The canadian atlantic margin: A passive continental margin encompassing an active past

The continental margins of Atlantic Canada described in this paper show the effects of plate tectonic motions since Precambrian time and thus represent an ideal natural laboratory for geophysical studies and comparisons of ancient and modern margins. The Grenville Province shows vestiges of Helikian sedimentation on a pre-existing continental block beneath which there may have been southeastward late-Helikian subduction resulting in collision between the Grenville block and the continental block comprised of the older shield provinces to the north. The Grenville block was subsequently split in Hadrynian time along an irregular line so that the southeastern edge of the Grenville exhibited a series of promontories and re-entrants similar to those seen at the present Atlantic continental margin of North America. That margin, which had a passive margin history perhaps comparable with that of the present Atlantic margin, was separated by the lapetus ocean from the Avalon zone whose Precambrian volcanism has been attributed both to that associated with an island arc and with intra-cratonic rifting. However, the lapetus ocean appears to have been subducted in early Paleozoic time with a southeastward dip beneath the Avalon zone, leaving exposures of oceanic rocks in place as in Notre Dame Bay, or transported onto Grenville basement as at Bay of Islands.Plate motions proposed for Devonian and Carboniferous time are numerous, but resulted in the welding of the Meguma block to the Avalon zone of New Brunswick and northern Nova Scotia, extensive faulting within Atlantic Canada which can be correlated with contemporaneous European faulting and extensive terrestrial sedimentation within the fault zones. Graben formation, continental sedimentation and basaltic intrusion in the Triassic represent the tensional prelude to the Jurassic opening of the present Atlantic Ocean.This Jurassic opening produced a rifted margin adjacent to Nova Scotia and a transform margin along the southern Grand Banks. The width of the ocean-continent transition across the transform margin (approx. 50 km) is narrower than for the rifted margin (approx. 100 km). The eastern part of the transform margin is associated with a complex Cretaceous (?) volcanic province of seamounts and basement ridges showing evidence of subsidence. The western portion of the transform margin is non-volcanic, adjacent to which lies the 350 km wide Quiet Magnetic Zone floored by oceanic crust.Development of the margin east of Newfoundland was more complicated with continental fragments separated from the shelf by deep water basins underlain by foundered and atypically thin continental crust. Although thin, the crust appears unmodified, the similarities between the crustal sections of the narrow Flemish Pass and the wide Orphan Basin suggesting that the thinning is not simply due to stretching. The Newfoundland Basin shows evidence for two-stage rifting between the Grand Banks and Iberia with both lateral separation and rotation of Spain, leaving a wide zone of transitional crust in the south. The overall pattern of variations in crustal section for the margin east of Newfoundland is comparable with that of the British margin against which it is located on paleogeographical reconstructions.The major sedimentary unconformities on the shelves (such as the Early Cretaceous unconformity on the Grand Banks) reflect uplift accompanying rifting. Tracing of the sedimentary horizons across the shelf edge is complicated by paleocontinental slopes, which separate miogeocline and eugeocline depositional environments. The subsidence of the rifted margins is primarily due to cooling of the lithosphere and to sediment loading. The subsidence due to cooling has been shown to vary linearly with (time) , similar to the depth—age behaviour of oceanic crust. The consequent thermal history of the sediments is favourable for hydrocarbon generation where other factors do not preclude it.     

Prolonged Variscan to Alpine history of an active Eurasian margin (Georgia, Armenia) revealed by Ar/Ar dating

