中西非裂谷系形成的动力学机制

中西非裂谷系是沿中非剪切带及邻区发育的一系列中新生代裂谷盆地,其成因机理一直存在争议。中西非裂谷系的构造演化主要经历了三个演化阶段,其中在早白垩世进入强烈断陷期,是盆地形成的重要阶段。以早白垩世中西非裂谷系的地质背景为基础,运用弹性力学有限元数值模拟方法,通过应力场和应变场的分析,为中西非裂谷系形成的力学机制提供依据。模拟结果表明,早白垩世非洲大陆内部走滑和伸展作用并存,中非剪切带不是所谓的"转换断层",而是与中西非裂谷系同时形成和发育的构造。中西非裂谷系是在中新生代泛大陆裂解时期,非洲板块绕西北非地块逆时针旋转,非洲内部不同地块在统一构造应力场作用下,由于伸展和走滑的差异作用形成和发育的。      

Active faults, seismicity and recent fracturing in the lithosphere of the Baikal rift system

A map of major active faults has been constructed for the Baikal rift system (BRS). Recent active faults are identified using seismological data. The BRS seismicity of the past 40 years is statistically analyzed. Areas of a “stable” concentration of epicenters are revealed. On this basis, a zone of recent fracturing of the lithosphere is identified and its relation to active and developing faults of the BRS is analyzed. The zone of the lithosphere fracturing is a major tectonic structure, which controls both the recent seismic process and the reactivation of ancient faults. It is demonstrated that the available seismological data can provide a basis for a detailed classification of faults by degree of their tectonic activity. Regularities in the distribution of strong earthquakes along the zone of the recent fracturing of the lithosphere are established, as well as regularities in the distribution of strong and weak seismic events relative to transform and other faults. The degree of the fault reactivation is determined by their spatial closeness to the axial zone of the recent rupturing of the lithosphere.     

Structure of the crust and upper mantle beneath the central european rift system

The crustal structure of the central European rift system has been investigated by seismic methods with varying success. Only a few investigations deal with the upper-mantle structure. Beneath the Rhinegraben the Moho is elevated, with a minimum depth of 25 km. Below the flanks it is a first-order discontinuity, while within the graben it is replaced by a transition zone with the strongest velocity gradient at 20–22 km depth. An anomalously high velocity of up to 8.6 km/s seems to exist within the underlying upper mantle at 40–50 km depth. A similar structure is also found beneath the Limagnegraben and the young volcanic zones within the Massif Central of France, but the velocity within the upper mantle at 40–50 km depth seems to be slightly lower. Here, the total crustal thickness reaches only 25 km. The crystalline crust becomes extremely thin beneath the southern Rhônegraben, where the sediments reach a thickness of about 10 km while the Moho is found at 24 km depth. The pronounced crustal thinning does not continue along the entire graben system. North of the Rhinegraben in particular the typical graben structure is interrupted by the Rhenohercynian zone with a “normal” West-European crust of 30 km thickness evident beneath the north-trending Hessische Senke. A single-ended profile again indicates a graben-like crustal structure west of the Leinegraben north of the Rhenohercynian zone. No details are available for the North German Plain where the central European rift system disappears beneath a sedimentary sequence of more than 10 km thickness.     

非洲中部Muglad盆地Fula凹陷断裂演化及对油气的控制作用

Muglad盆地是中非剪切带南侧的一个中?新生代陆内裂谷盆地,Fula凹陷是其北部的一个富油气凹陷。对于该地区断裂控烃作用研究,前人主要集中在断裂控制圈闭形成、阻止油气继续运移及为油气运移聚集提供通道等3方面,而对其他控制作用研究不足。故本文基于地震、地质及地化资料,对Fula凹陷断裂形成演化及对油气的控制作用等方面进行了研究。结果表明:1)Fula凹陷断裂第一、二期裂陷期活动性较强,控制“继承型”凹陷的形成;2)第一、二裂陷期断裂活动性较强,使Fula凹陷主要发育Abu Gabra组烃源岩与中部成藏组合;3)中央断裂带与西部陡坡带内断裂控制构造及构造—岩性油气藏的形成与分布,Abu Gabra组烃源岩生成的油气通过中央断裂带的主干断裂及断层①向上部圈闭中运移成藏。     

