scholarly journals Seismic wide-angle constrains on the structure of the northern Sicily margin and Vavilov Basin: implications for the opening of the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Grevemeyer ◽  
Cesar Ranero ◽  
Nevio Zitellini ◽  
Valenit Sallares ◽  
Manel Prada
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Seismic Profile ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Wide Angle ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
The North ◽  
Back Arc

<p>The Tyrrhenian Sea in the central Mediterranean Sea was form by Neogene slab roll-back of the retreating Ionian slab about 6 to 2 Myr ago. Yet, little is known about the structure of its southern margin off Sicily as well as back-arc extension and spreading in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea to the north of Sicily. The Sicilian margin is generally classified as a passive margin bounding a young back-arc basin. However, focal mechanisms from regional earthquakes suggest that the margins suffers presently from compressional tectonics. New seismic refraction and wide-angle data were collected along seismic profile WAS4 during the CHIANTI survey of the Spanish research vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa in 2015. The profile runs from the centre of the Tyrrhenian Sea – the Vavilov Basin – across the margin of Sicily, approaching the Gulf of Castellammare to the northwest of Sicily. Reanalyzed multi-channel seismic data supports compressional tectonics across a small basin paralleling the coastline of Sicily, revealing recent inversion of the Tyrrhenian Basin. Offshore of Sicily WAS4 indicates a roughly 120-140 km wide domain showing seismic P-wave velocities characteristic for continental crust (Vp ~4-6.7 km/s) and a base of crust defined by a wide-angle Moho reflection. Continental crust reaches a maximum thickness of 22 km to the north of the Gulf of Castellammare and is thinning to ~9 km to the north of the Ustica Ridge. The compressional belt occurs in continental crust to the south of Ustica Ridge. In the Vavilov Basin, a lithosphere was sample where seismic P-wave velocity increases from approx. 3-4 km/s to 7.5 km/s. This velocity depth-distribution clearly shows profound similarities to serpentinized mantle and hence un-roofed mantle. Thus, seismic constrains support results from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) hole 651A, which sample serpentinized peridotites in the Vavilov Basin. The transition between serpentinized mantle and continental crust is rather abrupt. Thus, within a ~10 km wide transitional domain, continental crust with a thickness of~ 9 km is juxtaposed against un-roofed mantle. All available data from the Tyrrhenian Sea support wide-spread mantle exhumation in the Vavilov Basin. Therefore, the Tyrrhenian Sea provides a rather different structure when compared to marginal basins in the Western Pacific and hence may not have supported a mid-ocean ridge-type spreading system opening the basin.</p>

scholarly journals Deep crustal structure across a young passive margin from wide-angle and reflection seismic data (The SARDINIA Experiment) – I. Gulf of Lion’s margin

2015 ◽  
Vol 186 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 309-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryline Moulin ◽  
Frauke Klingelhoefer ◽  
Alexandra Afilhado ◽  
Daniel Aslanian ◽  
Philippe Schnurle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
Deep Structure ◽  
Lower Layer ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Wide Angle ◽  
Seismic Velocities ◽  
Gulf Of Lion ◽  
Conjugate Margins ◽  
Domain I

Abstract The conjugate margins system of the Gulf of Lion and West Sardinia (GLWS) represents a unique natural laboratory for addressing fundamental questions about rifting due to its landlocked situation, its youth, its thick sedimentary layers, including prominent palaeo-marker such as the MSC event, and the amount of available data and multidisciplinary studies. The main goals of the SARDINIA experiment, were to (i) investigate the deep structure of the entire system within the two conjugate margins: the Gulf of Lion and West Sardinia, (ii) characterize the nature of the crust, and (iii) define the geometry of the basin and provide important constrains on its genesis. This paper presents the results of P-wave velocity modelling on three coincident near-vertical reflection multi-channel seismic (MCS) and wide-angle seismic profiles acquired in the Gulf of Lion, to a depth of 35 km. A companion paper [part II – Afilhado et al., 2015] addresses the results of two other SARDINIA profiles located on the oriental conjugate West Sardinian margin. Forward wide-angle modelling of both data sets confirms that the margin is characterised by three distinct domains following the onshore unthinned, 33 km-thick continental crust domain: Domain I is bounded by two necking zones, where the crust thins respectively from ~30 to 20 and from 20 to 7 km over a width of about 170 km; the outermost necking is imprinted by the well-known T-reflector at its crustal base; Domain II is characterised by a 7 km-thick crust with « anomalous » velocities ranging from 6 to 7.5 km/s; it represents the transition between the thinned continental crust (Domain I) and a very thin (only 4–5 km) “atypical” oceanic crust (Domain III). In Domain II, the hypothesis of the presence of exhumed mantle is falsified by our results: this domain may likely consist of a thin exhumed lower continental crust overlying a heterogeneous, intruded lower layer. Moreover, despite the difference in their magnetic signatures, Domains II and III present the very similar seismic velocities profiles, and we discuss the possibility of a connection between these two different domains.

