Geochemistry of the Jurassic Mirdita Ophiolite (Albania) and the MORB to SSZ evolution of a marginal basin oceanic crust

The Middle Jurassic Mirdita Ophiolite in northern Albania is part of an ophiolite belt occurring between the Apulian and Pelagonian subcontinents in the Balkan Peninsula. The upper mantle and crustal units of the Mirdita Ophiolite show major changes in thickness, rock types, and chemical compositions from west to east as a result of its complex evolution in a suprasubduction zone (SSZ) environment. The  3–4-km-thick Western Mirdita Ophiolite (WMO) includes lherzolite–harzburgite, plagioclase–lherzolite, plagioclase–dunite in its upper mantle units and a plutonic complex composed of olivine gabbro, troctolite, ferrogabbro, and gabbro. These peridotites and gabbroic rocks are overlain directly by a  600-m-thick extrusive sequence containing basaltic pillow lavas and hyaloclastites. Sheeted dikes are rare in the WMO. The  12-km-thick Eastern Mirdita Ophiolite (EMO) includes tectonized harzburgite and dunite with extensive chromite deposits, as well as ultramafic cumulates including olivine clinopyroxenite, wehrlite, olivine websterite, and dunite forming a transitional Moho with the overlying lower crustal section. The plutonic rocks are made of pyroxenite, gabbronorite, gabbro, amphibole gabbro, diorite, quartz diorite, and plagiogranite. A well-developed sheeted dike complex has mutually intrusive relations with the underlying isotropic gabbros and plagiogranites and feeds into the overlying pillow lavas. Dike compositions change from older basalt to basaltic andesite, andesite, dacite, quartz diorite, to late-stage andesitic and boninitic dikes as constrained by crosscutting relations. The  1.1-km-thick extrusive sequence comprises basaltic and basaltic andesitic pillow lavas in the lower 700 m, and andesitic, dacitic and rhyodacitic massive sheet flows in the upper 400 m. Rare boninitic dikes and lavas occur as the youngest igneous products within the EMO. The basaltic and basaltic andesitic rocks of the WMO extrusive sequence display MORB affinities with Ti and Zr contents decreasing upsection (TiO₂ = 3.5–0.5%, Zr = 300–50 ppm), while _Nd(T) (+ 8 to + 6.5) varies little. These magmas were derived from partial melting of fertile MORB-type mantle. Fractional crystallization was important in the evolution of WMO magmas. The low Ti and HREE abundances and Cs and Ba enrichments in the uppermost basaltic andesites may indicate an increased subduction influence in the evolution of the late-stage WMO magmas. Basaltic andesites in the lower 700 m of the EMO volcanic sequence have lower TiO₂ ( 0.5%) and Zr ( 50 ppm) contents but _Nd(T) values (+ 7 to + 6.5) are similar to those of the WMO lavas. These rocks show variable enrichment in subduction-enriched incompatible elements (Cs, Ba, Th, U, LREE). The basaltic andesites through dacites and boninites within the upper 400 meters of EMO lavas show low TiO₂ ( 0.8–0.3%) and _Nd(T) (+ 6.5 to + 3.0). The mantle source of these rocks was variably enriched in Th by melts derived from subducted sediments as indicated by the large variations in Ba, K, and Pb contents. EMO boninitic dikes and lavas and some gabbroic intrusions with negative _{Nd (T)} values (− 1.4 and − 4.0, respectively) suggest that these magmas were produced from partial melting of previously depleted, ultra-refractory mantle. The MORB to SSZ transition (from west to east and stratigraphically upwards in the Mirdita Ophiolite and the progression of the _Nd(T) values from + 8.0 to − 4.0 towards the east resulted from an eastward shift in protoarc–forearc magmatism, keeping pace with slab rollback in this direction. The mantle flow above the retreating slab and in the arc-wedge corner played a major role in the evolution of the melting column, in which melt generation, aggregation/mixing and differentiation occurred at all levels of the sub-arc/forearc mantle. The SSZ Mirdita Ophiolite evolved during the intra-oceanic collapse and closure of the Pindos marginal basin, which had a protracted tectonic history involving seafloor spreading, protoarc rifting, and trench-continent collision.     

Silicic recharge of multiple rhyolite magmas by basaltic intrusion during the 22.6 ka Okareka Eruption Episode, New Zealand