The Baikal rift zone: the effect of mantle plumes on older structure

The main chain of SW–NE-striking Cenozoic half-grabens of the Baikal rift zone (BRZ) follows the frontal parts of Early Paleozoic thrusts, which have northwestern and northern vergency. Most of the large rift half-grabens are bounded by normal faults at the northwestern and northern sides. We suggest that the rift basins were formed as a result of transformation of ancient thrusts into normal listric faults during Cenozoic extension.Seismic velocities in the uppermost mantle beneath the whole rift zone are less than those in the mantle beneath the platform. This suggests thinning of the lithosphere under the rift zone by asthenosphere upwarp. The geometry of this upwarp and the southeastward spread of its material control the crustal extension in the rift zone. This NW–SE extension cannot be blocked by SW–NE compression generated by pressure from the Indian lithospheric block against Central Asia.The geochemical and isotopic data from Late Cenozoic volcanics suggest that the hot material in the asthenospheric upwarp is probably provided by mantle plumes. To distinguish and locate these plumes, we use regional isostatic gravity anomalies, calculated under the assumption that topography is only partially compensated by Moho depth variations. Variations of the lithosphere–asthenosphere discontinuity depth play a significant role in isostatic compensation. We construct three-dimensional gravity models of the plume tails. The results of this analysis of the gravity field are in agreement with the seismic data: the group velocities of long-period Rayleigh waves are reduced in the areas where most of the recognized plumes are located, and azimuthal seismic anisotropy shows that these plumes influence the flow directions in the mantle above their tails.The Baikal rift formation, like the Kenya, Rio Grande, and Rhine continental rifts [Achauer, U., Granet, M., 1997. Complexity of continental rifts as revealed by seismic tomography and gravity modeling. In: Jacob, A.W.B., Delvaux, D., Khan, M.A. (Eds.), Lithosphere Structure, Evolution and Sedimentation in Continental Rifts. Proceedings of the IGCP 400 Meeting, Dublin, March 20–22, 1997. Institute of Advanced Studies, Dublin, pp. 161–171], is controlled by the three following factors: (i) mantle plumes, (ii) older (prerift) linear lithosphere structures favorably positioned relative to the plumes, and (iii) favorable orientation of the far-field forces.     

Neotectonic and volcanic characteristics of the Karasu fault zone (Anatolia,Turkey): The transition zone between the Dead Sea transform and the East Anatolian fault zone

Abstract

The Karasu Rift (Antakya province, SE Turkey) has developed between east-dipping, NNE-striking faults of the Karasu fault zone, which define the western margin of the rift and westdipping, N-S to N20°-30°E-striking faults of Dead Sea Transform fault zone (DST) in the central part and eastern margin of the rift. The strand of the Karasu fault zone that bounds the basin from west forms a linkage zone between the DST and the East Anatolian fault zone (EAFZ). The greater vertical offset on the western margin faults relative to the eastern ones indicates asymmetrical evolution of the rift as implied by the higher escarpments and accumulation of extensive, thick alluvial fans on the western margins of the rift. The thickness of the Quaternary sedimentary fill is more than 465 m, with clastic sediments intercalated with basaltic lavas. The Quaternary alkali basaltic volcanism accompanied fluvial to lacustrine sedimentation between 1.57 ± 0.08 and 0.05 ± 0.03 Ma. The faults are left-lateral oblique-slip faults as indicated by left-stepping faulting patterns, slip-lineation data and left-laterally offset lava flows and stream channels along the Karasu fault zone. At Hacilar village, an offset lava flow, dated to 0.08 ± 0.06 Ma, indicates a rate of leftlateral oblique slip of approximately 4.1 mm?year^?1. Overall, the Karasu Rift is an asymmetrical transtensional basin, which has developed between seismically active splays of the left-lateral DST and the left-lateral oblique-slip Karasu fault zone during the neotectonic period. © 2001 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS     

Crustal structure of the Rhinegraben area

Numerous ge ological and geophysical investigations within the past decades have shown that the Rhinegraben is the most pronounced segment of an extended continental rift system in Europe. The structure of the upper and lower crust is significantly different from the structure of the adjacent “normal” continental crust.

