Search results for "Geophysics"
showing 10 items of 2645 documents
Influence of pre-existing microstructure on mechanical properties of marine ice during compression experiments
2014
AbstractMarine ice is an important component of ice shelves in Antarctica. It accretes in substantial amounts at weak points and below ice shelves. It is likely to exhibit peculiar rheological properties, which are crucial to understanding its potential role in stabilizing ice-shelf flow. Due to its location and consolidation processes, marine ice can present a variety of textures which are likely to influence its rheological properties. We present a new dataset of unconfined uniaxial compression experiments on folded marine ice samples that have been cut at various angles to the folds. Texture and fabric analyses are described ‘before’ and ‘after’ the deformation experiment. It is shown th…
Quantifying the impact of mechanical layering and underthrusting on the dynamics of the modern India-Asia collisional system with 3-D numerical models
2014
The impact of mechanical layering and the strength of the Indian lower crust on the dynamics of the modern India-Asia collisional system are studied using 3-D thermomechanical modeling. The model includes an Indian oceanic domain, Indian continental domain, and an Asian continental domain. Each domain consists of four layers: upper/lower crust, and upper/lower lithospheric mantle. The Tarim and Sichuan Basins are modeled as effectively rigid blocks and the Quetta-Chaman and Sagaing strike-slip faults as vertical weak zones. The geometry, densities, and viscosities are constrained by geophysical data sets (CRUST2.0, gravity, and seismology). Both static (no horizontal movement of model bound…
U-Pb dating of middle Eocene-middle Pleistocene multiple tectonic pulses in the Alpine foreland
2021
Foreland fold-and-thrust belts record long-lived tectonic-sedimentary activity, from passive margin sedimentation, flexuring, and further involvement into wedge accretion ahead of an advancing orogen. Therefore, dating fault activity is fundamental for plate movement reconstruction, resource exploration, or earthquake hazard assessment. Here, we report U-Pb ages of syntectonic calcite mineralizations from four thrusts and three tear faults sampled, at the regional scale, across the Jura fold-and-thrust belt in the northwestern Alpine foreland (eastern France). Four regional tectonic phases are recognized in the middle Eocene-middle Pleistocene interval: (1) pre-orogenic faulting at 44.7&thi…
Two orogenic events separated by 2.6Ga mafic dykes in the Central Zone, Limpopo Belt, southern Africa
2017
Abstract The Limpopo Belt of southern Africa is a typical early Precambrian orogen that experienced two high-grade metamorphic events which are a key for understanding its tectonic evolution. There has been a long-standing debate on whether the Neoarchean (c. 2.65 Ga) or the Palaeoproterozoic (c. 2.0 Ga) tectono-thermal event records continental collision. The clear field relationship between deformed mafic dykes and the surrounding rocks is a powerful tool to help reconstructing the deformation history. Mafic dykes intruded the 3.3–3.1 Ga Sand River Gneiss Suite in the Central Zone of the Limpopo Belt near Musina, South Africa, and were classified in the past into older Causeway dykes and …
Eastern Ancient Terrane of the North China Craton
2016
Based on the spatial distribution of ancient rocks and zircons, three ancient terranee older than ca. 2.6 Ga have recently been identified in the North China Craton, namely the Eastern, Southern, and Central Ancient Terranee. The Eastern Ancient Terrane is the best studied and understood of the three ancient terranes. It has a long geological history back to ca. 3.8 Ga ago and includes the areas of Anshan-Benxi, eastern Hebei, eastern Shandong and western Shandong. In Anshan-Benxi, several different types of 3.8 Ga rocks were discovered together with 3.1–3.7 Ga rocks, whereas 2.9–3.0 Ga K-rich granites and 2.5 Ga syenogranite occur on larger scales. In eastern Hebei, 3.0–3.4 Ga rocks and ol…
The Adamawa-Yadé domain, a piece of Archaean crust in the Neoproterozoic Central African Orogenic belt (Bafia area, Cameroon)
2017
Abstract New field observations, ages and geochemical data are presented for the Adamawa-Yade domain, forming part of Central African Orogenic Belt in Cameroon. This belt delineates the northern margin of the Congo craton and is part of the Braziliano/Pan-African orogenic system, which was formed during amalgamation of the West Gondwana continent at the end of the Neoproterozoic. U–Pb dating indicates that the protoliths of some orthogneisses from the Adamawa-Yade domain were emplaced during three distinct periods. Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite (TTG) suites in the Makenene area intruded at ca. 3.0–2.5 Ga, and were affected by partial melting at ca. 2.08–2.07 Ga, during the Eburnean oro…
Zircon ages, geochemistry and Nd isotopic systematics for the Palaeoproterozoic 2.3–1.8 Ga Kuilyu Complex, East Kyrgyzstan – The oldest continental b…
2017
Abstract Precambrian microcontinents represent key tectonic units in the accretionary collages of the western Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), and their geological history is reasonably well established since the Mesoproterozoic but remains weakly constrained for older epochs due to a scarcity of exposed Palaeoproterozoic and Archaean rocks. Early Precambrian rocks were previously reported from several metamorphic complexes in the Kyrgyz Tianshan orogenic belt, mainly based on multigrain conventional zircon dating, but the present study only confirmed such rocks at one site, namely in the Kuilyu Complex of eastern Kyrgyzstan. New single grain SHRIMP II zircon ages, geochemical data, and …
Improved constraints on open-system processes in fossil reef corals by combined Th/U, Pa/U and Ra/Th dating: A case study from Aqaba, Jordan
2019
Abstract Here we present 230Th/U, 231Pa/U as well as 226Ra/230Th isotope ratios from five fossil reef corals of Last Interglacial origin from the Gulf of Aqaba, Northern Red Sea. The results show clear evidence for open-system behaviour with strongly elevated δ234U values and U concentrations indicating post-depositional U addition. The combined application of all isotope systems enables us to better constrain the nature and timing of the open-system processes than only based on the 230Th/U data. Quantitative modelling of the diagenetic processes allowed us to reproduce the trends in the isotope ratios. Two of the five corals were probably affected by two separate phases of U addition with …
Results of the DEKORP 1 (BELCORP-DEKORP) deep seismic reflection studies in the western part of the Rhenish Massif
1991
Summary Within the DEKORP project (DEKORP: Deutsches Kontinentales Reflexionsseismisches Programm) a joint deep seismic reflection venture with the BELCORP (Belgian Continental Reflection Seismic Programme) group of the Belgian Geological Survey was carried out in 1987 across the Rhenish Massif, a part of the mid-European Variscides. This orogenic belt developed in the Upper Devonian/Carboniferous. Mostly Devonian rocks crop out at the surface. The Rhenish Massif is bordered by two sedimentary troughs: the sub-Variscan Foredeep in the north and the Permo-Carboniferous Saar-Nahe Basin in the south. In the east-west direction it is subdivided by the axial depression of the Eifel Nord-Sud Zone…
Scattering and absorption imaging of a highly fractured fluid-filled seismogenetic volume in a region of slow deformation
2020
Regions of slow strain often produce swarm-like sequences, characterized by the lack of a clear mainshock-aftershock pattern. The comprehension of their underlying physical mechanisms is challenging and still debated. We used seismic recordings from the last Pollino swarm (2010–2014) and nearby to separate and map seismic scattering (from P peak-delays) and absorption (from late-time coda-wave attenuation) at different frequencies in the Pollino range and surroundings. High-scattering and high-absorption anomalies are markers of a fluid-filled fracture volume extending from SE to NW (1.5–6 Hz) across the range. With increasing frequency, these anomalies approximately cover the area where t…