abrupt tectonics and rapid slab detachment with grain damage a simple model for necking and detachment of subducting slabs is developed to include the coupling between grain sensitive rheology and grain size evolution with damage necking is triggered by thickened buoyant crust entrained into a subduction zone in which case grain damage accelerates necking and allows for relatively rapid slab detachment i e within 1 my depending on the size of the crustal plug thick continental crustal plugs can cause rapid necking while smaller plugs characteristic of ocean plateaux cause slower necking oceanic lithosphere with normal or slightly thickened crust subducts without necking the model potentially explains how large plateaux or continental crust drawn into subduction zones can cause slab loss and rapid changes in plate motion and or induce abrupt continental rebound

transition from symmetry to asymmetry during continental rifting an example from the bight basin terre adelie australian and antarctic conjugate margins the rifting history of the magma poor conjugate margins of australia and antarctica is still a controversial issue in this article we present a model for lithosphere scale rifting and deformation history from initial jurassic rifting to late cretaceous breakup for the conjugate bight basin terre adelie section of the margin based on the interpretation of two regional conjugate seismic profiles of the margins and the construction of a lithosphere scale balanced cross section sequentially restored through time the model scenario highlights the symmetric pattern of initial stretching resulting from pure shear at lithospheric scale accompanied by the development of four conjugate detachments and crustal half graben systems this system progressively evolves to completely asymmetric shearing along a single south dipping detachment at the scale of the lithosphere antarctica plays the role of the upper plate and australia the lower plate the detachment accounts for the exhumation of the mantle part of the australian lithosphere and the isolation of a crustal klippe separated from the margin by a serpentinized peridotite ridge the total elongation amount of the australian antarctic conjugate system reaches 473km 178 elongation was partitioned through time 189 and 284km during symmetric and asymmetric stages respectively during the symmetric stage both margins underwent approximately the same degree of crustal stretching 105km 75 and 84km 67 for australia and antarctica respectively again both margins accommodated relatively the same elongation during the asymmetric stage the antarctic upper plate records an elongation amount of 284km 88 as crustal mantle stretching above the inferred low angle south dipping detachment zone whereas the australian lower plate underwent 270km 206 of elongation through mantle exhumation although the restoration process does not allow reconstruction of the precise geometry before deformation we propose that the jurassic early geometric evolution of the margins may have been controlled by the inherited structure or rheological heterogeneities of the continental crust its later evolution is thought to relate to the mechanical evolution of the crustal and mantle material during exhumation with a strong increase in localization of shear in the lower crust and mantle part of the australian margin the geometry of the rifted margins is comparable to other magma poor rifted margin such as the newfoundland iberia margins or the exhumed alpine tethys margin exposed in the central alps 2012 blackwell publishing ltd

rheological stratification of the lithosphere abstract the rheology of the lithosphere is estimated on the basis of pore pressure dependent frictional failure in the brittle regime and power law steady state creep in the ductile regime different petrological models of the continental and oceanic lithosphere combined with different geotherms and thicknesses are used to generate models covering a variety of geodynamic situations results show that the depth dependence of lithospheric rheology varies with the tectonic province and that in many instances the continental lithosphere has one at the bottom of the crust or two the previous one plus another at mid crustal levels soft ductile layers sandwiched between brittle layers the depth distribution of geophysical parameters seismicity seismic wave velocity and electrical conductivity matches the theological predictions well the lithospheric rheological profiles are used to analyze observed variations in the structural style of deformed continental margin and oceanic terranes in the southeastern canadian cordillera the large scale characteristics of the system show a satisfactory agreement with the inferred rheological structure sub horizontal decollements should be the rule rather than the exception where the lithospheric rheology is strongly stratified

