberg Conference "Hydrocarbon Habitat of Volcanic Rifted Passive Margins", Stavanger, Norway Franke, D., et al. (2006), Crustal structure across the Colorado Basin, offshore Argentina Geophysical Journal International 165, 850-864. Gladczenko, T. P., et al. (1997), South Atlantic volcanic margins Journal of the Geological Society, London 154, 465-470. Hinz, K., et al. (1999), The Argentine continental margin north of 48°S: sedimentary successions, volcanic activity during breakup Marine and Petroleum Geology 16(1-25). Hirsch, K. K., et al. (2009), Tectonic subsidence history and thermal evolution of the Orange Basin, Marine and Petroleum Geology, in press, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2009.1006.1009

Circum-Pacific accretion of oceanic terranes to continental blocks: accretion of the Early Permian Dun Mountain ophiolite to the E Gondwana continental margin, South Island, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertson, Alastair

2016-04-01

Accretionary orogens, in part, grow as a result of the accretion of oceanic terranes to pre-existing continental blocks, as in the circum-Pacific and central Asian regions. However, the accretionary processes involved remain poorly understood. Here, we consider settings in which oceanic crust formed in a supra-subduction zone setting and later accreted to continental terranes (some, themselves of accretionary origin). Good examples include some Late Cretaceous ophiolites in SE Turkey, the Jurassic Coast Range ophiolite, W USA and the Early Permian Dun Mountain ophiolite of South Island, New Zealand. In the last two cases, the ophiolites are depositionally overlain by coarse clastic sedimentary rocks (e.g. Permian Upukerora Formation of South Island, NZ) that then pass upwards into very thick continental margin fore-arc basin sequences (Great Valley sequence, California; Matai sequence, South Island, NZ). Field observations, together with petrographical and geochemical studies in South Island, NZ, summarised here, provide evidence of terrane accretion processes. In a proposed tectonic model, the Early Permian Dun Mountain ophiolite was created by supra-subduction zone spreading above a W-dipping subduction zone (comparable to the present-day Izu-Bonin arc and fore arc, W Pacific). The SSZ oceanic crust in the New Zealand example is inferred to have included an intra-oceanic magmatic arc, which is no longer exposed (other than within a melange unit in Southland), but which is documented by petrographic and geochemical evidence. An additional subduction zone is likely to have dipped westwards beneath the E Gondwana margin during the Permian. As a result, relatively buoyant Early Permian supra-subduction zone oceanic crust was able to dock with the E Gondwana continental margin, terminating intra-oceanic subduction (although the exact timing is debatable). The amalgamation ('soft collision') was accompanied by crustal extension of the newly accreted oceanic slab, and also resulted in the formation of the overlying Maitai continental margin fore-arc basin (possibly related to rollback or a decrease in dip of the remaining subduction zone).Very coarse clastic material (up to ca. 700 m thick) including detached blocks of basaltic and gabbroic rocks, up to tens or metres in size (or more), was shed down fault scarps from relatively shallow water into a deeper water setting by gravity flow processes, ranging from rock fall, to debris flow, to turbidity currents. In addition, relatively fine-grained volcaniclastic-terrigenous sediment was input from an E Gondwana continental margin arc in the form of distal gravity flows, as indicated by geochemical data (e.g. Rare Earth Element analysis of sandstones and shales). The lowest part of the overlying Maitai fore-arc sequence in some areas is represented by hundreds of metres-thick sequences of mixed carbonate-volcaniclastic-terrigenous gravity flows (Wooded Peak Fm.), which are interpreted to have been derived from the E Gondwana continental margin and which finally accumulated in fault-controlled depocentres. Input of shallow-water carbonate material later waned and the Late Permian-Triassic Maitai fore-arc basin was dominated by gravity flows that were largely derived from a contemporaneous continental margin arc (partially preserved in present SE Australia). Subsequent tectonic deformation included on-going subduction, strike-slip and terrane accretion. The sedimentary covers of comparable accreted ophiolites elsewhere (e.g. Coast Range ophiolite, California) may reveal complementary evidence of fundamental terrane accretion processes. Acknowledgements: Hamish Campbell, Dave Craw, Mike Johnson, Chuck Landis, Nick Mortimer, Dhana Pillai and other members of the South Island geological research community

Seismic investigation of an ocean-continent transition zone in the northern South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, J.; Qiu, X.; Xu, H.; Zhan, W.; Sun, Z.

2011-12-01

Rifted continental margins and basins are mainly formed by the lithospheric extension. Thined lithosphere of passive continental margins results in decompression melt of magma and created oceanic crust and thined ocean-continent transition (OCT) zone. Two refraction profiles used ocean bottom seismometers deployed in the broad continental shelf and three multi-channel seismic reflection lines in the northern South China Sea, acquired by the ship "Shiyan 2" of the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2010, are processed and interpreted in this study. Seismic reflection lines cut through the Dongsha rise, Zhu-1 and Zhu-2 depression within a Tertiary basin, Pear River Mouth basin (called as Zhujiangkou basin). These tectonic features are clear imaged in the seismic reflection records. Numerous normal faults, cutted through the basement and related to the stretch of the northern South China Sea margin, are imaged and interpreted. Reflection characteristics of the ocean-continent transition (OCT) zone are summaried and outlined. The COT zone is mainly divided into the northern syn-rift subsidence zone, central volcano or buried volcano uplift zone and tilt faulted block near the South Chia Sea basin. Compared to the previous seismic reflection data and refraction velocity models, the segmentation range of the OCT zone is outlined, from width of about 225 km in the northeastern South China Sea , of 160 km in the central to of 110 km in the north-central South China Sea. Based on the epicenter distribution of sporadic and large than 6 magnitude earthquakes, it suggests the OCT zone in the northern South China Sea at present is still an active seismic zone.

Chapter 48: Geology and petroleum potential of the Eurasia Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, Thomas E.; Pitman, Janet K.

2011-01-01

The Eurasia Basin petroleum province comprises the younger, eastern half of the Arctic Ocean, including the Cenozoic Eurasia Basin and the outboard part of the continental margin of northern Europe. For the USGS petroleum assessment (CARA), it was divided into four assessment units (AUs): the Lena Prodelta AU, consisting of the deep-marine part of the Lena Delta; the Nansen Basin Margin AU, comprising the passive margin sequence of the Eurasian plate; and the Amundsen Basin and Nansen Basin AUs which encompass the abyssal plains north and south of the Gakkel Ridge spreading centre, respectively. The primary petroleum system thought to be present is sourced in c. 50–44 Ma (Early to Middle Eocene) condensed pelagic deposits that could be widespread in the province. Mean estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable petroleum resources include <1 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and about 1.4 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of nonassociated gas in Lena Prodelta AU, and <0.4 BBO and 3.4 TCF nonassociated gas in the Nansen Basin Margin AU. The Nansen Basin and Amundsen Basin AUs were not quantitatively assessed because they have less than 10% probability of containing at least one accumulation of 50 MMBOE (million barrels of oil equivalent).

Flow of material under compression in weak lower continental crust can cause post-rift uplift of passive continental margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chalmers, James

2014-05-01

There are mountain ranges up to more than 2 km high along many passive continental margins (e.g. Norway, eastern Australia, eastern Brazil, SE and SW Africa, east and west Greenland etc.), dubbed Elevated Passive Continental Margins (EPCMs). EPCMs contain several features in common and observations indicate that uplift of these margins took place after continental break-up. There are many explanations for their formation but none that satisfy all the observations. Lack of a geodynamical mechanism has meant that there has been difficulty in getting the community to accept the observational evidence. Formation of a passive continental margin must take place under conditions of tension. After rifting ceases, however, the margin can come under compression from forces originating elsewhere on or below its plate, e.g. orogeny elsewhere in the plate or sub-lithospheric drag. The World Stress Map (www.world-stress-mp.org) shows that, where data exists, all EPCMs are currently under compression. Under sufficient compression, crust and/or lithosphere can fold, and Cloetingh & Burov (2010) showed that many continental areas may have folded in this way. The wavelengths of folding observed by Cloetingh & Burov (2010) imply that the lower crust is likely to be of intermediate composition; granitic lower crust would fold with a shorter wavelength and basic lower crust would mean that the whole lithosphere would have to fold as a unit resulting in a much longer wavelength. Continental crust more than 20 km thick would be separated from the mantle by a weak layer. However, crust less thick than that would contain no weak layers would become effectively annealed to the underlying strong mantle. Under sufficient horizontal compression stress, material can flow in the lower weak layer towards a continental margin from the continental side. The annealed extended crust and mantle under the rift means, however, that flow cannot continue towards the ocean. Mid- and lower crustal material therefore accumulates in the proximal rift and rift margin, thickening them and lifting them by isostatic response to the thickening. Flow into the rift margin is opposed by uplift and folding of the upper, strong crust, which imposes an additional normal stress, until crust thickens no more. However, flow continues through this thickened crust, thickening and uplifting the area "downstream", so widening the thickened area. Flow and uplift can continue until a reduction in imposed far-field compressive stress causes a consequent large reduction in inflow, thereby 'freezing' the thickened crust in place. Erosion of the uplifted area will lead to further uplift of the uneroded material because of the isostatic response to the erosion. Reference Cloetingh, S. & Burov, E. 2010: Lithospheric folding and sedimentary basin evolution: a review and analysis of formation mechanisms. Basin Research 22, 1365-2117. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2117.2010.00490.x.

Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous convergent margins of Northeastern Asia with Northwestern Pacific and Proto-Arctic oceans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sokolov, Sergey; Luchitskaya, Marina; Tuchkova, Marianna; Moiseev, Artem; Ledneva, Galina

2013-04-01

Continental margin of Northeastern Asia includes many island arc terranes that differ in age and tectonic position. Two convergent margins are reconstructed for Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous time: Uda-Murgal and Alazeya - Oloy island arc systems. A long tectonic zone composed of Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous volcanic and sedimentary rocks is recognized along the Asian continent margin from the Mongol-Okhotsk thrust-fold belt on the south to the Chukotka Peninsula on the north. This belt represents the Uda-Murgal arc, which was developed along the convergent margin between Northeastern Asia and Northwestern Meso-Pacific. Several segments are identified in this arc based upon the volcanic and sedimentary rock assemblages, their respective compositions and basement structures. The southern and central parts of the Uda-Murgal island arc system were a continental margin belt with heterogeneous basement represented by metamorphic rocks of the Siberian craton, the Verkhoyansk terrigenous complex of Siberian passive margin and the Koni-Taigonos late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic island arc with accreted oceanic terranes. At the present day latitude of the Pekulney and Chukotka segments there was an ensimatic island arc with relicts of the South Anyui oceanic basin in backarc basin. Alazeya-Oloy island arc systems consists of Paleozoic and Mesozoic complexes that belong to the convergent margin between Northeastern Asia and Proto-Artic Ocean. It separated structures of the North American and Siberian continents. The Siberian margin was active whereas the North American margin was passive. The Late Jurassic was characterized by termination of a spreading in the Proto-Arctic Ocean and transformation of the latter into the closing South Anyui turbidite basin. In the beginning the oceanic lithosphere and then the Chukotka microcontinent had been subducted beneath the Alazeya-Oloy volcanic belt

Rift migration explains continental margin asymmetry and crustal hyper-extension

PubMed Central

Brune, Sascha; Heine, Christian; Pérez-Gussinyé, Marta; Sobolev, Stephan V.

2014-01-01

When continents break apart, continental crust and lithosphere are thinned until break-up is achieved and an oceanic basin is formed. The most remarkable and least understood structures associated with this process are up to 200 km wide areas of hyper-extended continental crust, which are partitioned between conjugate margins with pronounced asymmetry. Here we show, using high-resolution thermo-mechanical modelling, that hyper-extended crust and margin asymmetry are produced by steady state rift migration. We demonstrate that rift migration is accomplished by sequential, oceanward-younging, upper crustal faults, and is balanced through lower crustal flow. Constraining our model with a new South Atlantic plate reconstruction, we demonstrate that larger extension velocities may account for southward increasing width and asymmetry of these conjugate magma-poor margins. Our model challenges conventional ideas of rifted margin evolution, as it implies that during rift migration large amounts of material are transferred from one side of the rift zone to the other. PMID:24905463

Seismic Imaging of the Deep Crust in the Pull-Apart Basin off Maranhão-Barreirinhas-Ceará Margin, NW Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afilhado, Alexandra; Gallais, Flora; Moulin, Maryline; Schnürle, Philippe; Afonso Dias, Nuno; Soares, José; Loureiro, Afonso; Fuck, Reinhardt; Cupertino, José; Viana, Adriano; Matias, Luis; Evain, Mikael; Aslanian, Daniel

2017-04-01

Five profiles, with coincident multi-chanel and wide-angle seismic, were acquired during the MAGIC (Margins of brAsil, Ganha and Ivory Coast) cruise, in order to image the Maranhão-Barreirinhas-Ceará segment of the Brazilian Margins. The seismic experiment was conducted by Ifremer (Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploration de la Mer), UnB (University of Brasilia), FCUL (Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade de Lisboa) and Petrobras. The main objective of the experiment is to understand the fundamental processes which lead to the thinning and breakup of the continental crust in a specific context of a pull-apart system, limited by two strike-slip borders. We present the main results evidenced by two of these profiles, MC3 and MC4, oriented in the directions of flow lines (E-W) and margin segmentation (SW-NE), respectively. The profile MC3 spans from the continental crust, near Sao Luis Craton, to the oceanic basin, north of Ceara. 31 Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) from the Ifremer pool and 8 small arrays of 6 RefTek Land Seismic Stations (LSS) from the Brazilian pool were deployed in this profile, jointly with 400 km multi channel seismic acquisition. The profile MC4 spans from the Parnaiba and Barreirinhas Basins onshore to the oceanic basin, South of the Northern Brazilian Ridge. The MC4 seismic data includes 225 km multi channel seismic data and wide-angle data acquired in 19 OBS and 21 arrays of 3 LSS each, totaling a maximum source-receiver offset of 400 km. The analysis of these profiles evidence a NW-SE segmentation of the margin following the opening direction of this pull-apart basin, from unthinned continental crust (about 40 km thick) to thin oceanic crust. The width of the necking zone increases from about 50 km in the direction of flow-lines (MC3-Ilha da Santana margin), to more than 125 km in the direction of segmentation (MC4-Barreirinhas margin), at the corner of the pull-apart system, with two steps first in the upper crust then in middle/lower crust. The intermediate domain, is formed by a thick sedimentary basin overlying a substratum of 5 km- thickness, with velocity ranging from 6.2 to 6.6 km/s. Below, a 2-3 km thick layer with very high velocity (7.4-7.6 km/s) and marked by reflections at the top and base, is followed continuously towards the continent beneath the Parnaiba-Barreirinhas province, at the corner of the system. These observations favor a lower continental crust nature for this domain, in relation to its flow and exhumation in the flow-lines direction. Publication supported by FCT- project UID/GEO/50019/2013 - Instituto Dom Luiz

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.

Lithospheric strength variations as a control on new plate boundaries: examples from the northern Red Sea region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steckler, Michael S.; ten Brink, Uri S.

1986-08-01

The complex plate boundary between Arabia and Africa at the northern end of the Red Sea includes the Gulf of Suez rift and the Gulf of Aqaba—Dead Sea transform. Geologic evidence indicates that during the earliest phase of rifting the Red Sea propagated NNW towards the Mediterranean Sea creating the Gulf of Suez. Subsequently, the majority of the relative movement between the plates shifted eastward to the Dead Sea transform. We propose that an increase in the strength of the lithosphere across the Mediterranean continental margin acted as a barrier to the propagation of the rift. A new plate boundary, the Dead Sea transform formed along a zone of minimum strength. We present an analysis of lithospheric strength variations across the Mediterranean continental margin. The main factors controlling these variations are the geotherm, crustal thickness and composition, and sediment thickness. The analysis predicts a characteristic strength profile at continental margins which consists of a marked increase in strength seaward of the hinge zone and a strength minimum landward of the hinge zone. This strength profile also favors the creation of thin continental slivers such as the Levant west of the Dead Sea transform and the continental promontory containing Socotra Island at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden. Calculations of strength variations based on changes of crustal thickness, geotherm and sediment thickness can be extended to other geologic settings as well. They can explain the location of rerifting events at intracratonic basins, of backarc basins and of major continental strike-slip zones.

Contrasting basin architecture and rifting style of the Vøring Basin, offshore mid-Norway and the Faroe-Shetland Basin, offshore United Kingdom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schöpfer, Kateřina; Hinsch, Ralph

2017-04-01

The Vøring and the Faroe-Shetland basins are offshore deep sedimentary basins which are situated on the outer continental margin of the northeast Atlantic Ocean. Both basins are underlain by thinned continental crust whose structure is still debated. In particular the nature of the lower continental crust and the origin of high velocity bodies located at the base of the lower crust are a subject of discussion in recent literature. Regional interpretation of 2D and 3D seismic reflection data, combined with well data, suggest that both basins share several common features: (i) Pre-Cretaceous faults that are distributed across the entire basin width. (ii) Geometries of pre-Jurassic strata reflecting at least two extensional phases. (iii) Three common rift phases, Late Jurassic, Campanian-Maastrichtian and Palaeocene. (iv) Large pre-Cretaceous fault blocks that are buried by several kilometres of Cretaceous and Cenozoic strata. (iii). (v) Latest Cretaceous/Palaeocene inversion. (vi) Occurrence of partial mantle serpentinization during Early Cretaceous times, as proposed by other studies, seems improbable. The detailed analysis of the data, however, revealed significant differences between the two basins: (i) The Faroe-Shetland Basin was a fault-controlled basin during the Late Jurassic but also the Late Cretaceous extensional phase. In contrast, the Vøring Basin is dominated by the late Jurassic rifting and subsequent thermal subsidence. It exhibits only minor Late Cretaceous faults that are localised above intra-basinal and marginal highs. In addition, the Cretaceous strata in the Vøring Basin are folded. (ii) In the Vøring Basin, the locus of Late Cretaceous rifting shifted westwards, affecting mainly the western basin margin, whereas in the Faroe-Shetland Basin Late Cretaceous rifting was localised in the same area as the Late Jurassic phase, hence masking the original Jurassic geometries. (iii) Devono-Carboniferous and Aptian/Albian to Cenomanian rift phases are present in the Faroe-Shetland Basin, but are not recognisable in the Vøring Basin. (iv) Based on seismic data only, a Permian/Triassic rift phase can be suggested for the Vøring Basin, but the evidence for an equivalent rift phase in the Faroe-Shetland Basin is inconclusive. The present study demonstrates that basins developing above a complex mosaic of basement terrains accreted during orogenic phases can exhibit significant differences in their architecture. The origin of these differences may be considered to be a result of inherited pre-existing large-scale structures (e.g. pre-existing fault blocks) and/or a non-uniform crustal thickness prior to rifting.

Chukchi Borderland | Crustal Complex of the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilhan, I.; Coakley, B.; Houseknecht, D. W.

2017-12-01

In the Arctic Ocean, Chukchi Borderland separates the North Chukchi shelf and Toll deep basins to the west and Canada deep basin to the east. Existing plate reconstructions have attempted to restore this north-striking, fragments of the continental crust to all margins of the Amerasia Basin based on sparse geologic and geophysical measurements. Regional multi-channel seismic reflection and potential field geophysics, and geologic data indicate it is a high standing continental block, requiring special accommodation to create a restorable model of the formation of the Amerasia Basin. The Borderland is composed of the Chukchi Plateau, Northwind Basin, and Northwind Ridge divided by mostly north striking normal faults. These offset the basement and bound a sequence of syn-tectonic sediments. Equivalent strata are, locally, uplifted, deformed and eroded. Seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) are observed in the juncture between the North Chukchi, Toll basins, and southern Chukchi Plateau underlying a regional angular unconformity. This reveals that this rifted margin was associated with volcanism. An inferred condensed section, which is believed to be Hauterivian-Aptian in age, synchronous with the composite pebble shale and gamma-ray zone of the Alaska North Slope forms the basal sediments in the North Chukchi Basin. Approximately 15 km of post-rift strata onlap the condensed section, SDRs and, in part, the wedge sequence on the Chukchi Plateau from west to east, thinning to the north. These post-Aptian sediments imply that the rifted margin subsided no later than the earliest Cretaceous, providing a plausible time constraint for the inferred pre-Cretaceous rifting in this region. The recognition of SDRs and Hauterivian—Aptian condensed section, and continuity of the Early—Late Cretaceous post-rift strata along the margins of the Borderland, strike variations of the normal faults, absence of observable deformation along the Northwind Escarpment substantially constrain tectonic models proposed for tectonic development of the Amerasia Basin. Models that require significant relative motion between the Chukchi Shelf and Borderland since the Early Cretaceous are precluded by these observations.

Continental Affinities of the Alpha Ridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, H. Ruth; Li, Qingmou; Shimeld, John; Chian, Deping

2017-04-01

Identifying the crustal attributes of the Alpha Ridge (AR) part of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province and tracing the spreading centre across the Amerasia Basin plays a key role in understanding the opening history of the Arctic Ocean. In this approach, we report the evidence for a continental influence on the development of the AR and reduced ocean crust in the Amerasia Basin. These points are inferred from a documented continental sedimentation source in the Amerasia Basin and calculated diagnostic compressional and shear refraction waves, and from the tracing of the distinct spreading centre using the potential field data. (1) The circum-Arctic geology of the small polar ocean provides compelling evidence of a long-lived continental landmass north of the Sverdrup Basin in the Canadian Arctic Islands and north of the Barents Sea continental margin. Based on sediment distribution patterns in the Sverdrup Basin a continental source is required from the Triassic to mid Jurassic. In addition, an extensive continental sediment source to the north of the Barents Sea is required until the Barremian. (2) Offshore data suggest a portion of continental crust in the Alpha and Mendeleev ridges including measured shear wave velocities, similarity of compressional wave velocities with large igneous province with continental fragments and magnetic patterns. Ocean bottom seismometers recorded shear waves velocities that are sensitive to the quartz content of rocks across the Chukchi Borderland and the Mendeleev Ridge that are diagnostic of both an upper and lower continental crust. On the Nautilus Spur of the Alpha Ridge expendable sonobuoys recorded clear converted shear waves also consistent with continental crust. The magnetic patterns (amplitude, frequency, and textures) on the Northwind Ridge and the Nautilus Spur also have similarities. In fact only limited portions of the deepest water portions of the Canada Basin and the Makarov Basin have typical oceanic layer 2 and 3 crustal velocities and lineated magnetic anomalies. (3) The gravity and magnetic anomalies associated with the spreading centre in the Canada Basin unveiled by multifractal singularity analysis of the potential field data can now be traced as far as the Lomonosov Ridge. In addition, linear magnetic features cutting across the spreading centres are identified as transform faults. The combination of the detected continental attributes of AR, the quantification of transform faults, and the outlined reduced extent of oceanic crust in the Amerasia Basin provide new insights into the opening history of the basin.

Abbot Ice Shelf, structure of the Amundsen Sea continental margin and the southern boundary of the Bellingshausen Plate seaward of West Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cochran, James R.; Tinto, Kirsty J.; Bell, Robin E.

2015-05-01

Inversion of NASA Operation IceBridge airborne gravity over the Abbot Ice Shelf in West Antarctica for subice bathymetry defines an extensional terrain made up of east-west trending rift basins formed during the early stages of Antarctica/Zealandia rifting. Extension is minor, as rifting jumped north of Thurston Island early in the rifting process. The Amundsen Sea Embayment continental shelf west of the rifted terrain is underlain by a deeper, more extensive sedimentary basin also formed during rifting between Antarctica and Zealandia. A well-defined boundary zone separates the mildly extended Abbot extensional terrain from the deeper Amundsen Embayment shelf basin. The shelf basin has an extension factor, β, of 1.5-1.7 with 80-100 km of extension occurring across an area now 250 km wide. Following this extension, rifting centered north of the present shelf edge and proceeded to continental rupture. Since then, the Amundsen Embayment continental shelf appears to have been tectonically quiescent and shaped by subsidence, sedimentation, and the advance and retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The Bellingshausen Plate was located seaward of the Amundsen Sea margin prior to incorporation into the Antarctic Plate at about 62 Ma. During the latter part of its independent existence, Bellingshausen plate motion had a clockwise rotational component relative to Antarctica producing convergence across the north-south trending Bellingshausen Gravity Anomaly structure at 94°W and compressive deformation on the continental slope between 94°W and 102°W. Farther west, the relative motion was extensional along an east-west trending zone occupied by the Marie Byrd Seamounts. The copyright line for this article was changed on 5 JUN 2015 after original online publication.

Seismic evidence of Messinian salt in opposite margins of West Mediterranean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mocnik, Arianna; Camerlenghi, Angelo; Del Ben, Anna; Geletti, Riccardo; Wardell, Nigel; Zgur, Fabrizio

2015-04-01

The post drift Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) affected the whole Mediterranean basin, with deposition of evaporitic sequences in the deep basins, in the lower continental slopes, and in several shallower marginal basins; usually, in the continental margins, the MSC originated noticeable erosional truncations that locally cause important hiatuses in the pre-Messinian sequences, covered by the Plio-Quaternary sediments. In this work we focus on the MSC seismic signature of two new seismic datasets acquired in 2010 (West Sardinia offshore) and in 2012 (within the Eurofleet project SALTFLU in the South Balearic continental margin and the northern Algero abyssal plain). The "Messinian trilogy" recognized in the West-Mediterranean abyssal plain, is characterized by different seismic facies: the Lower evaporite Unit (LU), the salt Mobile Unit (MU) and the Upper evaporite mainly gypsiferous Unit (UU). Both seismic datasets show the presence of the Messinian trilogy also if the LU is not always clearly interpretable due to the strong seismic signal absorption by the halite layers; the salt thickness of the MU is similar in both the basins as also the thickness and stratigraphy of the UU. The Upper Unit (UU) is made up of a well reflecting package of about 10 reflectors, partially deformed by salt tectonic and characterized by a thin transparent layer that we interpreted as salt sequence inner the shallower part of the UU. Below the stratified UU, the MU exhibits a transparent layer in the deep basin and also on the foot of the slope, where a negative reflector, related to the high interval velocity of salt, marks its base. The halokinetic processes are not homogeneously distributed in the region, forming a great number of diapirs on the foot of the slope (due to the pression of the slided sediments) and giant domes toward the deep basin (due to the higher thickness of the Plio-quaternary sediments). This distribution seems to be related to the amount of salt and of the sedimentary cover. During the MSC the margins of the West Mediterranean Sea seem to be involved in some tectonic events probably connected to reactivation of normal faults and to the fast variation of the water load related to sea level fluctuations. The absence of calibrating boreholes in the deep Mediterranean basins and the hard penetration of seismic energy below the evaporitic layers, represent a limit for the knowledge of the geological evolution of the basins; the interpretation of the presented datasets could be a contribution to the comprehension of the evaporitic deposition and early-stage salt deformation during the MSC in the Mediterranean sea.

Shyok Suture Zone, N Pakistan: late Mesozoic Tertiary evolution of a critical suture separating the oceanic Ladakh Arc from the Asian continental margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertson, Alastair H. F.; Collins, Alan S.

2002-02-01

The Shyok Suture Zone (Northern Suture) of North Pakistan is an important Cretaceous-Tertiary suture separating the Asian continent (Karakoram) from the Cretaceous Kohistan-Ladakh oceanic arc to the south. In previously published interpretations, the Shyok Suture Zone marks either the site of subduction of a wide Tethyan ocean, or represents an Early Cretaceous intra-continental marginal basin along the southern margin of Asia. To shed light on alternative hypotheses, a sedimentological, structural and igneous geochemical study was made of a well-exposed traverse in North Pakistan, in the Skardu area (Baltistan). To the south of the Shyok Suture Zone in this area is the Ladakh Arc and its Late Cretaceous, mainly volcanogenic, sedimentary cover (Burje-La Formation). The Shyok Suture Zone extends northwards (ca. 30 km) to the late Tertiary Main Karakoram Thrust that transported Asian, mainly high-grade metamorphic rocks southwards over the suture zone. The Shyok Suture Zone is dominated by four contrasting units separated by thrusts, as follows: (1). The lowermost, Askore amphibolite, is mainly amphibolite facies meta-basites and turbiditic meta-sediments interpreted as early marginal basin rift products, or trapped Tethyan oceanic crust, metamorphosed during later arc rifting. (2). The overlying Pakora Formation is a very thick (ca. 7 km in outcrop) succession of greenschist facies volcaniclastic sandstones, redeposited limestones and subordinate basaltic-andesitic extrusives and flow breccias of at least partly Early Cretaceous age. The Pakora Formation lacks terrigenous continental detritus and is interpreted as a proximal base-of-slope apron related to rifting of the oceanic Ladakh Arc; (3). The Tectonic Melange (<300 m thick) includes serpentinised ultramafic rocks, near mid-ocean ridge-type volcanics and recrystallised radiolarian cherts, interpreted as accreted oceanic crust. (4). The Bauma-Harel Group (structurally highest) is a thick succession (several km) of Ordovician and Carboniferous to Permian-Triassic, low-grade, mixed carbonate/siliciclastic sedimentary rocks that accumulated on the south-Asian continental margin. A structurally associated turbiditic slope/basinal succession records rifting of the Karakoram continent (part of Mega-Lhasa) from Gondwana. Red clastics of inferred fluvial origin ('molasse') unconformably overlie the Late Palaeozoic-Triassic succession and are also intersliced with other units in the suture zone. Reconnaissance further east (north of the Shyok River) indicates the presence of redeposited volcaniclastic sediments and thick acid tuffs, derived from nearby volcanic centres, presumed to lie within the Ladakh Arc. In addition, comparison with Lower Cretaceous clastic sediments (Maium Unit) within the Northern Suture Zone, west of the Nanga Parbat syntaxis (Hunza River) reveals notable differences, including the presence of terrigenous quartz-rich conglomerates, serpentinite debris-flow deposits and a contrasting structural history. The Shyok Suture Zone in the Skardu area is interpreted to preserve the remnants of a rifted oceanic back-arc basin and components of the Asian continental margin. In the west (Hunza River), a mixed volcanogenic and terrigenous succession (Maium Unit) is interpreted to record syn-deformational infilling of a remnant back-arc basin/foreland basin prior to suturing of the Kohistan Arc with Asia (75-90 Ma).

Deep structure of Porcupine Basin and nature of the Porcupine Median Ridge from seismic refraction tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watremez, L.; Chen, C.; Prada, M.; Minshull, T. A.; O'Reilly, B.; Reston, T. J.; Wagner, G.; Gaw, V.; Klaeschen, D.; Shannon, P.

2015-12-01

The Porcupine Basin is a narrow V-shaped failed rifted basin located offshore SW Ireland. It is of Permo-Triassic to Cenozoic age, with the main rifting phase in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. Porcupine Basin is a key study area to learn about the processes of continental extension and to understand the thermal history of this rifted basin. Previous studies show increasing stretching factors, from less than 1.5 to the North to more than 6 to the South. A ridge feature, the Porcupine Median Ridge, has been identified in the middle of the southernmost part of the basin. During the last three decades, this ridge has been successively interpreted as a volcanic structure, a diapir of partially serpentinized mantle, or a block of continental crust. Its nature still remains debated today. In this study, we use arrival times from refractions and wide-angle reflections in the sedimentary, crustal and mantle layers to image the crustal structure of the thinnest part of the basin, the geometry of the continental thinning from margin to margin, and the Porcupine Median Ridge. The final velocity model is then compared with coincident seismic reflection data. We show that (1) the basin is asymmetric, (2) P-wave velocities in the uppermost mantle are lower than expected for unaltered peridotites, implying upper-mantle serpentinisation, (3) the nature of Porcupine Median Ridge is probably volcanic, and (4) the amount of thinning is greater than shown in previous studies. We discuss the thermal implications of these results for the evolution of this rift system and the processes leading to the formation of failed rifts. This project is funded by the Irish Shelf Petroleum Studies Group (ISPSG) of the Irish Petroleum Infrastructure Programme Group 4.

Polar continental margins: Studies off East Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mienert, J.; Thiede, J.; Kenyon, N. H.; Hollender, F.-J.

The passive continental margin off east Greenland has been shaped by tectonic and sedimentary processes, and typical physiographic patterns have evolved over the past few million years under the influence of the late Cenozoic Northern Hemisphere glaciations. The Greenland ice shield has been particularly affected.GLORIA (Geological Long Range Inclined Asdic), the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences' (IOS) long-range, side-scan sonar, was used on a 1992 RV Livonia cruise to map large-scale changes in sedimentary patterns along the east Greenland continental margin. The overall objective of this research program was to determine the variety of large-scale seafloor processes to improve our understanding of the interaction between ice sheets, current regimes, and sedimentary processes. In cooperation with IOS and the RV Livonia, a high-quality set of seafloor data has been produced. GLORIA'S first survey of east Greenland's continental margin covered several 1000- × 50-km-wide swaths (Figure 1) and yielded an impressive sidescan sonar image of the complete Greenland Basin and margin (about 250,000 km2). A mosaic of the data was made at a scale of 1:375,000. The base map was prepared with a polar stereographic projection having a standard parallel of 71°.

Influence of dynamic topography on landscape evolution and passive continental margin stratigraphy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Xuesong; Salles, Tristan; Flament, Nicolas; Rey, Patrice

2017-04-01

Quantifying the interaction between surface processes and tectonics/deep Earth processes is one important aspect of landscape evolution modelling. Both observations and results from numerical modelling indicate that dynamic topography - a surface expression of time-varying mantle convection - plays a significant role in shaping landscape through geological time. Recent research suggests that dynamic topography also has non-negligible effects on stratigraphic architecture by modifying accommodation space available for sedimentation. In addition, dynamic topography influences the sediment supply to continental margins. We use Badlands to investigate the evolution of a continental-scale landscape in response to transient dynamic uplift or subsidence, and to model the stratigraphic development on passive continental margins in response to sea-level change, thermal subsidence and dynamic topography. We consider a circularly symmetric landscape consisting of a plateau surrounded by a gently sloping continental plain and a continental margin, and a linear wave of dynamic topography. We analyze the evolution of river catchments, of longitudinal river profiles and of the χ values to evaluate the dynamic response of drainage systems to dynamic topography. We calculate the amount of cumulative erosion and deposition, and sediment flux at shoreline position, as a function of precipitation rate and erodibility coefficient. We compute the stratal stacking pattern and Wheeler diagram on vertical cross-sections at the continental margin. Our results indicate that dynamic topography 1) has a considerable influence on drainage reorganization; 2) contributes to shoreline migration and the distribution of depositional packages by modifying the accommodation space; 3) affects sediment supply to the continental margin. Transient dynamic topography contributes to the migration of drainage divides and to the migration of the mainstream in a drainage basin. The dynamic uplift (respectively subsidence) of the source area results in an increase (respectively decrease) of sediment supply, while the dynamic uplift (respectively subsidence) of the continental margin leads to a decrease (respectively increase) in sedimentation.

Physical Processes Contributing To Small-scale Vertical Movements During Changing Inplane Stresses In Rift Basins and At Passive Continental Margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paulsen, G. E.; Nielsen, S. B.; Hansen, D. L.

The vertical movements during a regional stress reversal in a rifted basin or on a passive continental margin are examined using a numerical 2D thermo-mechanical finite element model with a visco-elastic-plastic rheology. Three different physical mechanisms are recognized in small-scale vertical movements at small inplane force variations: elastic dilatation, elastic flexure, and permanent deformation. Their rela- tive importance depend on the applied force, the duration of the force, and the thermal structure of the lithosphere. Elastic material dilatation occurs whenever the stress state changes. A reversal from extension to compression therefore immediately leads to elastic dilatation, and re- sults in an overall subsidence of the entire profile. Simultaneously with dilatation the lithosphere reacts with flexure. The significance of the flexural component strongly depends on the thermal structure of the lithosphere. The polarity and amplitude of the flexure depends on the initial (before compression) loading of the lithosphere. Gener- ally, the flexural effects lead to subsidence of the overdeep in the landward part of the basin and a small amount of uplift at the basin flanks. The amplitudes of the flexural response are small and comparable with the amplitudes of the elastic dilatation. With continuing compression permanent deformation and lithospheric thickening becomes increasingly important. Ultimately, the thickened part of the lithosphere stands out as an inverted zone. The amount of permanent deformation is directly connected with the size and duration of the applied force, but even a relatively small force leads to inversion tectonics in the landward part of the basin. The conclusions are: 1) small stress induced vertical movements in rift basins and at passive continental margins are the result of a complex interaction of at least three different processes, 2) the total sediment loaded amplitudes resulting from these pro- cesses are small (2-300 m) for inplane forces up to 1.5·1012 N/m.

Modelling the role of magmatic intrusions in the post-breakup thermal evolution of Volcanic Passive Margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peace, Alexander; McCaffrey, Ken; Imber, Jonny; van Hunen, Jeroen; Hobbs, Richard; Gerdes, Keith

2013-04-01

Passive margins are produced by continental breakup and subsequent seafloor spreading, leaving a transition from continental to oceanic crust. Magmatism is associated with many passive margins and produces diagnostic criteria that include 1) abundant breakup related magmatism resulting in a thick igneous crust, 2) a high velocity zone in the lower crust and 3) seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) in seismic studies. These Volcanic Passive Margins (VPMs) represent around 75% of the Atlantic passive margins, but beyond this high level description, these magma-rich settings remain poorly understood and present numerous challenges to petroleum exploration. In VPMs the extent to which the volume, timing, location and emplacement history of magma has played a role in controlling heat flow and thermal evolution during margin development remains poorly constrained. Reasons for this include; 1) paucity of direct heat flow and thermal gradient measurements at adequate depth ranges across the margins, 2) poor onshore exposure 3) highly eroded flood basalts and 4) poor seismic imaging beneath thick offshore basalt sequences. As a result, accurately modelling the thermal history of the basins located on VPMs is challenging, despite the obvious importance for determining the maturation history of potential source rocks in these settings. Magmatism appears to have affected the thermal history of the Vøring Basin on the Norwegian VPM, in contrast the effects on the Faeroe-Shetland Basin was minimal. The more localised effects in the Faeroe-Shetland Basin compared to Vøring Basin may be explained by the fact that the main reservoir sandstones appear to be synchronous with thermal uplift along the basin margin and pulsed volcanism, indicating that the bulk of the magmatism occurred at the basin extremities in the Faeroe-Shetland Basin, where its effect on source maturation was lessened. Our hypothesis is that source maturation occurs as a result of regional temperature and pressure increases, and the effects of even a large singular magmatic event are small beyond the immediate vicinity, therefore quantifying cumulative regional heat flow is of utmost importance. The apparently complex relationships between source rock maturation and magmatism are not limited to the north-east Atlantic margins. Other VPMs of interest include the regions between West Greenland and Eastern Canada (Labrador Sea, Davis Strait and Baffin Bay), East Greenland, NW Australia, Western India and segments of the Western African and Eastern South American margins. This project utilises 1D numerical modelling of magmatic intrusions into a sedimentary column to gain an understanding into the thermal influence of post-breakup magmatic activity on source rock maturation in representative VPMs. Considerations include the timing, periodicity of intrusions, thickness, spacing and background heat in the basin.

Initiation of Extension in South China Continental Margin during the Active-Passive Margin Transition: Thermochronological and Kinematic Constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuo, X.; Chan, L. S.

2015-12-01

The South China continental margin is characterized by a widespread magmatic belt, prominent NE-striking faults and numerous rifted basins filled by Cretaceous-Eocene sediments. The geology denotes a transition from active to passive margin, which led to rapid modifications of crustal stress configuration and reactivation of older faults in this area. Our zircon fission-track data in this region show two episodes of exhumation: The first episode, occurring during 170-120Ma, affected local parts of the Nanling Range. The second episode, a more regional exhumation event, occurred during 115-70Ma, including the Yunkai Terrane and the Nanling Range. Numerical geodynamic modeling was conducted to simulate the subduction between the paleo-Pacific plate and the South China Block. The modeling results could explain the fact that exhumation of the granite-dominant Nanling Range occurred earlier than that of the gneiss-dominant Yunkai Terrane. In addition to the difference in rock types, the heat from Jurassic-Early Cretaceous magmatism in Nanling may have softened the upper crust, causing the area to exhume more readily than Yunkai. Numerical modeling results also indicate that (1) high lithospheric geothermal gradient, high slab dip angle and low convergence velocity favor the reversal of crustal stress state from compression to extension in the upper continental plate; (2) late Mesozoic magmatism in South China was probably caused by a slab roll-back; and (3) crustal extension could have occurred prior to the cessation of plate subduction. The inversion of stress regime in the continental crust from compression to crustal extension imply that the Late Cretaceous-early Paleogene red-bed basins in South China could have formed during the late stage of the subduction, accounting for the occurrence of volcanic events in some sedimentary basins. We propose that the rifting started as early as Late Cretaceous, probably before the cessation of subduction process.

Trace-element geochemistry of metabasaltic rocks from the Yukon-Tanana Upland and implications for the origin of tectonic assemblages in east-central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dusel-Bacon, C.; Cooper, K.M.

1999-01-01

We present major- and trace- element geochemical data for 27 amphibolites and six greenstones from three structural packages in the Yukon-Tanana Upland of east-central Alaska: the Lake George assemblage (LG) of Devono-Mississippian augen gneiss, quartz-mica schist, quartzite, and amphibolite; the Taylor Mountain assemblage (TM) of mafic schist and gneiss, marble, quartzite, and metachert; and the Seventymile terrane of greenstone, serpentinized peridotite, and Mississippian to Late Triassic metasedimentary rocks. Most LG amphibolites have relatively high Nb, TiO2, Zr, and light rare earth element contents, indicative of an alkalic to tholeiitic, within-plate basalt origin. The within-plate affinities of the LG amphibolites suggest that their basaltic parent magmas developed in an extensional setting and support a correlation of these metamorphosed continental-margin rocks with less metamorphosed counterparts across the Tintina fault in the Selwyn Basin of the Canadian Cordillera. TM amphibolites have a tholeiitic or calc-alkalic composition, low normalized abundances of Nb and Ta relative to Th and La, and Ti/V values of <20, all indicative of a volcanic-arc origin. Limited results from Seventymile greenstones indicate a tholeiitic or calc-alkalic composition and intermediate to high Ti/V values (27-48), consistent with either a within-plate or an ocean-floor basalt origin. Y-La-Nb proportions in both TM and Seventymile metabasalts indicate the proximity of the arc and marginal basin to continental crust. The arc geochemistry of TM amphibolites is consistent with a model in which the TM assemblage includes arc rocks generated above a west-dipping subduction zone outboard of the North American continental margin in mid-Paleozoic through Triassic time. The ocean-floor or within-plate basalt geochemistry of the Seventymile greenstones supports the correlation of the Seventymile terrane with the Slide Mountain terrane in Canada and the hypothesis that these oceanic rocks originated in a basin between the continental margin and an arc to the west.

Basin evolution during the transition from continental rifting to subduction: Evidence from the lithofacies and modal petrology of the Jurassic Latady Group, Antarctic Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Willan, Robert C. R.; Hunter, Morag A.

2005-12-01

The Jurassic Latady Basin (southern Antarctic Peninsula) developed in a broad rift zone associated with the early stages of Gondwana extension. Early Jurassic sedimentation (˜185 Ma) occurred in small, isolated terrestrial to lacustrine rift basins in the present-day northwest and west and became shallow marine by the early Middle Jurassic. Quantitative modal analysis reveals a high proportion of mature, quartzose sandstone derived from cratonic and quartzose recycled-orogen provenances, most likely in the direction of the Ellsworth-Whitmore Mountains in the Gondwana interior. Sandstones with a more volcanolithic provenance probably represent an influx of sands from a Permian volcanic source in West Antarctica. The Early Jurassic Latady sequence contains abundant volcanic quartz and rhyodacite grains, locally derived from the nearby ignimbrites of the rift-related Mount Poster Formation (˜185 Ma). Between the Middle and Late Jurassic (?160-150 Ma), there was a dramatic change throughout the Latady Basin to higher-energy conditions with marked lateral facies variations. Sandstones contain abundant fresh volcanic detritus and plot in the transitional arc field. Their source was a nearby, active continental margin arc, but there is no outcrop of arc material on the Antarctic Peninsula from this time. A possible source area is preserved on the Thurston Island block to the southwest. However, some fluvial systems still had access to areas of uplifted metamorphic/plutonic basement and quartzose, cratonic sources. Evidence of mixing of fluvial systems from different provenances and the lack of mixing of other fluvial systems suggest a complex topography of variably uplifted fault blocks with fluvial systems constrained in narrow valleys. The change from continental rift- to arc-related sources illustrates the shift from plume- (continental provenances) to continental margin arc-dominated tectonics. Thermal relaxation in the Late Jurassic led to the final phase of deposition in anoxic, deep-water conditions in a sediment-starved marine basin stretching from Ellsworth northward into southern South America.

South China Sea crustal thickness and lithosphere thinning from satellite gravity inversion incorporating a lithospheric thermal gravity anomaly correction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusznir, Nick; Gozzard, Simon; Alvey, Andy

2016-04-01

The distribution of ocean crust and lithosphere within the South China Sea (SCS) are controversial. Sea-floor spreading re-orientation and ridge jumps during the Oligocene-Miocene formation of the South China Sea led to the present complex distribution of oceanic crust, thinned continental crust, micro-continents and volcanic ridges. We determine Moho depth, crustal thickness and continental lithosphere thinning (1- 1/beta) for the South China Sea using a gravity inversion method which incorporates a lithosphere thermal gravity anomaly correction (Chappell & Kusznir, 2008). The gravity inversion method provides a prediction of ocean-continent transition structure and continent-ocean boundary location which is independent of ocean isochron information. A correction is required for the lithosphere thermal gravity anomaly in order to determine Moho depth accurately from gravity inversion; the elevated lithosphere geotherm of the young oceanic and rifted continental margin lithosphere of the South China Sea produces a large lithosphere thermal gravity anomaly which in places exceeds -150 mGal. The gravity anomaly inversion is carried out in the 3D spectral domain (using Parker 1972) to determine 3D Moho geometry and invokes Smith's uniqueness theorem. The gravity anomaly contribution from sediments assumes a compaction controlled sediment density increase with depth. The gravity inversion includes a parameterization of the decompression melting model of White & McKenzie (1999) to predict volcanic addition generated during continental breakup lithosphere thinning and seafloor spreading. Public domain free air gravity anomaly, bathymetry and sediment thickness data are used in this gravity inversion. Using crustal thickness and continental lithosphere thinning factor maps with superimposed shaded-relief free-air gravity anomaly, we improve the determination of pre-breakup rifted margin conjugacy, rift orientation and sea-floor spreading trajectory. SCS conjugate margins are highly asymmetric and have several striking features such as the Macclesfield Bank, Xisha Trough, Reed Bank and Dangerous Grounds. Thin continental crust is predicted extending westwards from thin oceanic crust north of Macclesfield Bank into the Quiondongnan (QDN) basin and is interpreted as being generated ahead of westward propagating sea-floor spreading most in the Oligocene. Further south, highly thinned continental crust or possibly serpentinised exhumed mantle is predicted in the Phu Khanh Basin. Ahead of the failed propagating tip of seafloor spreading, offshore southern Vietnam, thinned continental crust is predicted for the Cuu Long and Nam Con Son Basins. Crustal thicknesses from gravity inversion confirms that the southern margin of the SCS consists of fragmented blocks of thinned continental crust separated by thinner regions of continental crust that have undergone higher degrees of stretching and thinning. The Reed Bank is predicted to have a crustal thickness of 20 to 25km, similar to that of Macclesfield Bank. The Dangerous Grounds, west of the Reed Bank, are also predicted to consist of continental crust. This region has been thinned to a higher degree than the Reed Bank, with continental crustal thickness ranging between 10 and 20km thick.

Allostratigraphy of the U.S. middle Atlantic continental margin; characteristics, distribution, and depositional history of principal unconformity-bounded upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic sedimentary units

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poag, C. Wylie; Ward, Lauck W.

1993-01-01

Publication of Volumes 93 and 95 ('The New Jersey Transect') of the Deep Sea Drilling Project's Initial Reports completed a major phase of geological and geophysical research along the middle segment of the U. S. Atlantic continental margin. Relying heavily on data from these and related published records, we have integrated outcrop, borehole, and seismic-reflection data from this large area (500,000 km^2 ) to define the regional allostratigraphic framework for Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks. The framework consists of 12 alloformations, which record the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic depositional history of the contiguous Baltimore Canyon trough (including its onshore margin) and Hatteras basin (northern part). We propose stratotype sections for each alloformation and present a regional allostratigraphic reference section, which crosses these basins from the inner edge of the coastal plain to the inner edge of the abyssal plain. Selected supplementary reference sections on the coastal plain allow observation of the alloformations and their bounding unconformities in outcrop. Our analyses show that sediment supply and its initial dispersal on the middle segment of the U. S. Atlantic margin have been governed, in large part, by hinterland tectonism and subsequently have been modified by paleoclimate, sea-level changes, and oceanic current systems. Notable events in the Late Cretaceous to Holocene sedimentary evolution of this margin include (1) development of continental-rise depocenters in the northern part of the Hatteras basin during the Late Cretaceous; (2) the appear ance of a dual shelf-edge system, a marked decline in siliciclastic sediment accumulation rates, and widespread acceleration of carbonate production during high sea levels of the Paleogene; (3) rapid deposition and progradation of thick terrigenous delta complexes and development of abyssal depocenters during the middle Miocene to Quaternary interval; and (4) deep incision of the shelf edge by submarine canyons, especially during the Pleistocene. Massive downslope gravity flows have dominated both the depositional and erosional history of the middle segment of the U. S. Atlantic Continental Slope and Rise during most of the last 84 million years. The importance of periodic widespread erosion is recorded by well-documented unconformities, many of which can be traced from coastal-plain outcrops to coreholes on the continental slope and lower continental rise. These unconformities form the boundaries of the 12 allostratigraphic units we formally propose herein. Seven of the unconformities correlate with supercycle boundaries (sequence boundaries) that characterize the Exxon sequence-stratigraphy model.

Plate Kinematic model of the NW Indian Ocean and derived regional stress history of the East African Margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuck-Martin, Amy; Adam, Jürgen; Eagles, Graeme

2015-04-01

Starting with the break up of Gondwana, the northwest Indian Ocean and its continental margins in Madagascar, East Africa and western India formed by divergence of the African and Indian plates and were shaped by a complicated sequence of plate boundary relocations, ridge propagation events, and the independent movement of the Seychelles microplate. As a result, attempts to reconcile the different plate-tectonic components and processes into a coherent kinematic model have so far been unsatisfactory. A new high-resolution plate kinematic model has been produced in an attempt to solve these problems, using seafloor spreading data and rotation parameters generated by a mixture of visual fitting of magnetic isochron data and iterative joint inversion of magnetic isochron and fracture zone data. Using plate motion vectors and plate boundary geometries derived from this model, the first-order regional stress pattern was modelled for distinct phases of margin formation. The stress pattern is correlated with the tectono-stratigraphic history of related sedimentary basins. The plate kinematic model identifies three phases of spreading, from the Jurassic to the Paleogene, which resulted in the formation of three main oceanic basins. Prior to these phases, intracontinental 'Karoo' rifting episodes in the late Carboniferous to late Triassic had failed to break up Gondwana, but initiated the formation of sedimentary basins along the East African and West Madagascan margins. At the start of the first phase of spreading (183 to 133 Ma) predominantly NW - SE extension caused continental rifting that separated Madagascar/India/Antarctica from Africa. Maximum horizontal stresses trended perpendicular to the local plate-kinematic vector, and parallel to the rift axes. During and after continental break-up and subsequent spreading, the regional stress regime changed drastically. The extensional stress regime became restricted to the active spreading ridges that in turn adopted trends normal to the plate divergence vector. Away from the active ridges, compressional horizontal stresses caused by ridge-push forces were transmitted through the subsiding oceanic lithosphere, with an SH max orientation parallel to plate divergence vectors. These changes are documented by the lower Bajocian continental breakup unconformity, which can be traced throughout East African basins. At 133 Ma, the plate boundary moved from north to south of Madagascar, incorporating it into the African plate and initiating its separation from Antarctica. The orientation of the plate divergence vector however did not change markedly. The second phase (89 - 61 Ma) led to the separation of India from Madagascar, initiating a new and dramatic change in stress orientation from N-S to ENE-WSW. This led to renewed tectonic activity in the sedimentary basins of western Madagascar. In the third phase (61 Ma to present) asymmetric spreading of the Carlsberg Ridge separated India from the Seychelles and the Mascarene Plateau via the southward propagation of the Carlsberg Ridge to form the Central Indian Ridge. The anti-clockwise rotation of the independent Seychelles microplate between chrons 28n (64.13 Ma) and 26n (58.38 Ma) and the opening of the short-lived Laxmi Basin (67 Ma to abandonment within chron 28n (64.13 - 63.10 Ma)) have been further constrained by the new plate kinematic model. Along the East African margin, SH max remained in a NE - SW orientation and the sedimentary basins experienced continued thick, deep water sediment deposition. Contemporaneously, in the sedimentary basins along East African passive margin, ridge-push related maximum horizontal stresses became progressively outweighed by local gravity-driven NE-SW maximum horizontal stresses trending parallel to the margin. These stress regimes are caused by sediment loading and extensional collapse of thick sediment wedges, predominantly controlled by margin geometry. Our study successfully integrates an interpretation of paleo-stress regimes constrained by the new high resolution plate kinematic and basin history to produce a margin scale tectono-stratigraphic framework that highlights the important interplay of plate boundary forces and basin formation events along the East African margin.

Tectonics of the Western Gulf of Oman

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

White, R.S.; Ross, D.A.

1979-07-10

The Oman line, running northward from the Strait of Hormuz separates a continent-continent plate boundary to the northwest (Persian Gulf region) from an ocean-continent plate boundary to the southeast (Gulf of Oman region). A large basement ridge detected on multichannel seismic reflection and gravity profiles to the west of the Oman line is probably a subsurface continuation of the Musandam peninsula beneath the Strait of Hormuz. Collision and underthrusting beneath Iran of the Arabian plate on which this ridge lies has caused many of the large earthquakes that have occurred in this region. Convergence between the oceanic crust of themore » Arabian plate beneath the Gulf of Oman and the continental Eurasian plate beneath Iran to the north is accommodated by northward dipping subduction. A deformed sediment prism which forms the offshore Makran continental margin and which extends onto land in the Iranian Makran has accumulated above the descending plate. In the western part of the Gulf of Oman, continued convergence has brought the opposing continental margin of Oman into contact with the Makran continental margin. This is an example of the initial stages of a continent-continent type collision. A model of imbricate thrusting is proposed to explain the development of the fold ridges and basins on the Makran continental margin. Sediments from the subducting plate are buckled and incorporated into the edge of the Makran continental margin in deformed wedges and subsequently uplifted along major faults that penetrate the accretionary prism further to the north.« less

Polyphase tectonics at the southern tip of the Manila trench, Mindoro-Tablas Islands, Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchadier, Yves; Rangin, Claude

1990-11-01

The southern termination of the Manila trench within the South China Sea continental margin in Mindoro is marked by a complex polyphase tectonic fabric in the arc-trench gap area. Onshore Southern Mindoro the active deformation front of the Manila trench is marked by parallel folds and thrusts, grading southward to N50° W-trending left-lateral strike-slip faults. This transpressive tectonic regime, active at least since the Late Pliocene, has overprinted the collision of an Early Miocene volcanic arc with the South China Sea continental margin (San Jose platform). The collision is postdated by deposition of the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene elastics of the East Mindoro basin. The tectonic and geological framework of this arc, which overlies a metamorphic basement and Eocene elastics, suggests that it was built on a drifted block of the South China Sea continental margin.

Seismic imaging of a transform segment of the Maranhão-Barreirinhas-Ceará margin, NW Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schnurle, Philippe; Moulin, Maryline; Gallais, Flora; Afilhado, Alexandra; Afonso Dias, Nuno; Soares, José; Loureiro, Afonso; Fuck, Reinhardt; Cupertino, José; Viana, Adriano; Matias, Luís; Evain, Mikael; Aslanian, Daniel

2017-04-01

The structure of the North-East equatorial Brazilian margin was investigated during the MAGIC (Margins of brAzil, Ghana and Ivory Coast) seismic experiment, a project conducted by IFREMER (Institut Francais de Recherche pour l'Exploration de la Mer), UnB (University of Brasilia), FCUL (Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa) and Petrobras. The survey consists of 5 deep seismic profiles totaling 1900 km of marine multi-channel seismic reflection and wide angle acquisition with 143 deployments of short-period OBS's from the IFREMER pool. Three of the profiles were extended into land using Land Seismic Stations (LSS) from the Brazilian pool at a total of 50 points. This study focuses on the MC1 and MC5 wide-angle profiles: MC5 spans NW-SE 720 km in length, from the São Paulo Double Fracture Zone to the Borborema-Cearà margin. MC-1 spans parallel east of MC5, 360 km in length, in the presumed oceanic domain. Our main objective is to understand the fundamental processes which lead to the thinning and finally to the breakup of the continental crust in a specific context of a pull-apart system with two strike-slip borders. The experiment was devised to obtain the 2D structure along the profiles from joint pre-stack depth migration of the reflection data, and tomography and forward modeling of the OBS records. Along the MC1/MC5 wide-angle transects, 5 major sectors are identified: - the São Paulo Double Fracture Zone and the volcanic line associated to the southern São Paulo strike-slip zone presenting a 4.5 km thick volcano-sedimentary basin on top of a 5.5 km thick basement; - the intermediate domain, formed by the 4.5 km thick Basin III, the 7.5 km thick Basin II (interleaved by a 0.5-1 km thick volcanic layer), and the 5.5 km thick Basin I composing the continental slope. While the crust remains about 6 km thick, its acoustic velocity evolves from two-layer typical (4.8-6 km/s and 6.1-6.8 km/s) beneath Basin III to two-layer high velocity (6.1-6.8 km/s and 7.2-7.4 km/s) beneath Basin II and I, interpreted as exhumed lower continental crust; - to the east, the oceanic crust, evolves to an 2 layers crust 5 km thick, characterized by typical oceanic crustal velocities and also overlain by 5.5 km of sedimentary deposits, spanning between the two main fracture zones that fringe the Maranhão-Barreirinhas-Ceará segment; - the 50 km wide necking zone, forming the Parnaiba Platform and associated Ceará Basins, where the upper and lower crust thin abruptly; - the Medio Coreaù and Ceará Central thrust belt, where the unthinned continental crust thickness reaches 32 km. Keywords: North-East equatorial Brazil, transform margin, deep seismic structure

Neotectonic reactivation of shear zones and implications for faulting style and geometry in the continental margin of NE Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bezerra, F. H. R.; Rossetti, D. F.; Oliveira, R. G.; Medeiros, W. E.; Neves, B. B. Brito; Balsamo, F.; Nogueira, F. C. C.; Dantas, E. L.; Andrades Filho, C.; Góes, A. M.

2014-02-01

The eastern continental margin of South America comprises a series of rift basins developed during the breakup of Pangea in the Jurassic-Cretaceous. We integrated high resolution aeromagnetic, structural and stratigraphic data in order to evaluate the role of reactivation of ductile, Neoproterozoic shear zones in the deposition and deformation of post-rift sedimentary deposits in one of these basins, the Paraíba Basin in northeastern Brazil. This basin corresponds to the last part of the South American continent to be separated from Africa during the Pangea breakup. Sediment deposition in this basin occurred in the Albian-Maastrichtian, Eocene-Miocene, and in the late Quaternary. However, our investigation concentrates on the Miocene-Quaternary, which we consider the neotectonic period because it encompasses the last stress field. This consisted of an E-W-oriented compression and a N-S-oriented extension. The basement of the basin forms a slightly seaward-tilted ramp capped by a late Cretaceous to Quaternary sedimentary cover ~ 100-400 m thick. Aeromagnetic lineaments mark the major steeply-dipping, ductile E-W- to NE-striking shear zones in this basement. The ductile shear zones mainly reactivated as strike-slip, normal and oblique-slip faults, resulting in a series of Miocene-Quaternary depocenters controlled by NE-, E-W-, and a few NW-striking faults. Faulting produced subsidence and uplift that are largely responsible for the present-day morphology of the valleys and tablelands in this margin. We conclude that Precambrian shear zone reactivation controlled geometry and orientation, as well as deformation of sedimentary deposits, until the Neogene-Quaternary.

Linking the tectonic evolution with fluid history in magma-poor rifted margins: tracking mantle- and continental crust-related fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinto, V. H. G.; Manatschal, G.; Karpoff, A. M.

2014-12-01

The thinning of the crust and the exhumation of subcontinental mantle is accompanied by a series of extensional detachment faults. Exhumation of mantle and crustal rocks is intimately related to percolation of fluids along detachment faults leading to changes in mineralogy and chemistry of the mantle, crustal and sedimentary rocks. Field observation, analytical methods, refraction/reflection and well-core data, allowed us to investigate the role of fluids in the Iberian margin and former Alpine Tethys distal margins and the Pyrenees rifted system. In the continental crust, fluid-rock interaction leads to saussuritization that produces Si and Ca enriched fluids found in forms of veins along the fault zone. In the zone of exhumed mantle, large amounts of water are absorbed in the first 5-6 km of serpentinized mantle, which has the counter-effect of depleting the mantle of elements (e.g., Si, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Ni and Cr) forming mantle-related fluids. Using Cr-Ni-V and Fe-Mn as tracers, we show that in the distal margin, mantle-related fluids used detachment faults as pathways and interacted with the overlying crust, the sedimentary basin and the seawater, while further inward parts of the margin, continental crust-related fluids enriched in Si and Ca impregnated the fault zone and may have affected the sedimentary basin. The overall observations and results enable us to show when, where and how these interactions occurred during the formation of the rifted margin. In a first stage, continental crust-related fluids dominated the rifted systems. During the second stage, mantle-related fluids affected the overlying syn-tectonic sediments through direct migration along detachment faults at the future distal margin. In a third stage, these fluids reached the seafloor, "polluted" the seawater and were absorbed by post-tectonic sediments. We conclude that a significant amount of serpentinization occurred underneath the thinned continental crust, that the mantle-related fluids might have modified the chemical composition of the sediments and seawater. We propose that the chemical signature of serpentinization that occurs during the mantle exhumation is recorded in the sediments and may serve as a proxy to date serpentinization and mantle exhumation in present day magma-poor rifted margins.

Continental underplating after slab break-off

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magni, V.; Allen, M. B.; van Hunen, J.; Bouilhol, P.

2017-09-01

We present three-dimensional numerical models to investigate the dynamics of continental collision, and in particular what happens to the subducted continental lithosphere after oceanic slab break-off. We find that in some scenarios the subducting continental lithosphere underthrusts the overriding plate not immediately after it enters the trench, but after oceanic slab break-off. In this case, the continental plate first subducts with a steep angle and then, after the slab breaks off at depth, it rises back towards the surface and flattens below the overriding plate, forming a thick horizontal layer of continental crust that extends for about 200 km beyond the suture. This type of behaviour depends on the width of the oceanic plate marginal to the collision zone: wide oceanic margins promote continental underplating and marginal back-arc basins; narrow margins do not show such underplating unless a far field force is applied. Our models show that, as the subducted continental lithosphere rises, the mantle wedge progressively migrates away from the suture and the continental crust heats up, reaching temperatures >900 °C. This heating might lead to crustal melting, and resultant magmatism. We observe a sharp peak in the overriding plate rock uplift right after the occurrence of slab break-off. Afterwards, during underplating, the maximum rock uplift is smaller, but the affected area is much wider (up to 350 km). These results can be used to explain the dynamics that led to the present-day crustal configuration of the India-Eurasia collision zone and its consequences for the regional tectonic and magmatic evolution.

Climatic controls on arid continental basin margin systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gough, Amy; Clarke, Stuart; Richards, Philip; Milodowski, Antoni

2016-04-01

Alluvial fans are both dominant and long-lived within continental basin margin systems. As a result, they commonly interact with a variety of depositional systems that exist at different times in the distal extent of the basin as the basin evolves. The deposits of the distal basin often cycle between those with the potential to act as good aquifers and those with the potential to act as good aquitards. The interactions between the distal deposits and the basin margin fans can have a significant impact upon basin-scale fluid flow. The fans themselves are commonly considered as relatively homogeneous, but their sedimentology is controlled by a variety of factors, including: 1) differing depositional mechanisms; 2) localised autocyclic controls; 3) geometrical and temporal interactions with deposits of the basin centre; and, 4) long-term allocyclic climatic variations. This work examines the basin margin systems of the Cutler Group sediments of the Paradox Basin, western U.S.A and presents generalised facies models for the Cutler Group alluvial fans as well as for the zone of interaction between these fans and the contemporaneous environments in the basin centre, at a variety of scales. Small-scale controls on deposition include climate, tectonics, base level and sediment supply. It has been ascertained that long-term climatic alterations were the main control on these depositional systems. Models have been constructed to highlight how both long-term and short-term alterations in the climatic regime can affect the sedimentation in the basin. These models can be applied to better understand similar, but poorly exposed, alluvial fan deposits. The alluvial fans of the Brockram Facies, northern England form part of a once-proposed site for low-level nuclear waste decommissioning. As such, it is important to understand the sedimentology, three-dimensional geometry, and the proposed connectivity of the deposits from the perspective of basin-scale fluid flow. The developed models suggest that the deposits of the Brockram alluvial fans have the potential to contain numerous preferential flow zones. Where these flow zones are adjacent to the unique deposits of the zone of interaction it affects basin-scale fluid flow by: 1) interconnecting decent reservoirs in the distal extent of the basin; 2) creating flow pathways away from these reservoirs; 3) introducing secondary baffles into the system; and, 4) creating a bypass to charge these distal reservoirs.

Mesozoic evolution of the Amu Darya basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunet, Marie-Françoise; Ershov, Andrey; Korotaev, Maxim; Mordvintsev, Dmitriy; Barrier, Eric; Sidorova, Irina

2014-05-01

This study, granted by the Darius Programme, aims at proposing a model of tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Amu Darya basin since the Late Palaeozoic and to understand the relationship with the nearby basins. The Amu Darya basin, as its close eastern neighbour, the Afghan-Tajik basin, lies on the Turan platform, after the closure of the Turkestan Ocean during the Late Paleozoic. These two basins, spread on mainly lowlands of Turkmenistan, southwest Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and northern Afghanistan, are separated from one another by the South-Western Gissar meganticline, where series of the northern Amu Darya margin are outcropping. The evolution is closely controlled by several periods of crustal thinning (post-collision rifting and back-arc extension), with some marine incursions, coming in between accretions of continental blocks and collisions that succeeded from the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic (Eo-Cimmerian orogeny) to the Cenozoic times. These orogenies controlled the deposition of thick clastics sequences, and the collision of the Indian Plate with Eurasia strongly deformed the sedimentary cover of the Afghan-Tajik basin. The more than 7 km thick Meso-Cenozoic sedimentary succession of the Amu Darya basin, lies on a complex system of rifts and blocks. Their orientation and age (late Permian, Triassic?) are not well known because of deep burial. The north-eastern margin, with the Bukhara (upper margin) and Chardzhou steps, is NW oriented, parallel to the Paleozoic Turkestan suture. The orientation bends to W-E, in the part of the Gissar situated to the North of the Afghan-Tajik basin. This EW trending orientation prevails also in the south(-eastern) margin of the basin (series of North Afghanistan highs) and in the Murgab depression, the south-eastern deepest portion of the Amu Darya basin. It is in this area and in the eastern part of the Amu Darya basin that the Jurassic as well as the lower Cretaceous sediments are the thickest. The south-western part of the basin is occupied by the Pre-Kopet Dagh Cenozoic foreland basin NW oriented, possibly underlain by an earlier extensional trough. The main elements of the sedimentary pile, which can be partly observed in the South-Western Gissar are: Lower to Middle Jurassic continental to paralic clastic rocks; upper Middle to Upper Jurassic marine carbonate then thick Tithonian evaporite rocks, sealing the reservoirs in the Jurassic carbonates; continental Neocomian clastic rocks and red beds, Aptian to Paleogene marine carbonate and clastic rocks. To reconstruct the geodynamic evolution of the Amu Darya Basin, we analysed the subsidence by backstripping of some wells/pseudo-wells and of three cross-sections with some examples of thermal modelling on the periods of maturation of the potential source rocks. The crustal thinning events take place in the Permo-Triassic? (depending on the age of the rifts underlying the basin), in Early-Middle Jurassic and during the Early Cretaceous, resulting in increases of the tectonic subsidence rates.

Variscan to Neogene thermal and exhumation history at the Moroccan passive continental margin assessed by low temperature thermochronology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sehrt, M.; Glasmacher, U. A.; Stockli, D. F.; Kluth, O.; Jabour, H.

2012-04-01

In North Africa, a large amount of Mesozoic terrigenous sedimentary rocks are deposited in most of the basins along the continental margin indicating a major episode of erosion occurred during the rift and early post-rift period in the Central Atlantic. In the Tarfaya-Dakhla Basin, Morocco the sedimentary cover reaches thicknesses of up to 9000 m. The presence of high surface elevations in the Anti-Atlas mountain belt (2500 m) indicates a potential source area for the surrounding basins. The NE-SW oriented Anti-Atlas of Morocco is located at the northwestern fringe of the West African Craton and south of the High Atlas and represents the Phanerozoic foreland of the Late Paleozoic North African Variscides and the Cenozoic Atlas Belt. Variscan deformation affected most of Morocco. Paleozoic basins were folded and thrusted, with the major collision dated as late Devonian to Late Carboniferous. Zircon fission-track ages of 287 (±23) to 331 (±24) Ma confirmed the main exhumation referred to the Variscan folding, followed by rapid exhumation and the post-folding erosion. Currently, phases of uplift and exhumation in the Anti-Atlas during the Central Atlantic rifting and places where the associated erosion products are deposited are poorly constrained and there is little quantitative data available at present. The objective of the study is to determine the thermal and exhumation history of the Anti-Atlas and the connected Tarfaya-Dakhla Basin at the Moroccan passive continental margin. Besides zircon fission-track dating, apatite and zircon (U-Th-Sm)/He and apatite fission-track analyses and furthermore 2-D modelling with 'HeFTy' software has been carried out at Precambrian rocks of the Western Anti-Atlas and Cretaceous to Neogene sedimentary rocks from the Northern Tarfaya-Dakhla Basin. The apatite fission-track ages of 120 (±13) to 189 (±14) Ma in the Anti-Atlas and 176 (±20) to 216 (±18) Ma in the Tarfaya Basin indicate very obvious a Central Atlantic opening signal and confirm the Anti-Atlas as a potential source area of the Mesozoic basins along the passive continental margin. Young apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He ages of 49 (±3) Ma to 89 (±5) Ma in the Anti-Atlas and 64 (±4) to 73 (±4) Ma in the Tarfaya Basin are related to the interplay between the African and Eurasian plates. The time-temperature models of samples from the AA indicate that the main exhumation in the Anti-Atlas occurred during the Variscan folding, the post-folding erosion and besides the Central Atlantic rifting phase until the Upper Triassic. After this event large parts of the Western Anti-Atlas hold a stable position without significant movements during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, followed by an exhumation phase during the Atlasian orogeny.

A new reconstruction of the Paleozoic continental margin of southwestern North America: Implications for the nature and timing of continental truncation and the possible role of the Mojave-Sonora megashear

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stevens, C.H.; Stone, P.; Miller, J.S.

2005-01-01

Data bearing on interpretations of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic paleogeography of southwestern North America are important for testing the hypothesis that the Paleozoic miogeocline in this region has been tectonically truncated, and if so, for ascertaining the time of the event and the possible role of the Mojave-Sonora megashear. Here, we present an analysis of existing and new data permitting reconstruction of the Paleozoic continental margin of southwestern North America. Significant new and recent information incorporated into this reconstruction includes (1) spatial distribution of Middle to Upper Devonian continental-margin facies belts, (2) positions of other paleogeographically significant sedimentary boundaries on the Paleozoic continental shelf, (3) distribution of Upper Permian through Upper Triassic plutonic rocks, and (4) evidence that the southern Sierra Nevada and western Mojave Desert are underlain by continental crust. After restoring the geology of western Nevada and California along known and inferred strike-slip faults, we find that the Devonian facies belts and pre-Pennsylvanian sedimentary boundaries define an arcuate, generally south-trending continental margin that appears to be truncated on the southwest. A Pennsylvanian basin, a Permian coral belt, and a belt of Upper Permian to Upper Triassic plutons stretching from Sonora, Mexico, into westernmost central Nevada, cut across the older facies belts, suggesting that truncation of the continental margin occurred in the Pennsylvanian. We postulate that the main truncating structure was a left-lateral transform fault zone that extended from the Mojave-Sonora megashear in northwestern Mexico to the Foothills Suture in California. The Caborca block of northwestern Mexico, where Devonian facies belts and pre-Pennsylvanian sedimentary boundaries like those in California have been identified, is interpreted to represent a missing fragment of the continental margin that underwent ???400 km of left-lateral displacement along this fault zone. If this model is correct, the Mojave-Sonora megashear played a direct role in the Pennsylvanian truncation of the continental margin, and any younger displacement on this fault has been relatively small. ?? 2005 Geological Society of America.

Paleozoic evolution of active margin basins in the southern Central Andes (northwestern Argentina and northern Chile)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahlburg, H.; Breitkreuz, C.

The geodynamic evolution of the Paleozoic continental margin of Gondwana in the region of the southern Central Andes is characterized by the westward progression of orogenic basin formation through time. The Ordovician basin in the northwest Argentinian Cordillera Oriental and Puna originated as an Early Ordovician back-arc basin. The contemporaneous magmatic arc of an east-dipping subduction zone was presumably located in northern Chile. In the back-arc basin, a ca. 3500 meter, fining-up volcaniclastic apron connected to the arc formed during the Arenigian. Increased subsidence in the late Arenigian allowed for the accomodation of large volumes of volcaniclastic turbidites during the Middle Ordovician. Subsidence and sedimentation were caused by the onset of collision between the para-autochthonous Arequipa Massif Terrane (AMT) and the South American margin at the Arenigian-Llanvirnian transition. This led to eastward thrusting of the arc complex over its back-arc basin and, consequently, to its transformation into a marine foreland basin. As a result of thrusting in the west, a flexural bulge formed in the east, leading to uplift and emergence of the Cordillera Oriental shelf during the Guandacol Event at the Arenigian-Llanvirnian transition. The basin fill was folded during the terminal collision of the AMT during the Oclóyic Orogeny (Ashgillian). The folded strata were intruded post-tectonically by the presumably Silurian granitoids of the "Faja Eruptiva de la Puna Oriental." The orogeny led to the formation of the positive area of the Arco Puneño. West of the Arco Puneño, a further marine basin developed during the Early Devonian, the eastern shelf of which occupied the area of the Cordillera Occidental, Depresión Preandina, and Precordillera. The corresponding deep marine turbidite basin was located in the region of the Cordillera de la Costa. Deposition continued until the basin fill was folded in the early Late Carboniferous Toco Orogeny. The basin originated as an extensional structure at the continental margin of Gondwana. Independent lines of evidence imply that basin evolution was not connected to subduction. Thus, the basin could not have been in a fore-arc position as previously postulated. Above the folded Devonian-Early Carboniferous strata, a continental volcanic arc developed from the Late Carboniferous to the Middle Triassic. It represents the link between the Choiyoi Province in central Chile and Argentina, and the Mitu Group rift in southern Peru. The volcanic arc succession is characterized by the prevalence of silicic lavas and tuffs and volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks. During the latest Carboniferous, a thick ostracod-bearing lacustrine unit formed in an extended lake in the area of the Depresión Preandina. This lake basin originated in an intra-arc tensional setting. During the Early Permian, marine limestones were deposited on a marine platform west and east of the volcanic arc, connected to the depositional area of the Copacabana Formation in southern Peru.

Glacimarine Sedimentary Processes and Facies on the Polar North Atlantic Margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dowdeswell, J. A.; Elverhfi, A.; Spielhagen, R.

Major contrasts in the glaciological, oceanic and atmospheric parameters affecting the Polar North Atlantic, both over space between its eastern and western margins, and through time from full glacial to interglacial conditions, have lead to the deposition of a wide variety of sedimentary facies in these ice-influenced seas. The dynamics of the glaciers and ice sheets on the hinterlands surrounding the Polar North Atlantic have exterted a major influence on the processes, rates and patterns of sedimentation on the continental margins of the Norwegian and Greenland seas over the Late Cenozoic. The western margin is influenced by the cold East Greenland Current and the Svalbard margin by the northernmost extent of the warm North Atlantic Drift and the passage of relatively warm cyclonic air masses. In the fjords of Spitsbergen and the northwestern Barents Sea, glacial meltwater is dominant in delivering sediments. In the fjords of East Greenland the large numbers of icebergs produced from fast-flowing outlets of the Greenland Ice Sheet play a more significant role in sedimentation. During full glacials, sediments are delivered to the shelf break from fast-flowing ice streams, which drain huge basins within the parent ice sheet. Large prograding fans located on the continental slope offshore of these ice streams are made up of stacked debris flows. Large-scale mass failures, turbidity currents, and gas-escape structures also rework debris in continental slope and shelf settings. Even during interglacials, both the margins and the deep ocean basins beyond them retain a glacimarine overprint derived from debris in far-travelled icebergs and sea ice. Under full glacial conditions, the glacier influence is correspondingly stronger, and this is reflected in the glacial and glacimarine facies deposited at these times.

Volcanism and Tectonics of the Central Deep Basin, Sea of Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lelikov, E. P.; Emelyanova, T. A.; Pugachev, A. A.

2018-01-01

The paper presents the results of a study on the geomorphic structure, tectonic setting, and volcanism of the volcanoes and volcanic ridges in the deep Central Basin of the Sea of Japan. The ridges rise 500-600 m above the acoustic basement of the basin. These ridges were formed on fragments of thinned continental crust along deep faults submeridionally crossing the Central Basin and the adjacent continental part of the Primorye. The morphostructures of the basin began to submerge below sea level in the Middle Miocene and reached their contemporary positions in the Pliocene. Volcanism in the Central Basin occurred mostly in the Middle Miocene-Pliocene and formed marginal-sea basaltoids with OIB (ocean island basalt) geochemical signatures indicating the lower-mantle plume origin of these rocks. The OIB signatures of basaltoids tend to be expressed better in the eastern part of the Central Basin, where juvenile oceanic crust has developed. The genesis of this crust is probably related to rising and melting of the Pacific superplume apophyse.

Holistic Approach Offers Potential to Quantify Mass Fluxes Across Continental Margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuehl, Steven; Carter, Lionel; Gomez, Basil; Trustrum, Noel

Most humans live on and utilize the continental margin, the surface of which changes continually in response to environmental perturbations such as weather, climate change, tectonism, earthquakes, volcanism, sea level, and human settlement and land use. Part of the margin is above sea level and the rest is submarine, but these land and seascape components are contiguous, and material transport from source to sink occurs as a seamless cascade. The margin responds to environmental perturbations by changing the nature and magnitude of a variety of important functions, including the distribution of soil formation and erosion; biogeochemical functioning (especially the storage and release of water, limiting nutrients and contaminants); and the form and behavior of geomorphic components from hill slopes and floodplains through the coastal zone to the continental rise. While some areas of the margin are eroding-for example, hill slopes-others accumulate sediment, such as tectonic basins and continental slope and rise. These areas record the history of surface changes. A major goal of the Earth science community is to provide quantitative explanations and predictions of the effects of environmental perturbations on surface changes and preserved sedimentary strata of continental margins. In past decades, margins have been investigated piecemeal by researchers who have tended to focus on a particular segment from one disciplinary perspective while eschewing the broader perspective of the margin as an interconnected whole. Recognizing this shortcoming, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has initiated the MARGINS Source-to-Sink (S2S) program, which, for the first time, will attempt to understand the functioning of entire margin systems through dedicated observational and community modeling studies. Following input from the Earth science community, the Waipaoa Sedimentary System (WSS) of the North Island, New Zealand, was chosen as one of the focus sites for possible study (see MARGINS Source-to-Sink science plan for selection criteria and rationale: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/margins/S2S/S2Ssciplan02.html).

Sedimentation patterns in the Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa, and the Pilbara Block, Australia: Evidence for Archean rifted continental margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eriksson, Kenneth A.

1982-01-01

Archean supracrustal sequences in the Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa, and the Pilbara Block, Australia, consist of lower volcanic and upper dominantly terrigenous clastic intervals. As evidenced by the paleoenvironments of intercalated sedimentary horizons, volcanism occurred mainly in shallow waters. The overlying ca 3.3 Ga sedimentary intervals contain various common as well as unique paleoenvironments, the understanding of which places significant constraints on Archean crustal models. Lateral and vertical associations of inferred paleoenvironments are used to interpret the geotectonic history of the Archean depositories. The early sedimentary history of the greenstone belts is characterized by terrestrial and subaqueous graben-fill associations of facies related to the initial rift stage of basin development. Continued rifting and initial spreading produced submarine grabens within which ironformations accumulated in response to waning volcanism. Source area uplift resulted in progradation of submarine fans across the basinal chemical sediments. The turbidites are gradational directly into braided alluvial sediments, in part of fan delta origin, suggesting that the continental to marine transition occurred along a narrow continental shelf. In the Barberton Mountain Land the steep-rift margin was succeeded by the development of a stable continental shelf or shelf rise margin through progradation of the turbidite wedge possibly in association with a eustatic rise in sea-level related to continued spreading. On this shelf extensive tidal, deltaic and barrier beach sediments accumulated. Sedimentation was terminated by closure of the passive margin oceans. The late-Archean Pongola Supergroup in South Africa is considered to be the late-orogenic molasse response to this closure and represents the completion of the Wilson cycle.

Crustal architecture and deep structure of the Namibian passive continental margin around Walvis Ridge from wide-angle seismic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behrmann, Jan H.; Planert, Lars; Jokat, Wilfried; Ryberg, Trond; Bialas, Jörg; Jegen, Marion

2013-04-01

The opening of the South Atlantic ocean basin was accompanied by voluminous magmatism on the conjugate continental margins of Africa and South America, including the formation of the Parana and Entendeka large igneous provinces (LIP), the build-up of up to 100 km wide volcanic wedges characterized by seaward dipping reflector sequences (SDR), as well as the formation of paired hotspot tracks on the rifted African and South American plates, the Walvis Ridge and the Rio Grande Rise. The area is considered as type example for hotspot or plume-related continental break-up. However, SDR, and LIP-related features on land are concentrated south of the hotspot tracks. The segmentation of the margins offers a prime opportunity to study the magmatic signal in space and time, and investigate the interrelation with rift-related deformation. A globally significant question we address here is whether magmatism drives continental break-up, or whether even rifting accompanied by abundant magmatism is in response to crustal and lithospheric stretching governed by large-scale plate kinematics. In 2010/11, an amphibious set of wide-angle seismic data was acquired around the landfall of Walvis Ridge at the Namibian passive continental margin. The experiments were designed to provide crustal velocity information and to investigate the structure of the upper mantle. In particular, we aimed at identifying deep fault zones and variations in Moho depth, constrain the velocity signature of SDR sequences, as well as the extent of magmatic addition to the lower crust near the continent-ocean transition. Sediment cover down to the igneous basement was additionally constrained by reflection seismic data. Here, we present tomographic analysis of the seismic data of one long NNW oriented profile parallel to the continental margin across Walvis Ridge, and a second amphibious profile from the Angola Basin across Walvis Ridge and into the continental interior, crossing the area of the Etendeka Plateau basalts. The most striking feature is the sharp transition in crustal structure and thickness across the northern boundary of Walvis Ridge. Thin oceanic crust (6.5 km) of the Angola Basin lies next to the up to 35 km thick igneous crustal root founding the highest elevated northern portions of Walvis Ridge. Both structures are separated by a very large transform fault zone. The velocity structure of Walvis Ridge lower crust is indicative of gabbro, and, in the lowest parts, of cumulate sequences. On the southern side of Walvis Ridge there is a smooth gradation into the adjacent 25-30 km thick crust underlying the ocean-continent boundary, with a velocity structure resembling that of Walvis Ridge The second profile shows a sharp transition from oceanic to rifted continental crust. The transition zone may be underlain by hydrated uppermost mantle. Below the Etendeka Plateau, an extensive high-velocity body, likely representing gabbros and their cumulates at the base of the crust, indicates magmatic underplating. We summarize by stating that rift-related lithospheric stretching and associated transform faulting play an overriding role in locating magmatism, dividing the margin in a magmatic-dominated segment to the south, and an amagmatic segment north of Walvis Ridge.

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 plate reconstructions combined with chronostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic information for the Gulf of Mexico, southern Florida, and the Bahamas indicate that the gulf was sealed off from the Atlantic waters until Callovian time by an elevated Florida-Bahamas region. Restricted influx of waters started in Callovian as a plate reorganization, and increased plate separation between North America and South America/Africa produced waterways into the Gulf of Mexico from the Pacific and possibly from the Atlantic.

Chapter 34: Geology and petroleum potential of the rifted margins of the Canada Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Houseknecht, D.W.; Bird, K.J.

2011-01-01

Three sides of the Canada Basin are bordered by high-standing, conjugate rift shoulders of the Chukchi Borderland, Alaska and Canada. The Alaska and Canada margins are mantled with thick, growth-faulted sediment prisms, and the Chukchi Borderland contains only a thin veneer of sediment. The rift-margin strata of Alaska and Canada reflect the tectonics and sediment dispersal systems of adjacent continental regions whereas the Chukchi Borderland was tectonically isolated from these sediment dispersal systems. Along the eastern Alaska-southern Canada margin, termed herein the 'Canning-Mackenzie deformed margin', the rifted margin is deformed by ongoing Brooks Range tectonism. Additional contractional structures occur in a gravity fold belt that may be present along the entire Alaska and Canada margins of the Canada Basin. Source-rock data inboard of the rift shoulders and regional palaeogeographic reconstructions suggest three potential source-rock intervals: Lower Cretaceous (Hauterivian-Albian), Upper Cretaceous (mostly Turonian) and Lower Palaeogene. Burial history modelling indicates favourable timing for generation from all three intervals beneath the Alaska and Canada passive margins, and an active petroleum system has been documented in the Canning-Mackenzie deformed margin. Assessment of undiscovered petroleum resources indicates the greatest potential in the Canning-Mackenzie deformed margin and significant potential in the Canada and Alaska passive margins. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

Paleomagnetic constraints on the interpretation of early Cenozoic Pacific Northwest paleogeography

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wells, Ray E.

1984-01-01

Widespread Cenozoic clockwise tectonic rotation in the Pacific Northwest is an established fact; however, the geologic reconstructions based on these rotations are the subject of continuing debate. Three basic mechanisms have been proposed to explain the rotations: (1) simple shear rotation of marginal terranes caught in the dextral shear couple between oceanic plates and North America; (2) rotation during oblique microplate collision and accretion to the continental margin; and (3) rotation of continental margin areas during episodes of intracontinental extension. In areas where detailed structure and stratigraphy are available, distributed shear rotations are amplv demonstrated paleomagnetically. However, rotation due to asymmetric interarc extension must be significant, especially for the Oregon Coast Range, in light of recent estimates of large Tertiary extension across the northern Basin and Range. The relative importance of shear versus extension is difficult to determine, but shear could account for nearly onehalf of the observed rotations. Oblique microplate collision has not contributed significantly to the observed Cenozoic rotations because most of the rotation post-dates collision-related deformation in the Oregon and Washington. Coast Range. The resultant continental reconstructions suggest that about 300 km of extension has occurred at 42°N. latitude (southern Oregon border) since early Eocene time. This reconstruction suggests that Cretaceous sedimentary basins east of the Klamath Mountains have undergone significant Tertiary extension (about f<0%) , but little rotation. Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in the Blue Mountains of Oregon near Mitchell are probably rotated at least 15° and perhaps as much as 60°, which allows considerable latitude in the restoration of that part of the basin.

Palynologie des formations houillères du bassin de Béchar-Abadla (SW oranais, Algérie)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanislas, Loboziak; Ahmed, Nedjari

In the Permo-Carboniferous basin of Béchar-Abadla (SW Oran, Algeria), on the northern margin of the Saharan Platform, the final infilling is essentially continental. The microflora recognised in part of these upper terrigenous deposits is composed principally of spores. These show strong similarity with those in the basins of western Europe. This study completes the palaeontological inventory so far discussed in the basin and confirms previous age determinations.

Early Carboniferous magmatism in Lhasa generated in passive continental margin: constrained by new SIMS dating from Carboniferous arc in Qiantang terrane, Tibet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, X. Z.; Dan, W.; Wang, Q.; Hao, L. L.; Qi, Y.

2016-12-01

In today's oceans, they are rarely undergone subduction on one side and extension on the opposite side. In contrast, there are a few magmatisms in the passive continental margins in the Tethys Ocean. However, because of their long and complex evolution of the northern continental margin of the Gondwana, the geodynamics of the magmatism occurred in this area is speculative or highly depute. One of these examples is the geodynamics of the 360-350 Ma magmatism in southern Lhasa, Tibet. Many authors speculated that it was generated in back-arc setting. Our recent new high-resolution SIMS zircon U-Pb dating reveals that there is a subduction arc with ages of 370-350 Ma in the Qiangtang terrane. The arc rocks compose of andesites, plagiogranites, A-type granites and cumulated gabbros, indicating an initial subduction. This initial subduction arc is located on the north margin of the eastern Paleo-Tethys Ocean, and it was formed slightly earlier than the 360-350 Ma magmatism in southern Lhasa, located on the south margin of the eastern Paleo-Tethys Ocean. Combined with similar aged magmatism generating the back-arc basin in the Sanjiang area, the 360-350 Ma magmatism in southern Lhasa was proposed to be generated in a passive continental margin, and induced by the regional extensional setting related to the subduction in the north margin of the eastern Paleo-Tethys Ocean.

New constraints on the crustal structure in the eastern part of northern Baffin Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reichert, C. J.; Damm, V.; Altenbernd, T.; Berglar, K.; Block, M.; Ehrhardt, A.; Schnabel, M.

2010-12-01

The northern Baffin Bay is a key area for testing plate kinematic models for the Paleocene-Eocene motion of Greenland relative to North America and to decipher the evolution of the thick sedimentary basins in this area. In summer 2010, a multidisciplinary marine geoscientific expedition focusing on the Greenland part of northern Baffin Bay was performed under the direction of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources Hannover, Germany in cooperation with the Alfred-Wegener Institute Bremerhaven. Using 70 days ship time onboard the German R/V Polarstern a comprehensive data set was acquired along profiles extending from the deep oceanic basin in the central part of North Baffin Bay onto the Greenland continental margin in an area which was bordered by the Kane Basin in the North and Disco Island in the South. By means of multi-channel seismic, wide angle seismic, gravimetric and magnetic methods the structural inventory of the crust in the NW Baffin Bay was investigated. Additionally, heat flow data and sediment cores were collected at selected positions along lines across the Greenland continental margin. The cores were extracted for geochemical and geomicrobiological analysis to be used for basin modeling and studying the hydrocarbon potential. Aeromagnetic data was acquired covering part of the marine survey area to investigate magnetic signatures of the oceanic crust and the continental margin. In our presentation we will give an overview of the first results of the expedition with special focus on multi-channel seismic data. With a total length of 3500 km, the initial interpretation of multi-channel seismic data shows that the West Greenland margin is a typical passive continental margin with large rotated basement blocks, listric faults facing mainly seaward, and deep syn-rift-basins in between. The most prominent reflector under the shelf and the slope probably indicates the transition from rifting to drifting and therefore the beginning of seafloor spreading in the Baffin Bay. This is suggested by erosion on top of basement blocks, subsidence along the slope area, and termination of the prominent reflector in the area of the ocean-continent boundary. The syn-rift sediments were deposited in two single phases, which could be imaged along several sections of the newly acquired seismic lines. The Quaternary and late Pliocene glacial deposits are characterized by prograding sequences on the western shelf and the upper slope. Some lines show that the NNW striking Melville Ridge is a compression structure generated by thrusting of the Melville graben sedimentary fill on its western edge. We interpret the compression as a result of strike slip faulting in conjunction with the northward movement of Greenland in the second drift phase starting in the Eocene. At some segments of the crustal margin the opening of the Baffin Bay might be associated with volcanic activity.

Comparative Riftology: Insights into the Evolution of Passive Continental Margins and Continental Rifts from the Failed Midcontinent Rift (MCR)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elling, R. P.; Stein, C. A.; Stein, S.; Kley, J.; Keller, G. R.; Wysession, M. E.

2017-12-01

Continental rifts evolve to seafloor spreading and are preserved in passive margins, or fail and remain as fossil features in continents. Rifts at different stages give insight into these evolutionary paths. Of particular interest is the evolution of volcanic passive margins, which are characterized by seaward dipping reflectors, volcanic rocks yielding magnetic anomalies landward of the oldest spreading anomalies, and are underlain by high-velocity lower crustal bodies. How and when these features form remains unclear. Insights are given by the Midcontinent Rift (MCR), which began to form during the 1.1 Ga rifting of Amazonia from Laurentia, but failed when seafloor spreading was established elsewhere. MCR volcanics are much thicker than other continental flood basalts, due to deposition in a narrow rift rather than a broad region, giving a rift's geometry but a LIP's magma volume. The MCR provides a snapshot of the deposition of a thick and highly magnetized volcanic section during rifting. Surface exposures and reflection seismic data near Lake Superior show a rift basin filled by inward-dipping flood basalt layers. Had the rift evolved to seafloor spreading, the basin would have split into two sets of volcanics with opposite-facing SDRs, each with a magnetic anomaly. Because the rift formed as a series of alternating half-grabens, structural asymmetries between conjugate margins would have naturally occurred had it gone to completion. Hence the MCR implies that many passive margin features form prior to seafloor spreading. Massive inversion of the MCR long after it failed has provided a much clearer picture of its structure compared to failed rifts with lesser degrees of inversion. Seismic imaging as well as gravity and magnetic modeling provide important insight into the effects of inversion on failed rifts. The MCR provides an end member for the evolution of actively extending rifts, characterized by upwelling mantle and negative gravity anomalies, to failed and inverted rifts without upwelling mantle and positive gravity anomalies.

Phanerozoic stratigraphy of Northwind Ridge, magnetic anomalies in the Canada Basin, and the geometry and timing of rifting in the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grantz, A.; Clark, D.L.; Phillips, R.L.; Srivastava, S.P.; Blome, C.D.; Gray, L.-B.; Haga, H.; Mamet, B.L.; McIntyre, D.J.; McNeil, D.H.; Mickey, M.B.; Mullen, M.W.; Murchey, B.I.; Ross, C.A.; Stevens, C.H.; Silberling, Norman J.; Wall, J.H.; Willard, D.A.

1998-01-01

Cores from Northwind Ridge, a high-standing continental fragment in the Chukchi borderland of the oceanic Amerasia basin, Arctic Ocean, contain representatives of every Phanerozoic system except the Silurian and Devonian systems. Cambrian and Ordovician shallow-water marine carbonates in Northwind Ridge are similar to basement rocks beneath the Sverdrup basin of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Upper Mississippian(?) to Permian shelf carbonate and spicularite and Triassic turbidite and shelf lutite resemble coeval strata in the Sverdrup basin and the western Arctic Alaska basin (Hanna trough). These resemblances indicate that Triassic and older strata in southern Northwind Ridge were attached to both Arctic Canada and Arctic Alaska prior to the rifting that created the Amerasia basin. Late Jurassic marine lutite in Northwind Ridge was structurally isolated from coeval strata in the Sverdrup and Arctic Alaska basins by rift shoulder and grabens, and is interpreted to be a riftogenic deposit. This lutite may be the oldest deposit in the Canada basin. A cape of late Cenomanian or Turonian rhyodacite air-fall ash that lacks terrigenous material shows that Northwind Ridge was structurally isolated from the adjacent continental margins by earliest Late Cretaceous time. Closing Amerasia basin by conjoining seafloor magnetic anomalies beneath the Canada basin or by uniting the pre-Jurassic strata of Northwind Ridge with kindred sections in the Sverdrup basin and Hanna trough yield simular tectonic reconstructions. Together with the orientation and age of rift-marine structures, these data suggest that: 1) prior to opening of the Amerasia basin, both northern Alaska and continental ridges of the Chukchi borderland were part of North America, 2) the extension that created the Amerasia basin formed rift-margin graben beginning in Early Jurassic time and new oceanic crust probably beginning in Late Jurassic or early Neocomian time. Reconstruction of the Amerasia basin on the basis of the stratigraphy of Northwind Ridge and sea-floor magnetic anomalies in the Canada basin accounts in a general way for the major crustal elements of the Americasia basin, including the highstanding ridges of the Chukchi borderland, and supports S.W. Carye's hypothesis that the Amerasia basin is the product of anticlockwise rotational rifting of Arctic Alaska from North America.

Structure and rheology of the lithosphere below southeastern margin of India and Sri Lanka, and its conjugate segment of the east Antarctica: Implications on early breakup history and margin formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao Gangumalla, Srinivasa; Radhakrishna, Munukutla

2014-05-01

The eastern continental margin of India has evolved as a consequence of rifting and breakup between India and east Antarctica during the early Cretaceous. Plate reconstruction models for the breakup of eastern Gondwanaland by many earlier workers have unambiguously placed the southeast margin of Sri Lanka and India together as a conjugate segment with the east Antarctica margin that extends from Gunnerus Ridge in the west to western Enderby basin in the east. In this study, we present results of integrated analysis of gravity, geoid, magnetic and seismic data from these two conjugate portions in order to examine the lithosphere structure and early seafloor spreading, style of breakup, continent-ocean boundary (COB) and rheological characteristics at these margins. The interpreted COB lies at a distance of 55-140 km on the side of southeast margin of Sri Lanka and India, whereas, it lies at a distance of 190-550 km on the side of east Antarctica margin. The seismic profiles and the constrained potential field models across these two segments do not show the existence of seaward dipping reflector sequences or magmatic underplating suggesting that these segments have not encountered major magmatic activity. While, significant crustal thinning/stretching is observed at the east Antarctic margin, the Cauvery offshore had experienced limited stretching with faulted Moho interface. Further, the conspicuous residual geoid low in the Cauvery offshore basin is inferred to be due to a continental crustal block. The modelled Lithosphere-Astenosphere Boundary (LAB) in these two margins is located around 110-120 km depth with slightly thicker lithosphere at the east Antarctica margin. In addition, the interpretation of magnetic anomalies provided structure of the oceanic crust generated through seafloor spreading processes with age and magnetization data constrained from the identified magnetic anomalies in the respective margins. Using the Bouguer coherence method, we computed spatial variations in effective elastic thickness (Te) at these margin segments. The estimated Te values at the Indian margin ranges between 5-8 km in the southeast of Sri Lanka to around 10-12 km in the Cauvery offshore which decrease further north to < 5 km in the Cauvery-Palar basin. Along the east Antarctic margin, the Te values ranges between 5-10 km in the Gunnerus ridge region, 35-40 km in the western Enderby basin which decrease further towards the central Enderby basin up to 20 km. In this study, the above results have been analyzed in terms of early breakup mechanism and subsequent evolution of these two conjugate segments.