Variscan to Alpine magmatic activity on the North Tethys active Eurasian margin in the Caucasus region is revealed by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages from rocks sampled in the Georgian Crystalline basement and exotic blocs in the Armenian foreland basin. These ages provide insights into the long duration of magmatic activity and related metamorphic history of the margin, with: (1) a phase of transpression with little crustal thickening during the Variscan cycle, evidenced by HT-LP metamorphism at 329–337 Ma; (2) a phase of intense bimodal magmatism at the end of the Variscan cycle, between 303 and 269 Ma, which is interpreted as an ongoing active margin during this period; (3) further evolution of the active margin evidenced by migmatites formed at ca. 183 Ma in a transpressive setting; (4) paroxysmal arc plutonic activity during the Jurassic (although the active magmatic arc was located farther south than the studied crystalline basements) with metamorphic rocks of the Eurasian basement sampled in the Armenian foreland basin dated at 166 Ma; (5) rapid cooling suggested by similar within-error ages of amphibole and muscovite sampled from the same exotic block in the Armenian fore-arc basin, ascribed to rapid exhumation related to extensional tectonics in the arc; and finally (6) cessation of ‘Andean’-type magmatic arc history in the Upper Cretaceous. Remnants of magmatic activity in the Early Cretaceous are found in the Georgian crystalline basement at c. 114 Ma, which is ascribed to flat slab subduction of relatively hot oceanic crust. This event corresponds to the emplacement of an oceanic seamount above the N Armenian ophiolite at 117 Ma. The activity of a hot spot between the active Eurasian margin and the South Armenian Block is thought to have heated and thickened the Neo-Tethys oceanic crust. Finally, the South Eurasian margin was uplifted and transported over this hot oceanic crust, resulting in the cessation of subduction and the erosion of the southern edge of the margin in Upper Cretaceous times. Emplacement of Eocene volcanics stitches all main collisional structures.     

The North-Chilean Coast Range — an example for the development of an active continental margin

Analysis of extended plutons in the Coast Range of North Chile between 25°30′ and 26°35′ led to the recognition of a complex magmatic and structural evolution from the Upper Paleozoic to the Tertiary. The ascension of the intrusive bodies is dictated by deep-seated block tectonics. Generally the chemistry changes from S-type magmas in the Paleozoic to I-type magmas in the Mesozoic and Cainozoic. This is accompanied by a change in the structural geology of the continental margin which we present in six hypothetic phases (Devonian-Tertiary). We are only at the beginning of an encompassing synthesis of the genesis of the Andean orogen.     

Eutectoid and cotectoid petrographic types of acid volcanic and subvolcanic rocks of the continental margin volcanic belts as exemplified by East Asia

Using continental-margin volcanic belts of East Asia as an example, the petrography and geochemistry of acid volcanic and subvolcanic rocks are considered. Cotectoid and eutectoid types are distinguished among them. The eutectoid type is characterized by a disequilibrium mineralogical composition, which includes phenocrysts of early “gabbro” paragenesis (pyroxenes, calcic plagioclase, occasional olivine and amphibole) and “granite” paragenesis (K-Na feldspar, quartz, biotite) and groundmass corresponding to dry quartz-feldspathic eutectics. A linear correlation is noted between the amount of phenocrysts of gabbro paragenesis and SiO₂ content. The entire petrochemical diversity of the eutectoid-type rocks is determined by the quantitative proportions between the gabbro paragenesis and bulk composition. The cotectoid rocks are dominated by sparsely-phyric and aphyric rocks lacking melanocratic inclusions and xenogenic minerals. In the cotectoid-type rocks, the compositions of the phenocrysts and groundmass are complementary with the bulk rocks composition, indicating their equilibrium cotectic crystallization.     

塔里木板块北缘活动陆缘型侵入岩带的岩石学与地球化学

在塔里木板块北缘,断续出露一条侵入岩带,总长度800多公里。岩石组合是橄榄辉长岩-辉长岩-辉长闪长岩-闪长岩-石英闪长岩-花岗岩。各种类型岩石的化学组成显示了清晰的钙碱性岩浆演化趋势。稀土元素配分曲线均为轻稀土富集型,而且,重稀土元素配分曲线相对平坦。Sr、K、Rb、Ba、Th等大离子亲石元素强烈富集,而Ta、Nb、Zr、Hf、Ti等高场强元素显著贫化。这些岩石学与地球化学特征均证明,该侵入岩带形成于活动大陆边缘。     

Tectono-metamorphic evolution of the European continental margin involved in the Alpine subduction: New insights from Alpine Corsica,France

In Corsica, continental units (the Lower Units) affected by high-pressure metamorphism represent the remains of the European margin deformed during the Alpine orogeny. In order to document how Alpine deformation and metamorphism changed along the European margin involved in the Alpine subduction, we selected three key areas: the Corte, Cima Pedani, and Ghisoni transects. The three transects show a broadly similar lithostratigraphy. They are characterized by a Variscan basement intruded by Permo-Carboniferous metagranitoids, and by a sedimentary cover including Mesozoic carbonates and middle to late Eocene breccias and sandstones. The three transects recorded a similar deformation history with three deformation phases. Thermo-baric estimations, instead, reveal that each unit was exhumed along an independent retrograde path within the orogenic Alpine wedge. In particular, the lowest units of the Lower Units stack were exhumed along an isothermal path, whereas those located at upper structural levels experienced progressive heating.     