the structure evolution and symmetry of the magma poor rifted margins of the north and central atlantic a synthesis abstract magma poor rifted margins consistently show extreme crustal thinning accompanied by normal faulting the serpentinization of the mantle beneath crust thinned to less than 8 2 km and the unroofing of a broad zone of mantle within the continent ocean transition accompanied by the development of detachment and other large offset faults these observations are the logical result of the progressive extension of cool lithosphere away from thermal anomalies such as plumes although the paucity of magmatism may be explained by depth dependent extension of the lithosphere and by pre depleted sub crustal lithosphere rifting above initially cool sub lithospheric mantle also may explain the subsidence deficit observed at some margins synrift subsidence is buffered by the simultaneous influx of warmer oceanic asthenosphere as it extends thins and cools ductile creeping layers in the mid and deep crust become progressively more brittle resulting in increased coupling between the upper and lower crust and eventually the embrittlement of the entire crust faults cutting from the surface across the moho bringing water into the mantle and causing its serpentinization increased coupling and the development of serpentine detachments predict the development of late stage asymmetry once the entire crust is brittle such detachments are imaged on some margins and inferred on others analysis of the crustal structure across conjugate margins shows that these are approximately symmetric until this late stage when they become markedly asymmetric similar analyses show that depth dependent stretching of the crust is insufficient to explain the discrepancy between the amount of the visible extension along faults and the amount of crustal thinning instead this extension discrepancy may be related to the complex evolution of brittle deformation through multiple phases and styles of faulting related to the changes in the rheological character and strength of the lithosphere as it is thinned complex polyphase faulting continues after complete crustal separation resulting in the exhumation of broad expanses of peridotitic basement the top of which is everywhere marked by an exhumed slip surface similar to the corrugated surface observed at mid ocean ridges the similarity in processes between mantle unroofing and seafloor spreading makes the distinction between the cot and true oceanic crust difficult and possibly moot

a flow law for dislocation creep of quartz aggregates determined with the molten salt cell we have used the molten salt cell to conduct an experimental study on the rheology of a natural quartzite containing 0 15 wt water co axial deformation experiments were conducted at constant piston displacement rates approximating constant strain rates at low strain the strengths of our natural quartzite measured in the molten salt cell are approximately half those measured at the same conditions in solid media because unlike solid confining media molten salt does not contribute to the strength of the sample it reduces the friction on the moving piston and it allows clear identification of the hit point we have limited the experimental conditions to those required for dislocation creep and have used only steady state flow stresses measured during climb accommodated dislocation creep to calculate the flow law parameters two flow laws were determined one for samples containing minor amounts of melt 1 2 and one for melt free samples in both cases the power law stress exponent n is 4 0 0 9 which is greater than that previously reported in flow laws for dislocation creep of quartz aggregates determined in solid media the activation energy q is 137 34 kj mol 1 for samples with melt and 223 56 kj mol 1 for those without within the range of previously determined values for quartz aggregates containing 0 1 wt water the pre exponential term a is 1 1 10 4 2 mpa ns 1 for samples without melt and 1 8 10 8 2 mpa ns 1 for those with melt the lower strengths measured in the molten salt cell indicate that previous piezometer relations for quartz experimentally determined in solid media are not correct extrapolation of the flow law for melt free aggregates to natural strain rates predicts higher strengths than most previous quartz flow laws however accurate extrapolation requires determining the dependence of flow stress on fh2o and or ah

