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1.
The tectonics, structure-forming processes, and magmatism in rift zones of ultraslow spreading ridges are exemplified in the Reykjanes, Kolbeinsey, Mohns, Knipovich, Gakkel, and Southwest Indian ridges. The thermal state of the mantle, the thickness of the brittle lithospheric layer, and spreading obliquety are the most important factors that control the structural pattern of rift zones. For the Reykjanes and Kolbeinsey ridges, the following are crucial factors: variations in the crust thickness; relationships between the thicknesses of its brittle and ductile layers; width of the rift zone; increase in intensity of magma supply approaching the Iceland thermal anomaly; and spreading obliquety. For the Knipovich Ridge, these are its localization in the transitional zone between the Gakkel and Mohns ridges under conditions of shear and tensile stresses and multiple rearrangements of spreading; nonorthogonal spreading; and structural and compositional barrier of thick continental lithosphere at the Barents Sea shelf and Spitsbergen. The Mohns Ridge is characterized by oblique spreading under conditions of a thick cold lithosphere and narrow stable rift zone. The Gakkel and the Southwest Indian ridges are distinguished by the lowest spreading rate under the settings of the along-strike variations in heating of the mantle and of a variable spreading geometry. The intensity of endogenic structure-forming varies along the strike of the ridges. In addition to the prevalence of tectonic factors in the formation of the topography, magmatism and metamorphism locally play an important role.  相似文献   

2.
The modern methods of physical modeling of structure-forming deformations in extension zones of oceanic lithosphere are discussed; the methods differ in their experimental equipment, model material, and experimental techniques. The simulation performed with an elastic-ductile model has demonstrated that extension of a brittle lithospheric layer results in disruption of its continuity and in formation of a rift valley according to the mechanism of running fracture propagation. The modeling results provide insights into qualitative pattern of faulting and fracturing within a rift zone, specific features of rift segmentation, and development of various structural elements (axis bends, echelons of fractures, nontransform offsets, small and large overlaps, etc.) under various geodynamic conditions of spreading. The modeling has shown that origination and evolution of structures of various types depend on the lithosphere’s thickness beneath the rift axis; the width of the lithosphere’s heating zone; the spreading orientation; and, to a lesser degree, on the spreading rate. A relatively rectilinear rift broken into particular segments bounded by small-amplitude offsets with or without minor overlaps arises in the case of both a small width of the heating zone, closely related to the axial magma chamber, and a small thickness of the lithosphere (fast-spreading conditions). In the case of a wide heating zone caused by ascent of an asthenospheric wedge or a mantle plume, offsets of rift are more pronounced and deformations embrace a wider region. If, as a result, the thickness of the lithosphere increases, the rift will be less linear and the structural heterogeneity will become more contrasting. In addition to the thickness of the lithosphere, the angle between the rift zone and the extension axis also controls the rift configuration: the greater the angle, the more conspicuous the en echelon arrangement of fractures. For any spreading type, the propagating front of linear microfractures that disrupt the upper brittle layer of the lithosphere predates the origin of mesoscopic fractures and predetermines a general trend of the rift zone. This indicates that the fractures of various sizes propagate simultaneously.  相似文献   

3.
The paper describes the specific features of the bottom topography and morphostructural segmentation along the strike of the Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR) and in the zones of influence of the Amsterdam–St. Paul hot spot and the anomalous zone of the relatively cold mantle in the area of the Australian–Antarctic discordance. Numerical estimates of changes of thermal state and strength of the crust in axial and off-axial zones of the SEIR were performed. Сorrelation between the thermal–rheological settings in the axial zone of the ridge with the seabed topography and the morphostructural segmentation and magmatism has been established. The numerical modelling results make it possible to assume the presence of along-axis asthenospheric flows under the axial zone of the SEIR. One of them, which was initiated by the Amsterdam–St. Paul point and the Kerguelen plume, is oriented from west to east, and the second, located east of the Australian–Antarctic discordance, is oriented from east to west. Taking into account the numerical modelling results of the thermal regime and the change in thickness of the brittle layer of the axial lithosphere, we performed a physical modelling of the influence of temperature anomalies in the mantle on the peculiarities of crustal deformation in the axial zones of the ridge. The experimental modelling showed that the presence of a thermal anomaly in the sublithosphere mantle in the form of a local heat source (hot spot) will noticeably influence the geometry of the rift axis and its position in relation to the hot spot. An area of anomalous topography forms under the influence of the hot spot, traces of which are preserved in the off-axis spreading flank zones, as in the case of the Amsterdam–St. Paul hot spot. More contrasting and dissected topography forms in zones with a relatively low typical mantle temperature in the process of crustal accretion.  相似文献   

