Seismic investigations along the European Geotraverse and its surroundings in Central Europe

Since 1975 several high-resolution seismic-refraction and reflection surveys have been carried out in western Germany to investigate the structure of the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle. The investigation culminated in the seismic-refraction survey along the 825 km long central part of the European Geotraverse (EGT) in 1986. This contribution summarizes the main results of the more recent crustal investigations along and around the EGT. The internal crustal structure throughout the area of the Variscides is very complex and changes laterally considerably. Distinct crustal blocks differing in their internal structure can be assigned to geologically defined units of the Variscan and Caledonian orogeny. In spite of local deviations, in general a more or less transparent and low-velocity upper crust contrasts with a highly reflective lower crust. A subdivision of upper and lower crust by a well-defined boundary (Conrad discontinuity) is not always seen. Towards the Alps the average velocity of the lower crust is as low as 6.2 km s^?1, in contrast to the area north of the Swabian Jura where the velocities above Moho vary between 6.8 and 7.2 km s^?1. In Northern Germany, the Elbe line separates the lower crust into two regions with 6.4 km s^?1 average velocity in the south and 6.9 km s^?1 in the north. The total crustal thickness under the Variscan part of Germany is fairly constant between 28 and 30 km, except under the Rhine Graben area with 25–26 km and beneath the central part of the Rhenish Massif where an anomalous crustal thickening to 37 km is observed. Under northern Germany the Moho rises to about 26 km depth and the data indicate at least one fault-like step of 1 km before the crust thickens toward the Ringkobing-Fyn basement high. The synthesis of seismic velocity structure and petrological information from xenolith studies allows us to propose a mafic composition for the deeper levels of the crust and uppermost mantle which may be valid at least for the central part of the Variscan crust along the European Geotraverse in Central Europe.     

Seismic image of the deep crust at the eastern margin of the Alps (Austria): indications for crustal extension in a convergent orogen

A 39-km-long deep seismic reflection profile recorded during two field campaigns in 1996 and 2002 provides a first detailed image of the deep crust at the eastern margin of the Eastern Alps (Austria). The ESE–WNW-trending, low-fold seismic line crosses Austroalpine basement units and extends approximately from 20 km west of the Penninic window group of Rechnitz to 60 km SSE of the Alpine thrust front.The explosive-source seismic data reveals a transparent shallow crust down to 5 km depth, a complexly reflective upper crust and a highly reflective lowermost crust. The upper crust is dominated by three prominent west-dipping packages of high-amplitude subparallel reflections. The upper two of these prominent packages commence at the eastern end of the profile at about 5 and 10 km depth and are interpreted as low-angle normal shear zones related to the Miocene exhumation of the Rechnitz metamorphic core complex. In the western portion of the upper crust, east-dipping and less significant reflections prevail. The lowermost package of these reflections is suggested to represent the overall top of the European crystalline basement.Along the western portion of the line, the lower crust is characterised by a 6–8-km-thick band of high-amplitude reflection lamellae, typically observed in extensional provinces. The Moho can be clearly defined at the base of this band, at approximately 32.5 km depth. Due to insufficient signal penetration, outstanding reflections are missing in the central and eastern portion of the lower crust. We speculate that the result of accompanying gravity measurements and lower crustal sporadic reflections can be interpreted as an indication for a shallower Moho in the east, preferable at about 30.5 km depth.The high reflectivity of the lowermost part of the lower crust and prominent reflection packages in the upper crust, the latter interpreted to represent broad extensional mylonite zones, emphasises the latest extensional processes in accordance with eastward extrusion.     

Geological interpretation of a deep seismic‐reflection transect across the boundary between the Delamerian and Lachlan Orogens,in the vicinity of the Grampians,western Victoria

