Thermal regimes and regional metamorphism in the vicinity of overthrust faults: an example of shear heating and inverted metamorphic zonation from southern California

Thermal models are developed and temperature-depth profiles computed to account for the development of sharply inverted metamorphic zonations and estimatedP-T conditions beneath deep-seated thrust faults, with particular reference to the metamorphism of the Pelona Schist-Vincent Thrust system of southern California.Models dependent only upon conductive redistribution of heat from an initially hot upper plate are inadequate to account for the observed temperature distributions and theP-T time constraints can only be satisfied if a total shear heating of 3 hfu or more occurs in the region of the thrusts. These heating rates are consistent with known rates of plate movement, shear stresses along major fault zones, and shear strengths of rocks.Petrological constraints indicate the likelihood of buffering of the maximum temperature attained by shear heating due to marked reduction of shear strengths of rocks upon increase of temperature and release of water during metamorphic dehydration reactions.These models may be of general applicability to inverted metamorphic zonations, notably those beneath obducted Newfoundland ophiolites, and are consistent with our present understanding of the thermal properties of the upper parts of subduction zones.     

Thermal evolution of the Ryoke metamorphic belt, southwestern Japan: Tectonic and numerical modeling

Abstract The Ryoke metamorphic belt of southwestern Japan is composed of Cretaceous Ryoke granitoids and associated metamorphic rocks of low-pressure facies series. The Ryoke granitoids are divided into sheet-like bodies (e.g. Gamano granodiorite) and stock-like bodies. The Gamano granodiorite intruded concordantly into the high-grade metamorphic rocks without development of a contact metamorphic aureole, and the intrusion ages of the granodiorite are similar to the ages of thermal peak of the low pressure (low-P) metamorphism. It is suggested that the low-P Ryoke metamorphism resulted from the intrusion of the Gamano granodiorite. In this study, a simple 1-D numerical model of conductive heat transfer was used to evaluate the thermal effects of emplacement of the Gamano granodiorite. Calculated temperature-time ( T-t ) paths are characterized by a rapid increase of metamorphic temperature and a relatively short-lived period of high temperature. For example, the T-t path at the 15-km depth is characterized by a rapid average increase in temperature of 1.4 × 10-³°C/year and high temperatures for < ca 0.5 Ma. The calculated peak temperature for each depth is nearly equal to the petrologically estimated value for each correlated metamorphic zone. The results suggest that the magma-intrusion model is one possible thermal model for low-pressure facies series metamorphism.     

A continental crustal model and its geothermal implications

The following crustal model based on realistic estimates of metamorphic rock volumes and H₂O content is proposed as a basis for geothermal calculations: (1) a surface zone of intermediate metamorphic rocks containing granitic intrusions and grading downward into (2) a more felsic migmatite zone, (3) a lower crustal zone of approximately andesitic composition crystallized in granulite or possibly amphibolite facies. Heat production values and thickness for the three zones are 3 HGU, 5 HGU, 0.5–1.5 HGU and 8, 8, and 18 km respectively. If the surface heat flow is 1.2 HFU, the model predicts a temperature of only 407°C at the Moho and an upper mantle heat flow of 0.3–0.5 HFU. The low temperatures resulting from this model rule out a seismic low-velocity zone in the crust produced by thermal effects.     

Heat flow studies: Constraints on the distribution of uranium,thorium and potassium in the continental crust

