Break-up spots: Could the Pacific open as a consequence of plate kinematics?

The South Central Pacific is the location of an abnormal concentration of intraplate volcanism. Noting that this volcanism is present from the Kermadec Tonga trench to the Easter microplate and forms a wide east–west channel, we propose to explain its occurrence in relation to the Pacific plate geometry and kinematics. We construct 2D numerical models of stress and strain within the Pacific plate using its velocity field and boundary conditions. The models indicate a shear band, associated to a change from compressional stresses to the south to tensional stresses to the north, which develop after 10 Myr between the Australian plate corner and the Easter microplate. We propose that the Central Pacific intraplate volcanism is related to this process, and may represent the first step of a future plate re-organization which will eventually break the Pacific plate in a southern and a northern plate due to intraplate stresses. Present-day intraplate volcanism would define break up spots of the future border.     

Stress field and seismicity in the Indian shield: Effects of the collision between India and Eurasia

Intraplate stresses and intraplate seismicity in the Indian subcontinent are strongly affected by the continued convergence between India and Eurasia. The mean orientation of the maximum horizontal compression in the Indian subcontinent is subparallel to the direction of the ridge push at the plate boundary as well as to the direction of compression expected to arise from the net resistive forces at the Himalayan collision zone, indicating that the intraplate stresses in the subcontinent, including the shield area, are caused by plate tectonic processes. Spatial distribution of historic and instrumentally recorded earthquakes indicate that the seismic activity is mostly confined to linear belts while the remaining large area of the shield is stable. The available conventional heat flow data and other indicators of heat flow suggest hotter geotherms in the linear belts, leading to amplification of stresses in the upper brittle crust. Many of the faults in these linear belts, which happen to be 200–80 m.y. old, are being reactivated either in a strike-slip or thrust-faulting mode. The reactivation mechanisms have been analyzed by taking into consideration the amplification of stresses, pore pressures, geological history of the faults and their orientation with respect to the contemporaneous stress field. The seismicity of the Indian shield is explained in terms of these reactivation mechanisms.     

Mountain belt growth inferred from histories of past plate convergence: A new tectonic inverse problem

Past plate motions display a range of variability, including speedups and slowdowns that cannot easily be attributed to changes in mantle related driving forces. One key controlling factor for these variations is the surface topography at convergent margins, as previous modeling shows that the topographic load of large mountain belts consumes a significant amount of the driving forces available for plate tectonics by increasing frictional forces between downgoing and overriding plates. Here we use this insight to pose a new tectonic inverse problem and to infer the growth of mountain belts from a record of past plate convergence. We introduce the automatic differentiation method, which is a technique to produce derivative code free of truncation error by source transformation of the forward model. We apply the method to a publicly available global tectonic thin-shell model and generate a simple derivative code to relate Nazca/South America plate convergence to gross topography of the Andes mountain belt. We test the code in a search algorithm to infer an optimal paleotopography of the Andes 3.2 m.y. ago from the well-known history of Nazca/South America plate convergence. Our modeling results are in excellent agreement with published estimates of Andean paleotopography and support the notion of strong feedback between mountain belt growth and plate convergence.     

Geodynamical basis for crustal deformation under the Tibetan Plateau

This paper uses plate tectonics and satellite-derived gravity data to further discussion of crustal deformation under the Tibetan Plateau. The first of our three contributions is a spherical harmonic analysis of the global plate boundary system. A distribution of 470 Dirac delta functions is applied to describe the generating forces according to the rates of crustal creation and destruction on the plate boundaries. Analysis of the extensional and compressional forces in the spreading and subducting zones shows that the present global plate motion causes compressional stresses in the N-S direction under the Tibetan Plateau. The second contribution is the calculation of the crustal stresses in Tibet as inferred from satellite gravity data. By applying solutions to the problem of the spherical shells, the satellite-determined stresses indicate that the up-welling mantle material under Tibet induce N-S and E-W extension. Finally, a superimposed stress system is constructed. This stress system shows that the present crustal deformation in Tibet does not produce N-S shortening but generates E-W extension.The results of this paper have provided geodynamical explanations for geological field observations in Tibet and fault plane solutions of earthquakes in the Tibetan side of the India-Eurasia collision. The stress patterns reveal that the cold downwelling mantle convection flow beneath southern Tibet pulls the Indian plate down but applies a bending moment on the end of the plate to uplift and support the mass of the Himalayas.     

