scholarly journals Integration of bedrock, seismic tomographic and plate kinematic constraints to test models of the India-Asia collision

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Parsons ◽  
Kasra Hosseini ◽  
Richard Palin ◽  
Karin Sigloch
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Kinematic Constraints ◽  
Neotethys Ocean ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
Test Models ◽  
Tethys Ocean ◽  
And Migration

<p>The India-Asia collision is one of the most well-studied orogenic events on Earth; it recorded the terminal stages of the central Tethys ocean basins and offers invaluable insight into the geological processes associated with continental collision. In this study, we integrate bedrock datasets, observations of subducted slabs in the mantle, and plate kinematic constraints, to constrain models for the India-Asia collision and the central Tethys oceans.</p><p>Previously proposed models for the India-Asia collision differ in terms of subduction zone configurations and paleogeographic reconstructions of Greater India, which represents to northern passive margin of India prior to collision. Five distinct subduction zone configurations have been proposed previously, which differ in the number of active trenches (one or two trenches) in the central Neotethys Ocean and differ in the respective timing, duration, location and migration of those trenches. Three distinct paleogeographic reconstructions of Greater India have been proposed previously, which differ in size and structure. Here, we consider the validity of these subduction zone configurations and Greater India reconstructions with respect to the bedrock record, plate kinematics and the deep mantle structure of subducted slabs beneath the Indian hemisphere.</p><p>Following the assumption that slabs sink vertically through the mantle, the positions and geometries of subducted slabs determined from seismic tomography constrain the locations and kinematics of paleo-subduction zones. Integrating this with bedrock constraints allows us to constrain post-Triassic subduction zone configurations for the central Tethys oceans. Our analysis demonstrates that the Neotethys Ocean was consumed by at least two subduction zones since the Jurassic. At the onset of the India-Asia collision at 59±1 Ma, one subduction zone was active along the southern Asian continental margin at ~20°N. At that time, a second may have been active at subequatorial latitudes, but support for this from a bedrock perspective is lacking. This subduction zone configuration allows for three reconstructions for Greater India: The (1) minimum-area; (2) enlarged-area; and (3) Greater India Basin reconstructions. We integrate these reconstructions and subduction zone configurations in a plate kinematic framework to test their validity for the India-Asia collision.</p><p>Our findings show that no single model is entirely satisfactory and each invokes assumptions that challenge accepted concepts. These include our understanding of suture zones, subduction-erosion processes, and the limits of continental subduction. We explore these challenges and their implications for our understanding of the India-Asia collision and continental collisions in general.</p>

Tectonic evolution of Paleo-Tethys in NE Iran

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Chu ◽  
Bo Wan ◽  
Mark B. Allen ◽  
Ling Chen ◽  
Wei Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Causal Mechanism ◽  
The South ◽  
Clastic Rocks ◽  
Tethys Ocean ◽  
Depositional Age ◽  
Detrital Zircon Ages ◽  
Ne Iran

<p><span>The timings of the onset of oceanic spreading, subduction and collision are crucial in plate tectonic reconstructions, but not always straightforward to resolve. The evolution of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean dominated the Paleozoic-Early Mesozoic tectonics of West Asia, but the timeline of events is still poorly-constrained. In this study we present detrital zircon ages from NE Iran, in order to determine the timing of tectonic events in the region, and the wider implications for regional tectonics, paleogeography and climate change. Paleozoic clastic rocks record two major age peaks at ~800 Ma and ~600 Ma. The consistency in age patterns shows a dominant provenance from the Neoproterozoic basement of northern Gondwana. We interpret deposition on a long-lasting passive continental margin after the initial spreading of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. Initial collision between the South Turan (Eurasia) and Central Iran (Gondwana) blocks caused coarse clastic deposition, the protolith of the Mashhad Phyllite, in a peripheral foreland basin on the Paleozoic passive margin. The Mashhad Phyllite yields major zircon age clusters at 450-250 Ma and 1900-1800 Ma, with a clear provenance from the active, Eurasian, margin. The Paleozoic ages reveal a long-lived subduction zone under the South Turan Block began in the latest Ordovician. Analysis of the age spectra allows us to constrain the timing of initial collision as no later than 228 Ma, which is also a constraint on the maximum depositional age of the Mashhad Phyllite. Based on our new results and previous data, we discuss the interaction between the Rheic and Paleo-Tethys oceans, and explain how a new subduction zone may have initiated after continental collision. The timing of collision is similar to the Carnian Pluvial Event (CPE). Paleo-Tethys collision has previously been suggested as the trigger for this climatic change, and our study provides timing evidence that reinforces Paleo-Tethys closure as a causal mechanism for the CPE.</span></p>