To study the amount of heat generated by radioactive decay in the continental crust, the usual practice in the literature is to fit to the heat flow and radioactivity data a relationship of the form: Q = Q_r + D · A where Q and A are the observed heat flow and radiogenic heat production. Q_r is the “reduced” heat flow and D is a depth scale. This procedure implicitly assumes that uranium, thorium and potassium have identical distributions in the crust. We suggest that significant information may be lost as the three radioelements may in fact be affected by processes operating over different depths.Data published for four heat flow provinces throughout the world are used to estimate the distributions of uranium, thorium and potassium in the continental crust. These distributions are characterized by a depth scales defined as follows: D_i =∫0h C_i(z)C_i(0)dz where h is the thickness of the layer containing the bulk of radioactivity and C_i(z) the concentration of element i at depth z. Three depth scales are computed from a least-squares fit to the following relationship: Q = Q_r + D_U · A_U + D_T · A_T + D_K · A_T where Q is the observed heat flow and Q_r some constant (a reduced heat flow). A_i is the heat generation rate due to the radioactive decay of element i, and D_i is the corresponding depth scale.The analysis suggests that the three distributions are different and that they have the same basic features in the four provinces considered. The depth scale for potassium is large in granitic areas, that for thorium is small and that for uranium lies between the other two.We propose a simple model according to which each radioelement essentially provides a record for one process. Potassium gives a depth scale for the primary differentiation of the crust. Thorium gives the depth scale of magmatic or metamorphic fluid circulation. Finally, the uranium distribution reflects the late effects of alteration due to meteoric water. We show that the heat flow and radioactivity data are compatible with this model.Our analysis and numerical results are supported by data from deep boreholes and by geochemical evidence, such as detailed investigations of plutonic series and studies of U-Th-Pb systematics.     

Formation of a high-temperature metamorphic complex due to pervasive melt migration in the hot crust

Abstract   Detailed reviews of metamorphic thermal structures and spatial distributions of granitic rocks in the high- T Higo metamorphic complex (HMC), central Kyushu, Japan, and Ryoke metamorphic complex in the Yanai district (RMC-Y), southwest Japan, reveal that the high-grade metamorphic rocks were associated with migmatites or syn-metamorphic granitoids. The close association of these rocks suggests that transport and solidification of granitic melts are appreciable heat sources. Partial melting of the pelitic host resists heating of the crust due to its endothermic reaction (i.e. absorption of latent heat). However, the effects of slower thermal evolution produced by partial melting are limited by the boundary conditions assumed for the HMC and RMC-Y. New thermal numerical modeling reveals that the volume fraction of the solidified melt products and the duration of melt migration required for crustal heating to a certain temperature decrease with increasing rates of melt migration. The model predicts that the melt migration rate during formation of the HMC is about three to 10 times higher than that of the RMC-Y, and the corresponding duration of melt migration is about one order of magnitude shorter. The model described here also explains the apparently contradictory observations made in different structural units of the RMC-Y: the metamorphic pressure–temperature ( P-T ) ratio of the southern unit is higher than those of the central and northern units, even though the volume fraction of granitic rocks in the southern unit is larger. The model suggests that the melt migration rate in the northern and central units was faster than that in the southern unit. Overall, the model implies that variations of metamorphic field P-T arrays and the spatial distributions of granitic rocks in high- T metamorphic complexes may be explained simply by variations in the rate and duration of melt migration in the hot crust.     

Late Quaternary sinistral slip rate along the Altyn Tagh fault and its structural transformation model

The Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) is a major boundaryfault on the northern margin of the Qinghai-TibetanPlateau and is also the longest sinistral strike-slip faultat a lithospheric scale in the Eurasian Plate. Its exis-tence has directly affected regional features of neotec-tonics, topography, geomorphology, Quaternary geol-ogy, recent crustal deformation, seismicity, climatechange and ecological environment for fauna and florain China[1—6]. The sinistral slip on the ATF and activethrusting-fo…     

Thermal impact of salt: Simulation of thermal anomalies in the gulf of Mexico

Salt and related structures have played important roles in controlling hydrocarbon accumulations in the Gulf of Mexico. Using a two-dimensional fluid flow/compaction model, which allows for both conduction and convection of heat, an examination is given of the effects on thermal patterns of the combined influence of multiple salt features, including diapirs, pillows, sheets and wedges. The focusing and defocusing of heat due to the higher thermal conductivity of salt are accounted for in the modeling. The results show that there could be as much as a 30°C anomaly above multi-salt bodies due to the focusing of heat by salt, and as much as 50°C temperature contrast between internal salt positions and sediments external to the salt in the deep part of a section. The magnitude of the thermal anomaly depends on the size (or width) of the salt and on the depth of the rooted salt. The modeled results provide estimates of the influence of salt in expanding the oil generation window by approximately half of the salt thickness.     

