Basement-influenced rifting and basin development: a reappraisal of post-Caledonian faulting patterns from the North Coast Transfer Zone, Scotland

Wilson, Robert W.; Holdsworth, R. E.; Wild, L. E.; McCaffrey, Ken; England, Richard; Imber, Jonathan B.; Strachan, Rob

doi:10.1144/sp335.32

Cited by 54 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…In the offshore area these Devonian normal faults appear to detach onto or close to 10–15° dipping reflections interpreted as Caledonian thrusts [ Brewer and Smythe , ; Mcgeary and Warner , ; Cheadle et al ., ; Coward et al ., ; Snyder , ; Bird et al ., ]. In the Orcadian Basin and the West Orkney Basin east and west of the Great Glen Fault (Figure ), very thick (6–7 km) continental Devonian sediments are preserved in large half‐grabens [ Norton et al ., ; Coward , ; Wilson et al ., ]. The East Shetland Platform, however, is considered as the northern extension of the Orcadian Basin, where the thickness of Devonian sediments decreases toward the east and northeast, and pinches out close to the major northern North Sea bounding faults [ Platt , ; Platt and Cartwright , ].…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Basement structure and its influence on the structural configuration of the northern North Sea rift

et al. 2017

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The northern North Sea rift basin developed on a heterogeneous crust comprising structures inherited from the Caledonian orogeny and Devonian postorogenic extension. Integrating two‐dimensional regional seismic reflection data and information from basement wells, we investigate the prerift structural configuration in the northern North Sea rift. Three seismic facies have been defined below the base rift surface: (1) relatively low‐amplitude and low‐frequency reflections, interpreted as pre‐Caledonian metasediments, Caledonian nappes, and/or Devonian clastic sediments; (2) packages of high‐amplitude dipping reflections (>500 ms thick), interpreted as basement shear zones; and (3) medium‐amplitude and high‐frequency reflections interpreted as less sheared crystalline basement of Proterozoic and Paleozoic (Caledonian) origin. Some zones of Seismic Facies 2 can be linked to onshore Devonian shear zones, whereas others are restricted to the offshore rift area. Interpreted offshore shear zones dip S, ESE, and WNW in contrast to W to NW dipping shear zones onshore West Norway. Our results indicate that Devonian strain and ductile deformation was distributed throughout the Caledonian orogenic belt from central South Norway to the Shetland Platform. Most of the Devonian basins related to this extension are, however, removed by erosion during subsequent exhumation. Basement shear zones reactivated during the rifting and locally control the location and geometry of rift depocenters, e.g., in the Stord and East Shetland basins. Prerift structures with present‐day dips >15° were reactivated, although some of the basement shear zones are displaced by rift faults regardless of their orientation relative to rift extension direction.

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Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Basement structure and its influence on the structural configuration of the northern North Sea rift

et al. 2017

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“…PUBLICATIONS Tectonics RESEARCH ARTICLE Despite these complications, complex and long brittle deformation histories of fractured bedrock terranes have been successfully unraveled using detailed geometric and kinematic analysis (e.g., Lacombe et al, 2013;Mattila & Viola, 2014;Navabpour et al, 2017;Phillips & Läufer, 2009;Saintot et al, 2011;Sippel et al, 2010;Viola et al, 2012Viola et al, , 2009Wilson et al, 2006Wilson et al, , 2010. In addition, adding absolute time constraints to specific brittle features by radiometric K-Ar or 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating of synkinematic mineral phases (Tagami, 2012) has turned out to be a valuable step forward in constraining the temporal sequence of brittle deformation episodes in fractured bedrock terranes (e.g., Davids et al, 2013;Ksienzyk et al, 2016;Scheiber et al, 2016;Torgersen et al, 2014;Viola et al, 2016).…”

Section: Scheiber and Viola 1030mentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex Bedrock Fracture Patterns: A Multipronged Approach to Resolve Their Evolution in Space and Time