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

Geophysics ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. R45-R56 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Application of seismic tomography for detecting structural faults in a Tertiary Formation

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 18008
Author(s):  
Víctor A. Rinaldi ◽  
Horacio V. Ibarra ◽  
Ricardo F. Viguera ◽  
Juan C. Harasimiuk
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Tomography ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Soil Formation ◽  
Seismic Profile ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Geotechnical Parameters ◽  
Tomographic Images ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
Good Agreement

Seismic refraction technique is an increasingly useful geophysical tool for geotechnical studies in civil engineering work including the mapping of different soil formation of subsoil and detection of the bed rock. Additionally, wave velocity is a key parameter which correlates directly with significant geotechnical parameters of soils and rocks. Today, the evolution of the measurement technique in the field and the data processing allows to obtain tomographic images which increases its potential for applications to evaluate structuration of rock mass. This work describes the basic principles of seismic tomography and a case history of an application in civil works used to detect hidden faults in the sedimentary Gatun formation at the north of Panama. The correlation between the seismic profile and geologic profile obtained from boreholes showed very good agreement. Subsequent directed boreholes performed at the site confirmed the position and nature of the faults detected.

The ophiolites of the Tibetan Geotraverses, Lhasa to Golmud (1985) and Lhasa to Kathmandu (1986)

1988 ◽  
Vol 327 (1594) ◽  
pp. 215-238 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Jinsha River ◽  
Geochemical Composition ◽  
The North ◽  
Kunlun Mountains ◽  
Slow Spreading ◽  
Back Arc

Ophiolite belts are found in Tibet along the Zangbo, Banggong and Jinsha River Sutures and in the Anyemaqen mountains, the eastern extension of the Kunlun mountains. Where studied, the Zangbo Suture ophiolites are characterized by: apparently thin crustal sequences (3-3.5 k m ); an abundance of sills and dykes throughout the crustal and uppermost mantle sequences; common intraoceanic melanges and unconformities; and an N-MORB petrological and geochemical composition. The ophiolites probably formed within the main neo-Tethyan ocean and the unusual features may be due to proximity to ridge-transform intersections, rather than to genesis at very slow -spreading ridges as the current consensus suggests. The Banggong Suture ophiolites have a supra-subduction zone petrological and geochemical composition — although at least one locality in the Ado Massif shows MORB characteristics. However, it is also apparent that the dykes and lavas show a regional chemical zonation, from boninites and primitive island arc tholeiites in the south of the ophiolite belt, through normal island arc tholeiites in the central belt to island arc tholeiites transitional to N-MORB in the north. The ophiolites could represent fragments of a fore-arc, island arc, back-arc complex developed above a Jurassic, northward-dipping subduction zone and emplaced in several stages during convergence of the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes. The ophiolites of the Jinsha River Suture have a N-MORB composition where analysed, but more information is needed for a proper characterization. The Anyemaqen ophiolites, where studied, have a within-plate tholeiite composition and may have originated at a passive margin: it is not, however, certain whether true oceanic lithosphere, as opposed to strongly attenuated continental lithosphere, existed in this region.

Are Wilson Cycles preserved in Archean cratons? A comparison of the North China and Slave cratons

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy M. Kusky ◽  
Xiaoyong Li ◽  
Zhensheng Wang ◽  
Jianmin Fu ◽  
Luo Ze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North China Craton ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
North China ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
The North ◽  
Tectonic History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pacific Slab ◽  
Arc Setting ◽  
Back Arc

A review and comparison of the tectonic history of the North China and Slave cratons reveal that the two cratons have many similarities and some significant differences. The similarities rest in the conclusion that both cratons have a history of a Wilson Cycle, having experienced rifting of an old continent in the late Archean, development of a rift to passive margin sequence, collision of this passive margin with arcs within 100–200 Ma of the formation of the passive margin, reversal of subduction polarity, then eventual climactic collision with another arc terrane, microcontinental fragment, or continent. This cycle demonstrates the operation of Paleozoic-style plate tectonics in the late Archean. The main differences lie in the later tectonic evolution. The Slave’s post-cratonization history is dominated by subduction dipping away from the interior of the craton, and later incorporation into the interior of a larger continent, whereas the North China Craton has had a long history of subduction beneath the craton, including presently being located above the flat-lying Pacific slab resting in the mantle transition zone, placing it in a broad back-arc setting, with multiple mantle hydration events and collisions along its borders. The hydration enhances melting in the overlying mantle, and leads to melts migrating upwards to thermochemically erode the lithospheric root. This major difference may explain why the relatively small Slave craton preserves its thick Archean lithospheric root, whereas the eastern North China Craton has lost it.