mechanisms of continental subduction and exhumation of hp and uhp rocks abstract we discuss possible scenarios of continental collision and their relation to mechanisms of exhumation of hp and uhp rocks inferred from thermo mechanical numerical models accounting for thermo rheological complexity of the continental lithosphere due to this complexity mechanisms of continental convergence are versatile and different in many aspects from those that control oceanic subduction elucidating these mechanisms from conventional observations is difficult and requires additional constraints such as those derived from petrological data indeed exhumation of hp uhp rocks is an integral part of convergent processes and burial exhumation dynamics inferred from metamorphic p t t paths provides strong constraints on the collision scenarios metamorphic rocks also play an active role due to their contrasting physical properties rheology density fluid transport capacity numerical thermo mechanical experiments suggest that hp uhp exhumation can only be produced in subduction contexts as well as that long lasting 10 myr continental subduction can only occur in case of cold strong lithospheres t moho t e 50 km and of relatively high convergence rates 3 5 cm yr 1 in this case high density uhp material in the crustal part of subduction interface provides additional pull on the slab and is not always exhumed to the surface in case of slower convergence and or weaker lithosphere t e 1 is generally sufficient to drive continental subduction during the first several myr of convergence but pertinent subduction requires faster convergence rates 3 5 cm yr 1 we suggest that most continental orogenic belts could have started their formation from continental subduction but this process has been generally limited in time

diachronous evolution of late jurassic cretaceous continental rifting in the northeast atlantic west iberian margin 1 regional 2 d seismic reflection profiles outcrop and borehole data are used to characterize the evolution of deep offshore sedimentary basins in southwest iberia alentejo basin the interpreted data indicate the bulk of late jurassic earliest cretaceous subsidence occurred in the present day continental slope area as shown by 1 significant thickening of synrift strata basinward from a slope bounding fault system sfs west of which the total thickness of sediment can reach more than 9 0 km and 2 relatively thin mesozoic strata east of the sfs where thickening of synrift units against principal faults is limited five principal regressive events and their basal unconformities reflect tectonic uplift and relative emersion in proximal basins which were located on the rift shoulder to subsiding tilt blocks west of the sfs these regressive events are correlated with major rift related events occurring on the deeper margin direct comparisons with the peniche basin of northwest iberia reveal that significant portions of the iberian lower plate margin were uplifted and eroded during the last stages of continental rifting this process was repeated at different times and in different areas as the locus of rifting and continental breakup migrated northward as a result two distinct rift axes are recognized in west iberia a first axis extending from the porto basin to the alentejo basin and a second axis located on the outer proximal margin north of 38 30n in addition the sfs delimited 1 prograding deposits of cretaceous paleogene age and 2 late cenozoic deposits draping the modern continental slope these latter facts demonstrate that on lower plate passive margins the relative position of the continental slope is established during the final rifting episode s preceding continental breakup

modeling suggests that oblique extension facilitates rifting and continental break up 1 in many cases the initial stage of continental break up was and is associated with oblique rifting that includes break up in the southern and equatorial atlantic separation from eastern and western gondwana as well as many recent rift systems like gulf of california ethiopia rift and dead sea fault using a simple analytic mechanical model and advanced numerical thermomechanical modeling techniques we investigate the influence of oblique extension on the required tectonic force in a three dimensional setting while magmatic processes have been already suggested to affect rift evolution we show that additional mechanisms emerge due to the three dimensionality of an extensional system focusing on non magmatic rift settings we find that oblique extension significantly facilitates the rift process this is due to the fact that oblique deformation requires less force in order to reach the plastic yield limit than rift perpendicular extension the model shows that in the case of two competing non magmatic rifts with one perpendicular and one oblique to the direction of extension but otherwise having identical properties the oblique rift zone is mechanically preferred and thus attracts more strain

morphology and origin of the fair oaks dunes in nw indiana usa abstract the fair oaks dunes fod of nw indiana usa is a large 4500 km 2 inland dune field associated with the late wisconsin deglaciation of the laurentide ice sheet meltwaters released by the michigan saginaw and huron erie lobes transported fluvioglacial sediment through the kankakee and tippecanoe valleys and their tributaries the texture and composition of the sand in the fod suggest a saginaw lobe origin of sediment with some huron erie lobe sediment sub mature sand with sub angular grains and a large feldspar content suggests relatively short distance of transport during two or possibly three dune building and dune reworking events we propose a model which explains the development of the dunes in three stages dune development began during the bolling allerod stage 1 15 13 ka interval during this stage anticyclonic easterly and north easterly winds deflated the sand from outwash deposits and built transverse and barchanoid dunes on the western sides of the tippecanoe valley and paleo channels further downwind on the western and southwestern windward margins of the fod loess was deposited during the early younger dryas stage 2 12 5 ka atmospheric circulation changed and westerly winds reworked the original dunes to create a great variety of parabolic dunes simple hemicyclic and lobate parabolic dunes developed in the western fod while further downwind in the eastern and the southern fod more elongated hairpin and windrift dunes developed on the upwind side of the dune field loess deposits remained stable and were not remobilized during the second stage dune development by the early holocene the fod dunes were stabilized until their minor remobilization during the middle holocene stage 3 minor disturbances caused by anthropogenic activities have occurred in last two centuries

