Role of dextral strike slip faulting in the distribution of Aegean extension since Miocene times inferred from receiver function analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agathe Faucher ◽  
Christel Tiberi ◽  
Frédéric Gueydan ◽  
Alexandrine Gesret
Keyword(s):  
Receiver Function ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Receiver Functions ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
The South ◽  
Crustal Thinning ◽  
Dextral Strike Slip

<p>Aegean plate is marked since Eocene by widespread NE-SW extension induced by the African slab roll-back. In Miocene times, E-W shortening created by the westward Anatolian extrusion overlays the extension, with the formation of Miocene dextral strike slip faults in addition to normal faults. We propose to quantify the role of large dextral strike slip faults in accommodating Aegean extension, using receiver functions to image Moho geometry.</p><p>Aegean extension is particularly evidenced by a topographic difference between the emerged continental Greece and the submerged Cyclades. In this study we characterize the associated Moho geometry with a particular focus on the transition between these two domains. From a geological point of view, the transition between continental Greece and the Cyclades is marked by two dextral strike slip faults: the Pelagonian fault (onshore) and the South Evvia fault (offshore). Our objective is also to show a potential Moho signature of these strike slip faults.  We processed receiver functions (RF) from the MEDUSA stations located in Attic and Evvia.</p><p>Our results show that the Moho is deeper beneath continental Greece (~27km) than beneath the Cyclades (~25km). A detailed azimuthal study of RF distribution shows a flat Moho underneath Continental Greece. The crustal thickness is also almost constant inside the Cyclades, as already suggested by previous studies. However, the transition between the Cyclades and Continental Greece is not continuous. These two crustal blocks are separated by the Pelagonian and the South Evvia strike slip faults in a narrow transition zone (~75km). In this zone (South Evvia/Attica), dip and strike of the Moho vary and suggest a crustal signature of the strike slip structures observed at the surface. These strike slip faults therefore accommodate in a narrow zone the inferred variations in crustal thicknesses between the Cyclades and Continental Greece.</p><p>Our data show that differences in topography between Continental Greece and the Cyclades are isostatically compensated, reflecting various amount of crustal thinning larger in the Cyclades than in Continental Greece. Inside these two crustal blocks, we imaged a flat Moho, suggesting a wide rift extension process associated with the formation of numerous Miocene and Plio-Quaternary basins.  The dextral strike slip faults at the edges of the continental blocks (Continental Greece and Cyclades) accommodated the inferred variations in the amount of crustal thinning, suggesting that they act as continental transfer zones at crustal-scale during Miocene Aegean Extension.</p>

Peaceful Nuclear Tests, Eco-friendly Reactors, and the Vantage Point of Tamasha

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-223
Author(s):  
Fathima Nizaruddin
Keyword(s):  
South Asian ◽  
State Violence ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The South ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Nuclear Tests ◽  
Asian Context ◽  
Epistemological Violence

The article analyzes the role of the documentary form in building pronuclear narratives around the Indian nuclear project. It situates the nuclear films made by two state institutions, Films Division of India (Films Division) and Vigyan Prasar, as part of a network of expert statements, documentary assertions, and state violence that bring into being a pronuclear reality. Through the insights gained from my practice-based enquiry, which led to the production and circulation of a film titled Nuclear Hallucinations, I argue that the certainty of the pronouncements of such documentaries can be unsettled by approaching them as a tamasha. I rely on the multiple connotations of the word tamasha in the South Asian context and its ability to turn solemn assertions into a matter of entertainment or a joke. This vantage point of tamasha vis-à-vis the Indian nuclear project builds upon the strategies of antinuclear documentaries that resist the epistemological violence of pronuclear assertions. In this article, I explore the role of comic modes and irony in forming sites of tamasha to create trouble within the narratives that position nonviolent antinuclear protestors as “antinational” elements. The article also expands on how the point of view of tamasha can engender new solidarities, which can resist the violence of the Indian nuclear project by forming new configurations of possibilities.