A deep seismic‐reflection transect in western Victoria was designed to provide insights into the structural relationship between the Lachlan and the Delamerian Orogens. Three seismic lines were acquired to provide images of the subsurface from west of the Grampians Range to east of the Stawell‐Ararat Fault Zone. The boundary between the Delamerian and Lachlan Orogens is now generally considered to be the Moyston Fault. In the vicinity of the seismic survey, this fault is intruded by a near‐surface granite, but at depth the fault dips to the east, confirming recent field mapping. East of the Moyston Fault, the uppermost crust is very weakly reflective, consisting of short, non‐continuous, west‐dipping reflections. These weak reflections represent rocks of the Lachlan Orogen and are typical of the reflective character seen on other seismic images from elsewhere in the Lachlan Orogen. Within the Lachlan Orogen, the Pleasant Creek Fault is also east dipping and approximately parallel to the Moyston Fault in the plane of the seismic section. Rocks of the Delamerian Orogen in the vicinity of the seismic line occur below surficial cover to the west of the Moyston Fault. Generally, the upper crust is only weakly reflective, but subhorizontal reflections at shallow depths (up to 3 km) represent the Grampians Group. The Escondida Fault appears to stop below the Grampians Group, and has an apparent gentle dip to the east. Farther east, the Golton and Mehuse Faults are also east dipping. The middle to lower crust below the Delamerian Orogen is strongly reflective, with several major antiformal structures in the middle crust. The Moho is a slightly undulating horizon at the base of the highly reflective middle to lower crust at 11–12 s TWT (approximately 35 km depth). Tectonically, the western margin of the Lachlan Orogen has been thrust over the Delamerian Orogen for a distance of at least 25 km, and possibly over 40 km.     

Europrobe seismic reflection profiling across the eastern Middle Urals and West Siberian Basin

New deep seismic reflection data provide images of the crust and uppermost mantle underlying the eastern Middle Urals and adjacent West Siberian Basin. Distinct truncations of reflections delineate the late-orogenic strike-slip Sisert Fault extending vertically to ∼28 km depth, and two gently E-dipping reflection zones, traceable to 15–18 km depth, probably represent normal faults associated with the opening of the West Siberian Basin. A possible remnant Palaeozoic subduction zone in the lower crust under the West Siberian Basin is visible as a gently SW-dipping zone of pronounced reflectivity truncated by the Moho. Continuity of shallow to intermediate-depth reflections suggest that Palaeozoic accreted island-arc terranes and overlying molasse sequences exposed in the hinterland of the Urals form the basement for Triassic and younger deposits in the West Siberian Basin. A highly reflective lower crust overlies a transparent mantle at about 43 km depth along the entire 100 km long seismic reflection section, suggesting that the lower crust and Moho below the eastern Middle Urals and West Siberian Basin have the same origin.     

松潘地块若尔盖盆地与西秦岭造山带岩石圈尺度的构造关系——深地震反射剖面探测成果

若尔盖盆地和西秦岭造山带作为青藏高原东北缘典型的新生代盆山构造,其接合部位的岩石圈结构及其深部构造关系为青藏高原东北缘板块碰撞的深部过程等研究奠定基础。横过盆山结合部位的深地震反射剖面长约63km,记录时间30s(TWT),探测深度超过莫霍面深达岩石圈地幔。该剖面首次揭露出青藏高原东北缘的盆山结合部位地壳和上地幔盖层的结构,发现了若尔盖盆地和西秦岭造山带下地壳以北倾为主的强反射特征,这种北倾的反射特征提供了若尔盖盆地俯冲到西秦岭造山带之下,而西秦岭造山带逆冲推覆到若尔盖盆地之上的地震学证据,初步揭示出若尔盖盆地和西秦岭造山带在挤压构造体系下形成的岩石圈尺度的构造关系,近于平坦的Moho反射特征反映两者在造山后期又经历了强烈的伸展作用。     