quantification and restoration of extensional deformation along the western iberia and newfoundland rifted margins 1 many recent papers describe the structure of the iberia and newfoundland rifted margins however none of them propose kinematic restorations of the complete rift system to quantify the amount of extension necessary to exhume mantle and initiate seafloor spreading in our study we use two pairs of cross sections considered as conjugate lines one across the galicia bank flemish cap and the other across the southern iberia abyssal plain flemish pass both transects have been imaged by reflection and refraction seismic methods and have been drilled during ocean drilling program legs 103 149 173 and 210 drilling penetrated parts of the rift stratigraphy and the underlying basement the cross sections can therefore be considered as the best documented conjugate transects across present day hyperextended magma poor rifted margins the aim of this paper is threefold 1 provide a detailed description of the crustal architecture of the two conjugate sections 2 define the extensional structures and their ages and 3 quantify the amount of strain and strain rate accommodated along these lines this paper proposes a quantitative description of extension along the iberia newfoundland rift system and discusses the limitations and problems in quantifying extensional deformation along hyperextended rifted margins

tectono stratigraphic signature of multiphased rifting on divergent margins deep offshore southwest iberia north atlantic 1 regional 2d multichannel seismic borehole dredge and outcrop data together with burial models for strata in southwest iberia are used to investigate the tectono stratigraphic signature of multiphased rifting on divergent margins our burial model reveals that mesozoic extension occurred during three main phases each comprising distinct subsidence pulses separated by short lived periods of crustal uplift the importance of the three phases varies across discrete sectors of the margin each one revealing similar depositional architectures and associated tectonic systems tracts 1 the rift initiation phase characterized by incipient subsidence and overall aggradation progradation over a basal unconformity 2 the rift climax phase which marks maxima of tectonic subsidence and is characterized by retrogradation progradation and 3 the late rift phase recording the progradational infill of the basin and the effects of eustasy the rift initiation systems tracts comprise sinemurian and late callovian early oxfordian strata marine units in the pliensbachian and late oxfordian kimmeridgian represent the rift climax phase a period marked by the development of maximum flooding surfaces late rift deposits were identified in the rhaetian hettangian toarcian bathonian and kimmeridgian berriasian the results of this work are important to the economic exploration of deep offshore rift basins as they reveal that sequence stratigraphy can be used to predict sedimentary facies distribution in more distal segments of such basins significantly this work recognizes that multiple tectonic stratigraphic rift cycles can occur on deep offshore rift basins from the onset of rift related extension until continental break up a character that contrast to what is known from deep sea drilling data from the distal margin of northwest iberia

the initiation of rifting at constant tectonic force role of diffusion creep we have investigated the effect of diffusion creep on lithospheric extension using a one dimensional numerical model that assumes a constant force is available to drive extension the model is motivated by the fact that continental areas with average heat flow should be too strong to rift using standard estimates of lithospheric strength however such areas do rift and diffusion creep is a mechanism by which lithosphere may deform at a lower stress level than is required for the usually assumed dislocation creep we consider the evolution of strain rate and temperature at the center of an idealized pure shear rift the strain rate will either increase or decrease with time depending on whether lithospheric weakening or strengthening dominates as extension progresses given an initial thermal condition and an assumed lithospheric rheology the applied force must be such that the initial strain rate is greater than some critical value for weakening to dominate the force at which this condition is met we will term the critical force diffusion creep is more efficient at smaller grain sizes and the model results indicate that mantle grain sizes would have to be less than 1 mm for diffusion creep to significantly reduce the critical force we speculate that during the initial stages of continental rifting grain size reduction and diffusion creep deformation mechanisms may have an important effect on lithospheric strength