4.
Transform and non-transform discontinuities that offset slow spreading mid-ocean ridges involve complex thermal and mechanical interactions. The truncation of the ridge axis influences the dynamics of spreading and accretion over a certain distance from the segment-end. Likewise, the spreading system is expected to influence the lithospheric plate adjacent to the ridge-end opposite of the discontinuity. Tectonic effects of the truncated ridge are noticeable in for example the contrast between seafloor topography at inside corners and outside corners, along-axis variations in rift valley depth, style of crustal accretion, and ridge segment retreat and lengthening. Along such slow-spreading discontinuities and their fossil traces, oceanic core complexes or mega-mullion structures are rather common extensional tectonic features. In an attempt to understand deformation of oceanic lithosphere near ridge offsets, the evolution of discontinuities, and conditions that may favor oceanic core complex formation, a three-dimensional thermo-mechanical model has been developed. The numerical approach allows for a more complete assessment of lithosphere deformation and associated stress fields in inside corners than was possible in previous 3-D models. The initial suite of results reported here focuses on deformation when axial properties do not vary along-strike or with time, showing the extent to which plate boundary geometry alone can influence deformation. We find that non-transform discontinuities are represented by a wide, oblique deformation zone that tends to change orientation with time to become more parallel to the ridge segments. This contrasts with predicted deformation near transform discontinuities, where initial orientation is maintained in time. The boundary between the plates is found to be vertical in the center of the offset and curved at depth in the inside corners near the ridge–transform intersection. Ridge–normal tensile stresses concentrate in line with the ridge tip, extending onto the older plate across the discontinuity, and high stress amplitudes are absent in the inside corners during the magmatic accretionary phase simulated by our models. With the tested rheology and boundary conditions, inside corner formation of oceanic core complexes is predicted to be unlikely during magmatic spreading phases. Additional modeling studies are needed for a full understanding of extensional stress release in relatively young oceanic lithosphere.  相似文献   

5.
High-resolution shipboard geophysical investigations along the Indian Ocean ridge system are sparse especially over the Carlsberg and Central Indian ridges. In the present study, the shipboard gravity and multibeam bathymetry data acquired over a 750 km long section of the Central Indian Ridge between 3 °S and 11 °S have been analysed to understand the crustal structure and the ridge segmentation pattern. The mantle Bouguer anomalies (MBA) and the residual mantle Bouguer anomalies (RMBA) computed in the study area have shown significant variations along the ridge segments that are separated by transform and non-transform discontinuities. The MBA lows observed over the linear ridge segments bounded by well-defined transform faults are attributed to the thickening of the crust at the middle portions of the ridge segments. The estimates of crustal thickness from the RMBA shows an average of 5.2 km thick crust in the axial part of the ridge segments. The MBA and relative RMBA highs along the two non-transform discontinuities suggests a thinner crust of up to 4.0 km. The most significant MBA and RMBA highs were observed over the Vema transform fault suggesting thin crust of 4 km in the deepest part of the transform fault where bathymetry is more than 6000 m. The identified megamullion structures have relative MBA highs suggesting thinner crust. Besides MBA lows along the ridge axis, significant off-axis MBA lows have been noticed, suggesting off-axis mantle upwelling zones indicative of thickening of the crust. The rift valley morphology varies from the typical V-shaped valley to the shallow valley floor with undulations on the inner valley floor. Segments with shallow rift valley floor have depicted well-defined circular MBA lows with persistent RMBA low, suggesting modulation of the valley floor morphology due to the variations in crustal thickness and the mantle temperature. These are supported by thicker crust and weaker lithospheric mantle.  相似文献   

6.
Investigation of the rift zone and flanks of the South Atlantic midoceanic ridge in the Tristan da Cunha hot spot area revealed that their morphostructure is atypical of slow spreading ridges. Feeding the spreading center with magmatic material, the hot spot changes the morphology of the axial zone and transform faults. It itself forms a relief ensemble that differs from the rift one as well. The continuous migration of the spreading center in the westerly direction stimulates the formation of a spacious volcanic highland, which is responsible for the regional asymmetry of ridge flanks in its extended segments (hundreds kilometers long).  相似文献   

