Seismicity of Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

The Sinai Peninsula has a triangular shape between the African and Arabian Plates and is bounded from the western and eastern borders by the Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba–Dead Sea rift systems, respectively. It is affected by strong and destructive earthquakes (e.g., March 31, 1969 and November 22, 1995) and moderate earthquakes (m _b?>?5) throughout its history. After the installation of the Egyptian National Seismic Network (ENSN), a great number of earthquakes has been recorded within and around Sinai. Consequently, the seismogenic source zones and seismotectonic behavior can be clearly identified. Available data, including both historical and instrumental (1900–1997), have been collected from national and international data centers. While the data from 1998 till December 2007 are gathered from ENSN bulletins. The seismogenic source zones that might affect Sinai Peninsula are defined more precisely in this work depending on the distribution of earthquakes, seismicity rate (a value), b value, and fault plane solution of the major earthquakes. In addition, the type of faults prevailed and characterized these zones. It is concluded that the Gulf of Aqaba zone–Dead Sea transform zone, Gulf of Suez rift zone, Cairo–Suez District zone, and Eastern Mediterranean dislocation zone represent the major effective zones for Sinai. Furthermore, there are two local seismic zones passing through Sinai contributing to the earthquake activities of Sinai, these are the Negev shear zone and Central Sinai fault (Themed fault) zone. The source parameters, a and b values, and the maximum expected moment magnitude have been determined for each of these zones. These results will contribute to a great extent in the seismic hazard assessment and risk mitigation studies for Sinai Peninsula to protect the developmental projects.     

Extension and rifting: the Zeit region,Gulf of Suez

A field analysis of faults and fractures in the Ras Gharib-Ras Gemsa region of the Gulf of Suez shows that the main Late Cenozoic extension occurred perpendicular to the rift axis. Three main types of dip-slip normal faults successively developed as the tilt of blocks bounded by antithetic normal faults increased. Determinations of the amount of extension from structural data are compatible with estimates made using subsidence data through a simplified model of lithospheric stretching. The uplift of rift shoulders is related in chronology and volume to the subsidence of the rift. The geometry of fault patterns and directions of extension suggests that the Late Cenozoic total movement corresponds to a counterclockwise rotation of 4–5° of Sinai relative to Africa, with a pole close to Cairo.     

Isla San Pedro Nolasco as a Late Miocene intrusive record at the eastern margin of the Gulf of California: Insights from geological,geochemical and geochronological studies

Isla San Pedro Nolasco (ISPN) is a structural high bounded by inactive dextral oblique-slip faults in the east-central part of the Gulf of California rift zone and is composed of intrusive rocks not exposed on other Gulf of California islands. Here we present the reconnaissance results from geological mapping, as well as first geochemical and geochronological data for the ISPN intrusive complex. The intrusive rocks compose a sheet-like body of intermediate and felsic composition intruded by an intermediate and acidic dike swarm. All intrusive rocks (host and dikes) range in age from ca. 9 Ma to 10 Ma (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar) and show a hydrous ferromagnesian mineral association (amphibole and biotite) with a calc-alkalic and transitional affinity. This hydrated mineralogical association has not been recognized in the coeval rocks along the onshore western margin of the North American plate (coastal Sonora). However, such hydrous mineralogical association is found in the coeval rift transitional volcanic rocks from the Baja California Microplate at Santa Rosalía and Bahía de Los Ángeles – Bahía de Las Ánimas. The ISPN continental block, at least 40 km long, has been pulled apart by transtensional faulting of the late Miocene Gulf of California shear zone before the westward migration of the North America-Pacific plate boundary at ca. 3–2 Ma. Eventually, ISPN became isolated as an island during the late Miocene flooding of the Gulf of California seaway.     

