Geological record of fluid flow and seismogenesis along an erosive subducting plate boundary

Tectonic erosion of the overriding plate by the downgoing slab is believed to occur at half the Earth's subduction zones. In situ investigation of the geological processes at active erosive margins is extremely difficult owing to the deep marine environment and the net loss of forearc crust to deeper levels in the subduction zone. Until now, a fossil erosive subduction channel-the shear zone marking the plate boundary-has not been recognized in the field, so that seismic observations have provided the only information on plate boundary processes at erosive margins. Here we show that a fossil erosive margin is preserved in the Northern Apennines of Italy. It formed during the Tertiary transition from oceanic subduction to continental collision, and was preserved by the late deactivation and fossilization of the plate boundary. The outcropping erosive subduction channel is approximately 500 m thick. It is representative of the first 5 km of depth, with its deeper portions reaching approximately 150 degrees C. The fossil zone records several surprises. Two décollements were simultaneously active at the top and base of the subduction channel. Both deeper basal erosion and near-surface frontal erosion occurred. At shallow depths extension was a key deformation component within this erosive convergent plate boundary, and slip occurred without an observable fluid pressure cycle. At depths greater than about 3 km a fluid cycle is clearly shown by the development of veins and the alternation of fast (co-seismic) and slow (inter-seismic) slip. In the deepest portions of the outcropping subduction channel, extension is finally overprinted by compressional structures. In modern subduction zones the onset of seismic activity is believed to occur at approximately 150 degrees C, but in the fossil channel the onset occurred at cooler palaeo-temperatures.     

Continental collision slowing due to viscous mantle lithosphere rather than topography

Because the inertia of tectonic plates is negligible, plate velocities result from the balance of forces acting at plate margins and along their base. Observations of past plate motion derived from marine magnetic anomalies provide evidence of how continental deformation may contribute to plate driving forces. A decrease in convergence rate at the inception of continental collision is expected because of the greater buoyancy of continental than oceanic lithosphere, but post-collisional rates are less well understood. Slowing of convergence has generally been attributed to the development of high topography that further resists convergent motion; however, the role of deforming continental mantle lithosphere on plate motions has not previously been considered. Here I show that the rate of India's penetration into Eurasia has decreased exponentially since their collision. The exponential decrease in convergence rate suggests that contractional strain across Tibet has been constant throughout the collision at a rate of 7.03?×?10(-16)?s(-1), which matches the current rate. A constant bulk strain rate of the orogen suggests that convergent motion is resisted by constant average stress (constant force) applied to a relatively uniform layer or interface at depth. This finding follows new evidence that the mantle lithosphere beneath Tibet is intact, which supports the interpretation that the long-term strain history of Tibet reflects deformation of the mantle lithosphere. Under conditions of constant stress and strength, the deforming continental lithosphere creates a type of viscous resistance that affects plate motion irrespective of how topography evolved.     

Seismic evidence for catastrophic slab loss beneath Kamchatka

In the northwest Pacific Ocean, a sharp corner in the boundary between the Pacific plate and the North American plate joins a subduction zone running along the southern half of the Kamchatka peninsula with a region of transcurrent motion along the western Aleutian arc. Here we present images of the seismic structure beneath the Aleutian-Kamchatka junction and the surrounding region, indicating that: the subducting Pacific lithosphere terminates at the Aleutian-Kamchatka junction; no relict slab underlies the extinct northern Kamchatka volcanic arc; and the upper mantle beneath northern Kamchatka has unusually slow shear wavespeeds. From the tectonic and volcanic evolution of Kamchatka over the past 10 Myr (refs 3-5) we infer that at least two episodes of catastrophic slab loss have occurred. About 5 to 10 Myr ago, catastrophic slab loss shut down island-arc volcanic activity north of the Aleutian-Kamchatka junction. A later episode of slab loss, since about 2 Myr ago, seems to be related to the activity of the world's most productive island-arc volcano, Klyuchevskoy. Removal of lithospheric mantle is commonly discussed in the context of a continental collision, but our findings imply that episodes of slab detachment and loss are also important agents in the evolution of oceanic convergent margins.     