Why does near ridge extensional seismicity occur primarily in the Indian Ocean?

The possibility that thermoelastic stresses due to plate cooling contribute significantly to the stress field and seismicity in young oceanic lithosphere has been a subject of considerable recent interest. This effect is suggested by three key observations: a decrease in seismicity with lithospheric age, the fact that focal mechanisms show extension perpendicular to the spreading direction, and a depth stratification of mechanism types. A difficulty with this idea is that although thermoelastic stresses should be comparable in different regions, the intraplate seismicity seems to occur in local concentrations. In particular, the ridge-parallel extensional seismicity occurs preferentially in the Central Indian Ocean region.We explore the possibility that much of the data favoring thermoelastic stresses can be interpreted in terms of stresses resulting from individual plate geometry and local boundary effects. In particular, the dramatic concentration of extensional seismicity in the Central Indian Ocean region is consistent with finite element results for the intraplate stress incorporating the effects of the Himalayan collision and the various subduction zones. The ridge parallel extensional stresses show a decrease with age similar to that of the seismicity. As earthquakes in this area provide a major portion of the data for both ridge-parallel extension and depth stratification, these effects may be due more to the regional stress. We thus propose that thermoelastic stresses provide a low level “background” in all plates, but that the dominant effect is that of individual plate geometry and local boundary effects.     

Apparent stress and stress drop for intraplate earthquakes and tectonic stress in the plates

The magnitude of shear stress in the lithosphere is bounded from below by the apparent stress and stress drop during intraplate earthquakes. Apparent stresses and stress drops for a number of mid-plate earthquakes are calculated from the earthquake magnitude, SH wave amplitude spectra, and estimates of the length of the fault zone. Apparent stresses vary between 0.1 and 2 bars, ifm _b is used as a measure of seismic energy, and stress drops lie between 2 and 70 bars. There is no systematic difference in either apparent stress or stress drop between these intraplate events and typical plate boundary earthquakes. These bounds on intraplate shear stresses are consistent with the inference from current models of plate tectonic driving forces that regional stress differences in the plates are typically on the order of 100 bars. The highest stress drops measured for midplate earthquakes under this model represent nearly total release of local tectonic stress.     

Intraplate seismicity of the Pacific Basin, 1913–1988

We establish here a comprehensive database of intraplate seismicity in the Pacific Basin. Relocation and analysis of 894 earthquakes yield 403 reliable intraplate earthquakes during 1913–1988. These numbers do not include earthquake swarms, which account for another 838 events. Most of the remainder (304 events) are actually plate boundary earthquakes that have been erroneously located in intraplate regions. A significant number occur in recent years when location capabilities should have guarded against this situation. Relocations involve a careful linear inversion ofP andS arrivals, accompanied by a Monte Carlo statistical analysis. We have also attentively removed the high number of clerical errors and nuclear tests that exist in epicenter bulletins.A geographical examination of the relocated epicenters reveals several striking features. There are three NW-SE lineaments north of the Fiji Plateau and in Micronesia; diffuse seismicity and incompatible focal mechanisms argue against the southernmost, discussed byOkal et al. (1986) andKroenke andWalker (1986), as the simple relocation of the Solomon trench to the North. Besides another striking lineament, along the 130°W meridian, there is also a strong correlation between seismicity and bathymetry in certain parts of the Basin. In the Eastcentral Pacific and Nazca plates there are many epicenters on fracture zones and fossil spreading ridges, and hot spot traces like the Louisville, Nazca and Cocos Ridges also display seismicity.     