Gravity signals from the lithosphere in the Central European Basin System

We study the gravity signals from different depth levels in the lithosphere of the Central European Basin System (CEBS). The major elements of the CEBS are the Northern and Southern Permian Basins which include the Norwegian–Danish Basin (NDB), the North-German Basin (NGB) and the Polish Trough (PT). An up to 10 km thick sedimentary cover of Mesozoic–Cenozoic sediments, hides the gravity signal from below the basin and masks the heterogeneous structure of the consolidated crust, which is assumed to be composed of domains that were accreted during the Paleozoic amalgamation of Europe. We performed a three-dimensional (3D) gravity backstripping to investigate the structure of the lithosphere below the CEBS.Residual anomalies are derived by removing the effect of sediments down to the base of Permian from the observed field. In order to correct for the influence of large salt structures, lateral density variations are incorporated. These sediment-free anomalies are interpreted to reflect Moho relief and density heterogeneities in the crystalline crust and uppermost mantle. The gravity effect of the Moho relief compensates to a large extent the effect of the sediments in the CEBS and in the North Sea. Removal of the effects of large-scale crustal inhomogeneities shows a clear expression of the Variscan arc system at the southern part of the study area and the old crust of Baltica further north–east. The remaining residual anomalies (after stripping off the effects of sediments, Moho topography and large-scale crustal heterogeneities) reveal long wavelength anomalies, which are caused mainly by density variations in the upper mantle, though gravity influence from the lower crust cannot be ruled out. They indicate that the three main subbasins of the CEBS originated on different lithospheric domains. The PT originated on a thick, strong and dense lithosphere of the Baltica type. The NDB was formed on a weakened Baltica low-density lithosphere formed during the Sveco-Norwegian orogeny. The major part of the NGB is characterized by high-density lithosphere, which includes a high-velocity lower crust (relict of Baltica passive margin) overthrusted by the Avalonian terrane. The short wavelength pattern of the final residuals shows several north–west trending gravity highs between the Tornquist Zone and the Elbe Fault System. The NDB is separated by a gravity low at the Ringkøbing–Fyn high from a chain of positive anomalies in the NGB and the PT. In the NGB these anomalies correspond to the Prignitz (Rheinsberg anomaly), the Glueckstadt and Horn Graben, and they continue further west into the Central Graben, to join with the gravity high of the Central North Sea.     

Crustal structure from deep seismic soundings along the Koyna II (Kelsi-Loni) profile in the Deccan Trap area, India

The crustal depth section obtained from deep seismic soundings along the Koyna II (Kelsi-Loni) profile, which lies near latitude 18°N roughly in the east-west direction in that part of the Deccan Trap Maharashtra State, India, shows a number of reflection segments below the Deccan Traps down to the Moho discontinuity. A deep fault below the Deccan Traps 13 km east of Mahad divides the entire cross-section including the Moho boundary into two crustal blocks. The reflection segments show updip towards the west coast in the western block. The Moho discontinuity which is at a depth of 39 km near the deep fault starts rising towards the coast, reaching a depth of 31.5 km at the west coast. The eastern block is thrown up by 1.5 km with respect to the western block along the deep fault. A structural contour map of the Moho discontinuity for the Koyna reservoir area has been prepared from the present results and the crustal information obtained along the Koyna I profile (Kaila et al., 1979a), shows that the deep fault in the Koyna area is aligned in the NNW-SSE direction.Refraction seismic data analysis by the wave front method reveals that the thickness of the Deccan Trap increases towards the west coast. The Deccan Trap is 600–700 m thick in the eastern region between Nira (SP 130) and Loni (SP 200) and attains a thickness of 1500 m at 10 km east of the west coast. The longitudinal wave velocity in the Deccan Traps along the profile varies from 4.8 to 5.0 km/sec and in the crystalline basement from 6.0 to 6.15 km/sec. A tentative isopach contour map of the Deccan Traps and a tentative structural contour map of the Pre-Deccan Trap contact have been prepared for the Koyna reservoir area from the results along the Koyna II and Koyna I profiles. A flexure aligned in a NNW-SSE direction, in the Pre-Deccan Trap contact, which is an expression of the deep fault into the basement, has been clearly brought out. The flexure coincides in general with the orientation of the Deccan volcanic scarp in this area.     

Characteristics and Tectonic Significance of the Gravity Field in South China

Based on gravity data processed with the matched filter, depth continuation and horizontal gradient we obtained the spatial distribution of the gravity field and made analyses of the tectonic framework of South China. Then, inversion was conducted for the depth to study the depth variation of the boundary between the crust and upper mantle, namely the Mohorovicic discontinuity (Moho). The results demonstrate that the Moho depth in South China ranges from 30 to 40 km, and the crust thins from west to east, 27-29 km under the continent margin and shallow sea. We think it possible that the Tanlu fault crosses the Yangtze River and extends southwards along the Ganjiang and Wuchuan-Sihui faults to the South China Sea, and that there is an E-W hidden structural belt along 24.5°-26°.     