Deposits of the 22.6 ka Okareka Eruption Episode from Tarawera Volcanic Complex record the sequential and simultaneous eruption of three discrete rhyolite magmas following a silicic recharge event related to basaltic intrusion. The episode started with basaltic eruption ( 0.01 km³ magma), and rapidly changed to a plinian eruption involving a moderate temperature (750 °C), cummingtonite-bearing rhyolite magma (T1) with a volume of  0.3 km³. Hybrid basalt/rhyolite clasts demonstrate direct basaltic intrusion that helped trigger the eruption. Crystals, shards and lapilli of two other rhyolite magmas then joined the eruption sequence. They comprise a cooler (720 °C) crystal-rich biotite–hornblende rhyolite magma (T2) ( 0.3 km³), and a hotter (780 °C), crystal-poor, pyroxene–hornblende rhyolite magma (T3) ( 4.5 km³). All mid to late-stage ash units contain various mixtures of T1, T2 and T3 components with a general increase in abundance of T3 and rapid decline of T1 with time. About 4 km³ of T3 magma was extruded as lavas at the end of the episode. Contrasts in melt composition, crystal and volatile contents, and temperatures influenced viscosity and miscibility, and thus limited pre-eruption mixing of the rhyolite magmas. The eruption sequence and the restricted direct basaltic intrusion into only one magma (T1) is consistent with the rhyolites occupying separate melt pods within a large crystal-mush zone. Melt–crystal equilibria and volatile contents in melt inclusions indicate temporary magma storage depths of < 8 km. Each of the magmas display quartz crystals containing melt inclusions that are compositionally highly evolved relative to the accompanying matrix glass, and thus point to a stage of more complete crystallisation. The matrix glass, enriched in Sr and Ti, represents a re-melting event of underlying the crystal pile induced by basaltic intrusion, presumably part of the same event that erupted scoria at the start of the eruption. This recharge rhyolite melt percolated upward and hybridised with the resident melts in each of the three magma pods. The Okareka episode rhyolites contrast with other well-documented rhyolites that are either continuously or discontinuously zoned, or have been homogenised during re-activation to a uniform composition. Rapid basalt dike intrusion to shallow levels appears to have (prematurely?) triggered the Okareka rhyolites into eruption, so that their early ponding in separate melt pods has been recorded before it could be masked by mixing or stratification had amalgamation into a larger body occurred.     

Geochemistry and geochronology of the Neoproterozoic Pan-African Transcaucasian Massif (Republic of Georgia) and implications for island arc evolution of the late Precambrian Arabian–Nubian Shield

The Transcaucasian Massif (TCM) in the Republic of Georgia includes Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian ophiolites and magmatic arc assemblages that are reminiscent of the coeval island arc terranes in the Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS) and provides essential evidence for Pan-African crustal evolution in Western Gondwana. The metabasite–plagiogneiss–migmatite association in the Oldest Basement Unit (OBU) of TCM represents a Neoproterozoic oceanic lithosphere intruded by gabbro–diorite–quartz diorite plutons of the Gray Granite Basement Complex (GGBC) that constitute the plutonic foundation of an island arc terrane. The Tectonic Mélange Zone (TMZ) within the Middle-Late Carboniferous Microcline Granite Basement Complex includes thrust sheets composed of various lithologies derived from this arc-ophiolite assemblage. The serpentinized peridotites in the OBU and the TMZ have geochemical features and primary spinel composition (0.35) typical of mid-ocean ridge (MOR)-type, cpx-bearing spinel harzburgites. The metabasic rocks from these two tectonic units are characterized by low-K, moderate-to high-Ti, olivine-hypersthene-normative, tholeiitic basalts representing N-MORB to transitional to E-MORB series. The analyzed peridotites and volcanic rocks display a typical melt-residua genetic relationship of MOR-type oceanic lithosphere. The whole-rock Sm–Nd isotopic data from these metabasic rocks define a regression line corresponding to a maximum age limit of 804 ± 100 Ma and εNd_int = 7.37 ± 0.55. Mafic to intermediate plutonic rocks of GGBC show tholeiitic to calc-alkaline evolutionary trends with LILE and LREE enrichment patterns, Y and HREE depletion, and moderately negative anomalies of Ta, Nb, and Ti, characteristic of suprasubduction zone originated magmas. U–Pb zircon dates, Rb–Sr whole-rock isochron, and Sm–Nd mineral isochron ages of these plutonic rocks range between  750 Ma and 540 Ma, constraining the timing of island arc construction as the Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian. The Nd and Sr isotopic ratios and the model and emplacement ages of massive quartz diorites in GGBC suggest that pre-Pan African continental crust was involved in the evolution of the island arc terrane. This in turn indicates that the ANS may not be made entirely of juvenile continental crust of Neoproterozoic age. Following its separation from ANS in the Early Paleozoic, TCM underwent a period of extensive crustal growth during 330–280 Ma through the emplacement of microcline granite plutons as part of a magmatic arc system above a Paleo-Tethyan subduction zone dipping beneath the southern margin of Eurasia. TCM and other peri-Gondwanan terranes exposed in a series of basement culminations within the Alpine orogenic belt provide essential information on the Pan-African history of Gondwana and the rift-drift stages of the tectonic evolution of Paleo-Tethys as a back-arc basin between Gondwana and Eurasia.     

