Active transpression along the Owen oceanic transform fault, India - Somalia plate boundary

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Janin ◽  
Mathieu Rodriguez ◽  
Nicolas Chamot-Rooke ◽  
Alain Rabaute ◽  
Matthias Delescluse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Linear Structure ◽  
Historical Seismicity ◽  
Transform Fault ◽  
Seismic Profiles ◽  
Time Calibration ◽  
Carlsberg Ridge ◽  
Regional Tectonic ◽  
Seismic Lines

<p>The Owen oceanic transform fault is a 300-km long linear structure connecting the Carlsberg and Sheba spreading centers in the northwest Indian Ocean. It presently forms with the Carlsberg ridge the active plate boundary between India and Somalia. The Owen transform fault accommodates the left-lateral strike-slip motion between India and Somalia at a rate of about 23 mm/yr<strong>. </strong> Firstly identified by Tuzo Wilson in the 60s, this oceanic transform remains poorly described. The fault was recently surveyed in the Spring of 2019 during the VARUNA and CARLMAG cruises (https://doi.org/10.17600/18001108, https://doi.org/10.17600/18000872) along its entire length aboard BHO Beautemps-Beaupré, an oceanographic ship operated by the French Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Services (SHOM) and the French Navy.</p><p>During these missions a set of high-resolution seismic lines (>5000 km) were acquired together with high resolution multibeam bathymetry. The data cover both the active and fossil traces of the transform fault between 9°N and 15°N, at a place where continuous deposition of the distal Indus turbiditic sediments offers a unique high-resolution stratigraphic record of past regional tectonic events.</p><p>The new bathymetric mapping reveals two remarkable transpressive ridges on the active fault trace. A precise stratigraphic work using seismic profiles and drilling data of the ODP leg 117 allows the time calibration of the new seismic lines as far south as the Carlsberg ridge.</p><p>We show that a major compressive event occurred on the Owen Oceanic Transform Fault recently between 1.5 Ma and 2.4 Ma. Compression is still active today as evidenced by Sub-bottom profiler data (3.5 kHz) and two compressive focal mechanisms found in the historical seismicity records. At the intersection with the Carlsberg ridge, the southern transpressive ridge bends and stands ~1200 m above the seafloor at its apex, suggesting a maximum surrection rate near 800 m/Ma.  These new geophysical dataset combined with previous cruises offers an unprecedented window on the recent evolution of the India-Somalia plate boundary.</p>

Imaging the past and present Owen transform fault: preliminary results from the VARUNA seismic cruise

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Janin ◽  
Mathieu Rodriguez ◽  
Nicolas Chamot-Rooke ◽  
Alain Rabaute ◽  
Matthias Delescluse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Plate Boundaries ◽  
Transform Fault ◽  
African Plate ◽  
Active Structure ◽  
Carlsberg Ridge ◽  
Regional Tectonic ◽  
Seismic Lines

<p>The Owen transform fault in the northwest Indian Ocean is a >300 km-long active structure that constitutes the active plate boundary between Somalia and India. The first-order fault geometry was reached in the Early Miocene when the Carlsberg Ridge propagated westward into the African plate to open the Gulf of Aden. Presently, it accommodates ~23 mm/yr of left-lateral strike-slip motion between the Sheba and Carlsberg spreading centers.  The fault was recently surveyed in the Spring of 2019 during the VARUNA and CARLMAG cruises on BHO Beautemps-Beaupré, an oceanographic ship operated by the French Navy. Along with geophysical measurements (multibeam bathymetry, gravity and magnetic fields) a set of high-resolution seismic lines (> 5000 km) was acquired across both the active and fossil traces of the fault between 9°N and 15°N. The area is largely buried under the distal Indus turbiditic sediments and therefore offers a fairly unique continuous high-resolution stratigraphic record of past regional tectonic events. Here we present the first multibeam map of the Owen Transform system. A remarkable transpressive ridge borders the active trace of the fault along most of its length. At the intersection with the Carlsberg Ridge, the Owen Transform marks an 11° bend characterized by ~1200 m of seafloor uplift.  Our preliminary interpretation of the seismic lines brings to light the key unconformities related to Global Plate Reorganization Events. Off the main fault, new data reveal the magmatic nature of the Varuna Bank and similar partially buried highs. These have likely grown in the very early stage of formation of the oceanic crust carrying them, although tectonic emplacement cannot be completely ruled out. Some of the highs show internal structure, which can be interpreted either as carbonate caps or layered volcanic formations. This dataset, combined with previous cruises, offers unprecedented coverage of a 1500 km-long transform corridor along the Arabia-India and India-Somalia plate boundaries.</p>

Lift-off moraines: markers of last ice-flow directions on the Scotian Shelf

2000 ◽  
Vol 37 (12) ◽  
pp. 1723-1734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R Gipp
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Seismic Profiles ◽  
Scotian Shelf ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Reflection Seismic ◽  
Flow Directions ◽  
Lift Off ◽  
Seismic Lines

Lift-off moraines are acoustically incoherent, subparallel ridges observed on sidescan sonograms and high-resolution reflection seismic profiles on the southeastern continental margin of Canada. They are up to 3 m high, 20–80 m wide, and are commonly overlain by stratified proglacial sediments. Although little is known about them, detailed study of high-resolution seismic profiles from the Emerald Basin and the LaHave Basin, on the Scotian Shelf, show that their height:width ratio varies with the sounder–seabed separation, suggesting that the ridges may be narrower than they appear. Their morphology is similar to DeGeer moraines or cross-valley moraines, which form perpendicular to ice-flow direction. As their orientations can be estimated at the intersection of seismic lines, they can be used to estimate ice-flow directions. Since proglacial sediments are draped directly over top of them, they are assumed to record the direction of last ice flow. This directional data suggests that ice retreated not only northward (to Nova Scotia), but also toward local topographic highs on the continental shelf, which acted as anchoring points for ice rises around both the Emerald and LaHave Basins. This pattern of ice-flow directions suggests that ice flowed from the high ground of banks, converging into basin deeps, suggesting that small moraines within the basins are probably of interlobate origin.

