rethinking conditions necessary for pseudotachylyte formation observations from the otago schists south island new zealand abstract pseudotachylytes and two distinct types of cataclasite in the otago schist at tucker hill south island new zealand provide evidence for both seismic slip and aseismic creep on a normal fault zone during regional crustal extension in late cretaceous time regional geologic evidence suggests that the fault had its present low angle dip ca 10 at the time it was active type a cataclasites presumably aseismic can be recognized by bi fractal grain size distributions monomict composition angular clasts of uniform textural maturity and a crude fabric defined by oriented grains and transgranular fractures type b cataclasites possibly cosesimic have characteristics consistent with fluidized grain flow including heterogeneous clast shapes and types a bimodal grain size distribution intrusive relationships with other rocks and the absence of any fabric or transecting fractures pseudotachylyte which occurs as fault veins injection veins and more complex types of intrusive structures consistently cuts across and invades type a cataclasites but is both intrusive into and included as clasts in type b cataclasites these relationships are consistent with a fault evolution model in which the development of a damage zone through aseismic cataclasis type a facilitates the formation of pseudotachylyte in a subsequent seismic event by providing a permeable matrix through which fluids can drain in the early stages of slip thereby maintaining frictional contact between rock surfaces the formation of pseudotachylyte in turn may seal the fault zone and lead to thermal pressurization in a later seismic cycle forming fluidized type b cataclasites seismic slip on the low angle normal fault zone at tucker hill may have occurred by two distinct modes of dynamic weakening melt lubrication and thermal pressurization in successive seismic events although there is a perception among geologists that pseudotachylyte is most likely to form in intact crystalline rocks geophysical models of fault zones clearly demonstrate that pseudotachylyte formation is actually suppressed in low permeability rock because any fluids present would be unable to escape the fault zone and thermal pressurization would rapidly reduce frictional resistance the paradigmatic occurrences of pseudotachylyte in otherwise pristine crystalline rocks probably represent somewhat exceptional circumstances single rupture events at very high effective stress in dry rock coseismic frictional melts may actually be more common in hydrated rocks like the schist at tucker hill but harder to recognize and also vulnerable to overprinting as a fault zone matures in such rocks pseudotachylyte may represent an intermediate stage in the evolution of a fault zone the period between the formation of a high permeability damage zone and the development of a low permeability fault core

fission track analysis reveals character of collisional tectonics in new zealand during the late cenozoic the pacific plate has been obliquely converging with the australia plate in south island new zealand this has resulted in westward obduction of continental crust of the pacific plate and consequently a major mountain range the southern alps has formed east of the alpine fault and within the leading edge of the pacific plate we have applied the apatite and zircon fission track dating technique to a suite of outcrop samples from three transects across the southern alps starting at the alpine fault to better understand the uplift age and structure of the continental collision the results show the following 1 uplift was underway at 7 ma in the south at haast pass and by 5 ma in the north at arthur s pass 2 profiles of the total amount of late cenozoic uplift show an exponential increase toward the alpine fault adjacent to the alpine fault there has been 14 5 to 21 5 km of uplift in the vicinity of haast pass 14 5 to 21 km near mt cook and 12 5 to 15 5 km in the arthur s pass transect adjacent to the alpine fault in the mount cook region the average uplift rate from 5 5 ma to 1 ma was 2 3 to 2 5 mm yr between 1 ma and the present it has averaged 6 2 mm yr the strongly asymmetric uplift pattern is responsible for the exposure of a 13 25 km wide belt of greenschist to midamphibolite facies rocks immediately east of the alpine fault known as the alpine schists 3 late cenozoic uplift of torlesse greywackes and alpine schists was preceeded during the jurassic early cretaceous by 5 8 km of uplift the otago schist belt to the south was uplifted much more during this interval and in addition western parts of the otago schists were uplifted 5 6 km during the late cretaceous 4 the fission track data do not support the notion of significant late cenozoic shear heating about the alpine fault as previously suggested from spatial variations in k ar ages of the otago and alpine schists

slab derived fluids and quartz vein formation in an accretionary prism otago schist new zealand regional quartz vein formation and the fluxes flow paths and sources of metamorphic fluids were investigated in the mesozoic accretionary prism of new zealand by using a new chemical mass balance analysis of outcrops samples were collected at meter or submeter intervals along outcrop length traverses and combined to obtain average chemical compositions of whole outcrops mass balance analysis used zr as an immobile reference frame and as a monitor of sedimentary sorting processes sio2 zr systematics produced by sedimentary processes differ greatly from those caused by metasomatic mass transfer of silica allowing evaluation of vein formation mechanisms relatively undeformed metasedimentary outcrops of low metamorphic grade mostly prehnite pumpellyite facies are nearly unveined and characterized by sedimentary compositional trends more deformed outcrops of higher metamorphic grade mostly greenschist facies contain 10 30 vol quartz veins these outcrops underwent mass addition of externally derived silica into quartz veins accompanied by addition of na and removal of k and w average silica additions suggest a time integrated fluid flux of 104 105 batchmode documentclass fleqn 10pt legalpaper article usepackage amssymb usepackage amsfonts usepackage amsmath pagestyle empty begin document m 3 fluid end document batchmode documentclass fleqn 10pt legalpaper article usepackage amssymb usepackage amsfonts usepackage amsmath pagestyle empty begin document m 2 rock end document for fluids ascending through the prism dehydration of spilitized oceanic crust subducting beneath the prism is the most probable source for this large fluid flux and could also have caused the na k metasomatism the w removed from deep levels of the prism may have been deposited in focused retrograde au w quartz veins at shallow levels by ascending fluids transfer of sio2 from subducting slabs into accretionary prisms is a plausible mechanism for long term bulk silica enrichment of the continents beyond that possible by magmatic differentiation

fission track analysis of the late cenozoic vertical kinematics of continental pacific crust south island new zealand during the late cenozoic the pacific plate has been converging obliquely with the australia plate in south island new zealand a result of this convergence has been the growth of a major mountain range the southern alps at the leading edge of the pacific plate the results of fission track analysis of 140 samples from 13 transects across the alps reported here establish the late cenozoic vertical kinematics amount age and rate of rock uplift of the pacific crust underlying the alps the late cenozoic rock uplift of the pacific crust is asymmetrical with respect to the alpine fault being a maximum 19 km immediately east of the central part of the fault with lesser values at the eastern 3 km northern 10 km and southern 8 km extremities of the alps the age of the start of rock uplift varies spatially across the southern alps the earliest indications from fission track analysis being at 8 ma at the southern end of the alps decreasing to 5 ma at the northern end and 3 ma along the southeastern margin this age variation reflects the longer time over which the southern parts of the alps have been in collision the rate of propagation of rock uplift southeastward into the pacific plate has been 30 mm yr nearly 4 times the late cenozoic average rate of convergence normal to the plate boundary late cenozoic mean rock uplift rates range from a maximum of 2 8 mm yr at the alpine fault to a minimum of 1 0 mm yr in the east and have been sustained for periods of 3 8 m y accompanying denudation has exhumed amphibolite grade rocks immediately east of the alpine fault the rock uplift has been controlled by oblique slip displacement on the alpine fault a continental crustal section at least 19 km thick has been uplifted on the alpine fault comparison of the late cenozoic mean rock uplift rates with uplift rates derived from reset zircon data 2 10 mm yr near the alpine fault shows that uplift has accelerated over time but only significantly since 1 3 0 3 ma the amount of mesozoic uplift ranged from minimal amounts north of arthur s pass to 3 km near mount cook to 10 km in the south at lake wanaka

low temperature shallow water hydrothermal vent mineralization following the recent submarine eruption of tagoro volcano el hierro canary islands abstract hydrothermal iron fe rich sediments were recovered from the tagoro underwater volcano central atlantic that formed during the 2011 2012 volcanic event cruises in 2012 and 2014 enabled the monitoring and sampling of the early stage establishment of a hydrothermal system degassing vents produced acoustic flares imaged on echo sounders in june 2012 four months after the eruption a novel hydrothermal vent system was discovered and sampled in 2014 during a rov dive the system is characterized by hornito like structures and chimneys showing active co2 degassing and anomalous temperatures at 120 89 m water depth and along the se flank at 215 185 m water depth associated with secondary cones iron and silica rich gelatinous deposits pooled over and between basanite in the hornitos brecciated lavas and lapilli the low temperature shallow water hydrothermal system was discovered by the venting of fe rich fluids that produced a seafloor draped by extensive fe flocculate deposits precipitated from the neutrally buoyant plumes located along the oxic photic zone at 50 70 m water depths the basanite is capped by mm to cm thick hydrothermally derived fe oxyhydroxide sediment and contains micro cracks and degasification vesicles filled by sulfides mostly pyrite mineralogically the fe oxyhydroxide sediment consists of proto ferrihydrite and ferrihydrite with scarce pyrite at their base the fe rich endmember contains low concentrations of most trace elements in comparison with hydrogenetic ferromanganese deposits and the sediments show some dilution of the fe oxyhydroxide by volcanic ash the fe oxyhydroxide phase with a mean particle size of 3 4 nm low average la fe ratios of the mineralized deposits from the various sampling sites and the positive eu anomalies indicate rapid deposition of the fe oxyhydroxide near the hydrothermal vents electron microprobe studies show the presence of various organomineral structures mainly twisted stalks and sheaths covered by iron silica deposits within the mineralized samples reflecting microbial iron oxidation from the hydrothermal fluids sequencing of 16 s rrna genes also reveals the presence of other microorganisms involved in sulfur and methane cycles samples collected from hornito chimneys contain silicified microorganisms coated by fe rich precipitates the rapid silicification may have been indirectly promoted by microorganisms acting as nucleation sites we suggest that this type of hydrothermal deposit might be more frequent than presently reported to occur in submarine volcanoes on a geological scale these volcanic eruptions and low temperature hydrothermal vents might contribute to increased dissolved metals in seawater and generate considerable fe oxyhydroxide deposits as identified in older hot spot seamounts

