The Southern Atlas Front in Tunisia: Regional-Scale Geometry and Structural Evolution

A new regional scale SEEBASE® model has been produced for the intracratonic Canning Basin, located in the north of Western Australia. The 2017 Canning Basin SEEBASE model is more than an order of magnitude higher resolution than the 2005 OZ SEEBASE version — the average resolution is ~1 : 1 M scale with higher resolution in areas of shallow basement with 2D seismic coverage — such as the Broome Platform and Barbwire Terrace. Post-2005 acquisition of potential field, seismic and well data in the Canning Basin by the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA), Geoscience Australia and industry provided an excellent opportunity to upgrade the SEEBASE depth-to-basement model in 2017. The SEEBASE methodology focuses on a regional understanding of basement, using potential field data to interpret basement terranes, depth-to-basement (SEEBASE), regional structural geology and basement composition. The project involved extensive potential field processing and enhancement and compilation of a wide range of datasets. Integrated interpretation of the potential field data with seismic and well analysis has proven quite powerful and illustrates the strong basement control on the extent and location of basin elements. The project has reassessed the structural evolution of the basin, identified and mapped major structures and produced fault-event maps for key tectonic events. In addition, interpretative maps of basement terranes, depth-to-Moho, basement thickness, basement composition and total sediment thickness have been used to calculate a basin-wide map of basement-derived heat flow. The 2017 Canning Basin SEEBASE is the first public update of the widely used 2005 OZ SEEBASE. All the data and interpretations are available from the GSWA as a report and integrated ArcGIS project, which together provide an excellent summary of the key features within the Canning Basin that will aid hydrocarbon and mineral explorers in the region.

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Structural evolution of a major fault zone: the Cape Ray Fault Zone, southwestern Newfoundland, Canada

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e96-018 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 199-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Benoît Dubé ◽

Kathleen Lauzière

Keyword(s):

Fault Zone ◽

Large Scale ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Point Group ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Strain Partitioning ◽

Two Phase ◽

Detailed Structural Analysis ◽

Grand Bay ◽

Geodynamic Processes

The Cape Ray Fault Zone is a major Paleozoic structure in southwestern Newfoundland, and occurs at or close to the boundary between two major continental blocks, Laurentia and Avalonia. A detailed structural analysis demonstrates that the fault records early reverse-sinistral thrusting of the Grand Bay Complex at amphibolite grade (D2), followed by a protracted event (D3) characterized by reverse-dextral thrusting of the Grand Bay Complex rocks on top of the supracrustal rocks of the Windsor Point Group and retrogression to greenschist facies, as well as a pre-384 Ma orogen-parallel dextral transcurrent mylonite (D4) during the later stages of the collision. Regional-scale strain partitioning induced heterogeneity of strain both along and across the strike of the Cape Ray Fault Zone. The east–west-oriented segment of the Cape Ray Fault Zone is a tear fault that accommodated differential displacement along the length of the fault. Later stages of the deformation include post-384 Ma sinistral transcurrent reactivation of the dextral mylonite and extension. The reverse-sinistral thrusting and the reverse-dextral motion occurred between 415 and 386 Ma and correspond to the two-phase Acadian orogeny recognized at the scale of the orogen and believed to be related to collision between Laurentia and Avalonia. The Cape Ray Fault Zone preserves evidence of large-scale geodynamic processes affecting rocks where the kinematics and the timing are well constrained.