P-wave velocity features of the lithosphere under the Eromanga Basin, Eastern Australia, including a prominent MID-crustal (Conrad?) discontinuity

The crustal structure of the central Eromanga Basin in the northern part of the Australian Tasman Geosyncline, revealed by coincident seismic reflection and refraction shooting, contrasts with some neighbouring regions of the continent. The depth to the crust-mantle boundary (Moho) of 36–41 km is much less than that under the North Australian Craton to the northwest (50–55 km) and the Lachlan Fold Belt to the southeast (43–51 km) but is similar to that under the Drummond and Bowen Basins to the east.The seismic velocity boundaries within the crust are sharp compared with the transitional nature of the boundaries under the North Australian and Lachlan provinces. In particular, there is a sharp velocity increase at mid-crustal depths (21–24 km) which has not been observed with such clarity elsewhere in Australia (the Conrad discontinuity?).In the lower crust, the many discontinuous sub-horizontal reflections are in marked contrast to lack of reflecting horizons in the upper crust, further emphasising the differences between the upper and lower crust. The crust-mantle boundary (Moho) is characterised by an increase in velocity from 7.1–7.7 km/s to a value of 8.15 + 0.04 km/s. The depth to the Moho under the Canaway Ridge, a prominent basement high, is shallower by about 5 km than the regional Moho depth; there is also no mid-crustal horizon under the Canaway Ridge but there is a very sharp velocity increase at the Moho depth of 34 km. The Ridge could be interpreted as a horst structure extending to at least Moho depths but it could also have a different intra-crustal structure from the surrounding area.The sub-crustal lithosphere has features which have been interpreted, from limited data, as being caused by a velocity gradient at 56–57 km depth with a low velocity zone above it.Because of the contrasting crustal thicknesses and velocity gradients, the lithosphere of the central Eromanga Basin cannot be considered as an extension of the exposed Lachlan Fold Belt or the North Australian Craton. The lack of seismic reflections from the upper crust indicates no coherent accoustic impedance pattern at wavelengths greater than 100 m, consistent with an upper crustal basement of tightly folded meta-sedimentary and meta-volcanic rocks. The crustal structure is consistent with a pericratonic or arc/back-arc basin being cratonised in an episode of convergent tectonics in the Early Palaeozoic. The seismic reflections from the lower crust indicate that it could have developed in a different tectonic environment.     

NIZUSE: a deep seismic reflection line in north-eastern Germany

Out of a dense network of seismic reflection lines for hydrocarbon exploration in the North-east German Basin, several lines were recorded to 12 s TWT to obtain information about the structure of the crust and the crust-mantle transition. One of these profiles is presented here. This stretches for 110 km in a NNE direction between Neustrelitz and the island of Usedom. It reaches from the External Variscides in the south across the North German Massif into the Rügen-Pomorze Terrane in the Baltic Sea. Below Cenozoic-Mesozoic-Paleozoic cover with clear reflections down to base Zechstein, the reflectivity varies considerably with depth and also laterally. The Paleozoic and Precambrian sediments and basement are generally void of reflections, but the lower crust and the Moho show strong reflections. To the north the reflectivity decreases, and the Moho depth increases to beyond the bottom of the record section at 12 s. There are no direct indications for deep-reaching faults such as the Trans-European Fault in the north. The North German Massif acted as a ramp towards the Variscan Orogeny, similar to the London-Brabant Massif further west.     

The evolution of the layered lower crust and the Moho through geological time in Western Europe: contribution of deep seismic reflection profiles

Deep seismic reflection images from a set of profiles shot in Western Europe have been reviewed and compared, and tentative conclusions have been proposed concerning the evolution of the layered lower crust and the Moho. The disappearance of Variscan mountain roots is related to the set-up of a new Moho at a typical 30-km depth and the creation of seismic layering in the lower crust. Deep seismic profiles suggest that these processes resulted, at least in part, from magmatic intrusion, partial crustal melting and metamorphism of deep crustal rocks into eclogite. On the other hand, the layered lower crust is greatly attenuated beneath Cretaceous basins and Tertiary rifts in relation to prominent Moho upwellings. The unusual amplitude of the Moho reflection and the presence of anomalously high seismic velocities in the lowermost crust beneath the Tertiary rifts suggest that the Moho and part of the layering are comparatively young features related to interactions between crust and mantle. Beneath Triassic-Jurassic basins, the layered lower crust was not affected by the subsidence of the basement, with the whole crustal thinning being entirely concentrated in the upper crust. This indicates that the layered lower crust and the Moho were formed or restored during or after the main rifting phase. Seismic data reveal constraints on the processes that affect the crust-mantle transition and seem to restore the Moho to its typical depth after any mechanical deformation of the lithosphere.     

