Search

The assembly and dispersion of continental crust are first-order controls on paleogeography and geochemical cycles. The associated reworking of Earth's crust can be tracked with zircon initial hafnium (ε Hf T) through space and time. Here we apply a new method of quantitative analysis using ε Hf T density estimates based on a compilation of 155,329 ε Hf T values. Investigation of the global database reveals significant geographic and temporal bias in the ε Hf T record associated with sampling and regional tectonic events. Recent research has attempted to address global ε Hf T bias using resampling methods to augment gaps of low ε Hf T data density, which in turn obfuscates tectonic signals and artificially weights outliers. Instead, we evaluate ε Hf T density patterns for both igneous and detrital zircon on eight continental zones demarcated by Paleozoic sutures: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Baltica, North America, Peri-Gondwana, and South America. Pairwise two-dimensional quantitative comparison highlights similarity in timing and ε Hf T values between zones, all of which can be linked to documented shared regional tectonism. Integration of all pairwise comparisons reveals that peak similarity corresponds to the timing of supercontinent amalgamation, and that the associated ε Hf T differs depending on the style of supercontinent amalgamation, particularly internal versus external orogenesis. The three most recent supercontinents produced distinctive ε Hf T signals, shared by the constituent continental zones. The supercontinents Rodinia and Pangea were constructed through collisions of marginal arc terranes, peripheral to ancient crust, and did not produce highly enriched ε Hf T values. In contrast, Ediacaran to Cambrian formation of the Gondwana supercontinent was largely the product of internal Pan-African orogens that formed directly after Neoproterozoic Rodinia rifting and arc accretion forming the Arabian Shield. The final assembly of Gondwana was dominated by continent-continent collisions of old radiogenic crust without establishment and accretion of extensive intervening depleted arc terranes, resulting in a more enriched distribution of ε Hf T values compared to prior and subsequent supercontinent formation. The secular ε Hf T record is the product of spatiotemporally biased sampling and preservation of specific orogenic belts with predictable ε Hf T data arrays, modulated by the amalgamation, tenure, and breakup of supercontinents through time. • Zircon Hf is predictable based on tectonic context. • Global Hf records are geographically and temporally biased. • All major Hf excursions can be linked to regional orogenic events. • Zircon Hf is modulated by the amalgamation, tenure, and breakup of supercontinents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A growing set of data indicates a stark contrast between the evolution of two types of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) terranes: large terranes that evolved slowly (over 10–30Myr), and small terranes that formed and were exhumed on timescales of <10Myr. Here we compare the characteristics – area, thickness, formation rate, exhumation rate, age, and tectonic setting – of these two endmember types of UHP terrane worldwide. We suggest that the two UHP terrane types may form during different orogenic stages because of variations in the buoyancy and traction forces due to different proportions of subducting crust and mantle lithosphere or to different rates of subduction. The initial stages of continent collision involve the subduction of thin continental crust or microcontinents, and thus tectonic forces are dominated by the density of the oceanic slab; subduction rates are rapid and subduction angles are initially steep. However, as collision matures, thicker and larger pieces of continental material are subducted, and the positive buoyancy of the down-going slab becomes more prominent; subduction angles become gentle and convergence slows. Assessing the validity of this hypothesis is critical to understanding the physical and chemical evolution of Earth''s crust and mantle. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The geometric and kinematic evolution of the Andes provides insight onto the nature of the force balance beneath the South American plate. While the Andean load is opposed on its western edge by the force induced by subduction of the Nazca plate, its more elusive eastern counterpart, which we explore herein, requires some contribution from the mantle beneath the South Atlantic. Using a mantle flow model, we show that the Andes owe their existence to basal drag beneath South America caused by a cylindrical convection cell under the South Atlantic. We find that the observed Andean uplift requires both westward push from active upwelling beneath Africa and westward drag toward the downgoing Nazca slab. These mutually-reinforcing downwellings and upwellings amount to 38% and 23% of the total driving force, respectively. Further decomposition reveals that the South Atlantic cell is most vigorous near its center, rendering the net drag force higher where the Andes also reach their highest elevation. Kinematic reconstructions suggest that the South Atlantic cell could have grown owing to the migration of the Nazca slab until ~50Ma. We propose that from 50Ma onwards, the cell may have ceased growing westward because (i) it had reached an optimal aspect ratio and (ii) the Nazca slab became anchored into the lower mantle. Continued westward motion of the plates, however, moved the surface expressions of spreading and convergence away from the upwelling and downwelling arms of this cell. Evidence for this scenario comes from the coeval tectonic, morphologic, and magmatic events in Africa and South America during the Tertiary. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Jupiter''s moon Io possesses numerous tectonic mountains in addition to its ubiquitous volcanoes and volcanic features. Remarkably, a distinct global anticorrelation exists between the spatial distribution of mountains and volcanic centers on Io. This relationship indicates an explicit connection between volcanism and mountain formation, even though the mountains are tectonic in origin (predominantly upthrusted crustal blocks). Spherical harmonic analysis shows the distribution of mountains and volcanic centers have statistically significant power at degree 2; this result is especially striking for the volcanic center distribution, and directly implicates models of asthenospheric tidal heating. The latter predict enhanced heat flux along the equator in a degree-two pattern that matches observations. Mountain formation on Io appears to be a form of dominantly vertical tectonism unique in the modern Solar System: continual burial by widespread volcanism drives the crust inward, which leads to strong compression, and at discrete locations, mountains. Correlation coefficients between the volcanic and mountain distributions indicate statistically meaningful anticorrelation at low spectral degrees (l =1, 2, 4, and 6); the anticorrelation is especially significant between the longitudinal (sectorial) l =2 components when considered on their own. We compare this anticorrelation with published models that link volcano and mountain formation. While consistent in part with l =2 convection models, which predict such an anticorrelation (in principle), such low degree anticorrelations are also (if not more) compatible with mountain formation due to, or influenced by, thermal expansion of Io''s crust, and deep compression and thrust faulting in regions of lower than average volcanic heat-piping. Positive correlations between mountain and volcanic center distributions at high spectral degree may reflect structural links between a good fraction of mountain blocks and adjacent volcanic paterae, whereas the anticorrelation at low degree implies that most volcanic features (which are far more numerous overall) form independently of mountains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A high degree of correlation between present-day relative rock uplift measured using continuous GPS geodesy and spatially averaged surface elevations suggests that long-wavelength topographic relief is presently increasing along the southeastern flank of the Sierra Nevada range and within an adjacent portion of the northern Basin and Range province. Current estimates for erosion rate are an order of magnitude smaller than the relative rates determined by geodesy. Thus, although the uplift serves to enhance long-wavelength relief, it cannot be explained entirely as an isostatic response to erosion. If uplift rates have been constant through time, the duration over which the uplift could have been active (<1.6Myrs) is shorter than expected based on our current understanding of the geodynamic history of the region. One possible explanation for the observed present-day uplift pattern is that it represents an ongoing isostatic response to gradual reduction of the equivalent elastic thickness (EET) of the lithosphere under temporally constant loads. Another explanation is that the loads currently supporting the high elevations of the southern Sierra are evolving with time. According to either hypothesis, vertical surface motions may have slowly accelerated since ~mid-Pliocene time. Several possible mechanisms for progressive reduction of EET may be attributable to thermo-mechanical disequilibrium that began with the removal of an ultramafic root from the Sierran batholith during late Miocene or early Pliocene time. Specific mechanisms for ongoing enhancement of loads are less obvious. Based on these results, we suggest that dense networks of long-running continuous GPS stations around the world currently represent an underutilized resource for studies of orogenesis and upper mantle processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Basin-averaged cosmogenic 10Be concentrations, apatite (U–Th)/He thermochronometry and incision into a dated palaeosurface constrain spatial and temporal variations in the rates of denudation experienced during the early-stages of orogenesis in the San Bernardino Mountains, California. Cosmogenic 10Be analysis measures denudation over intermediate (∼102–104 years) time scales and records rates which decrease from a maximum of 2700±500 mm ka−1 in the south to a minimum of 52±5 mm ka−1 in northern catchments. Corresponding