long term 17 ma turbidite record of the timing and frequency of large flank collapses of the canary islands volcaniclastic turbidites on the madeira abyssal plain provide a record of large volume volcanic island flank collapses from the canary islands this long term record spans 17 ma and comprises 125 volcaniclastic beds determining the timing provenance and volumes of these turbidites provides key information about the occurrence of mass wasting from the canary islands especially the western islands of tenerife la palma and el hierro these turbidite records demonstrate that landslides often coincide with protracted periods of volcanic edifice growth suggesting that loading of the volcanic edifices may be a key preconditioning factor for landslide triggers furthermore the last large volume failures from tenerife coincide with explosive volcanism at the end of eruptive cycles many large volume canary island landslides also occurred during periods of warmer and wetter climates associated with sea level rise and subsequent highstand however these turbidites are not serially dependent and any association with climate or sea level change is not statistically significant

a provisional structural thickness map of the otago schist new zealand metamorphic zones terranes and lithologic associations provide a subdivision of the lithologically monotonous otago schist on a 10 to 50 kilometer scale in this study form line maps of schist foliation have been used to construct a provisional structural thickness map of the otago schist that allows a more detailed 1 5 km scale subdivision of the entire schist the map shows the macroscopic thickness of schist measured orthogonal to dominant foliation relative to the datum of the caples rakaia terrane boundary the structural thickness map provides a new spatial reference frame for the otago schist that depicts the differing levels of exhumation of penetratively deformed metamorphic rocks the structural thickness parameter shows a good correlation with metamorphic grade white mica grain size and k ar and ar ar ages thus justifying the simplifying assumptions behind the map s construction the map reveals several hitherto little highlighted features including along and across strike correlations interference patterns between mesozoic and cenozoic macroscopic folds net displacement across known and inferred major faults and relative structural position of mesothermal gold deposits

origin of the torlesse terrane and coeval rocks south island new zealand the carboniferous to lower cretaceous torlesse terrane and haast schist derivatives constitute the major part of the complexly deformed facies of the eastern province of new zealand strata consist mainly of quartzofeldspathic graywacke and mudstone intercalated with minor but widely distributed conglomerate and volcanics with associated chert and limestone clastic rocks were deposited largely by sediment gravity flow mechanisms in a deep marine environment also present are a few highly fossiliferous shallow marine and terrestrial deposits of limited areal extent which rest unconformably on or in fault contact with torlesse flysch several periods of deformation are recognized and melange is present on both local and regional scales metamorphism ranges from zeolite to greenschist facies the bulk of the rocks fall into five areally extensive and mutually exclusive fossil zones of the following ages permian atomodesma middle triassic early late triassic torlessia late triassic monotis and late jurassic early cretaceous contacts between major fossil zones are mainly tectonic petrographic analysis permits subdivision of torlesse sandstones into five major petrofacies that correspond in age to the five major fossil zones the sandstone petrofacies mainly arkosic together with the composition of conglomerate clasts mainly indurated torlesse rocks indicate that the source terrane was a continental volcano plutonic arc probably part of gondwanaland coupled with autocannibalistic reworking of older uplifted torlesse rocks in contrast to the quartzofeldspathic nature of the torlesse coeval sedimentary rocks of the eastern province are volcanogenic they are thought to represent related forearc basin maitai murihiku terranes and trench complex caples terrane deposits derived from a volcanic island arc brook street terrane three petrofacies are established for maitai murihiku and caples sandstones the petrofacies indicate a common evolving immature to submature volcanic island arc source for these terranes a reconstruction of new zealand s eastern and western provinces is proposed in permian and triassic times the torlesse was deposited in trench slope or borderland basins along a trench transform margin fronting a continental volcano plutonic arc source western province gondwanaland deposition was spasmodic but voluminous and was accompanied by concurrent deformation and accretion resulting in parallel belts of torlesse rock younging outward from the gondwanaland margin at the same time the brook street terrane volcanic arc and associated terranes were forming to the west of the torlesse site separated from gondwanaland by a marginal sea in latest triassic or early jurassic times the torlesse was rafted into the volcanic arc system via transform faulting approximately parallel to the gondwana margin the collision event resulted in tectonic thickening of torlesse and caples rocks at the plate interface and metamorphism to haast schist the source was then dominated by older partly metamorphosed torlesse terrane newly uplifted along the collision front closing of the marginal sea behind the brook street terrane in late jurassic early cretaceous times resulted in juxtapositioning with the western province gondwanaland along the median tectonic line

wind borne redistribution of snow across an antarctic ice rise redistribution of snow by the wind can drive spatial and temporal variations in snow accumulation that may affect the reconstruction of paleoclimate records from ice cores in this paper we investigate how spatial variations in snow accumulation along a 13 km transect across lyddan ice rise antarctica are related to wind borne snow redistribution lyddan ice rise is an approximately two dimensional ridge which rises about 130 m above the surrounding ice shelves local slopes on its flanks never exceed 0 04 despite this very smooth profile there is a pronounced gradient in snow accumulation across the feature accumulation is highest on the ice shelf to the east climatologically upwind of the ice rise and decreases moving westward with the lowest accumulation seen to the west climatologically downwind of the ice rise crest superimposed on this broad scale gradient are large 20 30 localized variations in accumulation on a scale of around 1 km that appear to be associated with local variations in surface slope of less than 0 01 the broad scale accumulation gradient is consistent with estimates of wind borne redistribution of snow made using wind speed observations from three automatic weather stations the small scale variability in accumulation is reproduced quite well using a snow transport model driven by surface winds obtained from an airflow model providing that both the wind shear and static stability of the upwind flow are taken into account we conclude that great care needs to be exercised in selecting ice core sites in order to avoid the possibility of blowing snow transport confounding climate reconstructions

continuous metamorphic gradient documented by graphitization and k ar age southeast otago new zealand the chrystalls beach brighton coastal section southwest of dunedin new zealand exposes otago schist including the weakly metamorphosed triassic accretionary melange of the chrystalls beach complex and higher grade rocks of a largely felsic arc derived provenance melange zones contain pelagic sediments some of which are manganiferous and metabasites the grade of metamorphism increases progressively from southwest to northeast four mineral zones are recognized largely on the basis of mineral assemblages in psammitic and semipelitic rocks pumpellyite chlorite pumpellyite actinolite epidote actinolite and biotite d 002 data for carbonaceous material b 0 values for phengite and metamorphic phengite k ar ages are reported for 32 pelitic and semipelitic samples remarkably tight correlations are revealed between d 002 for progressively graphitized carbonaceous material k ar ages that range from 184 6 to 138 7 ma and linear distance along the section both the d 002 values and the k ar ages decrease progressively toward the northeast through the four mineral zones and with progressive textural changes all rocks cropping out in the section have undergone a coherent episode of progressive metamorphism associated with terrane collision and have not been disturbed by any later major displacements a convex trend for phengite b 0 values plotted against advancing graphitization suggests p t conditions during metamorphism as in the high pressure intermediate facies series the age of the metamorphic peak is inferred to be 175 155 ma middle to late jurassic with cooling to the mica closure temperature at 155 135 ma late jurassic to early cretaceous unloading denudation and cooling were accompanied by localized hydrothermal events the oldest covering strata were deposited at ca 100 ma and denudation was completed by ca 75 80 ma middle triassic radiolarian nodules in melange zones are dated as preceding the metamorphic peak by about 65 ma associated turbidites contain suspected late middle to early late triassic tube fossils

multi event oceanic island landslides new onshore offshore insights from el hierro island canary archipelago abstract this paper presents a combined onshore offshore morpho structural characterization of the el golfo giant landslide island of el hierro canary archipelago spain offshore data from multibeam echosounders chirp sub bottom profiles and multichannel seismic reflection data and onshore data coming from water wells and galleries have been analyzed the geomorphology and the internal architecture of this giant flank collapse are defined in order to determine its multi event nature the subaerial headscarp shows a non continuous arcuate profile formed by two nested semi circular amphitheaters that extend offshore along a smooth chute suggesting the occurrence of at least two large retrogressive events channels gullies and escarpments developed along the submarine sector of the scar also indicate smaller scale events and predominance of sediment bypass in the lower slope two subunits of submarine mass transport deposits mtds debris avalanche are identified on multichannel seismic reflection profiles with a total estimated volume of 318 km3 84 km3 and 234 km3 for the younger and older mtds respectively data from wells and galleries show abrasion platforms with beach deposits at sea level 0 masl formed after the landslide scar and buried by the post collapse el golfo lavas infill suggesting an age at least older than 23 5 82 5 ka for the landslide