7.
The accretion of oceanic crust under conditions of oblique spreading is considered. It is shown that deviation of the normal to the strike of mid-ocean ridge from the extension direction results in the formation of echeloned basins and ranges in the rift valley, which are separated by normal and strike-slip faults oriented at an angle to the axis of the mid-ocean ridge. The orientation of spreading ranges is determined by initial breakup and divergence of plates, whereas the within-rift structural elements are local and shallow-seated; they are formed only in the tectonically mobile rift zone. As a rule, the mid-ocean ridges with oblique spreading are not displaced along transform fracture zones, and stresses are relaxed in accommodation zones without rupture of continuity of within-rift structural elements. The structural elements related to oblique spreading can be formed in both rift and megafault zones. At the initial breakup and divergence of continental or oceanic plates with increased crust thickness, the appearance of an extension component along with shear in megafault zones gives rise to the formation of embryonic accretionary structural elements. As opening and extension increase, oblique spreading zones are formed. Various destructive and accretionary structural elements (nearly parallel extension troughs; basin and range systems oriented obliquely relative to the strike of the fault zone and the extension axis; rhomb-shaped extension basins, etc.) can coexist in different segments of the fault zone and replace one another over time. The Andrew Bain Megafault Zone in the South Atlantic started to develop as a strike-slip fault zone that separated the African and Antarctic plates. Under extension in the oceanic domain, this zone was transformed into a system of strike-slip faults divided by accretionary structures. It is suggested that the De Geer Megafault Zone in the North Atlantic, which separated Greenland and Eurasia at the initial stage of extension that followed strike-slip offset, evolved in the same way.  相似文献   

8.
The interaction of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with the North Atlantic Mantle Plume has produced a magmatic plateau centred about Iceland. The crust of this plateau is 30 km thick on average. This abnormal thickness implies that, unlike other slow-spreading ridges, addition of magmatic material to the crust is not balanced by crustal stretching. The thermal effect of the plume also reduces the strength of the lithosphere. Both mechanisms affect the rifting process in Iceland. A structural review, including new field observations, demonstrates that the structure of the Iceland plateau differs from that of other slow-spreading oceanic ridges. Lithospheric spreading is currently accommodated in a 200 km wide deformation strip, by the development of a system of half-grabens controlled by growth faults. Similar extinct structures, with various polarities, are preserved in the lava pile of the Iceland plateau. These structures are identified as lithospheric rollover anticlines that developed in hanging walls of listric faults. We introduce a new tectonic model of accretion, whereby the development of the magmatic plateau involved activation, growth and decay of a system of growth fault/rollover systems underlain by shallow magma chambers. Deactivation of a given extensional system, after a lifetime of a few My, was at the expense of the activation of a new, laterally offset, one. Correspondingly, such systems formed successively at different places within a 200 km wide diffuse plate boundary. Unlike previous ones, this new model explains the lack of an axial valley in Iceland, the dip pattern of the lava pile, the complex geographical distribution of ages of extinct volcanic systems and the outcrops of extinct magma chambers.  相似文献   

9.
Calculation of the downward continuation for the anomalous magnetic field at the Knipovich Ridge showed more complicate segmentation of the spreading oceanic basement than was earlier considered. The structural pattern of the field is evidence that the area consists of no less than four segments separated by transform fracture zones with the azimuth of oceanic crust accretion about 310° and the normal position relative to the rift segments with the azimuth of 40°. The modern location of the axis of the Knipovich Ridge straightens the complicate divergent boundary between the plates in the strike-slip conditions between the spreading centers of the Mohns and Gakkel ridges. The axis is a detachment zone intersecting the oceanic basement having formed from the Late Oligocene. A new magnetoactive layer composed of magmatic products has not yet been formed in this structure.  相似文献   

10.
The junction angle between the western Charlie-Gibbs transform fault and the spreading axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge diverges by 40° from the orthogonal intersection assumed in many studies of plate boundaries. This has been established by a surface-ship reconnaissance and by mapping fault trends in a transponder-navigated deep-tow survey of the fracture valley 25 km from the intersection. One set of normal faults trends 325–330°, parallel to the obliquely spreading ridge axis, and another set trends 275°, parellel to the direction of relative plate motion. Although the near-bottom survey was in the theoretically inactive part of the fracture zone, beyond the transform fault section, there is evidence for recent motion on faults that cut the thick sediment fill of the fracture valley.Oblique spreading of a ridge axis near a transform fault may result from distortion of the regional stress field by a strike-slip couple. Tension parallel to the long axis of the strike-slip strain ellipse, which is responsible for oblique normal faulting in transform valleys, causes oblique dike injection and oblique faulting in the axial rift valley. These effects extend further from transfrom fault intersections on slow-spreading ridges than on fast-spreading rises.  相似文献   

