Northeast-trending folds in the western Skeena Fold Belt,northern Canadian Cordillera: a record of Early Cretaceous sinistral plate convergence

The western portion of the Skeena Fold Belt, northern Canadian Cordillera, contains northeast-trending folds that are highly oblique to northwest-trending folds in the eastern portion of the fold belt, and to most Mesozoic contractional structures in the northern Cordillera. The northeast-trending folds locally interfere with the northwest-trending folds, and one region includes transected folds. Geometric relationships within and between the two fold sets are not easily reconciled by notions of the northeast-trending folds resulting from vertical axis rotation of blocks, influence of basement features, or lateral variations in magnitude of shortening. The northeast-trending folds are inferred to result from sinistral plate convergence early in the history of the fold belt (Early Cretaceous).Northeast-trending folds in the Skeena Fold Belt are the most conspicuous elements of a seldom-studied group of similarly oriented contractional structures, which collectively define a belt at least 1700 km long, within and bordering the Coast Belt. The extent of Early Cretaceous structures potentially related to sinistral convergence supports them having originated in response to the relative plate motion rather than local controls (e.g. indentors). This agrees with relative plate motion studies based on ocean floor reconstructions, which suggest a mid-Cretaceous change from sinistral to dextral convergence.     

Multiphase structural evolution of the western margin of the Girardot subbasin, Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia

More than 1400 km of two-dimensional seismic data were used to understand the geometries and structural evolution along the western margin of the Girardot Basin in the Upper Magdalena Valley. Horizons are calibrated against 50 wells and surface geological data (450 km of traverses). At the surface, low-angle dipping Miocene strata cover the central and eastern margins. The western margin is dominated by a series of en echelon synclines that expose Cretaceous–Oligocene strata. Most synclines are NNE–NE trending, whereas bounding thrusts are mainly NS oriented. Syncline margins are associated mostly with west-verging fold belts. These thrusts started deformation as early as the Eocene but were moderately to strongly reactivated during the Andean phase. The Girardot Basin fill records at least four stratigraphic sequences limited by unconformities. Several periods of structural deformation and uplifting and subsidence have affected the area. An early Tertiary deformation event is truncated by an Eocene unconformity along the western margin of the Girardot Basin. An Early Oligocene–Early Miocene folding and faulting event underlies the Miocene unconformity along the northern and eastern margin of the Girardot Basin. Finally, the Late Miocene–Pliocene Andean deformation folds and erodes the strata along the margins of the basin against the Central and Eastern Cordilleras.     

Internal deformation of Sikhote Alin volcanic belt, far eastern Russia: Paleocene paleomagnetic results

We present paleomagnetic results of Paleocene welded tuffs of the 53–50 Ma Bogopol Group from the northern region (46°N, 137°E) of the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt. Characteristic paleomagnetic directions with high unblocking temperature components above 560 °C were isolated from all the sites. A tilt-corrected mean paleomagnetic direction from the northern region is D=345.8°, I=49.9°, α₉₅=14.6° (N=9). The reliability of the magnetization is ascertained through the presence of normal and reversed polarities. The mean paleomagnetic direction from the northern region of the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt reflects a counterclockwise rotation of 29° from the Paleocene mean paleomagnetic direction expected from its southern region. The counterclockwise rotation of 25° is suggested from the paleomagnetic data of the Kisin Group that underlies the Bogopol Group. These results establish that internal tectonic deformation occurred within the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt over the past 50 Ma. The northern region from 44.6° to 46.0°N in the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt was subjected to counterclockwise rotational motion through 29±17° with respect to the southern region. The tectonic rotation of the northern region is ascribable to relative motion between the Zhuravlevka terrane and the Olginsk–Taukhinsk terranes that compose the basements of the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt.     