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The status of the Makrotantalon Unit (Andros, Greece) within the structural framework of the Attic-Cycladic Crystalline Belt

Geological Magazine ◽

10.1017/s0016756813000307 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 151 (3) ◽

pp. 430-446 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

MAGDALENA H. HUYSKENS ◽

MICHAEL BRÖCKER

Keyword(s):

Regional Differences ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Rock Types ◽

Structural Framework ◽

Facies Metamorphism ◽

The Status ◽

Isotopic Equilibration ◽

Tectonic Contact ◽

Isotope Systematics

AbstractThis study focuses on the status of the Makrotantalon Unit (Andros, Greece) within the framework of the Cycladic nappe stack. We document unambiguous evidence that this unit has experienced blueschist-facies metamorphism and identify previously unknown lawsonite ± pumpellyite assemblages in glaucophane-free metasediments. The position of the presumed tectonic contact at the base of this unit is vague, but roughly outlined by serpentinites. Only a single outcrop displays a weak angular unconformity with cohesive cataclasites in the footwall. Rb–Sr geochronology was carried out on 11 samples representing various rock types collected within or close to inferred or visible fault zones. Owing to a lack of initial isotopic equilibration and/or subsequent disturbance of the Rb–Sr isotope systematics, isochron relationships are poorly developed or non-existing. In NW Andros, direct dating of distinct displacement events has not been possible, but a lower age limit of ~ 40 Ma for final thrusting is constrained by the new data. Sporadically preserved Cretaceous ages either indicate regional differences in the P–T–d history or a different duration of metamorphic overprinting, which failed to completely eliminate inherited ages. The detachment on the NE coast records a later stage of the structural evolution and accommodates extension-related deformation. Apparent ages of ~ 29–25 Ma for samples from this location are interpreted to constrain the time of a significant deformation increment. On a regional scale, the Makrotantalon Unit can be correlated with the South Evia Blueschist Belt, but assignment to a specific subunit is as yet unconfirmed.

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Orogen parallel and transverse shearing in the Opatica belt, Quebec: implications for the structure of the Abitibi Subprovince

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e92-191 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 29 (11) ◽

pp. 2429-2444 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Keith Benn ◽

Edward W. Sawyer ◽

Jean-Luc Bouchez

Keyword(s):

Greenstone Belt ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Fault Zones ◽

Crustal Thickening ◽

Superior Province ◽

Northern Margin ◽

Abitibi Greenstone Belt ◽

Ductile Shearing ◽

Abitibi Subprovince

The late Archean Opatica granitoid-gneiss belt is situated within the northern Abitibi Subprovince, along the northern margin of the Abitibi greenstone belt. Approximately 200 km of structural section was mapped along three traverses within the previously unstudied Opatica belt. The earliest preserved structures are penetrative foliations and stretching and mineral lineations recording regional ductile shearing (D1). Late-D1 deformation was concentrated into kilometre-scale ductile fault zones, typically with L > S tectonite fabrics. Two families of lineations are associated with D1, indicating shearing both parallel and transverse to the east-northeast trend of the belt. Lineations trending east-northeast or northwest–southeast tend to be dominant within domains separated by major fault zones. In light of the abundant evidence for early north–south compression documented throughout southern Superior Province, including the Abitibi greenstone belt, D1 is interpreted in terms of mid-crustal thrusting, probably resulting in considerable crustal thickening. Movement-sense indicators suggest that thrusting was dominantly southward vergent. D2 deformation resulted in the development of vertical, regional-scale dextral and sinistral transcurrent fault zones and open to tight upright horizontal folds of D1 fabrics. In the context of late Archean orogenesis in southern Superior Province, the tectonic histories of the Abitibi and Opatica belts should not be considered separately. The Opatica belt may correlate with the present-day mid-crustal levels of the Abitibi greenstone belt, and to crystalline complexes within the Abitibi belt. It is suggested that the Abitibi Subprovince should be viewed, at the regional scale, as a dominantly southward-vergent orogenic belt. This work demonstrates that structural study of granitoid-gneiss belts adjacent to greenstone belts can shed considerable light on the regional structure and structural evolution of late Archean terranes.