活动大陆边缘岩浆作用及构造演化——以敦煌地块为例

大陆边缘弧是汇聚板块边界与俯冲有关的岩浆作用产物, 通常记录了造山带弧岩浆作用、造山过程和大陆地壳形成与演化等诸多重要的地质过程。作为中亚造山带中段最南部的构造单元, 敦煌地块为传统定义上具有早前寒武纪变质结晶基底的微陆块, 其后在古生代时期经历了多期次、多阶段的与中亚造山带造山相关的构造热事件并使其发生再活化, 进而产生了一系列广泛的弧岩浆-变质作用事件。然而, 对于该陆块古生代弧岩浆作用机制和地壳构造演化历史缺乏系统的研究。本文综合近十多年来对敦煌地块的诸多最新研究进展, 系统梳理了古生代岩浆岩岩石组合类型、年代格架、地球化学组成以及同时期变质-沉积构造热事件演化特征, 得到以下认识: (1)敦煌地块古生代岩浆作用过程呈现阶段性特征, 即幕式岩浆作用, 构造位置上从东北部逐渐迁移到南部再折返到中部, 大致可划分为五期: ~510Ma、440~410Ma、390~360Ma、~330Ma和280~245Ma, 而变质作用事件主要集中在450~360Ma; (2)古生代岩浆岩类型主要以钙碱性Ⅰ型花岗岩、埃达克质岩石、少量S型花岗岩和高钾花岗岩为主, 且岩石成分从寒武纪低钾拉斑系列逐渐转变为二叠纪高钾、富硅特征; (3)同位素地球化学特征表明, 敦煌地块中-北部寒武纪-泥盆纪发育的与俯冲相关的弧岩浆对新生地壳的生长起了重要贡献, 并伴随古老地壳再造事件; 而南部泥盆纪-石炭纪岩浆作用则以古老地壳物质重熔为主; (4)基于埃达克质岩石的证据, 敦煌地块在古生代时期经历了两次显著的地壳增厚事件, 早期可能是与北山南部石板山地体/弧碰撞以及幔源岩浆底侵有关, 而晚期可能是与俯冲板片后撤或回卷相关, 地壳厚度可达~55km; (5)敦煌地块属于中亚造山带中段最南部一个具有前寒武纪基底的古老微陆块, 后期卷入了古亚洲洋南向俯冲相关的造山事件使其被强烈破坏与改造。该微陆块作为古亚洲洋南部的活动大陆边缘弧, 被与俯冲作用有关的阶段性弧岩浆底侵、部分熔融、增厚地壳和区域性变质作用等机制改造与活化, 产生了阶段性侵位的陆缘弧岩浆作用。这些认识为探究中亚造山带微陆块的起源和造山带的构造演化提供新的约束。

     

Cretaceous transformation from passive to active continental margin in the Western Carpathians as indicated by the sedimentary record in the Infratatric unit

The Cretaceous orogen of the Western Carpathians comprises fragments of the destructed northern Centrocarpathian domain, which is defined as Infratatric unit and formed a continental margin facing the Penninic Ocean in Jurassic and Cretaceous times. The breakup event and opening of the Penninic Ocean occurred in the Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian), which is recorded by an abrupt deepening event from shallow-water sediments to deep-water nodular limestone in the Infratatric sediment succession. The transformation of the passive into an active continental margin by the onset of subduction of the Penninic oceanic crust occurred in Santonian times and is reflected by the beginning of flysch deposition in the Infratatric Belice domain, which took the position of a forearc basin in the convergent margin setting. The forearc basin was supplied by clastic material from the more internal part of the Infratatric unit, which experienced nappe stacking, metamorphism, and subsequent exhumation in Late Cretaceous times. In the frontal part of the forearc basin an accretionary wedge was built up, which formed an outer-arc ridge and delivered detrital material into the forearc basin in Maastrichtian time. Final collision between the European and the Adriatic plate occurred in the Eocene period and is responsible for weak metamorphism in the Infratatric unit.     