scholarly journals Lithosphere deformation due to tearing at STEPs: an analogue model approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taco Broerse ◽  
Ernst Willingshofer ◽  
Dimitrios Sokoutis ◽  
Rob Govers
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Ductile Deformation ◽  
Dislocation Creep ◽  
Analogue Model ◽  
Surface Steps ◽  
New Hebrides ◽  
Lithosphere Deformation ◽  
Stress Dependent

<p>Tearing of the lithosphere at the lateral end of a subduction zone is a consequence of ongoing subduction. The location of active lithospheric tearing is known as a Subduction-Transform-Edge-Propagator (STEP), and the tearing decouples the down going plate and the part of the plate that stays at the surface. STEPs can be found alongside many subduction zones, such as at the south Caribbean or the northern end of the Tonga trench. Here we investigate what controls the evolution and geometry of the lithospheric STEP. Furthermore we study the type of lithosphere deformation in the vicinity of STEPs.</p><p> </p><p>We study the ductile tearing in the process of STEP evolution by physical analogue models, which are dynamically driven by the buoyancy of the subducting slab. In our experiments, the lithosphere as well as asthenosphere are viscoelastic media in a free subduction setup. A stress-dependent rheology plays a major role in localization of strain in tearing processes of lithosphere such as slab break-off. Therefore we developed and tested analogue materials that can serve as mechanical analogues for the stress-dependent lithosphere rheology, such as has been inferred by rock laboratory test for dislocation creep of olivine.</p><p> </p><p>We show the influence of age and integrated strength of the lithosphere and its contrasts across the passive margin, on the timing, depth, and the degree of localization of the tearing process. When tearing of the lithosphere is dominated by ductile deformation, we find that gradual necking of the passive margin precedes tearing. In many of our models we find that tearing at the lateral ends of the subduction zones is resisted by the lithospheric strength, such that tearing is delayed with respect to rollback of the slab. This has consequences for the shape of the subduction zone, and for the separation between the subducted slab and the surface lithosphere. We study the type of deformation in the vicinity of the STEP of the lithosphere that stays at the surface, and relate this to deformation observed <span>beside STEP fault zones along the Hellenic slab, the Lesser Antilles slab, and the New Hebrides slab. </span></p>

scholarly journals Up the down escalator: the exhumation of (ultra)-high pressure terranes during on-going subduction

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 745-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Warren
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Continental Crust ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Crustal Material ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Ultra High Pressure ◽  
Tectonic Environment ◽  
Tectonic Style ◽  
Weak Material

Abstract. The exhumation of high and ultra-high pressure rocks is ubiquitous in Phanerozoic orogens created during continental collisions, and is common in many ocean-ocean and ocean-continent subduction zone environments. Three different tectonic environments have previously been reported, which exhume deeply buried material by different mechanisms and at different rates. However it is becoming increasingly clear that no single mechanism dominates in any particular tectonic environment, and the mechanism may change in time and space within the same subduction zone. In order for buoyant continental crust to subduct, it must remain attached to a stronger and denser substrate, but in order to exhume, it must detach (and therefore at least locally weaken) and be initially buoyant. Denser oceanic crust subducts more readily than more buoyant continental crust but exhumation must be assisted by entrainment within more buoyant and weak material such as serpentinite or driven by the exhumation of structurally lower continental crustal material. Weakening mechanisms responsible for the detachment of crust at depth include strain, hydration, melting, grain size reduction and the development of foliation. These may act locally or may act on the bulk of the subducted material. Metamorphic reactions, metastability and the composition of the subducted crust all affect buoyancy and overall strength. Subduction zones change in style both in time and space, and exhumation mechanisms change to reflect the tectonic style and overall force regime within the subduction zone. Exhumation events may be transient and occur only once in a particular subduction zone or orogen, or may be more continuous or occur multiple times.