Heat production in an Archean crustal profile and implications for heat flow and mobilization of heat-producing elements

We have measured concentrations of heat producing elements (Th, U, and K) in 58 samples representative of the main lithologies in a 100 km transect of the Superior Province of the Canadian Shield, from the Michipicoten (Wawa) greenstone belt, near Wawa, Ontario, through a domal gneiss terrane of amphibolite grade, to the granulite belt of the Kapuskasing Structural Zone, near Foleyet. This transect has been interpreted as an oblique cross section through some 25 km of crust, uplifted along a major thrust fault, and thus provides an opportunity to examine in detail a continuous profile into deep continental crust of Archean age. Mean heat production values for these terranes, based on aereal distribution of major rock types and calculated from their Th, U, and K concentrations are: Michipicoten greenstone belt = 0.72 μW m⁻³; Wawa domal gneiss terrane (amphibolite grade) = 1.37 μW m⁻³; Kapuskasing granulites = 0.44 μW m⁻³. Among the silicic plutonic rocks (tonalites, granites, and their derivative gneisses), the relatively large variation in heat production correlates with modal abundances of accessory minerals including allanite, sphene, zircon, and apatite. We interpret these variations as primary (pre-metamorphic). The relatively high weighted mean heat production of the domal gneiss terrane can be accounted for by the larger proportion there of late-stage Th-, U-, and K-rich granitoid plutons. These may have been derived from the underlying Kapuskasing granulite terrane, leaving it slightly depleted in heat producing elements. Transport of Th, U, and K, therefore, could have taken place in silicate melts rather than in aqueous or carbonic metamorphic fluids. This conclusion is supported by the lack of a statistically significant difference in heat production between tonalites, tonalite gneisses and mafic rocks of amphibolite versus granulite grade.The pre-metamorphic radioactivity profile for this crustal section is likely to have been uniformly low, with a mean heat production value less than 1 μW m⁻³. This result is distinctly different from measured profiles in more silicic terranes, which show decreasing heat production with depth. This implies fundamental differences in crustal radioactivity distributions between granitic and more mafic terranes, and may be an important factor in selective reactivation of lithologically different terranes, possibly resulting in preferential stabilization of basic terranes in the geological record. Our results indicate that a previously determined apparently linear heat flow-heat production relationship for the Kapuskasing area does not relate to the distribution of heat production with depth. Low, but significant heat production, 0.4–0.5 μW m⁻³, continues to lower crustal depths with no correlation to the depth parameter from the linear relationship. This low heat production may be a minimum average granulite heat production and suggests that, in general, heat flow through the Moho is 8–10 mW m⁻² lower than the reduced heat flow calculated from the heat flow-heat production regression.     