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.

A heat-flow reconnaissance of southeastern Alaska

1985 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 416-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Sass ◽  
L. A. Lawver ◽  
R. J. Munroe
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flow ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Thermal Spring ◽  
High Heat ◽  
Transform Fault ◽  
High Heat Flow ◽  
Queen Charlotte Islands ◽  
Late Tertiary ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Strain Heating

Heat flow was measured at nine sites in crystalline and sedimentary rocks of southeastern Alaska. Seven of the sites, located between 115 and 155 km landward of the Queen Charlotte – Fairweather transform fault, have an average heat flow of 59 ± 6 mW m−2. This value is significantly higher than the mean of 42 mW m−2 in the coastal provinces between Cape Mendocino and the Queen Charlotte Islands, to the south, and is lower than the mean of 72 ± 2 mW m−2 for 81 values within 100 km of the San Andreas transform fault, even farther south. This intermediate value suggests the absence of significant heat sinks associated with Cenozoic subduction and of heat sources related to either late Cenozoic tectono-magmatic events or significant shear-strain heating. At Warm Springs Bay, 75 km from the plate boundary, an anomalously high heat flow of 150 mW m−2 can most plausibly be ascribed to the thermal spring activity from which its name is derived. At Quartz Hill, 240 km landward of the plate boundary, a value of 115 mW m−2 might indicate a transition to a province of high heat flow resulting from late Tertiary and Quaternary extension and volcanism.

scholarly journals A comparative case study of MTInSAR approaches for deformation monitoring of the cultural landscape of the Shanhaiguan section of the Great Wall

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hang Xu ◽  
Fulong Chen ◽  
Wei Zhou
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Linear Structure ◽  
Deformation Monitoring ◽  
Sar Interferometry ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Rock Falls ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
Great Wall

Abstract The Great Wall of China is one of the largest architectural heritage sites globally, and its sustainability is a significant concern. However, its large extent and diverse characteristics cause challenges for deformation monitoring. In this study, the Shanhaiguan section of the Great Wall was investigated in a case study to ascertain the damage and potential hazards of the architectural site. Two standard multi-temporal synthetic aperture radar interferometry (MTInSAR) technologies, including persistent scatterer SAR interferometry (PSInSAR) and small baseline subset (SBAS) SAR interferometry, were used for deformation monitoring using high-resolution TerraSAR-X data acquired in 2015–2017. The results of the two MTInSAR approaches revealed the health condition of the Great Wall. The Shanhaiguan section was stable, but local instabilities caused by rock falls were detected in some mountainous areas. In addition, the applicability of PSInSAR and SBAS was evaluated. The performance analysis of the two approaches indicated that a more reliable and adaptable MTInSAR technique needs to be developed for monitoring the Great Wall. This study demonstrates the potential of MTInSAR technology with high-resolution data for the health diagnosis of heritage sites with a linear structure, such as the Great Wall.

SEISMIC FACIES ANALYSIS AND STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION OF DEEPWATER NW SABAH

2015 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Akhmal Muhamad Sidek ◽  
Umar Hamzah ◽  
Radzuan Junin
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Seismic Facies ◽  
Tectonic Event ◽  
Structural Interpretation ◽  
Tectonic Events ◽  
Regional Tectonic ◽  
Seismic Facies Analysis ◽  
Sequence Boundaries ◽  
Seismic Lines

The deepwaters of NW Sabah has been an interesting site for deepwater hydrocarbon exploration in Malaysia. Up to now, the exploration in this is mainly focused to the Late Miocene until the Pliocene siliciclastic sediment reservoirs distribution at the shelf edge. This paper shows a gross seismic facies mapping analysis and structural interpretation of regional deepwater NW Sabah especially at Sabah Trough. To convert depth, all seismic lines were picked and tied with selected wells. The results of the interpretation were then summarized and presented with relation to regional tectonic events. Eight seismic stratigraphic units, six seismic facies together with five sequence boundaries were recognized. Multichannel reflection 2D seismic data, gamma ray logs and biostratigraphy description from the three wells at deepwater fold-thrust belt and published tectono-stratigraphic scheme from Dangerous Grounds (Sabah Platform) in South China Sea were selected in this study. The propose of this study is to document the relevance of regional tectonic event between Dangerous Ground and Sabah Trough. 

Morphology and geological setting of Iseo Lake (Lombardy) through multibeam bathymetry and high-resolution seismic profiles

2007 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Bini ◽  
Daniele Corbari ◽  
Paolo Falletti ◽  
Mauro Fassina ◽  
Cesare R. Perotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Multibeam Bathymetry ◽  
Seismic Profiles ◽  
Geological Setting
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