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Geometrical similarity in successively developed folds and sheath folds in the basement rocks of the northwestern Indian Shield

Geological Magazine ◽

10.1017/s0016756810000610 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 148 (1) ◽

pp. 171-182 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

DEEPAK C. SRIVASTAVA

Keyword(s):

Shear Zone ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Advanced Stage ◽

Indian Shield ◽

Hinge Line ◽

Bulk Strain ◽

Geometrical Similarity ◽

Ductile Shearing ◽

Deformed Lineation

AbstractAn intensely deformed gneiss–migmatite terrane and a relatively undeformed granulite–granitoid terrane constitute the bulk of Precambrian basement in the northwestern Indian Shield. This article traces the structural evolution in the gneiss–migmatite terrane, where traditional methods of structural analysis are difficult to apply, and shows how successively developed folds can assume identical geometry and orientation at an advanced stage of progressive ductile shearing. The gneiss–migmatite terrane exemplifies a regional-scale ductile shear zone that preserves the history of polyphase folding and sheath folding. Geometrical similarity between individual/domain-scale sheath folds and mesoscopic/regional-scale folds implies that sheath folding is common at all scales in the gneiss–migmatite terrane. As the mylonite foliation that traces successive folds is curviplanar, the successively initiated hinge lines were curvilinear from their inception in the shear zone. At the advanced stage of ductile shearing, the hinge line curvatures were accentuated due to their rotation towards subvertically directed maximum stretching (X), and variably oriented fold axial planes were brought into approximate parallelism with the upright principal plane (XY) of the bulk strain ellipsoid. Eventually all the folds, irrespective of their relative order of development, became strongly non-cylindrical, extremely tight, isoclinal and approximately co-planar with respect to each other. It is due to the above geometrical modifications during ductile shearing that folds, irrespective of their order of development, now appear identical with respect to isoclinal geometry, axial plane orientation and hinge line curvilinearity. Evidence from the fold orientations, the deformed lineation patterns and the sheath fold geometry suggest that the shearing occurred in a general shear type of bulk strain, and NNW–SSE-directed subhorizontal compression resulted in subvertically directed stretching in the gneiss–migmatite terrane.

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Structural evolution, metamorphism and melting in the Greater Himalayan Sequence in central-western Nepal

Geological Society London Special Publications ◽

10.1144/sp483.3 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 483 (1) ◽

pp. 305-323 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Rodolfo Carosi ◽

Chiara Montomoli ◽

Salvatore Iaccarino ◽

Dario Visonà

Keyword(s):

Hanging Wall ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Shear Zones ◽

Geological Mapping ◽

Eastern Himalaya ◽

Main Central Thrust ◽

Tectonic Model ◽

Time Deformation ◽

Greater Himalayan Sequence

AbstractJoining geological mapping, structural analysis, petrology and geochronology allowed the internal architecture of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) to be unraveled. Several top-to-the-south/SW tectonic–metamorphic discontinuities developed at the regional scale, dividing it into three main units exhumed progressively from the upper to the lower one, starting from c. 40 Ma and lasting for several million years. The activity of shear zones has been constrained and linked to the pressure–temperature–time–deformation (P–T–t–D) evolution of the deformed rocks by the use of petrochronology. Hanging wall and footwall rocks of the shear zones recorded maximum P–T conditions at different times. Above the Main Central Thrust, a cryptic tectonometamorphic discontinuity (the High Himalayan Discontinuity (HHD)) has been recognized in Central-Eastern Himalaya.The older shear zone, that was active at c. 41–28 Ma, triggered the earlier exhumation of the uppermost GHS and allowed the migration of melt, which was produced at peak metamorphic conditions and subsequently produced in abundance at the time of the activation of the HHD. Production of melt continued at low pressure, with nearly isobaric heating leading to the genesis and emplacement of andalusite- and cordierite-bearing granites.The timing of the activation of the shear zones from deeper to upper structural levels fits with an in-sequence shearing tectonic model for the exhumation of the GHS, further affected by out-of-sequence thrusts.

