Incipient spreading center in the Gulf of Elat,northern Red Sea

The Gulf of Elat, located at the northern Red Sea, is a rift that forms the southern section of the Dead Sea rift system. A recent high-resolution seismic reflection survey showed that lenticular grabens and axial anticlines are the predominant structures at the rift floor. Structural relationships suggest that after the lenticular graben was formed at the rift floor, it was filled with sediments. Axial uplift along the rift caused the widening of the graben and the development of axial anticlines, and at a later stage a new graben started to develop between the flank of the anticline and the boundary fault of the rift. The data indicate that the tectonic regime affecting the southern Dead Sea rift is one of uplift and extension, acting simultaneously. It is presumed that upwelling of magma in the upper mantle, extending northwards from the Red Sea, is the cause for these uplift and extensional phenomena, and that the Gulf of Elat is an incipient spreading center.     

Crustal inhomogeneities and seismicity near the margins of the North Atlantic Ocean

Some very pronounced crustal inhomogeneities have been found in the North Sea and in Greenland, in regions which were adjacent to each other before the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean by sea-floor spreading. Some of these regions of inhomogeneities are zones of relatively high seismicity, while others are aseismic. In the North Sea, the Viking Graben has earthquakes, while its southern continuation, the Central Graben, is almost aseismic. In eastern Greenland, there are only few earthquakes near the Mesozoic graben, while there is a prominent earthquake zone at the coast line in north-eastern Greenland. It is concluded that, superposed on the apparent similarities in the two regions, some differences in stress conditions or crustal weakness patterns must exist.     

Reply to “Comments on ‘Poles of rotation’”

Analysis of published data on sea floor spreading for the different oceans demonstrates a close correlation between interruptions of spreading at sea and compressive periods on land and between periods of spreading activity and periods of “no compression” of the orogenic regions. The evolution of both orogenic and oceanic areas appears to be rhythmic. The model is generalized to a dynamic model for the Earth's crust in which periods of global compression and extension follow alternately. Such a model fits better the geological evidences from orogenic regions than the present model for sea floor spreading which postulates an expansion in the mid ocean ridges and a compression along the continental margins underthrusted by oceanic crust.     

Perspectives on the ethiopian volcanic province

Published major-element analyses of Ethiopian volcanic rocks have been subjected to a systematic discriminant analysis. The plateau regions can be subdivided according to the proportions of alkaline and tholeiitic basalts. In northern Ethiopia, these subprovinces show increasing basalt alkalinity with time. The most voluminous basalts have lowest magnesium values, independent of the degree of alkalinity. Rift and Afar basalt chemistry falls within the spectrum observed for the plateau basalts, with no perceptible difference resulting from lithospheric attenuation beneath Afar. However, silicic volcanics of the Rift-Afar floor differ in bulk terms from those of the plateau margins in showing a stronger bias towards peralkalinity, and having higher Na/K values. Two particularly voluminous volcanic episodes have occurred in Ethiopia, dated at ?30–19 m.y. and 4.5–0 m.y. and which link well with one model for seafloor spreading in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Evidence for a mantle hotspot under Ethiopia remains ambiguous.     

Subduction influence on magma supply at the East Scotia Ridge

Despite a spreading rate of 65–70 km Ma⁻¹, the East Scotia Ridge has, along most of its length, a form typically associated with slower rates of sea floor spreading. This may be a consequence of cooler than normal mantle upwelling, which could be a feature of back-arc spreading. At the northern end of the ridge, recently acquired sonar data show a complex, rapidly evolving pattern of extension within 100 km of the South Sandwich Trench. New ridge segments appear to be nucleating at or near the boundary between the South American and Scotia Sea plates and propagating southwards, supplanting older segments. The most prominent of these, north of 56°30′S, has been propagating at a rate of approximately 60 km Ma⁻¹ for at least 1 Ma, and displays a morphology unique on this plate boundary. A 40 km long axial high exists at the centre of this segment, forming one of the shallowest sections of the East Scotia Ridge. Beneath it, seismic reflection profiles reveal an axial magma chamber, or AMC, reflector, similar to those observed beneath the East Pacific Rise and Valu Fa Ridge. Simple calculations indicate the existence here of a narrow (<1 km wide) body of melt at a depth of approximately 3 km beneath the sea floor. From the topographic and seismic data, we deduce that a localised mantle melting anomaly lies beneath this segment. Rates of spreading in the east Scotia Sea show little variation along axis. Hence, the changes in melt supply are related to the unique tectonic setting, in which the South American plate is tearing to the east, perhaps allowing mantle flow around the end of the subducting slab. Volatiles released from the torn plate edge and entrained in the flow are a potential cause of the anomalous melting observed. A southward mantle flow may have existed beneath the axis of the East Scotia Ridge throughout its history.     