Seismic and geodetic response to crustal deformation in Krísuvík volcanic system, southwest Iceland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Revathy M. Parameswaran ◽  
Ingi Th. Bjarnason ◽  
Freysteinn Sigmundsson
Keyword(s):  
Stress Field ◽  
Crustal Deformation ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Seismic Zone ◽  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
Volcanic System ◽  
Geothermal Activity

<p>The Reykjanes Peninsula (RP) is a transtensional plate boundary in southwest Iceland that marks the transition of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) from the offshore divergent Reykjanes Ridge (RR) in the west to the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ) in the east. The seismicity here trends ~N80°E in central RP and bends to ~N45°E at its western tip as it joins RR. Seismic surveys, geodetic studies, and recent GPS-based kinematic models indicate that the seismic zone is a collection of strike-slip and normal faults (e.g., Keiding et al., 2008). Meanwhile, the tectonic processes in the region also manifest as NE-SW trending volcanic fissures and normal faults, and N-S oriented dextral faults (e.g., Clifton and Kattenhorn, 2006). The largest of these fissure and normal-fault systems in RP is the Krísuvík-Trölladyngja volcanic system, which is a high-energy geothermal zone. The seismicity here predominantly manifests RP’s transtentional tectonics; however, also hosts triggered events such as those following the 17 June 2000 Mw6.5 earthquake in the SISZ (Árnadottir et al., 2004) ~80 km east of Krísuvík. Stress inversions of microearthquakes from 1997-2006 in the RP indicate that the current stress state is mostly strike-slip with increased normal component to the west, indicating that the seismicity is driven by plate diverging motion (Keiding et al., 2009). However, the geothermal system in Krísuvík is a potential secondary source for triggered seismicity and deformation. This study uses seismic and geodetic data to evaluate the activity in the Krísuvík-Trölladyngja volcanic system. The seismic data is used to identify specific areas of focused activity and evaluate variations in the stress field associated with plate motion and/or geothermal activity over space and time. The data used, within the time period 2007-2016, was collected by the the South Icelandic Lowland (SIL) seismic network operated and managed by the Iceland Meterological Office (IMO). Furthermore, variations in seismicity are compared to crustal deformation observed with TerraSAR-X images from 2009-2019. Crustal changes in the Krísuvík area are quantified to develop a model for corresponding deformation sources. These changes are then correlated with the stress-field variations determined with seismic analysis.</p>

scholarly journals Superposition of two kinematically distinct extensional phases in southern Death Valley: Implications for extensional tectonics

Geosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z.D. Fleming ◽  
T.L. Pavlis ◽  
S. Canalda
Keyword(s):  
Early Period ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Death Valley ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Geologic Mapping ◽  
The North ◽  
Transcurrent Deformation ◽  
Two Phases

Geologic mapping in southern Death Valley, California, demonstrates Mesozoic contractional structures overprinted by two phases of Neogene extension and contemporaneous strike-slip deformation. The Mesozoic folding is most evident in the middle unit of the Noonday Formation, and these folds are cut by a complex array of Neogene faults. The oldest identified Neogene faults primarily displace Neoproterozoic units as young as the Johnnie Formation. However, in the northernmost portion of the map area, they displace rocks as young as the Stirling Quartzite. Such faults are seen in the northern Ibex Hills and con­sist of currently low- to moderate-angle, E-NE– dipping normal faults, which are folded about a SW-NE–trending axis. We interpret these low-angle faults as the product of an early, NE-SW extension related to kinematically similar deformation recognized to the south of the study area. The folding of the faults postdates at least some of the extension, indicating a component of syn-exten­sional shortening that is probably strike-slip related. Approximately EW-striking sinistral faults are mapped in the northern Saddlepeak Hills. However, these faults are kinematically incompatible with the folding of the low-angle faults, suggesting that folding is related to the younger, NW-SE extension seen in the Death Valley region. Other faults in the map area include NW- and NE-striking, high-angle normal faults that crosscut the currently low-angle faults. Also, a major N-S–striking, oblique-slip fault bounds the eastern flank of the Ibex Hills with slickenlines showing rakes of <30°, which together with the map pattern, suggests dextral-oblique movement along the east front of the range. The exact timing of the normal faulting in the map area is hampered by the lack of geochronology in the region. However, based on the map relationships, we find that the older extensional phase predates an angular unconformity between a volcanic and/or sedimentary succession assumed to be 12–14 Ma based on correlations to dated rocks in the Owlshead Mountains and overlying rock-avalanche deposits with associated sedimentary rocks that we correlate to deposits in the Amargosa Chaos to the north, dated at 11–10 Ma. The mechanism behind the folding of the northern Ibex Hills, including the low- angle faults, is not entirely clear. However, transcurrent systems have been proposed to explain extension-parallel folding in many extensional terranes, and the geometry of the Ibex Hills is consistent with these models. Collectively, the field data support an old hypothesis by Troxel et al. (1992) that an early period of SW-NE extension is prominent in the southern Death Valley region. The younger NW-SE extension has been well documented just to the north in the Black Mountains, but the potential role of this earlier extension is unknown given the complexity of the younger deformation. In any case, the recognition of earlier SW-NE extension in the up-dip position of the Black Mountains detachment system indicates important questions remain on how that system should be reconstructed. Collectively, our observations provide insight into the stratigraphy of the Ibex Pass basin and its relationship to the extensional history of the region. It also highlights the role of transcurrent deformation in an area that has transitioned from extension to transtension.