Northern Mozambique: Crustal structure across a sheared margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bätzel, Maren; Franke, Dieter; Heyde, Ingo; Schreckenberger, Bernd; Jokat, Wilfried

2015-04-01

The rifting of Gondwana started some 180 million years ago. The continental drift created some of the oldest ocean basins along Eastern Africa, the Somali and the Mozambique basins. As a consequence of the relative movements between Africa and Antarctica-India-Madagascar a shear margin developed along the present day coastline of northern Mozambique and Tanzania. In addition, the N-S oriented offshore Davie Ridge is believed to have formed during the shear movements between both parts of Gondwana. However, whether the Davie Ridge is of continental origin or has been formed by magmatic processes during the continental drift is unknown, since any crustal information is missing so far. Previous studies in this area are rare and only few seismic reflection data sets from the 1970s and 1980s are available. In 2014 four seismic refraction data along east-west-orientated profiles as well as gravity and magnetic field data across the Davie Ridge with RV Sonne were collected to determine its crustal composition as well as the position of the continent-ocean-transition. Here, we present a first P-wave velocity model across the Mozambican sheared margin at 13° S. The profile is situated in a region where the ridge topography vanishes. In total, 20 OBS/OBH systems were used on profile 20140130 over the Davie Ridge. Most of the instruments recorded data with a very good quality. In the best records, P-wave phases can be observed at a source-receiver offset of 110 km. The total thickness of the sediments is about 5 km in the Comores Basin and about 3 km offshore Mozambique. The sediments show at 3.5 and 5 km depth unusual high seismic velocities of 4.0-4.6 km/s. Our results indicate a shallow Moho close to the shelf break. Here, the crust thins to 4 km. This area is assumed to be the western part of the Davie-Ridge and might represent a sharp transition (50 km) from continental to oceanic crust, which is typical for a sheared margin. East of the Davie Ridge the data indicate a crustal thickness of 6 km, which is most likely of oceanic origin.

The Sidi Ifni transect across the rifted margin of Morocco (Central Atlantic): Vertical movements constrained by low-temperature thermochronology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charton, Rémi; Bertotti, Giovanni; Arantegui, Angel; Bulot, Luc

2018-05-01

The occurrence of km-scale exhumations during syn- and post-rift stages has been documented along Atlantic continental margins, which are also characterised by basins undergoing substantial subsidence. The relationship between the exhuming and subsiding domains is poorly understood. In this study, we reconstruct the evolution of a 50 km long transect across the Moroccan rifted margin from the western Anti-Atlas to the Atlantic basin offshore the city of Sidi Ifni. Low-temperature thermochronology data from the Sidi Ifni area document a ca. 8 km exhumation between the Permian and the Early/Middle Jurassic. The related erosion fed sediments to the subsiding Mesozoic basin to the NW. Basement rocks along the transect were subsequently buried by 1-2 km between the Late Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous. From late Early/Late Cretaceous onwards, rocks present along the transect were exhumed to their present-day position.

Tectono-stratigraphic evolution and crustal architecture of the Orphan Basin during North Atlantic rifting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gouiza, Mohamed; Hall, Jeremy; Welford, J. Kim

2017-04-01

The Orphan Basin is located in the deep offshore of the Newfoundland margin, and it is bounded by the continental shelf to the west, the Grand Banks to the south, and the continental blocks of Orphan Knoll and Flemish Cap to the east. The Orphan Basin formed in Mesozoic time during the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean between eastern Canada and western Iberia-Europe. This work, based on well data and regional seismic reflection profiles across the basin, indicates that the continental crust was affected by several extensional episodes between the Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous, separated by events of uplift and erosion. The preserved tectono-stratigraphic sequences in the basin reveal that deformation initiated in the eastern part of the Orphan Basin in the Jurassic and spread towards the west in the Early Cretaceous, resulting in numerous rift structures filled with a Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous syn-rift succession and overlain by thick Upper Cretaceous to Cenozoic post-rift sediments. The seismic data show an extremely thinned crust (4-16 km thick) underneath the eastern and western parts of the Orphan Basin, forming two sub-basins separated by a wide structural high with a relatively thick crust (17 km thick). Quantifying the crustal architecture in the basin highlights the large discrepancy between brittle extension localized in the upper crust and the overall crustal thinning. This suggests that continental deformation in the Orphan Basin involved, in addition to the documented Jurassic and Early Cretaceous rifting, an earlier brittle rift phase which is unidentifiable in seismic data and a depth-dependent thinning of the crust driven by localized lower crust ductile flow.

Study of crustal structure and stretch mechanism of central continental shelf of northern South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, J.; Xia, S.; Sun, J.; Wan, K.; Xu, H.

2017-12-01

Known as a significant region to study tectonic relationship between South China block and South China Sea (SCS) block and the evolution of rifted basin in continental margin, the continental shelf of northern SCS documents the evolution from continental splitting to seafloor spreading of SCS. To investigate crustal structure of central continental shelf in northern SCS, two wide-angle onshore-offshore seismic experiments and coincident multi-channel seismic (MCS) profiles were carried out across the onshore-offshore transitional zone in northern SCS, 2010 and 2012. A total of 34 stations consisted of ocean bottom seismometers, portable and permanent land stations were deployed during the survey. The two-dimensional precise crustal structure models of central continental shelf in northern SCS was constructed from onshore to offshore, and the stretching factors along the P-wave velocity models were calculated. The models reveal that South China block is a typical continental crust with a 30-32 km Moho depth, and a localized high-velocity anomaly in middle-lower crust under land area near Hong Kong was imaged, which may reflect magma underplating caused by subduction of paleo-Pacific plate in late Mesozoic. The littoral fault zone is composed of several parallel, high-angle, normal faults that mainly trend northeast to northeast-to-east and dip to the southeast with a large displacement, and the fault is divided into several segments separated by the northwest-trending faults. The shelf zone south of LFZ was consisted of a differential thinning upper and lower continental crust, which indicate stretch thinning of passive continent margin during the Cenozoic spreading of the SCS. The results appear to further confirm that the northern margin of SCS experienced a transition from active margin to passive one during late Mesozoic and Cenozoic.

Geological history of the west Libyan offshore and adjoining regions

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

Benniran, M.M.; Taleb, T.M.; McCrossan, R.G.

1988-08-01

The continental margin of the African plate north of Libya is separated from the Saharan platform to the south by a major Variscan fault system running along the coastline. The structural evolution of three sedimentary basins within the margin is discussed. The Jeffara basin, onshore western Libya-southern Tunisia, formed as a right-lateral pull-part late in the Variscan event. When the strike-slip motion ceased in the Late Permian, the basin continued to subside thermally. The Sabratah (Tripolitanian) basin, offshore western Libya-southern Tunisia, and the Benghazi basin in the Sirte rise were both formed as left-lateral pull-aparts in the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic.more » From the Middle Jurassic to the present they have subsided thermally. Onshore the lower Mesozoic is characterized by continental and nearshore clastics, separated by an evaporite sequence of Late Triassic-Early Jurassic age. Offshore this sequence is thought to grade northward into open marine carbonates. Uplift along the edge of the Saharan platform during the Early Cretaceous sourced coarse clastics, which grade northward into a thick sequence of shallow-water carbonates. Throughout the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary, high-energy carbonates were deposited around the flanks of the Sabratah basin, grading into deeper-water, fine-grained clastics and carbonates toward the center of the basin. The late Tertiary succession is dominated by clastics derived from the growing Tellian Atlas to the northwest. During the Mesozoic and Tertiary a thick sequence of carbonates was deposited on the Pelagian platform to the north of the Sabratah basin. Periodically the platform was exposed subaerially.« less

Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and stratigraphy of the Cretaceous Sanjiang Basin in NE China: Provenance record of an abrupt tectonic switch in the mode and nature of the NE Asian continental margin evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Feng-Qi; Chen, Han-Lin; Batt, Geoffrey E.; Dilek, Yildirim; A, Min-Na; Sun, Ming-Dao; Yang, Shu-Feng; Meng, Qi-An; Zhao, Xue-Qin

2015-12-01

The age spectra obtained from 505 spots of detrital zircon U-Pb ages of five representative sandstone samples from the Sanjiang Basin in NE China point to a significant change in its provenance during the Coniacian-Santonian. The predominant detrital source for the Sanjiang Basin during the early Cretaceous was the Zhangguangcai Range magmatic belt and Jiamusi Block along its western and southern periphery, whereas it changed in the late Cretaceous to its eastern periphery. The timing of these inferred changes in the detrital source regions and drainage patterns nearly coincide with the age of a regional unconformity in and across the basin. The time interval of non-deposition and unconformity development was coeval with a transitional period between an extensional tectonic regime in the early Cretaceous and a contractional deformation episode in the late Cretaceous. The Sanjiang Basin evolved during this time window from a backarc to a foreland basin. The migration of the coastal orogenic belt and the fold and thrust belt development farther inland during the late Cretaceous marked the onset of regional-scale shortening and surface uplift in the upper plate of a flat (or very shallow-dipping) subduction zone. The stratigraphic record, the detrital source and geochronology of the basinal strata, and the internal structure of the Sanjiang Basin present, therefore, an important record of a tectonic switch in the nature of continental margin evolution of Northeast Asia during the late Mesozoic.

Paleogeographic constraints on continental-scale source-to-sink systems: Northern South America and its Atlantic margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bajolet, Flora; Chardon, Dominique; Rouby, Delphine; Dall'Asta, Massimo; Roig, Jean-Yves; Loparev, Artiom; Coueffe, Renaud

2017-04-01

Our work aims at setting the evolving boundary conditions of erosion and sediments transfer, transit, and onshore-offshore accumulations on northern South America and along its Atlantic margins. Since the Early Mesozoic, the source-to-sink system evolved under the interplay of four main processes, which are (i) volcanism and arc building along the proto-Andes, (ii) long-term dynamics of the Amazon incratonic basin, (iii) rifting, relaxation and rejuvenation of the Atlantic margins and (iv) building of the Andes. We compiled information available from geological maps and the literature regarding tectonics, plate kinematics, magmatism, stratigraphy, sedimentology (including paleoenvironments and currents) and thermochronology to produce a series of paleogeographic maps showing the tectonic and kinematic framework of continental areas under erosion (sources), by-pass and accumulation (sinks) over the Amazonian craton, its adjacent regions and along its Atlantic margins. The maps also allow assessing the relative impact of (i) ongoing Pacific subduction, (ii) Atlantic rifting and its aftermath, and (iii) Atlantic slab retreat from under the Caribbean domain on the distribution and activity of onshore/offshore sedimentary basins. Stratigraphic and thermochronology data are also used to assess denudation / vertical motions due to sediment transfers and lithosphere-asthenosphere interactions. This study ultimately aims at linking the sediment routing system to long-wavelength deformation of northern South America under the influence of mountain building, intracratonic geodynamics, divergent margin systems and mantle dynamics.

Relict basin closure accommodates continental convergence with minimal crustal shortening or deceleration of plate motion as inferred from detrital zircon provenance in the Caucasus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cowgill, E.; Forte, A. M.; Niemi, N. A.; Avdeev, B.; Tye, A. R.; Trexler, C. C.; Javakhishvili, Z.; Elashvili, M.; Godoladze, T.

2016-12-01

Comparison of plate convergence with the timing and magnitude of upper-crustal shortening in collisional orogens indicates both shortening deficits (200-1700 km) and significant (30-40%) plate deceleration during collision, the cause(s) for which remain debated. The Greater Caucasus Mountains, which result from post-collisional Cenozoic closure of a relict Mesozoic back-arc basin on the northern margin of the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone, help reconcile these debates. Here we use U-Pb detrital zircon provenance data and the regional geology of the Caucasus to investigate the width of the now-consumed Mesozoic back-arc basin and its closure history. The provenance data record distinct southern and northern provenance domains that persisted until at least the Miocene; maximum basin width was likely 350-400 km. We propose that closure of the back-arc basin initiated at 35 Ma, coincident with initial (soft) Arabia-Eurasia collision along the Bitlis suture, eventually leading to 5 Ma (hard) collision between the Lesser Caucasus arc and the Scythian platform to form the Greater Caucasus Mountains. Final basin closure triggered deceleration of plate convergence and tectonic reorganization throughout the collision. Post-collisional subduction of such small (500-1000 km wide) relict ocean basins can account for both shortening deficits and delays in plate deceleration by accommodating convergence via subduction/underthrusting, although such shortening is easily missed if it occurs along structures hidden within flysch/slate belts. Relict-basin closure is likely typical early in continental collision at the end of a Wilson cycle due to the irregularity of colliding margins and extensive back-arc basin development during closure of long-lived ocean basins.

Footwall degradation styles and associated sedimentary facies distribution in SE Crete: Insights into tilt-block extensional basins on continental margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alves, Tiago M.; Cupkovic, Tomas

2018-05-01

Depositional facies resulting from footwall degradation in extensional basins of SE Crete are studied based on detailed geological maps, regional transects, lithological columns and outcrop photos. During an extensional episode affecting Crete in the late Miocene-early Pliocene, depocentres trending N20°E and N70°E were filled with fan deltas, submarine mass-wasting deposits, sandy turbidites and fine-grained hemipelagites sourced from both nearby and distal sediment sources. Deposition of proximal continental and shallow-marine units, and relatively deep (marine) turbidites and mass-transport deposits, occurred within a complex mosaic of tectonically controlled depocentres. The new geological maps and transects in this work reveal that depositional facies in SE Crete were controlled by: a) their relative proximity to active faults and uplifting footwall blocks, b) the relative position (depth and relative height above sea level) of hanging-wall basins, and c) the nature of the basement units eroded from adjacent footwall blocks. Distal sediment sources supplied background siliciclastic sediment ('hemipelagites'), which differ markedly from strata sourced from local footwalls. In parallel, mass-transport of sediment was ubiquitous on tectonically active slopes, and so was the presence of coarse-grained sediment with sizes varying from large blocks > 50 m-wide to heterolithic mass-transport deposits and silty-sandy turbidites. We expect similar tectono-sedimentary settings to have predominated in tectonically active Miocene basins of the eastern Mediterranean, in which hydrocarbon exploration is occurring at present, and on rifted continental margins across the world.

Flashy Water and Sediment Delivery to Fluvial Megafan andFan Delta Systems on Opposing Shorelines of an Early Eocene Lake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, E. R.; Plink-Bjorklund, P.

2015-12-01

Flashy delivery of water and sediment had distinct effects on the process of deposition in coeval fluvial megafan and fan delta deposits on opposing shorelines of a paleolake that occupied the Uinta Basin throughout the Eocene. The Tertiary Uinta Basin was an asymmetric continental interior basin with a steep northern margin, adjacent to the block uplift controlling basin subsidence, and a low gradient southern margin. A ~140 km wide fluvial megafan with catchments as far as ~750 km away occupied the southern margin of the lacustrine basin. Within this megafan system, fluvial deposits contain within-channel continental bioturbation and paleosol development on bar accretion surfaces that are evidence of prolonged periods of groundwater flow or channel abandonment. These are punctuated by channel fills exhibiting a suite of both high-deposition rate and upper flow regime sedimentary structures that were deposited by very rapid suspension-fallout during seasonal to episodic river flooding events. A series of small (~8 km wide) and proximally sourced fan deltas fed sediment into the steeper northern margin of the lacustrine basin. 35-50% of the deposits in the delta plain environment of these fan deltas are very sandy debris flows with as low as 5% clay and silt sized material. Detrital zircon geochronology shows that these fan deltas were tapping catchments where mostly unconsolidated Cretaceous sedimentary cover and thick Jurassic eolianites were being eroded. A combination of flashy precipitation, arid climate, catchments mantled by abundant loose sand-sized colluvium, and steep depositional gradients promoted generation of abundant very sandy (5-10% clay and silt sized material) debris flows. In this way, the Wasatch and Green River Formations in the Uinta Basin, Utah, U.S.A. gives us two very different examples of how routing flashy water and sediment delivery (associated with pulses of hyperthermal climate change during the Early Eocene) through different depositional systems produced unique processes of deposition, and also gives us an opportunity to isolate the effects of other variables (e.g. sediment caliber, system gradient, catchment size) that can modulate the flashy precipitation signal in stratigraphy.

Global Sea-level Changes Revealed in the Sediments of the Canterbury Basin, New Zealand: IODP Expedition 317

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McHugh, C. M.; Fulthorpe, C.; Blum, P.; Rios, J.; Chow, Y.; Mishkin, K.

2012-12-01

Continental margins are composed of thick sedimentary sections that preserve the record of local processes modulated by global sea-level (eustatic) changes and climate. Understanding this regional variability permits us to extract the eustatic record. Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 317 drilled four sites in the offshore Canterbury Basin, eastern South Island of New Zealand, in water depths of 85 m to 320 m. One of the objectives of the expedition was to understand the influence of eustasy on continental margins sedimentation and to test the concepts of sequence stratigraphy. A high-resolution multiproxy approach that involves geochemical elemental analyses, lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy is applied to understand the margin's sedimentation for the past ~5 million years. Multichannel seismic data (EW00-01 survey) provide a seismic sequence stratigraphic framework against which to interpret the multiproxy data. The mid- to late Pleistocene sedimentation is characterized by variable lithologies and changing facies. However, elemental compositions and facies follow predictable patterns within seismic sequences. Oxygen isotope measurements for the latest Pleistocene indicate that 100 ky Milankovich astronomical forcing controlled this variability. In contrast, Pliocene and early Pleistocene sediments are composed of repetitive siliciclastic and carbonate mud lithologies with less facies variability. Results of our analyses suggest that repetitive alternations of green and gray mud were deposited during warmer and cooler periods, respectively. Oxygen isotopes suggest that this cyclicity may reflect 40 ky Milankovich forcing. Ocean Drilling Program Legs 150 and 174A drilled on the New Jersey continental margin with similar objectives to those of Expedition 317. Results from this northern and southern hemisphere drilling reveal that eustasy, controlled by Milankovich forcing, strongly influences margin sedimentation and the formation of basin-wide unconformities. However, the correlation between eustasy and seismic sequence formation is not always one to one. High sedimentation rates in the Pleistocene offshore Canterbury Basin record a one- to-one correlation between glacioeustasy and seismic sequences, and in some sequences possibly a higher order frequency. But this is not the case for offshore New Jersey, where accumulation rates were lower and only the uppermost seismic sequences represent 100 ky cycles. Furthermore, Pliocene sedimentation in the Canterbury Basin was also controlled by eustasy, but does not show a one-to-one correlation between Milankovich cycles and seismic stratigraphy. Northern and southern hemisphere comparisons provide a powerful tool to better understand controls on regional sedimentation and extract a global signal.

Opening of the Central Atlantic Ocean: Implications for Geometric Rifting and Asymmetric Initial Seafloor Spreading after Continental Breakup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klingelhoefer, F.; Biari, Y.; Sahabi, M.; Funck, T.; Benabdellouahed, M.; Schnabel, M.; Reichert, C. J.; Gutscher, M. A.; Bronner, A.; Austin, J. A., Jr.

2017-12-01

The structure of conjugate passive margins provides information about rifting styles, the initial phases of the opening of an ocean and the formation of its associated sedimentary basins. The study of the deep structure of conjugate passive continental margins combined with precise plate kinematic reconstructions can provide constraints on the mechanisms of rifting and formation of initial oceanic crust. In this study the Central Atlantic conjugate margins are compared, based on compilation of wide-angle seismic profiles from the NW-Africa Nova Scotian and US passive margins. Plate cinematic reconstructions were used to place the profiles in the position at opening and at the M25 magnetic anomaly. The patterns of volcanism, crustal thickness, geometry, and seismic velocities in the transition zone. suggest symmetric rifting followed by asymmetric oceanic crustal accretion. Conjugate profiles in the southern Central Atlantic image differences in the continental crustal thickness. While profiles on the eastern US margin are characterized by thick layers of magmatic underplating, no such underplate was imaged along the NW-African continental margin. It has been proposed that these volcanic products form part of the CAMP (Central Atlantic Magmatic Province). In the north, two wide-angle seismic profiles acquired in exactly conjugate positions show that the crustal geometry of the unthinned continental crust and the necking zone are nearly symmetric. A region including seismic velocities too high to be explained by either continental or oceanic crust is imaged along the Nova Scotia margin off Eastern Canada, corresponding on the African side to an oceanic crust with slightly elevated velocities. These might result from asymmetric spreading creating seafloor by faulting the existing lithosphere on the Canadian side and the emplacement of magmatic oceanic crust including pockets of serpentinite on the Moroccan margin. A slightly elevated crustal thickness along the African margin can be explained by the influence of the Canary hotspot between 60 and 30 Ma in the study region. After isochron M25, a large-scale plate reorganization may then have led to an increase in spreading velocity and the production of a more typical but thin magmatic crust on both sides.

CO2 exchange in a temperate marginal sea of the Mediterranean Sea: processes and carbon budget

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cossarini, G.; Querin, S.; Solidoro, C.

2012-08-01

Marginal seas play a potentially important role in the global carbon cycle; however, due to differences in the scales of variability and dynamics, marginal seas are seldom fully accounted for in global models or estimates. Specific high-resolution studies may elucidate the role of marginal seas and assist in the compilation of a complete global budget. In this study, we investigated the air-sea exchange and the carbon cycle dynamics in a marginal sub-basin of the Mediterranean Sea (the Adriatic Sea) by adopting a coupled transport-biogeochemical model of intermediate complexity including carbonate dynamics. The Adriatic Sea is a highly productive area owed to riverine fertilisation and is a site of intense dense water formation both on the northern continental shelf and in the southern sub-basin. Therefore, the study area may be an important site of CO2 sequestration in the Mediterranean Sea. The results of the model simulation show that the Adriatic Sea, as a whole, is a CO2 sink with a mean annual flux of 36 mg m-2 day-1. The northern part absorbs more carbon (68 mg m-2 day-1) due to an efficient continental shelf pump process, whereas the southern part behaves similar to an open ocean. Nonetheless, the Southern Adriatic Sea accumulates dense, southward-flowing, carbon-rich water produced on the northern shelf. During a warm year and despite an increase in aquatic primary productivity, the sequestration of atmospheric CO2 is reduced by approximately 15% due to alterations of the solubility pump and reduced dense water formation. The seasonal cycle of temperature and biological productivity modulates the efficiency of the carbon pump at the surface, whereas the intensity of winter cooling in the northern sub-basin leads to the export of C-rich dense water to the deep layer of the southern sub-basin and, subsequently, to the interior of the Mediterranean Sea.

An integrated geophysical study on the Mesozoic strata distribution and hydrocarbon potential in the South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Weijian; Hao, Tianyao; Jiang, Weiwei; Xu, Ya; Zhao, Baimin; Jiang, Didi

2015-11-01

A series of drilling, dredge, and seismic investigations indicate that Mesozoic sediments exist in the South China Sea (SCS) which shows a bright prospect for oil and gas exploration. In order to study the distribution of Mesozoic strata and their residual thicknesses in the SCS, we carried out an integrated geophysical study based mainly on gravity data, gravity basement depth and distribution of residual Mesozoic thickness in the SCS were obtained using gravity inversion constrained with high-precision drilling and seismic data. In addition, the fine deep crustal structures and distribution characteristics of Mesozoic thicknesses of three typical profiles were obtained by gravity fitting inversion. Mesozoic strata in the SCS are mainly distributed in the south and north continental margins, and have been reformed by the later tectonic activities. They extend in NE-trending stripes are macro-controlled by the deep and large NE-trending faults, and cut by the NW-trending faults which were active in later times. The offset in NW direction of Mesozoic strata in Nansha area of the southern margin are more obvious as compared to the north margin. In the Pearl River Mouth Basin and Southwest Taiwan Basin of the north continental margin the Mesozoic sediments are continuously distributed with a relatively large thickness. In the Nansha area of the south margin the Mesozoic strata are discontinuous and their thicknesses vary considerably. According to the characteristics of Mesozoic thickness distribution and hydrocarbon potential analyses from drilling and other data, Dongsha Uplift-Chaoshan Depression, Southwest Taiwan Basin-Peikang Uplift and Liyue Bank have large thickness of the Mesozoic residual strata, have good hydrocarbon genesis capability and complete source-reservoir-cap combinations, show a bright prospect of Mesozoic oil/gas resources.

Early to Middle Ordovician back-arc basin in the southern Appalachian Blue Ridge: characteristics, extent, and tectonic significance

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tull, James; Holm-Denoma, Christopher S.; Barineau, Clinton I.

2014-01-01

Fault-dismembered segments of a distinctive, extensive, highly allochthonous, and tectonically significant Ordovician (ca. 480–460 Ma) basin, which contains suites of bimodal metavolcanic rocks, associated base metal deposits, and thick immature deep-water (turbiditic) metasediments, occur in parts of the southern Appalachian Talladega belt, eastern Blue Ridge, and Inner Piedmont of Alabama, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. The basin's predominantly metasedimentary strata display geochemical and isotopic evidence of a mixed provenance, including an adjacent active volcanic arc and a provenance of mica (clay)-rich sedimentary and felsic plutonic rocks consistent with Laurentian (Grenvillian) upper-crustal continental rocks and their passive-margin cover sequences. Geochemical characteristics of the subordinate intercalated bimodal metavolcanic rocks indicate formation in a suprasubduction environment, most likely a back-arc basin, whereas characteristics of metasedimentary units suggest deposition above Neoproterozoic rift and outer-margin lower Paleozoic slope and rise sediments within a marginal basin along Ordovician Laurentia's Iapetus margin. This tectonic setting indicates that southernmost Appalachian Ordovician orogenesis (Taconic orogeny) began as an extensional accretionary orogen along the outer margin of Laurentia, rather than in an exotic (non-Laurentian) arc collisional setting. B-type subduction polarity requires that the associated arc-trench system formed southeast of the palinspastic position of the back-arc basin. This scenario can explain several unique features of the southern Appalachian Taconic orogen, including: the palinspastic geographic ordering of key tectonic elements (i.e., back-arc, arc, etc.), and a lack of (1) an obducted arc sensu stricto on the Laurentian margin, (2) widespread Ordovician regional metamorphism, and (3) Taconic klippen to supply detritus to the Taconic foreland basin.

Silicate Weathering and Pervasive Authigenic Carbonate Precipitation Coupled to Methanogenesis in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, Offshore India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solomon, E. A.; Spivack, A. J.; Kastner, M.; Torres, M. E.

2014-12-01

The cycling of methane in marine sediments has been actively studied for the past several decades, but less attention has been paid to the cycling of CO2 produced in methanogenic sediments. The National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 cored 10 sites with the Joides Resolution drillship in the Krishna-Godavari basin, located on the southeastern margin of India. A comprehensive suite of pore water solute concentrations and isotope ratios were analyzed to investigate the distribution and concentration of gas hydrate along the margin, in situ diagenetic and metabolic reactions, fluid migration and flow pathways, and fluid and gas sources. This represents one of the most comprehensive pore water geochemical datasets collected at a continental margin to date, and provides the necessary tracers to better understand the processes and sinks controlling CO2 in margin sediments. Our results show that the CO2 produced through net microbial methanogenesis is effectively neutralized through silicate weathering throughout the sediment column drilled at each site (~100-300 m), buffering the pH of the sedimentary pore water and generating excess alkalinity through the same reaction sequence as continental silicate weathering. Most of the excess alkalinity produced through silicate weathering in the Krishna-Godavari basin is sequestered in Ca- and Fe-carbonates as a result of ubiquitous calcium release from weathering detrital silicates and Fe-reduction within the methanogenic sediments. Formation of secondary hydrous silicates (e.g. smectite) related to incongruent primary silicate dissolution acts as a significant sink for pore water Mg, K, Li, Rb, and B. The consumption of methane through anaerobic oxidation of methane, sequestration of methane in gas hydrate, and sequestration of dissolved inorganic carbon in authigenic carbonates keeps methanogenesis as a thermodynamically feasible catabolic pathway. Our results combined with previous indications of silicate weathering in anoxic sediments in the Sea of Okhotsk, suggest that silicate weathering coupled to microbial methanogenesis should be occurring in continental margins worldwide, providing a net sink of atmospheric CO2 over geologic timescales.

The evolution of Gondwana: U-Pb, Sm-Nd, Pb-Pb and geochemical data from Neoproterozoic to Early Palaeozoic successions of the Kango Inlier (Saldania Belt, South Africa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naidoo, Thanusha; Zimmermann, Udo; Chemale, Farid

2013-08-01

The provenance of Neoproterozoic to Early Palaeozoic rocks at the southern margin of the Kalahari craton reveals a depositional setting and evolution with a significant position in the formation of Gondwana. The sedimentary record shows a progression from immature, moderately altered rocks in the Ediacaran Cango Caves Group; to mature, strongly altered rocks in the Early Palaeozoic Kansa Group and overlying formations; culminating below very immature quartzarenites of Ordovician age. Petrographic and geochemical observations suggest the evolution of a small restricted basin with little recycling space towards a larger continental margin where substantial turbidite deposition is observed. For the southern Kalahari craton, a tectonic evolution comparable to supracrustal rocks in southern South America, Patagonia and Antarctica is supported by similarities in U-Pb ages of detrital zircons (Mesoproterozoic, Ediacaran and Ordovician grain populations); Sm-Nd isotopes (TDM: 1.2-1.8 Ga); and Pb-Pb isotopes. The maximum depositional age of the Huis Rivier Formation (upper Cango Caves Group) is determined at 644 Ma, but a younger age is still possible due to the limited zircon yield. The Cango Caves Group developed in a retro-arc foreland basin syntectonically to the Terra Australis Orogeny, which fringed Gondwana. The Kansa Group and overlying Schoemanspoort Formation are related to an active continental margin developed after the Terra Australis Orogen, with Patagonia being the ‘missing link’ between the Central South American arc and Antarctica during the Ordovician. This explains the occurrence of Ordovician detritus in these rocks, as a source rock of this age has not been discovered in South Africa. The absence of arc characteristics defines a position distal to the active continental margin, in a retro-arc foreland basin. The similarity of isotope proxies to major tectonic provinces in Antarctica and Patagonia, with those on the margins of the Kalahari craton, also points to a common geological evolution during the Mesoproterozoic and highlights the global relevance of this study.

Structure and evolution of the eastern Gulf of Aden conjugate margins from seismic reflection data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

d'Acremont, Elia; Leroy, Sylvie; Beslier, Marie-Odile; Bellahsen, Nicolas; Fournier, Marc; Robin, Cécile; Maia, Marcia; Gente, Pascal

2005-03-01

The Gulf of Aden is a young and narrow oceanic basin formed in Oligo-Miocene time between the rifted margins of the Arabian and Somalian plates. Its mean orientation, N75°E, strikes obliquely (50°) to the N25°E opening direction. The western conjugate margins are masked by Oligo-Miocene lavas from the Afar Plume. This paper concerns the eastern margins, where the 19-35 Ma breakup structures are well exposed onshore and within the sediment-starved marine shelf. Those passive margins, about 200 km distant, are non-volcanic. Offshore, during the Encens-Sheba cruise we gathered swath bathymetry, single-channel seismic reflection, gravity and magnetism data, in order to compare the structure of the two conjugate margins and to reconstruct the evolution of the thinned continental crust from rifting to the onset of oceanic spreading. Between the Alula-Fartak and Socotra major fracture zones, two accommodation zones trending N25°E separate the margins into three N110°E-trending segments. The margins are asymmetric: offshore, the northern margin is narrower and steeper than the southern one. Including the onshore domain, the southern rifted margin is about twice the breadth of the northern one. We relate this asymmetry to inherited Jurassic/Cretaceous rifts. The rifting obliquity also influenced the syn-rift structural pattern responsible for the normal faults trending from N70°E to N110°E. The N110°E fault pattern could be explained by the decrease of the influence of rift obliquity towards the central rift, and/or by structural inheritance. The transition between the thinned continental crust and the oceanic crust is characterized by a 40 km wide zone. Our data suggest that its basement is made up of thinned continental crust along the southern margin and of thinned continental crust or exhumed mantle, more or less intruded by magmatic rocks, along the northern margin.

Petroleum system of the Gippsland Basin, Australia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bishop, Michele G.

2000-01-01

The Gippsland Basin Province 3930, located on the southeastern coast of Australia, is formed from two successive failed rifts that developed into a passive margin during the Cretaceous. Formation of this basin is related to the break up of Gondwana, which resulted in the separation of Antarctica from Australia, and the separation of the New Zealand and Lord Howe Rise continental crust from Australia. Coals and coaly shales of Late Cretaceous through Eocene age are the source rocks for oil and gas that accumulated predominantly in anticlinal traps. The basin was Australia?s major producing basin until 1996 when daily oil/condensate production from the North West Shelf surpassed it.

Madagascar's escape from Africa: A high-resolution plate reconstruction for the Western Somali Basin and implications for supercontinent dispersal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phethean, Jordan J. J.; Kalnins, Lara M.; van Hunen, Jeroen; Biffi, Paolo G.; Davies, Richard J.; McCaffrey, Ken J. W.

2016-12-01

Accurate reconstructions of the dispersal of supercontinent blocks are essential for testing continental breakup models. Here, we provide a new plate tectonic reconstruction of the opening of the Western Somali Basin during the breakup of East and West Gondwana. The model is constrained by a new comprehensive set of spreading lineaments, detected in this heavily sedimented basin using a novel technique based on directional derivatives of free-air gravity anomalies. Vertical gravity gradient and free-air gravity anomaly maps also enable the detection of extinct mid-ocean ridge segments, which can be directly compared to several previous ocean magnetic anomaly interpretations of the Western Somali Basin. The best matching interpretations have basin symmetry around the M0 anomaly; these are then used to temporally constrain our plate tectonic reconstruction. The reconstruction supports a tight fit for Gondwana fragments prior to breakup, and predicts that the continent-ocean transform margin lies along the Rovuma Basin, not along the Davie Fracture Zone (DFZ) as commonly thought. According to our reconstruction, the DFZ represents a major ocean-ocean fracture zone formed by the coalescence of several smaller fracture zones during evolving plate motions as Madagascar drifted southwards, and offshore Tanzania is an obliquely rifted, rather than transform, margin. New seismic reflection evidence for oceanic crust inboard of the DFZ strongly supports these conclusions. Our results provide important new constraints on the still enigmatic driving mechanism of continental rifting, the nature of the lithosphere in the Western Somali Basin, and its resource potential.

Origin of back-arc basins and effects of western Pacific subduction systems on eastern China geology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Y.

2013-12-01

Assuming that subduction initiation is a consequence of lateral compositional buoyancy contrast within the lithosphere [1], and recognizing that subduction initiation within normal oceanic lithosphere is unlikely [1], we can assert that passive continental margins that are locations of the largest compositional buoyancy contrast within the lithosphere are the loci of future subduction zones [1]. We hypothesize that western Pacific back-arc basins were developed as and evolved from rifting at passive continental margins in response to initiation and continuation of subduction zones. This hypothesis can be tested by demonstrating that intra-oceanic island arcs must have basement of continental origin. The geology of the Islands of Japan supports this. The highly depleted forearc peridotites (sub-continental lithosphere material) from Tonga and Mariana offer independent lines of evidence for the hypothesis [1]. The origin and evolution of the Okinawa Trough (back-arc basin) and Ryukyu Arc/Trench systems represents the modern example of subduction initiation and back-arc basin formation along a (Chinese) continental margin. The observation why back-arc basins exit behind some subduction zones (e.g., western Pacific) but not others (e.g., in South America) depends on how the overlying plate responds to subduction, slab-rollback and trench retreat. In the western Pacific, trench retreat towards east results in the development of extension in the upper Eurasian plate and formation of back-arc basins. In the case of South America, where no back-arc basins form because trench retreat related extension is focused at the 'weakest' South Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is thus conceptually correct that the South Atlantic is equivalent to a huge 'back-arc basin' although its origin may be different. Given the negative Clayperon slope of the Perovskite-ringwoodite phase transition at the 660 km mantle seismic discontinuity (660-D), slab penetration across the 660-D is difficult and trench retreat in the western Pacific readily result in the horizontal stagnation of the Pacific plate in the transition zone beneath eastern Asian continent [2]. Dehydration of this slab supplies water, which rises and results in 'basal hydration weakening' of the eastern China lithosphere and its thinning by converting it into weak material of asthenospheric property [3]. We note the proposal that multiple subduction zones with more water (i.e., subduction of the South China Block beneath the North China Craton, NCC; subduction of the Siberian/Mongolian block beneath the NCC) all contribute to the lithosphere thinning beneath the NCC [4]. However, 'South China-NCC' and 'Siberian/Mongolian-NCC' represent two collisional tectonics involving no trench retreat, causing no transition-zone slab stagnation, supplying no water, and thus contributing little to lithosphere thinning beneath the NCC. Furthermore, lithosphere thinning happened to the entire eastern China, not just limited to the NCC, emphasizing the effects of the western Pacific subduction system on eastern China geology. References: [1] Niu et al., 2003, Journal of Petrology, 44, 851-866. [2] Kárason & van der Hilst, R., 2000, Geophysical Monograph, 121, 277-288. [3] Niu, 2005, Geological Journal of China Universities, 11, 9-46. [4] Windley et al., 2010, American Journal of Science, 310, 1250-1293.

Elastic thickness estimates at northeast passive margin of North America and its implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, R. T. Ratheesh; Maji, Tanmay K.; Kandpal, Suresh Ch; Sengupta, D.; Nair, Rajesh R.

2011-06-01

Global estimates of the elastic thickness (Te) of the structure of passive continental margins show wide and varying results owing to the use of different methodologies. Earlier estimates of the elastic thickness of the North Atlantic passive continental margins that used flexural modelling yielded a Te value of ~20-100 km. Here, we compare these estimates with the Te value obtained using orthonormalized Hermite multitaper recovered isostatic coherence functions. We discuss how Te is correlated with heat flow distribution and depth of necking. The E-W segment in the southern study region comprising Nova Scotia and the Southern Grand Banks show low Te values, while the zones comprising the NE-SW zones, viz., Western Greenland, Labrador, Orphan Basin and the Northern Grand Bank show comparatively high Te values. As expected, Te broadly reflects the depth of the 200-400°C isotherm below the weak surface sediment layer at the time of loading, and at the margins most of the loading occurred during rifting. We infer that these low Te measurements indicate Te frozen into the lithosphere. This could be due to the passive nature of the margin when the loads were emplaced during the continental break-up process at high temperature gradients.

Insights into the crustal structure of the transition between Nares Strait and Baffin Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altenbernd, Tabea; Jokat, Wilfried; Heyde, Ingo; Damm, Volkmar

2016-11-01

The crustal structure and continental margin between southern Nares Strait and northern Baffin Bay were studied based on seismic refraction and gravity data acquired in 2010. We present the resulting P wave velocity, density and geological models of the crustal structure of a profile, which extends from the Greenlandic margin of the Nares Strait into the deep basin of central northern Baffin Bay. For the first time, the crustal structure of the continent-ocean transition of the very northern part of Baffin Bay could be imaged. We divide the profile into three parts: continental, thin oceanic, and transitional crust. On top of the three-layered continental crust, a low-velocity zone characterizes the lowermost layer of the three-layered Thule Supergroup underneath Steensby Basin. The 4.3-6.3 km thick oceanic crust in the southern part of the profile can be divided into a northern and southern section, more or less separated by a fracture zone. The oceanic crust adjacent to the continent-ocean transition is composed of 3 layers and characterized by oceanic layer 3 velocities of 6.7-7.3 km/s. Toward the south only two oceanic crustal layers are necessary to model the travel time curves. Here, the lower oceanic crust has lower seismic velocities (6.4-6.8 km/s) than in the north. Rather low velocities of 7.7 km/s characterize the upper mantle underneath the oceanic crust, which we interpret as an indication for the presence of upper mantle serpentinization. In the continent-ocean transition zone, the velocities are lower than in the adjacent continental and oceanic crustal units. There are no signs for massive magmatism or the existence of a transform margin in our study area.

Moroccan crustal response to continental drift.

PubMed

Kanes, W H; Saadi, M; Ehrlich, E; Alem, A

1973-06-01

The formation and development of a zone of spreading beneath the continental crust resulted in the breakup of Pangea and formation of the Atlantic Ocean. The crust of Morocco bears an extremely complete record of the crustal response to this episode of mantle dynamics. Structural and related depositional patterns indicate that the African margin had stabilized by the Middle Jurassic as a marine carbonate environment; that it was dominated by tensile stresses in the early Mesozoic, resulting in two fault systems paralleling the Atlantic and Mediterranean margins and a basin and range structural-depositional style; and that it was affected by late Paleozoic metamorphism and intrusion. Mesozoic events record the latter portion of African involvement in the spreading episode; late Paleozoic thermal orogenesis might reflect the earlier events in the initiation of the spreading center and its development beneath significant continental crust. In that case, more than 100 million years were required for mantle dynamics to break up Pangea.

Global Mapping of Oceanic and Continental Shelf Crustal Thickness and Ocean-Continent Transition Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusznir, Nick; Alvey, Andy; Roberts, Alan

2017-04-01

The 3D mapping of crustal thickness for continental shelves and oceanic crust, and the determination of ocean-continent transition (OCT) structure and continent-ocean boundary (COB) location, represents a substantial challenge. Geophysical inversion of satellite derived free-air gravity anomaly data incorporating a lithosphere thermal anomaly correction (Chappell & Kusznir, 2008) now provides a useful and reliable methodology for mapping crustal thickness in the marine domain. Using this we have produced the first comprehensive maps of global crustal thickness for oceanic and continental shelf regions. Maps of crustal thickness and continental lithosphere thinning factor from gravity inversion may be used to determine the distribution of oceanic lithosphere, micro-continents and oceanic plateaux including for the inaccessible polar regions (e.g. Arctic Ocean, Alvey et al.,2008). The gravity inversion method provides a prediction of continent-ocean boundary location which is independent of ocean magnetic anomaly and isochron interpretation. Using crustal thickness and continental lithosphere thinning factor maps with superimposed shaded-relief free-air gravity anomaly, we can improve the determination of pre-breakup rifted margin conjugacy and sea-floor spreading trajectory during ocean basin formation. By restoring crustal thickness & continental lithosphere thinning to their initial post-breakup configuration we show the geometry and segmentation of the rifted continental margins at their time of breakup, together with the location of highly-stretched failed breakup basins and rifted micro-continents. For detailed analysis to constrain OCT structure, margin type (i.e. magma poor, "normal" or magma rich) and COB location, a suite of quantitative analytical methods may be used which include: (i) Crustal cross-sections showing Moho depth and crustal basement thickness from gravity inversion. (ii) Residual depth anomaly (RDA) analysis which is used to investigate OCT bathymetric anomalies with respect to expected oceanic values. This includes flexural backstripping to produce bathymetry corrected for sediment loading. (iii) Subsidence analysis which is used to determine the distribution of continental lithosphere thinning. (iv) Joint inversion of time-domain deep seismic reflection and gravity anomaly data which is used to determine lateral variations in crustal basement density and velocity across the OCT, and to validate deep seismic reflection interpretations of Moho depth. The combined interpretation of these independent quantitative measurements is used to determine crustal thickness and composition across the ocean-continent-transition. This integrated approach has been validated on the Iberian margin where ODP drilling provides ground-truth of ocean-continent-transition crustal structure, continent-ocean-boundary location and magmatic type.

Cenozoic Source-to-Sink of the African margin of the Equatorial Atlantic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rouby, Delphine; Chardon, Dominique; Huyghe, Damien; Guillocheau, François; Robin, Cecile; Loparev, Artiom; Ye, Jing; Dall'Asta, Massimo; Grimaud, Jean-Louis

2016-04-01

The objective of the Transform Source to Sink Project (TS2P) is to link the dynamics of the erosion of the West African Craton to the offshore sedimentary basins of the African margin of the Equatorial Atlantic at geological time scales. This margin, alternating transform and oblique segments from Guinea to Nigeria, shows a strong structural variability in the margin width, continental geology and relief, drainage networks and subsidence/accumulation patterns. We analyzed this system combining onshore geology and geomorphology as well as offshore sub-surface data. Mapping and regional correlation of dated lateritic paleo-landscape remnants allows us to reconstruct two physiographic configurations of West Africa during the Cenozoic. We corrected those reconstitutions from flexural isostasy related to the subsequent erosion. These geometries show that the present-day drainage organization stabilized by at least 29 Myrs ago (probably by 34 Myr) revealing the antiquity of the Senegambia, Niger and Volta catchments toward the Atlantic as well as of the marginal upwarp currently forming a continental divide. The drainage rearrangement that lead to this drainage organization was primarily enhanced by the topographic growth of the Hoggar swell and caused a major stratigraphic turnover along the Equatorial margin of West Africa. Elevation differences between paleo-landscape remnants give access to the spatial and temporal distribution of denudation for 3 time-increments since 45 Myrs. From this, we estimate the volumes of sediments and associated lithologies exported by the West African Craton toward different segments of the margin, taking into account the type of eroded bedrock and the successive drainage reorganizations. We compare these data to Cenozoic accumulation histories in the basins and discuss their stratigraphic expression according to the type of margin segment they are preserved in.

Biogeochemical and Microbial Survey of Gravity Cores from the Guaymas Basin and Sonora Margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buckley, A.; Mckay, L. J.; Chanton, J.; Hensen, C.; Turner, T.; Aiello, I. W.; Ravelo, A. C.; Mortera, C.; Teske, A.

2015-12-01

During the cruise "Guaymas14" with RV El Puma (Oct. 14-25, 2014), 15 sediment cores were obtained from the Guaymas Basin Ridge flanks and the Sonora Margin, to contrast the shallow subsurface sediments of the seafloor set at this spreading center and its adjacent continental margin. Here we present biogeochemical profiles of porewater dissolved gases and stable ions, along with high-throughout 16S rRNA gene sequencing of selected samples. Cores from the NW and SE ends of the Guaymas Basin ridge flanks were not sulfidic, and showed neither sulfate depletion nor methane accumulation. In contrast, samples of compression-impacted Sonora Margin on the NE edge of Guaymas Basin and from the upper Sonora Margin beneath the oxygen minimum zone showed an abundance of sulfide, DIC with sulfate depletion, and accumulation of biogenic methane (δ13C-CH4 ca. -85 to -88 ‰) at supersaturated concentrations below sulfate-replete sediment. Samples from an attenuated off-axis seep site on the NW flank of Guaymas Basin differed from both Sonora Margin and Guaymas Basin. The off-axis seep sediments contained 1 to 1.5 mM methane, with distinct δ13C -isotopic content (δ13C-CH4 near -60 ‰); intermediate to the biogenic methane of the Sonora Margin and the hydrothermally produced methane at Guaymas Basin. Unaltered sulfate and low sulfide concentrations indicate insufficiently reduced conditions, suggesting the methane was not produced in situ. Porewater DIC concentrations in the old seep site and the control site were similar to each other (3-5 mM), and lower than in the Sonora Margin sites (ca. 20-40 mM), indicating low bioremineralization in the old seep site and control sediments. Diverse seafloor habitats are expected to result in distinct microbiota that range from strictly anaerobic seep specialists and methane-cycling archaea in the Sonora Margin to diversified heterotrophic communities in the off-axis ridge flank sediments of Guaymas Basin; high-throughput sequencing should also address potential hydrothermal microbial signature in the attenuated off-axis seep site.

Uplift history of a transform continental margin revealed by the stratigraphic record: The case of the Agulhas transform margin along the Southern African Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baby, Guillaume; Guillocheau, François; Boulogne, Carl; Robin, Cécile; Dall'Asta, Massimo

2018-04-01

The south and southeast coast of southern Africa (from 28°S to 33°S) forms a high-elevated transform passive margin bounded to the east by the Agulhas-Falkland Fracture Zone (AFFZ). We analysed the stratigraphic record of the Outeniqua and Durban (Thekwini) Basins, located on the African side of the AFFZ, to determine the evolution of these margins from the rifting stage to present-day. The goal was to reconstruct the strike-slip evolution of the Agulhas Margin and the uplift of the inland high-elevation South African Plateau. The Agulhas transform passive margin results from four successive stages: Rifting stage, from Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous ( 200?-134 Ma), punctuated by three successive rifting episodes related to the Gondwana breakup; Wrench stage (134-131 Ma), evidenced by strike- and dip-slip deformations increasing toward the AFFZ; Active transform margin stage (131-92 Ma), during which the Falkland/Malvinas Plateau drifts away along the AFFZ, with an uplift of the northeastern part of the Outeniqua Basin progressively migrating toward the west; Thermal subsidence stage (92-0 Ma), marked by a major change in the configuration of the margin (onset of the shelf-break passive margin morphology). Two main periods of uplift were documented during the thermal subsidence stage of the Agulhas Margin: (1) a 92 Ma short-lived margin-scale uplift, followed by a second one at 76 Ma located along the Outeniqua Basin and; (2) a long-lasting uplift from 40 to 15 Ma limited to the Durban (Thekwini) Basin. This suggests that the South African Plateau is an old Upper Cretaceous relief (90-70 Ma) reactivated during Late Eocene to Early Miocene times (40-15 Ma).

Major unconformities/termination of extension events and associated surfaces in the South China Seas: Review and implications for tectonic development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morley, C. K.

2016-04-01

The distribution of unconformities and end of Cenozoic rifting events in the South China Seas (SCS) reflects both the modes of rift development, and the effects of driving mechanisms. Continental rifting began in the eastern basins during the Paleocene, and propagated westwards to the Vietnam basin margin in the Late Eocene. Continental breakup around 32-28 Ma caused a regional reduction or cessation in extensional activity, particularly affecting basins furthest from the spreading centre. Basins in the slope and deepwater area north of the spreading centre exhibit reduced fault activity until 21-20 Ma. Propagation of oceanic crust westwards between ∼25 and 23 Ma, and termination of seafloor spreading sometime between 20.5 and 16 Ma affected fault activity in the Qiongdongnan, and Nam Con Song basins. In the Phu Khanh Basin and South, in the Dangerous Grounds area, extension continued until about 16 Ma, ending at the Red Unconformity. The end of seafloor spreading around 20.5 Ma reflects loss of extensional driving force as thinned continental crust entered the NW Borneo subduction zone. Controversially, a key component of the driving force maybe attributed to slab-pull. A transitional period of about 5-7 my between the onset of subduction of continental crust, and final jamming of the subduction zone (Deep Regional Unconformity, DRU) is inferred. The last pulse of extension was focussed in the western SCS, and terminated around 10.5 Ma. Detailed understanding of proto South China Seas development remains uncertain and controversial.

The structure and stratigraphy of deepwater Sarawak, Malaysia: Implications for tectonic evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madon, Mazlan; Kim, Cheng Ly; Wong, Robert

2013-10-01

The structural-stratigraphic history of the North Luconia Province, Sarawak deepwater area, is related to the tectonic history of the South China Sea. The Sarawak Basin initiated as a foreland basin as a result of the collision of the Luconia continental block with Sarawak (Sarawak Orogeny). The foreland basin was later overridden by and buried under the prograding Oligocene-Recent shelf-slope system. The basin had evolved through a deep foreland basin ('flysch') phase during late Eocene-Oligocene times, followed by post-Oligocene ('molasse') phase of shallow marine shelf progradation to present day. Seismic interpretation reveals a regional Early Miocene Unconformity (EMU) separating pre-Oligocene to Miocene rifted basement from overlying undeformed Upper Miocene-Pliocene bathyal sediments. Seismic, well data and subsidence analysis indicate that the EMU was caused by relative uplift and predominantly submarine erosion between ˜19 and 17 Ma ago. The subsidence history suggests a rift-like subsidence pattern, probably with a foreland basin overprint during the last 10 Ma. Modelling results indicate that the EMU represents a major hiatus in the sedimentation history, with an estimated 500-2600 m of missing section, equivalent to a time gap of 8-10 Ma. The EMU is known to extend over the entire NW Borneo margin and is probably related to the Sabah Orogeny which marks the cessation of sea-floor spreading in the South China Sea and collision of Dangerous Grounds block with Sabah. Gravity modelling indicates a thinned continental crust underneath the Sarawak shelf and slope and supports the seismic and well data interpretation. There is a probable presence of an overthrust wedge beneath the Sarawak shelf, which could be interpreted as a sliver of the Rajang Group accretionary prism. Alternatively, magmatic underplating beneath the Sarawak shelf could equally explain the free-air gravity anomaly. The Sarawak basin was part of a remnant ocean basin that was closed by oblique collision along the NW Borneo margin. The closure started in the Late Eocene in Sarawak and moved progressively northeastwards into Sabah until the Middle Miocene. The present-day NW Sabah margin may be a useful analogue for the Oligocene-Miocene Sarawak foreland basin.

Factors controlling late Cenozoic continental margin growth from the Ebro Delta to the western Mediterranean deep sea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nelson, C.H.; Maldonado, A.

1990-01-01

The Ebro continental margin sedimentation system originated with a Messinian fluvial system. This system eroded both a major subaerial canyon cutting the margin southeastward from the present Ebro Delta and an axial valley that drained northeastward down Valencia Trough. Post-Messinian submergence of this topography and the Pliocene regime of high sea levels resulted in a marine hemipelagic drape over the margin. Late Pliocene to Pleistocene glacial climatic cycles, drainagebasin deforestation, and sea-level lowstands combined to increase sediment supply, cause the margin to prograde, and create a regime of lowstand sediment-gravity flows in the deeper margin. The depositional patterns of regressive, transgressive and highstand sea-level regimes suggest that location of the sediment source near the present Ebro Delta throughout the late Cenozoic, southward current advection of sediment, and greater subsidence in the southern margin combined to cause generally asymmetric progradation of the margin to the southeast. Thicker, less stable deposits filling the Messinian subaerial canyon underwent multiple retrograde failures, eroded wide gullied canyons and formed unchanneled base-of-slope sediment aprons in the central margin area; other margin areas to the north and south developed a series of channel-levee complexes. On the basin floor, the formation of Valencia Valley over the Messinian subaerial valley and earlier faults led to draining of about 20% of the Ebro Pleistocene sediment from channel-levee complexes through the valley to prograde Valencia Fan as much as 500 km northeast of the margin. Thus, the Ebro margin has two growth directions, mainly southeastward during higher sea levels, and eastward to northeastward during lower sea levels. The northeastward draining of turbidity currents has produced unusually thin and widely dispersed turbidite systems compared to those on ponded basin floors. During the past few centuries, man's impact has exceeded natural controls on Ebro margin growth. Deforestation of the drainage basin more than doubled the normal Holocene sediment supply, and construction of dams then reduced the supply by 95%. This reduction of the past 50 years has caused erosion of the delta and contamination of bottom sediment because normal Holocene sediment discharge is not available to prograde the delta or help dilute pollutants. ?? 1990.

Lithospheric architecture of the Levant Basin (Eastern Mediterranean region): A 2D modeling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inati, Lama; Zeyen, Hermann; Nader, Fadi Henri; Adelinet, Mathilde; Sursock, Alexandre; Rahhal, Muhsin Elie; Roure, François

2016-12-01

This paper discusses the deep structure of the lithosphere underlying the easternmost Mediterranean region, in particular the Levant Basin and its margins, where the nature of the crust, continental versus oceanic, remains debated. Crustal thickness and the depth of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) as well as the crustal density distribution were calculated by integrating surface heat flow data, free-air gravity anomaly, geoid and topography. Accordingly, two-dimensional, lithospheric models of the study area are discussed, demonstrating the presence of a progressively attenuated crystalline crust from E to W (average thickness from 35 to 8 km). The crystalline crust is best interpreted as a strongly thinned continental crust under the Levant Basin, represented by two distinct components, an upper and a lower crust. Further to the west, the Herodotus Basin is believed to be underlain by an oceanic crust, with a thickness between 6 and 10 km. The Moho under the Arabian Plate is 35-40 km deep and becomes shallower towards the Mediterranean coast. It appears to be situated at depths ranging between 20 and 23 km below the Levant Basin and 26 km beneath the Herodotus Basin, based on our proposed models. At the Levantine margin, the thinning of the crust in the transitional domain between the onshore and the offshore is gradual, indicating successive extensional regimes that did not reach the beak up stage. In addition, the depth to LAB is around 120 km under the Arabian and the Eurasian Plates, 150 km under the Levant Basin, and it plunges to 180 km under the Herodotus Basin. This study shows that detailed 2D lithosphere modeling using integrated geophysical data can help understand the mechanisms responsible for the modelled lithospheric architecture when constrained with geological findings.

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.

Geophysical evidence for a transform margin in Northwestern Algeria: possible vestige of a Subduction-Transform Edge Propagator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badji, R.; Charvis, P.; Bracene, R.; Galve, A.; Badsi, M.; Ribodetti, A.; Benaissa, Z.; Klingelhoefer, F.; Medaouri, M.; Beslier, M.

2013-12-01

This work is part of the Algerian-French SPIRAL program (Sismique Profonde et Investigation Régionale du Nord de l'Algérie) which provides unprecedented images of the deep structure of the western Algerian Margin based on several wide-angle and multichannel seismic data shot across the Algerian Margin. One of the different hypotheses for the opening of the western Mediterranean Sea, we are testing is that the western part of the Algerian margin was possibly part of the southern edge of the Alboran continental block during its westward migration related to the rollback of the Betic-Rif-Alboran subduction zone. A tomographic inversion of the first arrival traveltimes along a 100-km long wide-angle seismic profile shot over 40 Ocean Bottom Seismometers, across the Margin offshore Mostaganem (Northwestern Algerian Margin) was conducted. The final model reveals striking feature in the deep structure of the margin from north to south: 1- the oceanic crust is as thin as 4-km, with velocities ranging from 5.0 to 7.1 km/s, covered by a 3.3 km thick sedimentary pile (seismic velocities from 1.5 to 5.0 km/s) characterized by an intense diapiric activity of the Messinian salt layer. 2- a sharp transition zone, less than 10 km wide, with seismic velocities intermediate between oceanic seismic velocities (observed northward) and continental seismic velocities (observed southward). This zone coincides with narrow and elongated pull apart basins imaged by multichannel seismic data. No evidence of volcanism nor of exhumed serpentinized upper mantle as described along many extensional continental margins are observed along this segment of the margin. 3- a thinned continental crust coincident with a rapid variation of the Moho depth imaged from 12 to ~20 km with a dip up to 50%. The seafloor bathymetry is showing a steep continental slope (>20%). Either normal or inverse faults are observed along MCS lines shot in the dip direction but they do not present large vertical displacement and could be related primarily to strike slip motion. These results support the hypothesis, that the margin offshore Mostaganem is not an extensional margin but rather a transform margin. There is little evidence of tectonic inversion as described eastward along the Kabylian Margin. Possibly strike slip motion affected the thinned continental crust and the transition zone suggesting that this margin is a vestige of the Subduction-Transform Edge Propagator (STEP) related to the westward migration of the Alboran block.

Volcanism in the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisk, M. R.

Back-arc and marginal basins make up a significant portion of the earth's crust and they can represent the transition from continental to oceanic crust. The Bransfield Strait is a young marginal basin of the arc-trench system that lies off the northwestern edge of the Antarctic Peninsula. The strait is about 65 km wide and has a maximum water depth of 2000 m. "Active" volcanoes in the Bransfield Strait include two seamounts, which are south of the eastern end of King George Island, and three island volcanoes — Penguin, Deception, and Bridgeman Islands. Alkaline and calc-alkaline suites occur on these islands, and the seamounts are composed of tholeiites and basaltic andesites. This diversity is similar to that found in some back-arc basins, but the Bransfield Strait basalts as a group cannot be classified as back-arc basin or island-arc basalts. The diverse rock types and the chemical similarity of some of the Bransfield Strait basalts to ophiolite basalts suggests that some ophiolites were generated in back-arc basins.

Late tectonic uplift of an inverted oceanic basin in South East Asia: the case of Palawan Island (western Philippines)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meresse, F.; Savva, D.; Pubellier, M.; Steuer, S.; Franke, D.; Cordey, F.; Muller, C.; Sapin, F.; Mouly, B.; Auxiètre, J.-L.

2012-04-01

The elongated island of Palawan, bounded by two marginal basins, the South China Sea to the North and the Sulu Sea to the South is composed of remnants of an inverted basin (Proto-South China Sea) thrusted onto the margin of a continental terrane which rifted away from the Chinese-Vietnamese margin. Based on field observations coupled with seismic and drill-holes data, our study focuses on the structural architecture of the island in order to decipher the geodynamic evolution of the southern margin of the South China Sea. Structurally, the Palawan Island consists of: (i) the Palawan wedge, which extends towards the South China Sea is composed of deformed slope to deep ocean deposits of Cretaceous (north Palawan) to Tertiary (central and south Palawan) ages. This accretionnary wedge is characterized by small wavelength folds of mainly NE-SW trend. Offshore, the unconformable Middle-Late Miocene Tabon limestones unit postdates the last stages of the Palawan wedge growth/setting; (ii) On top of this wedge lie thrust slices of ophiolite bodies comprising ribbon cherts of Albian age as indicated by radiolarians.; these bodies are likely to be relicts of the now-subducted Proto South China Sea; (iii) The central and southern parts of the Palawan island are characterized by a large wavelength antiform of NE-SW trend. This structure is sealed by the slightly tilted Early Pliocene marls unit; (iv) The island also presents necking zones bordered by N-S trending transform faults. This area witnessed the geodynamic evolution of the South East Asia which consists of a succession of opening/closure of oceanic basins and block accretions. The Palawan Island therefore results of the closing of the Proto-South China Sea which once formed both the Palawan accretionary wedge and the overlying ophiolite tectonic slices. During a later compressive event, the rifted continental margin which composes the basement of the Island was inverted, inducing the uplift and the large scale folding of the Palawan Island. In a final stage, the strain relaxing results in the formation of the necking zones, probably reactivating the inherited transform faults of the Proto-South China Sea. Keywords: Palawan Island; South China Sea; oceanic basin; inverted margin; Ophiolite.

New insights on the geological evolution of the continental margin of Southeastern Brazil derived from zircon and apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He and fission-track data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krob, Florian; Stippich, Christian; Glasmacher, Ulrich A.; Hackspacher, Peter

2017-04-01

New insights on the geological evolution of the continental margin of Southeastern Brazil derived from zircon and apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He and fission-track data Krob, F.C.1, Stippich, C. 1, Glasmacher, U.A.1, Hackspacher, P.C.2 (1) Institute of Earth Sciences, Research Group Thermochronology and Archaeometry, Heidelberg University, INF 234, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany (2) Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. 24-A, 1515 Rio Claro, SP, 13506-900, Brazil Passive continental margins are important geoarchives related to mantle dynamics, the breakup of continents, lithospheric dynamics, and other processes. The main concern yields the quantifying long-term lithospheric evolution of the continental margin between São Paulo and Laguna in southeastern Brazil since the Neoproterozoic. We put special emphasis on the reactivation of old fracture zones running into the continent and their constrains on the landscape evolution. In this contribution, we represent already consisting thermochronological data attained by fission-track and (U-Th-Sm)/He analysis on apatites and zircons. The zircon fission-track ages range between 108.4 (15.0) and 539.9 (68.4) Ma, the zircon (U-Th-Sm)/He ages between 72.9 (5.8) and 427.6 (1.8) Ma whereas the apatite fission-track ages range between 40.0 (5.3) and 134.7 (8.0) Ma, and the apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He ages between 32.1 (1.52) and 92.0 (1.86) Ma. These thermochronological ages from metamorphic, sedimentary and intrusive rocks show six distinct blocks (Laguna, Florianópolis, Curitiba, Ilha Comprida, Peruibe and Santos) with different evolution cut by old fracture zones. Furthermore, models of time-temperature evolution illustrate the differences in Pre- to post-rift exhumation histories of these blocks. The presented data will provide an insight into the complex exhumation history of the continental margin based on the existing literature data on the evolution of the Paraná basin in Brazil and the latest thermochronological data. We used the geological model of the Paraná basin supersequences (Rio Ivaí, Paraná, Gondwana I-III and Bauru) to remodel the subsidence and exhumation history of our consisting thermochronological sample data. First indications include a fast exhumation during the early Paleozoic, a slow shallow (northern blocks) to fast and deep (Laguna block) subduction from middle Paleozoic to Mesozoic time and a extremely fast exhumation during the opening of the South Atlantic (Cretaceous time). This enables a possible interpretation of the southeastern Brazilian margin being an outer part of the Paraná basin and even the possible source area for the Ordovician to Carboniferous sediments. Further on, we try to research the newly gained exhumation history models for indications on the evolution and movement of the lithosphere of the southeastern Brazilian mantle.

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Jan Mayen Microcontinent Province, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, Thomas E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, D.L.

2018-01-26

The Jan Mayen Microcontinent encompasses a rectangular, mostly submarine fragment of continental crust that lies north of Iceland in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. These continental rocks were rifted away from the eastern margin of Greenland as a consequence of a westward jump of spreading centers from the now-extinct Aegir Ridge to the currently active Kolbeinsey Ridge in the Oligocene and early Miocene. The microcontinent is composed of the high-standing Jan Mayen Ridge and a series of smaller ridges that diminish southward in elevation and includes several deep basins that are underlain by strongly attenuated continental crust. The geology of this area is known principally from a loose collection of seismic reflection and refraction lines and several deep-sea scientific drill cores.The Jan Mayen Microcontinent petroleum province encompasses the entire area of the microcontinent and was defined as a single assessment unit (AU). Although its geology is poorly known, the microcontinent is thought to consist of late Paleozoic and Mesozoic rift basin stratigraphic sequences similar to those of the highly prospective Norwegian, North Sea, and Greenland continental margins. The prospectivity of the AU may be greatly diminished, however, by pervasive extensional deformation, basaltic magmatism, and exhumation that accompanied two periods of continental rifting and breakup in the Paleogene and early Neogene. The overall probability of at least one petroleum accumulation of >50 million barrels of oil equivalent was judged to be 5.6 percent. As a consequence of the low level of probability, a quantitative assessment of this AU was not conducted.

Variations in the degree of crustal extension during formation of a back-arc basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Wit, Maarten J.; Stern, Charles R.

1981-02-01

Ophiolite complexes in southern Chile represent the remnants of the mafic portion of the floor of a Cretaceous back-arc basin which widened markedly from north to south over a length of 600 km. Detailed field and geochemical studies of ophiolites in the northern (Sarmiento complex) and southern (Tortuga complex) extremities of the originally wedge-shaped back-arc basin floor, indicate significant north—south differences in the mode of emplacement of basaltic magmas into the pre-existing continental crust, during the formation of the basin. In the northern narrow extremity of the original basin, mafic melts intruded into the continental crust over a diffuse zone causing extensive remobilization and reconstitution of the sialic continental crust. In the southern wider part of the original basin, mafic magmas appear to have been emplaced at a localized oceanic-type spreading centre. The observed north—south variations resulted in formation of back-arc floor with crustal characteristics ranging from intermediate between continental and oceanic to typically oceanic. These variations are interpreted as representing different stages of evolution of a back-arc basin which formed due to a subtle interplay between subduction induced back-arc mantle convection and the release of stress across the convergent plate boundary, possibly related to ridge subduction. Prior to the release of stress, heat transferred from mantle diapirs to the base of crust caused widespread silicic volcanism in South America. With the release of stress, mantle derived melts erupted to the surface along structural pathways resulting in extensive basaltic volcanism in a linear belt behind the island arc and the cessation of silicic volcanism. Initially, basaltic magmas intruded the continental crust over a diffuse region causing reconstitution of sialic crustal rocks. Progressive localization of the zone of intrusion of mafic magmas from the mantle eventually resulted in the development of an oceanic-type spreading centre. Observations in southern Chile and elsewhere suggest that variability in horizontal stress across a convergent plate boundary may be the overriding factor in determining the regional response of continental crust to subduction induced back-arc convection, and hence the mechanism of emplacement into the crust of mafic mantle melts. The various lithologies observed in southern Chile could also be expected to form during the opening phase of major ocean basins and to currently underlie Atlantic-type continental margins.

Nurture Versus Nature: Accounting for the Differences Between the Taiwan and Timor active arc-continent collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, R. A.

2011-12-01

The active Banda arc/continent collision of the Timor region provides many important contrasts to what is observed in Taiwan, which is mostly a function of differences in the nature of the subducting plate. One of the most important differences is the thermal state of the respective continental margins: 30 Ma China passive margin versus 160 Ma NW Australian continental margin. The subduction of the cold and strong NW Australian passive margin beneath the Banda trench provides many new constraints for resolving longstanding issues about the formative stages of collision and accretion of continental crust. Some of these issues include evidence for slab rollback and subduction erosion, deep continental subduction, emplacement or demise of forearc basement, relative amounts of uplift from crustal vs. lithospheric processes, influence of inherited structure, partitioning of strain away from the thrust front, extent of mélange development, metamorphic conditions and exhumation mechanisms, continental contamination and accretion of volcanic arcs, does the slab tear, and does subduction polarity reverse? Most of these issues link to the profound control of lower plate crustal heterogeneity, thermal state and inherited structure. The thermomechanical characteristics of subducting an old continental margin allow for extensive underthrusting of lower plate cover units beneath the forearc and emplacement and uplift of extensive nappes of forearc basement. It also promotes subduction of continental crust to deep enough levels to experience high pressure metamorphism (not found in Taiwan) and extensive contamination of the volcanic arc. Seismic tomography confirms subduction of continental lithosphere beneath the Banda Arc to at least 400 km with no evidence for slab tear. Slab rollback during this process results in massive subduction erosion and extension of the upper plate. Other differences in the nature of the subducting plates in Taiwan in Timor are differences in the lateral continuity of the continental margins. The northern Australian continental margin is highly irregular with many rift basins subducting parallel to their axes. This feature gives rise to irregularities in the uplift pattern of the collision and its continental margin parallel structural grain. Another major difference between Taiwan and Timor is the mechanical stratigraphy entering the trench. The Australian continental margin bears a carbonate rich pre and post rift sequence that is separated by a 1000 m thick, over pressured mudstone unit that acts as major detachment and promotes extensive mud diapirism. The post breakup Australian Passive Margin Sequence is incorporated into the orogenic wedge by frontal accretion and forms a classic imbricate thrust stack near the front of the Banda forearc. The pre breakup Gondwana Sequence below the detachment continues at least to depth of 30 km in the subduction channel beneath the Banda forearc upper plate and stacks up into a duplex zone that forms structural culminations throughout Timor. The upper plate of both collisions is similar in nature but is deformed in different ways due to the strong influence of the lower plate. However, both have extensive subduction erosion and demise of the forearc and systematic accretion of the arc.

Similarity and Differences of Cretaceous Magmatism in the Arctic Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peyve, A. A.

2018-03-01

The paper considers Cretaceous magmatism at the continental margin of the Arctic Region. It is shown that Cretaceous igneous rocks of this region are rather heterogeneous in age, composition, and geodynamic formation setting. This differentiates them from rocks of typical large igneous provinces (LIPs). Local areas of magmatic activity, their substantial remoteness them from one another, and significant distinctions in age, composition of rocks, and formation conditions prevent us from unreservedly combining all occurrences of Cretaceous magmatism at the continental margin of the Arctic Region into a common igneous province. The stage of tholeiitic magmatism in the Svalbard Archipelago, Franz Josef Land, Arctic Canada, and the Alpha-Mendeleev Rise, which can be considered an LIP, began in the Early Cretaceous and continued for a long time, at least until the Campanian. The magmatism apparently had a plume source and was caused by extension during opening of the Canada Basin. Tholeiitic magmatism gave way to the alkaline magmatism stage from the Campanian to the onset of the Paleocene, related to continental rifting at the initial stage of formation of Eurasian Basin in the Arctic Region. No convincing evidence for a genetic link between Early Cretaceous tholeiitic and Late Cretaceous alkaline magmatism is known at present, nor for the alkaline magmatism belonging to a plume source.

The Ebro margin study, northwestern Mediterranean Sea - an introduction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maldonado, A.; Hans, Nelson C.

1990-01-01

The Ebro continental margin from the coast to the deep sea off northeastern Spain was selected for a multidisciplinary project because of the abundant Ebro River sediment supply, Pliocene and Quaternary progradation, and margin development in a restricted basin where a variety of controlling factors could be evaluated. The nature of this young passive margin for the last 5 m.y. was investigated with particular emphasis on marine circulation, sediment dynamics, sediment geochemistry, depositional facies, seismic stratigraphy, geotechnical properties, geological hazards and human influences. These studies show the importance of marine circulation, variation in sediment supply, sea-level oscillation and tectonic setting for the understanding of modern and ancient margin depositional processes and growth patterns. ?? 1990.

Significance of northeast-trending features in Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hutchinson, Deborah; Jackson, H.R.; Houseknecht, David W.; Li, Q.; Shimeld, J.W.; Mosher, D.C.; Chian, D.; Saltus, Richard; Oakey, G.N.

2017-01-01

Synthesis of seismic velocity, potential field, and geological data from Canada Basin and its surrounding continental margins suggests that a northeast-trending structural fabric has influenced the origin, evolution, and current tectonics of the basin. This structural fabric has a crustal origin, based on the persistence of these trends in upward continuation of total magnetic intensity data and vertical derivative analysis of free-air gravity data. Three subparallel northeast-trending features are described. Northwind Escarpment, bounding the east side of the Chukchi Borderland, extends ∼600 km and separates continental crust of Northwind Ridge from high-velocity transitional crust in Canada Basin. A second, shorter northeast-trending zone extends ∼300 km in northern Canada Basin and separates inferred continental crust of Sever Spur from magmatically intruded crust of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province. A third northeast-trending feature, here called the Alaska-Prince Patrick magnetic lineament (APPL) is inferred from magnetic data and its larger regional geologic setting. Analysis of these three features suggests strike slip or transtensional deformation played a role in the opening of Canada Basin. These features can be explained by initial Jurassic-Early Cretaceous strike slip deformation (phase 1) followed in the Early Cretaceous (∼134 to ∼124 Ma) by rotation of Arctic Alaska with seafloor spreading orthogonal to the fossil spreading axis preserved in the central Canada Basin (phase 2). In this model, the Chukchi Borderland is part of Arctic Alaska.

Significance of Northeast-Trending Features in Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hutchinson, D. R.; Jackson, H. R.; Houseknecht, D. W.; Li, Q.; Shimeld, J. W.; Mosher, D. C.; Chian, D.; Saltus, R. W.; Oakey, G. N.

2017-11-01

Synthesis of seismic velocity, potential field, and geological data from Canada Basin and its surrounding continental margins suggests that a northeast-trending structural fabric has influenced the origin, evolution, and current tectonics of the basin. This structural fabric has a crustal origin, based on the persistence of these trends in upward continuation of total magnetic intensity data and vertical derivative analysis of free-air gravity data. Three subparallel northeast-trending features are described. Northwind Escarpment, bounding the east side of the Chukchi Borderland, extends ˜600 km and separates continental crust of Northwind Ridge from high-velocity transitional crust in Canada Basin. A second, shorter northeast-trending zone extends ˜300 km in northern Canada Basin and separates inferred continental crust of Sever Spur from magmatically intruded crust of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province. A third northeast-trending feature, here called the Alaska-Prince Patrick magnetic lineament (APPL) is inferred from magnetic data and its larger regional geologic setting. Analysis of these three features suggests strike slip or transtensional deformation played a role in the opening of Canada Basin. These features can be explained by initial Jurassic-Early Cretaceous strike slip deformation (phase 1) followed in the Early Cretaceous (˜134 to ˜124 Ma) by rotation of Arctic Alaska with seafloor spreading orthogonal to the fossil spreading axis preserved in the central Canada Basin (phase 2). In this model, the Chukchi Borderland is part of Arctic Alaska.

Passive margins: U.S. Geological Survey Line 19 across the Georges Bank basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klitgord, Kim D.; Schlee, John S.; Grow, John A.; Bally, A.W.

1987-01-01

Georges Bank is a shallow part of the Atlantic continental shelf southeast of New England (Emery and Uchupi, 1972, 1984). This bank, however, is merely the upper surface of several sedimentary basins overlying a block-faulted basement of igneous and metamorphic crystalline rock. Sedimentary rock forms a seaward-thickening cover that has accumulated in one main depocenter and several ancillary depressions, adjacent to shallow basement platforms of paleozoic and older crystalline rock. Georges Bank basin contains a thickness of sedimentary rock greater than 10 km, whereas the basement platforms that flank the basin are areas of thin sediment accumulation (less than 5 km).

Thermal evolution of a hyperextended rift basin, Mauléon Basin, western Pyrenees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hart, Nicole R.; Stockli, Daniel F.; Lavier, Luc L.; Hayman, Nicholas W.

2017-06-01

Onshore and offshore geological and geophysical observations and numerical modeling have greatly improved the conceptual understanding of magma-poor rifted margins. However, critical questions remain concerning the thermal evolution of the prerift to synrift phases of thinning ending with the formation of hyperextended crust and mantle exhumation. In the western Pyrenees, the Mauléon Basin preserves the structural and stratigraphic record of Cretaceous extension, exhumation, and sedimentation of the proximal-to-distal margin development. Pyrenean shortening uplifted basement and overlying sedimentary basins without pervasive shortening or reheating, making the Mauléon Basin an ideal locality to study the temporal and thermal evolution of magma-poor hyperextended rift systems through coupling bedrock and detrital zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometric data from transects characterizing different structural rifting domains. These new data indicate that the basin was heated during early rifting to >180°C with geothermal gradients of 80-100°C/km. The proximal margin recorded rift-related exhumation/cooling at circa 98 Ma, whereas the distal margin remained >180°C until the onset of Paleocene Pyrenean shortening. Lithospheric-scale numerical modeling shows that high geothermal gradients, >80°C/km, and synrift sediments >180°C, can be reached early in rift evolution via heat advection by lithospheric depth-dependent thinning and blanketing caused by the lower thermal conductivity of synrift sediments. Mauléon Basin thermochronometric data and numerical modeling illustrate that reheating of basement and synrift strata might play an important role and should be considered in the future development of conceptual and numerical models for hyperextended magma-poor continental rifted margins.

Structure, mechanical properties and evolution of the lithosphere below the northwest continental margin of India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, G. Srinivasa; Kumar, Manish; Radhakrishna, M.

2018-02-01

The continental breakup history at the northwest continental margin of India remained conjectural due to lack of clearly discernable magnetic anomaly identifications and the presence of several enigmatic structural/basement features whose structure was partly obscured by the Late Cretaceous Deccan magmatic event. In this study, a detailed analysis of the existing seismic and seismological data covering both onshore and offshore areas of the northwest Indian margin along with 3-D/2-D constrained potential field (gravity, magnetic and geoid) modeling has been carried out. The crustal structure and lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) delineated across the margin provided valuable insights on the mechanism of continental extension. An analysis of the residual geoid anomaly (degree-10) map and the modeled LAB below Deccan volcanic province (DVP) revealed significant variation in upper mantle characteristics between the northwest (NW) and south central (SC) parts of DVP having thinner lithosphere in the NW part. The depth to LAB ranges 80-130 km at the margin with gradual thinning towards the western offshore having sharp gradient in the south (SC part of DVP) and gentle gradient in the north (NW part of DVP). The Moho configuration obtained from seismically constrained 3-D gravity inversion reveals that Moho depths vary 34-42 km below DVP and gradually thins to 16-20 km in the western offshore. The effective elastic thickness (Te) map computed through 3-D flexural modeling indicates that the Te values are in general lower in the region and range 12-25 km. Such lower Te values could be ascribed to the combined effect of the lithosphere stretching during Gondwana fragmentation in the Mesozoic and subsequent thermal influence of the Reunion plume. Based on the crustal stretching factors (β), Te estimates and the modeled lithosphere geometry at the margin in this study, we propose that the lithosphere below Laxmi-Gop basin region (β > 3.0) had undergone continuous stretching since India-Madagascar rifting ( 88 Ma) /much prior to this event. However, this continuous stretching did not lead to breakup. Due to syn-rift cooling, the developed necking zone (brittle-ductile deformation) got ceased and led to the development of a new necking zone between Seychelles and Laxmi Ridge. Subsequent stretching between Seychelles and the Laxmi Ridge contemporaneous with the Deccan flood basalts eruption led to the seafloor spreading in the Western Basin (anomaly C28n). Thus, the Laxmi Ridge became a continental sliver.

Ophiolitic basement to the Great Valley forearc basin, California, from seismic and gravity data: Implications for crustal growth at the North American continental margin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Godfrey, N.J.; Beaudoin, B.C.; Klemperer, S.L.; Levander, A.; Luetgert, J.; Meltzer, A.; Mooney, W.; Tréhu, A.

1997-01-01

The nature of the Great Valley basement, whether oceanic or continental, has long been a source of controversy. A velocity model (derived from a 200-km-long east-west reflection-refraction profile collected south of the Mendocino triple junction, northern California, in 1993), further constrained by density and magnetic models, reveals an ophiolite underlying the Great Valley (Great Valley ophiolite), which in turn is underlain by a westward extension of lower-density continental crust (Sierran affinity material). We used an integrated modeling philosophy, first modeling the seismic-refraction data to obtain a final velocity model, and then modeling the long-wavelength features of the gravity data to obtain a final density model that is constrained in the upper crust by our velocity model. The crustal section of Great Valley ophiolite is 7-8 km thick, and the Great Valley ophiolite relict oceanic Moho is at 11-16 km depth. The Great Valley ophiolite does not extend west beneath the Coast Ranges, but only as far as the western margin of the Great Valley, where the 5-7-km-thick Great Valley ophiolite mantle section dips west into the present-day mantle. There are 16-18 km of lower-density Sierran affinity material beneath the Great Valley ophiolite mantle section, such that a second, deeper, "present-day" continental Moho is at about 34 km depth. At mid-crustal depths, the boundary between the eastern extent of the Great Valley ophiolite and the western extent of Sierran affinity material is a near-vertical velocity and density discontinuity about 80 km east of the western margin of the Great Valley. Our model has important implications for crustal growth at the North American continental margin. We suggest that a thick ophiolite sequence was obducted onto continental material, probably during the Jurassic Nevadan orogeny, so that the Great Valley basement is oceanic crust above oceanic mantle vertically stacked above continental crust and continental mantle.

New Insights into Arctic Tectonics: Uranium-Lead, (Uranium-Thorium)/Helium, and Hafnium Isotopic Data from the Franklinian Basin, Canadian Arctic Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anfinson, Owen Anthony

More than 2300 detrital zircon uranium-lead (U-Pb) ages, 32 176Hf/177Hf (eHf) isotopic values, 37 apatite helium (AHe) ages, and 72 zircon helium (ZHe) ages represent the first in-depth geochronologic and thermochronologic study of Franklinian Basin strata in the Canadian Arctic and provide new insight on >500 M.y. of geologic history along the northern Laurentian margin (modern orientation). Detrital zircon U-Pb age data demonstrate that the Franklinian Basin succession is composed of strata with three distinctly different provenance signatures. Neoproterozoic and Lower Cambrian formations contain detrital zircon populations consistent with derivation from Archean to Paleoproterozoic gneisses and granites of the west Greenland--northeast Canadian Shield. Lower Silurian to Middle Devonian strata are primarily derived from foreland basin strata of the East Greenland Caledonides (Caledonian orogen). Middle Devonian to Upper Devonian strata also contain detrital zircon populations interpreted as being primarily northerly derived from the continental landmass responsible for the Ellesmerian Orogen (often referred to as Crockerland). U-Pb age data from basal turbidites of the Middle to Upper Devonian clastic succession suggest Crockerland contributed sediment to the northern Laurentian margin by early-Middle Devonian time and that prior to the Ellesmerian Orogeny Crockerland had a comparable geologic history to the northern Baltica Craton. Detrital zircon U-Pb ages in Upper Devonian strata suggest Crockerland became the dominant source by the end of Franklinian Basin sedimentation. Mean eHf values from Paleozoic detrital zircon derived from Crockerland suggest the zircons were primarily formed in either an island arc or continental arc built on accreted oceanic crust setting. ZHe cooling ages from Middle and Upper Devonian strata were not buried deeper than 7 km since deposition and suggest Crockerland was partially exhumed during the Caledonian Orogen. AHe cooling ages are partially reset since deposition and experienced varying burial histories depending on stratigraphic and geographic location within the basin. AHe ages from Middle Devonian strata from the western margin of the basin indicate episodes of exhumation associated with clastic influxes of sediment into the Sverdrup Basin during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous.

Thermal Models of the Ocean Floor: from Wegener to Cerro Prieto

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sclater, J. G.; Negrete-Aranda, R.

2017-12-01

Wegener (1925) argued that hot rock could explain the shallower depths of ridges in the center of the Atlantic Ocean. Hess (1963) proposed that the intrusion of molten rock occurred at a world encircling mid-ocean ridge system. However, he accounted for the elevation of the ridges by the formation of serpentinite and thermal convection. Langseth et al. (1966) provided the major advance by using a 100 km thick plate to argue such a concept could not explain the depth, heat flow versus distance relations. They had the correct model but misinterpreted the data. Reformulating theoretically, McKenzie (1967) created the generally accepted thermal model for the ocean floor. Unfortunately, in attempting to match erroneously low heat flow data, he used a 50 km thick plate. Addition of the effect of water and the realization of the importance of advective flow, enabled various groups to create thermal plate models that accounted for the heat flow and depth age relations. From this came the understanding of hydrothermal circulation in the oceanic crust, the thermal boundary layer concept of the oceanic plate and the realization that all thermal models differed only in the way the different groups had chosen to analyze the data. During the past 40 years many have applied similar concepts to continental margins: (1) Measurement of subsidence of the Atlantic margin, continental stretching and a Time Temperature, Depth and Maturation analysis of continental basins have created the field of Basin Analysis; (2) Changes in heat flow at ocean continent boundaries have determined the position of the transition and (3) In attempting to examine the ocean continent transition process in the northernmost basin of the Gulf of California, Neumann et al (in press) observed conductive heat flow values greater than 0.75 Watts, at a depth of < 150 m, along a 10 km section of a profile across the southern extension of the Cerro Prieto fault. The magnitude of these values overwhelms local environmental effects and indicates a very large thermal output. Their full potential depends upon the amount of advective flow. Whatever the case, these measurements have opened up shallow continental margins as a new area for geothermic investigation.

Geodynamic settings of microcontinents, non-volcanic islands and submerged continental marginal plateau formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubinin, Evgeny; Grokholsky, Andrey; Makushkina, Anna

2016-04-01

Complex process of continental lithosphere breakup is often accompanied by full or semi isolation of small continental blocks from the parent continent such as microcontinents or submerged marginal plateaus. We present different types of continental blocks formed in various geodynamic settings. The process depends on thermo-mechanical properties of rifting. 1) The continental blocks fully isolated from the parent continent. This kind of blocks exist in submerged form (Elan Bank, the Jan-Mayen Ridge, Zenith Plateau, Gulden Draak Knoll, Batavia Knoll) and in non-submerged form in case of large block size. Most of listed submerged blocks are formed in proximity of hot-spot or plume. 2) The continental blocks semi-isolated from the parent continent. Exmouth Plateau, Vøring, Agulhas, Naturaliste are submerged continental plateaus of the indicated category; Sri Lanka, Tasmania, Socotra are islands adjacent to continent here. Nowadays illustration of this setting is the Sinai block located between the two continental rifts. 3) The submerged linear continental blocks formed by the continental rifting along margin (the Lomonosov Ridge). Suggested evolution of this paragraph is the rift propagation along existing transtensional (or another type) transform fault. Future example of this type might be the California Peninsula block, detached from the North American plate by the rifting within San-Andreas fault. 4) The submerged continental blocks formed by extensional processes as the result of asthenosphere flow and shear deformations. Examples are submerged blocks in the central and southern Scotia Sea (Terror Bank, Protector Basin, Discovery Bank, Bruce Bank etc.). 5) The continental blocks formed in the transform fault systems originated in setting of contradict rifts propagation in presence of structure barriers, rifts are shifted by several hundreds kilometers from each other. Examples of this geodynamic setting are Equatorial Atlantic at the initial development stage, and the transitional zone between Mohns and Gakkel Ridges. The research funded by RFBR, project № 15-05-03486.

Analysis of the geological structure and tectonic evolution of Xingning-Jinghai sag in deep water area, northern South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Xiaoying; Ren, Jianye; Lin, Zi; Yang, Linlong

2015-04-01

Recent years, oil and gas exploration of the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the northern margin of South China Sea continuously achieved historic breakthroughs. The Xingning-Jinghai sag, which is located in southeast of the Pearl River Mouth Basin, is a deep-water sag with a great exploration potential. Its tectonic evolution is extremely complex. It experienced Mesozoic subduction to Cenozoic intra-continental rifting background, and finally evolved into a deep-water sag of the northern continental margin of South China Sea. The geological characteristics and the tectonic evolution of Xingning-Jinghai sag was closely related to the process of formation and evolution of the passive continental margin of the northern South China Sea. It is confirmed by many geophysical data that compared with adjacent Chaoshan depression, the crustal thickness of Xingning-Jinghai sag was rapidly thinning, and it developed detachment faults with later magmatic intrusion. The development of detachment faults have dynamic significance for the spreading of the South China Sea. Based on the seismic geological interpretation of 2D seismic data in the study area, the characteristics of detachment fault and supra-detachment basin have been proposed in this study. The characteristics of the detachment fault are low angle and high ratio between heave and throw. The geometry of the detachment fault is a typical lisric shape, with the dip of fault decreasing generally from the seismic profile. The detachment basin where sediments are not deposited over a tilting hanging-wall block but onto a tectonically exhumed footwall which is different from the typical half graben basin. Seismic profiles indicate two different structural styles in the east and west part of Xingning-Jinghai sag. In the west of the sag, there developed two large detachment faults, which control their detachment basin systems and the typical H block, and the two detachment faults are dipping landward and seaward, respectively. In the east, affected by the later volcanic activities, Xingning-Jinghai sag deformed complicatedly and developed a series of landward dipping faults, showing the compound graben structure. Combined with the fault activity quantitative calculation, basin subsidence history and other advanced technology, the basin tectonic evolution has been divided into rift stage and post-rift stage. Considering the extension development evolution of Xingning-Jinghai sag and the extension and thinning of lithosphere under the background of spreading of the South China Sea, we argue that the northern margin of the South China lithosphere experienced an intense stretching and thinning stage. At this period, the subsidence of the Xingning-Jinghai sag was controlled by the detachment faults, indicating a rifting stage. With the development of the detachment faults, the thickness of crust was extremely thinned. After the spreading of the South China Sea the whole sag entered into the depression period which was characterized by thermal subsidence.

Overview of the sedimentological processes in the western North Atlantic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benetti, S.; Weaver, P.; Wilson, P.

2003-04-01

The sedimentary processes operating within the western North Atlantic continental margin include both along-slope sediment transport, which builds sediment drifts and waves, and down-slope processes involving mass wasting. Sedimentation along a large stretch of the margin (north of 32°N) has been heavily influenced by processes that occurred during glacial times (e.g. cutting of canyons and infilling of abyssal plains) when large volumes of sediment were supplied to the shelf edge either by ice grounded on continental shelves or river discharge. The large area of sea floor occupied by depositional basins and abyssal plains testifies to the dominance of turbidity currents. The widespread presence of slide complexes in this region has been related to earthquakes and melting of gas hydrates. South of 32°N, because of the low sediment supply from rivers even during glacial times and the reduced sedimentation due to the erosive effects of the Gulf Stream, few canyon systems and slides are observed and Tertiary sediment cover is thin and irregular. Turbidity currents filled re-entrant basins in the Florida-Bahama platform. Tectonic activity is primarily responsible for the overall morphology and sedimentation pattern along the Caribbean active margin. Along the whole margin, the reworking of bottom sediments by deep-flowing currents seems to be particularly active during interglacials. To some extent this observation must reflect the diminished effect of downslope transport during interglacials, but our data also contribute to the debate over changes in deep water circulation strength on glacial-interglacial timescales. Strong bottom circulation, an open basin system and high sediment supply have led to the construction of large elongate contourite drifts, mantled by smaller scale bedforms. These drifts are mostly seen in regions protected or distant from the masking influence of turbidity currents and sediment mass movements.

Geochronological and sedimentological evidences of Panyangshan foreland basin for tectonic control on the Late Paleozoic plate marginal orogenic belt along the northern margin of the North China Craton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jialiang; Zhou, Zhiguang; He, Yingfu; Wang, Guosheng; Wu, Chen; Liu, Changfeng; Yao, Guang; Xu, Wentao; Zhao, Xiaoqi; Dai, Pengfei

2017-08-01

There is a wide support that the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift on the northern margin of the North China Craton has undergone an uplifting history. However, when and how did the uplift occurred keeps controversial. Extensive field-based structural, metamorphic, geochemical, geochronological and geophysical investigations on the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift, which suggested that the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift was an uplifted region since the Early Precambrian or range from Late Carboniferous-Early Jurassic. The geochemical characteristics of the Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic intrusive rocks indicated that the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift was an Andean-type continental margin that is the extensional tectonic setting. To address the spatial and temporal development of the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift, we have carried out provenance analysis of Permian sedimentary rocks which collected from the Panyangshan basin along the northern margin of the North China Craton. The QFL diagram revealed a dissected arc-recycled orogenic tectonic setting. Moreover, the framework grains are abundant with feldspar (36-50%), indicating the short transport distance and unstable tectonic setting. Detrital zircon U-Pb analysis ascertained possible provenance information: the Precambrian basement ( 2490 and 1840 Ma) and continental arc magmatic action ( 279 and 295 Ma) along the northern margin of the North China Craton. The projection in rose diagrams of the mean palaeocurrent direction, revealing the SSW and SSE palaeoflow direction, also shows the provenance of the Panyangshan basin sources mainly from the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift. The andesite overlying the Naobaogou Formation has yielded U-Pb age of 277.3 ± 1.4 Ma. The additional dioritic porphyry dike intruded the Naobaogou and Laowopu Formations, which has an emplacement age of 236 ± 1 Ma. The above data identify that the basin formed ranges from Early Permian to Middle Triassic (277-236 Ma). Accordingly, the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift also was developed in the Early Permian to Middle Triassic (277-236 Ma), related to the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. Furthermore, we advocate that the tectonic setting of Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift probably belonged to the plate marginal orogenic belt during Early Permian-Middle Triassic.

Geochronological and sedimentological evidences of Panyangshan foreland basin for tectonic control on the Late Paleozoic plate marginal orogenic belt along the northern margin of the North China Craton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jialiang; Zhou, Zhiguang; He, Yingfu; Wang, Guosheng; Wu, Chen; Liu, Changfeng; Yao, Guang; Xu, Wentao; Zhao, Xiaoqi; Dai, Pengfei

2018-06-01

There is a wide support that the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift on the northern margin of the North China Craton has undergone an uplifting history. However, when and how did the uplift occurred keeps controversial. Extensive field-based structural, metamorphic, geochemical, geochronological and geophysical investigations on the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift, which suggested that the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift was an uplifted region since the Early Precambrian or range from Late Carboniferous-Early Jurassic. The geochemical characteristics of the Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic intrusive rocks indicated that the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift was an Andean-type continental margin that is the extensional tectonic setting. To address the spatial and temporal development of the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift, we have carried out provenance analysis of Permian sedimentary rocks which collected from the Panyangshan basin along the northern margin of the North China Craton. The QFL diagram revealed a dissected arc-recycled orogenic tectonic setting. Moreover, the framework grains are abundant with feldspar (36-50%), indicating the short transport distance and unstable tectonic setting. Detrital zircon U-Pb analysis ascertained possible provenance information: the Precambrian basement ( 2490 and 1840 Ma) and continental arc magmatic action ( 279 and 295 Ma) along the northern margin of the North China Craton. The projection in rose diagrams of the mean palaeocurrent direction, revealing the SSW and SSE palaeoflow direction, also shows the provenance of the Panyangshan basin sources mainly from the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift. The andesite overlying the Naobaogou Formation has yielded U-Pb age of 277.3 ± 1.4 Ma. The additional dioritic porphyry dike intruded the Naobaogou and Laowopu Formations, which has an emplacement age of 236 ± 1 Ma. The above data identify that the basin formed ranges from Early Permian to Middle Triassic (277-236 Ma). Accordingly, the Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift also was developed in the Early Permian to Middle Triassic (277-236 Ma), related to the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. Furthermore, we advocate that the tectonic setting of Inner Mongolia Palaeo-uplift probably belonged to the plate marginal orogenic belt during Early Permian-Middle Triassic.

Numerical experiments of volcanic dominated rifts and passive margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korchinski, Megan; Teyssier, Christian; Rey, Patrice; Whitney, Donna; Mondy, Luke

2017-04-01

Continental rifting is driven by plate tectonic forces (passive rifting), thermal thinning of the lithosphere over a hotspot (active rifting), or a combination of the two. Successful rifts develop into passive margins where pre-drift stretching is accompanied by normal faulting, clastic sedimentation, and various degrees of magmatism. The structure of volcanic passive margins (VPM) differs substantially from margins that are dominated by sedimentation. VPMs are typically narrow, with a lower continental crust that is intruded by magma and can flow as a low-viscosity layer. To investigate the role of the deep crust in the early development of VPMs, we have developed a suite of 2D thermomechanical numerical experiments (Underworld code) in which the density and viscosity of the deep crust and the density of the rift basin fill are systematically varied. Our experiments show that, for a given rifting velocity, the viscosity of the deep crust and the density of the rift basin fill exert primary controls on early VPM development. The viscosity of the deep crust controls the degree to which the shallow crust undergoes localised faulting or distributed thinning. A weak deep crust localises rifting and is efficiently exhumed to the near-surface, whereas a strong deep crust distributes shallow crust extension and remains buried. A high density rift basin fill results in gravitational loading and increased subsidence rate in cases in which the viscosity of the deep crust is sufficiently low to allow that layer to be displaced by the sinking basin fill. At the limit, a low viscosity deep crust overlain by a thick basalt-dominated fill generates a gravitational instability, with a drip of cool basalt that sinks and ponds at the Moho. Experiment results indicate that the deep crust plays a critical role in the dynamic development of volcanic dominated rifts and passive margins. During rifting, the deep continental crust is heated and readily responds to solicitations of the shallow crust (rooting of normal faults, exhumation of the deep crust in normal fault footwalls). Gravitational instabilities caused by high density rift infill similar to those observed in our numerical experiments may be present in the Mesoproterozoic ( 1100 Ma) North American Midcontinent Rift System (MRS). The MRS is a failed rift that is filled with >20 km of dominantly basaltic volcanic deposits, and therefore represents an end member VPM (high density basin fill) where the initial structure of a pre-drift VPM is preserved. Magmatism occurred in two pulses over <15 Ma involving deep mantle melting first (>150 km), then shallow melting (40-70 km). Post-rift subsidence accumulated up to 10 km of clastic sediments in the center of the basin. Evidence of cool, dense rocks sinking into a low-viscosity deep crust as predicted in our numerical experiments may be present in the western arm of the MRS, where crustal density analyses suggest the presence of dense bodies (eclogite) at the base of the crust.

Geophysical evidence for a transform margin offshore Western Algeria: a witness of a subduction-transform edge propagator?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badji, Rabia; Charvis, Philippe; Bracene, Rabah; Galve, Audrey; Badsi, Madjid; Ribodetti, Alessandra; Benaissa, Zahia; Klingelhoefer, Frauke; Medaouri, Mourad; Beslier, Marie-Odile

2015-02-01

For the first time, a deep seismic data set acquired in the frame of the Algerian-French SPIRAL program provides new insights regarding the origin of the westernmost Algerian margin and basin. We performed a tomographic inversion of traveltimes along a 100-km-long wide-angle seismic profile shot over 40 ocean bottom seismometers offshore Mostaganem (Northwestern Algeria). The resulting velocity model and multichannel seismic reflection profiles show a thin (3-4 km thick) oceanic crust. The narrow ocean-continent transition (less than 10 km wide) is bounded by vertical faults and surmounted by a narrow almost continuous basin filled with Miocene to Quaternary sediments. This fault system, as well as the faults organized in a negative-flower structure on the continent side, marks a major strike-slip fault system. The extremely sharp variation of the Moho depth (up to 45 ± 3°) beneath the continental border underscores the absence of continental extension in this area. All these features support the hypothesis that this part of the margin from Oran to Tenes, trending N65-N70°E, is a fossil subduction-transform edge propagator fault, vestige of the propagation of the edge of the Gibraltar subduction zone during the westward migration of the Alborán domain.