Alpine geodynamic evolution of passive and active continental margin sequences in the Tauern Window (eastern Alps, Austria, Italy): a review

The Penninic oceanic sequence of the Glockner nappe and the foot-wall Penninic continental margin sequences exposed within the Tauern Window (eastern Alps) have been investigated in detail. Field data as well as structural and petrological data have been combined with data from the literature in order to constrain the geodynamic evolution of these units. Volcanic and sedimentary sequences document the evolution from a stable continent that was formed subsequent to the Variscan orogeny, to its disintegration associated with subsidence and rifting in the Triassic and Jurassic, the formation of the Glockner oceanic basin and its consumption during the Upper Cretaceous and the Paleogene. These units are incorporated into a nappe stack that was formed during the collision between a Penninic Zentralgneis block in the north and a southern Austroalpine block. The Venediger nappe and the Storz nappe are characterized by metamorphic Jurassic shelf deposits (Hochstegen group) and Cretaceous flysch sediments (Kaserer and Murtörl groups), the Eclogite Zone and the Rote Wand–Modereck nappe comprise Permian to Triassic clastic sequences (Wustkogel quartzite) and remnants of platform carbonates (Seidlwinkl group) as well as Jurassic volcanoclastic material and rift sediments (Brennkogel facies), covered by Cretaceous flyschoid sequences. Nappe stacking was contemporaneous to and postdated subduction-related (high-pressure) eclogite and blueschist facies metamorphism. Emplacement of the eclogite-bearing units of the Eclogite zone and the Glockner nappe onto Penninic continental units (Zentralgneis block) occurred subsequent to eclogite facies metamorphism. The Eclogite zone, a former extended continental margin, was subsequently overridden by a pile of basement-cover nappes (Rote Wand–Modereck nappe) along a ductile out-of-sequence thrust. Low-angle normal faults that have developed during the Jurassic extensional phase might have been inverted during nappe emplacement.     

Orthogneisses in the Spessart Crystalline Complex,north-west Bavaria: Silurian granitoid magmatism at an active continental margin

The Spessart Crystalline Complex, north-west Bavaria contains two orthogneiss units of granitic to granodioritic composition, known as the Rotgneiss and Haibach gneiss, respectively, which are structurally conformable with associated metasediments. The igneous origin of the Rotgneiss is apparent from field and textural evidence, whereas strong deformation and recrystallization in the Haibach gneiss has obscured most primary textures. New geochemical data as well as zircon morphology prove the Haibach gneiss to be derived from a granitoid precursor, which was chemically similar to the Rotgneiss protolith, thus suggesting a genetic link between those two rock units. Both gneiss types have chemical compositions typical of anatectic two-mica leucogranites. They show characteristics of both I- and S-type granites. Rb-Sr whole rock data on the Haibach gneiss provide an isochron age of 407±14 Ma (IR = 0.7077±0.0007; MSWD 2.2), which is slightly younger than the published date for the Rotgneiss (439±15 Ma; IR=0.7048±0.0026; MSWD 4.9). Single zircon dating of six idiomorphic grains, using the evaporation method, yielded a mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 410±18 Ma for the Haibach gneiss and 418±18 Ma for the Rotgneiss. Both zircon ages are within analytical error of the Rb-Sr isochron dates and are interpreted to reflect the time of protolith emplacement in Silurian times. Three xenocrystic zircon grains from the Rotgneiss yielded ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of 2278±12, 2490±13 and 2734±10 Ma, respectively, suggesting that late Archaean to early Proterozoic crust was involved in the generation of the granite from which the Rotgneiss is derived. Although it is assumed that the granitic protoliths of the two gneisses were formed through anatexis of older continental crust, the relatively low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr initial ratios of both gneisses may also indicate the admixture of a mantle component. The Rotgneiss and the Haibach gneiss thus document granitic magmatism at an active continental margin during late Silurian times.     