Strain partitioning around an indenter during oroclinal bending: kinematics of the Circum-Moesian fault system of the Carpatho-Balkanides

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nemanja Krstekanic ◽  
Liviu Matenco ◽  
Uros Stojadinovic ◽  
Ernst Willingshofer ◽  
Marinko Toljić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Strain Partitioning ◽  
The South ◽  
The Carpathians ◽  
The North ◽  
Moesian Platform ◽  
Parallel Extension

<p>The Carpatho-Balkanides of south-eastern Europe is a double 180° curved orogenic system. It is comprised of a foreland-convex orocline, situated in the north and east and a backarc-convex orocline situated in the south and west. The southern orocline of the Carpatho-Balkanides orogen formed during the Cretaceous closure of the Alpine Tethys Ocean and collision of the Dacia mega-unit with the Moesian Platform. Following the main orogen-building processes, the Carpathians subduction and Miocene slab retreat in the West and East Carpathians have driven the formation of the backarc-convex oroclinal bending in the south and west. The orocline formed during clockwise rotation of the Dacia mega-unit and coeval docking against the Moesian indenter. This oroclinal bending was associated with a Paleocene-Eocene orogen-parallel extension that exhumed the Danubian nappes of the South Carpathians and with a large late Oligocene – middle Miocene Circum-Moesian fault system that affected the orogenic system surrounding the Moesian Platform along its southern, western and northern margins. This fault system is composed of various segments that have different and contrasting types of kinematics, which often formed coevally, indicating a large degree of strain partitioning during oroclinal bending. It includes the curved Cerna and Timok faults that cumulate up to 100 km of dextral offset, the lower offset Sokobanja-Zvonce and Rtanj-Pirot dextral strike-slip faults, associated with orogen parallel extension that controls numerous intra-montane basins and thrusting of the western Balkans units over the Moesian Platform. We have performed a field structural study in order to understand the mechanisms of deformation transfer and strain partitioning around the Moesian indenter during oroclinal bending by focusing on kinematics and geometry of large-scale faults within the Circum-Moesian fault system.</p><p>Our structural analysis shows that the major strike-slip faults are composed of multi-strand geometries associated with significant strain partitioning within tens to hundreds of metres wide deformation zones. Kinematics of the Circum-Moesian fault system changes from transtensional in the north, where the formation of numerous basins is controlled by the Cerna or Timok faults, to strike-slip and transpression in the south, where transcurrent offsets are gradually transferred to thrusting in the Balkanides. The characteristic feature of the whole system is splaying of major faults to facilitate movements around the Moesian indenter. Splaying towards the east connects the Circum-Moesian fault system with deformation observed in the Getic Depression in front of the South Carpathians, while in the south-west the Sokobanja-Zvonce and Rtanj-Pirot faults splay off the Timok Fault. These two faults are connected by coeval E-W oriented normal faults that control several intra-montane basins and accommodate orogen-parallel extension. We infer that all these deformations are driven by the roll-back of the Carpathians slab that exerts a northward pull on the upper Dacia plate in the Serbian Carpathians. However, the variability in deformation styles is controlled by geometry of the Moesian indenter and the distance to Moesia, as the rotation and northward displacements increase gradually to the north and west.</p>

Mapping crustal structure of the Nechako–Chilcotin plateau using teleseismic receiver function analysis,