multistage collapse of eight western canary island landslides in the last 1 5 ma sedimentological and geochemical evidence from subunits in submarine flow deposits volcaniclastic turbidites in the madeira abyssal plain provide a record of major landslides from the western canary islands in the last 1 5 ma these volcaniclastic turbidites are composed of multiple fining upward turbidite sands known as subunits the subunits indicate that the landslides responsible for the sediment gravity flows occurred in multiple stages the subunits cannot result from flow reflection or splitting because the compositions of volcanic glasses from each individual subunit in an event bed are subtly different this indicates that each subunit represents a discrete failure as part of a multistage landslide this has significant implications for geohazard assessments as multistage failures reduce the magnitude of the associated tsunami the multistage failure mechanism reduces individual landslide volumes from up to 350 km3 to less than 100 km3 thus although multistage failure ultimately reduce the potential landslide and tsunami threat the landslide events may still generate significant tsunamis close to source

on the effects of anisotropic rheology on ice flow internal structure and the age depth relationship at ice divides we use numerical modeling with a full system stokes solver to elucidate the effects of nonlinear rheology and strain induced anisotropy on ice flow at ice divides we find that anisotropic rheology profoundly affects the shape of both isochrone layering and surface topography anisotropic effects cause the formation of a downward curving fold i e a syncline in isochrones in the lower central area beneath the ice divide when the resulting syncline is superimposed on the well known raymond anticline a double peaked raymond bump is formed furthermore to each side of the raymond bump flanking synclines are formed in addition anisotropic effects are found to give rise to a subtle concavity in the surface profile to both sides of the summit the lower center syncline the flanking synclines and the near summit surface concavity have all previously been observed in nature but hitherto no explanation for the genesis of these features has been given we compare modeling results with radiograms collected from fuchs ice piedmont and kealey ice rise antarctica good overall agreement is found in particular we are able to reproduce all observed qualitative features of surface geometry and internal layering by including and only by including the effects of induced nonlinear rheological anisotropy on flow rheological anisotropy has the potential to profoundly affect the age distribution with depth and caution must be exercised when estimating age of ice from ice cores with an isotropic model the occurrence of linear features parallel to the ridge of ice divides often seen in satellite imagery is indicative of long term stability rather than signs of ongoing ice divide migration as previously suggested such ice divides are ideal locations for extracting ice cores

slope failures on the flanks of the western canary islands abstract landslides have been a key process in the evolution of the western canary islands the younger and more volcanically active canary islands el hierro la palma and tenerife show the clearest evidence of recent landslide activity the evidence includes landslide scars on the island flanks debris deposits on the lower island slopes and volcaniclastic turbidites on the floor of the adjacent ocean basins at least 14 large landslides have occurred on the flanks of the el hierro la palma and tenerife the majority of these in the last 1 million years with the youngest on the northwest flank of el hierro as recent as 15 thousand years in age older landslides undoubtedly occurred but are difficult to quantify because the evidence is buried beneath younger volcanic rocks and sediments landslides on the canary island flanks can be categorised as debris avalanches slumps or debris flows debris avalanches are long runout catastrophic failures which typically affect only the superficial part of the island volcanic sequence up to a maximum thickness of 1 to 2 km they are the commonest type of landslide mapped in contrast slumps move short distances and are deep rooted landslides which may affect the entire thickness of the volcanic edifice debris flows are defined as landslides which primarily affect the sedimentary cover of the submarine island flanks some landslides are complex events involving more than one of the above end member processes individual debris avalanches have volumes in the range of 50 500 km3 cover several thousand km2 of seafloor and have runout distances of up to 130 km from source overall debris avalanche deposits account for about 10 of the total volcanic edifices of the small relatively young islands of el hierro and la palma some parameters such as deposit volumes and landslide ages are difficult to quantify the key characteristics of debris avalanches include a relatively narrow headwall and chute above 3000 m water depth on the island flanks broadening into a depositional lobe below 3000 m debris avalanche deposits have a typically blocky morphology with individual blocks up to a kilometre or more in diameter however considerable variation exists between different avalanche deposits at one extreme the el golfo debris avalanche on el hierro has few large blocks scattered randomly across the avalanche surface at the other icod on the north flank of tenerife has much more numerous but smaller blocks over most of its surface with a few very large blocks confined to the margins of the deposit icod also exhibits flow structures longitudinal shears and pressure ridges that are absent in el golfo the primary controls on the block structure and distribution are inferred to be related to the nature of the landslide material and to flow processes observations in experimental debris flows show that the differences between the el golfo and icod landslide deposits are probably controlled by the greater proportion of fine grained material in the icod landslide this in turn relates to the nature of the failed volcanic rocks which are almost entirely basalt on el hierro but include a much greater proportion of pyroclastic deposits on tenerife landslide occurrence appears to be primarily controlled by the locations of volcanic rift zones on the islands with landslides propagating perpendicular to the rift orientation however this does not explain the uneven distribution of landslides on some islands which seems to indicate that unstable flanks are a weakness that can be carried forward during island development this may occur because certain island flanks are steeper extend to greater water depths or are less buttressed by the surrounding topography and because volcanic production following a landslide my be concentrated in the landslide scar thus focussing subsequent landslide potential in this area landslides are primarily a result of volcanic construction to a point where the mass of volcanic products fails under its own weight although the actual triggering factors are poorly understood they may include or be influenced by dyke intrusion pore pressure changes related to intrusion seismicity or sealevel climate changes a possible relationship between caldera collapse and landsliding on tenerife is not in our interpretation supported by the available evidence

submarine landslides around the canary islands the morphology and structure of the submarine flanks of the canary islands were mapped using the gloria long range side scan sonar system bathymetric multibeam systems and sediment echosounders twelve young 2 ma giant landslides have been identified on the submarine flanks of the canary islands up to now older landslide events are long buried under a thick sediment cover due to high sedimentation rates around the canary islands most slides were found on the flanks of the youngest and most active islands of la palma el hierro and tenerife but young giant landslides were also identified on the flanks of the older 15 20 ma but still active eastern islands large scale mass wasting is an important process during all periods of major magmatic activity the long lived volcanic constructive history of the islands of the canary archipelago is balanced by a correspondingly long history of destruction resulting in a higher landslide frequency for the canary islands compared to the hawaiian islands where giant landslides only occur late in the period of active shield growth the lower stability of the flanks of the canaries is probably due to the much steeper slopes of the islands a result of the abundance of highly evolved intrusive and extrusive rocks another reason for the enhanced slope instability is the abundance of pyroclastic deposits on canary islands resulting from frequent explosive eruptions due to the elevated volatile contents in the highly alkalic magmas dike induced rifting is most likely the main trigger mechanism for destabilization of the flanks flank collapses are a major geological hazard for the canary islands due to the sector collapses themselves as well as triggering of tsunamis in at least one case a giant lateral blast occurred when an active magmatic or hydrothermal system became unroofed during flank collapse

thermochronological analysis of the dynamics of the southern alps new zealand the isotopic ages of material exposed close to the alpine fault in the southern alps new zealand vary in a consistent fashion along the orogen for the k ar system muscovite and biotite ages display two distinct spatial trends that meet in the area of fox glacier where a strong relationship is observed between k ar age and altitude excess argon is present in samples between mount kinnaird and haast pass in the southwest of the southern alps giving unrealistically old inconsistent k ar ages across this region incorporation of excess argon appears to be highly variable however and minimization of its influence on dynamical interpretations of thermochronology is possible through considering only the youngest age from a given area such treatment indicates that excess argon contamination does not play an important role in the systematic k ar age variation identified along the southern alps the observed age distribution is consistent with estimates of the modern rapid uplift and exhumation of the southern alps beginning ca 5 ma k ar mica ages older than this south of the copland valley indicate that substantial late cenozoic exhumation occurred along the southern alps prior to the development of the modern tectonic regime but at rates lower than at present total exhumation during the current phase of tectonism in the southern alps decreases from the whataroa river southward north of fox glacier the southern alps have attained a dynamical steady state such that the observed distribution of exhumation will not change significantly with further deformation and denudation under current conditions

tectonic significance of ductile deformation in low grade sandstones in the mesozoic otago subduction wedge new zealand this study demonstrates how ductile strain measurements can determine the tectonic evolution of a large and long lived subduction wedge we provide a synthesis of the geology of the south island of new zealand with an emphasis on a wedge tectonics perspective that contrasts with a traditional view that interprets new zealand geology in the context of terrane collision and accretion we argue that the otago subduction wedge evolved in a steady fashion throughout its 290 to 105 ma history in response to accretion of trench fill and abyssal plain sediments and slow erosion of a subaerially exposed forearc high maximum temperatures for rocks in the flanks of the forearc high were no greater than 150 to 300 c with solution mass transfer active as the dominant ductile mechanism the 54 studied samples provide information about the absolute ductile strains acquired all along their flow path from the site of accretion to exhumation in the forearc high we use tensor averages to estimate strain at a regional scale these show plane strain uniaxial flattening given that the tensor averages for sy and sx are close to one on average sz is approximately 0 77 and this is balanced by a mass loss of about 23 percent the average z direction is sub horizontal in the prowedge and moderately plunging in the retrowedge a difference attributed to spatial variations in the mode of accretion we infer that rocks presently in the pro side of the otago high were sourced by frontal accretion and those in the retro side were underplated this result highlights the important role of accretion in determining the style of within wedge deformation and also demonstrates the benefit of using a tensor averaging approach to examine regional strain

