Tectonic denudation of the upper mantle along passive margins: a model based on drilling results (ODP leg 103, western Galicia margin, Spain)

Boillot, G.; Recq, Maurice; Winterer, Edward L.; Meyer, A.W.; Applegate, J.; Baltuck, Miriam; Bergen, J. A.; Comas, M. C.; Davies, T. A.; Dunham, Keith W; Evans, Cynthia A.; Girardeau, J.; Goldberg, G.; Haggerty, Janet A; Jansa, L. F.; Johnson, Jeffrey A.; Kasahara, Junzo; Loreau, J. P.; Luna-Sierra, E.; Moullade, Michel; Ogg, James G.; Sarti, M.; Thurow, Juergen W; Williamson, M C

doi:10.1016/0040-1951(87)90352-0

Cited by 214 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Lagabrielle et al, 2010), and surrounds the oceanic crust of the North Atlantic and of the Bay of Biscay (e.g. Boillot et al, 1987;Sibuet et al, 2007). The result is a reconstruction consistent with a belt perpendicular N-S oriented convergence postdating an almost ridge perpendicular extensional to transtensional stage, thus fitting the geology of the eastern portion of the Pyrenean orogen and of the Bay of Biscay.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Plate kinematics in the Cantabrian domain of the Pyrenean orogen

Tavani

2012

Solid Earth

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The Cantabrian domain represents the western portion of the Pyrenean orogen, in the area where the Iberian continental lithosphere was subducted toward the north underneath the transitional to oceanic lithosphere of the Bay of Biscay. There, the about 100 km of orogenic convergence have been mostly accommodated in the northern portion of the orogen (i.e. the retro wedge) developed in the Bay of Biscay abyssal plain, while only crustal-scale folding with limited internal deformation occurred in the Cantabrian southern wedge (pro-wedge). Integrated meso- and macrostructural analyses and a reappraisal of available information from the transitional area between the Pyrenean and Cantabrian domains are presented in this work, allowing to set geometric and kinematic constraints on the entire Meso-Cenozoic history of the northern portion of the Iberian Plate, including subduction initiation and evolution in the western portion of the Pyrenean orogen. <br><br> The structural record of the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous deformation stage, which was associated with rifting and seafloor spreading in the Bay of Biscay, indicates a ridge perpendicular (NNE-SSW oriented) extension, with no evidence of relevant strike-slip components during rifting. A Cenozoic NNW-SSE oriented shortening stage followed, related to the limited (about 100 km) north-directed subduction of the Iberian continental lithosphere underneath the transitional to oceanic lithosphere of the Bay of Biscay. Subduction led to the formation of the poorly-developed Cantabrian pro-wedge, which is laterally juxtaposed to the well-developed Pyrenean pro-wedge to the east. During this convergence stage, the structural framework in the Cantabrian pro-wedge, and particularly along its transition with the Pyrenean wedge to the east, was severely complicated by the reactivation of Paleozoic and Mesozoic inherited structures. <br><br> Data presented in this work fully support the development of the Cantabrian Mountains as related to indentation and consequent thickening of the Bay of Biscay transitional lower crust during north-directed subduction of Iberian continental lithosphere. In essence, the Cantabrian pro-wedge is a lithospheric south-verging fault-propagation anticline developing above the subduction plane. The structural record in the area indicates that a lithospheric fault-propagation folding stage was predated, during the very early stages of orogenic shortening, by the development of a lithospheric-scale open syncline overlying the nucleation point of lithosphere sinking. Such a syncline is today partially preserved and represents one of the few natural examples of subduction initiation

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Plate kinematics in the Cantabrian domain of the Pyrenean orogen

Tavani

2012

Solid Earth

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“…Over the last ~15 y, important insights have derived from numerical models (e.g., Burov and Poliakov, 2001;Lavier and Buck, 2002;Lavier and Manatschal, 2006;Beaumont, 2007, 2011) and from observations at mature, magma-poor passive margins (Boillot et al, 1987;Reston et al, 1995;Manatschal et al, 2001;Whitmarsh et al, 2001;Osmundsen and Ebbing, 2008) where activity has ceased, but early synrift stratigraphy is often difficult to image and sample due to deep burial and tectonic overprinting. Instead, this project will study the young, seismically active Corinth rift with a unique existing data set to resolve, at high temporal and spatial resolution, how faults initiate and link, how strain is distributed over time, and how the landscape responds during the first few million years of continental rifting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expedition 381 Scientific Prospectus: Corinth Active Rift Development

McNeill¹,

Shillington²,

Carter³

2017

International Ocean Discovery Program Scientific Prospectus

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Continental rifting is fundamental for the formation of ocean basins, and active rift zones are dynamic regions of high geohazard potential. However, much of what we know from the fault to plate scale is poorly constrained and is not resolved at any level of spatial or temporal detail over a complete rift system. For International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 381, we propose drilling within the active Corinth rift, Greece, where deformation rates are high, the synrift succession is preserved and accessible, and a dense, seismic database provides high-resolution imaging, with limited chronology, of the fault network and of seismic stratigraphy for the recent rift history. In Corinth, we can therefore achieve an unprecedented precision of timing and spatial complexity of rift-fault system development and rift-controlled drainage system evolution in the first 1-2 My of rift history. We propose to determine at a high temporal and spatial resolution how faults evolve, how strain is distributed, and how the landscape responds within the first few million years in a nonvolcanic continental rift, as modulated by Quaternary changes in sea level and climate. High horizontal spatial resolution (1-3 km) is provided by a dense grid of seismic profiles offshore that have been recently fully integrated and are complemented by extensive outcrops onshore. High temporal resolution (~20-50 ky) will be provided by seismic stratigraphy tied to new core and log data from three carefully located boreholes to sample the recent synrift sequence.Two primary themes are addressed by the proposed drilling integrated with the seismic database and onshore data. First, we will examine fault and rift evolutionary history (including fault growth, strain localization, and rift propagation) and deformation rates. The spatial scales and relative timing can already be determined within the seismic data offshore, and dating of drill core will provide the absolute timing offshore, the temporal correlation to the onshore data, and the ability to quantify strain rates. Second, we will study the response of drainage evolution and sediment supply to rift and fault evolution. Core data will define lithologies, depositional systems and paleoenvironment (including catchment paleoclimate), basin paleobathymetry, and relative sea level. Integrated with seismic data, onshore stratigraphy, and catchment data, we will investigate the relative roles and feedbacks between tectonics, climate, and eustasy in sediment flux and basin evolution. A multidisciplinary approach to core sampling integrated with log and seismic data will generate a Quaternary chronology for the synrift stratigraphy down to orbital timescale resolutions and will resolve the paleoenvironmental history of the basin in order to address our objectives.