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility and paleomagnetic studies in relation to the tectonic evolution of the Miocene–Pleistocene accretionary sequence in the Boso and Miura Peninsulas, central Japan

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and paleomagnetic methods have been applied on the middle Miocene–Pleistocene sedimentary sequence in the Boso and Miura Peninsulas of central Japan in order to identify the invisible regional deformation sense as well as the intensity of deformation of sediments. The southern sequences of the two peninsulas were subjected to syn-sedimentary deformation of folding and faulting generated in compressional tectonics. A previous result of the AMS experiment on the sequences shows a development of a strong magnetic lineation. Thus, it is conceivable that the lineation had to be generated during the process of deformation, and in a direction perpendicular to the shortening. However, the orientation of the magnetic lineations is inconsistent among the different tectonic domains in the southern sequence. The paleomagnetic declination in each domain reveals a clockwise rotation in various degrees. Reconstructed directions of the magnetic lineations show a consistent pattern in the east–west direction, suggesting that the sedimentary sequence was subjected to a north-southward compression. In contrast, the compressive direction of the sediment cover on the Pliocene–Pleistocene sequence reveals a northwest direction. Our results suggest that the Philippine Sea Plate had been subducting northward during the middle Miocene–Pliocene, and changed its direction during the Pliocene.     

Age of the Corsica–Sardinia rotation and Liguro–Provençal Basin spreading: new paleomagnetic and Ar/Ar evidence

The age of spreading of the Liguro–Provençal Basin is still poorly constrained due to the lack of boreholes penetrating the whole sedimentary sequence above the oceanic crust and the lack of a clear magnetic anomaly pattern. In the past, a consensus developed over a fast (20.5–19 Ma) spreading event, relying on old paleomagnetic data from Oligo–Miocene Sardinian volcanics showing a drift-related 30° counterclockwise (CCW) rotation. Here we report new paleomagnetic data from a 10-m-thick lower–middle Miocene marine sedimentary sequence from southwestern Sardinia. Ar/Ar dating of two volcanoclastic levels in the lower part of the sequence yields ages of 18.94±0.13 and 19.20±0.12 Ma (lower–mid Burdigalian). Sedimentary strata below the upper volcanic level document a 23.3±4.6° CCW rotation with respect to Europe, while younger strata rapidly evolve to null rotation values. A recent magnetic overprint can be excluded by several lines of evidence, particularly by the significant difference between the in situ paleomagnetic and geocentric axial dipole (GAD) field directions. In both the rotated and unrotated part of the section, only normal polarity directions were obtained. As the global magnetic polarity time scale (MPTS) documents several geomagnetic reversals in the Burdigalian, a continuous sedimentary record would imply that (unrealistically) the whole documented rotation occurred in few thousands years only. We conclude that the section contains one (or more) hiatus(es), and that the minimum age of the unrotated sediments above the volcanic levels is unconstrained. Typical back-arc basin spreading rates translate to a duration ≥3 Ma for the opening of the Liguro–Provençal Basin. Thus, spreading and rotation of Corsica–Sardinia ended no earlier than 16 Ma (early Langhian). A 16–19 Ma, spreading is corroborated by other evidences, such as the age of the breakup unconformity in Sardinia, the age of igneous rocks dredged west of Corsica, the heat flow in the Liguro–Provençal Basin, and recent paleomagnetic data from Sardinian sediments and volcanics. Since Corsica was still rotating/drifting eastward at 16 Ma, it presumably induced significant shortening to the east, in the Apennine belt. Therefore, the lower Miocene extensional basins in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea and margins can be interpreted as synorogenic “intra-wedge” basins due to the thickening and collapse of the northern Apennine wedge.     

Active strike–slip faulting and macroscopically nonrigid deformation of volcanic rocks in central Japan inferred from a paleomagnetic study

Detailed paleomagnetic investigation of a pyroclastic flow deposit has clarified the deformation mode around an active fault. In central Japan, the early Quaternary Nyukawa Pyroclastic Flow Deposit is cut by the active dextral Enako fault. Activity level of the fault is evaluated on the basis of geological and geomorphological surveys. Then, paleomagnetic samples are collected from 22 sites at exposures located on a lineament that is adjoining and parallel to the Enako fault. Stable thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) of the pyroclastic deposit is isolated through progressive thermal and/or alternating field demagnetization tests. Untilted site-mean directions of the TRMs simultaneously acquired during initial cooling indicate significant clockwise vertical-axis rotation. The lineament was then activated with right-lateral motions through the early Quaternary. Together with the late Quaternary activities along the adjoining Enako fault evaluated by our study, the present result exemplifies a migration of active segments within a fault system during the Quaternary. Paleomagnetic directions on the strike–slip fault are not concordant with uniform deformation predicted by the model of rotation of rigid blocks aligned on a master fault, but suggestive of a periodic deformation as a result of intense fracturing and differential rotation of blocks bounded by nested parallel faults.     