Depleted and enriched mantle processes under the Rio Grande rift: spinel peridotite xenoliths

Upper mantle xenoliths from the southern Rio Grande rift axis (Potrillo and Elephant Butte) and flank (Adam’s Diggings) have been investigated to determine chemical depletion and enrichment processes. The variation of modal, whole rock, and mineral compositions reflect melt extraction. Fractional melting is the likely process. Fractional melting calculations show that most spinel peridotites from rift axis locations have undergone <5% melting versus 7–14% melting for xenoliths from the rift shoulder, although the total range of fractional melting overlaps at all three locations. In the rift axis, deformed (equigranular and porphyroclastic texture) spinel peridotites are generally characterized by significantly less fractional melting (2–5%) than undeformed (protogranular) xenoliths (up to 16%). This difference may reflect undeformed xenoliths being derived from greater depths and higher temperatures than deformed rocks. Spinel peridotites from the axis and shoulder of the Rio Grande rift have undergone mantle metasomatism subsequent to melt extraction. Under the rift shoulder spinel peridotites have undergone both cryptic and patent (modal) metasomatism, possibly during separate events, whereas the upper mantle under the rift axis has undergone only cryptic metasomatism by alkali basaltic magma.     

Hotspot origin of the Mississippi embayment and its possible impact on contemporary seismicity

Previous authors have related the Late Cretaceous/early Tertiary subsidence of the Mississippi embayment to the opening of the Gulf of Mexico, but the Gulf opened earlier in Triassic/Jurassic time. We offer an alternative hypothesis that development of the embayment was coeval with the passage of the Mississippi Valley graben system over the Bermuda hotspot about 90 Ma. Several lines of evidence of significant uplift of the embayment axis accompanying mid-Cretaceous magmatism and prior to Late Cretaceous subsidence support this proposal.

First, reactivation of the Pascola arch in the northern embayment is recorded by flanking deposits of basal Upper Cretaceous gravel. Second, beneath a regional mid-Cretaceous unconformity, subcrops of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous strata define a pronounced southwest-plunging arch in the southern embayment. This arch is collinear with an arch revealed in Paleozoic rocks after restoration to mid-Cretaceous structural geometries. Third, a deep weathering profile on mid-Cretaceous alkalic plutons along the western embayment margin is nonconformably overlain by Paleocene sediments, and rapid mid-Cretaceous cooling of these intrusions has been interpreted from apatite fission tracks. Moreover, exploratory holes along the embayment axis encountered similar weathered alkalic intrusions nonconformably overlain by basal Upper Cretaceous strata. Fourth, there was an anomalous influx of clastic sediment into the northern Gulf of Mexico during mid-Cretaceous time, and subsequent clastic facies patterns suggest the Mississippi River drainage began to enter the Gulf in the Late Cretaceous.

Passage of the Mississippi Valley graben over the Bermuda hotspot during elevated hotspot activity of Cretaceous time may have significantly weakened the previously rifted lithosphere. Rifted continental margin at Charleston, South Carolina, also passed over this hotspot in latest Cretaceous time. Similarly, the St. Lawrence rift system passed over the Great Meteor hotspot during the Cretaceous. It is important to note that these rift systems are the principal loci of strong seismicity in eastern North America, and thus weakening by increased Cretaceous hotspot activity may be an important common factor for these seismic rift zones.     

Tectonic evolution of the Southern Gulf of Suez, Egypt: a comparison between depocenter and near peripheral basins

The sedimentary pattern of the southern Gulf of Suez, Egypt, especially during the Cenozoic rift stage, was controlled mainly by tectonic activities (subsidence and uplift) and sea level change. The stratigraphic record of the southern Gulf of Suez can be divided into two megasequences: pre-rift and syn-rift. The pre-rift megasequence can be viewed as two distinctive depositional regimes, clastic rocks of continental to braided stream environment during Cambrian and open marine transgression extended from Upper Cretaceous till Eocene. The syn-rift deposits showed a distinctive contrast between the depocenter and peripheral basins. This difference can be shown clearly on the sedimentary sequence of Hilal and Shoab Ali oilfields. The syn-rift megasequence can be differentiated in relation to rift evolution into the following stages: initial rift stage with low subsidence rate, main rift stage with maximum subsidence rate, quiescence stage with the slowest subsidence rate throughout the rift evolution, evaporite stage with restriction conditions, and Pliocene–Recent stage with shallow marine condition.     