11.
Episodic seafloor spreading, ridge topography, and fault movement at ridges find (more extreme) analogs in the arc and back-arc setting where the volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits that we mine today were formed. The factors affecting sulfide accumulation efficiency and the extent to which sulfides are concentrated spatially are the same in both settings, however. The processes occurring at mid-ocean ridges therefore provide a useful insight into those producing VMS deposits in arcs and back-arcs. The critical observation investigated here is that all the heat introduced by seafloor spreading at mid-ocean ridges is carried out of the crust within a few hundred meters of the ridge axis by ??350°C hydrothermal fluids. The high-temperature ridge hydrothermal systems are tied to the presence of magma at the ridge axis and greatly reduce the size and control the shape of axial magma intrusions. The amount of heat introduced to each square kilometer of ocean crust during its formation can be calculated, and its removal by high-temperature convection allows calculation of the total base metal endowment of the ocean basins. Using reasonable metal deposition efficiencies, we conclude that the ocean floor is a giant VMS district with metal resources >600 times the total known VMS reserves on land and a copper resource which would last >6,000?years at current production rates.  相似文献   

12.
This paper reports the results of an investigation of a representative collection of samples recovered by deep-sea drilling from the oceanic basement 10 miles west of the rift valley axis in the crest zone of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 15°44′N (sites 1275B and 1275D). The drilling operations were carried out during Leg 209 of the drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution within the framework of the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). The oceanic crust was penetrated to a depth of 108.7 m at Site 1275B and 209 m at Site 1275D. We reconstructed the following sequence of magmatic and metamorphic events resulting in the formation of a typical oceanic core complex of slow-spreading ridges: (1) formation of a strongly fractionated (enriched in iron and titanium) tholeiitic magmatic melt parental to the gabbroids under investigation in a large magma chamber located in a shallow mantle and operating for a long time under steady-state conditions; (2) transfer of the parental magmatic melt of the gabbroids to the base of the oceanic crust, its interaction with the host mantle peridotites, and formation of troctolites and plagioclase peridotites; (3) intrusion of enriched trondhjemite melts as veins and dikes in the early formed plutonic complex, contact recrystallization of the gabbro, and development in the peridotite-gabbro complex of enriched geochemical signatures owing to the influence of the trondhjemite injections; (4) emplacement of dolerite dikes (transformed to diabases); (5) metamorphism of upper epidoteamphibolite facies with the participation of marine fluids; and (6) rapid exhumation of the plutonic complex to the seafloor accompanied by greenschist-facies metamorphism. The distribution patterns of Sr and Nd isotopes and strongly incompatible elements in the rocks suggest contributions from two melt sources to the magmatic evolution of the MAR crest at 15°44′N: a depleted reservoir responsible for the formation of the gabbros and diabases and an enriched reservoir from which the trondhjemites (granophyres) were derived.  相似文献   

13.
西南次海盆位于南海渐进式扩张的西南端,共轭陆缘结构和残留扩张脊保留完整,是研究南海深部结构和动力学机制的关键区域。前期研究发现,西南次海盆洋陆过渡带较窄、同扩张断层发育、地震反射莫霍面不清晰、具有慢速扩张等特征。然而,由于不同探测方法获取的地壳结构具有多解性,使得西南次海盆洋陆转换过程、慢速扩张洋壳结构与增生模式以及龙门海山岩石性质与地幔成因机制等基础科学问题尚存争议。为此我们建议在西南次海盆开展地质取样获取海山岩石样品,确定其年龄与性质,分析扩张后海山形成的深部动力过程;并对关键构造部署高精度的地震反射/折射联合探测,结合岩石物理分析,对西南次海盆进行构造成像和物质组成参数正反演,以实现壳幔尺度的地震学透视,为探索西南次海盆洋陆转换过程和洋壳增生模式提供重要的地球物理证据,以丰富和完善南海的动力学演化模式。  相似文献   