Diagenetic mineralization in Pennsylvanian coals from Indiana, USA: C/C and O/O implications for cleat origin and coalbed methane generation

Cleats and fractures in southwestern Indiana coal seams are often filled with authigenic kaolinite and/or calcite. Carbon- and oxygen-stable isotope ratios of kaolinite, calcite, and coalbed CO₂ were evaluated in combination with measured values and published estimates of δ¹⁸O of coalbed paleowaters that had been present at the time of mineralization. δ¹⁸O_mineral and δ¹⁸O_water values jointly constrain the paleotemperature of mineralization. The isotopic evidence and the thermal and tectonic history of this part of the Illinois Basin led to the conclusion that maximum burial and heat-sterilization of coal seams approximately 272 Ma ago was followed by advective heat redistribution and concurrent precipitation of kaolinite in cleats at a burial depth of < 1600 m at  78 ± 5 °C. Post-Paleozoic uplift, the development of a second generation of cleats, and subsequent precipitation of calcite occurred at shallower burial depth between  500 to  1300 m at a lower temperature of 43 ± 6 °C. The available paleowater in coalbeds was likely ocean water and/or tropical meteoric water with a δ¹⁸O_water  − 1.25‰ versus VSMOW. Inoculation of coalbeds with methanogenic CO₂-reducing microbes occurred at an even later time, because modern microbially influenced ¹³C-enriched coalbed CO₂ (i.e., the isotopically fractionated residue of microbial CO₂ reduction) is out of isotopic equilibrium with ¹³C-depleted calcite in cleats.     

Neoproterozoic adakitic plutons in the northern margin of the Yangtze Block, China: Partial melting of a thickened lower crust and implications for secular crustal evolution

Numerous Neoproterozoic felsic and mafic–ultramafic intrusions occur in the Hannan region at the northern margin of the Yangtze Block. Among these, the Wudumen and Erliba plutons consist of granodiorites and have SHRIMP zircon U–Pb ages of  735 Ma. The rocks have high K₂O (0.8–3.6 wt.%) and Na₂O (4.4–6.4 wt.%) and low MgO (0.4–1.7 wt.%). They also have high Sr/Y (32–209) and (La/Yb)_n ratios (4.4–38.6). Their εNd values range from − 0.41 to − 0.92 and zircon initial ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios from 0.282353 to 0.282581. These geochemical features are similar to those of adakitic rocks produced by partial melting of a thickened lower crust. Our new analytical results, combined with the occurrence of voluminous arc-related mafic–ultramafic intrusions emplaced before 740 Ma, lead us to propose that the crustal evolution in the northern margin of the Yangtze Block during Neoproterozoic involved: (1) rapid crustal growth and thickening by underplating of mafic magmas from the mantle which was modified by materials coming from the subducting oceanic slab from  1.0 to  0.74 Ga, and (2) partial melting of the thickened lower crust due to a thermal anomaly induced by upwelling of asthenosphere through an oceanic slab window, producing the  735 Ma adakitic Wudumen and Erliba plutons. Our model suggests that the crustal thickness was more than 50 km at the northern margin of the Yangtze Block at  735 Ma, and rule out the possibility of a mantle plume impact causing the > 735 Ma magmatism in the region.     

Age and origin of middle Neoproterozoic mafic magmatism in southern Yangtze Block and relevance to the break-up of Rodinia

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age, geochemical and Sm–Nd isotopic data are reported for mid-Neoproterozoic volcanic rocks and mafic intrusions in northern Guangxi (Guibei) and western Hunan (Xiangxi) Provinces along the southern margin of the Yangtze Block. The mafic igneous rocks studied are generally synchronous, dated at  765 Ma. The least-contaminated dolerite samples from Xiangxi are characterized by high εNd(T) value of 3.3 to 5.3 and OIB-type geochemical features, indicating that they were derived from an OIB-like mantle source in a continental rift setting. The spilites and gabbros in Guibei show basaltic compositions transitional between the tholeiitic and calc-alkaline series. Despite depletion in Nb and Ta relative to La and Th, they have Zr/Sm = 27–35 and Ti/V = 30–40, affinitive to intraplate basalts. Their εNd(T) values are variable, ranging from − 1.2 to 3.2 for the spilites and from − 1.7 to 2.9 for the gabbros, suggesting that these spilites and gabbros crystallized from crustal-contaminated mafic magmas derived from a metasomatised subcontinental lithospheric mantle source. We conclude that the  765 Ma mafic magmatic rocks in Guibei and Xiangxi were formed in a single continental rift setting as part of the broadly concurrent  780–750 Ma rift magmatism over much of South China, which may be related to the plume activities during the breakup of Rodinia.     