Origin of the Willaumez-Manus Rise,Papua New Guinea

The aseismic Willaumez-Manus Rise on the Bismarck Sea floor separates the Manus Basin from the New Guinea Basin. The rise does not appear to be an extinct spreading axis, or a remnant arc, but may be the result of excess magmatism possibly related to an inferred mantle hot spot beneath St. Andrew Strait. A preferred interpretation is that the rise is the raised edge of the New Guinea Basin, formed in response to a thermal anomaly beneath the extensional Manus Basin which formed later than the New Guinea Basin.     

Morphology and formation of spreading cracks on pillow lavas at Cape Grim, northwestern Tasmania, Australia

Tertiary basaltic pillow lobes at Cape Grim, northwestern Tasmania, Australia display well-preserved spreading cracks in the glassy crust. The spreading cracks are lens-shaped or rectangular in plan view. In cross section, they consist of a graben-like depression with a broad floor bounded by steep scarps. The floor of spreading crack contains an axial crack and a number of ridges that are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axial crack. The ridges within spreading cracks are inferred to have formed by the regular, repeated production and splitting of new crust at the centre of the spreading crack. This new interpretation of ridges in spreading cracks differs from the previous interpretation in which they are regarded as elongate normal fault blocks. Our interpretation provides new insight into the propagation mechanisms of pillow lavas.     

Characterization of the Azov Sea bottom sediments by the degree of present pollution with a complex of most hazardous toxicants

A great body of source data on the concentrations of oil products, organochlorine pesticides, and heavy metals in the Azov Sea bottom sediments in 1996–2005 is analyzed. An integral quantitative characteristicóan index of pollution of bottom sedimentsóis proposed and used for elaborating a five-level classification of sea floor regions. The causes and regularities of variations in concentrations of toxicants are established and the sites of their entry into the ecosystem are localized.     

Spatial differences in sand wave dynamics between the Amsterdam and the Rotterdam region in the Southern North Sea

The optimization of the bathymetric resurvey policy of the Netherlands Hydrographic Service requires insight into sea floor dynamics in the Southern North Sea. To study the spatial variations in sea floor dynamics, the bathymetric archives of the Netherlands Hydrographic Service are analyzed using deformation analysis, a statistical and innovative approach for bathymetric data. Based on the uncertainty of the data, our implementation of deformation analysis selects the significant spatial and temporal parameters, and provides estimates and their uncertainties for those parameters. We focus on sand wave areas in the regions of Rotterdam and of Amsterdam. In those areas, dredging takes place to guarantee a minimum depth. The results reveal a difference in sand wave migration between the two regions, over the past two decades. The dominant wavelengths of the sand waves vary within the regions, but we find a similar wavelength distribution for the two regions. We compare our results to earlier studies of the same sand wave areas in the Rotterdam region, showing similar migration rates, but different wavelengths. It is concluded, based on sand wave dynamics alone, that the Amsterdam region should be assigned a higher resurvey frequency than the Rotterdam region.     

南海大陆边缘动力学:科学实验与研究进展

国家重点基础研究发展计划(973)项目(2007CB411700)首次在南海南部大陆边缘及西南次海盆开展长排列大震源多道地震、海底地震仪(OBS)折射/反射地震等的综合地球物理探测,结合地质构造、地球化学、动力模拟等的综合研究,形成如下重要认识:南海海盆新生代发生了早、晚两期海底扩张.早期扩张发生于33.5～25 Ma...     