14.
By scaled physical modelling, we have investigated the mechanical response to gravitational forces in an oceanic lithosphere, overlying a less dense asthenosphere. In the models, an upper wedge-shaped layer of sand represented an oceanic lithosphere (0–35 Ma old, with a half-spreading velocity of 3 cm/yr), and a lower layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), mixed with dense wolframite powder, represented the asthenosphere. In the models, as in nature, isostatic compensation resulted in uplift of ridges and subsidence on their flanks. The resulting relief was responsible for ridge push. We tested two main configurations: straight ridges and offset ridges. In all the models, ridge push was sufficient to cause plate motion, underlying advection, and symmetrical rifting at the ridge axis. There was no need to impose plate motions through external pistons and motors. In models of straight ridges, the style of normal faults in the axial rift zone depended on the local thickness of the brittle sand layer. For thick layers, normal faults rafted out from the active zone of rifting, creating a fossil topography of tilted blocks, between faults dipping toward the ridge. In a model of an offset ridge, with thin lithosphere at the ridge crest and no embedded weakness, ridge push was responsible for a short transform fault, linking en-échelon rifts. In a similar model, but with thick lithosphere, an oblique rift formed at about 20° to the offset trace. We conclude that ridge push was not adequate to create an ideal transform fault. In a model of an offset ridge, with an embedded thin vertical layer of pure PDMS at 90° to the ridge, transform motion concentrated along this weak layer, and the resulting structural style was very similar to that in nature. On the basis of these results, we infer that, in nature, (1) ridge push can indeed drive plate motion, and (2) ridge push can drive strike-slip motion on transform faults, provided that these are weaker than the adjacent oceanic lithosphere and that they form early in the history of spreading.  相似文献   

15.
A thorough examination of geophysical data from the Greenland-Norwegian Sea, Eurasia Basin and southern Labrador Sea shows significant asymmetry of several parameters (basement topography adjusted for sediment loading, free-air gravity anomaly, spreading half-rate and seismicity) with respect to crustal age:
1. (1) Average zero-age depth (0–57 m.y. B.P.), depth of highest rift mountain summits, and depth to magnetic basement (10–30 km from axis of Mohns and Knipovich ridges) is less on the North American plate flanks. The zero-age depth asymmetry is 400–500 m for the Eurasia Basin (0–57 m.y. B.P.) and for Mohns Ridge (57-22 m.y. B.P.), and 150–200 m for younger Mohns Ridge crust (22-0 m.y. B.P.) and for the extinct Aegir Ridge (57-27 m.y. B.P.). There is little or no asymmetry in the Labrador Sea except near the extinct rift valley, where the east flank is 150–300 m shallower. Magnetic depth-to-source computations provide an independent confirmation of basement asymmetry: The belts 10–30 km from the axis of Mohns and Knipovich ridges are 100–150 m shallower on the west flank of these ridges. The shallower ridge flank is topographically rougher, so that average rift mountain summits are 300 m shallower on the west flanks of the Mohns-Knipovich ridges, a larger asymmetry than for average zero-age depth. The amount of topographic asymmetry is greatest near the Mohns-Knipovich bend. Asymmetry appears to be greatest for ridges oriented normal to the spreading direction, and less for oblique spreading.
2. (2) Free-air gravity anomaly asymmetries of +5 to +20 mGal ( + sign indicates west flank is more positive) are associated with topographic asymmetry at least within 10–15 m.y. of the axis of Mohns and Knipovich ridges. Gravity is reduced on the older flanks west of the extinct Mid-Labrador Ridge and east of Mohns Ridge; asymmetric crustal layer thicknesses or densities provide one possible explanation, although deep-seated sources (e.g., mantle convection), unrelated to the crust, cannot be excluded.
3. (3) Spreading half-rate was about 5–15% lower on the North American plate flanks of Mohns Ridge (57-35 m.y.) and in the Eurasia Basin (0–57 m.y.); thus the fast-spreading flank tends to produce deeper, smoother crust. However, topographic asymmetry cannot relate only to spreading-rate asymmetry, since for the young Mohns Ridge crust (<9 m.y. B.P.) faster spreading and higher topography are both associated with the west flank.
4. (4) Mid-plate seismicity is higher on the Eurasia (eastern) flank of Mohns and Knipovich ridge, but this effect may be unrelated to the other three.
The fluid-dynamical model of Stein et al. correctly explains the sense of spreading-rate asymmetry (the North American plate, moving faster over mantle, is growing more slowly). However, the other asymmetries and their causal relationships remain theoretically unexplained.  相似文献   

