bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mass transport complexes and tectonic control on confined basin-floor submarine fans, Middle Eocene, south Spanish Pyrenees
Authors: Pickering Kevin T. , Corregidor Jordi 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
The syn-tectonic deep-marine Ainsa fans (Eocene of the Ainsa basin, Spanish Pyrenees) were confined by lateral thrust ramps and influenced by intra-basinal growth anticlines. Mass transport complexes (MTCs) constitute a major component of the stratigraphy and represent an integral part of the evolution and depositional style of the deep-marine clastics. Using an integrated study of outcrop data from sedimentary logs and mapping, with core data from eight wells and micropalaeontological and palynomorph analyses, we demonstrate the lateral step-wise migration of sandy channelized submarine fans, as a foreland-propagating clastic wedge on a time-scale of hundreds of thousands of years. The deep-marine expression of the inferred tectonic pulses began with the large-scale basin-slope collapse as sediment slides and debris flows that formed much of the seafloor topography for each fan and contributed to their lateral confinement. The uppermost slope and any shelf-edge, including the narrow shelf, then collapsed, redepositing unconsolidated sands and gravels into deep water. This is overlain by an interval of mainly channelized and amalgamated sandy deposits, passing up into several tens of metres of less confined, non-amalgamated, medium- and thin-bedded, finer grained sands and marls. These deposits represent the phase of most active fan growth, initially by erosional channel development, sediment bypass and backfill (in several cycles), giving way to non-channelized, finer grained sandy deposition, interpreted as a response to the flushing out of the coarser clastics from the coastal and near coastal fluvial systems. During this latter stage in active fan growth and when sediment accumulation rates probably remained high, the degraded submarine slope was regraded and healed by finer grained depositional events. The high amount of woody material and the high non-marine palynomorph signal in these sandy deposits suggest direct river input as both turbidity currents and hyperpycnal flows for the silty marls. In the upper few metres, a thinning-and-fining-upward sequence shows a return to background marl deposition, representing fan abandonment. Many sequences are overlain by intraformational sediment slides that attest to the increasing seafloor gradients associated with the regrading and healing stage in slope development. These organized, predictable vertical sedimentary sequences provide a testable generic model for submarine fan development where fan growth is strongly influenced by tectonic processes.
Concept of equilibrium profile in deep-water turbidite system: effects of local physiographic changes on the nature of sedimentary process and the geometries of deposits
Authors: Ferry J-N. , Mulder T. , Parize O. , Raillard S. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
In the middle slope section of the Lower Congo Basin a late Miocene channel system was tracked on 3D seismic profiles over more than 350 km. Along its course, between shelf and basin, the system encountered four regional tectonic structures that induced local slope modifications, either by uplift or by subsidence. The turbidite deposits of this channel system were influenced strongly by these structures, in terms of both character and morphology. From the proximal to the distal part of this channel system, variations in parameters such as the sinuosity, the width and depth of basal incision, the presence of splay and levee deposits, the location of vertical aggradation zones and channel avulsion, all correlate with changes in longitudinal slope gradient. Thus, along a conventional sigmoidal slope, the convex regions are subjected to erosional processes whereas the concave regions are depositional. The direct relationship observed between sedimentary deposits and changing slope gradient highlights an important control in deep-water turbidite systems. This apparent response to local gradient changes on the slope suggests the existence of a sedimentary equilibrium profile similar to that defined for fluvial systems.
Magnetic fabric and microstructure of a mylonite: example from the Bitterroot shear zone, western Montana
Authors: Sidman D. , Ferré E. C. , Teyssier C. , Jackson M. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
The Bitterroot shear zone, SW Montana, is a mylonitic detachment that developed by strain localization during the Palaeocene-Eocene orogenic collapse of this part of the North American Cordillera. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data from two transects across the shear zone and into the granitic footwall demonstrate the continuity between the low to high-temperature solid-state fabric in the shear zone and the magmatic fabric developed in the footwall granite. This fabric gradually and smoothly rotates from E-dipping in the shear zone to W-dipping in the footwall granites, forming an arch over 10 km wide. Furthermore, the mineral fabric of both paramagnetic and ferrimagnetic minerals is consistent with the AMS fabric, displaying the same arching, which is interpreted to have developed by a rolling-hinge process in the footwall granites during activation of the Bitterroot shear zone. The AMS method thus stands out as a robust indicator of fabric over a wide range of deformation conditions.
Effects of bedding and foliation on mechanical anisotropy, damage evolution and failure mode
Authors: Baud Patrick , Louis Laurent , David Christian , Rawling Geoffrey C. , Wong Teng-Fong 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
In this study we review recent advances in our understanding of anisotropy in rocks, focusing on dilatant and compactant failure in sandstones and in a foliated metamorphic rock. In sandstones, the anisotropy can be associated with bedding, as in the Rothbach sandstone, or it can also be due to shape anisotropy of the grains and/or the pores, as in the Bentheim sandstone. Two scenarios are proposed for the development of anisotropy in these two end members. In a metamorphic rock with strong foliation like the Four-mile gneiss, it has been commonly observed that the brittle strength is minimum at a foliation angle of about 30°–45°. A damage mechanics model is proposed that underscores the dominant role of biotite foliation in the development of microcracking. In contrast it is often observed in sandstones with strong bedding that the strength is minimum in the direction parallel to bedding. New results for the Rothbach sandstone showed that compared to parallel-to-bedding samples: (i) in the brittle faulting regime the perpendicular-to-bedding samples have both a higher strength and dilatancy stress; and (ii) in the cataclastic flow regime the compactive yield envelope for the perpendicular-to-bedding samples expands significantly towards higher stress values.
High-strain deformation tests on natural gypsum aggregates in torsion
Authors: Barberini V. , Burlini L. , Rutter E. H. , Dapiaggi M. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract

Evaporitic minerals, such as gypsum, within sedimentary sequences play an important role in localizing deformation, especially in thrust tectonics, implying that their strength is generally lower than that of other rocks. To study the rheological and microstructural evolution of gypsum with strain, a set of experiments was performed on natural gypsum samples from Volterra (Italy). To reach high shear strain (up to γ = 5), deformation tests were performed in torsion at 300 MPa confining pressure, at temperatures up to 127 °C, and at shear strain rates between 10
−3
and 10
−5
s
−1
. All samples were studied by optical microscopy, to investigate the evolution of the microstructure with strain, and by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, to determine whether and to what extent gypsum dehydrated during deformation. The shear stress increased with shear strain rate and decreased with temperature. A peak stress was usually reached at γ between 0.5 and 1.5. After the peak, 30–40% of weakening occurred but mechanical steady-state conditions were never reached. The microstructure evolved from a plastic deformation microstructure, where grains changed shape according to the bulk strain imposed, into a recrystallization-dominated microstructure, where grains were more equant. The shear stress sensitivity to strain rate increases with progressive strain, thus a meaningful constitutive flow law can only be determined from experiments in which steady-state flow is eventually reached. These results imply that gypsum in nature will flow plastically at shear stress levels lower than those expected from previous experimental studies due to the strain weakening associated with dynamic recrystallization, which can occur at temperatures even lower than gypsum dehydration.
Influence of phyllosilicates on fault strength in the brittle-ductile transition: insights from rock analogue experiments
Authors: Niemeijer A. R. , Spiers C. J. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract

Despite the fact that phyllosilicates are ubiquitous in mature fault and shear zones, little is known about the strength of phyllosilicate-bearing fault rocks under brittle-ductile transitional conditions where cataclasis and solution-transfer processes are active. In this study we explored steady-state strength behaviour of a simulated fault rock, consisting of muscovite and halite, using brine as pore fluid. Samples were deformed in a rotary shear apparatus under conditions where cataclasis and solution transfer are known to dominate the deformation behaviour of the halite. It was found that the steady-state strength of these mixtures is dependent on normal stress and sliding velocity. At low velocities (<0.5 µm s
−1
) the strength increases with velocity and normal stress, and a strong foliation develops. Comparison with previous microphysical models shows that this is a result of the serial operation of pressure solution in the halite grains accommodating frictional sliding over the phyllosilicate foliation. At high velocities (>1 µm s
−1
), velocity-weakening frictional behaviour occurs along with the development of a structureless cataclastic microstructure. Revision of previous models for the low-velocity behaviour results in a physically realistic description that fits our data well. This is extended to include the possibility of plastic flow in the phyllosilicates and applied to predict steady-state strength profiles for continental fault zones containing foliated quartz-mica fault rocks. The results predict a significant reduction of strength at mid-crustal depths and may have important implications for crustal dynamics and seismogenesis.
Water distribution in dynamically recrystallized quartz grains: cathodoluminescence and micro-infrared spectroscopic mapping
Authors: Muto Jun , Nagahama Hiroyuki , Hashimoto Testsuo 
Published: April 2008

Abstract

The distribution of water in dynamically recrystallized quartz aggregates in granitic mylonites was investigated by cathodoluminescence (CL) observations and micro-infrared (IR) spectroscopic mapping. It is clear from CL observations and micro-IR spectroscopic mappings that the CL intensity and contrast depend on the density of defects (e.g. the content of molecular H
2
O and absorbed OH species). Dynamic recrystallization, as a recovery process of intracrystalline strain, decreases the densities of excess carriers originated from defects. The decrease in the densities of excess carriers decreases the CL intensity and contrast within each grain. To investigate the effect of water weakening in the rheological properties of the crust, CL spectroscopy and micro-IR spectroscopic mapping are essential in the determination of concentration and distribution of water in natural high-strain zones.
Application of Geographical Information Systems to shape-fabric analysis
Authors: Fernández F. J. , Menéndez-Duarte R. , Aller J. , Bastida F. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract

A Geographical Information System (GIS) has been applied to shape-fabric analysis and strain measurement. It works in either raster or vectorial format, allows determination of many geometrical features of grains and stores additional descriptive information linked to all these graphic elements. Some new applications for shape characterization and strain measurement have been developed, e.g. the shape parameter
S
, the Fry method installed as a variant that uses only contiguous grains (TFry method) and a new method (ASPAS method), based on the intersection lengths of the lines of a radial network with the grain boundaries. A compilation of finite-strain estimates on a tectonite sample has been used to compare the results obtained by the new methods. As the shape fabric does not register the full strain history, the strain ratios obtained from the shape-fabric analysis are lower in most cases than those obtained using pretectonic markers.
The Appalachian peri-Gondwanan realm: a palaeogeographical perspective from the south
Authors: Hibbard James P. , Miller Brent V. , Tracy Robert J. , Carter Brad T. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
The Appalachian peri-Gondwanan realm (APGR) is an extensive tract of exotic Neoproterozoic-early Palaeozoic crustal blocks that occupies the eastern flank of the orogen. Traditionally, southern APGR elements have been correlated with those of the northern Appalachians on the basis of gross geological similarities. Most palaeogeographical reconstructions of the APGR are based on data from the northern Appalachians; consequently in these reconstructions, southern APGR elements are viewed commonly either as being affiliated spatially with those of the north or ignored. However, emerging data from two southern Appalachian crustal blocks give new insights into the palaeogeography of the APGR. The Smith River allochthon may be a part of the APGR on the basis of recently obtained U-Pb monazite and staurolite ages that are apparently incompatible with a Laurentian origin. The allochthon and possibly adjacent terranes, appear to have followed a palaeogeographical track independent of other APGR elements. The Carolina zone is recognized as peri-Gondwanan in origin on the basis of its (i) gross geological evolution, (ii) fossil fauna and (iii) tectonic history. Mid-Palaeozoic regional kinematic patterns suggest that Carolina and its commonly held northern counterpart, the Avalon zone, travelled together on the same lithospheric plate, but their contrasting tectonic histories suggest that they formed along different margins of this plate. These interpretations lead to a new model for middle Palaeozoic interactions of the APGR with Laurentia.
Investigating the deep structure of terranes and terrane boundaries: insights from earthquake seismic data
Authors: Reading Anya M. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
The crust and upper mantle structure beneath a single, three-component broad-band seismic station may be determined using energy from distant earthquakes. Features such as the depth of the seismic Moho, the abruptness of the change in seismic velocity across the Moho, the velocity profile through the crust and the seismic velocity of the upper mantle may be found using receiver function techniques. Waveforms are analysed which contain energy arising from the interaction of incoming signals with the Earth structure beneath the receiving station. Seismic characteristics of the deep crust are often continuous or slowly varying across a single terrane and, moreover, show sudden contrasts across terrane and other major tectonic boundaries. Such techniques are, therefore, appropriate tools in the exploration of deep structure and, hence, in the understanding of large-scale continental assembly. They complement geological and geochronological investigations of surface rocks by providing the third spatial dimension. In regions of no surface basement exposure, seismic and other geophysical methods provide the only means of mapping the lateral extent of a given terrane and/or tracing province boundaries. Receiver function methods are presented here in the context of terrane tectonics with illustrative examples from former Gondwanan provinces and locations on the Pacific margin.
Geochronology of Proterozoic basement inliers in the Colombian Andes: tectonic history of remnants of a fragmented Grenville belt
Authors: Cordani U. G. , Cardona A. , Jimenez D. M. , Liu D. , Nutman A. P. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract

Basement inliers of high-grade metamorphic rocks within the eastern Colombian Andes record a Grenvillian history. Among them, the Garzón Complex and the Dibulla, Bucaramanga and Jojoncito gneisses were studied using different geochronological methods to produce better correlations in the context of the reconstruction of the Grenville belt and of the supercontinent of Rodinia. The dynamic evolution of all of these units includes a final collisional event with exhumation of high-grade rocks. Such a tectonic history bears strong similarities with the Grenville Province in Canada and seems to confirm that these domains took part in the aggregation of Rodinia. Mesoproterozoic U-Pb zircon ages indicate heritage from magmatic protoliths, and the Sm-Nd model ages, as well as the ε
Nd
values, suggest derivation from an evolved continental domain, such as the Amazonian craton, with some mixing with juvenile Neoproterozoic material. When these continental fragments are correlated with similar terrains in Mexico and the Central Andes, a large crustal fragment is implied; very probably it made up the southern portion of the Grenville belt within Rodinia, which was disrupted when Laurentia separated from Gondwana forming the Iapetus Ocean, leaving behind cratonic fragments that were later accreted to the South American Platform.
Economic natural resource deposits at terrestrial impact structures
Authors: Grieve Richard A. F. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
Economic deposits associated with terrestrial impact structures range from world-class to relatively localized occurrences. The more significant deposits are introduced under the classification: progenetic, syngenetic or epigenetic, with respect to the impact event. However, there is increasing evidence that post-impact hydrothermal systems at large impact structures have remobilized some progenetic deposits, such as some of the Witwatersrand gold deposits at the Vredefort impact structure. Impact-related hydrothermal activity may also have had a significant role in the formation of ores at such syngenetic ‘magmatic’ deposits as the Cu-Ni-platinum-group elements ores associated with the Sudbury impact structure. Although Vredefort and Sudbury contain world-class mineral deposits, in economic terms hydrocarbon production dominates natural resource deposits found at impact structures. The total value of impact-related resources in North America is estimated at US$18 billion per year. Many impact structures remain to be discovered and, as targets for resource exploration, their relatively invariant, but scale-dependent properties, may provide an aid to exploration strategies.
Metallogenic fingerprints of Archaean cratons
Authors: de Wit Maarten , Thiart Christien 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
Archaean cratons are fragments of old continents that are more richly endowed with mineral deposits than younger terrains. The mineral deposits of different cratons are also diversely enriched with useful (to humankind) chemical elements. Cratons are therefore mineral-diversity hotspots that represent regional geochemical heterogeneities in the early Earth, evidence for which remains encoded on each craton as unique metallogenic ‘fingerprints’. Some of the younger cratons (<3.0 Ga, e.g. Superior Province, Yilgarn and Zimbabwe) have strong Au, Cu, Pb and Zn imprints. Older (>3.0 Ga) cratons, however, are remarkably enriched in siderophile elements such as Ni, Cr, PGE, in both their crustal and mantle sections (e.g. Pilbara and Kaapvaal Cratons). Still other Archaean cratons are relatively enriched in Sn, W, U and Th (e.g. Amazonian, Leo-Man, Ntem and South China Cratons). How most of these fragments of old continents inherited their rich and diverse metallogenic characteristics is unresolved. Their dominant metallogenic inventories were formed near the time of their separation from the mantle; thereafter the inherited metals were frequently remobilized and redistributed during subsequent tectono-metamorphic, magmatic and erosion-deposition processes (e.g. tin in South America; platinum and gold in Southern Africa). Because different cratons are likely to represent only small remnants of once much larger and probably varied Archaean continents, part of the total metal inventories of Archaean continents must have been recycled back into the mantle. Using six selected element groups from our extensive in-house GIS database of Gondwana mineral deposits, we derive the metallogenic fingerprints of 11 Archaean cratons of the southern hemisphere, and compare these against metallogenic fingerprints of the same elements in younger crust of three continents (Africa, Australia and South America). We confirm that the mineral deposit density and diversity of Earth’s continental lithosphere has decreased with time. We conclude that metallogenic elements were transferred more efficiently from the mantle to the continental lithosphere in the Archaean and/or that subsequently (<2.5 Ga) recycling of these elements (mineral deposits) back into the mantle became more effective.
Pre-mineralization thermal evolution of the Palaeoproterozoic gold-rich Ashanti belt, Ghana
Authors: Harcouët V. , Guillou-Frottier L. , Bonneville A. , Feybesse J. L. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract

The region of the gold-rich Ashanti belt in southern Ghana was chosen as the subject for a detailed regional thermal modelling study. Geological studies, in addition to laboratory measurements of thermal properties and heat-production rates, allow us to constrain a finite-element thermal modelling. Scenarios intergrating variations of the structure of the crust and various chronological settings were examined. We calculated the thermal regime before and after the thrust tectonism that affected the region during the Eburnean orogeny (2130–2095 Ma), just before ore deposit formation. This gives a new insight into the regional thermal state of the crust before the mineralizing events. To satisfy the thermobarometric observations, the most probable mantle heat flow must be 60 mW m
−2
, which is at least three times greater than the present-day value. At shallow depths, our results also indicate anomalies of lateral heat flow reaching 25 mW m
−2
, focused on the margins of each lithological unit, including the Ashanti belt. These anomalies are related to the distortion of the isotherms in the first few kilometres that can be explained mostly by lateral contrasts in thermal conductivity. Such anomalies could be of importance for the mineralizing events, as they would favour fluid circulation locally.