Some consequences of the subduction of young slabs

The negative buoyancy force exerted by a subducting oceanic slab depends on its descent velocity, and strongly on its age. For lithosphere close to thermal equilibrium, this force dominates by a large margin the resisting forces arising from friction on the plate boundary and compositional buoyancy. This may result in oceanward migration of the trench, with associated back-arc spreading. However, the strong age dependence of this force, and of the ridge push mean that a horizontal compressive stress is required to continue subduction if changing plate geometry should bring young lithosphere to the trench. Estimates can be made of the slab age, as a function of descent velocity, at which the driving forces are no longer sufficient to overcome a given resisting force. The transition corresponding to a resisting force of 8 × 10¹² N/m divides regions displaying back-arc extensional tectonics from those displaying compressional tectonics. This is in good agreement with other estimates of the forces resisting slab motion. It is suggested that an increase in the width of — or the shear stress on — the plate boundary, associated with the subduction of lithosphere to the buoyant side of this transition, can result in a compressional stress on the overriding plate which is great enough to account for cordilleran tectonics.The proposed reduction in the one of driving forces of plate motion is still consistent with observations, being compensated by the greaterrelative importance of the push from the ridges.     

智利三联点南部扩张洋脊俯冲区域岩石层热结构的数值模拟

智利三联点(CTJ)位于纳兹卡板块、南极洲板块与南美板块的交界处,由南极洲—纳兹卡板块之间的智利洋脊俯冲到智利海沟而形成.巴塔哥尼亚板片窗的发展是智利洋脊长期扩张俯冲的结果之一.随着纳兹卡板块的不断东向俯冲,纳兹卡板块范围逐渐变小,CTJ同时向北移动.本文采用数值模拟方法,建立了关于洋脊海沟碰撞的简单二维模型,来研究智利三联点南部扩张洋脊俯冲区域岩石层的热结构.模拟结果表明,洋脊的位置、板块相对汇聚速度及上覆大陆板块的存在均对俯冲区域海洋板块的温度结构有着很大影响,并且大陆板块下方海洋板块温度变化最大的位置距洋脊的水平距离与洋脊到板片窗范围的水平距离两者之间具有较好的一致性.同时,当存在两两板块间的相对汇聚时,洋脊右侧大陆板块下表面的温度升高,俯冲带内海洋板块温度接近于地幔温度.纳兹卡板块以7.8 cm·a~(-1)的速度急速俯冲于南美板块之下的过程中,同时伴随着智利洋脊的持续扩张俯冲,在智利三联点南部,南美板块之下纳兹卡板块的温度因而可以更快地达到地幔软流层的约1300℃温度,并最终消亡于地幔之中.     

Dynamic interaction of seismic and volcanic activity of the Nazca plate edges

Cumulative seismic strain release, during the period from 1964 through 1972, along the East Pacific and Chile rise edges of the Nazca plate is related to cumulative strain release of shallow earthquakes along the South American sinking edge: periods of high strain release along the rises alternated systematically with periods of high strain release along the sink.Volcanic activity (number of volcanoes in eruption per year between 1900 and 1968) migrates from Central to South America at some 900 km/year. High volcanic activity in Central America usually precedes large-magnitude earthquakes in Chile by several years, and would appear to be dynamically interrelated with the alternating strain release along the Nazca plate edges.     

冲绳板块应力场数值模拟及其动力学特征div>

冲绳板块位于菲律宾海板块向欧亚板块俯冲形成的西太平洋边缘活动带上,构造应力场图像及其动力学机制表现得相当复杂．采用伪三维有限元方法,以WSM2008 观测应力场数据的应力取向和应力型两方面指标作为主要约束,对冲绳板块构造应力场进行了数值模拟．通过对计算结果的分析,对模型涉及的各种作用力作出了估计．在此基础上,对冲绳板块岩石层的状态,以及该地区的板块动力学特征进行了探讨,并得到了以下一些初步认识:① 软流层静压推力控制着该地区构造应力场的基本形态;② 冲绳海槽的演化过程,例如该地区的岩石层减薄与其下地幔流的上升等,也在很大程度上影响了该地区的板内应力场空间分布特征;③ 琉球俯冲带边界力的作用是分段的,不同区段作用力对板内应力场的影响有所不同．      

From incipient island arc to doubly‐vergent orogen: A review of geodynamic models and sedimentary basin‐fills of southern Central America