三门峡断陷盆地及邻区深部结构及成因——来自深地震反射与大地电磁测深的证据

近年来,围绕三门峡断陷盆地中的油气、地热资源做了大量的工作,成因机制研究较少,严重制约了矿产资源的勘探开发。本文在前人研究工作基础上,结合野外地质调查并利用高精度深反射地震剖面、大地电磁（MT）、重磁等地球物理探测技术,对三门峡盆地进行综合研究。发现三门峡盆地主要由东、西2个负花状构造构成,西花状构造体大于东花状构造体;盆地东部边缘以观音堂隆起与洛阳凹陷相邻,观音堂隆起发育有壳内透镜状低速体,其东、西两侧均发育有规模较大的隐伏逆断层。研究区内莫霍面为大约5 km厚度滑脱层,在深反射地震剖面上表现为蚯蚓状反射特征,指示滑脱层为西向运动。莫霍面滑脱层上部与下部新发现多条弧形断层。地质与地球物理资料综合研究表明,莫霍面滑脱层的解耦作用是三门峡断陷盆地花状构造形成的主因;在不同时空构造力系作用下,形成研究区新生代全地壳旋转花状构造盆地。     

A Geotransect in the Central Indian Shield,across the Narmada-Son Lineament and the Central Indian Suture

This paper reports on a geotransect in the central Indian shield along a 100 km wide NW-SE corridor between Hirapur and Rajnandgaon. This corridor has been selected based on two seismic profiles—a 235 km long seismic-refraction/wide-angle-reflection profile between Hirapur and Mandla and a 130 km long coincident deep-reflection/refraction profile between Seoni and Kalimati. Since the geologic, gravity, magnetic, and heat-flow data are available up to Rajnandgaon, the second part of the corridor has been extended by another 80 km in the absence of seismic data. From northwest to southeast, the transect corridor covers different tectonic units of the Late Archean to Mesoproterozoic Bundelkhand craton, the Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic Satpura mobile belt, the Middle Archean to Mesoproterozoic Kotri-Dongargarh mobile belt, and the Neoproterozoic Bastar craton.

The seismic results in the Bundelkhand craton show lower crustal velocity values at a very shallow depth; these data have now been interpreted as a lower-crustal intrusive body that is present throughout the Bundelkhand craton in the lower crust at depths of 23 to 25 km. Combined interpretation of seismic travel times with the gravity data indicate the presence of a local magmatic body at mid-crustal depth in the Satpura mobile belt. The crust-mantle boundary is at depths varying between 40 and 44 km.

The seismic-reflection data set identifies the presence of a suture at the Satpura mobile belt/ Kotri-Dongargarh mobile belt boundary. A well-defined Moho offset and a pattern of adjacent fabrics, each characterized by dips toward each other, mark tectonically imbricated crust on opposite sides of the suture.     

Significant crustal structural variation across the Chaochou Fault, southern Taiwan: New tectonic implications for convergent plate boundary

The Chaochou Fault, a major geological boundary in southern Taiwan is considered to be a part of the convergent plate boundary between the Eurasia Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. We applied the Common Conversion Point stacking technique to teleseismic radial receiver functions and obtained Moho variation and crustal structure across the Chaochou Fault. In the Eurasia Plate to its west, the Moho depth is about 37 km and the crust is subducting to the east beneath the Philippine Sea Plate with a dip angle of about 30° between the Backbone Belt and the Tananao Schist. In the Philippine Sea Plate, the Moho depth is about 17 km. The Longitudinal Valley marks the collision boundary between the Eurasia Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. The results suggest that the depth extent of the Chaochou Fault is about 30–35 km and the fault becomes a “shallow-angle” thrust fault at depth. The Common Conversion Point image also shows several bending interfaces of velocity contrast in the crust. We proposed a simple model to explain the Philippine Sea Plate and Eurasia Plate collision process and the observed crustal deformations.     