Ice Sheet History from Antarctic Continental Margin Sediments: The ANTOSTRAT Approach

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barker, P.F.; Barrett, P.J.; Camerlenghi, A.; Cooper, A. K.; Davey, F.J.; Domack, E.W.; Escutia, C.; Kristoffersen, Y.; O'Brien, P.E.

1998-01-01

The Antarctic Ice Sheet is today an important part of the global climate engine, and probably has been so for most of its long existence. However, the details of its history are poorly known, despite the measurement and use, over two decades, of low-latitude proxies of ice sheet volume. An additional way of determining ice sheet history is now available, based on understanding terrigenous sediment transport and deposition under a glacial regime. It requires direct sampling of the prograded wedge of glacial sediments deposited at the Antarctic continental margin (and of derived sediments on the continental rise) at a small number of key sites, and combines the resulting data using numerical models of ice sheet development. The new phase of sampling is embodied mainly in a suite of proposals to the Ocean Drilling Program, generated by separate regional proponent groups co-ordinated through ANTOSTRAT (the Antarctic Offshore Acoustic Stratigraphy initiative). The first set of margin sites has now been drilled as ODP Leg 178 to the Antarctic Peninsula margin, and a first, short season of inshore drilling at Cape Roberts, Ross Sea, has been completed. Leg 178 and Cape Roberts drilling results are described briefly here, together with an outline of key elements of the overall strategy for determining glacial history, and of the potential contributions of drilling other Antarctic margins investigated by ANTOSTRAT. ODP Leg 178 also recovered continuous ultra-high-resolution Holocene biogenic sections at two sites within a protected, glacially-overdeepened basin (Palmer Deep) on the inner continental shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula. These and similar sites from around the Antarctic margin are a valuable resource when linked with ice cores and equivalent sections at lower latitude sites for studies of decadal and millenial-scale climate variation.

Interrelation between rifting, faulting, sedimentation, and mantle serpentinization during continental margin formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rupke, L.; Schmid, D. W.; Perez-Gussinye, M.; Hartz, E. H.

2013-12-01

We explore the conditions under which mantle serpentinization may take place during continental rifting with 2D thermotectonostratigraphic basin models. The basic concept follows the idea that the entire extending continental crust has to be brittle for crustal scale faulting and mantle serpentinization to occur. The new model tracks the rheological evolution of the continental crust and allows for kinetically controlled mantle serpentinization processes. The isostatic and latent heat effects of the reaction are fully coupled to the structural and thermal solutions. A systematic parameter study shows that a critical stretching factor exists for which complete crustal embrittlement and serpentinization occurs. Sedimentation shifts this critical stretching factor to higher values as both deeper burial and the low thermal conductivity of sediments lead to higher crustal temperatures. Serpentinization reactions are therefore only likely in settings with low sedimentation rates and high stretching factors. In addition, we find that the rate of sediment supply has first order controls on the rheology of the lower crust, which may control the overall margin geometry. We further test these concepts in ideas in a case study for the Norwegian margin. In particular, we evaluate whether the inner lower crustal bodies (LCB) imaged beneath the More and Voring margin could be serpentinized mantle. For this purpose we reconstruct multiple 2D transects through a 3D data set. This reconstruction of the Norwegian margin shows that serpentinization reactions are indeed possible and likely during the Jurassic rift phase. Predicted present-day thicknesses and locations of partially serpentinized mantle rocks fit well to information on LCBs from seismic and gravity data. We conclude that some of the inner LCBs beneath the Norwegian margin may, in fact, be partially serpentinized mantle.

Orphan Basin crustal structure from a dense wide-angle seismic profile - Tomographic inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watremez, Louise; Lau, K. W. Helen; Nedimović, Mladen R.; Louden, Keith E.; Karner, Garry D.

2014-05-01

Orphan Basin is located on the eastern margin of Canada, offshore of Newfoundland and East of Flemish Cap. It is an aborted continental rift formed by multiple episodes of rifting. The crustal structure across the basin has been determined by an earlier refraction study using 15 instruments on a 550 km long line. It shows that the continental crust was extended over an unusually wide region but did not break apart. The crustal structure of the basin thus documents stages in the formation of a magma-poor rifted margin up to crustal breakup. The OBWAVE (Orphan Basin Wide-Angle Velocity Experiment) survey was carried out to image crustal structures across the basin and better understand the processes of formation of this margin. The spacing of the 89 recording stations varies from 3 to 5 km along this 500-km-long line, which was acquired along a pre-existing reflection line. The highest resolution section corresponds to the part of the profile where the crust was expected to be the thinnest. We present the results from a joint tomography inversion of first and Moho reflected arrival times. The high data density allows us to define crustal structures with greater detail than for typical studies and to improve the understanding of the processes leading to the extreme stretching of continental crust. The final model was computed following a detailed parametric study to determine the optimal parameters controlling the ray-tracing and the inversion processes. The final model shows very good resolution. In particular, Monte Carlo standard deviations of crustal velocities and Moho depths are generally < 50 m/s and within 1 km, respectively. In comparison to the velocity models of typical seismic refraction profiles, results from the OBWAVE study show a notable improvement in the resolution of the velocity model and in the level of detail observed using the least a priori information possible. The final model allows us to determine the crustal thinning and variable structures across the basin. In particular, we observe (1) a zone of extreme thinning, where the crust is thinner than 7 km; (2) basement highs and lows highlighting the blocks that accommodate the crustal thinning; (3) a central block that is thicker compared to the rest of the basin; (4) lower crustal thinning that is highly variable, which suggests a ductile deformation in the lower crust and an extensional discrepancy between the upper and lower crust (DDS); and (5) no evidence for upper-mantle serpentinization under the ultra-thinned crust. Furthermore, we show the importance of structural inheritance in rifting of the Avalon crust. Thus, we suggest that Orphan Basin is the result of rifting of a non-homogeneous Avalon terrane where the lower crust is primarily ductile.

Cretaceous-Eocene provenance connections between the Palawan Continental Terrane and the northern South China Sea margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Lei; Cao, Licheng; Qiao, Peijun; Zhang, Xiangtao; Li, Qianyu; van Hinsbergen, Douwe J. J.

2017-11-01

The plate kinematic history of the South China Sea opening is key to reconstructing how the Mesozoic configuration of Panthalassa and Tethyan subduction systems evolved into today's complex Southeast Asian tectonic collage. The South China Sea is currently flanked by the Palawan Continental Terrane in the south and South China in the north and the two blocks have long been assumed to be conjugate margins. However, the paleogeographic history of the Palawan Continental Terrane remains an issue of uncertainty and controversy, especially regarding the questions of where and when it was separated from South China. Here we employ detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and heavy mineral analysis on Cretaceous and Eocene strata from the northern South China Sea and Palawan to constrain the Late Mesozoic-Early Cenozoic provenance and paleogeographic evolution of the region testing possible connection between the Palawan Continental Terrane and the northern South China Sea margin. In addition to a revision of the regional stratigraphic framework using the youngest zircon U-Pb ages, these analyses show that while the Upper Cretaceous strata from the Palawan Continental Terrane are characterized by a dominance of zircon with crystallization ages clustering around the Cretaceous, the Eocene strata feature a large range of zircon ages and a new mineral group of rutile, anatase, and monazite. On the one hand, this change of sediment compositions seems to exclude the possibility of a latest Cretaceous drift of the Palawan Continental Terrane in response to the Proto-South China Sea opening as previously inferred. On the other hand, the zircon age signatures of the Cretaceous-Eocene strata from the Palawan Continental Terrane are largely comparable to those of contemporary samples from the northeastern South China Sea region, suggesting a possible conjugate relationship between the Palawan Continental Terrane and the eastern Pearl River Mouth Basin. Thus, the Palawan Continental Terrane is interpreted to have been attached to the South China margin from the Cretaceous until the Oligocene oceanization of the South China Sea. In our preferred paleogeographic scenario, the sediment provenance in the northeastern South China Sea region changed from dominantly nearby Cretaceous continental arcs of the South China margin to more distal southeastern South China in the Eocene.

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;…

Regional implications of new chronostratigraphic and paleogeographic data from the Early Permian Darwin Basin, east-central California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stevens, Calvin H.; Stone, Paul; Magginetti, Robert T.

2015-01-01

The Darwin Basin developed in response to episodic subsidence of the western margin of the Cordilleran continental shelf from Late Pennsylvanian (Gzhelian) to Early Permian (late Artinskian) time. Subsidence of the basin was initiated in response to continental truncation farther to the west and was later augmented by thrust emplacement of the Last Chance allochthon. This deep-water basin was filled by voluminous fine-grained siliciclastic turbidites and coarse-grained limestone-gravity-flow deposits. Most of this sediment was derived from the Bird Spring carbonate shelf and cratonal platform to the northeast or east, but some came from an offshore tectonic ridge (Conglomerate Mesa Uplift) to the west that formed at the toe of the Last Chance allochthon. At one point in the late Artinskian the influx of extrabasinal sediment was temporarily cut off, resulting in deposition of a unique black limestone that allows precise correlation throughout the basin. Deep-water sedimentation in the Darwin Basin ended by Kungurian time when complex shallow-water to continental sedimentary facies spread across the region. Major expansion of the Darwin Basin occurred soon after the middle Sakmarian emplacement of the Last Chance allochthon. This tectonic event was approximately coeval with deformation in northeastern Nevada that formed the deep-water Dry Mountain Trough. We herein interpret the two basins to have been structurally continuous. Deposition of the unique black limestone is interpreted to mark a eustatic sea level rise that also can be recognized in Lower Permian sections in east-central Nevada and central Arizona.

Petrology and isotopic composition of Quaternary basanites dredged from the Bering Sea continental margin near Navarin Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, A.S.; Gunn, S.H.; Gray, L.-B.; Marlow, M. S.; Wong, F.L.

1993-01-01

Quaternary basanites were recovered from the continental margin of the Bering Sea near Navarin Basin. The basanites are highly vesicular flow rock and hyaloclastites similar to other alkalic volcanic rocks erupted repeatedly during the last Cenozoic on islands in the Bering Sea region and in mainland Alaska. K-Ar ages for the basanites indicate at least two episodes of volcanism at about 1.1 and 0.4 Ma. Trace-element data indicate these alkalic lavas have been generated by small, but variable, amounts of partial melting of a metasomatized lherzolite source. The relativley primitive compositions (MgO >9%), presence of mantle-derived xenoliths in some alkalic lavas, and presence of forsteritic olivine with low CaO and high NiO suggest that magma rose rapidly from great depth without spending time in large, long-lived magma chambers. Alkalic volcanism apparently resulted from upwelling and decompressional melting of small isolated mantle diapirs in response to local lithospheric attenuation associated with jostling of blocks during adjustment to regional stresses. -from Authors

Linking Short and Long Term Sediment Delivery to Morphology and Seascape Evolution of Continental Margins

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-09-30

history. OBJECTIVES 1) Is the variability in a river’s sediment load, observed over the last 100 years or less, adequate to provide a proxy for longer-term...experiments, small basins are able to capture in terms of textural proxies , both the natural variability associated with precipitation and temperature...as well as realistic scenarios of abrupt climate change. Open ocean basins, like the Eel River, are less likely to record the proxy record of ambient

Tectonic setting of the pebble and other copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry deposits within the evolving middle cretaceous continental margin of Northwestern North America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Goldfarb, Richard J.; Anderson, Eric; Hart, Craig J.R.

2013-01-01

The Pebble Cu-Au-Mo deposit in southwestern Alaska, containing the largest gold resource of any known porphyry in the world, developed in a tectonic setting significantly different from that of the present-day. It is one of a series of metalliferous middle Cretaceous porphyritic granodiorite, quartz monzonite, and diorite bodies, evolved from lower crust and metasomatized lithospheric mantle melts, which formed along much of the length of the North American craton suture with the Peninsular-Alexander-Wrangellia arc. The porphyry deposits were emplaced within the northernmost two of a series of ca. 130 to 80 Ma flysch basins that define the suture, as well as into arc rocks immediately seaward of the two basins. Deposits include the ca. 100 to 90 Ma Pebble, Neacola, and other porphyry prospects along the Kahiltna basin-Peninsula terrane boundary, and the ca. 115 to 105 Ma Baultoff, Carl Creek, Horsfeld, Orange Hill, Bond Creek, and Chisna porphyries along the Nutzotin basin-Wrangellia terrane boundary.The porphyry deposits probably formed along the craton margin more than 1,000 km to the south of their present latitude. Palinspastic reconstructions of plate kinematics from this period are particularly difficult because magmatism overlaps the 119 to 83 Ma Cretaceous Normal Superchron, a period when sea-floor magnetic data are lacking. Our favored scenario is that ore formation broadly overlaps the cessation of sedimentation and contraction and the transition to a transpressional continental margin regime, such that the remnant ocean basins were converted to strike-slip basins. The basins and outboard Peninsular-Alexander-Wrangellia composite superterrane, which are all located seaward of the deep crustal Denali-Farewell fault system, were subjected to northerly dextral transpression for as long as perhaps 50 m.y., beginning at ca. 95 ± 10 Ma. The onset of this transpression was marked by development of the mineralized bodies along fault segments on the seaward side of the basins.Geochemical and radiogenic isotopic data for igneous rocks associated with the Pebble porphyry deposit suggest continuous melt derivation from enriched lithosphere of a recently metasomatized mantle. These geochemical characteristics, coupled with the arc-continent-related collisional setting, suggest that lithospheric thickening and postcollisional lithospheric melting are the most likely cause of the ore-related magmatism. Subsequent to translation of the Alaskan margin terranes and early Tertiary oroclinal bending of Alaska, the northernmost Kahiltna basin and the Pebble deposit, as well as the other porphyry systems, reached their present-day locations along southern Alaska.

3-D thermal effect of late Cenozoic erosion and deposition within the Lofoten-Vesterålen segment of the Mid-Norwegian continental margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maystrenko, Yuriy Petrovich; Gernigon, Laurent; Olesen, Odleiv; Ottesen, Dag; Rise, Leif

2018-05-01

A 3-D subsurface temperature distribution within the Lofoten-Vesterålen segment of the Mid-Norwegian continental margin and adjacent areas has been studied to understand the thermal effect of late Cenozoic erosion of old sedimentary and crystalline rocks and subsequent deposition of glacial sediments during the Pleistocene. A lithosphere-scale 3-D structural model of the Lofoten-Vesterålen area has been used as a realistic approximation of the geometries of the sedimentary infill, underlying crystalline crust and lithospheric mantle during the 3-D thermal modelling. The influence of late Cenozoic erosion and sedimentation has been included during the 3-D thermal calculations. In addition, the 3-D thermal modelling has been carried out by taking also into account the influence of early Cenozoic continental breakup. The results of the 3-D thermal modelling demonstrate that the mainland is generally colder than the basin areas within the upper part of the 3-D model. The thermal influence of the early Cenozoic breakup is still clearly recognizable within the western and deep parts of the Lofoten-Vesterålen margin segment in terms of the increased temperatures. The thermal effects of the erosion and deposition within the study area also indicate that a positive thermal anomaly exists within the specific subareas where sedimentary and crystalline rocks were eroded. A negative thermal effect occurs in the subareas affected by subsidence and sedimentation. The erosion-related positive thermal anomaly reaches its maximum of more than +27 °C at depths of 17-22 km beneath the eastern part of the Vestfjorden Basin. The most pronounced deposition-related negative anomaly shows a minimum of around -70 °C at 17-20 km depth beneath the Lofoten Basin. The second negative anomaly is located within the northeastern part of the Vøring Basin and has minimal values of around -48 °C at 12-14 km depth. These prominent thermal anomalies are associated with the subareas where relatively high erosional and depositional rates were observed for late Cenozoic time.

A new tectono-magmatic model for the Lofoten/Vesterålen Margin at the outer limit of the Iceland Plume influence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breivik, Asbjørn Johan; Faleide, Jan Inge; Mjelde, Rolf; Flueh, Ernst R.; Murai, Yoshio

2017-10-01

The Early Eocene continental breakup was magma-rich and formed part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province. Extrusive and intrusive magmatism was abundant on the continental side, and a thick oceanic crust was produced up to a few m.y. after breakup. However, the extensive magmatism at the Vøring Plateau off mid-Norway died down rapidly northeastwards towards the Lofoten/Vesterålen Margin. In 2003 an Ocean Bottom Seismometer profile was collected from mainland Norway, across Lofoten, and into the deep ocean. Forward/inverse velocity modeling by raytracing reveals a continental margin transitional between magma-rich and magma-poor rifting. For the first time a distinct lower-crustal body typical for volcanic margins has been identified at this outer margin segment, up to 3.5 km thick and ∼50 km wide. On the other hand, expected extrusive magmatism could not be clearly identified here. Strong reflections earlier interpreted as the top of extensive lavas may at least partly represent high-velocity sediments derived from the shelf, and/or fault surfaces. Early post-breakup oceanic crust is moderately thickened (∼8 km), but is reduced to 6 km after 1 m.y. The adjacent continental crystalline crust is extended down to a minimum of 4.5 km thickness. Early plate spreading rates derived from the Norway Basin and the northern Vøring Plateau were used to calculate synthetic magnetic seafloor anomalies, and compared to our ship magnetic profile. It appears that continental breakup took place at ∼53.1 Ma, ∼1 m.y. later than on the Vøring Plateau, consistent with late strong crustal extension. The low interaction between extension and magmatism indicates that mantle plume material was not present at the Lofoten Margin during initial rifting, and that the observed excess magmatism was created by late lateral transport from a nearby pool of plume material into the lithospheric rift zone at breakup time.

Identification of hyper-extended crust east of Davie Ridge in the Mozambique Channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klimke, Jennifer; Franke, Dieter

2015-04-01

Davie Ridge is a ~1200 km wide, N-S trending bathymetrical high in the Mozambique Channel. Today, it is widely accepted that Davie Ridge is located along a fossil transform fault that was active during the Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous (~165-120 Ma). This transform fault results from the breakup of Gondwana, when Madagascar (together with India and Antarctica) drifted from its northerly position in the Gondwana Supercontinent (adjacent to the coasts of Tanzania, Somalia and Kenya) to its present position (e.g. Coffin and Rabinowitz, 1987; Rabinowitz et al., 1983; Segoufin and Patriat, 1980). The southward motion of Madagascar relative to Africa is constrained by the interpretation of magnetic anomalies in the Western Somali Basin, located north of Madagascar (e.g. Rabinowitz et al., 1983). According to Bird (2001), sheared margins share typical characteristics and a common evolution: 1. The transition from continental to oceanic crust is relatively abrupt (~ 50-80 km). 2. Along the continental side of the margin, complex rift basins form that display a wide range of faults. 3. Prominent marginal ridges form along the sheared margin that probably originate from the propagation of the oceanic spreading center along the plate boundary (Bird, 2001). In February and March 2014, a dense geophysical dataset (multichannel seismic, magnetics, gravimetry and bathymetry) with a total of 4300 profile km along the sheared margin was acquired with the R/V Sonne by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR). A special objective of the project, amongst others, is the characterization and interpretation of the continent-ocean transition seaward of Davie Ridge in the Mozambique Channel. Seismic profiles located east of Davie Ridge in the Western Somali Basin reveal a wide sequence of half-grabens bounded by listric normal faults. We tentatively suggest that this crust is of continental origin and results from rifting between Africa and Madagascar during the breakup of Gondwana. This implies that the continent-ocean transition is located at least ~ 150 km east of Davie Ridge. References Bird, D., 2001. Shear margins: Continent-ocean transform and fracture zone boundaries. The Leading Edge, 150-159. Coffin, M. F., und Rabinowitz, P. D., 1987. Reconstruction of Madagascar and Africa: Evidence from the Davie Fracture Zone and Western Somali Basin. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, vol. 92, no. B9, 9385-9406. Rabinowitz, P.D., Coffin, M.F. and Falvey, D.A., 1983. The separation of Madagascar and Africa. Science 220, 67-69. Segoufin, J., und Patriat, P., 1980. Existence d'anomalies mesozoiques dans le bassin de Somalie. Implications pour les relations Afrique-Antarctique-Madagascar: C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, v. 291, p. 85-88.

Sedimentation and tectonics in the southern Bida Basin, Nigeria: depositional response to varying tectonic context

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

Braide, S.P.

1990-05-01

The Upper Cretaceous Bida basin of central Nigeria is sandwiched between the Precambrian schist belts of the Northern Nigerian massif and the West African craton. Of interest is the southern part of the basin, which developed in continental settings, because the facies architecture of the sedimentary fill suggests a close relation between sedimentation dynamics and basin margin tectonics. This relationship is significant to an understanding of the basin's origin, which has been controversial. A simple sag and rift origin has been suggested, and consequently dominated the negative thinking on the hydrocarbon prospects of the basin which were considered poor. Thismore » detailed study of the facies indicates rapid basin-wide changes from various alluvial fan facies through flood-basin and deltaic facies to lacustrine facies. Paleogeographic reconstruction suggests lacustrine environments were widespread and elongate. Lacustrine environments occurred at the basin's axis and close to the margins. This suggests the depocenter must have migrated during the basin's depositional history and subsided rapidly to accommodate the 3.5-km-thick sedimentary fill. Although distinguishing pull-apart basins from rift basins, based solely on sedimentologic grounds, may be difficult, the temporal migration of the depocenter, as well as the basin architecture of upward coarsening cyclicity, show a strong tectonic and structural overprint that suggests a tectonic framework for the Southern Bida basin similar in origin to a pull-apart basin.« less

The long-term evolution of the Congo deep-sea fan: A basin-wide view of the interaction between a giant submarine fan and a mature passive margin (ZaiAngo project)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anka, Zahie; Séranne, Michel; Lopez, Michel; Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena; Savoye, Bruno

2009-05-01

We have integrated the relatively unknown distal domains of the Lower Congo basin, where the main depocenters of the Congo submarine fan are located, with the better-constrained successions on the shelf and upper slope, through the analysis of thousands of km of 2D seismic reflection profiles off-shore the Congo-Angola passive margin. The basin architecture is depicted by two ca. 800-km-long regional cross sections through the northern (Congo) and southern (Angola) margin. A large unit deposited basinward of the Aptian salt limit is likely to be the abyssal-plain equivalent of the upper-Cretaceous carbonate shelf that characterized the first post-rift deposits in West-equatorial African margins. A latest-Turonian shelf-deepening event is recorded in the abyssal plain as a long period (Coniacian-Eocene) of condensed sedimentation and basin starvation. The onset of the giant Tertiary Congo deep-sea fan in early Oligocene following this event reactivates the abyssal plain as the main depocenter of the basin. The time-space partitioning of sedimentation within the deep-sea fan results from the interplay among increasing sediment supply, margin uplift, rise of the Angola salt ridge, and canyon incision throughout the Neogene. Oligocene-early Miocene turbidite sedimentation occurs mainly in NW-SE grabens and ponded inter-diapir basins on the southern margin (Angola). Seaward tilting of the margin and downslope salt withdrawal activates the up-building of the Angola escarpment, which leads to a northward (Congo) shift of the transfer zones during late Miocene. Around the Miocene-Pliocene boundary, the incision of the Congo submarine canyon confines the turbidite flows and drives a general basinward progradation of the submarine fan into the abyssal plain The slope deposition is dominated by fine-grained hemipelagic deposits ever since. Results from this work contribute to better understand the signature in the ultra-deep deposits of processes acting on the continental margin as well as the basin-wide sediment redistribution in areas of high river input.

Structural Evolution of the Crotone Basin: Successive Shortening and Extension Episodes Parallel to the Calabrian Forearc (South Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reitz, M.; Seeber, L.

2008-12-01

At 10-12 Ma, the continental fragment of Calabria separated from Sardinia and became the crystalline core of a forearc in a NW-directed subduction system that is being consuming the Mesozoic (Neo-Tethys) oceanic lithosphere. The southeastward rollback of this arc has left in its wake the Tyrrhenian Sea by back-arc spreading. This system is confined between the continental margins of Africa and its Apulian promontory and created matching oblique-collision orogens (Sicilian Maghrebides and Apennines, respectively) along the margins. These progressive collisions shortened the arc because the gap between the margins narrowed to the SE. However, the arc is now lengthening after passing the point of closest approach of Sicily and Apulia, probably in the Quaternary. We seek evidence of this and other neotectonic episodes in the evolution of the forearc in the Crotone basin, which is situated on the accretionary E side of Calabria. A widespread unconformity correlated with the onset of rollback marks a regional foundering controlled by multidirectional extensional growth faults. These faults are consistently capped by the Messinian evaporite sequence. This sequence ends with a widespread unconformity that marks the final desiccation of the Ionian Sea ~5Ma. Mechanical changes due to drop in pore pressure and backward tilting of the accretionary wedge due to flexural unloading may be responsible for the landward emplacement of an accretionary mélange on the NE side of the Crotone Basin and the deposition of a characteristic conglomerate that locally caps the evaporites. After a well known mid-Pliocene basin-forming extensional event, we find evidence for a basin- wide contraction affecting the entire Neogene sequence up to the mid-to-late Pliocene. Vergence ranges from N to NW from east to west across the basin and is consistent with longitudinal shortening of the forearc. The shortening structures are cut or reactivated(?) by extensional faulting which we associate with Late(?) Quaternary longitudinal extension manifested by several transverse basins across the Calabrian forearc.

Chapter 50 Geology and tectonic development of the Amerasia and Canada Basins, Arctic Ocean

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grantz, Arthur; Hart, Patrick E.; Childers, Vicki A

2011-01-01

Amerasia Basin is the product of two phases of counterclockwise rotational opening about a pole in the lower Mackenzie Valley of NW Canada. Phase 1 opening brought ocean–continent transition crust (serpentinized peridotite?) to near the seafloor of the proto-Amerasia Basin, created detachment on the Eskimo Lakes Fault Zone of the Canadian Arctic margin and thinned the continental crust between the fault zone and the proto-Amerasia Basin to the west, beginning about 195 Ma and ending prior to perhaps about 160 Ma. The symmetry of the proto-Amerasia Basin was disrupted by clockwise rotation of the Chukchi Microcontinent into the basin from an original position along the Eurasia margin about a pole near 72°N, 165 W about 145.5–140 Ma. Phase 2 opening enlarged the proto-Amerasia Basin by intrusion of mid-ocean ridge basalt along its axis between about 131 and 127.5 Ma. Following intrusion of the Phase 2 crust an oceanic volcanic plateau, the Alpha–Mendeleev Ridge LIP (large igneous province), was extruded over the northern Amerasia Basin from about 127 to 89–75 Ma. Emplacement of the LIP halved the area of the Amerasia Basin, and the area lying south of the LIP became the Canada Basin.

Chapter 50: Geology and tectonic development of the Amerasia and Canada Basins, Arctic Ocean

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grantz, A.; Hart, P.E.; Childers, V.A.

2011-01-01

Amerasia Basin is the product of two phases of counterclockwise rotational opening about a pole in the lower Mackenzie Valley of NW Canada. Phase 1 opening brought ocean-continent transition crust (serpentinized peridotite?) to near the seafloor of the proto-Amerasia Basin, created detachment on the Eskimo Lakes Fault Zone of the Canadian Arctic margin and thinned the continental crust between the fault zone and the proto-Amerasia Basin to the west, beginning about 195 Ma and ending prior to perhaps about 160 Ma. The symmetry of the proto-Amerasia Basin was disrupted by clockwise rotation of the Chukchi Microcontinent into the basin from an original position along the Eurasia margin about a pole near 72??N, 165 Wabout 145.5-140 Ma. Phase 2 opening enlarged the proto-Amerasia Basin by intrusion of mid-ocean ridge basalt along its axis between about 131 and 127.5 Ma. Following intrusion of the Phase 2 crust an oceanic volcanic plateau, the Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge LIP (large igneous province), was extruded over the northern Amerasia Basin from about 127 to 89-75 Ma. Emplacement of the LIP halved the area of the Amerasia Basin, and the area lying south of the LIP became the Canada Basin. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

Geology and tectonic development of the continental margin north of Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grantz, A.; Eittreim, S.; Dinter, D.A.

1979-01-01

The continental margin north of Alaska, as interpreted from seismic reflection profiles, is of the Atlantic type and consists of three sectors of contrasting structure and stratigraphy. The Chukchi sector, on the west, is characterized by the deep late Mesozoic and Tertiary North Chukchi basin and the Chukchi Continental Borderland. The Barrow sector of central northern Alaska is characterized by the Barrow arch and a moderately thick continental terrace build of Albian to Tertiary clastic sediment. The terrace sedimentary prism is underlain by lower Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks. The Barter Island sector of northeastern Alaska and Yukon Territory is inferred to contain a very thick prism of Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary marine and nonmarine clastic sediment. Its structure is dominated by a local deep Tertiary depocenter and two regional structural arches. We postulate that the distinguishing characteristics of the three sectors are inherited from the configuration of the rift that separated arctic Alaska from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago relative to old pre-rift highlands, which were clastic sediment sources. Where the rift lay relatively close to northern Alaska, in the Chukchi and Barter Island sectors, and locally separated Alaska from the old source terranes, thick late Mesozoic and Tertiary sedimentary prisms extend farther south beneath the continental shelf than in the intervening Barrow sector. The boundary between the Chukchi and Barrow sectors is relatively well defined by geophysical data, but the boundary between the Barrow and Barter Island sectors can only be inferred from the distribution and thickness of Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. These boundaries may be extensions of oceanic fracture zones related to the rifting that is postulated to have opened the Canada Basin, probably beginning during the Early Jurassic. ?? 1979.

Intraplate compressional deformation in West-Congo and the Congo basin: related to ridge-puch from the South Atlantic spreading ridge?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delvaux, Damien; Everaerts, Michel; Kongota Isasi, Elvis; Ganza Bamulezi, Gloire

2016-04-01

After the break-up and separation of South America from Africa and the initiation of the South-Atlantic mid-oceanic ridge in the Albian, at about 120 Ma, ridge-push forces started to build-up in the oceanic lithosphere and were transmitted to the adjacent continental plates. This is particularly well expressed in the passive margin and continental interior of Central Africa. According to the relations of Wiens and Stein (1985) between ridge-push forces and basal drag in function of the lithospheric age of oceanic plates, the deviatoric stress reaches a compressional maximum between 50 and 100, Ma after the initiation of the spreading ridge, so broadly corresponding to the Paleocene in this case (~70-20 Ma). Earthquake focal mechanism data show that the West-Congo margin and a large part of the Congo basin are still currently under compressional stresses with an horizontal compression parallel to the direction of the active transform fracture zones. We studied the fracture network along the Congo River in Kinshasa and Brazzaville which affect Cambrian sandstones and probably also the late Cretaceous-Paleocene sediments. Their brittle tectonic evolution is compatible with the buildup of ridge-push forces related to the South-Atlantic opening. Further inland, low-angle reverse faults are found affecting Jurassic to Middle Cretaceous cores from the Samba borehole in the Congo basin and strike-slip movements are recorded as a second brittle phase in the Permian cores of the Dekese well, at the southern margin of the Congo basin. An analysis of the topography and river network of the Congo basin show the development of low-amplitude (50-100 m) long wavelengths (100-300 km) undulations that can be interpreted as lithospheric buckling in response to the compressional intraplate stress field generated by the Mid-Atlantic ridge-push. Wiens, D.A., Stein, S., 1985. Implications of oceanic intraplate seismicity for plate stresses, driving forces and theology. Tectonophysics 1166, 143-162.

Tethys- and Atlas-related deformations in the Triassic Basin, Algeria

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

Jackson, J.S.; Moore, S.R.; Quarles, A.I.

1995-08-01

Petroleum provinces of Algeria can be divided into Paleozoic and Mesozoic domains. Paleozoic basins are located on the Gondwanaland paleo-continent where the last significant tectonic episode is ascribed to the Late Paleozoic Hercynian Orogeny. Mesozoic basins are located on the south margin of the Neo-Tethyan seaway. These basins were subject to varying degrees of contractional deformation during the Cenozoic Atlas Orogeny. The Triassic Basin of Algeria is a Tethyan feature located above portions of the Paleozoic Oued M`ya and Ghadames Basins. Paleozoic strata are deeply truncated at the Hercynian Unconformity on a broad arch between the older basins. This ismore » interpreted to reflect rift margin rebound during Carboniferous time. Continental Lower Triassic sediments were deposited in a series of northeast trending basins which opened as the Neo-Tethys basin propagated from east to west between Africa and Europe. Middle Triassic marine transgression from the east resulted in evaporate deposition persisting through the Early Jurassic. Passive margin subsidence associated with carbonate marine deposition continued through the Early Cretaceous. Several zones of coeval wrench deformation cross the Atlas and adjoining regions. In the Triassic Basin, inversion occurred before the end of the Early Cretaceous. This episode created discrete uplifts, where major hydrocarbon accumulations have been discovered, along northeast trending lineaments. During the Eocene, the main phase of the Atlas Orogeny produced low amplitude folding of Jurassic and Cretaceous sediments. The folds detach within the Triassic-Jurassic evaporate interval. Many of these folds have been tested without success, as the deeper reservoirs do not show structural closure.« less

The distribution and tectonic framework of Late Paleozoic volcanoes in the Junggar basin and its adjacent area, NW China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, X.; Li, J. H.

2012-04-01

We analyse the distribution and characteristics of 145 late Paleozoic volcanoes in north Xinjiang, NW China, including 32 volcanoes on the edge of the Junggar basin. These volcanoes are clustered and can be divided into calderas, volcanic domes, and volcanic necks. There are also 85 volcanoes inside the Junggar basin, which are dominantly distributed in the Ke-Bai fractured zone of the northwestern margin of Junggar Basin, 4 depressions (Dongdaohaizi Depression, Dishuiquan Depression, Sannan Depression and Wucaiwan Depression) and 7 uplifts (Baijiahai uplift, Beisantai uplift, Dibei uplift, Dinan uplift, Sangequan uplift, Shixi uplift and Xiayan uplift). The volcanoes inside the basin are principally controlled by Hercynian Fault Systems, along NE and nearly EW trending faults and most developed in the interjunctions of the faults. The long modification by late-stage weathering and leaching made the volcanoes difficult to identify. Remaining volcanic landforms, changing trends of the volcanic lithofacies and the typical volcanic rock, such as the crypto- explosive breccia, are the typical marks of the late Paleozoic volcanoes in the field; and the concealed volcanic edifices are identified by the techniques of seismic identification, such as seismic slicing, analysis of the attribute and tectonic trend plane. The ages of the volcanic rocks are focused on from 340 Ma to 320Ma and from 300 Ma to 295 Ma, corresponding to the subducting periods of West Junggar and East Junggar. From early Carboniferous to late Carboniferous, the volcanic activities in Junggar Basin and its adjacent areas show a variation trend from undersea to continental, from deep water to shallow water and from continental margin to intracontinental.

Early evolution of the southern margin of the Neuquén Basin, Argentina: Tectono-stratigraphic implications for rift evolution and exploration of hydrocarbon plays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Elia, Leandro; Bilmes, Andrés; Franzese, Juan R.; Veiga, Gonzalo D.; Hernández, Mariano; Muravchik, Martín

2015-12-01

Long-lived rift basins are characterized by a complex structural and tectonic evolution. They present significant lateral and vertical stratigraphic variations that determine diverse basin-patterns at different timing, scale and location. These issues cause difficulties to establish facies models, correlations and stratal stacking patterns of the fault-related stratigraphy, specially when exploration of hydrocarbon plays proceeds on the subsurface of a basin. The present case study corresponds to the rift-successions of the Neuquén Basin. This basin formed in response to continental extension that took place at the western margin of Gondwana during the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic. A tectono-stratigraphic analysis of the initial successions of the southern part of the Neuquén Basin was carried out. Three syn-rift sequences were determined. These syn-rift sequences were located in different extensional depocentres during the rifting phases. The specific periods of rifting show distinctly different structural and stratigraphic styles: from non-volcanic to volcanic successions and/or from continental to marine sedimentation. The results were compared with surface and subsurface interpretations performed for other depocentres of the basin, devising an integrated rifting scheme for the whole basin. The more accepted tectono-stratigraphic scheme that assumes the deposits of the first marine transgression (Cuyo Cycle) as indicative of the onset of a post-rift phase is reconsidered. In the southern part of the basin, the marine deposits (lower Cuyo Cycle) were integrated into the syn-rift phase, implying the existence of different tectonic signatures for Cuyo Cycle along the basin. The rift climax becomes younger from north to south along the basin. The post-rift initiation followed the diachronic ending of the main syn-rift phase throughout the Neuquén Basin. Thus, initiation of the post-rift stage started in the north and proceeded towards the south, constituting a diachronous post-rift event. This arrangement implies that the lower part of Cuyo Cycle, traditionally related to regional thermal subsidence, may be deposited during either mechanical subsidence or thermal subsidence according to its position within the basin.

Sedimentary architecture of a Plio-Pleistocene proto-back-arc basin: Wanganui Basin, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Proust, Jean-Noël; Lamarche, Geoffroy; Nodder, Scott; Kamp, Peter J. J.

2005-11-01

The sedimentary architecture of active margin basins, including back-arc basins, is known only from a few end-members that barely illustrate the natural diversity of such basins. Documenting more of these basins types is the key to refining our understanding of the tectonic evolution of continental margins. This paper documents the sedimentary architecture of an incipient back-arc basin 200 km behind the active Hikurangi subduction margin, North Island, New Zealand. The Wanganui Basin (WB) is a rapidly subsiding, Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary basin located at the southern termination of the extensional back-arc basin of the active Central Volcanic Region (TVZ). The WB is asymmetric with a steep, thrust-faulted, outer (arc-ward) margin and a gentle inner (craton-ward) margin. It contains a 4-km-thick succession of Plio-Pleistocene sediments, mostly lying offshore, composed of shelf platform sediments. It lacks the late molasse-like deposits derived from erosion of a subaerial volcanic arc and basement observed in classical back-arc basins. Detailed seismic stratigraphic interpretations from an extensive offshore seismic reflection data grid show that the sediment fill comprises two basin-scale mega-sequences: (1) a Pliocene (3.8 to 1.35 Ma), sub-parallel, regressive "pre-growth" sequence that overtops the uplifted craton-ward margin above the reverse Taranaki Fault, and (2) a Pleistocene (1.35 Ma to present), divergent, transgressive, "syn-growth" sequence that onlaps: (i) the craton-ward high to the west, and (ii) uplifted basement blocks associated with the high-angle reverse faults of the arc-ward margin to the east. Along strike, the sediments offlap first progressively southward (mega-sequence 1) and then southeastward (mega-sequence 2), with sediment transport funnelled between the craton- and arc-ward highs, towards the Hikurangi Trough through the Cook Strait. The change in offlap direction corresponds to the onset of arc-ward thrust faulting and the rise of the Axial Ranges at ca 1.75 Ma, resulting in 5100-5700 m of differential subsidence across the fault system. Sedimentation has propagated south- to southeast-ward over the last 4 Myrs at the tip of successive back-arc graben, volcanic arcs and the associated thermally uplifted parts of the North Island, following the southward migration of the Hikurangi subduction margin. Subsidence occurred by mantle flow-driven flexure, the result of active down-drag of the lithosphere by locking of the Hikurangi subduction interface and sediment loading. The WB is considered to be a proto-back-arc basin that represents the intermediate stage of evolution of an epicratonic shelf platform, impacted by active margin processes.

Submarine mass wasting on the Ionian Calabrian margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceramicola, S.; Forlin, E.; Coste, M.; Cova, A.; Praeg, D.; Fanucci, F.; Critelli, S.

2010-12-01

Mass wasting processes on continental margins have strong relevance both for geohazards of coastal areas and for the emplacement and monitoring of offshore infrastructures. The seabed dynamics of the Ionian Calabrian Margin (ICM) are currently being examined in the context of the project MAGIC (Marine Geohazard along the Italian Coasts). The objective of this project is the definition of elements that may constitute geological risk for coastal areas. The ICM is a tectonically-active margin, the structures of which reflect two main processes: frontal compression and fore-arc extension during the SE advance of the Calabrian accretionary prism since the late Miocene; and a rapid uplift (up to 1mm/yr) of onshore and shallow shelf areas since the mid-Pleistocene. These processes are reflected in different tectonic settings at seabed, which is characterized by a narrow continental shelf above a slope of irregular morphology in water depths of 150-2000 m. In the north, a broad slope is dominated by ridges and intervening basins that are the morphological expression of the southern Apennine fold-and-thrust belt; in the south, the continental slope descends steeply towards the deep-water Crotone and Spartivento fore-arc basins. The overall objective of this study is to map major features of mass wasting on the slopes of the ICM, investigate possible triggering mechanisms and consider the geohazards these features may represent for coastal areas. The study is based on an integrated analysis of multibeam morpho-bathymetric data and subbottom profiles, which together allow the recognition of four main types of mass wasting phenomena along the slopes of the ICM: 1) mass transport complexes (MTCs) within intra-slope basins - these are identified in the northern area, within the piggy-back basins: seabed imagery show the slopes of all the seabed ridges to be marked by headwall scarps recording widespread failure, while Chirp profiles show the adjacent basins to contain unstratified bodies indicative of debris flows buried beneath stratified sediments; multiple debris flows in several basins indicate one or more past episodes of failure that may be linked to activity on the faults bounding the structural highs. 2) slope slide scars - these are identified in two locations along the relatively steep southern Calabrian slope; the slide scars record several episodes of failure, linked to deposits within the deep-water basins that are yet to be identified. 3) possible gravity sliding - in one area of the southern Calabrian slope, elongate seabed features oriented subparallel to contours are observed, associated with diapiric structures that have been linked to Messinian salt observed on seismic profiles (Rossi & Sartori 1981); we suggest that the elongate seabed features may record a form of downslope sediment sliding above salt, resulting in features analogous to the cobblestone topography of the outer Calabrian Arc; 4) canyon headwalls - in the upper parts of all canyons, numerous headwall scarps are consistent with retrogressive activity of the canyons.

The Eastern Sardinian Margin (Tyrrhenian Sea, Western Mediterranean) : a key area to study the rifting and post-breakup evolution of a back-arc passive continental margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaullier, Virginie; Chanier, Frank; Vendeville, Bruno; Maillard, Agnès; Thinon, Isabelle; Graveleau, Fabien; Lofi, Johanna; Sage, Françoise

2016-04-01

The Eastern Sardinian passive continental margin formed during the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is a back-arc basin created by continental rifting and oceanic spreading related to the eastward migrating Apennine subduction system (middle Miocene to Pliocene). Up to now, rifting in this key area was considered to be pro parte coeval with the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC, 5.96-5.32 Ma). We use the MSC seismic markers and the deformation of viscous salt and its brittle overburden as proxies to better delineate the timing of rifting and post-rift reactivation, and especially to quantify vertical and horizontal movements. On this young, highly-segmented margin, the Messinian Erosion Surface and the Upper and Mobile Units are systematically associated, respectively, to basement highs and deeper basins, showing that a rifted deep-sea domain already existed by Messinian times, therefore a major pre-MSC rifting episode occurred across the entire domain. Data show that there are no signs of Messinian syn-rift sediments, hence no evidence for rifting after Late Tortonian times. Moreover, because salt tectonics creates fan-shaped geometries in sediments, syn-rift deposits have to be carefully re-examined to distinguish the effects of crustal tectonics (rifting) and salt tectonics. We also precise that rifting is clearly diachronous from the upper margin (East-Sardinia Basin) to the lower margin (Cornaglia Terrace) with two unconformities, attributed respectively to the necking and to the lithospheric breakup unconformities. The onshore part of the upper margin has been recently investigated in order to characterize the large crustal faults affecting the Mesozoic series (geometry, kinematics and chronology) and to decipher the role of the structural inheritance and of the early rifting. Seaward, we also try to constrain the architecture and timing of the continent-ocean transition, between the hyper-extended continental crust and the first oceanic crust. Widespread post-breakup deformation also occurred during the Pliocene. Some Pliocene vertical movements have been evidenced by discovering localized gravity gliding of the salt and its Late Messinian (UU) and Early Pliocene overburden. To the South, crustal-scale southward tilting triggered along-strike gravity gliding of salt and cover recorded by upslope extension and downslope shortening. To the North, East of the Baronie Ridge, there was some post-salt crustal activity along a narrow N-S basement trough, bounded by crustal faults. The salt geometry would suggest that nothing happened after Messinian times, but some structural features (confirmed by analogue modelling) show that basement fault slip was accommodated by lateral salt flow, which thinned upslope and thickened downslope, while the overlying sediments remained sub-horizontal. Along the inner domain of Eastern Sardinian margin, the post-rift deformation style greatly varies. Compressional structures (reverse faults and folds) are observed both onshore and offshore while post-rift extensional structures are mainly identified offshore. Such late deformation could be attributed to mechanisms acting alone or combined, such as : i. the reactivation of the margin, as already described for the Ligurian, Algerian or South-Balearic margins due to the Eurasian-African convergence ; 2. the Zanclean reflooding and the resulting water overload on the elastic lithosphere ; 3. an episodic mantle upwelling.

Syn- and post-rift anomalous vertical movements in the eastern Central Atlantic passive margin: a transect across the Moroccan passive continental margin.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charton, Remi; Bertotti, Giovanni; Arantegui, Angel; Luber, Tim; Redfern, Jonathan

2017-04-01

Traditional models of passive margin evolution suggesting generalised regional subsidence with rates decreasing after the break-up have been questioned in the last decade by a number of detailed studies. The occurrence of episodic km-scale exhumation well within the post-rift stage, possibly associated with significant erosion, have been documented along the Atlantic continental margins. Despite the wide-spread and increasing body of evidence supporting post-rift exhumation, there is still limited understanding of the mechanism or scale of these phenomena. Most of these enigmatic vertical movements have been discovered using low-temperature geochronology and time-temperature modelling along strike of passive margins. As proposed in previous work, anomalous upward movements in the exhuming domain are coeval with higher-than-normal downward movements in the subsiding domain. These observations call for an integrated analysis of the entire source-to-sink system as a pre-requisite for a full understanding of the involved tectonics. We reconstruct the geological evolution of a 50km long transect across the Moroccan passive margin from the Western Anti-Atlas (Ifni area) to the offshore passive margin basin. Extending the presently available low-temperature geochronology database and using a new stratigraphic control of the Mesozoic sediments, we present a reconstruction of vertical movements in the area. Further, we integrate this with the analysis of an offshore seismic line and the pattern of vertical movements in the Anti-Atlas as documented in Gouiza et al. (2016). The results based on sampled rocks indicate exhumation by circa 6km after the Variscan orogeny until the Middle Jurassic. During the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous the region was subsequently buried by 1-2km, and later exhumed by 1-2km from late Early/Late Cretaceous onwards. From the Permian to present day, the Ifni region is the link between the generally exhuming Anti Atlas and continually subsiding offshore basins. Along strike, the rifted margin exhibits significant variability in the architecture of the Mesozoic deposits onshore and present day offshore shelf. North of the High Atlas, the ca. 2km thick Mesozoic succession is characterized by continuous sedimentation. South of the High Atlas the thickness increases to 6km in the offshore Tarfaya basin, where the Jurassic succession may be separated by a regional unconformity. Further south, close to the border with Mauritania, the Triassic to Jurassic succession is missing and the Cretaceous attains less than a kilometre of strata. In the Meseta and High Atlas, studies documented a similar kinematic Mesozoic evolution, whereas in the Anti-Atlas Gouiza et al. (2016) and this study document a different evolution. In addition, the kinematic evolution of the Reguibate domain to the south is also different from the other segments, showing post-Variscan exhumation with amplitudes lower than the ones observed in the Anti-Atlas. These observations highlight changes in the pattern of enigmatic movements along the same passive continental margin thereby showing that passive continental margins are more complex than expected only a few years ago. Gouiza, M., Charton, R., Bertotti, G., Andriessen, P. and Storms, J.E.A., 2016. Post-Variscan evolution of the Anti-Atlas belt of Morocco constrained from low-temperature geochronology: International Journal of Earth Sciences.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the East Coast Mesozoic basins of the Piedmont, Blue Ridge Thrust Belt, Atlantic Coastal Plain, and New England Provinces, 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Milici, Robert C.; Coleman, James L.; Rowan, Elisabeth L.; Cook, Troy A.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Kirschbaum, Mark A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Schenk, Christopher J.

2012-01-01

During the early opening of the Atlantic Ocean in the Mesozoic Era, numerous extensional basins formed along the eastern margin of the North American continent from Florida northward to New England and parts of adjacent Canada. The basins extend generally from the offshore Atlantic continental margin westward beneath the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the Appalachian Mountains. Using a geology-based assessment method, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean undiscovered natural gas resource of 3,860 billion cubic feet and a mean undiscovered natural gas liquids resource of 135 million barrels in continuous accumulations within five of the East Coast Mesozoic basins: the Deep River, Dan River-Danville, and Richmond basins, which are within the Piedmont Province of North Carolina and Virginia; the Taylorsville basin, which is almost entirely within the Atlantic Coastal Plain Province of Virginia and Maryland; and the southern part of the Newark basin (herein referred to as the South Newark basin), which is within the Blue Ridge Thrust Belt Province of New Jersey. The provinces, which contain these extensional basins, extend across parts of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

Crustal Structure of the Ionian Basin and Eastern Sicily Margin: Results From a Wide-Angle Seismic Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dellong, David; Klingelhoefer, Frauke; Kopp, Heidrun; Graindorge, David; Margheriti, Lucia; Moretti, Milena; Murphy, Shane; Gutscher, Marc-Andre

2018-03-01

In the Ionian Sea (central Mediterranean) the slow convergence between Africa and Eurasia results in the formation of a narrow subduction zone. The nature of the crust of the subducting plate remains debated and could represent the last remnants of the Neo-Tethys ocean. The origin of the Ionian basin is also under discussion, especially concerning the rifting mechanisms as the Malta Escarpment could represent a remnant of this opening. This subduction retreats toward the south-east (motion occurring since the last 35 Ma) but is confined to the narrow Ionian basin. A major lateral slab tear fault is required to accommodate the slab roll-back. This fault is thought to propagate along the eastern Sicily margin but its precise location remains controversial. This study focuses on the deep crustal structure of the eastern Sicily margin and the Malta Escarpment. We present two two-dimensional P wave velocity models obtained from forward modeling of wide-angle seismic data acquired onboard the R/V Meteor during the DIONYSUS cruise in 2014. The results image an oceanic crust within the Ionian basin as well as the deep structure of the Malta Escarpment, which presents characteristics of a transform margin. A deep and asymmetrical sedimentary basin is imaged south of the Messina strait and seems to have opened between the Calabrian and Peloritan continental terranes. The interpretation of the velocity models suggests that the tear fault is located east of the Malta Escarpment, along the Alfeo fault system.

Crustal structure of the basin in the Southwest Subbasin, South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Z.; Li, J.; Ding, W.; Zhang, J.; Ruan, A.; Niu, X.; Yin, J.

2016-12-01

Using two-dimensional seismic tomography, we reported a detailed P-wave velocity model of the basin area and the northern margin in the southwest SWSB. We used two OBS profiles (OBS973-1 and OBS973-3), and 12 OBSs were involved into forward modeling and inversion. The whole profile is approximately 311-km-long. The average thickness of the crust beneath the basin is 5.33 km, and the Moho interface is about 10-12 km. No High Velocity Bodies (HVBs) are observed, and only two thin high-velocity structures ( 7.3 km/s) in the layer 3 are identified beneath the northern continent-ocean transition (COT) and the extinct spreading center. It is suggested that the basin area is a typical oceanic crust. Combined with other refraction profiles in the SWSB, the thickness of crust became thinner from the east to the west, indicating a decreasing magma supply. Besides, the continental block shows asymmetric crustal thickness: the southern margin represents thicker crust than the northern margin, which may be related to the large scale of detachment fault systems developed in the southern margin. Revealed from the multi-channel seismic (MCS) profile, the profile here shows asymmetric structural characteristics between the north and south section of the spreading center, which may be controlled by detachment faults. The initial rifting is likely to occur in the south of our study area.KEY WORDS crustal structure; South China Sea; Southwest Sub-basin Extinct spreading center, Asymmetric extension; Thinned crust

Contrasting styles of seafloor spreading in the Woodlark Basin: Indications of rift-induced secondary mantle convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MartíNez, Fernando; Taylor, Brian; Goodliffe, Andrew M.

1999-06-01

The Woodlark Basin in the southwest Pacific is a young ocean basin which began forming by ˜6 Ma following the rifting of continental and arc lithosphere. The N-S striking Moresby Transform divides the oceanic basin into eastern and western parts which have contrasting characteristics. Seafloor spreading west of Moresby Transform began after ˜2 Ma, and although spreading rates decrease to the west, the western basin has faster spreading characteristics than the eastern basin. These include (1) ˜500 m shallower seafloor; (2) Bouguer gravity anomalies that are >30 mGals lower; (3) magnetic anomaly and modeled seafloor magnetization amplitudes that are higher; (4) a spreading center with an axial high in contrast to the axial valleys of the eastern basin; (5) smoother seafloor fabric; and (6) exclusively nontransform spreading center offsets in contrast to the eastern basin, which has transform faults and fracture zones that extend across most of the basin. Overall depth contrasts and Bouguer anomalies can be matched by end-member models of thicker crust (˜2 km) or thinner lithosphere (<1/3) in the western basin. Correlated with these contrasts, the surrounding rifted margins abruptly thicken westward of the longitude of Moresby Transform. We examine alternative explanations for these contrasts and propose that rift-induced secondary mantle convection driven by thicker western margin lithosphere is most consistent with the observations. Although rift-induced convection has been cited as a cause for the voluminous excess magmatism at some rifted margins, the observations in the Woodlark Basin suggest that this mechanism may significantly affect the morphology, structure, and geophysical characteristics of young ocean basins in alternate ways which resemble increased spreading rate.

Structural and kinematic evolution of the Yukon-Tanana upland tectonites, east-central Alaska: A record of late Paleozoic to Mesozoic crustal assembly

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hansen, V.L.; Dusel-Bacon, C.

1998-01-01

The Yukon-Tanana terrane, the largest tectonostratigraphic terrane in the northern North American Cordillera, is polygenetic and not a single terrane. Lineated and foliated (L-S) tectonites, which characterize the Yukon-Tanana terrane, record multiple deformations and formed at different times. We document the polyphase history recorded by L-S tectonites within the Yukon-Tanana upland, east-central Alaska. These upland tectonites compose a heterogeneous assemblage of deformed igneous and metamorphic rocks that form the Alaskan part of what has been called the Yukon-Tanana composite terrane. We build on previous kinematic data and establish the three-dimensional architecture of the upland tectonites through kinematic and structural analysis of more than 250 oriented samples, including quartz c-axis fabric analysis of 39 samples. Through this study we distinguish allochthonous tectonites from parautochthonous tectonites within the Yukon-Tanana upland. The upland tectonites define a regionally coherent stacking order: from bottom to top, they are lower plate North American parautochthonous attenuated continental margin; continentally derived marginal-basin strata; and upper plate ocean-basin and island-arc rocks, including some continental basement rocks. We delineate three major deformation events in time, space, and structural level across the upland from the United States-Canada border to Fairbanks, Alaska: (1) pre-Early Jurassic (>212 Ma) northeast-directed, apparent margin-normal contraction that affected oceanic rocks; (2) late Early to early Middle Jurassic (>188-185 Ma) northwest-directed, apparent margin-parallel contraction and imbrication that resulted in juxtaposition of the allochthonous tectonites with parautochthonous continental rocks; and (3) Early Cretaceous (135-110 Ma) southeast-directed crustal extension that resulted in exposure of the structurally deepest, parautochthonous continental rocks. The oldest event represents deformation within a west-dipping (present coordinates) Permian-Triassic subduction zone. The second event records Early to Middle Jurassic collision of the arc and subduction complex with North American crust, and the third event reflects mid-Cretaceous southeast-directed crustal extension. Events one and two can be recognized and correlated through southern Yukon, even though this region was affected by mid-Cretaceous dextral shear along steep northwest-striking faults. Our data support a model of crustal assembly originally proposed by D. Tempelman-Kluit in which previously deformed allochthonous rocks were thrust over parautochthonous rocks of the attenuated North American margin in Middle Jurassic time. Approximately 50 m.y. after tectonic accretion, east-central Alaska was dissected by crustal extension, exposing overthrust parautochthonous strata.

Hydrothermal vent complexes offshore Northeast Greenland: A potential role in driving the PETM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reynolds, P.; Planke, S.; Millett, J. M.; Jerram, D. A.; Trulsvik, M.; Schofield, N.; Myklebust, R.

2017-06-01

Continental rifting is often associated with voluminous magmatism and perturbations in the Earth's climate. In this study, we use 2D seismic data from the northeast Greenland margin to document two Paleogene-aged sill complexes ≥ 18 000 and ≥ 10 000 km2 in size. Intrusion of the sills resulted in the contact metamorphism of carbon-rich shales, producing thermogenic methane which was released via 52 newly discovered hydrothermal vent complexes, some of which reach up to 11 km in diameter. Mass balance calculations indicate that the volume of methane produced by these intrusive complexes is comparable to that required to have caused the negative δ13 C isotope excursion associated with the PETM. Combined with data from the conjugate Norwegian margin, our study provides evidence for margin-scale, volcanically-induced greenhouse gas release during the late Paleocene/early Eocene. Given the abundance of similar-aged sill complexes in Upper Paleozoic-Mesozoic and Cretaceous-Tertiary basins elsewhere along the northeast Atlantic continental margin, our findings support a major role for volcanism in driving global climate change.

Seafloor terrain analysis and geomorphology of the greater Los Angeles Margin and San Pedro Basin, Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dartnell, P.; Gardner, J.V.

2009-01-01

The seafloor off greater Los Angeles, California, has been extensively studied for the past century. Terrain analysis of recently compiled multibeam bathymetry reveals the detailed seafloor morphology along the Los Angeles Margin and San Pedro Basin. The terrain analysis uses the multibeam bathymetry to calculate two seafloor indices, a seafloor slope, and a Topographic Position Index. The derived grids along with depth are analyzed in a hierarchical, decision-tree classification to delineate six seafloor provinces-high-relief shelf, low-relief shelf, steep-basin slope, gentle-basin slope, gullies and canyons, and basins. Rock outcrops protrude in places above the generally smooth continental shelf. Gullies incise the steep-basin slopes, and some submarine canyons extend from the coastline to the basin floor. San Pedro Basin is separated from the Santa Monica Basin to the north by a ridge consisting of the Redondo Knoll and the Redondo Submarine Canyon delta. An 865-m-deep sill separates the two basins. Water depths of San Pedro Basin are ??100 m deeper than those in the San Diego Trough to the south, and three passes breach a ridge that separates the San Pedro Basin from the San Diego Trough. Information gained from this study can be used as base maps for such future studies as tectonic reconstructions, identifying sedimentary processes, tracking pollution transport, and defining benthic habitats. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Tectonic evolution of west Antarctica and its relation to east Antarctica

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

Dalziel, I.W.D.

1987-05-01

West Antarctica consists of five major blocks of continental crust separated by deep sub-ice basins. Marie Byrd Land appears to have been rifted off the adjacent margin of the East Antarctic craton along the line of the Transantarctic Mountains during the Mesozoic. Ellsworth-Whitmore mountains and Haag Nunataks blocks were also rifted from the margin of the craton. They appear to have moved together with the Antarctic Peninsula and Thurston Island blocks, segments of a Pacific margin Mesozoic-Cenozoic magmatic arc, during the Mesozoic opening of the Weddell Sea basin. Paleomagnetic data suggest that all four of these blocks remained attached tomore » western Gondwanaland (South America-Africa) until approximately 125 m.y. ago, and that the present geographic configuration of the Antarctic continent was essentially complete by the mid-Cretaceous, although important Cenozoic rifting has also occurred. Fragmentation of the Gondwanaland supercontinent was preceded in the Middle to Late Jurassic by an important and widespread thermal event of uncertain origin that resulted in the emplacement of an extensive bimodal igneous suite in South America, Africa, Antarctica, and Australia. This was associated with the development of the composite back-arc basin along the western margin of South America. Inversion of this basin in the mid-Cretaceous initiated Andean orogenesis. The presentation will include new data from the joint US-UK West Antarctic Tectonics Project.« less

Late-stage development of the Bryant Canyon turbidite pathway on the Louisiana continental slope

USGS Publications Warehouse

Twichell, David C.; Nelson, Hans; Damuth, John E.

2000-01-01

GLORIA sidescan imagery, multibeam bathymetry, seismic profiles, and piston cores (3–5 m penetration) reveal the near-surface geology of the Bryant Canyon turbidite pathway on the continental margin of Louisiana. This pathway extends from the continental shelf edge, across the continental slope, to a deep-sea fan on the continental rise. The pathway is narrow (<2 km) where it crosses shallow salt deposits. Turbidites have been sampled from these narrow segments, and radiocarbon dates indicate that some of them accumulated as recently as 10,150 yr B.P. The pathway broadens however, where it crosses mini-basins whose floors are covered largely by muddy mass-transport deposits and coarse silt turbidites. Mass-transport deposits in the upper 4.7 m of cores from the floors of mini-basins accumulated 18,140-3,400 yr. BP. Seismic profiles show that the mass-transport deposits in some of the mini-basins are as much as 225 milliseconds thick and that turbidites in the basin floor are buried by these deposits. Salt movement has had a major impact on this pathway, and its thalweg no longer has a continuous down-slope gradient. Some mini-basin floors along the pathway are now more than 500 m deeper than their basin’s spill point. We propose a 6-stage conceptual model to explain our observations for the evolution of a mini-basin along this turbidite pathway. In this model, an active channel feeds sand to a mini-basin (Stabe B). Once the mini-basin is filled, the sand deposit is entrenched by a bypass channel (Stage C). When the turbidite system shuts off, salt migration oversteepens the mini-basin walls (Stage D) which collapse and create a layer of mass-transport deposits on the mini-basin floor (Stage E). The depositional succession is capped by a layer of highstand hemipelagic drape (Stage F). The Bryant Canyon turbidite pathway provides a recent example of a large turbidite pathway in the Gulf of Mexico that crosses an area of active salt tectonics thus providing a conceptual model for older systems in similar settings. In Bryant Canyon, thick turbidite sands presumably are found in mini-basins however, they are sealed by thick, fine-grained, mass-transport deposits which terminate mini-basin turbidite deposition cycles. The importance of mass-transport deposits in basins along this turbidite pathway is in startling contrast to the Trinity-Brazos pathway whose shallow subsurface expression is virtually free of mass-transport deposits and has undergone minimal deformation by salt movement.

Significance of anoxic slope basins to occurrence of hydrocarbons along flexure trend, Gulf of Mexico: a reappraisal

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

Dinkelman, M.G.; Curry, D.J.

1987-05-01

Recently, Tertiary anoxic slope basins have been proposed as the sources for much of the oil occurring along the Flexure Trend in the Gulf of Mexico. The intraslope basins are thought to have been formed in response to salt diapirism and concomitant salt withdrawal resulting from differential sediment loading between the basins and the diapirs, as well as due to associated faulting. Of the modern intraslope basins, the black, organic-rich muds accumulating in the Orca basin have especially attracted and are suggested to be modern analogs to late Tertiary source rocks accumulated and buried across the continental slope. Although themore » organic carbon content of the anoxic sediments in the Orca basin is generally high (2 to 3%), the concentration of preserved oil-generative organic matter in these sediments is low. Rock-Eval P2 yields are usually in the range of 340 to 1620 ppm, and hydrogen indices are generally less than 100. Pyrolysis-GC and 13C-NMR data show that up to 30 + % of the organic carbon is contained in carboxyl and other oxygenated groups, which are lost during diagenesis and early catagenesis of the sediments, and that much of the remainder is aromatized and degraded. The degradation was probably by oxidation during settling through the oxic water column. The geochemical data indicate, therefore, that the bulk of the organic carbon in the Orca basin is not capable of forming oil during catagenesis. Published regional cross sections across the Texas-Louisiana continental margin commonly show a thick (0.5-4 km), continuous salt sequence, sourcing salt diapirs and ridges, to underlie the Oligocene(.)/Miocene to Pleistocene sedimentary section of the outer continental shelf and slope.« less

Lower crustal strength controls on melting and type of oceanization at magma-poor margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ros, E.; Perez-Gussinye, M.; Araujo, M. N.; Thoaldo Romeiro, M.; Andres-Martinez, M.; Morgan, J. P.

2017-12-01

Geodynamical models have been widely used to explain the variability in the architectonical style of conjugate rifted margins as a combination of lithospheric deformation modes, which are strongly influenced by lower crustal strength. We use 2D numerical models to show that the lower crustal strength also plays a key role on the onset and amount of melting and serpentinization during continental rifting. The relative timing between melting and serpentinization onsets controls whether the continent-ocean transition (COT) of margins will be predominantly magmatic or will mainly consist of exhumed and serpentinized mantle. Based on our results for magma-poor continental rifting, we propose a genetic link between margin architecture and COT styles that can be used as an additional tool to help interpret and understand the processes leading to margin formation. Our results show that strong lower crusts and very slow extension velocities (<5 mm/yr) lead to either symmetric or asymmetric margins with large oceanward dipping faults, strong syn-rift subsidence and abrupt crustal tapering beneath the continental shelf. These margins are characterized by a COT consisting of exhumed and serpentinized mantle and some magmatic products. Weak lower crusts at ultra-slow velocities lead also to either symmetric or asymmetric margins with small faults dipping both ocean- and landward, small syn-rift subsidence and gentle crustal tapering, and present a predominantly magmatic COT, perhaps underlain by some serpentinized mantle. When conjugate margins are asymmetric, if the rheology is relatively strong, serpentinite predominantly underlays the wide margin, whereas if the lower crustal strength is weak, melt preferentially migrates towards the wide margin. Based on the onshore lithospheric structure, extension velocity and margin architecture of the magma-poor section of the South Atlantic, we suggest that the COT of the northern sector, Camamu-Gabon basins, is more likely to consist of exhumed mantle with intruded magmatism, while to the South, the Camamu-Kwanza and North Santos-South Kwanza conjugates, may be better characterized by a predominantly magmatic COT.

The continent-ocean transition on the northwestern South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cameselle, Alejandra L.; Ranero, César R.; Franke, Dieter; Barckhausen, Udo

2015-04-01

Rifted margins are created as a result of stretching and breakup of continental lithosphere that eventually leads to oceanic spreading and formation of a new oceanic basin. A cornerstone for understanding how rift characteristics vary along strike in the same system and what processes control the final transition to seafloor spreading is the continent-ocean transition (COT). We use four regional multichannel seismic profiles and published magnetic lineations to study the structure and variability of COT on the northwest subbasin (NWSB) of the South China Sea and to discern continental from oceanic domains. The continental domain is characterized by tilted fault blocks overlaid by thick syn-rift sedimentary units and fairly continuous Moho reflections typically at 8-10 s twtt. Thickness of the continental crust changes from ~20-25 km under the uppermost slope to ~9-6 km under the lower slope. The oceanic domain is interpreted where a highly reflective top of basement, little faulting, no syntectonic strata, and fairly constant thickness basement (4-8 km) occur. The COT is imaged as a ~5-10 km wide zone where oceanic-type features abut continental-type structures. The South China margin is deformed by abundant normal faults dissecting the continental crust, whereas the conjugate Macclesfield Bank margin displays comparatively abrupt thinning and little faulting. Seismic profiles show an along-strike variation in the tectonic structure of the continental margin. The NE-most lines display ~20-40 km wide segments of intense faulting under the slope and associated continental-crust thinning. Towards the SW, faulting and thinning of the continental crust occurs across a ~100-110 km wide segment. We interpret this 3D structural variability and the narrow COT as a consequence of the abrupt termination of continental rifting tectonics by the NE to SW propagation of a spreading center. We suggest that breakup occurred by spreading center propagation to a larger degree than by lithospheric thinning during continental rifting. Based on the sedimentary successions overlying the oceanic crust, we propose a kinematic evolution for the oceanic domain of the NWSB consisting of a southward spreading center propagation followed by a first narrow ridge jump to the north, and then a younger larger jump to the SW into the east subbasin.

Formation and tectonic evolution of the Pattani Basin, Gulf of Thailand

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

Bustin, R.M.; Chonchawalit, A.

The stratigraphic and structural evolution of the Pattani Basin, the most prolific petroleum basin in Thailand, reflects the extensional tectonic regime of continental Southeast Asia. E-W extension resulting from the northward collision of India with Eurasia since the Early Tertiary resulted in the formation of a series of N-S-trending sedimentary basins, which include the Pattani Basin. The sedimentary succession in the Pattani Basin is divisible into synrift and postrift sequences. Deposition of the synrift sequence accompanied rifting and extension, with episodic block faulting and rapid subsidence. The synrift sequence comprises three stratigraphic units: (1) Upper Eocene to Lower Olikgocene alluvial-fan,more » braided-river, and floodplain deposits; (2) Upper oligocene to Lowe Miocene floodplain and channel deposits; and (3) a Lower Miocene regressive package consisting of marine to nonmarine sediments. Post-rift succession comprises: (1) a Lower to Middle Miocene regressive package of shallow marine sediments through floodplain and channel deposits; (2) an upper Lower Miocene transgressive sequence; and (3) and Upper Miocene to Pleistocene transgressive succession. The post-rift phase is characterized by slower subsidence and decreased sediment influx. The present-day shallow-marine condition in the Gulf of Thailand is the continuation of this latest transgressive phase. The subsidence and thermal history of the Pattani Basin is consistent with a nonuniform lithospheric-stretching model. The amount of extension as well as surface heat flow generally increases from the margin to the basin center. The crustal stretching factor ({beta}) varies form 1.3 at the basin margin to 2.8 in the center. The subcrustal stretching factor ({delta}) ranges from 1.3 at the basin margin to more than 3.0 in the basin center. 31 refs., 13 figs., 4 tabs.« less

Geology of the continental margin beneath Santa Monica Bay, Southern California, from seismic-reflection data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fisher, M.A.; Normark, W.R.; Bohannon, R.G.; Sliter, R.W.; Calvert, A.J.

2003-01-01

We interpret seismic-reflection data, which were collected in Santa Monica Bay using a 70-in3 generator-injector air gun, to show the geologic structure of the continental shelf and slope and of the deep-water, Santa Monica and San Pedro Basins. The goal of this research is to investigate the earthquake hazard posed to urban areas by offshore faults. These data reveal that northwest of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the Palos Verdes Fault neither offsets the seafloor nor cuts through an undeformed sediment apron that postdates the last sea level rise. Other evidence indicates that this fault extends northwest beneath the shelf in the deep subsurface. However, other major faults in the study area, such as the Dume and San Pedro Basin Faults, were active recently, as indicated by an arched seafloor and offset shallow sediment. Rocks under the lower continental slope are deformed to differing degrees on opposite sides of Santa Monica Canyon. Northwest of this canyon, the continental slope is underlain by a little-deformed sediment apron; the main structures that deform this apron are two lower-slope anticlines that extend toward Point Dume and are cored by faults showing reverse or thrust separation. Southeast of Santa Monica Canyon, lower-slope rocks are deformed by a complex arrangement of strike-slip, normal, and reverse faults. The San Pedro Escarpment rises abruptly along the southeast side of Santa Monica Canyon. Reverse faults and folds underpinning this escarpment steepen progressively southeastward. Locally they form flower structures and cut downward into basement rocks. These faults merge downward with the San Pedro Basin fault zone, which is nearly vertical and strike slip. The escarpment and its attendant structures diverge from this strike-slip fault zone and extend for 60 km along the margin, separating the continental shelf from the deep-water basins. The deep-water Santa Monica Basin has large extent but is filled with only a thin (less than 1.5-km) section of what are probably post-Miocene rocks and sediment. Extrapolating ages obtained from Ocean Drilling Program site 1015 indicates that this sedimentary cover is Quaternary, possibly no older than 600 ka. Folds and faults along the base of the San Pedro Escarpment began to form during 8-13 ka ago. Refraction-velocity data show that high-velocity rocks, probably the Catalina Schist or Miocene volcanic rocks, underlie the sedimentary section. The San Pedro Basin developed along a strike-slip fault, widens to the southeast, and is deformed by faults having apparent reverse separation and by folds near Redondo Canyon and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

A low-angle normal fault and basement structures within the Enping Sag, Pearl River Mouth Basin: Insights into late Mesozoic to early Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the South China Sea area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Qing; Mei, Lianfu; Shi, Hesheng; Shu, Yu; Camanni, Giovanni; Wu, Jing

2018-04-01

The basement structure of the Cenozoic Enping Sag, within the Pearl River Mouth Basin on the northern margin of South China Sea, is revealed by borehole-constrained high-quality 3D seismic reflection data. Such data suggest that the Enping Sag is bounded in the north by a low-angle normal fault. We interpret this low-angle normal fault to have developed as the result of the reactivation of a pre-existing thrust fault part of a pre-Cenozoic thrust system. This is demonstrated by the selective reactivation of the pre-existing thrust and by diffuse contractional deformation recognized from the accurate analysis of basement reflections. Another significant result of this study is the finding of some residual rift basins within the basement of the Enping Sag. Both the thrust system and the residual basins are interpreted to have developed after the emplacement of continental margin arc-related granitoids (J3-K1) that define the basement within the study area. Furthermore, seismic sections show that the pre-existing residual rift basins are offset by the main thrust fault and they are both truncated by the Tg unconformity. These structural relationships, interpreted in the frame of previous studies, help us to reconstruct a six-event structural evolution model for the Enping Sag from the late Mesozoic to the early Cenozoic. In particular, we interpret the residual rift basins to have formed as the result of back-arc extension due to the slab roll-back of the Paleo-Pacific Plate subduction in the early K2. The thrust system has recorded a compressional event in the late K2 that followed the back-arc extension in the SCS area. The mechanism of this compressional event is still to be clarified, and might be related to continuous subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate or to the continent-continent collision between a micro-continental block and the South China margin.

Stratigraphy of two conjugate margins (Gulf of Lion and West Sardinia): modeling of vertical movements and sediment budgets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leroux, Estelle; Gorini, Christian; Aslanian, Daniel; Rabineau, Marina; Blanpied, Christian; Rubino, Jean-Loup; Robin, Cécile; Granjeon, Didier; Taillepierre, Rachel

2016-04-01

The post-rift (~20-0 Ma) vertical movements of the Provence Basin (West Mediterranean) are quantified on its both conjugate (the Gulf of Lion and the West Sardinia) margins. This work is based on the stratigraphic study of sedimentary markers using a large 3D grid of seismic data, correlations with existing drillings and refraction data. The post-rift subsidence is measured by the direct use of sedimentary geometries analysed in 3D [Gorini et al., 2015; Rabineau et al., 2014] and validated by numerical stratigraphic modelling. Three domains were found: on the platform (1) and slope (2), the subsidence takes the form of a seaward tilting with different amplitudes, whereas the deep basin (3) subsides purely vertically [Leroux et al., 2015a]. These domains correspond to the deeper crustal domains respectively highlighted by wide angle seismic data. The continental crust (1) and the thinned continental crust (2) are tilted, whereas the intermediate crust, identified as lower continental exhumed crust [Moulin et al., 2015, Afhilado et al., 2015] (3) sagged. The post-break-up subsidence re-uses the initial hinge lines of the rifting phase. This striking correlation between surface geologic processes and deep earth dynamic processes emphasizes that the sedimentary record and sedimentary markers is a window into deep geodynamic processes and dynamic topography. Pliocene-Pleistocene seismic markers enabled high resolution quantification of sediment budgets over the past 6 Myr [Leroux et al., in press]. Sediment budget history is here completed on the Miocene interval. Thus, the controlling factors (climate, tectonics and eustasy) are discussed. Afilhado, A., Moulin, M., Aslanian, D., Schnürle, P., Klingelhoefer, F., Nouzé, H., Rabineau, M., Leroux, E. & Beslier, M.-O. (2015). Deep crustal structure across a young 1 passive margin from wide-angle and reflection seismic data (The SARDINIA Experiment) - II. Sardinia's margin. Bull. Soc. géol. France, 186, ILP Spec. issue, 4-5, 331-351. Gorini, C., Montadert, L., Rabineau, M., (2015) New imaging of the salinity crisis: Dual Messinian lowstand megasequences recorded in the deep basin of both the eastern and western Mediterranean, Marine and Petroleum Geology (2015), doi: 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.01.009. Leroux, E., Aslanian, D., Rabineau, M., Moulin, M., Granjeon, D., Gorini C. & Droz, L. (2015a). Sedimentary markers in the Provençal basin (Western Mediterranean): a window into deep geodynamic processes. Terra Nova, 27(2), 122-129. Leroux, E., Rabineau, M., Aslanian, D., Gorini, C., Molliex, S., Bache, F., Robin, C., Droz, L., Moulin, M., Poort, J., Rubino, J.-L. & Suc, J.P. (2016, in press). High resolution evolution of terrigenous sediment yields in the Provence Basin during the last 6 Ma: relation with climate and tectonic. Basin Research, xx, xx-xx (ID: 4759575-1545130). Moulin, M., Klingelhoefer, F., Afiladho, A., Aslanian, D., Schnürle, P., Nouze, H., Beslier, M.-O. & Feld, A. (2015). Deep crustal structure across an young passive margin from wide-angle and reflection seismic data (The SARDINIA Experiment) - I. Gulf of Lion's margin, Bull. Soc. géol. France., 186, ILP Spec. issue, 4-5,309-330. Rabineau, M., Leroux, E., Aslanian, D., Bache, F., Gorini, C., Moulin, M., Molliex, S., Droz, L., Reis, T. D., Rubino, J.-L., Guillocheau, F. & Olivet, J.-L. (2014). Quantifying subsidence and isostatic readjustment using sedimentary markers (example in the Gulf of Lion). Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 388, 1-14.

Pairing Quaternary paleoecology and modern ROV exploration to produce novel reconstructions of marine ecosystem responses to millennial-scale climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myhre, S. E.; Pak, D. K.; Borreggine, M. J.; Hill, T. M.; Kennett, J.; Nicholson, C.; Deutsch, C. A.

2017-12-01

One of the most interesting problems for 21st Century marine ecology is understanding the potential physical, chemical, and biological scale of future climate-forced oceanographic changes. These fundamental questions can be informed through the examination of micro- and macrofauna from Quaternary sedimentary sequences, combined with modern observations of continental margin ecosystems. Here we examine Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) exploratory videos and sedimentary push cores, to identify biological assemblages, including mollusc, echinoderm, ostracod, and foraminifera density, diversity, and community structure from Santa Barbara Basin in the California Borderland. ROV explorations, from 380-500 meters below sea level (mbsl), describe the zonation of benthic fauna and the distribution of chemosynthetic trophic webs, which are consequences of gradations in the oxygen minimum zone and the ventilating sill depth (475 mbsl). Such observations reveal the modern vertical distribution of chemosynthetic bacterial communities and shallower, diverse communities associated with detrital food webs. Biological assemblages from 16.1-3.4 ka (from core MV0811-15JC, collected at 418 mbsl) produce a suite of paleoceanographic indicators, such as dissolved oxygen concentrations (foraminifera), chemosynthetic trophic webs (molluscs), and water masses (ostracods). These assemblages demonstrate how continental margin ecosystems reorganize vertically (through the water column) and geographically through climate events, for example through the loss of cryophilic species, the ephemeral occurrence of chemosynthetic communities, and the trace fossil evidence (through predation scarring on mollusc shells) of higher trophic web interactions. Together with ROV seafloor observations, these communities can reconstruct step-by-step vertical changes in the zonation of the continental margin, and can identify intervals of zonation change in relation to both Santa Barbara Basin ventilation and the regional California Borderland oxygen minimum zone.

Multiphased extension along continental margins: a case study of the Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulois, Cédric; Shannon, Patrick, M.; Manuel, Pubellier; Nicolas, Chamot-Rooke; Louise, Watremez; Jacques, Deverchère

2017-04-01

Mesozoic faulting has been recognised in several Irish sedimentary basins as part of the northward propagation of the Atlantic rift system. However, the contribution of older structural elements remains poorly constrained. The present study documents the succession of extensional phases in the northern part of the Porcupine Basin sensu largo, offshore west of Ireland, in which structural inheritance and fault reactivation is commonly observed. The correlation of 2D and 3D seismic lines with exploration wells enables the precise definition of four overprinted extensional systems that link to specific tectonic stages identified along the Irish margin. The Porcupine Basin opened through a thickened continental crust that evolved during the Palaeozoic with the Caledonian and Variscan orogenic cycles. Extension initiated during the Carboniferous by reactivation of old structures, resulting in the migration of depocentres bounded by E-W, NE-SW and N-S structural trends. Subsequent episodic rifting occurred during several discrete events. The first rift episode, of Late Triassic to Early Jurassic age, is restricted to the North Porcupine Basin and most likely reactivated E-W structures of Caledonian age. Synrift sediments were generally deposited in a littoral setting that progressively deepened through time. The second episode, much more pronounced, occurred during the Upper Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous (Neocomian). It resulted in shallow to deep marine deposition controlled by structural directions recognised in Caledonian and Variscan terranes. A third rift phase, evidenced by thick clastic deposition, locally occurred during the Aptian and finally died out with the opening of the Bay of Biscay located to the south of the region. A series of extensional megacycles are recognised from seismic unconformities and faulting geometries. Initial extension strongly followed the structural architecture of the continental crust (i.e. ancient folds, thrusts or orogenic fronts). This is interpreted as an effect of orogenic collapse. It was followed by the rifting phase sensu stricto during which the successive extensional megacycles are internally composed of several rift pulses. The first rift pulses are narrow and controlled by numerous faults with deposition in continental conditions. Subsequent deformation progressively passed to more localised normal faulting during which a major deepening occurs in all the rift basins. This results in progressive marine flooding, possible detachment faults and a widening of the rift systems with basinal interconnection. In a more global view, faults stop when abuting either new oceanic basins (e.g. Bay of Biscay) or transversal lineaments (e.g. Caledonian and Variscan trends). Such an evolution implies asymmetry of the overall region and an oceanward propagation of depocentres. Therefore, extension migrates progressively from the initial deformation core by reactivating pre-existing structures and then stops once boundary conditions change.

Reinterpretation of the tectonics and formation of the Pernambuco Plateau Basin, NE Brazil.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoggett, Murray; Jones, Stephen M.; Dunkley Jones, Tom; Reston, Timothy; Barbosa, Antonio; Biondo, Vanessa; Mort, Haydon P.

2017-04-01

The continental margin from Alagoas to Natal represents arguably the most frontier region for exploration on the Brazillian margin. High quality seismic data was not collected in the region for many decades as it was believed that only a few kilometers of sediment existed, and thus there was no exploration potential. Here we present the results of work done as part of an IODP virtual site survey. The work has resulted in a total reinterpretation of the basin structure and tectonics, including finding sediment filled half grabens holding up to 8km thick stratigraphic sections. The two deepest grabens likely represent rift jumps during breakup, which may imply different age sediments in the different grabens. The basin is also found to contain a sizable salt accumulation, previously uninterpreted due to hard overlying carbonates hampering seismic imaging. This salt can be seen to have been highly mobile in the past, and has developed into kilometer scale diapirs flanked by typical rollover anticlines. For the first time we show the basin has all the elements needed for a working petroleum system, with the exception a source rock - which cannot be speculated on further as the basin is undrilled. However source rock sequences are present in the Alagoas basin to the south, and recent released seep data show evidence for both biogeneic and thermogenic seeps over the plateau basin, which could also signal source rock presence. We present seismic and potential fields data, including forward potential fields models and seismically derived crustal stretching and thinning estimates, to show that the half grabens terminate abruptly at the latitude of the Pernambuco Shear Zone, a major crustal scale Precambrian shear zone. Onshore boreholes, well away from the deep seismically imaged half grabens offshore, find crystalline basement to drop away rapidly across the shearzone, revealing a third graben to terminate at the shear zone. We interpret this as that the preexisting crustal structure has acted as a mechanical barrier to south to north rift propagation, which has controlled the basin's formation. The shear zone was likely reactivated with a sinistral sense of shear to accommodate rifting, which also helps explain the anomalously wide continental margin at the Pernambuco Plateau.

Initial Results from the 2002 Gulf of California Conjugate Margin Seismic Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holbrook, S.; Lizarralde, D.; Kent, G.; Harding, A.; Fletcher, J.; Gonzalez-Fernandez, A.; Umhoefer, P.; Axen, G.

2003-04-01

The Gulf of California, which marks the ongoing separation of Baja California from mainland Mexico, is one of the few locales where active continental breakup can be studied along unambiguous flow lines that join clear conjugate margin pairs. In Fall 2002, we conducted an onshore-offshore seismic experiment across the conjugate rifted margins of the Gulf of California in several rift segments. The joint U.S.-Mexico project, sponsored principally by the MARGINS program of the U.S. National Science Foundation, aimed to image crustal structure across conjugate margins of four major basins to determine the modes of extension and the influence of sedimentation and magmatism on breakup. Here we present an overview of the experiment, which was substantially altered at sea due to concerns for marine-mammal safety, and present some preliminary findings. Three flow-line transects were acquired, in the Alarcon Basin, the Guaymas Basin, and between Cabo and Tres Marias Islands. In addition, a fourth transect across the Baja Peninsula was acquired. Data acquired included (1) multichannel seismic reflection data using the R/V Ewing’s 20-gun array and 480-channel, 6-km-long streamer, (2) wide-angle reflection/refraction data recorded on ocean-bottom seismometers, from 206 deployments conducted by the R/V New Horizon, and (3) onshore-offshore data recorded on portable seismometers deployed up to 100 km inland on all transects. Initial results from the experiment include (1) clear evidence for asymmetric basement structure on the conjugate rifted margins and across the active mid-ocean spreading center, of the Guaymas Basin, (2) the suggestion of substantial magmatism in an early failed rift of the Alarcon Basin, and (3) active subduction beneath the margin at the Tres Marias islands. In addition, we will discuss new procedures for mitigating effects on marine mammals that may have a significant impact on future U.S.-sponsored seismic reflection activities.

Late Pleistocene to Holocene sedimentation and hydrocarbon seeps on the continental shelf of a steep, tectonically active margin, southern California, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Draut, Amy E.; Hart, Patrick E.; Lorenson, T.D.; Ryan, Holly F.; Wong, Florence L.; Sliter, Ray W.; Conrad, James E.

2009-01-01

Small, steep, uplifting coastal watersheds are prolific sediment producers that contribute significantly to the global marine sediment budget. This study illustrates how sedimentation evolves in one such system where the continental shelf is largely sediment-starved, with most terrestrial sediment bypassing the shelf in favor of deposition in deeper basins. The Santa Barbara-Ventura coast of southern California, USA, is considered a classic area for the study of active tectonics and of Tertiary and Quaternary climatic evolution, interpretations of which depend upon an understanding of sedimentation patterns. High-resolution seismic-reflection data over >570 km2 of this shelf show that sediment production is concentrated in a few drainage basins, with the Ventura and Santa Clara River deltas containing most of the upper Pleistocene to Holocene sediment on the shelf. Away from those deltas, the major factor controlling shelf sedimentation is the interaction of wave energy with coastline geometry. Depocenters containing sediment 5-20 m thick exist opposite broad coastal embayments, whereas relict material (bedrock below a regional unconformity) is exposed at the sea floor in areas of the shelf opposite coastal headlands. Locally, natural hydrocarbon seeps interact with sediment deposition either to produce elevated tar-and-sediment mounds or as gas plumes that hinder sediment settling. As much as 80% of fluvial sediment delivered by the Ventura and Santa Clara Rivers is transported off the shelf (some into the Santa Barbara Basin and some into the Santa Monica Basin via Hueneme Canyon), leaving a shelf with relatively little recent sediment accumulation. Understanding factors that control large-scale sediment dispersal along a rapidly uplifting coast that produces substantial quantities of sediment has implications for interpreting the ancient stratigraphic record of active and transform continental margins, and for inferring the distribution of hydrocarbon resources in relict shelf deposits.

Biologically recycled continental iron is a major component in banded iron formations

PubMed Central

Li, Weiqiang; Beard, Brian L.; Johnson, Clark M.

2015-01-01

Banded iron formations (BIFs) record a time of extensive Fe deposition in the Precambrian oceans, but the sources and pathways for metals in BIFs remain controversial. Here, we present Fe- and Nd-isotope data that indicate two sources of Fe for the large BIF units deposited 2.5 billion y ago. High-εNd and -δ56Fe signatures in some BIF samples record a hydrothermal component, but correlated decreases in εNd- and δ56Fe values reflect contributions from a continental component. The continental Fe source is best explained by Fe mobilization on the continental margin by microbial dissimilatory iron reduction (DIR) and confirms for the first time, to our knowledge, a microbially driven Fe shuttle for the largest BIFs on Earth. Detailed sampling at various scales shows that the proportions of hydrothermal and continental Fe sources were invariant over periods of 100–103 y, indicating that there was no seasonal control, although Fe sources varied on longer timescales of 105–106 y, suggesting a control by marine basin circulation. These results show that Fe sources and pathways for BIFs reflect the interplay between abiologic (hydrothermal) and biologic processes, where the latter reflects DIR that operated on a basin-wide scale in the Archean. PMID:26109570

Biologically recycled continental iron is a major component in banded iron formations.

PubMed

Li, Weiqiang; Beard, Brian L; Johnson, Clark M

2015-07-07

Banded iron formations (BIFs) record a time of extensive Fe deposition in the Precambrian oceans, but the sources and pathways for metals in BIFs remain controversial. Here, we present Fe- and Nd-isotope data that indicate two sources of Fe for the large BIF units deposited 2.5 billion y ago. High-εNd and -δ(56)Fe signatures in some BIF samples record a hydrothermal component, but correlated decreases in εNd- and δ(56)Fe values reflect contributions from a continental component. The continental Fe source is best explained by Fe mobilization on the continental margin by microbial dissimilatory iron reduction (DIR) and confirms for the first time, to our knowledge, a microbially driven Fe shuttle for the largest BIFs on Earth. Detailed sampling at various scales shows that the proportions of hydrothermal and continental Fe sources were invariant over periods of 10(0)-10(3) y, indicating that there was no seasonal control, although Fe sources varied on longer timescales of 10(5)-10(6) y, suggesting a control by marine basin circulation. These results show that Fe sources and pathways for BIFs reflect the interplay between abiologic (hydrothermal) and biologic processes, where the latter reflects DIR that operated on a basin-wide scale in the Archean.

Carboniferous Proto-type Basin Evolution of Junggar Basin in Northwest China: Implications for the Growth Models of Central Asia Orogenic Belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, D.

2016-12-01

The Junggar Basin locates in the central part of Paleo-Asian Ocean tectonic domain, and records the dynamic processes of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt from subduction-accretion-collision to later intracontinental deformations. Carboniferous is the key period from subduction to closure in the tectonic evolution of Paleo-Asian Ocean. Based on the borehole, outcrop, seismic and gravity and magnetic anomaly data, the paper made analysis of the Carboniferous basin evolution.Geo-chronological results for the borehole volcanic rocks suggest that the Junggar Basin and adjacent area had five periods of volcanic activities, including two periods in the Early Carboniferous (359-347Ma 347-331Ma and 331-324Ma) and three periods in the Late Carboniferous (323-307Ma and 307-300Ma). Regional unconformities divided the Carboniferous into two tectono-stratigraphic sequences: Lower Carboniferous and Upper Carboniferous. The former is characterized by compressional structures and involves massive calc-alkaline basalts, andesites, dacites and rhyolites, whereas the later is mainly controlled by extensional faults and dominated by intermediate-mafic volcanic rocks, with bimodal volcanic rocks in parts. The paper determined four Carboniferous arc-basin belts in the Junggar Basin and adjacent area from north to south: the Saur-Fuhai-Dulate, Heshituoluogai-Wulungu-Yemaquan, Darbut-Luliang-Karamaili, and Zhongguai-Mosuowan-Baijiahai-Qitai, and identified multi-type basins, such as fore-arc basin, retro-arc basin, intra-arc rift basin, foreland basin and passive continental margin basin,etc.. The Carboniferous proto-type basin evolution of the Junggar Basin can be divided into three phases such as, the early to middle Early Carboniferous subduction-related compressional phase, the late Early Carboniferous to middle Late Carboniferous subduction-related extensional phase and the late Late Carboniferous intra-continental fault-sag phase. The study discloses that the Junggar Basin is likely underlain by juvenile continental crust rather than unified Precambrian basement, and also implies that the Junggar Basin and adjacent area, even the entire CAOB, were built by successively northward amalgamation of multiple linear arc-basin systems characterized by southward accretion.

The Northwestern Atlantic Moroccan Margin From Deep Multichannel Seismic Reflection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malod, J. A.; Réhault, J. P.; Sahabi, M.; Géli, L.; Matias, L.; Zitellini, N.; Sismar Group

The NW Atlantic Moroccan margin, a conjugate of the Nova Scotia margin, is one of the oldest passive margins of the world. Continental break up occurred in the early Jurassic and the deep margin is characterized by a large salt basin. The SISMAR cruise (9 April to 4 May 2001) acquired 3667 km of 360 channel seismic reflection profiles. In addition, refraction data were recorded by means of 48 OBH/OBS deployments. Simultaneously, some of the marine profiles were extended onshore with 16 portable seismic land stations. WNW-ESE profiles 4 and 5 off El Jadida show a good section of the margin. The crustal thinning in this region is fairly abrupt. These profiles image the crust above a strong seismic reflector at about 12 s.twt., interpreted as the Moho. The crust exhibits several different characteristics from the continent towards the ocean.: - highly diffractive with a thickness larger than 25 km beneath the shelf. - stratified at a deep level and topped by few "tilted blocks" with a diffractive acoustic facies and for which 2 hypotheses are proposed: either continental crust tilted during the rifting or large landslides of crustal and sedimentary material slid down later. Liassic evapor- ites are present but seem less thick than to the south. - layered with seaward dipping reflectors: this type of crust correlates with the magnetic anomaly S1 and corresponds to the continent-ocean transition. - diffractive with an oceanic character. Oceanwards, the crust becomes more typically oceanic, but shows internal reflectors that may be re- lated to compressional reactivation during the Tertiary attested by large scale inverted basins. Our results allow us to discuss the nature and location of the continent-ocean transition at a regional scale and the rifting to spreading evolution of the very ma- ture continental margin off El Jadida. This provide us with some constraints for the initial reconstruction between Africa, North America and Iberia. Moreover, these re- sults help to assess the geological hazards linked to the neotectonic activity within the Africa-Eurasia plate boundary. * SISMAR Group includes the authors and Amhrar M., Camurri F., Contrucci I., Diaz J., El Archi A., Gutscher M.A., Jaffal M., Klingelhöfer F., Legall B., Maillard A., Mehdi K., Mercier E., Moulin M., Olivet J.L., Ouajhain B., Perrot J., Rolet J., Ruellan E., Sibuet J.C., Zourarah B.

Map showing sediment isopachs in the deep-sea basins of the Pacific continental margin, Cape Mendocino to Point Conception

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gardner, J.V.; Cacchione, D.A.; Drake, D.E.; Edwards, B.D.; Field, M.E.; Hampton, M.A.; Karl, Herman A.; Kenyon, Neil H.; Masson, D.G.; McCulloch, D.S.; Grim, M.S.

1993-01-01

Paskevich, V.F., Wong, F.L., O?Malley, J.J., Stevenson, A.J., and Gutmacher, C.E., 2011, GLORIA sidescan-sonar imagery for parts of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and adjacent areas: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010?1332, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1332/.

New zircon U-Pb LA-ICP-MS ages and Hf isotope data from the Central Pontides (Turkey): Geological and geodynamic constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Çimen, Okay; Göncüoğlu, M. Cemal; Simonetti, Antonio; Sayit, Kaan

2018-05-01

The Central Pontides in northern Anatolia is located on the accretionary complex formed by the closure of Neotethyan Intra-Pontide Ocean between the southern Eurasian margin (Istanbul-Zonguldak Terrane) and the Cimmerian Sakarya Composite Terrane. Among other components of the oceanic lithosphere, it comprises not yet well-dated felsic igneous rocks formed in arc-basin as well as continent margin settings. In-situ U-Pb age results for zircons from the arc-basin system (öangaldağ Metamorphic Complex) and the continental arc (Devrekani Metadiorite and Granitoid) yield ages of 176 ± 6 Ma, 163 ± 9 Ma and 165 ± 3 Ma, respectively. Corresponding in-situ average (initial) 176Hf/177Hf initial ratios are 0.28261 ± 0.00003, 0.28267 ± 0.00002 and 0.28290 ± 0.00004 for these units and indicative of a subduction-modified mantle source. The new U-Pb ages and Hf isotope data from these oceanic and continental arc units together with regional geological constraints support the presence of a multiple subduction system within the Intra-Pontide Ocean during the Middle Jurassic.

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

Cregg, A.K.

Kenya basins have evolved primarily through extension related to episodic continental rifting. In eastern Kenya, thick accumulations of sediments formed within grabens during the prerift phase (Precambrian to Carboniferous) of the Gondwana breakup. Synrift sedimentation (Late Carboniferous to Middle Jurassic) occurred within a north-south rift system, which included the Mandera basin, South Anza basin, and Lamu embayment. During the Early Jurassic, a marine transgression invaded the margins of the eastern Kenya rift basins, resulting in the deposition of platform carbonates and shales. A Callovian-aged salt basin formed in the offshore regions of the Lamu embayment. Intermittent tectonic activity and eustaticmore » sea-level changes controlled sedimentation, which produced marine shales, carbonates or evaporites, and fluvio-deltaic to lacustrine sandstones. From the Early Cretaceous to recent, continental sediments were deposited within the North Anza and Turkana basins. These fluvial-lacustrine sediments are similar to the Lower Cretaceous sequences that have produced oil in the Mesozoic Sudanese Abu Gabra rift. Although exploration activities began in the early 1950s, significant occurrences of potential reservoir, source, and seal lithologies as well as trapping configurations remain in many areas. Favorable structures and sequences of reservoir sandstones and carbonates overlain by potentially sealing lacustrine or marine shales, evaporites, or volcanics have been noted. Potential source beds are believed to be present within shales of the lacustrine or marine depositional environments.« less

Spatial and Temporal Strain Distribution Along the Central Red Sea Rift - A Study of the Hamd-Jizil Basin in Saudi Arabia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szymanski, E.; Stockli, D.; Johnson, P.; Kattan, F. H.; Al Shamari, A.