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.S. Kim ◽  
J.F. Cassidy ◽  
S.E. Dosso ◽  
H. Kao
Keyword(s):  
Wave Velocity ◽  
Crustal Structure ◽  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Receiver Function ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Crustal Thickness ◽  
Receiver Functions ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Velocity Models

This paper presents results of a passive-source seismic mapping study in the Nechako–Chilcotin plateau of central British Columbia, with the ultimate goal of contributing to assessments of hydrocarbon and mineral potential of the region. For the present study, an array of nine seismic stations was deployed in 2006–2007 to sample a wide area of the Nechako–Chilcotin plateau. The specific goal was to map the thickness of the sediments and volcanic cover, and the overall crustal thickness and structural geometry beneath the study area. This study utilizes recordings of about 40 distant earthquakes from 2006 to 2008 to calculate receiver functions, and constructs S-wave velocity models for each station using the Neighbourhood Algorithm inversion. The surface sediments are found to range in thickness from about 0.8 to 2.7 km, and the underlying volcanic layer from 1.8 to 4.7 km. Both sediments and volcanic cover are thickest in the central portion of the study area. The crustal thickness ranges from 22 to 36 km, with an average crustal thickness of about 30–34 km. A consistent feature observed in this study is a low-velocity zone at the base of the crust. This study complements other recent studies in this area, including active-source seismic studies and magnetotelluric measurements, by providing site-specific images of the crustal structure down to the Moho and detailed constraints on the S-wave velocity structure.

Imaging the Moho and Main Himalayan Thrust beneath the Kumaon Himalaya: constraints from receiver function analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 224 (2) ◽  
pp. 858-870
Author(s):  
Devajit Hazarika ◽  
Somak Hajra ◽  
Abhishek Kundu ◽  
Meena Bankhwal ◽  
Naresh Kumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Poisson’S Ratio ◽  
Receiver Function ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Crustal Thickness ◽  
Receiver Functions ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Poisson's Ratio ◽  
Kumaon Himalaya ◽  
Receiver Function Analysis ◽  
Lower Crustal

SUMMARY We analyse P-wave receiver functions across the Kumaon Himalaya and adjoining area to constrain crustal thickness, intracrustal structures and seismic velocity characteristics to address the role of the underlying structure on seismogenesis and geodynamic evolution of the region. The three-component waveforms of teleseismic earthquakes recorded by a seismological network consisting of 18 broad-band seismological stations have been used for receiver function analysis. The common conversion point (CCP) depth migrated receiver function image and shear wave velocity models obtained through inversion show a variation of crustal thickness from ∼38 km in the Indo-Gangetic Plain to ∼42 km near the Vaikrita Thrust. A ramp (∼20°) structure on the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) is revealed beneath the Chiplakot Crystalline Belt (CCB) that facilitates the exhumation of the CCB. The geometry of the MHT observed from the receiver function image is consistent with the geometry revealed by a geological balanced cross-section. A cluster of seismicity at shallow to mid-crustal depths is detected near the MHT ramp. The spatial and depth distribution of seismicity pattern beneath the CCB and presence of steep dipping imbricate faults inferred from focal mechanism solutions suggest a Lesser Himalayan Duplex structure in the CCB above the MHT ramp. The study reveals a low-velocity zone (LVZ) with a high Poisson's ratio (σ ∼0.28–0.30) at lower crustal depth beneath the CCB. The high value of Poisson's ratio in the lower crust suggests the presence of fluid/partial melt. The shear heating in the ductile regime and/or decompression and cooling associated with the exhumation of the CCB plausibly created favorable conditions for partial melting in the lower crustal LVZ.

Acadian deformation in the shallow crust: an example from the Siluro-Devonian Arisaig Group, Avalon terrane, mainland Nova Scotia

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A Braid ◽  
J Brendan Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Thrust Fault ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Progressive Deformation ◽  
Acadian Orogeny ◽  
Shallow Crust ◽  
Dextral Strike Slip