Two crustal cross-sections across the central and southern part of the Rhinegraben have been constructed based on a new evaluation of seismic refraction and reflection measurements. The most striking features of the structure derived are the existence of a well-developed velocity reversal in the upper crust and of a characteristic cushion-like layer with a compressional velocity of 7.6–7.7 km/sec in the lower crust above a normal mantle with 8.2 km/sec. Immediately below the sialic low-velocity zone in the middle part of the crust, an intermediate layer with lamellar structure and of presumably basic composition could be mapped.

It is interesting to note that the asymmetry of the sedimentary fill in the central Rhinegraben seems to extend down deeper into the upper crust as indicated by the focal depths of earthquakes. The top of the rift “cushion” shows a marked relief which has no obvious relation to the crustal structure above it or the visible rift at the surface.     

Supracrustal faults of the St. Lawrence rift system, Québec: kinematics and geometry as revealed by field mapping and marine seismic reflection data

The St. Lawrence rift system from the Laurentian craton core to the offshore St. Lawrence River system is a seismically active zone in which fault reactivation is believed to occur along late Proterozoic to early Paleozoic normal faults related to the opening of the Iapetus ocean. The rift-related faults fringe the contact between the Grenvillian basement to the NW and Cambrian–Ordovician rocks of the St. Lawrence Lowlands to the SE and occur also within the Grenvillian basement. The St. Lawrence rift system trends NE–SW and represents a SE-dipping half-graben that links the NW–SE-trending Ottawa–Bonnechère and Saguenay River grabens, both interpreted as Iapetan failed arms. Coastal sections of the St. Lawrence River that expose fault rocks related to the St. Lawrence rift system have been studied between Québec city and the Saguenay River. Brittle faults marking the St. Lawrence rift system consist of NE- and NW-trending structures that show mutual crosscutting relationships. Fault rocks consist of fault breccias, cataclasites and pseudotachylytes. Field relationships suggest that the various types of fault rocks are associated with the same tectonic event. High-resolution marine seismic reflection data acquired in the St. Lawrence River estuary, between Rimouski, the Saguenay River and Forestville, identify submarine topographic relief attributed to the St. Lawrence rift system. Northeast-trending seismic reflection profiles show a basement geometry that agrees with onshore structural features. Northwest-trending seismic profiles suggest that normal faults fringing the St. Lawrence River are associated with a major topographic depression in the estuary, the Laurentian Channel trough, with up to 700 m of basement relief. A two-way travel-time to bedrock map, based on seismic data from the St. Lawrence estuary, and comparison with the onshore rift segment suggest that the Laurentian Channel trough varies from a half-graben to a graben structure from SW to NE. It is speculated that natural gas occurrences within both the onshore and offshore sequences of unconsolidated Quaternary deposits are possibly related to degassing processes of basement rocks, and that hydrocarbons were drained upward by the rift faults.     

Neotectonic and volcanic characteristics of the Karasu fault zone (Anatolia,Turkey): The transition zone between the Dead Sea transform and the East Anatolian fault zone

