Raising the Resurrection Plate From an Unfolded-Slab Plate Tectonic Reconstruction of Northwestern North America Since Early Cenozoic Time

Fuston, Spencer; Wu, Jonny

doi:10.1130/abs/2021am-370906

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…The region of complex faulting and petit‐spot volcanism that we observe between 159 and 160°W lies updip from the Oct 2020 M7.6 intraplate event, raising the possibility that they could have related origins. Two causes have been proposed for this enigmatic earthquake, which appears to have ruptured a steep fault in the subducting plate that strikes ∼15° and thus orthogonal to the trench: (a) reactivation of remnant spreading features produced at the Kula‐Resurrection ridge, which is now subducted (Fuston & Wu, 2020; Jiang et al., 2022); (b) accumulated shear stresses caused by lateral variability in slab dip and coupling (Herman & Furlong, 2021). In the first case, the 2020 M7.6 event is modeled as right‐lateral strike‐slip motion on an N‐S striking fault dipping steeply to the east (Jiang et al., 2022), with slip distribution and associated aftershocks extending to within 30 km laterally from the zone of complex faulting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controls on Bending‐Related Faulting Offshore of the Alaska Peninsula

Clarke,

Shillington,

Regalla

et al. 2024

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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Oceanic plates experience extensive normal faulting as they bend and subduct, enabling fracturing of the incoming lithosphere. Debate remains about the relative importance of pre‐existing faults, plate curvature and other factors controlling the extent and style of bending‐related faulting. The subduction zone off the Alaska Peninsula is an ideal place to investigate controls on bending faulting as the orientation of the abyssal‐hill fabric with respect to the trench and plate curvature vary along the margin. Here, we characterize faulting between longitudes 161°W and 155°W using newly collected multibeam bathymetry data. We also use a compilation of seismic reflection data to constrain patterns of sediment thickness on the incoming plate. Although sediment thickness increases over 1 km from 156°W to 160°W, most sediments were deposited prior to the onset of bending faulting and thus should have limited impact on the expression of bend‐related fault strikes and throws in bathymetry data. Where magnetic anomalies trend subparallel to the trench (<30°) west of ∼156°W, bending faults parallel magnetic anomalies, implying that bending faults reactivate pre‐existing structures. Where magnetic anomalies are highly oblique (>30°) to the trench east of 156°W, no bending faults are observed. Summed fault throws increase to the west, including where pre‐existing structure orientations are constant (between 157 and 161°W), suggesting that another factor such as the increase in slab curvature must influence bending faulting. However, the westward increase in summed fault throws is more abrupt than expected for gradual changes in slab bending alone, suggesting potential feedbacks between pre‐existing structures, slab dip, and faulting.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controls on Bending‐Related Faulting Offshore of the Alaska Peninsula

Clarke,

Shillington,

Regalla

et al. 2024

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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“…Such predictive uses of slabs can challenge geological interpretations of palaeo-trench locations that are based on poor or ambiguous geological records. A conceptually logical but technically challenging next step is the integration of slab-inferred palaeo-trenches into global models with continuously closing plate boundaries [111][112][113][114] .…”

Section: Palaeosurfaces In the Mantle Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Advances have been driven by the confident resolution of regional slab-scapes into segments on the scale of individual palaeo-arcs (1,000-3,000 km long, 300-700 km wide slabs), across all mantle depths. These advances have allowed imaged slabs to act as input data to resolve the location of palaeo-trenches in fully kinematic models [111][112][113][114] (Fig. 4b).…”

Section: Tomotectonic Reconstructionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deconstructing plate tectonic reconstructions