2008汶川Ms8.0地震发生的深层过程和动力学响应

汶川M_s8.0强烈地震发生在一条现今并不活动的龙门山构造带上,造成了以汶川、映秀为中心及其周边地域的严重破坏和人员的重大伤亡.然而强烈震发生前却未见有可能的确切征兆或浅表层异常活动,即浅层过程与地震发生的深层过程并不匹配.为此对这次强烈地震“孕育”、发生和发展的深层过程进行了分析和探讨,初步研究表明：①在印度洋板块与欧亚板块陆—陆碰撞、挤压作用下,喜马拉雅造山带东构造结向NNE方向顶挤、楔入青藏高原东北缘,迫使高原深部物质向东流展,在受到以龙门山为西北边界的四川盆地阻隔下,一部分物质则转而向东南侧向运移;②龙门山地带在地形上差达3500±500 m左右,而地壳厚度在龙门山西北部为60±5 km左右,四川盆地为40±2 km左右,而龙门山地带与其东、西两侧相比则为地壳厚度变化幅度达15~20 km的突变地域,即为应力作用的耦合地带;③中、下地壳和地幔盖层物质以地壳低速层、低阻层（深20~25 km）为第一滑移面,以上地幔软流层顶面为第二滑移面,且在四川盆地深部“刚性”物质阻 隔下,深部壳、幔物质以高角度在龙门山构造带和四川盆地的耦合地带向上运移（或称逆冲）,且在龙门山地表三条断裂构成的断裂系向下延伸到20 km左右深处汇聚,二者强烈碰撞、挤压、震源介质破裂;在物质与能量的强烈交换下,应力得到释放,故形成了这次M_s.0强烈地震.为此从深部初步揭示了这次强烈地震“孕育”、发生和发展的深层动力过程.     

Large aspect ratio cells in two-dimensional thermal convection

Numerical experiments have been carried out on two-dimensional thermal convection, in a Boussinesq fluid with infinite Prandtl number, at high Rayleigh numbers. With stress free boundary conditions and fixed heat flux on upper and lower boundaries, convection cells develop with aspect ratios (width/depth) λ? 5, if heat is supplied either entirely from within or entirely from below the fluid layer. The preferred aspect ratio is affected by the lateral boundary conditions. If the temperature, rather than the heat flux, is fixed on the upper boundary the cells haveλ ≈ 1. At Rayleigh numbers of 2.4 × 10⁵ and greater, small sinking sheets are superimposed on the large aspect ratio cells, though they do not disrupt the circulation. Similar two-scale flows have been proposed for convection in the earth's mantle. The existence of two scales of flow in two-dimensional numerical experiments when the viscosity is constant will allow a variety of geophysically important effects to be investigated.     

Interpretation of tensor gravity data using an adaptive tilt angle method

Full Tensor Gravity Gradiometry (FTG) data are routinely used in exploration programmes to evaluate and explore geological complexities hosting hydrocarbon and mineral resources. FTG data are typically used to map a host structure and locate target responses of interest using a myriad of imaging techniques. Identified anomalies of interest are then examined using 2D and 3D forward and inverse modelling methods for depth estimation. However, such methods tend to be time consuming and reliant on an independent constraint for clarification. This paper presents a semi‐automatic method to interpret FTG data using an adaptive tilt angle approach. The present method uses only the three vertical tensor components of the FTG data (T_zx, T_zy and T_zz) with a scale value that is related to the nature of the source (point anomaly or linear anomaly). With this adaptation, it is possible to estimate the location and depth of simple buried gravity sources such as point masses, line masses and vertical and horizontal thin sheets, provided that these sources exist in isolation and that the FTG data have been sufficiently filtered to minimize the influence of noise. Computation times are fast, producing plausible results of single solution depth estimates t hat relate directly to anomalies. For thick sheets, the method can resolve the thickness of these layers assuming the depth to the top is known from drilling or other independent geophysical data. We demonstrate the practical utility of the method using examples of FTG data acquired over the Vinton Salt Dome, Louisiana, USA and basalt flows in the Faeroe‐Shetland Basin, UK. A major benefit of the method is the ability to quickly construct depth maps. Such results are used to produce best estimate initial depth to source maps that can act as initial models for any detailed quantitative modelling exercises using 2D/3D forward/inverse modelling techniques.     