Southern Central America is a Late Mesozoic/Cenozoic island arc that evolved in response to the subduction of the Farallón Plate beneath the Caribbean Plate in the Late Cretaceous and, from the Oligocene, the Cocos and Nazca Plates. Southern Central America is one of the best studied convergent margins in the world. The aim of this paper is to review the sedimentary and structural evolution of arc‐related sedimentary basins in southern Central America, and to show how the arc developed from a pre‐extensional intra‐oceanic island arc into a doubly‐vergent, subduction orogen. The Cenozoic sedimentary history of southern Central America is placed into the plate tectonic context of existing Caribbean Plate models. From regional basin analysis, the evolution of the southern Central American island arc is subdivided into three phases: (i) non‐extensional stage during the Campanian; (ii) extensional phase during the Maastrichtian‐Oligocene with rapid basin subsidence and deposition of arc‐related, clastic sediments; and (iii) doubly‐vergent, compressional arc phase along the 280 km long southern Costa Rican arc segment related to either oblique subduction of the Nazca plate, west‐to‐east passage of the Nazca–Cocos–Caribbean triple junction, or the subduction of rough oceanic crust of the Cocos Plate. The Pleistocene subduction of the Cocos Ridge contributed to the contraction but was not the primary driver. The architecture of the arc‐related sedimentary basin‐fills has been controlled by four factors: (i) subsidence caused by tectonic mechanisms, linked to the angle and morphology of the incoming plate, as shown by the fact that subduction of aseismic ridges and slab segments with rough crust were important drivers for subduction erosion, controlling the shape of forearc and trench‐slope basins, the lifespan of sedimentary basins, and the subsidence and uplift patterns; (ii) subsidence caused by slab rollback and resulting trench retreat; (iii) eustatic sea‐level changes; and (iv) sediment dispersal systems.     

The craton: Its effect on the distribution of seismicity and stress in North America

The gross distribution of seismicity in North America suggests the interior platform and shield provinces are relatively stable and significantly affect the intraplate stress field. Focal mechanisms and in-situ stress measurements indicate the cratonic areas of North America must be relatively immobile with respect to the eastern and western portions of the continent. Simple kinematic models are presented to illustrate the importance of the craton in any attempt to explain the general pattern of intraplate stress and seismicity in North America.     

The role of collisional tectonics in the metallogeny of the Central Andean tin belt

The Inner Arc of the Central Andes, broadly corresponding to the Eastern Cordillera, is the location of a rich Tertiary and Triassic Sn–W–(Ag-base metal) metallogenic province, commonly referred to as the Bolivian tin belt. We propose that the Tertiary metallogeny, which generated most of the tin ores, was a direct consequence of discrete “collisions” between the South American plate and the Nazca slab and sub-slab mantle, during the ongoing Andean orogeny. Evidence supporting this proposal include: (1) the coincidence of the tin province and the Inner Arc in a marked “hump” in the Andean orogen, which may represent tectonic indentation; (2) the symmetry of the tin province with respect to the Bolivian orocline, the axis of which corresponds to the direction of highest compression; (3) the relative symmetry of the magmatism and tin mineralization with respect to this axis; (4) the concurrent timing of mineralization and compressional pulses; (5) the similar host rock geochemistry and ore lead isotope data, testifying to a common crustal reservoir; and (6) the striking similarity of the igneous suites, associated with the ore deposits to those from “typical” collisional orogens. A number of studies have called upon a persistent tin anomaly to explain the metallogeny of the region. We propose, instead, that the latter is better explained by periodic compressional interaction between the Farallon/Nazca oceanic plate and the South American continent. This led to the generation of peraluminous magmas, which during fractional crystallization exsolved the fluids responsible for the voluminous Sn–W mineralization.     