Seismic reflection imaging of two megathrust shear zones in the northern Cascadia subduction zone

At convergent continental margins, the relative motion between the subducting oceanic plate and the overriding continent is usually accommodated by movement along a single, thin interface known as a megathrust. Great thrust earthquakes occur on the shallow part of this interface where the two plates are locked together. Earthquakes of lower magnitude occur within the underlying oceanic plate, and have been linked to geochemical dehydration reactions caused by the plate's descent. Here I present deep seismic reflection data from the northern Cascadia subduction zone that show that the inter-plate boundary is up to 16 km thick and comprises two megathrust shear zones that bound a >5-km-thick, approximately 110-km-wide region of imbricated crustal rocks. Earthquakes within the subducting plate occur predominantly in two geographic bands where the dip of the plate is inferred to increase as it is forced around the edges of the imbricated inter-plate boundary zone. This implies that seismicity in the subducting slab is controlled primarily by deformation in the upper part of the plate. Slip on the shallower megathrust shear zone, which may occur by aseismic slow slip, will transport crustal rocks into the upper mantle above the subducting oceanic plate and may, in part, provide an explanation for the unusually low seismic wave speeds that are observed there.     

郯庐断裂带演化动力学——多力源多时期分段作用模式

提出了郯庐断裂带的演化动力学--多力源多时期分段作用模式.早-中侏罗世,扬子与华北地块碰撞后的持续会聚力、古太平洋板块的挤压力(安第斯型)联合作用于郯庐断裂带,产生了左旋压扭活动.晚侏罗世,西太平洋型的古太平洋板块挤压力作用机制率先作用于中国大陆边缘的北部地区,并一直持续到古近纪.其在郯庐断裂带中、北段诱发出上地幔上涌力,使其产生了右旋拉张活动;郯庐断裂带南段直至晚白垩世才受到这种机制作用.晚新生代以来,西太平洋俯冲带后退,上地幔上涌力作用已退到边缘海地区,郯庐断裂带全段受到边缘海地区上地幔上涌力诱发的次级挤压作用力,形成了右旋挤压活动.     

Global azimuthal seismic anisotropy and the unique plate-motion deformation of Australia

Differences in the thickness of the high-velocity lid underlying continents as imaged by seismic tomography, have fuelled a long debate on the origin of the 'roots' of continents. Some of these differences may be reconciled by observations of radial anisotropy between 250 and 300 km depth, with horizontally polarized shear waves travelling faster than vertically polarized ones. This azimuthally averaged anisotropy could arise from present-day deformation at the base of the plate, as has been found for shallower depths beneath ocean basins. Such deformation would also produce significant azimuthal variation, owing to the preferred alignment of highly anisotropic minerals. Here we report global observations of surface-wave azimuthal anisotropy, which indicate that only the continental portion of the Australian plate displays significant azimuthal anisotropy and strong correlation with present-day plate motion in the depth range 175-300 km. Beneath other continents, azimuthal anisotropy is only weakly correlated with plate motion and its depth location is similar to that found beneath oceans. We infer that the fast-moving Australian plate contains the only continental region with a sufficiently large deformation at its base to be transformed into azimuthal anisotropy. Simple shear leading to anisotropy with a plunging axis of symmetry may explain the smaller azimuthal anisotropy beneath other continents.     

Continuing Colorado plateau uplift by delamination-style convective lithospheric downwelling

The Colorado plateau is a large, tectonically intact, physiographic province in the southwestern North American Cordillera that stands at ～1,800-2,000?m elevation and has long been thought to be in isostatic equilibrium. The origin of these high elevations is unclear because unlike the surrounding provinces, which have undergone significant Cretaceous-Palaeogene compressional deformation followed by Neogene extensional deformation, the Colorado plateau is largely internally undeformed. Here we combine new seismic tomography and receiver function images to resolve a vertical high-seismic-velocity anomaly beneath the west-central plateau that extends more than 200?km in depth. The upper surface of this anomaly is seismically defined by a dipping interface extending from the lower crust to depths of 70-90?km. The base of the continental crust above the anomaly has a similar shape, with an elevated Moho. We interpret these seismic structures as a continuing regional, delamination-style foundering of lower crust and continental lithosphere. This implies that Pliocene (2.6-5.3?Myr ago) uplift of the plateau and the magmatism on its margins are intimately tied to continuing deep lithospheric processes. Petrologic and geochemical observations indicate that late Cretaceous-Palaeogene (～90-40?Myr ago) low-angle subduction hydrated and probably weakened much of the Proterozoic tectospheric mantle beneath the Colorado plateau. We suggest that mid-Cenozoic (～35-25?Myr ago) to Recent magmatic infiltration subsequently imparted negative compositional buoyancy to the base and sides of the Colorado plateau upper mantle, triggering downwelling. The patterns of magmatic activity suggest that previous such events have progressively removed the Colorado plateau lithosphere inward from its margins, and have driven uplift. Using Grand Canyon incision rates and Pliocene basaltic volcanism patterns, we suggest that this particular event has been active over the past ～6?Myr.     