cenozoic plate reconstruction of the south china sea region abstract reconstructions of the south china sea region at 60 ma 40 ma 30 ma 20 ma 10 ma and 5 ma are presented we have attempted to place the south china sea basin in a regional tectonic framework the tectonic evolution of the major blocks surrounding the south china sea were analyzed as well as the relative motions of the indian and australian plates we have tried to correct the tectonic models available in this region a 3 d graphics terminal was used to derive rotation poles for the different tectonic blocks and our model was then tested to determine its self consistency when the model conflicted with previous interpretations the input data were evaluated for alternative explanations at least two and possibly three stages of extension can be recognized in this region the earliest one active in the late cretaceous to eocene involved nw se extension the second one active from the late eocene to early miocene involved north south extension the third stage of extension which probably trended nw se can be dated as post oligocene the first extensional event produced the ne sw trending proto south china sea and a series of sedimentary basins along the south china margin following the southeastward extrusion of indochina the proto south china sea was mostly consumed at the palawan trough renewed north south extension in the south china continental margin started the present day south china sea spreading in the oligocene the southeastward extrusion of indochina blocked by sundaland resulted in the nw se trending opening of the south china sea basin in the early miocene collision of the north palawan microcontinental block with the west philippines block stopped the opening of the south china sea at the end of early miocene spreading activity switched to the sulu sea basin in the middle miocene but collision between the sulu ridge and the west philippines at mindanao halted the opening of the sulu sea at the end of the middle miocene in the late miocene greater india continued its northward path and seems to have ripped open the andaman sea in the pliocene subduction along the northern manila trench placed the north luzon arc on a collision path with the east asia continental margin at taiwan our reconstructions along with detailed geological and geophysical information may be used as a predictive tool for basin evolution models and block interactions in this region the development of the south china sea basin the gulf of thailand the malay basin and the central thailand basins are the result of collision induced extensional forces the sulu celebes and sumatra basins were formed as a consequence of prolonged subduction the opening of the pearl river mouth west natuna south china sea sulu and possibly celebes basins were terminated by various plate collisions during the course of plate reorganizations major boundary faults have changed their slip senses during different stages of evolution

a mechanism to thin the continental lithosphere at magma poor margins crustal thinning where continental plates break apart can be accomplished by a system of conjugate concave downward faults instead of multiple normal faults through exhumation of mid crustal and mantle material where continental plates break apart slip along multiple normal faults provides the required space for the earth s crust to thin and subside1 after initial rifting however the displacement on normal faults observed at the sea floor seems not to match the inferred extension2 here we show that crustal thinning can be accomplished in such extensional environments by a system of conjugate concave downward faults instead of multiple normal faults our model predicts that these concave faults accumulate large amounts of extension and form a very thin crust 10 km by exhumation of mid crustal and mantle material this transitional crust is capped by sub horizontal detachment surfaces over distances exceeding 100 km with little visible deformation our rift model is based on numerical experiments constrained by geological and geophysical observations from the alpine tethys and iberia newfoundland margins3 4 5 6 7 8 9 furthermore we suggest that the observed transition from broadly distributed and symmetric extension to localized and asymmetric rifting is directly controlled by the existence of a strong gabbroic lower crust the presence of such lower crustal gabbros is well constrained for the alpine tethys system4 9 initial decoupling of upper crustal deformation from lower crustal and mantle deformation by progressive weakening of the middle crust is an essential requirement to reproduce the observed rift evolution this is achieved in our models by the formation of weak ductile shear zones

