Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Tectonics and Structure
Interseismic deformation fingerprints on the hyperarid coastal landscape in North Chilean subduction
Published: 2024-10-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure
Along-strike seismotectonic behavior of subduction megathrusts feeds back into the forearc deformation as elastic and permanent deformation. However, whether and how short-term elastic deformation reflects long-term permanent deformation in the forearc and shapes the coastal region remains unclear. To evaluate the forearc deformation, we analyze the interseismic surface deformation obtained from [...]
Guidelines for Sensitivity Analyses in Process Simulations for Solid Earth Geosciences
Published: 2024-09-18
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Education, Partial Differential Equations, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Science and Mathematics Education, Tectonics and Structure
Numerical simulations are widely used as tools to understand processes or to make predictions about states and their evolution in time. However, in the process of a simulation setup, a multitude of choices and simplifications have to be made - beginning from the definition of the implemented physical laws, over model discretization and spatial parameterisation, to the definition of initial and [...]
Evidence supporting a broader than previously thought influence of solar activity over Earth system’s processes. Discussion of a possible mechanism.
Published: 2024-09-08
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Meteorology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Earth Sciences, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
In this article, I show lines of evidence supporting a modulation of volcanic activity and some weather phenomena by solar wind conditions in the near-Earth environment. On a daily timescale, a correlation is found between the LP earthquake activity of Kilauea volcano, related to magma transport, and the Bx component of the interplanetary magnetic field as measured in the OMNI database for [...]
Simultaneous deformation along the Main Ethiopian Rift and associated transversal lineaments: an analogue modelling perspective
Published: 2024-08-30
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
The interaction between the NE-SW striking Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) and the E-W oriented Yerrer-Tullu Wellel Volcano-tectonic lineament (YTVL) represents one of the least understood tectonic problems in the East African Rift System. Despite the numerous studies that have been conducted in the region, the following questions still remain to be answered: did the MER and YTVL evolve simultaneously? [...]
The Origin of Forearc Depressions
Published: 2024-08-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Sedimentology, Tectonics and Structure
Forearc depressions form over continental subduction zones with young, slowly subducting slabs and thick trench fills. They are bound seaward by a coast range and landward by a volcanic arc such that subsidence in forearc depressions occurs between orogens and in areas characterized by plate convergence. We propose a model for forearc depression formation based on geophysical and seismic data [...]
Complex and confined laboratory ruptures explain scaling of the critical slip distance for earthquake faulting
Published: 2024-08-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Earthquake sequences in nature are complex, exhibiting a range of magnitudes and slip behaviors. In contrast, earthquake-like instabilities generated on frictional faults in the laboratory and in continuum numerical models are usually quasi-periodic with a smaller range of magnitudes and durations. The discrepancy, especially apparent for cm-sized samples used in lab friction experiments, has [...]
The cyclical nature of normal fault growth: Insights from 4D analogue models
Published: 2024-08-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Exploring how normal faults evolve is important for understanding the dynamic processes underlying the initiation and evolution of rift systems. Early-stage fault growth has been largely under-explored due to resolution limitations in seismic reflection data and the lack of three-dimensional exposures in the field. Physical analogue modelling offers a unique way to visualize and analyse [...]
Tomotectonics of Cordilleran North America since Jurassic times: double-sided subduction, archipelago collisions, and Baja-BC translation
Published: 2024-07-27
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Tomotectonics uses deep mantle structure in order to hindcast paleo-trenches, by spatially superposing subducted lithosphere (slabs) imaged by seismic tomography with plate reconstructions at the surface. The two geophysical datasets combined make predictions about geologic events, specifically about volcanic arcs and their collisions with continents. The tomotectonic null hypothesis is simple, [...]
Quantifying relationships between fault parameters and rupture characteristics associated with thrust and reverse fault earthquakes.
Published: 2024-07-12
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Geotechnical Engineering, Risk Analysis, Tectonics and Structure
We investigate the influence of earthquake source characteristics and geological site parameters on fault scarp morphologies for thrust and reverse fault earthquakes using geomechanical models. We performed a total of 3,434 distinct element method (DEM) model experiments to evaluate the impact of the sediment depth, density, homogeneous and heterogeneous sediment strengths, fault dip, and the [...]
Synchrotron radiation reveals transient weakening during mineral phase transformations
Published: 2024-05-13
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Mineral Physics, Tectonics and Structure
Phase transformations are widely invoked as a source of rheological weakening during subduction, continental collision, mantle convection, and various other geodynamic phenomena. However, the likelihood and magnitude of such weakening in nature remains undetermined. Here, experiments performed on a synchrotron beamline reveal dramatic weakening across the polymorphic quartz↔coesite phase [...]
The influence of a sub-lithospheric layer width on the partitioning of the induced mantle flow, surface motions and subduction dynamics
Published: 2024-04-17
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Other Earth Sciences, Planetary Geology, Tectonics and Structure
The partitioning of the three-dimensional mantle flow into toroidal and poloidal components is a diagnostic element to characterise tectonics regimes, with both fields being substantially active and representative of the contemporary mode of mantle convection. The toroidal:poloidal ratio (T/P) affects several aspects of mantle circulation, including the sinking of the subducting lithosphere into [...]
Digitising sandbox experiments using open-source Structure-from-Motion/photogrammetry/Digital Image Correlation package MicMac
Published: 2024-04-15
Subjects: Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
Structure-from-Motion and photogrammetry have been implemented in sandbox models to monitor deformation of their surface. Various software packages are available, either open-source of commercial. Some commercial packages are intuitive press-button equipment; these can be very practical to use, but they can be very expensive and unaffordable for most academic laboratories. Another option is [...]
Evolution and architecture of an exhumed ocean-facing coarse-grained submarine canyon fill, Baja California, Mexico
Published: 2024-04-15
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure
Present day submarine canyons are active conduits for large volumes of sediment, carbon, and pollutants from continents to oceans. However, the evolution of submarine canyons over geological timescales remains poorly understood due to their erosional nature and low preservation potential. The Late Cretaceous Punta Baja Formation represents a well-preserved submarine canyon-fill on a [...]
Brittle origin of off-fault fractures during the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence
Published: 2024-03-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure
According to the classical Mohr-Coulomb-Anderson theory, faults form at an angle from the largest regional compressive stress that is approximately 30° for most rocks. However, real settings are more complex and faults often present orientations inconsistent with the angles predicted by the classical theory applied to the present-day regional stress field. The Ridgecrest region hosts a young [...]
The role of salt diapirism in controlling the sedimentology and distribution of deep-water deposits, Pierce Field, East Central Graben, North Sea
Published: 2024-03-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Other Earth Sciences, Sedimentology, Tectonics and Structure
Passively rising diapirs control flank deformation (i.e., within 1 km of the salt-sediment interface) and resultant stratigraphic architecture of syn-kinematic units. Growth strata associated with deformation at the flanks of passive diapirs are known as halokinetic sequences. Very few studies have conducted an integrated analysis of composite halokinetic sequences, CHS (stacked halokinetic [...]