2006-12-01

Numerous models exploring the rupturing modes and mechanisms of continental lithosphere are based on geological evidence from the Red Sea/Gulf of Suez rift system. Individually, the Red Sea basin is the prototype for many models of orthogonal continental rifting. Despite being a classic example of continental extension, many temporal and spatial strain distribution aspects, as well as the dynamic evolution of the rift architecture of the Red Sea, remain poorly constrained. Critical data come mostly from the Gulf of Suez and the Egyptian and Yemeni margins of the Red Sea; the rift flanks in Sudan and Saudi Arabia have remained largely unstudied, leaving a large information gap along the central portions of the rift system. Improving continental lithosphere rupture models requires an absolute understanding of the timing and magnitude of strain partitioning along the full rift flank. This study focuses on the development of extensional structures, syn- extensional sedimentary deposits, and rift-related Tertiary basaltic volcanism along the central flank of the rift system in Saudi Arabia. Geo- and thermochronometric techniques are used to elucidate the evolution of inboard and outboard strain markers manifested by structurally-controlled extensional basins that parallel the trend of the main Red Sea rift. Constraints on the dynamics of rift flank deformation are achieved through the collection of thermochronometric transects that traverse both the entire Arabian shield and individual normal faults that bound inland basins. Preliminary results show inland basins as asymmetric half-grabens filled by tilted Cenozoic sedimentary strata and separated by exhumed basement fault blocks. The most prominent extensional basin is the NW-trending Hamd-Jizil basin, located north of Madinah, measuring ~200 km along strike and up to 20 km in width. The Hamd-Jizil basin is structurally characterized by two half-grabens exposing a series of syn-rift siliciclastic sedimentary sections below Tertiary basalts. In certain areas, thick basalt sequences provide basin infill and appear faulted by a younger series of normal faults. Work continues on the production of further geo- and thermochronologic data for the Tertiary basalt sequences as well as the entire rift flank region.

Link between the northward extension of Great Sumatra Fault and continental rifting in the Andaman Sea: new results from seismic reflection studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, S. C.; Moeremans, R. E.; McArdle, J.; Johansen, K.

2012-12-01

The Great Sumatra Fault (GSF) traverses the main land Sumatra from Sunda Strait in the southeast to Banda Aceh in the northwest for about 1900 km, and defines the present day plate boundary between the Sunda Plate in the north and Burmese Sliver Plate in the south. It is formed due to the oblique subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate beneath the Sunda Plate. It has been well studied on land but is poorly studied north of Banda Aceh in the Andaman Sea. Its study is further complicated by the presence of volcanic arc in its vicinity and its interaction with the West Andaman Fault (WAF) further north. Here we present deep seismic reflection images along the northward extension of the GSF over 700 km until it joins the Andaman Spreading Centre and interpret these images in the light of earthquake, gravity and bathymetry data. We find that the GSF has two strands between Banda Aceh and Nicobar Island: a transpression in the south and a deep narrow active rift basin in the north dotted with volcanoes in the center, suggesting that the volcanic arc is coincident with the rifting. Further north of Nicobar Island, an active strike-slip fault cuts through a deep rifted basin until its intersection with Andaman Sea Spreading Centre. The volcanic arc lies just east of the basin. The western margin of this basin seems to be a rifted continental margin, tilted westward flooring the Andaman-Nicobar forearc basin, which was once a part of Malaya Peninsula, suggesting that a significant parts of the Andaman-Nicobar forearc system is underlain by the Sunda continental crust. The Andaman-Nicobar forearc basin is bounded in the west by backthrusts, similar to the West Andaman and Mentawai faults bounding the Aceh and Mentawai forearc basins in the south. The cluster of seismicity after the 2004 great Andaman-Sumatra earthquake just north of Nicobar Island coincides with the intersection of two NW-SE and N-S trending strike-slip fault systems. Some of hypocentre of these earthquakes lie in the mantle down to 30 km depth, which along with the presence of volcanic arc just 15 km east of these faults, suggest that there is no generic link between the strike-slip fault and volcanic arc.

Crustal structure of the Southwest Subbasin, South China Sea, from wide-angle seismic tomography and seismic reflection imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Zhiteng; Li, Jiabiao; Ding, Weiwei; Zhang, Jie; Ruan, Aiguo; Niu, Xiongwei

2017-06-01

The Southwest Subbasin (SWSB) is an abyssal subbasin in the South China Sea (SCS), with many debates on its neotectonic process and crustal structure. Using two-dimensional seismic tomography in the SWSB, we derived a detailed P-wave velocity model of the basin area and the northern margin. The entire profile is approximately 311-km-long and consists of twelve oceanic bottom seismometers (OBSs). The average thickness of the crust beneath the basin is 5.3 km, and the Moho interface is relatively flat (10-12 km). No high velocity bodies are observed, and only two thin high-velocity structures ( 7.3 km/s) in the layer 3 are identified beneath the northern continent-ocean transition (COT) and the extinct spreading center. By analyzing the P-wave velocity model, we believe that the crust of the basin is a typical oceanic crust. Combined with the high resolution multi-channel seismic profile (MCS), we conclude that the profile shows asymmetric structural characteristics in the basin area. The continental margin also shows asymmetric crust between the north and south sides, which may be related to the large scale detachment fault that has developed in the southern margin. The magma supply decreased as the expansion of the SWSB from the east to the west.

Cruise report; RV Coastal Surveyor Cruise C1-99; multibeam mapping of the Long Beach, California continental shelf; April 12 through May 19, 1999

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gardner, James V.; Hughes-Clarke, John E.; Mayer, Larry A.

1999-01-01

The greater Los Angeles area of California is home to more than 10 million people. This large population puts increased pressure on the adjacent offshore continental shelf and margin with activities such as ocean disposal for dredged spoils, explosive disposal, waste-water outfall, and commercial fishing. The increased utilization of the shelf and margin in this area has generated accelerated multi-disciplinary research efforts in all aspects of the environment of the coastal zone. Prior to 1996 there were no highly accurate base maps of the continental shelf and slope upon which the research activities could be located and monitored. In 1996, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Pacific Seafloor Mapping Project began to address this problem by mapping the Santa Monica shelf and margin (Fig. 1) using a state-of-the-art, high-resolution multibeam sonar system (Gardner, et al., 1996; 1999). Additional seafloor mapping in 1998 provided coverage of the continental margin from south of Newport to the proximal San Pedro Basin northwest of Palos Verdes Peninsula (Gardner, et al., 1998) (Fig. 1). The mapping of the seafloor in the greater Los Angeles continental shelf and margin was completed with a 30-day mapping of the Long Beach shelf in April and May 1999, the subject of this report. The objective of Cruise C-1-99-SC was to completely map the broad continental shelf from the eastern end of the Palos Verdes Peninsula to the narrow shelf south of Newport Beach, from the break in slope at about 120-m isobath to the inner shelf at about the 10-m isobath. Mapping the Long Beach shelf was jointly funded by the U.S. Geological Survey and the County of Orange (CA) Sanitation District and was conducted under a Cooperative Agreement with the Ocean Mapping Group from the University of New Brunswick (OMG/UNB). The OMG/UNB contracted with C&C Technologies, Inc. of Lafayette, LA for use of the RV Coastal Surveyor and the latest evolution of high-resolution multibeam sonars, a dual Kongsberg Simrad EM3000D.

Crustal structure and tectonic deformation of the southern Ecuadorian margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calahorrano, Alcinoe; Collot, Jean-Yves; Sage, Françoise; Ranero, César R.

2010-05-01

Multichannel seismic lines acquired during the SISTEUR cruise (2000) provide new constraints on the structure and deformation of the subduction zone at the southern Ecuadorian margin, from the deformation front to the continental shelf of the Gulf of Guayaquil. The pre-stack depth migrated images allows to characterise the main structures of the downgoing and overriding plates and to map the margin stratigraphy in order to propose a chronology of the deformation, by means of integrating commercial well data and industry seismic lines located in the gulf area. The 100-km-long seismic lines show the oceanic Nazca plate underthrusting the South American plate, as well as the subduction channel and inter-plate contact from the deformation front to about 90 km landward and ~20 km depth. Based on seismic structure we identify four upper-plate units, consisting of basement and overlaying sedimentary sequences A, B and C. The sedimentary cover varies along the margin, being few hundreds of meters thick in the lower and middle slope, and ~2-3 km thick in the upper slope. Exceptionally, a ~10-km -thick basin, here named Banco Peru basin, is located on the upper slope at the southernmost part of the gulf. This basin seems to be the first evidence of the Gulf of Guayaquil opening resulting from the NE escaping of the North Andean Block. Below the continental shelf, thick sedimentary basins of ~6 to 8 km occupy most of the gulf area. Tectonic deformation across most of the upper-plate is dominated by extensional regime, locally disturbed by diapirism. Compression evidences are restricted to the deformation front and surrounding areas. Well data calibrating the seismic profiles indicate that an important portion of the total thickness of the sedimentary coverage of the overriding plate are Miocene or older. The data indicate the extensional deformation resulting from the NE motion of the North Andean Block and the opening of the Gulf of Guayaquil, evolves progressively in age from the southern edge of the gulf near Banco Peru, where main subsidence seems to be Miocene or older, toward the northern limit, where high subsidence rates are early Pleistocene.

New Insights into Passive Margin Development from a Global Deep Seismic Reflection Dataset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellingham, Paul; Pindell, James; Graham, Rod; Horn, Brian

2014-05-01

The kinematic and dynamic evolution of the world's passive margins is still poorly understood. Yet the need to replace reserves, a high oil price and advances in drilling technology have pushed the international oil and gas industry to explore in the deep and ultra-deep waters of the continental margins. To support this exploration and help understand these margins, ION-GXT has acquired, processed and interpreted BasinSPAN surveys across many of the world's passive margins. Observations from these data lead us to consider the modes of subsidence and uplift at both volcanic and non-volcanic margins. At non-volcanic margins, it appears that frequently much of the subsidence post-dates major rifting and is not thermal in origin. Rather the subsidence is associated with extensional displacement on a major fault or shear zone running at least as deep as the continental Moho. We believe that the subsidence is structural and is probably associated with the pinching out (boudinage) of the Lower Crust so that the Upper crust effectively collapses onto the mantle. Eventually this will lead to the exhumation of the sub-continental mantle at the sea bed. Volcanic margins present more complex challenges both in terms of imaging and interpretation. The addition of volcanic and plutonic material into the system and dynamic effects all impact subsidence and uplift. However, we will show some fundamental observations regarding the kinematic development of volcanic margins and especially SDRs which demonstate that the process of collapse and the development of shear zones within and below the crust are also in existence at this type of margin. A model is presented of 'magma welds' whereby packages of SDRs collapse onto an emerging sub-crustal shear zone and it is this collapse which creates the commonly observed SDR geometry. Examples will be shown from East India, Newfoundland, Brazil, Argentina and the Gulf of Mexico.

Crustal structure of the Ionian basin and eastern Sicily margin : results from a wide angle seismic survey and implication for the crustal nature and origin of the basin, and the recent tear fault location

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutscher, M. A.; Dellong, D.; Klingelhoefer, F.; Kopp, H.; Graindorge, D.; Margheriti, L.; Moretti, M.

2017-12-01

In the Ionian Sea (Central Mediterranean) the slow convergence between Africa and Eurasia results in the formation of a narrow subduction zone. The nature of the crust and lithosphere of the subducting plate remain debated and could represent the last remnants of the Neo-Tethys ocean. The rifting mechanism that produced the Ionian basin are also still under discussion with the Malta escarpment representing a possible remnant of this opening. At present, this subduction is still retreating to the south-east (motion occurring since the last 35 Ma) but is confined to the narrow Ionian Basin. In order to accommodate slab roll-back, a major lateral slab tear fault is required. This fault is thought to propagate along the eastern Sicily margin but its precise location remains controversial. This study focuses on the deep crustal structure of the Eastern-Sicily margin and the Malta Escarpment by presenting two wide-angle velocity profiles crossing these structures roughly orthogonally. The data used for the forward velocity modeling were acquired onboard the R/V Meteor during the DIONYSUS cruise in 2014. The results image an oceanic crust within the Ionian basin as well as the deep structure of the Malta Escarpment which presents characteristics of a transform margin. A deep and asymmetrical sedimentary basin is imaged south of the Messina strait and seems to have opened in between the Calabrian and Peloritan continental terranes. The interpretation of the velocity models suggests that the tear fault is located east of the Malta Escarpment, along the Alfeo fault system.

Tectonics and metallogenesis of Proterozoic rocks of the Reading Prong

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gundersen, L.C.S.

2004-01-01

Detailed geologic mapping, petrography, and major and trace-element analyses of Proterozoic rocks from the Greenwood Lake Quadrangle, New York are compared with chemical analyses and stratigraphic information compiled for the entire Reading Prong. A persistent regional stratigraphy is evident in the mapped area whose geochemistry indicates protoliths consistent with a back-arc marginal basin sequence. The proposed marginal basin may have been floored by an older sialic basement and overlain by a basin-fill sequence consisting of a basal tholeiitic basalt, basic to intermediate volcanic or volcaniclastic rocks and carbonate sediments, a bimodal calc-alkaline volcanic sequence, and finally volcaniclastic, marine, and continental sediments. The presence of high-chlorine biotite and scapolite may indicate circulation of brine fluids or the presence of evaporite layers in the sequence. Abundant, stratabound magnetite deposits with a geologic setting very unlike that of cratonic, Proterozoic banded-iron formations are found throughout the proposed basin sequence. Associated with many of the magnetite deposits is unusual uranium and rare-earth element mineralization. It is proposed here that these deposits formed in an exhalative, volcanogenic, depositional environment within an extensional back-arc marginal basin. Such a tectonic setting is consistent with interpretations of protoliths in other portions of the Reading Prong, the Central Metasedimentary Belt of the Canadian Grenville Province, and recent interpretation of the origin of the Franklin lead-zinc deposits, suggesting a more cohesive evolving arc/back-arc tectonic model for the entire Proterozoic margin of the north-eastern portion of the North American craton. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Reconstruction of the Exhumed Mantle Across the North Iberian Margin by Crustal-Scale 3-D Gravity Inversion and Geological Cross Section

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pedrera, A.; García-Senz, J.; Ayala, C.; Ruiz-Constán, A.; Rodríguez-Fernández, L. R.; Robador, A.; González Menéndez, L.

2017-12-01

Recent models support the view that the Pyrenees were formed after the inversion of a previously highly extended continental crust that included exhumed upper mantle rocks. Mantle rocks remain near to the surface after compression and mountain building, covered by the latest Cretaceous to Paleogene sequences. 3-D lithospheric-scale gravity inversion demands the presence of a high-density mantle body placed within the crust in order to justify the observed anomalies. Exhumed mantle, having 50 km of maximum width, continuously extends beneath the Basque-Cantabrian Basin and along the northern side of the Pyrenees. The association of this body with rift, postrift, and inversion structural geometries is tested in a balanced cross section across the Basque-Cantabrian Basin that incorporates a major south-dipping ramp-flat-ramp extensional detachment active between Valanginian and early Cenomanian times. Results indicate that horizontal extension progressed 48 km at variable strain rates that increased from 1 to 4 mm/yr in middle Albian times. Low-strength Triassic Keuper evaporites and mudstones above the basement favor the decoupling of the cover with formation of minibasins, expulsion rollovers, and diapirs. The inversion of the extensional system is accommodated by doubly verging basement thrusts due to the reactivation of the former basin bounding faults in Eocene-Oligocene times. Total shortening is estimated in 34 km and produced the partial subduction of the continental lithosphere beneath the two sides of the exhumed mantle. Obtained results help to pinpoint the original architecture of the North Iberian Margin and the evolution of the hyperextended aborted intracontinental basins.

Lower Brioverian formations (Upper Proterozoic) of the Armorican Massif (France): geodynamic evolution of source areas revealed by sandstone petrography and geochemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dabard, Marie Pierre

1990-11-01

Formations with interbedded cherts constitute an important part of the Lower Brioverian succession (Upper Proterozoic age) in the Armorican Massif (northwest France). These formations are composed of shale-sandstone alternations with interbedded siliceous carbonaceous members. Petrographic and geochemical study of the detrital facies shows that these rocks are compositionally immature. The wackes are rich in lithic fragments (volcanic fragments: 3-20% modal; sedimentary and metamorphic fragments: 0-7% modal) and in feldspar (5-16%). From the geochemical point of view, they are relatively enriched in Fe 2+MgO (about 5.5%) and in alkalis with {Na 2O }/{K 2O } ratios greater than 1. The CaO contents are low (about 0.3%). Slightly negative Eu anomalies are observed ( {Eu}/{Eu ∗} = 0.8 ). Their chemical compositions are in agreement with a dominantly acidic source area with deposition in a continental active margin setting. Compared with other Upper Proterozoic deposits of the Armorican Massif, the interbedded-chert formations appear rather similar to other deposits in North Brittany which accumulated in an intra-arc or back-arc basin environment. The formations with interbedded cherts are interpreted as having been deposited during an early stage of magmatic arc activity (around 640-630 Ma ago) in an immature marginal basin. The clastic supply to these formations is derived in part from early volcanic products (acidic to intermediate) which are linked to subduction beneath the North Armorican Domain. Another component is inherited from the reworking of 2000 Ma old basement relics. The opening of the back-arc domain, with associated basaltic volcanism, would bring about a progressive displacement of the interbedded-chert depositional basin towards the continental margin.

Structure and petroleum potential of the continental margin between Cross Sound and Icy Bay, northern Gulf of Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bruns, T.R.

1982-01-01

Major structural features of the Yakutat segment, the segment of the continental margin between Cross Sound and Icy Bay, northern Gulf of Alaska, are delineated by multichannel seismic reflection data. A large structural high is centered on Fairweather Ground and lies generally at the edge of the shelf from Cross Sound to west of the Alsek Valley. A basement uplift, the Dangerous River zone, along which the seismic acoustic basement shallows by up to two kilometers, extends north from the western edge of Fairweather Ground towards the mouth of the Dangerous River. The Dangerous River zone separates the Yakutat segment into two distinct subbasins. The eastern subbasin has a maximum sediment thickness of about 4 km, and the axis of the basin is near and parallel to the coast. Strata in this basin are largely of late Cenozoic age (Neogene and Quaternary) and approximately correlate with the onshore Yakataga Formation. The western subbasin has a maximum of at least 9 km of sediment, comprised of a thick (greater than 4.5 km) Paleogene section overlain by late Cenozoic strata. The Paleogene section is truncated along the Dangerous River zone by a combination of erosion, faulting, and onlap onto the acoustic basement. Within the western subbasin, the late Cenozoic basin axis is near and parallel to the coast, but the Paleogene basin axis appears to trend in a northwest direction diagonally across the shelf. Sedimentary strata throughout the Yakutat shelf show regional subsidence and only minor deformation except in the vicinity of the Fairweather Ground structural high, near and along the Dangerous River zone, and at the shoreline near Lituya Bay. Seismic data across the continental slope and adjacent deep ocean show truncation at the continental slope of Paleogene strata, the presence of a thick (to 6 km) undeformed or mildly deformed abyssal sedimentary section at the base of the slope that in part onlaps the slope, and a relatively narrow zone along the slope or at the base of the slope where faulting may have occurred. Observed deformation at the base of the slope is primarily related to the late Cenozoic uplift of Fairweather Ground, and to Quaternary folding perpendicular to the Pacific-North America relative convergence vector. No accretionary section or major deformation is observed along the continental slope. The absence of these features suggests that no major subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the Yakutat margin has occurred during the late Cenozoic. However, transform faulting along the base of the slope has occurred, because probable Oligocene oceanic basement is juxtaposed against Mesozoic and Paleogene sedimentary strata of the Yakutat slope. This juxtaposition most likely occurred during late Oligocene and Miocene time. During much of the late Cenozoic, and especially during Pliocene-Pleistocene time, the Yakutat segment has apparently been moving northward with the Pacific plate. Dredge samples from the continental slope recovered potential hydrocarbon source and reservoir rocks from the Paleogene sedimentary sequence. Most of the organic matter from these samples is immature to marginally mature. Lopatin calculations suggest that rocks beneath the shelf are likely to be thermally mature at a depth of 4 to 5 km and deeper. In general, the strata at these depths are largely of Paleogene age. Thus, the Paleogene strata may have significant resource potential if source and reservoir rocks similar to those dredged at the slope are present below the shelf. The Paleogene strata are contained primarily within the western subbasin; strata in the east subbasin appear to have little resource potential. Structural traps are apparently present in parts of the basin near and along the Dangerous River zone. These traps are in an updip position from potentially mature strata of the western subbasin, and may hold commercial accumulations of hydrocarbons, if sufficient hydrocarbon generation and migration has occurred

Heavy Oil and Natural Bitumen Resources in Geological Basins of the World

USGS Publications Warehouse

Meyer, Richard F.; Attanasi, E.D.; Freeman, P.A.

2007-01-01

Heavy oil and natural bitumen are oils set apart by their high viscosity (resistance to flow) and high density (low API gravity). These attributes reflect the invariable presence of up to 50 weight percent asphaltenes, very high molecular weight hydrocarbon molecules incorporating many heteroatoms in their lattices. Almost all heavy oil and natural bitumen are alteration products of conventional oil. Total resources of heavy oil in known accumulations are 3,396 billion barrels of original oil in place, of which 30 billion barrels are included as prospective additional oil. The total natural bitumen resource in known accumulations amounts to 5,505 billion barrels of oil originally in place, which includes 993 billion barrels as prospective additional oil. This resource is distributed in 192 basins containing heavy oil and 89 basins with natural bitumen. Of the nine basic Klemme basin types, some with subdivisions, the most prolific by far for known heavy oil and natural bitumen volumes are continental multicyclic basins, either basins on the craton margin or closed basins along convergent plate margins. The former includes 47 percent of the natural bitumen, the latter 47 percent of the heavy oil and 46 percent of the natural bitumen. Little if any heavy oil occurs in fore-arc basins, and natural bitumen does not occur in either fore-arc or delta basins.

Basement - Cover decoupling and progressive exhumation of metamorphic sediments at hot rifted margin. Insights from the Northeastern Pyrenean analog

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clerc, Camille; Lagabrielle, Yves; Labaume, Pierre; Ringenbach, Jean-Claude; Vauchez, Alain; Nalpas, Thierry; Bousquet, Romain; Ballard, Jean-François; Lahfid, Abdeltif; Fourcade, Serge

2016-08-01

We compile field data collected along the eastern part of the North Pyrenean Zone (NPZ) to point to a tectonic evolution under peculiar thermal conditions applying to the basin sediments in relation with the opening of the Cretaceous Pyrenean rift. Based on this compilation, we show that when thinning of the continental crust increased, isotherms moved closer to the surface with the result that the brittle-ductile transition propagated upward and reached sediments deposited at the early stage of the basin opening. During the continental breakup, the pre-rift Mesozoic cover was efficiently decoupled from the Paleozoic basement along the Triassic evaporite level and underwent drastic ductile thinning and boudinage. We suggest that the upper Albian and upper Cretaceous flysches acted as a blanket allowing temperature increase in the mobile pre-rift cover. Finally, we show that continuous spreading of the basin floor triggered the exhumation of the metamorphic, ductily sheared pre-rift cover, thus contributing to the progressive thinning of the sedimentary pile. In a second step, we investigate the detailed geological records of such a hot regime evolution along a reference-section of the eastern NPZ. We propose a balanced restoration from the Mouthoumet basement massif (north) to the Boucheville Albian basin (south). This section shows a north to south increase in the HT Pyrenean imprint from almost no metamorphic recrystallization to more than 600 °C in the pre- and syn-rift sediments. From this reconstruction, we propose a scenario of tectonic thinning involving the exhumation of the pre-rift cover by the activation of various detachment surfaces at different levels in the sedimentary pile. In a third step, examination of the architecture of current distal passive margin domains provides confident comparison between the Pyrenean case and modern analogs. Finally, we propose a general evolutionary model for the pre-rift sequence of the Northeastern Pyrenean rifted margin.

Apatite fission-track thermochronometric constraints on the exhumation and evolution of the southeastern Indian (Tamil Nadu) passive margin and the role of structural inheritance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Grave, Johan; Glorie, Stijn; Singh, Tejpal; Van Ranst, Gerben; Nachtergaele, Simon

2017-04-01

After rifting from Gondwana in the Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous, and subsequent opening of the Indian Ocean basin, the continental margins of India developed into typical passive margins. Extensional tectonic forces and thermal subsidence gave rise to the formation of both on-shore and off-shore basins along the southeastern passive margin of the Indian continent, along the Tamil Nadu coast. There, basins such as the Cauvery and Krishna-Godavari basin, accumulated Meso- and Cenozoic (Early Cretaceous to recent) detrital sediments coming off the rifted blocks and the Tamil Nadu hinterland. In places, deep rift basins have accumulated up to over 3000 m of sediments. The continental basement of Tamil Nadu is chiefly composed of metamorphic rocks of the Archean to Palaeoproterozoic Eastern Dharwar Craton and the coeval Southern Granulite Terrane (e.g. Peucat et al., 2013). Several crustal scale shear zones crosscut this assemblage and at least some are considered to represent Gondwanan sutures (Santosh et al., 2012). Smaller, younger granitoid plutons intrude the basement at several locations and most of these are of Late Neoproterozoic age (Glorie et al., 2014). In this work metamorphic basements rocks and the younger granitoids were sampled for a apatite fission-track (AFT) thermochronometric study. A North-South profile from Chennai to Thanjavur mainly transects the Salem block of the Southern Granulite Terrane, and crosscuts several crustal scale shear zones, such as the Cauvery, Salem-Attur and Gangavalli shear zones. Apatites from over 30 samples were used in this study. AFT ages all range between about 190 and 120 Ma (Jurassic - Early Cretaceous). These mainly represent the slow, shallow exhumation of the basement during the rift and early drift phase of the Indian plate from Gondwana. AFT mean track lengths vary between 11 and 13 µm and are typical of slowly exhumed basement. Thermal history modelling (using the QTQt software by Gallagher, 2012) confirms that internal regions of fault blocks experienced a slow and steady cooling to ambient temperatures throughout the Meso-Cenozoic, while younger samples, mainly positioned closeby or inside the shear zones, additionally record a more moderate to rapid cooling since the Early Cenozoic.

Phanerozoic growth of Asia: Geodynamic processes and evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pubellier, Manuel; Meresse, Florian

2013-08-01

Accretion processes often obscured in mountain belts can be documented with great detail in SE Asia where these have taken place during the Tertiary. The resulting configuration showing accreted continental strips and tectonised wedges is illustrated by the Tethysides jammed between the northern Laurasian cratons (Baltica and Siberia) and Gondwanian cratons (Africa, Arabia, India and Australia). Eurasia increased progressively in size due to the amalgamation of crustal and sedimentary belts. At places where the processes are documented in the recent times, they can be included within a "collision factory" which displays the opening of basins by rifting and sea floor spreading within the upper plate, until they undergo a process of shortening, both stages being subduction-controlled. In SE Asia the early stages are illustrated in the eastern Sunda arc where the subduction of the Sunda Trench is blocked in Sumba and Timor region, and flipped into the Flores Trough in less than 2 My. The incipient shortening is at present taking place in the Pliocene Damar basins. Another stage, where half of the upper plate basin has disappeared, is documented in the Celebes Sea. The examples of deformation being transferred further inland exist in the northern Celebes Sea and the Makassar Basin. The next important stage is the complete consumption of the marginal basin where both margins collide and the accretionary wedge is thrust over the margin, as illustrated in NW Borneo and Palawan. Each of these stages is responsible for a single short-lived tectonic event, the succession of several events composes an orogen which may last for over 10 My. These events predate the arrival of the conjugate margin of the large ocean, which marks the beginning of continental subduction as observed in the Himalaya-Tibet region. These examples show that the closure is generally diachronous through time as illustrated in the Philippines. We observe that the ophiolite obducted in such context is generally of back-arc origin (upper plate) rather than the relict of the vanishing large ocean which is rarely preserved. In the Philippines, once the crust is accreted the subduction zone progressively moved southward until its present position. We propose that the lithospheric mantle of the accreted block is delaminated and rolls back in a continuous manner, whereas the crust is deformed and accreted.

Meso-Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the SE Brazilian continental margin: Petrographic, kinematic and dynamic analysis of the onshore Araruama Lagoon Fault System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Souza, Pricilla Camões Martins de; Schmitt, Renata da Silva; Stanton, Natasha

2017-09-01

The Ararauama Lagoon Fault System composes one of the most prominent set of lineaments of the SE Brazilian continental margin. It is located onshore in a key tectonic domain, where the basement inheritance rule is not followed. This fault system is characterized by ENE-WSW silicified tectonic breccias and cataclasites showing evidences of recurrent tectonic reactivations. Based on field work, microtectonic, kinematic and dynamic analysis, we reconstructed the paleostresses in the region and propose a sequence of three brittle deformational phases accountable for these reactivations: 1) NE-SW dextral transcurrence; 2) NNW-SSE dextral oblique extension that evolved to NNW-SSE "pure" extension; 3) ENE-WSW dextral oblique extension. These phases are reasonably correlated with the tectonic events responsible for the onset and evolution of the SE onshore rift basins, between the Neocretaceous and Holocene. However, based on petrographic studies and supported by regional geological correlations, we assume that the origin of this fault system is older, related to the Early Cretaceous South Atlantic rifting. This study provides significant information about one of the main structural trends of the SE Brazilian continental margin and the tectonic events that controlled its segmentation, since the Gondwana rifting, and compartmentalization of its onshore sedimentary deposits during the Cenozoic.

NRC Continental Margins Workshop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katsouros, Mary Hope

The Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council is organizing a workshop, “Continental Margins: Evolution of Passive Continental Margins and Active Marginal Processes,” to stimulate discussion and longterm planning in the scientific community about the evolution of all types of continental margins. We want to coordinate academic, industry, and government agency efforts in this field, and to enhance communication between sea-based and land-based research programs.The continental margins constitute the only available record of the long-term dynamic interaction of oceanic and continental lithosphere. Of great interest are the unique structures and thick sedimentary sequences associated with this interaction. A major focus of the workshop will be to define strategies for exploring and understanding the continental margins in three dimensions and through geologic time. The workshop will be divided into 7 working groups, each concentrating on a major issue in continental margins research. A background document is being prepared summarizing recent research in specific continental margin fields and identifying key scientific and technical issues.

Early Paleozoic tectonics for the New Siberian Islands terrane (Eastern Arctic)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metelkin, D. V.; Chernova, A. I.; Vernikovsky, V. A.; Matushkin, N. Yu.

2017-11-01

The New Siberian Islands archipelago is one of the few research objects accessible for direct study on the eastern Arctic shelf. There are several models that have different interpretations of the Paleozoic tectonic history and the structural affinity of the New Siberian Islands terrane. Some infer a direct relationship with the passive continental margin of the Siberian paleocontinent. Others connect it with the marginal basins of Baltica and Laurentia, or the Chukotka-Alaska microplate. Our paleomagnetic investigation led us to create an apparent polar wander path for the early Paleozoic interval of geological history. Based on it we can conclude that the New Siberian Islands terrane could not have been a part of these continental plates. This study considers the possible tectonic scenarios of the Paleozoic history of the Earth, presents and discusses the corresponding global reconstructions describing the paleogeography and probable mutual kinematics of the terranes of the Eastern Arctic.

Map showing depth to basement in the deep-sea basins of the Pacific continental margin, Strait of Juan de Fuca to Cape Mendocino

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gardner, J.V.; Cacchione, D.A.; Drake, D.E.; Edwards, B.D.; Field, M.E.; Hampton, M.A.; Karl, Herman A.; Kenyon, Neil H.; Masson, D.G.; McCulloch, D.S.; Grim, M.S.

1993-01-01

Paskevich, V.F., Wong, F.L., O?Malley, J.J., Stevenson, A.J., and Gutmacher, C.E., 2011, GLORIA sidescan-sonar imagery for parts of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and adjacent areas: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010?1332, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1332/.

Map showing depth to basement in the deep-sea basins of the Pacific continental margin, Cape Mendocino to Point Conception

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gardner, J.V.; Caccione, D.A.; Drake, D.E.; Edwards, B.D.; Field, M.E.; Hampton, M.A.; Karl, Herman A.; Kenyon, Neil H.; Masson, D.G.; McCulloch, D.S.; Grim, M.S.

1993-01-01

Paskevich, V.F., Wong, F.L., O?Malley, J.J., Stevenson, A.J., and Gutmacher, C.E., 2011, GLORIA sidescan-sonar imagery for parts of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and adjacent areas: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010?1332, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1332/.

Map showing sediment isopachs in the deep-sea basins of the Pacific Continental Margin, Strait of Juan de Fuca to Cape Mendocino

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gardner, J.V.; Cacchione, D.A.; Drake, D.E.; Edwards, B.D.; Field, M.E.; Hampton, M.A.; Karl, Herman A.; Kenyon, Neil H.; Masson, D.G.; McCulloch, D.S.; Grim, M.S.

1993-01-01

Paskevich, V.F., Wong, F.L., O?Malley, J.J., Stevenson, A.J., and Gutmacher, C.E., 2011, GLORIA sidescan-sonar imagery for parts of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and adjacent areas: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010?1332, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1332/.

Map showing depth to basement in the deep-sea basins of the Pacific continental margin, Point Conception to Point Loma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gardner, J.V.; Cacchione, D.A.; Drake, D.E.; Edwards, B.D.; Field, M.E.; Hampton, M.A.; Karl, Herman A.; Kenyon, Neil H.; Masson, D.G.; McCulloch, D.S.; Grim, M.S.

1992-01-01

Paskevich, V.F., Wong, F.L., O?Malley, J.J., Stevenson, A.J., and Gutmacher, C.E., 2011, GLORIA sidescan-sonar imagery for parts of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and adjacent areas: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010?1332, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1332/.

Ridge Flank Flux as a Potential Source for the North Pacific Silica Plume

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, H. P.; Hautala, S. L.; Bjorklund, T. A.

2005-12-01

The North Pacific silica plume is a global scale anomaly, extending from the North American continental margin to west of the Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain. Inventory of the plume at depths between 2000 and 3000 meters indicates that it contains 164 Teramols of dissolved silica, and is maintained by a horizontal flux of approximately 1.5 Tmols/year from the Eastern Pacific. The source region of this silica plume has been previously reported to be Cascadia Basin in the NE Pacific. However, simple box models based both on new hydrostations and compilations of archive data indicate that only a third of the dissolved silica that enters the larger North Pacific plume originates locally within the Cascadia/Gorda Basin. As it encounters the North American continental margin, the eastward-flowing deep Pacific bottom water is forced into `a U-turn' by seafloor topography. A portion of the bottom water is elevated from 4000 to 2300 meter depths by the high geothermal heat flow during rapid passage through Cascadia/Gorda Basin, and subsequently flows westward as the North Pacific mid-water plume. The plume water also absorbs an estimated 0.47 Tmol/year of locally derived silica during its passage adjacent to the continental margin. However, the Pacific bottom water is already relatively enriched in dissolved silica when it passes the Gorda Ridge/Mendocino junction, and the remaining 1 Tmol/year of silica must be acquired during near-bottom transit from the Western Pacific, over the portion of the easternmost Pacific plate where basement is younger than 65 Ma. Global compilations based on heat flow data argue that the upper crustal section of the young, eastern Pacific plate is an enormous aquifer, with active hydrothermal circulation and presumably diffuse venting into the bottom water. The suggestion that the large-scale flux of silica-rich hydrothermal fluid from the young eastern portion of the Pacific plate contributes to the North Pacific silica plume is a consequence of that interpretation, but is only a plausible and still untested hypothesis. If correct, however, it implies that the ridge flanks of the eastern Pacific Ocean are a global-scale source of a critically important nutrient.

Mapping rift domains within an inverted hyperextended rift system: The role of rift inheritance in controlling the present-day structure of the North Iberian margin (Bay of Biscay)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadenas, Patricia; Fernández-Viejo, Gabriela; Álvarez-Pulgar, Javier; Tugend, Julie; Manatschal, Gianreto; Minshull, Tim

2017-04-01

This study presents a new rift domain map in the central and western North Iberian margin, in the southern Bay of Biscay. This margin was structured during polyphase Triassic to Lower Cretaceous rifting events which led to hyperextension and exhumation and the formation of oceanic crust during a short-lived seafloor spreading period. Extension was halted due to the Alpine convergence between the Iberian and the European plates which led to the formation of the Cantabrian-Pyrenean orogen during the Cenozoic. In the Bay of Biscay, while the northern Biscay margin was slightly inverted, the North Iberian margin, which is at present-day part of the western branch of the Alpine belt together with the Cantabrian Mountains, exhibits several degrees of compressional reactivation. This makes this area a natural laboratory to study the influence of rift inheritance into the inversion of a passive margin. Relying on the interpretation of geological and geophysical data and the integration of wide-angle results, we have mapped five rift domains, corresponding to the proximal, necking, hyperthinned, exhumed mantle, and oceanic domains. One of the main outcomes of this work is the identification of the Asturian Basin as part of a hyperthinned domain bounded to the north by the Le Danois basement high. We interpret Le Danois High as a rift-related crustal block inherited from the margin structure. Our results suggest that the inherited rift architecture controlled the subsequent compressional reactivation. The hyperextended domains within the abyssal plain focused most of the compression resulting in the development of an accretionary wedge and the underthrusting of part of these distal domains beneath the margin. The presence of the Le Danois continental block added complexity, conditioning the inversion undergone by the Asturian Basin. This residual block of less thinned continental crust acted as a local buttress hampering further compressional reactivation within the platform and the inner basin, which were only slightly inverted and uplifted passively due to the underthrusting of the hyperextended domains beneath Le Danois High. The new inverted rift domain map adds some constraints to support kinematic reconstructions and confine palinspatic restorations of the inverted rifted margin. Furthermore, it provides more insights to comprehend the strain partitioning within the Bay of Biscay-Pyrenean inverted hyperextended rift and the broad structural variability observed in such a reduced area, arising from the strong segmentation and the obliquity between the NW-SE and WNW-ESE trending rift structures and the E-W compressional front.

Cretaceous plate interaction during the formation of the Colombian plateau, Northandean margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kammer, Andreas; Piraquive, Alejandro; Díaz, Sebastián

2015-04-01

The Cretaceous subduction cycle at the Northandean margin ends with an accretionary event that welds the plateau rocks of the present Western Cordillera to the continental margin. A suture between plateau and rock associations of the continental margin is well exposed at the western border of the Central Cordillera, but overprinted by intense block tectonics. Analyzed in detail, its evolution tracks an increased coupling between lower and upper plate, as may be accounted for by the following stages: 1) The Cretaceous plateau suite records at its onset passive margin conditions, as it encroaches on the continental margin and accounts for an extensional event that triggered the emplacement of ultramafic and mafic igneous rock suites along major faults. 2) An early subduction stage of a still moderate plate coupling is documented by the formation of a magmatic arc in an extensional setting that may have been prompted by slab retreat. Convergence direction was oblique, as attested the transfer of strike-slip displacements to the forearc region. 3) A phase of strong plate interaction entailed the delamination of narrow crustal flakes and their entrainment to depths below the petrologic Moho, as evidenced by their present association to serpentinites in a setting that bears characteristics of a subduction channel. 4) During the final collisional stage deformation is transferred to the lower plate, where the stacking of imbricate sheets, combined with their erosional unloading, led to the formation of an antiformal bulge that fed a foreland basin. - The life time of this Cretaceous subduction cycle was strictly synchronous to the construction of the Colombian plateau. With the final collisional stage magmatic activity vanished. This coincidence incites to explore a relationship between plume activity and subduction.

The role of deep-water sedimentary processes in shaping a continental margin: The Northwest Atlantic

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mosher, David C.; Campbell, D.C.; Gardner, J.V.; Piper, D.J.W.; Chaytor, Jason; Rebesco, M.

2017-01-01

The tectonic history of a margin dictates its general shape; however, its geomorphology is generally transformed by deep-sea sedimentary processes. The objective of this study is to show the influences of turbidity currents, contour currents and sediment mass failures on the geomorphology of the deep-water northwestern Atlantic margin (NWAM) between Blake Ridge and Hudson Trough, spanning about 32° of latitude and the shelf edge to the abyssal plain. This assessment is based on new multibeam echosounder data, global bathymetric models and sub-surface geophysical information.The deep-water NWAM is divided into four broad geomorphologic classifications based on their bathymetric shape: graded, above-grade, stepped and out-of-grade. These shapes were created as a function of the balance between sediment accumulation and removal that in turn were related to sedimentary processes and slope-accommodation. This descriptive method of classifying continental margins, while being non-interpretative, is more informative than the conventional continental shelf, slope and rise classification, and better facilitates interpretation concerning dominant sedimentary processes.Areas of the margin dominated by turbidity currents and slope by-pass developed graded slopes. If sediments did not by-pass the slope due to accommodation then an above grade or stepped slope resulted. Geostrophic currents created sedimentary bodies of a variety of forms and positions along the NWAM. Detached drifts form linear, above-grade slopes along their crests from the shelf edge to the deep basin. Plastered drifts formed stepped slope profiles. Sediment mass failure has had a variety of consequences on the margin morphology; large mass-failures created out-of-grade profiles, whereas smaller mass failures tended to remain on the slope and formed above-grade profiles at trough-mouth fans, or nearly graded profiles, such as offshore Cape Fear.

Late Palaeozoic-Cenozoic assembly of the Tethyan orogen in the light of evidence from Greece and Albania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertson, A. H. F.

2012-04-01

The objective here is to use the geology and tectonics of a critical part of the Tethyan orogen, represented by Greece and Albania, to shed light on the tectonic development of Tethys on a regional, to global scale, particularly the history of convergence during Late Palaeozoic to Cenozoic time. For Carboniferous time much evidence suggests that the Korabi-Pelagonian crustal unit as exposed in Albania and Greece formed above a northward-dipping subduction zone along the Eurasia continental margin, with Palaeotethys to the south. However, there is also some evidence of southward subduction beneath Gondwana especially from southern Greece and central southern Turkey. Palaeotethys is inferred to have closed in Europe as far to the east as the longitude of Libya, while remaining open beyond this. There is still uncertainty about the Pangea A-type reconstruction that would restore all of the present units in the area to within the E Mediterranean region, versus the Pangea B-type reconstruction that would require right-lateral displacement of exotic terranes, by up to 3,500 km eastwards. In either reconstruction, fragments of the Variscan collisional orogen are likely to have been displaced eastwards (variable distances) in the Balkan region prior to Late Permian-Early Triassic time. From ~Late Permian, the Greece-Albania crustal units were located in their present relative position within Tethys as a whole. From the mid-Permian, onwards the northern margin of Gondwana was affected by crustal extension. A Mesozoic ocean (Pindos-Mirdita ocean) then rifted during Early-Middle Triassic time, culminating in final continental break-up and seafloor spreading during the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian). Subduction-influenced volcanics of mainly Early-Middle Triassic age probably reflect the extraction of magma from sub-continental lithosphere that was enriched in subduction-related fluids and volatiles during an earlier, ?Variscan subduction event. The existence of Upper Triassic mid-ocean ridge-type igneous rocks, known locally in Albania and Greece, points to rifting of a Red Sea-type oceanic basin rather than a back-arc basin related to contemporaneous subduction. After initial, inferred slow spreading at an Upper Triassic, rifted ocean ridge and spreading during the Early Jurassic, the ocean basin underwent regional convergence. Subduction was initiated at, or near, a spreading axis perhaps adjacent to an oceanic fracture zone. The Jurassic supra-subduction zone-type ophiolites of both Greece and Albania largely relate to melting of rising asthenosphere in the presence of volatiles (water) that originated from subducting oceanic lithosphere. High-magnesian boninite-type magmas that are present in both the Albanian and Greece ophiolites and some underlying melanges reflect remelting of previously depleted oceanic upper mantle. Localised MOR-type ophiolites of Late Middle Jurassic age, mainly exposed in NE Albania, were created at a rifted spreading axis. The amphibolite-facies metamorphic sole of the ophiolites was mainly derived from oceanic crust (including within-plate type seamounts), whereas the underlying lower-grade, greenschist facies sole was mainly sourced from the rifted continental margin. The melange, dismembered thrust sheets and polymict debris flows ("olistostromes") beneath the ophiolites formed by accretion and gravity reworking of continental margin units. The in situ radiolarian chert cover of the ophiolites in northern Albania is overlain by polymict debris flows ("olistostromes"). Pelagic carbonate deposition followed during Tithonian-Berriasian time and then restoration of a regional carbonate platform during the Cretaceous. Exhumation of deeply buried parts of the over-ridden continental margin probably took place during the Early Cretaceous. Structural evidence, mainly from northern Greece (Vourinos, Pindos and Othris areas), indicates that the ophiolites, the metamorphic sole, the accretionary melange, and the underlying continental margin units were all deformed by top-to-the-northeast thrusting during Late Middle-Early Late Jurassic time. However, such kinematic evidence is not obviously replicated in Albania, where there are reports of ~southwest-directed (or variable) emplacement. Remaining Pindos-Mirdita oceanic crust subducted ~southwestwards during Late Cretaceous-Eocene time, while oceanic crust continued to form in the south-Aegean region at least locally during Late Cretaceous time. During Early Cenozoic time the Pindos-Mirdita ocean closed progressively southwards, triggering mainly southward progradation of turbidites derived from the over-riding Korabi-Pelagonian microcontinent. Smaller volumes of sediment were also derived from the Apulia (Adria) continent. The Mesohellenic Trough of Greece and its counterpart in Albania evolved from an Eocene fore-arc-type basin above subducting oceanic lithosphere to a thrust-top basin as continental crust continued to underthrust during the Oligocene after final closure of the Pindos-Mirdita ocean. Miocene and Plio-Quaternary successor flexural foredeeps developed in response to continuing regional plate convergence. The preferred tectonic alternatives are assembled into a new overall tectonic model, which in turn needs to be tested and developed in the light of future studies. Reference: Robertson, A.H.F. Tectonic development of Greece and Albania in the context of alternative reconstructions of Tethys in the Eastern Mediterranean region during Late Palaeozoic-Cenozoic time. International Geological Review, in press.

Mesozoic to Recent, regional tectonic controls on subsidence patterns in the Gulf of Mexico basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almatrood, M.; Mann, P.; Bugti, M. N.

2016-12-01

We have produced subsidence plots for 26 deep wells into the deeper-water areas of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in order to identify regional tectonic controls and propose tectonic phases. Our results show three sub-regions of the GOM basin that have distinctive and correlative subsidence patterns: 1) Northern GOM from offshore Texas to central Florida (9 wells) - this area is characterized by a deeply buried, Triassic-early Jurassic rift event that is not represented by our wells that penetrate only the post-rift Cretaceous to recent passive margin phase. The sole complexity in the passive margin phase of this sub-region is the acceleration of prograding clastic margins including the Mississippi fan in Miocene time; 2) Southeastern GOM in the Straits of Florida and Cuba area (5 wells) - this area shows that the Cretaceous passive margin overlying the rift phase is abruptly drowned in late Cretaceous as this part of the passive margin of North America that is flexed and partially subducted beneath the Caribbean arc as it encroaches from the southwest to eventually collide with the North American passive margin in the Paleogene; 3) Western GOM along the length of the eastern continental margin of Mexico (12 wells) - this is the most complex of the three areas in that shares the Mesozic rifting and passive margin phase but is unique with a slightly younger collisional event and foreland basin phase associated with the Laramide orogeny in Mexico extending from the KT boundary to the Oligocene. Following this orogenic event there is a re-emergence of the passive margin phase during the Neogene along locally affected by extensional and convergent deformation associated with passive margin fold belts. In summary, the GOM basin exhibits evidence for widespread rifting and passive margin formation associated with the breakup of Pangea in Mesozoic times that was locally superimposed and deformed during the late Cretaceous-Paleogene period by: 1) Caribbean subduction and collision along its southeastern edge; and 2) Laramide collision along its western edge in Mexico.

Architecture of ductile-type passive margins: Geological constraints from the inverted Cretaceous basin of the North-Pyrenean Zone (`Chaînons Béarnais', Western Pyrenees)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corre, B.; Lagabrielle, Y.; Labaume, P.; Lahfid, A.; Boulvais, P.; Bergamini, G.; Fourcade, S.; Clerc, C. N.; Asti, R.

2017-12-01

Subcontinental lithospheric mantle rocks are exhumed at the foot of magma-poor distal passive margins as a response to extreme stretching of the continental crust. The North-Pyrenean Zone (NPZ) exposes remnants of such extremely stretched paleo-passive margin that represent field analogues to study the processes of continental crust thinning and mantle exhumation. The NPZ results from the inversion of basins opened between the Iberia and Europa plates during Albo-Cenomanian times. The Chaînons Béarnais belt displays a fold-and-thrust structure involving the Mesozoic sedimentary cover associated with peridotite bodies in tectonic contact with Paleozoic basement lenses of small size. Continental extension developed under hot thermal conditions, as demonstrated by the syn-metamorphic Cretaceous ductile deformation affecting both the crustal basement and the Mesozoic cover. In this study, we present structural and geochemical data providing constraints to reconstruct the evolution of this paleo-margin. Field work confirms that the Mesozoic cover is intimately associated with mantle rocks and thin tectonic lenses of middle crust. Micro-structural studies show that the greenschist facies ductile deformation in the crust produced a mylonitic foliation which is always parallel to the crust/mantle contact. The crust/mantle detachment fault is a major shear zone characterized by anastomosed shear bands. It also shows that the pre-rift cover was detached from its bedrock at the Keuper evaporites level and was welded to mantle rocks during their exhumation at the foot of the margin. We show that: (i) the boudinaged pre-rift sediments have undergone drastic syn-metamorphic thinning with the genesis of a S0/S1 foliation and, (ii) the Paleozoic basement has been ductilely deformed, into thin tectonic lenses that remained welded to the exhumed mantle rocks. The ductile behavior is related to the presence of a thick pre- and syn-rift cover acting as an efficient thermal blanket. This new geological data set highlights important characteristics of ductile-type hyper-extended passive margin. Finally, we stress that studying field analogues represents a major tool to better understand the mechanisms of crustal thinning associated with mantle exhumation and their structural inheritance during tectonic inversion.

The life cycle of continental rifting as a focus for U.S.-African scientific collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdelsalam, Mohamed G.; Atekwana, Estella A.; Keller, G. Randy; Klemperer, Simon L.

2004-11-01

The East African Rift System (EARS) provides the unique opportunity found nowhere else on Earth, to investigate extensional processes from incipient rifting in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, to continental breakup and creation of proto-oceanic basins 3000 km to the north in the Afar Depression in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti.The study of continental rifts is of great interest because they represent the initial stages of continental breakup and passive margin development, they are sites for large-scale sediment accumulation, and their geomorphology may have controlled human evolution in the past and localizes geologic hazards in the present. But there is little research that provides insights into the linkage between broad geodynamic processes and the life cycle of continental rifts: We do not know why some rifts evolve into mid-ocean ridges whereas others abort their evolution to become aulacogens. Numerous studies of the EARS and other continental rifts have significantly increased our understanding of rifting processes, but we particularly lack studies of the embryonic stages of rift creation and the last stages of extension when continental breakup occurs.

Architecture of ductile-type, hyper-extended passive margins: Geological constraints from the inverted Cretaceous basin of the North-Pyrenean Zone ('Chaînons Béarnais', Western Pyrenees)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corre, Benjamin; Lagabrielle, Yves; Labaume, Pierre; Lahfid, Abdeltif; Boulvais, Philippe; Bergamini, Geraldine; Fourcade, Serge; Clerc, Camille

2017-04-01

Sub-continental lithospheric mantle rocks are exhumed at the foot of magma-poor distal passive margins as a response to extreme stretching of the continental crust during plate separation. Remnants of the Northern Iberian paleo-passive margin are now exposed in the North-Pyrenean Zone (NPZ) and represent field analogues to study the processes of continental crust thinning and subcontinental mantle exhumation. The NPZ results from the inversion of basins opened between the Iberia and Europa plates during Albo-Cenomanian times. In the western NPZ, the 'Chaînons Béarnais' ranges display a fold-and-thrust structure involving the Mesozoic sedimentary cover, decoupled from its continental basement and associated with peridotite bodies in tectonic contact with Palaeozoic basement lenses of small size. Continental extension developed under hot thermal conditions, as demonstrated by the syn-metamorphic Cretaceous ductile deformation affecting both the crustal basement and the allochthonous Mesozoic cover. In this study, we present structural and geochemical data providing constraints to reconstruct the evolution of the northern Iberia paleo-margin. Field work confirms that the pre-rift Mesozoic cover is intimately associated to mantle rocks and to thin tectonic lenses of crustal basement. It also shows that the pre-rift cover was detached from its bedrock at the Keuper evaporites level and was welded to mantle rocks during their exhumation at the foot of the hyper-extended margin. The crust/mantle detachment fault is a major shear zone characterized by anastomosed shear bands defining a plurimetric phacoidal fabric at the top of the serpentinized mantle. The detachment is marked by a layer of metasomatic rocks, locally 20 meters thick, made of talc-chlorite-pyrite-rich rocks that developped under greenschist facies conditions. Raman Spectroscopy on Carbonaceous Materials (RSCM), performed on the Mesozoic cover reveal that the entire sedimentary pile underwent temperatures ranging between 200°C and 480°C. We show that: (i) at the site of mantle rocks exhumation, the boudinaged pre-rift sediments have undergone drastic syn-metamorphic thinning with the genesis of a S0/S1 foliation and, (ii) the Paleozoic basement has been ductilely deformed, into thin tectonic lenses that remained welded to the exhumed mantle rocks. Therefore the overall crustal rheology appears dominated by shallow levels having a ductile behavior. This rheology is related to the presence of a thick pre- and syn-rift decoupled cover acting as an efficient thermal blanket. This new geological data set highlights important characteristics of ductile-type hyper-extended passive margin that cannot be obtained from the study of seismic lines. Finally, we stress that studying field analogues represents a major tool to better understand the mechanisms of extreme crustal thinning associated with mantle exhumation and their structural inheritance during tectonic inversion.

Cenozoic evolution of the Socotra Island: opening of the Gulf of Aden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razin, P.; Robin, C.; Serra Kiel, J.; Leroy, S.; Bellahsen, N.; Khanbari, K.

2009-12-01

A complete stratigraphic and geological map revision of the Tertiary of Socotra Island is undertaken in order to better characterize the geometry and the tecto-sedimentary evolution of the southern margin of the Gulf of Aden, and compare them with those of the conjugate northern margin in Oman. An increase of the rate of subsidence is recorded during the Late Eocene and is associated with a transgressive peak within carbonate platform deposits (Aydim Fm.). At the scale of the Arabian plate, the extent of this platform is reduced to the future rift area. This evolution of the platform system shows a modification of the sedimentary profiles, controlled by the beginning of the rifting. The syn-rift deposits of the Early Oligocene correspond to sub-reef carbonate platform facies (Ashawq Fm.). First, the throw of synsedimentary faults and the movements linked with differential subsidence are widely compensated by carbonate production which manages to maintain a platform profile. These movements are recorded by thickness variations, significant lateral variations in the platform facies and by a local inversion of sedimentary polarities controlled by the tilting of faulted blocks. Like on the northern margin, an acceleration of the extension process leads, during the Late Oligocene, to a collapse of the platform and to the creation of deep sub-basins with carbonate gravity-flow sedimentation. Marginal reef platforms keep growing at this stage on the structural highs and feed gravity-flow sedimentary systems. The sedimentation rate stays then relatively low in the basin, forming a complex topography of the margin, marked by a segmentation into numerous sub-basins more or less connected and separated by submarine escarpments marked by wedges of breccia deposits along active normal faults. In different points, these faults are sealed by sedimentary deposits characterized by progressive unconformities and onlap geometries on the fault escarpments. These geometries show the relatively short length of the phase of « stretching » of the continental crust. Around the end of the Early Miocene, the progradation of conglomerate fan-delta deposits locally results in the fill of the basins and shows a major phase of uplift. It is very rapidly followed by a new phase of subsidence which allows the preservation of thick fan-delta and equivalent reef platform complex unconformably overlying different units of the syn-rift and pre-rift sequences, or even the exhumed Proterozoic basement. This tectonic-sedimentary phase is interpreted as synchronous to the continental breakup and the onset of the OCT at the foot of the margin. The analogy with the phase of development of «sag basins» on the Atlantic margins has to be analyzed. This major uplift at the transition syn-rift/post-rift seems to be expressed symmetrically on both margins. These syn-OCT deposits are then uplifted and affected by late tilting events. However, the most recent deposits, probably Late Miocene to plio-Quaternary in age, have only been affected by small uplifts, unlike those of the Dhofar on the northern margin

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.

Crustal analysis of the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea (Japan Sea) from enhanced gravity mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Chan Hong; Kim, Jeong Woo; Isezaki, Nobuhiro; Roman, Daniel R.; von Frese, Ralph R. B.

2006-12-01

To facilitate geological analyses of the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea (Japan Sea) between Korea and Japan, shipborne and satellite altimetry-derived gravity data are combined to derive a regionally coherent anomaly field. The 2-min gridded satellite altimetry-based gravity predicted by Sandwell and Smith [Sandwell DT, Smith WHF (1997) J Geophys Res 102(B5):10,039-10,054] are used for making cross-over adjustments that reduce the errors between track segments and at the cross-over points of shipborne gravity profiles. Relative to the regionally more homogeneous satellite gravity anomalies, the longer wavelength components of the shipborne anomalies are significantly improved with minimal distortion of their shorter wavelength components. The resulting free-air gravity anomaly map yields a more coherent integration of short and long wavelength anomalies compared to that obtained from either the shipborne or satellite data sets separately. The derived free-air anomalies range over about 140 mGals or more in amplitude and regionally correspond with bathymetric undulations in the Ulleung Basin. The gravity lows and highs along the basin’s margin indicate the transition from continental to oceanic crust. However, in the northeastern and central Ulleung Basin, the negative regional correlation between the central gravity high and bathymetric low suggests the presence of shallow denser mantle beneath thinned oceanic crust. A series of gravity highs mark seamounts or volcanic terranes from the Korean Plateau to Oki Island. Gravity modeling suggests underplating by mafic igneous rocks of the northwestern margin of the Ulleung Basin and the transition between continental and oceanic crust. The crust of the central Ulleung Basin is about a 14-15 km thick with a 4-5 km thick sediment cover. It may also include a relatively weakly developed buried fossil spreading ridge with approximately 2 km of relief.

Basin analysis of tertiary strata in the Pattani Basin, Gulf of Thailand

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

Chonchawalit, A.; Bustin, R.M.

The stratigraphic and structural evolution of the Pattani basin, the most prolific petroleum basin in Thailand, reflects the extensional tectonics of continental southeast Asia. East-west extension, a product of the northward collision of India with Eurasia since the early Tertiary resulted in the formation of a series of north-south-trending sedimentary basins including the Pattani basin. Subsidence and thermal histories of the basin can generally be accounted for by nonuniform lithospheric stretching. The validity of nonuniform lithospheric stretching as a mechanic for the formation of the Pattani basin is confirmed by a reasonably good agreement between modeled and observed vitrinite reflectancemore » at various depths and locations. The amount of stretching and surface heat flow generally increases from the basin margin to the basin center. Crustal stretching factor ([beta]) ranges from 1.3 at the basin margin to 2.8 in the center. Subcrustal stretching factor ([sigma]) ranges from 1.3 at the margin to more than 3.0 in the center. The stretching of the lithosphere may have extended basement rocks as much as 45 to 90 km and may have caused the upwelling of asthenosphere, resulting in high heat flow. The sedimentary succession in the Pattani basin is divisible into synrift and postrift sequences. The synrift sequences comprise (1) late Eocene ( ) to early Oligocene alluvial fan, braided river, and flood-plain deposits; (2) late Oligocene to early Miocene floodplain and channel deposits; and (3) an early Miocene regressive package of marine to nonmarine sediments. Deposition of synrift sequences corresponded to rifting and extension, which included episodic block faulting and rapid subsidence. Postrift succession comprises (1) an early to middle Miocene regressive package of shallow marine to nonmarine sediments, (2) a late early Miocene transgressive package; and (3) a late Miocene to Pleistocene transgression succession.« less

Formation of Continental Fragments: The Tamayo Bank, Gulf of California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Wijk, J.; Abera, R.; Axen, G. J.

2015-12-01

Potential field data are used to construct a two-dimensional crustal model along a profile through the Tamayo Trough and Bank in the Gulf of California. The model is constrained by seismic reflection and refraction data, and field observations. The potential field data do not fit a model where the crust of the Tamayo trough is continental, but they fit well with a model where the Tamayo trough crust is oceanic. This implies that the Tamayo Bank is entirely bounded by oceanic crust and is a microcontinent. The oceanic crust of the Tamayo trough that separates the Tamayo Bank from the mainland of Mexico is thin (~4 km), so oceanic spreading was probably magma-starved before it ceased. This led us to come up with a model that explains the formation of microcontinents that are smaller in size and are not found in the proximity of hotspots. At first, seafloor spreading commences following continental breakup. When the magma supply to the ridge slows down, the plate boundary strengthens. Hence, the ridge may be abandoned while tectonic extension begins elsewhere, or slow spreading may continue while a new ridge starts to develop. The old spreading ridge becomes extinct. An asymmetric ocean basin forms if the ridge jumps within oceanic lithosphere; a microcontinent forms if the ridge jumps into a continental margin. This model for formation of continental fragments is applicable to other regions as well, eliminating the need of mantle plume impingement to facilitate rifting of a young continental margin and microcontinent formation.

Summary report on the regional geology, environmental considerations for development, petroleum potential, and estimates of undiscovered recoverable oil and gas resources of the United States southeastern Atlantic continental margin in the area of proposed oil and gas lease sale No. 78

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dillon, William P.

1981-01-01

This report summarizes our general knowledge of the geology and petroleum potential, as well as potential problems and hazards associated with development of petroleum resources, of the area proposed for nominations for lease sale number 78. This area includes the U.S. eastern continental margin from the mouth of Chesapeake Bay to approximately Cape Canaveral, Florida, including the upper Continental Slope and inner Blake Plateau. The area for possible sales and the previous areas leased are shown in figure 1; physiographic features of the region are shown in figure 2. Six exploration wells have been drilled within the proposed lease area (figs. 3 and 4) but no commercial discoveries have been made. All six wells were drilled on the Continental Shelf in the Southeast Georgia Embayment. No commercial production has been obtained onshore in the region. The areas already drilled have thin sedimentary sections, and the deeper rocks are dominantly continental facies. Petroleum formation may have been hindered by a lack of organic material and sufficient burial for thermal maturation. Analysis of drill and seismic profiling data presented here, however, indicates that a much thicker sedimentary rock section containing a much higher proportion of marine deposits exists seaward of the exploratory wells on the Continental Shelf. These geologic conditions imply that the offshore basins may be more favorable environments for generating petroleum.

Geology report for proposed oil and gas lease sale No. 90; continental margin off the southeastern United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dillon, William P.

1983-01-01

This report summarizes our general knowledge of the geology and petroleum potential, as well as potential problems and hazards associated with development of petroleum resources, within the area proposed for nominations for lease sale number 90. This area includes the U.S. eastern continental margin from Raleigh Bay, just south of Cape Hatteras, to southern Florida, including the upper Continental Slope and inner Blake Plateau. The area for possible sales for lease sale number 90, as well as the area for lease sale number 78 and the previous areas leased are shown in figure 1; physiographic features of the region are shown in figure 2. Six exploration wells have been drilled within the proposed lease area (figs. 3 and 4), but no commercial discoveries have been made. All six wells were drilled on the Continental Shelf. No commercial production has been obtained onshore in the region. The areas already drilled have thin sedimentary rock sections, and the deeper strata are dominantly of continental facies. Petroleum formation may have been hindered by a lack of organic material and lack of sufficient burial for thermal maturation. However, analyses of drilling and seismic profiling data presented here indicate that a much thicker section of sedimentary rocks containing a much higher proportion of marine deposits, exists seaward of the Continental Shelf. These geologic conditions imply that the basins farther offshore may be more favorable environments for generating petroleum.

Petrography and geochemistry of clastic rocks within the Inthanon zone, northern Thailand: Implications for Paleo-Tethys subduction and convergence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hara, Hidetoshi; Kunii, Miyuki; Hisada, Ken-ichiro; Ueno, Katsumi; Kamata, Yoshihito; Srichan, Weerapan; Charusiri, Punya; Charoentitirat, Thasinee; Watarai, Megumi; Adachi, Yoshiko; Kurihara, Toshiyuki

2012-11-01

The provenance, source rock compositions, and sediment supply system for a convergence zone of the Paleo-Tethys were reconstructed based on the petrography and geochemistry of clastic rocks of the Inthanon Zone, northern Thailand. The clastic rocks are classified into two types based on field and microscopic observations, the modal composition of sandstone, and mineral compositions: (1) lithic sandstone and shale within mélange in a Permo-Triassic accretionary complex; and (2) Carboniferous quartzose sandstone and mudstone within the Sibumasu Block. Geochemical data indicate that the clastic rocks of the mélange were derived from continental island arc and continental margin settings, which correspond to felsic volcanic rocks within the Sukhothai Zone and quartz-rich fragments within the Indochina Block, respectively. The results of a mixing model indicate the source rocks were approximately 35% volcanic rocks of the Sukhothai Zone and 65% craton sandstone and upper continental crust of the Indochina Block. In contrast, Carboniferous quartzose sedimentary rocks within the Sibumasu Block originated from a continental margin, without a contribution from volcanic rocks. In terms of Paleo-Tethys subduction, a continental island arc in the Sukhothai Zone evolved in tandem with Late Permian-Triassic forearc basins and volcanic activity during the Middle-early Late Triassic. The accretionary complex formed contemporaneously with the evolution of continental island arc during the Permo-Triassic, supplied with sediment from the Sukhothai Zone and the Indochina Block.

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).

Paleozoic and mesozoic evolution of East-Central California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stevens, C.H.; Stone, P.; Dunne, G.C.; Greene, D.C.; Walker, J.D.; Swanson, B.J.

1997-01-01

East-central California, which encompasses an area located on the westernmost part of sialic North America, contains a well-preserved record of Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic events that reflect the evolving nature of the Cordilleran plate margin to the west. After the plate margin was formed by continental rifting in the Neoproterozoic, sediments comprising the Cordilleran miogeocline began to accumulate on the subsiding passive margin. In east-central California, sedimentation did not keep pace with subsidence, resulting in backstepping of a series of successive carbonate platforms throughout the early and middle Paleozoic. This phase of miogeoclinal development was brought to a close by the Late Devonian-Early Mississippian Antler orogeny, during the final phase of which oceanic rocks were emplaced onto the continental margin. Subsequent Late Mississippian-Pennsylvanian faulting and apparent reorientation of the carbonate platform margin are interpreted to have been associated with truncation of the continental plate on a sinistral transform fault zone. In the Early Permian, contractional deformation in east-central California led to the development of a narrow, uplifted thrust belt flanked by marine basins in which thick sequences of deep-water strata accumulated. A second episode of contractional deformation in late Early Permian to earliest Triassic time widened and further uplifted the thrust belt and produced the recently identified Inyo Crest thrust, which here is correlated with the regionally significant Last Chance thrust. In the Late Permian, about the time of the second contractional episode, extensional faulting created shallow sedimentary basins in the southern Inyo Mountains. In the El Paso Mountains to the south, deformation and plutonism record the onset of subduction and arc magmatism in late Early Permian to earliest Triassic time along this part of the margin. Tectonism had ceased in most of east-central California by middle to late Early Triassic time, and marine sediment deposited on the subsiding continental shelf overlapped the previously deformed Permian rocks. Renewed contractional deformation, probably in the Middle Triassic, is interpreted to be associated with emplacement of the Golconda allochthon onto the margin of the continent. This event, which is identified with certainty in the Sierra Nevada, also may have significantly affected rocks in the White and Inyo Mountains to the east. Subduction and arc magmatism that created most of the Sierra Nevada batholith began in the Late Triassic and lasted through the remainder of the Mesozoic. During this time, the East Sierran thrust system (ESTS) developed as a narrow zone of intense, predominantly E-vergent contractional deformation along the eastern margin of the growing batholith. Activity on the ESTS took place over an extended part of Mesozoic time, both before and after intrusion of voluminous Middle Jurassic plutons, and is interpreted to have been mechanically linked to emplacement of the batholith. Deformation on the ESTS and magmatism in the Sierra Nevada both ended prior to the close of the Cretaceous.

Geochemical evidence of mantle reservoir evolution during progressive rifting along the western Afar margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rooney, Tyrone O.; Mohr, Paul; Dosso, Laure; Hall, Chris

2013-02-01

The Afar triple junction, where the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and African Rift System extension zones converge, is a pivotal domain for the study of continental-to-oceanic rift evolution. The western margin of Afar forms the southernmost sector of the western margin of the Red Sea rift where that margin enters the Ethiopian flood basalt province. Tectonism and volcanism at the triple junction had commenced by ˜31 Ma with crustal fissuring, diking and voluminous eruption of the Ethiopian-Yemen flood basalt pile. The dikes which fed the Oligocene-Quaternary lava sequence covering the western Afar rift margin provide an opportunity to probe the geochemical reservoirs associated with the evolution of a still active continental margin. 40Ar/39Ar geochronology reveals that the western Afar margin dikes span the entire history of rift evolution from the initial Oligocene flood basalt event to the development of focused zones of intrusion in rift marginal basins. Major element, trace element and isotopic (Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf) data demonstrate temporal geochemical heterogeneities resulting from variable contributions from the Afar plume, depleted asthenospheric mantle, and African lithosphere. The various dikes erupted between 31 Ma and 22 Ma all share isotopic signatures attesting to a contribution from the Afar plume, indicating this initial period in the evolution of the Afar margin was one of magma-assisted weakening of the lithosphere. From 22 Ma to 12 Ma, however, diffuse diking during continued evolution of the rift margin facilitated ascent of magmas in which depleted mantle and lithospheric sources predominated, though contributions from the Afar plume persisted. After 10 Ma, magmatic intrusion migrated eastwards towards the Afar rift floor, with an increasing fraction of the magmas derived from depleted mantle with less of a lithospheric signature. The dikes of the western Afar margin reveal that magma generation processes during the evolution of this continental rift margin are increasingly dominated by shallow decompressional melting of the ambient asthenosphere, the composition of which may in part be controlled by preferential channeling of plume material along the developing neo-oceanic axes of extension.

Sediment-hosted micro-disseminated gold mineralization constrained by basin paleo-topographic highs in the Youjiang basin, South China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jianming; Ye, Jie; Ying, Hanlong; Liu, Jiajun; Zheng, Minghua; Gu, Xuexiang

2002-06-01

The Youjiang basin is a Devonian-Triassic rift basin on the southern margin of the Yangtze Craton in South China. Strong syndepositional faulting defined the basin-and-range style paleo-topography that further developed into isolated carbonate platforms surrounded by siliciclastic filled depressions. Finally, thick Triassic siliciclastic deposits covered the platforms completely. In the Youjiang basin, numerous sediment-hosted, micro-disseminated gold (SMG) deposits occur mainly in Permian-Triassic chert and siliciclastic rocks. SMG ores are often auriferous sedimentary rocks with relatively low sulfide contents and moderate to weak alteration. Similar to Carlin-type gold ores in North America, SMG ores in the Youjiang basin are characterized by low-temperature mineral assemblages of pyrite, arsenopyrite, realgar, stibnite, cinnabar, marcasite, chalcedony and carbonate. Most of the SMG deposits are remarkably distributed around the carbonate platforms. Accordingly, there are platform-proximal and platform-distal SMG deposits. Platform-proximal SMG deposits often occur in the facies transition zone between the underlying platform carbonate rocks and the overlying siliciclastic rocks with an unconformity (often a paleo-karst surface) in between. In the ores and hostrocks there are abundant synsedimentary-syndiagenetic fabrics such as lamination, convolute bedding, slump texture, soft-sediment deformation etc. indicating submarine hydrothermal deposition and syndepositional faulting. Numerous fluid-escape and liquefaction fabrics imply strong fluid migration during sediment basin evolution. Such large-scale geological and fabric evidence implies that SMG ores were formed during basin evolution, probably in connection with basinal fluids. It is well known that basinal fluids (especially sediment-sourced fluids) will migrate generally (1) upwards, (2) towards basin margins or basin topographic highs, (3) and from thicker towards thinner deposits during basin evolution. The isolated carbonate platform (as a basin paleo-high) and related syndepositional fault system, together with the unconformity-related facies succession, may have controlled the migration pathway of ore-forming basinal fluids and subsequently determined the location of SMG deposits in the Youjiang basin. Unlike Carlin-type gold deposits, SMG mineralization in the Youjiang basin may represent an integral aspect of the dynamic evolution of extensional basins along divergent continental margins.

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

Nyagah, K.; Cloeter, J.J.; Maende, A.

The Lamu basin occupies the coastal onshore and offshore areas of south-east Kenya. This fault bounded basin formed as a result of the Paleozoic-early Mesozoic phase of rifting that developed at the onset of Gondwana dismemberment. The resultant graben was filled by Karroo (Permian-Early Jurassic) continental siliciclastic sediments. Carbonate deposits associated with the Tethyan sea invasion, dominate the Middle to Late Jurassic basin fill. Cessation of the relative motion between Madagascar and Africa in the Early Cretaceous, heralded passive margin development and deltaic sediment progradation until the Paleogene. Shallow seas transgressed the basin in the Miocene when another carbonate regimemore » prevailed. The basin depositional history is characterized by pulses of transgressive and regressive cycles, bounded by tectonically enhanced unconformities dividing the total sedimentary succession into discrete megasequences. Source rock strata occur within Megasequence III (Paleogene) depositional cycle and were lowered into the oil window in Miocene time, when the coastal parts of the basin experienced the greatest amount of subsidence. The tectono-eustatic pulses of the Tertiary brought about source and reservoir strata into a spatial relationship in which hydrocarbons could be entrapped. A basement high on the continental shelf has potential for Karroo sandstone and Jurassic limestone reservoirs. Halokinesis of Middle Jurassic salt in Miocene time provides additional prospects in the offshore area. Paleogene deltaic sands occur in rotated listric fault blacks. A Miocene reef Play coincides with an Eocene source rock kitchen.« less

Western Continental Margin of India - Re-look using potential field data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajaram, M.; S P, A.

2008-05-01

The Western Continental Margin of India (WCMI) evolved as a result of rifting between India and Madagascar that took place during mid Cretaceous (~88Ma).The WCMI is equally important in terms of natural resources as well as research point of view. The major tectonic elements in the western offshore includes the Laxmi and Chagos- Laccadive ridge dividing the WCMI and the adjoining Arabian sea into two basins, Pratap Ridge, Alleppey platform etc. Different theories have been proposed for the evolution of each of these tectonic elements. In the current paper we look at geopotential data on the west coast of India and the western off-shore. The data sets utilized include Satellite derived High Resolution Free Air Gravity data over the off-shore, Bouguer data onland, Champ Satellite Magnetic data, published Marine Magnetic data collected by ONGC, NIO, ground magnetic data over west cost collected by IIG and available aeromagnetic data. From the free air gravity anomaly the structural details of the western offshore can be delineated. The Euler depths of FAG depict deep solutions associated with Pratap Ridge, Comorin Ridge, the west coast fault and the Laxmi Ridge. These may be associated with continental margin and continental fragments. From the aeromagnetic and marine magnetic data it is evident that the West Coast Fault is dissected at several places. The shallow circular feature associated with Bombay High is evident both on the FAG and the analytic signal derived from satellite Magnetic data. The crustal magnetic thickness from MF5 lithospheric model of the Champ appears to suggest that the continental crust extends up to the Chagos- Laccadive ridge. Based on the analysis of these geopotential data sets the various theories for the evolution of the WCMI will be evaluated and these results will be presented.

Deep structure of the Santos Basin-São Paulo Plateau System, SE Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evain, Mikael; Afilhado, Alexandra; Rigoti, Caesar; Loureiro, Afonso; Alves, Daniela; Klingelhoefer, Frauke; Schnurle, Philippe; Feld, Aurelie; Fuck, Reinhardt; Soares, Jose; Vinicius de Lima, Marcus; Corela, Carlos; Matias, Luis; Benabdellouahed, Massinissa; Baltzer, Agnes; Rabineau, Marina; Viana, Adriano; Moulin, Maryline; Aslanian, Daniel

2015-04-01

The structure and nature of the crust underlying the Santos Basin-São Paulo Plateau System (SSPS), in the SE Brazilian margin, is discussed based on five wide-angle seismic profiles acquired during the SanBa experiment in 2011. Velocity models allow us to precisely divide the SSPS in six domains from unthinned continental crust (Domain CC) to normal oceanic crust (Domain OC). A seventh domain (Domain D), a triangular shape region in the SE of the SSPS, is discussed by [Klingelhoefer et al., GJI, 2014]⁠. Beneath the continental shelf, a ~100 km wide necking zone (Domain N) is imaged where continental crust thins abruptly from ~40 km to less than 15 km. Toward the ocean, most of the SSPS (Domain A and C) shows velocity ranges, velocity gradients and a Moho interface characteristic of thinned continental crust. The central domain (Domain B) has, however, a very heterogeneous structure. While its southwestern part still exhibits extremely thinned (7 km) continental crust, its northeastern part depicts a 2-4 km thick upper layer (6.0-6.5 km/s) overlying an anomalous velocity layer (7.0-7.8 km/s) and no evidence of a Moho interface. This structure is interpreted as atypical oceanic crust, exhumed lower crust or upper continental crust intruded by mafic material, overlying either altered mantle in the first two cases or intruded lower continental crust in the last case. The v-shaped structuration in this central domain confirms an initial episode of rifting within the SSPS oblique to the general opening direction of the South Atlantic central segment.

Deep Stucture of the Northwestern Atlantic Moroccan Margin Studied by OBS and Deep Multichannel Seismic Reflection.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MALOD, J. A.; Réhault, J.; Sahabi, M.; Géli, L.; Matias, L.; Diaz, J.; Zitellini, N.

2001-12-01

The Northwestern Atlantic Moroccan margin, a conjugate of the New Scotland margin, is one of the oldest passive margin of the world. Continental break up occurred at early Liassic time and the deep margin is characterized by a large salt basin. A good knowledge of this basin is of major interest to improve the initial reconstruction between Africa, North America and Iberia (Eurasia). It is also a good opportunity to study a mature passive margin and model its structure and evolution.Moreover, there is a need to assess the geological hazards linked to the neotectonic activity within the Africa-Eurasia plate boundary. These topics have been adressed during the SISMAR cruise carried out from April 9th to May 4th 2001.During this cruise, 3667 km of multichannel seismic reflection (360 channels, 4500 m long streamer, 4800 ci array of air guns) were recorded together with refraction records by means of 48 OBH/OBS drops. Simultaneously, some of the marine profiles have been extended onshore with 16 portable seismic land stations. We present the initial results of this study. Off El Jadida, the Moho and structures within the thinned continental crust are well imaged on both the reflection and refraction records. In the northern area, off Casablanca, we follow the deepening of the moroccan margin beneath the up to 9 sec (twtt) allochtonous series forming a prism at the front the Rif-Betic chain. Sismar cruise has been also the opportunity to record long seismic profiles making the junction between the Portuguese margin and the Moroccan one, and crossing the Iberian-African plate boundary. This allows to observe the continuity of the sedimentary sequence after the end of the large inter-plate motion in Early Cretaceous. In addition to the authors, SISMAR Group includes: AMRHAR Mostafa, BERMUDEZ VASQUEZ Antoni, CAMURRI Francesca, CONTRUCCI Isabelle, CORELA Carlos, DIAZ Jordi, DORVAL Philippe, EL ARCHI Abdelkrim, EL ATTARI Ahmed, GONZALEZ Raquel, HARMEGNIES Francois, JAFFAL Mohamed, KLINGELÖFER Fraucke, LANDURÉ Jean Yves, LEGALL Bernard, MAILLARD-LENOIR Agnès, MARTIN Christophe, MEHDI Khalid, MERCIER Eric, MOULIN Maryline, OUAJHAIN Brahim, PERROT Julie, ROLET Joël, RUELLAN Etienne, TEIXIRA Fernando, TERRINHA Pedro, ZOURARAH Bendehhou.

First images of the crustal structure across the central Algerian margin, off Tipaza (West Algiers) from deep penetrating seismic data: new information to constrain the opening of the Algerian basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leprêtre, A.; Deverchere, J.; Klingelhoefer, F.; Graindorge, D.; Schnurle, P.; Yelles, K.; Bracene, R.

2011-12-01

The origin of the Algerian margin remains one of the key questions still unresolved in the Western Mediterranean sea. This is related to the unknown nature and kinematics of this Neogene basin. Whereas the westernmost margin is generally assumed to have been shaped as a STEP-fault (Subduction-Transform Edge Propagator, transcurrent) margin by the westward displacement of the Alboran block, the central Algerian margin is believed to have involved a NW-SE basin opening related to a southward slab rollback. This work sheds insight on this issue, using data acquired in the context of the Algerian-French program SPIRAL (Sismique Profonde et Investigation Régionale en Algérie): a cruise conducted on the 'R/V L'Atalante' in October-November 2009. It has provided 5 new combined onshore-offshore wide-angle seismic profiles and an extensive multi-channel seismic dataset spread along the margin, from Oran to Annaba. In this work, the available structural information on the ~N-S wide-angle transect of Tipaza is presented, where the margin broadens due to the presence of a bathymetric high (the Khayr-Al-Din bank) which is assumed to represent a remaining titled block of the passive margin. Along the transect, 39 OBS and 13 landstations recorded 751 low frequency airgun shots. Travel-time tomography and forward modelling were computed using the software developed by Zelt and Barton (1998) and Zelt and Smith (1992), to obtain the velocity structure in the region. A set of multi-channel seismic reflection profiles including two coincident profiles with the wide-angle data allows a combined interpretation and extend the deep structure in the Bou Ismail Bay. MCS data outline the sedimentary sequence filling the Algerian basin depicting an intensive salt tectonic associated with the Messinan Salinity Crisis and allowing to image locally below the salt layer. The deep penetrating data SPIRAL allow to image the sedimentary sequence in the Algerian basin off Tipaza (West Algiers) and the crustal structure at the continent-ocean boundary. In the Algerian basin off Tipaza, the Moho discontinuity is identified using wide-angle modelling at 11-12 km depth which corresponds in two-way travel-time to 7-8 s. Wide-angle seismic modelling imaged a major thinning of the crust from more of 15 km in the upper margin (KADB) to only 5-6 km in the deep basin. This thinning also marks the rapid transition from a thinned continental crust at the Khayr-al-Din bank to an oceanic crust in the Algerian Basin, revealing a narrow transition zone (20-30 km) between the two domains. This work presents the deep structure of the margin West of Algiers from wide-angle and multichannel seismic data in order to discuss models of opening for the Algerian basin.

Structure across the northeastern margin of Flemish Cap, offshore Newfoundland from Erable multichannel seismic reflection profiles: evidence for a transtensional rifting environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welford, J. Kim; Hall, Jeremy; Sibuet, Jean-Claude; Srivastava, Shiri P.

2010-11-01

We present the results from processing and interpreting nine multichannel seismic reflection lines collected during the 1992 Erable experiment over the northeastern margin of Flemish Cap offshore Newfoundland. These lines, combined into five cross-sections, provide increased seismic coverage over this lightly probed section of the margin and reveal tectonically significant along-strike variations in the degree and compartmentalization of crustal thinning. Similar to the southeastern margins of Flemish Cap and the Grand Banks, a transitional zone of exhumed serpentinized mantle is interpreted between thinned continental and oceanic crust. The 25 km wide transitional zone bears similarities to the 120 km wide transitional zone interpreted as exhumed serpentinized mantle on the conjugate Irish Atlantic margin but the significant width difference is suggestive of an asymmetric conjugate pair. A 40-50 km wide zone of inferred strike-slip shearing is interpreted and observed to extend along most of the northeastern margin of Flemish Cap. Individual shear zones (SZs) may represent extensions of SZs and normal faults within the Orphan Basin providing further evidence for the rotation and displacement of Flemish Cap out of Orphan Basin. The asymmetry between the Flemish Cap and Irish conjugate pairs is likely due in large part to the rotation and displacement of Flemish Cap which resulted in the Flemish Cap margin displaying features of both a strike-slip margin and an extensional margin.

Measurement of sediment and crustal thickness corrected RDA for 2D profiles at rifted continental margins: Applications to the Iberian, Gulf of Aden and S Angolan margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cowie, Leanne; Kusznir, Nick

2014-05-01

Subsidence analysis of sedimentary basins and rifted continental margins requires a correction for the anomalous uplift or subsidence arising from mantle dynamic topography. Whilst different global model predictions of mantle dynamic topography may give a broadly similar pattern at long wavelengths, they differ substantially in the predicted amplitude and at shorter wavelengths. As a consequence the accuracy of predicted mantle dynamic topography is not sufficiently good to provide corrections for subsidence analysis. Measurements of present day anomalous subsidence, which we attribute to mantle dynamic topography, have been made for three rifted continental margins; offshore Iberia, the Gulf of Aden and southern Angola. We determine residual depth anomaly (RDA), corrected for sediment loading and crustal thickness variation for 2D profiles running from unequivocal oceanic crust across the continental ocean boundary onto thinned continental crust. Residual depth anomalies (RDA), corrected for sediment loading using flexural backstripping and decompaction, have been calculated by comparing observed and age predicted oceanic bathymetries at these margins. Age predicted bathymetric anomalies have been calculated using the thermal plate model predictions from Crosby & McKenzie (2009). Non-zero sediment corrected RDAs may result from anomalous oceanic crustal thickness with respect to the global average or from anomalous uplift or subsidence. Gravity anomaly inversion incorporating a lithosphere thermal gravity anomaly correction and sediment thickness from 2D seismic reflection data has been used to determine Moho depth, calibrated using seismic refraction, and oceanic crustal basement thickness. Crustal basement thicknesses derived from gravity inversion together with Airy isostasy have been used to correct for variations of crustal thickness from a standard oceanic thickness of 7km. The 2D profiles of RDA corrected for both sediment loading and non-standard crustal thickness provide a measurement of anomalous uplift or subsidence which we attribute to mantle dynamic topography. We compare our sediment and crustal thickness corrected RDA analysis results with published predictions of mantle dynamic topography from global models.

Aeromagnetic and gravity investigations of the Coastal Area and Continental Shelf of Liberia, West Africa, and their relation to continental drift

USGS Publications Warehouse

Behrendt, John C.; Wotorson, Cletus S.

1970-01-01

An aeromagnetic survey has shown the existence of several basins in which magnetic basement depths are greater than 5 km on the continental shelf off Liberia. Magnetic diabase of 176 to 192 m.y. (Jurassic) in age intruding the Paleozoic (?) rocks and overlain by younger rocks onshore requires the distinction between “magnetic basement” and “basement.” Several lines of evidence suggest that the Paleozoic(?) rocks are less than 1 km thick; this implies that the diabase does not introduce a large error in depth-to-basement estimates. The dikes or their extrusive equivalents are traceable, on the basis of the magnetic data, beneath the younger sedimentary rock in the basins to the edge of the continental slope. The magnetic data also delineate a second zone of diabase dikes 90 km inland, parallel to the coast, which cross the entire country. The intrusion of the younger dikes probably coincides with rifting at the beginning of the separation of Africa and South America, and the associated magnetic anomaly zones appear to be parallel with and continuous into the anomaly bands in the Atlantic. A major northeast-trending break in the magnetic fabric intersects the coast near 9° W. and is associated with Eburnean age rocks (about 2000 m.y.) to the southeast as contrasted with Liberian-age rocks (about 2700 m.y.) to the northwest. Change in magnetic fabric direction inland from northeast to northwest in the coastal area allows recognition of a boundary between the Liberian-age rocks inland and Pan-African-age (about 550 m.y.) rocks in the coastal area northwest of about 9° 20'W. Sets of north-northwest-and west-northwest—trending faults of 1 to 2 km vertical displacement cut the Cretaceous sedimentary rocks onshore and can be traced into the offshore basins. Vertical displacements of several kilometers in the magnetic basement underlying the continental shelf suggest a pattern of block faulting all along the coast and continental shelf. Negative Bouguer anomalies exist over two Cretaceous basins in the coastal area; a negative Bouguer anomaly exists over one of the basins southwest of Monrovia, as shown by a marine traverse, suggesting that Cretaceous or younger sedimentary rocks fill these basins also. A 50 to 60 mgal positive Bouguer anomaly area exists along the coast from Sierra Leone to Ivory Coast. This anomaly correlates with mafic granulites in the Monrovia region, where the gradient is too steep to be entirely due to crustal thickening at the continental margin and may be related to tectonic activity associated with the basins. The only major break in this positive anomaly above basement rocks along the entire coast of Liberia is over granite gneiss adjacent to (and presumably underlying) the only onshore basins on the Liberian coast. Three seismic reflection profiles support the interpretation of a substantial section of sedimentary rock offshore. A suggested sequence of events indicates tectonic activity in the periods about 2700, about 2000, and about 550 m.y. B.P.; uplift and exposure of deep crustal rocks; deposition of Paleozoic sediments; intrusion of diabase dikes in inland zones; intrusion of 176 to 192 m.y.-old dikes and sills accompanying separation of Africa and South and North America; block faulting along coast and continental shelf, and active sea-floor spreading; filling of basins in Cretaceous and Tertiary(?) time; basaltic extrusion on spreading sea floor and sedimentation on continental shelf and slope.

Breakup magmatism on the Vøring Margin, mid-Norway: New insight from interpretation of high-quality 2D and 3D seismic reflection data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdelmalak, M. M.; Planke, S.; Millett, J.; Jerram, D. A.; Maharjan, D.; Zastrozhnov, D.; Schmid, D. W.; Faleide, J. I.; Svensen, H.; Myklebust, R.

2017-12-01

The Vøring Margin offshore mid-Norway is a classic volcanic rifted margin, characterized by voluminous Paleogene igneous rocks present on both sides of the continent-ocean boundary. The margin displays (1) thickened transitional crust with a well-defined lower crustal high-velocity body and prominent deep crustal reflections, the so-called T-Reflection, (2) seaward dipping reflector (SDR) wedges and a prominent northeast-trending escarpment on the Vøring Marginal High, and (3) extensive sill complexes in the adjacent Cretaceous Vøring Basin. During the last decade, new 2D and 3D industry seismic data along with improved processing techniques, such as broadband processing and noise reduction processing sequences, have made it possible to image and map the breakup igneous complex in much greater detail than previously possible. Our interpretation includes a combination of (1) seismic horizon picking, (2) integrated seismic-gravity-magnetic (SGM) interpretation, (3) seismic volcanostratigraphy, and (4) igneous seismic geomorphology. The results are integrated with published wide-angle seismic data, re-analyzed borehole data including new geochronology, and new geodynamic modeling of the effects of magmatism on the thermal history and subsidence of the margin. The extensive sill complexes and associated hydrothermal vent complexes in the Vøring Basin have a Paleocene-Eocene boundary age based on high-precision U/Pb dating combined with seismic mapping constraints. On the marginal high, our results show a highly variable crustal structure, with a pre-breakup configuration consisting of large-scale structural highs and sedimentary basins. These structures were in-filled and covered by basalt flows and volcanogenic sediments during the early stages of continental breakup in the earliest Eocene. Subsequently, rift basins developed along the continent-ocean boundary and where infilled by up to ca. 6 km thick basalt sequences, currently imaged as SDRs fed by a dike swarm imaged on seismic data. The addition of magma within the crust had a prominent effect on the thermal history and hydrocarbon maturation of the sedimentary basin, causing uplift, delayed subsidence, and possibly contributing to the triggering of global warming during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM).

Quantifying the thermal evolution of early passive margins formation and its consequences on the structure of passive margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bousquet, Romain; Nalpas, Thierry

2017-04-01

Many large-scale dynamic processes, from continental rifting to plate subduction, are intimately linked to metamorphic reactions. This close relation between geodynamic processes and metamorphic reactions is, in spite of appearances, yet poorly understood. For example, during extension processes, rocks will be exposed to important temperature, pressures and stress changes. Meanwhile less attention has been paid to other important aspects of the metamorphic processes. When reacting rocks expand and contract, density and volume changes will set up in the surrounding material. While several tectonic models are proposed to explain the formation of extensive basins and passive margins ( simple shear detachment mantle exhumation .... ) a single thermal model (McKenzie, 1978), as a kind of dogma, is used to understanding and modeling the formation and evolution of sedimentary basins. The study of the thermal evolution, coupled with other tectonic models, and its consequences have never been studied in detail, although the differences may be significant. And it is clear that the petrological changes associated with changes in temperature conditions, influence changes reliefs. Constrained by the new field data of north Pyrenean basins on thermal evolution of pre-rift and syn-rift sediments, we explore the petrological changes associated to different thermal evolution and the consequences on the subsidence of the basins. We will also present numerical models quantifying mineralogical and physical changes inside the whole lithosphere during rifting processes. In the light of these models, we discuss the consequences of different thermal evolution on the subsidence processes as well as on gravimetry and seismic velocities signature of passive margins. We are able to distinguish two types of margins according to their thermal evolution: - An Alpine-type basin in which the temperature rise is 50 to 100 Ma older than the tectonic extension, leading to the "cold" opening of the ocean. - A Pyrenean type basin in which temperature changes are synchronous with basin formation, leading to a crustal boudignage and to the formation of a "anomalous" geophysical layer at the OCT

One Dimensional Backstripping Results from IODP Expedition 318, Site U1356: Tectonic Implications for the Wilkes Land Margin of Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayden, T. G.; Kominz, M. A.; González, J. J.; Escutia, C.; Brinkhuis, H.; Scientific Party of IODP Expedition 318

2011-12-01

The Wilkes Land margin of Antarctica is the conjugate margin of the Great Australian Bight, which underwent extension, thinning and rifting from ~160 Ma until breakup at ~83 Ma. Both Wilkes Land and the Great Australian Bight are considered passive margins, and were thought to be tectonically inactive since breakup at 83 Ma. We have backstripped the U1356 Core recovered from the continental rise off Wilkes Land, Antarctica by IODP Expedition 318. Backstripping input included lithological and sedimentary analysis, paleo-environmental indicators, combined paleomagnetic and biostratigraphic chronologies, and physical properties measurements. Tectonic subsidence shows a major event between 50 and 33.6 Ma, a time represented by a hiatus in the U1356 core. The magnitude of subsidence requires it to be tectonic in origin, and the timing matches with a reorganization of plate motions that represents the transition from slow spreading to fast spreading between Antarctica and Australia, which occurred at approximately 43 Ma. Coupled with a regional seismic framework, and using other Expedition 318 site analyses, the Wilkes Land margin is shown to be far more complex then the simple passive margin currently assumed. We explore several possible mechanisms for the subsidence and erosion observed; including thermal uplift due to continental insulation of the asthenosphere and it's interaction with a recently rifted margin, asthenospheric convection, transtensional or transpressional basin development and loading, and edge-driven asthenospheric convection.

Extreme Mesozoic crustal thinning in the Eastern Iberia margin: The example of the Columbrets Basin (Valencia Trough)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohn, G.; Etheve, N.; Frizon de Lamotte, D.; Roca, E.; Tugend, J.; Gómez-Romeu, J.

2017-12-01

Eastern Iberia preserves a complex succession of Mesozoic rifts partly or completely inverted during the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic in relation with Africa-Eurasia convergence. Notably, the Valencia Trough, classically viewed as part of the Cenozoic West Mediterranean basins, preserves in its southwestern part a thick Mesozoic succession (locally »10km thick) over a highly thinned continental basement (locally only »3,5km thick). This sub-basin referred to as the Columbrets Basin, represents a Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous hyper-extended rift basin weakly overprinted by subsequent events. Its initial configuration is well preserved allowing us to unravel its 3D architecture and tectono-stratigraphic evolution in the frame of the Mesozoic evolution of eastern Iberia. The Columbrets Basin benefits from an extensive dataset combining high resolution reflection seismic profiles, drill holes, refraction seismic data and Expanding Spread Profiles. Its Mesozoic architecture is controlled by interactions between extensional deformation and halokinesis involving the Upper Triassic salt. The thick uppermost Triassic to Cretaceous succession describes a general synclinal shape, progressively stretched and dismembered towards the basin borders. The SE-border of the basin is characterized by a large extensional detachment fault acting at crustal scale and interacting locally with the Upper Triassic décollement. This extensional structure accommodates the exhumation of the continental basement and part of the crustal thinning. Eventually our results highlight the complex interaction between extreme crustal thinning and occurrence of a pre-rift salt level for the deformation style and tectono-stratigraphic evolution of hyper-extended rift basins.

Submarine canyon and fan systems of the California Continental Borderland

USGS Publications Warehouse

Normark, W.R.; Piper, D.J.W.; Romans, B.W.; Covault, J.A.; Dartnell, P.; Sliter, R.W.

2009-01-01

Late Quaternary turbidite and related gravity-flow deposits have accumulated in basins of the California Borderland under a variety of conditions of sediment supply and sea-level stand. The northern basins (Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, and San Pedro) are closed and thus trap virtually all sediment supplied through submarine canyons and smaller gulley systems along the basin margins. The southern basins (Gulf of Santa Catalina and San Diego Trough) are open, and, under some conditions, turbidity currents flow from one basin to another. Seismic-reflection profiles at a variety of resolutions are used to determine the distribution of late Quaternary turbidites. Patterns of turbidite-dominated deposition during lowstand conditions of oxygen isotope stages 2 and 6 are similar within each of the basins. Chronology is provided by radiocarbon dating of sediment from two Ocean Drilling Program sites, the Mohole test-drill site, and large numbers of piston cores. High-resolution, seismic-stratigraphic frameworks developed for Santa Monica Basin and the open southern basins show rapid lateral shifts in sediment accumulation on scales that range from individual lobe elements to entire fan complexes. More than half of the submarine fans in the Borderland remain active at any given position of relative sea level. Where the continental shelf is narrow, canyons are able to cut headward during sea-level transgression and maintain sediment supply to the basins from rivers and longshore currents during highstands. Rivers with high bedload discharge transfer sediment to submarine fans during both highstand and lowstand conditions. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Quantitative analysis of the tectonic subsidence in the Potiguar Basin (NE Brazil)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopes, Juliana A. G.; de Castro, David L.; Bertotti, Giovanni

2018-06-01

The Potiguar Basin, located in the Brazilian Equatorial Margin, evolved from a complex rifting process implemented during the Atlantic Ocean opening in the Jurassic/Cretaceous. Different driving mechanisms were responsible for the onset of an aborted onshore rift and an offshore rift that initiated crustal rupture and the formation of a continental transform margin. Therefore, we applied the backstripping method to quantify the tectonic subsidence during the rift and post-rift phases of Potiguar Basin formation and to analyze the spatial variation of subsidence during the two successive and distinct tectonic events responsible for the basin evolution. The parameters required to apply this methodology were extracted from 2D seismic lines and exploratory well data. The tectonic subsidence curves present periods with moderate subsidence rates (up to 300 m/My), which correspond to the evolution of the onshore Potiguar Rift (∼141 to 128 Ma). From 128-118 Ma, the tectonic subsidence curves show no subsidence in the onshore Potiguar Basin, whereas subsidence occurred at high rates (over 300 m/My) in the offshore rift. The post-rift phase began ca. 118 Ma (Aptian), when the tectonic subsidence drastically slowed to less than 35 m/My, probably related to thermal relaxation. The tectonic subsidence rates in the various sectors of the Potiguar Rift, during the different rift phases, indicate that more intense faulting occurred in the southern portion of the onshore rift, along the main border faults, and in the southeastern portion of the offshore rift. During the post-rift phase, the tectonic subsidence rates increased from the onshore portion towards the offshore portion until the continental slope. The highest rates of post-rift subsidence (up to 35 m/My) are concentrated in the central region of the offshore portion and may be related to lithospheric processes related to the continental crust rupture and oceanic seafloor spreading. The variation in subsidence rates and the pattern of tectonic subsidence curves allowed us to interpret the tectonic signature recorded by the sedimentary sequences of the Potiguar Basin during its evolution. In the onshore rift area, the tectonic subsidence curves presented subsidence rates up to 300 m/My during a long-term rift phase (13 Ma), which confirmed that this portion had an extensional tectonic regime. In the offshore rift, the curves presented high subsidence rates of over 300 m/My in a shorter period (5-10 My), typical of basins formed in a transtensional tectonic regime.