full fit palinspastic reconstruction of the conjugate australian antarctic margins 1 despite decades of study the prerift configuration and early rifting history between australia and antarctica is not well established the plate boundary system during the cretaceous includes the evolving kerguelen broken ridge large igneous province in the west as well as the conjugate passive and transform margin segments of the australian and antarctic continents previous rigid plate reconstruction models have highlighted the difficulty in satisfying all the available observations within a single coherent reconstruction history we investigate a range of scenarios for the early rifting history of these plates by developing a deforming plate model for this conjugate margin pair potential field data are used to define the boundaries of stretched continental crust on a regional scale integrating crustal thickness along tectonic flow lines provides an estimate of the prerift location of the continental plate boundary we then use the prerift plate boundary positions along with additional constraints from geological structures and large igneous provinces within the same australian and antarctic plate system to compute full fit poles of rotation for australia relative to antarctica our preferred model implies that the leeuwin and vincennes fracture zones are conjugate features within gondwana but that the direction of initial opening between australia and antarctica does not follow the orientation of these features rather the geometry of these features is likely related to the earlier rifting of india away from australia antarctica previous full fit reconstructions based on qualitative estimates of continental margin overlaps generally yield a tighter fit than our preferred reconstruction based on palinspastic margin restoration

evolving force balance during incipient subduction nearly half of all active subduction zones initiated during the cenozoic all subduction zones associated with active back arc extension have initiated since the eocene hinting that back arc extension may be intimately associated with an interval several tens of myr following subduction initiation that such a large proportion of subduction zones are young indicates that subduction initiation is a continuous process in which the net resisting force associated with forming a new subduction zone can be overcome during the normal evolution of plates subduction initiation is known to have occurred in a variety of tectonic settings old fracture zones transform faults and extinct spreading centers and through polarity reversal behind active subduction zones although occurring within different tectonic settings four known subduction initiation events izu bonin mariana ibm along a fracture zone tonga kermadec along an extinct subduction boundary new hebrides within a back arc and puysegur fiordland along a spreading center were typified by rapid uplift within the forearc followed by sudden subsidence other constraints corroborate the compressive nature of ibm and tonga kermadec during initiation using an explicit finite element method within a two dimensional domain we explore the evolving force balance during initiation in which elastic flexure viscous flow plastic failure and heat transport are all considered in order to tie theory with observation known tectonic settings of subduction initiation are used as initial and boundary conditions we systematically explore incipient compression of a homogeneous plate a former spreading center and a fracture zone the force balance is typified by a rapid growth in resisting force as the plate begins bending reaching a maximum value dependent on plate thickness but typically ranging from 2 to 3 1012 n m for cases that become self sustaining this is followed by a drop in stress once a shear zone extends through the plate the formation of a throughgoing fault is associated with rapid uplift on the hanging wall and subsidence on the footwall cumulative convergence not the rate of convergence is the dominant control on the force balance viscous tractions influence the force balance only if the viscosity of the asthenosphere is 1020 pa s and then only after plate failure following plate failure buoyancy of the oceanic crust leads to a linear increase with crustal thickness in the work required to initiate subduction the total work done is also influenced by the rate of lithospheric failure a self sustaining subduction zone does not form from a homogeneous plate a ridge placed under compression localizes subduction initiation but the resisting ridge push force is not nearly as large as the force required to bend the subducting plate the large initial bending resistance can be entirely eliminated in ridge models explaining the propensity for new subduction zones to form through polarity reversals a fracture zone fz placed in compression leads to subduction initiation with rapid extension of the overriding plate a fz must be underthrust by the older plate for 100 150 km before a transition from forced to self sustaining states is reached in fz models the change in force during transition is reflected by a shift from forearc uplift to subsidence subduction initiation is followed by trench retreat and back arc extension moderate resisting forces associated with modeled subduction initiation are consistent with the observed youth of pacific subduction zones the models provide an explanation for the compressive state of western pacific margins before and during subduction initiation including ibm and tonga kermadec in the eocene and the association of active back arcs with young subduction zones on the basis of our dynamic models and the relative poles of rotation between pacific and australia during the eocene we predict that the northern segment of the tonga kermadec convergent margin would have initiated earlier with a progressive southern migration of the transition between forced and self sustaining states