Shear wave velocity and attenuation structure for the shallow crust of the southern Korean peninsula from short period Rayleigh waves

We analyzed the short period Rayleigh waves from the first crustal-scale seismic refraction experiment in the Korean peninsula, KCRUST2002, to determine the shear wave velocity and attenuation structure of the uppermost 1 km of the crust in different tectonic zones of the Korean peninsula and to examine if this can be related to the surface geology of the study area. The experiment was conducted with two large explosive sources along a 300-km long profile in 2002. The seismic traces, recorded on 170 vertical-component, 2-Hz portable seismometers, show distinct Rayleigh waves in the period range between 0.2 s and 1.2 s, which are easily recognizable up to 30–60 km from the sources. The seismic profiles, which traverse three tectonic regions (Gyeonggi massif, Okcheon fold belt and Yeongnam massif), were divided into five subsections based on tectonic boundaries as well as lithology. Group and phase velocities for the five subsections obtained by a continuous wavelet transform method and a slant stack method, respectively, were inverted for the shear wave models. We obtained shear wave velocity models up to a depth of 1.0 km. Overall, the shear wave velocity of the Okcheon fold belt is lower than that of the Gyeonggi and Yeongnam massifs by  0.4 km/s in the shallowmost 0.2 km and by 0.2 km/s at depths below 0.2 km. Attenuation coefficients, determined from the decay of the fundamental mode Rayleigh waves, were used to obtain the shear wave attenuation structures for three subsections (one for each of the three different tectonic regions). We obtained an average value of Q_β^− 1 in the upper 0.5 km for each subsection. Q_β^− 1 for the Okcheon fold belt ( 0.026) is approximately three times larger than Q_β^− 1 for the massif areas ( 0.008). The low shear wave velocity in the Okcheon fold belt is consistent with the high attenuation in this region.     

Palaeomagnetism of the Loch Doon Granite Complex, Southern Uplands of Scotland: The Late Caledonian palaeomagnetic record and an Early Devonian episode of True Polar Wander

The Southern Uplands terrane is an Ordovician–Silurian back-arc/foreland basin emplaced at the northern margin of the Iapetus Ocean and intruded by granite complexes including Loch Doon (408.3 ± 1.5 Ma) during Early Devonian times. Protracted cooling of this 130 km³ intrusion recorded magnetic remanence comprising a predominant (‘A’) magnetisation linked to initial cooling with dual polarity and mean direction D / I = 237 / 64° (α₉₅ = 4°, palaeopole at 316°E, 21°N). Subsidiary magnetisations include Mesozoic remanence correlating with extensional tectonism in the adjoining Irish Sea Basin (‘B’, D / I = 234/− 59°) and minority populations (‘C’, D / I = 106/− 2° and ‘D’, D / I = 199/1°) recording emplacement of younger ( 395 Ma) granites in adjoining terranes and the Variscan orogenic event. The ‘A’ directions have an arcuate distribution identifying anticlockwise rotation during cooling. A comparable rotation is identified in the Orthotectonic Caledonides to the north and the Paratectonic Caledonides to the south following closure of Iapetus. Continental motion from midsoutherly latitudes ( 40°S) at 408 Ma to equatorial palaeolatitudes by  395 Ma is identified and implies minimum rates of continental movement between 430 and 390 Ma of 30–70 cm/year, more than double maximum rates induced by plate forces and interpreted as a signature of true polar wander. Silurian–Devonian palaeomagnetic data from the British–Scandinavian Caledonides define a 430–385 Ma closed loop comparable to the distributed contemporaneous palaeomagnetic poles from Gondwana. They reconcile pre-430 Ma and post-380 Ma APW from this supercontinent and show that Laurentia–Baltica–Avalonia lay to the west of South America with a relict Rheic Ocean opening to the north which closed to produce Variscan orogeny by a combination of pivotal closure and right lateral transpression.     

Finite-fault slip models for the 15 April 1979 (Mw 7.1) Montenegro earthquake and its strongest aftershock of 24 May 1979 (Mw 6.2)

We revisit the April 1979 Montenegro earthquake sequence to invert for finite-fault slip models for the mainshock of 15 April 1979 (M_w 7.1) and of the strongest aftershock of 24 May 1979 (M_w 6.2) using P, SH and SV waveforms, retrieved from IRIS data center. We also used body waveform modelling inversion to confirm the focal mechanism of the mainshock as a pure thrust mechanism and rule out the existence of considerable strike slip component in the motion. The mainshock occurred along a shallow (depth 7 km), low angle (14°) thrust fault, parallel to the coastline and dipping to the NE. Our preferred slip distribution model for the mainshock indicates that rupture initiated from SE and propagated towards NW, with a speed of 2.0 km/s. Moment was released in a main slip patch, confined in an area of L  50 km × W  23 km. The maximum slip ( 2.7 m) occurred  30 km to the NW of the hypocenter (location of rupture initiation). The average slip is 49 cm and the total moment release over the fault is 4.38e19 Nm. The slip model adequately fits the distribution of the M_w ≥ 4.3 aftershocks, as most of them are located in the regions of the fault plane that did not slip during the mainshock. The 24 May 1979 (M_w 6.2) strongest aftershock occurred  40 km NW of the mainshock. Our preferred slip model for this event showed a characteristic two-lobe pattern, where each lobe is  7.5 × 7.5 km². Rupture initiated in the NW lobe, where the slip obtained its maximum value of 45 cm, very close to the hypocenter, and propagated towards the south-eastern lobe where it reached another maximum value — for this lobe — of 30 cm, approximately 10 km away from the hypocenter. To indirectly validate our slip models we produced synthetic PGV maps (Shake maps) and we compared our predictions with observations of ground shaking from strong motion records. All comparisons were made for rock soil conditions and in general our slip models adequately fit the observations especially at the closest stations where the shaking was considerably stronger. Through the search of the parameter space for our inversions we obtained an optimum location for the mainshock at 42.04°N and 19.21° E and we also observed that better fit to the observations was obtained when the fault was modeled as a blind thrust fault.     