The structure of the lithosphere beneath the Eastern rift, East Africa, deduced from gravity studies

A compilation of all published and unpublished gravity data for the Eastern rift between latitudes 1°N and 5°S is presented. The Bouguer anomaly map reveals that the shape of the negative regional anomaly associated with the rift is approximately two-dimensional, striking east of north, of width 350 ± 50 km and amplitude500 ± 100 g.u. relative to the background value of−1300 ± 100 g.u. to the west. The regional anomaly is interpreted in terms of an upward thinning of the lithosphere and replacement by low-density asthenosphere. This model is different from previous interpretations in that major lithospheric thinning is restricted to the region of the Eastern rift affected by the domal uplift and does not extend beneath the Lake Victoria region to the west. The gravity and seismic models are compatible if the anomalous upper mantle (asthenospheric part), beneath the rift, is in a state of partial melt. A consequence of the revised regional anomaly is that it reduces previous amplitude estimates of the axial positive residual anomaly within the rift by at least 50% and generates negative anomalies over the rift shoulders in areas covered by Cenozoic volcanics. These negative anomalies are considered to be caused by the low density of the surface volcanics. Within the rift, elongated negative anomalies of amplitude 100–350 g.u. are associated with sedimentary basins and are attributed to low-density sediments up to 3 km thick. The positive residual anomaly along the axis of the rift can be interpreted in terms of either a dyke injection zone less than 15 km wide or by a dense infill body about 2.5 km thick. The positive anomaly is shown to be confined to the volcanic province of the Eastern rift and has its southern termination in the Magadi—Natron area, just north of where the Kenya rift valley changes to block faulting in N. Tanzania. This termination coincides with a change in the spatial distribution of the seismic and geothermal activity.     

Ultrapotassic Magmas along the Flanks of the Oligo-Miocene Rio Grande Rift, USA: Monitors of the Zone of Lithospheric Mantle Extension and Thinning Beneath a Continental Rift

Recent theoretical studies of rift tectonics have concludedthat their observed geophysical features, require that (1) extensionaffects a much wider zone of the underlying lithospheric mantlethan the crust; (2) early extension involves a comparativelywide zone that narrows with time. The Neogene evolution of thesegment of the Rio Grande rift between the Great Plains andColorado Plateau shows this theoretical pattern clearly. Thewidth of the crustal extension zone narrowed from {small tilde}170km in the Oligo-Miocene to {small tilde}50 km in the Pliocene.In contrast, both gravity and teleseismic studies indicate thatthe current width of the zone of thinned lithospheric mantle(ß = 2–3) beneath the rift is {small tilde}750km. To assess the contributions of lithosphere- and asthenosphere-derivedmelts to the magmatismassociated with the early phase of developmentof the Rio Grande rift, we have undertaken a 670-km geochemicaltraverse of Oligo-Miocene volcanism between latitudes 36 and38N. Our section is centered on the present-day axis of therift in the Espanola Basin. It extends from the Navajo volcanicfield, Arizona, to Two Buttes, SE Colorado, and intersects hypabyssalintrusions on the rift shoulders at Dulce, west of the rift,and Spanish Peaks to the east. We have sampled a diverse rangeof magma types that vary in composition from ultrapotassic toHy- and Ne-normative basalts. A geochemical profile along thistraverse shows a spatially symmetrical variation in elementand oxide ratios, such as Na₂O/K₂O and Ba/Nb, and also in Srand Nd isotope ratios. On the rift flanks and shoulders Oligo-Miocenevolcanism was dominated by K-rich mafic magmatism, whereas atthe rift axis tholeiitic and alkalic basalts with whole-rockcompositions similar to those of ocean-island basalts (OIB)were erupted. This symmetrical geochemical variation broadlyparallels the corresponding teleseismic lithosphere thicknessprofile and is a mirror image of the gravity profile. We interpret the OIB-type magmas at the rift axis as predominantlyasthenosphere-derived melts. These suggest that mantle upwelling,and melting by decompression, were occurring during the earlydevelopment of the Rio Grande rift The symmetrical variationof incompatible elements and isotope ratios in rocks about therift axis suggests that the sources of the K-rich mafic magmason the stable flanks and shoulders of the rift are not directlyrelated to the subduction of the Farallon plate: an asymmetricprocess. Instead, we propose that the K-rich mafic magmas onthe flanks and shoulders of the Rio Grande rift are derivedfrom the melting of a metasomatized layer in the lithosphericmantle during extension. *Present address: British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK     

