Search results for "Plate tectonics"
showing 10 items of 47 documents
Is there a global carbonate layer in the oceanic mantle?
2021
co-auteur étranger; International audience; Previous modeling of carbonate subduction by high‐pressure experimentation has allowed to propose scenarios for bulk carbon return to the mantle, but the detailed transfer mechanisms have seldom been studied. We monitored carbonate – silicate reactions by combining high‐pressure experiments and synchrotron‐based x‐ray diffraction. Carbonates break down at moderate pressure and high temperature and CO2 is trapped at grain boundaries. Further isothermal compression yields melting, which may control continuous carbon introduction, first in the mantle wedge, and next, away from the wedge. Carbon presence has been discussed in a variety of magmatic con…
Submarine morphology of the Comoros volcanic archipelago
2021
co-auteur étranger; International audience; A detailed morpho-bathymetric study of the Comoros archipelago, based on mostly unpublished bathymetric data, provides a first glimpse into the submarine section of these islands. It offers a complete view of the distribution of volcanic structures around the archipelago, allowing to discuss the origin and evolution of this volcanism. Numerous volcanic cones and erosional-depositional features have been recognized throughout the archipelago. The magmatic supply is focused below one or several volcanoes for each island, but is also controlled by lithospheric fractures evidenced by volcanic ridges, oriented along the supposed Lwandle-Somali plate bo…
Detailed record of the mid-Oxfordian (Late Jurassic) positive carbon-isotope excursion in two hemipelagic sections (France and Switzerland): A plate …
2007
14 pages; International audience; The Oxfordian (Late Jurassic) was a time of widespread change in Jurassic marine (carbonate) sedimentation patterns. A marked positive excursion in δ13C is dated as Middle Oxfordian in age. In this study we investigate if changes in carbonate sedimentation coincided with altered carbon cycling and climate. We use C-isotope records as a proxy for the evolution of the carbon cycle and compare δ13C-trends with the evolution of sedimentation in a segment of the opening Tethys seaway. One of the studied sections is located in the Subalpine basin of France (Trescléoux and Oze), the other in the Swiss Jura mountains (Liesberg). Carbon-isotope stratigraphy of carbo…
Accretionary orogens through Earth history
2009
Accretionary orogens form at intraoceanic and continental margin convergent plate boundaries. They include the supra-subduction zone forearc, magmatic arc and back-arc components. Accretionary orogens can be grouped into retreating and advancing types, based on their kinematic framework and resulting geological character. Retreating orogens (e.g. modern western Pacific) are undergoing long-term extension in response to the site of subduction of the lower plate retreating with respect to the overriding plate and are characterized by back-arc basins. Advancing orogens (e.g. Andes) develop in an environment in which the overriding plate is advancing towards the downgoing plate, resulting in th…
Pan African plate tectonics and its repercussions on the crust of northeast Africa
1979
Pan African belts of the African mainland and the Arabian-Nubian Shield exhibit evolutionary features which are either compatible with intracontinental ensialic development or with plate margin and Wilson cycle tectonics during the time period ∼ 1100–500 Ma ago.
Devonian to Permian plate tectonic cycle of the Paleo-Tethys Orogen in southwest China (II): Insights from zircon ages of ophiolites, arc/back-arc as…
2009
Abstract New SHRIMP zircon ages for ophiolites, arc/back-arc assemblages and within-plate igneous rocks constrain the evolution of the Paleo-Tethys Orogen of southwest China. Ophiolites represent remnants of the Paleo-Tethys ocean, which was divided by the Simao terrane into two tracts, the main ocean in the west (current position) and a branch in the east. The main ocean has been inferred to originate from Gondwana break-up in the Early Devonian, and the heritage is preserved as the Changning-Menglian ophiolite (SSZ-type). The oceanic branch is represented by the Ailaoshan (NMORB-type)–Jinshajinag (EMORB-type) ophiolites. Zircons from a diabase and a plagiogranite of the Ailaoshan ophiolit…
Precambrian crustal evolution and continental drift
1981
One of the major questions of Precambrian research is whether present-day plate tectonic models can be applied to the evolution of the ancient continental crust or whether the tectonic style suggests a unidirectional and therefore non-uniformitarian development in response to gradual changes in the global thermal regime through time.
Crust Formation and Plate Motion in the Early Archean
1992
Mounting evidence for voluminous continental crust formation in the early Archean involving intracrustal melting and selective preservation of granitoid rocks suggests that initial crust formation crust formation and growth were predominantly by magmatic underplating in plumegenerated Iceland-type settings. Collision of these early islands to give rise to larger blocks is suggested by extensive horizontal shortening in both supracrustal and granitoid assemblages. Preservation of early Archean high-grade gneisses that were once at depths of 20 to 30 kilometers implies that these blocks developed thick, subcrustal roots despite high mantle heat flow. Rigid continental plates must have existed…
Constraining lithospheric flow.
2016
The motion of Earth's tectonic plates—the lithosphere—is driven by the subduction of relatively cold and dense oceanic plates into the mantle. The resulting forces drive the motions of continental plates, but the manner in which this happens depends on the effective viscosities of the lithosphere and mantle. On page 1515 of this issue, Liu and Hasterok ( 1 ) discuss a novel method of constraining viscosities of the lithosphere from geophysical data.
Seismic Network Evaluation through Simulation: An Application to the Italian National Seismic Network
2011
Abstract A properly organized seismic network is a valuable tool for monitoring seismic zones and assessing seismic hazards. In this paper we propose a new method (seismic network evaluation through simulation, SNES) to evaluate the performance of hypocenter location of a seismic network. The SNES method gives, as a function of magnitude, hypocentral depth, and confidence level, the spatial distribution of the number of active stations in the location procedure and their relative azimuthal gaps, along with confidence intervals in hypocentral parameters. The application of the SNES method also permits evaluation of the magnitude of completeness ( M C ), the background noise levels at the sta…