The Extended Continental Crust West of Islas Marías (Mexico)

The crustal structure around the Islas Marías Archipelago has been debated for a long time. An important unresolved question is where the Rivera-North American plate subduction ends and the Tamayo fracture zone begins, from SE to NW. Results from the TsuJal project have shed light on the northwesternmost part of the Jalisco block structure. It is now clear that Sierra de Cleofas and the Islas Marías Escarpment comprise the northwestern continuation of the Middle America trench. However, other questions remain. In this paper, we present the structure of the shallow and deep crust and the upper mantle of the Islas Marías western region through the integration of multichannel seismic reflection, wide-angle seismic bathymetric and seismicity data, including records of an amphibious seismic network, OBS, and portable seismic stations, purposely deployed for this project, providing an onshore-offshore transect of 310 km length. Our findings disclose new evidence of the complex structure of the Rivera plate that dips 8°–9° underneath the NW Jalisco block as revealed by two seismic profiles parallel to the Islas Marías Escarpment. Moreover, we find five sedimentary basins and active normal faults at the edges of tectonic structures of the E-W oriented West Ranges and the N-S trending Sierra de Cleofas. Furthermore, the Sierra de Cleofas is the beginning of the active subduction of the Rivera plate beneath North America. The oceanic crust thickens and submerges towards the south while is coupled with the continental crust, from 6 km at the northern ends of the seismic profiles to 15 km in the contact region and 24 km at the coast and southern ends of them. The continental Moho was not fully characterized because of the geometry of the seismic transects, but a low-velocity layer associated with Rivera Plate subduction was observed beneath the Jalisco Block. Our results constrain the complexity of the area and reveal new structural features from the oceanic to continental crust and will be pivotal to assess geohazards in this area.

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ANTASed – An Updated Sediment Model for Antarctica

Frontiers in Earth Science ◽

10.3389/feart.2021.722699 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

A. Baranov ◽

A. Morelli ◽

A. Chuvaev

Keyword(s):

Complex Structure ◽

Sediment Accumulation ◽

Sedimentary Basins ◽

East Antarctica ◽

Magnetic Data ◽

Crustal Extension ◽

West Antarctica ◽

Tectonic Structures ◽

Dronning Maud Land ◽

Sediment Model

We compile existing seismic, gravity, radar and magnetic data, together with the subglacial bedrock relief from the BEDMACHINE project, to build the most detailed sediment model for Antarctica. We interpolate these data according to a tectonic map of Antarctica using a statistical kriging method. Our results reveal significant sediment accumulation in Antarctica with several types of sedimentary basins: parts of the Beacon Supergroup and more recent rifting basins. The basement relief closely resembles major geological and tectonic structures. The thickness of sediments has significant variations around the continent, and depends on the degree of crustal extension. West Antarctica has wide sedimentary basins: the Ross basin (thickness 2–6 km), the Filchner-Ronne basin (2–12 km) with continuations into East Antarctica, the Bentley Subglacial Trench and the Byrd basin (2–4 km). The deepest Filchner-Ronne basin has a complex structure with multi-layered sediments. East Antarctica is characterized by vast sedimentary basins such as the Pensacola-Pole (1–2 km), Coats Land (1–3 km), Dronning Maud Land (1–2 km), Vostok (2–7 km), Aurora (1–3 km), Astrolabe (2–4 km), Adventure (2–4 km), and Wilkes (1–4 km) basins, along with narrow deep rifts filled by sediments: JutulStraumen (1–2 km), Lambert (2–5 km), Scott, Denman, Vanderford and Totten (2–4 km) rifts. The average thickness of sediments for the whole continent is about 0.77 km. The new model, ANTASed, represents a significant improvement over CRUST 1.0 for Antarctica, and reveals new sedimentary basins. Differences between ANTASed and CRUST 1.0 reach +12/−3 km.