Deformation produced by oblique rifting

With oblique rifting, both extension perpendicular to the rift trend and shear parallel to the rift trend contribute to rift formation. The relative amounts of extension and shear depend on α, the acute angle between the rift trend and the relative displacement direction between opposite sides of the rift. Analytical and experimental (clay) models of combined extension and left-lateral shear suggest the fault patterns produced by oblique rifting. If α is less than 30°, conjugate sets of steeply dipping strike-slip faults form in rifts. Sinistral and dextral strike-slip faults trend subparallel and at large angles to the rift trend, respectively. If α is about 30°, strike-slip, oblique-slip and/or normal faults form in rifts. Faults with sinistral and dextral strike slip trend subparallel and at large angles to the rift trend, respectively. Normal faults strike about 30° counterclockwise from the rift trend. If α exceeds 30°, normal faults form in rifts. They have moderate dips and generally strike obliquely to the rift trend and to the relative displacement direction between opposite sides of the rift. If α equals 90°, the normal faults strike parallel to the rift trend and perpendicularly to the displacement direction.The modeling results apply to the Gulf of California and Gulf of Aden, two Tertiary continental rift systems produced by combined extension and shear. Our results explain the presence and trends of oblique-slip and strike-slip faults along the margins of the Gulf of California and the oblique trend (relative to the rift trend) of many normal faults along the margins of both the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Aden.     

Geometry and growth of an inner rift fault pattern: the Kino Sogo Fault Belt, Turkana Rift (North Kenya)

A quantitative analysis is presented of the scaling properties of faults within the exceptionally well-exposed Kino Sogo Fault Belt (KSFB) from the eastern part of the 200-km-wide Turkana rift, Northern Kenya. The KSFB comprises a series of horsts and grabens within an arcuate 40-km-wide zone that dissects Miocene–Pliocene lavas overlying an earlier asymmetric fault block. The fault belt is 150 km long and is bounded to the north and south by transverse (N50°E and N140°E) fault zones. An unusual feature of the fault system is that it accommodates very low strains (<1%) and since it is no older than 3 Ma, it could be characterised by extension rates and strain rates that are as low as 0.1 mm/yr and 10⁻¹⁶ s⁻¹, respectively. Despite its immaturity, the fault system comprises segmented fault arrays with lengths of up to 40 km, with individual fault segments ranging up to 9 km in length. Fault length distributions subscribe to a negative exponential scaling law, as opposed to the power law scaling typical of other fault systems. The relatively long faults and segments are, however, characterised by maximum throws of no more than 100 m, providing displacement/length ratios that are significantly below those of other fault systems. The under-displaced nature of the fault system is attributed to early stage rapid fault propagation possibly arising from reactivation of earlier underlying basement fabrics/faults or magmatic-related fractures. Combined with the structural control exercised by pre-existing transverse structures, the KSFB demonstrates the strong influence of older structures on rift fault system growth and the relatively rapid development of under-displaced fault geometries at low strains.     

