middle miocene to present plate tectonic history of the southern central american volcanic arc abstract new mid miocene to present plate tectonic reconstructions of the southern central american volcanic arc cava reveal that the inception of cocos ridge subduction began no earlier than 3 ma and possibly as late as 2 ma the cocos ridge has been displaced from the malpelo ridge to the southeast since 9 ma along the panama fracture zone pfz system ambiguous pfz and coiba fracture zone cfz interaction since 9 ma precludes conclusively establishing the age of initial cocos ridge subduction detailed reconstructions based on magnetic anomalies offshore reveal several other variations in subduction parameters beneath southern central america that preceded subduction of the cocos ridge including southeastward migration of the nazca cocos caribbean triple junction along the middle america trench mat from 12 ma to present and subduction of 2 km high scarps both parallel and perpendicular to the trench from 6 to 1 ma the timing of changes in subduction processes has commonly been determined by and correlated with geologic changes in the upper plate however reliable 40 ar 39 ar dating of these events has become available only recently abstr programs geol soc am 2002 these new dates better constrain the magmatic and structural history of southern costa rica observations from this data set include a gap in the volcanic record from 11 to 6 ma which coincides temporally with emplacement of most plutons in southern costa rica normal arc volcanism ceased after 3 5 ma in southern costa rica and pliocene mostly 1 5 ma adakite volcanism was widely distributed from central panama to southern costa rica though volumetrically insignificant this new data reveals that many geologic phenomena commonly attributed to subduction and underplating of the buoyant cocos ridge in fact precede inception of cocos ridge subduction and seem to correlate more favorably in time with earlier tectonic events adakite volcanic activity corresponds in space and time with the subduction of a large scarp associated with a tectonic boundary off southern panama regional unconformities and an 11 6 ma gap in arc volcanism match temporally with oblique subduction of the nazca plate beneath central and southern costa rica cessation of volcanic activity low temperature cooling of plutons in the cordillera de talamanca ct and rapid increases in sedimentation in the fore arc and back arc basins coincide with passage of the nazca cocos caribbean triple junction and initiation of subduction of rough crust associated with cocos nazca rifting 3 5 ma closely followed by initial subduction of the cocos ridge 2 3 ma none of the aforementioned geologic events occurred at a time that would allow for underplating by the cocos ridge rather they are probably related to complex interactions with subduction of complicated plates offshore all of the aforementioned events indicate that the southern central american subduction system has been in flux since at least 12 ma

association of hydrogeological factors in temporal variations of fluoride concentration in a crystalline aquifer in india the major part of groundwater in india is found in granitic aquifers fluoride in groundwater from a crystalline aquifer in a semi arid region of granitic rocks in india known as maheshwaram watershed was analyzed for spatial and temporal variability during 1999 2002 to assess the effect of hydrogeological factors on fluoride concentration samples were collected from 32 representative wells in the area for the pre and post monsoon seasons and analyzed for f content the chess computer program was used to calculate ionic activities of aqueous species and the mineral saturation index si for calcite and fluorite the gardenia computer program was used to calculate the recharge values in the study area the influences of dissolution kinetics of fluoride minerals and recharge from rainfall on fluoride concentration were of interest and results clearly indicate that fluoride content in groundwater depends on the interaction period of groundwater with host rock results could also be utilized for designing remedial measures particularly with dilution method in an optimal way

mineral magnetic analyses as a means of lithostratigraphic correlation and provenance indication of glacial diamicts intra and interunit variation mineral magnetic analyses are applied to a series of diamict samples taken from the quaternary sequence in the isle of man in order to assess the relative magnitude of the intra and inter unit variation of the magnetic properties the results are analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively and show that the level of intra unit variation is significantly less than the level of inter unit variation the intra unit variation detected appears to show some relationship to the basic stratigraphy previous correlations based upon field evidence of diamict units exposed upon the east and west coasts of the isle of man are supported by their mineral magnetic properties the statistically significant differences in the magnetic mineralogy of the stratigraphically lower wyllin and shellag tills and the upper orrisdale ballavarkish and ballaquark tills suggests distinct provenances for these two suites of sediments allowing potential source areas to be suggested these source areas are consistent with published data on ice flow directions in the irish sea basin during the devensian

imaging crustal structure in south central costa rica with receiver functions an array of broadband seismometers transecting the talamanca range in southern costa rica was operated from 2005 until 2007 in combination with data from a short period network near quepos in central costa rica this data is analyzed by the receiver function method to image the crustal structure in south central costa rica two strong positive signals are seen in the migrated images interpreted as the moho at around 35 km depth and an intra crustal discontinuity 15 km depth a relatively flat crustal and moho interface underneath the north east flank of the talamanca range can be followed for a lateral distance of about 50 km parallel to the trench with only slight changes in the overall geometry closer to the coast the topography of the discontinuities shows several features most notably a deeper moho underneath the talamanca mountain range and volcanic arc under the highest part of the mountain ranges the moho reaches a depth of about 50 km which indicates that the mountain ranges are approximately isostatically compensated local deviations from the crustal thickness expected for isostatic equilibrium occur under the active volcanic arc and in south costa rica in the transition region between the active volcanic arc and the talamanca range both the moho and intracrustal discontinuity appear distorted possibly related to the southern edge of the active volcanic zone and deformation within the southern part of the central costa rica deformed belt near the volcanoes irazu and turrialba a shallow converter occurs correlating with a low velocity low density body seen in tomography and gravimetry applying a grid search for the crustal interface depth and vp vs ratio cannot constrain vp vs values well but points to generally low values 1 7 in the upper crust this is consistent with quartz rich rocks forming the mountain range

hydrochemistry of groundwater gw and surface water sw for assessment of fluoride in chinnaeru river basin nalgonda district ap india hydrochemical studies were conducted in chinnaeru river basin of nalgonda district andhra pradesh india to explore the causes of high fluorides in groundwater and surface water causing a widespread incidence of fluorosis in local population the concentration of fluoride in groundwater ranges from 0 4 to 2 9 and 0 6 to 3 6 mg l stream water ranges from 0 9 to 3 5 and 1 4 to 3 2 mg l tank water ranges from 0 4 to 2 8 and 0 9 to 2 3 mg l for pre and post monsoon periods respectively the modified piper diagram reflects that the water belongs to ca2 mg2 hco3 to na hco3 facies negative chloroalkali indices in both the seasons prove that ion exchange between na and k in aquatic solution took place with ca2 and mg2 of host rock the interpretation of plots for different major ions and molar ratios suggest that weathering of silicate rocks and water rock interaction is responsible for major ion chemistry of groundwater surface water high fluoride content in groundwater was attributed to continuous water rock interaction during the process of percolation with fluorite bearing country rocks under arid low precipitation and high evaporation conditions the low calcium content in rocks and soils and the presence of high levels of sodium bicarbonate are important factors favouring high levels of fluoride in waters the basement rocks provide abundant mineral sources of fluoride in the form of amphibole biotite fluorite mica and apatite