Denudation history and landscape evolution of the northern East-Brazilian continental margin from apatite fission-track thermochronology

We reconstruct the history of denudation and landscape evolution of the northern East- Brazilian continental margin using apatite fission-track thermochronology and thermal history modeling. This part of the Brazilian Atlantic margin is morphologically characterized by inland and coastal plateaus surrounding a wide low-lying inland region, the Sertaneja Depression. The apatite fission track ages and mean track lengths vary from 39 ± 4 to 350 ± 57 Ma and from 10.0 ± 0.3 to 14.2 ± 0.2 μm, respectively, implying a protracted history of spatially variable denudation since the Permian at relatively low rates (<50 m My⁻¹). The Sertaneja Depression and inland plateaus record Permian-Early Jurassic (300–180 Ma) denudation that precedes rifting of the margin by > 60 Myrs. In contrast, the coastal regions record up to 2.5 km of Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous (150–120 Ma) denudation, coeval with rifting of the margin. The samples from elevated coastal regions, the Borborema Plateau and the Mantiqueira Range, record cooling from temperatures above 120 °C since the Late Cretaceous extending to the Cenozoic. We interpret this denudation as related to post-rift uplift of these parts of the margin, possibly resulting from compressional stresses transmitted from the Andes and/or magmatism at that time. Several samples from these areas also record accelerated Neogene (<30 Ma) cooling, which may record landscape response to a change from a tropical to a more erosive semi-arid climate during this time. The inferred denudation history is consistent with the offshore sedimentary record, but not with evolutionary scenarios inferred from the recognition of “planation surfaces” on the margin. The denudation history of the northeastern Brazilian margin implies a control of pre-, syn- and post-rift tectonic and climatic events on landscape evolution.     

High-resolution seismic stratigraphy of the late Neogene of the central sector of the Colombian Pacific continental shelf: A seismic expression of an active continental margin

The sedimentary prism of the central Pacific continental shelf of Colombia was affected by regional folding and faulting, and probably later mud diapirism, from the Late Miocene to the Holocene. Interpretation of high-resolution seismic lines (2 s/dt) revealed that the prism consists of 13 high-resolution seismic units, that can be separated into 5 seismic groups.Deposition of the prism and the associated stacking pattern, are probably the response to variable uplift and subsidence in a fore-arc basin that underwent important tectonic events by the end of the Miocene. Throughout the Pliocene, the continental shelf sedimentation was affected by the growing of a dome structure probable due to mud diapirism. This fact caused peripheral faults both normal and reverse that controlled the distribution of some of the seismic units. During the Late Pleistocene (Wisconsin stage?) a eustatic sea level fall caused the shoreline to advance about 50 km westward of its present position. Because of this eustatic sea level change, a strong fluvial dissection took place and is interpreted as the probable extension of the San Juan River to the south of the present day river mouth. Within this framework it is believed that the Malaga and Buenaventura Bays were the passageways of branches of the old drainage system of the San Juan River. The inner branch circulated through the present Buenaventura Bay and runs southward leaving the mark of an apparent valley identified in the seismic information in the eastern sector of the study area. This old fluvial valley and its filling material located in the present day inner continental shelf front of Buenaventura are postulated as important targets to find placer minerals such as gold and platinum.     

华南东部陆缘新生代隆升历史及其动力学机制

华南陆缘在新生代期间经历了千米量级的上覆盖层剥蚀和山脉隆升;同时,其东侧的东海陆架盆地经历多次构造应力场的反转并发育多期反转构造。东海陆架盆地内的构造反转与华南陆缘隆升的发生时间和触发机制是否一致有待研究。为此,本文对浙江地区的岩石样品进行磷灰石裂变径迹测试和热演化史反演分析其隆升历史,并通过地震剖面分析东海陆架盆地的反转时间及其反转所导致的地层剥蚀量;最后,将二者进行对比分析并研究其动力学机制。结果发现,华南东部陆缘地区至少存在晚始新世（34.5~33.5Ma）、中中新世（16~11.5Ma）、上新世以来（5~0Ma）三期明显的快速隆升事件,三期隆升导致的地层剥蚀量分别为227m、593m和865m;东海陆架盆地经历了古新世末-始新世初（~56Ma）、始新世末-渐新世初（~32Ma）和晚中新世（~10Ma）三期构造反转,三期反转导致的局部地层最大剥蚀量分别可达1200m、1300m和2000m。在时间上,东海陆架盆地的始新世末-渐新世初（~32Ma）和晚中新世（~10Ma）的构造反转分别滞后于浙江的晚始新世（34.5~33.5Ma）和中中新世（16~11.5Ma）的隆升时间,说明这两期挤压-剥蚀事件分别具有自西向东的迁移性,即印度-欧亚板块碰撞的远程效应可能是导致该迁移特征的原因;在强度上,东海陆架盆地的反转剥蚀量大于浙江境内的地层隆升量、挤压强度东强西弱,中新世晚期菲律宾海板块向西俯冲导致冲绳海槽弧后伸展产生向西的挤压力、这种挤压应力向陆内传递且强度变弱可能是导致该特征的原因。