The Karasu Rift (Antakya province, SE Turkey) has developed between east-dipping, NNE-striking faults of the Karasu fault zone, which define the western margin of the rift and west-dipping, N–S to N20°–30°E-striking faults of Dead Sea Transform fault zone (DST) in the central part and eastern margin of the rift. The strand of the Karasu fault zone that bounds the basin from west forms a linkage zone between the DST and the East Anatolian fault zone (EAFZ). The greater vertical offset on the western margin faults relative to the eastern ones indicates asymmetrical evolution of the rift as implied by the higher escarpments and accumulation of extensive, thick alluvial fans on the western margins of the rift. The thickness of the Quaternary sedimentary fill is more than 465 m, with clastic sediments intercalated with basaltic lavas. The Quaternary alkali basaltic volcanism accompanied fluvial to lacustrine sedimentation between 1.57 ± 0.08 and 0.05 ± 0.03 Ma. The faults are left-lateral oblique-slip faults as indicated by left-stepping faulting patterns, slip-lineation data and left-laterally offset lava flows and stream channels along the Karasu fault zone. At Hacılar village, an offset lava flow, dated to 0.08 ± 0.06 Ma, indicates a rate of left-lateral oblique slip of approximately 4.1 mm·year^–1. Overall, the Karasu Rift is an asymmetrical transtensional basin, which has developed between seismically active splays of the left-lateral DST and the left-lateral oblique-slip Karasu fault zone during the neotectonic period.     

Late proterozoic and Carboniferous ultramafic magmatism of carbonatitic affinity in southern Norway

Ultramafic dikes with carbonatitic affinities (“damtjernites”) in southern Norway were generated during two magmatic events separated by about 275 Ma. The older event is late Proterozoic and the younger is mid Carboniferous.

More than 50 satellitic damtjernite intrusions occur within a 1500 km² large region surrounding the Fen Central Complex. Phlogopite macrocrysts from 10 of these satellites yield a Rb---Sr isochron age of 578±24 Ma (2σ expanded errors). This demonstrates that the late Proterozoic carbonatitic magmatism centered at the Fen Central Complex occurred on a regional scale. This region is termed “the Fen Province”. The emplacement of the magmas in the Fen Province most likely occurred in connection with minor extensional tectonic activity on the Baltic platform during the drift-phase after the Proto-Atlantic opening.

Sr-isotopic data also show that a dike mineralogically and chemically similar to the Fen damtjernites was emplaced at 324±4 Ma (mid Carboniferous). This dike very likely dates the initiation of magmatism in the Oslo rift. Consequently very similar carbonate-bearing ultramafic magmas were generated within the south Norwegian mantle during the relatively minor Fen event and in the initial extensional period when the magma production in the Oslo rift was still low.     

Continental rift evolution: From rift initiation to incipient break-up in the Main Ethiopian Rift, East Africa

