Frontal accretionary wedge structure from seismic reflection imaging in the Lesser Antilles, Guadeloupe-Antigua sector

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lianjun Li ◽  
Hélène Carton ◽  
Nathalie Feuillet ◽  
Gaëlle Bénâtre ◽  
Yaocen Pan
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Data ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Accretionary Wedge ◽  
Northern Flank ◽  
The North ◽  
Air Gun ◽  
Data Compilation ◽  
Splay Faults ◽  
The Time Domain

<p>The Lesser Antilles Subduction Zone (LASZ), forming the plate boundary between North and South American plates and the Caribbean plate, has not produced any recent large instrumentally recorded thrust earthquake. The 1843 earthquake event (~M<sub>w</sub> 8.5) located offshore Guadeloupe is possibly subduction thrust related. Previous studies in the north-central LASZ based on active source seismic data have examined the overall configuration of the forearc domain, especially the geometry of the backstop and effect of subducted oceanic ridges. However, the detailed architecture of the accretionary wedge is still poorly known, as are wedge structures like splay faults that may host slip during future megathrust ruptures. In this study, we use selected re-processed deep multichannel seismic (MCS) profiles from the SISMANTILLES surveys (2001, 2007) and higher-resolution MCS profiles from the CASEIS survey (2016) complemented by a bathymetric data compilation. Analysis of this combined dataset yields a more comprehensive characterization of the accretionary wedge offshore Guadeloupe and reveals features that had not been previously described in this area.</p><p>The time-domain seismic data processing sequences was performed on selected MCS profiles from the SISMANTILLES surveys (profiles H, I and K) to mitigate the strong background noises and the ringy effect from the single-bubble air-gun source. The reprocessed images clearly show the presence of arcward-dipping splay faults extending from décollement to the seafloor. The most prominent one roughly delineates a boundary between the more topographically elevated inner wedge and the less-elevated frontal domain of the accretionary wedge. We estimate an along-strike (N-S) extent of ~168 km for the identified splay faults, between 16°12′N and 17°21′N; their northward continuation is then disturbed by the subducting Barracuda Ridge. In the vicinity of the northern flank of the Barracuda Ridge, landward of the deformation front, we observe a duplex-type structure above the décollement. Its geometry is reminiscent of the initial stage of the development of underplating duplexes as observed in analog models. We suggest that the evolution of such underplating basal duplex may result from the increase in friction due to the subduction of Barracuda Ridge and the increase in sedimentary loading on its northern flank. This observation highlights the complex role played by the Barracuda Ridge on the shaping and deformation of the frontal prism.</p>

Evolution of Caribbean subduction from P-wave tomography and plate reconstruction

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Allen ◽  
Benedikt Braszus ◽  
Saskia Goes ◽  
Andreas Rietbrock ◽  
Jenny Collier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Ocean Bottom Seismometer ◽  
Equatorial Atlantic ◽  
The North ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Plate Reconstruction

<p>The Caribbean plate has a complex tectonic history, which makes it  particularly challenging to establish the evolution of the subduction zones at its margins. Here we present a new teleseismic P-wave tomographic model under the Antillean arc that benefits from ocean-bottom seismometer data collected in our recent VoiLA (Volatile Recycling in the Lesser Antilles) project. We combine this imagery with a new plate reconstruction that we use to predict possible slab positions in the mantle today. We find that upper mantle anomalies below the eastern Caribbean correspond to a stack of material that was subducted at different trenches at different times, but ended up in a similar part of the mantle due to the large northwestward motion of the Americas. This stack comprises: in the mantle transition zone, slab fragments that were subducted between 70 and 55 Ma below the Cuban and Aves segments of the Greater Arc of the Caribbean; at 450-250 km depth, material subducted between 55 and 35 Ma below the older Lesser Antilles (including the Limestone Caribees and Virgin Islands);  and above 250 km, slab from subduction between 30 and 0 Ma below the present Lesser Antilles to Hispaniola Arc. Subdued high velocity anomalies in the slab above 200 km depth coincide with where the boundary between the equatorial Atlantic and proto-Caribbean subducted, rather than as previously proposed, with the North-South American plate boundary. The different phases of subduction can be linked to changes in the age, and hence buoyancy structure, of the subducting plate.</p>

Evidence for Quaternary convergence across the North America–South America plate boundary zone, east of the Lesser Antilles