role of viscous plate coupling in the late tertiary andean tectonics 1 plate coupling between oceanic and continental plates in convergent margins of andean type is analyzed from the continuum mechanics approach we postulate a simple mechanism that accounts for the compressive regime in andean type environments in this mechanism deformation in the continental lithosphere is split into two distinctive domains the forearc domain and the arc foreland domain the forearc deformation is controlled by the balance between buoyancy forces associated with the trench and continental slope relief and the stress transferred from the convergence velocity through the age and velocity dependent slip zone the arc foreland deformation is controlled by the absolute plate velocity of the continental plate and the resistance at the slip zone strength of the coupling zone is determined by analyzing the dynamic trench topography along the active margin of south america between 0 and 55 s using this approach we found strength values in the range of 20 95 mpa in strong direct correlation with the age of the subducting plate the slip layer strength observation has been successfully tested against a thermal and strain rate dependent rheological model from this theoretical result we define an empirical relationship between strength of the slip zone and the age and convergence velocity applying this plate coupling model we reproduce shortening rates in the order of 1 10 km myr in agreement with those reported for the late tertiary evolution of the andes model results reproduce some first order features of the geological evolution of the margin such as the shape of the trench the overall andes relief the altiplano buildup and block rotation patterns in addition the model provides a mechanism to explain the evolution of the central depression the inversion of tertiary basins under slow convergence rates during the miocene and the segmentation of the margins tectonic erosion

relative motion of the nazca farallon and south american plates since late cretaceous time by combining reconstructions of the south american and african plates the african and antarctic plates the antarctic and pacific plates and the pacific and nazca plates we calculated the relative positions and history of convergence of the nazca and south american plates despite variations in convergence rates along the andes periods of rapid convergence averaging more than 100 mm a between the times of anomalies 21 49 5 ma and 18 42 ma and since anomaly 7 26 ma coincide with two phases of relatively intense tectonic activity in the peruvian andes known as the late eocene incaic and mio pliocene quechua phases the periods of relatively slow convergence 50 to 55 30 mm a at the latitude of peru and less farther south between the times of anomalies 30 31 68 5 ma and 21 and between those of anomalies 13 36 ma and 7 correlate with periods during which tectonic activity was relatively quiescent thus these reconstructions provide quantitative evidence for a correlation of the intensity of tectonic activity in the overriding plate at subduction zones with variations in the convergence rate

extension and rotation of crustal blocks in northern central america and effect on the volcanic arc sinistral displacements across the north american caribbean plate boundary in northern central america are distributed among major arcuate faults that have been active in neogene time south of the jocotan and motagua faults in guatemala extensional tectonics has accompanied rotation of the trailing edge of the caribbean plate around these faults segmentation of the volcanic arc in northern central america hitherto attributed to transverse breaks in the subducting cocos plate may instead be a result of this block rotation accompanying changes along the arc are observed in seismicity gravity anomaly patterns volume and composition of volcanic products and topography therefore the complex volcano tectonic geology south of the main boundary faults may be explained by interaction and rotation of crustal blocks in the overriding caribbean plate above the magma production zone along the downgoing cocos slab

intraplate lithosphere strength and heat flow the magnitude levels of intraplate stresses and the strength of intraplate lithosphere are critical for understanding the mechanisms of intraplate deformation the decay of stress in the ductile lower lithosphere and its resulting amplification in the brittle upper lithosphere constitute an important mechanism for providing stress levels in the upper brittle lithosphere sufficient for fracture such stress transfer and the subsequent lithosphere deformation are controlled by lithosphere rheology a model is examined here for the deformation of viscoelastic lithosphere with temperature and stress dependent rheology subjected to laterally applied stress for different lithosphere thermal structures the geotherm is found to be of critical importance in determining the strength of the lithosphere and the extent of the resulting lithosphere deformation for lithosphere with heat flow 75 mw m 2 0 25 kbar tensile stress is sufficient to cause geologically significant deformation while for compressional deformation either greater stress levels or a hotter lithosphere are necessary

hydrogeochemistry of sodium bicarbonate type bedrock groundwater in the pocheon spa area south korea water rock interaction and hydrologic mixing the pocheon spa land area south korea occurs in a topographically steep fault bounded basin and is characterized by a hydraulic upwelling flow zone of thermal water up to 44 c in its central part hydrogeochemical and environmental isotope data for groundwater in the study area suggested the occurrence of two distinct water types a ca hco3 type and a na hco3 type the former water type is characterized by relatively high concentrations of ca so4 and no3 which show significant temporal variation indicating a strong influence by surface processes in contrast the na hco3 type waters have high and temporally constant temperature ph tds na cl hco3 and f indicating the attainment of a chemical steady state with respect to the host rocks granite and gneiss oxygen hydrogen and tritium isotope data also indicate the differences in hydrologic conditions between the two groups the relatively lower 18o d and tritium values for na hco3 type waters suggest that they recharged at higher elevations and have comparatively long mean residence times considering the geologic and hydrogeologic conditions of the study area na hco3 type waters possibly have evolved from ca hco3 type waters mass balance modeling revealed that the chemistry of na hco3 type water was regulated by dissolution of silicates and carbonates and concurrent ion exchange particularly low ca concentrations in na hco3 water was mainly caused by cation exchange multivariate mixing and mass balance modeling m3 modeling was performed to evaluate the hydrologic mixing and mass transfer between discrete water masses occurring in the shallow peripheral part of the central spa land area where hydraulic upwelling occurs based on q mode factor analysis and mixing modeling using phreeqc an ideal mixing among three major water masses surface water shallow groundwater of ca hco3 type deep groundwater of na hco3 type was proposed m3 modeling suggests that all the groundwaters in the spa area can be described as mixtures of these end members after mixing the net mole transfer by geochemical reaction was less than that without mixing therefore it is likely that in the hydraulic mixing zone geochemical reactions are of minor importance and therefore that mixing regulates the groundwater geochemistry

ocean basin evolution and global scale plate reorganization events since pangea breakup we present a revised global plate motion model with continuously closing plate boundaries ranging from the triassic at 230 ma to the present day assess differences among alternative absolute plate motion models and review global tectonic events relatively high mean absolute plate motion rates of approximately 9 10 cm yr 1 between 140 and 120 ma may be related to transient plate motion accelerations driven by the successive emplacement of a sequence of large igneous provinces during that time an event at 100 ma is most clearly expressed in the indian ocean and may reflect the initiation of andean style subduction along southern continental eurasia whereas an acceleration at 80 ma of mean rates from 6 to 8 cm yr 1 reflects the initial northward acceleration of india and simultaneous speedups of plates in the pacific an event at 50 ma expressed in relative and some absolute plate motion changes around the globe and in a reduction of global mean plate speeds from about 6 to 4 5 cm yr 1 indicates that an increase in collisional forces such as the india eurasia collision and ridge subduction events in the pacific such as the izanagi pacific ridge play a significant role in modulating plate velocities