Initiation of continental accretion in the Betic-Rif domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maxime, Daudet; Frederic, Mouthereau; Stéphanie, Brichau; Ana, Crespo-Blanc; Arnaud, Vacherat

2017-04-01

The Betic - Rif cordillera in southern Spain and northern Morocco, respectively, form one of the tightest orogenic arc on Earth. The formation of this arcuate orogenic belt resulted from the westward migration of the Alboran crustal domain, constituted by the internal zone of the orogeny and the basement of the Alboran back-arc basin, that collided with the rifted margins of Iberia and Africa at least since the early Miocene. This collision is intimately linked to the post-35-30Ma regional slab roll-back and back-arc extension in the western Mediterranean region. The geodynamics of the Betic-Rif domain, which is of great importance for the paleogeographic reconstructions of the Tethys-Altantic and the Mediterranean sea, is still largely debated. Answers will come from a more detailed structural analyses, including refinement of the time-temperature paths and kinematics of the main structural units, which is one of the main objectives of the OROGEN research project, co-financed by BRGM, TOTAL & CNRS. In this study, we focus on the well-developed flysch-type sediments now accreted in the Betics-Rif but initially deposited in a basin, north of the african margin and on the iberian margin from the Early Cretaceous to the Early Miocene. Using low-temperature thermochronology (fission-track and (U-Th)/He analyses) combined with zircon U-Pb geochronology on the flyschs deposited on the most distal part of the margin, we aim to constrain the thermal history of both the source rocks and accreted thrust sheets at the earliest stages of continental accretion. Sample have been collected in flyschs series ranging from Mesozoic, Paleogene to Neogene ages. Additional samples have been collected in the Rif where Cretaceous series are more developed. Combined with a detailed structural analysis, LT thermochronological constraints will refine the kinematics of thrust units when continental accretion started before the final thrust emplacement occurred in the Early Miocene. Considering a selection of regional geological cross-sections from which a minimum amount of shortening will be derived, our results will be integrated in a tectonic reconstruction of the region.

Recent Sedimentary Processes Along the Western Continental Margin of the South Korea Plateau, East Sea of Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cukur, D.; Um, I. K.; Bahk, J. J.; Chun, J. H.; Lee, G. S.; Soo, K. G.; Horozal, S.; Kim, S. P.

2017-12-01

The continental margins of the marginal seas is largely shaped by a complex interplay of sediment transport processes directed both downslope and along-slope. Factors influence the sediment transport from shelf to the deep basin include: (i) seabed morphology, (ii) climate, (iii) sea level changes, (iv) slope stability, (v) oceanographic regime, and (vi) sediment sources. In order to understand the recent sedimentary processes along the western margin of the South Korea Plateau in the East Sea, we collected multiple geophysical datasets including the subbottom profiler and multibeam echosounder as well as geological sampling. Twelve echo types have been defined and interpreted as deposits formed by shallow marine, hemipelagic sedimentation, bottom currents, combined- (mass-movement/hemipelagic and hemipelagic/turbidites) and mass-movement-processes. Hemipelagic sedimentation, which is reflected as undisturbed layered sediments, appears to have been the primary sedimentary process throughout the study area. Two major slope-parallel channels appear to have acted as major conduits for turbidity currents from shallower shelf into the deep basins. Bottom current deposits, which is expressed as undulating seafloor morphology, are prevalent in the southern mid-slope at water depths between 250 to 450 m. Mass-transport deposits, consisting of chaotic seismic facies, occur in the upper and lower parts of the continental slope. Piston cores confirm the presence of MTDs that are characterized by mud clasts of variable size and shape. Multibeam bathymetry data show that these MTDs chiefly initiate on lower-slopes (400-600 m) where the gradient is up to 3°. In addition, subbottom profiles suggest the presence of numerous faults in close vicinity of headwall scarps; some are extending to the seafloor suggesting their recent activity. Earthquakes associated with tectonic activity are considered as the main triggering mechanism for these MTDs. Overall, the acoustic facies distribution shows that the sedimentary processes change downslope and differ within each physiographic province. In particular, the role of geological inheritance (i.e., structural folds and faults) on the geomorphology and sediment facies on the lower slopes appears to be quite important.

Structure and evolution of the northern Oman margin: gravity and seismic constraints over the Zagros-Makran-Oman collision zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravaut, P.; Bayer, R.; Hassani, R.; Rousset, D.; Yahya'ey, A. Al

1997-09-01

The obduction process in Oman during Late Cretaceous time, and continental-to-oceanic subduction along the Zagros-Makran region during the Tertiary are consequences of the Arabian-Eurasian collision, resulting in construction of complex structures composed of the Oman ophiolite belt, the Zagros continental mountain belt and the Makran subduction zone with its associated accretionary wedge. In this paper, we jointly interpret Bouguer anomaly and available petroleum seismic profiles in terms of crustal structures. We show that the gravity anomaly in northern Oman is characterized by a high-amplitude negative-positive couple. The negative anomaly is coincident with Late Cretaceous (Fiqa) and Tertiary (Pabdeh) foreland basins and with the Zagros-Oman mountain belts, whereas the positive anomaly is correlated to the ophiolite massifs. The Bouguer anomaly map indicates the presence of a post-Late Cretaceous sedimentary basin, the Sohar basin, centred north of the Batinah plain. We interpret the negative/positive couple in terms of loading of the elastic Arabian lithosphere. We estimate the different Cretaceous-to-Recent loads, including topography, ophiolite nappes, sedimentary fill and the accretionary prism of the Makran trench. A new method, using Mindlin's elastic plate theory, is proposed to model the 2D deflection of the heterogeneous elastic Arabian plate, taking into account boundary conditions at the ends of the subducted plate. We show that remnant ophiolites are isolated from Tethyan oceanic lithosphere in the Gulf of Oman by a continental basement ridge, a NW prolongation of the Saih-Hatat window. Loading the northward-limited ophiolite blocks explains the deflection of the Fiqa foredeep basin. West of the Musandam Peninsula, the Tertiary Pabdeh foredeep is probably related to the emplacement of a 8-km-thick tectonic prism located on the Musandam Peninsula and in the Strait of Hormuz. Final 2D density models along profiles through the Oman mountain belt and the Gulf of Oman are discussed in the framework of Late Cretaceous obduction of the Tethys and synchronous subduction and exhumation of the Oman margin.

Paleomagnetic Constraints on the Tectonic History of the Mesozoic Ophiolite and Arc Terranes of Western Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boschman, L.; Van Hinsbergen, D. J. J.; Langereis, C. G.; Molina-Garza, R. S.; Kimbrough, D. L.

2017-12-01

The North American Cordillera has been shaped by a long history of accretion of arcs and other buoyant crustal fragments to the western margin of the North American Plate since the Early Mesozoic. Accretion of these terranes resulted from a complex tectonic history interpreted to include episodes of both intra-oceanic subduction within the Panthalassa/Pacific Ocean, as well as continental margin subduction along the western margin of North America. Western Mexico, at the southern end of the Cordillera, contains a Late Cretaceous-present day long-lived continental margin arc, as well as Mesozoic arc and SSZ ophiolite assemblages of which the origin is under debate. Interpretations of the origin of these subduction-related rock assemblages vary from far-travelled exotic intra-oceanic island arc character to autochthonous or parautochthonous extended continental margin origin. We present new paleomagnetic data from four localities: (1) the Norian SSZ Vizcaíno peninsula Ophiolite; (2) its Lower Jurassic sedimentary cover; and (3) Barremian and (4) Aptian sediments derived from the Guerrero arc. The data show that the Mexican ophiolite and arc terranes have a paleolatitudinal plate motion history that is equal to that of the North American continent. This suggests that these rock assemblages were part of the overriding plate and were perhaps only separated from the North American continent by temporal fore- or back-arc spreading. These spreading phases resulted in the temporal existence of tectonic plates between the North American and Farallon Plates, and upon closure of the basins, in the growth of the North American continent without addition of any far-travelled exotic terranes.

Chapter D: With or Without Salt-a Comparison of Marine and Continental-Lacustrine Diatomite Deposits

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moyle, Phillip R.; Dolley, Thomas P.

2003-01-01

Diatoms in sedimentary deposits of marine and continental, especially lacustrine, origin have similar nutrient (for example, phosphate, nitrate, and silica) and light requirements; however, their geologic ranges and physiographic environments vary. Marine diatoms range in age from Early Cretaceous to Holocene, and continental diatoms range in age from Eocene to Holocene; however, most commercial diatomites, both marine and lacustrine, were deposited during the Miocene. Marine deposits of commercial value generally accumulated along continental margins with submerged coastal basins and shelves where wind-driven boundary currents provided the nutrient-rich upwelling conditions capable of supporting a productive diatom habitat. Commercial freshwater diatomite deposits occur in volcanic terrains associated with events that formed sediment-starved drainage basins, such as the Basin and Range Province, particularly in Nevada. Marine habitats generally are characterized by stable conditions of temperature, salinity, pH, nutrients, and water currents, in contrast to lacustrine habitats, which are characterized by wide variations in these conditions. Marine deposits generally are of higher quality and contain larger resources, owing to their greater areal extent and thickness, whereas most of the world's known diatomites are of lacustrine origin. Both types of deposit are commonly mined by open-pit methods and subjected to processing designed to remove organic matter, CO2, pore water, and inorganic contaminants in order to produce purified products. The highest quality diatomites, predominantly from marine sources, are used in filtration, although both types of deposit produce filter grades, and additional end uses include fillers, additives, absorbents, and abrasives.

Sediment drifts and contourites on the continental margin off northwest Britain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoker, M. S.; Akhurst, M. C.; Howe, J. A.; Stow, D. A. V.

1998-01-01

Seismic reflection profiles and short cores from the continental margin off northwest Britain have revealed a variety of sediment-drift styles and contourite deposits preserved in the northeast Rockall Trough and Faeroe-Shetland Channel. The sediment drifts include: (1) distinctly mounded elongate drifts, both single- and multi-crested; (2) broad sheeted drift forms, varying from gently domed to flat-lying; and (3) isolated patch drifts, including moat-related drifts. Fields of sediment waves are locally developed in association with the elongate and gently domed, broad sheeted drifts. The contrasting styles of the sediment drifts most probably reflect the interaction between a variable bottom-current regime and the complex bathymetry of the continental margin. The bulk of the mounded/gently domed drifts occur in the northeast Rockall Trough, whereas the flat-lying, sheet-form deposits occur in the Faeroe-Shetland Channel, a much narrower basin which appears to have been an area more of sediment export than drift accumulation. Patch drifts are present in both basins. In the northeast Rockall Trough, the along-strike variation from single- to multi-crested elongate drifts may be a response to bottom-current changes influenced by developing drift topography. Muddy, silty muddy and sandy contourites have been recovered in sediment cores from the uppermost parts of the drift sequences. On the basis of their glaciomarine origin, these mid- to high-latitude contourites can be referred to, collectively, as glacigenic contourites. Both partial and complete contourite sequences are preserved; the former consist largely of sandy (mid-only) and top-only contourites. Sandy contourites, by their coarse-grained nature and their formation under strongest bottom-current flows, are the most likely to be preserved in the rock record. However, the very large scale of sediment drifts should be borne in mind with regard to the recognition of fossil contourites in ancient successions.

Origin and late quaternary tectonism of a western Canadian continental shelf trough

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moslow, Thomas F.; Luternauer, John L.; Rohr, Kristin

1991-08-01

Analyses of high resolution and multi-channel seismic profiles from the central continental shelf of western Canada ascribe a late Quaternary glacial origin to large-scale troughs. Along the margins of Moresby Trough, one of three large-scale cross-shelf bathymetric depressions in Queen Charlotte Sound, seismic profiles within Quaternary sediments show a divergence of reflectors, thickening and folding of seismic units, and concavity of reflectors suggestive of drag. Compactional subsidence, growth faulting, and compaction faulting are also observed. Fault traces commonly terminate below the seabed. Deformation of Quaternary sediments due to faulting is plastic in nature and maximum offset of reflectors is 2.5 m. The observed Quaternary deformation appears to be a product of rapid deposition, loading and subsidence of late Quaternary sediment, which is unrelated to seismic activity. In addition, Quaternary faulting was probably activated by post-glacial loading and isostatic rebound of consolidated Tertiary strata along the margins of continental shelf troughs. The presence of mass movement (slump or debris flow) deposits overlying lithified Tertiary strata along the flanks of Moresby Trough provides the only evidence of seismic activity in the study area. The lack of a mud drape over these deposits implies a late Holocene age for the timing of their emplacement. The Quaternary troughs are incised into Tertiary-aged sedimentary fill of the Queen Charlotte basin. Previous workers had interpreted seafloor escarpments paralleling the trough margins to indicate that the location of Moresby Trough was controlled by renewed or continued activity on Tertiary-aged faults. A multi-channel seismic line across Moresby Trough shows that such an escarpment on the seafloor does not correlate to faults either in the Tertiary basin fill or the underlying basement. Tertiary reflectors are continuous underneath Moresby Trough; the seafloor escarpment is an erosional feature and was not created by reactivation of Tertiary structures. Trough erosion and subsequent fill (up to 175 m thick) are entirely of Quaternary age.

Tethyan evolution of central Asia

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

Sengor, A.M.C.

1990-05-01

The study area extends from the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea in the west to the Helan Shan and Longmen Shan in the east and from about 40{degree}N parallel in the north to the neo-Tethyan sutures in the south, thus including what is called Middle Asia in the Soviet literature. In the region thus delineated lies the boundary between the largely late Paleozoic core of Asia (Altaids) and the Tethyside superorogenic complex. This boundary passes through continental objects that collided with nuclear Asia in the late Paleozoic to terminate its Altaid evolution. Subduction to the south of some ofmore » these had commenced before they collided (e.g., Tarim in the Kuen-Lun), in others later (e.g., South Ghissar area west of Pamirs). This subduction 1ed, in the late Paleozoic, to the opening of marginal basins, at least one of which may be partly extant (Tarim). Giant subduction accretion complexes of Paleozoic to earliest Triassic age dominate farther south in the basement of Turan (mainly in Turkmenian SSR) and in the Kuen-Lun/Nan Shan ranges. No discrete continental collisions or any continental basement in these regions could be unequivocally recognized contrary to most current interpretations. Magmatic arcs that developed along the southern margin of Asia in the late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic grew atop these subduction-accretion complexes and record a gradual southerly migration of magmatism through time. Subduction also dominated the northern margin of Gondwanaland between Iran and China in late Paleozoic time, although the record in Afghanistan and northwest Tibet is scrappy. It led to back-arc basin formation, which in Iran and Oman became neo-Tethys and, in at least parts of central Asia, the Waser-Mushan-Pshart/Banggong Co-Nu Jiang ocean. This ocean was probably connected with the Omani part of the neo-Tethys via the Sistan region.« less

Authigenic carbonate formation at hydrocarbon seeps in continental margin sediments: A comparative study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Naehr, T.H.; Eichhubl, P.; Orphan, V.J.; Hovland, M.; Paull, C.K.; Ussler, W.; Lorenson, T.D.; Greene, H. Gary

2007-01-01

Authigenic carbonates from five continental margin locations, the Eel River Basin, Monterey Bay, Santa Barbara Basin, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the North Sea, exhibit a wide range of mineralogical and stable isotopic compositions. These precipitates include aragonite, low- and high-Mg calcite, and dolomite. The carbon isotopic composition of carbonates varies widely, ranging from -60??? to +26???, indicating complex carbon sources that include 13C-depleted microbial and thermogenic methane and residual, 13C-enriched, bicarbonate. A similarly large variability of ??18O values (-5.5??? to +8.9???) demonstrates the geochemical complexity of these sites, with some samples pointing toward an 18O-enriched oxygen source possibly related to advection of 18O-enriched formation water or to the decomposition of gas hydrate. Samples depleted in 18O are consistent with formation deeper in the sediment or mixing of pore fluids with meteoric water during carbonate precipitation. A wide range of isotopic and mineralogical variation in authigenic carbonate composition within individual study areas but common trends across multiple geographic areas suggest that these parameters alone are not indicative for certain tectonic or geochemical settings. Rather, the observed variations probably reflect local controls on the flux of carbon and other reduced ions, such as faults, fluid conduits, the presence or absence of gas hydrate in the sediment, and the temporal evolution of the local carbon reservoir. Areas with seafloor carbonates that indicate formation at greater depth below the sediment-water interface must have undergone uplift and erosion in the past or are still being uplifted. Consequently, the occurrence of carbonate slabs on the seafloor in areas of active hydrocarbon seepage is commonly an indicator of exhumation following carbonate precipitation in the shallow subsurface. Therefore, careful petrographic and geochemical analyses are critical components necessary for the correct interpretation of processes related to hydrocarbon seepage in continental margin environments and elsewhere. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Indosinian orogeny: A perspective from sedimentary archives of north Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossignol, Camille; Bourquin, Sylvie; Hallot, Erwan; Poujol, Marc; Dabard, Marie-Pierre; Martini, Rossana; Villeneuve, Michel; Cornée, Jean-Jacques; Brayard, Arnaud; Roger, Françoise

2018-06-01

The Triassic stratigraphic framework for the Song Da and the Sam Nua basins, north Vietnam, suffers important discrepancies regarding both the depositional environments and ages of the main formations they contain. Using sedimentological analyses and dating (foraminifer biostratigraphy and U-Pb dating on detrital zircon), we provide an improved stratigraphic framework for both basins. A striking feature in the Song Da Basin, located on the southern margin of the South China Block, is the diachronous deposition, over a basal unconformity, of terrestrial and marine deposits. The sedimentary succession of the Song Da Basin points to a foreland setting during the late Early to the Middle Triassic, which contrasts with the commonly interpreted rift setting. On the northern margin of the Indochina Block, the Sam Nua basin recorded the activity of a proximal magmatic arc during the late Permian up to the Anisian. This arc resulted from the subduction of a southward dipping oceanic slab that separated the South China block from the Indochina block. During the Middle to the Late Triassic, the Song Da and Sam Nua basins underwent erosion that led to the formation of a major unconformity, resulting from the erosion of the Middle Triassic Indosinian mountain belt, built after an ongoing continental collision between the South China and the Indochina blocks. Later, during the Late Triassic, as syn- to post-orogenic foreland basins in a terrestrial setting, the Song Da and Sam Nua basins experienced the deposition of very coarse detrital material representing products of the mountain belt erosion.

High-resolution and Deep Crustal Imaging Across The North Sicily Continental Margin (southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agate, M.; Bertotti, G.; Catalano, R.; Pepe, F.; Sulli, A.

Three multichannel seismic reflection profiles across the North Sicily continental mar- gin have been reprocessed and interpreted. Data consist of an unpublished high pene- tration seismic profile (deep crust Italian CROP Project) and a high-resolution seismic line. These lines run in the NNE-SSW direction, from the Sicilian continental shelf to the Tyrrhenian abyssal plain (Marsili area), and are tied by a third, high penetration seismic line MS104 crossing the Sisifo High. The North Sicily continental margin represents the inner sector of the Sicilian-Maghrebian chain that is collapsed as con- sequence of extensional tectonics. The chain is formed by a tectonic wedge (12-15 km thick. It includes basinal Meso-Cenozoic carbonate units overthrusting carbonate platform rock units (Catalano et al., 2000). Presently, main culmination (e.g. Monte Solunto) and a number of tectonic depressions (e.g. Cefalù basin), filled by >1000 m thick Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary wedge, are observed along the investigated tran- sect. Seismic attributes and reflector pattern depicts a complex crustal structure. Be- tween the coast and the M. Solunto high, a transparent to diffractive band (assigned to the upper crust) is recognised above low frequency reflective layers (occurring be- tween 9 and 11 s/TWT) that dips towards the North. Their bottom can be correlated to the seismological (African?) Moho discontinuity which is (26 km deep in the Sicilian shelf (Scarascia et al., 1994). Beneath the Monte Solunto ridge, strongly deformed re- flectors occurring between 8 to 9.5 s/TWT (European lower crust?) overly the African (?) lower crust. The resulting geometry suggests underplating of the African crust respect to the European crust (?). The already deformed crustal edifice is dissected by a number of N-dipping normal faults that open extensional basins and are associ- ated with crustal thinning. The Plio-Pleistocene fill of the Cefalù basin can be subdi- vided into three subunits by well-developed unconformities. The stratal pattern of the lower subunit (Early Pliocene?) points out thrust-top basin. The intermediate subunit (Middle-Late Pliocene?) shows a wide sedimentary lateral accretion with syntectonic growth geometries. Upper Pliocene layers are overlain by well-stratified sediments of supposedly Pleistocene to Recent age, which drape and smooth underlying features (Pepe et al., 2000). Crustal thinning is (2 in the Cefalù basin and reach (3.54 north of Sisifo volcano, where crustal separation occurs and oceanic crust emplaced (Marsili 1 basin). In this area the Moho is located at (8 s/TWT, corresponding to 10-km depth. References Catalano R., Franchino A., Merlini S. e Sulli A., 2000. Mem. Soc. Geol. It., 55, 5-16. Pepe F., Bertotti G., Cella F. Marsella E., 2000. Tectonics, 19, 241-257. Scarascia S., Lozej A. Cassinis R., 1994. Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 36 (141-144), 5-19. 2

Initiation of extension in South China continental margin during the active-passive margin transition: kinematic and thermochronological constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

ZUO, Xuran; CHAN, Lung

2015-04-01

The southern South China Block is characterized by a widespread magmatic belt, prominent NE-striking fault zones and numerous rifted basins filled by Cretaceous-Eocene sediments. The geology denotes a transition from an active to a passive margin, which led to rapid modifications of crustal stress configuration and reactivation of older faults in this area. In this study, we used zircon fission-track dating (ZFT) and numerical modeling to examine the timing and kinematics of the active-passive margin transition. Our ZFT results on granitic plutons in the SW Cathaysia Block show two episodes of exhumation of the granitic plutons. The first episode, occurring during 170 Ma - 120 Ma, affected local parts of the Nanling Range. The second episode, a more regional exhumation event, occurred during 115 Ma - 70 Ma. Numerical geodynamic modeling was conducted to simulate the subduction between the paleo-Pacific plate and the South China Block. The modeling results could explain the observation based on ZFT data that exhumation of the granite-dominant Nanling Range occurred at an earlier time than the gneiss-dominant Yunkai Terrane. In addition to the difference in geology between Yunkai and Nanling, the heating from Jurassic-Early Cretaceous magmatism in the Nanling Range may have softened the upper crust, causing the area to exhume more readily. Numerical modeling results also indicate that (1) high slab dip angle, high geothermal gradient of lithosphere and low convergence velocity favor the subduction process and the reversal of crustal stress state from compression to extension in the upper plate; (2) the late Mesozoic magmatism in South China was probably caused by a slab roll-back; and (3) crustal extension could have occurred prior to the cessation of plate subduction. The inversion of stress regime in the continental crust from compression to crustal extension has shed light on the geological condition producing the red bed basins during Late Cretaceous-early Paleogene in South China. It appears that the red bed basins could have formed during the late stage of the subduction process, accounting for the observations why concurrent volcanic rocks could be found in some sedimentary basin formation. We propose that the extensional events started as early as the Late Cretaceous, probably before the cessation of subduction process. (Funding from Total Company and matching support from UGC are gratefully acknowledged).

Forearc Basin Structure in the Andaman-Nicobar Segment of the Sumatra-Andaman Subduction Zone: Insight from High-Resolution Seismic Reflection Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moeremans, R. E.; Singh, S. C.

2014-12-01

The Andaman-Nicobar subduction is the northernmost segment of the Sumatra-Andaman subduction zone and marks the western boundary of the Andaman Sea, which is a complex backarc extensional basin. We present the interpretation of a new set of deep seismic reflection data acquired across the Andaman-Nicobar forearc basin, from 8°N to 11°N, to understand the structure and evolution of the forearc basin, focusing on how the obliquity of convergence affects deformation in the forearc, as well as on the Diligent (DF) and Eastern Margin Faults (EMF). Constraining the evolution of this basin, which is strongly related to the collision of India and Eurasia, can help shed light onto present-day deformation processes along this segment of the subduction zone, where convergence is highly oblique and little data is available. We find that he DF is a backthrust and corresponds to the Mentawai (MFZ) and West Andaman Fault (WAF) systems further south, offshore Sumatra. The DF is expressed as a series of mostly landward verging folds and faults, deforming the early to late Miocene sediments. The DF seems to root from the boundary between the accretionary complex and the continental backstop, where it meets the EMF. The EMF marks the western boundary of the forearc basin; it is associated with subsidence and is expressed as a deep piggyback basin, associated with recent Pliocene to Pleistocene subsidence at the western edge of the forearc basin. The eastern edge of the forearc basin is marked by the Invisible Bank (IB), which is thought to be tilted and uplifted continental crustal block. Subsidence along the EMF and uplift and tilting of the IB seem to be related to different opening phases in the Andaman Sea. The sliver Andaman-Nicobar Fault (ANF), which is the active northward extension of the Great Sumatra sliver Fault (GSF), lies to the east of the IB, and marks the boundary between continental crust underlying the forearc basin and crust accreted at the Andaman Sea Spreading Center.

Evolution of Northeast Atlantic Magmatic Continental Margins from an Ethiopian-Afar Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

England, R. W.; Cornwell, D. G.; Ramsden, A. M.

2014-12-01

One of the major problems interpreting the evolution of magmatic continental margins is that the structure which should record the pre-magmatic evolution of the rift and which potentially influences the character of the rifting process is partially or completely obscured by thick basalt lava flows and sills. A limited number of deep reflection seismic profiles acquired with tuned seismic sources have penetrated the basalts and provide an image of the pre-magmatic structure, otherwise the principle data are lower resolution wide-angle/refraction profiles and potential field models which have greater uncertainties associated with them. In order to sidestep the imaging constraints we have examined the Ethiopian - Afar rift system to try to understand the rifting process. The Main Ethiopian rift contains an embryonic magmatic passive margin dominated by faulting at the margins of the rift and en-echelon magmatic zones at the centre. Further north toward Afar the rift becomes in-filled with extensive lava flows fed from fissure systems in the widening rift zone. This rift system provides, along its length, a series of 'snapshots' into the possible tectonic evolution of a magmatic continental margin. Deep seismic profiles crossing the NE Atlantic margins reveal ocean dipping reflector sequences (ODRS) overlying extended crust and lower crustal sill complexes of intruded igneous rock, which extend back beneath the continental margin. The ODRS frequently occur in fault bounded rift structures along the margins. We suggest, by analogy to the observations that can be made in the Ethiopia-Afar rift that these fault bounded basins largely form at the embryonic rift stage and are then partially or completely filled with lavas fed from fissures which are now observed as the ODRS. Also in the seismic profiles we identify volcanic constructs on the ODRS which we interpret as the equivalent of the present day fissure eruptions seen in Afar. The ocean ward dip on the ODRS is predominantly the result of post-eruption differential subsidence, as opposed to syn-eruption extension. The timing of intrusion of the lower crustal sill complexes remains unclear but they are most likely to have been emplaced as the supply of magma increased, which implies they are a late stage addition.

Latest Miocene transtensional rifting of northeast Isla Tiburón, eastern margin of the Gulf of California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, Scott E. K.; Oskin, Michael E.; Iriondo, Alexander

2017-11-01

Details about the timing and kinematics of rifting are crucial to understand the conditions that led to strain localization, continental rupture, and formation of the Gulf of California ocean basin. We integrate detailed geologic and structural mapping, basin analysis, and geochronology to characterize transtensional rifting on northeastern Isla Tiburón, a proximal onshore exposure of the rifted North America margin, adjacent to the axis of the Gulf of California. Slip on the Kunkaak normal fault tilted its hanging wall down-to-the-east 70° and formed the non-marine Tecomate basin, deposited across a 20° angular unconformity. From 7.1-6.4 Ma, the hanging wall tilted at 35 ± 5°/Myr, while non-marine sandstone and conglomerate accumulated at 1.4 ± 0.2 mm/yr. At least 1.8 ± 0.1 km of sediments and pyroclastic deposits accumulated in the Tecomate basin concurrent with clockwise vertical-axis block rotation and 2.8 km of total dip-slip motion on the Kunkaak fault. Linear extrapolation of tilting and sedimentation rates suggests that faulting and basin deposition initiated 7.6-7.4 Ma, but an older history involving initially slower rates is permissible. The Kunkaak fault and Tecomate basin are truncated by NW-striking, dextral-oblique structures, including the Yawassag fault, which accrued > 8 km of post-6.4 Ma dextral displacement. The Coastal Sonora fault zone on mainland Sonora, which accrued several tens of kilometers of late Miocene dextral offset, continues to the northwest, across northeastern Isla Tiburón and offshore into the Gulf of California. The establishment of rapid, latest Miocene transtension in the Coastal Sonora fault zone was synchronous with the 8-7 Ma onset of transform faulting and basin formation along the nascent Pacific-North America plate boundary throughout northwestern Mexico and southern California. Plate boundary strain localized into this Gulf of California shear zone, a narrow transtensional belt that subsequently hosted the marine incursion and continental rupture in the Gulf of California.

Potential tsunamigenic hazard associated to submarine mass movement along the Ionian continental margin (Mediterranean Sea).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceramicola, S.; Tinti, S.; Praeg, D.; Zaniboni, F.; Planinsek, P.

2012-04-01

Submarine mass movements are natural geomorphic processes that transport marine sediment down continental slopes into deep-marine environments. Type of mass wasting include creep, slides, slump, debris flows, each with its own features and taking place over timescale from seconds to years. Submarine landslides can be triggered by a number of different causes, either internal (such as changes in physical chemical sediment properties) or external (e.g. earthquakes, volcanic activity, salt movements, sea level changes etc.). Landslides may mobilize sediments in such a way as to form an impulsive vertical displacement of a body of water, originating a wave or series of waves with long wavelengths and long periods called tsunamis ('harbor waves'). Over 600 km of continental margin has been investigated by OGS in the Ionian sea using geophysical data - morpho-bathymetry (Reson 8111, 8150) and sub-bottom profiles (7-10 KHz) - collected aboard the research vessel OGS Explora in the framework of the MAGIC Project (Marine Geohazard along the Italian Coasts), funded by the Italian Civil Protection. The objective of this project is the definition of elements that may constitute geological risk for coastal areas. Geophysical data allowed the recognition of four main types of mass wasting phenomena along the slopes of the ICM: 1) mass transport complexes (MTCs) within intra-slope basins. Seabed imagery show the slopes of all the seabed ridges to be marked by headwall scarps recording widespread failure, multiple debris flows in several basins indicate one or more past episodes of failure that may be linked to activity on the faults bounding the structural highs. 2) submarine landslide - a multiple failure event have been identified (Assi landslide) at about 6 km away from the coastline nearby Riace Marina. Headwall scars up to 50 m high across water depths of 700 to 1400 m, while sub-bottom profiles indicate stacked slide deposits at and near seabed. 4) canyon headwalls - in the upper parts of all canyons, numerous headwall scarps are consistent with retrogressive activity of the canyons. 3) possible gravity sliding -elongate seabed features oriented subparallel to contours are observed, associated with diapiric structures suggest that the elongate seabed features may record a form of downslope sediment sliding above salt. The aim of this work is to reconstruct the dynamics of different type of submarine mass movements on the tectonically active Ionian Calabrian margin (ICM), calculate the volume of sediment mobilized and assess the potential tsunamigenic hazard associated to different type of mass movements. Assessments of tsunami arrival time in adjacent coastal areas, period and wavelength of the tsunami and implication for coastal geohazards have been formulated for the Calabrian margin (small scale) and extrapolated to adjacent margins of the Mediterranean basin (large scale).

Evolution and palaeoenvironment of the Bauru Basin (Upper Cretaceous, Brazil)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandes, Luiz Alberto; Magalhães Ribeiro, Claudia Maria

2015-08-01

The Bauru Basin was one of the great Cretaceous desert basins of the world, evolved in arid zone called Southern Hot Arid Belt. Its paleobiological record consists mainly of dinosaurs, crocodiles and turtles. The Bauru Basin is an extensive region of the South American continent that includes parts of the southeast and south of Brazil, covering an area of 370,000 km2. It is an interior continental basin that developed as a result of subsidence of the central-southern part of the South-American Platform during the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian-Maastrichtian). This sag basin is filled by a sandy siliciclastic sequence with a preserved maximum thickness of 480 m, deposited in semiarid to desert conditions. Its basement consists of volcanic rocks (mainly basalts) of the Lower Cretaceous (Hauterivian) Serra Geral basalt flows, of the Paraná-Etendeka Continental Flood Basalt Province. The sag basin was filled by an essentially siliciclastic psammitic sequence. In lithostratigraphic terms the sequence consists of the Caiuá and Bauru groups. The northern and northeastern edges of the basin provide a record of more proximal original deposits, such as associations of conglomeratic sand facies from alluvial fans, lakes, and intertwined distributary river systems. The progressive basin filling led to the burial of the basaltic substrate by extensive blanket sand sheets, associated with deposits of small dunes and small shallow lakes that retained mud (such as loess). Also in this intermediate context between the edges (more humid) and the interior (dry), wide sand sheet areas crossed by unconfined desert rivers (wadis) occurred. In the central axis of the elliptical basin a regional drainage system formed, flowing from northeast to southwest between the edges of the basin and the hot and dry inner periphery of the Caiuá desert (southwest). Life in the Bauru Basin flourished most in the areas with the greatest water availability, in which dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, fish, amphibians, molluscs, crustaceans, and charophyte algae lived. The fossil record mainly consists of transported bones and other skeletal fragments. In the northeastern and eastern marginal regions fossils are found in marginal alluvial fan deposits, broad plains of braided streams and ephemeral alkaline water lakes. In the basin interior the fossil record is related to deposits in sand sheets with braided streams, small dunes, and shallow lakes. In the great Caiuá inner desert a few smaller animals could survive (small reptiles and early mammals), sometimes leaving their footprints in dune foreset deposits. The aim of this article is to present and link the basin sedimentary evolution, palaeoecological features and palaeontological record.

Deep Drilling Results in the Atlantic Ocean: Continental Margins and Paleoenvironment

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-01-01

nannoplankton, a sparse to rich DITIBTO OF HORIZO C I foraminiferal fauna (simple arenaceous foramin - 5S SSftB / ifera, lagenids, epistominids, and primitive...Deep Sea Pessagno, E.A., Jr., Mesozoic Planctonic Foramin - DrillingP , 11, Washington (U.S. Govern- vera and Radiolaria, in Ewing, M., Worzel, L.J. ment...Strati- B.,er, W.H., Foramin ooze: solution at graphic Micropaleontology of Atlantic Basins depths, Science, 156, 383-385, 1967. and Borderlands

The Role of Rift Obliquity in Formation of the Gulf of California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, Scott Edmund Kelsey

The Gulf of California illustrates how highly oblique rift geometries, where transform faults are kinematically linked to large-offset normal faults in adjacent pull-apart basins, enhance the ability of continental lithosphere to rupture and, ultimately, hasten the formation of new oceanic basins. The Gulf of California rift has accommodated oblique divergence of the Pacific and North America tectonic plates in northwestern Mexico since Miocene time. Due to its infancy, the rifted margins of the Gulf of California preserve a rare onshore record of early continental break-up processes from which to investigate the role of rift obliquity in strain localization. Using new high-precision paleomagnetic vectors from tectonically stable sites in north-central Baja California, I compile a paleomagnetic transect of Miocene ignimbrites across northern Baja California and Sonora that reveals the timing and distribution of dextral shear associated with inception of this oblique rift. I integrate detailed geologic mapping, basin analysis, and geochronology of pre-rift and syn-rift volcanic units to determine the timing of fault activity on Isla Tiburon, a proximal onshore exposure of the rifted North America margin, adjacent to the axis of the Gulf of California. The onset of strike-slip faulting on Isla Tiburon, ca. 8 - 7 Ma, was synchronous with the onset of transform faulting along a significant length of the nascent plate boundary within the rift. This tectonic transition coincides with a clockwise azimuthal shift in Pacific-North America relative motion that increased rift obliquity. I constrain the earliest marine conditions on southwest Isla Tiburon to ca. 6.4 - 6.0 Ma, coincident with a regional latest Miocene marine incursion in the northern proto-Gulf of California. This event likely flooded a narrow, incipient topographic depression along a ˜650 km-long portion of the latest Miocene plate boundary and corresponds in time and space with formation of a newly-constrained ˜50-100 kilometer-wide transtensional belt of focused strike-slip faulting, basin formation, and rotating crustal blocks. This proto-Gulf of California shear zone, embedded within the wider Mexican Basin and Range extensional province and connected to the San Andreas fault in southern California, hosted subsequent localization of the plate boundary and rupture of the continental lithosphere.

Reconciling drainage and receiving basin signatures of the Godavari River system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ojoshogu Usman, Muhammed; Kirkels, Frédérique Marie Sophie Anne; Zwart, Huub Michel; Basu, Sayak; Ponton, Camilo; Blattmann, Thomas Michael; Ploetze, Michael; Haghipour, Negar; McIntyre, Cameron; Peterse, Francien; Lupker, Maarten; Giosan, Liviu; Eglinton, Timothy Ian

2018-06-01

The modern-day Godavari River transports large amounts of sediment (170 Tg per year) and terrestrial organic carbon (OCterr; 1.5 Tg per year) from peninsular India to the Bay of Bengal. The flux and nature of OCterr is considered to have varied in response to past climate and human forcing. In order to delineate the provenance and nature of organic matter (OM) exported by the fluvial system and establish links to sedimentary records accumulating on its adjacent continental margin, the stable and radiogenic isotopic composition of bulk OC, abundance and distribution of long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs), sedimentological properties (e.g. grain size, mineral surface area, etc.) of fluvial (riverbed and riverbank) sediments and soils from the Godavari basin were analysed and these characteristics were compared to those of a sediment core retrieved from the continental slope depocenter. Results show that river sediments from the upper catchment exhibit higher total organic carbon (TOC) contents than those from the lower part of the basin. The general relationship between TOC and sedimentological parameters (i.e. mineral surface area and grain size) of the sediments suggests that sediment mineralogy, largely driven by provenance, plays an important role in the stabilization of OM during transport along the river axis, and in the preservation of OM exported by the Godavari to the Bay of Bengal. The stable carbon isotopic (δ13C) characteristics of river sediments and soils indicate that the upper mainstream and its tributaries drain catchments exhibiting more 13C enriched carbon than the lower stream, resulting from the regional vegetation gradient and/or net balance between the upper (C4-dominated plants) and lower (C3-dominated plants) catchments. The radiocarbon contents of organic carbon (Δ14COC) in deep soils and eroding riverbanks suggests these are likely sources of old or pre-aged carbon to the Godavari River that increasingly dominates the late Holocene portion of the offshore sedimentary record. While changes in water flow and sediment transport resulting from recent dam construction have drastically impacted the flux, loci, and composition of OC exported from the modern Godavari basin, complicating reconciliation of modern-day river basin geochemistry with that recorded in continental margin sediments, such investigations provide important insights into climatic and anthropogenic controls on OC cycling and burial.

Evidence for a Slow Spreading Ocean Ridge in the Southern Rockall Trough From Satellite Gravity Inversion and Seismic Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chappell, A. R.; Kusznir, N. J.

2005-12-01

The southern Rockall Trough, located to the west of Ireland and the UK in the NE Atlantic, has been interpreted as both a Mesozoic intra-continental rift basin (O'Reilly 1995) and a mid Cretaceous ocean basin (e.g. Roberts et al. 1980). The continental rift hypothesis (O'Reilly 1995) requires differential stretching of the upper and lower crust and syn-tectonic cooling to mechanically explain the formation of 5-6km thick continental crust and allow serpentinisation of the upper mantle. In this model serpentinisation of the upper mantle is needed to explain low upper mantle seismic velocities. The serpentinisation has also been required to fit gravity modelling of seismic transects to the observed gravity (e.g. Shannon 1999). We use satellite gravity inversion to map Moho depth and crustal thickness (Chappell & Kusznir 2005) for the Rockall Trough area. The satellite gravity inversion is a 3D spectral method incorporating a correction for the residual lithosphere thermal gravity anomaly present in continental rifted margin lithosphere and oceanic lithosphere. The gravity inversion predicts Moho depth and geometry in agreement with wide-angle seismic estimates without invoking the extensive serpentinisation of the upper-mantle needed by the intra-continental rift hypothesis (O'Reilly 1995). Recent seismic modelling (Morewood 2005) suggests that the thin crust in the southern Rockall Trough does not have the seismic layering associated with oceanic crust formed at intermediate or fast spreading rates. Also, wide-angle seismic data shows low upper mantle seismic velocities are present and spatially associated with the thin 5-6km crust (Shannon 1999). These observations are consistent with models and observations of oceanic crust formed at slow spreading ocean ridges (Cannat 1996, Jokat 2003). Such models are based on a proportion of melt being retained in the upper mantle, producing low seismic velocities, and a reduced supply of melt to the crust, resulting in thin seismic crust with some serpentinised mantle material included. We propose that the southern Rockall Trough was formed by continental break-up and a period of slow mid Cretaceous sea floor spreading rather than as an intra- continental rift basin. This work forms part of the NERC Margins iSIMM project. iSIMM investigators are from Liverpool and Cambridge Universities, Badley Geoscience & Schlumberger Cambridge Research supported by the NERC, the DTI, Agip UK, BP, Amerada Hess Ltd, Anadarko, Conoco-Phillips, Shell, Statoil and WesternGeco. The iSIMM team comprises NJ Kusznir, RS White, AM Roberts, PAF Christie, AR Chappell, J Eccles, RJ Fletcher, D Healy, N Hurst, ZC Lunnon, CJ Parkin, AW Roberts, LK Smith, VJ Tymms & R Spitzer.

Tectonic types of marginal and inner seas; their place in the development of the crust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khain, V. E.; Levin, L. E.

1980-12-01

Inner and marginal deep seas are of considerable interest not only for their genesis but also as "micromodels" of oceans. In the latter case it must be noted that some of them essentially differ from oceans in several parameters. They have a shorter period of development, thicker sedimentary cover, less distinct linear magnetic anomalies or an absence of them, high heat-flow values and seismic activity over their whole area. Consequently, the analogy with the oceans has certain limitations as the deep structure of such seas is not homogeneous and they probably vary in genesis. Only a few marginal seas are cut off from the principal areas of the oceans by island arcs formed, most probably, along transform faults. The origin of this type is more or less reliably demonstrated for the Bering Sea. Other types of marginal seas are more numerous. Some of them (such as the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of California) are embryonic apophyses connected with the oceans. Others are atrophied (the Tasman and the Labrador seas) small oceans. The group of marginal and inner seas which lie in the inside zone of mature or young island arcs is even more numerous. Only a few basins of this group resulted from linear spreading imprinted in the system of magnetic anomalies (the Shikoku-Parese-Vela basin), the rest are supposed to have been formed in the process of diffusal or polyaxial spreading of recent time as in Afar. The majority of inner and marginal seas are younger than recent oceans. They are formed by rifting, oriented crosswise to continental margins of the Atlantic type or along the strike of margins of Andean type. More ancient basins of marginal and inner seas have been involved in Phanerozoic orogens or more rarely became parts of platforms (Ciscaspian syneclise).

Crustal-scale geological and thermal models of the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin, Arctic Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sippel, Judith; Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena; Kröger, Karsten; Lewerenz, Björn

2010-05-01

The Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin is a petroliferous province in northwest Arctic Canada and one of the best-known segments of the Arctic Ocean margin due to decades of exploration. Our study is part of the programme MOM (Methane On the Move), which aims to quantify the methane contribution from natural petroleum systems to the atmosphere over geological times. Models reflecting the potential of a sedimentary basin to release methane require well-assessed boundary conditions such as the crustal structure and large-scale temperature variation. We focus on the crustal-scale thermal field of the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin. This Basin has formed on a post-rift, continental margin which, during the Late Cretaceous and Tertiary, developed into the foreland of the North American Cordilleran foldbelt providing space for the accumulation of up to 16 km of foreland deposits. We present a 3D geological model which integrates the present topography, depth maps of Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary horizons (Kroeger et al., 2008, 2009), tops of formations derived from interpreted 2D reflection seismic lines and 284 boreholes (released by the National Energy Board of Canada), and the sequence stratigraphic framework established by previous studies (e.g. Dixon et al., 1996). To determine the position and geometry of the crust-mantle boundary, an isostatic calculation (Airýs model) is applied to the geological model. We present different crustal-scale models combining isostatic modelling, published deep reflection and refraction seismic lines (e.g. Stephenson et al., 1994; O'Leary et al., 1995), and calculations of the 3D conductive thermal field. References: Dixon, J., 1996. Geological Atlas of the Beaufort-Mackenzie Area, Geological Survey of Canada Miscellaneous Report, 59, Ottawa, 173 pp. Kroeger, K.F., Ondrak, R., di Primio, R. and Horsfield, B., 2008. A three-dimensional insight into the Mackenzie Basin (Canada): Implications for the thermal history and hydrocarbon generation potential of Tertiary deltaic sequences, AAPG Bulletin, 92(2): 225-247. Kroeger, K.F., di Primio, R. and Horsfield, B., (2009). Hydrocarbon flow modeling in complex structures (Mackenzie Basin, Canada), AAPG Bulletin, 93(9): 1-25. O'Leary, D.M., Ellis, R.M., Stephenson, R.A., Lane, L.S. and Zelt, C.A., 1995. Crustal structure of the northern Yukon and Mackenzie Delta, northwestern Canada, Journal of Geophysical Research 100(B7): 9905-9920. Stephenson, R.A., Coflin, K.C., Lane, L.S. and Dietrich, J.R., 1994. Crustal structure and tectonics of the southeastern Beaufort Sea continental margin, Tectonics, 13(2): 389-400.

Structural and Depositional Evolution of the Stevenson Basin, a Gulf of Alaska Forearc Basin: Insights from Legacy Seismic and Borehole Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, R.; Liberty, L. M.; Almeida, R. V.; Hubbard, J.

2016-12-01

We explore the structural and depositional evolution of the Stevenson Basin, Gulf of Alaska from a dense network of 2-D marine seismic profiles that span the Gulf of Alaska continental margin. The grid of 71 seismic profiles was acquired as part of a 1975 Mineral Management Services (MMS) exploration project to assess basin architecture along the Alaska continental shelf. We obtained unmigrated and stacked seismic profiles in TIFF format. We converted the data to SEGY format and migrated each profile. Within the Stevenson Basin, we identify key seismic horizons, including the regional Eocene-Miocene unconformity, that provide insights into its depositional and structural history. Using these observations combined with stacking velocities, sonic logs from wells, and refraction velocities from the Edge profile of Ye et al. (1997), we develop a local 3D velocity model that we use to depth-convert the seismic reflection profiles. By using ties to >2.5 km deep exploration wells, we note the Stevenson Basin is one of many Eocene and younger depocenters that span the forearc between Kodiak and Prince William Sound. Well logs and seismic data suggest basal strata consist of Eocene sediments than are unconformably overlain by Neogene and younger strata. Faults that breach the sea floor suggest active deformation within and at the bounds of this basin, including on new faults that do not follow any pre-existing structural trends. This assessment is consistent with slip models that place tsunamigenic faults that ruptured during the 1964 Great Alaska earthquake in the vicinity of the basin. The catalog of faults, their slip history and the depositional evolution of the Stevenson Basin, all suggest that the basin evolution may be controlled by heterogeneities along the incoming plate.

Iberia versus Europe - Effects of continental break-up and round-up on hydrocarbon habitat

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

Bourrouilh, R.; Zolnai, G.

1988-08-01

Based on the continuity of foldbelts and the positions of intermountain continental nuclei and transcontinental megashears, a close Pangea fit is proposed for the central and north Atlantic borderlands. The Variscan arch segment missing between Brittany and Galicia in the Gulf of Gascony (Biscaye) can tentatively be identified with the Flemish Cap block off Newfoundland. At the same time the northwest African-Gondwana border (central Morocco) was located some 800 km farther to the west-northwest, as compared to its present position in southwestern Europe (Iberia). During the opening of the central and northern segments of the Atlantic Ocean (Jurassic and Cretaceous)more » and during the closure of the western Mediterranean basin, i.e., the thrust of Africa toward southern Europe (Tertiary), the European continental mass underwent deformation in the transtensive and transpressive modes, which reactivated parts of its inherited structural network. The trailing south European continental margin was partially dismembered into loosely bound continental blocks, to be assembled again during the subsequent Alpine orogenic cycle. These events can be compared with processes known in the northernmost and western segments of the North American continent. Mechanisms are proposed for the formation and deformation of inter- and intraplate basins by way of moderate shifts (wrenching) and slight rotations, the direction of which changed during the Mesozoic-Tertiary according to the global stress field. The above evolution and mechanisms had multiple and decisive effects on hydrocarbon generation, habitat, and accumulation.« less

Gondwana dispersion and Asian accretion: Tectonic and palaeogeographic evolution of eastern Tethys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metcalfe, I.

2013-04-01

Present-day Asia comprises a heterogeneous collage of continental blocks, derived from the Indian-west Australian margin of eastern Gondwana, and subduction related volcanic arcs assembled by the closure of multiple Tethyan and back-arc ocean basins now represented by suture zones containing ophiolites, accretionary complexes and remnants of ocean island arcs. The Phanerozoic evolution of the region is the result of more than 400 million years of continental dispersion from Gondwana and plate tectonic convergence, collision and accretion. This involved successive dispersion of continental blocks, the northwards translation of these, and their amalgamation and accretion to form present-day Asia. Separation and northwards migration of the various continental terranes/blocks from Gondwana occurred in three phases linked with the successive opening and closure of three intervening Tethyan oceans, the Palaeo-Tethys (Devonian-Triassic), Meso-Tethys (late Early Permian-Late Cretaceous) and Ceno-Tethys (Late Triassic-Late Cretaceous). The first group of continental blocks dispersed from Gondwana in the Devonian, opening the Palaeo-Tethys behind them, and included the North China, Tarim, South China and Indochina blocks (including West Sumatra and West Burma). Remnants of the main Palaeo-Tethys ocean are now preserved within the Longmu Co-Shuanghu, Changning-Menglian, Chiang Mai/Inthanon and Bentong-Raub Suture Zones. During northwards subduction of the Palaeo-Tethys, the Sukhothai Arc was constructed on the margin of South China-Indochina and separated from those terranes by a short-lived back-arc basin now represented by the Jinghong, Nan-Uttaradit and Sra Kaeo Sutures. Concurrently, a second continental sliver or collage of blocks (Cimmerian continent) rifted and separated from northern Gondwana and the Meso-Tethys opened in the late Early Permian between these separating blocks and Gondwana. The eastern Cimmerian continent, including the South Qiangtang block and Sibumasu Terrane (including the Baoshan and Tengchong blocks of Yunnan) collided with the Sukhothai Arc and South China/Indochina in the Triassic, closing the Palaeo-Tethys. A third collage of continental blocks, including the Lhasa block, South West Borneo and East Java-West Sulawesi (now identified as the missing "Banda" and "Argoland" blocks) separated from NW Australia in the Late Triassic-Late Jurassic by opening of the Ceno-Tethys and accreted to SE Sundaland by subduction of the Meso-Tethys in the Cretaceous.

Continental margin subsidence from shallow mantle convection: Example from West Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lodhia, Bhavik Harish; Roberts, Gareth G.; Fraser, Alastair J.; Fishwick, Stewart; Goes, Saskia; Jarvis, Jerry

2018-01-01

Spatial and temporal evolution of the uppermost convecting mantle plays an important role in determining histories of magmatism, uplift, subsidence, erosion and deposition of sedimentary rock. Tomographic studies and mantle flow models suggest that changes in lithospheric thickness can focus convection and destabilize plates. Geologic observations that constrain the processes responsible for onset and evolution of shallow mantle convection are sparse. We integrate seismic, well, gravity, magmatic and tomographic information to determine the history of Neogene-Recent (<23 Ma) upper mantle convection from the Cape Verde swell to West Africa. Residual ocean-age depths of +2 km and oceanic heat flow anomalies of +16 ± 4 mW m-2 are centered on Cape Verde. Residual depths decrease eastward to zero at the fringe of the Mauritania basin. Backstripped wells and mapped seismic data show that 0.4-0.8 km of water-loaded subsidence occurred in a ∼500 × 500 km region centered on the Mauritania basin during the last 23 Ma. Conversion of shear wave velocities into temperature and simple isostatic calculations indicate that asthenospheric temperatures determine bathymetry from Cape Verde to West Africa. Calculated average excess temperatures beneath Cape Verde are > + 100 °C providing ∼103 m of support. Beneath the Mauritania basin average excess temperatures are < - 100 °C drawing down the lithosphere by ∼102 to 103 m. Up- and downwelling mantle has generated a bathymetric gradient of ∼1/300 at a wavelength of ∼103 km during the last ∼23 Ma. Our results suggest that asthenospheric flow away from upwelling mantle can generate downwelling beneath continental margins.

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.

The use of amino acid indices for assessing organic matter quality and microbial abundance in deep-sea Antarctic sediments of IODP Expedition 318

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carr, Stephanie A; Mills, Christopher T.; Mandernack, Kevin W

2016-01-01

The Adélie Basin, located offshore of the Wilkes Land margin, experiences unusually high sedimentation rates (~ 2 cm yr− 1) for the Antarctic coast. This study sought to compare depthwise changes in organic matter (OM) quantity and quality with changes in microbial biomass with depth at this high-deposition site and an offshore continental margin site. Sediments from both sites were collected during the International Ocean Drilling (IODP) Program Expedition 318. Viable microbial biomass was estimated from concentrations of bacterial-derived phospholipid fatty acids, while OM quality was assessed using four different amino acid degradation proxies. Concentrations of total hydrolysable amino acids (THAA) measured from the continental margin suggest an oligotrophic environment, with THAA concentrations representing only 2% of total organic carbon with relative proportions of non-protein amino acids β-alanine and γ-aminobutyric acid as high as 40%. In contrast, THAA concentrations from the near-shore Adélie Basin represent 40%–60% of total organic carbon. Concentrations of β-alanine and γ-aminobutyric acid were often below the detection limit and suggest that the OM of the basin as labile. DI values in surface sediments at the Adélie and margin sites were measured to be + 0.78 and − 0.76, reflecting labile and more recalcitrant OM, respectively. Greater DI values in deeper and more anoxic portions of both cores correlated positively with increased relative concentrations of phenylalanine plus tyrosine and may represent a change of redox conditions, rather than OM quality. This suggests that DI values calculated along chemical profiles should be interpreted with caution. THAA concentrations, the percentage of organic carbon (CAA%) and total nitrogen (NAA%) represented by amino acids at both sites demonstrated a significant positive correlation with bacterial abundance estimates. These data suggest that the selective degradation of amino acids, as indicated by THAA concentrations, CAA% or NAA% values may be a better proxy for describing the general changes in sedimentary bacterial abundances than total organic matter or bulk sedimentation rates.

High-pressure amphibolite facies dynamic metamorphism and the Mesozoic tectonic evolution of an ancient continental margin, east- central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dusel-Bacon, C.; Hansen, V.L.; Scala, J.A.

1995-01-01

Ductilely deformed amphibolite facies tectonites comprise two adjacent terranes in east-central Alaska: the northern, structurally higher Taylor Mountain terrane and the southern, structurally lower Lake George subterrane of the Yukon-Tanana terrane. The pressure, temperature, kinematic and age data are interpreted to indicate that the metamorphism of the Taylor Mountain terrane and Lake George subterrane took place during different phases of a latest Palaeozoic through early Mesozoic shortening episode resulting from closure of an ocean basin now represented by klippen of the Seventymile-Slide Mountain terrane. High- to intermediate-pressure metamorphism of the Taylor Mountain terrane took place within a SW-dipping (present-day coordinates) subduction system. High- to intermediate-pressure metamorphism of the Lake George subterrane and the structural contact zone occurred during NW-directed overthrusting of the Taylor Mountain, Seventymile-Slide Mountain and Nisutlin terranes, and imbrication of the continental margin in Jurassic time. -from Authors

The dynamics of continental breakup-related magmatism on the Norwegian volcanic margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breivik, A. J.; Faleide, J. I.; Mjelde, R.

2007-12-01

The Vøring margin off mid-Norway was initiated during the earliest Eocene (~54 Ma), and large volumes of magmatic rocks were emplaced during and after continental breakup. In 2003, an ocean bottom seismometer survey was acquired on the Norwegian margin to constrain continental breakup and early seafloor spreading processes. The profile P-wave model described here crosses the northern part of the Vøring Plateau. Maximum igneous crustal thickness was found to be 18 km, decreasing to ~6.5 km over ~6 M.y. after continental breakup. Both the volume and the duration of excess magmatism after breakup is about twice of what is observed off the Møre Margin south of the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone, which offsets the margin segments by ~170 km. A similar reduction in magmatism occurs to the north over an along-margin distance of ~100 km to the Lofoten margin, but without a margin offset. There is a strong correlation between magma productivity and early plate spreading rate, which are highest just after breakup, falling with time. This is seen both at the Møre and the Vøring margin segments, suggesting a common cause. A model for the breakup- related magmatism should be able to (1) explain this correlation, (2) the magma production peak at breakup, and (3) the magmatic segmentation. Proposed end-member hypotheses are elevated upper-mantle temperatures caused by a hot mantle plume, or edge-driven small-scale convection fluxing mantle rocks through the melt zone. Both the average P-wave velocity and the major-element data at the Vøring margin indicate a low degree of melting consistent with convection. However, small scale convection does not easily explain the issues listed above. An elaboration of the mantle plume model by N. Sleep, in which buoyant plume material fills the rift-topography at the base of the lithosphere, can explain these: When the continents break apart, the buoyant plume-material flows up into the rift zone, causing excess magmatism by both elevated temperature and excess flux, and magmatism dies off as this rift-restricted material is spent. The buoyancy of the plume-material also elevates the plate boundaries and enhances plate spreading forces initially. The rapid drop in magma productivity to the north correlates with the northern boundary of the wide and deep Cretaceous Vøring Basin, thus less plume material was accommodated off Lofoten. This model predicts that the magma segmentation will show little variation in the geochemical signature.

Orogenic structural inheritance and rifted passive margin formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar Mora, Claudio A.; Huismans, Ritske S.

2016-04-01

Structural inheritance is related to mechanical weaknesses in the lithosphere due to previous tectonic events, e.g. rifting, subduction and collision. The North and South Atlantic rifted passive margins that formed during the breakup of Western Gondwana, are parallel to the older Caledonide and the Brasiliano-Pan-African orogenic belts. In the South Atlantic, 'old' mantle lithospheric fabric resulting from crystallographic preferred orientation of olivine is suggested to play a role during rifted margin formation (Tommasi and Vauchez, 2001). Magnetometric and gravimetric mapping of onshore structures in the Camamu and Almada basins suggest that extensional faults are controlled by two different directions of inherited older Brasiliano structures in the upper lithosphere (Ferreira et al., 2009). In the South Atlantic Campos Basin, 3D seismic data indicate that inherited basement structures provide a first order control on basin structure (Fetter, 2009). Here we investigate the role of structural inheritance on the formation of rifted passive margins with high-resolution 2D thermo-mechanical numerical experiments. The numerical domain is 1200 km long and 600 km deep and represents the lithosphere and the sublithospheric mantle. Model experiments were carried out by creating self-consistent orogenic inheritance where a first phase of orogen formation is followed by extension. We focus in particular on the role of varying amount of orogenic shortening, crustal rheology, contrasting styles of orogen formation on rifted margin style, and the time delay between orogeny and subsequent rifted passive formation. Model results are compared to contrasting structural styles of rifted passive margin formation as observed in the South Atlantic. Ferreira, T.S., Caixeta, J.M., Lima, F.D., 2009. Basement control in Camamu and Almada rift basins. Boletim de Geociências da Petrobrás 17, 69-88. Fetter, M., 2009. The role of basement tectonic reactivation on the structural evolution of Campos Basin, offshore Brazil: Evidence from 3D seismic analysis and section restoration. Marine and Petroleum Geology 26, 873-886. Tommasi, A., Vauchez, A., 2001. Continental rifting parallel to ancient collisional belts: An effect of the mechanical anisotropy of the lithospheric mantle. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 185, 199-210.

The Toarcian Bathonian succession of the Antsiranana Basin (NW Madagascar): Facies analysis and tectono-sedimentary history in the development of the East Africa-Madagascar conjugate margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papini, Mauro; Benvenuti, Marco

2008-04-01

The latest Early to Middle Jurassic succession of the Antsiranana Basin (NW Madagascar) records the complex transition from the continental rifting of Gondwana to the drifting of Madagascar-India from East Africa. The Madagascan Late Paleozoic-Mesozoic successions have been included in several paleogeographic and geodynamic models explaining the evolution of the Gondwana margins. Nevertheless, in some cases, as for the Toarcian-Bathonian deposits of the Antsiranana Basin, no significant stratigraphic revision has been carried out since the early 1970s. New field surveys allow reconsidering the stratigraphic and structural context and the palaeoenvironmental meaning of Toarcian-Bathonian successions occurring in different parts of the basin. These successions rest on the Triassic-Early Jurassic Isalo Sandstone which records pre-breakup rift events with a dominantly fluvial deposition. This situation is similar to other continental rift basins of Gondwana. After a regional Toarcian transgression the different portions of the Antsiranana Basin were characterized by significantly diversified and coeval depositional environments. The basin can be subdivided in a SW and NE part separated by a NW-SE trending structural high. In the SW part of the basin (Ampasindava sub-basin) the so-called "Jurassique paralique" [Rerat, J.C., 1964. Note sur les variations de faciès des sèries jurassiques du nord de Madagascar. Comptes Rendus Semaine gèologique, Tananarive, pp. 15-22] or " Facies Mixtes de la Presqu'ile de Ampasindava" [Besairie, H., Collignon, M., 1972. Géologie de Madagascar; I. Les terrains sédimentaires. Annales Géologiques de Madagascar, 35, 1-463], a 1500 m thick prevalently terrigenous deposit, has been subdivided into four units. They document the long-lasting development of coastal-deltaic systems in a highly subsiding area. In the NE portion of the basin (Ankarana-Analamera sub-basin), a coeval mixed carbonate-terrigenous succession subdivided in five units for a total thickness of 500 m, was deposited during relative sea-level fluctuations in a ramp setting characterized by relatively lower subsidence. The stratigraphic-depositional evolution was dependant on the presence of NW-trending, actively growing highs which fed the south-western sub-basin. The clastic supply balanced the tectonically created accommodation space in this portion of the basin. The revised and extended paleogeographical reconstruction has been included into a breakup model of the East Africa-Madagascar rift during the opening of the Mozambique Channel.

Integrating facies and structural analyses with subsidence history in a Jurassic-Cretaceous intraplatform basin: Outcome for paleogeography of the Panormide Southern Tethyan margin (NW Sicily, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basilone, Luca; Sulli, Attilio; Gasparo Morticelli, Maurizio

2016-06-01

We illustrate the tectono-sedimentary evolution of a Jurassic-Cretaceous intraplatform basin in a fold and thrust belt present setting (Cala Rossa basin). Detailed stratigraphy and facies analysis of Upper Triassic-Eocene successions outcropping in the Palermo Mts (NW Sicily), integrated with structural analysis, restoration and basin analysis, led to recognize and describe into the intraplatform basin the proximal and distal depositional areas respect to the bordered carbonate platform sectors. Carbonate platform was characterized by a rimmed reef growing with progradational trends towards the basin, as suggested by the several reworked shallow-water materials interlayered into the deep-water succession. More, the occurrence of thick resedimented breccia levels into the deep-water succession suggests the time and the characters of synsedimentary tectonics occurred during the Late Jurassic. The study sections, involved in the building processes of the Sicilian fold and thrust belt, were restored in order to obtain the original width of the Cala Rossa basin, useful to reconstruct the original geometries and opening mechanisms of the basin. Basin analysis allowed reconstructing the subsidence history of three sectors with different paleobathymetry, evidencing the role exerted by tectonics in the evolution of the narrow Cala Rossa basin. In our interpretation, a transtensional dextral Lower Jurassic fault system, WNW-ESE (present-day) oriented, has activated a wedge shaped pull-apart basin. In the frame of the geodynamic evolution of the Southern Tethyan rifted continental margin, the Cala Rossa basin could have been affected by Jurassic transtensional faults related to the lateral westward motion of Africa relative to Europe.

Magma-poor and magma-rich segments along the hyperextended, pre-Caledonian passive margin of Baltica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andersen, Torgeir B.; Alsaif, Manar; Corfu, Fernando; Jakob, Johannes; Planke, Sverre; Tegner, Christian

2015-04-01

The Scandinavian Caledonides constitute a more than 1850 km long 'Himalayan-type' orogen, formed by collision between Baltica-Avalonia and Laurentia. Subduction-related magmatism in the Iapetus ended at ~430 Ma and continental convergence continued for ~30 Myr until ~400 Ma. The collision produced a thick orogenic wedge comprising the stacked remnants of the rifted to hyperextended passive Baltican margin (Andersen et al. 2012), as well as suspect, composite and outboard terranes, which were successively emplaced as large-scale nappe complexes onto Baltica during the Scandian collision (see Corfu et al. 2014 for a recent review). Large parts (~800 km) of the mountain-belt in central Scandinavia, particularly in the Särv and Seve Nappes and their counterparts in Troms, are characterised by spectacular dyke complexes emplaced into continental sediments (e.g. Svenningsen 2001, Hollocher et al. 2007). These constitute a magma-rich segment formed along the margin of Baltica or within hyperextended continental slivers outboard of Baltica. The intensity of the pre-Caledonian magmatism is comparable to that of the present NE-Atlantic and other volcanic passive margins. The volumes and available U-Pb ages of 610-597 Ma (Baird et al. 2014 and refs therein) suggest that the magmatism was short lived, intense and therefore compatible with a large igneous province (LIP). By analogy with present-day margins this LIP may have been associated with continental break-up and onset of sea-floor spreading. The remnants of the passive margin both north and south of the magma-rich segment have different architectures, and are almost devoid of rift/drift related magmatic rocks. Instead, these magma-poor segments are dominated by heterogeneous sediment-filled basins characterised by the abundant presence of solitary bodies of variably altered mantle peridotites, also commonly present as detrital serpentinites. These basins are interpreted to have formed by hyperextension. We suggest that the pre-Caledonian margin of Baltica underwent hyperextension until break-up, which was associated with emplacement of a LIP at ~600 Ma in the central segment. Andersen, T.B., Labrousse, L., Corfu, F. and Osmundsen, P.T., 2012: Evidence for hyperextension along the pre-Caledonian margin of Baltica. Jl. Geol. Soc. London, 601-612 Baird, G.B., Figg, SA. and Chamberlain, K.R., 2014: Intrusive age and geochemistry of the Kebne Dyke Complex in the Seve Nappe Complex, Kebnekaise Massif, arctic Sweden Caledonides, GFF, doi: 10.1080/11035897.2014.924553 Corfu, F., Andersen, T.B. and Gasser, D., 2014: The Scandinavian Caledonides: main features, conceptual advances and critical questions. Geol. Soc. London Spec. Publ. 390 doi:10.1144/SP390.25 Hollocher. K, Robinson, P., Walsh, E. and Terry M.P., 2007:The Neoproterozoic Ottfjellet dike swarm of the Middle Allochthon, traced geochemically into the hinterland, Western Gneiss Region, Norway. Am. Jl. Sci. 307, 901-953 Svenningsen, O., 2001: Onset of seafloor spreading in the Iapetus Ocean at 608Ma: precise age of the Sarek Dyke Swarm, northern Swedish Caledonides. Precambrian Res., 110, 241-254.

Shelf-geometry response to changes in relative sea level on a mixed carbonate siliciclastic shelf in the Guyana Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, A. Ewan

2005-04-01

Differences in the shelf-margin geometry for various depositional regimes show how siliciclastic and carbonate margins respond differently to changes in accommodation space. During the Cenozoic, sequences of carbonate and siliciclastic sediment were deposited in the Guyana Basin on the passive continental margin of NE South America. Study of the sequence geometries reveal significantly different geometric responses to changes in relative sea level of intervals dominated by carbonates to intervals dominated by siliciclastics. Using the geometrical shelf break as a reference point, aggradation and progradation rates for the carbonate and siliciclastic depositional systems were measured. In siliciclastics, the lateral position of the margin remains roughly stationary with relative sea-level rises in the order of 30 m/My. At higher rates the margin retreats at lower rates it progrades. Carbonate margins remain stationary or slightly progradational even with relative sea-level rises of up to 100 m/My, the fastest rates observed in this study. This illustrates the strong tendency of carbonate platforms to stack their margins and keep up with relative rises in sea level, rather than gradually retreat landward as do siliciclastics. This observation may explain why carbonate platforms preferentially try to defend a margin prior to ultimate backstepping. The high aggradation potential of carbonate margins also gives onlap and downlap termination patterns on seismic profiles where carbonate platforms develop on sloping siliciclastic shelves. The resulting unconformities are a result of differences in sediment dispersal between the two systems and not necessarily from changes of relative sea level.

Thermodynamic, geophysical and rheological modeling of the lithosphere underneath the North Atlantic Porcupine Basin (Ireland).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Botter, C. D.; Prada, M.; Fullea, J.

2017-12-01

The Porcupine is a North-South oriented basin located southwest of Ireland, along the North Atlantic continental margin, formed by several rifting episodes during Late Carboniferous to Early Cretaceous. The sedimentary cover is underlined by a very thin continental crust in the center of the basin (<5 km) that has been generally associated with hyperextension and mantle serpentinization. From North to South lithospheric stretching factors increase drastically from 2 in the North to >10 in the South. In spite of the abundant literature, most of the oil and gas exploration in the Porcupine Basin has been targeting its northern part and is mostly restricted to relatively shallow depths, giving a restrained overview of the basin structure. Therefore, studying the thermodynamic and composition of the deep and broader structures is needed to understand the processes linked to the formation and the symmetry signature of the basin. Here, we model the present-day thermal and compositional structure of the continental crust and lithospheric mantle underneath the Porcupine basin using gravity, seismic, heat flow and elevation data. We use an integrated geophysical-petrological framework where most relevant rock properties (density, seismic velocities) are determined as a function of temperature, pressure and composition. Our modelling approach solves simultaneously the heat transfer, thermodynamic, geopotential, seismic and isostasy equations, and fit the results to all available geophysical and petrological observables (LitMod software). In this work we have implemented a module to compute self-consistently a laterally variable lithospheric elastic thickness based on mineral physics rheological laws (yield strength envelopes over the 3D volume). An appropriate understanding of local and flexural isostatic behavior of the basin is essential to unravel its tectonic history (i.e. stretching factors, subsidence etc.). Our Porcupine basin 3D model is defined by four lithological layers, representing properties from post- and syn-rift sequences to the lithospheric mantle. The computed yield strength envelopes are representative of hyperextended lithosphere and reveal the sensitivity of the lithospheric strength to the geotherm, as well as to the thickness and composition of the crust.

The thermal environment of Cascadia Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, H. Paul; Hautala, Susan L.; Bjorklund, Tor A.

2012-07-01

Located adjacent to the NE Pacific convergent boundary, Cascadia Basin has a global impact well beyond its small geographic size. Composed of young oceanic crust formed at the Juan de Fuca Ridge, igneous rocks underlying the basin are partially insulated from cooling of their initial heat of formation by a thick layer of pelagic and turbidite sediments derived from the adjacent North American margin. The igneous seafloor is eventually consumed at the Cascadia subduction zone, where interactions between the approaching oceanic crust and the North American continental margin are partially controlled by the thermal environment. Within Cascadia Basin, basement topographic relief varies dramatically, and sediments have a wide range of thickness and physical properties. This variation produces regional differences in heat flow and basement temperatures for seafloor even of similar age. Previous studies proposed a north-south thermal gradient within Cascadia Basin, with high geothermal flux and crustal temperatures measured in the heavily sedimented northern portion near Vancouver Island and lower than average heat flux and basement temperatures predicted for the central and southern portions of the basin. If confirmed, this prediction has implications for processes associated with the Cascadia subduction zone, including the location of the "locked zone" of the megathrust fault. Although existing archival geophysical data in the central and southern basin are sparse, nonuniformly distributed, and derived from a wide range of historical sources, a substantial N-S geothermal gradient appears to be confirmed by our present compilation of combined water column and heat flow measurements.

Sediment accumulation on the Southern California Bight continental margin during the twentieth century

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alexander, C.R.; Lee, H.J.

2009-01-01

Sediment discharged into the portion of the Southern California Bight extending from Santa Barbara to Dana Point enters a complex system of semi-isolated coastal cells, narrow continental shelves, submarine canyons, and offshore basins. On both the Santa Monica and San Pedro margins, 210Pb accumulation rates decrease in an offshore direction (from ??0.5 g cm-2yr-1 to 0.02 g cm-2yr -1), in concert with a fining in sediment grain size (from 4.5?? to 8.5??), suggesting that offshore transport of wave-resuspended material occurs as relatively dilute nepheloid layers and that hemiplegic sedimentation dominates the supply of sediment to the outer shelf, slope, and basins. Together, these areas are effectively sequestering up to 100% of the annual fluvial input. In contrast to the Santa Monica margin, which does not display evidence of mass wasting as an important process of sediment delivery and redistribution, the San Pedro margin does provide numerous examples of failures and mass wasting, suggesting that intraslope sediment redistribution may play a more important role there. Basin deposits in both areas exhibit evidence of turbidites tentatively associated with both major floods and earthquakes, sourced from either the Redondo Canyon (San Pedro Basin) or Dume Canyon (Santa Monica Basin). On the Palos Verdes shelf, sediment-accumulation rates decrease along and across the shelf away from the White's Point outfall, which has been a major source of contaminants to the shelf deposits. Accumulation rates prior to the construction of the outfall were ??0.2 g cm-2yr-1 and increased 1.5-3.7 times during peak discharges from the outfall in 1971. The distal rate of accumulation has decreased by ??50%, from 0.63 g cm -2yr-1 during the period 1971-1992 to 0.29 g cm -2yr-1 during the period 1992-2003. The proximal rate of accumulation, however, has only decreased ??10%, from 0.83 g cm -2yr-1 during the period 1971-1992 to 0.73 g cm -2yr-1 during the period 1992-2003. Effluent-affected sediment layers on the Palos Verdes shelf can be identified in seabed profiles of naturally occurring 238U, which is sequestered in reducing sediments. The Santa Clara River shelf, just north and west of the Santa Monica and San Pedro margins, is fine-grained and flood-dominated. Core profiles of excess 210Pb from sites covering the extent of documented major flood deposition exhibit evidence of rapidly deposited sediment up to 25 cm thick. These beds are developing in an active depocenter in water depths of 30-50 m at an average rate of 0.72 g cm-2yr-1. Budget calculations for annual and 50-yr timescale sediment storage on this shelf shows that 20%-30% of the sediment discharge is retained on the shelf, leaving 70%-80% to be redistributed to the outer shelf, slope, Santa Barbara Basin, and Santa Monica Basin. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Recent Seismic Experiments of OBS in the South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruan, A.; Li, J.; Wu, Z.

2012-12-01

Since 2006 some research institutions of China have carried out some important seismic experiments by using ocean bottom seismometer(OBS) in the South China Sea (SCS) and obtained many concrete progresses in modeling the crustal structure of SCS and also in understanding of its formation and evolution as well. In 2006 three wide-angle profiles were completed in the northern margin, named OBS2006-1 across the northwestern sub-basin, OBS2006-2 parallel to the sea basin boundary and OBS2006-3 across the Dongsha Rise and Chaoshan Depression respectively. In 2010 two wide- angle profiles were completed, named OBS2010-1 and OBS 2010-2 both perpendicular to the northern off-shore faulting system. During 2009-2011 four wide-angle profiles were completed in the southern margin, named OBS973-1 from southern margin to the southwestern sub-basin, OBS973-2 from Liyue Bank to the southwestern sub-basin and OBS973-3 from Xisha to the southwestern sub-basin, OBS2011-2 from Xisha to Hainan Island respectively. In 2011 two 3D seismic array of OBS were completed in the Zhongnan-Changlong sea mount chain and Huangyan-Zhenbei sea mount chain respectively. Here we present some primary but important results as follows. (1) The velocity model of OBS2006-1 indicates that the crust under the continental slope decreases from 21km to 11km, and to 7.7km in the northwestern sub-basin with Moho depth ascends from 21km to 11km. The tectonic geometry and velocity structure of the northwestern sub-basin and its margins on both sides shows symmetrical and conjugate and indicates pure shear mode of continental margin rifting mechanism. (2) The velocity model of OBS2006-3 reveals remarkable thickness with maximum 8 km of the Mesozoic sediment in Chaoshan Depression in which velocity increases downward from 4.4 km/s at top to 5.3 km/s at the bottom. The buried depth of Moho decreases from 24-25 km under Dongsha Rise to 17 km in the lower slope and an obviously velocity abnormal is detected in the upper crust of the Dongsha Rise and its velocity raises to 6.9 km/s due to the mantle underplating and magma activities. A high velocity layer (HVL) of 3-12 km thick is found in the lower crust, and its velocity is 7.1-7.4 km/s. (3) The wide angle seismic profile-OBS973-2 that extends in NW-SE direction 369km long from the northeastern Liyue Bank to the central sub-basin. It indicates that there are some small volcanoes on the top of crust in Liyue Bank and P wave velocities downward increase from 5.5~6.4km/s in the upper crust (9~10km thick) to 6.6~7.1km/s in the lower crust (11km thick). In the transition zone and sea basin P wave velocities downward increase from 5.9~6.1km/s in the upper curst (4~5km thick) to 6.6~6.9km/s in the lower crust (2~4km thick). The buried depth of Moho is 23km in Liyue Bank and 8~12km in the sea basin. The comparison of profile OBS973-2 with profile OBS2006-1 in the northern margin shows remarkable similarity between them and suggests a possibility of conjugation relationship between Liyue Bank and Zhongsha Massif. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91028006,40876035,41106053 and 41176046) and the National Basic Research Program of China (2007CB411701) .

Neoproterozoic fragmentation of the Scottish Sector of Laurentia - an ancient analogue for the Iberian and UK/Irish ocean-continent transition zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leslie, G.; Krabbendam, M.

2009-04-01

The Neoproterozoic Dalradian Supergroup of Scotland and Ireland is intensively deformed and metamorphosed by mid-Ordovician arc-accretion (c. 460 Ma) during the Caledonian Orogeny. Emplacement of an extensive suite of Siluro-Devonian Caledonian granitoids further complicates reading the sedimentary record. Nevertheless we can determine a history of stretching and break-up affecting the Neoproterozoic supercontinent of Rodinia and leading to creation of the Iapetus Ocean. Three key intervals of late-Neoproterozoic sediment accumulation are recognised - new geological mapping, isotopic datasets (Sr, O and C, U/Pb zircon, Sm/Nd WR), and sequence stratigraphical approaches are refining constraints on the lithostratigraphical architecture and basin evolution of the Dalradian Supergroup. Thick siliciclastic deposits accumulated (pre-800 Ma?) during an early stretching phase (distributed high angle faulting) that led to crustal thinning (low angle shearing). Three major limestone - pelite - quartzite depositional cycles succeeded these earlier siliciclastic deposits, recording episodic subsidence in an intracratonic but largely marine environment; the second cycle overlaps the late Precambrian (Cryogenian) glaciation and concludes with the distinctive Marinoan tillite succession (c. 635Ma). The last of the three cycles is terminated, in some parts of the Dalradian, by deposition of serpentinitic muds and conglomerates and volcaniclastic sediments; pods and lenses of both massive and serpentinised ultramafic rock also interrupt the sedimentary record at this level (thus possibly indicating mantle exhumation). In other areas, a major part of the ‘type' Dalradian succession is absent and we now recognise a major overstep unconformity at this level. From this level onwards across the Dalradian, rapid foundering of the margin, and the transition from rift- to drift-dominated processes, resulted in an overstepping accumulation of laterally and vertically variable, increasingly immature clastic sediments and volcanic rocks. Within 30-40 Ma of the end of Marinoan glaciation, an Iapetan oceanic rift was generating MORB rocks in a localised 600 my old (proto-) rift in the SW part of the Grampian Terrane. Rapid foundering thus pre-dated the first appearance of MORB basalts. Turbidite deposition then persisted after this first emergence of oceanic rocks until the early-Ordovician when convergence began to record arc-accretion and collision. During rift-drift transition, continental fragments apparently separated from the passive margin; the architecture of the Scotland-Greenland sector of Laurentia possibly resembled the present-day configuration of troughs and highs on the UK/Irish sector of the Atlantic continental shelf. Marginal plateaux analogous to the Rockall platform would have been separated from the intact continental margin by sub-basins analogous to the Rockall Trough. Such features would have channelled sediment outboard of, and along, the new passive margin in submarine fan systems. The extensional geometries of the various components of this architecture exerted control on the collisional geometry and acted as nuclei for deformation structures during Grampian orogenesis. Compound collisions in the mid-Ordovician stacked much of the original continental fragments into the complex pattern observed today. The challenge is thus to see through that later deformation and read the record of continental separation. There is much in the depositional architecture of the Dalradian Supergroup that suggests that a magma-poor passive margin is a viable model for this sector of the Laurentian margin.

Multidisciplinary approach for the characterization of a new Late Cretaceous continental arc in the Central Pontides (Northern Turkey)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellero, Alessandro; Ottria, Giuseppe; Sayit, Kaan; Catanzariti, Rita; Frassi, Chiara; Cemal Göncüoǧlu, M.; Marroni, Michele; Pandolfi, Luca

2016-04-01

In the Central Pontides (Northern Turkey), south of Tosya, a tectonic unit consisting of not-metamorphic volcanic rocks and overlying sedimentary succession is exposed inside a fault-bounded elongated block. It is restrained within a wide shear zone, where the Intra-Pontide suture zone, the Sakarya terrane and the Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan suture zone are juxtaposed as result of strike-slip activity of the North Anatolian shear zone. The volcanic rocks are mainly basalts and basaltic andesites (with their pyroclastic equivalents) associated with a volcaniclastic formation made up of breccias and sandstones that are stratigraphically overlain by a Marly-calcareous turbidite formation. The calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy points to a late Santonian-middle Campanian age (CC17-CC21 Zones) for the sedimentary succession. The geochemistry of the volcanic rocks reveals an active continental margin setting as evidenced by the enrichment in Th and LREE over HFSE, and the Nb-enriched nature of these lavas relative to N-MORB. As highlighted by the performed arenite petrography, the occurrence of continent-derived clastics in the sedimentary succession supports the hypothesis of a continental arc-derived volcanic succession. Alternative geodynamic reconstructions are proposed, where this tectonic unit could represent a slice derived from the northern continental margin of the Intra- Pontide or Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan oceanic basins.

Evolution of passive continental margins and initiation of subduction zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cloetingh, S. A. P. L.; Wortel, M. J. R.; Vlaar, N. J.

1982-05-01

Although the initiation of subduction is a key element in plate tectonic schemes for evolution of lithospheric plates, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Plate rupture is an important aspect of the process of creating a new subduction zone, as stresses of the order of kilobars are required to fracture oceanic lithosphere1. Therefore initiation of subduction could take place preferentially at pre-existing weakness zones or in regions where the lithosphere is prestressed. As such, transform faults2,3 and passive margins4,5 where the lithosphere is downflexed under the influence of sediment loading have been suggested. From a model study of passive margin evolution we found that ageing of passive margins alone does not make them more suitable sites for initiation of subduction. However, extensive sediment loading on young lithosphere might be an effective mechanism for closure of small ocean basins.

An outline of the palaeogeographic evolution of the Australasian region since the beginning of the Neoproterozoic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Z. X.; Powell, C. McA.

2001-04-01

In the last 1000 million years, Australia has been part of two supercontinents: Palaeozoic Gondwanaland and Neoproterozoic Rodinia. Neoproterozoic Australia was covered by shallow epicontinental seas, and, in the late Neoproterozoic, by low-latitude glaciers. The breakup of Rodinia along the Tasman Line occurred at the end of the Sturtian glaciation (760 Ma) giving rise to the Palaeo-Pacific Ocean. Gondwanaland formed in the Early Cambrian, at the same time as the Tarim block broke away from northwestern Australia. Westward subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific Ocean along the eastern margin of Australia-Antarctica commenced during the Early Cambrian in northern Victoria Land and in the Middle Cambrian in South Australia, and culminated to the Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician Ross-Delamerian Mountains. In the Ordovician, the magmatic arc retreated from Australia's then-eastern continental margin, forming a marginal sea and offshore island arc. A shallow seaway across Australia in the Late Cambrian and Ordovician gradually gave way to desert-like conditions in Central Australia and the adjacent Canning Basin by Silurian time. The Silurian to mid-Devonian was an interval of rapidly changing palaeogeography in eastern Australia with deep volcanogenic troughs formed in a dextral transtensional tectonic setting. Widespread deformation in the Tasman orogenic zone in the Middle Devonian to Early Carboniferous, was accompanied by the development of an Andean-style magmatic arc along the Pacific continental margin of Australia. The most widespread Phanerozoic mountain-building stage in Central Australia occurred in the Late Devonian to mid-Carboniferous, as part of a world-wide Variscan orogenic episode associated with the collision of Gondwanaland with Laurussia to form Pangea. In the late Visean, Australia drifted rapidly southward from previous low latitudes to a near-polar position. Glacial conditions dominated the Late Carboniferous and earliest Permian. Transtensional basins associated with dextral oroclinal shear along the Panthalassan eastern margin of Australia developed in the Late Carboniferous and persisted until the Late Permian, when an Andean-style magmatic arc was re-established. Large foreland basins inboard of the Late Permian to Early Triassic magmatic arc accumulated major coal deposits during Late Permian volcanic phases, but drastic climatic changes at the end of the Permian, possibly caused by global greenhouse conditions, led to red-bed deposition in the Early Triassic. Pangea began to rift in the mid-Triassic, and by the Late Triassic, the Cimmerian blocks, which lay off northwestern Australia throughout the Palaeozoic, had departed the northern margin of Gondwanaland. A new Andean-style continental magmatic arc became established along the Pacific Ocean margin of Australia. Breakup between Australia-Antarctica and the northern part of Greater India commenced ca. 130 Ma, and between Australia and Antarctica around 96 Ma. At the beginning of the Palaeogene, Australia commenced its northward drift towards its present position. Seafloor spreading between Australia and Antarctica was at first slow, but increased to ca. 5 cm per year around 45 Ma. By 35 Ma, the circum-Antarctic current became established, thereby triggering glaciation in Antarctica. Northern Australia reached the tropics by the beginning of the Miocene, and Australia has progressively moved northwards at 7 to 8 cm per year since.

Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeogene tectonic development of SE Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morley, C. K.

2012-10-01

The Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeogene history of the continental core of SE Asia (Sundaland) marks the time prior to collision of India with Asia when SE Asia, from the Tethys in the west to the Palaeo-Pacific in the east, lay in the upper plate of subduction zones. In Myanmar and Sumatra, subduction was interrupted in the Aptian-Albian by a phase of arc accretion (Woyla and Mawgyi arcs) and in Java, eastern Borneo and Western Sulawesi by collision of continental fragments rifted from northern Australia. Subsequent resumption of subduction in the Myanmar-Thailand sector explains: 1) early creation of oceanic crust in the Andaman Sea in a supra-subduction zone setting ~ 95 Ma, 2) the belt of granite plutons of Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeogene age (starting ~ 88 Ma) in western Thailand and central Myanmar, and 3) amphibolite grade metamorphism between 70 and 80 Ma seen in gneissic outcrops in western and central Thailand, and 4) accretionary prism development in the Western Belt of Myanmar, until glancing collision with the NE corner of Greater India promoted ophiolite obduction, deformation and exhumation of marine sediments in the early Palaeogene. The Ranong strike-slip fault and other less well documented faults, were episodically active during the Late Cretaceous-Palaeogene time. N to NW directed subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific ocean below Southern China, Vietnam and Borneo created a major magmatic arc, associated with rift basins, metamorphic core complexes and strike-slip deformation which continued into the Late Cretaceous. The origin and timing of termination of subduction has recently been explained by collision of a large Luconia continental fragment either during the Late Cretaceous or Palaeogene. Evidence for such a collision is absent from the South China Sea well and seismic reflection record and here collision is discounted. Instead relocation of the subducting margin further west, possibly in response of back-arc extension (which created the Proto-South China Sea) is preferred. Lying between the two subduction related arcs, the Khorat Basin is of predominantly Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous age but stratigraphic and apatite fission track data also indicates deposition of 1-2 km of Late Cretaceous sediments. The synformal basin geometry probably arose due to the dynamic topography created by converging Tethyan and Palaeo-Pacific subduction zones. The Aptian-Albian slowing of basin subsidence and onset of evaporite deposition coincides with collision of the Mawgyi and Woyla island arcs. Extensive Palaeogene deformation and exhumation (3 + km in places) affected all margins of the Khorat Plateau. Deformation includes folds of the Phu Phan uplift, and strike-slip faults, thrusts and folds on the southern and eastern margins. South of the Khorat Plateau outcrop, and seismic reflection data from the Ton Le Sap Basin (Cambodia), and the Gulf of Thailand, indicate syn-depositional fault-controlled subsidence was important during Cretaceous deposition. The hot, thickened crust developed during the Late Cretaceous-Palaeogene events follows the weak (Indosinian), crustal-scale Inthanon and Sukhothai zones, which persistently guided the location of later structures including Cenozoic extensional, and post-rift basins, and influenced the widespread occurrence of low-angle normal faults, metamorphic core complexes, and eastern Gulf of Thailand super-deep post-rift basins.

The crustal structure of the north-eastern Gulf of Aden continental margin: insights from wide-angle seismic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watremez, L.; Leroy, S.; Rouzo, S.; D'Acremont, E.; Unternehr, P.; Ebinger, C.; Lucazeau, F.; Al-Lazki, A.

2011-02-01

The wide-angle seismic (WAS) and gravity data of the Encens survey allow us to determine the deep crustal structure of the north-eastern Gulf of Aden non-volcanic passive margin. The Gulf of Aden is a young oceanic basin that began to open at least 17.6 Ma ago. Its current geometry shows first- and second-order segmentation: our study focusses on the Ashawq-Salalah second-order segment, between Alula-Fartak and Socotra-Hadbeen fracture zones. Modelling of the WAS and gravity data (three profiles across and three along the margin) gives insights into the first- and second-order structures. (1) Continental thinning is abrupt (15-20 km thinning across 50-100 km distance). It is accommodated by several tilted blocks. (2) The ocean-continent transition (OCT) is narrow (15 km wide). The velocity modelling provides indications on its geometry: oceanic-type upper-crust (4.5 km s-1) and continental-type lower crust (>6.5 km s-1). (3) The thickness of the oceanic crust decreases from West (10 km) to the East (5.5 km). This pattern is probably linked to a variation of magma supply along the nascent slow-spreading ridge axis. (4) A 5 km thick intermediate velocity body (7.6 to 7.8 km s-1) exists at the crust-mantle interface below the thinned margin, the OCT and the oceanic crust. We interpret it as an underplated mafic body, or partly intruded mafic material emplaced during a `post-rift' event, according to the presence of a young volcano evidenced by heat-flow measurement (Encens-Flux survey) and multichannel seismic reflection (Encens survey). We propose that the non-volcanic passive margin is affected by post-rift volcanism suggesting that post-rift melting anomalies may influence the late evolution of non-volcanic passive margins.

Burial, Uplift and Exhumation History of the Atlantic Margin of NE Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Japsen, Peter; Bonow, Johan M.; Green, Paul F.; Cobbold, Peter R.; Chiossi, Dario; Lilletveit, Ragnhild

2010-05-01

We have undertaken a regional study of landscape development and thermo-tectonic evo-lution of NE Brazil. Our results reveal a long history of post-Devonian burial and exhuma-tion across NE Brazil. Uplift movements just prior to and during Early Cretaceous rifting led to further regional denudation, to filling of rift basins and finally to formation of the Atlantic margin. The rifted margin was buried by a km-thick post-rift section, but exhumation began in the Late Cretaceous as a result of plate-scale forces. The Cretaceous cover probably extended over much of NE Brazil where it is still preserved over extensive areas. The Late Cretaceous exhumation event was followed by events in the Paleogene and Neogene. The results of these events of uplift and exhumation are two regional peneplains that form steps in the landscape. The plateaux in the interior highlands are defined by the Higher Surface at c. 1 km above sea level. This surface formed by fluvial erosion after the Late Cretaceous event - and most likely after the Paleogene event - and thus formed as a Paleogene pene-plain near sea level. This surface was reburied prior to the Neogene event, in the interior by continental deposits and along the Atlantic margin by marine and coastal deposits. Neo-gene uplift led to reexposure of the Palaeogene peneplain and to formation of the Lower Surface by incision along rivers below the uplifted Higher Surface that characterise the pre-sent landscape. Our results show that the elevated landscapes along the Brazilian margin formed during the Neogene, c. 100 Myr after break-up. Studies in West Greenland have demonstrated that similar landscapes formed during the late Neogene, c. 50 Myr after break-up. Many passive continental margins around the world are characterised by such elevated plateaus and it thus seems possible, even likely, that they may also post-date rifting and continental separation by many Myr.

The Thermal Evolution of the Southeast Baffin Island Continental Margin: An Integrated Apatite Fission Track and Apatite (U-Th)/He Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jess, S.; Stephenson, R.; Brown, R. W.

2017-12-01

The elevated continental margins of the North Atlantic continue to be a focus of considerable geological and geomorphological debate, as the timing of major tectonic events and the age of topographic relief remain controversial. The West Greenland margin, on the eastern flank of Baffin Bay, is believed by some authors to have experienced tectonic rejuvenation and uplift during the Neogene. However, the opposing flank, Baffin Island, is considered to have experienced a protracted erosional regime with little tectonic activity since the Cretaceous. This work examines the thermal evolution of the Cumberland Peninsula, SE Baffin Island, using published apatite fission track (AFT) data with the addition of 103 apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) ages. This expansion of available thermochronological data introduces a higher resolution of thermal modelling, whilst the application of the newly developed `Broken Crystals' technique provides a greater number of thermal constraints for an area dominated by AHe age dispersion. Results of joint thermal modelling of the AFT and AHe data exhibit two significant periods of cooling across the Cumberland Peninsula: Devonian/Carboniferous to the Triassic and Late Cretaceous to present. The earliest phase of cooling is interpreted as the result of major fluvial systems present throughout the Paleozoic that flowed across the Canadian Shield to basins in the north and south. The later stage of cooling is believed to result from rift controlled fluvial systems that flowed into Baffin Bay during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic during the early stages and culmination of rifting along the Labrador-Baffin margins. Glaciation in the Late Cenozoic has likely overprinted these later river systems creating a complex fjordal distribution that has shaped the modern elevated topography. This work demonstrates how surface processes, and not tectonism, can explain the formation of elevated continental margins and that recent methodological developments in the field of low temperature thermochronology are improving our understanding of onshore passive margin development.

Environmental Analysis of U.S. Navy Shipboard Solid Waste Discharges: Addendum to the Report of Findings.

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-02-01

numbering in the billions of individuals. Joiris (1991) has estimated that, based on the nutritional requirements of the top predators of the Antarctic, a...east ( Yucatan and East Florida) and by terrigenous sediment to the north (Mississippi and Rio Grande deltas). The Yucatan Basin, between Cuba and the... Yucatan Gulf and Eastern Florida, continental shelves are narrow and much of the eastern margin in the Lesser Antilles Archipelago lacks a shelf

Geochronology and geochemistry of tuff beds from the Shicaohe Formation of Shennongjia Group and tectonic evolution in the northern Yangtze Block, South China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Qiuding; Wang, Zhengjiang; Wang, Jian; Deng, Qi; Yang, Fei

2016-03-01

Meso- to Neoproterozoic magmatic events are widespread in the Yangtze Block. The geochronology and tectonic significance of the Shennongjia Group in the Yangtze Block are still highly controversial. An integrated geochronology and geochemistry approach provides new insights into the geochronological framework, tectonic setting, magmatic events, and basin evolution of the northern Yangtze Block. Our new precise sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe U-Pb data indicate a deposition age of 1180 ± 15 Ma for the Shicaohe Formation subalkaline basaltic tuff that is geochemically similar to modern intracontinental rift volcanic rocks. The integration of available geochemical data together with our new U-Pb ages indicates the Shicaohe Formation subalkaline basaltic tuff formed ca. 1180 in a continental rift-related setting on a passive continental margin. The Shennongjia Group is topped by the Zhengjiaya Formation volcanic sequence, indicating arc-related igneous events at 1103 Ma. The transition of the late Mesoproterozoic tectonic regime from intracontinental extension to convergence occurred between ca. 1180 and 1103 Ma in the northern Yangtze Block. Tectonic evolution in the Neoproterozoic led to accretion along the northern margin of the Yangtze Block. These results provide geochronological evidence, which is of utmost importance for reconfiguration of the chronostratigraphic framework and for promoting research on Mesoproterozoic strata in China, thereby increasing understanding of magmatic events and basin evolutionary history in the northern Yangtze Block.

The crustal structure of the Enderby Basin, East Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Joshua K.; Lawver, Lawrence A.; Norton, Ian O.; Dalziel, Ian W. D.; Gahagan, Lisa M.

2018-05-01

The passive margin and ocean crust of the Enderby Basin, East Antarctica preserves a record of the breakup of East Gondwana. Using a suite of public domain geophysical data, we have examined and described the crustal morphology of the basin. Based on our geophysical observations, we divide the Enderby Basin into three distinct morphologic domains. The Eastern Domain demonstrates the most volcanic morphology of the basin, with abundant seaward dipping reflector packages and anomalously thick oceanic crust. These features suggest an early influence by the Kerguelen Hotspot on continental breakup within the domain. The Central Domain is characterized by two regions of oceanic crust of varying morphology segregated by a high amplitude magnetic anomaly. Geophysical observations suggest that the basement directly inboard of this magnetic anomaly is composed of thin, rugged, and poorly structured, proto-oceanic crust, similar in morphology to oceanic crust formed at ultraslow/slow mid-ocean ridged. Outboard of this anomaly, oceanic crust appears to be well-structured and of normal thickness. We offer three, non-exclusive, explanations for the observed change in ocean crustal structure: (1) melt production was initially low at the time of continental breakup, and the progressive decompression of the mantle led to a gradual increase in melt production and ocean crust thickness, (2) melt production was initially low to due lower extension rates and that melt production increased following a change in spreading rate, (3) a change in spreading ridge geometry led to more effective seafloor spreading rate and concurrent increase in melt production. The Western Domain of the Enderby Basin is characterized by abundant fracture zones and anomalously thin oceanic crust. We believe these features arose as a geometric consequence of the originally oblique orientation of continental rifting relative to the extension direction within the domain. Together these observations suggest that the breakup of East Gondwana was highly variable, with notable along-strike differences in crustal deformation and seafloor spreading processes.