16.
The changing vision of marine minerals   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
Peter A. Rona   《Ore Geology Reviews》2008,33(3-4):618-666
Non-fuel marine minerals are reviewed from the perspective of resources and their value as active analogs that can advance understanding of types of ancient ore deposits that formed in marine settings. The theory of plate tectonics is the largest influence in expanding our vision of marine minerals and in developing our understanding of geologic controls of mineralization in space and time. Prior to the advent of plate tectonics, we viewed the ocean basins as passive sinks that served as containers for particulate and dissolved material eroded from land. This view adequately explained marine placer deposits (heavy minerals and gems), aggregates (sand and gravel), and precipitates (phosphorites and manganese nodules). Although numerous sites of placer mineral deposits are known on continental shelves worldwide, current activity pertains to diamond mining off southwestern Africa, tin mining off southeastern Asia, and intermittent gold mining off northwestern North America, which are all surpassed economically by worldwide recovery of marine sand and gravel, in turn dwarfed by offshore oil and gas. With the advent of plate tectonics, plate boundaries in ocean basins are recognized as active sources of mineralization in the form of hydrothermal massive sulfide deposits and proximal lower-temperature deposits hosted in oceanic crust (mafic at ocean ridges and felsic at volcanic island arcs), and of magmatic Ni–Cu sulfide, chromite and PGE deposits inferred to be present in the oceanic upper mantle–lower crust based on their occurrence in ophiolites. Some 300 sites of hydrothermal active and relict mineralization, most of them minor, are known at this early stage of seafloor exploration on ocean ridges, in fore-arc volcanoes, at back-arc spreading axes, and in arc rifts; deposits formed at spreading axes and transported off-axis by spreading are present in oceanic lithosphere but are virtually unknown. The TAG (Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse) hydrothermal field in the axial valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (latitude 26° N) is considered to exemplify a major Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) deposit forming at a spreading axis. The most prospective of these occurrences lie within the 200 nautical mile (370 km)-wide Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the nations of the volcanic island arcs of the western Pacific where metal content of massive sulfides (Ag, Au, Ba, Cu, Pb, Sb, Zn) exceeds that at ocean ridges. Plate tectonics early provided a framework for mineralization on the scale of global plate boundaries and is providing guidance to gradually converge on sites of mineralization through regional scales of plate reorganization, with the potential to elucidate the occurrence of individual deposits (e.g., Eocene Carlin-type gold deposits). Investigation of the spectrum of marine minerals as active analogs of types of ancient mineral deposits is contributing to this convergence. Consideration of questions posed by Brian Skinner (1997) of what we do and do not know about ancient hydrothermal mineral deposits demonstrates the ongoing advances in understanding driven by investigation of marine minerals.  相似文献   

17.
洋-陆过渡带是理解大陆岩石圈破裂和海底初始扩张的关键位置,但是在南海北部地区仍然存在关于相关地质过程的诸多疑问.通过近年开展的国际大洋发现计划航次以及深部地质地球物理探测,取得以下4个方面的认识.(1)南海北部的洋-陆边界一般与自由空间重力异常的正-负值过渡位置对应,而更加准确地限定需要结合反射、折射地震资料.稳定大洋岩石圈生成与大陆岩石圈最终破裂之间的洋-陆过渡边界的位置比以往认为的还应往深海盆方向移动.(2)洋-陆过渡带代表了远端带构造作用减弱和岩浆作用逐渐增强的区域.陆坡地壳发育扩张后岩浆底侵、洋-陆过渡带发育同破裂期岩浆喷出结构和侵入反射体.(3)在中生代的古俯冲带弧前区域,新生代的断裂沿着早期的构造开始活动,岩石圈多处发生强烈的共轭韧性剪切作用.随着大陆岩石圈的进一步拉伸减薄,部分靠陆一侧的裂谷中心停止张裂,成为夭折裂谷,以台西南盆地南部凹陷、白云凹陷、西沙海槽为代表,而南海陆缘异常伸展和最终破裂的地方集中在南侧裂谷中心.夭折裂谷下亦发现地幔蛇纹石化,进一步反映了较弱的同破裂岩浆活动.(4)南海初始洋壳的增生沿着大陆边缘走向具有显著的变化,南海东北部洋-陆过渡带下伏地幔明显抬升和部分蛇纹石化,地震纵、横波速度以及折射波衰减特征都支持此观点,反映南海东北部是一个贫岩浆型大陆边缘.未来,南海北部洋-陆过渡带有望成为南海“莫霍钻”的理想备选钻探区.   相似文献   