geomorphic and exhumational response of the central american volcanic arc to cocos ridge subduction 1 the timing of collision of the cocos ridge at the middle america trench remains one of the outstanding questions in the tectonic evolution of the central american convergent margin new analyses of the tectonic geomorphology of the cordillera de talamanca the extinct volcanic arc inboard of the cocos ridge coupled with low temperature thermochronometry data provide insight into the cooling and erosional history of the arc from late miocene to present we identify a low relief surface at high elevation along the northeastern flanks of the range which represents a relict erosional landscape cut across shallow plutonic rocks of the arc edifice longitudinal profiles of rivers on this surface are isolated from steep downstream sections by prominent knickzones that are interpreted to reflect a migrating wave of transient incision generated during differential rock uplift of the range reconstruction of pre incision profiles suggests that rock uplift during the growth of the cordillera de talamanca is no greater than 2 km this inference is corroborated by results from our apatite u th he and apatite fission track analyses along an elevation transect on mt chirripo the highest mountain in the cordillera de talamanca low temperature cooling ages overlap significantly with published high temperature40ar 39ar ages the combined results imply that rapid cooling in the late miocene was related to secular cooling of a shallow pluton rather than exhumation our results imply that rapid incision along downstream channel segments differential rock uplift and growth of the talamanca as a bivergent orogenic wedge associated with the onset of cocos ridge subduction are relatively young characteristics of the range a review of previously published radiometric ages and revised plate reconstructions for the late miocene further suggest that the cessation of arc volcanism in both the cordillera de talamanca and the cordillera central of western panama was coeval with the initiation of oblique subduction of the nazca plate during the late miocene thus we conclude that the cessation of arc volcanism in the late miocene 5 8 ma and the onset of cocos ridge collision 3 ma are separate events that reflect recent changes in the configuration of the plate boundary system

tectono magmatic response to major convergence changes in the north patagonian suprasubduction system the paleogene subduction transcurrent plate margin transition abstract the southern and central andes reflect significant along strike differences of tectonic activity including shortening alternating flat to normal subduction styles and magmatism in northern patagonia the subduction supra subduction system fore arc arc and back arc basins developed in an extensional setting during the paleogene this was accompanied by landward migration of calc alkalic magmatism which changed to synextensional bimodal volcanism of rhyolitic ignimbrites and interbedded tholeiitic and alkalic basalts these paleogene events occurred during a time when the farallon aluk active ridge reached the south american plate and the farallon plate subduction was interrupted they represent a new tectonic regime characterized by a transcurrent plate margin the presence in the back arc of a rigid lithospheric block of 100 000 km 2 represented by the north patagonian massif focused the rotation of the coastal blocks this resulted in the development of two paleogene extensional regions to the north and south respectively of the massif and replaced the former back arc plate rearrangement caused by the inauguration of the nazca plate and its regime of orthogonal subduction at the beginning of the miocene re established typical calc alkaline arc magmatism at the former upper cretaceous arc locus present seismic activity in the subducted plate and tomographic modeling of p wave velocity anomalies in the upper mantle also suggest the presence of a subduction gap that lasted for most of the paleogene in northern patagonia

late miocene to recent plate tectonic history of the southern central america convergent margin new plate reconstructions constrain the tectonic evolution of the subducting cocos and nazca plates across the southern central american subduction zone from late miocene to recent because of the strong relationships between lower and upper caribbean plate dynamics along this margin these constraints have wide ranging implications for the timing and growth of upper plate deformation and volcanism in southern central america the reconstructions outline three important events in the neogene history of this margin 1 the coeval development of the panama triple junction with the initiation of oblique subduction of the nazca plate at 8 5 ma 2 the initiation of seamount and rough crust subduction beginning at 3 4 ma and 3 cocos ridge subduction from 2 to 3 ma a comparison of these events with independent geologic geomorphic volcanic and stratigraphic data sets reveals that the timing rates and origin of subducting crust directly impacted the neogene growth of upper plate deformation and volcanism in southern central america these analyses constrain the timing geometry and causes of a number of significant tectonic and volcanic processes including rapid plio quaternary arc fore arc contraction due to cocos ridge subduction the detachment of the panama microplate at 1 3 ma and the late miocene cessation of mantle wedge derived volcanism across 300 km of the subduction zone

plate reconstructions aseismic ridges and low angle subduction beneath the andes low angle subduction segments beneath peru and chile are believed to represent interaction of the subduction zone with the aseismic nazca and juan fernandez ridges on the basis of symmetric sea floor spreading models and plate hotspot reconstructions predicted continuations of the relatively buoyant ridges correspond well with the limits of the low angle subduction segments further the history of interaction of the aseismic ridges with the subduction zone as predicted by plate reconstructions is not inconsistent with available information on volcanic episodes of the andes if the contemporary correlation of volcanic gaps and low angle subduction is also applicable to the rest of the late cenozoic the occurrence of deep seismicity beneath the eastern flanks of the andes is also believed to reflect the effects of low angle subduction the deep seismic segments are adjacent to segments which are presently or were recently experiencing low angle subduction thus the deep seismicity is interpreted as representative of remnants of normal oceanic lithosphere subducted before interaction of aseismic ridges with the subduction zone other geologic phenomena are associated with low angle subduction beneath south america including landward shift in loci of tectonism surficial subsidence and laramide style deformation the aseismic ridge buoyancy hypothesis appears to be a valuable predictive tool for the interpretation of such geologic effects

neotectonic development of western nicaragua this study presents a reconstruction of the neotectonic evolution of western nicaragua by means of structural analysis of outcrop scale joints faults and bedding planes integrated with macroscale structures the results indicate three clearly separable deformation phases which are closely related to specific volcanic events and account for the major tectonic features of nicaragua the first deformation phase was a late miocene to early pliocene shortening that produced the pacific plain anticlines and controlled the contemporaneous extrusion of the el coyol group volcanic rocks the second phase active between the pliocene and the pleistocene resulted in extensional structures such as the 500 km long and 50 km wide nw se trending nicaragua depression this phase was accompanied by a gradual trenchward migration of the volcanic activity responsible for the formation of the las sierras group the third deformation phase is still active and is responsible for the present shallow focus seismic activity associated with n s trending volcanic vents and the n s managua pull apart graben the neotectonic development of western nicaragua as interpreted here is closely related to the contemporaneous evolution of the neighboring areas of guatemala south of the jocotan fault honduras el salvador and costa rica north of the valle central the valle central of costa rica represents the southern boundary of this structurally homogeneous domain and may indicate the southern boundary of the neogene chortis block changes in deformation style and the trenchward migration of volcanism which occurred during the pliocene may indicate an increase in the subduction angle of the cocos plate and may also be correlated to pliocene shortening of jamaica and hispaniola