     

Geological framework of the Brazilian continental margin

Based on distinctive stratigraphic and/or structural characteristics, the Brazilian continental margin can be divided into two main provinces:

1. The southeastern-eastern province, extending from the Pelotas to the Recife-João Pessoa Basin, presents a tensional tectonic style of Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous age, paralleling the structural alignements of the Precambrian basement, except in the north-eastern segment where the Mesozoic faults of the Recife-João Pessoa Basin cut across the east-west basement directions. The basin-fill, Upper Jurassic through Recent, consists, where complete, of three stratigraphic sequences, each of a distinct depositional environment: (a) a lower clastic non-marine sequence; (b) a middle evaporitic sequence, and (c) an upper clastic paralic and open marine sequence.
2. The northern province, extending from the Potiguar Basin to the Amazon Submarine Basin, displays both tensional and compressional tectonic styles of Upper Jurassic (?) to Upper Cretaceous age either paralleling or cutting transversally the basement alignments. The stratigraphic column differs from the southeastern-eastern province in lacking the Lower Cretaceous evaporitic rocks.

The integration of the stratigraphie and structural data allows one to determine in the eastern Brazilian marginal basins the main evolutionary stages of a typical pull-apart continental margin: a continental pre-rift and rift stage, an evaporitic proto-ocean stage, and a normal marine open ocean stage. In the northern province it is possible to infer a continental rift-valley-stage, a transform stage and an open continental-margin stage. The relationship between the rift-valley and the transform stages is yet not clear.     

Soil organic matter as an important contributor to Late Quaternary sediments of the tropical West African continental margin

The contribution of soil organic matter (SOM) to continental margins is largely ignored in studies on the carbon budget of marine sediments. Detailed geochemical investigations of late Quaternary sediments (245-0 ka) from the Niger and Congo deep-sea fans, however, reveal that C_org/N_tot ratios and isotopic signatures of bulk organic matter (δ¹³C_org) in both fans are essentially determined by the supply of various types of SOM from the river catchments thus providing a fundamentally different interpretation of established proxies in marine sciences. On the Niger fan, increased C_org/N_tot and δ¹³C_org (up to −17‰) were driven by generally nitrogen-poor but ¹³C-enriched terrigenous plant debris and SOM from C₄/C₃ vegetation/Entisol domains (grass- and tree-savannah on young, sandy soils) supplied during arid climate conditions. Opposite, humid climates supported drainage of C₃/C₄ vegetation/Alfisol/Ultisol domains (forest and tree-savannah on older/developed, clay-bearing soils) that resulted in lower C_org/N_tot and δ¹³C_org (< −20‰) in the Niger fan record. Sediments from the Congo fan contain a thermally stable organic fraction that is absent on the Niger fan. This distinct organic fraction relates to strongly degraded SOM of old and highly developed, kaolinite-rich ferallitic soils (Oxisols) that cover large areas of the Congo River basin. Reduced supply of this nitrogen-rich and ¹²C-depleted SOM during arid climates is compensated by an elevated input of marine OM from the high-productive Congo up-welling area. This climate-driven interplay of marine productivity and fluvial SOM supply explains the significantly smaller variability and generally lower values of C_org/N_tot and δ¹³C_org for the Congo fan records. This study emphasizes that ignoring the presence of SOM results in a severe underestimation of the terrigenous organic fraction leading to erroneous paleoenvironmental interpretations at least for continental margin records. Furthermore, burial of SOM in marine sediments needs more systematic investigation combining marine and continental sciences to assess its global relevance for long-term sequestration of atmospheric CO₂.     