The Continent-Ocean Transition in the Mid-Norwegian Margin: Insight From Seismic Data and the Onshore Caledonian Analogue in the Seve Nappe Complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdelmalak, Mansour M.; Planke, Sverre; Andersen, Torgeir B.; Faleide, Jan Inge; Corfu, Fernando; Tegner, Christian; Myklebust, Reidun

2015-04-01

The continental breakup and initial seafloor spreading in the NE Atlantic was accompanied by widespread intrusive and extrusive magmatism and the formation of conjugate volcanic passive margins. These margins are characterized by the presence of seaward dipping reflectors (SDR), an intense network of mafic sheet intrusions of the continental crust and adjacent sedimentary basins and a high-velocity lower crustal body. Nevertheless many issues remain unclear regarding the structure of volcanic passive margins; in particular the transitional crust located beneath the SDR.New and reprocessed seismic reflection data on the Mid-Norwegian margin allow a better sub-basalt imaging of the transitional crust located beneath the SDR. Different high-amplitude reflections with abrupt termination and saucer shaped geometries are identified and interpreted as sill intrusions. Other near vertical and inclined reflections are interpreted as dykes or dyke swarms. We have mapped the extent of the dyke reflections along the volcanic margin. The mapping suggests that the dykes represent the main feeder system for the SDR. The identification of saucer shaped sills implies the presence of sediments in the transitional zone beneath the volcanic sequences. Onshore exposures of Precambrian basement of the eroded volcanic margin in East Greenland show that, locally, the transitional crust is highly intruded by dykes and intrusive complexes with an increasing intensity of the plumbing and dilatation of the continental crust ocean-ward. Another well exposed analogue for a continent-ocean transitional crust is located within the Seve Nappe Complex (SNC) of the Scandinavian Caledonides. The best-preserved parts of SNC in the Pårte, Sarek, Kebnekaise, Abisko, and Indre Troms mountains are composed mainly of meta-sandstones and shales (now hornfelses) truncated typically by mafic dykes. At Sarek and Pårte, the dykes intrude the sedimentary rocks of the Favoritkammen Group, with a dyke density up to 70-80%. This complex was photographed in a regional helicopter survey and sampled for the study of the different dyke generations, their geochemistry and ages in 2014. Extending for at least 800 km within the SNC, the mafic igneous rocks most probably belonged to a volcanic system with the size of a large igneous province (LIP). This volcanic margin is suggested to have formed along the Caledonian margin of Baltica or within hyperextended continental slivers outboard of Baltica during the breakup of Rodinia. The intensity of the pre-Caledonian LIP-magmatism is comparable to that of the NE Atlantic volcanic margins. The SNC-LIP is considered to represent a potential onshore analogue to the deeper level of the Mid-Norwegian margin transitional crust, and permits direct observation, sampling and better understanding of deeper levels of magma-rich margins.

2 - 4 million years of sedimentary processes in the Labrador Sea: implication for North Atlantic stratigraphy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosher, D. C.; Saint-Ange, F.; Campbell, C.; Piper, D. J.

2012-12-01

Marine sedimentary records from the western North Atlantic show that a significant portion of sediment deposited since the Pliocene originated from the Canadian Shield. In the Labrador Sea, previous studies have shown that bottom currents .strongly influenced sedimentation during the Pliocene, while during the Quaternary, intensification of turbidity current flows related to meltwater events were a dominant factor in supplying sediment to the basin and in the development of the North Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel (NAMOC). Despite understanding this general pattern of sediment flux, details regarding the transfer of sediment from the Labrador Shelf to deep water and from the Labrador Sea to the North Atlantic remain poorly understood. Our study focuses on sedimentary processes occurring along the Labrador margin since the Pliocene and their consequences on the margin architecture, connection to the NAMOC, and role in sediment flux from the Labrador basin to the Sohm Abyssal Plain. Piston core and high resolution seismic data reveal that during the Pliocene to mid Pleistocene, widespread slope failures led to mass transport deposition along the entire Labrador continental slope. After the mid Pleistocene, sedimentation along the margin was dominated by the combined effects of glaciation and active bottom currents. On the shelf, prograded sedimentary wedges filled troughs and agraded till sheets form intervening banks. On the slope, stacked glaciogenic fans developed seaward of transverse troughs between 400 and 2800 mbsl. On the lower slope, seismic data show thick sediment drifts capped by glacio-marine mud. This unit is draped by well stratified sediment and marks a switch from a contourite dominated regime to a turbidite dominated regime. This shift occurred around 0.5 - 0.8 ka and correlates to the intensification of glaciations. Late Pleistocene sediments on the upper slope consist of stratified sediments related to proglacial plume fall-out. Coarse grained sediments, other than ice rafted detritus, by-passed the upper and middle slope and were transported to the lower slope and deep ocean. Seismic profiles and multibeam data along the Labrador Slope show a complex network of channels, with wide flat-bottomed channels off Saglek Bank to narrow channels off Cartwright Bank. The channels merge around 3000 mbsl to form single wide (~20 km) channels that eventually intersect, or flow parallel to the NAMOC. Rapid development of the NAMOC from the mid to late Pleistocene affected depositional patterns for sediment sourced from the Labrador margin. Downslope-transported sediment from the Labrador margin mostly tends to fill the basin or feed into NAMOC through tributary systems, whereas sediments derived from Hudson Strait feed the NAMOC and eventually the Sohm Abyssal plain. Sediment transported southward by the Western Boundary Undercurrent and Labrador Current likely reflect input along the margin, from Hudson Strait to Orphan Basin. Turbidite spill-over deposits are observed onlapping the continental margin of Labrador and Newfoundland as far south as Newfoundland Ridge.

Incorporating Cutting Edge Scientific Results from the Margins-Geoprisms Program into the Undergraduate Curriculum, Rupturing Continental Lithosphere Part I: Introducing Seismic Interpretation and Isostasy Principles Using Gulf of California Examples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamb, M. A.; Cashman, S. M.; Dorsey, R. J.; Bennett, S. E. K.; Loveless, J. P.; Goodliffe, A. M.

2014-12-01

The NSF-MARGINS Program funded a decade of research on continental margin processes. The NSF-GeoPRISMS Mini-lesson Project, funded by NSF-TUES, is designed to integrate the significant findings from the MARGINS program into open-source college-level curriculum. The Gulf of California (GOC) served as the focus site for the Rupturing Continental Lithosphere initiative, which addressed several scientific questions: What forces drive rift initiation, localization, propagation and evolution? How does deformation vary in time and space, and why? How does crust evolve, physically and chemically, as rifting proceeds to sea-floor spreading? What is the role of sedimentation and magmatism in continental extension? We developed two weeks of curriculum designed for an upper-division structural geology, tectonics or geophysics course. The curriculum includes lectures, labs, and in-class activities that can be used as a whole or individually. The first set of materials introduces the RCL initiative to students and has them analyze the bathymetry and oblique-rifting geometry of the GOC in an exercise using GeoMapApp. The second set of materials has two goals: (1) introduce students to fundamental concepts of interpreting seismic reflection data via lectures and in-class interpretation of strata, basement, and faults from recent GOC seismic data, and (2) encourage students to discover the structural geometry and rift evolution, including the east-to-west progression of faulting and transition from detachment to high-angle faulting in the northern GOC, and changes in deformation style from north to south. In the third set of materials, students investigate isostatic affects of sediment fill in GOC oblique rift basins. This activity consists of a problem set, introduced in a lecture, where students integrate their findings from the previous bathymetry- and seismic-interpretation exercises.

Reconstruction of Northeast Asian Deformation Integrated with Western Pacific Plate Subduction since 200 Ma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, S.; Gurnis, M.; Ma, P.; Zhang, B.

2017-12-01

The configuration and kinematics of continental deformation and its marginal plate tectonics on the Earth's surface are intrinsic manifestations of plate-mantle coupling. The complex interactions of plate boundary forces result in plate motions that are dominated by slab pull and ridge push forces and the effects of mantle drag; these interactions also result in continental deformation with a complex basin-mountain architecture and evolution. The kinematics and evolution of the western Pacific subduction and northeast Asian continental-margin deformation are a first-order tectonic process whose nature and chronology remains controversial. This paper implements a "deep-time" reconstruction of the western Pacific subduction, continental accretion or collision and basin-mountain deformation in northeast Asia since 200 Ma based on a newly revised global plate model. The results demonstrate a NW-SE-oriented shortening from 200-137 Ma, a NWW-SEE-oriented extension from 136-101 Ma, a nearly N-S-oriented extension and uplift with a short-term NWW-SEE-oriented compressional inversion in northeast China from 100-67 Ma, and a NW-SE- and nearly N-S-oriented extension from 66 Ma to the present day. The western Pacific oceanic plate subducted forward under East Asia along Mudanjiang-Honshu Island during the Jurassic, and the trenches retreated to the Sikhote-Alin, North Shimanto, and South Shimanto zones from ca. 137-128 Ma, ca. 130-90 Ma, and in ca. 60 Ma, respectively. Our time-dependent analysis of plate motion and continental deformation coupling suggests that the multi-plate convergent motion and ocean-continent convergent orogeny were induced by advance subduction during the Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous. Our analysis also indicates that the intra-continent rifting and back-arc extension were triggered by trench retreat during the Cretaceous and that the subduction of oceanic ridge and arc were triggered by trench retreat during the Cenozoic. Therefore, reconstructing the history of plate motion and subduction and tracing the geological and deformation records in continents play a significant role in revealing the effects of complex plate motions and the interactions of plate boundary forces on plate-mantle coupling and plate motion-intracontinental deformation coupling.

Phanerozoic geological evolution of Northern and Central Africa: An overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guiraud, R.; Bosworth, W.; Thierry, J.; Delplanque, A.

2005-10-01

The principal paleogeographic characteristics of North and Central Africa during the Paleozoic were the permanency of large exposed lands over central Africa, surrounded by northerly and northwesterly dipping pediplanes episodically flooded by epicontinental seas related to the Paleotethys Ocean. The intra-continental Congo-Zaire Basin was also a long-lived feature, as well as the Somali Basin from Late Carboniferous times, in conjunction with the development of the Karoo basins of southern Africa. This configuration, in combination with eustatic sea-level fluctuations, had a strong influence on facies distributions. Significant transgressions occurred during the Early Cambrian, Tremadocian, Llandovery, Middle to Late Devonian, Early Carboniferous, and Moscovian. The Paleozoic tectonic history shows an alternation of long periods of predominantly gentle basin subsidence and short periods of gentle folding and occasionally basin inversion. Some local rift basins developed episodically, located mainly along the northern African-Arabian plate margin and near the West African Craton/Pan-African Belt suture. Several arches or spurs, mainly N-S to NE-SW trending and inherited from late Pan-African fault swarms, played an important role. The Nubia Province was the site of numerous alkaline anorogenic intrusions, starting in Ordovician times, and subsequently formed a large swell. Paleozoic compressional events occurred in the latest Early Cambrian ("Iskelian"), Medial Ordovician to earliest Silurian ("pre-Caradoc" and "Taconian"), the end Silurian ("Early Acadian" or "Ardennian"), mid-Devonian ("Mid-Acadian"), the end Devonian ("Late Acadian" or "Bretonnian"), the earliest Serpukhovian ("Sudetic"), and the latest Carboniferous-earliest Permian ("Alleghanian" or "Asturian"). The strongest deformations, including folding, thrusting, and active strike-slip faulting, were registered in Northwestern Africa during the last stage of the Pan-African Belt development around the West African Craton (end Early Cambrian) and during the polyphased Hercynian-Variscan Orogeny that extended the final closure of the Paleotethys Ocean and resulted in the formation of the Maghrebian and Mauritanides belts. Only gentle deformation affected central and northeastern African during the Paleozoic, the latter remaining a passive margin of the Paleotethys Ocean up to the Early Permian when the development of the Neotethys initiated along the Eastern Mediterranean Basins. The Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary sequence similarly consists of a succession of eustatically and tectonically controlled depositional cycles. Through time, progressive southwards shift of the basin margins occurred, related to the opening of the Neotethys Ocean and to the transgressions resulting from warming of the global climate and associated rise of the global sea level. The Guinean-Nigerian Shield, the Hoggar, Tibesti-Central Cyrenaica, Nubia, western Saudi Arabia, Central African Republic, and other long-lived arches delimited the principal basins. The main tectonic events were the polyphased extension, inversion, and folding of the northern African-Arabian shelf margin resulting in the development of the Alpine Maghrebian and Syrian Arc belts, rifting and drifting along the Central Atlantic, Somali Basins, and Gulf of Aden-Red Sea domains, inversion of the Murzuq-Djado Basin, and rifting and partial inversion along the Central African Rift System. Two major compressional events occurred in the Late Santonian and early Late Eocene. The former entailed folding and strike-slip faulting along the northeastern African-northern Arabian margin (Syrian Arc) and the Central African Fold Belt System (from Benue to Ogaden), and thrusting in Oman. The latter ("Pyrenean-Atlasic") resulted in folding, thrusting, and local metamorphism of the northern African-Arabian plate margin, and rejuvenation of intra-plate fault zones. Minor or more localized compressional deformations took place in the end Cretaceous, the Burdigalian, the Tortonian and Early Quaternary. Recent tectonic activity is mainly concentrated along the Maghrebian Alpine Belt, the offshore Nile Delta, the Red Sea-East African Rifts Province, the Aqaba-Dead Sea-Bekaa sinistral strike-slip fault zone, and some major intra-plate fault zones including the Guinean-Nubian, Aswa, and central Sinai lineaments. Large, long-lived magmatic provinces developed in the Egypt-Sudan confines (Nubia), in the Hoggar-Air massifs, along the Cameroon Line and Nigerian Jos Plateau, and along the Levant margin, resulting in uplifts that influenced the paleogeography. Extensive tholeiitic basaltic magmatism at ˜200 Ma preceded continental break-up in the Central Atlantic domain, while extensive alkaline to transitional basaltic magmatism accompanied the Oligocene to Recent rifting along the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden-East African rift province.

Late Pleistocene sequence architecture on the geostrophic current-dominated southwest margin of the Ulleung Basin, East Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Dong-Lim; Shin, Dong-Hyeok; Kum, Byung-Cheol; Jang, Seok; Cho, Jin-Hyung; Jou, Hyeong-Tae; Jang, Nam-Do

2018-06-01

High-resolution multichannel seismic data were collected to identify depositional sequences on the southwestern shelf of the Ulleung Basin, where a unidirectional ocean current is dominant at water depths exceeding 130 m. Four aggradational stratigraphic sequences with a 100,000-year cycle were recognized since marine isotope stage (MIS) 10. These sequences consist only of lowstand systems tracts (LSTs) and falling-stage systems tracts (FSSTs). Prograding wedge-shaped deposits are present in the LSTs near the shelf break. Oblique progradational clinoforms of forced regressive deposits are present in the FSSTs on the outer continental shelf. Each FSST has non-uniform forced regressional stratal geometries, reflecting that the origins of sediments in each depositional sequence changed when sea level was falling. Slump deposits are characteristically developed in the upper layer of the FSSTs, and this was used as evidence to distinguish the sequence boundaries. The subsidence rates around the shelf break reached as much as 0.6 mm/year since MIS 10, which contributed to the well-preserved depositional sequence. During the Quaternary sea-level change, the water depth in the Korea Strait declined and the intensity of the Tsushima Current flowing near the bottom of the inner continental shelf increased. This resulted in greater erosion of sediments that were delivered to the outer continental shelf, which was the main cause of sediment deposition on the deep, low-angled outer shelf. Therefore, a depositional sequence formation model that consists of only FSSTs and LSTs, excluding highstand systems tracts (HSTs) and transgressive systems tracts (TSTs), best explains the depositional sequence beneath this shelf margin dominated by a geostrophic current.

Dynamics and the Wilson Cycle: An EarthScope vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebinger, Cynthia; Humphreys, Eugene; Williams, Michael; van der Lee, Suzan; Levin, Vadim; Webb, Laura; Becker, Thorsten

2017-04-01

Wilson's model has two major components, each with distinctive observables. Initial subduction of ocean lithosphere collides continents across a closing ocean basin, creating a mountain range; rifting then initiates within the collisional orogeny and progresses to create oceanic spreading and creation of a new ocean basin. Subduction eventually initiates near the old, cold, and heavily sedimented continental margin, leading to subduction, and repeating the cycle. This model is largely kinematic in nature, and predictive in application. We re-evaluate the Wilson Cycle in light of process-oriented perspectives afforded by the surface to mantle Earthscope results. Repeating episodes of mountain building by means of continental collisions remains clear, but new observations augment or diverge from Wilson's concepts. A 'new' component stems from observations from both the East and West coasts: translational fault systems played critical roles in continental accretion, collision, and rifting. Earthscope data sets also have enabled imaging of the structure of western U.S. lithosphere with unprecedented detail. From new and existing data sets, we conclude that collision occurs in 'ribbons' in large part linked to the shapes of the landmasses colliding landmasses, and deformation includes a major component of transform tectonics. Post-orogenic gravitational collapse may occur far inboard of the site of collision. A third 'new' feature is that plate coupling with the mantle leads to deformation outside the classic Wilson Cycle. For example, the passive margin of eastern N. America shows tectonic activity, uplift, and magmatism long after the onset of seafloor spreading, demonstrating the dynamic nature of lithosphere-asthenosphere coupling. A 'fourth' observation is that lateral density contrasts and volatile migration during subduction and collision effectively refertilize mantle lithosphere, and pre-condition later tectonic cycles.

The mechanism of post-rift fault activities in Baiyun sag, Pearl River Mouth basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zhen; Xu, Ziying; Sun, Longtao; Pang, Xiong; Yan, Chengzhi; Li, Yuanping; Zhao, Zhongxian; Wang, Zhangwen; Zhang, Cuimei

2014-08-01

Post-rift fault activities were often observed in deepwater basins, which have great contributions to oil and gas migration and accumulation. The main causes for post-rift fault activities include tectonic events, mud or salt diapirs, and gravitational collapse. In the South China Sea continental margin, post-rift fault activities are widely distributed, especially in Baiyun sag, one of the largest deepwater sag with its main body located beneath present continental slope. During the post-rift stage, large population of faults kept active for a long time from 32 Ma (T70) till 5.5 Ma (T10). Seismic interpretation, fault analysis and analogue modeling experiments indicate that the post-rift fault activities in Baiyun sag between 32 Ma (T70) and 13.8 Ma (T30) was mainly controlled by gravity pointing to the Main Baiyun sag, which caused the faults extensive on the side facing Main Baiyun sag and the back side compressive. Around 32 Ma (T70), the breakup of the continental margin and the spreading of the South China Sea shed a combined effect of weak compression toward Baiyun sag. The gravity during post-rift stage might be caused by discrepant subsidence and sedimentation between strongly thinned sag center and wing areas. This is supported by positive relationship between sedimentation rate and fault growth index. After 13.8 Ma (T30), fault activity shows negative relationship with sedimentation rate. Compressive uplift and erosion in seismic profiles as well as negative tectonic subsiding rates suggest that the fault activity from 13.8 Ma (T30) to 5.5 Ma (T10) might be controlled by the subductive compression from the Philippine plate in the east.

Late Pleistocene sequence architecture on the geostrophic current-dominated southwest margin of the Ulleung Basin, East Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Dong-Lim; Shin, Dong-Hyeok; Kum, Byung-Cheol; Jang, Seok; Cho, Jin-Hyung; Jou, Hyeong-Tae; Jang, Nam-Do

2017-11-01

High-resolution multichannel seismic data were collected to identify depositional sequences on the southwestern shelf of the Ulleung Basin, where a unidirectional ocean current is dominant at water depths exceeding 130 m. Four aggradational stratigraphic sequences with a 100,000-year cycle were recognized since marine isotope stage (MIS) 10. These sequences consist only of lowstand systems tracts (LSTs) and falling-stage systems tracts (FSSTs). Prograding wedge-shaped deposits are present in the LSTs near the shelf break. Oblique progradational clinoforms of forced regressive deposits are present in the FSSTs on the outer continental shelf. Each FSST has non-uniform forced regressional stratal geometries, reflecting that the origins of sediments in each depositional sequence changed when sea level was falling. Slump deposits are characteristically developed in the upper layer of the FSSTs, and this was used as evidence to distinguish the sequence boundaries. The subsidence rates around the shelf break reached as much as 0.6 mm/year since MIS 10, which contributed to the well-preserved depositional sequence. During the Quaternary sea-level change, the water depth in the Korea Strait declined and the intensity of the Tsushima Current flowing near the bottom of the inner continental shelf increased. This resulted in greater erosion of sediments that were delivered to the outer continental shelf, which was the main cause of sediment deposition on the deep, low-angled outer shelf. Therefore, a depositional sequence formation model that consists of only FSSTs and LSTs, excluding highstand systems tracts (HSTs) and transgressive systems tracts (TSTs), best explains the depositional sequence beneath this shelf margin dominated by a geostrophic current.

Stress states in the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt from passive margin to collisional tectonic setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navabpour, Payman; Barrier, Eric

2012-12-01

The present-day Zagros fold-and-thrust belt of SW-Iran corresponds to the former Arabian passive continental margin of the southern Neo-Tethyan basin since the Permian-Triassic rifting, undergoing later collisional deformation in mid-late Cenozoic times. In this paper an overview of brittle tectonics and palaeostress reconstructions of the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt is presented, based on direct stress tensor inversion of fault slip data. The results indicate that, during the Neo-Tethyan oceanic opening, an extensional tectonic regime affectedthe sedimentary cover in Triassic-Jurassic times with an approximately N-S trend of the σ3 axis, oblique to the margin, which was followed by some local changes to a NE-SW trend during Jurassic-Cretaceous times. The stress state significantly changed to thrust setting, with a NE-SW trend of the σ1 axis, and a compressional tectonic regime prevailed during the continental collision and folding of the sedimentary cover in Oligocene-Miocene times. This compression was then followed by a strike-slip stress state with an approximately N-S trend of the σ1 axis, oblique to the belt, during inversion of the inherited extensional basement structures in Pliocene-Recent times. The brittle tectonic reconstructions, therefore, highlighted major changes of the stress state in conjunction with transitions between thin- and thick-skinned structures during different extensional and compressional stages of continental deformation within the oblique divergent and convergent settings, respectively.

Earth-System Scales of Biodiversity Variability in Shallow Continental Margin Seafloor Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moffitt, S. E.; White, S. M.; Hill, T. M.; Kennett, J.

2015-12-01

High-resolution paleoceanographic sedimentary sequences allow for the description of ecosystem sensitivity to earth-system scales of climate and oceanographic change. Such archives from Santa Barbara Basin, California record the ecological consequences to seafloor ecosystems of climate-forced shifts in the California Current Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ). Here we use core MV0508-20JPC dated to 735,000±5,000 years ago (Marine Isotope Stage 18) as a "floating window" of millennial-scale ecological variability. For this investigation, previously published archives of planktonic δ18O (Globigerina bulloides) record stadial and interstadial oscillations in surface ocean temperature. Core MV0508-20JPC is an intermittently laminated archive, strongly influenced by the California Current OMZ, with continuously preserved benthic foraminifera and discontinuously preserved micro-invertebrates, including ophiuroids, echinoderms, ostracods, gastropods, bivalves and scaphopods. Multivariate statistical approaches, such as ordinations and cluster analyses, describe climate-driven changes in both foraminiferal and micro-invertebrate assemblages. Statistical ordinations illustrate that the shallow continental margin seafloor underwent predictable phase-shifts in oxygenation and biodiversity across stadial and interstadial events. A narrow suite of severely hypoxic taxa characterized foraminiferal communities from laminated intervals, including Bolivina tumida, Globobulimina spp., and Nonionella stella. Foraminiferal communities from bioturbated intervals are diverse and >60% similar to each other, and they are associated with echinoderm, ostracod and mollusc fossils. As with climate shifts in the latest Quaternary, there is a sensitive benthic ecosystem response in mid-Pleistocene continental margins to climatically related changes in OMZ strength.

Upper triassic continental margin strata of the central alaska range: Implications for paleogeographic reconstruction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Till, A.B.; Harris, A.G.; Wardlaw, B.R.; Mullen, M.

2007-01-01

Reexamination of existing conodont collections from the central Alaska Range indicates that Upper Triassic marine slope and basin rocks range in age from at least as old as the late Carnian to the early middle Norian. The conodont assemblages typical of these rocks are generally cosmopolitan and do not define a distinct paleogeographic faunal realm. One collection, however, containsEpigondolella multidentata sensu Orchard 1991c, which appears to be restricted to western North American autochthonous rocks. Although paleogeographic relations cannot be determined with specificity, the present distribution of biofaces within the Upper Triassic sequence could not have been the result of simple accordion-style collapse of the Late Triassic margin.

Global tectonic studies: Hotspots and anomalous topography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke, K.; Kidd, W. S. F.; Delong, S.; Thiessen, R. L.; Carosella, R.; Mcgetchin, T. R.

1979-01-01

Volcanic activity on Earth and its secular variations are compared with that on other terrestrial planets. Activity at divergent, transform, and convergent plate margins is described with particular emphasis on hot spots and flood basalts. The timing and causing of uplifting above 500 meters, which in not associated with either plate boundaries or the normal nonplate margin edges of continents is considered with particular focus on the Guyana Highlands in southern Venezuela and western British Guiana, and the Brazilian Highlands in the central, eastern, and southern parts of the country. The mode and mechanism of plateau uplifting and the re-elevation of old mountain belts and subsidence of intra-continental basins are also discussed.

An Andean-type retro-arc foreland system beneath northwest South China revealed by SINOPROBE profiling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jianhua; Dong, Shuwen; Cawood, Peter A.; Zhao, Guochun; Johnston, Stephen T.; Zhang, Yueqiao; Xin, Yujia

2018-05-01

In the Mesozoic, South China was situated along the convergent margin between the Asian and Pacific plates, providing an excellent laboratory to understand the interactions between deformation, sedimentation and magmatism in a retroarc environment. The crustal architecture of northwest South China is displayed along the ∼600-km-long SINOPROBE deep seismic reflection profiles and reveals from east to west: (1) highly folded and truncated reflectors in the upper crust of the Yangtze Fold Zone, which correspond to thin- and thick-skinned thrust systems, and document large-scale intraplate structural imbrication and shortening; (2) a crustal-scale flat-ramp-flat structure, termed the Main Yangtze decollement, which forms a weak, viscous layer to accommodate strain decoupling and material transport in the thin- and thick-skinned systems; and (3) nearly flat-lying reflectors in the Sichuan Basin, which support interpretation of the basin as a weakly deformed depocentre. The Yangtze Fold Zone and the Sichuan Basin represent a retro-arc foreland basin system that is >800 km away from the continental-margin magmatic arc. We suggest that tectonic processes across the arc and retro-arc systems, including arc magma flare-up, basin sedimentation, retroarc thrust propagation, lithosphere underthrusting, root foundering, and extension-related magmatism were interrelated and governed mass transfer. Age data and geological relations link the tectonic processes to evolving geodynamics of the subducting Paleo-Pacific plate.

Paleozoic and Lower Mesozoic magmas from the eastern Klamath Mountains (North California) and the geodynamic evolution of northwestern America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapierre, H.; Brouxel, M.; Albarede, F.; Coulin, C.; Lecuyer, C.; Martin, P.; Mascle, G.; Rouer, O.

1987-09-01

The Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic geology of the eastern Klamath Mountains (N California) is characterized by three major magmatic events of Ordovician, Late Ordovician to Early Devonian, and Permo-Triassic ages. The Ordovician event is represented by a calc-alkalic island-arc sequence (Lovers Leap Butte sequence) developed in the vicinity of a continental margin. The Late Ordovician to Early Devonian event consists of the 430-480 Ma old Trinity ophiolite formed during the early development of a marginal basin, and a series of low-K tholeiitic volcanic suites (Lovers Leap Basalt—Keratophyre unit, Copley and Balaklala Formations) belonging to intraoceanic island-arcs. Finally, the Permo-Triassic event gave rise to three successives phases of volcanic activity (Nosoni, Dekkas and Bully Hill) represented by the highly differentiated basalt-to-rhyolite low-K tholeiitic series of mature island-arcs. The Permo-Triassic sediments are indicative of shallow to moderate depth in an open, warm sea. The geodynamic evolution of the eastern Klamath Mountains during Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic times is therefore constrained by the geological, petrological and geochemical features of its island-arcs and related marginal basin. A consistent plate-tectonic model is proposed for the area, consisting of six main stages: (1) development during Ordovician times of a calc-alkalic island-arc in the vicinity of a continental margin; (2) extrusion during Late Ordovician to Silurian times of a primitive basalt-andesite intraoceanic island-arc suite, which terminated with boninites, the latter suggest rifting in the fore-arc, followed by the breakup of the arc; (3) opening and development of the Trinity back-arc basin around 430-480 Ma ago; (4) eruption of the Balaklala Rhyolite either in the arc or in the fore-arc, ending in Early Devonian time with intrusion of the 400 Ma Mule Mountain stock; (5) break in volcanic activity from the Early Devonian to the Early Permian; and (6) development of a mature island-arc from the Early Permian to the Late Triassic. The eastern Klamath Mountains island-arc formations and ophiolitic suite are part of the "Cordilleran suspect terranes", considered to be Gondwana margin fragments, that have undergone large northward translations before final collision with the North American craton during Late Mesozoic or Cenozoic times. These eastern Klamath Mountains island-arcs could be associated with the paleo-Pacific oceanic plate that led to accretion of these allochthonous terranes to the American margin.

Tectonic isolation from regional sediment sourcing of the Paradox Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, T. M.; Saylor, J.; Sundell, K. E.; Lapen, T. J.

2017-12-01

The Appalachian and Ouachita-Marathon mountain ranges were created by a series of tectonic collisions that occurred through the middle and late Paleozoic along North America's eastern and southern margins, respectively. Previous work employing detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology has demonstrated that fluvial and eolian systems transported Appalachian-derived sediment across the continent to North America's Paleozoic western margin. However, contemporaneous intraplate deformation of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains (ARM) compartmentalized much of the North American western interior and mid-continent. We employ lithofacies characterization, stratigraphic thickness, paleocurrent data, sandstone petrography, and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology to evaluate source-sink relationships of the Paradox Basin, which is one of the most prominent ARM basins. Evaluation of provenance is conducted through quantitative comparison of detrital zircon U-Pb distributions from basin samples and potential sources via detrital zircon mixture modeling, and is augmented with sandstone petrography. Mixing model results provide a measure of individual source contributions to basin stratigraphy, and are combined with outcrop and subsurface data (e.g., stratigraphic thickness and facies distributions) to create tectonic isolation maps. These maps elucidate drainage networks and the degree to which local versus regional sources influence sediment character within a single basin, or multiple depocenters. Results show that despite the cross-continental ubiquity of Appalachian-derived sediment, fluvial and deltaic systems throughout much of the Paradox Basin do not record their influence. Instead, sediment sourcing from the Uncompahgre Uplift, which has been interpreted to drive tectonic subsidence and formation of the Paradox Basin, completely dominated its sedimentary record. Further, the strong degree of tectonic isolation experienced by the Paradox Basin appears to be an emerging, yet common feature among other intraplate, tectonically active basins.

Cenozoic plate reconstruction of the South China Sea region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Tung-Yi; Lawver, Lawrence A.

1994-07-01

Reconstructions of the South China Sea region at 60 Ma, 40 Ma, 30 Ma, 20 Ma, 10 Ma and 5 Ma are presented. We have attempted to place the South China Sea Basin in a regional tectonic framework. The tectonic evolution of the major blocks surrounding the South China Sea were analyzed, as well as the relative motions of the Indian and Australian plates. We have tried to correct the tectonic models available in this region. A 3-D graphics terminal was used to derive rotation poles for the different tectonic blocks and our model was then tested to determine its self-consistency. When the model conflicted with previous interpretations the input data were evaluated for alternative explanations. At least two, and possibly three, stages of extension can be recognized in this region. The earliest one, active in the Late Cretaceous to Eocene, involved NW-SE extension. The second one, active from the Late Eocene to Early Miocene involved north-south extension. The third stage of extension, which probably trended NW-SE, can be dated as post-Oligocene. The first extensional event produced the NE-SW trending proto-South China Sea and a series of sedimentary basins along the South China margin. Following the southeastward extrusion of Indochina, the proto-South China Sea was mostly consumed at the Palawan Trough. Renewed north-south extension in the South China continental margin started the present-day South China Sea spreading in the Oligocene. The southeastward extrusion of Indochina, blocked by Sundaland, resulted in the NW-SE trending opening of the South China Sea Basin in the Early Miocene. Collision of the North Palawan microcontinental block with the West Philippines block stopped the opening of the South China Sea at the end of Early Miocene. Spreading activity switched to the Sulu Sea Basin in the Middle Miocene but collision between the Sulu Ridge and the West Philippines at Mindanao halted the opening of the Sulu Sea at the end of the Middle Miocene. In the Late Miocene, Greater India continued its northward path and seems to have ripped open the Andaman Sea. In the Pliocene, subduction along the northern Manila Trench placed the North Luzon Arc on a collision path with the East Asia continental margin at Taiwan. Our reconstructions, along with detailed geological and geophysical information, may be used as a predictive tool for basin evolution models and block interactions in this region. The development of the South China Sea Basin, the Gulf of Thailand, the Malay Basin and the central Thailand basins are the result of collision-induced extensional forces. The Sulu, Celebes and Sumatra basins were formed as a consequence of prolonged subduction. The opening of the Pearl River Mouth, West Natuna, South China Sea, Sulu, and possibly Celebes, basins were terminated by various plate collisions. During the course of plate reorganizations major boundary faults have changed their slip senses during different stages of evolution.

Post-Paleogene (post-Middle Eocene-pre-Miocene) Geodynamic evolution of the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene Basins in Central Anatolia, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rojay, Bora

2017-04-01

Central Anatolia is one of the key areas on the evolution of Cretaceous-Paleogene Tethys where stratigraphy of the region is well studied. However not well linked with tectonics. The so-called "Ankara Mélange" belt (AOM) and the basins on top are important elements in the understanding of the İzmir-Ankara-Erzincan suture belt (İAES) evolution in Anatolia (Turkey) and in the evolution of Tethys in minor Asia (Turkey). Some of the basins are directly situated on top of the tectonic slices of the accretionary prism (IAES). However, some are not tectonically well explained as in the case of Haymana basin. The southern continental fragments (eg. Kütahya-Bolkardaǧ and Kırşehir blocks from Gondwana) are approaching to northern continents (Pontides of Lauriasia) where basins like Haymana, Alçı, Kırıkkale and Orhaniye extensional basins are evolved in between the closing margins of two continents. Haymana basin is an extensional basin developed under contractional regime on top of both northward subducting oceanic fragments and an approaching fragments of southern continents. Paleogene (end of Eocene) is the time where the Seas were retreated to S-SE Anatolia leaving a continental setting in Anatolia during Oligocene-Miocene. The slip data gathered from the faults cross-cutting the Paleogene Units and the fabric from Cretaceous mélanges depicts a NNW-SSE to NNE-SSW compressional stress regime operated during post-Eocene-pre-Miocene period. Lately the slip surfaces were overprinted by post-Pliocene normal faulting. Key words: fault slip data, Paleogene, NNW-SSE compression, Anatolia.

Fore-arc basin deformation in the Andaman-Nicobar segment of the Sumatra-Andaman subduction zone: Insight from high-resolution seismic reflection data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moeremans, Raphaële E.; Singh, Satish C.

2015-08-01

The Andaman-Nicobar region is the northernmost segment of the Sumatra-Andaman subduction zone and marks the western boundary of the Andaman Sea, which is a complex active back-arc extensional basin. We present the interpretation of a new set of deep seismic reflection data acquired across the Andaman-Nicobar fore-arc basin, from 8°N to 11°N, in order to better understand its structure and evolution, focusing on (1) how obliquity of convergence affects deformation in the fore arc, (2) the nature and role of the Diligent Fault (DF), and (3) the Eastern Margin Fault (EMF). Despite the obliquity of convergence, back thrusting and compression seem to dominate the Andaman-Nicobar fore-arc basin deformation. The DF is primarily a back thrust and corresponds to the Mentawai and West Andaman Fault systems farther in the south, along Sumatra. The DF is expressed in the fore-arc basin as a series of mostly landward verging folds and faults, deforming the early to late Miocene sediments. The DF seems to root from the boundary between the accretionary complex and the continental backstop, where it meets the EMF. The EMF marks the western boundary of the fore-arc basin; it is associated with subsidence and is expressed as a deep piggyback basin, containing recent Pliocene to Pleistocene sediments. The eastern edge of the fore-arc basin is the Invisible Bank (IB), which is thought to be tilted and uplifted continental crust. Subsidence along the EMF and uplift and tilting of the IB seem to be related to different opening phases in the Andaman Sea.

Sediment geochemical records of productivity and oxygen depletion along the margin of western North America during the past 60,000 years: teleconnections with Greenland Ice and the Cariaco Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dean, W.E.

2007-01-01

Many sediment records from the margins of the Californias (Alta and Baja) collected in water depths between 60 and 1200 m contain anoxic intervals (laminated sediments) that can be correlated with interstadial intervals as defined by the oxygen-isotope composition of Greenland ice (Dansgaard-Oeschger, D-O, cycles). These intervals include all or parts of Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (OIS3; 60-24 cal ka), the Bo??lling/Allero??d warm interval (B/A; 15-13 cal ka), and the Holocene. This study uses organic carbon (Corg) and trace-element proxies for anoxia and productivity, namely elevated concentrations and accumulation rates of molybdenum and cadmium, in these laminated sediments to suggest that productivity may be more important than ventilation in producing changes in bottom-water oxygen (BWO) conditions on open, highly productive continental margins. The main conclusion from these proxies is that during the last glacial interval (LGI; 24-15 cal ka) and the Younger Dryas cold interval (YD; 13-11.6 cal ka) productivity was lower and BWO levels were higher than during OIS3, the B/A, and the Holocene on all margins of the Californias. The Corg and trace-element profiles in the LGI-B/A-Holocene transition in the Cariaco Basin on the margin of northern Venezuela are remarkably similar to those in the transition on the northern California margin. Correlation between D-O cycles in Greenland ice with gray-scale measurements in varved sediments in the Cariaco Basin also is well established. Synchronous climate-driven changes as recorded in the sediments on the margins of the Californias, sediments from the Cariaco Basin, and in the GISP-2 Greenland ice core support the hypothesis that changes in atmospheric dynamics played a major role in abrupt climate change during the last 60 ka. Millennial-scale cycles in productivity and oxygen depletion on the margins of the Californias demonstrate that the California Current System was poised at a threshold whereby perturbations of atmospheric circulation produced rapid changes in circulation in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. It is likely that the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans were linked through the atmosphere. Warmer air temperatures during interstadials would have strengthened Hadley and Walker circulations, which, in turn, would have strengthened the subtropical high pressure systems in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic, producing increased rainfall over the Cariaco Basin and increased upwelling along the margins of the Californias. ?? 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Porcupine Basin: from rifting to continental breakup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reston, Timothy; Gaw, Viola; Klaeschen, Dirk; McDermott, Ken

2015-04-01

Southwest of Ireland, the Porcupine Basin is characterized by axial stretching factors that increase southward to values greater than six and typical of rifted margins. As such, the basin can be regarded as a natural laboratory to investigate the evolution and symmetry of rifting leading towards continental separation and breakup, and in particular the processes of mantle serpentinisation, and the onset of detachment faulting. We have processed through to prestack depth migration a series of E-W profiles crossing the basin at different axial stretching factors and linked by a N-S profile running close to the rift axis. Our results constrain the structure of the basin and have implications for the evolution of rifted margins. In the north at a latitude of 52.25N, no clear detachment is imaged, although faults do appear to cut down into the mantle, so that serpentinisation may have started. Further south (51.75N), a bright reflection (here named P) cuts down to the west from the base of the sedimentary section, is overlain by small fault blocks and appears to represent a detachment fault. P may in part follow the top of partially serpentinized mantle: this interpretation is consistent with gravity modelling, with numerical models of crustal embrittlement and mantle serpentinization during extension and with wide-angle data (see posters of Prada and of Watremez). Furthermore, P closely resembles the S reflection west of Iberia, where such serpentinites are well documented. P develops where the crust was thinned to less than 3 km during rifting, again similar to S. Although overall the basin remains symmetrical, the consistent westward structural dip of the detachment implies that, at high stretching factors, extension became asymmetric. Analysis of the depth sections suggests that the detachment may have been active as a rolling hinge rooting at low-angle beneath the Porcupine Bank, consistent with the presence of a footwall of serpentinites. This requires very weak fault rocks, such as serpentinites. Reconstructions suggest that the detachment developed after the onset of serpentinisation and thus represents late stage of faulting within a complex polyphase rift history. Farther south still, a N-S running profile shows that P cuts up to form the top of the basement, and locally forms the top of what we interpret as exhumed mantle, since buried by postrift sediments. Thus detachment here appear to have been both responsible for the late-stage extension of the crust and the unroofing of the mantle. The same processes are likely to have occurred at magma poor rifted margins.

Introduction to TETHYS—an interdisciplinary GIS database for studying continental collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, S. D.; Flower, M. F. J.; Sultan, M. I.; Sandvol, E.

2006-05-01

The TETHYS GIS database is being developed as a way to integrate relevant geologic, geophysical, geochemical, geochronologic, and remote sensing data bearing on Tethyan continental plate collisions. The project is predicated on a need for actualistic model 'templates' for interpreting the Earth's geologic record. Because of their time-transgressive character, Tethyan collisions offer 'actualistic' models for features such as continental 'escape', collision-induced upper mantle flow magmatism, and marginal basin opening, associated with modern convergent plate margins. Large integrated geochemical and geophysical databases allow for such models to be tested against the geologic record, leading to a better understanding of continental accretion throughout Earth history. The TETHYS database combines digital topographic and geologic information, remote sensing images, sample-based geochemical, geochronologic, and isotopic data (for pre- and post-collision igneous activity), and data for seismic tomography, shear-wave splitting, space geodesy, and information for plate tectonic reconstructions. Here, we report progress on developing such a database and the tools for manipulating and visualizing integrated 2-, 3-, and 4-d data sets with examples of research applications in progress. Based on an Oracle database system, linked with ArcIMS via ArcSDE, the TETHYS project is an evolving resource for researchers, educators, and others interested in studying the role of plate collisions in the process of continental accretion, and will be accessible as a node of the national Geosciences Cyberinfrastructure Network—GEON via the World-Wide Web and ultra-high speed internet2. Interim partial access to the data and metadata is available at: http://geoinfo.geosc.uh.edu/Tethys/ and http://www.esrs.wmich.edu/tethys.htm. We demonstrate the utility of the TETHYS database in building a framework for lithospheric interactions in continental collision and accretion.

The Lower Triassic Sorkh Shale Formation of the Tabas Block, east central Iran: Succesion of a failed-rift basin at the Paleotethys margin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lasemi, Y.; Ghomashi, M.; Amin-Rasouli, H.; Kheradmand, A.

2008-01-01

The Lower Triassic Sorkh Shale Formation is a dominantly red colored marginal marine succession deposited in the north-south trending Tabas Basin of east central Iran. It is correlated with the unconformity-bounded lower limestone member of the Elika Formation of the Alborz Mountains of northern Iran. The Sorkh Shale is bounded by the pre-Triassic and post-Lower Triassic interregional unconformities and consists mainly of carbonates, sandstones, and evaporites with shale being a minor constituent. Detailed facies analysis of the Sorkh Shale Formation resulted in recognition of several genetically linked peritidal facies that are grouped into restricted subtidal, carbonate tidal flat, siliciclastic tidal flat, coastal plain and continental evaporite facies associations. These were deposited in a low energy, storm-dominated inner-ramp setting with a very gentle slope that fringed the Tabas Block of east central Iran and passed northward (present-day coordinates) into deeper water facies of the Paleotethys passive margin of northern Cimmerian Continent. Numerous carbonate storm beds containing well-rounded intraclasts, ooids and bioclasts of mixed fauna are present in the Sorkh Shale Formation of the northern Tabas Basin. The constituents of the storm beds are absent in the fair weather peritidal facies of the Sorkh Shale Formation, but are present throughout the lower limestone member of the Elika Formation. The Tabas Block, a part of the Cimmerian continent in east central Iran, is a rift basin that developed during Early Ordovician-Silurian Paleotethys rifting. Facies and sequence stratigraphic analyses of the Sorkh Shale Formation has revealed additional evidence supporting the Tabas Block as a failed rift basin related to the Paleotethys passive margin. Absence of constituents of the storm beds in the fair weather peritidal facies of the Sorkh Shale Formation, presence of the constituents of the storm beds in the fair weather facies of the Elika Formation (the Sorkh Shale equivalent in the Alborz Paleotethys margin) and southward paleocurrent directions of carbonate storm beds suggest that the low topographic gradient of the ramp in the Tabas failed rift basin was facing the Paleotethys Ocean, where the storms were generated. In addition, northward paleocurrent directions of the fair weather facies and northward increase in carbonate content of the Sorkh Shale sequence further indicate that the Tabas Basin was tectonically a part of the Paleotethys passive margin. It is apparent that relative sea level, basin geometry and tectonic movements along the bounding faults played significant roles during deposition of the Sorkh Shale Formation by controlling accommodation space and facies variations along the Tabas failed rift basin.

Large-scale evolution of the central-east Greenland margin: New insights to the North Atlantic glaciation history

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez, Lara F.; Nielsen, Tove; Knutz, Paul C.; Kuijpers, Antoon; Damm, Volkmar

2018-04-01

The continental shelf of central-east Greenland is shaped by several glacially carved transverse troughs that form the oceanward extension of the major fjord systems. The evolution of these troughs through time, and their relation with the large-scale glaciation of the Northern Hemisphere, is poorly understood. In this study seismostratigraphic analyses have been carried out to determine the morphological and structural development of this important sector of the East Greenland glaciated margin. The age of major stratigraphic discontinuities has been constrained by a direct tie to ODP site 987 drilled in the Greenland Sea basin plain off Scoresby Sund fan system. The areal distribution and internal facies of the identified seismic units reveal the large-scale depositional pattern formed by ice-streams draining a major part of the central-east Greenland ice sheet. Initial sedimentation along the margin was, however, mainly controlled by tectonic processes related to the margin construction, continental uplift, and fluvial processes. From late Miocene to present, progradational and erosional patterns point to repeated glacial advances across the shelf. The evolution of depo-centres suggests that ice sheet advances over the continental shelf have occurred since late Miocene, about 2 Myr earlier than previously assumed. This cross-shelf glaciation is more pronounced during late Miocene and early Pliocene along Blosseville Kyst and around the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary off Scoresby Sund; indicating a northward migration of the glacial advance. The two main periods of glaciation were separated by a major retreat of the ice sheet to an inland position during middle Pliocene. Mounded-wavy deposits interpreted as current-related deposits suggest the presence of changing along-slope current dynamics in concert with the development of the modern North Atlantic oceanographic pattern.

Partitioning of deformation along a reactivated rifted margin: example of the northern Ligurian margin.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sage, Françoise; Beslier, Marie-Odile; Gaullier, Virginie; Larroque, Christophe; Dessa, Jean-Xavier; Mercier de Lepinay, Bernard; Corradi, Nicola; Migeon, Sébastien; Katz, Hélène; Ruiz Constan, Ana

2013-04-01

The northern Ligurian margin, of Oligo-Miocene age, is currently undergoing compression related to microplate motions and/or to gravity spreading of the Alpine chain located immediately north of it. Active thrust faults and folds have previously been identified below the margin, together with a global uplift of the continental edge, since at least the Messinian. The seismicity that goes with the present-day margin contraction (e.g. Mw 6.9, 1887/02/23) extends to the axis of the adjacent oceanic basin (e.g. ML 6.0, 1963/07/19; ML 5.4, 2011/07/07). However, we do not know of any recent or active crustal contractional structure within this oceanic domain. In this study, we use new 12-channel high-resolution seismic data (FABLES seismic cruise, 2012, R/V Tethys II) in order to image the sedimentary cover of the Ligurian oceanic basin, up to ~3km below the seabed, including the Plio-Quaternary and the Messinian sediment down to the bottom of the Messinian salt layer. Because the Messinian event is well dated (5.96-5.32 Ma) and well identified in the seismic data, it forms a clear marker that we use to characterize the recent deformation related to both mobile salt motion and crustal tectonics. About 50 km south of the margin offshore of Italy, we identify huge and complex salt walls that elongate SW-NE. Such salt walls, which cannot be explained by salt tectonics only, are interpreted as evidence of deep-seated crustal deformation. They form en echelon structures that are well expressed in the seabed morphology, and do not correspond to any significant vertical throw at the base of the salt layer. This suggests that within the deep basin, mainly strike-slip faulting accommodates long-term crustal deformation. It thus offers a contrast with the margin where deformation is mainly marked by shortening and reverse faulting, with vertical throws of several hundred meters. This discrepancy in the tectonic styles between the margin and the adjacent oceanic basin suggests some partitioning of the deformation. It may result from the difference in the topographic gradient of the main crustal interfaces between the steep margin and the adjacent oceanic domain, and/or to different mechanical behaviours of the adjacent lithospheric domains.

Stratigraphy of the Sarkisla area, Sivas basin, eastern central Anatolia

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

Bilgic, T.; Sumengen, M.; Terlemez, I.

1988-08-01

The stratigraphy of the Sarkisla area, southeastern Central Anatolian Massif, is characterized by a succession of rock units ranging from late Paleocene to Pliocene in age. The Caldag group mostly consists of deep-water units and forms the base of the Tertiary rocks. However, its relation to the basement rocks is not observed in the area. This group is represented by late Paleocene-Lutetian-age turbiditic pyroclastics and limestones, andesitic lavas and pyroclastics topped with reefal limestones, and turbiditic limestones and pyroclastics alternating with limestone blocks. During Lutetian to early Priabonian time, shallow marine clastics were deposited along the southern margin of themore » basin, while continental clastics and platform limestones accumulated along the northern margin. Late Priabonian to early Oligocene time is represented by gypsiferous deposits followed by late Oligocene-age fluvial clastics. The gypsiferous deposits conformably overlie the shallow marine formations but rest on the Caldag group unconformably. During early to middle Miocene time, alternating lacustrine limestones, gypsum, and basalts formed on the fluvial clastics; to the north, basalts formed on the platform limestones. The uppermost sequence of the basin, composed of Tortonian-early Pliocene-age fluvial clastics, lacustrine limestones, and fan deposits, unconformably overlies the older formations. The stratigraphy of the study area is similar to the Ulukisla basin, southwestern Central Anatolian Massif. Therefore, this basin can be considered to be the prolongation of the Ulukisla basin offset by the Ecemis fault.« less

Neogene palaeogeography and basin evolution of the Western Carpathians, Northern Pannonian domain and adjoining areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kováč, Michal; Márton, Emő; Oszczypko, Nestor; Vojtko, Rastislav; Hók, Jozef; Králiková, Silvia; Plašienka, Dušan; Klučiar, Tomáš; Hudáčková, Natália; Oszczypko-Clowes, Marta

2017-08-01

The data on the Neogene geodynamics, palaeogeography, and basin evolution of the Western Carpathians, Northern Pannonian domain and adjoining areas (ALCAPA Mega-unit) are summarized, re-evaluated, supplemented, and newly interpreted. The proposed concept is illustrated by a series of palinspastic and palaeotopographic maps. The Miocene development of the Outer Carpathians reflects the vanishing subduction of the residual oceanic and/or thinned continental crust. A compression perpendicular to the front of the orogenic system led to the closing of residual flysch troughs and to accretionary wedge growth, as well as to the development of a foredeep on the margin of the European Platform. Docking of the Outer Western Carpathians accretionary wedge, together with the Central Western Carpathians and Northern Pannonian domain, was accompanied by stretching of the overriding microplate. An orogen parallel and perpendicular extension was associated with the opening and subsidence of the Early and Middle Miocene hinterland (back-arc) basin system that compensated counter-clockwise rotations of the individual crustal fragments of ALCAPA. The Late Miocene development relates to the opening of the Pannonian Basin System. This process was coupled with common stretching of both ALCAPA and Tisza-Dacia Mega-units due to the pull exerted by subduction rollback in front of the Eastern Carpathians. The filling up of the hinterland basin system was associated with thermal subsidence and was followed by the Pliocene tectonic inversion and consequent erosion of the basin system margins, as well as part of the interior.

Carbonate sedimentation in an extensional active margin: Cretaceous history of the Haymana region, Pontides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okay, Aral I.; Altiner, Demir

2016-10-01

The Haymana region in Central Anatolia is located in the southern part of the Pontides close to the İzmir-Ankara suture. During the Cretaceous, the region formed part of the south-facing active margin of the Eurasia. The area preserves a nearly complete record of the Cretaceous system. Shallow marine carbonates of earliest Cretaceous age are overlain by a 700-m-thick Cretaceous sequence, dominated by deep marine limestones. Three unconformity-bounded pelagic carbonate sequences of Berriasian, Albian-Cenomanian and Turonian-Santonian ages are recognized: Each depositional sequence is preceded by a period of tilting and submarine erosion during the Berriasian, early Albian and late Cenomanian, which corresponds to phases of local extension in the active continental margin. Carbonate breccias mark the base of the sequences and each carbonate sequence steps down on older units. The deep marine carbonate deposition ended in the late Santonian followed by tilting, erosion and folding during the Campanian. Deposition of thick siliciclastic turbidites started in the late Campanian and continued into the Tertiary. Unlike most forearc basins, the Haymana region was a site of deep marine carbonate deposition until the Campanian. This was because the Pontide arc was extensional and the volcanic detritus was trapped in the intra-arc basins and did not reach the forearc or the trench. The extensional nature of the arc is also shown by the opening of the Black Sea as a backarc basin in the Turonian-Santonian. The carbonate sedimentation in an active margin is characterized by synsedimentary vertical displacements, which results in submarine erosion, carbonate breccias and in the lateral discontinuity of the sequences, and differs from blanket like carbonate deposition in the passive margins.

Shallow Investigations of the Deep Seafloor: Quantitative Morphology in the Levant Basin, Eastern Mediterranean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanari, M.; Ketter, T.; Tibor, G.; Schattner, U.

2017-12-01

We aim to characterize the seafloor morphology and its shallow sub-surface structures and deformations in the deep part of the Levant basin (eastern Mediterranean) using recently acquired high-resolution shallow seismic reflection data and multibeam bathymetry, which allow quantitative analysis of morphology and structure. The Levant basin at the eastern Mediterranean is considered a passive continental margin, where most of the recent geological processes were related in literature to salt tectonics rooted at the Messinian deposits from 6Ma. We analyzed two sets of recently acquired high-resolution data from multibeam bathymetry and 3.5 kHz Chirp sub-bottom seismic reflection in the deep basin of the continental shelf offshore Israel (water depths up to 2100 m). Semi-automatic mapping of seafloor features and seismic data interpretation resulted in quantitative morphological analysis of the seafloor and its underlying sediment with penetration depth up to 60 m. The quantitative analysis and its interpretation are still in progress. Preliminary results reveal distinct morphologies of four major elements: channels, faults, folds and sediment waves, validated by seismic data. From the spatial distribution and orientation analyses of these phenomena, we identify two primary process types which dominate the formation of the seafloor in the Levant basin: structural and sedimentary. Characterization of the geological and geomorphological processes forming the seafloor helps to better understand the transport mechanisms and the relations between sediment transport and deposition in deep water and the shallower parts of the shelf and slope.

New insight on the recent tectonic evolution and uplift of the southern Ecuadorian Andes from gravity and structural analysis of the Neogene-Quaternary intramontane basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamay, J.; Galindo-Zaldívar, J.; Ruano, P.; Soto, J.; Lamas, F.; Azañón, J. M.

2016-10-01

The sedimentary basins of Loja, Malacatos-Vilcabamba and Catamayo belong to the Neogene-Quaternary synorogenic intramontane basins of South Ecuador. They were formed during uplift of the Andes since Middle-Late Miocene as a result of the Nazca plate subduction beneath the South American continental margin. This E-W compressional tectonic event allowed for the development of NNE-SSW oriented folds and faults, determining the pattern and thickness of sedimentary infill. New gravity measurements in the sedimentary basins indicate negative Bouguer anomalies reaching up to -292 mGal related to thick continental crust and sedimentary infill. 2D gravity models along profiles orthogonal to N-S elongated basins determine their deep structure. Loja Basin is asymmetrical, with a thickness of sedimentary infill reaching more than 1200 m in the eastern part, which coincides with a zone of most intense compressive deformation. The tectonic structures include N-S, NW-SE and NE-SW oriented folds and associated east-facing reverse faults. The presence of liquefaction structures strongly suggests the occurrence of large earthquakes just after the sedimentation. The basin of Malacatos-Vilcabamba has some folds with N-S orientation. However, both Catamayo and Malacatos-Vilcabamba basins are essentially dominated by N-S to NW-SE normal faults, producing a strong asymmetry in the Catamayo Basin area. The initial stages of compression developed folds, reverse faults and the relief uplift determining the high altitude of the Loja Basin. As a consequence of the crustal thickening and in association with the dismantling of the top of the Andes Cordillera, extensional events favored the development of normal faults that mainly affect the basins of Catamayo and Malacatos-Vilcabamba. Gravity research helps to constrain the geometry of the Neogene-Quaternary sedimentary infill, shedding some light on its relationship with tectonic events and geodynamic processes during intramontane basin development.

Reconstruction of the East Africa and Antarctica continental margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Luan C.; Hall, Stuart A.; Bird, Dale E.; Ball, Philip J.

2016-06-01

The Early Jurassic separation of Antarctica from Africa plays an important role in our understanding of the dispersal of Gondwana and Pangea. Previous reconstruction models contain overlaps and gaps in the restored margins that reflect difficulties in accurately delineating the continent-ocean-boundary (COB) and determining the amount and distribution of extended continental crust. This study focuses on the evolution of the African margin adjacent to the Mozambique Basin and the conjugate Antarctic margin near the Riiser-Larsen Sea. Satellite-derived gravity data have been used to trace the orientations and landward limits of fracture zones. A 3-D gravity inversion has produced a crustal thickness model that reliably quantifies the extent and amount of stretched crust. Crustal thicknesses together with fracture zone terminations reveal COBs that are significantly closer to the African and Antarctic coasts than previously recognized. Correlation of fracture zone azimuths and identified COBs suggests Antarctica began drifting away from Africa at approximately 171 Ma in a roughly SSE direction. An areal-balancing method has been used to restore the crust to a uniform prerift thickness so as to perform a nonrigid reconstruction for both nonvolcanic and volcanic margins. Both margins reveal a trend of increasing extension from east to west. Our results suggest Africa underwent extension of 60-120 km, while Antarctic crust was stretched by 105-180 km. Various models tested to determine the direction of extension during rifting suggest that Antarctica moved away from Africa in a WNW-ESE direction during the period between 184 and 171 Ma prior to the onset of seafloor spreading.

Early rifting deposition: examples from carbonate sequences of Sardinia (Cambrian) and Tuscany (Triassic-Jurassic), Italy: an analogous tectono-sedimentary and climatic context

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

Cocozza, T.; Gandin, A.

Lower Cambrian Ceroide Limestone (Sardinia) and Lower Jurassic Massiccio Limestone (Tuscany) belong to sequences deposited in analogous tectono-sedimentary context: the former linked to the Caledonian Sardic Phase, the latter to the Alpine Orogeny. Both units consist of massive pure limestone characterized by marginal and lagoonal sequences repeatedly interfingering in the same geological structure. This distribution indicates a morphology of the platforms composed of banks (marginal facies) and shallow basins (lagoonal facies) comparable with a Bahamian complex. Dolomitization affects patchily the massive limestone bodies, and karstic features, breccias, and sedimentary dikes occur at their upper boundary. Both units overlie early dolomitemore » and evaporites (sabkha facies) containing siliciclastic intercalations in their lower and/or upper part and are unconformably covered by open-shelf red (hematitic), nodular limestone Ammonitico Rosso facies). The sedimentary evolution of the two sequences appears to have been controlled by synsedimentary tectonics whose major effects are the end of the terrigenous input, the bank-and-basin morphology of the platform, the irregular distribution of the dolomitization, and the nodular fabric of the overlying facies. The end of the Bahamian-type system is marked by the karstification of the emerged blocks and is followed by their differential sinking and burial under red-nodular facies. From a geodynamic viewpoint, sequences composed of Bahamian-like platform carbonates followed by Ammonitico Rosso facies imply deposition along continental margins subjected to block-faulting during an extensional regime connected with the beginning of continental rifting. Moreover, the variation from sabkha to Bahamian conditions suggests the drifting of the continent from arid to humid, tropical areas.« less

Evolution of the continental margin of southern Spain and the Alboran Sea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dillon, William P.; Robb, James M.; Greene, H. Gary; Lucena, Juan Carlos

1980-01-01

Seismic reflection profiles and magnetic intensity measurements were collected across the southern continental margin of Spain and the Alboran basin between Spain and Africa. Correlation of the distinct seismic stratigraphy observed in the profiles to stratigraphic information obtained from cores at Deep Sea Drilling Project site 121 allows effective dating of tectonic events. The Alboran Sea basin occupies a zone of motion between the African and Iberian lithospheric plates that probably began to form by extension in late Miocene time (Tortonian). At the end of Miocene time (end of Messinian) profiles show that an angular unconformity was cut, and then the strata were block faulted before subsequent deposition. The erosion of the unconformity probably resulted from lowering of Mediterranean sea level by evaporation when the previous channel between the Mediterranean and Atlantic was closed. Continued extension probably caused the block faulting and, eventually the opening of the present channel to the Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar and the reflooding of the Mediterranean. Minor tectonic movements at the end of Calabrian time (early Pleistocene) apparently resulted in minor faulting, extensive transgression in southeastern Spain, and major changes in the sedimentary environment of the Alboran basin. Active faulting observed at five locations on seismic profiles seems to form a NNE zone of transcurrent movement across the Alboran Sea. This inferred fault trend is coincident with some bathymetric, magnetic and seismicity trends and colinear with active faults that have been mapped on-shore in Morocco and Spain. The faults were probably caused by stresses related to plate movements, and their direction was modified by inherited fractures in the lithosphere that floors the Alboran Sea.

Crustal Structure and Evolution of the Eastern Himalayan Plate Boundary System, Northeast India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitra, S.; Priestley, K. F.; Borah, Kajaljyoti; Gaur, V. K.

2018-01-01

We use data from 24 broadband seismographs located south of the Eastern Himalayan plate boundary system to investigate the crustal structure beneath Northeast India. P wave receiver function analysis reveals felsic continental crust beneath the Brahmaputra Valley, Shillong Plateau and Mikir Hills, and mafic thinned passive margin transitional crust (basement layer) beneath the Bengal Basin. Within the continental crust, the central Shillong Plateau and Mikir Hills have the thinnest crust (30 ± 2 km) with similar velocity structure, suggesting a unified origin and uplift history. North of the plateau and Mikir Hills the crustal thickness increases sharply by 8-10 km and is modeled by ˜30∘ north dipping Moho flexure. South of the plateau, across the ˜1 km topographic relief of the Dawki Fault, the crustal thickness increases abruptly by 12-13 km and is modeled by downfaulting of the plateau crust, overlain by 13-14 km thick sedimentary layer/rocks of the Bengal Basin. Farther south, beneath central Bengal Basin, the basement layer is thinner (20-22 km) and has higher Vs (˜4.1 km s-1) indicating a transitional crystalline crust, overlain by the thickest sedimentary layer/rocks (18-20 km). Our models suggest that the uplift of the Shillong Plateau occurred by thrust faulting on the reactivated Dawki Fault, a continent margin paleorift fault, and subsequent back thrusting on the south dipping Oldham Fault, in response to flexural loading of the Eastern Himalaya. Our estimated Dawki Fault offset combined with timing of surface uplift of the plateau reveals a reasonable match between long-term uplift and convergence rate across the Dawki Fault with present-day GPS velocities.

Tectonics of some Amazonian greenstone belts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibbs, A. K.

1986-01-01

Greenstone belts exposed amid gneisses, granitoid rocks, and less abundant granulites along the northern and eastern margins of the Amazonian Craton yield Trans-Amazonican metamorphic ages of 2.0-2.1 Ga. Early proterozoic belts in the northern region probably originated as ensimatic island arc complexes. The Archean Carajas belt in the southeastern craton probably formed in an extensional basin on older continental basement. That basement contains older Archean belts with pillow basalts and komatiites. Belts of ultramafic rocks warrant investigatijon as possible ophiolites. A discussion follows.

Jurassic through Oligocene paleogeography of the Santa Maria basin area, California

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

Fritsche, A.E.; Yamashiro, D.A.

1991-02-01

Compilation from published reports indicates that the paleogeographic history of the Santa Maria basin area of California (west of the Sur-Nacimiento fault and north of the Santa Ynez Fault) began in the Early Jurassic in an area for to the south with the creation of a spreading-center ophiolite sequence. As the ophiolite rocks moved relatively away from the spreading center, they were covered by Lower Jurassic through Lower Cretaceous basin plain and prograding outer continental margin deposits. During this time, right-lateral movement along faults that were located to the east was transporting the area relatively northward toward its present location.more » A mild tectonic event in the middle of the Cretaceous caused formation of a parallel unconformity. Renewed subsidence in the Late Cretaceous brought deposition in trench, slope, sandy submarine fan, shelf, and ultimately in the eastern part of the area, delta and fluvial environments. During the ensuing Laramide orogeny, significant deformation raised the entire area above sea level and erosion created a major angular unconformity. During the early Tertiary, most of the Santa Maria basin area remained elevated as a forearc highland. The present-day east-west-trending area south of the Santa Ynez River fault was at the time oriented north-south. During the Eocene, this portion of the area was submerged and became a forearc basin that was located to the east of the forearc ridge that served as a source of sediment. The basin filled through the Eocene and Oligocene with submarine fan, sloe, shelf, coastal, and finally fluvial deposits. In the medial Miocene, these forearc basin rocks were rotated clockwise into their present position along the southern margin of the basin and the upper Tertiary Santa maria basin was formed.« less

Erosion of the Laurentide region of North America by glacial and glaciofluvial processes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bell, M.; Laine, E.P.

1985-01-01

Collection of seismic reflection data from continental margins and ocean basins surrounding North America makes it possible to estimate the amount of material eroded from the area formerly covered by Laurentide ice sheets since major glaciation began in North America. A minimum estimate is made of 1.62 ?? 106 km3, or an average 120 m of rock physically eroded from the Laurentide region. This figure is an order of magnitude higher than earlier estimates based on the volume of glacial drift, Cenozoic marine sediments, and modern sediment loads of rivers. Most of the sediment produced during Laurentide glaciation has already been transported to the oceans. The importance of continental glaciation as a geomorphic agency in North America may have to be reevaluated. Evidence from sedimentation rates in ocean basins surrounding Greenland and Antarctica suggests that sediment production, sediment transport, and possibly denudation by permanent ice caps may be substantially lower than by periodic ice caps, such as the Laurentide. Low rates of sediment survival from the time of the Permo-Carboniferous and Precambrian glaciations suggest that predominance of marine deposition during some glacial epochs results in shorter lived sediment because of preferential tectonism and cycling of oceanic crust versus continental crust. ?? 1985.

Can we apply the 10Be/9Be flux tracer to marine sediments along glaciated margins?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valletta, R. D.; Willenbring, J. K.; Passchier, S.; Elmi, C.

2016-12-01

Radioactive cosmogenic 10Be normalized to its stable isotope 9Be is proposed as a tracer of continental deposition into the marine basins throughout the Late Cenozoic. Close to glaciated margins, 10Be/9Be may reflect shifts in ice sheet dynamics whereby ice sheet retraction is accompanied by increases in freshwater discharge and terrestrial weathering, which may both increase 10Be and 9Be delivery to the continental shelf. However, this signal is complicated by boundary scavenging during periods of warmth and increased productivity. To disentangle the environmental and biological imprint on the 10Be/9Be isotope record, we sampled extensively characterized marine sedimentary packages offshore the Wilkes Subglacial Basin in an area where East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) retraction and advance is well-established (IODP U1361A). Combining this existing data with our new measurements creates a uniquely large, multi-proxy dataset for geochemical reconstructions along a glaciated margin. We measured 10Be, 9Be and a suite of bio-reactive transition metals from alternating diatom-rich and diatom-poor clay units 1) adsorbed to authigenic clays and 2) contained within diatom frustules, making this the first dataset of its kind. Diatom-rich clay sediments mark abrupt periods of Pliocene warming and a retracted EAIS. Beryllium co-varies with diatom-rich units: maximum 10Be ( 1.3 x 109 atoms g-1) and 9Be ( 300 ng g-1) peak during warmer intervals. These data mimic patterns observed in the nearby Ross Sea (Yokoyama et al., 2016), suggesting that interglacials are marked along glaciated margins by sudden pulses in Be delivery. By accounting for the Be inventory within diatoms, we have allowed for the exciting pairing of 10Be with 26Al to obtain 1) particle flux and 2) freshwater volume discharged from the EAIS during melting events. These values may offer an approach to constraining changes in two elusive parameters: subglacial erosion and ice sheet melt.

ODP Leg 210 Drills the Newfoundland Margin in the Newfoundland-Iberia Non-Volcanic Rift

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tucholke, B. E.; Sibuet, J.

2003-12-01

The final leg of the Ocean Drilling Project (Leg 210, July-September 2003) was devoted to studying the history of rifting and post-rift sedimentation in the Newfoundland-Iberia rift. For the first time, drilling was conducted in the Newfoundland Basin along a transect conjugate to previous drill sites on the Iberia margin (Legs 149 and 173) to obtain data on a complete `non-volcanic' rift system. The prime site during this leg (Site 1276) was drilled in the transition zone between known continental crust and known oceanic crust at chrons M3 and younger. Extensive geophysical work and deep-sea drilling have shown that this transition-zone crust on the conjugate Iberia margin is exhumed continental mantle that is strongly serpentinized in its upper part. Transition-zone crust on the Newfoundland side, however, is typically a kilometer or more shallower and has much smoother topography, and seismic refraction data suggest that the crust may be thin (about 4 km) oceanic crust. A major goal of Site 1276 was to investigate these differences by sampling basement and a strong, basinwide reflection (U) overlying basement. Site 1276 was cored from 800 to 1737 m below seafloor with excellent recovery (avg. 85%), bottoming in two alkaline diabase sills >10 m thick that are estimated to be 100-200 meters above basement. The sills have sedimentary contacts that show extensive hydrothermal metamorphism. Associated sediment structural features indicate that the sills were intruded at shallow levels within highly porous sediments. The upper sill likely is at the level of the U reflection, which correlates with lower Albian - uppermost Aptian(?) fine- to coarse-grained gravity-flow deposits. Overlying lower Albian to lower Oligocene sediments record paleoceanographic conditions similar to those on the Iberia margin and in the main North Atlantic basin, including deposition of `black shales'; however, they show an extensive component of gravity-flow deposits throughout.

From hyperextended rift to convergent margin types: mapping the outer limit of the extended Continental Shelf of Spain in the Galicia area according UNCLOS Art. 76

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Somoza, Luis; Medialdea, Teresa; Vázquez, Juan T.; González, Francisco J.; León, Ricardo; Palomino, Desiree; Fernández-Salas, Luis M.; Rengel, Juan

2017-04-01

Spain presented on 11 May 2009 a partial submission for delimiting the extended Continental Shelf in respect to the area of Galicia to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). The Galicia margin represents an example of the transition between two different types of continental margins (CM): a western hyperpextended margin and a northern convergent margin in the Bay of Biscay. The western Galicia Margin (wGM 41° to 43° N) corresponds to a hyper-extended rifted margin as result of the poly-phase development of the Iberian-Newfoundland conjugate margin during the Mesozoic. Otherwise, the north Galicia Margin (nGM) is the western end of the Cenozoic subduction of the Bay of Biscay along the north Iberian Margin (NIM) linked to the Pyrenean-Mediterranean collisional belt Following the procedure established by the CLCS Scientific and Technical Guidelines (CLCS/11), the points of the Foot of Slope (FoS) has to be determined as the points of maximum change in gradient in the region defined as the Base of the continental Slope (BoS). Moreover, the CLCS guidelines specify that the BoS should be contained within the continental margin (CM). In this way, a full-coverage multibeam bathymetry and an extensive dataset of up 4,736 km of multichannel seismic profiles were expressly obtained during two oceanographic surveys (Breogham-2005 and Espor-2008), aboard the Spanish research vessel Hespérides, to map the outer limit of the CM.In order to follow the criteria of the CLCS guidelines, two types of models reported in the CLCS Guidelines were applied to the Galicia Margin. In passive margins, the Commission's guidelines establish that the natural prolongation is based on that "the natural process by which a continent breaks up prior to the separation by seafloor spreading involves thinning, extension and rifting of the continental crust…" (para. 7.3, CLCS/11). The seaward extension of the wGM should include crustal continental blocks and the so-called Peridotite Ridge (PR), composed by serpentinized exhumed continental mantle. Thus, the PR should be regarded as a natural component of the continental margin since these seafloor highs were formed by hyperextension of the margin. Regarding convergent margins, the architecture of the nGM can be classified according the CLCS/11 as a "poor- or non-accretionary convergent continental margin" characterized by a poorly developed accretionary wedge, which is composed of: a large sedimentary apron mainly formed by large slumps and thrust wedges of igneous (ophiolitic/continental) body overlying subducting oceanic crust (Fig. 6.1B, CLCS/11). According to para. 6.3.6. (CLCS/11), the seaward extent of this type of continental convergent margins is defined by the seaward edge of the accretionary wedge. Applying this definition, the seaward extent of the margin is defined by the outer limit of the ophiolitic deformed body that marks the edge of the accretionary wedge. These geological criteria were strictly applied for mapping the BoS region, where the FoS were determinate by using the maximum change in gradient within this mapped region. Acknowledgments: Project for the Extension of the Spanish Continental according UNCLOS (CTM2010-09496-E) and Project CTM2016-75947-R

Evolution of Northeastern Mexico during the early Mesozoic: potential areas for research and exploration José Rafael Barboza-Gudiño

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barboza-Gudiño, R.

2013-05-01

The lower Mesozoic succession of central and northeastern Mexico was deposited in a late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic remnant basin, formed at the westernmost culmination of the Ouachita-Marathon geosuture, after closure of the Rheic Ocean. Triassic fluvial deposits of El Alamar Formation (El Alamar River) are distributed in Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon as remnants of a continental succession deposited close to the western margin of equatorial Pangea, such fluvial systems flowed to the ocean, located to the west and contributed to construction of the so-called Potosí submarine fan (Zacatecas Formation). Petrographic, geochemical, and detrital zircon geochronology studies indicate that both, marine and continental Triassic successions, come from a continental block and partially from a recycled orogen, showing grenvillian (900-1300 Ma) and Pan-African (500-700 Ma) zircon age populations, typical for peri-gondwanan blocks, in addition to zircons from the Permo-Triassic East Mexico arc (240-280 Ma). The absence of detrital zircons from the southwestern North American craton, represent a strong argument against left lateral displacement of Mexico to the southwest during the Jurassic up to their actual position, as proposed by the Mojave-Sonora megashear hypothesis. Towards the end of the Triassic or in earliest Jurassic time, began the subduction along the western margin of Pangea, which causes deformation of the Late Triassic Zacatecas Formation and subsequent magmatism in the continental Jurassic arc known as "Nazas Arc ", whose remnants are now exposed in central- to northeastern Mexico. Wide distributed in northern Mexico occurred also deposition of a red bed succession, overlying or partially interstratified with the Early to Middle Jurassic volcanic rocks of the Nazas Formation. To the west and southwest, such redbeds change transitionally to marine and marginal sedimentary facies which record sedimentation at the ancient paleo-pacific margin of Mexico (La Boca and Huayacocotla formations). The Middle to Upper Jurassic La Joya Formation overlies unconformable all continental and marine-marginal successions and older rocks, and records the transgressive basal deposits of the Gulf series, changing upsection to the evaporites and limestone of the Oxfordian Zuloaga Group. Successive intraoceanic subduction zones to the West sparked magmatic arcs whose accretion in the continental margin produced the consolidation of much of the Mexican territory up to the current Pacific margin. Scattered isolated outcrops from the Early Mesozoic succession in central- and northeastern Mexico allow interpretation of tectonic setting and paleogeography associated to each stratigraphic unit, revealing a strongly different geologic evolution than the previously established models, opening a range of new possibilities and areas of opportunity for mining and fossil fuels exploration. However, most of the Triassic-Jurassic rocks or stratigraphic units in northern Mexico lie under many hundreds of meters of a Cretaceous-Cenozoic cover. Their recognition and preliminary evaluation implies the use of indirect techniques like geophysical methods, before drilling or subsurface mining.

Sedimentary Carbon, Sulfur, and Iron Relationships in Modern and Ancient Diagenetic Environments of the Eel River Basin (U.S.A.)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sommerfield, C.K.; Aller, R.C.; Nittrouer, C.A.

2001-01-01

Depositional and diagenetic controls on the distributions of carbon, sulfur, and iron (C-S-Fe) in modern sediments and upper Pleistocene mudrocks of the Eel River Basin (ERB), northern California continental margin, were investigated using a combination of geochemical, radioisotopic, and sedimentological methods. A mass balance based on down-core profiles of porewater and solid-phase constituents and diagenetic modeling suggests that only 12-30% of the pyrite-S produced via SO4-2 reduction during burial is retained in modern shelf and upper slope deposits of the ERB. Bioturbational reoxidation of initially reduced S is inferred to be the major control on S preservation, on the basis of an observed inverse relationship between pyrite-S retention and biological mixing intensity, estimated from profiles of excess 234Th. Importantly, these findings argue that massive depositional episodes on the shelf following floods of the Eel River have a negligible long-term impact on bioturbating macrofauna and the potential to affect geochemical properties of the sediments. Down-core profiles of reactive Fe3+and Py-Fe(II) for the modern deposits suggest that highly reactive Fe phases are sulfidized well within ∼ 500-2000 years of burial, thereby limiting later pyritization, which could occur through sulfidation of less reactive phases. This result explains the low (≤ 0.4) degree of pyritization (DOP) values exhibited by both modern and ancient deposits of the ERB and lends support to the notion that pyritization in aerobic continental-margin sediments is largely associated with highly reactive detrital Fe oxides. Comparable mean C/S weight ratios for modern sediments (5.4 ± 3.3, 1σ) and mudrocks (6.9 ± 4.5) of the ERB suggest that the upper Pleistocene strata reflect a geochemical environment analogous to that of the modern margin. Specifically, the C-S-Fe signatures shared by the modern and ancient deposits are a consequence of similar detrital Fe mineralogies, initial organic-matter content (Corg ≤ 1%) and composition (C/N = 13 to 17, δ13Corg = -22 to -25‰), burial rate, and importantly, bioturbation intensity. The findings of this study have important implications for the use of C-S-Fe signatures as indicators of diagenetic processes in dynamic, continental-margin environments.

Earth's glacial record and its tectonic setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eyles, N.

1993-09-01

Glaciations have occurred episodically at different time intervals and for different durations in Earth's history. Ice covers have formed in a wide range of plate tectonic and structural settings but the bulk of Earth's glacial record can be shown to have been deposited and preserved in basins within extensional settings. In such basins, source area uplift and basin subsidence fulfill the tectonic preconditions for the initiation of glaciation and the accomodation and preservation of glaciclastic sediments. Tectonic setting, in particular subsidence rates, also dictates the type of glaciclastic facies and facies successions that are deposited. Many pre-Pleistocene glaciated basins commonly contain well-defined tectonostratigraphic successions recording the interplay of tectonics and sedimentation; traditional climatostratigraphic approaches involving interpretation in terms of either ice advance/retreat cycles or glacio-eustatic sea-level change require revision. The direct record of continental glaciation in Earth history, in the form of classically-recognised continental glacial landforms and "tillites", is meagre; it is probable that more than 95% of the volume of preserved "glacial" strata are glacially-influenced marine deposits that record delivery of large amounts of glaciclastic sediment to offshore basins. This flux has been partially or completely reworked by "normal" sedimentary processes such that the record of glaciation and climate change is recorded in marine successions and is difficult to decipher. The dominant "glacial" facies in the rock record are subaqueous debris flow diamictites and turbidites recording the selective preservation of poorly-sorted glaciclastic sediment deposited in deep water basins by sediment gravity flows. However, these facies are also typical of many non-glacial settings, especially volcanically-influenced environments; numerous Archean and Proterozoic diamictites, described in the older literature as tillites, have no 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 active, compressional plate margins recording a protracted and complex phase of supercontinent assembly between 800 and 550 Ma. Local cordilleran glaciations of volcanic peaks is indicated. Many deposits are preserved within mobile belts that record the subduction of interior oceans now preserved as "welds" between different cratons. Discrimination between glacially-influenced and non-glacial, volcaniclastic mass flow successions continues to be problematic. The second tectonostratigraphic category of Late Proterozoic glacial strata includes successions of glacially-influenced, mostly marine strata deposited along rifted, extensional plate margins. The oldest (Sturtian) glaciclastic sediments result from the break-out of Laurentia from the Late Proterozoic supercontinent starting around 750 Ma along its "palaeo-Pacific" margin with a later (Marinoan) phase of rifting at about 650 Ma. "Passive margin" uplifts and the generation of "adiabatic" ice covers on uplifted crustal blocks triggered widespread glaciation along the "palaeo-Pacific" margin of North America and in Australia. A major phase of rifting along the opposite ("palaeo-Atlantic") margin of Laurentia occurred after 650 Ma and is similarly recorded by glaciclastic strata in basins preserved around the margins of the present day North Atlantic Ocean. Glaciation of the west African platform after 650 Ma is closely related to collision of the West African and Guyanan cratons and uplift of the orogenic belt; the same process, involving uplift around the northern and western margins of the Afro-Arabian platform subsequently triggered Late Ordovician glaciation at about 440 Ma when the south polar region lay over North Africa. Early Silurian glaciation in Bolivia and Brazil was followed by a non-glacial episode and renewed Late Devonian glaciation of northern Brazil and Bolivia. The latter event may have resulted from rotation of Gondwana under the South Pole combined with active orogenesis along the western margin of the supercontinent. Hercynian uplift along the western margin of South America caused by the collision and docking of "Chilinia" at about 350 Ma (Late Tournasian—Early Visean) was the starting point of a long Late Palaeozoic glacial record that terminated at about 255 Ma (Kungurian-Kazanian) in western Australia. The arrival of large landmasses at high latitude may have been an important precondition for ice growth. Strong Namurian uplift around virtually the entire palaeo-Pacific rim of Gondwana culminated in glaciation of the interior of the supercontinent during the latest Westphalian (c. 300 Ma). There is a clear picture of plate margin compression and propagation of "far field" stresses to the plate interior allowing preservation of glacially-influenced strata in newly-rifted intracratonic basins. Many basins show a "steer's head" style of infill architecture recording successive phases of subsidence and overstepping of younger strata during basin subsidence and expansion. Exploration for oil and gas in Gondwanan glaciated basins is currently a major stimulus to understanding the relationship between tectonics and sedimentation. Warm Mesozoic palaeoclimates do not rule out the existence of restricted ice covers in the interiors of continental landmasses at high palaeolatitudes (e.g. Siberia, Antarctica) but there is as yet, no direct geological record of their existence. The most likely record of glaciers is contained in Late Jurassic and early Cretaceous strata. In any event, these ice masses are unlikely to have had any marked effect on global sea levels and alternative explanations should perhaps be sought for 4th order, so-called "glacio-eustatic" changes in sea level, inferred from Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous strata. The growth of extensive Northern Hemisphere ice sheets in Plio-Pleistocene time (c. 2.5 Ma) was the culmination of a long global climatic deterioration that began sometime after 60 Ma during the late Tertiary. Tectonic uplift of areas such as the Tibetan Plateau and plate tectonic reorganizations have been identified as first-order controls. Initiation of the East Antarctic ice sheet, at about 36 Ma, is the result of the progressive thermal isolation of the continent combined with uplift along the Transantarctic Mountains. In the Northern Hemisphere, the upwarping of extensive passive margin plateaux around the margins of the newly-rifted North Atlantic may have amplified global climatic changes and set the scene for the growth of continental ice sheets after 2.5 Ma. Ice sheet growth and decay was driven by complexly interrelated changes in ocean circulation, Milankovitch orbital forcing and global geochemical cycles. It is arguable whether continental glaciations of the Northern Hemisphere, and the evolution of hominids, would have occurred without the necessary precondition of tectonic uplift.

Amagmatic Accretionary Segments, Ultraslow Spreading and Non-Volcanic Rifted Margins (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dick, H. J.; Snow, J. E.

2009-12-01

The evolution of non-volcanic rifted margins is key to understanding continental breakup and the early evolution of some of the world’s most productive hydrocarbon basins. However, the early stages of such rifting are constrained by limited observations on ancient heavily sedimented margins such as Newfoundland and Iberia. Ultraslow spreading ridges, however, provide a modern analogue for early continental rifting. Ultraslow spreading ridges (<20 mm/yr) comprise ~30% of the global ridge system (e.g. Gakkel, Southwest Indian, Terceira, and Knipovitch Ridges). They have unique tectonics with widely spaced volcanic segments and amagmatic accretionary ridge segments. The volcanic segments, though far from hot spots, include some of the largest axial volcanoes on the global ridge system, and have, unusual magma chemistry, often showing local isotopic and incompatible element enrichment unrelated to mantle hot spots. The transition from slow to ultraslow tectonics and spreading is not uniquely defined by spreading rate, and may also be moderated by magma supply and mantle temperature. Amagmatic accretionary segments are the 4th class of plate boundary structure, and, we believe, the defining tectonic feature of early continental breakup. They form at effective spreading rates <12 mm/yr, assume any orientation to spreading, and replace transform faults and magmatic segments. At amagmatic segments the earth splits apart with the mantle emplaced directly to the seafloor, and great slabs of peridotite are uplifted to form the rift mountains. A thick conductive lid suppresses mantle melting, and magmatic segments form only at widely spaced intervals, with only scattered volcanics in between. Amagmatic segments link with the magmatic segments forming curvilinear plate boundaries, rather than the step-like morphology found at faster spreading ridges. These are all key features of non-volcanic rifted margins; explaining, for example, the presence of mantle peridotites emplaced simultaneously on both the Newfoundland and Iberian Margins in the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Miocene Lena Trough is a new mid-ocean rift plate boundary and the final event in the separation of the North American and Eurasian continents. Mapping and sampling of Lena Trough confirms that it is both oblique and amagmatic, showing that initiation of seafloor spreading at a non-volcanic rifted continental margin follows the same pattern as ultraslow spreading ridges.

Geophysical modeling of the northern Appalachian Brompton-Cameron, Central Maine, and Avalon terranes under the New Jersey Coastal Plain

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maguire, T.J.; Sheridan, R.E.; Volkert, R.A.

2004-01-01

A regional terrane map of the New Jersey Coastal Plain basement was constructed using seismic, drilling, gravity and magnetic data. The Brompton-Cameron and Central Maine terranes were coalesced as one volcanic island arc terrane before obducting onto Laurentian, Grenville age, continental crust in the Taconian orogeny [Rankin, D.W., 1994. Continental margin of the eastern United States: past and present. In: Speed, R.C., (Ed.), Phanerozoic Evolution of North American Continent-Ocean Transitions. DNAG Continent-Ocean Transect Volume. Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado, pp. 129-218]. Volcanic island-arc rocks of the Avalon terrane are in contact with Central Maine terrane rocks in southern Connecticut where the latter are overthrust onto the Brompton-Cameron terrane, which is thrust over Laurentian basement. Similarities of these allochthonous island arc terranes (Brompton-Cameron, Central Maine, Avalon) in lithology, fauna and age suggest that they are faulted segments of the margin of one major late Precambrian to early Paleozoic, high latitude peri-Gondwana island arc designated as "Avalonia", which collided with Laurentia in the early to middle Paleozoic. The Brompton Cameron, Central Maine, and Avalon terranes are projected as the basement under the eastern New Jersey Coastal Plain based on drill core samples of metamorphic rocks of active margin/magmatic arc origin. A seismic reflection profile across the New York Bight traces the gentle dipping (approximately 20 degrees) Cameron's Line Taconian suture southeast beneath allochthonous Avalon and other terranes to a 4 sec TWTT depth (approximately 9 km) where the Avalonian rocks are over Laurentian crust. Gentle up-plunge (approximately 5 degrees) projections to the southwest bring the Laurentian Grenville age basement and the drift-stage early Paleozoic cover rocks to windows in Burlington Co. at approximately 1 km depth and Cape May Co. at approximately 2 km depths. The antiformal Shellburne Falls and Chester domes and Chain Lakes-Pelham dome-Bronson Hill structural trends, and the synformal Connecticut Valley-Gaspe structural trend can be traced southwest into the New Jersey Coastal Plain basement. A Mesozoic rift basin, the "Sandy Hook basin", and associated eastern boundary fault is identified, based upon gravity modeling, in the vicinity of Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The thickness of the rift-basin sedimentary rocks contained within the "Sandy Hook basin" is approximately 4.7 km, with the basin extending offshore to the east of the New Jersey coast. Gravity modeling indicates a deep rift basin and the magnetic data indicates a shallow magnetic basement caused by magnetic diabase sills and/or basalt flows contained within the rift-basin sedimentary rocks. The igneous sills and/or flows may be the eastward continuation of the Watchung and Palisades bodies. ?? 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tectonic map of the Circum-Pacific region, Pacific basin sheet

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scheibner, E.; Moore, G.W.; Drummond, K.J.; Dalziel, Corvalan Q.J.; Moritani, T.; Teraoka, Y.; Sato, T.; Craddock, C.

2013-01-01

Circum-Pacific Map Project: The Circum-Pacific Map Project was a cooperative international effort designed to show the relationship of known energy and mineral resources to the major geologic features of the Pacific basin and surrounding continental areas. Available geologic, mineral, and energy-resource data are being complemented by new, project-developed data sets such as magnetic lineations, seafloor mineral deposits, and seafloor sediment. Earth scientists representing some 180 organizations from more than 40 Pacific-region countries are involved in this work. Six overlapping equal-area regional maps at a scale of 1:10,000,000 form the cartographic base for the project: the four Circum-Pacific Quadrants (Northwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Northeast), and the Antarctic and Arctic Sheets. There is also a Pacific Basin Sheet at a scale of 1:17,000,000. The Base Map Series and the Geographic Series (published from 1977 to 1990), the Plate-Tectonic Series (published in 1981 and 1982), the Geodynamic Series (published in 1984 and 1985), and the Geologic Series (published from 1984 to 1989) all include six map sheets. Other thematic map series in preparation include Mineral-Resources, Energy-Resources and Tectonic Maps. Altogether, more than 50 map sheets are planned. The maps were prepared cooperatively by the Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey and are available from the Branch of Distribution, U. S. Geological Survey, Box 25286, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225, U.S.A. The Circum-Pacific Map Project is organized under six panels of geoscientists representing national earth-science organizations, universities, and natural-resource companies. The six panels correspond to the basic map areas. Current panel chairmen are Tomoyuki Moritani (Northwest Quadrant), R. Wally Johnson (Southwest Quadrant), Ian W.D. Dalziel (Antarctic Region), vacant. (Southeast Quadrant), Kenneth J. Drummond (Northeast Quadrant), and George W. Moore (Arctic Region). Project coordination and final cartography was being carried out through the cooperation of the Office of the Chief Geologist of the U.S. Geological Survey, under the direction of General Chairman, George Gryc of Menlo Park, California. Project headquarters were located at 345 Middlefield Road, MS 952, Menlo Park, California 94025, U.S.A. The framework for the Circum-Pacific Map Project was developed in 1973 by a specially convened group of 12 North American geoscientists meeting in California. The project was officially launched at the First Circum-Pacific Conference on Energy and Mineral Resources, which met in Honolulu, Hawaii, in August 1974. Sponsors of the conference were the AAPG, Pacific Science Association (PSA), and the Coordinating Committee for Offshore Prospecting for Mineral Resources in Offshore Asian Areas (CCOP). The Circum-Pacific Map Project operates as an activity of the Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources, a nonprofit organization that promotes cooperation among Circum-Pacific countries in the study of energy and mineral resources of the Pacific basin. Founded by Michel T. Halbouty in 1972, the Council also sponsors conferences, topical symposia, workshops and the Earth Science Series books. Tectonic Map Series: The tectonic maps distinguish areas of oceanic and continental crust. Symbols in red mark active plate boundaries, and colored patterns show tectonic units (volcanic or magmatic arcs, arc-trench gaps, and interarc basins) associated with active plate margins. Well-documented inactive plate boundaries are shown by symbols in black. The tectonic development of oceanic crust is shown by episodes of seafloor spreading. These correlate with the rift and drift sequences at passive continental margins and episodes of tectonic activity at active plate margins. The recognized episodes of seafloor spreading seem to reflect major changes in plate kinematics. Oceanic plateaus and other prominences of greater than normal oceanic crustal thickness such as hotspot traces are also shown. Colored areas on the continents show the ages of deformation and metamorphism of basement rocks and the emplacement of igneous rocks. Transitional tectonic (molassic) and reactivation basins are shown by a colored boundary, and if they are deformed, a colored horizontal line pattern indicates the age of deformation. Colored bands along basin boundaries indicate age of inception, and isopachs indicate thickness of platform strata on continental crust and cover on oceanic crust. Colored patterns at separated continental margins show the age of inception of rift and drift (breakup) sequences. Symbols mark folds and faults, and special symbols show volcanoes and other structural features. Affiliations are as of compilation of the data. This map was created in quadrants and then compiled together. They are the Northwest land, Northwest Marine (different compilers), Northeast, Southwest and Southeast, and parts in plate-boundary sections.

Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Levant domain since Late Palaeozoic: a Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrier, Eric

2015-04-01

During the last 270 my, the evolution of the African/Arabian platform and margins in Levant and surroundings is controlled by a succession of regional tectonic events, starting with a rifting period in the late Paleozoic, and ending with the ongoing Arabia-Eurasia collision. The main rifting period initiated in the mid-late Permian and lasted until the early-Jurassic, as a consequence of the Pangea break up. During this period the Anatolian blocks are still attached to southern Pangea, but some of the Palmyra-Levant and East Mediterranean basins were initiating. From the Mid-Late Permian to the Early Triassic the sedimentation is clastic-dominated in the continental platforms and basins. In the Early Mesozoic, with the initiation and development of the Levant and East Mediterranean basins, the sedimentation changed from clastic to carbonate deposition. Widespread Triassic to Liassic sediments accumulated in subsiding basins (Levant, Palmyride, Sinjar) and margins (East Mediterranean Basin). The rifting aborted in the Palmyride Trough and Levant Basin in the early Jurassic, while the East Mediterranean Basin (Mesogea) the oceanic accretion probably developed during the mid-Jurassic. Then, a 60 My-long cycle lasted from the late Jurassic to the Turonian, mainly characterized by the thermal subsidence of main the basins and margins. Only the early Cretaceous is marked by an extensional tectonic event, associated with magmatism, widespread all around the East Mediterranean Basin. This event, together with the early Cretaceous eustatic regressions, originated a major stratigraphic gap with emersions at the top-Jurassic - Neocomian period, and the deposition of thick clastic sequences in grabens. The following Cenomanian - Early Turonian interval is a major transgressive period characterized by the extension of the carbonate platforms on the African platform, and subsidence of the margins. The Senonian is characterized by an increase in water depth, mainly resulting from the opening of NW- to WNW-oriented major Senonian grabens (e.g. the Sirt, Azraq and Euphrates grabens). The main pulse of rifting is Campanian in age. In the northeastern African plate this extensional tectonics is coeval with the obduction of the Neo-Tethyan ophiolites onto the Northern Arabian platform where thick flysch sequences deposited. Within the upper-most Maastrichtian to Paleocene times, some of the basins and margins were inverted, resulting in unconformities in some of the Mesozoic basins. A 1600 km long right lateral strike-slip zone developed in the southern Mesogean margin (Cyrenaica, northern Egypt, Negev). In the Eocene-Oligocene period a sub-meridian extension prevailed in the Levant area pre-dating the Arabia-Anatolia collision. Chalky deposits are widespread in the western Arabian platform, significantly thickening and deepening westward toward the Levant Basin. The Neogene period is dominated by compressive deformations following the closure of Eastern Mesogea, and related to the Arabia/Anatolia collision that initiated at the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. This period is marked by the inversion of the Mesozoic basins in the western Arabian plate (Afrin, Palmyrides, Sinjar) Finally, in the Late Miocene, a regional strike-slip fault system developed, including the Levant Fault, and the eastern and north Anatolian faults in Anatolia.

Pull-Apart vs. Subduction Rollback Mechanisms For The Cenozoic Formation Of Bohai Basin, Eastern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castellanos, H. A.; Mann, P.

2005-12-01

The Bohai basin of eastern China covers an area of about 200,000 km2 and forms one of a family of basins that record Cenozoic extension along the eastern margin of Asia from Viet Nam to northeastern Russia. Two very different deformational mechanisms have been proposed for the Cenozoic formation of the Bohai basin. The first model proposes a two-stage extension model consisting of Paleogene rifting in a WNW-ESE direction followed by Neogene thermal subsidence that controlled overlying and less deformed sag basins above the rifted section (Ye et al., 1985). The mechanism for two-stage rifting is generally attributed to rollback of the subducted Pacific plate beneath the Asian continent, lithospheric extension of the overriding continental plate, and thermally-driven, regional subsidence. A second model invokes a more localized Cenozoic pull-apart basin formed at a right-step in a right-lateral shear system parallel to the Asian continental margin (Allen et al., 1997). Earthquakes and GPS data indicate that right-lateral strike-slip faulting continues to the present-day in a pattern consistent with the regional-scale "lazy-Z" map pattern of the Cenozoic Bohai depocenter. Allen et al. (1997) propose the subsurface of the large pull-apart structure contains diffuse, sub-parallel strike-slip faults offset by smaller-scale, intrabasinal stepovers. In order to better distinguish the timing and mechanism for the formation of the Bohai basin, we have interpreted 1400 km of offshore 2D seismic data, a 3D seismic volume, and integrated lithostratigraphic data from 6 wells that are tied to these reflection data. Three major units were identified and mapped on a basin-wide scale: basement, a syn-rift unit, and a post-rift sag unit. Thickening trends and ages indicate the syn-rift phase occurred from late Paleocene to late Oligocene. Basin opening occurred on a series of half-grabens trending NNE-SSW. Rifting ended during the late Oligocene when a regional uplift and erosional event affected the basin. The Miocene to recent was marked by the formation of sag basins deformed by widely-spaced strike-slip faults. These active strike-slip faults are commonly localized on earlier normal faults. Given these observations a three stage basin history is proposed: 1) Eocene-late Oligocene basin opening across a diffuse set of half-grabens; the pattern of rifts supports a regional extension possibly related to subduction rollback of the Pacific plate; 2) a late Oligocene uplift and erosional event of unknown origin; and 3) late Oligocene to recent strike-slip faulting; the regional-scale "lazy-Z" map pattern of Bohai depocenter indicates the importance of right-stepping pull-apart control on the younger sag section.