abrupt plate accelerations shape rifted continental margins rifted margins are formed by persistent stretching of continental lithosphere until breakup is achieved it is well known that strain rate dependent processes control rift evolution yet quantified extension histories of earth s major passive margins have become available only recently here we investigate rift kinematics globally by applying a new geotectonic analysis technique to revised global plate reconstructions we find that rifted margins feature an initial slow rift phase less than ten millimetres per year full rate and that an abrupt increase of plate divergence introduces a fast rift phase plate acceleration takes place before continental rupture and considerable margin area is created during each phase we reproduce the rapid transition from slow to fast extension using analytical and numerical modelling with constant force boundary conditions the extension models suggest that the two phase velocity behaviour is caused by a rift intrinsic strength velocity feedback which can be robustly inferred for diverse lithosphere configurations and rheologies our results explain differences between proximal and distal margin areas and demonstrate that abrupt plate acceleration during continental rifting is controlled by the nonlinear decay of the resistive rift strength force this mechanism provides an explanation for several previously unexplained rapid absolute plate motion changes offering new insights into the balance of plate driving forces through time

the cretaceous opening of the south atlantic ocean abstract the separation of south america from africa during the cretaceous is poorly understood due to the long period of stable polarity of the geomagnetic field the cretaceous normal superchron cns lasted between 121 and 83 6 myr ago we present a new identification of magnetic anomalies located within the southern south atlantic magnetic quiet zones that have arisen due to past variations in the strength of the dipolar geomagnetic field using these anomalies together with fracture zone locations we calculate the first set of magnetic anomalies based finite rotation parameters for south america and africa during that period the kinematic solutions are generally consistent with fracture zone traces and magnetic anomalies outside the area used to construct them the rotations indicate that seafloor spreading rates increased steadily throughout most of the cretaceous and decreased sharply at around 80 myr ago a change in plate motion took place in the middle of the superchron roughly 100 myr ago around the time of the final breakup i e separation of continental oceanic boundary in the equatorial atlantic prominent misfit between the calculated synthetic flowlines older than anomaly q1 and the fracture zones straddling the african plate in the central south atlantic could only be explained by a combination of seafloor asymmetry and internal dextral motion

global plate motion frames toward a unified model 1 plate tectonics constitutes our primary framework for understanding how the earth works over geological timescales high resolution mapping of relative plate motions based on marine geophysical data has followed the discovery of geomagnetic reversals mid ocean ridges transform faults and seafloor spreading cementing the plate tectonic paradigm however so called absolute plate motions describing how the fragments of the outer shell of the earth have moved relative to a reference system such as the earth s mantle are still poorly understood accurate absolute plate motion models are essential surface boundary conditions for mantle convection models as well as for understanding past ocean circulation and climate as continent ocean distributions change with time a fundamental problem with deciphering absolute plate motions is that the earth s rotation axis and the averaged magnetic dipole axis are not necessarily fixed to the mantle reference system absolute plate motion models based on volcanic hot spot tracks are largely confined to the last 130 ma and ideally would require knowledge about the motions within the convecting mantle in contrast models based on paleomagnetic data reflect plate motion relative to the magnetic dipole axis for most of earth s history but cannot provide paleolongitudes because of the axial symmetry of the earth s magnetic dipole field we analyze four different reference frames paleomagnetic african fixed hot spot african moving hot spot and global moving hot spot discuss their uncertainties and develop a unifying approach for connecting a hot spot track system and a paleomagnetic absolute plate reference system into a hybrid model for the time period from the assembly of pangea 320 ma to the present for the last 100 ma we use a moving hot spot reference frame that takes mantle convection into account and we connect this to a pre 100 ma global paleomagnetic frame adjusted 5 in longitude to smooth the reference frame transition using plate driving force arguments and the mapping of reconstructed large igneous provinces to core mantle boundary topography we argue that continental paleolongitudes can be constrained with reasonable confidence