characterizing the glaciological conditions at halvfarryggen ice dome dronning maud land antarctica we present a comprehensive approach including field data remote sensing and an anisotropic ice flow model to characterize halvfarryggen ice dome in coastal dronning maud land antarctica this is a potential drill site for the international partnerships in ice core sciences which has identified the need for ice cores covering atmospheric conditions during the last few millennia we derive the surface topography the ice stratigraphy from radar data and accumulation rates which vary from 400 to 1670 kg m 2 a 1 due to preferred wind directions and changing surface slope the stratigraphy shows anticlines and synclines beneath the divides we transfer dansgaard johnsen age depth scales from the flanks along isochrones to the divide in the upper 20 50 of the ice thickness and show that they compare well with the results of a full stokes anisotropic ice flow model which predicts 1 11 ka bp ice at 90 of the ice thickness 2 a temporally stable divide for at least 2700 4500 years 3 basal temperatures below the melting point 12 degrees c to 5 degrees c and 4 a highly developed crystal orientation fabric cof we suggest drilling into the apices of the deep anticlines providing a good compromise between record length and temporal resolution and also facilitating studies of the interplay of anisotropic cof and ice flow

potassium argon age studies of a low grade progressively metamorphosed greywacke sequence dansey pass south island new zealand 39 potassium argon age determinations from a progressively metamorphosed greywacke schist sequence in southern new zealand prehnite pumpellyite to greenschist facies range from 199 to 154 ma early to late jurassic they show an inverse correlation of age with metamorphic grade concordant ages from varied lithologies at all metamorphic grades show that degassing of detrital potassium bearing minerals was completed during metamorphism the lowest grade metamorphic rocks which yield the oldest ages about 200 ma have only just exceeded the argon closure temperature and hence their ages date closely their time of metamorphism in the earliest jurassic thus it is shown that the jurassic cretaceous rangitata orogeny in new zealand commenced earlier is more complex and of longer duration than previously supposed the remaining ages from pumpellyite actinolite and lower greenschist rocks range uniformly through the jurassic and are interpreted as cooling ages from these data a long term uplift rate of 0 23 mm yr is calculated for the jurassic cretaceous

structural boundaries and biotite and garnet isograds in the otago and alpine schists new zealand the otago and alpine schist belts of southern new zealand have traditionally been treated as structurally continuous metamorphic belts with minor modification by brittle faulting mapping of biotite and garnet isograds has been hindered by rock types unfavourable for index mineral growth closer examination of well exposed boundaries between metamorphic zones shows that they juxtapose rocks of different type and structural history apparent structural continuity across these zones is due to development of a locally pervasive boundary parallel foliation on both sides of the boundary in a broad boundary zone up to 2 km wide this feature has implications for mapping and metamorphic petrology in other metamorphic belts where structural continuity has traditionally been assumed true metamorphic isograds may be rare and metamorphic zones may more commonly represent structural slices of complex tectonically disrupted metamorphic piles

evidence from u pb zircon and 40ar 39ar muscovite detrital mineral ages in metasandstones for movement of the torlesse suspect terrane around the eastern margin of gondwanaland new u pb detrital zircon ages from triassic metasandstones of the torlesse terrane in new zealand are compared with 40ar 39ar muscovite data and together reveal four main source components i major triassic permian 210 270 myr old and ii minor permian carboniferous 280 350 myr old granitoids recorded in zircon and muscovite data iii minor early middle palaeozoic metamorphic rocks recorded mainly by muscovite 420 460 myr old and iv minor late precambrian cambrian igneous and metamorphic complexes 480 570 myr old recorded by zircon only there are also proterozoic zircon ages with no clear grouping 580 1270 myr the relative absence of late palaeozoic 350 420 myr old components excludes granitoid terranes in the southern lachlan fold belt australia and its continuation into north victoria land east antarctica and marie byrd land west antarctica as a potential source for the torlesse the age data are compatible with derivation from granitoid terranes of the northern new england orogen and hinterland in ne australia this confirms that the torlesse terrane of new zealand is a suspect terrane that probably originated at the ne australian permian triassic gondwanaland margin and then 200 120 ma moved 2500 km southwards to its present new zealand position by the late cretaceous 90 ma this sense of movement is analogous to that suggested for palaeozoic mesozoic terranes at the north american pacific margin

fluid evolution fluid immiscibility and gold deposition during cretaceous recent tectonics and uplift of the otago and alpine schist new zealand abstract the otago and alpine schist metamorphic belts have been uplifted and experienced collisional extensional transcurrent and then renewed collisional tectonics over the past 120 ma au bearing veins have been deposited in greenschist facies rocks at many different structural levels from 10 km depth to within a few hundred metres of the surface in many structural settings during this long uplift history fluids which deposited these veins have had a remarkably similar composition throughout the tectonic history veins formed near to the brittle ductile transition and in the lower parts of the brittle region were deposited by water with

investigating englacial reflections with vibro and explosive seismic surveys at halvfarryggen ice dome antarctica explosive seismic reflection data from halvfarryggen a 910m thick local ice dome of the antarctic ice sheet show numerous laterally continuous reflections within the ice between 300 and 870m depth we compare the quality of data obtained with explosive sources with that obtained using a vibroseis source for detecting englacial reflections with a snowstreamer and investigate the origin of englacial reflections we find vibroseis in combination with a snowstreamer is ten times more productive than explosive seismics however englacial reflections are more clearly visible with explosives which have a broader bandwidth signature than the vibroseis which is band limited at the high frequency end to 100 hz only the strongest and deepest englacial reflection is detected with vibroseis we interpret the majority of englacial reflections to originate from changes in the crystal orientation fabric in closely spaced layers less than the vibro seismic tuning thickness of 13 5 m phase analysis of the lowermost englacial reflector 40m above the bed indicates a sharp increase in seismic wave speed we interpret this reflector as a transition to a vertical single maximum fabric our findings support current results from anisotropic ice flow models that crystal fabric is highly anisotropic at ice domes both laterally and vertically

a giant landslide on the north flank of tenerife canary islands the extent of mass wasting along the north flank of tenerife has been mapped using swath bathymetry gloria side scan sonar and 3 5 khz echo sounder data the marine surveys show that north of tenerife a giant landslide is exposed over an area of 5500 km2 of the seafloor more than twice the surface area of the island the landslide truncates an older ridge and valley topography that is associated with the shield building basalts on tenerife we interpret the ridge and valley topography as the result of subaerial erosion the landslide is estimated to have a length of 100 km a width of up to 80 km and a volume of about 1000 km3 it extends onshore into the orotava and icod valleys which have been interpreted as of landslide origin k ar dating of basaltic flows in the steep headwall of orotava suggests an age of formation for the valley is younger than 0 78 ma and may even be younger than 0 27 ma the icod valley is located immediately to the north of the most recent volcano on tenerife las canadas and has been associated with the collapse of its caldera between 1 2 and 0 2 ma a young age for the landslide is supported by the 3 5 khz echo sounder data which show that the landslide is draped by a thin 10 m layer of younger sediment the landslide did not form however during a single catastrophic event but represents the amalgamation of a number of separate landslides the occurrence of the ridge and valley topography in water depths of up to 2 5 km suggests that the shield building basalts have subsided by at least this amount since they formed 3 3 8 0 ma we speculate that this subsidence is caused by some form of stress relaxation that occurs in the underlying lithosphere the giant landslide imaged in our sonar data is associated with the late stages in the development of the most recent volcano on tenerife las canadas which only began at about 1 8 ma thus landsliding may be a particular feature of the time soon after emplacement when because of incomplete isostatic adjustment oceanic volcanoes have their greatest elevations above sea level and therefore are most susceptible to slope failure

tracking crustal processes by ft thermochronology in a forearc high hikurangi margin new zealand involving cretaceous subduction termination and mid cenozoic subduction initiation abstract raukumara peninsula is a forearc high on the pacific margin of new zealand its basement comprises two sedimentary terranes that formed in subduction prisms during the late jurassic mid cretaceous marking the end of subduction along the pacific margin of eastern gondwanaland the cover includes allochthonous late cretaceous oligocene passive margin slope to basin facies emplaced into the forearc during the early miocene initiation of the current subduction regime as well as autochthonous neogene sediments apatite and zircon fission track ft data are reported and interpreted for the basement and cover sediments the detrital zircon ft ages constrain the maximum depositional ages of the low grade zeolite and pumpellyite facies basement pahau terrane is no older than 152 13 ma this zircon ft mode and older ones 198 8 ma 232 58 ma recording cooling denudation in the source areas probably including rakaia terrane waioeka terrane located oceanward of pahau terrane is no older than 125 2 ma being the age of volcanic derived zircons and supports early cretaceous dinoflagellate ages reported previously omaio petrofacies comprises the youngest part of the waioeka terrane and has a zircon ft age of 108 6 3 ma this indicates that basement sequences accumulated in the northeast contemporaneously with cover sequences koranga fm in the southwestern part of the peninsula these zircon ft ages together with the results of thermal history modelling of certain waioeka terrane samples are consistent with migration of a thrust system in a subduction prism environment during the late jurassic cretaceous until about 85 ma as proposed earlier when mesozoic subduction terminated apatite ft data indicate for all basement samples a phase of neogene heating and cooling associated with basin formation sediment accumulation and subsequent uplift and erosion resulting in almost complete removal of the neogene stratigraphic record over western parts of the peninsula forward modelling of the data imply rapid earliest miocene downwarping of the crust in bay of plenty coinciding with initiation of subduction of pacific plate followed by emplacement of a 1 5 2 0 km thick wedge of east coast allochthon from the northeast early miocene sediments accumulated in a foredeep along the front sw margin of the allochthon probably sourced from a block of pahau basement west of whakatane fault which was exhumed and denuded by 4 km contemporaneously during the late early to middle miocene the basin depocentre migrated further to the southwest while areas previously downwarped northeast were uplifted and eroded the depocentre migration and subsequent inversion is a pattern that affected most of north island and is related to mechanical or dynamical interaction of the two plates as the slab of pacific oceanic lithosphere was emplaced beneath north island this may be a general feature of young subduction zones