The Heterogeneous Tethyan Oceanic Lithosphere of the Alpine Ophiolites

Elements ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Rampone ◽  
Alessio Sanfilippo
Keyword(s):  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Crustal Material ◽  
Crustal Accretion ◽  
Mantle Dynamics ◽  
Western Tethys ◽  
Mantle Peridotites ◽  
Slow Spreading ◽  
Tethys Ocean ◽  
Basaltic Crust

The Alpine–Apennine ophiolites are lithospheric remnants of the Jurassic Alpine Tethys Ocean. They predominantly consist of exhumed mantle peridotites with lesser gabbroic and basaltic crust and are locally associated with continental crustal material, indicating formation in an environment transitional from an ultra-slow-spreading seafloor to a hyperextended passive margin. These ophiolites represent a unique window into mantle dynamics and crustal accretion in an ultra-slow-spreading extensional environment. Old, pre-Alpine, lithosphere is locally preserved within the mantle sequences: these have been largely modified by reaction with migrating asthenospheric melts. These reactions were active in both the mantle and the crust and have played a key role in creating the heterogeneous oceanic lithosphere in this branch of the Mesozoic Western Tethys.

Magnetite (U-Th-Sm)/He dating: analytical challenges and application

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianna Corre ◽  
Martine Lanson ◽  
Arnaud Agranier ◽  
Stephane Schwartz ◽  
Fabrice Brunet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laser Ablation ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Major Elements ◽  
Western Alps ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Transform Faults ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Geochronological Constraints

<p>Magnetite (U-Th-Sm)/He dating method has a strong geodynamic significance, since it provides geochronological constraints on serpentinization episodes, which are associated to important geological processes such as ophiolite obductions, subduction zones, transform faults and fluid circulations. Although helium content that range from 0.1 pmol/g to 20 pmol/g can routinely be measured, the application of this dating technique however is still limited due to major analytical obstacles. The dissolution of a single magnetite crystal and the measurement of the U, Th and Sm present at the ppb level in the corresponding solution, remains highly challenging, especially because of the absence of magnetite standard. In order to overcome these analytical issues, two strategies have been followed, and tested on magnetite from high-pressure rocks from the Western Alps (Schwartz et al., 2020). Firstly, we purified U, Th and Sm (removing Fe and other major elements) using ion exchange columns in order to analyze samples, using smaller dilution. Secondly, we performed in-situ analyzes by laser-ablation-ICPMS. Since no solid magnetite certified standard is yet available, we synthetized our own by precipitating magnetite nanocrystals. The first quantitative results obtained by LA-ICP-MS using this synthetic material along with international glass standards, are promising. The laser-ablation technique overcomes the analytical difficulties related to sample dissolution and purification. It thus opens the path to the dating of magnetite (and also spinels) in various ultramafic rocks such as mantle xenoliths or serpentinized peridotites in ophiolites.</p><p>Schwartz S., Gautheron C., Ketcham R.A., Brunet F., Corre M., Agranier A., Pinna-Jamme R., Haurine F., Monvoin G., Riel N., 2020, Unraveling the exhumation history of high-press ure ophiolites using magnetite (U-Th-Sm)/He thermochronometry. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 543 (2020) 116359.</p>

scholarly journals Analysis of Stress Drop Variations in Fault and Subduction Zones of Maluku and Halmahera Earthquakes in 2019

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Rahmat Setyo Yuliatmoko ◽  
Telly Kurniawan
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Stress Drop ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Slip Rate ◽  
Disaster Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Reverse Fault ◽  
Nonlinear Inversion ◽  
Rock Structure ◽  
Geological Conditions

The amount of stress released by an earthquake can be calculated with a stress drop, the stress ratio before and after an earthquake where the stress accumulated in a fault or a subduction zone is immediately released during an earthquake. The purpose of this research is to calculate the amount of stress drop in faults and subduction in Maluku and Halmahera and their variations and relate them to the geological conditions in the area so that the tectonic characteristics in the area can be identified. This research employed mathematical analysis and the Nelder Mead Simplex nonlinear inversion methods. The results show that Maluku and Halmahera are the area with complex tectonic conditions and large earthquake impacts. The Maluku sea earthquake generated a stress drop of 0.81 MPa with a reverse fault mechanism in the zone of subduction, while for the Halmahera earthquake the stress drop value was 52.72 MPa, a typical strike-slip mechanism in the fault zone. It can be concluded that there is a difference in the stress drop between the subduction and fault zones; the stress drop in the fault was greater than that in the subduction zone due to different rock structure and faulting mechanisms as well as differences in the move slip rate that plays a role in the process of holding out the stress on a rock. This information is very important to know the amount of pressure released from the earthquake which has a very large impact as part of disaster mitigation measures.