Imaging the Indian subcontinent beneath the Himalaya

The rocks of the Indian subcontinent are last seen south of the Ganges before they plunge beneath the Himalaya and the Tibetan plateau. They are next glimpsed in seismic reflection profiles deep beneath southern Tibet, yet the surface seen there has been modified by processes within the Himalaya that have consumed parts of the upper Indian crust and converted them into Himalayan rocks. The geometry of the partly dismantled Indian plate as it passes through the Himalayan process zone has hitherto eluded imaging. Here we report seismic images both of the decollement at the base of the Himalaya and of the Moho (the boundary between crust and mantle) at the base of the Indian crust. A significant finding is that strong seismic anisotropy develops above the decollement in response to shear processes that are taken up as slip in great earthquakes at shallower depths. North of the Himalaya, the lower Indian crust is characterized by a high-velocity region consistent with the formation of eclogite, a high-density material whose presence affects the dynamics of the Tibetan plateau.     

The possible subduction of continental material to depths greater than 200 km

Determining the depth to which continental lithosphere can be subducted into the mantle at convergent plate boundaries is of importance for understanding the long-term growth of supercontinents as well as the dynamic processes that shape such margins. Recent discoveries of coesite and diamond in regional ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks has demonstrated that continental material can be subducted to depths of at least 120 km (ref. 1), and subduction to depths of 150-300 km has been inferred from garnet peridotites in orogenic UHP belts based on several indirect observations. But continental subduction to such depths is difficult to trace directly in natural UHP metamorphic crustal rocks by conventional mineralogical and petrological methods because of extensive late-stage recrystallization and the lack of a suitable pressure indicator. It has been predicted from experimental work, however, that solid-state dissolution of pyroxene should occur in garnet at depths greater than 150 km (refs 6-8). Here we report the observation of high concentrations of clinopyroxene, rutile and apatite exsolutions in garnet within eclogites from Yangkou in the Sulu UHP metamorphic belt, China. We interpret these data as resulting from the high-pressure formation of pyroxene solid solutions in subducted continental material. Appropriate conditions for the Na2O concentrations and octahedral silicon observed in these samples are met at depths greater than 200 km.     

Sequential faulting explains the asymmetry and extension discrepancy of conjugate margins

During early extension, cold continental lithosphere thins and subsides, creating rift basins. If extension continues to final break-up, the split and greatly thinned plates subside deep below sea level to form a conjugate pair of rifted margins. Although basins and margins are ubiquitous structures, the deformation processes leading from moderately extended basins to highly stretched margins are unclear, as studies consistently report that crustal thinning is greater than extension caused by brittle faulting. This extension discrepancy might arise from differential stretching of brittle and ductile crustal layers, but that does not readily explain the typical asymmetric structure of conjugate margins-in cross-section, one margin displays gradual thinning accompanied by large faults, and the conjugate margin displays abrupt thinning but smaller-scale faulting. Whole-crust detachments, active from early in the rifting, could in theory create both thinning and asymmetry, but are mechanically problematical. Furthermore, the extension discrepancy occurs at both conjugate margins, leading to the apparent contradiction that both seem to be upper plates to a detachment fault. Alternative models propose that much brittle extension is undetected because of seismic imaging limitations caused either by subseismic-resolution faulting, invisible deformation along top-basement 100-km-scale detachments or the structural complexity of cross-cutting arrays of faults. Here we use depth-migrated seismic images to accurately measure fault extension and compare it with crustal thinning. The observations are used to create a balanced kinematic model of rifting that resolves the extension discrepancy by producing both fault-controlled crustal thinning which progresses from a rift basin to the asymmetric structure, and extreme thinning of conjugate rifted margins. Contrary to current wisdom, the observations support the idea that thinning is to a first degree explained by simple Andersonian faulting that is unambiguously visible in seismic data.     

