The ZoNéCo 1 and 2 cruises of Ifremer's Research Vessel L'Atalante, collected new swath bathymetry and geophysical data over the southern and northern segments of the basins and ridges forming the Loyalty system. Between the two surveyed areas, previous studies found evidence for the resistance of the Loyalty Ridge to subduction beneath the New Hebrides trench near 22°S–169°E. On the subducted plate, except for seismicity related to the downbending of the Australian plate, recorded shallow seismicity is sparse within the Loyalty system (Ridge and Basin) where reliable focal mechanism solutions are almost absent.Swath bathymetry, seismic reflection and magnetic data acquired during the ZoNéCo 1 and 2 cruises revealed a transverse asymmetric morphology in the Loyalty system, and an along-strike horst and graben structure on the discontinuous Loyalty Ridge. South of 23°50S and at 20°S, the two WSW-ENE-trending fault systems, respectively, sinistral and dextral, that crosscut the southern and northern segments of the Loyalty system, are interpreted as due to the early effects of collision with the New Hebrides Arc. A NNW-SSE trend, evident along the whole Loyalty system and on the island of New Caledonia, is interpreted as an inherited structural trend that may have been reactivated through flexure of the Australian lithospheric plate at the subduction zone.Overall then, the morphology, structure and evolution of the southern and northern segments of the Loyalty system probably result from the combined effects of the Australian plate lithospheric bulge, the active Loyalty-New Hebrides collision and the overthrust of the New Caledonian ophiolite. 相似文献
This study presents a review of published geological data, combined with original observations on the tectonics of the Simplon
massif and the Lepontine gneiss dome in the Western Alps. New observations concern the geometry of the Oligocene Vanzone back
fold, formed under amphibolite facies conditions, and of its root between Domodossola and Locarno, which is cut at an acute
angle by the Miocene, epi- to anchizonal, dextral Centovalli strike-slip fault. The structures of the Simplon massif result
from collision over 50 Ma between two plate boundaries with a different geometry: the underthrusted European plate and the
Adriatic indenter. Detailed mapping and analysis of a complex structural interference pattern, combined with observations
on the metamorphic grade of the superimposed structures and radiometric data, allow a kinematic model to be developed for
this zone of oblique continental collision. The following main Alpine tectonic phases and structures may be distinguished:
1.
NW-directed nappe emplacement, starting in the Early Eocene (~50 Ma);
2.
W, SW and S-verging transverse folds;
3.
transpressional movements on the dextral Simplon ductile shear zone since ~32 Ma;
4.
formation of the Bergell – Vanzone backfolds and of the southern steep belt during the Oligocene, emplacement of the mantle
derived 31–29 Ma Bergell and Biella granodiorites and porphyritic andesites as well as intrusions of 29–25 Ma crustal aplites
and pegmatites;
5.
formation of the dextral discrete Rhone-Simplon line and the Centovalli line during the Miocene, accompanied by the pull-apart
development of the Lepontine gneiss dome – Dent Blanche (Valpelline) depression.
It is suggested that movements of shortening in fan shaped NW, W and SW directions accompanied the more regular NW- to WNW-directed
displacement of the Adriatic indenter during continental collision.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Editorial Handling: Stefan Bucher 相似文献
Experimental investigations in a recirculating wind tunnel of the mechanisms of formation of accretionary lapilli have demonstrated that growth is controlled by collision of liquid-coated particles, due to differences in fall velocities, and binding as a result of surface tension forces and secondary mineral growth. The liquids present on particle surfaces in eruption plumes are acid solutions stable at 100% relative humidity, from which secondary minerals, e.g. calcium sulphate and sodium chloride, precipitate prior to impact of accretionary lapilli with the ground. Concentric grain-size zones within accretionary lapilli build up due to differences in the supply of particular particle sizes during aggregate growth. Accretionary lapilli do not evolve by scavenging of particles by liquid drops followed by evaporation — a process which, in wind tunnel experiments, generates horizontally layered hemispherical aggregates. Size analysis of particles in the wind tunnel air stream and particles adhering to growing aggregates demonstrate that the aggregation coefficient is highly grain-size dependent. Theoretical simulation of accretionary lapilli growth in eruption plumes predicts maximum sizes in the range 0.7–20 mm for ash cloud thicknesses of 0.5–10 km respectively. 相似文献
Ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic terranes reflect subduction of continental crust to depths of 90–140 km in Phanerozoic contractional orogens. Rocks are intensely overprinted by lower pressure mineral assemblages; traces of relict UHP phases are preserved only under kinetically inhibiting circumstances. Most UHP complexes present in the upper crust are thin, imbricate sheets consisting chiefly of felsic units ± serpentinites; dense mafic and peridotitic rocks make up less than 10% of each exhumed subduction complex. Roundtrip prograde–retrograde P–T paths are completed in 10–20 Myr, and rates of ascent to mid-crustal levels approximate descent velocities. Late-stage domical uplifts typify many UHP complexes.
Sialic crust may be deeply subducted, reflecting profound underflow of an oceanic plate prior to collisional suturing. Exhumation involves decompression through the P–T stability fields of lower pressure metamorphic facies. Scattered UHP relics are retained in strong, refractory, watertight host minerals (e.g., zircon, pyroxene, garnet) typified by low rates of intracrystalline diffusion. Isolation of such inclusions from the recrystallizing rock matrix impedes back reaction. Thin-aspect ratio, ductile-deformed nappes are formed in the subduction zone; heat is conducted away from UHP complexes as they rise along the subduction channel. The low aggregate density of continental crust is much less than that of the mantle it displaces during underflow; its rapid ascent to mid-crustal levels is driven by buoyancy. Return to shallow levels does not require removal of the overlying mantle wedge. Late-stage underplating, structural contraction, tectonic aneurysms and/or plate shallowing convey mid-crustal UHP décollements surfaceward in domical uplifts where they are exposed by erosion. Unless these situations are mutually satisfied, UHP complexes are completely transformed to low-pressure assemblages, obliterating all evidence of profound subduction. 相似文献