mechanism of fluoride enrichment in groundwater of hard rock aquifers in medak telangana state south india a total of 194 groundwater samples were collected from wells in hard rock aquifers of the medak district south india to assess the distribution of fluoride in groundwater and to determine whether this chemical constituent was likely to be causing adverse health effects on groundwater user in the region the study revealed that the fluoride concentration in groundwater ranged between 0 2 and 7 4 mg l with an average concentration of 2 7 mg l about 57 of groundwater tested has fluoride concentrations more than the maximum permissible limit of 1 5 mg l the highest concentrations of fluoride were measured in groundwater in the north eastern part of the medak region especially in the siddipeta chinnakodur nanganoor and dubhaka regions the areas are underlain by granites which contain fluoride bearing minerals like apatite and biotite due to water rock interactions the fluoride has become enriched in groundwater due to the weathering and leaching of fluoride bearing minerals the ph and bicarbonate concentrations of the groundwater are varied from 6 6 to 8 8 and 18 to 527 mg l respectively high fluoride concentration in the groundwater of the study area is observed when ph and the bicarbonate concentration are high data plotted in gibbs diagram show that all groundwater samples fall under rock weathering dominance group with a trend towards the evaporation dominance category an assessment of the chemical composition of groundwater reveals that most of the groundwater samples have compositions of ca2 mg2 cl ca2 na hco3 ca2 hco3 na hco3 this suggests that the characteristics of the groundwater flow regime long residence time and the extent of groundwater interaction with rocks are the major factors that influence the concentration of fluoride it is advised not to utilize the groundwater for drinking purpose in the areas delineated and they should depend on alternate safe source

dissolution of fluoride in groundwater a water rock interaction study fluoride rich groundwater is well known in granite aquifers in india and the world although its presence is necessary chances of health risk become high if the fluoride concentration is more than the permissible limit of 1 5 mg l world health organization who in drinking water fluoride mainly occurs in groundwater as a natural constituent results of a laboratory study on water rock interaction at normal temperature pressure and different chemical conditions indicate that the specific conductivity ph ca and hco3 are important chemical parameters for the dissolution of fluoride to groundwater from fluoride rich minerals e g fluorite experimental results indicate that an alkaline medium ph 7 6 to 8 6 high hco3 concentration ranging from 350 450 mg l and moderate specific conductivity ranging from 750 1 750 s cm are favourable for fluoride dissolution no significant correlation existed between fluoride and cahco3

mid cretaceous polar standstill of south america motion of the atlantic hotspots and the birth of the andean cordillera article i nfo a paleomagnetic study on mid cretaceous rocks from the san bernardo foldbelt patagonia yields high unblocking temperature and high coercivity magnetizations the results indicate absence of relative vertical axis rotations during development of the foldbelt with the associated pole position being highly concordant with coeval poles from brazil and patagonia taken together mid cretaceous poles derived from studies in widely distributed localities provide supportive evidence that south america was essentially motionless with respect to the paleomagnetic axis from ca 125 to at least 100 ma the paleolatitudes of south america are not consistent with the occurrence of mid cretaceous true polar wander suggesting that the previously observed discrepancy between the paleomagnetic and the fixed indo atlantic hotspot reference frames be related to motion of the atlantic hotspots in agreement with this the discrepancy is diminished by half when the cretaceous poles of the americas are observed in a moving hotpots reference frame with the residual offset being comparable to that seen for younger time intervals the south american paleopoles and the moving hotspot framework provide a kinematic scenario that allows relating the extensional tectonics in the early stages of andean evolution with episodic divergence between the trench and the continental interior likewise the beginning of contractional events correlates with model predicted westward acceleration of south america in the late cretaceous suggesting that the continent episodically overrode the andean trench by those times we argue that this change in andean tectonic regime is associated to major plate reorganization at ca 95 ma

geochemical appraisal of fluoride contamination of groundwater in the nayagarh district of orissa india the occurrence of high concentrations of fluoride in groundwater 1 5 mg l in the villages of singhpur and sagaragan in the nayagarh district of orissa and its relation with the fluoride rich hot spring water 10 mg l located nearby have been studied the composition of the hot spring water is very comparable to the other thermal waters of the world thermodynamic considerations show that more than 65 of the groundwater and hot spring water samples are oversaturated with calcite and only four samples are oversaturated with fluorite fluoride concentration shows a positive relation to sodium bicarbonate and ph and a negative relation to calcium and magnesium in fluoride rich groundwater and hot spring water principal component analysis shows that the fluoride rich groundwater was produced due to a mixing of hot spring water with the surrounding groundwater studies of the saturation index of fluorite with log electrical conductivity also indicate mixing of hot spring water with the surrounding groundwater the spatial distribution of fluoride in groundwater follows the topography of the area

ridge collision slab window formation and the flux of pacific asthenosphere into the caribbean realm mantle wedge derived arc volcanism ceased in southern costa rica after ca 8 ma because of subduction of the aseismic cocos ridge beneath the central american arc and the subsequent opening of a slab window geochemical and isotopic compositions of small volumes of adakitic and alkalic backarc lavas erupted between 5 8 and 2 ma identify a source derived from the galapagos plume the presence of this source is explained by an influx of pacific upper mantle into the caribbean mantle wedge through a slab window where the alkalic rocks form by melting of the upwelling mantle and the adakites result from melting of the leading edge of the subducted cocos ridge by using geochemical and isotopic signatures we trace this upper mantle flow beneath central america from southern costa rica northward at a rate of 40 mm yr

active thrusting in the inner forearc of an erosive convergent margin pacific coast costa rica 1 structural and geomorphic analyses of the fila costena thrust belt in southwest costa rica indicate active thrusting within the inner forearc the fila costena exposes three major thrust faults that imbricate the late tertiary forearc basin sequence of the terraba basin the frontal thrust of the fila costena marks the boundary between an uplifting inner forearc and a subsiding outer forearc with only local uplift astride the indenting cocos ridge on the basis of surface constraints a cross section across the thrust belt suggests that all three thrusts flatten into parallelism with a low angle decollement horizon near the contact between the basement and the cover sequence of the terraba basin this decollement lies at a depth of 4 km the minimum shortening recorded by restoration of fault related folds is 17 km or 45 observations of late tertiary marine sediments tilted and faulted late quaternary fluvial terraces and raised holocene marine terraces indicate that fila costena uplift was likely initiated in the quaternary and is ongoing given that the coastal mountains are separated from the talamanca range by a valley the decollement that delaminates the forearc basin from the underthrusting forearc must continue as a flat beneath the valley but must link with the plate boundary along a crustal scale ramp system a structural geometry that has resulted in uplift of the talamanca range the highest peaks in central america the dichotomy between uplift in the inner forearc and subsidence in the outer forearc is explained in terms of the response of an arcward thickening wedge to rough subducting crust index terms 8150 tectonophysics plate boundary general 3040 8123 tectonophysics dynamics seismotectonics 8010 structural geology fractures and faults 8015 structural geology local crustal structure 8005 structural geology folds and folding