jurassic tectonic history of the otago schist new zealand a regional reanalysis of the otago schist shows that ductile mesoscopic structures can be interpreted as elements of a single progressive heterogeneous noncoaxial jurassic deformation related to juxtaposition of the caples and torlesse terranes stretching lineations are parallel oblique and perpendicular to the orogen in various parts of otago but changes in trend are generally unrelated to the terrane boundary structural geometry and rare shear criteria indicate that the caples terrane overthrust the torlesse terrane from the south and west but precise transport directions are not known being model dependent macroscopic recumbent folds may be present in the schist but mainly in the form of partially developed nappe structures truncated by zones of retransposed foliation and or high strain

recurrent large scale landsliding on the west flank of la palma canary islands a large area of debris avalanche deposits has been discovered on the western submarine flanks of the island of la palma multibeam bathymetry and its derivative backscatter data towed ocean bottom instrument tobi sidescan sonar images and 3 5 khz and airgun seismic reflection data have been used to identify at least two and possibly as many as four major landslide events the youngest of the events the cumbre nueva debris avalanche extends onshore into the valleys bounded by the caldera de taburiente and cumbre nueva ridge which mark the degraded collapse scars radiometric dating of the volcanic flows in the headwall indicate an age of between 536 and 125 ka for this landslide the debris avalanche covers an area of 780 km2 has a maximum thickness of 500 m and has an estimated volume of 95 km3 older deposits collectively referred to as the playa de la veta debris avalanche complex are probably as the name indicates an amalgamation of at least two or three events rather than the result of a single catastrophic failure the playa de la veta debris avalanche complex is associated onshore with an unconformity dated as late matuyama 1 ma to 800 ka it covers an area of 1200 km2 has a maximum thickness of 1300 m and may represent a total volume of up to 650 km3 the greater thicknesses and limited areas occupied by debris avalanches on the western flank of la palma compared to other landslides in the canary archipelago suggest that the la palma landslide masses have relatively low mobility the different debris avalanche lobes formed by each landslide event are separated by channels 2 2 5 km wide the clear relationship between channel position and the boundaries of each debris avalanche lobe indicates that debris avalanches control later channel formation and pathways the relief of the submarine flanks of the la palma volcanoes in the areas of island slope unaffected by landslides is mainly the result of constructional volcanic processes however the older submarine slopes such as in the northern taburiente volcano may also have been modified by smaller scale submarine mass wasting and sediment flows

evolution of submarine eruptive activity during the 2011 2012 el hierro event as documented by hydroacoustic images and remotely operated vehicle observations submarine volcanic eruptions are frequent and important events yet they are rarely observed here we relate bathymetric and hydroacoustic images from the 2011 to 2012 el hierro eruption with surface observations and deposits imaged and sampled by rov as a result of the shallow submarine eruption a new volcano named tagoro grew from 375 to 89 m depth the eruption consisted of two main phases of edifice construction intercalated with collapse events hydroacoustic images show that the eruptions ranged from explosive to effusive with variable plume types and resulting deposits even over short time intervals at the base of the edifice rov observations show large accumulations of lava balloons changing in size and type downslope coinciding with the area where floating lava balloon fallout was observed peaks in eruption intensity during explosive phases generated vigorous bubbling at the surface extensive ash vesicular lapilli and formed high density currents which together with periods of edifice gravitational collapse produced extensive deep volcaniclastic aprons secondary cones developed in the last stages and show evidence for effusive activity with lava ponds and lava flows that cover deposits of stacked lava balloons chaotic masses of heterometric boulders around the summit of the principal cone are related to progressive sealing of the vent with decreasing or variable magma supply hornitos represent the final eruptive activity with hydrothermal alteration and bacterial mats at the summit our study documents the distinct evolution of a submarine volcano and highlights the range of deposit types that may form and be rapidly destroyed in such eruptions

critical wedge theory and the mesozoic accretionary wedge of new zealand abstract we apply principles of critical wedge theory to explain the jurassic and early cretaceous tectonic development of the mesozoic accretionary wedge of new zealand one of the best exposed subduction complexes on earth by summarizing factors that can lead to drastic changes in wedge balance the wedge has a carboniferous to cretaceous 330 110 ma stratigraphic record with an early cretaceous 145 130 ma hiatus in clastic deposition across the esk head melange near the front of the wedge in the rear of the wedge the age of moderately high pressure metamorphism of the otago schist which represents the forearc high of the wedge occurred near the end of this stratigraphic hiatus the otago schist has a subhorizontal foliation indicative of underplating as the mode of accretion the outer frontal part of the wedge has a subvertical foliation indicative of frontal accretion we propose that in the jurassic and earliest cretaceous the wedge grew by frontal accretion by 135 ma the wedge became too long and was subcritical this resulted in tectonic erosion of the front of the wedge the tectonically eroded material was underthrust underplated beneath the rear of the wedge to form the subhorizontally foliated otago schist colliding seamounts and or oceanic plateaux preserved in the esk head melange may have aided wedge instability the proposed wedge instability and increased horizontal shortening was largely coeval with major changes in the chemistry of subduction related arc magmatism and a phase of shortening and high pressure metamorphism in the arc our model provides a holistic and coherent interpretation explaining the major tectonic features of the long lived new zealand part of the east gondwana subduction zone

evidence of a modern deep water magmatic hydrothermal system in the canary basin eastern central atlantic ocean new seismic profiles bathymetric data and sediment rock sampling document for the first time the discovery of hydrothermal vent complexes and volcanic cones at 4800 5200 m depth related to recent volcanic and intrusive activity in an unexplored area of the canary basin eastern atlantic ocean 500 km west of the canary islands a complex of sill intrusions is imaged on seismic profiles showing saucer shaped parallel or inclined geometries three main types of structures are related to these intrusions type i consists of cone shaped depressions developed above inclined sills interpreted as hydrothermal vents type ii is the most abundant and is represented by isolated or clustered hydrothermal domes bounded by faults rooted at the tips of saucer shaped sills domes are interpreted as seabed expressions of reservoirs of ch4 and co2 rich fluids formed by degassing and contact metamorphism of organic rich sediments around sill intrusions type iii are hydrothermal volcanic complexes originated above stratified or branched inclined sills connected by a chimney to the seabed volcanic edifice parallel sills sourced from the magmatic chimney formed also domes surrounding the volcanic cones core and dredges revealed that these volcanoes which must be among the deepest in the world are constituted by oib type basanites with an outer ring of blue green hydrothermal al rich smectite muds magmatic activity is dated based on lava samples at 0 78 0 05 and 1 61 0 09 ma k ar methods and on tephra layers within cores at 25 237 ky the subvent hydrothermal volcanic complex constitutes the first modern system reported in deep water oceanic basins related to intraplate hotspot activity

repeated debris avalanches on tenerife and genesis of las canadas caldera wall canary islands geologic evidence on tenerife canary islands indicates six successive north directed debris avalanche events including the anaga and teno ca 6 ma events that affected the old basaltic series and the tigaiga 2 3 ma roques de garcia possibly 0 6 0 7 ma orotava ca 0 6 ma and icod 0 15 ma avalanche events that affected the canadas and dorsal volcanic edifices the approximate total volume 1000 km3 inferred for these events can account for the volume of previous estimates of offshore volcanic debris these repeated flank failures can also account for the present morphology of las canadas caldera wall which partly bounds a multiepisodic lateral collapse structure 25 km wide

antarctic ice rises and rumples their properties and significance for ice sheet dynamics and evolution locally grounded features in ice shelves called ice rises and rumples play a key role buttressing discharge from the antarctic ice sheet and regulating its contribution to sea level ice rises typically rise several hundreds of meters above the surrounding ice shelf shelf flow is diverted around them on the other hand shelf ice flows across ice rumples which typically rise only a few tens of meters above the ice shelf ice rises contain rich histories of deglaciation and climate that extend back over timescales ranging from a few millennia to beyond the last glacial maximum numerical model results have shown that the buttressing effects of ice rises and rumples are significant but details of processes and how they evolve remain poorly understood fundamental information about the conditions and processes that cause transitions between floating ice shelves ice rises and ice rumples is needed in order to assess their impact on ice sheet behavior targeted high resolution observational data are needed to evaluate and improve prognostic numerical models and parameterizations of the effects of small scale pinning points on grounding zone dynamics

