Filtering by Subject: Tectonics and Structure
Published: 2020-11-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Sedimentology, Tectonics and Structure
Polygonal fault systems are extraordinary features of many fine grained sedimentary succession and have been described from a significant number of deepwater sedimentary basins over the last two decades. Their formation represents an important mechanism by which fine grained sediments compact often resulting in a variety of complex patterns for which several controlling factors have been [...]
Published: 2020-10-25
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
Many sedimentary basins host thick evaporite (salt) deposits. Some of these basins also host extensive igneous intrusion networks. It thus seems inevitable that, in some locations, magma will interact with salt. Yet how interaction between these materials may influence salt tectonics or magma emplacement, particularly at the basin-scale, remains poorly understood. We use 3D seismic reflection [...]
Published: 2020-10-25
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure
Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), an image cross-correlation technique, is widely used for obtaining velocity fields from series of images of deforming objects. Rather than instantaneous velocities, we are interested in reconstructing cumulative deformation, and use PIV-derived incremental displacements for this purpose. Our focus is on analogue models of tectonic processes, which can accumulate [...]
Published: 2020-10-23
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Tectonics and Structure
A multitude of semi-automated algorithms, many incorporating multi-sourced datasets into a single analysis, now exist. However, these operate at a fixed pixel resolution resulting in multi-sourced methods being limited by the largest input pixel size. Multi-scale lineament detection circumvents this issue and allows increased levels of detail to be captured. In this study we present a [...]
Published: 2020-10-21
Subjects: Tectonics and Structure
While salt-influenced rift basins have been identified across the European Atlantic margin, the Irish Atlantic margin remains the exception despite salt being proven in several boreholes. Using an extensive seismic database coupled with data from exploration wells and shallow boreholes, this study maps the distribution and composition of salt layers and investigates their role in the structural [...]
Published: 2020-08-17
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Paleobiology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Sciences, Tectonics and Structure
There are many geoscience problems for which constraining histories of uplift or subsidence of Earth’s surface is of direct or indirect importance, for example reconstructing tectonics, mantle convection, geomorphology, sedimentary and chemical flux, biodiversity, glacio-eustasy and climate change. The least equivocal constraints on timing and amplitude of vertical motions on geological [...]
Published: 2020-08-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
We investigate early-stage salt-detached gliding using a 3D seismic dataset from the Levant Margin in the Eastern Mediterranean, where gravitational instability due to margin uplift has caused north-westward translation of the Messinian salt sheet and its Plio-Pleistocene clastic overburden. Large, NE-trending, base-salt anticlines have allowed the basinward translation to be recorded by the [...]
Published: 2020-08-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Despite salt being regarded as an extremely efficient, low-permeability hydraulic seal, an increasing number of cross-evaporite fluid escape features have been documented in salt-bearing sedimentary basins. Because of this, it is clear that our understanding of how thick salt deposits impact fluid flow in sedimentary basins is incomplete. We here examine the causes and evolution of [...]
Published: 2020-07-30
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Structures rooted in the crystalline basement frequently control the deformation of the host bedrock and the overlying sedimentary sequences. Here, we elucidate the structure of the c. 2‐km deep Precambrian granitic basement in the Anadarko Shelf, Oklahoma, and how the propagation of basement faults deformed the sedimentary cover. Although the basin is foreland in origin, the gently dipping shelf [...]
Published: 2020-07-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Episodic tremor and slow slip (ETS) events occur downdip of the seismogenic zone of numerous subduction megathrusts and plate boundary strike-slip faults. These events represent a fascinating and perplexing mode of fault failure that has greatly broadened our view of earthquake dynamics. In this contribution, we review constraints on the ETS deformation process from both geophysical observations [...]
Published: 2020-07-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Shortening styles in salt-influenced fold-and-thrust belts can vary markedly, with the volume and distribution of salt prior to shortening being a key control. Here we use a suite of physical models to examine styles of thin-skinned shortening in settings where the precursor structure comprised minibasins surrounded by salt (‘isolated-minibasin’ provinces). Our models show that the high volume of [...]
Published: 2020-07-13
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geology, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
It is now well‐established that base‐salt relief drives complex deformation patterns in the mid‐slope domain of salt‐bearing passive margins, in a location classically thought to be dominated by simple horizontal translation. However, due to a lack of detailed studies drawing on high‐quality, 3D seismic reflection data, our understanding of how base‐salt relief controls four‐dimensional patterns [...]
Published: 2020-07-08
Subjects: Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
High-resolution bathymetry surveys provide an opportunity to analyse local geological structure where onshore areas afford limited exposure. Semi-automated lineament detection methods are necessary for areas of large coverage where a manual analysis would be subjective and time-consuming. However, semi-automated approaches are dependent on effective feature extraction methods to identify genuine [...]
Published: 2020-06-30
Subjects: Condensed Matter Physics, Earth Sciences, Geology, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Physics, Tectonics and Structure
Changes in stress applied to mantle rocks, such as those imposed by earthquakes, induce a period of evolution in viscosity and microstructure. This transient creep is often modelled based on stress transfer among slip systems due to grain interactions. However, recent experiments have demonstrated that the intragranular accumulation of stresses among dislocations is the dominant cause of strain [...]
Published: 2020-06-30
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geophysics and Seismology, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Physics, Quantum Physics, Tectonics and Structure
The two most abundant minerals on Earth which together make up over 90% of the Earth’s lower mantle are (Mg,Fe)O-ferropericlase (Fp) and (Mg,Fe)SiO3-bridgmanite (Bm). Iron in Fp undergoes a high-spin to low-spin (HS-LS) crossover that influences density, viscosity, elasticity, thermal conductivity, and elemental partitioning, however, the predicted effects of this transition are not apparent in [...]