deformation style and basin fill architecture of the offshore limon back arc basin costa rica abstract the limon back arc basin located at the eastern coast of costa rica is part of the southern central american arc trench system basin evolution started in late cretaceous times as response to the onset of the subduction of the farallon plate below the caribbean plate the limon basin can be subdivided into a northern and a southern sub basin separated by the e w trending trans isthmic fault system a regional grid of offshore seismic lines allows the comparative analysis of the basin fill architecture and the deformation style in both sub basins the northern sub basin shows exclusively normal faults the basin fill architecture resembles a passive continental margin setting showing a distinct wedge shaped geometry and seaward propagating depositional units the area of the rio san juan delta is characterized by gravity driven deltaic deformation exhibiting a series of listric growth faults both on the shelf and in slope areas in contrast to the northern basin the southern sub basin is characterized by the development of thin skinned fold and thrust belt tectonics best recorded in concentric or asymmetric hangingwall anticlines separated by listric or planar southwestward dipping thrust faults due to the pronounced ne propagating of folding the shelf is broader and the slopes are steeper in the southern sub basin compared with the northern sub basin thus both sub basins show a very different tectonic style in the north limon basin an extensional regime established whereas in the south limon basin compression dominated however in both sub basins the basal detachment is probably controlled by a lithological change from limestone to shale

extinct spreading on the cocos ridge using recently acquired marine magnetic data and existing magnetic and bathymetric data sets together with odp leg 170 age determinations we present a revised plate tectonic model for the southern cocos and northern nazca plate area according to this model the formation of the southern cocos plate was governed by spreading at different ridge axes with alternations between spreading ridges producing a complex magnetic anomaly pattern in the cocos and malpelo ridge area we have identified two precursors of the recently active cocos nacza spreading system which were active from 22 8 to 14 7 ma with a change in spreading direction from nw se to ene wsw at 19 5 ma the oceanic crust of these abandoned spreading systems was subsequently thickened and overprinted by hotspot volcanism that formed the cocos and malpelo ridges the centre of this hotspot volcanism is about 500 km away from but most probably related to the galapagos hotspot

plate motions slab dynamics and back arc deformation back arc extension or compression is often related to a particular behavior of the slab dip change and or forward backward migration with respect to the upper plate slabs act either passively when anchored in the deep mantle whereas back arc deformation accommodates the backward or forward motion of the upper plate with respect to the trench or actively when slab pull increasing with slab age forces the trench to rollback in addition to these two mechanisms i e slab anchor and slab rollback numerous observations support the existence of dynamic mantle flow that can exert an overpressure on one side of the slab causing its forward or rearward migration with respect to the arc based on a compilation of upper plate absolute motion trench absolute motion back arc deformation rate upper plate strain regime and slab age for all oceanic subduction zones excluding any kind of collision with continents arcs or plateaus we have examined how the combined effects of these parameters can account for the observed back arc deformations our main results are 1 a global correlation exists between upper plate absolute motion and back arc deformation i e back arc extension when upper plate retreats and vice versa 2 there are as many advancing trenches as retreating ones with trench motion globally limited to 50 mm y 1 furthermore there is no positive correlation between trench retreat and slab age and 3 upper plate absolute motion often fails to explain the back arc deformation rates and the trench motions observed at several subduction zones as tonga new hebrides sandwich or ryukyu we propose that the trench migration of these subduction zones are on the influence of mantle flows we conclude that spontaneous trench rollback related to slab pull is negligible with respect to upper plate motion back arc deformation regime is mostly controlled by the upper plate absolute motion relative to a partly anchored slab trench motion is limited to 50 mm y 1 even if locally mantle flows force slab to move

fracturing of the panamanian isthmus during initial collision with south america tectonic collision between south america and panama began at 23 25 ma the collision is significant because it ultimately led to development of the panamanian isthmus which in turn had wide ranging oceanic climatic biologic and tectonic implications within the panama canal zone volcanic activity transitioned from hydrous mantle wedge derived arc magmatism to localized extensional arc magmatism at 24 ma and overall marks a permanent change in arc evolution we interpret the arc geochemical change to result from fracturing of the panama block during initial collision with south america fracturing of the panama block led to localized crustal extension normal faulting sedimentary basin formation and extensional magmatism in the canal basin and bocas del toro synchronous with this change both panama and inboard south america experienced a broad episode of exhumation indicated by u th he and fission track thermochronology coupled with changing geographic patterns of sedimentary deposition in the colombian eastern cordillera and llanos basin such observations allow for construction of a new tectonic model of the south america panama collision northern andes uplift and panama orocline formation finally synchroneity of panama arc chemical changes and linked uplift indicates that onset of collision and isthmus formation began earlier than commonly assumed

evolution of geochemical variations along the central american volcanic front 1 new geochemical analyses of volcanic rocks in el salvador add to existing data from nicaragua and costa rica to create a comprehensive set of geochemical data for central american volcanics these data coupled with previously published 40ar 39ar ages covering the past 30 ma show that costa rica and nicaragua had similar u th and ba la values until 10 ma when the region developed the distinctive along arc variations that made this margin famous u th values increased in nicaragua since the miocene while remaining unchanged along the rest of the volcanic front this coincides temporally with the carbonate crash which caused a transition in cocos plate sediments from low u carbonates to high u organic rich hemipelagic muds increases in uranium are not observed in costa rica because its lower slab dip produces a more diffuse zone of partial melting and because of the contribution from galapagos derived tracks dilutes this signal ba la has been used as a geochemical proxy for contributions from the subducting slab however our analyses indicate that the ba concentrations do not vary significantly along strike either in the subducting sediment or the volcanic front along arc variation is controlled by changes in la an indicator of the degree of partial melting or source enrichment trace element models of five segments of the volcanic front suggest that a subducting sediment component is more important to magmas produced in el salvador and nicaragua than in costa rica where the geochemistry is controlled by recent 10 ma recycling of galapagos tracks

birth of an intraoceanic spreading center the cocos nazca spreading center is one of the few examples of the formation of a spreading center by splitting of oceanic lithosphere it was created when the farallon plate broke up in the early miocene following the collision of the pacific farallon spreading center with the north american continent much of the ancient farallon plate corresponding to the area of opening is lost to subduction beneath central america and south america but new data from the conjugate area on the pacific plate allow the first detailed reconstruction of the break up process the opening began after chron 7 25 ma at a location of focused crustal extension caused by overlapping spreading centers that had evolved in response to a slight reorientation of a pacific farallon ridge segment beginning at chron 6b 22 7 ma eastward progressing seafloor spreading started along an axis that most likely migrated toward the region of weak lithosphere created by the galapagos hotspot by chron 6 19 5 ma plate splitting from the spreading center to the trench was complete allowing the fully detached cocos and nazca plates to move independently this kinematic change resulted in a significant ridge jump of the newly established pacific nazca spreading center a change in plate motion direction of the nazca plate by 20 clockwise and a large increase in pacific cocos plate velocity in the middle miocene