a topographic origin for double ridge features in visible imagery of ice divides in antarctica the appearance of double ridge features on visible imagery of the ice divides of antarctic ice rises has often been noted but largely due to a lack of adequate ground truth their origins have remained enigmatic we present several examples of ice rises and other isolated ice flow centres that apparently show double ridges we investigate one of these in particular fletcher promontory antarctica a digital elevation model dem of the summit region is derived from surface profiles obtained using the global positioning system gps and this is correlated with landsat mss satellite imagery precise registration is achieved by correlating image brightness values with surface slope calculated along the direction of the sun azimuth in the image using a simple bi directional relation the dem data are used to model the landsat image we therefore demonstrate that the double ridge is a product of a subtle concavity parallel to the ridge and is unlikely to be dependent on other factors this concavity is not predicted by steady state models of ice divides and so we suggest that the ridge may not be in a steady state but responding to changes in the glaciological boundary conditions we speculate that this may be an indication of ongoing migration of the ice divide

sedimentological and geochemical evidence for multistage failure of volcanic island landslides a case study from icod landslide on north tenerife canary islands 1 volcanic island landslides can pose a significant geohazard through landslide generated tsunamis however a lack of direct observations means that factors influencing tsunamigenic potential of landslides remain poorly constrained the study of distal turbidites generated from past landslides can provide useful insights into key aspects of the landslide dynamics and emplacement process such as total event volume and whether landslides occurred as single or multiple events the northern flank of tenerife has undergone multiple landslide events the most recent being the icod landslide dated at 165 ka the icod landslide generated a turbidite with a deposit volume of 210 km3 covering 355 000 km2of seafloor off northwest africa the icod turbidite architecture displays a stacked sequence of seven normally graded sand and mud intervals named subunits sbu1 7 evidence from subunit bulk geochemistry volume basal grain size volcanic glass composition and sand mineralogy combined with petrophysical and geophysical data suggests that the subunit facies represents multistage retrogressive failure of the icod landslide the basal subunits sbu1 3 indicate that the first three stages of the landslide had a submarine component whereas the upper subunits sbu4 7 originated above sea level the presence of thin non bioturbated mud intervals between subunit sands suggests a likely time interval of at least several days between each stage of failure these results have important implications for tsunamigenesis from such landslides as multistage retrogressive failures separated by several days and with both a submarine and subaerial component will have markedly lower tsunamigenic potential than a single block failure

correlation frequency of emplacement and source directions of megaturbidites on the madeira abyssal plain abstract this paper describes the sediments of the whole madeira abyssal plain including the madcap area to the south previous studies have centred on the central sub basin which occupies most of the plain and which has become one of the most studied areas of seafloor the plain is made up of a series of large turbidites separated by thin pelagic layers which can be used to provide a high resolution stratigraphy back to about 750 000 years many of the turbidites were deposited close to oxygen isotope stage boundaries suggesting a strong relationship to sea level climate change although the exact initiation mechanism for the flows is not known data from the northern and southern extensions of the plain shows the effects of different entry points for the four main turbidite groups volcanic rich turbidites enter from the ne and e calcareous turbidites from the w one group of organic rich turbidites enters from the se and one group from the ne and e different turbidite sources operate for limited periods before switching to one of the other source areas it is very rare for two sources to provide turbidites at the same isotope stage boundary

40ar 39ar thermochronologic constraints on deformation metamorphism and cooling exhumation of a mesozoic accretionary wedge otago schist new zealand abstract structural thickening of the torlesse accretionary wedge via juxtaposition of arc derived greywackes caples terrane and quartzo feldspathic greywackes torlesse terrane at 120 ma formed a belt of schist otago schist with distinct mica fabrics defining i schistosity ii transposition layering and iii crenulation cleavage thirty five 40ar 39ar step heating experiments on these micas and whole rock micaceous fabrics from the otago schist have shown that the main metamorphism and deformation occurred between 160 and 140 ma recorded in the low grade flanks through 120 ma shear zone deformation this was followed either by very gradual cooling or no cooling until about 110 ma with some form of extensional tectonic exhumation and cooling of the high grade metamorphic core between 109 and 100 ma major shear zones separating the low grade and high grade parts of the schist define regions of separate and distinct apparent age groupings that underwent different thermo tectonic histories apparent ages on the low grade north flank hanging wall to the hyde macraes and rise and shine shear zones range from 145 to 159 ma n 8 whereas on the low grade south flank hanging wall to the remarkables shear zone or caples terrane range from 144 to 156 ma n 5 most of these samples show complex age spectra caused by mixing between radiogenic argon released from neocrystalline metamorphic mica and lesser detrital mica several of the hanging wall samples with ages of 144 147 ma show no evidence for detrital contamination in thin section or in the form of the age spectra apparent ages from the high grade metamorphic core garnet biotite albite zone range from 131 to 106 ma n 13 with a strong grouping 113 109 ma n 7 in the immediate footwall to the major remarkables shear zone most of the age spectra from within the core of the schist belt yield complex age spectra that we interpret to be the result of prolonged residence within the argon partial retention interval for white mica 430 330 c samples with apparent ages of about 110 109 ma tend to give concordant plateaux suggesting more rapid cooling the youngest and most disturbed age spectra come from within the alpine chlorite overprint zone where samples with strong development of crenulation cleavage gave ages 85 107 and 101 ma due to partial resetting during retrogression the bounding remarkables shear zone shows resetting effects due to dynamic recrystallization with apparent ages of 127 122 ma whereas overprinting shear zones within the core of the schist show apparent ages of 112 109 and 106 ma these data when linked with extensional exhumation of high grade rocks in other parts of new zealand indicate that the east gondwana margin underwent significant extension in the 110 90 ma period

kar and rbsr age studies of the metamorphism and quartz vein au mineralisation on terawhiti hill near wellington new zealand abstract k ar and rb sr ages have been determined for low grade torlesse terrane metagreywacke sequences wellington greywackes at terawhiti hill near wellington and the more schistose rocks in a narrow sheared zone containing aubearing quartz reefs a rb sr whole rock isochron age of 200 7 ma provides the best age estimate late triassic or earliest jurassic for regional metamorphism of the wellington greywackes and their initial 87 sr 86 sr ratio at this time 0 70690 0 00009 is characteristic of the extensive torlesse terrane elsewhere that is derived from a silicic continental source both k ar and rb sr ages indicate a local but intense shearing event at terawhiti hill at 125 130 ma early cretaceous after earlier metamorphism and uplift of the greywackes and possibly during imbrication of torlesse rocks on a regional scale formation of quartz veins and some deposition of au in schists and cataclastic rocks is possibly synchronous with this event but au is more importantly associated with isolated and rare later quartz reefs formed at 100 110 ma from sr isotope evidence the earlier quartz veins have a local in situ origin but the younger veins have an extraneous possibly deeper source

constraints on the tectonics of the mule mountains thrust system southeast california and southwest arizona the mule mountains thrust system crops out discontinuously over a 100 km strike length in the blythe quartzsite region of southeast california and southwest arizona along the thrust system middle and upper crustal metamorphic and plutonic rocks of proterozoic and mesozoic age are thrust north northeastward 015 degree to 035 degree over a lower plate metamorphic terrane that formed part of the proterozoic north american craton its paleozoic sedimentary rock cover overlying mesozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks and the intruding jurassic and cretaceous granitic rocks stratigraphic petrologic and pb isotopic ties for jurassic granitoids and for jurassic and cretaceous sedimentary rocks across the various parts of the thrust system indicate that related crustal blocks are superposed and preclude it from having large displacements the thick skinned thrust system is structurally symmetrical along its length with a central domain of synmetamorphic thrust faults that are flanked by western and eastern domains where lower plate domains where lower plate synclines underlie the thrusts deformation occurred under low greenschist facies metamorphic conditions in the upper crust movement along the thrust system was probably limited to no more than a few tens of kilometers and occurred between 79 plus minus 2 ma and 70 plus minus 4 ma the superposition of related rocks andmore the geometry of the thrust system preclude it from being a major tectonic boundary of post middle jurassic age as has been previously proposed rather the thrust system forms the southern boundary of the narrow zone of cretaceous intracratonic deformation and it is one of the last tectonic events in the zone prior to regional cooling less

the dynamics of ice sheet outlets a comparison of data from aircraft altimetry landsat imagery and radia echo sounding has shown characteristic surface topographies associated with sheet and stream flow the transition between the two is abrupt and occurs at a step in the subglacial topography this marks the onset of basal sliding and high velocities caused by subglacial water it results in crevassed amphitheatre like basins round the head of outlet glaciers it is also the zone of maximum driving stress beyond which values decline rapidly as velocities increase this abrupt transition appears to be topographically controlled since basal temperatures are at the pressure melting point well inland of the change in regime the marie byrd land ice streams exhibit qualitative differences from other ice sheet outlets however the change to lower driving stresses is much more gradual and occurs several hundred kilometres inland such ice streams have particularly low surface slopes and appear in form and flow regime to resemble confined ice shelves rather than grounded ice the repeated association of the transition to rapid sliding with a distinct subglacial feature implies a stabilizing effect on discharge through outlet glaciers acceleration of the ice is pinned to a subglacial step and propagation of high velocities inland of this feature seems improbable rapid ice flow through subglacial trenches may also ensure a relatively permanent trough through accentuation of the feature by erosion this is concentrated towards the heads of outlet glaciers up stream of the region where significant basal decoupling occurs this may be a mechanism for the overdeepening of fjords at their inland ends and the development of very steep fjord headwalls