Scheiber

Viola

2018

Tectonics

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The complex fault and fracture patterns commonly observed in metamorphic terranes are the cumulative expression of repeated episodes of brittle deformation. The temporal sequence of deformation remains, however, often obscure due to the general lack of systematic overprinting relationships and absolute geochronological constraints. Here we present a multipronged approach combining remote sensing, field work, structural analysis, and paleostress inversion with mineralogical characterization and K‐Ar dating of brittle features to develop an evolutionary model for one such complex fracture pattern. We applied this methodological approach to pervasively fractured Early to Middle Ordovician intrusive rocks in the northern Bømlo islands, SW Norway. The local brittle structural record is interpreted as reflecting a sequence of six deformation stages, three ascribable to the Caledonian orogenic cycle and three to the rift evolution of the North Sea. The Caledonian structures are assigned to (1) Late Ordovician NNW‐SSE transpression, (2) Silurian ESE‐WNW compression, and (3) Devonian NW‐SE transtension. The rift‐related structures formed during (4) Permian to Middle Triassic ENE‐WSW extension (~ 290–245 Ma), (5) Late Triassic to Late Jurassic E‐W extension (~ 210–160 Ma), and (6) Early Cretaceous ESE‐WNW extension (~ 125 Ma). The reconstructed gradual rotation of the extensional stress field during the Mesozoic might reflect the continuous northward migration of the rift activity from the North Sea toward the mid‐Norwegian margin. Our multipronged approach may be applied to the unraveling of complex and commonly long brittle histories stored in exhumed metamorphic terranes elsewhere.

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“…On a basin scale, studies have also highlighted the role of preexisting structures in determining the compartmentalization and internal structural architecture of individual rift basins (e.g., E. J. Mortimer et al, ; Phillips et al, ). Most studies that investigated the influence of preexisting metamorphic basement structures (here referred to as basement fabric) on rift development relied on kinematic analysis of geologic field data (e.g., Beacom et al, ; Ring, ; Ring et al, ), interpretation of remote sensing data (e.g., Laó‐Dávila et al, ), interpretation of two‐dimensional crustal‐scale active‐source seismic data (e.g., Wilson et al, ), three‐dimensional active‐source seismic data (e.g., Phillips et al, ), fault plane solutions from passive seismic data (e.g., Hussein et al, ), and numerical and analogue modeling (e.g., Corti et al, ; Morley et al, ). While these approaches produced significant results, recent work also highlighted the importance of high‐resolution aeromagnetic data in understanding the complexity of the influence of basement fabric in the evolution of continental rifts including their nucleation, segmentation, and termination (e.g., Katumwehe et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Deformation of Malawi Rift's North Basin Hinge Zone Modulated by Reactivation of Preexisting Precambrian Shear Zone Fabric

et al. 2018

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We integrated temporal aeromagnetic data and recent earthquake data to address the long‐standing question on the role of preexisting Precambrian structures in modulating strain accommodation and subsequent ruptures leading to seismic events within the East African Rift System. We used aeromagnetic data to elucidate the relationship between the locations of the 2009 Mw 6.0 Karonga, Malawi, earthquake surface ruptures and buried basement faults along the hinge zone of the half‐graben comprising the North Basin of the Malawi Rift. Through the application of derivative filters and depth‐to‐magnetic‐source modeling, we identified and constrained the trend of the Precambrian metamorphic fabrics and correlated them to the three‐dimensional structure of buried basement faults. Our results reveal an unprecedented detail of the basement fabric dominated by high‐frequency WNW to NW trending magnetic lineaments associated with the Precambrian Mughese Shear Zone fabric. The high‐frequency magnetic lineaments are superimposed by lower frequency NNW trending magnetic lineaments associated with possible Cenozoic faults. Surface ruptures associated with the 2009 Mw 6.0 Karonga earthquake swarm aligned with one of the NNW‐trending magnetic lineaments defining a normal fault that is characterized by right‐stepping segments along its northern half and coalesced segments on its southern half. Fault geometries, regional kinematics, and spatial distribution of seismicity suggest that seismogenic faults reactivated the basement fabric found along the half‐graben hinge zone. We suggest that focusing of strain accommodation and seismicity along the half‐graben hinge zone is facilitated and modulated by the presence of the basement fabric.

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Basement-influenced rifting and basin development: a reappraisal of post-Caledonian faulting patterns from the North Coast Transfer Zone, Scotland

Cited by 54 publications

References 77 publications

Basement structure and its influence on the structural configuration of the northern North Sea rift

Basement structure and its influence on the structural configuration of the northern North Sea rift

Complex Bedrock Fracture Patterns: A Multipronged Approach to Resolve Their Evolution in Space and Time

Active Deformation of Malawi Rift's North Basin Hinge Zone Modulated by Reactivation of Preexisting Precambrian Shear Zone Fabric

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