The Main Ethiopian Rift is a key sector of the East African Rift System that connects the Afar depression, at Red Sea–Gulf of Aden junction, with the Turkana depression and Kenya Rift to the South. It is a magmatic rift that records all the different stages of rift evolution from rift initiation to break-up and incipient oceanic spreading: it is thus an ideal place to analyse the evolution of continental extension, the rupture of lithospheric plates and the dynamics by which distributed continental deformation is progressively focused at oceanic spreading centres.The first tectono-magmatic event related to the Tertiary rifting was the eruption of voluminous flood basalts that apparently occurred in a rather short time interval at around 30 Ma; strong plateau uplift, which resulted in the development of the Ethiopian and Somalian plateaus now surrounding the rift valley, has been suggested to have initiated contemporaneously or shortly after the extensive flood-basalt volcanism, although its exact timing remains controversial. Voluminous volcanism and uplift started prior to the main rifting phases, suggesting a mantle plume influence on the Tertiary deformation in East Africa. Different plume hypothesis have been suggested, with recent models indicating the existence of deep superplume originating at the core-mantle boundary beneath southern Africa, rising in a north–northeastward direction toward eastern Africa, and feeding multiple plume stems in the upper mantle. However, the existence of this whole-mantle feature and its possible connection with Tertiary rifting are highly debated.The main rifting phases started diachronously along the MER in the Mio-Pliocene; rift propagation was not a smooth process but rather a process with punctuated episodes of extension and relative quiescence. Rift location was most probably controlled by the reactivation of a lithospheric-scale pre-Cambrian weakness; the orientation of this weakness (roughly NE–SW) and the Late Pliocene (post 3.2 Ma)-recent extensional stress field generated by relative motion between Nubia and Somalia plates (roughly ESE–WNW) suggest that oblique rifting conditions have controlled rift evolution. However, it is still unclear if these kinematical boundary conditions have remained steady since the initial stages of rifting or the kinematics has changed during the Late Pliocene or at the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary.Analysis of geological–geophysical data suggests that continental rifting in the MER evolved in two different phases. An early (Mio-Pliocene) continental rifting stage was characterised by displacement along large boundary faults, subsidence of rift depression with local development of deep (up to 5 km) asymmetric basins and diffuse magmatic activity. In this initial phase, magmatism encompassed the whole rift, with volcanic activity affecting the rift depression, the major boundary faults and limited portions of the rift shoulders (off-axis volcanism). Progressive extension led to the second (Pleistocene) rifting stage, characterised by a riftward narrowing of the volcano-tectonic activity. In this phase, the main boundary faults were deactivated and extensional deformation was accommodated by dense swarms of faults (Wonji segments) in the thinned rift depression. The progressive thinning of the continental lithosphere under constant, prolonged oblique rifting conditions controlled this migration of deformation, possibly in tandem with the weakening related to magmatic processes and/or a change in rift kinematics. Owing to the oblique rifting conditions, the fault swarms obliquely cut the rift floor and were characterised by a typical right-stepping arrangement. Ascending magmas were focused by the Wonji segments, with eruption of magmas at surface preferentially occurring along the oblique faults. As soon as the volcano-tectonic activity was localised within Wonji segments, a strong feedback between deformation and magmatism developed: the thinned lithosphere was strongly modified by the extensive magma intrusion and extension was facilitated and accommodated by a combination of magmatic intrusion, dyking and faulting. In these conditions, focused melt intrusion allows the rupture of the thick continental lithosphere and the magmatic segments act as incipient slow-spreading mid-ocean spreading centres sandwiched by continental lithosphere.Overall the above-described evolution of the MER (at least in its northernmost sector) documents a transition from fault-dominated rift morphology in the early stages of extension toward magma-assisted rifting during the final stages of continental break-up. A strong increase in coupling between deformation and magmatism with extension is documented, with magma intrusion and dyking playing a larger role than faulting in strain accommodation as rifting progresses to seafloor spreading.     

Evolution of taphrogenic lineaments in continental platforms

The Rift System of eastern Africa is taken as a basis for an enquiry into the nature and age of taphrogenic lineaments in continental platforms. Special emphasis is placed on those segments in which the early Precambrian infrastructure has been exposed by continued uplift and deep erosion, and the evidence points to a genetic association of the Neogene graben faults with dislocation zones originating in the Precambrian and affecting the deep lithosphere. These proto-rift dislocations were repeatedly rejuvenated during successive tectonothermal cycles, showing blasto-mylonites, flaser gneisses and migmatites according to tectonic depth, and culminating in brittle surface faulting. A fundamental difference between taphrogenic and orogenic processes is emphasized by the oblique crossing of younger fold belts by the lineaments. Geophysical and other evidence from Africa confirms data from the Rhinegraben and Lake Baikal showing that continental rift systems are underlain by zones of high heat flow and intrusions of anomalous low density mantle rock (penetrative convection), producing structures comparable with those beneath mid-ocean ridges. Geological mapping, however, proves that dilation is minimal and that rift volcanism is of continental type and, with small exceptions, is limited to a sector extending south from the Afar triangle in Ethiopia through Kenya. It is suggested that sea-floor spreading in the African rifts was prevented by their geotectonic position, and that the continent was under pressure from the active mid-ocean ridges surrounding it on three sides. Evidence is described from East Africa, and from the West African and Guiana Shields, indicating that continental lineaments extended into the ancestral rifts of sea-floor spreading. It is concluded that in the lithosphere, above the mantle lowvelocity zone, deep criss-crossing lineaments of ancient origin exist, of which some served in Precambrian times as dislocation zones and channels for penetrative convection and were thus pre-conditioned for periodic tectonothermal rejuvenation. Certain segments of these channels have been selected by the powerful rising mantle dorsals associated with sea-floor spreading, and thus play a part in plate tectonics.     

