Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Tectonics and Structure
The effect of stress changes on time-dependent earthquake probabilities for the central Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah, USA.
Published: 2019-03-12
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Static and quasi-static Coulomb stress changes produced by large earthquakes can modify the probability of occurrence of subsequent events on neighboring faults. This approach is based on physical (Coulomb stress changes) and statistical (probability calculations) models, which are influenced by the quality and quantity of data available in the study region. Here, we focus on the Wasatch Fault [...]
A secondary zone of uplift due to megathrust earthquakes
Published: 2019-03-11
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
The 1960 M9.5 Valdivia and 1964 M9.2 Alaska earthquakes caused a decimeters-high secondary zone of uplift a few hundred kilometers landward of the trench. We analyze GPS data from the 2010 M8.8 Maule and 2011 M9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquakes to confirm the existence of a secondary zone of uplift due to great earthquakes at the megathrust interface. This uplift varies in magnitude and location, but [...]
Unfolding Veined Fold Limbs to Deduce a Basins Prefolding Stress State
Published: 2019-03-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Education, Outdoor Education, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Tectonic structures that developed prior to folding, such as pre- and early-kinematic veins, hold valuable information on the stress state of the paleobasin in which these early structures formed. To derive the parental orientation of these prefolding brittle structures, folds need to “unfold.” A fold restoration methodology is presented in which fold limbs, and the structures they contain, are [...]
Structural and geodynamic modelling of the influence of granite bodies during lithospheric extension: application to the Carboniferous basins of northern England
Published: 2019-02-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Intra-basinal highs within classic ‘block and basin’ style tectonic frameworks, in areas such as northern England, are underpinned by large granite bodies. This is widely believed to relate to the relative ‘rigidity’ and ‘buoyancy’ of granite in relation to accommodating basement. It has been suggested that during periods of tectonic extension, normal faulting around the peripheral regions of [...]
The influence of base-salt relief, rift topography and regional events on salt tectonics offshore Morocco
Published: 2019-02-19
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
This study integrates borehole-calibrated 2D and 3D seismic interpretation with numerical models to provide a regional analysis of the complex salt tectonics offshore central Morocco. We investigate the mechanisms controlling along-margin structural variations, the effects of thick-skinned shortening and the sequential evolution of allochthonous sheets. Additionally, we analyse how base-salt [...]
Minibasin depocentre migration during diachronous salt welding, offshore Angola
Published: 2019-02-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Other Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Salt tectonics is an important part of the geological evolution of many continental margins, yet the four-dimensional evolution of the minibasins, the fundamental building block of these and many other salt basins, remains poorly understood. Using high-quality 3D seismic data from the Lower Congo Basin, offshore Angola we document the long-term (>70 Myr) dynamics of minibasin subsidence. We [...]
The Stratigraphic Record of Minibasin Subsidence, Precaspian Basin, Kazakhstan
Published: 2019-02-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Other Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure
Minibasins are fundamental components of many salt-bearing sedimentary basins, where they may host large volumes of hydrocarbons. Although we understand the basic mechanics governing their subsidence, we know surprisingly little of how minibasins subside in three-dimensions over geological timescales, or what controls such variability. Such knowledge would improve our ability to constrain initial [...]
Structural architecture and composition of crystalline basement offshore west Norway
Published: 2019-02-13
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Numerous studies have investigated the geodynamic history and lithological composition of the Proterozoic basement, Caledonian nappes, and Devonian extensional basins and shear zones onshore west Norway. However, the offshore continuation of these structures, into the northern North Sea, where they are suspected to have influenced the structural evolution of the North Sea rift, is largely [...]
Protracted thermal evolution of the Neoproterozoic Araçuaí hot orogen (SE Brazil): consequences for rheology, strain distribution, and deformation analysis
Published: 2019-02-07
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
The Araçuaí-Ribeira belt formed during the amalgamation of West Gondwana in the late Neoproterozoic. Its evolution encompasses a main tectono-metamorphic peak at 600-580 Ma and a minor one, associated with the final collision with the Western Congo at 540-530 Ma. This belt holds characteristics of a hot-orogen: high thermal gradient (>30 °C/km), pervasive partial melting of the middle crust, [...]
Factor Analysis by R Programming to Assess Variability Among Environmental Determinants of the Mariana Trench
Published: 2019-01-28
Subjects: Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Education, Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Geographic Information Sciences, Geography, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces, Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Earth Sciences, Other Geography, Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Programming Languages and Compilers, Remote Sensing, Science and Mathematics Education, Sedimentology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Spatial Science, Tectonics and Structure, Water Resource Management
The aim of this work is to identify main impact factors affecting variations in the geomorphology of the Mariana Trench which is the deepest place of the Earth, located in the west Pacific Ocean: steepness angle and structure of the sediment compression. The Mariana Trench presents a complex ecosystem with highly interconnected factors: geology (sediment thickness and tectonics including four [...]
Hierarchical Cluster Analysis by R language for Pattern Recognition in the Bathymetric Data Frame: a Case Study of the Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean
Published: 2019-01-25
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Earth Sciences, Environmental Education, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Geographic Information Sciences, Geography, Geology, Geomorphology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Earth Sciences, Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Statistics and Probability, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Spatial Science, Statistics and Probability, Tectonics and Structure
The geographic focus of the current study Mariana trench, the deepest point of the Earth located in the west Pacific Ocean. Mariana trench has unique structure and features formed in the complex process of the trench development. There is a range of the environmental factors affecting trench structure and functioning: bathymetry, geography, geology and tectonics. Current research aimed to study [...]
Are U-Th dates correlated with historical records of earthquakes? Constraints from co-seismic carbonate veins within the North Anatolian Fault Zone
Published: 2019-01-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
U-Th dating of carbonate veins in connection with active tectonics has recently been used as an attractive tool for constraining the absolute timing of late Quaternary crustal deformations. In this study, for the first time we correlate U-Th ages of travertine deposits in co-seismic fissures along the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) with records of Paleoseismological studies supported by [...]
A new crustal fault formed the modern Corinth Rift
Published: 2019-01-11
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
This review shows how collective analysis of morphotectonic elements on uplifting rift margins can constrain the mechanical behaviour of continents during early rifting. This is shown for the modern Corinth Rift, one of the fastest-extending and most seismically active continental regions worldwide. We reconstruct the growth of the normal fault system that accommodates most of the rift strain and [...]
Forearc high uplift by lower crustal flow during growth of the Cyprus-Anatolian margin
Published: 2019-01-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
We present a model for the dynamic formation of the forearc high of southern Anatolia where sedimentation in the forearc basin leads to thermally-activated deformation in the lower crust. Our thermo-mechanical models demonstrate that forearc sedimentation increases the temperature of the underlying crust by “blanketing” the heat flux and increasing Moho depth. Deformation switches from frictional [...]
Geometry of flexural uplift by continental rifting in Corinth, Greece
Published: 2019-01-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Understanding early rifting of continental lithosphere requires accurate descriptions of up-bended rift margins and footwalls that correlate in space and time with the elastic flexural uplift that produces them. Here, we characterize the geometry of elastic flexural uplift produced by continental rifting at its spatiotemporal scale in nature (10s km; 10^4-10^6 yr) using geomorphic evidence from [...]