The Composition of Groundwater in the Continental Crystalline Crust

abstract To determine a crustal model for the southwest side of the San Andreas fault, six large quarry blasts near Salinas, California, were recorded at 27 seismographic stations in the region around Salinas, and along a line northwest of the quarry toward San Francisco. Data from these explosions are compared with results of explosion-seismic studies carried out by the U.S. Geological Survey on a profile along the coast of California from San Francisco to Camp Roberts. The velocity of Pg, the P wave refracted through the crystalline crust, in the Salinas region is 6.2 km/sec and the velocity of Pn is about 8.0 km/sec. Velocities of the direct P wave in near-sur-face rocks vary from one place to another, and appear to correlate well with gross geologic features. The thickness of the crust in the region southwest of the San Andreas fault from Salinas to San Francisco is about 22 kilometers.

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Seismic tomographic interpretation of Paleozoic sedimentary sequences in the southeastern North Sea

Geophysics ◽

10.1190/1.1996908 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 70 (4) ◽

pp. R45-R56 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Lars Nielsen ◽

Hans Thybo ◽

Martin Glendrup

Keyword(s):

North Sea ◽

Velocity Structure ◽

Seismic Velocity ◽

P Wave ◽

Wide Angle ◽

North German Basin ◽

Sedimentary Sequences ◽

The North ◽

Crystalline Crust ◽

German Basin

Seismic wide-angle data were recorded to more than 300-km offset from powerful airgun sources during the MONA LISA experiments in 1993 and 1995 to determine the seismic-velocity structure of the crust and uppermost mantle along three lines in the southeastern North Sea with a total length of 850 km. We use the first arrivals observed out to an offset of 90 km to obtain high-resolution models of the velocity structure of the sedimentary layers and the upper part of the crystalline crust. Seismic tomographic traveltime inversion reveals 2–8-km-thick Paleozoic sedimentary sequences with P-wave velocities of 4.5–5.2 km/s. These sedimentary rocks are situated below a Mesozoic-Cenozoic sequence with variable thickness: ∼2–3 km on the basement highs, ∼2–4 km in the Horn Graben and the North German Basin, and ∼6–7 km in the Central Graben. The thicknesses of the Paleozoic sedimentary sequences are ∼3–5 km in the Central Graben, more than 4 km in the Horn Graben, up to ∼4 km on the basement highs, and up to 8 km in the North German Basin. The Paleozoic strata are clearly separated from the shallower and younger sequences with velocities of ∼1.8–3.8 km/s and the deeper crystalline crust with velocities of more than 5.8–6.0 km/s in the tomographic P-wave velocity model. Resolution tests show that the existence of the Paleozoic sediments is well constrained by the data. Hence, our wide-angle seismic models document the presence of Paleozoic sediments throughout the southeastern North Sea, both in the graben structures and in deep basins on the basement highs.

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The impact of earthquakes on fluids in the crust

Annals of Geophysics ◽

10.4401/ag-4147 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 37 (6) ◽

Author(s):

G. C. P. King ◽

R. M. Wood

Keyword(s):

Water Discharge ◽

Normal Fault ◽

Reverse Fault ◽

Crustal Rocks ◽

Decay Times ◽

Crystalline Crust ◽

Chemical Behaviour ◽

Deformation Models ◽

Fault Displacement ◽

The Impact

The character of the hydrological changes that follow major earthquakes has been investigated and found to be critically dependent on the style of fault displacement. In areas where fracture-flow in the crystalline crust communicates uninterrupted with the surface the most significant response is found to accompany major normal fault earthquakes. Increases in spring and river discharges peak a few days after the earthquake and typically excess flow is sustained for a period of 4 12 months. Rainfall equivalent discharges, have been found to ceed 100 mm close to the fault and remain above 10 mm at distances greater than 50 km. The total volume of water released in two M 7 normal fault earthquakes in the Western U.S.A. was 0.3-0.5 km3. In contrast, hydroIogical changes accompanying reverse fault earthquakes are either undetected or else involve falls in well-levels and spring-flows. The magnitude and distribution of the water-discharge for these events is compared with deformation models calibrated from seismic and geodetic information, and found to correlate with the crustal volume strain down to a depth of at least 5 km. Such relatively rapid drainage is only possible if the fluid was formerly contained in high aspect ratio fissures interconnected throughout much of the seismogenic upper crust. The rise and decay times of the discharge are shown to be critically dependent on crack widths, for which the «characteristic» or dominant cracks cannot be wider than 0.03 mm. These results suggest that fluid-filled cracks are ubiquitous throughout the brittle continental crust, and that these cracks open and close through the earthquake cycle. Seismohydraulic fluid flows have major implications for our understanding of the mechanical and chemical behaviour of crustal rocks, of the tectonic controls of fluid flow associated with petroleum migration, hydrothermal mineralisation and a significant hazard for underground waste disposal.