From continental margin extension to collision orogen: structural development and tectonic rotation of the Hengchun peninsula, southern Taiwan

As a result of oblique collision, the Taiwan orogen propagates southward. The Hengchun peninsula in the southern tip of the Taiwan Central Range, preserving the youngest, the least deformed and the most complete accretionary prism sequences, allows therefore better understanding of the tectonic evolution of Taiwan orogen. On the Hengchun peninsula, four main stages of paleostress can be recognized by the analysis of brittle tectonics. After recording the first two stages of paleostress, rocks of the Hengchun peninsula (the Hengchun block) have undergone both tilting and counterclockwise rotation of about 90°. The structural boundaries of this rotated Hengchun block are: the Kenting Mélange zone in the southwest, the Fongkang Fault in the north, and a submarine backthrust in the east. The angle of this rotation is principally calculated by the paleomagnetic analysis data and a physical model experiment. Through a systematic back-tilting and back-rotating restoration, the original orientations of the four paleostress stages of Hengchun peninsula are recognized. They are, from the ancient to the recent, a NW–SE extension, a combination of NW–SE transtension and NE–SW transpression, a NE–SW compression, and finally a combination of NE–SW transtension and NW–SE transpression. This result can be explained by a phenomenon of stress axes permutation, instead of a complex polyphase tectonism. This stress axes permutation is caused by the horizontal compression increase accompanying the propagation of the accretionary prism. Combining the tectonic and paleomagnetic data with paleocurrent and stratigraphic data enables us to reconstruct the tectonic evolution of the Hengchun peninsula. This reconstruction corresponds to the deformation history of a continental margin basin, from its opening to its intense deformation in the accretionary prism.     

Mouvements actuels des blocs tectoniques dans l’arc Bético-Rifain à partir des mesures GPS entre 1999 et 2005

GPS velocities and seismicity across the Betic–Rif Arc structural domains (Morocco and Iberia) provide a basis to evaluate present-day seismotectonic processes between different deformation belts. The results show asymmetric movements in the complex Alboran system accommodating the convergence between the African (Nubian) and Eurasian plates. While the Betic Mountains are attached to Iberia, moving toward the southeast with respect to Africa, the Rif is divided into three blocks with distinct displacements relative to Nubia: (1) the Tangier block moving southeastward, (2) the Central Rif block moving SSW, and (3) the Oriental Rif block undergoing clockwise rotation. GPS-derived motions decrease in rate from the Rif nappes complex to the foreland.     

Genesis and evolution of a curved mountain front: paleomagnetic and geological evidence from the Gran Sasso range (central Apennines, Italy)

The Gran Sasso range is a striking salient formed by two roughly rectilinear E–W and N–S limbs. In the past 90° counterclockwise (CCW) rotations from the eastern Gran Sasso were reported [Tectonophysics 215 (1992) 335], suggesting west–east increase of rotation-related northward shortening along the E–W limb. In this paper, we report on paleomagnetic data from Meso-Cenozoic sedimentary dykes and strata cropping out at Corno Grande (central part of the E–W Gran Sasso limb), the highest summit of the Apennine belt. Predominant northwestward paleomagnetic declinations (in the normal polarity state) from both sedimentary dykes and strata are observed. When compared to the expected declination values for the Adriatic foreland, our data document no thrusting-related rotation at Corno Grande. The overall paleomagnetic data set coupled with the available geological information shows that the Gran Sasso arc is in fact a composite structure, formed by an unrotated-low shortening western (E–W trending) limb and a strongly CCW rotated eastern salient. Late Messinian and post-early Pliocene shortening episodes documented along the Gran Sasso front indicate that belt building and arc formation occurred during two distinct episodes. We suggest that the southern part of a late Messinian N–S front was reactivated during early–middle Pliocene time, forming a tight range salient due to CCW rotations and differential along-front shortening rates. The formation of a northward displacing bulge in an overall NW–SE chain is likely a consequence of the collision between the Latium-Abruzzi and Apulian carbonate platforms during northeastward propagation of the Apennine wedge, inducing lateral northward extrusion of Latium-Abruzzi carbonates towards ductile basinal sediment areas.     