quantifying the thermo mechanical impact of plume arrival on continental break up abstract the arrival of a plume head at earth s continental lithosphere is often considered to be an important factor for continental break up however the impact of plume impingement on strength and duration of a rift remains unclear in this study we quantify the mechanical and thermal influence of a plume i e lithosphere erosion on continental break up to do that we apply the three dimensional numerical code slim3d that features realistic elasto visco plastic rheology we model the thermo mechanical response of a segment of earth s lithosphere that is affected both by extension as well as plume related lithosphere erosion in order to evaluate the influence on the overall force budget we find that lithosphere erosion leads to a moderate lithospheric strength reduction of several tn m in a force limited environment however this strength reduction may have strong influence on the timing of continental break up or it may even control whether continental break up takes place at all additional reduction of the lithospheric strength is likely due to the massive emplacement of dikes that follows intensive melting within the plume head

tectonostratigraphic evolution of the labrador margin atlantic canada abstract the labrador continental margin provides a rich source of data with which to study the relationships between stratigraphy tectonics and paleoenvironment we have completed a regional seismic interpretation and integrated this with new biostratigraphic data based on analyses of palynomorphs from wells in the hopedale and saglek basins which occur on this margin our results are summarized in a tectonostratigraphic chart which displays new and consistent age control for the major lithostratigraphic units and provides more precise evaluation of their depositional and paleoenvironmental history we have identified and dated six regional unconformities in the wells and we can recognize several others on the seismic data the older unconformities cretaceous are related to the tectonics of rifting and seafloor spreading and may delineate the onset of different stages of the rift process in the paleocene early eocene unconformity development was influenced by episodic volcanism due to the passage of the proto iceland hotspot to the north and to a major change in spreading direction in the labrador sea many of these unconformities are also identified in offshore southwest greenland and the grand banks suggesting widespread controlling mechanisms during the post seafloor spreading stage the effects of mass wasting and slumping and of paleoenvironmental controls on the stratigraphy were more pronounced we discuss the petroleum potential of the hopedale basin in terms of the structures we see on the seismic data and highlight the bjarni formation which likely contains the most prospective source and reservoir rocks in this basin

development of the continental margins of the labrador sea a review abstract the labrador sea is a small oceanic basin that developed when the north american and greenland plates separated an initial period of stretching in early cretaceous time formed sedimentary basins now preserved under the continental shelves and around the margins of the oceanic crust the basins subsided thermally during late cretaceous time and a second episode of tectonism took place during latest cretaceous and early paleocene time before the onset of sea floor spreading in mid paleocene time around the northern labrador sea davis strait and in southern baffin bay voluminous picrites and basalts were erupted at and shortly after the commencement of sea floor spreading volcanism occurred again in early eocene time at the same time as sea floor spreading commenced in the northern north atlantic farther southeast along the labrador and southern west greenland margins oceanic crust is separated from continental crust by highly stretched but non magmatic transition zones which developed before sea floor spreading a complex transform zone which developed during sea floor spreading in late paleocene and early eocene time separates continental and oceanic crust along the baffin island margin the greenland and labrador ocean continent transitions are asymmetric across the only available conjugate cross sections however a cross section through the labrador margin farther north resembles the greenland cross section in the conjugate pair more than it does the labrador cross section of this pair consideration of the geological history of the area suggests that the non magmatic transition zones may have formed by slow extension of a few millimetres per year through a period of 53 ma during cretaceous and early paleocene time