The crustal structure of the Guayana Shield, Venezuela, from seismic refraction and gravity data

We present results from a seismic refraction experiment on the northern margin of the Guayana Shield performed during June 1998, along nine profiles of up to 320 km length, using the daily blasts of the Cerro Bolívar mines as energy source, as well as from gravimetric measurements. Clear Moho arrivals can be observed on the main E–W profile on the shield, whereas the profiles entering the Oriental Basin to the north are more noisy. The crustal thickness of the shield is unusually high with up to 46 km on the Archean segment in the west and 43 km on the Proterozoic segment in the east. A 20 km thick upper crust with P-wave velocities between 6.0 and 6.3 km/s can be separated from a lower crust with velocities ranging from 6.5 to 7.2 km/s. A lower crustal low velocity zone with a velocity reduction to 6.3 km/s is observed between 25 and 25 km depth. The average crustal velocity is 6.5 km/s. The changes in the Bouguer Anomaly, positive (30 mGal) in the west and negative (−20 mGal) in the east, cannot be explained by the observed seismic crustal features alone. Lateral variations in the crust or in the upper mantle must be responsible for these observations.     

Restricted rifting and its coexistence with compressional structures: results from the CROP 3 traverse (Northern Apennines, Italy)

A geological interpretation of the deep seismic reflection line CROP 3 (Italian program CROsta Profonda: deep crust, profile no. 3), which crosscuts the Northern Apennines from the Tyhrrenian to the Adriatic coast, is presented. The profile images the lithosphere up to 15 s TWT and highlights several peculiarities: (a) the lower crust is bedded by discontinuous sub parallel reflective markers which terminate at ≈ 7 s beneath the western side of the profile; (b) in the same area a notable reflection is recognizable at 10 s and is interpreted as the top of the asthenosphere; (c) east-plunging shear zones are recognizable throughout the crust. By contrast, the Adriatic (outer) side of this line shows: (a) reflections deepening westward, from 13 to 15 s TWT, related to the base of the crust (33–38 km depth); (b) the absence of thick bedding of reflective markers within the lower crust; and (c) tectonic structures affecting the basement which are different from those which deform the cover of the Northern Apennines. Geological interpretation is based on the eastward migration of ductile shear zones which have been recognized on the seismic line. The bending of the outer zone crust is considered to be a consequence of the rifting process with the application of pushing forces against the Adriatic lithosphere which cannot escape toward east.     

Crustal observations beneath the southern North Sea and their tectonic and geological implications

In 1991, a deep seismic reflection line, MPNI-9101, was acquired in the southern North Sea from the Mesozoic Broad Fourteens Basin, across the West Netherlands Basin onto the London-Brabant Massif (LBM). The resultant section shows a strongly reflective lower crust beneath the area of Mesozoic basin development. This lower crustal reflectivity continues to be strong beneath the LBM. The travel time to the base of the reflective zone increases from approximately 11.0 s beneath the Mesozoic basins to 12.5 s beneath the LBM, suggesting a southward thickening of the crust (Rijkers et al., 1993). Based on these travel times and information from deep wells and refraction surveys. Moho depth is estimated to increase from about 31 km beneath the Mesozoic basins to about 38 km beneath the LBM. This difference in depth to the Moho can partly be explained by coaxial stretching of the crust beneath the Mesozoic basins. In comparison with the Mesozoic basins, the crust beneath the LBM was thickened during the Caledonian and Variscan orogenies.     

Crustal thickening processes in the Central Andes and the different natures of the Moho-discontinuity

New seismic data from the Central Andes allow us to clarify the crustal structure of this mountain chain and to address the problem of crustal thickening. Evidence for the deep crustal root can be observed in both gravimetric and seismological data. Crustal structure and composition change significantly from east to west. In the eastern part of the backarc the Moho discontinuity is clearly recognisable. However only poor Moho arrivals are observed by active seismic measurements beneath the Altiplano and the Western Cordillera where broad-band seismology data indicate such a discontinuity. In the Precordillera, a pronounced discontinuity is detected at a depth of 70 km. Along the coast, the oceanic Moho is developed at a depth of 40 km. There are several processes which can change the petrological and petrophysical properties of the rocks forming the crust. Variations of the classical Moho discontinuity are presented which do not correspond to the petrological crust/mantle boundary. Tectonic shortening in the backarc is the dominant process contributing to at least 50–55% to the root formation along 21°S. In the forearc and arc, hydration of the mantle wedge produced ≈15–20% of crustal thickening. Magmatic thickening and tectonic erosion contributed only ≈5%. The other ≈25% is not yet explained.     