Glide systems of hematite single crystals in deformation experiments

The critical resolved shear stresses (CRSSs) of hematite crystals were determined in compression tests for r-twinning, c-twinning and {a}<m>-slip in the temperature range 25 °C to 400 °C, at 400 MPa confining pressure, and a strain rate of 10^− 5 s^− 1 by Hennig-Michaeli, Ch., Siemes, H., 1982. Experimental deformation of hematile crstals betwen 25 °C and 400 °C at 400 MPa confining pressure. In: Schreyer, W. (Ed.) High Pressure Research in Geoscience, Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, p. 133–150. In the present contribution newly performed experiments on hematite single crystals at temperatures up to 800 °C at strain rates of 10^− 5 s^− 1 and 300 MPa confining pressure extends the knowledge about the CRSS of twin and slip modes. Optical observations, neutron diffraction goniometry, SEM forescatter electron images and electron backscatter diffraction are applied in order to identify the glide modes. Both twinning systems and {a}<m>-slip were confirmed by these methods. Besides the known glide systems the existence of the (c)<a>-slip system could be stated. Mechanical data establish that the CRSS of r-twinning decreases from 140 MPa at 25 °C to  5 MPa at 800 °C and for {a}<m>-slip from > 560 MPa at 25 °C to  40 MPa at 700 °C. At room temperature the CRSS for c-twinning is around 90 MPa and at 600 °C  60 MPa. The data indicate that the CRSSs above 200 °C seem to be between the values for r-twinning and {a}<m>-slip. For (c)<a>-slip only the CRSS at 600 °C could be evaluated to  60 MPa. Exact values are difficult to determine because other glide systems are always simultaneously activated.     

Kinematics of the Iberia–Maghreb plate contact from seismic moment tensors and GPS observations

The Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb experience moderate earthquake activity and oblique,  NW–SE convergence between Africa and Eurasia at a rate of  5 mm/yr. Coeval extension in the Alboran Basin and a N35°E trending band of active, left-lateral shear deformation in the Alboran–Betic region are not straightforward to understand in the context of regional shortening, and evidence complexity of deformation at the plate contact. We estimate 86 seismic moment tensors (M_W 3.3 to 6.9) from time domain inversion of near-regional waveforms in an intermediate period band. Those and previous moment tensors are used to describe regional faulting style and calculate average stress tensors. The solutions associated to the Trans-Alboran shear zone show predominantly strike-slip faulting, and indicate a clockwise rotation of the largest principal stress orientation compared to the regional convergence direction (σ₁ at N350°E). At the N-Algerian and SW-Iberian margins, reverse faulting solutions dominate, corresponding to N350°E and N310°E compression, respectively. Over most of the Betic range and intraplate Iberia, we observe predominately normal faulting, and WSW–ENE extension (σ₃ at N240°E). From GPS observations we estimate that more than 3 mm/yr of African (Nubian)–Eurasian plate convergence are currently accommodated at the N-Algerian margin,  2 mm/yr in the Moroccan Atlas, and  2 mm/yr at the SW-Iberian margin. 2 mm/yr is a reasonable estimate for convergence within the Alboran region, while Alboran extension can be quantified as  2.5 mm/yr along the stretching direction (N240°E). Superposition of both motions explains the observed left-lateral transtensional regime in the Trans-Alboran shear zone. Two potential driving mechanisms of differential motion of the Alboran–Betic–Gibraltar domain may coexist in the region: a secondary stress source other than plate convergence, related to regional-scale dynamic processes in the upper mantle of the Alboran region, as well as drag from the continental-scale motion of the Nubian plate along the southern limit of the region. In the Atlantic Ocean, the  3.5 mm/yr, westward motion of the Gibraltar Arc relative to intraplate Iberia can be accommodated at the transpressive SW-Iberian margin, while available GPS observations do not support an active subduction process in this area.     

Analysis of crustal deformation in Luzon, Philippines using geodetic observations and earthquake focal mechanisms