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Polyphase evolution of a crustal-scale shear zone during progressive exhumation from ductile to brittle behaviour: a case study from Calabria, Italy

Solid Earth Discussions ◽

10.5194/sed-7-909-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 909-955

Author(s):

E. Fazio ◽

G. Ortolano ◽

R. Cirrincione ◽

A. Pezzino ◽

R. Visalli

Keyword(s):

Shear Zone ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Structural Features ◽

Normal Faults ◽

Field Variation ◽

Axis Orientation ◽

Progressive Development ◽

Deformational History ◽

Scale Shear

Abstract. Mylonitic rocks involved within a polyphase crustal-scale shear zone, cropping out in the Aspromonte Massif (Calabria, Italy), has been investigated to reveal the meso- and micro-structural evolution (from ductile- to brittle-type deformation) occurred during exhumation trajectory. A relatively small area (about 4 km2) has been selected in the central-eastern part of the massif to constrain the sequence of the structural features from the earliest ones (Hercynian in age), almost totally obliterated by a pervasive mylonitic foliation (plastic regime), up to recent ones, consisting of various sets of veins typical of semibrittle to brittle regime. The former ductile evolution was followed by a compressive thin-skinned thrusting stage developed during the Apennine phase of the Alpine Orogeny, interested by a second brittle stage, consistent with the switching from compressive to extensional tectonics. This last stage accompanied the final exhumation process causing the activation of regional scale normal faults, which partly disarticulated previous mylonitic microstructures. A suite of oriented specimens were collected and analyzed to complete the deformational history already recognized in the field. Quartz c axis orientation patterns confirm the greenschist facies conditions of the former ductile exhumation stage with a dominant top-to-NE sense of shear. Microstructural investigations highlighted the progressive development from plastic- to brittle-type structures, allowing to constrain each step of the multistage exhumation history, and to establish the relative timing of the stress field variation causing thrusting and subsequent normal faulting. Obtained results support a continue compressional exhumation of this sector since the opening of Tyrrhenian basin (10 Ma).

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Large-scale flat-lying mafic intrusions in the granitic Baltica crust of central Sweden and implications for basement deformation during Caledonian orogeny

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6121 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rodolphe Lescoutre ◽

Bjarne Almqvist ◽

Hemin Koyi ◽

Olivier Galland ◽

Peter Hedin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Shear Zones ◽

Mafic Intrusions ◽

Scandinavian Caledonides ◽

Caledonian Orogeny ◽

Crustal Shear Zones ◽

Structural Architecture ◽

Basement Deformation

The role of inheritance in localizing basement deformation in the foreland has been demonstrated in orogens in different parts of the world. In the external domain of the central Scandinavian Caledonides, questions remain about the amount and the distribution of deformation accommodated by the Baltica basement during Caledonian orogeny. However, to answer these questions, it is necessary to understand the architecture of the Baltica crust underneath the Caledonian nappes and to determine the occurrence of potential detachment horizons or inherited structures that accommodated the shortening.In this work, we study the lithological and structural architecture of the Baltica basement in central Sweden, east and west of the present-day Caledonian front. The aim is twofold: 1) identifying the main geological features of the Fennoscandian Shield and their regional extent underneath the Caledonian nappes to the west, and 2) to address their role in accommodating deformation during Caledonian orogeny.The study area is characterized by mainly ~1.8 Ga granitic bodies intruded by various generations of mafic intrusions and locally bounded by major crustal shear zones. On the one hand, based on seismic interpretations, magnetic and gravimetry forward modeling and mapping, and results from the recently drilled COSC-2 borehole (as part of the Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC) drilling project), we show that the basement underlying the Caledonian nappes is characterized by inclined to sub-horizontal mafic intrusions with large extent, emplaced at mid-crustal level. We propose that these intrusions are similar in size, geometry, and potentially age, to the 1.25 Ga Central Scandinavian Dolerite Group (CSDG) that are mapped as 100&#8217;s km long elliptic bodies or described as saucer-shaped intrusions further east. On the other hand, based on observations from COSC-2 drill cores and previous studies, analogue modelling and 2D seismic restoration, we propose that favorably oriented intrusions influenced, at least partly, crustal shortening in this area by localizing deformation along their margins. At a regional scale, we discuss the distribution of thick-skinned and thin-skinned deformation at the present-day orogenic front. On a broader scale, this study raises the question regarding the influence of pre-existing mafic intrusions in controlling the structural evolution and the segmentation of orogenic or rift systems in general.