Erosion of lithospheric mantle beneath the East African Rift system: geochemical evidence from the Kivu volcanic province

This study presents new major and trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic results for a suite of Miocene–Recent mafic lavas from the Kivu volcanic province in the western branch of the East African Rift. These lavas exhibit a very wide range in chemical and isotopic characteristics, due to a lithospheric mantle source region that is heterogeneous on a small scale, probably <1 km. The chemical and isotopic variations are mostly geographically controlled: lavas from Tshibinda volcano, which lies on a rift border fault on the northwestern margin of the province, have higher values of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, (La/Sm)_n, Ba/Nb, and Zr/Hf than the majority of Kivu (Bukavu) samples. The range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr at Tshibinda (0.70511–0.70514) overlaps some compositions found in the neighboring Virunga province, while Bukavu group lavas include the lowest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70314) and highest _Nd (+7.6) yet measured in western rift lavas. The Tshibinda compositions trend towards a convergence for Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic values among western rift lavas. Among Kivu lavas, variations in ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd correlate with those for certain incompatible trace element ratios (e.g., Th/Nb, Zr/Hf, La/Nb, Ba/Rb), with Tshibinda samples defining one compositional extreme. There are covariations of isotopic and trace element ratios in mafic lavas of the East African Rift system that vary systematically with geographic location. The lavas represent a magmatic sampling of variations in the underlying continental lithospheric mantle, and it appears that a common lithospheric mantle (CLM) source is present beneath much of the East African Rift system. This source contains minor amphibole and phlogopite, probably due to widespread metasomatic events between 500 and 1000 Ma. Lava suites which do not show a strong component of the CLM source, and for which the chemical constraints also suggest the shallowest magma formation depths, are the Bukavu group lavas from Kivu and basanites from Huri Hills, Kenya. The inferred extent of lithospheric erosion therefore appears to be significant only beneath these two areas, which is generally consistent with lithospheric thickness variations estimated from gravity and seismic studies.     

An overview of the geology and major ore deposits of Central Africa: Explanatory note for the 1:4,000,000 map “Geology and major ore deposits of Central Africa”

This paper is prepared within the frameworks of IGCP Project 470 and the associated BRGM scientific project “Africa 1999–2004” to accompany the 1:4,000,000 scale map “Geology and major ore deposits of Central Africa, presented at the 20th Colloquium of African Geology in Orleans in June 2004. It incorporates geological and metallogenic data from eight countries in Central Africa (Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea and Zambia). The map is a harmonised and geo-referenced preliminary map, based on a GIS at 1:2,000,000 scale, and focusses on the spatial and temporal distribution of selected major deposits.     

Active tectonics of the Yizre'el valley, Israel, using high-resolution seismic reflection data

We present a series of high-resolution seismic reflection lines across the Yizre'el valley, which is the largest active depression in Israel, off the main trend of the Dead Sea rift. The new seismic reflection data is of excellent quality and shows that the valley is dissected into numerous small blocks, separated by active faults. The Yizre'el valley is found to consist of a series of half grabens, rather than a single half graben, or a symmetrical graben. The faults are generally vertical and appear to have a dominant strike-slip component, but some dip-slip is also evident. A marked zone of compression near Megido is associated with the intersection of the two largest faults in the valley, the Carmel fault and the Gideon fault. Variable trend of the faults reflects the complexity of the local geology along the boundary between the wide NW–SE trending Farah–Carmel fault zone and the E–W trending basins and ranges in the Lower Galilee. This tectonic complexity is likely to result from a highly variable stress pattern, modified by the structures inside it. Normal faulting in the valley occurred at an early stage of its development as a tectonic depression. However, strike-slip motion on the Carmel fault, and possibly also on some of the other faults, appears to have started together with the onset of normal faulting. Earthquake hazard in the area appears to be uniform as faults are distributed throughout the Yizre'el valley.     