The Silurian – Early Devonian Arisaig Group of the Avalon terrane in northern mainland Nova Scotia consists mainly of thinly bedded sandstones, siltstones, and shales deposited in a near shore environment. These strata were deformed in the middle Devonian to form regional northeast- to NNE-trending folds and record deformation processes in the shallow crust during the Acadian orogeny, one of the most regionally extensive orogenic events in the Canadian Appalachians. Structural features in the Arisaig Group are consistent with fold propagation associated with thrust fault geometry and coeval local extension recorded by a set of conjugate normal faults. Many outcrop-scale folds have sheared limbs and show evidence of a complex progressive deformation. Folding was predominantly accomplished by bulk rotation and flattening above thrust fault tips. Early structures (D1–D2) produced regional cylindrical folds, whereas later (D3a, D3b, D3c) structures produced conical folds. D1–D3 fold orientations show high variability, but are consistent with progressive deformation related to reactivation and coeval dextral strike-slip movement along the Hollow Fault. The style of deformation is compatible with models in which strain is partitioned into preexisting shear zones in the basement, with folds in the overlying Arisaig Group initiated above the tips of upward-propagating thrusts as second-order structures related to movement along those shear zones. Taken together, these data indicate that fold mechanisms and geometry in the shallow crust during the Acadian orogeny in mainland Nova Scotia may be related to dextral strike-slip along major faults in the basement and co-genetic upward-propagating thrusts that rotated and flattened overlying strata.

scholarly journals Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict in the Context of Changing Regional Geopolitics

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-360
Author(s):  
S. I. Chernyavskiy
Keyword(s):  
World Politics ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Noticeable Increase ◽  
Ethnopolitical Conflict ◽  
Political Interests

The article analyzes the changes in the South Caucasus associated with the results of the Armenian-Azerbaijani hostilities in the fall of 2020. According to the author, a radical breakdown of the geopolitical configuration of the region took place. The long-term ethnopolitical conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is a thing of the past, the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Republic of Artsakh) practically ceased to exist. For the first time in 30 years, Russian peacekeepers have returned to these lands. The role of Turkey, a longtime arbiter of Caucasian affairs, has been revived. An end has been put in the most important of the interethnic conflicts that have destroyed the USSR since the late 1980s. And it was Russia who did it.As a result, each of the two republics controls only its internationally recognized territories, while Karabakh continues to exist de facto under the control of Russian peacekeepers. The decisiveness of V. Putin, who took upon himself the rescue of the civilian population and the settlement of the conflict, his ability to “persuade” irreconcilable enemies to stop the war and agree with the subsequent “peacekeeping intervention” contributed to a noticeable increase in Russia’s prestige in the region. However, the role of an independent arbiter capable of solving “insoluble” problems is impossible without strong political, legal, economic and military positions in the region. Therefore, the expansion of the Russian presence in the Transcaucasus is a factor of strategic importance that meets the national interests of Russia. The author believes that given the dismissive and consumerist attitude of the ruling elite of Armenia towards Russia, the time has come to adjust the choice of strategic partners in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan is actively cooperating with Russia in key areas of world politics. One of the examples is the creation on the initiative of I. Aliyev of new formats of trilateral diplomacy in the composition of Azerbaijan-Turkey-Russia and Azerbaijan-Iran-Russia. An equally significant example is cooperation with Baku within the framework of the “Caspian Five”.Taking into account the specifics of the “multi-vector” nature of the South Caucasian states, it is advisable to conduct constant monitoring of Russian approaches to relations with them from the point of view of equal and pragmatic cooperation. This will make it possible to avoid that the resulting vacuum will be occupied by other powers that have been making themselves known more and more in recent years. Therefore, it is vitally important for Moscow that the authorities of the South Caucasus take into account its political interests.

scholarly journals Lithospheric Shortening and Ductile Deformation in a Back-Arc Setting: South Wanganui Basin, New  Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Erik Ewig
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Gravity Anomaly ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Receiver Function ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
High Angle ◽  
The West ◽  
Receiver Function Analysis ◽  
Velocity Layer