板块运动与地震各向异性及应力场的相关性统计分析

利用收集到的各种来源共计7 959组的地震各向异性观测数据和21 750组应力场数据,结合板块绝对运动模型计算给出的各板块的运动规律,分别统计分析了板块运动与地震各向异性及应力场的相关性,并对板块运动对地震各向异性及应力场特征产生的影响进行了分析． 统计结果表明,阿拉伯、 加勒比、 胡安德富卡、 北美、 纳兹卡、 太平洋和南美板块上地震各向异性与板块运动均具有较好的相关性,而非洲、 南极洲、 澳大利亚、 欧亚、 印度和菲律宾板块上二者的相关性则相对较差. 讨论分析发现,板块运动拖动软流圈流动、 橄榄岩晶格优选方位、 化石各向异性和地幔流动或岩石圈流动等因素均在一定程度上控制并影响着地震各向异性与板块运动的一致性． 而板块基底拖曳力、 洋脊推力、 浮力作用和碰撞及俯冲作用等多种因素共同制约了板块运动与应力场的相关性,使得非洲、 可可斯、 欧亚、 胡安德富卡、 北美、 纳兹卡、 菲律宾和南美板块上二者的相关性较好,其它板块上其相关性则较差． 对于俯冲带地区,由于俯冲机制的复杂性和软流圈、 岩石圈地幔流动方向的不确定性,其板块运动与地震各向异性及应力场的相关性图像表现复杂,需要结合具体的俯冲带构造进行近一步研究．      

Intraplate seismicity of antarctica and tectonic implications

We present a comprehensive study of the seismicity of the Antarctic plate for the period 1925–1980. The total seismic energy released during this period in the interior of the plate, 3.2 × 10²² ergs, is compared to figures for the African plate, of similar kinematics and size, and to the neighboring Nazca plate. We conclude that Antarctic seismicity is comparable to that of other plates, thus refuting the claim that a surrounding ring of spreading ridges hampers transmission of tectonic stress and leaves it stress-free, and clearly showing the importance of ridge-push as a driving mechanism for the plates. In the souteastern Pacific Basin, it is shown that the line of maximum age in the plate, which is the locus of previous positions of the triple junction, is a line of preferential stress release, along with more conventional features, e.g. fracture zones. In the Indian Ocean, we study a 1973 earthquake northeast of Kerguelen (M_s = 5.5): its depth (45 km), tensional mechanism, and low stress suggest that it represents a magmatic process related to the nearby hotspot, and possibly involving the pipeline structure proposed by Morgan.     

Earthquake source mechanisms from body-waveform inversion and intraplate tectonics in the northern Indian Ocean

Double-couple point-source parameters for 11 of the largest intraplate earthquakes in the northern Indian Ocean during the last 20 y were determined from a formal inversion of long-period P and SH waveforms. Nine of the events have centroid depths at least 17 km below the seafloor, well into the upper mantle; two have centroid depths as great as 39 km. Using the source mechanisms of these earthquakes, we distinguish two major intraplate tectonic provinces in the northern Indian Ocean. To the west of the Ninetyeast Ridge, in the southern Bay of Bengal, intraplate earthquakes have thrust-faulting mechanisms with P axes oriented N-S. The centroid depths of these earthquakes range from 27 to 39 km below the seafloor. Lithospheric shortening in this region is thus accomplished by thrust faulting in the strong core of the oceanic upper mantle, while other geophysical evidence suggests that shallow sedimentary and crustal layers apparently deform predominantly by folding. In the immediate vicinity of the Ninetyeast Ridge, earthquakes display strike-slip mechanisms with left-lateral motion on planes parallel to the ridge. This type of faulting occurs from at least 10°S to the northern end of the Ninetyeast Ridge near 10°N, where the ridge meets the Sunda Arc. Seismic activity diminishes to the east of the Ninetyeast Ridge, but is also characterized by strike-slip faulting. Despite these variations in deformational style, the inferred orientation of greatest compressive stress in the northern Indian Ocean displays a consistent long-wavelength pattern over a large portion of the Indian plate, varying smoothly from nearly N-S in the Bay of Bengal to NW-SE in the northeastern Indian Ocean. This plate-wide stress pattern and the high level of intraplate seismicity in the northern Indian Ocean are likely the results of substantial resistance, along the Himalayan continental collision zone, to the continued northward motion of the western portion of the Indian plate. Oceanic intraplate earthquakes in other regions, where the level of deviatoric stress associated with the long-wavelength part of the stress field is likely to be smaller, need not be comparably reliable indicators of the plate-wide stress field.     