We utilize regional GPS velocities from Luzon, Philippines, with focal mechanism data from the Harvard Centroid Moment Tensor (CMT) Catalog, to constrain tectonic deformation in the complex plate boundary zone between the Philippine Sea Plate and Eurasia (the Sundaland block). Processed satellite imagery and digital elevation models are used with existing gravity anomaly, seismicity, and geologic maps to define a suite of six elastic blocks. Geodetic and focal mechanism data are inverted simultaneously to estimate plate rotations and fault-locking parameters for each of the tectonic blocks and faults comprising Luzon. Major tectonic structures that were found to absorb the plate convergence include the Manila Trench (20–100 mm yr^− 1) and East Luzon Trough ( 9–15 mm yr^− 1)/Philippine Trench ( 29–34 mm yr^− 1), which accommodate eastward and westward subduction beneath Luzon, respectively; the left-lateral strike-slip Philippine Fault ( 20–40 mm yr^− 1), and its northward extensions, the Northern Cordillera Fault ( 17–37 mm yr^− 1 transtension), and the Digdig Fault ( 17–27 mm yr^− 1 transpression). The Macolod Corridor, a zone of active volcanism, crustal thinning, extension, and extensive normal and strike-slip faulting in southwestern Luzon, is associated with left-lateral, transtensional slip of  5–10 mm yr^− 1. The Marikina Fault, which separates the Central Luzon block from the Southwestern Luzon block, reveals  10–12 mm yr^− 1 of left-lateral transpression. Our analysis suggests that much of the Philippine Fault and associated splays are locked to partly coupled, while the Manila and Philippine trenches appear to be poorly coupled. Luzon is best characterized as a tectonically active plate boundary zone, comprising six mobile elastic tectonic blocks between two active subduction zones. The Philippine Fault and associated intra-arc faults accommodate much of the trench-parallel component of relative plate motion.     

SHRIMP zircon U–Pb geochronological and whole-rock geochemical evidence for an early Neoproterozoic Sibaoan magmatic arc along the southeastern margin of the Yangtze Block

It has been generally accepted that the South China Block was formed through amalgamation of the Yangtze and Cathaysia Blocks during the Proterozoic Sibaoan orogenesis, but the timing and kinematics of the Sibao orogeny are still not well constrained. We report here SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronological and geochemical data for the Taohong and Xiqiu tonalite–granodiorite stocks from northeastern Zhejiang, southeastern margin of the Yangtze Block. Our data demonstrate that these rocks, dated at 913 ± 15 Ma and 905 ± 14 Ma, are typical amphibole-rich calc-alkaline granitoids formed in an active continental margin. Combined with previously reported isotopic dates for the  1.0 Ga ophiolites and  0.97 Ga adakitic rocks from northeastern Jiangxi, the timing of the Sibao orogenesis is thus believed to be between  1.0 and  0.9 Ga in its eastern segment. It is noted that the Sibao orogeny in South China is in general contemporaneous with some other early Neoproterozoic (1.0–0.9 Ga) orogenic belts such as the Eastern Ghats Belt of India and the Rayner Province in East Antarctica, indicating that the assembly of Rodinia was not finally completed until  0.9 Ga.     

Holocene activity of the Scilla Fault, Southern Calabria: Insights from coastal morphological and structural investigations

Integration of on-land and offshore geomorphological and structural investigations coupled to extensive radiometric dating of co-seismically uplifted Holocene beaches allows characterization of the geometry, kinematics and seismotectonics of the Scilla Fault, which borders the eastern side of the Messina Strait in Calabria, Southern Italy. This region has been struck by destructive historical earthquakes, but knowledge of geologically-based source parameters for active faults is relatively poor, particularly for those running mostly offshore, as the Scilla Fault does. The  30 km-long normal fault may be divided into three segments of  10 km individual length, with the central and southern segments split in at least two strands. The central and northern segments are submerged, and in this area marine geophysical data indicate a youthful morphology and locally evidence for active faulting. The on-land strand of the western segment displaces marine terraces of the last interglacial (124 to 83 ka), but seismic reflection profiles suggest a full Quaternary activity. Structural data collected on bedrock faults exposed along the on-land segment provide evidence for normal slip and  NW-SE extension, which is consistent with focal mechanisms of large earthquakes and GPS velocity fields in the region. Detailed mapping of raised Holocene marine deposits exposed at the coastline straddling of the northern and central segments supplies evidence for two co-seismic displacements at  1.9 and  3.5 ka, and a possible previous event at  5 ka. Co-seismic displacements show a consistent site value and pattern of along-strike variation, suggestive of characteristic-type behaviour for the fault. The  1.5–2.0 m average co-seismic slips during these events document M_e  6.9–7.0 earthquakes with  1.6–1.7 ka recurrence time. Because hanging-wall subsidence cannot be included into slip magnitude computation, these slips reflect footwall uplift, and represent minimum average estimates. The palaeoseismological record based on the palaeo-shorelines suggests that the last rupture on the Scilla Fault during the February 6, 1783 M_w = 5.9–6.3 earthquake was at the expected time but it may have not entirely released the loaded stress since the last great event at  1.9 ka. Comparison of the estimated co-seismic extension rate based on the Holocene shoreline record with available GPS velocities indicates that the Scilla Fault accounts for at least  15–20% of the contemporary geodetic extension across the Messina Strait.     