zoned cretaceous and cenozoic garnet and the timing of high grade metamorphism southern alps new zealand new garnet sm nd and lu hf and existing rb sr 40ar 39ar u pb and sm nd ages and data on deformational fabrics and mineral compositions show for the first time that the garnet growth and ductile deformation in the alpine schist belt and southern alps orogen new zealand are diachronous and partly cenozoic in age the dominant metamorphic isograds in the alpine schist formed during crustal thickening at a previously unsuspected time at c 86 ma immediately prior to the opening of the tasman sea at c 84 82 ma obvious changes in the textures and compositional zoning patterns of garnet are not always reliable indicators of polymetamorphism and fabric elements can be highly diachronous a detailed timing history for the growth of a single garnet is recorded by a sm nd garnet whole rock age of 97 8 8 1 ma for the inmost garnet core zone 1 lu hf ages of 86 2 0 2 ma and 86 3 0 2 ma for overgrowth zones 2 and 3 a step leach sm nd age of 12 37 ma for zone 4 and growth of the garnet rim zone 5 over the alpine fault mylonite foliation during the modern phase of oblique collision that began at c 5 6 ma plate convergence along the new zealand portion of the gondwana margin continued after c 105 ma almost certainly culminating in the oblique collision of a large oceanic plateau hikurangi plateau the metamorphism of the alpine schist at c 86 ma is evidence of that hit the mid to late cretaceous extension that is widespread elsewhere in the new zealand region is attributed to upper plate extension and slab roll back the effects of the collision with the hikurangi plateau may have contributed to the changing plate motions in the region leading up to the opening of the tasman sea at c 82 ma

the crustal structure of the canary basin accretion processes at slow spreading centers multichannel seismic reflection and gravity data define the structure of mesozoic ocean crust of the canary basin formed at slow spreading rates single and multichannel seismics show a transition from smooth to rough basement topography from jurassic to cretaceous crust and a coeval change in crustal structure internal reflectivity of the rough basement area comprises upper upper middle or whole crust cutting discrete dipping reflections lower crustal reflectivity is almost absent and reflections from the crust mantle transition are short and discontinuous or absent for several kilometers in contrast crust in the smooth basement area is characterized by sparse lower crustal events and common reflections from the crust mantle boundary the crustal structure of fracture zones in the rough basement area is associated with depressions in the basement top and in most cases with thin crust in the smooth basement area fracture zones exhibit neither a clear topographic expression nor crustal thinning we interpret these characteristics as indicative of an increase in extensional tectonic activity and decrease in magmatic activity at the spreading ridge associated with a general decrease of spreading rate from jurassic to cretaceous times in addition the crust imaged across the path of the cape verde hot spot in the canary basin exhibits a widespread lower crustal reflectivity very smooth topography and apparently thick crust our data document significant changes in the structure of crust formed at slow spreading rates which we attribute to thermal changes in the lithosphere due either to variations in spreading rate or to the presence of a hot spot beneath the mesozoic mid atlantic ridge

the northwest african slope apron a modern analogue for deep water systems with complex seafloor topography the northwest african slope apron is an interesting modern analogue for deep water systems with complex seafloor topography a sediment process map of the northwest african continental margin illustrates the relative roles of different sedimentary processes acting across the entire margin fine grained pelagic and hemipelagic sedimentation is dominant across a large area of the margin and is considered to result from background sedimentary processes alongslope bottom currents smooth and mould the seafloor sediments and produce bedforms such as erosional furrows sediment waves and contourite drifts downslope gravity flows debris avalanches debris flows and turbidity currents are infrequent but important events on the margin and are the dominant processes shaping the morphology of the slope and rise the overall distribution of sedimentary facies and morphological elements on the northwest african margin is characteristic of a fine grained clastic slope apron however the presence of numerous volcanic islands and seamounts along the margin leads to a more complex distribution of sedimentary facies than is accounted for by slope apron models in particular the distribution and thickness of turbidite sands are controlled by the location of the break of slope which is itself controlled by the pre existing submarine topography

anatomy of a submarine pyroclastic flow and associated turbidity current july 2003 dome collapse soufriere hills volcano montserrat west indies the 12 to 13 july 2003 andesite lava dome collapse at the soufriere hills volcano montserrat provides the first opportunity to document comprehensively both the sub aerial and submarine sequence of events for an eruption numerous pyroclastic flows entered the ocean during the collapse depositing approximately 90 of the total material into the submarine environment during peak collapse conditions as the main flow penetrated the air ocean interface phreatic explosions were observed and a surge cloud decoupled from the main flow body to travel 2 to 3 km over the ocean surface before settling the bulk of the flow was submerged and rapidly mixed with sea water forming a water saturated mass flow efficient sorting and physical differentiation occurred within the flow before initial deposition at 500 m water depth the coarsest components 60 of the total volume were deposited proximally from a dense granular flow while the finer components 40 were efficiently elutriated into the overlying part of the flow which evolved into a far reaching turbidity current

evolution of derwael ice rise in dronning maud land antarctica over the last millennia ice rises situated in the ice shelf belt around antarctica have a spatially confined flow regime with local ice divides beneath the divides ice stratigraphy often develops arches with amplitudes that record the divide s horizontal residence time and surface elevation changes to investigate the evolution of derwael ice rise dronning maud land antarctica we combine radar and gps data from three consecutive surveys with a two dimensional full stokes thermomechanically coupled transient ice flow model we find that the surface mass balance smb is higher on the upwind and lower on the downwind slopes near the crest the smb is anomalously low and causes arches to form in the shallow stratigraphy observable by radar in deeper ice arches are consequently imprinted by both smb and ice rheology raymond effect the data show how arch amplitudes decrease as along ridge slope increases emphasizing that the lateral positioning of radar cross sections is important for the arch interpretation using the model with three rheologies isotropic with n 3 4 5 and anisotropic with n 3 we show that derwael ice rise is close to steady state but is best explained using ice anisotropy and moderate thinning our preferred albeit not unique scenario suggests that the ice divide has existed for at least 5000 years and lowered at approximately 0 03 m a 1 over the last 3400 years independent of the specific thinning scenario our modeling suggests that derwael ice rise has exhibited a local flow regime at least since the mid holocene

digital mapping in polar regions from landsat photographic products a case study landsat photographic products on the space oblique mercator som projection are used to construct a map of nordaustlandet svalbard of known accuracy the map includes ice divides accurately enlarged landsat images were digitized combined digitizer and operator errors were 64 m at the enlargement scale fifteen ground control points fixed the two scenes rms errors in control point identification were 123 m geographical coordinates were extracted by i converting digitizer coordinates to som cartesian coordinates and 2 transforming these coordinates to latitude and longitude this map production method is applicable to any imagery of known projection the digitally stored map may be plotted on a variety of map projections and scales two problems in image interpretation were i shadows obscuring detail on nne facing coasts and 2 summer snow cover obscuring parts of the terrestrial ice cap margins the map is similar to an east coast map produced from landsat computer compatible tapes differences between the landsat map and a 1 50 000 scale

evolution of the north flank of tenerife by recurrent giant landslides geomorphologic analysis of submarine and subaerial surface features using a combined topographic bathymetric digital elevation model coupled with onshore geological and geophysical data constrain the age and geometry of giant landslides affecting the north flank of tenerife shaded relief and contour maps and topographic profiles of the submarine north flank permit the identification of two generations of post shield landslides older landslide materials accumulated near the shore 40 km and comprise 700 km3 of debris thickening towards a prominent axis suggests one major landslide deposit younger landslide materials accumulated 40 70 km offshore and comprise the products of three major landslides the la orotava landslide complex the icod landslide and the east dorsal landslide complex each with an onshore scar a proximal submarine trough and a distal deposit lobe estimated lobe volumes are 80 80 and 100 km3 respectively the old post shield landslide scar is an amphitheatre 20 25 km wide partly submarine now completely filled with younger materials age width relationships for tenerife s coastal platform plus onshore geological constraints suggest an age of ca 3 ma for the old collapse young landslides are all less than 560 ka old the la orotava and icod slides involved failures of slabs of subaerial flank to form the subaerial la orotava and icod valleys offshore they excavated troughs by sudden loading and basal erosion of older slide debris the onshore east dorsal slide also triggered secondary failure of older debris offshore the slab like geometry of young failures was controlled by weak layers deep drainage channels and flank truncation by marine erosion the partly submarine geometry of the older amphitheatre reflects the absence of these features relatively low h l ratios for the young slides are attributed to filling of the slope break at the base of the submarine edifice by old landslide materials low aspect ratios of the failed slabs and channelling within troughs post shield landslides on tenerife correlate with major falls in sea level reflecting increased rates of volcanism and coastal erosion and reduced support for the flank landslide head zones have strongly influenced the pattern of volcanism on tenerife providing sites for major volcanic centres