柴北缘早新生代旋转变形特征及其构造意义

青藏高原东北部作为高原北东向扩展的前缘地带,新生代以来变形十分强烈,是研究青藏高原隆升变形过程和生长模式的关键地区之一。然而高原东北部何时卷入印度-欧亚大陆碰撞挤压变形系统以及高原扩展的运动学、动力学过程和机制等仍存在很大争议。大陆碰撞及持续挤压过程往往会伴随块体及其内部的旋转变形,而古地磁磁偏角可以定量恢复块体绕垂直轴发生的旋转变形,在研究块体旋转变形方面具有其独特优势。高原东北部,尤其是柴达木盆地,缺乏早新生代的细致旋转变形研究,制约了我们对高原东北部地区早新生代的旋转变形特征及其对印度-欧亚大陆碰撞远程响应的理解。柴北缘地区出露有近乎连续完整的早新生代路乐河组-下干柴沟组地层,为研究青藏高原东北部早新生代旋转变形提供了理想场所。本文对柴北缘逆冲带北中部的驼南和高泉两剖面早新生代路乐河组和下干柴沟组地层开展精细古地磁旋转变形研究:包括在驼南剖面布设4个时间节点、24个采点260个古地磁岩心样品,高泉剖面布设2个时间节点、14个采点150个古地磁岩心样品。通过系统岩石磁学和热退磁实验分析,揭示两剖面早新生代样品的载磁矿物主要是赤铁矿,并含有少量磁铁矿;所获得31个有效采点的高温特征剩磁方向通过褶皱检验和倒转检验,指示可能是岩石沉积时期记录的原生剩磁方向。结合柴北缘中部红柳沟剖面已有古地磁数据,三剖面古地磁结果一致表明柴北缘地区在45~35 Ma期间发生了显著(约20°)逆时针旋转变形。结合东部陇中盆地同时期古地磁旋转变形记录,发现二者具有反向的共轭旋转变形关系。综合青藏高原东部早新生代(52~46 Ma)旋转变形和渐新世以来走滑断裂活动等证据,我们认为:(1)高原东北部的共轭旋转变形是该地区对印度-欧亚碰撞的远程响应,其时间不晚于中始新世(约45 Ma);(2)早新生代自喜马拉雅东构造结至高原东北部,其两侧系统的共轭旋转变形很可能是该时期喜马拉雅东构造结北北东向压入欧亚大陆引起的右旋和左旋剪切作用导致,且剪切应力及相关的地壳缩短和旋转变形等呈现自东构造结地区沿北北东向逐步向高原东北部传递的特征;(3)古新世—始新世时期高原构造变形可能主要通过南北向挤压-地壳增厚模式、渐新世以来主要以沿主要断裂带的侧向挤出模式来调整。     

Curved structures and interference fold patterns associated with lateral ramps in the Eastern Cordillera, Central Andes of Argentina

The conspicuous curved structures located at the eastern front of the Eastern Cordillera between 25° and 26° south latitude is coincident with the salient recognized as the El Crestón arc. Major oblique strike-slip faults associated with these strongly curved structures were interpreted as lateral ramps of an eastward displaced thrust sheet. The displacement along these oblique lateral ramps generated the local N–S stress components responsible for the complex hanging wall deformation. Accompanying each lateral ramp, there are two belts of strong oblique fault and folding: the upper Juramento River valley area and El Brete area.On both margins of the Juramento River upper valley, there is extensive map-scale evidence of complex deformation above an oblique ramp. The N–S striking folds originated during Pliocene Andean orogeny were subsequently or simultaneously folded by E–W oriented folds. The lateral ramps delimiting the thrust sheet coincident with the El Crestón arc salient are strike-slip faults emplaced in the abrupt transitions between thick strata forming the salient and thin strata outside of it. El Crestón arc is a salient related to the pre-deformational Cretaceous rift geometry, which developed over a portion of this basin (Metán depocenter) that was initially thicker. The displacement along the northern lateral ramp is sinistral, whereas it is dextral in the southern ramp. The southern end of the Eastern Cordillera of Argentina shows a particular structure reflecting a pronounced along strike variations related to the pre-deformational sedimentary thickness of the Cretaceous basin.     