Tsunami Hazard for the Auckland Region and Hauraki Gulf,New Zealand

The Hauraki Gulf is a semi-enclosed sea next to the largest population centre in New Zealand, the Auckland metropolitan region. The potential tsunami hazard is of concern to regional and local planners around the Hauraki Gulf. The Hauraki Gulf has recorded 11 tsunamis and one meteorological tsunami (rissaga) since 1840.The historical tsunami data are relatively sparse, particularly for the largest events in 1868 and 1883. Moreover, local sources may produce damaging tsunamis but none has occurred during recorded history. Therefore numerical modelling of potential tsunami events provides a powerful tool to obtain data for planning purposes. Three main scenarios have been identified for numerical modelling:1. A teletsunami event from an earthquake off the West Coast of South America. Historically this region has produced the largest teletsunamis in the Hauraki Gulf.2. A tsunami generated by a local earthquake along the Kerepehi Fault. This fault bisects the Gulf, has been active during the last century at the southern inland end, and is overlain by a considerable thickness of soft sediment that may amplify the seismic waves.3. A tsunami generated by a volcanic eruption within the Auckland Volcanic Field. This field has involved a series of mainly monogenetic basaltic eruptions over the last 140,000 years. Many of these eruptions have involved phreatomagmatic eruptions around the coastal margins, or within the shallow waters close to Auckland.     

Extension-related buttress-like folds,the western side of the Gulf of Suez rift,Egypt

International Journal of Earth Sciences - The wedge-shaped St. Paul block, western side of the Gulf of Suez rift, exposes Late Cretaceous beds that are folded into transverse folds. The block is...     

Pre-salt to salt stratigraphic architecture in a rift basin: insights from a basin-scale study of the Gulf of Suez (Egypt)

We propose a basin-scale (～300 × 100 km) study of the pre-salt to salt sedimentary fill from the Suez rift based on outcrop and subsurface data. This study is a new synthesis of existing and newly acquired data using an integrated approach with (1) basin-scale synthesis of the structural framework, (2) stratigraphic architecture characterization of the entire Suez rift using sequence stratigraphy concepts, (3) lithologic maps reconstruction and interpretation, (4) isopach/depocenter maps interpolation to quantify sedimentary volumes, and (5) quantification of the sediment supply, mean carbonate and evaporite accumulation rates, and their integration into the rift dynamic. The Gulf of Suez is ca. 300-km-long and up to 80-km-wide rift structure, resulting from the late Oligocene to early Miocene rifting of the African and Arabian plates. The stratigraphic architecture has recorded five main stages of rift evolution, from rift initiation to finally tectonic quiescence characterized by salt deposits. Rift initiation (ca. 1–4 Myr duration): the Suez rift was initiated at the end of the Oligocene along the NNW-SSE trend of the Red Sea with evidences of active volcanism. Continental to lacustrine deposits only occurred in isolated depocenters. Sediment supply was relatively low. Rift widening (ca. 3 Myr duration): the rift propagated from south to north (Aquitanian), with first marine incursions from the Mediterranean Sea. The rift was subdivided into numerous depocenters controlled by active faults. Sedimentation was characterized by small carbonate platforms and associated sabkha deposits to the south and shallow open marine condition to the north with mixed sedimentation organized into an overall transgressive trend. Rift climax (ca. 5 Myr duration): the rift was then flooded during Burdigalian times recording the connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The faults were gradually connected and reliefs on the rift shoulders were high as evidenced by a strong increase of the uplift/subsidence rates and sediment supply. Three main depocenters were then individualized across the rift and correspond to the Darag, Central, and Southern basins. Sedimentation was characterized by very large Gilbert-type deltas along the eastern margin and associated submarine fans and turbidite systems along the basin axis. Isolated carbonate platforms and reefs mainly occurred in the Southern basin and along tilted block crests. Late syn-rift to rift narrowing (ca. 4 Myr duration): during the Langhian, the basin recorded several falls of relative sea level and bathymetry in the rift axis was progressively reduced. The former reliefs induced during the rift climax were quickly destroyed as evidenced by the drastic drop in sediment supply. Stratigraphic reconstruction indicates that the Central basin was restricted during lowstand period; meanwhile, open marine conditions prevailed to the north and south of the Suez rift. The Central basin, Zaafarana, and Morgan accommodation zones thus acted as a major divide between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. During Serravalian times, the Suez rift also recorded several disconnections between the Mediterranean and Red seas as evidenced by massive evaporites in major fault-controlled depocenters. The Suez rift was occasionally characterized by N–S paleogeographic gradient with restricted setting to the north and open marine setting to the south (Red Sea). Tectonic quiescence to latest syn-rift (ca. 7 Myr duration): the Tortonian was then characterized by the deposition of very thick salt series (>1000 m) which recorded a period of maximum restriction for the Suez rift. The basin was still subdivided into several sub-basins bounded by major faults. The basin with a N-S paleogeographic gradient was totally and permanently disconnected from the Mediterranean Sea and connected to open marine condition via the Red Sea. The Messinian was also characterized by a thick salt series, but the evaporite typology and sedimentary systems distribution suggest a more humid climate than during Tortonian times. Pre-salt to salt transition was not sharp and lasted for ca. 4 Myr (Langhian-Serravalian). It was initiated as the result of the combined effect of (1) climatic changes with aridization and low water input from the catchments and (2) rift dynamic induced by plate tectonic reorganization that controlled the interplay between sea level and accommodation zones constituting sills.     