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Multichannel Seismic Imaging of the Rivera Plate Subduction at the Seismogenic Jalisco Block Area (Western Mexican Margin)

Pure and Applied Geophysics ◽

10.1007/s00024-016-1331-y ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 173 (10-11) ◽

pp. 3575-3594 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Rafael Bartolome ◽

Estefanía Górriz ◽

Juanjo Dañobeitia ◽

Diego Cordoba ◽

David Martí ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seismic Imaging ◽

Jalisco Block ◽

Block Area ◽

Rivera Plate ◽

Plate Subduction

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Crustal Structure Across the Northern Region of the Islas Marías Archipelago

Frontiers in Earth Science ◽

10.3389/feart.2021.682206 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Luis Alfredo Madrigal ◽

Diana Núñez ◽

Felipe de Jesús Escalona-Alcázar ◽

Francisco Javier Núñez-Cornú

Keyword(s):

Crustal Structure ◽

North American ◽

Gulf Of California ◽

Deep Structure ◽

Sedimentary Basins ◽

Northern Region ◽

North American Plate ◽

Study Region ◽

The North ◽

Rivera Plate

The tectonic interaction between the Rivera and North American plates north of the Bahía de Banderas is poorly understood. The nature of the crust and where the subduction ends in the western part of the Islas Marias Archipelago are still controversial. Based on new geophysical data provided by the TsuJal project, we present the shallow and deep crustal structure of the Rivera–North American plate contact zone along two seismic transects, TS09b and RTSIM01b, and the bathymetry obtained across the northern region of María Madre Island. Detailed bathymetric analysis allowed mapping of a series of lineaments along the study region, with two main preferred tendencies (020–050° and 290–320°) associated with the evolution of the Pacific-Rivera rise and the transform faults of the Gulf of California, respectively. The shallow structure is characterized by five sedimentary basins without deformation, whose horizons are subparallel, suggesting that the sediment deposition occurred after the extension process ended. The deep structure corresponds to a transition between oceanic crust (Rivera Plate), with an average thickness of ∼10 km to the Islas Marías Escarpment, and a thinned continental crust, whose thickness increases toward the continent until it reaches 28 km, with a dip angle of 7–10°. The absence of an accretionary prism suggests that the subduction process of the Rivera Plate beneath the North American Plate to the north of Islas Marías has ceased. In this study, we determined that the morphological expression of the northern limit of the Rivera Plate corresponds to the Islas Marías Escarpment.

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Multichannel Seismic Imaging of the Rivera Plate Subduction at the Seismogenic Jalisco Block Area (Western Mexican Margin)

Pageoph Topical Volumes - Geodynamics of the Latin American Pacific Margin ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-51529-8_19 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 3575-3594

Author(s):

Rafael Bartolome ◽

Estefanía Górriz ◽

Juanjo Dañobeitia ◽

Diego Cordoba ◽

David Martí ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seismic Imaging ◽

Jalisco Block ◽

Block Area ◽

Rivera Plate ◽

Plate Subduction

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Formation of Sedimentary Basins of Graben Type by Extension of the Continental Crust

Developments in Geotectonics - Sedimentary Basins of Continental Margins and Cratons ◽

10.1016/b978-0-444-41549-3.50009-8 ◽

1976 ◽

pp. 77-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M.H.P. BOTT

Keyword(s):

Continental Crust ◽

Sedimentary Basins

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French and Belgian Uplands

The Physical Geography of Western Europe ◽

10.1093/oso/9780199277759.003.0022 ◽

2005 ◽

Author(s):

Bernard Etlicher

Keyword(s):