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Evaluating the segmented post-rift stratigraphic architecture of the Guyanas continental margin

Petroleum Geoscience ◽

10.1144/petgeo2020-099 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. petgeo2020-099

Author(s):

Max Casson ◽

Jason Jeremiah ◽

Gérôme Calvès ◽

Frédéric de Ville de Goyet ◽

Kyle Reuber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Continental Margin ◽

Carbonate Platform ◽

Organic Geochemistry ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Equatorial Atlantic ◽

Content Type ◽

Stratigraphic Framework ◽

Sedimentary Architecture ◽

Supplementary Material

Segmentation of the Guyanas continental margin of South America is inherited from the dual-phase Mesozoic rifting history controlling the first-order post-rift sedimentary architecture. The margin is divided into two segments by a transform marginal plateau (TMP), the Demerara Rise, into the Central and Equatorial Atlantic domains. This paper investigates the heterogeneities in the post-rift sedimentary systems at a mega-regional scale (>1000 km). Re-sampling seven key exploration wells and scientific boreholes provides new data (189 analysed samples) that have been used to build a high-resolution stratigraphic framework using multiple biostratigraphic techniques integrated with organic geochemistry to refine the timing of 10 key stratigraphic surfaces and three megasequences. The results have been used to calibrate the interpretation of a margin-scale two-dimensional seismic reflection dataset and build megasequence isochore maps, structural restorations and gross depositional environment maps at key time intervals of the margin evolution.Our findings revise the dating of the basal succession drilled by the A2-1 well, indicating that the oldest post-rift sequence penetrated along the margin is late Tithonian age (previously Callovian). Early Central Atlantic carbonate platform sediments passively infilled subcircular-shaped basement topography controlled by underlying basement structure of thinned continental crust. Barremian-Aptian rifting in the Equatorial Atlantic folding and thrusting the Demerara Rise resulting in major uplift, gravitational margin collapse, transpressional structures, and peneplanation of up to 1 km of sediment capped by the regional angular base Albian unconformity. Equatorial Atlantic rifting led to margin segmentation and the formation of the TMP, where two major unconformities developed during the intra Late Albian and base Cenomanian. These two unconformities are time synchronous with oceanic crust accretion offshore French Guiana and in the Demerara-Guinea transform, respectively. A marine connection between the Central and Equatorial Atlantic is demonstrated by middle Late Albian times, coinciding with deposition of the organic-rich source rock of the Canje Formation) (average TOC 4.21 %). The succession is variably truncated by the middle Campanian unconformity. Refining the stratigraphic framework within the context of the structural evolution and segmentation of the Guyanas margin impacts the understanding of key petroleum system elements.Supplementary material:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5280490

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Microstructure and reactivity of small metal particles: The role of Ce additives

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100121995 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 318-319

Author(s):

L.D. Schmidt ◽

K. R. Krause ◽

J. M. Schwartz ◽

X. Chu

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Pressure ◽

Noble Metals ◽

Mixed Oxides ◽

Catalytic Properties ◽

Chemical Shifts ◽

Catalytic Converter ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Single Particles ◽

Small Metal Particles

The evolution of microstructures of 10- to 100-Å diameter particles of Rh and Pt on SiO2 and Al2O3 following treatment in reducing, oxidizing, and reacting conditions have been characterized by TEM. We are able to transfer particles repeatedly between microscope and a reactor furnace so that the structural evolution of single particles can be examined following treatments in gases at atmospheric pressure. We are especially interested in the role of Ce additives on noble metals such as Pt and Rh. These systems are crucial in the automotive catalytic converter, and rare earths can significantly modify catalytic properties in many reactions. In particular, we are concerned with the oxidation state of Ce and its role in formation of mixed oxides with metals or with the support. For this we employ EELS in TEM, a technique uniquely suited to detect chemical shifts with ∼30Å resolution.

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