Patterns and average rates of late Neogene Recent uplift of the Betic Cordillera, SE Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braga, Juan C.; Martín, José M.; Quesada, Cecilio

2003-02-01

The facies distribution in the sedimentary units infilling a series of Neogene basins has been used to reconstruct the relief generation and uplift across the Internal Zone of the Betic Cordillera in southern Spain. Uplift amounts and average rates can be estimated using the current elevation of the outcrops of well-dated deposits indicative of ancient sea-level positions. Coral reefs and coastal conglomerates record the initial development of emergent Betic relief during the Langhian. Continental and marginal marine deposits indicate the existence of a large island centred on the present Sierra Nevada-Sierra de los Filabres chain by the end of the Middle Miocene. The precursor of the Sierra Nevada-Sierra de los Filabres chain, originally part of this large island, remained emerged whilst the surrounding areas were re-invaded by the sea during the early Tortonian. At the end of the Tortonian the inland basins (Granada and Guadix basins) became continental, while the Sierras de la Contraviesa, Sierra de Gádor and Sierra Alhamilla emerged, separating the Alborán Basin from the Alpujarra, Tabernas and Sorbas basins, which became narrow passages of the Mediterranean Sea. In contrast, the Sierra Cabrera emerged during the late Messinian, suggesting a progressive uplift from west to east of the sierras south of the Sierra Nevada-Sierra de los Filabres chain. During the Pliocene, only the low areas closest to the present-day coast remained as marine basins and progressively emerged throughout this stage. The highest average uplift rate recorded is 280 m/Ma for the Sierra de Gádor, although the average uplift rates of upper-Neogene coastal marine rocks since depositon have maximum values of approximately 200 m/Ma. Most of the uplift of the Betic mountains took place before the early Pliocene. The recorded uplift of Neogene rocks was highest at the margins of western Sierra Nevada, where peaks higher than 3000 m occur. The average rates of uplift were lower to the east of this major relief. The main sierras and depressions in the present-day landscape correspond respectively to the emergent land, in which uplift was concentrated, and to the marine basins that existed before the final emergence of the region. The altitude of the sierras reflects the time at which they became emergent, the highest mountains being the first to rise above sea level.

Structure of the North American Atlantic Continental Margin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klitgord, K. K.; Schlee, J. S.

1986-01-01

Offers explanations on the origin of the North American Atlantic continental margin. Provides an analysis and illustrations of structural and strategraphic elements of cross sections of the Atlantic continental margin. Also explains the operations and applications of seismic-relection profiles in studying ocean areas. (ML)

Hydrodynamic Controls on Archaeal Tetraether Lipid Compositions in Washington Margin Sediments: Insights From Compound-Specific Radiocarbon Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uchida, M.; Eglinton, T. I.; Montlucon, D. B.; Pearson, A.; Hayes, J. M.

2008-12-01

Continental margin sediments represent a large sink of organic carbon derived from marine and terrestrial sources. Archaeal glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether lipids (GDGTs) are derived from both marine and terrestrial sources and have been used both for reconstruction of paleo sea surface temperatures and as an index of terrestrial carbon input to the marine sediments. However, the sources and modes of supply as well as the preservation of GDGTs in marginal sediments are poorly understood. The distribution and deposition of GDGTs is further complicated by hydrodynamic processes. We have analyzed a suite of surface sediment samples collected along a transect from the mouth of the Columbia River, across the Washington Margin, to the Cascadia Basin in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Sediments were separated according to their grain size and hydrodynamic properties, and the organic matter characterized in terms of its bulk elemental, isotopic, and molecular properties. Here we present radiocarbon measurements on individual GDGTs, alkenones, and fatty acids from size-fractionated sediments from shelf and slope sediments, and discuss the results in the context of previous studies of the molecular abundances and isotopic compositions of sedimentary organic matter for in this region. Systematic variations in elemental, isotopic and molecular-level composition are observed across the different particle classes. Moreover, these variations are manifested in the isotopic composition of different molecular markers of both marine and terrestrial sources organic matter. Both marine-derived lipids, including alkenones and marine archaeal tetraethers, and soil microbe-derived tetraether lipids show strong distributional and isotopic variations among the size-fractionated sediments. These variations in terrestrial and marine biomarker properties inform on the sources, particle dynamics, and transport history of organic matter buried on river-influenced continental margins. The implications of these findings for the application of molecular markers as proxies of organic matter input, and on the interpretation of past marine and continental environmental conditions from sedimentary records will also be discussed.

Foreland sedimentary record of Andean mountain building during advancing and retreating subduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horton, Brian K.

2016-04-01

As in many ocean-continent (Andean-type) convergent margins, the South American foreland has long-lived (>50-100 Myr) sedimentary records spanning not only protracted crustal shortening, but also periods of neutral to extensional stress conditions. A regional synthesis of Andean basin histories is complemented by new results from the Mesozoic Neuquén basin system and succeeding Cenozoic foreland system of west-central Argentina (34-36°S) showing (1) a Late Cretaceous shift from backarc extension to retroarc contraction and (2) an anomalous mid-Cenozoic (~40-20 Ma) phase of sustained nondeposition. New detrital zircon U-Pb geochronological results from Jurassic through Neogene clastic deposits constrain exhumation of the evolving Andean magmatic arc, retroarc thrust belt, foreland basement uplifts, and distal eastern craton. Abrupt changes in sediment provenance and distal-to-proximal depositional conditions can be reconciled with a complex Mesozoic-Cenozoic history of extension, post-extensional thermal subsidence, punctuated tectonic inversion involving thick- and thin-skinned shortening, alternating phases of erosion and rapid accumulation, and overlapping igneous activity. U-Pb age distributions define the depositional ages of several Cenozoic stratigraphic units and reveal a major late middle Eocene-earliest Miocene (~40-20 Ma) hiatus in the Malargüe foreland basin. This boundary marks an abrupt shift in depositional conditions and sediment sources, from Paleocene-middle Eocene distal fluviolacustrine deposition of sediments from far western volcanic sources (Andean magmatic arc) and subordinate eastern cratonic basement (Permian-Triassic Choiyoi igneous complex) to Miocene-Quaternary proximal fluvial and alluvial-fan deposition of sediments recycled from emerging western sources (Malargüe fold-thrust belt) of Mesozoic basin fill originally derived from basement and magmatic arc sources. Neogene eastward advance of the fold-thrust belt involved thick-skinned basement inversion with geometrically and kinematically linked thin-skinned thrust structures at shallower levels in the eastern foreland, including well-dated late Miocene growth strata. The mid-Cenozoic hiatus potentially signifies nondeposition during passage of a flexural forebulge or nondeposition during neutral to extensional conditions possibly driven by a transient retreating-slab configuration along the western margin of South America. Similar long-lived stratigraphic gaps are commonly observed in other foreland records of continental convergent margins. It is proposed that Andean orogenesis along the South American convergent margin has long been sensitive to variations in subduction dynamics throughout Mesozoic-Cenozoic time, such that shifts in relative convergence and degree of mechanical coupling along the subduction interface (i.e., transitions between advancing versus retreating modes of subduction) have governed fluctuating contractional, extensional, and neutral conditions. Unclear is whether these various modes affected the entire convergent margin simultaneously due to continental-scale changes (e.g., temporal shifts in plate convergence, absolute motion of upper plate, or mantle wedge circulation) or whether parts of the margin behaved independently due to smaller-scale fluctuations (e.g., spatial variations in the age of the subducted plate, buoyant asperities in the downgoing slab, or asthenospheric anomalies).

Continental margin sedimentation: From sediment transport to sequence stratigraphy

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nittrouer, Charles A.; Austin, James A.; Field, Michael E.; Kravitz, Joseph H.; Syvitski, James P. M.; Wiberg, Patricia L.

2007-01-01

This volume on continental margin sedimentation brings together an expert editorial and contributor team to create a state-of-the-art resource. Taking a global perspective, the book spans a range of timescales and content, ranging from how oceans transport particles, to how thick rock sequences are formed on continental margins.- Summarizes and integrates our understanding of sedimentary processes and strata associated with fluvial dispersal systems on continental shelves and slopes- Explores timescales ranging from particle transport at one extreme, to deep burial at the other- Insights are presented for margins in general, and with focus on a tectonically active margin (northern California) and a passive margin (New Jersey), enabling detailed examination of the intricate relationships between a wide suite of sedimentary processes and their preserved stratigraphy- Includes observational studies which document the processes and strata found on particular margins, in addition to numerical models and laboratory experimentation, which provide a quantitative basis for extrapolation in time and space of insights about continental-margin sedimentation- Provides a research resource for scientists studying modern and ancient margins, and an educational text for advanced students in sedimentology and stratigraphy

Modelling of sea floor spreading initiation and rifted continental margin formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tymms, V. J.; Isimm Team

2003-04-01

Recent observations of depth dependent (heterogeneous) stretching where upper crustal extension is much less than that of the lower crust and lithospheric mantle at both non-volcanic and volcanic margins plus the discovery of broad domains of exhumed continental mantle at non-volcanic rifted margins are not predicted by existing quantitative models of rifted margin formation which are usually based on intra-continental rift models subjected to very large stretching factors. New conceptual and quantitative models of rifted margin formation are required. Observations and continuum mechanics suggest that the dominant process responsible for rifted continental margin formation is sea-floor spreading of the young ocean ridge, rather than pre-breakup intra-continental rifting. Simple fluid flow models of ocean ridge processes using analytical iso-viscous corner-flow demonstrate that the divergent motion of the upwelling mantle beneath the ocean ridge, when viewed in the reference frame of the young continental margin, shows oceanward flow of the lower continental crust and lithospheric mantle of the young rifted margin giving rise to depth dependent stretching as observed. Single-phase fluid-models have been developed to model the initiation of sea-floor spreading and the thermal, stretching and thinning evolution of the young rifted continental margin. Finite element fluid-flow modelling incorporating the evolving temperature dependent viscosity field on the fluid flow also show depth dependent stretching of the young continental margin. Two-phase flow models of ocean ridges incorporating the transport of both solid matrix and melt fluid (Spiegelman &Reynolds 1999) predict the divergent motion of the asthenosphere and lithosphere matrix, and the focusing of basaltic melt into the narrow axial zone spreading centre at ocean ridges. We are adapting two-phase flow models for application to the initiation of sea-floor spreading and rifted continental margin formation. iSIMM investigators are V Tymms, NJ Kusznir, RS White, AM Roberts, PAF Christie, N Hurst, Z Lunnon, CJ Parkin, AW Roberts, LK Smith, R Spitzer, A. Davies and A. Surendra, with funding from NERC, DTI, Agip UK, BP, Amerada Hess Ltd., Anadarko, Conoco, Phillips, Shell, Statoil, and WesternGeco.

Geological and Tectonic Evidence for the Formation and Extensional Collapse of the West Antarctic Plateau: Implications for the Formation of the West Antarctic Rift System and the Transantarctic Mountains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitzgerald, P. G.; Studinger, M.; Bialas, R. W.; Buck, W.

2007-12-01

The Transantarctic Mountains (TAM), the world's longest and highest non-contractional intracontinental mountain belt, define the western boundary of the West Antarctic rift system (WARS). The WARS is a broad region of extended continental lithosphere, ca. 750-1000 km wide, lying dominantly below sea-level. A new model (Bialas et al., 2007), proposes that a region of thickened continental crust and high-standing topography, the "West Antarctic Plateau", underwent extensional collapse to leave a remnant edge representing the proto-TAM. Tectonic and paleogeographic reconstructions indicate the plateau formed inboard of a continental arc along the paleo- Pacific margin of Antarctica, active throughout the Paleozoic until the late Mesozoic. This high-standing region was responsible for confining sediments (Beacon Supergroup) to elongate basins along the length of the TAM. Much of the present region of the WARS has been correlated with the Lachlan Fold belt of southeastern Australia. This belt formed from the Ordovician to Carboniferous during back-arc basin formation associated with slab roll- back with short periods of compression. Convergence along the paleo-Pacific margin, perhaps enhanced by subduction of more buoyant oceanic lithosphere as the Phoenix-Pacific ridge was obliquely subducted, resulted in crustal thickening and formation of high-standing terrain (the plateau). Extensional collapse of the plateau most likely began in the Jurassic during initial rifting between East and West Antarctica, but was mainly accomplished during distributed rifting in the Cretaceous (ca. 105-85) following subduction of the Phoenix-Pacific ridge and prior to the separation of New Zealand from Marie Byrd Land. Continued formation of the TAM continued in the Cenozoic concomitant with extension in the WARS that was localized along its western margin adjacent to the TAM. Glacial erosion in the Oligocene and early-Miocene enhanced peak height in the TAM. In this presentation we discuss the diverse geological, geophysical, thermochronological and tectonic evidence for the West Antarctic Plateau and the implications for the formation of the Transantarctic Mountains.

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-Balearic Basin is affected by surficial processes, associated to halokinesis of Messinian evaporites.

Tectonic setting of synorogenic gold deposits of the Pacific Rim

USGS Publications Warehouse

Goldfarb, R.J.; Phillips, G.N.; Nokleberg, W.J.

1998-01-01

More than 420 million oz of gold were concentrated in circum-Pacific synorogenic quartz loades mainly during two periods of continental growth, one along the Gondwanan margin in the Palaeozoic and the other in the northern Pacific basin between 170 and 50 Ma. These ores have many features in common and can be grouped into a single type of lode gold deposit widespread throughout clastic sedimentary-rock dominant terranes. The auriferous veins contain only a few percent sulphide minerals, have gold:silver ratios typically greater than 1:1, show a distinct association with medium grade metamorphic rocks, and may be associated with large-scale fault zone. Ore fluids are consistently of low salinity and are CO2-rich. In the early and middle Palaeozoic in the southern Pacific basin, a single immense turbidite sequence was added to the eastern margin of Gondwanaland. Deformation of these rocks in southeastern Australia was accompanied by deposition of at least 80 million oz of gold in the Victorian sector of the Lachlan fold belt mainly during the Middle and Late Devonian. Lesser Devonian gold accumulations characterized the more northerly parts of the Gondwanan margin within the Hodgkinson-Broken River and Thomson fold belts. Additional lodes were emplaced in this flyschoid sequence in Devonian or earlier Palaeozoic times in what is now the Buller Terrane, Westland, New Zealand. Minor post-Devonian growth of Gondwanaland included terrane collision and formation of gold-bearing veins in the Permian in Australia's New England fold belt and in the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous in New Zealand's Otago schists. Collision and accretion of dozens of terranes for a 100-m.y.-long period against the western margin of North America and eastern margin of Eurasia led to widespread, lattest Jurassic to Eocene gold veining in the northern Pacific basin. In the former location, Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous veins and related placer deposits along the western margin of the Sierra Nevada batholith have yielded more than 100 million oz of gold. Additional significant ore-forming events during the development of North America's Cordilleran orogen included those in the Klamath Mountains region, California in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous; the Klondike district, Yukon by the Early Cretaceous; the Nome and Fairbanks districts, Alaska, and the Bridge River district, British Columbia in the middle Cretaceous; and the Juneau gold belt, Alaska in the Eocene. Gold-bearing veins deposited during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous terrane collision that formed the present-day Russian Far East have been the source for more than 130 million oz of placer gold. The abundance of gold-bearing quartz-carbonate veins throughout the Gondwanan, North American and Eurasian continental margins suggests the migration and concentration of large fluid volumes during continental growth. Such volumes could be released during orogenic heating of hydrous silicate mineral phases within accreted marine strata. The common temporal association between gold veining and magmatism around the Pacific Rim reflects these thermal episodes. Melting of the lower thickened crust during arc formation, slab rollback and extensional tectonism, and subduction of a slab window beneath the seaward part of the forearc region can all provide the required heat for initation of the ore-forming processes.

Petroleum systems of the Po Basin Province of northern Italy and the northern Adriatic Sea; Porto Garibaldi (biogenic), Meride/Riva di Solto (thermal), and Marnoso Arenacea (thermal)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindquist, Sandra J.

1999-01-01

The Porto Garibaldi total petroleum system dominates the Po Basin Province of onshore northern Italy and offshore Italy and Croatia in the northern Adriatic Sea. Porto Garibaldi contains Pliocene (primarily) and Pleistocene (secondarily) biogenic gas ? approximately 16 TCF (2.66 BBOE) ultimately recoverable ? accumulated in co-eval siliciclastic reservoirs. This area was the northwestern edge of the Gondwanan (African) continental plate in pre-Hercynian time until the assembly of Pangea, a dominantly carbonate passive continental margin during the Mesozoic breakup of Pangea, and a Cenozoic collision zone with siliciclastic foredeep and foreland regions surrounded by thrust belts. At least two other petroleum systems, with Triassic (Meride / Riva di Solto) and Miocene (Marnoso Arenacea) source rocks, contribute oil and thermal gas reserves (nearly 1 BBOE) to the province. The major time of hydrocarbon expulsion of the thermal systems was Late Neogene during the Alpine and Apennine orogenies. Local Mesozoic oil expulsion from Triassic rocks also occurred, but those oils either were not trapped or were leaked from faulty traps through time.

A high-resolution Late Quaternary upwelling record from the anoxic Cariaco Basin, Venezuela

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, L. C.; Overpeck, J. T.; Kipp, N. G.; Imbrie, J.

1991-02-01

Results are presented of a high-resolution study of the planktonic foraminiferal faunas from two piston cores recovered from the Cariaco Basin in the southern Caribbean Sea. The Cariaco Basin is a small anoxic marine basin on the northern continental margin of Venezuela in an area today characterized by both seasonal trade wind-induced upwelling and pronounced dry and wet seasons. Our data indicate that large changes in the intensity of upwelling, and hence trade wind strength, occurred in this region during the last glacial-interglacial transition and throughout the Holocene. During the last glacial lowstand of sea level, the Cariaco Basin was effectively isolated from the open Caribbean along its northern margin by the then largely emergent Tortuga Bank. Oxic conditions existed in the deep Cariaco Basin at this time, and surface productivity was low. About 12,600 years ago, the abrupt initiation of strong upwelling over the basin and the onset of permanent anoxia in the deep waters are coincident with the rapid rise of sea level that accompanied the peak interval of meltwater discharge from the Laurentide Ice Sheet into the Gulf of Mexico. Strong upwelling between 12,600 and about 10,000 years ago may be related to intensified trade winds resulting, in part, from cooler sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. After about 10,000 years ago, upwelling intensity was reduced, though highly variable. A preliminary frequency domain analysis of the Holocene portion of the Cariaco Basin time series suggests that solar forcing may explain a significant component of the century-scale variability observed in the record of upwelling and trade wind strength.

Late differentiation of proximal and distal margins in the Gulf of Aden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bache, F.; Leroy, S.; D'Acremont, E.; Autin, J.; Watremez, L.; Rouzo, S.

2009-04-01

Non-volcanic passive margins are usually described in three different domains (Boillot et al., 1988), namely (1) the continental domain, where the basement is structured in a series of basins and basement rises, (2) the true oceanic domain, where the bathymetry is relatively smooth, and (3) in between them, a transitional domain referred to as the oceanic-continental transition (OCT), where the basement is partly composed of exhumed mantle. The Gulf of Aden is a young and narrow oceanic basin formed in Oligo-Miocene time between the rifted margins of the Arabian and Somalian plates. The distal margin and particularly the OCT domain were previously studied considering a large set of data (Leroy et al., 2004; d'Acremont et al., 2005; d'Acremont et al., 2006; Autin, 2008). This study focalises on the sedimentary cover identified on seismic reflexion profiles acquired during Encens-Sheba (2000) and Encens (2006) cruises. Sedimentary stratal pattern and seismic facies succession suggest that the differentiation between the proximal and the distal margins occurred very late in the formation of the margin, after the deposition of ~2 km of "syn-OCT" sediments which filled the distal margin grabens. A high position of the proximal and distal margins during rifting and "syn-OCT" sediments deposition could be proposed. The major implication of this evolution should be a shallow nature of "syn-OCT" deposits. The lack of boreholes doesn't permit to affirm this last point. Comparable observations have been described on other passive margins (Moulin, 2003; Moulin et al., 2005; Labails, 2007; Aslanian et al., 2008; Bache, 2008). For some authors, it shows the persistence of a deep thermal anomaly during the early history of the margin (Steckler et al., 1988; Dupré et al., 2007). These observations could be a common characteristic of passive margins evolution and are of major interest for petroleum exploration. Aslanian, D., M. Moulin, O. J.L., P. Unternehr, F. Bache, I. Contrucci, F. Klingelhoefer, C. Labails, L. Matias, H. Nouzé, and M. Rabineau, 2008, Brazilian and African Passive Margins of the Central Segment of the South Atlantic Ocean: Kinematic constraints: Tectonophysics, v. doi: 10.1016/j.tecto.2008.12.016. Autin, J., 2008, Déchirure continentale et segmentation du Golfe d'Aden oriental en contexte de rifting oblique: Ph. D. thesis, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris VI, 310 p. Bache, F., 2008, Evolution Oligo-Miocène des marges du micro océan Liguro Provençal.: Ph. D. thesis, Université de Bretagne Occidentale/CNRS/IFREMER. http://www.ifremer.fr/docelec/notice/2008/notice4768-EN.htm, Brest, 328 p. Boillot, G., J. Girardeau, and J. Kornprobst, 1988, The rifting of the Galicia margin: crustal thinning and emplacement of mantle rocks on the seafloor (ODP Leg 103). In Boillot, G., Winterer, E.L., et al., Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, v. 103, College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program), p. 741-756. d'Acremont, E., S. Leroy, M. O. Beslier, N. bellahsen, M. Fournier, C. Robin, M. Maia, and P. Gente, 2005, Structure and evolution of the eastern Gulf of Aden conjugate margins from seismic reflection data: Geophys. J. Int., v. 160, p. 869-890. d'Acremont, E., S. Leroy, M. Maia, P. Patriat, M. O. Beslier, N. Bellahsen, M. Fournier, and P. Gente, 2006, Structure and evolution of the eastern Gulf of Aden: insights from magnetic and gravity data (Encens-Sheba MD117 cruise): Geophys. J. Int., v. 165, p. 786-803. Dupré, S., G. Bertotti, and S. Cloetingh, 2007, Tectonic history along the South Gabon Basin: Anomalous early post-rift subsidence: Mar. Pet. Geol., v. 24, p. 151-172. Labails, C., 2007, La marge sud-marocaine et les premières phases d'ouverture de l'océan Atlantique Central: Ph. D. thesis, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Brest. Leroy, S., P. Gente, M. Fournier, E. d'Acremont, P. Patriat, M. O. Beslier, N. Bellahsen, M. Maia, A. Blais, J. Perrot, A. Al-Kathiri, S. Merkouriev, J. M. Fleury, P. Y. Ruellan, C. Lepvrier, and P. Huchon, 2004, From rifting to spreading in the Gulf of Aden: a geophysical survey of a young oceanic basin from margin to margin: Terra Nova, v. 16, p. 185-192. Moulin, M., 2003, Etude géologique et géophysique des marges continentales passive: exemple de l'Angola et du Zaire: Ph. D. thesis, Université de Bretagne Occidentale/IFREMER. http://www.ifremer.fr/docelec/doc/2003/these-82.pdf., Brest, 320 p. Moulin, M., D. Aslanian, J. L. Olivet, I. Contrucci, L. Matias, L. Géli, F. Klingelhoefer, H. Nouzé, J. P. Réhault, and P. Unternehr, 2005, Geological constraints on the evolution of the Angolan margin based on reflection and refraction seismic data (Zaïango project): Geophys. J. Int., v. 162, p. 793-810. Steckler, M., A. B. Watts, and J. A. Thorne, 1988, Subsidence and basin modeling at the U.S. Atlantic passive margin, in R. E. Sheridan, and J. A. Grow, eds., The Atlantic Continental Margin: U.S., v. The Geology of Noth America, V1-2, Geological Society of America, p. 399-416.

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.

Stratigraphy and structure along the Pensacola Arch/Conecuh Embayment margin in northwest Florida

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

Duncan, J.G.

1993-03-01

Stratigraphic and structural analysis of deep borehole data along the Pensacola Arch/Conecuh Embayment margin in eastern Santa Rosa County, Florida reveals a northeast-trending basement normal fault that is downthrown to the northwest. The fault functioned as a border fault of a half-graben (or graben ) that developed during continental rifting of Pangea in the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. The upthrown or horst block was a paleotopographic high that formed the southeastern boundary of the Middle to Late Jurassic Conecuh Embayment. A second, younger basement fault trends approximately perpendicular to the half-graben border fault. Late Triassic synrift continental sediments, depositedmore » on the downthrown block of the half-graben, pinch-out abruptly to the southeast pre-Mesozoic Suwannee Basin basement. The border fault is located approximately where the Triassic sedimentary wedge pinches out. Middle to Upper Jurassic drift-stage strata of the Conecuh embayment progressively onlap the post-rift unconformity toward the southeast. Upper Jurassic Smackover Formation carbonates and evaporites apparently overstep Triassic deposits and rest directly on Suwannee Basin quartzitic sandstone near their depositional limit at the Pensacola Arch. The Smackover Formation thins significantly toward the southeast in association with the Triassic pinch-out and half-graben border fault. The pinch-out trend of the Smackover Formation suggests a northeast-southwest orientation for the Triassic border fault and supports a horst-block origin for the Pensacola Arch.« less

Towards a Holistic Model for the Tectonic Evolution of the North China Craton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusky, T. M.; Polat, A.; Windley, B. F.; Wang, J.; Deng, H.

2016-12-01

The North China Craton (NCC) consists of distinctly different tectonic elements assembled during the late Archean - early Proterozoic. We propose a new tectonic evolution of the NCC. The Eastern Block (EB) consists of small microblocks that resemble a collage of accreted arc-rocks from a sutured archipelago similar to the SW Pacific, accreted between 2.6 and 2.7 Ga. An Atlantic-type margin developed on the western side of the EB by 2.5 Ga, and a >1,300 km long arc/accretionary prism collided with this passive margin at 2.5 Ga, obducting ophiolites and ophiolitic mélanges, and forming a foreland basin. This was followed by arc-polarity reversal, and injection of mantle wedge-derived melts. By 2.43 Ga, the ocean behind the accreted arc closed through the collision of an oceanic plateau. Rifting of the amalgamated craton followed at 2.4-2.35 Ga, with a failed rift arm preserved in the center of the craton, and two that successfully made an ocean along the northern margin. By 2.3 Ga an arc built on older cratonic material collided with this passive margin which soon converted to an Andean-type margin. Andean margin tectonics affected much of the craton from 2.3-1.9 Ga, forming a broad E-W swath of continental margin magmas, and retro-arc sedimentary basins including a superimposed basin over the passive margin on the northern margin. From 1.88-1.79 Ga the craton experienced a craton-wide granulite facies metamorphism and basement reactivation event with high-pressure granulites and eclogites in the north, and medium-pressure granulites across the craton. Early Proterozoic granulites and anatectic melts were generated by high-grade metamorphism and partial melting at mid-crustal levels beneath a collisionally-thickened plateau. This collision of the NCC on its northern margin was with the Columbia (Nuna) Continent. The NCC broke out in the period 1753-1673 Ma, as indicated by the formation of a suite of anorthosite, mangerite, charnockite, and alkali-feldspar granites in an ENE-striking belt across the northern margin of the craton, followed by the development of rifts and graben, intrusion of mafic dike swarms, and formation of shelf sediments on the northern passive margin of the craton, which signaled the beginning of a long period of quiescence for the NCC until the Paleozoic.

The stretching amplitude and thermal regime of the lithosphere in the nonvolcanic passive margin of Antarctica in the Mawson Sea region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galushkin, Yu. I.; Leitchenkov, G. L.; Guseva, Yu. B.; Dubinin, E. P.

2018-01-01

The burial history and thermal evolution of the lithosphere within the passive nonvolcanic Antarctic margin in the region of the Mawson Sea are numerically reconstructed for the margin areas along the seismic profile 5909 with the use of the GALO basin modeling system. The amplitudes of the lithosphere stretching at the different stages of continental rifting which took place from 160 to 90 Ma ago are calculated from the geophysical estimates of the thickness of the consolidated crust and the tectonic analysis of the variations in the thickness of the sedimentary cover and sea depths during the evolution of the basin. It is hypothesized that the formation of the recent sedimentary section sequence in the studied region of the Antarctic margin began 140 Ma ago on a basement that was thinned by a factor of 1.6 to 4.5 during the first episode of margin stretching (160-140 Ma) under a fairly high heat flux. The reconstruction of the thermal regime of the lithosphere has shown that the mantle rocks could occur within the temperature interval of serpentinization and simultaneously within the time interval of lithospheric stretching (-160 < t <-90 Ma) only within separate segments of profile 5909 in the Mawson Sea. The calculations of the rock strength distribution with depth by the example of the section of pseudowell 4 have shown that a significant part of the crust and uppermost mantle fall here in the region of brittle deformations in the most recent period of lithosphere stretching (-104 to-90 Ma ago). The younger basin segments of profile 5909 in the region of pseudowells 5 and 6 are characterized by a high heat flux, and the formation of through-thickness brittle fractures in these zones is less probable. However, serpentinization could take place in these areas as in the other margin segments at the stage of presedimentation ultra slow basement stretching.

Crustal architecture of the oblique-slip conjugate margins of George V Land and southeast Australia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stagg, H.M.J.; Reading, A.M.

2007-01-01

A conceptual, lithospheric-scale cross-section of the conjugate, oblique-slip margins of George V Land, East Antarctica, and southeast Australia (Otway Basin) has been constructed based on the integration of seismic and sample data. This cross-section is characterised by asymmetry in width and thickness, and depth-dependent crustal extension at breakup in the latest Maastrichtian. The broad Antarctic margin (~360 km apparent rift width) developed on thick crust (~42 km) of the Antarctic craton, whereas the narrow Otway margin (~220 km) developed on the thinner crust (~31 km) of the Ross–Delamerian Orogen. The shallow basement (velocities ~5.5 km.s-1) and the deep continental crust (velocities >6.4 km.s-1) appear to be largely absent across the central rift, while the mid-crustal, probably granitic layer (velocities ~6 km.s-1) is preserved. Comparison with published numerical models suggests that the shallow basement and deep crust may have been removed by simple shear, whereas the mid-crust has been ductilely deformed.

Sedimentary record of late Paleozoic to Recent tectonism in central Asia — analysis of subsurface data from the Turan and south Kazak domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, J. C.; Cobbold, P. R.; Shein, V. S.; Le Douaran, S.

1999-11-01

The Turan and south Kazak domains (TSK) are in central Asia, between the Caspian Sea and the Tien Shan. The area is covered by sediments, deposited since the Late Permian during a series of tectonic events closely related to the history of two oceanic domains, Paleotethys and Neotethys. Sedimentary basins on the TSK therefore provide constraints on the tectonic development of the southern margin of Eurasia since the Late Permian. Our study is based on structure-contour maps and isopach maps of five key stratigraphic markers, of Late Permian to Tertiary age. Isopach maps help locate major faults and delimit sedimentary basins, providing information on vertical motions and, in some instances, horizontal motions. Subsidence associated with extension appears to have dominated the TSK, from the Late Permian to the Eocene. The extension may have been of back-arc type in southern Eurasia, next to the active margin, where the Paleotethys and Neotethys successively subducted toward the north. Here, sedimentary basins are both wide and deep (up to 15 km). During the Mesozoic, two compressional events of regional significance occurred in association with accretion of continental blocks at the southern margin of Eurasia. The first one, at the end of the Triassic, led to strong selective inversion of basins over the Turan domain. The second one, during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, had weaker effects. Since the Oligocene, following collision of both India and Arabia with Eurasia, inversion has become more generalized and compressional basins have formed on the TSK. Throughout the entire history of development of the TSK, from the Late Permian to the Tertiary, structures of Paleozoic and early Mesozoic age have exerted a strong control on sedimentation and especially on the location of depocenters. The south Kazak domain has registered little subsidence, in comparison with the Turan domain, where some basins have become very deep.

Deep Segmentation from 2D Forward Modeling and 3D Tomography of the Maranhão-Barreirinhas-Ceará Margin, NW Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afonso Dias, Nuno; Afilhado, Alexandra; Schnürle, Philippe; Gallais, Flora; Soares, José; Fuck, Reinhardt; Cupertino, José; Viana, Adriano; Moulin, Maryline; Aslanian, Daniel; Matias, Luís; Evain, Mikael; Loureiro, Afonso

2017-04-01

The deep crustal structure of the North-East equatorial Brazilian margin, was investigated during the MAGIC (Margins of brAzil, Ghana and Ivory Coast) joint project, conducted in 2012. The main goal set to understand the fundamental processes leading to the thinning and finally breakup of the continental crust, in a context of a Pull-apart system with two strike-slip borders. The offshore Barreirinhas Basin, was probed by a set of 5 intersecting deep seismic wide-angle profiles, with the deployment of short-period OBS's from IFREMER and land stations from the Brazilian pool. The experiment was devoted to obtain the 2D structure along the directions of flow lines, parallel to margin segmentation and margin segmentation, from tomography and forward modeling. The OBS's deployed recorded also lateral shooting along some profiles, allowing a 3D tomography inversion complementing the results of 2D modeling. Due to the large variation of the water column thickness, heterogeneous crustal structure and Moho depth, several approaches were tested to generate initial input models, to set the grid parameterization and inversion parameters. The assessment of the 3D model was performed by standard synthetic tests and comparison with the obtained 2D forward models. The results evidence a NW-SE segmentation of the margin, following the opening direction of this pull-apart basin, and N-S segmentation that marks the passage between Basins II-III. The signature of the segmentation is evident in the tomograms, where the shallowing of the basement from Basin II towards the oceanic domain is well marked by a NW-SE velocity gradient. Both 2D forward modeling and 3D tomographic inversion indicate a N-S segmentation in the proto-oceanic and oceanic domains, at least at the shallow mantle level. In the southern area the mantle is much faster than on the north. In all profiles crossing Basin II, a deep layer with velocities of 7-4-7.6 km/s generates both refracted as well as reflected phases from its boundaries, in agreement with the 3D model, which indicate a much more gradual transition of crustal velocities to mantle-velocities, than in the remaining segments. The intersection of Basins II, III and proto-oceanic crust is well marked by the absence of seismic energy propagation at deep crust to mantle levels, with no lateral arrival being recorded. Publication supported by FCT- project UID/GEO/50019/2013 - Instituto Dom Luiz.

Wide-angle seismic data from the East Sicily margin: Imaging the deep structure of a Tethyan transform margin and the modern Calabria subduction lateral slab tear.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dellong, D.; Klingelhoefer, F.; Kopp, H.; Gutscher, M. A.

2016-12-01

It is generally accepted that a STEP fault (Subduction Tear Edge Propagator) has accommodated the roll back of the Ionian Slab along the eastern Sicily Margin since 6 to 7 Ma. However the location of this lithospheric scale tear fault, and its surface expression is controversial. Constrain by numerous bathymetric imaging and shallow sub-surface multi-channels seismic (MCS) studies, variety of fault geometry was proposed. Moreover the role of the Malta Escarpment in this geodynamic system also remain the object of debates. It may be linked to the opening of the Ionian basin during a phase of strike-slip rifting since more than 180 Ma. Here we present the results of modelling of two wide-angle seismic profiles from the DIONYSUS survey (R/V Meteor, Oct. 2014). The first profile (DY-P3) was recorded by 25 Ocean- Bottom-Seismometers (OBS) and 3 land stations, and the second profile (DY-P1) by 52 OBS. Forward modelling of both profiles reveals a zone of abrupt crustal thinning from about 30 km below the Hyblean plateau and East-Sicily continental domain, to values of 8-15 km over a short lateral distance of 20-30 km. In the northern profile (DY-P3) the crust east of this abrupt thinning is of transitional thickness (15 km) and characterized by seismic velocities and velocity gradients similar to thinned continental crust. In the southern profile (DY-P1) this crust is 6-8 km thick, and the velocity gradients are close to those of oceanic crust. On this profile about 50-60 km eastward from the base of the Malta Escarpment, a lateral change of crustal velocities was modelled. Here a recent shallow transtensional deformation has been observed in MCS data at the position of this structure and linked to an elongated basin visible in the bathymetry and was linked to the STEP fault location. The results of the wide-angle seismic modelling suggest an ancient origin for the Malta Escarpment, formed as a transform margin during opening of the Ionian Basin about 180 Ma ago. The geometry of the modern day STEP fault is largely obscured in the northern profile because of the superposition of the structures with the ancient Tethyan transform Margin. In the southern wide-angle seismic profile these two structures are distinct and this allow us to conclude that the Malta Escarpment offshore SE Sicily has not been re-activated by the recent STEP-fault activity.

2D numerical modeling of gravity-driven giant-scale deformation processes in the offshore Barreirinhas Basin (Brazil)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruciani, Francesco; Manconi, Andrea; Rinaldo Barchi, Massimiliano

2014-05-01

Gravity-driven deformation processes at continental passive margins occur at different scales, from small-scale turbidity currents and sediment slides, to large-scale mass transport complexes (MTCs), to the giant-scale deep water fold and thrust belts (DW-FTBs), which affect most or the entire sedimentary sequence. This kind of giant structures, quite widespread in passive margins, may be active for tens of millions of years. In this context, the Brazilian Atlantic margin hosts several well-known DW-FTBs detached on both shale and salt décollement. Despite of their relevant scientific and economic importance, the mechanical processes driving the onset and evolution of these giant-scale structures are still poorly investigated. In this work, we focus on the shale décollement DW-FTB of the Barreirinhas Basin, where the continental slope has been affected by multi-phase gravitational processes since the Late Cretaceous. This DW-FTB consists of a linked fault system of listric normal faults updip and thrust faults downdip, detached over a common concave upward décollement surface. From the onshore extensional to the offshore compressional domain the DW-FTB is about 50 km wide and involve a sedimentary sequence up to 5 km thick. Shortening within the compressional domain is accommodated almost entirely from a single thrust ramp with a large related anticline fold. Previous studies have shown that the main activity phases of the gravitational processes are closely linked to significant increases in the sediment supply within the basin. Indeed, the highest deformation rate, accounting for about 80% of the net strain, occurred in the Upper Miocene following a drainage rearrangement which led to the birth of the modern Amazon River drainage system. The Barreirinhas Basin DW-FTB entails a rather simple geometrical structure, which can be well schematized, therefore is particularly suitable for numerical simulations aimed to study and understand the dynamics of DW-FTB at this particular place and also elsewhere. We set up a 2D fluid dynamic model by considering a Finite Element Method (FEM) environment, which allows us to well represent the geometries, densities and viscosities of the geological materials, as derived from geophysical investigations. Our study aims at understanding whether the long-term mechanical behavior of the Barreirinhas Basin DW-FTB can be reproduced by considering a simplified Newtonian fluid dynamics environment or it is controlled by a more complex rheology, which might include the effect of additional parameters such as internal friction, cohesive strength and pore-fluid pressure at the basal detachment.

The crustal structure of the southern Argentine margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, Katharina; Franke, Dieter; Schnabel, Michael; Schreckenberger, Bernd; Heyde, Ingo; Krawczyk, Charlotte M.

2012-06-01

Multichannel reflection seismic profiles, combined with gravimetric and magnetic data provide insight into the crustal structure of the southernmost Argentine margin, at the transition from a rifted to a transform margin and outline the extent of the North Falkland Graben. Based on these data, we establish a regional stratigraphic model for the post-rift sediments, comprising six marker horizons with a new formation in the Barremian/Lower Cretaceous. Our observations support that a N-S trending subsidiary branch of the North Falkland Graben continues along the continental shelf and slope to the Argentine basin. During the rift phase, a wide shelf area was affected by the E-W extension, subsequently forming the North Falkland Graben and the subsidiary branch along which finally breakup occurred. We propose the division of the margin in two segments: a N-S trending rifted margin and an E-W trending transform margin. This is further underpinned by crustal scale gravity modelling. Three different tectono-dynamic processes shaped the study area. (1) The Triassic/Early Jurassic extensional phase resulting in the formation of the North Falkland Graben and additional narrower rift grabens ended synchronously with the breakup of the South Atlantic in the early Valanginian. (2) Extensional phase related to the opening of the South Atlantic. (3) The transform margin was active in the study area from about Hauterivian times and activity lasted until late Cretaceous/early Cenozoic. Both, the rifted margin and the transform margin are magma-poor. Very limited structures may have a volcanic origin but are suggested to be post-rift. The oceanic crust was found to be unusually thin, indicating a deficit in magma supply during formation. These findings in combination with the proposed breakup age in the early Valanginian that considerably predates the formation of the Paraná-Etendeka continental flood basalt provinces in Brazil and Namibia question the influence of the Tristan da Cunha hotspot during the initial formation of the South Atlantic.

The Wallula fault and tectonic framework of south-central Washington, as interpreted from magnetic and gravity anomalies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Blakely, Richard J.; Sherrod, Brian; Weaver, Craig S.; Wells, Ray; Rohay, Alan C.

2014-01-01

The Yakima fold and thrust belt (YFTB) in central Washington has accommodated regional, mostly north-directed, deformation of the Cascadia backarc since prior to emplacement of Miocene flood basalt of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). The YFTB consists of two structural domains. Northern folds of the YFTB strike eastward and terminate at the western margin of a 20-mGal negative gravity anomaly, the Pasco gravity low, straddling the North American continental margin. Southern folds of the YFTB strike southeastward, form part of the Olympic–Wallowa lineament (OWL), and pass south of the Pasco gravity low as the Wallula fault zone. An upper crustal model based on gravity and magnetic anomalies suggests that the Pasco gravity low is caused in part by an 8-km-deep Tertiary basin, the Pasco sub-basin, abutting the continental margin and concealed beneath CRBG. The Pasco sub-basin is crossed by north-northwest-striking magnetic anomalies caused by dikes of the 8.5 Ma Ice Harbor Member of the CRBG. At their northern end, dikes connect with the eastern terminus of the Saddle Mountains thrust of the YFTB. At their southern end, dikes are disrupted by the Wallula fault zone. The episode of NE–SW extension that promoted Ice Harbor dike injection apparently involved strike-slip displacement on the Saddle Mountains and Wallula faults. The amount of lateral shear on the OWL impacts the level of seismic hazard in the Cascadia region. Ice Harbor dikes, as mapped with aeromagnetic data, are dextrally offset by the Wallula fault zone a total of 6.9 km. Assuming that dike offsets are tectonic in origin, the Wallula fault zone has experienced an average dextral shear of 0.8 mm/y since dike emplacement 8.5 Ma, consistent with right-lateral stream offsets observed at other locations along the OWL. Southeastward, the Wallula fault transfers strain to the north-striking Hite fault, the possible location of the M 5.7 Milton-Freewater earthquake in 1936.

Tracking the India-Arabia Transform Plate Boundary during Paleogene Times.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, M.; Huchon, P.; Chamot-Rooke, N. R. A.; Fournier, M.; Delescluse, M.

2014-12-01

The Zagros and Himalaya mountain belts are the most prominent reliefs built by continental collision. They respectively result from Arabia and India collision with Eurasia. Convergence motions at mountain belts induced most of plate reorganization events in the Indian Ocean during the Cenozoic. Although critical for paleogeographic reconstructions, the way relative motion between Arabia and India was accommodated prior to the formation of the Sheba ridge in the Gulf of Aden remains poorly understood. The India-Arabia plate-boundary belongs to the category of long-lived (~90-Ma) oceanic transform faults, thus providing a good case study to investigate the role of major kinematic events over the structural evolution of a long-lived transform system. A seismic dataset crossing the Owen Fracture Zone, the Owen Basin, and the Oman Margin was acquired to track the past locations of the India-Arabia plate boundary. We highlight the composite age of the Owen Basin basement, made of Paleocene oceanic crust drilled on its eastern part, and composed of pre-Maastrichtian continental crust overlaid by Early Paleocene ophiolites on its western side. A major transform fault system crossing the Owen Basin juxtaposed these two slivers of lithosphere of different ages, and controlled the uplift of marginal ridges along the Oman Margin. This transform system deactivated ~40 Ma ago, coeval with the onset of ultra-slow spreading at the Carlsberg Ridge. The transform boundary then jumped to the edge of the present-day Owen Ridge during the Late Eocene-Oligocene period, before seafloor spreading began at the Sheba Ridge. This migration of the plate boundary involved the transfer of a part of the Indian oceanic lithosphere accreted at the Carlsberg Ridge to the Arabian plate. The episode of plate transfer at the India-Arabia plate boundary during the Late Eocene-Oligocene interval is synchronous with a global plate reorganization event corresponding to geological events at the Zagros and Himalaya belts. The Owen Ridge uplifted later, in Late Miocene times, and is unrelated to any major migration of the India-Arabia boundary.

Chapter 32: Geology and petroleum potential of the Arctic Alaska petroleum province

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bird, K.J.; Houseknecht, D.W.

2011-01-01

The Arctic Alaska petroleum province encompasses all lands and adjacent continental shelf areas north of the Brooks Range-Herald Arch orogenic belt and south of the northern (outboard) margin of the Beaufort Rift shoulder. Even though only a small part is thoroughly explored, it is one of the most prolific petroleum provinces in North America with total known resources (cumulative production plus proved reserves) of c. 28 BBOE. The province constitutes a significant part of a displaced continental fragment, the Arctic Alaska microplate, that was probably rifted from the Canadian Arctic margin during formation of the Canada Basin. Petroleum prospective rocks in the province, mostly Mississippian and younger, record a sequential geological evolution through passive margin, rift and foreland basin tectonic stages. Significant petroleum source and reservoir rocks were formed during each tectonic stage but it was the foreland basin stage that provided the necessary burial heating to generate petroleum from the source rocks. The lion's share of known petroleum resources in the province occur in combination structural-stratigraphic traps formed as a consequence of rifting and located along the rift shoulder. Since the discovery of the super-giant Prudhoe Bay accumulation in one of these traps in the late 1960s, exploration activity preferentially focused on these types of traps. More recent activity, however, has emphasized the potential for stratigraphic traps and the prospect of a natural gas pipeline in this region has spurred renewed interest in structural traps. For assessment purposes, the province is divided into a Platform assessment unit (AU), comprising the Beaufort Rift shoulder and its relatively undeformed flanks, and a Fold-and-Thrust Belt AU, comprising the deformed area north of the Brooks Range and Herald Arch tectonic belt. Mean estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources include nearly 28 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and 122 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of nonassociated gas in the Platform AU and 2 BBO and 59 TCF of nonassociated gas in the Fold-and-Thrust Belt AU. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

Provenance and accommodation pathways of late Quaternary sediments in the deep-water northern Ionian Basin, southern Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perri, Francesco; Critelli, Salvatore; Dominici, Rocco; Muto, Francesco; Tripodi, Vincenzo; Ceramicola, Silvia

2012-12-01

The northern Calabria along the southeastern coast of Italy provides a favorable setting in which to study complete transects from continental to deep-marine environments. The present northern Ionian Calabrian Basin is a wedge-top basin within the modern foreland-basin system of southern Italy. The Ionian margin of northern Calabria consists of a moderately developed fluvial systems, the Crati and Neto rivers, and diverse smaller coastal drainages draining both the Calabria continental block (i.e., Sila Massif) and the southern Apennines thrust belt (i.e., Pollino Massif). The main-channel sand of the Crati and Neto rivers is quartzofeldspathic with abundant metamorphic and plutonic lithic fragments (granodiorite, granite, gneiss, phyllite and sedimentary lithic fragments). Sedimentary lithic fragments were derived from Jurassic sedimentary successions of the Longobucco Group. The mud samples contain mostly phyllosilicates, quartz, calcite, feldspars and dolomite. Traces of gypsum are present in some samples. The I-S mixed layers, 10 Å-minerals (illite and micas), chlorite and kaolinite are the most abundant phyllosilicates, whereas smectite and chlorite/smectite mixed layers are in small amounts. The geochemical signatures of the muds reflect a provenance characterized by both felsic and mafic rocks with a significant input from carbonate rocks. Furthermore, the degree of source-area weathering was most probably of low intensity rather than moderately intense because CIA values for the studied mud samples are low. Extrapolation of the mean erosion budget from 1 to 25 Ma suggests that at least 5 to 8 km of crust have been removed from the Calabrian orogenic belt and deposited in the marine basins. The Calabrian microplate played an important role in the dynamic evolution of southern Italian fossil and modern basins, representing the key tectonic element of the entire orogenic belt.

Evolution of the Toarcian (Early Jurassic) carbon-cycle and global climatic controls on local sedimentary processes (Cardigan Bay Basin, UK)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Weimu; Ruhl, Micha; Jenkyns, Hugh C.; Leng, Melanie J.; Huggett, Jennifer M.; Minisini, Daniel; Ullmann, Clemens V.; Riding, James B.; Weijers, Johan W. H.; Storm, Marisa S.; Percival, Lawrence M. E.; Tosca, Nicholas J.; Idiz, Erdem F.; Tegelaar, Erik W.; Hesselbo, Stephen P.

2018-02-01

The late Early Jurassic Toarcian Stage represents the warmest interval of the Jurassic Period, with an abrupt rise in global temperatures of up to ∼7 °C in mid-latitudes at the onset of the early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE; ∼183 Ma). The T-OAE, which has been extensively studied in marine and continental successions from both hemispheres, was marked by the widespread expansion of anoxic and euxinic waters, geographically extensive deposition of organic-rich black shales, and climatic and environmental perturbations. Climatic and environmental processes following the T-OAE are, however, poorly known, largely due to a lack of study of stratigraphically well-constrained and complete sedimentary archives. Here, we present integrated geochemical and physical proxy data (high-resolution carbon-isotope data (δ13 C), bulk and molecular organic geochemistry, inorganic petrology, mineral characterisation, and major- and trace-element concentrations) from the biostratigraphically complete and expanded entire Toarcian succession in the Llanbedr (Mochras Farm) Borehole, Cardigan Bay Basin, Wales, UK. With these data, we (1) construct the first high-resolution biostratigraphically calibrated chemostratigraphic reference record for nearly the complete Toarcian Stage, (2) establish palaeoceanographic and depositional conditions in the Cardigan Bay Basin, (3) show that the T-OAE in the hemipelagic Cardigan Bay Basin was marked by the occurrence of gravity-flow deposits that were likely linked to globally enhanced sediment fluxes to continental margins and deeper marine (shelf) basins, and (4) explore how early Toarcian (tenuicostatum and serpentinum zones) siderite formation in the Cardigan Bay Basin may have been linked to low global oceanic sulphate concentrations and elevated supply of iron (Fe) from the hinterland, in response to climatically induced changes in hydrological cycling, global weathering rates and large-scale sulphide and evaporite deposition.

The Continental Margins Program in Georgia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cocker, M.D.; Shapiro, E.A.

1999-01-01

From 1984 to 1993, the Georgia Geologic Survey (GGS) participated in the Minerals Management Service-funded Continental Margins Program. Geological and geophysical data acquisition focused on offshore stratigraphic framework studies, phosphate-bearing Miocene-age strata, distribution of heavy minerals, near-surface alternative sources of groundwater, and development of a PC-based Coastal Geographic Information System (GIS). Seven GGS publications document results of those investigations. In addition to those publications, direct benefits of the GGS's participation include an impetus to the GGS's investigations of economic minerals on the Georgia coast, establishment of a GIS that includes computer hardware and software, and seeds for additional investigations through the information and training acquired as a result of the Continental Margins Program. These addtional investigations are quite varied in scope, and many were made possible because of GIS expertise gained as a result of the Continental Margins Program. Future investigations will also reap the benefits of the Continental Margins Program.From 1984 to 1993, the Georgia Geologic Survey (GGS) participated in the Minerals Management Service-funded Continental Margins Program. Geological and geophysical data acquisition focused on offshore stratigraphic framework studies, phosphate-bearing Miocene-age strata, distribution of heavy minerals, near-surface alternative sources of groundwater, and development of a PC-based Coastal Geographic Information System (GIS). Seven GGS publications document results of those investigations. In addition to those publications, direct benefits of the GGS's participation include an impetus to the GGS's investigations of economic minerals on the Georgia coast, establishment of a GIS that includes computer hardware and software, and seeds for additional investigations through the information and training acquired as a result of the Continental Margins Program. These additional investigations are quite varied in scope, and many were made possible because of GIS expertise gained as a result of the Continental Margins Program. Future investigations will also reap the benefits of the Continental Margins Program.

Mass wasting on the Orange Cone of the Atlantic Margin, South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fielies, Anthony; Murphy, Alain; Johnson, Sean; Thovhogi, Tshifhiwa

2017-04-01

The South African Atlantic Margin represents the rift-drift passive volcanic margin sequence which records the break-up of Gondwana around 155 Ma and the subsequent opening of the South Atlantic Ocean. The Orange Cone - the morphological expression of the sediment buildout and modification of the continental margin along the southwest African continental margin - has undergone extensive mass failure and slope modification over a protracted period. This failure extends all the way to the present-day toe of the Orange Cone. This paper outlines the data and analysis by South Arica in support of its Submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. South Africa has, in its submission, identified and mapped a considerable number of gravity-driven failure features and deposits as evidence of the Orange Cone being classified as a slope in the sense of Article 76 of UNCLOS. Sediment mass failure, which includes slumping, sliding, mass transport deposits, etc., are known to be continental slope phenomena because they are gravity-driven and thus require a free slope upon which gravitational forces can cause kinetic action. Upper slope failure is ubiquitous on the Orange Cone and has been well documented. The most striking example of slope modification and downslope movement in the upper slope of the Orange Cone/Basin is the paired, gravity-driven deformation system, over 100 km across, with extension high on the submarine slope and contraction toward the toe of slope. The lower slope of the Orange Cone has experienced multiple episodes of failure in the form of glides, slides and debris flows. Failure on the lower slope is highly relevant for the purposes of delineating the foot of the continental slope as the deposition location represents the terminus of the slope processes. These gravity-driven failures are inherently linked to upper slope failure processes although their expression is markedly different. The change in gradients between the upper and lower slope corresponds to a change in the style of mass wasting where the failure regime changes from one of faulting and mass wasting to one of detachment and debris flows. Much of the material that is redeposited at the base of the upper slope is in turn remobilised and transported downslope on the lower slope. Some MTDs are likely disaggregated extensions of more coherent slides that have their origin in the upper slope. The lower slope is characterised by bathymetric scarps and translation of material along distinct glide planes. Seismic interpretation suggests that these relatively coherent units disaggregate further downslope resulting in debrites.

Tectono-Stratigraphy of the Seeps on the Guaymas Basin at the Sonora Margin, Gulf of California, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Figueroa Albornoz, L. J.; Mortera-Gutierrez, C. A.; Bandy, W. L.; Escobar-Briones, E. G.; Godfroy, A.; Fouquet, Y.

2013-05-01

Recently several hydrothermal and gas seeps systems has been located precisely at the Sonora margin within the Guaymas Basin (GB), Gulf of California. Since late 1970's , several marine studies had reported two main hydrothermal systems in the Guaymas Rift (one at the Northern Rift, and other at the Southern Rift) and a cold seeps system at the Satellite Basin in the Sonora-margin lower edge. During the campaign BIG10, onboard the IFREMER vessel, NO L'Atalante, the EM122 echo-sounder log more than 30,000 water column acoustic images, which allows us to create a data base of the bubble plumes active systems on the northern part of the GB and the Sonora Margin. These plumes are the expression on the water column of an active seeps site during the cruise time. These images document the presence of the cold seep activity around the scarp of the Guaymas Transform Fault (GTF), and within the Satellite Basin. Few active plumes are first located off-axis, on both sides of the Northern Rift. Although it is not observed any plume within NR. Sub-bottom profiles and bathymetric data logged during the campaign GUAYRIV10, onboard the UNAM vessel, BO EL PUMA, are analyzed to determine the shallow tectonic-stratigraphy of GB near the Sonora Margin. We analyze 17 high-resolution seismic profiles (13 with NE-SW strike and 3 with NW-SE strike). From this data set, the continental shelf stratigraphy at the Sonora Margin tilts toward the slope, showing 3 low angle unconformities due to tectonics and slope angle changes. The strata slope changes angle up to 60°. However, the constant trans-tension shear along the GTF causes gravitation instability on the slope, generating a few submarine landslides close to the Northern Rift, and the rotation of blocks, tilting toward the shelf. To the north, the GTF splits in two fault escarpments, forming a narrow pull-apart basin, known as Satellite Basin. The submarine canyon from the Sonora River flows through the Satellite Basin into the GB, being a sediment source and an erosional mechanism. On the GB stratification, we observe a low angle unconformity given by a transparent acoustical layer. Also, the reflectors at the GB edge and adjacent to GTF structure suggest that the stratification till upward to the scarp. Nevertheless, that GTF scarp represents the eroded paleo-slope of the Sonora Margin, exposing the cutting layers on its facing north slope. The plumes observed near to the Satellite Basin correspond to gas seeps released on the north slope of the scarp of the GTF, where layers of the GB are exposed, and giving the absence of a seal layer. The observed inner plumes in the Satellite Basin probably use the disrupted layers of the facing south scarp of the GTF to release the gas bubbles. The new plume system found off-axis on the Northern Rift has not enough data to explain their origin and release process.

Crustal characteristic variation in the central Yamato Basin, Japan Sea back-arc basin, deduced from seismic survey results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Takeshi; No, Tetsuo; Miura, Seiichi; Kodaira, Shuichi

2018-02-01

The crustal structure of the Yamato Bank, the central Yamato Basin, and the continental shelf in the southern Japan Sea back-arc basin is obtained based on a seismic survey using ocean bottom seismographs and seismic shot to elucidate the back-arc basin formation processes. The central Yamato Basin can be divided into three domains based on the crustal structure: the deep basin, the seamount, and the transition domains. In the deep basin domain, the crust without the sedimentary layer is about 12-13 km thick. Very few units have P-wave velocity of 5.4-6.0 km/s, which corresponds to the continental upper crust. In the seamount and transition domains, the crust without the sedimentary layer is about 12-16 km thick. The P-wave velocities of the upper and lower crusts differs among the deep basin, the seamount, and the transition domains. These results indicate that the central Yamato Basin displays crustal variability in different domains. The crust of the deep basin domain is oceanic in nature and suggests advanced back-arc basin development. The seamount domain might have been affected by volcanic activity after basin opening. In the transition domain, the crust comprises mixed characters of continental and oceanic crust. This crustal variation might represent the influence of different processes in the central Yamato Basin, suggesting that crustal development was influenced not only by back-arc opening processes but also by later volcanic activity. In the Yamato Bank and continental shelf, the upper crust has thickness of about 17-18 km and P-wave velocities of 3.3-4.1 to 6.6 km/s. The Yamato Bank and the continental shelf suggest a continental crustal character.

The Naga Hills and Andaman ophiolite belt, their setting, nature and collisional emplacement history

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acharyya, S. K.; Ray, K. K.; Sengupta, Subhasis

The Indo-Burmese Range and the Andaman-Nicobar Island Arc, form a continuous arcuate trend along which several ophiolite occurrences have been reported. In Naga Hills (NHO) and Andaman (ANO), these ophiolites are represented by dismembered mafic and ultramafic rocks with closely associated oceanic pelagic sediments. They occur as folded thrust slices occupying the highest tectonic levels and are brought to lie over distal shelf sediments of Eocene to Oligocene age. Ophiolites are unconformably overlain by ophiolite-derived clastics of Middle to Late Eocene age. The ophiolites preserved along this belt are remnants of a continuous, narrow, one or several intra-continental ocean basin(s) of broadly comparable age, created during the Late Mesozoic rifting of the Greater India Gondwana continent. Rifting and creation of oceanic crust date between Cretaceous and Early Eocene. In the initial stages, the ocean floor had been deeper than Carbonate Compensation Depth (CCD). Subsequently it had become uneven, when oceanic crust was being added through several seamounts or seamount chains and on top of which calcareous pelagic sediments were deposited. Both tholeiitic and alkaline volcanic rocks are present in these ophiolites. In NHO, the two groups of lavas have generated from different sources in different tectonic settings. The alkalic and some tholeiitic lavas in NHO are similar to off-axis seamount basalts. Tholeiitic lavas from ANO and some NHO resemble MORB or backarc basin basalts and on the basis of certain chemical characters these are suggested to have generated in marginal basin setting. Significant volume of acid differentiates are associated in ANO which also support the marginal basin character of the basalts. The suite of rocks in ANO indicates fractionation in a shallow level magma chamber. Closure of the small ocean basin(s) and emplacement of ophiolites took place in two stages. In the initial stage, the seamount chain brought to the subduction zone collided with the Burmese block prior to Middle Eocene. Part of the ophiolites represent clipped seamounts which got accreted to the leading edge of the eastern continental block. With continued closure, this eastern block with accreted ophiolite slices was brought in juxtaposition with distal shelf sediments of the western block marking the terminal continent-continent collision. The thrust front of ophiolitic rocks apparently advanced further westward in Andaman to the south compared to the northern sector, and thus an imbricated zone and melange involving the Eocene floor sediments (Lipa Fm) has been created, whereas in the Naga Hills the floor sediments (Disang Fm) remained virtually passive. The time of terminal continental collision is represented as the regional Late Oligocene unconformity. The entire thrust stack got deformed and folded into upright geometry after being blocked. The present subduction of oceanic crust beneath the Andaman island arc appears to be a westward jump of subduction zone due to sustained post-collisional NE drive of the Indian plate.

The Global Geometry of River Drainage Basins and the Signature of Tectonic and Autogenic Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giachetta, E.; Willett, S.

2015-12-01

The plan-form structure of the world's river basins contains extensive information regarding tectonic, paleo-geographic and paleo-climate conditions, but interpretation of this structure is complicated by the need to disentangle these processes from the autogenic behavior of fluvial processes. One method of interpreting this structure is by utilizing the well-established scaling between drainage area and channel slope. Integration of this scaling relationship predicts a relationship between channel length and downstream integrated drainage area, referred to in recent studies as χ (Willett et al., 2014). In this paper, we apply this methodology at a continental scale by calculating χ for the world's river networks using hydrological information from the HydroSHED (Hydrological data and maps based on SHuttleElevation Derivatives at multiple Scales) suite of geo-referenced data sets (drainage directions and flow accumulations). River pixels were identified using a minimum drainage area of 5 km2. A constant value of m/n of 0.45 was assumed. We applied a new method to correct χ within closed basins where base level is different from sea level. Mapping of χ illustrates the geometric stability of a river network, thus highlighting where tectonic or climatic forcing has perturbed the shape and geometry. Each continent shows characteristic features. Continental rift margins on all continents show clear asymmetric escarpments indicating inland migration. Active orogenic belts break up older river basins, but are difficult to interpret because of spatially variable uplift rates. Regions of recent tilting are evident even in cratonic areas by lateral reorganizations of basins. Past and pending river captures are identified on all continents. Very few regions on Earth appear to be in near-equilibrium, though some are identified; for example the Urals appears to provide a stable continental divide for Eurasia. Our analysis of maps of χ at the global scale quantifies a dynamic view of Earth's river networks and helps to identify past and ongoing evolution of Earth's landscapes. References Willett, S.D., McCoy, S.W., Perron, J.T., Goren, L., Chen C.Y. (2014): Dynamic reorganization of river basins, Science 343, 1248765. DOI: 10.1126/science.1248765.

Petroleum geology and resources of the Amu-Darya basin, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Iran

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ulmishek, Gregory F.

2004-01-01

The Amu-Darya basin is a highly productive petroleum province in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (former Soviet Union), extending southwestward into Iran and southeastward into Afghanistan. The basin underlies deserts and semideserts north of the high ridges of the Kopet-Dag and Bande-Turkestan Mountains. On the northwest, the basin boundary crosses the crest of the Karakum regional structural high, and on the north the basin is bounded by the shallow basement of the Kyzylkum high. On the east, the Amu-Darya basin is separated by the buried southeast spur of the Gissar Range from the Afghan-Tajik basin, which is deformed into a series of north-south-trending synclinoria and anticlinoria. The separation of the two basins occurred during the Neogene Alpine orogeny; earlier, they were parts of a single sedimentary province. The basement of the Amu-Darya basin is a Hercynian accreted terrane composed of deformed and commonly metamorphosed Paleozoic rocks. These rocks are overlain by rift grabens filled with Upper Permian-Triassic rocks that are strongly compacted and diagenetically altered. This taphrogenic sequence, also considered to be a part of the economic basement, is overlain by thick Lower to Middle Jurassic, largely continental, coal-bearing rocks. The overlying Callovian-Oxfordian rocks are primarily carbonates. A deep-water basin surrounded by shallow shelves with reefs along their margins was formed during this time and reached its maximum topographic expression in the late Oxfordian. In Kimmeridgian-Tithonian time, the basin was filled with thick evaporites of the Gaurdak Formation. The Cretaceous-Paleogene sequence is composed chiefly of marine clastic rocks with carbonate intervals prominent in the Valanginian, Barremian, Maastrichtian, and Paleocene stratigraphic units. In Neogene time, the Alpine orogeny on the basin periphery resulted in deposition of continental clastics, initiation of new and rejuvenation of old faults, and formation of most structural traps. A single total petroleum system is identified in the Amu-Darya basin. The system is primarily gas prone. Discovered gas reserves are listed by Petroconsultants (1996) at about 230 trillion cubic feet, but recent discoveries and recent reserve estimates in older fields should increase this number by 40 to 50 trillion cubic feet. Reserves of liquid hydrocarbons (oil and condensate) are comparatively small, less than 2 billion barrels. Most of the gas reserves are concentrated in two stratigraphic intervals, Upper Jurassic carbonates and Neocomian clastics, each of which contains about one-half of the reserves. Reserves of other stratigraphic units?from Middle Jurassic to Paleogene in age?are relatively small. Source rocks for the gas are the Lower to Middle Jurassic clastics and coal and Oxfordian basinal black shales in the east-central part of the basin. The latter is probably responsible for the oil legs and much of the condensate in gas pools. Throughout most of the basin both source-rock units are presently in the gas-window zone. Traps are structural, paleogeomorphic, and stratigraphic, as well as a combination of these types. The giant Dauletabad field is in a combination trap with an essential hydrodynamic component. Four assessment units were identified in the total petroleum system. One unit in the northeastern, northern, and northwestern marginal areas of the basin and another in the southern marginal area are characterized by wide vertical distribution of hydrocarbon pools in Middle Jurassic to Paleocene rocks and the absence of the salt of the Gaurdak Formation. The other two assessment units are stratigraphically stacked; they occupy the central area of the basin and are separated by the regional undeformed salt seal of the Gaurdak Formation. The largest part of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources of the Amu-Darya basin is expected in older of these assessment units. The mean value of total assessed resources of the Amu-Darya basin is estimated

Hydrocarbon potential in Pakistan - A geological perspective

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

Kemal, A.

1991-03-01

Share of petroleum in the energy mix of Pakistan is about 76%. Indigenous oil production meets only one-third of the requirement while the remaining is imported at a high cost. The pinch of soaring crude prices of the late 1970s accelerated the search for new petroleum resources. The last decade saw a notable increase in petroleum exploration as well as production of oil and gas. Pakistan lies along part of the Tertiary convergence zone and straddles the boundaries between Indian, Arabian, and Eurasian plates. It has a large sedimentary area and a proven petroleum potential. The basin evolution along themore » fringe of proto-Indian Ocean and subsequent modifications by continental collision can be correlated with the plate tectonic history. Better understanding of the geological history and the petroleum geodynamics have contributed in the finding of new resources. At the advent of the last decade, application of conceptual geological modeling opened up a new petroleum province in the south. Application of the state-of-the-art technique has made it possible to identify attractive prospects in the geologically complex imbricate zone in the northern province. The vast Indus basin also has the possibilities associated with stratigraphic, reefal, and other subtle trapping mechanisms. Finally, the Baluchistan basin and the continental shelf have only been marginally explored. The prospects for the future seem extremely bright, particularly the unproven Indus delta and the Baluchistan basin, which may drastically change this situation.« less

Middle Jurassic - Early Cretaceous rifting on the Chortis Block in Honduras: Implications for proto-Caribbean opening (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, R. D.; Emmet, P. A.

2009-12-01

Regional mapping integrated with facies analysis, age constraints and airborne geophysical data reveal WNW and NE trends of Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous basins which intersect in southeast Honduras that we interpret as the result of rifting associated with the breakup of the Americas and opening of the proto-Caribbean seaway. The WNW-trending rift is 250 km long by 90 km wide and defined by a basal 200 to 800 m thick sequence of Middle to Late Jurassic fluvial channel and overbank deposits overlain by transgressive clastic shelf strata. At least three sub-basins are apparent. Flanking the WNW trending rift basins are fault bounded exposures of the pre-Jurassic continental basement of the Chortis block which is the source of the conglomeratic channel facies that delineate the axes of the rifts. Cretaceous terrigenous strata mantle the exposed basement-cored rift flanks. Lower Cretaceous clastic strata and shallow marine limestone strata are dominant along this trend indicating that post-rift related subsidence continued through the Early Cretaceous. The rifts coincide with a regional high in the total magnetic intensity data. We interpret these trends to reflect NNE-WSW extension active from the Middle Jurassic through Early Cretaceous. These rifts were inverted during Late Cretaceous shortening oriented normal to the rift axes. To the east and at a 120 degree angle to the WNW trending rift is the 300 km long NE trending Guayape fault system that forms the western shoulder of the Late Jurassic Agua Fria rift basin filled by > 2 km thickness of clastic marine shelf and slope strata. This NE trending basin coincides with the eastern extent of the surface exposure of continental basement rocks and a northeast-trending fabric of the Jurassic (?) metasedimentary basement rocks. We have previously interpreted the eastern basin to be the Jurassic rifted margin of the Chortis block with the Guayape originating as a normal fault system. These two rifts basin intersect at near 120 degree angle in southeastern Honduras. We suggest that the intersection of these two trends represents part of a R-R-R triple junction during the breakup of the Americas. The WNW trending rift produced the WNW trending fabric of the central Chortis block and failed in the Early Cretaceous while the NE trending rift continued opening to form the south-facing passive margin of the northern proto-Caribbean basin.

Magnetotelluric characterization of the northern margin of the Yilgarn Craton (Western Australia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piña-Varas, Perla; Dentith, Michael

2017-04-01

The northern margin of the Yilgarn Craton (Western Australia) was deformed during the convergence and collision with the Pilbara Craton and the intervening Glenburgh Terrain that created the Capricorn Orogen. The Yilgarn Craton is one of the most intensively mineralised areas of continental crust with world class deposits of gold and nickel. However, the region to its north has surprisingly few deposits. Cratonic margins are considered to be key indicators of prospectivity at a regional scale. The northern limit of the Yilgarn Craton within the Capricorn Orogen is not well resolved at date because of overlying Proterozoic sedimentary basins. We present here some of the results of an extensive magnetotelluric (MT) study that is being performed in the area. This study is a component of large multi-disciplinary geoscience project on the 'Distal Footprints of Giant Ore Systems' in the Capricorn Orogen. The MT dataset consists of a total of 240 broadband magnetotelluric stations (BBMT) and 84 long period stations (LMT). Analysis of the dataset reveals a clear 3-D geoelectrical behaviour and extreme complexity for most of the sites, including an extremely high number of sites with phases out-of-quadrant at long periods. 3-D inverse modelling of the MT data shows high resistivity Archean units and low resistivity Paleoproterozoic basins, including very low resistivity structures at depth. These strong resistivity contrasts allow us to successfully map northern margin of the Yilgarn Craton beneath basin cover, as well as identifying major lateral conductivity changes in the deep crust suggestive of different tectonic blocks. Upper crustal conductive zones can be correlated with faults on seismic reflection data. Our results suggest MT surveys are a useful tool for regional-scale exploration in the study area and in area of thick cover in general.

Detrital-zircon geochronology of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the Hangay Hentey basin, north-central Mongolia: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the Mongol Okhotsk Ocean in central Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelty, Thomas K.; Yin, An; Dash, Batulzii; Gehrels, George E.; Ribeiro, Angela E.

2008-04-01

Understanding the development of the Central Asian Orogenic System (CAOS), which is the largest Phanerozoic accretionary orogen in the world, is critical to the determination of continental growth mechanisms and geological history of central Asia. A key to unraveling its geological history is to ascertain the origin and tectonic setting of the large flysch complexes that dominate the CAOS. These complexes have been variably interpreted as deep-marine deposits that were accreted onto a long-evolving arc against large continents to form a mega-accretionary complex or sediments trapped in back-arc to fore-arc basins within oceanic island-arc systems far from continents. To differentiate the above models we conducted U-Pb geochronological analyses of detrital-zircon grains from turbidites in the composite Hangay-Hentey basin of central Mongolia. This basin was divided by a Cenozoic fault system into the western and eastern sub-basins: the Hangay Basin in the west and Hentey basin in the east. This study focuses on the Hentey basin and indicates two groups of samples within this basin: (1) a southern group that were deposited after the earliest Carboniferous (˜ 339 Ma to 354 Ma) and a northern group that were deposited after the Cambrian to Neoproterozoic (˜ 504 Ma to 605 Ma). The samples from the northern part of the basin consistently contain Paleoproterozoic and Archean zircon grains that may have been derived from the Tuva-Mongol massif and/or the Siberian craton. In contrast, samples from the southern part of the basin contain only a minor component of early Paleozoic to Neoproterozoic zircon grains, which were derived from the crystalline basement bounding the Hangay-Hentey basin. Integrating all the age results from this study, we suggest that the Hangay-Hentey basin was developed between an island-arc system with a Neoproterozoic basement in the south and an Andean continental-margin arc in the north. The initiation of the southern arc occurred at or after the early Carboniferous, allowing accumulation of a flysch complex in a long-evolving accretionary complex.

Map showing sediment isopachs in the deep-sea basins of the Pacific continental margin, Point Conception to Point Loma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gardner, J.V.; Cacchione, D.A.; Drake, D.E.; Edwards, B.D.; Field, M.E.; Hampton, M.A.; Karl, Herman A.; Kenyon, Neil H.; Masson, D.G.; McCulloch, D.S.; Grim, M.S.

1992-01-01

See Also "U.S. Pacific West Coast Field Activities" (Paskevich and others, 2011; http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1332/htmldocs/pc/pc_overview.html). Paskevich, V.F., Wong, F.L., O?Malley, J.J., Stevenson, A.J., and Gutmacher, C.E., 2011, GLORIA sidescan-sonar imagery for parts of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and adjacent areas: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010?1332, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1332/.

Pre-rift sedimentation of the Lomonosov Ridge, Arctic Ocean at 84°N - A correlation to the complex geologic evolution of the conjugated Kara Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauermilch, Isabel; Weigelt, Estella; Jokat, Wilfried

2018-07-01

The Arctic Ocean region plays, and has played in the geological past, a key role for Earth's climate and oceanic circulation and their evolution. Studying the Lomonosov Ridge, a narrow submarine continental ridge in the central Arctic Ocean, is essential to answer fundamental questions related to the complex tectonic evolution of the Arctic basins, the glacial history, and the details of known paleoceanographic changes in the Cenozoic. In this study, we present a new seismic dataset that provides insights into the sedimentary structures along the ridge, their possible origin, age and formation. We compare the structure and stratigraphy of the deeper parts of the ridge between 83°N and 84°30‧N to its conjugate, the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago at the Eurasia margin. We propose that some sediment sequences directly underlying the prominent HARS (High Amplitude Reflector Sequence) formed well before the ridge separated from the Barents and Kara shelves and represent a prolongation of the North Kara Terrane, most likely part of the Neoproterozoic Timanide orogen. Towards Siberia along the Lomonosov Ridge, we interpret the HARS to be underlain by Upper Proterozoic-Lower Paleozoic metasedimentary material that is correlated to metamorphic complexes exposed on Bol'shevik Island. Northward, this unit descends and gives way to a foreland sedimentary basin complex of presumed Ordovician/Devonian age, which underwent strong deformation during the Triassic/Jurassic Novaya Zemlya orogeny. The transition zone between these units might mark a conjugate continuation of the Eurasian margin's Bol'shevik-Thrust Zone. A prominent erosional unconformity is observed over these strongly deformed foreland basins of the Eurasian and Lomonosov Ridge margins, and is conceivably related to vertical tectonics during breakup or a later basin-wide erosional event.

Did the Bering Sea Form as a Cenozoic Backarc Basin?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stern, R. J.; Barth, G. A.; Scheirer, D. S.; Scholl, D. W.

2012-12-01

Understanding the origins of Bering Sea marginal basins (Aleutian, Bowers, and Komandorsky basins; AB, BB, KB) is key for reconstructing N. Pacific tectonic and magmatic evolution. New acquisitions and recompilations of MCS, OBS, and potential field data (Barth et al. poster. this session) for USGS Extended Continental Shelf project and selection of Aleutians as GeoPrisms Subduction Cycles and Deformation focus site stimulate reconsideration of BB, KB, and especially AB origins. AB has long been regarded as N. Pacific crust trapped when the Aleutian subduction began ~45-50 Ma. BB and KB probably formed together as Miocene backarc basins. Presence of Oligo-Miocene arc volcanics on Bowers and Shirshov ridges suggests that these are remnant arcs, orphaned by AB and KB opening. Seven lines of evidence suggest that AB formed as a Paleogene backarc basin: 1) AB heatflow suggests an age of about 44 Ma (Langseth et al 1980 JGR). 2) Formation of NNW-trending rift basins on Bering shelf (Navarin, Pribilof, and St. George basins) in Paleogene time indicate extension at this time. 3) The early Paleogene "red unconformity" of the Beringian margin could indicate uplift, erosion, and subsidence associated with AB opening. 4) ~N-S magnetic anomalies in AB contrasts with E-W Kula anomalies on N. Pacific, indicating that the two tracts of oceanic crust formed at different spreading ridges. 5) Thicker sediment in AB (2-4 km) vs. BB and KB (< 2km) indicates AB is older and is consistent with episodic and short-lived (~20 m.y. duration) opening expected for backarc basins. 6) Aleutian arc magmatic activity began ~50 Ma, about the same time that the Beringian arc shut down. This could also be reconciled by rifting of the Beringian arc to form the AB as backarc basin, accompanied by the displacement of arc magmatic activity to near the present Aleutian arc. 7) Formation of the Aleutian arc as ~3900 km long, nearly perfect small circle is easiest to reconcile with an easily deformed backarc region, as might result from backarc basin opening. If the Aleutian arc formed by rifting of the Beringian margin then it is likely to contain some pre-50 Ma crust. The possibility that AB is a Paleogene backarc basin requires testing via IODP drilling through AB sediments and into oceanic crust.ectonic scenario for formation of Aleutian Arc and Bering Sea basins. Green = present land; yellow = shelf; AB = Aleutian Basin; KB = Komandorsky Basin; BB = Bowers Basin; SR = Shirshov Ridge, BR = Bowers Ridge; Red = active volcanism and spreading ; Blue = extinct volcanism and spreading

Laramide basin CSI: Comprehensive stratigraphic investigations of Paleogene sediments in the Colorado Headwaters Basin, north-central Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dechesne, Marieke; Cole, James Channing; Trexler, James H.; Cashman, Patricia; Peterson, Christopher D

2013-01-01

The Paleogene sedimentary deposits of the Colorado Headwaters Basin provide a detailed proxy record of regional deformation and basin subsidence during the Laramide orogeny in north-central Colorado and southern Wyoming. This field trip presents extensive evidence from sedimentology, stratigraphy, structure, palynology, and isotope geochronology that shows a complex history that is markedly different from other Laramide synorogenic basins in the vicinity.We show that the basin area was deformed by faulting and folding before, during, and after deposition of the Paleogene rocks. Internal unconformities have been identified that further reflect the interaction of deformation, subsidence, and sedimentation. Uplift of Proterozoic basement blocks that make up the surrounding mountain ranges today occurred late in basin history. Evidence is given to reinterpret the Independence Mountain uplift as the result of significant normal faulting (not thrusting), probably in middle Tertiary time.While the Denver and Cheyenne Basins to the east were subsiding and accumulating sediment during Late Cretaceous time, the Colorado Headwaters Basin region was experiencing vertical uplift and erosion. At least 1200 m of the upper part of the marine Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale was regionally removed, along with Fox Hills Sandstone shoreline deposits of the receding Interior Seaway as well as any Laramie Formation–type continental deposits. Subsidence did not begin in the Colorado Headwaters Basin until after 60.5 Ma, when coarse, chaotic, debris-flow deposits of the Paleocene Windy Gap Volcanic Member of the Middle Park Formation began to accumulate along the southern basin margin. These volcaniclastic conglomerate deposits were derived from local, mafic-alkalic volcanic sources (and transitory deposits in the drainage basin), and were rapidly transported into a deep lake system by sediment gravity currents. The southern part of the basin subsided rapidly (roughly 750–1000 m/m.y.) and the drainage system delivered increasing proportions of arkosic debris from uplifted Proterozoic basement and more intermediate-composition volcanic-porphyry materials from central Colorado sources.Other margins of the Colorado Headwaters Basin subsided at slightly different times. Subsidence was preceded by variable amounts of gentle tilting and localized block-fault uplifts. The north-central part of the basin that was least-eroded in early Paleocene time was structurally inverted and became the locus of greatest subsidence during later Paleocene-Eocene time. Middle Paleocene coal-mires formed in the topographically lowest eastern part of the basin, but the basin center migrated to the western side by Eocene time when coal was deposited in the Coalmont district. In between, persistent lakes of variable depths characterized the central basin area, as evidenced by well-preserved deltaic facies.Fault-fold deformation within the Colorado Headwaters Basin strongly affected the Paleocene fluvial-lacustrine deposits, as reflected in the steep limbs of anticline-syncline pairs within the McCallum fold belt and the steep margins of the Breccia Spoon syncline. Slivers of Proterozoic basement rock were also elevated on steep reverse faults in late Paleocene time along the Delaney Butte–Sheep Mountain–Boettcher Ridge structure. Eocene deposits, by and large, are only gently folded within the Colorado Headwaters Basin and thus reflect a change in deformation history.The Paleogene deposits of the Colorado Headwaters Basin today represent only a fragment of the original extent of the depositional basin. Basal, coarse conglomerate deposits that suggest proximity to an active basin margin are relatively rare and are limited to the southern and northwestern margins of the relict basin. The northeastern margin of the preserved Paleogene section is conspicuously fine-grained, which indicates that any contemporaneous marginal uplift was far removed from the current extent of preserved fluvial-lacustrine sediments. The conspicuous basement uplifts of Proterozoic rock that flank the current relict Paleogene basin deposits are largely post-middle Eocene in age and are not associated with any Laramide synuplift fluvial deposits.The east-west–trending Independence Mountain fault system that truncates the Colorado Headwaters Basin on the north with an uplifted Proterozoic basement block is reinterpreted in this report. Numerous prior analyses had concluded that the fault was a low-angle, south-directed Laramide thrust that overlapped the northern margin of the basin. We conclude instead that the fault is more likely a Neogene normal fault that truncates all prior structure and belongs to a family of sub-parallel west-northwest–trending normal faults that offset upper Oligocene-Miocene fluvial deposits of the Browns Park–North Park Formations.

Evidence for submarine landslides and continental slope erosion related to fault reactivation during the last glaciation offshore eastern Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saint-Ange, F.; Campbell, C.; MacKillop, K.; Mosher, D. C.; Piper, D. J.; Roger, J.

2012-12-01

Many studies have proposed that reactivation of dormant faults during deglaciation is a source of neotectonic activity in glaciated regions, but few have demonstrated the relationship to submarine landslides. In this study, seabed morphology and shallow geology of the outer continental margin adjacent to the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone off Newfoundland, Canada was investigated for evidence of this relationship. The glacial history and morphology of the margin suggest that the entire continental shelf in the area, coincident with major continental crustal lineaments, was ice-covered during the Last glacial cycle, and transverse troughs delineate the paleo-icestream drainage patterns. A recent investigation of Notre Dame Trough revealed the existence of large sediment failures on the shelf. The current study investigates complex seafloor erosion and widespread mass transport deposition (MTD) on the continental slope seaward of Notre Dame Trough, using recently-acquired high resolution seismic reflection data and piston cores. The new data reveal that a trough mouth fan (TMF) is present on the slope seaward of Notre Dame Trough. The Notre Dame TMF is characterized by a succession of stacked debris flows, but does not show a lobate shape in plan view like other classic TMFs. Instead, the Notre Dame TMF has abruptly-truncated margins suggesting post-depositional failure and erosion of the fan deposits. Seismic reflection data show that the locations of the failures along the TMF margin are coincident with a set of shallow faults; however the current dataset does not image the deeper portion of the faults. On the upper slope immediately south of the TMF, a narrow and deeply incised canyon is located along-trend with the Notre Dame Trough. The location of this canyon appears to be controlled by a fault. Downslope from this canyon, along the southern margin of the TMF, a 25 km wide, flat-floored, U-shaped valley was eroded into a succession of stacked MTD-filled channels. Seismic stratigraphic analysis shows that the valley developed around the same time as the adjacent TMF, however, the valley morphology and evidence for repeated slope failure suggests that the processes responsible for its formation were different than the processes that formed the nearby TMF. Age control provided from piston cores suggest that the last major slope failure that contributed to valley formation probably occurred at ~29 ka. Geotechnical measurements from piston cores show slightly underconsolidated sediments. The results indicate that this part of the margin is more unstable than Orphan Basin and Labrador slope regions. Given the low factor of safety and the complex fault system, low energy earthquake from the surrounding area could be enough to potentially trigger landslides.

Geometry and Dynamics of the Mesopotamian Foreland Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pirouz, M.; Avouac, J. P.; Gualandi, A.; Hassanzadeh, J.; Sternai, P.

2016-12-01

We have constrained the geometry of the Zagros foreland basin along the entire northern edge of the Arabian plate using subsurface data from Iran, Iraq and Syria. We use the Oligo-Miocene marine Asmari Formation and its equivalents in the region to reconstruct high resolution foreland basin geometry. This extensive carbonate platform limestone unit separates pre-collisional passive margin marine sediments from the Cenozoic foreland deposits dominated by continental sources; and therefore it can be used as a measure of post-collisional deflection. The 3D reconstructed Asmari Formation shows along-strike thickness variations of the foreland basin deposits from 1 to 6 km. The deepest part of the foreland basin coincides with the Dezful embayment in Iran, and its depth decreases on both sides. In principle the basin geometry should reflect the loading resulted from overthrusting in the Zagros fold-thrust belt, the sediment fill and dynamic stresses due to lithospheric and upper mantle deformation. To estimate these various sources of loads we analyze the basin geometry in combination with gravity, free air anomaly, and Moho depths determined from seismological observations. Our analysis suggests in particular that redistribution of surface load by surface processes is a primary controlling factor of the basin geometry. The wavelength of a foreland basin may bear little information on the elastic flexural rigidity of the lithosphere.

The Continental Margin of East Asia: a collage of multiple plates formed by convergence and extension from multiple directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, J.; Wang, T.; Ludington, S.; Qiu, Z.; Li, Z.

2017-12-01

East Asia is one of the most complex regions in the world. Its margin was divided into 4 parts: Northeast Asia, North China, South China and Southeast Asia. During the Phanerozoic, continental plates of East Asia have interacted successively with a) the Paleo Tethyan Ocean, b) the Tethyan and Paleo Pacific Oceans and c) the Pacific and Indian. In the Early Mesozoic, the Indosinian orogeny is characterized by the convergence and extension within multiple continental plates, whereas the Late Mesozoic Yanshanian orogeny is characterized by both convergence and compression due to oceanic subduction and by widespread extension. We propose this combination as "East Asia Continental Margin type." Except in Northeast Asia, where Jurassic and Cretaeous accretionary complexes are common, most magmatic rocks are the result of reworking of ancient margins of small continental plates; and oceanic island arc basalts and continental margin arc andesites are largely absent. Because South China is adjacent to the western margin of the Pacific Plate, some effects of its westward subduction must be unavoidable, but juvenile arc-related crust has not been identified. The East Asian Continental Margin is characterized by magmatic rocks that are the result of post-convergent tectonics, which differs markedly from the active continental margins of both South and North America. In summary, the chief characteristics of the East Asian Continental Margin are: 1) In Mesozoic, the periphery of multiple blocks experienced magmatism caused by lithospheric delamination and thinning in response to extension punctuated by shorter periods of convergence. 2) The main mechanism of magma generation was the partial melting of crustal rocks, due to underplating by upwelling mafic magma associated with the collapse of orogenic belts and both extension and compression between small continental blocks. 3) During orogeny, mostly high Sr/Y arc-related granitoids formed, whereas during post-orogenic times, A-type granitoids formed. 4) These dynamics are the result of subduction and extension of the oceanic plates that bordered East Asia. 5) The complex mosaic of geology and geochemistry is the result of compositional variation in the deep lithosphere, as well as variation in the dynamics of oceanic plate movements.

Remarkable isotopic and trace element trends in potassic through sodic Cretaceous plutons of the Yukon-Koyukuk Basin, Alaska, and the nature of the lithosphere beneath the Koyukuk terrane

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arth, Joseph G.; Criss, Robert E.; Zmuda, Clara C.; Foley, Nora K.; Patton, W.W.; Miller, T.P.

1989-01-01

During the period from 110 to 80 m.y. ago, a 450-km-long magmatic belt was active along the northern margin of Yukon-Koyukuk basin and on eastern Seward Peninsula. The plutons intruded Upper Jurassic(?) and Lower Cretaceous volcanic arc rocks and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in Yukon-Koyukuk basin and Proterozoic and lower Paleozoic continental rocks in Seward Peninsula. Within Yukon-Koyukuk basin, the plutons vary in composition from calc-alkalic plutons on the east to potassic and ultrapotassic alkalic plutons on the west. Plutons within Yukon-Koyukuk basin were analyzed for trace element and isotopic compositions in order to discern their origin and the nature of the underling lithosphere. Farthest to the east, the calc-alkalic rocks of Indian Mountain pluton are largely tonalite and sodic granodiorite, and have low Rb (average 82 ppm), high Sr (>600 ppm), high chondrite-normalized (cn) Ce/Yb (16–37), low δ18O (+6.5 to +7.1), low initial 87Sr/86Sr (SIR) (0.704), and high initial 143Nd/144Nd (NIR) (0.5126). These rocks resemble those modelled elsewhere as partial melts and subsequent fractionates of basaltic or gabbroic metaigneous rocks, and may be products of melting in the deeper parts of the Late Jurassic(?) and Early Cretaceous volcanic arc. Farthest to the west, the two ultrapotassic bodies of Selawik and Inland Lake are high in Cs (up to 93 ppm), Rb (up to 997 ppm), Sr, Ba, Th, and light rare earth elements, have high (Ce/Yb)cn (30, 27), moderate to low δ18O (+8.4, +6.9), high SIR (0.712, 0.710), and moderate NIR (0.5121–0.5122). These rocks resemble rocks of Australia and elsewhere that were modelled as melts of continental mantle that had been previously enriched in large cations. This mantle may be Paleozoic or older. The farthest west alkalic pluton of Selawik Hills is largely monzonite, quartz monzonite, and granite; has moderate Rb (average 284 ppm), high Sr (>600 ppm), high (Ce/Yb)cn (15–25), moderate δ18O (+8.3 to +8.6), high SIR (0.708–0.712), and moderate NIR (0.5121–0.5122). These rocks may be the product of interaction of magma derived from old continental mantle and magma derived from old continental crust. Plutons between eastern and western extremes show completely gradational variations in the concentration of K and Rb and in the isotopic compositions of Sr, Nd, and O. These plutons probably originated either by melting in a mixed source composed of a Paleozoic or older continental section (mantle + crust) overlain by Mesozoic mafic arc rocks, or by mixing of ultrapotassic to potassic magmas from continental sources (mantle + crust), and tonalitic magmas from arc sources. We infer from these results that the northwest portion of Yukon-Koyukuk basin is underlain by a substantial continental basement of Paleozoic or greater age. This basement probably thins out to the east. There is no geochemical evidence for continental basement east of about longitude 157°, or along a belt of at least 50 km width flanking Ruby Geanticline as far to the southwest as about longitude 161°. These areas are probably underlain by oceanic and Mesozoic arc rocks.

Oceanic transform faults: how and why do they form? (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerya, T.

2013-12-01

Oceanic transform faults at mid-ocean ridges are often considered to be the direct product of plate breakup process (cf. review by Gerya, 2012). In contrast, recent 3D thermomechanical numerical models suggest that transform faults are plate growth structures, which develop gradually on a timescale of few millions years (Gerya, 2010, 2013a,b). Four subsequent stages are predicted for the transition from rifting to spreading (Gerya, 2013b): (1) crustal rifting, (2) multiple spreading centers nucleation and propagation, (3) proto-transform faults initiation and rotation and (4) mature ridge-transform spreading. Geometry of the mature ridge-transform system is governed by geometrical requirements for simultaneous accretion and displacement of new plate material within two offset spreading centers connected by a sustaining rheologically weak transform fault. According to these requirements, the characteristic spreading-parallel orientation of oceanic transform faults is the only thermomechanically consistent steady state orientation. Comparison of modeling results with the Woodlark Basin suggests that the development of this incipient spreading region (Taylor et al., 2009) closely matches numerical predictions (Gerya, 2013b). Model reproduces well characteristic 'rounded' contours of the spreading centers as well as the presence of a remnant of the broken continental crustal bridge observed in the Woodlark basin. Similarly to the model, the Moresby (proto)transform terminates in the oceanic rather than in the continental crust. Transform margins and truncated tip of one spreading center present in the model are documented in nature. In addition, numerical experiments suggest that transform faults can develop gradually at mature linear mid-ocean ridges as the result of dynamical instability (Gerya, 2010). Boundary instability from asymmetric plate growth can spontaneously start in alternate directions along successive ridge sections; the resultant curved ridges become transform faults. Offsets along the transform faults change continuously with time by asymmetric plate growth and discontinuously by ridge jumps. The ridge instability is governed by rheological weakening of active fault structures. The instability is most efficient for slow to intermediate spreading rates, whereas ultraslow and (ultra)fast spreading rates tend to destabilize transform faults (Gerya, 2010; Püthe and Gerya, 2013) References Gerya, T. (2010) Dynamical instability produces transform faults at mid-ocean ridges. Science, 329, 1047-1050. Gerya, T. (2012) Origin and models of oceanic transform faults. Tectonophys., 522-523, 34-56 Gerya, T.V. (2013a) Three-dimensional thermomechanical modeling of oceanic spreading initiation and evolution. Phys. Earth Planet. Interiors, 214, 35-52. Gerya, T.V. (2013b) Initiation of transform faults at rifted continental margins: 3D petrological-thermomechanical modeling and comparison to the Woodlark Basin. Petrology, 21, 1-10. Püthe, C., Gerya, T.V. (2013) Dependence of mid-ocean ridge morphology on spreading rate in numerical 3-D models. Gondwana Res., DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2013.04.005 Taylor, B., Goodliffe, A., Martinez, F. (2009) Initiation of transform faults at rifted continental margins. Comptes Rendus Geosci., 341, 428-438.

Polyphase Rifting and Breakup of the Central Mozambique Margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senkans, Andrew; Leroy, Sylvie; d'Acremont, Elia; Castilla, Raymi

2017-04-01

The breakup of the Gondwana supercontinent resulted in the formation of the Central Mozambique passive margin as Africa and Antarctica were separated during the mid-Jurassic period. The identification of magnetic anomalies in the Mozambique Basin and Riiser Larsen Sea means that post-oceanisation plate kinematics are well-constrained. Unresolved questions remain, however, regarding the initial fit, continental breakup process, and the first relative movements of Africa and Antarctica. This study uses high quality multi-channel seismic reflection profiles in an effort to identify the major crustal domains in the Angoche and Beira regions of the Central Mozambique margin. This work is part of the integrated pluri-disciplinary PAMELA project*. Our results show that the Central Mozambique passive margin is characterised by intense but localised magmatic activity, evidenced by the existence of seaward dipping reflectors (SDR) in the Angoche region, as well as magmatic sills and volcanoclastic material which mark the Beira High. The Angoche region is defined by a faulted upper-continental crust, with the possible exhumation of lower crustal material forming an extended ocean-continent transition (OCT). The profiles studied across the Beira high reveal an offshore continental fragment, which is overlain by a pre-rift sedimentary unit likely to belong to the Karoo Group. Faulting of the crust and overlying sedimentary unit reveals that the Beira High has recorded several phases of deformation. The combination of our seismic interpretation with existing geophysical and geological results have allowed us to propose a breakup model which supports the idea that the Central Mozambique margin was affected by polyphase rifting. The analysis of both along-dip and along-strike profiles shows that the Beira High initially experienced extension in a direction approximately parallel to the Mozambique coastline onshore of the Beira High. Our results suggest that the Beira High results from strike-slip deformation localised along a proposed crustal weakness, represented by the Lurio-Pebane shear zone. A more north-south oriented extension is recorded by the continental breakup and oceanisation. A failed rift is initially formed between the Beira High and the African continent followed by the successful rifting of its southern margin. This study proposes a segmentation of the Central Mozambique margin, with oceanisation first occurring in the Angoche segment. The formation of the first oceanic crust in the Beira segment followed, likely delayed by the formation and failure of the northern Beira High rift. *The PAMELA project (PAssive Margin Exploration Laboratories) is a scientific project led by Ifremer and TOTAL in collaboration with Université Rennes 1, Université Pierre and Marie Curie, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, CNRS and IFPEN.

Structure and degree of magmatism of North and South Atlantic rifted margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faleide, Jan Inge; Breivik, Asbjørn J.; Blaich, Olav A.; Tsikalas, Filippos; Planke, Sverre; Mansour Abdelmalak, Mohamed; Mjelde, Rolf; Myklebust, Reidun

2014-05-01

The structure and evolution of conjugate rifted margins in the South and North Atlantic have been studied mainly based on seismic reflection and refraction profiles, complemented by potential field data and plate reconstructions. All margins exhibit distinct along-margin structural and magmatic changes reflecting both structural inheritance extending back to a complex pre-breakup geological history and the final breakup processes. The sedimentary basins at the conjugate margins developed as a result of multiple phases of rifting, associated with complex time-dependent thermal structure of the lithosphere. A series of conjugate crustal transects reveal tectonomagmatic asymmetry, both along-strike and across the conjugate margin systems. The continent-ocean transitional domain along the magma-dominated margin segments is characterized by a large volume of flood basalts and high-velocity/high-density lower crust emplaced during and after continental breakup. Both the volume and duration of excess magmatism varies. The extrusive and intrusive complexes make it difficult to pin down a COB to be used in plate reconstructions. The continent-ocean transition is usually well defined as a rapid increase of P-wave velocities at mid- to lower crustal levels. The transition is further constrained by comparing the mean P-wave velocity to the thickness of the crystalline crust. By this comparison we can also address the magmatic processes associated with breakup, whether they are convection dominated or temperature dominated. In the NE Atlantic there is a strong correlation between magma productivity and early plate spreading rate, suggesting a common cause. A model for the breakup-related magmatism should be able to explain this correlation, but also the magma production peak at breakup, the along-margin magmatic segmentation, and the active mantle upwelling. It is likely that mantle plumes (Iceland in the NE Atlantic, Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic) may have influenced the volume of magmatism but they did not necessarily alter the process of rifted margin formation, implying that parts of the margins may have much in common with more magma-poor margins. Conjugate margin segments from the North and South Atlantic will be compared and discussed with particular focus on the tectonomagmatic processes associated with continental breakup.

The Effect of Temperature Dependent Rheology on a Kinematic Model of Continental Breakup and Rifted Continental Margin Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tymms, V. J.; Kusznir, N. J.