Off-axis structures of spreading zones according to results of experimental modeling

The off-axis topography of spreading ridges is a result of tectonic and magmatic processes occurring in the axial zone and operating off the ridge axis during further evolution of the crust. The results of physical and numerical simulations have shown that differences in topography roughness, rift valley depth, frequency and amplitude of normal faults, and geometric stability of the rift axis are determined by (a) the rate of extension and accretion of the new crust, (b) the thickness of the brittle lithospheric layer, and (c) the temperature of the underlying asthenosphere. Under conditions of the fast spreading, the stationary axial magma chamber in the crust predetermines the existence of the thinner and weakened lithosphere. As a result, the axis jumps for a short distance and the axis geometry remains almost rectilinear. The destruction of the thin axial lithosphere with a low mechanical strength results in formation of frequent and low-amplitude normal faultings. All these factors lead to the formation of the characteristic poorly dissected topography of fast-spreading ridges. Without a stationary axial magmatic chamber in the crust of slow-spreading ridges and with a thick and strong lithosphere, a deeply dissected axial and off-axis topography arises. The axis jumps for a significant distance within the rift valley, giving rise to geometric instability of the axis and development of transform and nontransform offsets.     

Emanation-Sedimentary Metallogenic Series and Models of the Proterozoic Rift in the Kangdian Axis

The Kangdian axis basement can be divided into two tectonic layers. The lower tectonic layer is the crystalline basement which is made up of the Archaean Dibadu Formation and early Proterozoic Dahongshan Group. The former is a kata-metamorphic basic volcano-sedimentary formation of the old geosyncline (old continental nucleus), and the latter is a medium-grade metamorphosed alkali-rich basic volcanic (emanation)-sedimentary formation of the Yuanjiang-Dahongshan marginal rift. They are in disconformable contact. The upper tectonic layer is the folded basement, and made up of the middle-late Proterozoic Kunyang Group. It is the result of Dongchuan-Yuanjiang intercontinental rifting with discordant contract with the underlying and overlying strata. Along with the evolution of Proterozoic from early to late, four types of emanation-sedimentary deposits in the Kangdian axis rift were formed in turn: (1) emanation-sedimentary iron-copper-gold deposits related to basic volcanic rocks in the Yuanmou-Dahongshan     

Volcanic hazards in the surroundings of Pico de Orizaba,eastern Mexico

Volcanic hazards from Pico de Orizaba volcano are presented here tor the first time. Some 1.3 million people live within the hazard zone, which in the most severe case would encompass the Mexican Gulf coast, east of the volcano. Three major cities located in the eastern part of the hazard zone account for 800 000 of this population and about 200 000 people live within a 20 km radius of the volcano. Probability calculations are presented as an attempt to quantify the hazards in the surroundings of the volcano. Such quantification can be of use in planning for future land use within the hazard zones.A zone of about 10 km radius centred on the top crater is a high hazard zone for gravity-driven flows and fallout ejecta. For large volume eruptions, the radius could be extended to 120 km to the east and 60 km to the west. The asymmetrical distribution is related to the topography of the volcano. Hazards from Pyroclastic-fall deposits are principally to the west of the volcano, since easterly winds are dominant in the area lava-flow hazards are greatest within a 10 km radius from the summit crater. Pyroclastic flow hazards are high up to 20 km from the volcano summit.In the case of reactivation of the volcano, melting of a glacier covering the summit of Pico de Orizaba having a volume equivalent to some 45 × 10⁹ litres of water, would produce lahars which would descend the flanks of the volcano.     