18.
Eighty samples of submarine basaltic lava were sampled from an 8 km segment of the floor and walls of the inner rift valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge during the French American Mid-Ocean Undersea Study (project Famous). The samples were collected from outcrops and talus slopes by the three submersibles: Alvin, Archimede, and Cyana at water depths of about 2600 meters.The early formed mineral content of the pillow lavas' glassy margins enables classification of the rocks into 5 types: (1) olivine basalt, (2) picritic basalt, (3) plagioclase-olivine-pyroxene basalt, (4) aphyric basalt, and (5) plagioclase-rich basalt. Chemical and mineralogical study indicates that at least 4 types are directly interrelated and that types (1) and (2) are higher-temperature, primitive lavas, and types (3) and (4) are lower-temperature, differentiated lavas derived from the primitive ones by crystal-liquid differentiation. The plagioclase-rich basalts also have a chemical composition of their glass comparable to that of the most differentiated basalts (types 3 and 4) but they differ in their greater amount of early formed plagioclase (12–35%).In general, the mineralogical variation across the rift valley shows an assymetrical distribution of the major basalt types. Despite the mineralogical diversity of the early formed crystals, the chemistry of the basalt glasses indicates a symmetrical and a gradual compositional change across the rift valley. Based primarily on their chemistry, the rock types 1 and 2 occupy an axial zone 1.1 km wide and make up the central volcanic hills. Differentiated lavas (types 3, 4) occupy the margins and walls of the inner rift valley and also occur near the center of the rift valley between the central hills.FeO/MgO ratios of olivine and coexisting melt indicate that the average temperature of eruption was 40 ° C higher for the primitive melts (types 1 and 2). Aside from major elements trends, the higher temperature character of the primitive basalts is shown by their common content of chrome spinel.The thickness of manganese oxide and palagonite on glassy lava provide an estimate of age. In a general fashion the relative age of the various volcanic events follow the compositional zoning observed in the explored area. Most of the youngest samples are olivine basalt of the axial hills. Most older samples occur in the margins of the rift valley (West and N.E. part of explored area) but are significantly younger than the spreading age of the crust on which they are erupted. Intermediate lava types occur mainly east of the rift valley axis and in other areas where plagioclase—olivine—pyroxene basalt and aphyric basalt are present.The above relations indicate that the diverse lava types were erupted from a shallow, zoned magma chamber from fissures distributed over the width of the inner rift valley and elongate parallel to it. Differentiation was accomplished by cooling and crystallization of plagioclase, olivine, and clinopyroxene toward the margins of the chamber. The centrally located hills were built by the piling up of frequent eruption of mainly primitive lavas which also are the youngest flows. In contrast smaller and less frequent eruptions of more differentiated lavas were exposed on both sides of the rift valley axis.Contribution n ° 480 du Départment Scientifique, Centre Océanologique de Bretagne  相似文献   