Subduction zone heterogeneity observed across the magnitude spectrum for megathrust earthquakes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Bilek ◽  
Emily Morton
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Heterogeneity ◽  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Stress Drop ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Cascadia Subduction Zone ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Small Earthquake ◽  
Megathrust Earthquakes ◽  
Seismic Slip ◽  
Subduction Zone Earthquakes

<p>Observations from recent great subduction zone earthquakes highlight the influence of spatial geologic heterogeneity on overall rupture characteristics, such as areas of high co-seismic slip, and resulting tsunami generation.  Defining the relevant spatial heterogeneity is thus important to understanding potential hazards associated with the megathrust. The more frequent, smaller magnitude earthquakes that commonly occur in subduction zones are often used to help delineate the spatial heterogeneity.  Here we provide an overview of several subduction zones, including Costa Rica, Mexico, and Cascadia, highlighting connections between the small earthquake source characteristics and rupture behavior of larger earthquakes.  Estimates of small earthquake locations and stress drop are presented in each location, utilizing data from coastal and/or ocean bottom seismic stations.  These seismicity characteristics are then compared with other geologic and geophysical parameters, such as upper and lower plate characteristics, geodetic locking, and asperity locations from past large earthquakes.  For example, in the Cascadia subduction zone, we find clusters of small earthquakes located in regions of previous seamount subduction, with variations in earthquake stress drop reflecting potentially disrupted upper plate material deformed as a seamount passed.  Other variations in earthquake location and stress drop can be correlated with observed geodetic locking variations. </p>

scholarly journals Illuminating subduction zone rheological properties in the wake of a giant earthquake

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. eaax6720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan R. Weiss ◽  
Qiang Qiu ◽  
Sylvain Barbot ◽  
Tim J. Wright ◽  
James H. Foster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Surface Strain ◽  
Postseismic Deformation ◽  
Crust And Upper Mantle ◽  
Plate Convergence ◽  
Maule Earthquake ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dependent Viscosity

Deformation associated with plate convergence at subduction zones is accommodated by a complex system involving fault slip and viscoelastic flow. These processes have proven difficult to disentangle. The 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake occurred close to the Chilean coast within a dense network of continuously recording Global Positioning System stations, which provide a comprehensive history of surface strain. We use these data to assemble a detailed picture of a structurally controlled megathrust fault frictional patchwork and the three-dimensional rheological and time-dependent viscosity structure of the lower crust and upper mantle, all of which control the relative importance of afterslip and viscoelastic relaxation during postseismic deformation. These results enhance our understanding of subduction dynamics including the interplay of localized and distributed deformation during the subduction zone earthquake cycle.

scholarly journals Ophiolitic Pyroxenites Record Boninite Percolation in Subduction Zone Mantle

Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Le Roux ◽  
Yan Liang
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Mantle Wedge ◽  
Major Element ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Diffusion Modeling ◽  
Melt Infiltration ◽  
Melt Percolation ◽  
Back Arc ◽  
Parental Melts

The peridotite section of supra-subduction zone ophiolites is often crosscut by pyroxenite veins, reflecting the variety of melts that percolate through the mantle wedge, react, and eventually crystallize in the shallow lithospheric mantle. Understanding the nature of parental melts and the timing of formation of these pyroxenites provides unique constraints on melt infiltration processes that may occur in active subduction zones. This study deciphers the processes of orthopyroxenite and clinopyroxenite formation in the Josephine ophiolite (USA), using new trace and major element analyses of pyroxenite minerals, closure temperatures, elemental profiles, diffusion modeling, and equilibrium melt calculations. We show that multiple melt percolation events are required to explain the variable chemistry of peridotite-hosted pyroxenite veins, consistent with previous observations in the xenolith record. We argue that the Josephine ophiolite evolved in conditions intermediate between back-arc and sub-arc. Clinopyroxenites formed at an early stage of ophiolite formation from percolation of high-Ca boninites. Several million years later, and shortly before exhumation, orthopyroxenites formed through remelting of the Josephine harzburgites through percolation of ultra-depleted low-Ca boninites. Thus, we support the hypothesis that multiple types of boninites can be created at different stages of arc formation and that ophiolitic pyroxenites uniquely record the timing of boninite percolation in subduction zone mantle.

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