Accumulation of terrestrial organic carbon on an active continental margin offshore southwestern Taiwan: Source-to-sink pathways of river-borne organic particles

Sediment samples (213 sites) collected from the tectonic-active continental margin, offshore southwestern Taiwan were analyzed for grain sizes, organic carbon, nitrogen and carbon isotopic composition to obtain mass accumulation rate of terrestrial organic carbon and carbon budget to evaluate fate of terrestrial organic carbon from small mountainous rivers on the continental margin offshore southwestern Taiwan. Terrestrial organic carbon accumulation rates range from 0.29 to 45.6 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹ with a total accumulation budget of 0.063 Mt yr⁻¹, which accounts for less than 13% of total river particulate organic carbon loads exported from the adjacent rivers, the Gaoping (a.k.a., Kaoping), Erhjen and Tsengwen rivers. This low burial efficiency of terrestrial organic carbon demonstrated that a majority of river-borne particles together with organic materials was moved away from the study area.For the river-borne particles from the Gaoping river, a pair of depocenters in the upper slope flanking the Gaoping submarine canyon are the locations where the maximum TC_org accumulation rate were observed which hold up to 45% (0.016 Mt yr⁻¹) of the calculated accumulation found in the study region. On the other hand, the occurrence of higher-fraction terrestrial organic carbon in the upper and middle Gaoping submarine canyon suggests that a majority of particulate organic carbon of the Gaoping river was transported directly into the deep-sea basin through the Gaoping submarine canyon. Our results demonstrated that active margin with narrow shelf and slope is not an efficient sink for the large amount of terrigenous organic carbon supplied by the small rivers, but, a transient environment for these river derived particles.     

早白垩世华北克拉通岩石圈减薄与破坏动力学：兼论古太平洋型活动大陆边缘

早白垩世时期华北克拉通的演化为探索大陆再造提供了典型案例，强烈地壳伸展、岩石圈减薄及克拉通破坏的机理及动力学长期以来一直是争议的焦点。早白垩世岩石圈伸展形成了包括辽南和五莲变质核杂岩在内的地壳伸展构造组合，同时伴随着巨量壳- 幔岩浆活动性，这些构造- 岩浆活动是克拉通岩石圈壳- 幔耦合拆离与解耦拆离作用的结果，可以用克拉通岩石圈壳- 幔拆离模型(parallel extension tectonics)解释。与此同时，具有相似特点(时间、几何学、运动学和动力学)的构造- 岩浆活动遍布包含东北亚、中国华北和华南及俄罗斯远东地区等在内的整个欧亚大陆东部地区，反映在统一构造环境中发展和演化的本质，而华北克拉通成为早白垩世欧亚大陆东部地区岩石圈伸展的典型案例。广布的早白垩世伸展构造东侧紧邻古太平洋板块俯冲作用形成的陆缘增生杂岩带，构成独特的古太平洋型活动大陆边缘。这种大陆边缘保留和记录了与现今西太平洋型和安第斯型活动大陆边缘全然不一致的构造特点，包含增生杂岩(海沟增生楔处)与面状伸展构造域两个构造要素，但缺乏典型的大规模岩浆弧的存在。地幔分层对流对于古太平洋- 欧亚大陆间洋陆相互作用、大陆岩石圈伸展、克拉通岩石圈减薄与破坏提供了重要动力来源，而板块边缘力起着重要的辅助作用。     

Flexure of the lithosphere and continental margin basins

The accumulation of sediments at an Atlantic-type continental margin constitutes a load on the lithosphere which simply sags due to its weight. Studies of the geometry of deformation suggests the lithosphere will respond to these loads either by local loading of an Airy-type crust or flexural loading of a strong rigid crust. Sediment loading models of either type cannot, however, explain the substantial thicknesses of shallow-water sediments observed in commercial boreholes from Atlantic-type margins. Other factors such as thermal contraction, gravitational outflow of crustal material or deep crustal metamorphism may contribute to the subsidence. We have used biostratigraphic data from commercial boreholes from the Gulf of Lion and the East Coast U.S.A. to quantitatively determine the contribution of sediment loading to the subsidence. From these data we determined sea-floor and basement depths for sequential time intervals during margin development. Using the sediment loading models the sediment layers at each margin were progressively “backstripped” and the depth basement would have been without the sediment load calculated. The computed basement depths indicate there is a recognizable component of the subsidence of these margins which is caused by processes other than adjustments to the weight of the sediment. The nature of this subsidence is discussed and comparisons are made with that which would be expected from thermal-contraction models.