2004-12-01

The effect of temperature dependent rheology has been examined for a model of continental lithosphere thinning by an upwelling divergent flow field within continental lithosphere and asthenosphere leading to continental breakup and rifted continental margin formation. The model uses a coupled FE fluid flow and thermal solution and is kinematically driven using a half divergence rate Vx and upwelling velocity Vz. Viscosity structure is modified by the evolving temperature field of the model through the temperature dependent Newtonian rheology. Continental lithosphere and asthenosphere material are advected by the fluid-flow field in order to predict crustal and mantle lithosphere thinning leading to rifted continental margin formation. The results of the temperature dependent rheology model are compared with those of a simple isoviscous model. The temperature dependent rheology model predicts continental lithosphere thinning and depth dependent stretching, similar to that predicted by the uniform viscosity model. However compared with the uniform viscosity model the temperature dependent rheology predicts greater amounts of thinning of the continental crust and lithospheric mantle than the isoviscous solutions. An important parameter within the kinematic model of continental lithosphere breakup and rifted continental margin development is the velocity ratio Vz/Vx. For non-volcanic margins, Vz/Vx is thought to be around unity. Applying a velocity ratio Vz/Vx of unity gives a diffuse ocean-continent transition and exhumation of continental lithospheric mantle. For volcanic margins, Vz/Vx is of order 10, falling to unity with a half-life of order 10 Ma, leading to a more sharply defined ocean-continent transition. While Vx during continental breakup may be estimated, Vz can only be inferred. FE fluid flow solutions, in which Vz is not imposed and without an initial buoyancy driven flow component, predict a velocity ratio Vz/Vx of around unity for both temperature dependent rheology and isovisous fluid-flow solutions. The effect of incorporating a lithology dependent continental lithosphere rheology (quartz-feldspar crust, olivine mantle) with temperature dependence is also being investigated. The work forms part of the Integrated Seismic Imaging and Modelling of Margins (iSIMM*) project. This work forms part of the NERC Margins iSIMM project. iSIMM investigators are from Liverpool and Cambridge Universities, Schlumberger Cambridge Research & Badley Geoscience, supported by the NERC, the DTI, Agip UK, BP, Amerada Hess Ltd, Anadarko, Conoco-Phillips, Shell, Statoil and WesternGeco. The iSIMM team comprises NJ Kusznir, RS White, AM Roberts, PAF Christie, R Spitzer, N Hurst, ZC Lunnon, CJ Parkin, AW Roberts, LK Smith, V Tymms & D. Healy.

Evolution of the northern tip of Afar triangle: Inferences from the Quaternary succession of the Dandiero - Massawa area (Eritrea)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sani, Federico; Ghinassi, Massimiliano; Papini, Mauro; Oms, Oriol; Finotello, Alvise

2017-10-01

The Afar region is a triangular area located at the triple junction between the African, Somalia, and Arabian plates, which are currently diverging at different rates. Currently, the extension vector is roughly oriented in a NE-SW direction in the Afar, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in respect to Arabia plate, whereas the Nubian-Somalian divergence, evidenced by the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), is approximately WNW-ESE (N95-100°E). This study focuses on the tectono-sedimentary evolution of a sector from Massawa to the north up to the continental Early-Middle Pleistocene Dandiero Basin to the south. This basin is filled with approximately 500 m thick fluvial-lacustrine deposits and includes six formations. Sedimentation occurred mainly along the basin axis and allowed accumulation of sand and mud deposits with subordinate gravels close to the basin margin. The age of the basin infill succession is well constrained through integration between paleomagnetic and paleontological data and ranges between 1.2 and 0.75 Ma. The Dandiero Basin is controlled by two main roughly NNW-SSE trending, east dipping normal faults. The westernmost fault delimits the basins from the plateau, whereas the easternmost marks the limit between the basin succession and the Late Pleistocene Samoti Plain. We infer that the NNW-trending faults were progressively activated as a consequence of the Danakil Block counter clockwise rotation and were superimposed to the N-S trending faults that delimited the basin at the time of its inception as a marginal graben roughly aligned to the Eritrean-Ethiopian plateau. The timing of deformation (1.2 Ma up to Present) is well constrained by the age of syntectonic sediments of the Dandiero Basin and volcanic products of the Alid Volcano. These relations allowed us to refine the timing and evolution of this sector of Afar and giving some insights on the geodynamics of the area.

The deep structure of the Sichuan basin and adjacent orogenic zones revealed by the aggregated deep seismic profiling datum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, X.; Gao, R.; Li, Q.; Wang, H.

2012-12-01

The sedimentary basin and the orogenic belt are the basic two tectonic units of the continental lithosphere, and form the basin-mountain coupling system, The research of which is the key element to the oil and gas exploration, the global tectonic theory and models and the development of the geological theory. The Sichuan basin and adjacent orogenic belts is one of the most ideal sites to research the issues above, in particular by the recent deep seismic profiling datum. From the 1980s to now, there are 11 deep seismic sounding profiles and 6 deep seismic reflection profiles and massive seismic broadband observation stations deployed around and crossed the Sichuan basin, which provide us a big opportunity to research the deep structure and other forward issues in this region. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41104056) and the Fundamental Research Funds of the Institute of Geological Sciences, CAGS (No. J1119), we sampled the Moho depth and low-velocity zone depth and the Pn velocity of these datum, then formed the contour map of the Moho depth and Pn velocity by the interpolation of the sampled datum. The result shows the Moho depth beneath Sichuan basin ranges from 40 to 44 km, the sharp Moho offset appears in the western margin of the Sichuan basin, and there is a subtle Moho depression in the central southern part of the Sichuan basin; the P wave velocity can be 6.0 km/s at ca. 10 km deep, and increases gradually deeper, the average P wave velocity in this region is ca. 6.3 km/s; the Pn velocity is ca. 8.0-8.02 km/s in Sichuan basin, and 7.70-7.76 km/s in Chuan-Dian region; the low velocity zone appears in the western margin of the Sichuan basin, which maybe cause the cause of the earthquake.

The Messinian of the Nijar Basin (SE Spain): sedimentation, depositional environments and paleogeographic evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fortuin, A. R.; Krijgsman, W.

2003-08-01

The reconstruction of the depositional events related to the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) of the Mediterranean is generally hampered by an incomplete stratal record in the circum-Mediterranean basins. The sediments of the northern part of the Nijar Basin, however, provide an excellent and continuous record of Late Messinian sediments because features of severe erosion are lacking. Especially, the successions of the deeper part of the basin had sufficient accommodation space to warrant ongoing deposition and may thus serve as a testing ground for existing hypotheses regarding the MSC. Conformable contacts with the overlying Pliocene and good correlation possibilities with the adjacent, astronomically dated, Messinian of the Sorbas Basin provide the necessary age constraints. The main body of evaporites in the Nijar Basin (Yesares Formation) has been affected by local dissolution and erosion prior to deposition of the latest Messinian (Lago-Mare) facies. Pelitic float breccias show textures indicating flowage and/or mass transport and include slumped and slided stratal packets due to foundering of the mixed evaporitic-clastic margin. Increased runoff of meteoric waters probably played an important role as these packet slides are perfectly sealed by the hyposaline Lago-Mare strata. Field observations show that marginal sediments, commonly classified as the Terminal Carbonate Complex (TCC), are a lateral equivalent of the basinal Yesares evaporites. The latest Messinian deposits (Feos Formation) are characterized by a sedimentary cyclicity, related to fluctuating base levels, consisting of chalky-marly laminitic strata alternating with continental coarser clastic intervals. Despite considerable W-E facies changes and indications for discrete tectonic events, a persistent sequential pattern of eight Lago-Mare cycles is present, which are interpreted as precession-controlled variations in regional climate. Instead of one major desiccation event in the latest Messinian, the repeatedly fluctuating water levels of the Lago-Mare episode may have been the cause of the widespread vigorous erosion and canyon cutting in the "Lower Evaporites". Abrupt, non-erosional contacts with the normal marine Pliocene take place above the continental interval of the last Lago-Mare cycle, indicating that flooding took place during a period of lowered water levels. The paleogeographic configuration of the Nijar, Sorbas and Vera basins has changed considerably during the Messinian. Separation of the formerly interconnected basins is thought to have started in the late Yesares times by tectonic uplift of the basement complexes. In the latest Messinian of the Nijar Basin, two different coarse clastic supply areas can be distinguished which point to the partial emergence of the Sierra Cabrera and the Cabo de Gata block and activity of the Sierra Alhamilla and Carboneras faults. Concerning the overall regional tectonic activity, tectonics were probably also instrumental for the restoration of the Atlantic gateway in the basal Pliocene.

Sedimentary Record of the Back-Arc Basins of South-Central Mexico: an Evolution from Extensional Basin to Carbonate Platform.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sierra-Rojas, M. I.; Molina-Garza, R. S.; Lawton, T. F.

2015-12-01

The Lower Cretaceous depositional systems of southwestern Oaxaquia, in south-central Mexico, were controlled by tectonic processes related to the instauration of a continental arc and the accretion of the Guerrero arc to mainland Mexico. The Atzompa Formation refers to a succession of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and limestone that crop out in southwestern Mexico with Early Cretaceous fauna and detrital zircon maximum depositional ages. The sedimentary record shows a transition from early fluvial/alluvial to shallow marine depositional environments. The first stage corresponds to juvenile fluvial/alluvial setting followed by a deep lacustrine depositional environment, suggesting the early stages of an extensional basin. The second stage is characterized by anabranched deposits of axial fluvial systems flowing to the NE-SE, showing deposition during a period of rapid subsidence. The third and final stage is made of tidal deposits followed, in turn, by abrupt marine flooding of the basin and development of a Barremian-Aptian carbonate ramp. We interpret the Tentzo basin as a response to crustal extension in a back-arc setting, with high rates of sedimentation in the early stages of the basin (3-4 mm/m.y), slower rates during the development of starved fluvial to tidal systems and carbonate ramps, and at the top of the Atzompa Formation an abrupt deepening of the basin due to flexural subsidence related to terrane docking and attendant thrusting to the west. These events were recorded in the back-arc region of a continental convergent margin (Zicapa arc) where syn-sedimentary magmatism is indicated by Early Cretaceous detrital and volcanic clasts from alluvial fan facies west of the basin. Finally, and as a response to the accretion of the Guerrero superterrane to Oaxaquia during the Aptian, a carbonate platform facing toward the Gulf of Mexico was established in central to eastern Oaxaquia.

Timing of the Cenozoic basins of Southern Mexico and its relationship with the Pacific truncation process: Subduction erosion or detachment of the Chortís block

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva-Romo, Gilberto; Mendoza-Rosales, Claudia Cristina; Campos-Madrigal, Emiliano; Hernández-Marmolejo, Yoalli Bianii; de la Rosa-Mora, Orestes Antonio; de la Torre-González, Alam Israel; Bonifacio-Serralde, Carlos; López-García, Nallely; Nápoles-Valenzuela, Juan Ivan

2018-04-01

In the central sector of the Sierra Madre del Sur in Southern Mexico, between approximately 36 and 16 Ma ago and in the west to east direction, a diachronic process of the formation of ∼north-south trending fault-bounded basins occurred. No tectono-sedimentary event in the period between 25 and 20 Ma is recognized in the study region. A period during which subduction erosion truncated the continental crust of southern Mexico has been proposed. The chronology, geometry and style of the formation of the Eocene Miocene fault-bounded basins are more congruent with crustal truncation by the detachment of the Chortís block, thus bringing into question the crustal truncation hypothesis of the Southern Mexico margin. Between Taxco and Tehuacán, using seven new Laser Ablation- Inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U-Pb ages in magmatic zircons, we refine the stratigraphy of the Tepenene, Tehuitzingo, Atzumba and Tepelmeme basins. The analyzed basins present similar tectono-sedimentary evolutions as follows: Stage 1, depocenter formation and filling by clastic rocks accumulated as alluvial fans and Stage 2, lacustrine sedimentation characterized by calcareous and/or evaporite beds. Based on our results, we propose the following hypothesis: in Southern Mexico, during Eocene-Miocene times, the diachronic formation of fault-bounded basins with general north-south trend occurred within the framework of the convergence between the plates of North and South America, and once the Chortís block had slipped towards the east, the basins formed in the cortical crust were recently left behind. On the other hand, the beginning of the basins' formation process related to left strike slip faults during Eocene-Oligocene times can be associated with the thermomechanical maturation cortical process that caused the brittle/ductile transition level in the continental crust to shallow.

Structure and evolution of the NE Atlantic conjugate margins off Norway and Greenland (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faleide, J.; Planke, S.; Theissen-Krah, S.; Abdelmalak, M.; Zastrozhnov, D.; Tsikalas, F.; Breivik, A. J.; Torsvik, T. H.; Gaina, C.; Schmid, D. W.; Myklebust, R.; Mjelde, R.

2013-12-01

The continental margins off Norway and NE Greenland evolved in response to the Cenozoic opening of the NE Atlantic. The margins exhibit a distinct along-margin segmentation reflecting structural inheritance extending back to a complex pre-breakup geological history. The sedimentary basins at the conjugate margins developed as a result of multiple phases of post-Caledonian rifting from Late Paleozoic time to final NE Atlantic breakup at the Paleocene-Eocene transition. The >200 million years of repeated extension caused comprehensive crustal thinning and formation of deep sedimentary basins. The main rift phases span the following time intervals: Late Permian, late Middle Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous, Early-mid Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous-Paleocene. The late Mesozoic-early Cenozoic rifting was related to the northward propagation of North Atlantic sea floor spreading, but also linked to important tectonic events in the Arctic. The pre-drift extension is quantified based on observed geometries of crustal thinning and stretching factors derived from tectonic modeling. The total (cumulative) pre-drift extension amounts to in the order of 300 km which correlates well with estimates from plate reconstructions based on paleomagnetic data. Final lithospheric breakup at the Paleocene-Eocene transition culminated in a 3-6 m.y. period of massive magmatic activity during breakup and onset of early sea-floor spreading, forming a part of the North Atlantic Volcanic Province. At the outer parts of the conjugate margins, the lavas form characteristic seaward dipping reflector sequences and lava deltas that drilling has demonstrated to be subaerially and/or neritically erupted basalts. The continent-ocean transition is usually well defined as a rapid increase of P-wave velocities at mid- to lower-crustal levels. Maximum igneous crustal thickness of about 18 km is found across the outer Vøring Plateau on the Norwegian Margin, and lower-crustal P-wave velocities of up to 7.3 km/s are found at the bottom of the igneous crust here. The igneous crust, including the characteristic 7+ km/s lower crustal body, is even thicker on the East Greenland Margin. During the main igneous episode, sills intruded into the thick Cretaceous successions throughout the NE Atlantic margins. Strong crustal reflections can be mapped widespread on both conjugate margins. In some areas they are associated with the top of the high-velocity lower crustal body, in other areas they may represent deeply buried sedimentary sequence boundaries or moho at the base of the crust. Following breakup, the subsiding margins experienced modest sedimentation until the late Pliocene when large wedges of glacial sediments prograded into the deep ocean from uplifted areas along the continental margins. The outbuilding was probably initiated in Miocene time indicating pre-glacial tectonic uplift of Greenland, Fennoscandia and the Barents Shelf. The NE Atlantic margins also reveal evidence of widespread Cenozoic compressional deformation.

Oceanic Remnants In The Caribbean Plate: Origin And Loss Of Related LIPs.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giunta, G.

2005-12-01

The modern Caribbean Plate is an independent lithospheric entity, occupying more than 4 Mkm2 and consisting of the remnants of little deformed Cretaceous oceanic plateau of the Colombia and Venezuela Basins (almost 1 Mkm2) and the Palaeozoic-Mesozoic Chortis continental block (about 700,000 km2), both bounded by deformed marginal belts. The northern (Guatemala and Greater Antilles) and the southern (northern Venezuela) plate margins are marked by collisional zones, whereas the western (Central America Isthmus) and the eastern (Lesser Antilles) margins are represented by convergent boundaries and their magmatic arcs, all involving ophiolitic terranes. The evolutionary history of the Caribbean Plate since the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous encompasses plume, accretionary, and collisional tectonics, the evidence of which has been recorded in the oceanic remnants of lost LIPs, as revealed in: i) the MORB to OIB thickened crust of the oceanic plateau, including its un-deformed or little deformed main portion, and scattered deformed tectonic units; ii) ophiolitic tectonic units of MORB affinity and the rock blocks in ophiolitic melanges; iii) intra-oceanic, supra subduction magmatic sequences with IAT and CA affinities. The Mesozoic oceanic LIPs, from which the remnants of the Caribbean Plate have been derived, have been poorly preserved during various episodes of the intra-oceanic convergence, either those related to the original proto-Caribbean oceanic realm or those connected with two eo-Caribbean stages of subduction. The trapped oceanic plateau of the Colombia and Venezuela Basins is likely to be an unknown portion of a bigger crustal element of a LIP, similar to the Ontong-Java plateau. The Jurassic-Early Cretaceous proto-Caribbean oceanic domain consists of oceanic crust generated at multiple spreading centres; during the Cretaceous, part of this crust was thickened to form an oceanic plateau with MORB and OIB affinities. At the same time, both South and North American continental margins, inferred to be close to the oceanic realm, were affected by rifting and within-plate tholeiitic magmatism (WPT); this interpretation supports a near mid-America original location of the "proto-Caribbean" LIP. The MORB magmatic sections and rock blocks in the ophiolitic melanges are interpreted as exhumed tectonic sheets of the normal proto-Caribbean oceanic lithosphere, or part of a back-arc crust, both deformed in the eo-Caribbean stages. The SSZ complexes, considered as Cordilleran-type deformed ophiolites, were derived from a LIP that experienced two superimposed eo-Caribbean stages of intra-oceanic subduction. The older (Mid-Cretaceous) stage involved the eastward subduction of the un-thickened proto-Caribbean lithosphere, resulting in IAT and CA magmatism accompanied by HP-LT metamorphism and melange formation. The second, Late Cretaceous stage involved a westward dipping intra-oceanic subduction, which generated tonalitic arc magmatism. The eastward wedging of the Caribbean Plateau between the North and South American plates progressively trapped remnants of the Colombia and Venezuela Basins between the Atlantic and Pacific subduction zones and their new volcanic arcs (Aves-Lesser Antilles and Central American Isthmus). Unlike the proto-Caribbean, it appears that this LIP did not involve the main continental margins, even though the northern and southern Caribbean borders experienced different evolutionary paths. It was largely lost by superimposed accretionary and collisional events producing the marginal belts of the Caribbean Plate; its evolution has been dominated by a strongly oblique tectonic regime, constraining seafloor spreading, subduction, crustal exhumation, emplacement, and dismembering processes.

A multi-factor approach for process-based seabed characterization: example from the northeastern continental margin of the Korean peninsula (East Sea)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cukur, Deniz; Um, In-Kwon; Chun, Jong-Hwa; Kim, So-Ra; Lee, Gwang-Soo; Kim, Yuri; Kong, Gee-Soo; Horozal, Senay; Kim, Seong-Pil

2018-04-01

This study investigates sediment transport and depositional processes from a newly collected dataset comprising sub-bottom chirp profiles, multibeam bathymetry, and sediment cores from the northeastern continental margin of Korea in the East Sea (Japan Sea). Twelve echo-types and eleven sedimentary facies have been defined and interpreted as deposits formed by shallow-marine, hemipelagic sedimentation, bottom current, and mass-movement processes. Hemipelagic sedimentation, which is acoustically characterized by undisturbed layered sediments, appears to have been the primary sedimentary process throughout the study area. The inner and outer continental shelf (<150 m water depth) have been influenced by shallow-marine sedimentary processes. Two slope-parallel canyons, 0.2-2 km wide and up to 30 km long, appear to have acted as possible conduits for turbidity currents from the shallower shelf into the deep basins. Bottom current deposits, expressed as erosional moats immediately below topographic highs, are prevalent on the southern lower slope at water depths of 400-450 m. Mass-movements (i.e., slides/slumps, debris flow deposits) consisting of chaotic facies characterize the lower slope and represent one of the most important sedimentary processes in the study area. Piston cores confirm the presence of mass-transport deposits (MTDs) that are characterized by mud clasts of variable size, shape, and color. Multibeam bathymetry shows that large-scale MTDs are chiefly initiated on the lower slope (400-600 m) with gradients up to 3° and where they produce scarps on the order of 100 m in height. Sandy MTDs also occur on the upper continental slope adjacent to the seaward edge of the shelf terrace. Earthquakes associated with tectonic activity and the development of fluid overpressure is considered as the main conditioning factor for destabilizing the slope sediments. Overall, the sedimentary processes show typical characteristics of a fine-grained clastic slope apron and change down-slope and differ within each physiographic province. Furthermore, the influence of geological inheritance (i.e., structural folds and faults) on geomorphology and sediment facies development is an important additional factor on the lower slopes. Together, these factors provide a rational basis for continental margin seabed characterization.

Post-rift deformation of the Red Sea Arabian margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zanoni, Davide; Schettino, Antonio; Pierantoni, Pietro Paolo; Rasul, Najeeb

2017-04-01

Starting from the Oligocene, the Red Sea rift nucleated within the composite Neoproterozoic Arabian-Nubian shield. After about 30 Ma-long history of continental lithosphere thinning and magmatism, the first pulse of oceanic spreading occurred at around 4.6 Ma at the triple junction of Africa, Arabia, and Danakil plate boundaries and propagated southward separating Danakil and Arabia plates. Ocean floor spreading between Arabia and Africa started later, at about 3 Ma and propagated northward (Schettino et al., 2016). Nowadays the northern part of the Red Sea is characterised by isolated oceanic deeps or a thinned continental lithosphere. Here we investigate the deformation of thinned continental margins that develops as a consequence of the continental lithosphere break-up induced by the progressive oceanisation. This deformation consists of a system of transcurrent and reverse faults that accommodate the anelastic relaxation of the extended margins. Inversion and shortening tectonics along the rifted margins as a consequence of the formation of a new segment of ocean ridge was already documented in the Atlantic margin of North America (e.g. Schlische et al. 2003). We present preliminary structural data obtained along the north-central portion of the Arabian rifted margin of the Red Sea. We explored NE-SW trending lineaments within the Arabian margin that are the inland continuation of transform boundaries between segments of the oceanic ridge. We found brittle fault zones whose kinematics is consistent with a post-rift inversion. Along the southernmost transcurrent fault (Ad Damm fault) of the central portion of the Red Sea we found evidence of dextral movement. Along the northernmost transcurrent fault, which intersects the Harrat Lunayyir, structures indicate dextral movement. At the inland termination of this fault the evidence of dextral movement are weaker and NW-SE trending reverse faults outcrop. Between these two faults we found other dextral transcurrent systems that locally are associated with metre-thick reverse fault zones. Along the analysed faults there is evidence of tectonic reworking. Relict kinematic indicators or the sense of asymmetry of sigmoidal Miocene dykes may suggest that a former sinistral movement was locally accommodated by these faults. This evidence of inversion of strike-slip movement associated with reverse structures, mostly found at the inland endings of these lineaments, suggests an inversion tectonics that could be related to the progressive and recent oceanisation of rift segments. Schettino A., Macchiavelli C., Pierantoni P.P., Zanoni D. & Rasul N. 2016. Recent kinematics of the tectonic plates surrounding the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Geophysical Journal International, 207, 457-480. Schlische R.W., Withjack M.O. & Olsen P.E., 2003. Relative timing of CAMP, rifting, continental breakup, and basin inversion: tectonic significance, in The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province: Insights from Fragments of Pangea, eds Hames W., Mchone J.G., Renne P. & Ruppel C., American Geophysical Union, 33-59.

Crustal structure and tectonic provinces of the Riiser-Larsen Sea area (East Antarctica): results of geophysical studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leitchenkov, G.; Guseva, J.; Gandyukhin, V.; Grikurov, G.; Kristoffersen, Y.; Sand, M.; Golynsky, A.; Aleshkova, N.

2008-06-01

About 16,000 km of multichannel seismic (MCS), gravity and magnetic data and 28 sonobuoys were acquired in the Riiser-Larsen Sea Basin and across the Gunnerus and Astrid Ridges, to study their crustal structure. The study area has contrasting basement morphologies and crustal thicknesses. The crust ranges in thickness from about 35 km under the Riiser-Larsen Sea shelf, 26 28 km under the Gunnerus Ridge, 12 17 km under the Astrid Ridge, and 9.5 10 km under the deep-water basin. A 50-km-wide block with increased density and magnetization is modeled from potential field data in the upper crust of the inshore zone and is interpreted as associated with emplacement of mafic intrusions into the continental margin of the southern Riiser-Larsen Sea. In addition to previously mapped seafloor spreading magnetic anomalies in the western Riiser-Larsen Sea, a linear succession from M2 to M16 is identified in the eastern Riiser-Larsen Sea. In the southwestern Riiser-Larsen Sea, a symmetric succession from M24B to 24n with the central anomaly M23 is recognized. This succession is obliquely truncated by younger lineation M22 M22n. It is proposed that seafloor spreading stopped at about M23 time and reoriented to the M22 opening direction. The seismic stratigraphy model of the Riiser-Larsen Sea includes five reflecting horizons that bound six seismic units. Ages of seismic units are determined from onlap geometry to magnetically dated oceanic basement and from tracing horizons to other parts of the southern Indian Ocean. The seaward edge of stretched and attenuated continental crust in the southern Riiser-Larsen Sea and the landward edge of unequivocal oceanic crust are mapped based on structural and geophysical characteristics. In the eastern Riiser-Larsen Sea the boundary between oceanic and stretched continental crust is better defined and is interpreted as a strike-slip fault lying along a sheared margin.

Geodynamic models of the Wilson Cycle: From rifts to mountains to rifts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buiter, Susanne; Tetreault, Joya; Torsvik, Trond

2015-04-01

The Wilson Cycle theory that oceans close and reopen along the former suture is a fundamental concept in plate tectonics. The theory suggests that subduction initiates at a passive margin, closing the ocean, and that future continental extension localises at the ensuing collision zone. Each stage of the Wilson Cycle will therefore be characterised by inherited structural and thermal heterogeneities. Here we investigate the role of Wilson Cycle inheritance by considering the influence of (1) passive margin structure on continental collision and (2) collision zones on passive margin formation. Passive margins may be preferred locations for subduction initiation because inherited faults and areas of exhumed serpentinized mantle may weaken a margin enough to localise shortening. If subduction initiates at a passive margin, the shape and structure of the passive margins will affect future continental collision. Our review of present-day passive margins along the Atlantic and Indian Oceans reveals that most passive margins are located on former collision zones. Continental break-up occurs on relatively young sutures, such as Morocco-Nova Scotia, and on very old sutures, such as the Greenland-Labrador and East Antarctica-Australia systems. This implies that it is not always post-collisional collapse that initiates the extensional phase of a Wilson Cycle. We highlight the impact of collision zone inheritance on continental extension and rifted margin architecture. We show numerical experiments of one Wilson Cycle of subduction, collision, and extension. Subduction initiates at a tapered passive margin. Closure of a 60 Ma ocean leads to continental collision and slab break-off, followed by some tens of kilometres of slab eduction. Mantle flow above the sinking detached slab enhances deformation in the rift area. The resulting rift exposes not only continental crust, but also subduction-related sediments and oceanic crust remnants. Renewed subduction in the post-collision phase is enabled by lithosphere delamination and slab rollback, leading to back-arc extension in a style similar to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Geological fieldwork in the Libyan Sahara: A multidisciplinary approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meinhold, Guido; Whitham, Andrew; Howard, James P.; Morton, Andrew; Abutarruma, Yousef; Bergig, Khaled; Elgadry, Mohamed; Le Heron, Daniel P.; Paris, Florentin; Thusu, Bindra

2010-05-01

Libya is one of the most hydrocarbon-rich countries in the world. Its large oil and gas reserves make it attractive to international oil and gas companies, which provide the impetus for field-based research in the Libyan Sahara. North Africa is made up of several enormous intracratonic basins, two of which are found in southern Libya: the Murzuq Basin, in the southwest, and the Kufra Basin, in the southeast, separated by the Tibesti Massif. Both basins are filled with Palaeozoic and Mesozoic clastic sedimentary rocks reaching up to 5 km in thickness. These basins developed from the Cambrian onwards following an earlier period of orogenesis (the Panafrican Orogeny) in the Neoproterozoic. Precambrian metasediments and granitoids are unconformably overlain by Cambrian and Ordovician conglomerates and sandstones. They show a transitional environment from continental to shallow marine. Skolithos-bearing sandstone is common in Ordovician strata. By the Late Ordovician, ice masses had developed across West Gondwana. Upon melting of the ice sheets in the latest Hirnantian, large volumes of melt water and sediment were released that were transported to the periphery of Gondwana. In Libya, these sediments are predominantly highly mature sandstones, which, in many places, are excellent hydrocarbon reservoirs. Polished and striated surfaces in these sandstones clearly point to their glaciogenic origin. Following Late Ordovician deglaciation, black shale deposition occurred in the Silurian. Some of the shales are characterised by high values of total organic carbon (TOC). These shales are commonly referred to as ‘hot shales' due to their associated high uranium content, and are the major source rock for Early Palaeozoic-sourced hydrocarbons in North Africa. Late Ordovician glaciogenic sediments and the Early Silurian ‘hot shales' are therefore the main focus of geological research in the Libyan Sahara. Fluvial conglomerates and sandstones of Devonian age unconformably overlie these strata. Marine intervals occur in the Late Devonian, and the Carboniferous is characterised by shallow marine clastic sediments with carbonate horizons. Permian rocks are only known from subsurface drill cores and comprise continental and deltaic facies. The centre of the Murzuq Basin has been relatively well investigated by drilling and seismic profiles. The basin margins, however, lack detailed geological investigation. In comparison, the Kufra Basin is underexplored with few boreholes drilled. Our studies have focused on the eastern and northern margins of the Murzuq Basin and the northern, eastern and western margins of the Kufra Basin. The main objective of fieldwork has been to characterise the Infracambrian-Lower Palaeozoic stratigraphy, deduce the structural evolution of each study area, and to collect samples for follow-up analyses including provenance studies and biostratigraphy. In addition to outcrop-based fieldwork shallow boreholes up to 70 m depth were successfully drilled in the Early Silurian shales. The unweathered samples retrieved from two of the boreholes have been used for biostratigraphical and whole-rock geochemical investigations. The provenance study of the sandstone succession with conventional heavy mineral analysis together with U-Pb zircon dating provides, for the first time, an understanding of the ancient source areas. Because most of the Early Palaeozoic succession in southern Libya is barren of fossils, heavy mineral chemostratigraphy is moreover used as a correlation test on surface outcrops in the Kufra and Murzuq basins.

Paleogeography of the upper Paleozoic basins of southern South America: An overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Limarino, Carlos O.; Spalletti, Luis A.

2006-12-01

The paleogeographic evolution of Late Paleozoic basins located in southern South America is addressed. Three major types of basins are recognized: infracratonic or intraplate, arc-related, and retroarc. Intraplate basins (i.e., Paraná, Chaco-Paraná, Sauce Grande-Colorado, and La Golondrina) are floored by continental or quasi-continental crust, with low or moderate subsidence rates and limited magmatic and tectonic activity. Arc-related basins (northern and central Chile, Navidad-Arizaro, Río Blanco, and Calingasta-Uspallata basins and depocenters along Chilean Patagonia) show a very complex tectonic history, widespread magmatic activity, high subsidence rates, and in some cases metamorphism of Late Paleozoic sediments. An intermediate situation corresponds to the retroarc basins (eastern Madre de Dios, Tarija, Paganzo, and Tepuel-Genoa), which lack extensive magmatism and metamorphism but in which coeval tectonism and sedimentation rates were likely more important than those in the intraplate region. According to the stratigraphic distribution of Late Paleozoic sediments, regional-scale discontinuities, and sedimentation pattern changes, five major paleogeographic stages are proposed. The lowermost is restricted to the proto-Pacific and retroarc basins, corresponds to the Mississippian (stage 1), and is characterized by shallow marine and transitional siliciclastic sediments. During stage 2 (Early Pennsylvanian), glacial-postglacial sequences dominated the infracratonic (or intraplate) and retroarc basins, and terrigenous shallow marine sediments prevailed in arc-related basins. Stage 3 (Late Pennsylvanian-Early Cisuralian) shows the maximum extension of glacial-postglacial sediments in the Paraná and Sauce Grande-Colorado basins (intraplate region), whereas fluvial deposits interfingering with thin intervals of shallow marine sediments prevailed in the retroarc basins. To the west, arc-related basins were dominated by coastal to deep marine conditions (including turbiditic successions). In the Late Cisuralian (stage 4), important differences in sedimentation patterns are registered for the western arc-related basins and eastern intraplate basins. The former were locally dominated by volcaniclastic sediments or marine deposits, and the intraplate basins are characterized by shallow marine conditions punctuated by several episodes of deltaic progradation. Finally, in the Late Permian (stage 5), volcanism and volcaniclastic sedimentation dominated in basins located along the western South American margin. The intraplate basins in turn were characterized by T-R cycles composed of shallow marine, deltaic, and fluvial siliciclastic deposits.

Neodymium, strontium, and oxygen isotopic variations in the crust of the western United States: Origin of Proterozoic continental crust and tectonic implications

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

Bennett, V.C.

1989-01-01

Initial Nd isotopic ratios of crystalline rocks from an area of about 1.5 {times} 10{sup 6} km{sup 2} of the western United States have been determined in order to map Precambrian age province boundaries and thus document the growth and modification of the North American continent in the Proterozoic. Three age provinces have been delineated. It is demonstrated that large regions of Early Proterozoic continental crust were formed with anomalous isotopic compositions ({sup 143}Nd/{sup 144}Nd ratios lower than Early Proterozoic depleted-mantle). The variations in the initial {epsilon}{sub Nd} and {delta}{sup 18}O values correlate with each other, and correspond to themore » previously determined Nd isotopic provinces. The Pelona, Rand, Chocolate Mountain and Orocopia Schists are represented by 15 lithologically and structurally similar schist bodies exposed along the San Andreas and Garlock faults in southern California. The grayschists have measured {epsilon}{sub Nd} values from -1.7 to -11.7 with depleted-mantle model ages of 0.9 to 1.7 Ga. The Nd isotopic compositions can be modeled as variable mixtures of Early Proterozoic continental crust with a Mesozoic are component. The measured {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr ratios are from 0.7087 to 0.7129 and reflect the presence of an old continental source. Independent of age, the high initial {epsilon}{sub Nd} values ({sup +}9 {plus minus} 1.5) are consistent with derivation at an oceanic spreading center, either at a MORB or in a back-arc basin environment. The presence of both Early Proterozoic continental detritus and a younger sedimentary component in the grayschist protolith, and the MORB affinity of the metabasalts are compatible with formation of the protoliths of the Pelona and related schists in a Mesozoic basin adjacent to the southwestern United States continental margin.« less

Pennsylvanian-Permian tectonism in the Great Basin: The Dry Mountain trough and related basins

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

Snyder, W.S.; Spinosa, C.; Gallegos, D.M.

1991-02-01

Pennsylvanian-Permian tectonism affected the continental margin of western North America from the Yukon to the Mojave Desert. Specific signatures of this tectonism include local angular unconformities, regional disconformities, renewed outpouring of clastic debris from a reactivated Antler and related highlands, and development of deeper water basins with anoxic sediments deposited below wave base. The basins formed include Ishbel trough (Canada), the Wood River basin (Idaho), Cassia basin, Ferguson trough, Dry Mountain trough (all Nevada), and unnamed basins in Death Valley-Mojave Desert region. The Dry Mountain trough (DMT) was initiated during early Wolfcampian and received up to 1,200 m of sedimentmore » by the late Leonardian. The lower contact is a regional unconformity with the Ely Limestone, or locally with the Diamond Peak or Vinini formations. Thus, following a period of localized regional uplift that destroyed the Ely basin, portions of the uplifted and exposed shelf subsided creating the Dry Mountain trough. Evidence suggesting a tectonic origin for the DMT includes (1) high subsidence rates (60-140 m/m.y.); (2) renewed influx of coarse clastic debris from the Antler highlands: (3) possible pre-Early Permian folding, thrusting, and tilting within the highlands; and (4) differential subsidence within the Dry Mountain trough, suggesting the existence of independent fault blocks.« less

Penokean tectonics along a promontory-embayment margin in east-central Minnesota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chandler, V.W.; Boerboom, Terrence; Jirsa, M.A.

2007-01-01

Recent geologic investigations in east-central Minnesota have utilized geophysical data, test drilling, and high-resolution geochronologic dating to produce a significantly improved map of a poorly exposed part of the 1880-1830 Ma Penokean orogen. These investigations have elucidated major changes in the structure of the orogen, as compared to its counterparts in northern Michigan and northwestern Wisconsin. Foreland basin, fold and thrust belt, and magmatic terrane components that are recognized to the east extend into east-central Minnesota, but they appear to be deflected southwards and truncated in proximity to Archean rocks of the Minnesota River Valley (MRV) subprovince. In contrast, the interior of the MRV subprovince to the southwest shows little sign of Penokean tectonism. In addition, the magmatic and metamorphic rocks of the internal zone of the orogen in east-central Minnesota are extensively invaded by ca. 1785-1770 Ma granitic rocks (the East-Central Minnesota Batholith), whereas, post-orogenic granites of this age occur sparingly to the east. These differences in orogenic structure may be related to their location near the juncture of an embayment (Becker embayment) and a promontory (MRV promontory) that formed the pre-Penokean continental margin. In this scenario, the MRV promontory, which at the surface consists chiefly of high-metamorphic-grade Mesoarchean gneisses, would have formed competent, high-standing crust that resisted deformation and did not host significantly thick continental margin sequences. In contrast, the part of the Becker Embayment adjoining the promontory would have involved relatively weak, low-standing crust that favored deposition of continental margin sequences and, during Penokean collision, would have accommodated tectonic loading of the cratonic margin through thin-skinned deformation. Thrusting of thick embayment sequences and possibly a block of Archean crust (Marshfield terrane) onto the embayment margin may have produced a greatly thickened crust that subsequently promoted crustal melting and generation of the geon 17 granites. Preliminary gravity and magnetic model studies of the present-day crust imply that rocks of the fold and thrust belt may sole out at 5-8 km depth; whereas, magmatic and high-metamorphic-grade rocks associated with the internal zone of the orogen could extend to mid-crustal depths. The tectonic model proposed here, implies that a collision between an embayment and an impinging continental mass may enhance tectonic thickening and subsequent generation of post-orogenic magmas. This and other hypotheses regarding the Penokean orogen need to be investigated further in the third dimension of depth, which will require a comprehensive suite of geophysical studies. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ophiolites in ocean-continent transitions: From the Steinmann Trinity to sea-floor spreading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernoulli, Daniel; Jenkyns, Hugh C.

2009-05-01

Before the theory of plate tectonics took hold, there was no coherent model for ocean-continent transitions that included both extant continental margins and fragmentary ancient examples preserved in orogenic belts. Indeed, during the early 1900, two strands of thought developed, one relying on the antiquity and permanence of continents and oceans, advocated by the mainstream of the scientific community and one following mobilist concepts derived from Wegener's hypothesis (1915) of continental drift. As an illustration of the prevailing North-American view, the different composition and thickness of continental and oceanic crust and the resulting isostatic response showed "how improbable it would be to suppose that a continent could founder or go to oceanic depth or that ocean floor at ± 3000 fathoms could ever have been a stable land area since the birth of the oceans" [H.H. Hess, Trans. R. Soc. London, A 222 (1954) 341-348]. Because of the perceived permanence of oceans and continents, mountain chains were thought to originate from narrow, elongated, unstable belts, the geosynclines, circling the continents or following "zones of crustal weakness" within them, from which geanticlines and finally mountain belts would develop. This teleological concept, whereby a geosyncline would inevitably evolve into a mountain chain, dominated geological interpretations of orogenic belts for several decades in the mid-twentieth century. However, the concept of permanence of oceans and continents and the concept of the geosyncline had already met with the critiques of Suess and others. As early as 1905, Steinmann considered the association of peridotite, "diabase" (basalt/dolerite) and radiolarite (a typical ocean-continent transition assemblage), present in the Alps and Apennines, as characteristic of the deep-ocean floor and Bailey (1936) placed Steinmann's interpretation into the context of continental drift and orogeny. Indeed, in both authors' writings, the concept of ophiolites as ocean crust is apparent. Between 1920 and 1930, the stage was thus potentially set for modern mobilist concepts that were, however, to prove attractive to only a small circle of Alpine and peri-Gondwanian geologists. After the Second World War, the 1950s saw the rapid progress of the geophysical and geological exploration of oceans and continental margins that provided the data for a reevaluation of the geosynclinal concept. Actualistic models now equated the former preorogenic miogeosyncline of Stille (1940) and Kay (1951) with passive continental margins [C.L. Drake, M. Ewing, G.H. Sutton, Continental margin and geosynclines: the east coast of North America, north of Cape Hatteras, in: L. Ahrens, et al. (Eds.), Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 3, Pergamon Press, London, 1959, pp. 110-189], the (American version of the) eugeosyncline and its igneous rocks with "collapsing continental rises" [R.S. Dietz, J. Geol. 71 (1963) 314-333] and the ophiolites, the Steinmann Trinity, of the (European) eugeosyncline with fragments of oceanic lithosphere [H.H. Hess, History of ocean basins, in: Petrologic Studies: a Volume to Honor A.F. Buddington, Geol. Soc. Am., New York. 1962, pp. 599-620]. The concept of sea-floor spreading [H.H. Hess, History of ocean basins, in: Petrologic Studies: a Volume to Honor A.F. Buddington, Geol. Soc. Am., New York. 1962, pp. 599-620; H.H. Hess, Mid-oceanic ridges and tectonics of the sea-floor, in: W.F. Whittard, R. Bradshaw (Eds), Submarine Geology and Geophysics, Colston Papers 17, Butterworths, London, 1965, pp. 317-333] finally eliminated the weaknesses in Wegener's hypothesis and, with the coming of the "annus mirabilis" of 1968, the concept of the geosyncline could be laid to rest. Ocean-continent transitions of modern oceans, as revealed by seismology and deep-sea drilling, could now be compared with the remnants of their ancient counterparts preserved in the Alps and elsewhere.

Crustal structure of the North Iberian continental margin from seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiz, M.; Díaz, J.; Pedreira, D.; Gallart, J.; Pulgar, J. A.

2017-10-01

The structure and geodynamics of the southern margin of the Bay of Biscay have been investigated from a set of 11 multichannel seismic reflection profiles, recorded also at wide angle offsets in an onshore-offshore network of 24 OBS/OBH and 46 land sites. This contribution focuses on the analysis of the wide-angle reflection/refraction data along representative profiles. The results document strong lateral variations of the crustal structure along the margin and provide an extensive test of the crustal models previously proposed for the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula. Offshore, the crust has a typical continental structure in the eastern tip of the bay, which disappears smoothly towards the NW to reach crustal thickness close to 10 km at the edge of the studied area ( 45°N, 6°W). The analysis of the velocity-depth profiles, altogether with additional information provided by the multichannel seismic data and magnetic surveys, led to the conclusion that the crust in this part of the bay should be interpreted as transitional from continental to oceanic. Typical oceanic crust has not been imaged in the investigated area. Onshore, the new results are in good agreement with previous results and document the indentation of the Bay of Biscay crust into the Iberian crust, forcing its subduction to the North. The interpreted profiles show that the extent of the southward indentation is not uniform, with an Alpine root less developed in the central and western sector of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin. N-S to NE-SW transfer structures seem to control those variations in the indentation degree.

Lower Cretaceous-Upper Jurassic carbonate complex of southern margin of Florida-Bahama platform in northern Cuba

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

Winston, G.O.

Examination of core samples and cuttings from seven wells in northern Cuba has shown that the southern margin of the Florida-Bahama platform is composed largely of dolomitized carbonate mound and talus material. Dolomitization is possibly due to reflux of the highly saline waters from the South Florida evaporite basin to the north. At least four separate episodes of mound construction are present, accompanied by seaward talus material. South of the dolomitized carbonate complex, three wells penetrated a deeper water continental slope facies consisting principally of light-colored limestone with uncommon beds of shale and radiolarian limestone. Zones of shallower facies appearmore » to be intercalated. Farther to the south beyond the scope of this study, volcanics and serpentine are reported in the literature. The northernmost wells on the island are cut by one or more high-angle thrust faults. Intense crumpling and faulting are present in the deeper water facies between the continental margin complex and the oceanic volcanic-serpentine province. The intense crumpling was probably caused as the deep-water sediments were scraped off by the subduction of an oceanic plate from the south beneath the continental crust of the Florida-Bahama platform. Certain beds in the northern Cuba carbonate complex can be correlated with the standard section in Florida, as exhibited in the Cay Sal well to the north. Three anhydrite beds in the Cayo Coco well appear to correlate with thick anhydrites in the Punto Gorda, Pumpkin Bay, and Bone Island formations. In the Collazo well to the south, a limestone-anhydrite section appears to correlate with the Pumpkin Bay. Three limestone intervals in the Blanquizal well seem to correlate with portions of the Rattlesnake Hammock, Pumpkin Bay, and Bone Island formations in the Cay Sal well.« less

Continentward-dipping detachment fault system and asymmetric rift structure of the Baiyun Sag, northern South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Zhichao; Mei, Lianfu; Liu, Jun; Zheng, Jinyun; Chen, Liang; Hao, Shihao

2018-02-01

The rift architecture and deep crustal structure of the distal margin at the mid-northern margin of the South China Sea have been previously investigated by using deep seismic reflection profiles. However, one fundamental recurring problem in the debate is the extensional fault system and rift structure of the hyperextended rift basins (Baiyun Sag and Liwan Sag) within the distal margin because of the limited amount of seismic data. Based on new 3D seismic survey data and 2D seismic reflection profiles, we observe an array of fault blocks in the Baiyun Sag, which were tilted towards the ocean by extensional faulting. The extensional faults consistently dip towards the continent. Beneath the tilted fault blocks and extensional faults, a low-angle, high-amplitude and continuous reflection has been interpreted as the master detachment surface that controls the extension process. During rifting, the continentward-dipping normal faults evolved in a sequence from south to north, generating the asymmetric rift structure of the Baiyun Sag. The Baiyun Sag is separated from the oceanic domain by a series of structural highs that were uplifted by magmatic activity in response to the continental breakup at 33 Ma and a ridge jump to the south at 26-24 Ma. Therefore, we propose that magmatism played a significant role in the continental extension and final breakup in the South China Sea.

Statistics of Stacked Strata on Experimental Shelf Margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandes, A. M.; Straub, K. M.

2015-12-01

Continental margin deposits provide the most complete record on Earth of paleo-landscapes, but these records are complex and difficult to interpret. To a seismic geomorphologist or stratigrapher, mapped surfaces often present a static diachronous record of these landscapes through time. We present data that capture the dynamics of experimental shelf-margin landscapes at high-temporal resolution and define internal hierarchies within stacked channelized and weakly channelized deposits from the shelf to the slope. Motivated by observations from acoustically-imaged continental margins offshore Brunei and in the Gulf of Mexico, we use physical experiments to quantify stratal patterns of sub-aqueous slope channels and lobes that are linked to delta-top channels. The data presented here are from an experiment that was run for 26 hours of experimental run time. Overhead photographs and topographic scans captured flow dynamics and surface aggradation/degradation every ten minutes. Currents rich in sediment built a delta that prograded to the shelf-edge. These currents were designed to plunge at the shoreline and travel as turbidity currents beyond the delta and onto the continental slope. Pseudo-subsidence was imposed by a slight base-level rise that generated accommodation space and promoted the construction of stratigraphy on the delta-top. Compensational stacking is a term that is frequently applied to deposits that tend to fill in topographic lows in channelized and weakly channelized systems. The compensation index, a metric used to quantify the strength of compensation, is used here to characterize deposits at different temporal scales on the experimental landscape. The compensation timescale is the characteristic time at which the accumulated deposits begins to match the shape of basin-wide subsidence rates (uniform for these experiments). We will use the compensation indices along strike transects across the delta, proximal slope and distal slope to evaluate the degree of compensation and the trends in the compensation time-scale, tied to a reduced degree of channelization in the down-slope direction.

Provenance of Permian-Triassic Gondwana Sequence Units Accreted to the Banda Arc: Constraints from U/Pb and Hf Analysis of Zircons and Igneous Geochemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores, J. A.; Spencer, C. J.; Harris, R. A.; Hoiland, C.

2011-12-01

Analysis of zircons from Australian affinity Permo-Triassic units of the Timor region yield age distributions with large peaks at 230-400 Ma and 1750-1900 Ma (n=435). Similar zircon age peaks are also found in rocks from NE Australia and the eastern Cimmerian block. It is likely that these terranes, which are now widely separated, were once part of the northern edge of Gondwana near what is now the NW margin of Australia. The Cimmerian Block was removed from Gondwana during Early Permian rifting and initiation of the Neo-Tethys Ocean. Hf analysis of zircon from the Aileu Complex in Timor and Kisar shows bimodal (juvenial and evolved) magmatism in the Gondwana Sequence of NW Australia at ~300 Ma. The magmatic event produced basalt with rift valley and ocean floor geochemical affinities, and rhyolite. Similar rock types and isotopic signatures are also found in Permo-Triassic igneous units throughout the Cimmerian continental block. The part of the Cimmerian Block with zircon distributions most like the Gondwana Sequence of NW Australia is the terranes of northern Tibet and Malaysia. The large 1750-1900 Ma zircon peak is much more wide spread, and appears in terranes from Baoshan (SW China) to Borneo. The Permo-Triassic rocks of the Timor region fill syn-rift intracratonic basins that successfully rifted in the Jurassic to form the NW margin of Australia. This passive continental margin first entered the Sunda Trench in the Timor region at around 8 Ma causing the Permo-Triassic rocks to accrete to the edge of the Asian Plate and emerge as a series of mountainous islands in the young collision zone. Eventually, the Australian continental margin will collide with the southern edge of the Asian plate and these Gondwana terranes will rejoin. However, it may be difficult to reconstruct the various ventures of they made over the past 300 Ma.

Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic subduction-collision history of the Southern Neotethys: new evidence from the Çağlayancerit area, SE Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akıncı, Ahmet Can; Robertson, Alastair H. F.; Ünlügenç, Ulvi Can

2016-01-01

Evidence of the subduction-collision history of the S Neotethys is well exposed in the frontal part of the SE Anatolian thrust belt and the adjacent Arabian continental margin. The foreland succession in the study area begins with Eocene shelf carbonates, ranging from shallow marine to deeper marine, without sedimentary input from the Tauride continent to the north. After a regional hiatus (Oligocene), sedimentation resumed during the Early Miocene with terrigenous gravity-flow deposition in the north (Lice Formation) and shallow-marine carbonates further south. Clastic detritus was derived from the Tauride continent and oceanic accretionary material. The base of the overriding Tauride allochthon comprises ophiolite-derived debris flows, ophiolite-related mélange and dismembered ophiolitic rocks. Above this, the regional-scale Bulgurkaya sedimentary mélange (an olistostrome) includes blocks and dismembered thrust sheets of metamorphic rocks, limestone and sandstone, which include Late Cretaceous and Eocene foraminifera. The matrix is mainly strongly deformed Eocene-Oligocene mudrocks, hemipelagic marl and sandstone turbidites. The thrust stack is topped by a regionally extensive thrust sheet (Malatya metamorphic unit), which includes greenschist facies marble, calcschist, schist and phyllite, representing Tauride continental crust. Beginning during the Late Mesozoic, the S Neotethys subducted northwards beneath a backstop represented by the Tauride microcontinent (Malatya metamorphic unit). Ophiolites formed within the S Neotethys and accreted to the Tauride active margin. Large-scale sedimentary mélange developed along the Tauride active margin during Eocene-Oligocene. On the Arabian margin, a sedimentary hiatus and tilting (Oligocene) is interpreted to record initial continental collision. The Early Miocene terrigenous gravity flows represent a collision-related flexural foreland basin. Southward overthrusting of the Tauride allochthon took place during Early-Middle Miocene. Associated regional uplift triggered large-scale alluvial deposition. The foreland folded and faulted in response to suture zone tightening (Late Miocene). Left-lateral strike slip characterised the Plio-Pleistocene.

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 eastern Carpathians. During the Late Cretaceous, the Lesser Caucasus, Sanandaj-Sirjan and Makran plates were sutured to the Iranian-Afghanistan plates in the Caucasus-Caspian Sea area. A north-dipping subduction zone jumped during Paleogene to the Scythian-Turan Platform. The Shatski terrane moved northward, closing the Greater Caucasus Basin and opening the eastern Black Sea. The South Caspian underwent reorganization during Oligocene-Neogene times. The southwestern part of the South Caspian Basin was reopened, while the northwestern part was gradually reduced in size. The collision of India and the Lut plate with Eurasia caused the deformation of Central Asia and created a system of NW-SE wrench faults. The remnants of Jurassic-Cretaceous back-arc systems, oceanic and attenuated crust, as well as Tertiary oceanic and attenuated crust were locked between adjacent continental plates and orogenic systems.

Fluid expulsion sites on the Cascadia accretionary prism: mapping diagenetic deposits with processed GLORIA imagery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carson, Bobb; Seke, Erol; Paskevich, Valerie F.; Holmes, Mark L.

1994-01-01

Point-discharge fluid expulsion on accretionary prisms is commonly indicated by diagenetic deposition of calcium carbonate cements and gas hydrates in near-surface (<10 m below seafloor; mbsf) hemipelagic sediment. The contrasting clastic and diagenetic lithologies should be apparent in side scan images. However, sonar also responds to variations in bottom slope, so unprocessed images mix topographic and lithologic information. We have processed GLORIA imagery from the Oregon continental margin to remove topographic effects. A synthetic side scan image was created initially from Sea Beam bathymetric data and then was subtracted iteratively from the original GLORIA data until topographic features disappeared. The residual image contains high-amplitude backscattering that we attribute to diagenetic deposits associated with fluid discharge, based on submersible mapping, Ocean Drilling Program drilling, and collected samples. Diagenetic deposits are concentrated (1) near an out-of-sequence thrust fault on the second ridge landward of the base of the continental slope, (2) along zones characterized by deep-seated strikeslip faults that cut transversely across the margin, and (3) in undeformed Cascadia Basin deposits which overlie incipient thrust faults seaward of the toe of the prism. There is no evidence of diagenetic deposition associated with the frontal thrust that rises from the dècollement. If the dècollement is an important aquifer, apparently the fluids are passed either to the strike-slip faults which intersect the dècollement or to the incipient faults in Cascadia Basin for expulsion. Diagenetic deposits seaward of the prism toe probably consist dominantly of gas hydrates.

Landslide Frequency and Failure Mechanisms at NE Gela Basin (Strait of Sicily)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuhlmann, J.; Asioli, A.; Trincardi, F.; Klügel, A.; Huhn, K.

2017-11-01

Despite intense research by both academia and industry, the parameters controlling slope stability at continental margins are often speculated upon. Lack of core recovery and age control on failed sediments prevent the assessment of failure timing/frequency and the role of prefailure architecture as shaped by paleoenvironmental changes. This study uses an integrated chronological framework from two boreholes and complementary ultrahigh-resolution acoustic profiling in order to assess (1) the frequency of submarine landsliding at the continental margin of NE Gela Basin and (2) the associated mechanisms of failure. Accurate age control was achieved through absolute radiocarbon dating and indirect dating relying on isotope stratigraphic and micropaleontological reconstructions. A total of nine major slope failure events have been recognized that occurred within the last 87 kyr ( 10 kyr return frequency), though there is evidence for additional syndepositional, small-scaled transport processes of lower volume. Preferential failure involves translational movement of mudflows along subhorizontal surfaces that are induced by sedimentological changes relating to prefailure stratal architecture. Along with sequence-stratigraphic boundaries reflecting paleoenvironmental fluctuations, recovered core material suggests that intercalated volcaniclastic layers are key to the basal confinement and lateral movement of these events in the study area. Another major predisposing factor is given by rapid loading of fine-grained homogenous strata and successive generation of excess pore pressure, as expressed by several fluid escape structures. Recurrent failure, however, requires repeated generation of favorable conditions, and seismic activity, though low if compared to many other Mediterranean settings, is shown to represent a legitimate trigger mechanism.

Tectonostratigraphy and depositional history of the Neoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary sequences in Kid area, southeastern Sinai, Egypt: Implications for intra-arc to foreland basin in the northern Arabian-Nubian Shield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalaf, E. A.; Obeid, M. A.

2013-09-01

This paper presents a stratigraphic and sedimentary study of Neoproterozoic successions of the South Sinai, at the northernmost segment of the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS), including the Kid complex. This complex is composed predominantly of thick volcano-sedimentary successions representing different depositional and tectonic environments, followed by four deformational phases including folding and brittle faults (D1-D4). The whole Kid area is divisible from north to south into the lower, middle, and upper rock sequences. The higher metamorphic grade and extensive deformational styles of the lower sequence distinguishes them from the middle and upper sequences. Principal lithofacies in the lower sequence include thrust-imbricated tectonic slice of metasediments and metavolcanics, whereas the middle and upper sequences are made up of clastic sediments, intermediate-felsic lavas, volcaniclastics, and dike swarms. Two distinct Paleo- depositional environments are observed: deep-marine and alluvial fan regime. The former occurred mainly during the lower sequence, whereas the latter developed during the other two sequences. These alternations of depositional conditions in the volcano-sedimentary deposits suggest that the Kid area may have formed under a transitional climate regime fluctuating gradually from warm and dry to warm and humid conditions. Geochemical and petrographical data, in conjunction with field relationships, suggest that the investigated volcano-sedimentary rocks were built from detritus derived from a wide range of sources, ranging from Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic continental crust. Deposition within the ancient Kid basin reflects a complete basin cycle from rifting and passive margin development, to intra-arc and foreland basin development and, finally, basin closure. The early phase of basin evolution is similar to various basins in the Taupo volcanics, whereas the later phases are similar to the Cordilleran-type foreland basin. The progressive change in lithofacies from marine intra-arc basin to continental molasses foreland basin and from compression to extension setting respectively, imply that the source area became peneplained, where the Kid basin became stabilized as sedimentation progressed following uplift. The scenario proposed of the study area supports the role of volcanic and tectonic events in architecting the facies and stratigraphic development.

Seismic images of the sliver strike-slip fault and back thrust in the Andaman-Nicobar region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Satish C.; Moeremans, Raphaele; McArdle, Jo; Johansen, Kjell

2013-10-01

sliver strike-slip Great Sumatra Fault (GSF) traverses mainland Sumatra from the Sunda Strait in the southeast to Banda Aceh in the northwest, and defines the present day plate boundary between the Sunda Plate in the north and the Burmese Sliver Plate in the south. It has been well studied on mainland Sumatra but poorly north of Banda Aceh in the Andaman Sea. Here we present deep seismic reflection images along the northward extension of the GSF over 700 km until it joins the Andaman Sea Spreading Centre, and we interpret these images in the light of earthquake, gravity, and bathymetry data. We find that the GSF has two strands between Banda Aceh and Nicobar Island: a transpression in the south and a deep narrow active rift system in the north, dotted with volcanoes in the center, suggesting that the volcanic arc is coincident with rifting. Farther north of Nicobar Island, an active strike-slip fault, the Andaman-Nicobar Fault, cuts through a rifted deep basin until its intersection with the Andaman Sea Spreading Centre. The volcanic arc lies just east of the rift basin. The western margin of this basin seems to be a rifted continental margin, tilted westward, and flooring the Andaman-Nicobar fore-arc basin. The Andaman-Nicobar fore-arc basin is bounded in the west by back thrusts similar to the West Andaman and Mentawai faults. The cluster of seismicity after the 2004 great Andaman-Sumatra earthquake just north of Nicobar Island coincides with the intersection of two strike-slip fault systems.

Syn-rift volcanism and seafloor-spreading in the northern Gulf of Mexico: results from the GUMBO marine seismic refraction project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eddy, D. R.; Van Avendonk, H. J.; Christeson, G. L.; Norton, I. O.; Karner, G. D.; Kneller, E. A.; Johnson, C. A.; Snedden, J.

2013-12-01

Continental rifting and seafloor-spreading between North America and the Yucatán Block during the Jurassic to early Cretaceous formed the small ocean basin known today as the Gulf of Mexico. The lack of deeply-penetrating geophysical data in the Gulf of Mexico limited early reconstructions of the timing and location of the rift-to-drift transition, particularly with respect to the influence of magmatism on the breakup of continental crust and the onset of seafloor-spreading. To better understand the deep structure of this economically important basin, we acquired four marine seismic refraction profiles in the northern Gulf of Mexico from the shelf to deep water as part of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Basin Opening project (GUMBO). We use travel times from long-offset reflections and refractions to image compressional seismic velocities in the sediments, crystalline crust, and upper mantle using an iterative tomographic inversion. GUMBO Line 3 extends from offshore Alabama through the De Soto Canyon towards the central Gulf of Mexico. We interpret velocities >5.0 km/s in the sediment layer landward of the Florida Escarpment as a Lower Cretaceous carbonate platform. Crystalline crust with velocities between 5.5-7.5 km/s thins significantly from 23 km to 7 km across a narrow necking zone. A deep, localized region of anomalously high seismic velocities (>7.5 km/s) at the base of crystalline crust exceeds those of continental lower crust in the eastern US. We interpret this section of GUMBO 3 to represent mafic under-plating and/or infiltration of asthenospheric melts, common at volcanic rifted margins. The seaward end of GUMBO 3 has seismic velocities consistent with mafic ocean crust produced by normal seafloor-spreading (6.0-7.5 km/s); this observation is supported by a consistent crustal thickness of ~7 km and minimal lateral heterogeneities in velocity structure. GUMBO Line 2 extends from offshore Louisiana southward across the Sigsbee Escarpment. We find a massive sediment package with substantial lateral heterogeneities, which we attribute to salt tectonics. GUMBO 2 crust thins slightly from north to south, and varies greatly in thickness from 3-10 km with seismic velocities between 6.0-8.0 km/s. We interpret the majority of GUMBO 2 as oceanic crust formed by slow to ultraslow seafloor-spreading, with a volcanic rift margin closer to the present-day coastline than most prior reconstructions. This finding substantially increases the amount of ocean crust interpreted in the Gulf of Mexico. We invoke a ridge jump to explain asymmetry in oceanic crust between North America and the Yucatán peninsula. We further suggest that the effects of heat and asthenospheric melt were more impactful, and the rift-to-drift transition more immediate, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico than in the west. Heat and melt infiltrated and weakened the thick continental crust at GUMBO 3, defining a sharp transition from a volcanic rifted margin to ocean ridge basalt production. Variable ocean crust thicknesses suggest a lower melt supply and more slow-spreading crust at GUMBO 2. Proximity of the eastern margin to the origin of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, as well as abundant mid-ocean ridge basalt production in the Atlantic Ocean, may explain differences in melt supply and seafloor-spreading.

Geomorphic characterization of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brothers, Daniel S.; ten Brink, Uri S.; Andrews, Brian D.; Chaytor, Jason D.

2013-01-01

The increasing volume of multibeam bathymetry data collected along continental margins is providing new opportunities to study the feedbacks between sedimentary and oceanographic processes and seafloor morphology. Attempts to develop simple guidelines that describe the relationships between form and process often overlook the importance of inherited physiography in slope depositional systems. Here, we use multibeam bathymetry data and seismic reflection profiles spanning the U.S. Atlantic outer continental shelf, slope and rise from Cape Hatteras to New England to quantify the broad-scale, across-margin morphological variation. Morphometric analyses suggest the margin can be divided into four basic categories that roughly align with Quaternary sedimentary provinces. Within each category, Quaternary sedimentary processes exerted heavy modification of submarine canyons, landslide complexes and the broad-scale morphology of the continental rise, but they appear to have preserved much of the pre-Quaternary, across-margin shape of the continental slope. Without detailed constraints on the substrate structure, first-order morphological categorization the U.S. Atlantic margin does not provide a reliable framework for predicting relationships between form and process.

A record of Appalachian denudation in postrift Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary deposits of the U.S. Middle Atlantic continental margin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poag, C.W.; Sevon, W.D.

1989-01-01

The complex interplay between source-terrain uplift, basin subsidence, paleoclimatic shifts, and sea-level change, left an extensive sedimentary record in the contiguous offshore basins of the U.S. middle Atlantic margin (Salisbury Embayment, Baltimore Canyon Trough, and Hatteras Basin). Isopach maps of 23 postrift (Lower Jurassic to Quaternary) a allostratigraphic units, coupled with a revised stratigraphic framework, reveal that tectonism, by regulating sediment supply (accumulation rate), dominated the interplay of forcing mechanisms. Tectonic pulses are evidenced by abruptly accelerated sediment accumulation, marked latitudinal shifts in the location of depocenters, and regional changes in lithofacies. Relatively rapid tectonic subsidence during the Early and Middle Jurassic history of the basins may have enhanced sediment accumulation rates. Beginning in the Late Jurassic, however, subsidence rates decreased significantly, though occasional short pulses of subsidence may have effected relative sea-level rises. Sea-level change heavily influenced the distribution and redistribution of sediments one they reached the basins, and paleoclimate regulated the relative abundance of carbonates and evaporites in the basins. We conclude that source terrains of the central Appalachian Highlands were tectonically uplifted, intensely weathered, and rapidly eroded three times since the Late Triassic: (1) Early to Middle Jurassic (Aalenian to Callovian); (2) mid-Early Cretaceous (Barremian); and (3) Late Cenozoic (Middle Miocene). Intervals of tectonic quiescence following these three tectonic pulses provided conditions suitable for the formation of regional erosion surfaces, geomorphic features commonly reported to characterize the central Appalachian Highlands. This series of three, irregularly spaced, tectonic/quiescent cycles does not, however, match the traditional four-cycle concept of post-Triassic Appalachian "peneplanation". ?? 1989.

Basin formation and Neogene sedimentation in a backarc setting, Halmahera, eastern Indonesia

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

Hall, R.; Nichols, G.J.

1991-03-01

It has been proposed that basins in backarc setting form in association with subduction by thinning of continental crust, backarc spreading in oceanic crust, compression, or trapping of pieces of oceanic plate behind an arc. The Halmahera basin in eastern Indonesia developed in a backarc setting but does not fall into these categories; it formed by subsidence of thickened crust made up of imbricated Mesozoic-Paleogene arc and ophiolite rocks. Halmahera lies at the western edge of the Philippine Sea Plate in a complex zone of convergence between the Eurasian margin, the oceanic plates of the West Pacific, and the Australian/Indianmore » Plate to the south. The basement is an imbricated complex of Mesozoic to Paleogene ophiolite, arc, and arc-related rocks. During the Miocene this basement complex formed an area of thickened crust upon which carbonate reef and reef-associated sediments were deposited. The authors interpret this shallow marine region to be similar to many of the oceanic plateaus and ridges found within the Philippine Sea Plate today. In the Late Miocene, convergence between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian margin resulted in the formation of the Halmahera Trench to the west of this region of thickened crust. Subduction of the Molucca Sea Plate caused the development of a volcanic island arc. Subsidence in the backarc area produced a broad sedimentary basin filled by clastics eroded from the arc and from uplifted basement and cover rocks. The basin was asymmetric with the thickest sedimentary fill on the western side, against the volcanic arc. The Halmahera basin was modified in the Plio-Pleistocene by east-west compression as the Molucca Sea Plate was eliminated by subduction.« less

Multi-scale characterization of an upcurrent turbiditic pinch-out

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daghdevirenian, L. J. P.; Migeon, S.; Rubino, J. L., Sr.; Raisson, F.

2017-12-01

Continental margins with a steep topographic profile between their continental shelf and the basin exhibit a sudden slope break at the base of their continental slope. This slope break favors strong erosion or a by-pass and a fast accumulation of sediments on the base of the continental slope due to the hydraulic jump phenomena. Such a process is responsible for the construction of thick accumulations of limited extension and generally disconnected from the feeding tributaries. These accumulations usually onlap against the continental slope but their modality of pinch out is still questioned and it is the subject of this work. The Tabernas basin is located in South East of Spain, in the continuity of the Sorbas basin. Recent field works allowed identifying a "sedimentary" onlap associated with a small-scale sandy turbidite system that we discovered near the so-called El Buho area. The superb quality of the outcrops revealed, the presence of three successive onlap structures consisting in each case of a direct contact between fluvial conglomerates / marines conglomerates / marine marls / turbidite sands. Reconstruction of paleo-current direction gives a flow direction around N00, from north to south, suggesting the outcrops are cutting the pinch out of the sandy system in a longitudinal direction. A longitudinal and vertical transition of facies can be thus observed from marines' conglomerates to turbidite sands, respectively over distances of 500 m and 70 m. The complete evolution of facies along the pinch out consists of thick conglomerates in the proximal part to sandy turbidite channels then lobes in the distal part. The three successive onlap structures are located inside the channelize part of the system, just above a slope break structure. The basal units of the pinch out consist of an alternation of conglomerates and sandy bed, while the overlying units exhibits more sandy dominated beds. In order to reconstruct the architecture of the pinch out and to understand its process of formation, a complete photogrammetry acquisition was performed at the scale of the whole area This new dataset together with sedimentological logs and outcrop analysis allowed to model the multiple scale pinch out of a turbidite system against its adjacent continental slope, from the beds and the outcrops to regional scale given by the photogrammetry

The Triassic-Jurassic boundary in eastern North America

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olsen, P. E.; Comet, B.

1988-01-01

Rift basins of the Atlantic passive margin in eastern North America are filled with thousands of meters of continental rocks termed the Newark Supergroup which provide an unprecedented opportunity to examine the fine scale structure of the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction in continental environments. Time control, vital to the understanding of the mechanisms behind mass extinctions, is provided by lake-level cycles apparently controlled by orbitally induced climate change allowing resolution at the less than 21,000 year level. Correlation with other provinces is provided by a developing high resolution magnetostratigraphy and palynologically-based biostratigraphy. A large number of at least local vertebrate and palynomorph extinctions are concentrated around the boundary with survivors constituting the earliest Jurassic assemblages, apparently without the introduction of new taxa. The palynofloral transition is marked by the dramatic elimination of a relatively high diversity Triassic pollen assemblage with the survivors making up a Jurassic assemblage of very low diversity overwhelmingly dominated by Corollina. Based principally on palynological correlations, the hypothesis that these continental taxonomic transitions were synchronous with the massive Triassic-Jurassic marine extinctions is strongly corroborated. An extremely rapid, perhaps catastrophic, taxonomic turnover at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, synchronous in continental and marine realms is hypothesized and discussed.

Comparative biogeochemistry-ecosystem-human interactions on dynamic continental margins

USGS Publications Warehouse

Levin, Lisa A.; Liu, Kon-Kee; Emeis, Kay-Christian; Breitburg, Denise L.; Cloern, James; Deutsch, Curtis; Giani, Michele; Goffart, Anne; Hofmann, Eileen E.; Lachkar, Zouhair; Limburg, Karin; Liu, Su-Mei; Montes, Enrique; Naqvi, Wajih; Ragueneau, Olivier; Rabouille, Christophe; Sarkar, Santosh Kumar; Swaney, Dennis P.; Wassman, Paul; Wishner, Karen F.

2014-01-01

The ocean’s continental margins face strong and rapid change, forced by a combination of direct human activity, anthropogenic CO2-induced climate change, and natural variability. Stimulated by discussions in Goa, India at the IMBER IMBIZO III, we (1) provide an overview of the drivers of biogeochemical variation and change on margins, (2) compare temporal trends in hydrographic and biogeochemical data across different margins (3) review ecosystem responses to these changes, (4) highlight the importance of margin time series for detecting and attributing change and (5) examine societal responses to changing margin biogeochemistry and ecosystems. We synthesize information over a wide range of margin settings in order to identify the commonalities and distinctions among continental margin ecosystems. Key drivers of biogeochemical variation include long-term climate cycles, CO2-induced warming, acidification, and deoxygenation, as well as sea level rise, eutrophication, hydrologic and water cycle alteration, changing land use, fishing, and species invasion. Ecosystem responses are complex and impact major margin services including primary production, fisheries production, nutrient cycling, shoreline protection, chemical buffering, and biodiversity. Despite regional differences, the societal consequences of these changes are unarguably large and mandate coherent actions to reduce, mitigate and adapt to multiple stressors on continental margins.

Comparative biogeochemistry-ecosystem-human interactions on dynamic continental margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levin, Lisa A.; Liu, Kon-Kee; Emeis, Kay-Christian; Breitburg, Denise L.; Cloern, James; Deutsch, Curtis; Giani, Michele; Goffart, Anne; Hofmann, Eileen E.; Lachkar, Zouhair; Limburg, Karin; Liu, Su-Mei; Montes, Enrique; Naqvi, Wajih; Ragueneau, Olivier; Rabouille, Christophe; Sarkar, Santosh Kumar; Swaney, Dennis P.; Wassman, Paul; Wishner, Karen F.

2015-01-01

The oceans' continental margins face strong and rapid change, forced by a combination of direct human activity, anthropogenic CO2-induced climate change, and natural variability. Stimulated by discussions in Goa, India at the IMBER IMBIZO III, we (1) provide an overview of the drivers of biogeochemical variation and change on margins, (2) compare temporal trends in hydrographic and biogeochemical data across different margins, (3) review ecosystem responses to these changes, (4) highlight the importance of margin time series for detecting and attributing change and (5) examine societal responses to changing margin biogeochemistry and ecosystems. We synthesize information over a wide range of margin settings in order to identify the commonalities and distinctions among continental margin ecosystems. Key drivers of biogeochemical variation include long-term climate cycles, CO2-induced warming, acidification, and deoxygenation, as well as sea level rise, eutrophication, hydrologic and water cycle alteration, changing land use, fishing, and species invasion. Ecosystem responses are complex and impact major margin services. These include primary production, fisheries production, nutrient cycling, shoreline protection, chemical buffering, and biodiversity. Despite regional differences, the societal consequences of these changes are unarguably large and mandate coherent actions to reduce, mitigate and adapt to multiple stressors on continental margins.

Geochemical compositions of Neoproterozoic to Lower Palaeozoic (?) shales and siltstones in the Volta Basin (Ghana): Constraints on provenance and tectonic setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amedjoe, Chiri G.; Gawu, S. K. Y.; Ali, B.; Aseidu, D. K.; Nude, P. M.

2018-06-01

Many researchers have investigated the provenance and tectonic setting of the Voltaian sediments using the geochemistry of sandstones in the basin. The shales and siltstones in the basin have not been used much in the provenance studies. In this paper, the geochemistry of shales and siltstones in the Kwahu Group and Oti Group of the Voltaian Supergroup from Agogo and environs in the southeastern section of the basin has constrained the provenance and tectonic setting. Trace element ratios La/Sc, Th/Sc and Cr/Th and REEs sensitive to average source compositions revealed sediments in the shales and siltstones may mainly be from felsic rocks, though contributions from old recycled sediments and some andesitic rock sediments were identified. The felsic rocks may be granites and/or granodiorites. Some intermediate rocks of andesitic composition are also identified, while the recycled sediments were probably derived from the basement metasedimentary rocks. The enrichment of light REE (LaN/YbN c. 7.47), negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* c. 0.59), and flat heavy REE chondrite-normalized patterns, denote an upper-continental-crustal granitic source materials for the sediments. Trace-element ternary discriminant diagrams reveal passive margin settings for sediments, though some continental island arc settings sediments were also depicted. Mixing calculations based on REE concentrations and modeled chondrite-normalized REE patterns suggest that the Birimian basement complex may be the source of detritus in the Voltaian Basin. REEs are more associated with shales than siltstones. On this basis chondrite-normalized REE patterns show that shale lithostratigraphic units may be distinguished from siltstone lithostratigraphic units. The significant variability in shales elemental ratios can therefore be used to distinguish between shales of the Oti Group from that of the Kwahu Group.

Continental weathering as a driver of Late Cretaceous cooling: new insights from clay mineralogy of Campanian sediments from the southern Tethyan margin to the Boreal realm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chenot, Elise; Deconinck, Jean-François; Pucéat, Emmanuelle; Pellenard, Pierre; Guiraud, Michel; Jaubert, Maxime; Jarvis, Ian; Thibault, Nicolas; Cocquerez, Théophile; Bruneau, Ludovic; Razmjooei, Mohammad J.; Boussaha, Myriam; Richard, James; Sizun, Jean-Pierre; Stemmerik, Lars

2018-03-01

New clay mineralogical analyses have been performed on Campanian sediments from the Tethyan and Boreal realms along a palaeolatitudinal transect from 45° to 20°N (Danish Basin, North Sea, Paris Basin, Mons Basin, Aquitaine Basin, Umbria-Marche Basin and Tunisian Atlas). Significant terrigenous inputs are evidenced by increasing proportions of detrital clay minerals such as illite, kaolinite and chlorite at various levels in the mid- to upper Campanian, while smectitic minerals predominate and represented the background of the Late Cretaceous clay sedimentation. Our new results highlight a distinct latitudinal distribution of clay minerals, with the occurrence of kaolinite in southern sections and an almost total absence of this mineral in northern areas. This latitudinal trend points to an at least partial climatic control on clay mineral sedimentation, with a humid zone developed between 20° and 35°N. The association and co-evolution of illite, chlorite and kaolinite in most sections suggest a reworking of these minerals from basement rocks weathered by hydrolysis, which we link to the formation of relief around the Tethys due to compression associated with incipient Tethyan closure. Diachronism in the occurrence of detrital minerals between sections, with detrital input starting earlier during the Santonian in the south than in the north, highlights the northward progression of the deformation related to the anticlockwise rotation of Africa. Increasing continental weathering and erosion, evidenced by our clay mineralogical data through the Campanian, may have resulted in enhanced CO2 consumption by silicate weathering, thereby contributing to Late Cretaceous climatic cooling.

Multimillion-Year Evolution of a Sublacustrine Fan System: Source-to-Sink History of the South Rukuru and Ruhuhu River Drainages, Lake Malawi (Nyasa) Rift, East Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scholz, C. A.; Shillington, D. J.; McCartney, T.

2017-12-01

The development of long-lived continental rifts can be markedly influenced by surface processes, including sediment input and footwall erosion. This occurs through modifying crustal thickness and loading, as well as by influencing behaviors of individual faults. Here we report on the evolution of a long-lived system of sublacustrine fans in the Central Basin of the Lake Malawi (Nyasa) rift, East Africa. An extensive suite of crustal-scale seismic reflection data was acquired in 2015 as part of the SEGMeNT project, which resulted superb images of the syn-rift section. These data are augmented by legacy single-channel high resolution reflection data that provide detailed information on facies geometries and stacking architecture of the deep-water fan systems. The ages and lithologic character of the stratal surfaces observed in the reflection seismic data are constrained by ties to the 2005 scientific drill cores acquired during the Lake Malawi Scientific Drilling Project. The South Rukuru River is an eastward flowing regional drainage (11,900 km2) that enters Lake Malawi through an incision in the western border fault of the rift's Central Basin. The Rukuru River drainage (17,230 km2) enters the eastern side of the lake at an accommodation zone margin between the North and Central Basins. Both are antecedent drainages that prior to rifting may have delivered sediments to the Indian Ocean continental margin. Both systems now deliver sediment to a highly confined and focused depocenter in the Central Basin. The complex interplay of extension, mainly on the border fault systems, and high-frequency and high-amplitude lake levels shifts, has led to unique coarse sediment facies stacking architectures, with vertical stacking controlled by hydroclimate, and lateral positioning localized by fault behavior. Focused deep-water (700 m) deposition has resulted in overpressure within the sedimentary section in the localized depocenter, producing dramatic mud diapirs. Long-lived channel-levee systems observed in the seismic data demonstrate that both drainages systems have been operative for the past several million years.

Translation and rotation of small crustal blocks in the southernmost Atlantic-Weddell Sea region prior to seafloor spreading: in search of a mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalziel, I. W. D.; Norton, I. O.; Lawver, L. A.; Lavier, L.; Davis, J. K.; Gahagan, L.

2016-12-01

Geological and paleomagnetic data indicate that initial fragmentation of the Gondwanaland supercontinent in the southernmost Atlantic-Weddell Sea region involved translation and rotation of two small crustal blocks. The Falkland/Malvinas block on the South American plate (F/M) and the Ellsworth-Whitmore mountains block in West Antarctica (EWM) both contain segments of the earliest Mesozoic Gondwana fold belt. The blocks originated in the Natal embayment between the Cape Mountains of southernmost Africa and the Pensacola Mountains of the East Antarctic craton margin. Shortly after emplacement of the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous province (LIP) at ca. 182Ma, the F/M block was rotated clockwise 150 ° and the EWM block counter¬clockwise 90°, while both were translated several hundred kilometers towards the Panthalassic/Pacific Ocean. As indicated by absence of shortening in the sedimentary basins of the F/M Plateau and Weddell embayment, the motions of the crustal blocks relative to the major continents happened during extreme extension accompanied by widespread silicic magmatism that preceded seafloor spreading. We propose a new reconstruction of the Gondwana craton margin, suggesting an original embayment between the Kalahari and East Antarctic cratons, and subsequent mirror-image clockwise (South America-F/M) and counterclockwise (Antarctic Peninsula-EWM) rotations prior to seafloor spreading in the Weddell Sea and South Atlantic.What geodynamic processes were involved in the significant rotations and translations of continental lithosphere prior to ocean basin formation? Our conclusion, based on the geologic and geophysical data and on geodynamic modeling, is that the motions were driven by the distributed crustal thinning of warm continental lithosphere and by mantle flow towards a retreating Panthalassic margin subduction zone associated with the formation of the Karoo-Ferrar Large Igneous Province between the East Antarctic, Kalahari and Rio de la Plata cratons.

Morphogenesis of the SW Balearic continental slope and adjacent abyssal plain, Western Mediterranean Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camerlenghi, Angelo; Accettella, Daniela; Costa, Sergio; Lastras, Galderic; Acosta, Juan; Canals, Miquel; Wardell, Nigel

2009-06-01

We present the seafloor morphology and shallow seismic structure of the continental slope south-east of the Balearic promontory and of the adjacent Algero-Balearic abyssal plain from multibeam and chirp sonar data. The main purpose of this research was to identify the sediment pathways from the Balearic promontory to the Algero-Balearic deep basin from the Early Pliocene to the Present. The morphology of the southern Balearic margin is controlled by a SW-NE structural trend, whose main expressions are the Emile Baudot Escarpment transform fault, and a newly discovered WSW-ENE trend that affects the SW end of the escarpment and the abyssal plain. We relate the two structural trends to right-lateral simple shear as a consequence of the Miocene westward migration of the Gibraltar Arc. Newly discovered steep and narrow volcanic ridges were probably enabled to grow by local transtension along the transform margin. Abyssal plain knolls and seahills relate to the subsurface deformation of early stage halokinetic structures such as salt rollers, salt anticlines, and salt pillows. The limited thickness of the overburden and the limited amount of deformation in the deep basin prevent the formation of more mature halokinetic structures such as diapirs, salt walls, bulbs, and salt extrusions. The uppermost sediment cover is affected by a dense pattern of sub-vertical small throw normal faults resulting from extensional stress induced in the overburden by subsurface salt deformation structures. Shallow gas seismic character and the possible presence of an active polygonal fault system suggest upward fluid migration and fluid and sediment expulsion at the seafloor through a probable mud volcano and other piercement structures. One large debris flow deposit, named Formentera Debris Flow, has been identified on the lower slope and rise of the south Formentera margin. Based on current observations, we hypothesize that the landslide originating the Formentera Debris Flow occurred in the Holocene, perhaps in historical times.

Age, distribution and style of deformation in Alaska north of 60°N: Implications for assembly of Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, Thomas; Box, Stephen E.

2016-01-01

The structural architecture of Alaska is the product of a complex history of deformation along both the Cordilleran and Arctic margins of North America involving oceanic plates, subduction zones and strike-slip faults and with continental elements of Laurentia, Baltica, and Siberia. We use geological constraints to assign regions of deformation to 14 time intervals and to map their distributions in Alaska. Alaska can be divided into three domains with differing deformational histories. Each domain includes a crustal fragment that originated near Early Paleozoic Baltica. The Northern domain experienced the Early Cretaceous Brookian orogeny, an oceanic arc-continent collision, followed by mid-Cretaceous extension. Early Cretaceous opening of the oceanic Canada Basin rifted the orogen from the Canadian Arctic margin, producing the bent trends of the orogen. The second (Southern) domain consists of Neoproterozoic and younger crust of the amalgamated Peninsular-Wrangellia-Alexander arc terrane and its paired Mesozoic accretionary prism facing the Pacific Ocean basin. The third (Interior) domain, situated between the first two domains and roughly bounded by the Cenozoic dextral Denali and Tintina faults, includes the large continental Yukon Composite and Farewell terranes having different Permian deformational episodes. Although a shared deformation that might mark their juxtaposition by collisional processes is unrecognized, sedimentary linkage between the two terranes and depositional overlap of the boundary with the Northern domain occurred by early Late Cretaceous. Late Late Cretaceous deformation is the first deformation shared by all three domains and correlates temporally with emplacement of the Southern domain against the remainder of Alaska. Early Cenozoic shortening is mild across interior Alaska but is significant in the Brooks Range, and correlates in time with dextral faulting, ridge subduction and counter-clockwise rotation of southern Alaska. Late Cenozoic shortening is significant in southern Alaska inboard of the underthrusting Yakutat terrane at the Pacific margin and in northeastern Alaska.

Crustal structure of the southeastern Brazilian margin, Campos Basin, from aeromagnetic data: New kinematic constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanton, N.; Schmitt, R.; Galdeano, A.; Maia, M.; Mane, M.

2010-07-01

The continental and adjacent marginal features along southeast Brazil were investigated, focusing on the basement structural relationships between onshore and offshore provinces. Lateral and vertical variations in the magnetic anomalies provided a good correlation with the regional tectonic features. The sin-rift dykes and faults are associated with the magnetic lineaments and lie sub parallel to the Precambrian N45E-S45W basement structure of the Ribeira Belt, but orthogonally to the Cabo Frio Tectonic Domain (CFTD) basement, implying that: (1) the upper portion of the continental crust was widely affected by Mesozoic extensional deformation; and (2) tectonic features related to the process of break up of the Gondwana at the CFTD were form regardless of the preexisting structural basement orientation being controlled by the stress orientation during the rift phase. The deep crustal structure (5 km depth) is characterized by NE-SW magnetic "provinces" related to the Ribeira Belt tectonic units, while deep suture zones are defined by magnetic lows. The offshore Campos structural framework is N30E-S30W oriented and resulted from a main WNW-ESE direction of extension in Early Cretaceous. Transfer zones are represented by NW-SE and E-W oriented discontinuities. A slight difference in orientation between onshore (N45E) and offshore (N30E) structural systems seems to reflect a re-orientation of stress during rifting. We proposed a kinematical model to explain the structural evolution of this portion of the margin, characterized by polyphase rifting, associated with the rotation of the South American plate. The Campos Magnetic High (CMH), an important tectonic feature of the Campos Basin corresponds to a wide area of high crustal magnetization. The CMH wass interpreted as a magmatic feature, mafic to ultramafic in composition that extends down to 14 km depth and constitutes an evidence of intense crustal extension at 60 km from the coast.

Slab break-off triggered lithosphere - asthenosphere interaction at a convergent margin: The Neoproterozoic bimodal magmatism in NW India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wei; Pandit, Manoj K.; Zhao, Jun-Hong; Chen, Wei-Terry; Zheng, Jian-Ping

2018-01-01

The Neoproterozoic Malani Igneous Suite (MIS) is described as the largest felsic igneous province in India. The linearly distributed Sindreth and Punagarh basins located along eastern margin of this province represent the only site of bimodal volcanism and associated clastic sediments within the MIS. The in-situ zircon U-Pb dating by LA-ICPMS reveals that the Sindreth rhyolites were erupted at 769-762 Ma. Basaltic rocks from both the basins show distinct geochemical signatures that suggest an E-MORB source for Punagarh basalts (low Ti/V ratios of 40.9-28.2) and an OIB source (high Ti/V ratios of 285-47.6) for Sindreth basalts. In the absence of any evidence of notable crustal contamination, these features indicate heterogeneous mantle sources for them. The low (La/Yb)CN (9.34-2.10) and Sm/Yb (2.88-1.08) ratios of Punagarh basalts suggest a spinel facies, relatively shallow level mantle source as compared to a deeper source for Sindreth basalts, as suggested by high (La/Yb)CN (7.24-5.24) and Sm/Yb (2.79-2.13) ratios. Decompression melting of an upwelling sub-slab asthenosphere through slab window seems to be the most plausible mechanism to explain the geochemical characteristics. Besides, the associated felsic volcanics show A2-type granite signatures, such as high Y/Nb (5.97-1.55) and Yb/Ta (9.36-2.57) ratios, consistent with magma derived from continental crust that has been through a cycle of continent-continent collision or an island-arc setting. A localized extension within an overall convergent scenario is interpreted for Sindreth and Punagarh volcanics. This general convergent setting is consistent with the previously proposed Andean-type continental margin for NW Indian block, the Seychelles and Madagascar, all of which lay either at the periphery of Rodinia supercontinent or slightly off the Supercontinent.

The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bosworth, William; Huchon, Philippe; McClay, Ken

2005-10-01

We here summarize the evolution of the greater Red Sea-Gulf of Aden rift system, which includes the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden marine basins and their continental margins, and the Afar region. Plume related basaltic trap volcanism began in Ethiopia, NE Sudan (Derudeb), and SW Yemen at ˜31 Ma, followed by rhyolitic volcanism at ˜30 Ma. Volcanism thereafter spread northward to Harrats Sirat, Hadan, Ishara-Khirsat, and Ar Rahat in western Saudi Arabia. This early magmatism occurred without significant extension, and continued to ˜25 Ma. Much of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region was at or near sea level at this time. Starting between ˜29.9 and 28.7 Ma, marine syn-tectonic sediments were deposited on continental crust in the central Gulf of Aden. At the same time the Horn of Africa became emergent. By ˜27.5-23.8 Ma a small rift basin was forming in the Eritrean Red Sea. At approximately the same time (˜25 Ma), extension and rifting commenced within Afar itself. At ˜24 Ma, a new phase of volcanism, principally basaltic dikes but also layered gabbro and granophyre bodies, appeared nearly synchronously throughout the entire Red Sea, from Afar and Yemen to northern Egypt. This second phase of magmatism was accompanied in the Red Sea by strong rift-normal extension and deposition of syn-tectonic sediments, mostly of marine and marginal marine affinity. Sedimentary facies were laterally heterogeneous, being comprised of inter-fingering siliciclastics, evaporite, and carbonate. Throughout the Red Sea, the principal phase of rift shoulder uplift and rapid syn-rift subsidence followed shortly thereafter at ˜20 Ma. Water depths increased dramatically and sedimentation changed to predominantly Globigerina-rich marl and deepwater limestone. Within a few million years of its initiation in the mid-Oligocene the Gulf of Aden continental rift linked the Owen fracture zone (oceanic crust) with the Afar plume. The principal driving force for extension was slab-pull beneath the Urumieh-Doktar arc on the north side of the narrowing Neotethys. Drag of Arabia by the northward-moving Indian plate across the partially locked northern Owen fracture zone and the position of the Carlsberg oceanic ridge probably also influenced the geometry of the Aden rift. The trigger for the onset of rifting, though, was the impingement of the Afar plume at ˜31 Ma. The Red Sea propagated away from the plume head, perpendicular to the extensional stresses then operating in Arabia, and arrived at the bend in the African-Levant margin, which itself may have been a stress concentration ripe for rifting. The local geometry of the early Red Sea rift was strongly influenced by pre-existing basement structures, and as a consequence followed a complex path from Afar to Suez. Each segment of the rift was initially an asymmetric half graben, with well-defined accommodation zones between sub-basins. In the Gulf of Aden, the positions of accommodation zones were strongly influenced by older Mesozoic rift basins. Early rift structures can be restored to their original contiguous geometries along both the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden conjugate margins. In both basins, present-day shorelines restore to a separation of 40-60 km along most of their lengths. The initial rift basins were 60-80 km in width. Oceanic spreading initiated on the Sheba Ridge east of the Alula-Fartaq fracture zone at ˜19-18 Ma. After stalling at this fracture zone, the ridge probably propagated west into the central Gulf of Aden by ˜16 Ma. This matches the observed termination of syn-tectonic deposition along the onshore Aden margins at approximately the same time. At ˜14 Ma, a transform boundary cut through Sinai and the Levant continental margin, linking the northern Red Sea with the Bitlis-Zagros convergence zone. This corresponded with collision of Arabia and Eurasia, which resulted in a new plate geometry with different boundary forces. Red Sea extension changed from rift normal (N60°E) to highly oblique and parallel to the Aqaba-Levant transform (N15°E). North of Suez in Egypt the rift system became emergent, perhaps due to minor compression of the Sinai sub-plate, and the marine connection to the Mediterranean Sea became restricted but not terminated. Red Sea sedimentation changed from predominantly open marine to evaporitic, although deep water persisted in many regions. A third phase of magmatism commenced, locally in Ethiopia but predominantly in western Saudi Arabia and extending north to Harrat Ash Shama and Jebel Druse in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. At ˜10 Ma, the Sheba Ridge rapidly propagated west over 400 km from the central Gulf of Aden to the Shukra al Sheik discontinuity. Oceanic spreading followed in the south-central Red Sea at ˜5 Ma. This corresponded in time to an important unconformity throughout the Red Sea basin and along the margins of the Gulf of Aden, coeval with the Messinian unconformity of the Mediterranean basin. A major phase of pull-apart basin development also occurred along the Aqaba-Levant transform. In the early Pliocene the influx of marine waters through Bab al Mandeb increased and Red Sea sedimentation thereafter returned to predominantly open marine conditions. By ˜3-2 Ma, oceanic spreading moved west of the Shukra al Sheik discontinuity, and the entire Gulf of Aden was an oceanic rift. During the last ˜1 My, the southern Red Sea plate boundary linked to the Aden spreading center through the Gulf of Zula, Danakil Depression, and Gulf of Tadjoura. Presently, the Red Sea spreading center appears to be propagating toward the northern Red Sea to link with the Aqaba-Levant transform. Alkali basaltic volcanism continues within the Younger Harrats of western Saudi Arabia and Yemen and offshore southern Red Sea islands. Most of the Arabian plate is now experiencing N-S upper crustal compression, whereas the maximum horizontal stress is oriented E-W in NE Africa. Arabia and Africa, now on separate plates, are therefore completely decoupled in terms of regional, far-field stresses.

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

Mascle, J.; Blarez, E.

The authors present a marine study of the eastern Ivory Coast-Ghana continental margins which they consider one of the most spectacular extinct transform margins. This margin has been created during Early-Lower Cretaceous time and has not been submitted to any major geodynamic reactivation since its fabric. Based on this example, they propose to consider during the evolution of the transform margin four main and successive stages. Shearing contact is first active between two probably thick continental crusts and then between progressively thinning continental crusts. This leads to the creation of specific geological structures such as pull-apart graben, elongated fault lineaments,more » major fault scarps, shear folds, and marginal ridges. After the final continental breakup, a hot center (the mid-oceanic ridge axis) is progressively drifting along the newly created margin. The contact between two lithospheres of different nature should necessarily induce, by thermal exchanges, vertical crustal readjustments. Finally, the transform margin remains directly adjacent to a hot but cooling oceanic lithosphere; its subsidence behavior should then progressively be comparable to the thermal subsidence of classic rifted margins.« less

Sediment movement and dispersal patterns on the Grand Banks continental shelf and slope were tied to the dynamics of the Laurentide ice-sheet margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rashid, H.; MacKillop, K.; Piper, D.; Vermooten, M.; Higgins, J.; Marche, B.; Langer, K.; Brockway, B.; Spicer, H. E.; Webb, M. D.; Fournier, E.

2015-12-01

The expansion and contraction of the late Pleistocene Laurentide ice-sheet (LIS) was the crucial determining factor for the geomorphic features and shelf and slope sediment mobility on the eastern Canadian continental margin, with abundant mass-transport deposits (MTDs) seaward of ice margins on the upper slope. Here, we report for the first time sediment failure and mass-transport deposits from the central Grand Banks slope in the Salar and Carson petroleum basins. High-resolution seismic profiles and multibeam bathymetry show numerous sediment failure scarps in 500-1600 m water depth. There is no evidence for an ice margin on the upper slope younger than MIS 6. Centimeter-scale X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), grain size, and oxygen isotope data from piston cores constrain sediment processes over the past 46 ka. Geotechnical measurements including Atterberg limit tests, vane shear measurements and triaxial and multi-stage isotropic consolidation tests allowed us to assess the instability on the continental margin. Cores with continuous undisturbed stratigraphy in contourite silty muds show normal downcore increase in bulk density and undrained peak shear strength. Heinrich (H) layers are identifiable by a marked increase in the bulk density, high Ca (ppm), increase in iceberg-rafted debris and lighter δ18O in the polar planktonic foram Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral): with a few C-14 dates they provide a robust chronology. There is no evidence for significant supply of sediment from the Grand Banks at the last-glacial maximum. Mass-transport deposits (MTD) are marked by variability in the bulk density, undrained shear strength and little variation in bulk density or Ca (ppm) values. The MTD are older than 46 ka on the central Grand Banks slope, whereas younger MTDs are present in southern Flemish Pass. Factor of safety calculations suggest the slope is statically stable up to gradients of 10°, but more intervals of silty mud may fail during earthquake-induced cyclic loading based on Atterberg tests. By analogy with the Holocene, contourites deposited in MIS 5e may be particularly silty and form a "weak layer" susceptible to failure.

Influence of the Iceland mantle plume on North Atlantic continental margins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, R. S.; Isimm Team

2003-04-01

Early Tertiary breakup of the North Atlantic was accompanied by widespread magmatism. The histories of the Iceland mantle plume, of rifting and of magmatism are intimately related. The magmatism provides a challenge both to imaging structure, and to modelling the subsidence and development of the continental margins. We report new work which integrates state-of-the-art seismic imaging and new acquisition on the Atlantic volcanic margins with new techniques for modelling their evolution. We discuss the distribution of igneous rocks along the North Atlantic margins and discuss the temporal and spatial variations in the Iceland mantle plume in the early Tertiary, which have largely controlled this pattern of magmatism. Igneous rocks are added to the crust on rifted margins as extrusive lavas, as sills intruded into the sub-surface and as lower crustal intrusions or underplate. Each provide different, but tractable problems to seismic imaging. We show that many of these difficulties can be surmounted by using very long offsets (long streamers or two-ship methods) with a broad-band, low-frequency source, and by using fixed ocean bottom receivers. We report results from surveys on the North Atlantic continental margins using these methods. Imaging results are shown from the recent FLARE project and from the iSIMM project, which recorded new seismic data recorded in summer 2002. The iSIMM project acquired two seismic surveys, using 85 4-component ocean bottom seismometers with long streamers for wide-angle data, and vertical arrays for far-field source signature recording. One survey crosses the Faroes Shelf and adjacent continental margin, and a second the Hatton-Rockall Basin, Hatton Bank and adjacent oceanic crust. The Faroes wide-angle profiles were overshot by WesternGeco's Topaz using three single-sensor, Q-Marine streamers, 12km plus two 4km. We designed deep-towed, broad-band low-frequency sources tuned to enhance the bubble pulses, with peak frequencies at 8-11 Hz. The OBS survey used a 14-gun, 6,300 cu. in. array towed at 20 m depth, and the Q-marine survey used a 48-gun, 10,170 cu. in. array, with shot-by-shot signature recording. They provided excellent arrivals to ranges beyond 120 km, with penetration through the basalts and well into the upper mantle. iSIMM investigators are R.S. White, N.J. Kusznir, P.A.F. Christie, A.M. Roberts, N. Hurst, Z.C. Lunnon, C.J. Parkin, A.W. Roberts, L.K. Smith, R. Spitzer , V. Tymms, A. Davies and A. Surendra, with funding from NERC, DTI, Agip UK, BP, Amerada Hess Ltd., Anadarko, Conoco, Phillips, Shell, Statoil, and WesternGeco