19.
Giacomo Corti   《Earth》2009,96(1-2):1-53
The Main Ethiopian Rift is a key sector of the East African Rift System that connects the Afar depression, at Red Sea–Gulf of Aden junction, with the Turkana depression and Kenya Rift to the South. It is a magmatic rift that records all the different stages of rift evolution from rift initiation to break-up and incipient oceanic spreading: it is thus an ideal place to analyse the evolution of continental extension, the rupture of lithospheric plates and the dynamics by which distributed continental deformation is progressively focused at oceanic spreading centres.The first tectono-magmatic event related to the Tertiary rifting was the eruption of voluminous flood basalts that apparently occurred in a rather short time interval at around 30 Ma; strong plateau uplift, which resulted in the development of the Ethiopian and Somalian plateaus now surrounding the rift valley, has been suggested to have initiated contemporaneously or shortly after the extensive flood-basalt volcanism, although its exact timing remains controversial. Voluminous volcanism and uplift started prior to the main rifting phases, suggesting a mantle plume influence on the Tertiary deformation in East Africa. Different plume hypothesis have been suggested, with recent models indicating the existence of deep superplume originating at the core-mantle boundary beneath southern Africa, rising in a north–northeastward direction toward eastern Africa, and feeding multiple plume stems in the upper mantle. However, the existence of this whole-mantle feature and its possible connection with Tertiary rifting are highly debated.The main rifting phases started diachronously along the MER in the Mio-Pliocene; rift propagation was not a smooth process but rather a process with punctuated episodes of extension and relative quiescence. Rift location was most probably controlled by the reactivation of a lithospheric-scale pre-Cambrian weakness; the orientation of this weakness (roughly NE–SW) and the Late Pliocene (post 3.2 Ma)-recent extensional stress field generated by relative motion between Nubia and Somalia plates (roughly ESE–WNW) suggest that oblique rifting conditions have controlled rift evolution. However, it is still unclear if these kinematical boundary conditions have remained steady since the initial stages of rifting or the kinematics has changed during the Late Pliocene or at the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary.Analysis of geological–geophysical data suggests that continental rifting in the MER evolved in two different phases. An early (Mio-Pliocene) continental rifting stage was characterised by displacement along large boundary faults, subsidence of rift depression with local development of deep (up to 5 km) asymmetric basins and diffuse magmatic activity. In this initial phase, magmatism encompassed the whole rift, with volcanic activity affecting the rift depression, the major boundary faults and limited portions of the rift shoulders (off-axis volcanism). Progressive extension led to the second (Pleistocene) rifting stage, characterised by a riftward narrowing of the volcano-tectonic activity. In this phase, the main boundary faults were deactivated and extensional deformation was accommodated by dense swarms of faults (Wonji segments) in the thinned rift depression. The progressive thinning of the continental lithosphere under constant, prolonged oblique rifting conditions controlled this migration of deformation, possibly in tandem with the weakening related to magmatic processes and/or a change in rift kinematics. Owing to the oblique rifting conditions, the fault swarms obliquely cut the rift floor and were characterised by a typical right-stepping arrangement. Ascending magmas were focused by the Wonji segments, with eruption of magmas at surface preferentially occurring along the oblique faults. As soon as the volcano-tectonic activity was localised within Wonji segments, a strong feedback between deformation and magmatism developed: the thinned lithosphere was strongly modified by the extensive magma intrusion and extension was facilitated and accommodated by a combination of magmatic intrusion, dyking and faulting. In these conditions, focused melt intrusion allows the rupture of the thick continental lithosphere and the magmatic segments act as incipient slow-spreading mid-ocean spreading centres sandwiched by continental lithosphere.Overall the above-described evolution of the MER (at least in its northernmost sector) documents a transition from fault-dominated rift morphology in the early stages of extension toward magma-assisted rifting during the final stages of continental break-up. A strong increase in coupling between deformation and magmatism with extension is documented, with magma intrusion and dyking playing a larger role than faulting in strain accommodation as rifting progresses to seafloor spreading.  相似文献   

20.
珠江口盆地白云凹陷新生代构造演化动力学   总被引:42,自引:0,他引:42  
白云凹陷构造演化史的研究对在白云凹陷开展油气勘探和深水沉积研究具有重要的意义。通过对断裂与沉积结构平面和剖面特点的分析,结合岩浆活动特点,文中提出白云凹陷是一个复式地堑,推测这种结构特点与凹陷下地壳的强烈韧性减薄和颈缩变形有关,表现为热岩石圈的伸展。其发育机制推测与白云凹陷位于构造转换带上有关,特殊的构造位置使白云凹陷成为强烈构造变形区,岩石圈地壳强烈减薄,伴随伸展过程和地幔上涌,脆性地壳或上地幔中部分熔融物质的出现导致岩石圈强度的急剧降低,在区域伸展应力场下以韧性流变方式减薄。岩浆在构造转换带下聚集并发育主岩浆房,由于白云凹陷南北边缘没有发育正断裂系统,岩浆主要沿垂直伸展的方向运移,因此在珠琼运动一幕和二幕南南东向伸展应力作用下,岩浆向白云凹陷的东部和西部运移至北西向基底深大断裂处,那里由于北西向断裂表现为左行张剪性质而成为压力较低的地区,从而成为岩浆上涌和侵位的地方。在岩浆聚集的地区,活动岩浆体附近的脆性变形被分散的韧性变形所取代,因此在凹陷的东北和西南两个角上,发育了张性和张剪性小断裂群,由于热岩石圈弹性较差,白云凹陷长期持续沉降。白云凹陷的断裂活动和沉积演化史还受到南海海盆扩张活动的影响。  相似文献   

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