渐进式扩张海盆亚丁湾与南海西南次海盆扩张演化特征的对比

本文总结了渐进式扩张洋中脊和渐进式演化海盆的全球空间分布,并将西南次海盆与典型渐进式演化的亚丁湾加以比对,通过对海盆扩张中心的起源、扩张中心分段特征、火山活动、磁异常特征等的比较,为西南次海盆的演化提供新观点,为南海的演化观点寻找新证据.西南次海盆为渐进式扩张的海盆,与东部次海盆属于同一期扩张形成,海盆的渐进式扩张与渐进式扩张的方向很有可能受到地幔热柱(印支地幔柱、南海中部低速柱或海南地幔柱)的控制.南海的扩张演化模式并不是单一的,而是多种模式的综合,在考虑海底演化模式时应该同时考虑地幔柱的影响.     

南海西南海盆构造演化的热模拟研究

南海西南海盆的张裂和海底扩张是白垩纪末至中始新世南海形成过程中最重要的构造事件.本文采用三维有限单元法对该区的热演化过程进行了模拟计算.通过对变形、温度结构的计算,研究了西南海盆张裂变形、海底扩张持续时间、地幔物质上升、地壳岩墙沿扩张中心的挤入扩张活力、岩浆活动等.计算结果表明：由于其深部动力学条件不足,海盆一次扩张持续时间在10～15Ma之间,其后地幔物质的上升活动逐渐停止,地壳失去扩张动力,使得扩张中心成为残留扩张中心的死亡裂谷,而未构成中脊或中隆带.虽然该处地幔物质上升的潜力不足,但伴随局部的断裂,尤其是盆、缘边界的拆离拉张,仍能产生相当强烈的岩浆喷溢活动,导致此区海盆成型之后的海山崛起.     

Heat flow and spreading rate in back-arc basins: the example of the Tyrrhenian Sea

The results of calculations using geothermal data, the spreading rate and the lithospheric rhickness in the Tyrrhenian Sea are given. A co-ordination of the calculations with the geological structure of the region is made.     

Morphology of seamounts in the western Pacific and Philippine Basin from multi-beam sonar data

New multi-beam bathymetric data from the Philippine Sea and northwest Pacific Basin reveal linear chains of small (less than 40 km³) domed-shaped volcanoes (Philippine) and coned-shaped volcanoes (Pacific) rising 100–1000 m above the 6 km deep ocean floor. Some appear to have well-developed collapsed calderas and spines. Their morphology suggest recent formation in supposedly stable mid-plate regions and their occurrence in linear chains approximately parallel to plate motion may suggest an origin by extrusion from “mini-hot spot” plumes.     

南海共轭大陆边缘构造属性的综合地球物理研究

利用南海最新的重磁资料,在岩石物性分析和全海域分带变倾角化极磁异常反演磁性基底分布的基础上,选择6条典型剖面拟合反演其密度与磁性结构,在此基础上进行了深部结构的对比分析.反演中尽可能以海底地震仪探测数据(OBS)、多道地震等结果作为约束,其中FF'剖面层速度分析是利用“南海大陆边缘动力学及油气资源潜力”973项目200...     

Growth history and formation environments of ferromanganese deposits on the Philippine Sea Plate, northwest Pacific Ocean

Abstract   Hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts are widespread on the floor of the northwestern Pacific Ocean, south and east of the Japanese Islands, despite vigorous tectonic activity, such as subduction and back-arc spreading, since at least the Mid-Paleogene over the Philippine Sea Plate region and nearby. The crusts occur mainly at water depths shallower than 3000 m, but also at greater depths of up to 6000 m. Fine-scale ¹⁰Be/⁹Be dating was undertaken on several 5–10 cm thick hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts sampled from different geological environments, including inactive submarine volcanoes, tectonic escarpments and abandoned rifts. The results indicate that the crusts have grown at relatively constant rates of 4–7 mm/my without any significant time breaks. These uniform and constant growth rates suggest that the basins have been exposed constantly to oxygenated bottom waters since their formation in the Middle Miocene ( ca 15 Ma) or earlier. Local geological or oceanographic environmental changes might have slowed or increased some of the growth rates resulting in correlation of some internal structures. The Philippine Sea Plate region could have economic potential in areas of thick hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts over a wide range of water depths.     