constraints on inner forearc deformation from balanced cross sections fila costena thrust belt costa rica 1 the fila costena thrust belt in the forearc of costa rica is accommodating a significant portion of the convergence of the cocos plate and panama microplate geologic mapping of the thrust belt depicts a duplex with three horses that incorporate eocene limestones and oligocene to early miocene clastics inboard of the subducting cocos ridge axis by constructing a cross section at this location along a ne sw trending transect perpendicular to the thrust belt we constrain a shortening rate of approximately 40 mm a and propose that as much as 50 of the total plate convergence rate is taken up in the inner forearc the eocene limestones at the base of the thrust sheets pinch out in both directions away from the onland projection of the cocos ridge axis owing to decrease in slip on faults and a lateral ramp in the basal decollement the thrust belt terminates near the panama border at the onland projection of the subducting panama fracture zone these observations suggest that shortening is propagating to the east with the migration of the panama triple junction and the onset of shallow subduction of the thickened edge of the cocos plate the absence of similar features in the nicaraguan forearc where the subducting crust is older subducts more steeply and lacks incoming ridges and seamounts indicates that deformation of the forearc basin in costa rica reflects greater coupling between the converging plates inboard of the cocos ridge

melange formation by subduction erosion the case of the osa melange in southern costa rica the convergent plate margin off the osa peninsula in southern costa rica is characterized by the indentation of the cocos ridge at 4 5 ma the indentation causes the uplift of the osa melange which we interpret to represent an exhumed major channel for the transport of tectonically eroded material down into the subduction zone we present evidence that similar to the nicoya segment of the costa rica convergent margin subduction erosion rather than accretion has been the dominant process along the plate boundary the composition of the osa melange is dominated by tectonized material of the upper plate nicoya ophiolite complex basalt radiolarite limestone strong deformation is concentrated in numerous discrete shear zones and produced the layered fabric of large rock volumes which partly experienced temperatures 200 c we thus interpret the osa melange to be a product of subduction erosion at the base of the outer arc wedge structure

seamount ridge and transform subduction in southern central america understanding the factors that control subduction zone processes is a first order goal in the study of convergent margins in southern central america a growing body of research reveals strong links between the character of the subducting slab and the mechanics of important processes that include subduction erosion fluid flow deformation and seismogenesis in this paper i evaluate the role that seamount ridge and transform subduction have in the development of upper plate deformation and volcanism by summarizing previous work across a 500 km long region of central america where each of these three scenarios are present along strike the data show that the subduction of short wavelength bathymetry e g seamounts and faults on the seafloor produces short wavelength deformation that persists for relatively short timescales 104 105 years whereas the subduction of longer wavelength bathymetry e g the aseismic cocos ridge results in longer wavelength deformation that endures over a longer time scale 106 years the timing and distribution of upper plate deformation are consistent with subhorizontal cocos ridge subduction driving upper plate deformation and the increased crustal thickness 20 km of the subducting cocos ridge is likely one of the most important factors in the production of upper plate contraction and crustal thickening the data illustrate a fundamental connection between lower plate properties and upper plate deformation and highlight the profound influence that bathymetry and crustal thickness have in the localization and kinematics of upper plate strain and volcanism in middle america

revised tectonic boundaries in the cocos plate off costa rica implications for the segmentation of the convergent margin and for plate tectonic models the oceanic cocos plate subducting beneath costa rica has a complex plate tectonic history resulting in segmentation new lines of magnetic data clearly define tectonic boundaries which separate lithosphere formed at the east pacific rise from lithosphere formed at the cocos nazca spreading center they also define two early phase cocos nazca spreading regimes and a major propagator in addition to these sharply defined tectonic boundaries are overprinted boundaries from volcanism during passage of cocos plate over the galapagos hot spot the subducted segment boundaries correspond with distinct changes in upper plate tectonic structure and features of the subducted slab newly identified seafloor spreading anomalies show oceanic lithosphere formed during initial breakup of the farallon plate at 22 7 ma and opening of the cocos nazca spreading center a revised regional compilation of magnetic anomalies allows refinement of plate tectonic models for the early history of the cocos nazca spreading center at 19 5 ma a major ridge jump reshaped its geometry and after 14 5 ma multiple southward ridge jumps led to a highly asymmetric accretion of lithosphere a suspected cause of ridge jumps is an interaction of the cocos nazca spreading center with the galapagos hot spot

middle to late miocene contractional deformation in costa rica triggered by plate geodynamics contractional deformation in costa rica is usually attributed to the subduction of the aseismic cocos ridge in this work we review the evidences for contraction in the middle to late miocene prior to the arrival of the cocos ridge at the middle america trench we find that the miocene phase of contractional deformation is found in all costa rica probably extending to nicaragua as well the widespread distribution of this event requires a regional or plate geodynamic trigger we analyze the possible mechanisms that could produce the onset of contractional deformation using the better known case of subduction orogeny the andes as an analogue we propose that a change in the direction of the cocos plate since 19 ma led to a change from oblique to orthogonal convergence producing contractional deformation of the upper plate

cenozoic climate change as a possible cause for the rise of the andes causal links between the rise of a large mountain range and climate have often been considered to work in one direction with significant uplift provoking climate change here we propose a mechanism by which cenozoic climate change could have caused the rise of the andes based on considerations of the force balance in the south american lithosphere we suggest that the height of and tectonics in the andes are strongly controlled both by shear stresses along the plate interface in the subduction zone and by buoyancy stress contrasts between the trench and highlands and shear stresses in the subduction zone depend on the amount of subducted sediments we propose that the dynamics of subduction and mountain building in this region are controlled by the processes of erosion and sediment deposition and ultimately climate in central south america climate controlled sediment starvation would then cause high shear stress focusing the plate boundary stresses that support the high andes

the tectonic framework of the sumatran subduction zone the great aceh andaman earthquake of december 26 2004 and its tragic consequences brought the sumatran region and its active tectonics into the world s focus the plate tectonic setting of sumatra has been as it is today for tens of millions of years and catastrophic geologic events have likely been plentiful the immaturity of our understanding of great earthquakes and other types of geologic hazards contributed to the surprise regarding the location of the 2004 earthquake the timing however is probably best understood simply in terms of the inevitability of the infrequent events that shape the course of geologic progress our best hope is to improve understanding of the processes involved and decrease our vulnerability to them

genesis of arsenic fluoride enriched soda water a case study at datong northern china abstract the high as and f groundwaters from datong basin are mostly soda waters with a na cl so4 meq ratio greater than unity as and f up to 1550 g l and 10 4 mg l respectively and with ph between 7 6 and 9 1 geochemical modeling indicates that the waters are oversaturated with respect to calcite and clay minerals such as kaolinite and undersaturated with respect to primary rock forming minerals such as anorthite and albite the water chemistry also is affected by evapotranspiration the degree of evaporative enrichment is up to 85 in terms of cl results of the hydrogeochemical studies indicate that the occurrence of soda water at datong is the result of incongruent dissolution of aluminosilicates at one stage of their interaction with groundwater when the water is oversaturated with respect to calcite and evapotranspiration related salt accumulation is not too strong studying the genesis of soda waters provides new insights into mechanism of as and f enrichment in the aquifer system due to caf2 solubility control and oh f exchange reactions f can be enriched in soda water and the high ph condition of soda water favors as desorption from oxyhydroxide surfaces thereby increasing the concentration of as in the aqueous phase