Subduction of the South Chile active spreading ridge: A 17 Ma to 3 Ma magmatic record in central Patagonia (western edge of Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires,Argentina)

The Chile Triple Junction is a natural laboratory to study the interactions between magmatism and tectonics during the subduction of an active spreading ridge beneath a continent. The MLBA plateau (Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires) is one of the Neogene alkali basaltic plateaus located in the back-arc region of the Andean Cordillera at the latitude of the current Chile Triple Junction. The genesis of MLBA can be related with successive opening of slabs windows beneath Patagonia: within the subducting Nazca Plate itself and between the Nazca and Antarctic plates. Detailed ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating and geochemical analysis of bimodal magmatism from the western flank of the MLBA show major changes in the back-arc magmatism which occurred between 14.5 Ma and 12.5 Ma with the transition from calc-alkaline lavas (Cerro Plomo) to alkaline lavas (MLBA) in relation with slab window opening. In a second step, at 4–3 Ma, alkaline felsic intrusions were emplaced in the western flank of the MLBA coevally with the MLBA basalts with which they are genetically related. These late OIB-like alkaline to transitional basalts were generated by partial melting of the subslab asthenosphere of the subducting Nazca plate during the opening of the South Chile spreading ridge-related slab window. These basalts differentiated with small amounts of assimilation in shallow magma chambers emplaced along transtensional to extensional zones. The close association of bimodal magmatism with extensional tectonic features in the western MLBA is a strong support to the model of Patagonian collapse event proposed to have taken place between 5 and 3 Ma as a consequence of the presence of the asthenospheric window (SCR-1 segment of South Chile Ridge) below the MLBA area.     

The mechanical state of the lithosphere in the Altiplano-Puna segment of the Andes

Information about topography, the shape of the geoid, seismicity, Neogene deformation and volcanism in the region of Altiplano-Puna of western South America is used to analyse the state of stress across the convergent plate margin in terms of the effects of topography and simple models of its compensation. An average elevation near 4 km is consistent with compensation by a yet unresolved combination of crustal root and hot uppermost mantle producing a geoid high of 22–27 meters, average horizontal compressive stress (in excess of a reference sea level lithostatic value) of 390 bars in a 150 km thick lithosphere, and an average shear stress of 170 bars along a 30° dipping interplate boundary. The basis for these estimates is evidence for a neutral to extensional stress regime within the high plateau contrasted with a compressional regime on the eastern slopes and along the interplate boundary itself. Comparison with other plateaus in a convergent plate tectonic setting suggests an evolutionary sequence from compressional to extensional tectonics as elevation of the plateau increases.     

Focal mechanisms of intraplate earthquakes in Bolivia,South America

Intraplate seismic activity in Bolivia is mainly located in the central region (16°–19°S, 63°–67°W) which includes the East Andean Cordillera and the Sub-Andean Sierras. At this region there is a bend in the trend of the main geological structures from NW-SE in the north to N-S in the south. Focal mechanisms have been calculated for 10 earthquakes of magnitudes 4.9–5.6, using first motionP-waves from long period instruments. Their solutions correspond to reverse faulting, some with a large component of strike-slip motion. Their solutions can be grouped into two types; one with pure reverse faulting on planes with azimuth NW-SE and the other with a large strike-slip component on planes with azimuths nearly N-S or WNW-ESE. The maximum stress axis (P-axis) is practically horizontal (dipping less than 5°) oriented in a mean N56°E direction. This orientation may be related with the direction of compression resulting from the collision of the Nazca plate against the western margin of the South American continent. Wave-form analysis of long-periodP-waves for one event restricts the focal depth to 8 km in the Sub-Andean region. Seismic moments and source dimensions determined from spectra of Rayleigh waves are in the range of 10¹⁶–10¹⁷Nm and 17–24 km, respectively. The Central Bolivia region can be considered as a zone of intraplate deformation situated between the Bolivian Altiplano and the Brazil shield.