Implications of melting for stabilisation of the lithosphere and heat loss in the Archaean

The increased depth and volume of melting induced in a higher temperature Archaean mantle controls the stability of the lithosphere, heat loss rates and the thickness of the oceanic crust. The relationship between density distributions in oceanic lithosphere and the depth of melting at spreading centres is investigated by calculating the mineral proportions and densities of residual mantle depleted by extraction of melt fractions. The density changes related to compositional gradients are comparable to those produced by thermal effects for lithosphere formed from a mantle which is 200°C or more hotter than modern upper mantle. If Archaean continental crust formed initially above oceanic lithosphere, the compositional density gradients may be sufficient to preserve a thick Archaean continental lithosphere within which the Archaean age diamonds are preserved. The amount of heat advected by melts at mid-ocean ridges today is small but heat advected by melting becomes proportionally more important as higher mantle temperatures lead to a greater volume of melt and as the rate of production of oceanic plates increases. Archaean tectonics could have been dominated by spreading rates 2–3 times greater than now and with mantle temperatures between ca. 1600°C and 1800°C at the depth of the solidus. Mid-ocean ridge melting would produce a relatively thick but light refractory lithosphere on which continents could form, protected from copious volcanism and high mantle temperatures.     

Thrusting of young lithosphere in subduction zones with special reference to structures in ophiolitic peridotites

Two contrasted types of structures have been recognized in peridotites from ophiolites and from the oceanic environment. The first one, typical of high-temperature/moderate-stress conditions, is observed in the upper part of ophiolitic peridotites and has been ascribed to plastic flow in an oceanic ridge environment. The second one, typical of moderate-temperature/high-stress conditions, is more specially dealt with here. It is printed in the peridotites above the basal metamorphic aureole found in many ophiolites. The strain increases downward over 1–2 km to produce peridotite mylonites at the contact with the metamorphic aureole. Similarities with rocks from trench and island arc environments suggest ascribing this deformation in ophiolites to a trench environment. We propose that shear fracturing in a young oceanic lithosphere is initiated by the compressive elastic stress in its lower part which is produced by bending of the subducted plate. An externally applied compressive stress is responsible for subsequent overthrusting of the fractured lithosphere. This interpretation is in good agreement with the available geophysical data on young subducted plates and with the physical data on ophiolitic peridotites.     

Fault-related folds and an imbricate thrust system on the northwestern margin of the northern Fossa Magna region, central Japan

Abstract   The Nishikubiki Mountains, which are located on the northwestern margin of the northern Fossa Magna region, central Japan, and the area offshore to the north of the mountains are underlain by folded and faulted Neogene and Quaternary sequences. The folds are composed of open, symmetric anticlines or tight, asymmetric anticlines trending north 20–70° east. On the basis of the geometry of the anticlines and growth strata, the symmetric and asymmetric anticlines are interpreted as fault-bend folds and fault-propagation folds, respectively. The formation of the anticlines is attributed to the growth of an imbricate thrust system composed of three thrust sheets that developed, from southeast to northwest, mainly in the late Pliocene, early Pleistocene, and middle Pleistocene–Holocene. The horizontal component of the northwestern-most sheet was estimated to be approximately 1.2 km on the basis of the width of the growth triangle, and the thickness of the sheet at its southeast margin was estimated to be 8.5 km on the basis of area balancing along one of the seismic profiles. The thrust is inferred to extend to a depth of more than 10 km toward the southwest. The three thrust sheets are probably connected by a detachment zone along the boundary between the upper and lower crusts. The anticlines are bounded by the Itoigawa–Shizuoka Tectonic Line (ISTL) to the west and by lateral ramps or tip lines to the northeast. The ISTL possibly continues northward offshore into the Toyama Trough. The structural model proposed in this paper suggests that similar thrust systems are wide spread in the northern Fossa Magna region and that active deformation zones have migrated and switched during the past 2–3 million years along the fold belt.     