creation of the cocos and nazca plates by fission of the farallon plate abstract throughout the early tertiary the area of the farallon oceanic plate was episodically diminished by detachment of large and small northern regions which became independently moving plates and microplates the nature and history of farallon plate fragmentation has been inferred mainly from structural patterns on the western pacific plate flank of the east pacific rise because the fragmented eastern flank has been subducted the final episode of plate fragmentation occurred at the beginning of the miocene when the cocos plate was split off leaving the much reduced farallon plate to be renamed the nazca plate and initiating cocos nazca spreading some oligocene farallon plate with rifted margins that are a direct record of this plate splitting event has survived in the eastern tropical pacific most extensively off northern peru and ecuador small remnants of the conjugate northern rifted margin are exposed off costa rica and perhaps south of panama marine geophysical profiles bathymetric magnetic and seismic reflection and multibeam sonar swaths across these rifted oceanic margins combined with surveys of 30 20 ma crust on the western rise flank indicate that i localized lithospheric rupture to create a new plate boundary was preceded by plate stretching and fracturing in a belt several hundred km wide fissural volcanism along some of these fractures built volcanic ridges e g alvarado and sarmiento ridges that are 1 2 km high and parallel to absolute farallon plate motion they closely resemble fissural ridges described from the young western flank of the present pacific nazca rise ii for 1 2 m y prior to final rupture of the farallon plate perhaps coinciding with the period of lithospheric stretching the entire plate changed direction to a more easterly nazca like course after the split the northern cocos part reverted to a northeasterly absolute motion iii the plate splitting fracture that became the site of initial cocos nazca spreading was a linear feature that at least through the 680 km of ruptured oligocene lithosphere known to have avoided subduction did not follow any pre existing feature on the farallon plate e g a fracture zone trail of a transform fault iv the margins of surviving parts of the plate splitting fracture have narrow shoulders raised by uplift of unloaded footwalls and partially buried by fissural volcanism v cocos nazca spreading began at 23 ma reports of older cocos nazca crust in the eastern panama basin were based on misidentified magnetic anomalies there is increased evidence that the driving force for the 23 ma fission of the farallon plate was the divergence of slab pull stresses at the middle america and south america subduction zones the timing and location of the split may have been influenced by i the increasingly divergent northeast slab pull at the middle america subduction zone which lengthened and reoriented because of motion between the north america and caribbean plates ii the slightly earlier detachment of a northern part of the plate that had been entering the california subduction zone contributing a less divergent plate driving stress and iii weakening of older parts of the plate by the galapagos hotspot which had come to underlie the equatorial region midway between the risecrest and the two subduction zones by the late oligocene

the steeply subducting edge of the cocos ridge evidence from receiver functions beneath the northern talamanca range south central costa rica the deep structure of the south central costa rican subduction zone has not been studied in great detail so far because large parts of the area are virtually inaccessible we present a receiver function study along a transect of broadband seismometers through the northern flank of the cordillera de talamanca south costa rica below moho depths the receiver functions image a dipping positive conversion signal this is interpreted as the subducting cocos plate slab compatible with the conversions in the individual receiver functions in finite difference modeling a dipping signal such as the one imaged can only be reproduced by a steeply 80 dipping structure present at least until a depth of about 70 100 km below this depth the length of the slab cannot be determined because of possible scattering effects the proposed position of the slab agrees with previous results from local seismicity local earthquake tomography and active seismic studies while extending the slab location to greater depths and steeper dip angle along the trench no marked change is observed in the receiver functions suggesting that the steeply dipping slab continues until the northern flank of the cordillera de talamanca in the transition region between the incoming seamount segment and cocos ridge considering the time predicted for the establishment of shallow angle underthrusting after the onset of ridge collision the southern costa rican subduction zone may at present be undergoing a reconfiguration of subduction style where the transition to shallow underthrusting may be underway but still incomplete

quaternary uplift astride the aseismic cocos ridge pacific coast costa rica the pacific coast of costa rica lies within the central american forearc and magmatic arc region that was created by northeastward subduction of the cocos plate beneath the caribbean plate at the middle america trench from the peninsula de nicoya south eastward toward the peninsula de osa and the peninsula de burica on the panamanian border the middle america trench loses its physiographic expression where it intersects the aseismic cocos ridge interaction between subduction of the buoyant aseismic cocos ridge and the overriding caribbean plate is invoked to explain the variation in rates of vertical crustal uplift along a coastal transect from nicoya to burica the pliocene and pleistocene stratigraphic record and holocene marine terraces and beach ridge complexes indicate that maximum rates of crustal uplift have occurred on the peninsula de osa immediately landward of the aseismic cocos ridge crustal uplift rates decrease northwest toward the peninsula de nicoya and to a lesser extent southwest toward the peninsula de burica the late quaternary stratigraphy on the peninsula de osa is subdivided into two major chronostratigraphic sequences from groupings of radiocarbon dates crustal uplift rates calculated from these sequences systematically decrease from 6 5 to 2 1 m ka north east across the peninsula deformation of the peninsula is modeled as uplifted and down to the northeast tilted fault blocks with an angular rotation rate of 0 03 to 0 06 per thousand years although less well constrained crustal uplift rates on the peninsula de nicoya 200 km to the northwest of the peninsula de osa vary from 1 m ka for pliocene and pleistocene sediments to 2 5 m ka for holocene marine terraces in the quepos region 100 km to the northwest of the peninsula de osa calculated uplift rates derived from incision of late quaternary fluvial terraces range from 0 5 to 3 0 m ka on the peninsula de burica only 60 km to the southwest of the peninsula de osa calculated uplift rates range from 4 7 m ka for a late holocene marine terrace to 1 2 m ka for post late pliocene deep sea sediments the variations in calculated uplift rates on the peninsula de osa constrain a dynamic model for subduction of the cocos ridge and the resulting uplift of the overriding caribbean plate deflection of the caribbean plate is modeled using various effective elastic thicknesses as the response of an elastic plate to the buoyant force of the subducted cocos ridge because the shape of the subducted end of the cocos ridge is unknown two scenarios are evaluated 1 a radially symmetric ridge with a slope similar to the slope of the flanks of the ridge and 2 a ridge where the subducted end was truncated by the panama fracture zone the best fit model utilizes a truncated ridge that has been subducted during the past 0 5 m y 50 km beneath the overriding caribbean plate which has an effective elastic thickness of 5 km the model predicts that the highest uplift rate should be 3 7 m ka and occur on the southwest coast of the peninsula de osa the rate of uplift slows considerably to the northeast and indicates that the peninsula de osa is tilting to the northeast which agrees with observations in that region the predicted uplift rate attributed to aseismic ridge subduction also decreases along the coast both north and south of the peninsula de osa resulting in little uplift that can be attributed to cocos ridge subduction in the northwestern portions of the peninsula de nicoya