Geology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
pp. 979-982 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Patriat ◽  
T. Pichot ◽  
G.K. Westbrook ◽  
M. Umber ◽  
E. Deville ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
South America ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Boundary Zone ◽  
The North ◽  
America South ◽  
Plate Boundary Zone

scholarly journals Vertical tectonic motions in the Lesser Antilles: linking short- and long-term observations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elenora van Rijsingen ◽  
Eric Calais ◽  
Romain Jolivet ◽  
Jean-Bernard de Chabalier ◽  
Richard Robertson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Historical Earthquakes ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
Accretionary Wedge ◽  
South American ◽  
Slab Geometry ◽  
The North ◽  
Tectonic Erosion ◽  
Interseismic Coupling ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Gps Velocities

<p>Horizontal GPS velocities show that the Lesser Antilles subduction zone is currently experiencing low interseismic coupling, meaning that little to no elastic strain is building up as the North- and South American plates subduct beneath the Caribbean plate. However, geological data on Quaternary coral terraces and active micro-atolls in the central part of the arc reveal slow subsidence over the past 125,000 to 100 years, likely tectonic in origin. It has been proposed that coupling along the subduction interface could be responsible for this geological subsidence. We use forward elastic models with a realistic slab geometry to show that a locked subduction interface would actually produce uplift of the island arc, which contradicts these geological observations. We also show that vertical GPS data in the Lesser Antilles indicates a subsidence of 1-2 mm/yr of the entire arc. This short-term subsidence is in agreement with the ~100-year trend of 1.1 mm/yr subsidence derived from coral micro-atolls in eastern Martinique. Since locking of the subduction interface is inconsistent with this observed subsidence of the arc, we explore other mechanisms that could this observation, such as postseismic effects of historical earthquakes, slab retreat, tectonic erosion, accretionary wedge collapse or extension in the overriding plate. </p>

scholarly journals Thrust–wrench interference tectonics in the Gulf of Cadiz (Africa–Iberia plate boundary in the North-East Atlantic): Insights from analog models

2011 ◽  
Vol 289 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 135-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
João C. Duarte ◽  
Filipe M. Rosas ◽  
Pedro Terrinha ◽  
Marc-André Gutscher ◽  
Jacques Malavieille ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Gulf Of Cadiz ◽  
East Atlantic ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Gulf Of Cádiz ◽  
Analog Models

scholarly journals New seismological data from the Calabrian arc reveal arc-orthogonal extension across the subduction zone

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiziana Sgroi ◽  
Alina Polonia ◽  
Graziella Barberi ◽  
Andrea Billi ◽  
Luca Gasperini
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Displacement ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
Accretionary Wedge ◽  
Tectonic Structures ◽  
Plate Convergence ◽  
Seismogenic Layer ◽  
Regional Tectonic

AbstractThe Calabrian Arc subduction-rollback system along the convergent Africa/Eurasia plate boundary is among the most active geological structures in the Mediterranean Sea. However, its seismogenic behaviour is largely unknown, mostly due to the lack of seismological observations. We studied low-to-moderate magnitude earthquakes recorded by the seismic network onshore, integrated by data from a seafloor observatory (NEMO-SN1), to compute a lithospheric velocity model for the western Ionian Sea, and relocate seismic events along major tectonic structures. Spatial changes in the depth distribution of earthquakes highlight a major lithospheric boundary constituted by the Ionian Fault, which separates two sectors where thickness of the seismogenic layer varies over 40 km. This regional tectonic boundary represents the eastern limit of a domain characterized by thinner lithosphere, arc-orthogonal extension, and transtensional tectonic deformation. Occurrence of a few thrust-type earthquakes in the accretionary wedge may suggest a locked subduction interface in a complex tectonic setting, which involves the interplay between arc-orthogonal extension and plate convergence. We finally note that distribution of earthquakes and associated extensional deformation in the Messina Straits region could be explained by right-lateral displacement along the Ionian Fault. This observation could shed new light on proposed mechanisms for the 1908 Messina earthquake.