Metamorphic and cooling history of the Shimanto accretionary complex,Kyushu, Southwest Japan: Implications for the timing of out‐of‐sequence thrusting

Illite crystallinity, K–Ar dating of illite, and fission‐track dating of zircon are analyzed in the hanging wall (Sampodake unit) and footwall (Mikado unit) of a seismogenic out‐of‐sequence thrust (Nobeoka thrust) within the Shimanto accretionary complex of central Kyushu, southwest Japan. The obtained metamorphic temperatures, and timing of metamorphism and cooling, reveal the tectono‐metamorphic evolution of the complex, and related development of the Nobeoka thrust. Illite crystallinity data indicate that the Late Cretaceous Sampodake unit was metamorphosed at temperatures of around 300 to 310°C, while the Middle Eocene Mikado unit was metamorphosed at 260 to 300°C. Illite K–Ar ages and zircon fission‐track ages constrain the timing of metamorphism of the Sampodake unit to the early Middle Eocene (46 to 50 Ma, mean = 48 Ma). Metamorphism of the Mikado unit occurred no earlier than 40 Ma, which is the youngest depositional age of the unit. The Nobeoka thrust is inferred to have been active during about 40 to 48 Ma, as the Sampodake unit started its post metamorphic cooling after 48 Ma and was thrust over the Mikado unit at about 40 Ma along the Nobeoka thrust. These results indicate that the Nobeoka thrust was active for more than 10 million years.     

Thermal structure of the Barbados accretionary complex

Finite element modeling of the thermal structure within the Barbados subduction complex is carried out. Kinematics of the sediments inside the complex are computed from a viscous model with inhomogeneous viscosity and the effect of gravity. The model yields an uplift rate compatible with observational data. Advective heat transfer affects the heat flow across the complex. Imbricated thrust faulting further reduces the heat flow across the slope. These mechanisms predict an arcward decrease of heat flow on the lower slope, followed by an increase of heat flow approaching the ridge, little change in heat flow at the forearc basin, and a significant increase of heat flow near the volcanic are, in agreement with the existing observations.     

从差异形变导至发震来探讨我国大陆强震机理

从密云变质岩的矿物组合和变质相律中,本文揭示出多震层的某些主要特征。在地壳10—25公里深处的不同物性、成分的岩石,彼此具有不同程度的形变。差异形变的机理是按应变椭球体的形成过程来解释的。其中,不同岩石相对的流劈理和破劈理是在同一受力系统下发育形成。当达到差异形变的极限状态时,破劈理可导致产生压剪逆掩断层,激发强震,故差异形变力即是激发强震的驱动力。本文并对缓慢形变和快速发震、震源体构造和岩石作了某些初步探讨     

Regional metamorphic belts of the Japanese Islands

Abstract An overview of the regional metamorphic belts of Japan is given in the context of the tectonic evolution of the Japanese Islands. The Japanese Islands were situated on an active margin of the Eurasian continent or its constituent landmass before their assembly during the Phanerozoic. The Japanese Islands are composed mainly of metamorphosed and unmetamorphosed accretionary complexes, granitoids and their effusive equivalents that were formed by the Cordilleran-type orogeny. The metamorphic belts are regarded essentially as a deep-seated portion of an accretionary complex. In spite of continuous subduction of oceanic plates beneath the continents, these orogenic rocks were formed quite episodically, as evidenced by discontinuous matrix ages of the accretionary complexes and a striking concentration of isotopic ages of the granitoids. A systematic along-arc age shift of Cretaceous large-scaled granitic magmatism and regional metamorphism suggests a tectonic control such as ridge subduction, which triggered the episodic orogeny. A tectonic model based on the paired metamorphic belts, combined with the non-steady tectonic control, works well to explain this magmatism and metamorphism in a single arc-trench system as a continental margin process. However, the juxtapositional process of the paired metamorphic belts is still a problem. Two possible cases, namely transcurrent displacement and back-arc overthrusting are discussed.     

