The Jan Mayen microplate complex and the Wilson cycle

Schiffer, Christian; Peace, Alexander L.; Phethean, Jordan; Gernigon, Laurent; McCaffrey, K. J. W.; Petersen, K.; Foulger, G. R.

doi:10.1144/sp470.2

Cited by 28 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 184 publications

(290 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Prior to breakup, the proto-North Atlantic was an amalgamation of Archean and Proterozoic terranes (Kerr et al, 1996;St-Onge et al, 2009), with the structures in these preexisting terranes known to have exerted considerable influence on rift evolution (Doré et al, 1997;Ady and Whittaker, 2018;Peace et al, 2018aPeace et al, , 2018bSchiffer et al, 2018a;Heron et al, 2019).…”

Section: Opening Of the North Atlanticmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This question of scale essentially refers to a block that is surrounded by rifts (or spreading centres) rather than a single graben. Although the aforementioned different types of continental fragments have distinct origins and structures, the preservation, and sometimes isolation of such entities is considered to be often highly controlled by structural inheritance (Schiffer et al, 2018b). Moreover, continental fragments have the potential to introduce complexities into conjugate margin studies for reasons that become apparent when considering the structural evolution of the present study area.…”

Section: Continental Fragmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Conjugate margins — An oversimplification of the complex southern North Atlantic rift and spreading system?

Peace

Welford

2020

Interpretation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The prevalence of conjugate margin terminology and studies in the scientific literature is testimony to the contribution that this concept and approach has made to the study of passive margins, and more broadly extensional tectonics. However, when applied to the complex rift, transform, and spreading system of the southern North Atlantic (i.e., the passive margins of Newfoundland, Labrador, Ireland, Iberia, and southern Greenland), it becomes obvious that at these passive continental margin settings, additional geologic phenomena complicate this convenient description. These aspects include (1) the preservation of relatively undeformed continental fragments, (2) formation of transform systems and oblique rifts, (3) triple junctions (with rift and spreading axes), (4) multiple failed rift axes, (5) postbreakup processes such as magmatism, (6) localized subduction, and (7) ambiguity in identification of oceanic isochrons. Comparison of two different published reconstructions of the region indicates the ambiguity in conducting conjugate margin studies. This demonstrates the need for a more pragmatic approach to the study of continental passive margin settings where a greater emphasis is placed on the inclusion of these possibly complicating features in palinspastic reconstructions, plate tectonics, and evolutionary models.

show abstract

Section: Opening Of the North Atlanticmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Continental Fragmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conjugate margins — An oversimplification of the complex southern North Atlantic rift and spreading system?

Peace

Welford

2020

Interpretation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Numerous previous studies have shown the potential for mantle lithosphere structures to control the evolution of shallow tectonics (Balázs et al, 2018;Heron et al, 2019;Jourdon et al, 2017;Pysklywec & Beaumont, 2004;Phillips et al, 2018;Salazar-Mora et al, 2018;Schiffer et al, 2018), highlighting a deep genesis for lithosphere-scale deformation (e.g., Holdsworth et al, 2001;Vauchez et al, 1997). Reactivation of features formed through previous collisional or rifting events (Wilson, 1966) is well established and thought to occur along well-defined, preexisting structures such as faults, shear zones, or lithological contacts (Holdsworth et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Segmentation of Rifts Through Structural Inheritance: Creation of the Davis Strait

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mesozoic‐Cenozoic rifting between Greenland and North America created the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay, while leaving preserved continental lithosphere in the Davis Strait, which lies between them. Inherited crustal structures from a Palaeoproterozoic collision have been hypothesized to account for the tectonic features of this rift system. However, the role of mantle lithosphere heterogeneities in continental suturing has not been fully explored. Our study uses 3‐D numerical models to analyze the role of crustal and subcrustal heterogeneities in controlling deformation. We implement continental extension in the presence of mantle lithosphere suture zones and deformed crustal structures and present a suite of models analyzing the role of local inheritance related to the region. In particular, we investigate the respective roles of crust and mantle lithospheric scarring during an evolving stress regime in keeping with plate tectonic reconstructions of the Davis Strait. Numerical simulations, for the first time, can reproduce first‐order features that resemble the Labrador Sea, Davis Strait, Baffin Bay continental margins, and ocean basins. The positioning of a mantle lithosphere suture, hypothesized to exist from ancient orogenic activity, produces a more appropriate tectonic evolution of the region than the previously proposed crustal inheritance. Indeed, the obliquity of the continental mantle suture with respect to extension direction is shown here to be important in the preservation of the Davis Strait. Mantle lithosphere heterogeneities are often overlooked as a control of crustal‐scale deformation. Here, we highlight the subcrust as an avenue of exploration in the understanding of rift system evolution.