Magma-assisted rifting in Ethiopia

The rifting of continents and evolution of ocean basins is a fundamental component of plate tectonics, yet the process of continental break-up remains controversial. Plate driving forces have been estimated to be as much as an order of magnitude smaller than those required to rupture thick continental lithosphere. However, Buck has proposed that lithospheric heating by mantle upwelling and related magma production could promote lithospheric rupture at much lower stresses. Such models of mechanical versus magma-assisted extension can be tested, because they predict different temporal and spatial patterns of crustal and upper-mantle structure. Changes in plate deformation produce strain-enhanced crystal alignment and increased melt production within the upper mantle, both of which can cause seismic anisotropy. The Northern Ethiopian Rift is an ideal place to test break-up models because it formed in cratonic lithosphere with minor far-field plate stresses. Here we present evidence of seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle of this rift zone using observations of shear-wave splitting. Our observations, together with recent geological data, indicate a strong component of melt-induced anisotropy with only minor crustal stretching, supporting the magma-assisted rifting model in this area of initially cold, thick continental lithosphere.     

中国大陆南缘不活动大陆边缘和拉裂盆地

中国大陆南缘经历了太平洋板块和特提斯板块与欧亚板块会聚作用的复杂过程,并在不晚于早第三纪早期,已经由活动的大陆边缘转换为不活动的,具有典型的不活动边缘的重力效应特征。根据构造演化分析,大陆南缘的陆缘盆地属不活动边缘拉裂盆地,南海中央海金则属于边缘海盆地。本文阐述了亚洲大陆南缘的主要转换断裂系统,讨论了这些断裂系统所反映的太平洋—特提斯板块和欧亚板块之间板块边界的应力机制和活动方式,认为在特提斯—印度洋域,这些转换断裂系统从西向东延伸,分别属于右旋和左旋滑移。它们对中国大陆南缘边缘构造带和含油气盆地的形成和地质演化起着重要的作用。     

粤东地区中生代岩浆作用的大地构造背景及构造－岩浆演化

粤东地区中生代岩浆活动十分强烈．形成了遍及全区的火山－侵入杂岩。作者根据区域火山－侵入杂岩的地质地球化学的系统研究．结合区域地质、地球物理和西太平洋板块构造格局的研究成果，认为粤东地区中生代岩浆作用的大地构造背景不同于安第斯型活动大陆边缘．具有大陆板内向活动大陆边缘过渡的特征，构造变动和相应的岩浆活动是在中生代全球构造运动背景之下．亚洲大陆板块与南半球洋中脊体系和库拉－太平洋板块三者之间共同作用的结果．     

Subduction dynamics and the origin of Andean orogeny and the Bolivian orocline

The building of the Andes results from the subduction of the oceanic Nazca plate underneath the South American continent. However, how and why the Andes and their curvature, the Bolivian orocline, formed in the Cenozoic era (65.5?million years (Myr) ago to present), despite subduction continuing since the Mesozoic era (251.0-65.5?Myr ago), is still unknown. Three-dimensional numerical subduction models demonstrate that variations in slab thickness, arising from the Nazca plate's age at the trench, produce a cordilleran morphology consistent with that observed. The age-dependent sinking of the slab in the mantle drives traction towards the trench at the base of the upper plate, causing it to thicken. Thus, subducting older Nazca plate below the Central Andes can explain the locally thickened crust and higher elevations. Here we demonstrate that resultant thickening of the South American plate modifies both shear force gradients and migration rates along the trench to produce a concave margin that matches the Bolivian orocline. Additionally, the varying forcing along the margin allows stress belts to form in the upper-plate interior, explaining the widening of the Central Andes and the different tectonic styles found on their margins, the Eastern and Western Cordilleras. The rise of the Central Andes and orocline formation are directly related to the local increase of Nazca plate age and an age distribution along the margin similar to that found today; the onset of these conditions only occurred in the Eocene epoch. This may explain the enigmatic delay of the Andean orogeny, that is, the formation of the modern Andes.     

南海北部陆坡地形特征及其影响因素研究

南海北部陆坡位于南海北部大陆边缘,地质构造活动丰富,是大陆和深海进行物质和能量交换的重要过渡区。研究北部陆坡区复杂的地形地貌,有助于深化对南海北部陆缘海底地质活动与环境变化的认识,并为资源勘探与工程建设提供基础地质信息支撑。本研究基于全球水深地形图（General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans,GEBCO）数据及实测多波束数据,对南海北部陆坡的地形地貌进行研究,识别出不同的地貌类型,并探讨其形成和发展的控制因素。研究表明,南海北部陆坡发育有海台、海山、海丘、海槽、海底峡谷以及冷泉地貌类型。南海北部陆坡地形地貌的发育和演化主要受控于构造活动及火山活动,而外动力地质作用如沉积输运、海平面变化及甲烷流体的活动等,都对研究区的地形地貌做了进一步的改造,使之更加复杂。     

