Structure and evolution of the backstop in the eastern Nankai Trough area (Japan): Implications for the soon-to-come Tokai earthquake

Abstract We present data showing that the intra-oceanic shortening now occurring south of the eastern Nankai Trough that has produced the Zenisu Ridge has also been responsible for the formation of a previous ridge now buried below the continental margin. This ridge, that we refer to as Paleo-Zenisu, is presently adjacent to the backstop and its location coincides with the outer limit of the seismogenic decollement. The subduction of the paleo-Zenisu ridge below the wedge has led to its complete reorganization and has given its identity to the Great Tokai earthquake rupture zone. The formation of paleo-Zenisu and its consequent subduction has induced the tilting of the backstop toward the northwest since ca 2 Ma. This model suggests that the backstop and possibly the wedge are dextrally sheared because they are extruded southwestward in relation to the collision of the Izu-Bonin Ridge with Japan. We use the finite motion from Zenisu to paleo-Zenisu to derive both the subduction vectors along the Nankai Trough and the shortening vectors within Zenisu-Izu. The amount of shortening absorbed within Zenisu-Izu increases toward the northeast. The corresponding subduction vectors of the Zenisu platelet below the wedge decrease accordingly to the northeast from 50 to less than 20 mm/year and the Zenisu body rotates clockwise with a pole near 36° North, 139° East. This might explain the apparent longer repetition time of great earthquakes in the Tokai area. On the other hand, the 25-35 mm/year obtained for the rate of shortening along the Zenisu thrust indicates a high seismic potential there.     

准噶尔海槽西准噶尔地段板块构造演化特征

准噶尔地块为前震旦纪地块。古生代,本区进一步演化成为一个由大陆裂谷发育起来的不成熟洋壳——准噶尔海槽。该海槽向西可与苏联巴尔喀什相通,并将哈萨克斯坦古板块肢解为南、北两大陆块。早石炭世末,本区结束了洋壳历史,重新成为大陆克拉通,托里北——达拉布特一线为缝合线位置。中石炭世以后,以碰撞后构造为主导,发生过三次明显的块断运动和A型俯冲。北东向的达拉布特断裂系就是在本区地壳缩短的背景下产生的走滑断层和推覆构造     

冲绳海槽宫古段中央地堑的形态与分布

采用中国科学院海洋研究所“科学1号”调查船及国家海洋局“向阳红9号”调查船最近几年在冲绳海槽宫古段进行海底地形及反射地震调查所取得的数据,首次详细展示了冲绳海槽宫古段南北长约200km区域内中央地堑的形态及空间展布特征。本文给出的成果大大加深了关于冲绳海槽中央地堑各种变化的认识。指出,按照形态,中央地堑分为U型、V型和半地堑三种。其中大部分中央地堑为U型地堑。地堑的深度40～250m,宽度6～14km,长度17～33km。冲绳海槽宫古段的最大水深为2244.4m,位于中央地堑城阳段北端底部靠东的一侧(125°19.3′E,25°49.8′N)。本研究区的中央地堑可分为断续的9段,从东北向西南大致呈右旋雁行排列。但黄岛段相对于崂山段,城阳段相对于莱西段,李仓段相对于城阳段又稍微向西偏出,呈现为左旋雁行排列。地堑的走向一般为N60°E左右,相对于冲绳海槽的走向更偏向于东西方向,偏角在15°左右。各段中央地堑是被NW向断裂错开的。这些断裂在海底表现为明显的海底断崖地貌和陡沟地貌,在地震剖面上表现为明显的地层错位,其错位的幅度往往老地层比新地层要大。根据地震剖面分析,这些NW向的断裂应该是走滑性质的。本文展示的中央地堑在形态上和空间展布形式上都和扩张洋脊类似。莱西段和城阳段中央地堑之间重叠地堑,在形式上也类似于扩张洋脊的重叠扩张中心。从地堑深度较浅并发育重叠地堑来分析,冲绳海槽的扩张速率应当介于慢速扩张和中速扩张之间。本研究区莱西段、即墨段和平度段海底地形相对较高,中央地堑深度变浅,并发育重叠中央地堑,应该相当于快速扩张大洋中脊的轴高,可能是正在孕育岩浆活动的位置。目前我们所观测到的中央地堑的错断和有规律的排列说明海槽的主体演化过程已经在拉张盆地和断陷盆地的基础上上升到一个更高的阶段。本文根据中央地堑的展布形式、重叠中央地堑,及其两侧中央地堑中的海底山推测此区域海底扩张可能正在进行。     