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“…Our knowledge of the ocean-continent transition (OCT) of magma-poor passive margins has increased significantly since exhumed mantle rocks were first dredged and then drilled during ODP Leg 103 off the Western Iberian margin (Boillot et al 1980(Boillot et al , 1987. A combination of modern high-quality geophysical data, deep sea drilling and comparative studies of analogue areas onshore (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ocean – Continent Transition Zones Along the Appalachian – Caledonian Margin of Laurentia: Examples of Large-Scale Hyperextension During the Opening of the Iapetus Ocean

Chew

Staal

2014

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A combination of deep seismic imaging and drilling has demonstrated that the ocean-continent transition (OCT) of present-day, magma-poor, rifted continental margins is a zone of hyperextension characterized by extreme thinning of the continental crust that exhumed the lowermost crust and/or serpentinized continental mantle onto the seafloor. The OCT on present-day margins is difficult to sample, and so much of our knowledge on the detailed nature of OCT sequences comes from obducted, magma-poor OCT ophiolites such as those preserved in the upper portions of the Alpine fold-and-thrust belt. Allochthonous, lens-shaped bodies of ultramafic rock are common in many other ancient orogenic belts, such as the Caledonian – Appalachian orogen, yet their origin and tectonic significance remains uncertain. We summarize the occurrences of potential ancient OCTs within this orogen, commencing with Laurentian margin sequences where an OCT has previously been inferred (the Dalradian Supergroup of Scotland and Ireland and the Birchy Complex of Newfoundland). We then speculate on the origin of isolated occurrences of Alpine-type peridotite within Laurentian margin sequences in Quebec – Vermont and Virginia – North Carolina, focusing on rift-related units of Late Neoproterozoic age (so as to eliminate a Taconic ophiolite origin). A combination of poor exposure and pervasive Taconic deformation means that origin and emplacement of many ultramafic bodies in the Appalachians will remain uncertain. Nevertheless, the common occurrence of OCT-like rocks along the whole length of the Appalachian – Caledonian margin of Laurentia suggests that the opening of the Iapetus Ocean may have been accompanied by hyperextension and the formation of magma-poor margins along many segments.SOMMAIREDes travaux d’imagerie sismique et des forages profonds ont montré que la transition océan-continent (OCT) de marges continentales de divergence pauvre en magma exposée de nos jours, correspond à une zone d’hyper-étirement tectonique caractérisée par un amincissement extrême de la croûte continentale, qui a exhumé sur le fond marin, jusqu’à la tranche la plus profonde de la croûte continentale, voire du manteau continental serpentinisé. Parce qu’on peut difficilement échantillonner l’OCT sur les marges actuelles, une grande partie de notre compréhension des détails de la nature de l’OCT provient d’ophiolites pauvres en magma d’une OCT obduite, comme celles préservées dans les portions supérieures de la bande plissée alpine. Des masses lenticulaires de roches ultramafiques allochtones sont communes dans de nombreuses autres bandes orogéniques anciennes, comme l’orogène Calédonienne-Appalaches, mais leur origine et signification tectonique reste incertaine. Nous présentons un sommaire des occurrences d’OCT potentielles anciennes de cet orogène, en commençant par des séquences de la marge laurentienne, où la présence d’OCT a déjà été déduites (le Supergroupe Dalradien d’Écosse et d'Irlande, et le complexe de Birchy de Terre-Neuve). Nous spéculons ensuite sur l'origine de cas isolés de péridotite de type alpin dans des séquences de marge des Laurentides du Québec-Vermont et de la Virginie-Caroline du Nord, en nous concentrant sur les unités de rift d'âge néoprotérozoïque tardif (pour éviter les ophiolites du Taconique). La conjonction d’affleurements de piètre qualité et de la déformation taconique omniprésente, signifie que l'origine et la mise en place de nombreuses masses ultramafiques dans les Appalaches demeureront incertaines. Néanmoins, la présence fréquente de roches de type OCT tout le long de la marge Calédonnienne-Appalaches de Laurentia suggère que l'ouverture de l'océan Iapetus peut avoir été accompagnée d’hyper-étirement et de la formation de marges pauvres en magma le long de nombreux segments.

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Tectonic denudation of the upper mantle along passive margins: a model based on drilling results (ODP leg 103, western Galicia margin, Spain)

Cited by 214 publications

References 11 publications

Plate kinematics in the Cantabrian domain of the Pyrenean orogen

Plate kinematics in the Cantabrian domain of the Pyrenean orogen

Expedition 381 Scientific Prospectus: Corinth Active Rift Development

The Ocean – Continent Transition Zones Along the Appalachian – Caledonian Margin of Laurentia: Examples of Large-Scale Hyperextension During the Opening of the Iapetus Ocean

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