Structural imprints at the front of the Chocó-Panamá indenter: Field data from the North Cauca Valley Basin, Central Colombia

The northern Andes are a complex area where tectonics is dominated by the interaction between three major plates and accessory blocks, in particular, the Chocó-Panamá and Northern Andes Blocks. The studied Cauca Valley Basin is located at the front of the Chocó-Panamá Indenter, where the major Romeral Fault System, active since the Cretaceous, changes its kinematics from right-lateral in the south to left-lateral in the north. Structural studies were performed at various scales: DEM observations in the Central Cordillera between 4 and 5.7°N, aerial photograph analyses, and field work in the folded Oligo-Miocene rocks of the Serranía de Santa Barbara and in the flat-lying, Pleistocene Quindío-Risaralda volcaniclastic sediments interfingering with the lacustrine to fluviatile sediments of the Zarzal Formation.The data acquired allowed the detection of structures with a similar orientation at every scale and in all lithologies. These families of structures are arranged similarly to Riedel shears in a right-lateral shear zone and are superimposed on the Cretaceous Romeral suture.They appear in the Central Cordillera north of 4.5°N, and define a broad zone where 060-oriented right-lateral distributed shear strain affects the continental crust. The Romeral Fault System stays active and strain partitioning occurs among both systems. The southern limit of the distributed shear strain affecting the Central Cordillera corresponds to the E–W trending Garrapatas–Ibagué shear zone, constituted by several right-stepping, en-échelon, right-lateral, active faults and some lineaments. North of this shear zone, the Romeral Fault System strike changes from NNE to N.Paleostress calculations gave a WNW–ESE trending, maximum horizontal stress, and 69% of compressive tensors. The orientation of σ1 is consistent with the orientation of the right-lateral distributed shear strain and the compressive state characterizing the Romeral Fault System in the area: it bisects the synthetic and antithetic Riedels and is (sub)-perpendicular to the active Romeral Fault System.It is proposed that the continued movement of the Chocó–Panamá Indenter may be responsible for the 060-oriented right-lateral distributed shear strain, and may have closed the northern part of the Cauca Valley, thereby forming the Cauca Valley Basin.Conjugate extensional faults observed at surface in the flat-lying sediments of the Zarzal Formation and Quindío-Risaralda volcaniclastic Fan are associatedwith soft-sediment deformations. These faults are attributed to lateral spreading of the superficial layers during earthquakes and testify to the continuous tectonic activity from Pleistocene to Present.Finally, results presented here bring newinformation about the understanding of the seismic hazard in this area: whereas the Romeral Fault Systemwas so far thought to be themost likely source of earthquakes, themore recent cross-cutting fault systems described herein are another potential hazard to be considered.     

Anomalous paleomagnetic directions in late tertiary andesitic intrusions of the Cauca depression, Colombian Andes

Late Tertiary hypabyssal intrusions of the northern Cauca depression in the northwest Andes of Colombia provide anomalous paleomagnetic declinations of approximately northwest trend. Individual tectonic rotation mechanisms of folding or faulting alone are incapable of accounting for the observed dispersed inclinations in the northwestern trend. Combinations of mechanisms, including regional shear, folding, and thrusting, may explain the anomalous paleomagnetic vector directions.     

Quaternary folding of the eastern Tian Shan, northwest China

The Tian Shan, east–west trending more than 2000 km, is one of most active intracontinental mountain building belts that resulted from India–Eurasia collision during Cenozoic. In this study, Quaternary folding related to intracontinental mountain building of the Tian Shan orogenic belt is documented based on geologic interpretation and analyses of the satellite remote sensing images [Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)/Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) and India Remote Sensing (IRS) Pan] combined with field geologic and geomorphic observations and seismic reflection profiles. Analyses of spatial–temporal features of Quaternary folded structure indicate that the early Quaternary folds are widely distributed in both piedmont and intermontane basins, whereas the late Quaternary active folds are mainly concentrated on the northern range-fronts. Field observations indicate that Quaternary folds are mainly characterized by fault-related folding. The formation and migration of Quaternary folding are likely related to decollement surfaces beneath the fold-and-fault zone as revealed by seismic reflection profiles. Moreover, analysis of growth strata indicates that the Quaternary folding began in late stage of early Pleistocene (2.1–1.2 Ma). Finally, tectonic evolution model of the Quaternary deformation in the Tian Shan is presented. This model shows that the Quaternary folding and faulting gradually migrate toward the range-fronts due to the continuous compression related to India–Eurasia collision during Quaternary time. As a result, the high topographic relief of the Tian Shan was formed.     