Anatolian surface wave evaluated at GEOFON Station ISP Isparta, Turkey

We have studied seismic surface waves of 255 shallow regional earthquakes recently recorded at GEOFON station ISP (Isparta, Turkey) and have selected these 52 recordings with high signal-to-noise ratio for further analysis. An attempt was made by the simultaneous use of the Rayleigh and Love surface wave data to interpret the planar crust and uppermost mantle velocity structure beneath the Anatolian plate using a differential least-square inversion technique. The shear-wave velocities near the surface show a gradational change from approximately 2.2 to 3.6 km s^− 1 in the depth range 0–10 km. The mid-crustal depth range indicating a weakly developed low velocity zone has shear-wave velocities around 3.55 km s^− 1. The Moho discontinuity characterizing the crust–mantle velocity transition appears somewhat gradual between the depth range  25–45 km. The surface waves approaching from the northern Anatolia are estimated to travel a crustal thickness of  33 km whilst those from the southwestern Anatolia and part of east Mediterranean Sea indicate a thicker crust at  37 km. The eastern Anatolia events traveled even thicker crust at  41 km. A low sub-Moho velocity is estimated at  4.27 km s^− 1, although consistent with other similar studies in the region. The current velocities are considerably slower than indicated by the Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM) in almost all depth ranges.     

Frictional sliding of gabbro gouge under hydrothermal conditions

We investigated the frictional sliding behaviour of gabbro gouge under hydrothermal conditions. Experiments were performed on 1-mm-thick gabbro gouge sandwiched between country rock pieces (with gouge inclined 35° to the sample axis) in a triaxial testing system with argon gas as the confining medium. In the first series, experiments were conducted under effective normal stresses of 200 MPa and 300 MPa respectively, with pore pressure of 10 MPa. For temperature over 400 °C, pore pressure of 30 MPa was also applied to implement supercritical water conditions. At temperatures up to 615 °C, slip rate steps ranging from 0.0488 μm/s to 1.22 μm/s were applied to obtain the rate dependence of friction.At 200 MPa effective normal stress and a pore pressure of 10 MPa, the steady state rate dependence a–b shows velocity-weakening behaviour for temperatures between  200 and  310 °C. The higher temperature limit for velocity-weakening behaviour to occur extends up to  510 °C under supercritical water conditions with a pore pressure of 30 MPa. For the limited sliding distance in our experiments, only velocity-strengthening behaviour occurred at 300 MPa effective normal stress. Considering the limited displacement (< 3.5 mm), velocity-weakening behaviour may not be excluded in the high effective normal stress case for temperature below  510 °C.The coefficient of friction shows an increasing trend with increasing temperature in the low temperature range. The cut-off temperatures for the increasing trend are  250 °C and  440 °C, respectively for the 200 MPa and 300 MPa effective normal stress cases. Above the cut-off temperatures, the coefficient of friction at 1.83 mm permanent displacement varies around an average of 0.73, which is identical to the average for the oven-dried case [He, C., Yao, W., Wang, Z., Zhou, Y., 2006. Strength and stability of frictional sliding of gabbro gouge at elevated temperatures. Tectonophysics 427, 217–229, doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2006.05.023]. Together with the small value of rate dependence (a–b < 0.0073) for the whole temperature range, these results indicate the absence of fluid-assisted creep.With the result of our experiments as a constraint on strength of frictional sliding, comparison between converted strength for strike–slip faults and creep strength of gabbro-like rocks implies fracturing and faulting behaviours in the lower crust of a cool area (Zhangbei) in North China.     

Development of crystallographic preferred orientations by nucleation and growth of new grains in experimentally deformed quartz single crystals

Deformation experiments have been carried out to investigate the effect of dynamic recrystallisation on crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) development. Cylindrical samples of natural single crystals of quartz were axially deformed together with 1 vol.% of added water and 20 mg of Mn₂O₃ powder in a Griggs solid medium deformation apparatus in different crystallographic orientations with compression direction: (i) parallel to <c>, (ii) at 45° to <c> and 45° to <a> and (iii) parallel to <a>. The experiments were performed at a temperature of 800 °C, a confining pressure of 1.2 GPa, a strain rate of  10^− 6 s^− 1, to bulk finite strains of  14–36%. The deformed samples were analysed in detail using optical microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Two different microstructural domains were distinguished in the deformed samples: (i) domains with undulatory extinction and deformation lamellae, and (ii) domains with new recrystallised grains. Within the domains of undulatory extinction, crystal-plastic deformation caused gradual rotations of the crystal lattice up to  30° away from the host orientation. New recrystallised grains show a strong CPO with c-axis maxima at  45° to the compression direction. This is the case in all experiments, irrespective of the initial crystallographic orientation. The results show that c-axes are not continuously rotated towards the new maxima. The new grains thus developed through a mechanism different from subgrain rotation recrystallisation. New grains have a subeuhedral shape and numerous microcavities, voids, fluid channels and fluid inclusions at their grain boundaries. No host control is recorded in misorientation axes across their large angle grain boundaries. New grains might have been created by nucleation from solution in the μm-scale voids and microfractures. The CPO most likely developed due to preferred growth of the freshly precipitated grains with orientations suitable for intracrystalline deformation at the imposed experimental conditions.     