A top to bottom lithospheric study of Africa and Arabia

We study the lithospheric structure of Africa, Arabia and adjacent oceanic regions with fundamental-mode surface waves over a broad period range. Including group velocities with periods shorter than 35 s allows us to examine shallower features than previous studies of the whole continent. In the process, we have developed a crustal thickness map of Africa. Main features include crustal thickness increases under the West African, Congo, and Kalahari cratons. We find crustal thinning under Mesozoic and Cenozoic rifts, including the Benue Trough, Red Sea, and East, Central, and West African rift systems, along with less abrupt crustal thickness changes at passive continental margins. We also find crustal thickness differences in North Africa between the West African Craton and East Saharan Shield. Crustal shear wave velocities are generally faster in oceanic regions and cratons, and slower in more recent crust and in active and remnant orogenic regions. Deeper structure, related to the thickness of cratons and modern rifting, is generally consistent with previous work. Under cratons we find thick lithosphere and fast upper mantle velocities, while under rifts we find thinned lithosphere and slower upper mantle velocities. However, we also find the lack of a thick cratonic keel beneath the central portion of the Congo Craton. There are no consistent effects in areas classified as hotspots, indicating that there seem to be numerous origins for these features. Finally, it appears that the African Superswell, which is responsible for high elevation and uplift over large portions of Africa, has had a significantly different impact (as indicated by features such as temperature, time of influence, etc.) in the north and the south. This is consistent with episodic activity at shallow depths, which is well-expressed in northeastern Africa and Arabia today.     

Holocene seismic and tectonic activity in the Dead Sea area

The Dead Sea is a large, active graben within the Dead Sea rift, which is bounded by two major strike-slip faults, the Jericho and the Arava faults. We investigated the young tectonic activity along the Jericho fault by excavating trenches, up to 3.5 m deep, across its trace. The trenches penetrate through Late Pleistocene and Holocene sediments. We found that a zone, up to 15 m wide, of disturbed sediments exists along the fault. These disturbed sediments provide evidence for two periods of intensive activity or more likely, for two major earthquakes, that occurred during the last 2000 years. The earthquakes are evident in small faults, vertical throw of a few layers, cracks, unconformities and wide fissures. We further documented evidence for recent sinistral shear along the Jericho fault in deformed sediments and damage to an 8th Century palace on a subsidiary fault. We suggest that the two earthquakes may be correlated with the 31 B.C. earthquake and the 748 A.D. earthquake, reported by the ancients.     

Mantle structure and rifting processes in the Baikal–Mongolia region: geophysical data and evidence from xenoliths in volcanic rocks