Lithospheric evolution of the Andean fold–thrust belt, Bolivia, and the origin of the central Andean plateau

We combine geological and geophysical data to develop a generalized model for the lithospheric evolution of the central Andean plateau between 18° and 20° S from Late Cretaceous to present. By integrating geophysical results of upper mantle structure, crustal thickness, and composition with recently published structural, stratigraphic, and thermochronologic data, we emphasize the importance of both the crust and upper mantle in the evolution of the central Andean plateau. Four key steps in the evolution of the Andean plateau are as follows. 1) Initiation of mountain building by 70 Ma suggested by the associated foreland basin depositional history. 2) Eastward jump of a narrow, early fold–thrust belt at 40 Ma through the eastward propagation of a 200–400-km-long basement thrust sheet. 3) Continued shortening within the Eastern Cordillera from 40 to 15 Ma, which thickened the crust and mantle and established the eastern boundary of the modern central Andean plateau. Removal of excess mantle through lithospheric delamination at the Eastern Cordillera–Altiplano boundary during the early Miocene appears necessary to accommodate underthrusting of the Brazilian shield. Replacement of mantle lithosphere by hot asthenosphere may have provided the heat source for a pulse of mafic volcanism in the Eastern Cordillera and Altiplano at 24–23 Ma, and further volcanism recorded by 12–7 Ma crustal ignimbrites. 4) After 20 Ma, deformation waned in the Eastern Cordillera and Interandean zone and began to be transferred into the Subandean zone. Long-term rates of shortening in the fold–thrust belt indicate that the average shortening rate has remained fairly constant (8–10 mm/year) through time with possible slowing (5–7 mm/year) in the last 15–20 myr. We suggest that Cenozoic deformation within the mantle lithosphere has been focused at the Eastern Cordillera–Altiplano boundary where the mantle most likely continues to be removed through piecemeal delamination.     

Coastal neotectonics in Southern Central Andes: uplift and deformation of marine terraces in Northern Chile (27°S)

Neotectonic observations allow a new interpretation of the recent tectonic behaviour of the outer fore arc in the Caldera area, northern Chile (27°S). Two periods of deformation are distinguished, based on large-scale Neogene to Quaternary features of the westernmost part of the Coastal Cordillera: Late Miocene to Early Pliocene deformations, characterized by a weak NE–SW to E–W extension is followed by uppermost Pliocene NW–SE to E–W compression. The Middle Pleistocene to Recent time is characterized by vertical uplift and NW–SE extension. These deformations provide clear indications of the occurrence of moderate to large earthquakes. Microseismic observations, however, indicate a lack of shallow crustal seismicity in coastal zone. We propose that both long-term brittle deformation and uplift are linked to the subduction seismic cycle.     

Plate kinematics of the Rocas Verdes Basin and Patagonian orocline

The processes of orocline formation are a topic of debate in geosciences. The Patagonian orocline has been a case in point for over a century. Large anomalous paleomagnetic pole rotations show that the orocline started to form at the same time as mid-Cretaceous closure of the Rocas Verdes Basin, today known from ophiolitic and basin fill remnants in the Patagonian and Fuegian Andes. Some studies therefore present bending of the Andes and closure of the basin as shared consequences of rotation of a small plate that was driven by subduction-related forces at the Pacific margin of Gondwana. An alternative view of the orocline is as a product of Cretaceous to Paleogene-aged sinistral oblique convergence at the plate-boundary scale. Geological data from Tierra del Fuego have been interpreted in support of both views. Here, I test these suggestions by comparing the Rocas Verdes Basin's tectonostratigraphy to predictions of a plate kinematic model for fragmentation of the western interior of Gondwana. The model is sufficient to explain the known history of basin opening to a width of ~ 100–300 km during the period 152–141 Ma and later closure in oblique plate convergence. As this convergence occurred by motion around a distant Euler pole, it could not have produced the Patagonian orocline by rotation of a lithospheric plate on its Pacific flank. The large anomalous paleomagnetic rotations of Tierra del Fuego, instead, are likely to have occurred within the crust by rotation and deformation of regional strike-slip faults and the intervening rocks to accommodate oblique convergence of the South American and Antarctic plates between Albian and Paleocene times.     