catastrophic collapse of the volcanic island of hierro 15 ka ago and the history of landslides in the canary islands landslides play an important role in the evolution of many volcanic islands producing huge fields of blocky volcanic debris on their submarine slopes sidescan sonar images presented in this paper provide evidence for a large debris avalanche el golfo on the northern flank of hierro island in the canary islands angular blocks as much as 1 2 km across and 200 m high cover the debris avalanche surface el golfo avalanche is related to both the canary debris flow and a volcaniclastic turbidite found in the madeira abyssal plain 600 km west of the canaries dating of the turbidite and the failure scarp onshore indicates that the failure probably occurred between 13 and 17 ka there appears to be a general correlation between volcaniclastic turbidites in the abyssal plain sequence and landslides in the canaries during the past 750 ka tentatively this correlation suggests that seven major landslides have affected the canaries in that time

slope failure dynamics and impacts from seafloor and shallow sub seafloor geophysical data case studies from the costa project holocene and slightly pre holocene submarine landslide are found both in high latitude glacial dominated margins and in lower latitude river dominated margins this paper constitutes a major assessment on some of the best studied submarine instabilities in the world we review and update from original data and literature reports the current state of knowledge of storegga traenadjupet and finneidfjord slides from the mid norwegian margin afen slide from the faeroe shetland channel big 95 slide and central adriatic deformation belt cadeb from continental slope and inner continental shelf settings off the ebro and po rivers in the mediterranean sea canary slide west of the westernmost youngest canary islands and gebra slide off the northern tip of the antarctic peninsula in the southern hemisphere i e those studied in the continental slope stability costa project the investigated slides range in size from the gigantic 90 000 km2 and almost 3000 km3 storegga slide to the tiny 1 km2 and 0 001 km3 finneidfjord slide not only do individual submarine landslides rarely involve processes precisely fitting with pre established categories mostly based on subaerial research but also they display complex mechanical behaviors within the elastic and plastic fields individual events can involve simultaneous or successive vertical to translational movements including block detachment block gliding debris flow mud flow and turbidity currents the need for an in depth revision of the classification criteria and eventually for a new classification system based on the new imaging capabilities provided by modern techniques is more than obvious we suggest a new system which for the moment is restricted to debris flows and debris avalanches volume calculation methods are critically reviewed and the relations between some key geomorphic parameters are established for the selected slides the assumed volume missing from scar areas does not necessarily match the actual volume of sediment remobilised by an individual event since in situ sediment can be remoulded and eventually incorporated during the slide downslope journey cadeb a shore parallel prodelta detached from its source is the exception to the good correlation found between across slope width and alongslope length with slide area height drop measured from the headwall upper rim to its foot correlates with the debris deposit maximum thickness unless the slide moves into restricted areas which prevent farther forward expansion of the deposit such as gebra and big 95 in such cases over thickened deposits are found a particularly loose and fluid behavior can be deduced for slides showing an over thinned character such as the canary slide that traveled 600 km scar areas and slip planes have been investigated with particular emphasis although slide headwalls might present locally steep gradients up to 23 for storegga slide the slope gradients of both the failed segment margins and the main slip planes are very low max 2 and usually around 1 and less an exception is the finneidfjord slide 20 5 that occurred in 1996 because of a combination of climatic and anthropogenic factors leading to excess pore pressure and failure mechanically distinct low permeable clayey weak layers often correspond to slip planes beyond the slide headwall since not only formation of these weak layers but also sedimentation rates are climatically controlled we can state that slide pre conditioning is climatically driven too run out distances reflect the degree of disintegration of the failed mass of sediment the total volume of initially failed material and transport mechanisms including hydroplanning commonly specific run outs could be attributed to distinct elements such as cohesive blocks and looser matrix as nicely illustrated by the big 95 slide total run outs usually correspond to matrix run outs since the coarser elements tend to rest at shorter distances outrunner blocks are finally a very common feature proving the ability of those elements to glide over long distances with independence of the rest of the failed mass in addition to pre conditioning factors related to geological setting and sedimentation conditions a final trigger is required for submarine landslides to take place which is most often assumed to be an earthquake in high latitude margins earthquake magnitude intensification because of post glacial isostatic rebound has likely played a major role in triggering landslides although it cannot be totally ruled out there is little proof at least amongst the costa slides that gas hydrate destabilisation or other processes linked to the presence of shallow gas have acted as final triggers

a new scenario for the mass transport deposits west canary volcanic province abstract a new temporal history of mass wasting processes for the west of the canary volcanic province is presented its onset has been estimated in the middle upper miocene 13 5 1 2 ma matching with a critical period of construction for this volcanic province seismic profiles show an emplacement longevity from the miocene to quaternary in multiple events defined by stacked lobes of debrites linked to the flank collapses and volcanic avalanches of the volcanic edifices islands and seamounts an evolution of pathways and source areas has been detected from east miocene to west quaternary as well as a migration of the activity to the northwest west of the canary islands e g el hierro and la palma six connected branches i vi three of them described for the first time here of quaternary seismic units of mass transport deposits mtds have been characterized the pleistocene makes up a huge buried mtds system until now unknown pointing a new mass transport sedimentological scenario finally the two southernmost branches v vi up to now unknown are a mainly buried system of stacked and terraced lobes of debrites sourced mainly from the flank collapses of the volcanic seamounts of the canary island seamount province apparently inactive from upper cretaceous

the surface topography of large ice masses from landsat imagery les images de landsat mss de l antarctique et du svalbard ont ete comparees a des mesures altimetriques effectuees a partir d avion

metamorphism and uplift of alpine schist in the franz josef fox glacier area of the southern alps new zealand geothermometry and geobarometry of 10 garnet oligoclase zone schists in the franz josef fox glacier area southern alps new zealand give temperatures ranging from 415 to 625 c and pressures from 5 2 to 9 2 kbar indicating a t p array of about 50 c kbar and inferred peak temperature conditions over a c 15 km thick section at depths between c 20 and 34 km the present day distribution of the schist samples implies that only about one third of the original crustal section is now exposed the garnet oligoclase zone schists represent the deeper part of a metamorphosed and deformed accretionary complex that was associated with late palaeozoic early mesozoic subduction along the gondwana continental margin partial uplift c 0 2 m ma and erosion of the complex during jurassic cretaceous times rangitata uplift was synchronous with d2 deformation and recrystallization as recorded by the p t array cenozoic kaikoura uplift and exhumation of the schist since c 30 ma to form the southern alps was associated with oblique slip movement on the alpine fault the present day position and steep eastward dip of isograds and d2 structures suggest considerable clockwise rotation during uplift associated with ductile attenuation and tectonic thinning by over two thirds of the original schist sequence largely due to simple shear along schistosity planes as the schist generally shows only incipient greenschist facies retrograde recrystallization an apparently complete although contracted prograde mineral sequence has been preserved by rapid uplift 5 km ma of hot rock and the effects of limited shear heating near the alpine fault

using geochemical fingerprinting to determine transpressive fault movement history application to the new zealand alpine fault 1 geochemical fingerprinting of conglomerate clasts from depocenters adjacent to a strike slip fault and of source areas on the opposite side of the fault provides a method of determining fault movement history in instances where potential piercing points have been removed by erosion or buried in pull apart or down warp basins our example demonstrating this method is the neogene maruia basin adjacent to the new zealand alpine fault the on land australian pacific plate boundary which shows permian pelorus caples terrane offset by 480 km twenty six sandstone and schist conglomerate clasts from the maruia basin rappahannock group were analyzed for major elements and 18 trace elements by x ray fluorescence and compared to similar analyses from potential regional source areas significant source terranes the caples group and the torlesse terrane were identified both located southeast of the fault dextral movement on the fault provided a conveyor belt of material to the maruia basin first supplying at 11 5 ma caples sandstone then caples schist followed by torlesse schist from 9 5 ma which translates to an average neogene movement rate of 36 37 mm yr 1 the increase in metamorphic grade reflects accelerated exhumation of source rocks as they passed through a restraining bend adjacent to the maruia basin and from later regional uplift from a change in the australian pacific plate motion vector and more transpressive movement from 5 ma this robust method of geochemical fingerprinting could be readily applied to determining movement history of transpressive faults of other regions

synthetic aperture radar interferometry over rutford ice stream and carlson inlet antarctica we describe the calibration and interpretation of interferograms generated from ers i synthetic aperture radar single look complex sar slc images of the rutford ice stream area ground surveys provide over 100 tie points with which to optimise the interferometric baselines that separate nominally repeated satellite orbits covariant tie point errors are dealt with by constructing an error covariance matrix for the expected values of the unwrapped interferometric phases at the tie points with baseline parameters that minimise the weighted residual variance rms tie point residuals of less than i cm in slant range are obtained these are attributed to a combination of interferometric phase noise movement survey errors and inadequate slope information the image set used is inadequate for isolating the influences of topography and movement so the glaciological conclusions to be drawn are limited nevertheless the interferograms confirm that the whole of the upper 50 k m of carlson inlet flows at a speed less than a tenth of that of the neighbouring rutford ice stream also confirmed are the entry of faster moving ice into the lower reaches of carlson inlet and the position of part of the carlson inlet grounding line in general the distribution of the residuals suggests no significant differences in ice movement between 1978 and 1992 an exception is the neighbourhood of the shear margin between rutford ice stream and carlson inlet where inconsistencies between ground surveys over the periods 1984 86 and 1994 96 and interferograms from 1994 a n d 1996 suggest fluctuations in velocity of up to 10 m year 1