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Time-lapse Seismics in Crystalline Crust – Lessons Learned at the Continental Deep Drilling Site – KTB

72nd EAGE Conference and Exhibition incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2010 ◽

10.3997/2214-4609.201401187 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

S. Buske ◽

T. Beilecke ◽

K. Bram

Keyword(s):

Time Lapse ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Deep Drilling ◽

Crystalline Crust ◽

Drilling Site ◽

Continental Deep Drilling

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3-D crustal density model of the Sea of Marmara

Solid Earth ◽

10.5194/se-10-785-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 785-807 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ershad Gholamrezaie ◽

Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth ◽

Judith Bott ◽

Oliver Heidbach ◽

Manfred R. Strecker

Keyword(s):

Seismic Hazard ◽

Seismic Hazard Assessment ◽

Average Density ◽

High Density ◽

Gravity Modeling ◽

Sea Of Marmara ◽

Gravity Observation ◽

Marine Gravity ◽

Northwestern Turkey ◽

Crystalline Crust

Abstract. The Sea of Marmara, in northwestern Turkey, is a transition zone where the dextral North Anatolian Fault zone (NAFZ) propagates westward from the Anatolian Plate to the Aegean Sea Plate. The area is of interest in the context of seismic hazard of Istanbul, a metropolitan area with about 15 million inhabitants. Geophysical observations indicate that the crust is heterogeneous beneath the Marmara basin, but a detailed characterization of the crustal heterogeneities is still missing. To assess if and how crustal heterogeneities are related to the NAFZ segmentation below the Sea of Marmara, we develop new crustal-scale 3-D density models which integrate geological and seismological data and that are additionally constrained by 3-D gravity modeling. For the latter, we use two different gravity datasets including global satellite data and local marine gravity observation. Considering the two different datasets and the general non-uniqueness in potential field modeling, we suggest three possible “end-member” solutions that are all consistent with the observed gravity field and illustrate the spectrum of possible solutions. These models indicate that the observed gravitational anomalies originate from significant density heterogeneities within the crust. Two layers of sediments, one syn-kinematic and one pre-kinematic with respect to the Sea of Marmara formation are underlain by a heterogeneous crystalline crust. A felsic upper crystalline crust (average density of 2720 kg m−3) and an intermediate to mafic lower crystalline crust (average density of 2890 kg m−3) appear to be cross-cut by two large, dome-shaped mafic high-density bodies (density of 2890 to 3150 kg m−3) of considerable thickness above a rather uniform lithospheric mantle (3300 kg m−3). The spatial correlation between two major bends of the main Marmara fault and the location of the high-density bodies suggests that the distribution of lithological heterogeneities within the crust controls the rheological behavior along the NAFZ and, consequently, maybe influences fault segmentation and thus the seismic hazard assessment in the region.

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Crustal domains in the Western Barents Sea

Geophysical Journal International ◽

10.1093/gji/ggaa112 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 221 (3) ◽

pp. 2155-2169

Author(s):

Alexey Shulgin ◽

Jan Inge Faleide ◽

Rolf Mjelde ◽

Asbjørn Breivik ◽

Ritske Huismans

Keyword(s):

Seismic Reflection ◽

Barents Sea ◽

The Body ◽

Gravity Modelling ◽

Southern Boundary ◽

Mafic Intrusions ◽

Crustal Block ◽

The Barents Sea ◽

Crystalline Crust ◽

Regional Gravity

SUMMARY The crustal architecture of the Barents Sea is still enigmatic due to complex evolution during the Timanian and Caledonian orogeny events, further complicated by several rifting episodes. In this study we present the new results on the crustal structure of the Caledonian–Timanian transition zone in the western Barents. We extend the work of Aarseth et al. (2017), by utilizing the seismic tomography approach to model Vp, Vs and Vp/Vs ratio, combined with the reprocessed seismic reflection line, and further complemented with gravity modelling. Based on our models we document in 3-D the position of the Caledonian nappes in the western Barents Sea. We find that the Caledonian domain is characterized by high crustal reflectivity, caused by strong deformation and/or emplacement of mafic intrusions within the crystalline crust. The Timanian domain shows semi-transparent crust with little internal reflectivity, suggesting less deformation. We find, that the eastern branch of the earlier proposed Caledonian suture, cannot be associated with the Caledonian event, but can rather be a relict from the Timanian terrane assemblance, marking one of the crustal microblocks. This crustal block may have an E–W striking southern boundary, along which the Caledonian nappes were offset. A high-velocity/density crustal body, adjacent to the Caledonian–Timanian contact zone, is interpreted as a zone of metamorphosed rocks based on the comparison with global compilations. The orientation of this body correlates with regional gravity maxima zone. Two scenarios for the origin of the body are proposed: mafic emplacement during the Timanian assembly, or massive mafic intrusions associated with the Devonian extension.