Continental Crust ◽

Rift Valley ◽

Sedimentary Basins ◽

Shear Zones ◽

Metamorphic Complex ◽

French Massif Central ◽

Massif Central ◽

Montagne Noire ◽

Oceanic And Continental Crust ◽

Moderate Elevation

The French Uplands were built by the Hercynian orogenesis. The French Massif Central occupies one-sixth of the area of France and shows various landscapes. It is the highest upland, 1,886 m at the Sancy, and the most complex. The Vosges massif is a small massif, quite similar to the Schwarzwald in Germany, from which it is separated by the Rhine Rift Valley. Near the border of France, Belgium, and Germany, the Ardennes upland has a very moderate elevation. The largest part of this massif lies in Belgium. Though Brittany is partly made up of igneous and metamorphic rocks, it cannot be truly considered as an upland; in the main parts of Brittany, altitudes are lower than in the Parisian basin. Similarities of the landscape in the French and Belgian Uplands derive from two major events: the Oligocene rifting event and the Alpine tectonic phase. The Vosges and the Massif Central are located on the collision zone of the Variscan orogen. In contrast, the Ardennes is in a marginal position where primary sediments cover the igneous basement. Four main periods are defined during the Hercynian orogenesis (Bard et al. 1980; Autran 1984; Ledru et al. 1989; Faure et al. 1997). The early Variscan period corresponds to a subduction of oceanic and continental crust and a highpressure metamorphism (450–400 Ma) The medio- Variscan period corresponds to a continent–continent collision of the chain (400–340 Ma). Metamorphism under middle pressure conditions took place and controlled the formation of many granite plutons: e.g. red granites (granites rouges), porphyroid granite, and granodiorite incorporated in a metamorphic complex basement of various rocks. The neo-Variscan period (340–320 Ma) is characterized by a strong folding event: transcurrent shear zones affected the units of the previous periods and the first sedimentary basins appeared. At the end of this period, late-Variscan (330–280 Ma), autochthonous granites crystallized under low-pressure conditions related to a post-collision thinning of the crust. Velay and Montagne Noire granites are the main massifs generated by this event. Sediment deposition in tectonic basins during Carboniferous and Permian times occurred in the Massif Central and the Vosges: facies are sandstone (Vosges), shale, coal, and sandstone in several Stephanian basins of the Massif Central, with red shale and clay ‘Rougier’ in the south-western part of the Massif Central.

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Nitrogen isotopes in thermal fluids of a forearc region (Jalisco Block, Mexico): Evidence for heavy nitrogen from continental crust

Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems ◽

10.1029/2004gc000767 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 5 (12) ◽

pp. n/a-n/a ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

S. Inguaggiato ◽

Y. Taran ◽

F. Grassa ◽

G. Capasso ◽

R. Favara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Continental Crust ◽

Nitrogen Isotopes ◽

Jalisco Block ◽

Thermal Fluids ◽

Heavy Nitrogen ◽

Forearc Region

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Extensional Messinian basins in the Central Mediterranean (Calabria, Italy): new stratigraphic and tectonic insights

Oil & Gas Science and Technology – Revue d’IFP Energies nouvelles ◽

10.2516/ogst/2018040 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 73 ◽

pp. 45 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alfonsa Milia ◽

Maurizio M. Torrente

Keyword(s):

Water Environment ◽

Sedimentary Basins ◽

Normal Faults ◽

Seismic Profiles ◽

Rift Basins ◽

Central Mediterranean ◽

Tectonic Events ◽

Basin Subsidence ◽

Basement Deformation ◽

Two Stages

The direction of extension and the architecture of the Messinian basins of the Central Mediterranean region is a controversial issue. By combining original stratigraphic analysis of wells and seismic profiles collected offshore and onshore Calabria, we reassess the tectonic evolution that controlled the sedimentation and basement deformation during Messinian times. Three main deep sedimentary basins in the Calabria area record a Messinian succession formed by two clays/shales-dominated subunits subdivided by a halite-dominated subunit. The correlation with the worldwide recognized stratigraphic features permit to define the chronology of the stratigraphic and tectonic events. Three main rift basins that opened in a N-S direction have been recognized. On the contrary a fourth supradetachment basin opened toward the East. We found that the basin subsidence was controlled by two stages of activity of normal faults and that Messinian rift basins evolve in a deep-water environment. The overall pattern of extensional faults of the Central Mediterranean corresponds to normal faults striking parallel to the trench and normal faults striking at an oblique angle to the trench (Fig. 14). In particular in Campania and Calabria regions are present two rifts parallel to trench and an intervening rift orthogonal to the trench. We maintain that the recognized Messinian rift basins can be interpreted according to the “Double-door saloon tectonics”.

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Full-fit reconstruction of the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay

Solid Earth Discussions ◽

10.5194/sed-5-917-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 917-962 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

