Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Tectonics and Structure
Contrasting geomorphic and stratigraphic responses to normal fault development during single and multi-phase rifting
Published: 2021-07-27
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Understanding the impact of tectonics on surface processes and the resultant stratigraphic evolution in multi-phase rifts is challenging, as patterns of erosion and deposition related to older phases of extension are overprinted by the subsequent extensional phases. In this study, we use a one-way coupled numerical modelling approach between a tectonic and a surface processes model to investigate [...]
Creating a Diamond Open Access community journal for Seismology and Earthquake Science
Published: 2021-07-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure
On 24 November 2020, the Springer Nature publishing group announced the introduction of Open Access (OA) articles in Nature and its sibling journals. The corresponding OA publication fee (charged directly to the authors) was set to €9,500/$11,390/£8,290, an amount that may be well out of reach for many researchers. This is especially a problem for researchers in developing countries, early-career [...]
Stylolites and stylolite networks as primary controls on the geometry and distribution of carbonate diagenetic alterations
Published: 2021-07-18
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure
There is an ongoing debate on whether stylolites act as barriers or conduits for fluids, or even play no role in terms of fluid transport. This problem can be tackled by examining the spatial and temporal relationships between stylolites and other diagenetic products at multiple scales. Using the well-known Lower Cretaceous Benicàssim case study (Maestrat Basin, E Spain), we provide new field and [...]
A reappraisal of active tectonics along the Fethiye-Burdur trend, southwestern Turkey
Published: 2021-07-07
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure
We investigate active tectonics in southwestern Turkey along the trend between Fethiye, near the eastern end of the Hellenic subduction zone, and Burdur, on the Anatolian plateau. Previously, regional GPS velocity data have been used to propose either (1) a NE-trending zone of strike-slip faulting coined the Fethiye-Burdur Fault Zone, or (2) a mix of uniaxial and radial extension accommodated by [...]
Deglaciation-enhanced mantle CO2 fluxes at Yellowstone imply positive climate feedback
Published: 2021-06-25
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Glaciology, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
The generation of mantle melts in response to decompression by glacial unloading has been linked to enhanced volcanic activity and volatile release in Iceland and in global eruptive records. However, it is unclear whether this process is also important in magmatically-active systems that do not show evidence of enhanced eruption rates. For example, the deglaciation of the Yellowstone ice cap did [...]
Rift kinematics preserved in deep-time erosional landscape below the northern North Sea
Published: 2021-06-25
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Our understanding of continental rifting is, in large parts, derived from the stratigraphic record. This record is, however, incomplete as it does not often capture the geomorphic and erosional signal of rifting. New 3D seismic reflection data reveals a Late Permian-Early Triassic landscape incised into the pre-rift basement of the northern North Sea. This landscape, which covers at least 542 [...]
An autonomous petrological database for geodynamic simulations of magmatic systems
Published: 2021-06-24
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
Self-consistent modelling of magmatic systems is challenging as the melt continuously changes its chemical composition upon crystallization, which may affect the mechanical behaviour of the system. Melt extraction and subsequent crystallization create new rocks while depleting the source region. As the chemistry of the source rocks changes locally due to melt extraction, new calculations of the [...]
Insights into the compositional evolution of crustal magmatic systems from coupled petrological-geodynamical models
Published: 2021-06-24
Subjects: Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
The evolution of crustal magmatic systems is incompletely understood, as most studies are limited either by their temporal or spatial resolution. Exposed plutonic rocks represent the final stage of a long-term evolution punctuated by several magmatic events with different chemistry and generated under different mechanical conditions. Although the final state can be easily described, the nature of [...]
Paleomagnetism from multi-orogenic terranes is "not a simple game": Pyrenees' Paleozoic warning
Published: 2021-06-21
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure
Paleomagnetism is a versatile tool in the Earth sciences: it provides critical input to geological time scales and plate tectonic reconstructions. Despite its undeniable perks, paleomagnetism is not without complications. Remagnetizations overprinting the original magnetic signature of rocks are frequent, especially in orogens which tend to be the areas with better rock exposure. Unraveling the [...]
Bayesian population correlation: A probabilistic approach to inferring and comparing population distributions for detrital zircon ages
Published: 2021-06-19
Subjects: Geochemistry, Probability, Statistical Methodology, Tectonics and Structure
Populations of detrital zircons are shaped by geologic factors such as sediment transport, erosion mechanisms, and the zircon fertility of source areas. Zircon U-Pb age datasets are influenced both by these geologic factors and by the statistical effects of sampling. Such statistical effects introduce significant uncertainty into the inference of parent population age distributions from detrital [...]
Microstructure and fluid flow in the vicinity of basin bounding faults in rifts – the Dombjerg Fault, NE Greenland rift system
Published: 2021-06-17
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Sedimentology, Tectonics and Structure
Faults commonly form loci for high fluid flux in sedimentary basins, where fluids, rocks and deformation processes frequently interact. Here, we elucidate the interaction of fluid flow, diagenesis and deformation near basin-bounding faults in sedimentary basins through a study in the vicinity (0-3.5 km) of the Dombjerg Fault in the NE Greenland rift system. Due to fault-controlled fluid [...]
Syn-Depositional Halokinesis in the Zechstein Supergroup (Lopingian) Controls Triassic Minibasin Genesis and Location
Published: 2021-06-03
Subjects: Geology, Sedimentology, Tectonics and Structure
Salt tectonics is typically caused by the flow of mobile evaporites in response to post-depositional gravity gliding and/or differential loading by overburden sediments. This situation is considerably more complex near the margins of salt basins, where carbonate and clastic rocks may be deposited at the same time and interbedded with more mobile evaporitic strata. In these cases, syn-depositional [...]
Tectonic Studies Group Equality Diversity and Inclusion report 2021
Published: 2021-05-28
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Tectonics and Structure
In 2021, the TSG Annual Meeting was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic. To build on our 2019 gender diversity report, we wanted to begin gathering diversity data proactively and anonymously. This will enable us to be more inclusive of marginalised genders, avoid mis-gendering participants and to collect a wider range of diversity data. We ran a survey of the presenters and session chairs [...]
Kinematic interaction between stratigraphically discrete salt layers; the structural evolution of the Corrib gas field, offshore NW Ireland
Published: 2021-05-27
Subjects: Tectonics and Structure
The kinematic interaction of thin salt layers during basin evolution has received little attention to date, despite there being several basins which contain multiple thin salt layers across NW Europe. This study utilises high-quality 3D seismic reflection data coupled with borehole data to investigate the evolution of the structure containing the Corrib gas field which is composed of two distinct [...]
Inferring rheology and geometry of subsurface structures by adjoint-based inversion of principal stress directions
Published: 2021-05-21
Subjects: Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure
Imaging subsurface structures, such as salt domes, magma reservoirs, or subducting plates, is a major challenge in geophysics. Seismic imaging methods are, so far, the most precise methods to open a window into the Earth. However, the methods may not yield the exact depth or size of the imaged feature and may become distorted by phenomena such as seismic anisotropy, fluid flow, or compositional [...]