The origin of the Baikal rift zone (BRZ) has been debated between the advocates of passive and active rifting since the 1970s. A re-assessment of the relevant geological and geophysical data from Russian and international literature questions the concept of broad asthenospheric upwelling beneath the rift zone that has been the cornerstone of many “active rifting” models. Results of a large number of early and recent studies favour the role of far-field forces in the opening and development of the BRZ. This study emphasises the data obtained through studies of peridotite and pyroxenite xenoliths brought to the surface by alkali basaltic magmas in southern Siberia and central Mongolia. These xenoliths are direct samples of the upper mantle in the vicinity of the BRZ. Of particular importance are suites of garnet-bearing xenoliths that have been used to construct P–T- composition lithospheric cross-sections in the region for the depth range of 35–80 km.Xenolith studies have shown fundamental differences in the composition and thermal regime between the lithospheric mantle beneath the ancient Siberian platform (sampled by kimberlites) and beneath younger mobile belts south of the platform. The uppermost mantle in southern Siberia and central Mongolia is much hotter at similar levels than the mantle in the Siberian craton and also has significantly higher contents of ‘basaltic’ major elements (Ca, Al, Na) and iron, higher Fe/Si and Fe/Mg. The combination of the moderately high geothermal gradient and the fertile compositions in the off-cratonic mantle appears to be a determining factor controlling differences in sub-Moho seismic velocities relative to the Siberian craton. Chemical and isotopic compositions of the off-cratonic xenoliths indicate small-scale and regional mantle heterogeneities attributed to various partial melting and enrichment events, consistent with long-term evolution in the lithospheric mantle. Age estimates of mantle events based on Os–Sr–Nd isotopic data can be correlated with major regional stages of crustal formation and may indicate long-term crust–mantle coupling. The ratios of ^143/144Nd in many LREE-depleted xenoliths are higher than those in MORB or OIB source regions and are not consistent with a recent origin from asthenospheric mantle.Mantle xenoliths nearest to the rift basins (30–50 km south of southern Lake Baikal) show no unequivocal evidence for strong heating, unusual stress and deformation, solid state flow, magmatic activity or partial melting that could be indicative of an asthenospheric intrusion right below the Moho. Comparisons between xenoliths from older and younger volcanic rocks east of Lake Baikal, together with observations on phase transformations and mineral zoning in individual xenoliths, have indicated recent heating in portions of the lithospheric mantle that may be related to localised magmatic activity or small-scale ascent of deep mantle material. Overall, the petrographic, P–T, chemical and isotopic constraints from mantle xenoliths appear to be consistent with recent geophysical studies, which found no evidence for a large-scale asthenospheric upwarp beneath the rift, and lend support to passive rifting mechanism for the BRZ.     

Tectonic geomorphology of the easternmost extension of the Gulf of Corinth (Beotia, Central Greece)

The easternmost sector of the Gulf of Corinth, the Beotia area in Central Greece, is an area with active normal faults located between the two major rift structures of Central Greece, the Gulf of Corinth and the North Gulf of Evia. These active normal faults include WNW to E–W and NE to ENE-trending faults affect the landscape and generate basin and range topography within the Beotia. We study four normal fault zones and drainage basin geometry in the easternmost sector of the Gulf of Corinth to document the impact of active tectonics on the landscape evolution. Fault and drainage geometry are investigated based on detailed field mapping and high-resolution digital elevation models. Tectonic geomorphic analysis using several parameters of active tectonics provides information concerning the relative tectonic activity and fault growth. In order to detect areas of lateral stream migration that could indicate recent tectonic activity, the Transverse Topographic Symmetry Factor and the Asymmetry Factor are used to analyse drainage basin geometry in six large drainage basins and a drainage domain covering the study area. Our results show that vertical motions and tilting associated with normal faulting influence the drainage geometry and its development. Values of stream-gradient indices (S_L) are relatively high close to the fault traces of the studied fault zones suggesting high activity. Mountain-front sinuosity (S_mf) mean values along the fault zones ranges from 1.08 to 1.26. Valley floor width to valley height ratios (V_f) mean values along the studied fault zones range between 0.5 and 1.6. Drainage basin shape (B_S) mean values along the fault zones range from 1.08 to 3.54. All these geomorphic parameters and geomorphological data suggest that the analyzed normal faults are highly active. Lateral fault growth was likely produced by primarily eastward propagation, with the WNW to E–W trending faults being the relatively more active structures.     

Active rifting in the Japan and Okhotsk seas and the tectonic evolution of the Central Sakhalin Fault zone in the Cenozoic

Large-scale geological maps available for individual areas in the Central Sakhalin Fault zone and geological-geophysical maps of Sakhalin and surrounding sea areas were analyzed to elucidate the tectonic evolution of the fault zone determined by movements of crustal blocks due to the opening of rift basins. Changes in the direction of horizontal compression in the Sakhalin fold system from diagonal (NW-SE) to near-latitudinal resulted in the transformation of near-meridional right-lateral strike-slip faults into reversed faults in the Late Miocene. This allows Sakhalin faults to be interpreted as a zone of recent right-lateral shear between Eurasian and Sea of Okhotsk plates.