Change of Gas Hydrate Reservoir and Its Effect on the Environment in Xisha Trough since the Last Glacial Maximum

In this article, Milkov and Sassen’s model is selected to calculate the thickness of the gas hydrate stable zone (GHSZ) and the amount of gas hydrate in the Xisha (西沙) Trough at present and at the last glacial maximum (LGM), respectively, and the effects of the changes in the bottom water temperature and the sea level on these were also discussed. The average thickness of the GHSZ in Xisha Trough is estimated to be 287 m and 299 m based on the relationship between the GHSZ thickness and the water depth established in this study at present and at LGM, respectively. Then, by assuming that the distributed area of gas hydrates is 8 000 km2 and that the gas hydrate saturation is 1.2% of the sediment volume, the amounts of gas hydrate are estimated to be ~2.76×1010 m3 and ~2.87×1010 m3, and the volumes of hydrate-bound gases are ~4.52×1012 m3 and ~4.71×1012 m3 at present and at LGM, re- spectively. The above results show that the thickness of GHSZ decreases with the bottom water tem- perature increase and increases with the sea level increase, wherein the effect of the former is larger than that of the latter, that the average thickness of GHSZ in Xisha Trough had been reduced by ~12 m, and that 1.9×1011 m3 of methane is released from approximately 1.1×109 m3 of gas hydrate since LGM. The released methane should have greatly affected the environment.     

Holocene beach deposits for assessing coastal uplift of the northeastern Boso Peninsula, Pacific coast of Japan

This paper presents a case study that assessed spatial variations in the tectonic uplift rates of beach deposits in the relict Kujukuri strand plain, situated on the northeastern coast of the Boso Peninsula, eastern Japan. The southern Boso Peninsula is tilted downward to the northeast due to plate subduction along the Sagami Trough. However, the cause of the northeastern coast uplift creating the relict strand plain is unclear, due to the absence of a Holocene raised marine terrace sequence. Elevations and ages of beach deposits were collected from drilled cores and ground-penetrating radar profiles along three shore-normal sections in the southern Kujukuri strand plain. From this, alongshore variations in the relative sea level since the mid-Holocene could be seen. These corresponded to north-to-northeast downward tilting at a rate of 0.4 m/ka for an interval 10 km and are concordant with the longer term tilting of the last interglacial marine terrace surrounding the plain. Although it is difficult to assess shore-normal variations of uplift based on the present dataset, the recognized tilting apparently continues to the tilting of the southern Boso Peninsula, implying the Sagami Trough probably affects the uplift of the Kujukuri coast.     

The Pleistocene evolution of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Prydz bay region: stable isotopic evidence from ODP Site 1167

Ocean Drilling Program Leg 188, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica is part of a larger initiative to explore the Cenozoic history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet through direct drilling and sampling of the continental margins. In this paper, we present stable isotopic results from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1167 located on the Prydz Channel Trough Mouth Fan (TMF), the first Antarctic TMF to be drilled. The foraminifer-based δ¹⁸O record is interpreted along with sedimentary and downhole logging evidence to reconstruct the Quaternary glacial history of Prydz Bay and the adjacent Lambert Glacier Amery Ice Shelf System (LGAISS). We report an electron spin resonance age date of 36.9±3.3 ka at 0.45 m below sea floor and correlate suspected glacial–interglacial cycles with the global isotopic stratigraphy to improve the chronology for Site 1167. The δ¹⁸O record based on planktonic (Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (s.)) and limited benthic results (Globocassidulina crassa), indicates a trend of ice sheet expansion that was interrupted by a period of reduced ice volume and possibly warmer conditions during the early–mid-Pleistocene (0.9–1.38 Ma). An increase in δ¹⁸O values after 900 ka appears to coincide with the mid-Pleistocene climate transition and the expansion of the northern hemisphere ice sheet. The δ¹⁸O record in the upper 50 m of the stratigraphic section indicates as few as three glacial–interglacial cycles, tentatively assigned as marine isotopic stages (MIS) 16–21, are preserved since the Brunhes/Matuyama paleomagnetic reversal (780 ka). This suggests that there is a large unconformity near the top of the section and/or that there may have been few extreme advances of the ice sheet since the mid-Pleistocene climate transition resulting in lowered sedimentation rates on the Prydz Channel TMF. The stable isotopic record from Site 1167 is one of the few available from the area south of the Antarctic Polar Front that has been linked with the global isotopic stratigraphy. Our results suggest the potential for the recovery of useful stable isotopic records in other TMFs.     