Sea-level changes and tectonics in the Quaternary extensional basin of the South Evvoikos Gulf, Greece

The tectonically active South Evvoikos Gulf forms the submerged part of a young basin produced by Neogene fragmentation of the Hellenides, so furnishing an opportunity to study the earliest stages of an extensional rift. Reflection profiles show three seismo-stratigraphic units: a thin Holocene unit A, a thick Late and Middle Pleistocene unit B, and a deformed Mesozoic-Cenozoic basal unit C. In the eastern Gulf, at least seven alternatingly stratified and acoustically transparent subunits are related to Pleistocene sea-level changes that episodically isolated the Gulf. Correlation with the global eustatic sea-level curve indicates that deposition in the Gulf, formed by southeastward divergence of its northern and southern boundary faults, began during the last million years. Subsequent glacio-eustatic sea-level changes superimposed major variations in depositional conditions on long-term subsidence. Lack of Pleistocene marine beds on the adjacent land implies that a high rate of subsidence confined lacustrine and marine deposition to the basin itself.     

Depositional model and stratigraphic architecture of rift climax Gilbert-type fan deltas (Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Facies, depositional model and stratigraphic architecture of Pleistocene giant Gilbert-type fan deltas are presented, based on outcrop data from the Derveni–Akrata region along the southern coast of the Gulf of Corinth, Greece. The common tripartite consisting of topset, foreset and bottomset [Gilbert, G.K., 1885. The topographic features of lake shores: Washington, D.C., United States Geol. Survey, 5th Annual Report, 69–123.] has been identified, as well as the most distal environment consisting of turbidites, and is organised in a repetitive pattern of four main systems tracts showing a clear facies and volumetric partitioning.The first systems tract (ST1) is characterised by the lack of topset beds and the development of a by-pass surface instead, thick foresets and bottomset beds, and thick well-developed turbiditic systems. This systems tract (ST1) is organised in an overall progradational pattern. The second systems tract (ST2) is characterised by a thin topset and almost no foreset equivalent. This systems tract is not always well-preserved and is organised in an overall retrograding trend with a landward shift in the position of the offlap break. The offshore is characterised by massive sandy turbidites. The third systems tract (ST3) is characterised by small-scale deltas prograding above the staked topsets of the giant Gilbert-type fan delta. Those small Gilbert-type fan deltas are generally organised in a pure progradation evolving to an aggradational–progradational pattern. In the distal setting of those small Gilbert-type fan deltas, almost no deposits are preserved on the remaining topography of the previous Gilbert-type fan delta. The fourth systems tract (ST4) is characterised by continuous vertically aggrading topsets that laterally pass into aggrading and prograding foresets. Bottomsets and distal turbiditic systems are starved. This fourth systems tract (ST4) is organised in an overall aggrading trend.These giant Gilbert-type fan deltas correspond to the Middle Group of the Corinth Rift infill and their stratigraphic development was strongly influenced by evolving rift structure. They record the migration of the depocenter from the rift shoulder to the rift axis in four main sequences from ca. 1.5 to 0.7 Ma, related to the migration of fault activity. It is worth noting that the maximum paleobathymetry was recorded during the final stage of the progradation of the Middle Group, suggesting that the rift climax was diachronous at the scale of the entire basin. The rapid (< 1 Ma) structural and sedimentological evolution, the migration of fault activity as well as the youth of the Corinth Rift, are probably exceptional factors allowing the characterisation of such diachronism.     