<p>South Wanganui Basin (SWB), New Zealand, is located behind the southern end of the Hikurangi subduction system. One of the most marked geophysical characteristics of the basin is the -150 mGal Bouguer/isostatic gravity anomaly. Sediment fill can only partly explain this anomaly. 3-D gravity models show that the gravity anomaly associated with the basin is generally consistent with a downwarp model of the entire crust. However, the downwarp of the Moho has to be 3-4 times larger than the downwarp of the sediment-basement interface to fit the observed gravity anomaly. Hence a model of lithospheric shortening where ductile thickening of the crust increases with depth is proposed. Finite element modelling demonstrates that the crust, in order to produce the ductile downwarp, is best modelled with at least two distinct different layers. The model requires the top 15-20 km of the crust to behave purely elastic and the lower part (10 km thick) to be viscoelastic with a viscosity of 10[to the power of 21 pascal-seconds]. The existence of this ductile lower continental crust can be explained due to fluids released from the subducting slab accumulating in the lower crust. This is supported by receiver function analysis results. These results propose a 10+/-2 km thick low S-wave velocity layer in the lower crust. The vertical loading necessary to create the basin is high (up to 200MPa) and is difficult to explain by slab pull forces transmitted via a strongly coupled subduction interface alone. An additional driving mechanism proposed is a thickened mantle lithosphere inducing normal forces on the base of the crust. However, the exact origin of the basin remains a puzzling aspect. Receiver function analysis shows that the crust of the subducting Pacific plate underneath the mainland in the lower North Island is abnormally thick ([approximates]10 km) for oceanic crust. This matches with results from the 3-D gravity modelling. Further features discovered with the receiver function analysis are an up to 6 km thick low-velocity layer on top of the slab, which is interpreted as a zone of crushed crustal material with subducted sediments. Furthermore, a deep Moho (39.5+/-1.5 km) is proposed underneath the northern tip of theMarlborough sounds. Shallow seismic and gravity investigations of the southeastern corner of the SWB reveal a complex faulting regime with high-angle normal and reverse faults as well as a component of strike slip. The overall style of faulting in the SWB changes from the west to the east. There are the low-angle thrust faults of the Taranaki Fault zone in the west, the high-angle mostly reverse faults in the eastern part of the basin and the strike slip faults, with a component of vertical movement, at the eastern boundary within the Tararua Ranges.</p>

scholarly journals Lithospheric Shortening and Ductile Deformation in a Back-Arc Setting: South Wanganui Basin, New  Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Erik Ewig
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Gravity Anomaly ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Receiver Function ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
High Angle ◽  
The West ◽  
Receiver Function Analysis ◽  
Velocity Layer

<p>South Wanganui Basin (SWB), New Zealand, is located behind the southern end of the Hikurangi subduction system. One of the most marked geophysical characteristics of the basin is the -150 mGal Bouguer/isostatic gravity anomaly. Sediment fill can only partly explain this anomaly. 3-D gravity models show that the gravity anomaly associated with the basin is generally consistent with a downwarp model of the entire crust. However, the downwarp of the Moho has to be 3-4 times larger than the downwarp of the sediment-basement interface to fit the observed gravity anomaly. Hence a model of lithospheric shortening where ductile thickening of the crust increases with depth is proposed. Finite element modelling demonstrates that the crust, in order to produce the ductile downwarp, is best modelled with at least two distinct different layers. The model requires the top 15-20 km of the crust to behave purely elastic and the lower part (10 km thick) to be viscoelastic with a viscosity of 10[to the power of 21 pascal-seconds]. The existence of this ductile lower continental crust can be explained due to fluids released from the subducting slab accumulating in the lower crust. This is supported by receiver function analysis results. These results propose a 10+/-2 km thick low S-wave velocity layer in the lower crust. The vertical loading necessary to create the basin is high (up to 200MPa) and is difficult to explain by slab pull forces transmitted via a strongly coupled subduction interface alone. An additional driving mechanism proposed is a thickened mantle lithosphere inducing normal forces on the base of the crust. However, the exact origin of the basin remains a puzzling aspect. Receiver function analysis shows that the crust of the subducting Pacific plate underneath the mainland in the lower North Island is abnormally thick ([approximates]10 km) for oceanic crust. This matches with results from the 3-D gravity modelling. Further features discovered with the receiver function analysis are an up to 6 km thick low-velocity layer on top of the slab, which is interpreted as a zone of crushed crustal material with subducted sediments. Furthermore, a deep Moho (39.5+/-1.5 km) is proposed underneath the northern tip of theMarlborough sounds. Shallow seismic and gravity investigations of the southeastern corner of the SWB reveal a complex faulting regime with high-angle normal and reverse faults as well as a component of strike slip. The overall style of faulting in the SWB changes from the west to the east. There are the low-angle thrust faults of the Taranaki Fault zone in the west, the high-angle mostly reverse faults in the eastern part of the basin and the strike slip faults, with a component of vertical movement, at the eastern boundary within the Tararua Ranges.</p>

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