Evidence from episodic seamount volcanism for pulsing of the Iceland plume in the past 70 Myr

The North Atlantic volcanic province has been attributed to continental rifting about 60 Myr ago over an Iceland plume head with a diameter of 1,000-2,000 km (refs 1, 2). But evidence from a few igneous centres has been used to infer that earlier plume activity occurred in this region. The three seamounts in the Rockall trough off the Atlantic coast of Scotland are among the few accessible remnants of such early plume activity. Here we present 40Ar-39Ar incremental-heating ages of samples from these seamounts, which show that volcanism began there in the late Cretaceous period (70 +/- 1 Myr ago), and then continued for the next 30 Myr in at least four discrete phases: 62, 52, 47 and 42 Myr ago. We relate this activity to pulsing of large masses (approximately 10(8) km3) of hot Iceland plume material on timescales of 5-10 Myr. This significantly extends the time span for Iceland plume activity both backwards and forwards in time, and provides a possible alternative to the 'plume head' models for the formation of continental flood basalts.     

Making continental crust: The sanukitoid connection

The average continental crust possesses intermediate compositions that typify arc magmatism and as a result it is believed to have been created at ancient convergent plate boundaries. One possible mechanism for intermediate continental crust formation is the direct production of andesitic melts in the upper mantle. Sanukitoids, which characterize the Setouchi volcanic belt, SW Japan, include unusually high-Mg andesites （HMA）. They were generated by slab melting and subsequent melt-mantle interactions under unusual tectonic settings such as where warm lithosphere subducts into hot upper mantle. Such conditions would have existed in the Archean. Hydrous HMA magmas are likely to have solidified within the crust to form HMA plutons, which were then remelted to produce differentiated sanukitoids. At present, generation and differentiation of HMA magmas may be taking place in the Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc-trench system （IBM）, because （1） HMA magmatism characterizes the initial stages of the IBM evolution and （2） the IBM middle crust exhibits Vp identical to that of the bulk conti- nental crust. Vp estimates for plutonic rocks with HMA compositions support this. However tonalitic composition for middle-crust-forming rocks cannot be ruled out, suggesting an alternative possibility that the continental crust has been created by differentiation of mantle-derived basaltic magmas.     

基于横波分裂方法的海南地幔柱研究

利用横波分裂方法,对北京大学、南方科技大学及桂林理工大学在广东和广西布设的宽频带流动台阵以及国家地震台网在广东、广西和海南的固定台站记录的XKS震相进行计算,得到海南及邻近地区的上地幔各向异性参数,分裂延迟时间在0.35～1.90s之间.综合研究区域内前人发表的和本文的横波分裂结果,认为自新生代以来,伴随东部太平洋板块...     

Rejuvenation of the lithosphere by the Hawaiian plume

The volcanism responsible for creating the chain of the Hawaiian islands and seamounts is believed to mark the passage of the oceanic lithosphere over a mantle plume. In this picture hot material rises from great depth within a fixed narrow conduit to the surface, penetrating the moving lithosphere. Although a number of models describe possible plume-lithosphere interactions, seismic imaging techniques have not had sufficient resolution to distinguish between them. Here we apply the S-wave 'receiver function' technique to data of three permanent seismic broadband stations on the Hawaiian islands, to map the thickness of the underlying lithosphere. We find that under Big Island the lithosphere is 100-110 km thick, as expected for an oceanic plate 90-100 million years old that is not modified by a plume. But the lithosphere thins gradually along the island chain to about 50-60 km below Kauai. The width of the thinning is about 300 km. In this zone, well within the larger-scale topographic swell, we infer that the rejuvenation model (where the plume thins the lithosphere) is operative; however, the larger-scale topographic swell is probably supported dynamically.     

地基特性对土石坝地震反应的影响

将土石坝和地基均简化为一维剪切体系，考虑剪切模量沿坝高的变化特性以及地 基幅射阻尼的影响，应用主附结构体系相互作用的分析方法，提出了计算地基覆盖层对 土石坝地震反应影响的实用计算公式。实例计算结果表明，有覆盖层存在时坝上部三 分之一坝高范围内的地震反应一般均较刚基上有不同程度的放大，同时由于坝材料剪 切模量随深度的不均匀变化影响，坝顶部的动力反应系数进一步增大。