the crustal structure of the cocos ridge off costa rica 1 the submarine cocos ridge in the northwestern panama basin a bathymetric feature more than 1000 km long and 250 500 km broad is about 2 km shallower than the adjacent basin it is generally interpreted as the trace of the galapagos hot spot two 127 and 260 km long seismic wide angle sections were recorded along and across this ridge offshore the osa peninsula costa rica crustal thickening is seen everywhere along the sections on the northwestern outer ridge flank increased thickness is exclusively attributed to the upper crust and expressed by 2 km thick flow basalts the quepos plateau caps the upper crust in this area toward the center of the cocos ridge the moho deepens from 11 12 to 21 km depth and crustal thickening is almost entirely attributed to the lower crust which makes up 80 of the crust and is three times the thickness of normal oceanic lower crust it is homogeneously structured and the velocities which range from 6 5 km s at the top to 7 35 km s at the base are comparable to normal lower crust under these depth conditions and suggest no differences to a gabbroic rock composition similarities to the crustal velocity structure of iceland central kerguelen plateau and broken ridge are consistent with a formation of this 13 15 ma old cocos ridge segment by excessive magmatism in a near plate boundary setting

arc continent collision and orocline formation closing of the central american seaway closure of the central american seaway was a local tectonic event with potentially global biotic and environmental repercussions we report geochronological six u pb la icp ms zircon ages and geochemical 19 xrf and icp ms analyses data from the isthmus of panama that allow definition of a distinctive succession of plateau sequences to subduction related protoarc to arc volcaniclastic rocks intruded by late cretaceous to middle eocene intermediate plutonic rocks 67 6 1 4 ma to 41 1 0 7 ma paleomagnetic analyses 24 sites 192 cores in this same belt reveal large counterclockwise vertical axis rotations 70 9 6 7 and moderate clockwise rotations between 40 4 1 and 56 2 11 1 on either side of an east west trending fault at the apex of the isthmus rio gatun fault consistent with isthmus curvature an oligocene miocene arc crosscuts the older deformed and segmented arc sequences and shows no significant vertical axis rotation or deformation there are three main stages of deformation 1 left lateral strike slip offset of the arc 100 km and counterclockwise vertical axis rotation of western arc segments between 38 and 28 ma 2 clockwise rotation of central arc segments between 28 and 25 ma and 3 orocline tightening after 25 ma when this reconstruction is placed in a global plate tectonic framework and published exhumation data is added the central american seaway disappears at 15 ma suggesting that by the time of northern hemisphere glaciation deep water circulation had long been severed in central america

the geometry of the wadati benioff zone under southern central america and its tectonic significance results from a high resolution local seismographic network abstract we present here a detailed geometry of the wadati benioff zone under costa rica obtained from seismicity recorded by a dense local seismographic network jointly operated by the costa rica volcanological and seismological observatory national university and the charles f richter seismological laboratory university of california santa cruz underneath the nicaragua costa rica border the wadati benioff zone smoothly contorts from steep to shallow dip angles nw to se but does not show evidence of a brittle tear as postulated by others however further to the se ne of puerto caldera costa rica the wadati benioff zone does show a segmentation the quesada sharp contortion at intermediate depths h 70km nw of this sharp contortion the deepest portion of the seismically active slab dips at about 80 and reaches maximum depths ranging from 200 km near the nicaragua costa rica border to 135 km under ciudad quesada to the se the deeper portion of the wadati benioff zone dips at about 60 and the seismicity does not extend below depths ranging from 125 km behind the volcanic arc to 50 km east of quepos in southern costa rica east of 83 55 w we find no evidence of the wadati benioff zone deeper than 50 km the obtained geometry and other known tectonic features related to the subduction of the cocos plate under the caribbean plate along the southern terminus of the middle america trench nicaragua and costa rica correlate well with along trench variations in age of the subducted cocos plate some of these tectonic features are 1 the shallowing of middle america trench bathymetry from nw to se 2 variations in the energy release within the subducted slab 3 differences in coupling between cocos and caribbean plates 4 the termination of the central america volcanic chain in central costa rica 5 distinct stress field variations on the overriding caribbean plate the subduction of the cocos ridge under southern costa rica is partially responsible for some of these features shallowing of the middle america trench in southern costa rica and for the high uplift rates of the outer arc however as the presence of the panama fracture zone limits the subducted extension of the cocos ridge to less than 100 km from the trench we propose that the overall geometry of the wadati benioff zone is controlled by abrupt along trench changes in the age of the subducted cocos plate

landscape evolution within a retreating volcanic arc costa rica central america subduction of hotspot thickened seafloor profoundly affects convergent margin tectonics strongly affecting upper plate structure volcanism and landscape evolution in southern central america low angle subduction of the cocos ridge and seamount domain largely controls landscape evolution in the volcanic arc field mapping stratigraphic correlation and 4 0 ar 3 9 ar geochronology for late cenozoic volcanic rocks of central costa rica provide new insights into the geomorphic response of volcanic arc landscapes to changes in subduction parameters slab thickness roughness dip late neogene volcanism was focused primarily along the now extinct cordillera de aguacate quaternary migration of the magmatic front shifted volcanism northeastward to the caribbean slope creating a new topographic divide and forming the valle central basin stream capture across the paleo aguacate divide led to drainage reversal toward the pacific slope and deep incision of reorganized fluvial networks pleistocene caldera activity generated silicic ash flows that buried the valle central and descended the tarcoles gorge to the orotina debris fan at the coast growth of the modern cordillera central accentuated relief along the new divide establishing the valle central as a pacific slope drainage basin arc migration relocation of the pacific caribbean drainage divide and formation of the valle central basin resulted from slab shallowing as irregular hotspot thickened crust entered the subduction zone the geomorphic evolution of volcanic arc landscapes is thus highly sensitive to changes in subducting plate character

central costa rica deformed belt kinematics of diffuse faulting across the western panama block fault kinematics seismicity and geodetic data across central costa rica reveal a diffuse fault zone here named the central costa rica deformed belt ccrdb the ccrdb defines the western margin of the panama block and links the north panama deformed belt npdb along the caribbean coast with the middle america trench mat along the pacific coast the junction of the ccrdb and the mat coincides with an abrupt transition from smooth to rough crust on the subducting cocos plate rough smooth boundary shallow subduction of rough thickened oceanic crust associated with the cocos ridge shifts active shortening into the volcanic arc along faults of the ccrdb variable fault kinematics along this zone may reflect three combined deformation mechanisms horizontal shortening and shear from oceanic ridge indentation basal traction from shallow subduction and localized block uplift from subducting seamount roughness within the forearc domain 1 mesoscale faults express transtension where steep ne striking regional scale faults intersect the pacific coast across the volcanic arc domain 2 mesoscale faults exhibit mostly sinistral and dextral slip on ne and nw striking conjugate faults respectively approaching the npdb in the back arc domain 3 transcurrent faulting is modified by transpression and crustal thickening fault kinematics are consistent with earthquake focal mechanisms and global positioning system gps measurements radiometric age constraints confirm that faulting postdates the late neogene onset of shallow subduction the ensuing deformation front has propagated northward into the volcanic arc to its present position along the seismically active ccrdb within the forearc the effect of shallow subduction is overprinted by local uplift related to underthrusting seamounts