M. Hosseinpour ◽

R. D. Müller ◽

S. E. Williams ◽

J. M. Whittaker

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Continental Crust ◽

Seafloor Spreading ◽

Labrador Sea ◽

Gravity Inversion ◽

Seismic Profiles ◽

Baffin Bay ◽

Davis Strait ◽

Break Up ◽

Magnetic Lineations

Abstract. Reconstructing the opening of the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay between Greenland and North America remains controversial. Recent seismic data suggest that magnetic lineations along the margins of the Labrador Sea, originally interpreted as seafloor spreading anomalies, may lie within the crust of the continent–ocean transition. These data also suggest a more seaward extent of continental crust within the Greenland margin near the Davis Strait than assumed in previous full-fit reconstructions. Our study focuses on reconstructing the full-fit configuration of Greenland and North America using an approach that considers continental deformation in a quantitative manner. We use gravity inversion to map crustal thickness across the conjugate margins, and assimilate observations from available seismic profiles and potential field data to constrain the likely extent of different crustal types. We derive end-member continental margin restorations following alternative interpretations of published seismic profiles. The boundaries between continental and oceanic crust (COB) are restored to their pre-stretching locations along small circle motion paths across the region of Cretaceous extension. Restored COBs are fitted quantitatively to compute alternative total-fit reconstructions. A preferred full-fit model is chosen based on the strongest compatibility with geological and geophysical data. Our preferred model suggests that (i) the COB lies oceanward of magnetic lineations interpreted as magnetic anomaly 31 (70 Ma) in the Labrador Sea, (ii) all previously identified magnetic lineations landward of anomaly 27 reflect intrusions into continental crust, and (iii) the Ungava fault zone in Davis Strait acted as a leaky transform fault during rifting. This robust plate reconstruction reduces gaps and overlaps in the Davis Strait and suggests that there is no need for alternative models proposed for reconstructions of this area including additional plate boundaries in North America or Greenland. Our favored model implies that break up and formation of continent–ocean transition (COT) first started in the southern Labrador Sea and Davis Strait around 88 Ma and then propagated north and southwards up to onset of real seafloor spreading at 63 Ma in the Labrador Sea. In the Baffin Bay, continental stretching lasted longer and actual break up and seafloor spreading started around 61 Ma (Chron 26).

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3D structures and sedimentary infill across the continent-ocean transition of the northern South China Sea: constraint by the drilling results from IODP Expeditions 367, 368 and 368X

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-378 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Chao Lei ◽

Jianye Ren ◽

Geoffroy Mohn ◽

Michael Nirrengarten ◽

Xiong Pang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South China Sea ◽

Continental Crust ◽

Oceanic Crust ◽

South China ◽

Lower Boundary ◽

Seismic Survey ◽

High Angle ◽

Seismic Profiles ◽

Continental Breakup ◽

China Sea

Apart from the Iberia-Newfoundland margins, the South China Sea (SCS) represents &#160;another passive margin where continent-ocean transition basement was sampled by deep drilling. Drilling data from IODP Expedition 367-368 and 368X combined with seismic profiles revealed a narrow continent-ocean transition (COT) between the Distal High sampled at Site U1501 and the Ridge B sampled at Site U1500. Results suggested that major Eocene lithospheric thinning triggered Mid-Ocean Ridge type melt production which emplaced within hyperextended continental crust leading eventually to continental breakup. &#160;Because of available dense seismic survey consisting of deep-penetrated seismic data imaging as deep as 12 s TWT, as well as drilling results from IODP Expeditions 367-368 and 368X, the COT in the northern SCS enables us to investigate the 3D propagation of continental breakup and the interactions between tectonic extension and magmatism. The top of acoustic basement can be consistently interpreted through all of our seismic survey and reveal various types of reliefs and nature from hyperextended continental crust to oceanic crust. In the basement, deep-penetrated seismic profiles present series of densely sub-parallel high-amplitude reflections that occurred within the lower crust. The lower boundary of these reflections is often characterized by double continual and high reflections interpreted as the Moho. Across the COT, the basement structure is characterized by: 1) Series of tilted blocks bounded by high angle faults on the Distal High and filled by syn-tectonic sedimentary wedges, 2) Rounded mounds of the basement with chaotic seismic reflection and sedimentary onlaps on these structures, 3) Series of ridges delimited by high-angle normal faults with no sedimentary wedge on the first oceanic crust.Based on the detail stratigraphic framework constraint by drilling results from IODP Expeditions, the nature and timing of formation of these basement highs can be investigated. Some of these highs are limited by extensional faults while the nature of mounded structures located on the thinnest continental crust remain mysterious. &#160;Our detailed analyses emphasize the occurrence and local control of syn-rift magmatism in order to build such structures. At larger scale, the hyperextended continental crust is characterized by significant 3D morphological variations both observed on dip and strike profiles. In contrast, the initial oceanic crust is characterized by a more homogenous structure and consistently juxtaposed to continental crust over a sharp and narrow zone.&#160;

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