Tectonic controls on sediment provenance evolution in rift basins: Detrital zircon U–Pb and Hf isotope analysis from the Perth Basin,Western Australia

The role of tectonics in controlling temporal and spatial variations in sediment provenance during the evolution of extensional basins from initial rifting to continental breakup and passive margin development are not well established. We test the influence of tectonics in a rift basin that has experienced minimal uplift but significant extension throughout its history: the Perth Basin, Western Australia. We use published zircon U–Pb and Hf isotope data from basin inception through to continental drift and complement this with new data from samples deposited synchronously with the continental breakup of eastern Gondwana. Three primary source regions are inferred, namely the Archean Yilgarn Craton to the east, the Paleo- and Mesoproterozoic Albany–Fraser–Wilkes Orogen to the south and east, and the Mesoproterozoic and Ediacaran–Cambrian Pinjarra Orogen underlying the rift basin and comprising the dominant crustal components to the west and southwest. From mid-Paleozoic basin inception to Early Cretaceous breakup of eastern Gondwana, drainage in the Perth Basin was primarily north- to northwest-directed as evidenced by the dominant Mesoproterozoic detrital zircon cargo, paleodrainage patterns and paleocurrent directions. Thus, provenance was primarily parallel to the rift axis and perpendicular to the extension direction, particularly during periods of thermal subsidence. During episodes of mechanical extension, detrital zircon ages are polymodal and consistently dominated by Paleo- and Mesoproterozoic grains derived from the Albany–Fraser–Wilkes Orogen, but with significant Archean and Neoproterozoic inputs from the rift margins. It is inferred that during mechanical extension the rate of subsidence exceeded sediment supply, which generated basin-margin scarps and enhanced direct input from the rift shoulders. Detrital zircon spectra from temporally-equivalent samples at the rift margin and in the rift axis reveal that distinct sedimentary routing operated on the flanks. In summary, sediment provenance in the Perth Basin (and probably other rift basins) is tectonically controlled by: (1) extension direction, (2) episodes of mechanical extension (rift) or thermal subsidence (post-rift), and (3) proximity to rift axis or rift margin.     

Redefined crustal structure of the Buchan Rift,northeast Victoria: evidence from potential field modelling of newly acquired land-based gravity data

The Buchan Rift, in northeastern Victoria, is a north–south-trending basin, which formed in response to east–west crustal extension in the Early Devonian. The rift is filled mostly with Lower Devonian volcanic and volcaniclastic rock of the Snowy River Volcanics. Although the structure and geometry of the Buchan Rift and its major bounding faults are well mapped at the surface, a discrepancy exists between the surface distribution of the thickest rift fill and its expected potential field response. To investigate this variation, two new detailed land-based gravity surveys, which span the rift and surrounding basement rocks in an east–west orientation, have been acquired and integrated with pre-existing government data. Qualitative interpretation of the observed magnetic data suggests the highly magnetic rocks of the Snowy River Volcanics have a wider extent at depth than can be mapped at the surface. Forward modelling of both land-based gravity data and aeromagnetic data supports this interpretation. With the Snowy River Volcanics largely confined within the Buchan Rift, resolved geometries also allow for the interpretation of rift boundaries that are wider at depth. These geometries are unusual. Unlike typical basin inversions that involve reactivation of rift-dipping faults, the bounding faults of the Buchan Rift dip away from the rift axis and thus appear unrelated to the preceding rifting episode. Limited inversion of previous extensional rift faults to deform the rift-fill sequences (e.g. Buchan Synclinorium) appears to have been followed by the initiation of new reverse faults in outboard positions, possibly because the relatively strong igneous rift fill began to act as a rigid basement ramp during continued E–W crustal shortening in the Middle Devonian Tabberabberan Orogeny. Overthrusting of the rift margins by older sediments and granite intrusions of the adjacent Tabberabbera and Kuark zones narrowed the exposed rift width at surface. This scenario may help explain the steep-sided geometries and geophysical expressions of other rift basins in the Tasmanides and elsewhere, particularly where relatively mechanically strong basin fill is known or suspected.