Continuity of the North Qilian and North Qinling orogenic belts, Central Orogenic System of China: Evidence from newly discovered Paleozoic adakitic rocks

Adakitic intrusive rocks of  430–450 Ma were discovered in the North Qilian orogenic belt, the western section of the Central Orogenic System (COS) in China. These adakitic rocks were lower crust melts rather than slab melts as indicated by their crustal Ce/Pb, Nb/U, Ti/Eu, and Nd/Sm ratios and radiogenically enriched (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i of 0.7053–0.7066 and ε_Nd(t) of − 0.9 to − 1.7. While they are all characterized by low Yb (< 1.1 ppm) and Y (< 11.5 ppm) abundances with high Sr/Y (> 65) and (La/Yb)_N (> 13.7) ratios, these adakitic rocks are classified into the low-MgO–Ni–Cr and high-MgO–Ni–Cr groups. The low-MgO samples were derived from partial melting of thickened lower crust, whereas the high-MgO samples were melts from delaminated lower crust, which subsequently interacted with mantle peridotite upon ascent. Adakitic rocks from the adjacent North Qinling orogenic belt also originated from thickened lower crust at  430 Ma. In addition, the North Qilian and North Qinling orogenic belts both consist of lithological assemblages varying from subduction-accretionary complexes at south to central arc assemblages, which include adakitic rocks, then to backarc phases at north. Such a sequence reflects northward subduction of the Qilian and Qinling oceans. In these two orogenic belts, the occurrence of adakitic rocks of common origin and ages together with the similarities in tectonic configurations and lithological assemblages are considered to be the evidence for the continuity between eastern Qilian and western Qinling, forming a > 1000 km Early Paleozoic orogenic belt. In such a tectonic configuration, the Qilian and Qinling oceans that subducted from south possibly represent parts of the large “Proto-Tethyan Ocean”. This inference is supported by the coexistence of Early Paleozoic coral and trilobite specimens from Asia, America and Australia in the North Qilian orogenic belt. Post-400 Ma volcanic rocks occur in the North Qinling orogenic belt but are absent in the North Qilian orogenic belt, indicating that these two orogenic belts underwent distinct evolution history after the closure of the Proto-Tethyan Ocean ( 420 Ma).     

Probing fault zone heterogeneity on the Nojima fault: Constraints from zircon fission-track analysis of borehole samples

Fission-track (FT) thermochronologic analysis was performed on zircon separates from rocks in and around the Nojima fault, which was activated during the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Samples were collected from the University Group 500 m (UG-500) borehole and nearby outcrops. FT lengths in zircons from localities > 25 m away from the fault plane as well as one 0.1 m away from the fault in the footwall are characterized by concordant mean values of  10–11 μm and unimodal distributions with negative skewness, which showed no signs of appreciable reduction in FT length. In contrast, those adjacent (< 3 m) to the fault at depths on the hanging wall side showed significantly reduced mean track lengths of  6–8 μm and distributions having a peak around 6–7 μm with rather positive skewness. The former pattern is interpreted to reflect cooling through the zircon partial annealing zone (ZPAZ), without later, partial thermal overprints. The latter indicates substantial track shortening due probably to secondary heating by a thermal event(s) that locally perturbed the geothermal structure. Modeled zircon FT length and age data of partially annealed samples from the UG-500 borehole revealed a cooling episode in the ZPAZ that started at  4 Ma within  3 m from the fault plane, whereas those from the Geological Survey of Japan 750 m borehole record cooling started at  31–38 Ma within  25 m from the fault. On the basis of one-dimensional heat conduction modeling as well as the consistency between the degree of FT annealing and the degree of deformation/alteration of borehole rocks, these cooling ages in both boreholes are interpreted as consequences of ancient thermal overprints by heat transfer or dispersion via fluids in the fault zone. Together with the zircon FT data of a pseudotachylyte layer recently analyzed, it is suggested that the present Nojima fault system was reactivated in the Middle Quaternary from an ancient fault initiated at  56 Ma at mid-crustal depths. Also shown is a temporal/spatial variation in terms of the thermal anomalies recorded in the fault rocks, implying heterogeneity of hot fluid flows in the fault zone.     

Age estimates of coastal terraces in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and their tectonic implications

The great Indian Ocean earthquake of December 26, 2004 caused significant vertical changes in its rupture zone. About 800 km of the rupture is along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which forms the outer arc ridge of the subduction zone. Coseismic deformation along the exposed land could be observed as uplift/subsidence. Here we analyze the morphological features along the coast of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in an effort to reconstruct the past tectonics, taking cues from the coseismic effects. We obtained radiocarbon dates from coastal terraces of the island belt and used them to compute uplift rates, which vary from 1.33 mm yr^− 1 in the Little Andaman to 2.80 mm yr^− 1 in South Andaman and 2.45 mm yr^− 1 in the North Andaman. Our radiocarbon dates converge on  600 yr and  1000 yr old coastal uplifts, which we attribute to the level changes due to two major previous subduction earthquakes in the region.