由高密度磁异常测量数据分析南海海盆的扩张年龄与扩张模式

南海是西太平洋最大的边缘海,地处欧亚板块、太平洋板块和印度洋板块的交汇处.过去通过磁异常条带对比分析南海扩张年龄的研究很多,但是所依赖的资料有限.本文对南海海盆高密度大批量磁异常测量数据进行了系统分析,实现了平面2D磁异常数据的带通滤波处理,消除了短波长噪音和由深部下地壳和上地幔顶部磁源体引起的长波长背景信息,因此突出了海底扩张所引起的磁异常条带.利用CK95地磁倒转模型和Talwani磁异常正演方法,对南海东部和西南次海盆内的重点磁异常测线进行了正演分析.通过对不同测线之间、不同海盆之间以及同一条测线中的正演磁异常与实测磁异常之间进行对比分析,进一步验证了南海东部次海盆的扩张年龄为32～16.5 Ma;西南次海盆可能的扩张年龄仍具有较大不确定性,可能为42～33 Ma或者24～16 Ma.不同的时间模型所依赖的扩张速率的变化情况不同,全扩张速率随时间变化明显,但主要在40～80 km/Ma之间.单纯根据目前的磁异常资料很难确定西南次海盆与东部次海盆之间的扩张次序.单期次扩张模式很难解释中南断裂两侧的构造物理差异,这种差异可能主要受控于其基底岩石成分、岩石磁化率、岩浆活动、扩张速率以及深部物质冷却磁化的影响,基底深度的变化也对观测磁异常的强度有所影响.相对地,大部分扩张后玄武岩海山的存在对观测的磁异常的影响不明显,针对目前磁异常解释中不可避免的多解性问题,需要运用其他不同的手段和方法,譬如大洋钻探和深拖高分辨率磁异常测量等,来实现对南海不同次海盆扩张年龄的精确估计.我们目前的工作是通向对深拖高分辨率磁异常、船测和航测磁异常、以及卫星磁异常综合解释的第一步.     

南海及邻近地区面波层析成像和S波速度结构

本文介绍由面波层析成像得到的南海和邻近地区地壳上地幔三维S波速度结构.研究区域介于100°E～130°E和0°～30°N之间,南海位于区域中心,其北、西、南三面通过大陆架和陆坡分别与华南、印支和巽它地块相连,东面邻接台湾—菲律宾岛弧和西菲律宾海盆.由面波层析成像得到的速度结构横向变化与研究区内构造单元的划分基本相符,给...     

马尼拉俯冲带缺失中深源地震成因初探

马尼拉俯冲带是整个南海地震活动多发区,地震成因与南海的形成和构造演化关系密切.对马尼拉俯冲带地震数据和层析成像结果进行了深入分析.结果表明:马尼拉俯冲带的地震活动主要为密集的浅源地震,缺失中深源地震.进一步分析揭示:①脱水和榴辉岩的形成在南海洋壳到达软流圈前就基本停止.马尼拉俯冲带南部在较浅的深度就转变为塑性变形,并停...     

Celtic Sea and Armorican current structure and the vertical distributions of temperature and chlorophyll

Vertical sections of temperature and chlorophyll a across the slopes and shelf of the Celtic Sea in the summer show the characteristic regimes; oceanic, slope, shelf, frontal, and mixed. Increases of surface chlorophyll a are commonly observed along the shelf tidal fronts where the thermocline outcrops at the surface, and also at the shelf-break. The variations in phytoplankton biomass are most readily interpreted in terms of the effects of physical mixing processes due to wind and tide on the availability of inorganic nutrients and light energy. On the shelf, mixing processes, both due to internal waves, inertial currents, and to boundary induced turbulence caused by tidal shear associated with the sea floor, play an important role in determining the observed vertical structures. A numerical model is used to define regions where tidal mixing processes are likely to be relatively important and provides the physical framework for interpreting the temperature and chlorophyll a profiles.