scholarly journals High-temperature metamorphism during extreme thinning of the continental crust: a reappraisal of the north Pyrenean paleo-passive margin

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 797-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Clerc ◽  
A. Lahfid ◽  
P. Monié ◽  
Y. Lagabrielle ◽  
C. Chopin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Continental Crust ◽  
Thermal Gradient ◽  
Carbonaceous Material ◽  
Thermal Anomaly ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Ductile Deformation ◽  
The North ◽  
Crustal Thinning ◽  
Mountain Belts

Abstract. An increasing number of field examples in mountain belts show that the formation of passive margins during extreme continent thinning may occur under conditions of high to very high thermal gradient beneath a thin cover of syn-rift sediments. Orogenic belts resulting from the tectonic inversion of distal margins and regions of exhumed continental mantle may exhibit high-temperature, low-pressure (HT-LP) metamorphism and coeval syn-extensional, ductile deformation. Recent studies have shown that the northern flank of the Pyrenean belt, especially the North Pyrenean Zone, is one of the best examples of such inverted hot, passive margin. In this study, we provide a map of HT-LP metamorphism based on a dataset of more than one hundred peak-temperature estimates obtained using Raman spectroscopy of the carbonaceous material (RSCM). This dataset is completed by previous PT estimates based on mineral assemblages, and new Ar–Ar (amphibole, micas) and U–Pb (titanite) ages from metamorphic and magmatic rocks of the North Pyrenean Zone. The implications on the geological evolution of the Cretaceous Pyrenean paleomargins are discussed. Ages range mainly from 110 to 90 Ma and no westward or eastward propagation of the metamorphism and magmatism can be clearly identified. In contrast, the new data reveal a progressive propagation of the thermal anomaly from the base to the surface of the continental crust. Focusing on the key-localities of the Mauléon Basin, Arguenos-Moncaup, Lherz, Boucheville and the Bas-Agly, we analyse the thermal conditions prevailing during the Cretaceous crustal thinning. The results are synthetized into a series of three regional thematic maps, and into two detailed maps of the Arguenos-Moncaup and Lherz areas. The results indicate a first-order control of the thermal gradient by the intensity of crustal thinning. The highest grades of metamorphism are intimately associated with the areas where subcontinental mantle rocks have been unroofed or exhumed.

scholarly journals Structure and evolution of the Jan Mayen Microcontinent

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Dannowski ◽  
Michael Schnabel ◽  
Udo Barckhausen ◽  
Dieter Franke ◽  
Martin Thorwart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Seismic Velocity ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Magnetic Anomalies ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Total Width ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
The North

<p>The Jan Mayen Ridge (JMR) is a 150-km-long and 10–30 km wide seafloor expression in N-S direction in the centre of the North Atlantic and part of the Jan Mayen Microcontinent (JMMC). Previous studies show that the eastern flank of the JMR was formed during the breakup of the Norway Basin along today’s Aegir Ridge, prior to magnetic anomaly C23 (~50 Ma). The western margin of the JMMC is conjugate to East Greenland. Rifting gradually propagated northward, likely from Chron C21 (~46 Ma) onward. Fan-shaped magnetic anomalies in the Norway Basin suggest that the JMMC must have rotated counter-clockwise. The JMR is likely underlain by continental crust. Volcanic flows have been observed within the sediments in the Jan Mayen Basin (JMB). While a relatively uniform upper crust was observed throughout the JMMC, the thickness of the lower continental crust varies significantly from up to 15 km below the JMR down to almost zero thickness towards the western part of the JMB. However, the character of the lower crust and the development of the conjugate East Greenland – JMMC margins during Oligocene are still disputed.</p><p>Here, we investigate the crustal structure of the JMMC using a new 265-km-long seismic refraction line crossing the JMMC at 69.7°N in E-W direction, which was acquired on board of RV Maria S. Merian during cruise MSM67. The profile consists of 30 ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) with a spacing of 9.5 km. The dataset was complemented by on-board gravity measurements and a magnetometer array towed behind the vessel during shooting. The line extends from oceanic crust in the Norway Basin, across the microcontinent and into oceanic crust that formed at the presently active mid-oceanic Kolbeinsey Ridge. The magnetic profile shows old seafloor spreading anomalies in the east (likely anomaly 24, ~52 Ma), then low amplitude magnetic anomalies in the central portion of the profile, which are typical for many plutonic continental rocks. On the western part of the profile, high amplitude anomalies of younger oceanic crust (likely anomalies C5C trough C6, ~19–16 Ma) are recognized near the western termination of the JMB. The seismic velocity distribution and crustal thickness vary strongly along the profile, with velocities typical for oceanic crust at either end of the profile and a thickened crust (12–13 km) underneath the JMR. This suggests that the JMMC consists of thinned continental crust with a total width of 100 km.</p>