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The Medicine Hat Block and the Early Paleoproterozoic Assembly of Western Laurentia

Geosciences ◽

10.3390/geosciences10070271 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 271

Author(s):

Jennifer N. Gifford ◽

Shawn J. Malone ◽

Paul A. Mueller

Keyword(s):

Ocean Basin ◽

Geochemical Data ◽

Drill Core ◽

Tectonic Zone ◽

Aggregation Model ◽

Wyoming Craton ◽

Crystalline Crust ◽

Wyoming Province ◽

Crustal Xenoliths ◽

Complex Block

The accretion of the Wyoming, Hearne, and Superior Provinces to form the Archean core of western Laurentia occurred rapidly in the Paleoproterozoic. Missing from Hoffman’s (1988) original rapid aggregation model was the Medicine Hat block (MHB). The MHB is a structurally distinct, complex block of Precambrian crystalline crust located between the Archean Wyoming Craton and the Archean Hearne Province and overlain by an extensive Phanerozoic cover. It is distinguished on the basis of geophysical evidence and limited geochemical data from crustal xenoliths and drill core. New U-Pb ages and Lu-Hf data from zircons reveal protolith crystallization ages from 2.50 to 3.28 Ga, magmatism/metamorphism at 1.76 to 1.81 Ga, and εHfT values from −23.3 to 8.5 in the Archean and Proterozoic rocks of the MHB. These data suggest that the MHB played a pivotal role in the complex assembly of western Laurentia in the Paleoproterozoic as a conjugate or extension to the Montana Metasedimentary Terrane (MMT) of the northwestern Wyoming Province. This MMT–MHB connection likely existed in the Mesoarchean, but it was broken sometime during the earliest Paleoproterozoic with the formation and closure of a small ocean basin. Closure of the ocean led to formation of the Little Belt arc along the southern margin of the MHB beginning at approximately 1.9 Ga. The MHB and MMT re-joined at this time as they amalgamated into the supercontinent Laurentia during the Great Falls orogeny (1.7–1.9 Ga), which formed the Great Falls tectonic zone (GFTZ). The GFTZ developed in the same timeframe as the better-known Trans-Hudson orogen to the east that marks the merger of the Wyoming, Hearne, and Superior Provinces, which along with the MHB, formed the Archean core of western Laurentia.

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Crustal Density Model of the Sea of Marmara: Geophysical Data Integration and 3D Gravity Modelling

10.5194/se-2018-113 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Ershad Gholamrezaie ◽

Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth ◽

Judith Sippel ◽

Oliver Heidbach ◽

Manfred R. Strecker

Keyword(s):

Rheological Behaviour ◽

Average Density ◽

High Density ◽

Density Model ◽

Marmara Sea ◽

Sea Of Marmara ◽

Gravity Modelling ◽

Crystalline Crust ◽

3D Gravity ◽

Crustal Density

Abstract. The Sea of Marmara, in Northwest Turkey, is a transition zone where the dextral North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) propagates westward from the Anatolian plate to the Aegean plate. The area is of interest in the context of seismic hazard in the vicinity of Istanbul, a metropolitan area with about 15 million inhabitants. Geophysical observations indicate that the crust is heterogeneous beneath the Marmara Basin, but a detailed characterization of the crustal heterogeneities is still missing. To assess if and how crustal heterogeneities are related to the NAFZ segmentation below the Marmara Sea, we develop a new crustal-scale 3D density model which integrates geological and seismological data and is additionally constrained by 3D gravity modelling. This model indicates that the observed gravitational anomalies originate from significant density heterogeneities within the crust. Two layers of sediments, one syn-kinematic and one pre-kinematic with respect to the Marmara Sea formation are underlain by a heterogeneous crystalline crust. A felsic upper crystalline crust (average density of 2720 kg m−3) and an intermediate to mafic lower crystalline crust (average density of 2890 kg m−3) appear to be crosscut by two large, dome-shaped mafic high-density bodies (average density of 3050 kg m−3) of considerable thickness above a rather uniform lithospheric mantle (3300 kg m−3). The spatial correlation between the bent segments of the fault and the location of the high-density bodies suggests that the distribution of lithological heterogeneities within the crust controls the rheological behaviour along the NAFZ, and consequently, influences fault segmentation and propagation dynamics.

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