Seton

Williams²,

Domeier³

et al. 2023

Nat Rev Earth Environ

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The evolving mosaic of tectonic plates across the surface of the Earth sets boundary conditions for the evolution of biotic and abiotic processes and helps shape the dynamics of its interior. Reconstructing plate tectonics back through time allows scientists from a range of disciplines (such as palaeobiology, palaeoclimate, geodynamics and seismology) to investigate Earth evolution through these spatiotemporal dimensions. However, the variety and complexity of plate reconstructions can lead to some of their limitations being overlooked. In this Technical Review, we discuss the domain-specific knowledge underpinning modern quantitative plate reconstructions and convey a set of principles on how to use (but not abuse) the software or results. Open-source plate tectonic reconstruction software, like GPlates, has led to a major shift in working practices, handing non-specialists the tools to develop and integrate reconstructions based on their own datasets and expertise. However, there is no 'one-size-fits-all' and users need to understand what data and underlying assumptions go into making different, sometimes competing reconstruction models. It is therefore essential to consider the many ways reconstructions simplify reality when interpreting them to avoid circular reasoning. Although many aspects of deep-time reconstructions remain unresolved, future work on intercomparisons between models and uncertainty quantification is an essential pathway towards next-generation plate reconstructions. Key points• Plate tectonic reconstructions have evolved from simple, rigid reconstructions to ones that incorporate the time-dependent evolution of plates and their boundaries, deformation and/or the history of subduction from seismic tomography.• Reconstructions can be powerfully predictive for a wide range of disciplines beyond tectonics, including palaeobiology, palaeoclimate, geodynamics and seismology.• With the advent of community-driven, open-source software and tools, plate models have become accessible and practicable to the wider geosciences community.• With this accessibility comes a responsibility for specialists and non-specialists alike to understand how these plate models are built, their weaknesses and pitfalls and how they can be used effectively to ensure correct inferences are made.• When reconstructing the tectonic plates of the Earth, there is no 'one-size-fits-all'. Different data types and techniques are more applicable for different time periods, resolutions and purposes, for example, palaeomagnetics for pre-Pangea time periods.• Important areas of ongoing research include the quantification of uncertainty, incorporation of machine learning techniques and linking reconstructions to physics-based deep Earth models and surface (and/or biogeochemical) models.

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“…The basaltic rocks of the complex have low SiO 2 , relatively high MgO, and high temperature estimates suggesting that the parental magmas of all four suites of the Buck Creek complex were derived by partial melting of a mantle source(s). The trace element characteristics of the rocks include relative depletion of Nb, Ta, and Ti, but enrichment of large-ion-lithophile elements such as Ba and Sr are indicative of subcontinental lithospheric mantle source(s), which was metasomatically enriched by subduction-related processes involving fluids and melts associated with the pre-Bartonian (41.2-37.8 Ma) subduction of the Kula-Farallon and the Farallon-Juan de Fuca plates [48,49].…”

Section: Compositional Variations Within Individual Suites (Fractiona...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Eocene Volcanic Complex from Central British Columbia: The Role of Fractional Crystallization during the Magmatic Evolution

Dostál

Shellnutt

2022

Lithosphere

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The Challis-Kamloops belt of south-central British Columbia is a regionally extensive (>65,000 km2) magmatic province that erupted within the North American Cordillera during the Eocene (55-45 Ma). The inland volcanic belt runs parallel to the coast, and the rocks were emplaced mainly within extensional basins indicating volcanism was attributed to rift-related decompressional melting. The rocks include both calc-alkaline and tholeiitic mafic and intermediate types (i.e., low-Fe, medium-Fe, and high-Fe suites). Voluminous volcanic units (Buck Creek, Goosly Lake, Swans Lake) of the Buck Creek volcanic complex (~3,000 km2 in area) within the Nechako plateau erupted within 1-2 million years and show significant internal chemical variability. All rock types have similar Sr-Nd isotopic (87Sr/86Sri=0.70435-0.70487; εNdt=+2.6-+4.0) ratios indicating they originated from the same sub-Cordilleran mantle source. Petrological modeling using the most primitive rocks of the Buck Creek, Goosly Lake, and Swans Lake magmatic pulses demonstrates that the chemical variability observed in each system can be explained by hydrous fractional crystallization in the upper crust (≤0.1 GPa) under moderately oxidizing to oxidizing conditions (ΔFMQ 0 to +0.7). The primary difference between the low-Fe to medium-Fe (calc-alkaline) Buck Creek suite model and the high-Fe to medium-Fe (tholeiitic) Swans Lake suite model is water content as the Swans Lake model has lower (H2O=0.75 wt.%) starting water than the Buck Creek and also the Goosly Lake models (H2O=1.25-2.00 wt.%). Moreover, the intermediate to silicic rocks of the complexes are compositionally similar to rocks associated with “slab failure” suggesting that rifting and mantle melting were related to asthenospheric upwelling through a slab tear. The implications are that the chemical variability of the rock suites are primarily related to fractional crystallization and that the mantle source is heterogeneous with respect to water content which is likely due to heterogeneities in the processes related to pre-Eocene subduction.

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Raising the Resurrection Plate From an Unfolded-Slab Plate Tectonic Reconstruction of Northwestern North America Since Early Cenozoic Time

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Controls on Bending‐Related Faulting Offshore of the Alaska Peninsula

Controls on Bending‐Related Faulting Offshore of the Alaska Peninsula

Deconstructing plate tectonic reconstructions

Eocene Volcanic Complex from Central British Columbia: The Role of Fractional Crystallization during the Magmatic Evolution

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