Structure and tectonics of the central segment of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia

In the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia, a new structural model constrained by field data, paleontologic determinations, and interpretations of seismic reflection profiles is proposed. The model implies 70 km of shortening, including reactivation of basement structures as inverse faults in both flanks of the chain. These faults propagated within the lower Cretaceous strata, inducing passively rooted and transported thrust sheets as the successive basement faults were reactivated. Two structural styles are identified in the western flank: (1) positive flower structures in a transpressive regime, which affected rocks older than upper Paleocene and were unconformably covered by post–late Paleocene sediments, and (2) compressive structures during the late Miocene–Recent Andean phase. Presently, WNW-ESE compression reactivates Late Paleocene structures, which locally affect Andean trends. In the western margin of the Eastern Cordillera, the Cambao thrust takes up most displacement, whereas the Bituima fault takes only a minor part. To the south, this relationship reverses, suggesting complementary behavior by the Bituima and Cambao faults, as well as a transfer zone. This suggestion explains the southward termination of the Guaduas syncline as a structure related to the Cambao fault, whereas the Bituima fault increases its displacement southward, generating the Girardot foldbelt that takes over the structural position of the Guaduas syncline.     

三角剪切断层传播褶皱作用理论与应用

基底断层在沉积盖层中传播所形成的褶皱形态难以用平行膝折褶皱理论进行解释,这在于两者的流变学性质有很大差异。Erslev提出了三角剪切断层传播褶皱理论,认为下伏断层的脆性强破裂变形为向上变宽的三角形分布式剪切所调节,三角形顶点固定于断层端点。Hardy和Ford拓展了这一理论并成功地建立数字模拟模型,Allmendinger进一步建立与完善了三角剪切的正演模型与反演方法。通过运动学模型预测结果与天然构造观察和相似模拟实验结果的对比分析,以及通过一系列力学模型对运动学模型的检验,三角剪切断层传播褶皱理论被证实并获得了广泛应用。对前陆盆地、克拉通盆地和走滑盆地的基底卷入型构造与走滑或斜向滑动构造,都可以应用三角剪切断层传播褶皱理论来分析变形样式及其分布特征。该理论可以有效地预测隐伏断层的初始破裂点、断层传播量与发育部位,已成功地应用于工程地质与地震灾害预报等方面。     

Thermochronology of allochthonous terranes in Ecuador: Unravelling the accretionary and post-accretionary history of the Northern Andes

The western cordilleras of the Northern Andes (north of 5°S) are constructed from allochthonous terranes floored by oceanic crust. We present ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and fission-track data from the Cordillera Occidental and Amotape Complex of Ecuador that probably constrain the time of terrane collision and post-accretionary tectonism in the western Andes. The data record cooling rates of 80–2 °C/my from temperatures of 540 °C, during 85 to 60 Ma, in a highly tectonised mélange (Pujilí unit) at the continent–ocean suture and in the northern Amotape Complex. The rates were highest during 85–80 Ma and decelerated towards 60 Ma. Cooling was a consequence of exhumation of the continental margin, which probably occurred in response to the accretion of the presently juxtaposing Pallatanga Terrane. The northern Amotape Complex and the Pujilí unit may have formed part of a single, regional scale, tectonic mélange that started to develop at ~85 Ma, part of which currently comprises the basement of the Interandean Depression. Cooling and rotation in the allochthonous, continental, Amotape Complex and along parts of the continent–ocean suture during 43–29 Ma, record the second accretionary phase, during which the Macuchi Island Arc system collided with the Pallatanga Terrane. Distinct periods of regional scale cooling in the Cordillera Occidental at 13 and 9 Ma were synchronous with exhumation in the Cordillera Real and were probably driven by the collision of the Carnegie Ridge with the Ecuador Trench. Finally, late Miocene–Pliocene reactivation of the Chimbo–Toachi Shear Zone was coincident with the formation of the oldest basins in the Interandean Depression and probably formed part of a transcurrent or thrust system that was responsible for the inception and subsequent growth of the valley since 6 Ma.