show abstract

“…West of Madagascar, a plate rearrangement led to the formation of the Davie Fracture Zone (DFZ) in the Tanzania Coastal Basin (TCB), overprinting the preexisting spreading center and fracture zones (Phethean et al, ). In Western Australia and the Jan Mayen Ridge near Greenland, changes in extension direction may have resulted in the formation of free‐moving microcontinents (e.g., Heine et al, ; Schiffer et al, ; Stagg et al, ; Whittaker et al, ). Finally, Davison et al () suggest the existence of conjugate zones of compressional deformation along the Romanche Fracture Zone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analogue Modeling of Plate Rotation Effects in Transform Margins and Rift‐Transform Intersections

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Transform margins are first-order tectonic features that accommodate oceanic spreading.Uncertainties remain about their evolution, genetic relationship to oceanic spreading, and general structural character. When the relative motion of the plates changes during the margin evolution, further structural complexity is added. This work investigates the evolution of transform margins and associated rift-transform intersections, using an analogue modeling approach that simulates changing plate motions. We investigate the effects of different crustal rheologies by using either (a) a two-layer brittle-ductile configuration to simulate upper and lower continental crust, or (b) a single layer brittle configuration to simulate oceanic crust. The modeled rifting is initially orthogonal, followed by an imposed plate vector change of 7°that results in oblique rifting and plate overlap (transpression) or underlap (transtension) along each transform margin. This oblique deformation reactivates and overprints earlier orthogonal structures and is representative of natural examples. We find that (a) a transtensional shift in the plate direction produces a large strike-slip principal displacement zone, accompanied by en-echelon oblique-normal faults that accommodate the horizontal displacement until the new plate motion vector is stabilized, while (b) a transpressional shift produces compressional structures such as thrust fronts in a triangular zone in the area of overlap. These observations are in good agreement with natural examples from the Gulf of California (transtensional) and Tanzania Coastal Basin (transpressional) shear margins and illustrate that when these deformation patterns are present, a component of plate vector change should be considered in the evolution of transform margins.Plain Language Summary Tectonic plate boundaries on our planet are categorized by their relative motion with respect to each other. The three main categories are those moving away, toward, and parallel to one another. We study the processes occurring when two tectonic plates moving parallel begin to rotate and move away or toward each other. Currently, this is occurring in the Gulf of California, and in the past, it occurred in areas such as the Southern Atlantic, creating the segmented pattern along its midocean ridge. To study these tectonic plate boundaries, we use sandbox modeling. We make miniature models of the Earth's crust with silicone putty and sand and recreate the same movements that tectonic plates go through. This allows us to understand the structures created in such environments better. The pattern and the height or depth of these structures are related to how fast the plates move. This work can help recognize areas where similar deformation has occurred in the past, which is important for hydrocarbon exploration. It can also assist with geothermal energy exploration, as areas where plates move parallel and away from each other present good opportunities for hotter temperatures in the subsurface.

show abstract

The Jan Mayen microplate complex and the Wilson cycle

Cited by 28 publications

References 184 publications

Conjugate margins — An oversimplification of the complex southern North Atlantic rift and spreading system?

Conjugate margins — An oversimplification of the complex southern North Atlantic rift and spreading system?

Segmentation of Rifts Through Structural Inheritance: Creation of the Davis Strait

Analogue Modeling of Plate Rotation Effects in Transform Margins and Rift‐Transform Intersections

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About