The gravity field of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin

Approximately 39,000 km of marine gravity data collected during 1975 and 1976 have been integrated with U.S. Navy and other available data over the U.S. Atlantic continental margin between Florida and Maine to obtain a 10 mgal contour free-air gravity anomaly map. A maximum typically ranging from 0 to +70 mgal occurs along the edge of the shelf and Blake Plateau, while a minimum typically ranging from −20 to −80 mgal occurs along the base of the continental slope, except for a −140 mgal minimum at the base of the Blake Escarpment. Although the maximum and minimum free-air gravity values are strongly influenced by continental slope topography and by the abrupt change in crustal thickness across the margin, the peaks and troughs in the anomalies terminate abruptly at discrete transverse zones along the margin. These zones appear to mark major NW—SE fractures in the subsided continental margin and adjacent deep ocean basin, which separate the margin into a series of segmented basins and platforms. Rapid differential subsidence of crustal blocks on either side of these fractures during the early stages after separation of North America and Africa (Jurassic and Early Cretaceous) is inferred to be the cause of most of the gravity transitions along the length of margin. The major transverse zones are southeast of Charleston, east of Cape Hatteras, near Norfolk Canyon, off Delaware Bay, just south of Hudson Canyon and south of Cape Cod.Local Airy isostatic anomaly profiles (two-dimensional, without sediment corrections) were computed along eight multichannel seismic profiles. The isostatic anomaly values over major basins beneath the shelf and rise are generally between −10 and −30 mgal while those over the platform areas are typically 0 to +20 mgal. While a few isostatic anomaly profiles show local 10–20 mgal increases seaward of the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA: inferred to mark the ocean-continent boundary), the lack of a consistent correlation indicates that the relationship of isostatic gravity anomalies to the magnetic anomalies and the ocean—continent transition is variable.Two-dimensional gravity models have been computed for two profiles off Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Cape May, New Jersey, where excellent reflection, refraction and magnetic control appear to define 10 and 12 km deep sedimentary basins beneath the shelf, respectively and 10 km deep basins beneath the rise. The basins are separated by a 6–8 km deep basement ridge which underlies the ECMA and appears to mark the landward edge of oceanic crust. The gravity models suggest that the oceanic crust is between 11 and 18 km thick beneath the ECMA, but decreases to a thickness of less than 8 km within the first 20–90 km to the southeast. In both profiles, the derived crustal thickness variations support the interpretation that the ECMA occurs over the ocean-continent boundary. The crust underlying the sedimentary cover appears to be 12 to 15 km thick on the landward side of the ECMA and gradually thickens to normal continental values of greater than 25 km within the first 60 to 110 km to the northwest. Multichannel seismic profiles across platform areas, such as Cape Hatteras and Cape Cod, indicate the ocean-continent transition zones there are much narrower than profiles across major sedimentary basins, such as the one off New Jersey.     

A new tectonic model for the Laurentia−Avalonia−Baltica sutures in the North Sea: A case study along MONA LISA profile 3

We present a new model for the lithospheric structure of the transitions between Laurentia, Avalonia and Baltica in the North Sea, northwestern Europe based on 2¾D potential field modelling of MONA LISA profile 3 across the Central Graben, with constraints from seismic P-wave velocity models and the crustal normal incidence reflection section along the profile. The model shows evidence for the presence of upper-and lower Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks as well as differences in crustal structure between the palaeo-continents Laurentia, Avalonia and Baltica. Our new model, together with previous results from transformations of the gravity and magnetic fields, demonstrates correlation between crustal magnetic domains along the profile and the terrane affinity of the crust. This integrated interpretation indicates that a 150 km wide zone, characterized by low-grade metamorphosis and oblique thrusting of Avalonia crust over Baltica lower crust, is characteristic for the central North Sea area. The magnetic susceptibility and the density across the Coffee Soil Fault range from almost zero and 2715 kg/m³ in Avalonia crust to 0.05 SI and 2775 kg/m³ in Baltica crust. The model of MONA LISA profile 3 indicates that the transition between Avalonia and Baltica is located beneath the Central Graben with a ramp–flat–ramp geometry. Our results indicate that the initial rifting of the Central Graben and the Viking Graben was controlled by the location of the Caledonian collisional suture, located at the Coffee Soil Fault, and that the deep crustal part of Baltica extends further to the west than hitherto believed.