Lithospheric structure of the Trans-Hudson Orogen from seismic refraction - wide-angle reflection studies

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balázs Németh ◽  
Ron M Clowes ◽  
Zoltan Hajnal
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Suture Zone ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Limited Area ◽  
Lithospheric Structure ◽  
Complex Deformation ◽  
Velocity Anisotropy ◽  
Metamorphic History ◽  
The North ◽  
Reflection Data

The Trans-Hudson Orogen (THO) is the world's largest Paleoproterozoic orogenic belt. Data from three refraction profiles are used to investigate its lithospheric structure in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. R1 crosses the orogen from the Hearne craton on the west to the Superior craton on the east; R2 and R3 are along the orogen. P-wave velocity structural models are generated using a ray-based technique. On line R1, higher crustal velocities in its eastern part coincide with rocks of the Flin Flon – Namew gneiss complex. Depth to Moho is in the 40–45 km range and equates to that from the reflection data, including a small crustal root below the Sask minicontinent. Along lines R2 and R3, depth to Moho varies from about 40 km up to 55 km at the north end of R2 and south end of R3. In general, variations in crustal velocity and depth to Moho do not correlate with the location and extent of geological domains; they appear to reflect the complex deformation and metamorphic history of the crustal rocks. Mantle velocities are high, ~8.2 km/s. However a limited area shows prominent velocity anisotropy, with values of 8.6 km/s along R2 and R3 and 8.1 km/s along R1. We speculate that the observed anisotropy represents an ~100-km-wide mantle suture zone resulting from the collision of Archean plates. The suture zone accommodated limited extensional deformation, associated with a counterclockwise rotation of the Superior plate, to generate the anisotropy. In this model, the lithospheric mantle of the THO internal domains and Sask craton are detached.

2-D P-wave velocity structure of lithosphere in the North China tectonic zone: Constraints from the Yancheng-Baotou deep seismic profile

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 1577-1591 ◽  
Author(s):  
YongHong Duan ◽  
BaoJin Liu ◽  
JinRen Zhao ◽  
BaoFeng Liu ◽  
ChengKe Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wave Velocity ◽  
North China ◽  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Seismic Profile ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Tectonic Zone ◽  
The North ◽  
P Wave Velocity ◽  
P Wave Velocity Structure

A seismic refraction and reflexion study of the continent-ocean transition beneath the north Biscay margin

1982 ◽  
Vol 305 (1489) ◽  
pp. 5-25 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Data ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Ocean Crust ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
The North ◽  
Seismic Refraction Data ◽  
Processing Techniques ◽  
Multichannel Seismic Data ◽  
Refraction Data

The structure of the northern margin of the Bay of Biscay consists of a series of tilted and rotated blocks bounded by prominent listric faults whose polarity is consistently down toward the continent-ocean boundary. These blocks formed by rifting in late Jurassic - early Cretaceous time and are now thinly covered by post-rift sediments of Aptian to Recent age. Seismic refraction profiles were occupied on the shelf, on either side of and across the continent-ocean transition to the shelf, using P ubs and O bs with explosives and a 4 x 1000 in 3 (4 x 16400 cm 3 ) airgun array. Two-ship expanding spread multichannel (48-trace) seismic reflexion profiles and 30 km fixed offset reflexion profiles were located along the seismic refraction profiles on either side of the transition. A two-ship 30 km fixed offset multichannel profile was located across the transition as well as a 5 km fixed offset multichannel profile extending from the ocean crust to the shelf. Conventional 48-trace single ship multichannel profiles were located along all the refraction and two-ship reflexion lines. Interpretation of the refraction profiles has been made by using ray tracing as well as synthetic seismograms. Conventional seismic processing techniques have been used to prepare the two-ship multichannel seismic data for interpretation. The survey is believed to be the first attempt to apply two-ship multichannel seismic data to the study of the change in crustal structure of a rifted passive margin from the shelf to the ocean crust. The results from the experiment led to the identification of a zone of transition between continental and oceanic crust about 8 km wide. The seismic refraction data show progressive thinning of the continental crust from 33 km to about 5 km close to the transition zone. However, extension values calculated in the upper crust from the rotation of fault blocks are much less (1.1—1.4) and suggest that the majority of the thinning is achieved by extensive attenuation of the lower crust.

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