A method to solve the paleotectonic analysis problem

The method to determine the rates of tectonic movements is based on the use of dynamic models of sedimentary basins. A standard dataset should be provided as input information: the present-day position of sedimentary layer interfaces (chronostratigraphic boundaries), land surface and basement, the layer ages, and the uncertainty limits within which the depth of sedimentation of each layer may have differed. In terms of dynamic models, the paleotectonic analysis problem is reduced to the determination of such tectonic rates that, at prescribed reference times, the model surface topography within the assumed limits would be constrained. At the final moment, the interfaces would be brought into agreement with the contemporary geologic cross-section. The analysis the problem of tectonic rates determination has shown that it has no unique solution. One of the ways to obtain the unique solution is to seek it within a prescribed class of functions, for example, the Fourier series. This method differs from the paleotectonic analysis methodology in that it treats the tectonic rates of motion as functions of time and spatial variables. Under certain conditions, it proves feasible to reconstruct the rates of tectonic movements not only within the time intervals represented in the deposited strata, but within periods of erosion as well. It also is possible to take into account the deformation-induced changes in thickness of the layers. The method's application is illustrated with an example of the Terek-Caspian Trough. As follows from the computation, the tectonic movements since the Middle Jurassic may be presented as a sum of two components: an overall slowing-down subsidence whose rate is proportional to the square root of the age, and local movements which follow a regular oscillatory time pattern with a period of 60–70 MY. The character of the local movements is such that the profile appears to break into a northern and southern segment. When one was being uplifted, the other segment was sinking, andvice versa. These two segments are separated by a deep-seated fault. This may have been a result of an external compression on the trough.     

Geometry and growth of sill complexes: insights using 3D seismic from the North Rockall Trough

Doleritic sill complexes, which are an important component of volcanic continental margins, can be imaged using 3D seismic reflection data. This allows unprecedented access to the complete 3D geometry of the bodies and an opportunity to test classic sill emplacement models. The doleritic sills associated with basaltic volcanism in the North Rockall Trough occur in two forms. Radially symmetrical sill complexes consist of a saucer-like inner sill at the base with an arcuate inclined sheet connecting it to a gently inclined, commonly ragged, outer rim. Bilaterally symmetrical sill complexes are sourced by magma diverted from a magma conduit feeding an overlying volcano. With an elongate, concave upwards, trough-like geometry bilaterally symmetrical sills climb away from the magma source from which they originate. Both sill complex types can appear as isolated bodies but commonly occur in close proximity and consequently merge, producing hybrid sill complexes. Radial sill complexes consist of a series of radiating primary flow units. With dimensions up to 3 km, each primary flow unit rises from the inner saucer and is fed by primary magma tube. Primary flow units contain secondary flow units with dimensions up to 2 km, each being fed by a secondary magma tube branching from the primary magma tube. Secondary flow units in turn are composed of 100-m scale tertiary flow units. A similar branching hierarchy of flow units can also be seen in bilaterally symmetrical sill complexes, with their internal architecture resembling an enlarged version of a primary flow unit from a radial sill complex. This branching flow pattern, as well as the interaction between flow units of varying orders, provides new insights into the origin of the structures commonly seen within sill complexes and the hybrid sill bodies produced by their merger. The data demonstrate that each radially symmetrical sill complex is independently fed from a source located beneath the centre of the inner saucer, grows by climbing from the centre outwards and that peripheral dyking from the upper surface is a common feature. These features suggest a laccolith emplacement style involving peripheral fracturing and dyking during inner saucer growth and thickening. The branching hierarchy of flow units within bilaterally symmetrical sill complexes is broadly similar to that of primary flow units within a radially symmetrical sill complex, suggesting that the general features of the laccolith emplacement model also apply.Editorial responsibility: J. Stix     

Principal faults in the Shatsky Rise and their influence upon the evolution of the geological structure in the East Black Sea Region

A fault was traced along the southwestern margin of the Shatsky Rise. It extends to land where it crosses the Mountainous Crimea. Interpretation and analysis of marine seismic and magnetic survey data, as well as geological data on land, allow stating that the fault originated during the rift evolution stage of the East Black Sea Basin. Currently, the fault is in the sea and is a channel for migrating hydrocarbon fluids. Another fault was traced from the West Caucasus into the sea, where it separates the Shatsky Rise into two structural units.