Metamorphism, partial preservation, and exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure belts

The Dabie-Sulu belt of east-central China, the Kokchetav Complex of northern Kazakhstan, the Maksyutov Complex of the South Urals, the Dora Maira Massif of the Western Alps, and the Western Gneiss Region of southwestern Norway lie astride intracontinental suture zones. All represent collisional mountain belts. Adjoining Eurasian regions exhibit little or no evidence of a coeval calc-alkaline arc. Each metamorphic complex contains mineralogic and textural relics of the presence or former existence of coesite ± diamond. Other ultrahigh-P, moderate-T metamorphic phases, including K-rich clinopyroxene, Mg-rich garnet, ellenbergerite, lawsonite, Al-rutile, glaucophane, high-Si phengite, and associations such as coesite + dolomite, magnesite + diopside, and talc + kyanite, diopside, jadeite, or phengite also testify to pressures approaching or exceeding 2.8 GPa. Each of the five well-studied Eurasian ultrahigh-pressure complexes consists chiefly of old, cool continental crust. Deep-seated recrystallization took place during the Phanerozoic. Subduction zones constitute the only known plate-tectonic environment where such high-P, low-T conditions exist. A model involving underflow of a salient of continental crust imbedded in oceanic crust-capped lithosphere explains the ultrahigh- pressure metamorphism. Partly exhumed ultrahigh-pressure terranes consist of relatively thin sheets 7 ± 5 km thick. During early stages of plate descent, hydration of relatively anhydrous units occurs, and volatiles are expelled from hydrous rocks. If present, aqueous fluids markedly catalyze reactions. Experimental studies on MORB bulk compositions demonstrate that, for common subduction-zone P–T trajectories, amphibole (the major hydrous phase in metabasaltic rocks) dehydrates at less than ~ 2.0 GPa; accordingly, mafic blueschists and amphibolites expel H₂O at great depth and, except for some coarse-grained, dry metagabbros, tend to recrystallize to eclogite. Serpentinized mantle beneath the oceanic crust devolatilizes at comparable pressures. In contrast, phengite and biotite remain stable to pressures exceeding 3.5 GPa in associated quartzofeldspathic rocks. So, under ultrahigh-pressure conditions, the micaceous lithologies that dominate the continental crust fail to evolve significant H₂O, and may transform incompletely to eclogitic assemblages. Although hydrous rocks expel volatiles during compaction and shallow burial, very deep underflow of partly hydrated oceanic crust + mantle generates most of the volatile flux along and above a subduction zone prior to continental collision. As large masses of sialic crust enter the convergent plate junction, fluid evolution at deep levels severely diminishes, and both convergence and dehydration terminate. After cessation of ultrahigh-pressure recrystallization, tectonic slices of sialic massifs return to shallow depths along the subduction channel, propelled by buoyancy; collisional sheets that retain ultrahigh-pressure effects lose heat efficiently across both upper (extensional, normal fault) and lower (subduction, reverse fault) tectonic contacts. These sheets ascend to midcrustal levels rapidly at average exhumation rates of 2–12 mm/year. Surviving ultrahigh-pressure relics occur as micro-inclusions encased in dense, strong, impermeable, unreactive mineralogic hosts, and are shielded during return towards conditions characteristic of midcrustal levels. Rehydration attending decompression is incomplete; its limited extent reflects the coarse grain size and relative impermeability of the rocks undergoing retrogression, as well as declining temperature and lack of aqueous fluids.     

汶川8级大地震活动断裂滑动速率异常低的比较讨论

本文在收集1900—2008年东亚大陆西部三角地震区内8次陆内逆冲型浅源大地震(M≥7.5)活动断裂的滑动速率基础上, 初步比较分析表明东亚大三角地震区陆内逆冲型孕震断层的缩短或垂直平均滑动速率≤12 mm/a; 2008年四川汶川8.0级大地震发生在滑动速率异常低(0.2～1.0 mm/a)的龙门山活动断层上; 地震震级大小和滑动速率大小之间的关系并没有显示出线性的简单相关关系; 地震震级大小可能与多种因素有关, 包括断层的地质年代、 尺度(长度、 宽度和深度)、 活动速率和历史、 物性, 以及应力-应变本构关系和动力学环境等, 需要深入研究。