Stochastic inversion of pressure and saturation changes from time-lapse AVO data

Geophysics ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. C81-C92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helene Hafslund Veire ◽  
Hilde Grude Borgos ◽  
Martin Landrø
Keyword(s):  
Stochastic Model ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Synthetic Data ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Bayesian Framework ◽  
Reservoir Modeling ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The North ◽  
Fluid Saturation ◽  
Likelihood Model

Effects of pressure and fluid saturation can have the same degree of impact on seismic amplitudes and differential traveltimes in the reservoir interval; thus, they are often inseparable by analysis of a single stacked seismic data set. In such cases, time-lapse AVO analysis offers an opportunity to discriminate between the two effects. We quantify the uncertainty in estimations to utilize information about pressure- and saturation-related changes in reservoir modeling and simulation. One way of analyzing uncertainties is to formulate the problem in a Bayesian framework. Here, the solution of the problem will be represented by a probability density function (PDF), providing estimations of uncertainties as well as direct estimations of the properties. A stochastic model for estimation of pressure and saturation changes from time-lapse seismic AVO data is investigated within a Bayesian framework. Well-known rock physical relationships are used to set up a prior stochastic model. PP reflection coefficient differences are used to establish a likelihood model for linking reservoir variables and time-lapse seismic data. The methodology incorporates correlation between different variables of the model as well as spatial dependencies for each of the variables. In addition, information about possible bottlenecks causing large uncertainties in the estimations can be identified through sensitivity analysis of the system. The method has been tested on 1D synthetic data and on field time-lapse seismic AVO data from the Gullfaks Field in the North Sea.

Upper-plate structural controls on the segmentation of the Kefalonia Fault (Ionian Sea, Greece)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Skourtsos ◽  
Haralambos Kranis ◽  
Spyridon Mavroulis ◽  
Efthimios Lekkas
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Source Parameters ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Western Coast ◽  
African Plate ◽  
Plate Structure ◽  
The North ◽  
Macroseismic Effects ◽  
Spatio Temporal

<p>The NNE-SSW, right-lateral Kefalonia Transform Fault (KTF) marks the western termination of the subducting Hellenic slab, which is a part of the oceanic remnant of the African plate. The inception of the KTF, described as a STEP fault, is placed in the Pliocene. KTF is considered to be the most active earthquake source in the Eastern Mediterranean. During the last two decades, four significant earthquakes (M>6.0) have been associated with the KTF. These events are attributed to the reactivation of different segments of the KTF, which are (from North to South) the North Lefkada, South Lefkada, Fiskardo, Paliki and Zakynthos segments: the North Lefkada segment ruptured in the 2003 earthquake, the 2014 Kefalonia events are associated with the Paliki segment and the 2015 Lefkada earthquake with the South Lefkada (and possibly the Fiskardo) segments.</p><p>The upper plate structure in the islands of Lefkada and Kefalonia is characterized by the Ionian Unit, thrusted over the Paxi (or Pre-Apulian) Unit. The Ionian Thrust, which brings the Ionian over the Paxi Unit, is a main upper-plate NNW-SSE, NE-dipping structure. It runs through the island of Lefkada, to be mapped onshore again at the western coast of Ithaki and at SE Kefalonia. Two other major thrusts are mapped on this island: the Aenos thrust, which has a WNW-ESE strike at the southern part of the island and gradually curves towards NNW-SSE in the west and the Kalo Fault in the northern part. These Pliocene (and still active) structures developed during the late-most stages of thrusting in the Hellenides, strike obliquely to the KTF and appear to abut against it.</p><p>We suggest that these thrusts control not only the deformation within the upper plate, but also the earthquake segmentation of the KTF. This suggestion is corroborated by the spatio-temporal distribution and source parameters of the recent, well-documented earthquake events and by the macroseismic effects of these earthquakes. The abutment of the Ionian thrust against the KTF marks the southern termination of the Lefkada earthquake segment, which ruptured in the 2003 earthquake, while the Aenos, (or the Kalo) thrust mark the southern end of the Fiskardo segment. The spatial distribution of the Earthquake Environmental Effects related to the four significant events in the last 20 years displays a good correlation with our interpretation: most of the 2003 macroseismic effects are located in the northern part of Lefkada, which belongs to the upper block of the Ionian thrust; similarly, the effects of the 2014 earthquakes of Kefalonia are distributed mainly in the Paliki Peninsula and the southern part of the island that belong to the footwall of the Aenos thrust and the 2015 effects are found in SW Lefkada, which is part of the footwall of the Ionian thrust.</p><p>We suggest that correlation between upper-plate structure and plate boundary faulting can provide insights in the understanding of faulting pattern in convergent settings, therefore contributing to earthquake management plans.</p>

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