rates from (U–Th)/He and incision into a dated palaeosurface measure long-term (∼106 years) denudation rates which decrease from between 1200±400 mm ka−1 in the south to a minimum of 30±20 mm ka−1 in the north. The temporal consistency observed in the broad-scale patterns of denudation rates probably results from the persistent imprint of the initial crustal architecture and drainage network. These have maintained an influence on slope distributions, and are thus fundamental factors controlling the gross patterns of denudation throughout the early stages of orogenesis. Where variations between the denudation rates measured over different time scales are apparent the intermediate-term rates are found to be consistently greater than the long-term, with the increase being more pronounced around the fault bounded peripheries of crustal blocks relative to quiescent block interiors. This provides empirical support for a model of mountain building whereby topographic development is dictated by the headward retreat of drainage systems that propagate away from zones of displacement. Our findings indicate that recent localised increases in denudation rates in young fault block orogens may be explained by a progressive denudational response to prior tectonic uplift, rather than a consequence of climatic change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Evidence of two burial–exhumation cycles that took place during a single orogeny has been found in rocks belonging to the Piemonte unit of the Western Alps. An early high pressure event, which resulted from tectonic burial down to pressures of 1.5 GPa, was followed by exhumation to ca. 0.20–0.35 GPa as a result of extensional deformation. Renewed shortening culminated in a second burial episode down to pressures of 0.65–0.80 GPa, before the final exhumation took place. Existing geochronological data allow only ca. 13–19 Ma for the completion of both burial–exhumation cycles. Therefore, we suggest that the evolution of orogens is characterized by multiple short-lived burial–exhumation cycles related to orogen-scale alternance between shortening and extensional deformation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: During Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic time, arc magmatic rocks of the Stikine terrane, arc-marginal sediments of the Whitehorse Trough, igneous and mantle rocks of the Cache Creek ‘ophiolite’ and Kutcho assemblage, and oceanic sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Cache Creek terrane represented a magmatic arc, forearc basin, forearc basement, and subduction complex, respectively. The Cache Creek subduction complex was thrust to the southwest over the Whitehorse Trough forearc basin and the Stikine terrane in the Middle Jurassic during collision with an inboard continental domain. Interpretation of the various lithotectonic assemblages of the northern Intermontane belt in terms of a new plate tectonic model has a number of important implications for the Canadian Cordillera: (a) the model allows comparisons to be drawn with available seismic reflection interpretations of Cordilleran crustal structure; (b) ‘ophiolite’ emplacement was achieved by ramping of forearc oceanic lithosphere onto thick crustal parts of a subducting plate during collisional orogenesis; (c) island–arc collision and accretion were the principal mechanisms for continental growth with relatively minor contributions from ‘sliced-off’ oceanic seamounts and/or plateaux; and (d) some terrane-bounding faults such as the Nahlin Fault do not represent major lithospheric-scale boundaries and their importance in tectonic reconstructions has been overemphasised. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Creation of 3D velocity-corrected discontinuity model for the Cascadia margin. • Forearc crustal thickness and seismic structure highlights zones of subcretion. • Slab morphology, fluid release, and subcretion contribute to significant margin variations. • Subcretion is the primary control on Cascadia forearc differential topography. A number of seismic and other geophysical phenomena exhibit significant lateral heterogeneity along the strike of the Cascadia forearc. Both the overriding and downgoing plate have been invoked to play the dominant role in controlling along-strike correlations between seismogenic behavior, potential field measurements, morphological/tectonic characteristics, and seismic structure; however, significant feedbacks likely exist between the two. In this study, we apply a 3D velocity correction to receiver function data and interpret the resulting discontinuity model alongside a recently published shear-wave velocity model to understand the possible causative relationships between correlative along-strike variations. Our discontinuity model indicates that the forearc crust thickens as it approaches the mantle wedge corner before progressively thinning toward the magmatic arc, likely due to the basal accretion of material from the downgoing plate to the overriding plate. In the northern and southern portions of the forearc, this "subcreted" material is characterized by thick (∼10 km) anomalously low shear-wave velocity zones. The thickness, high internal reflectivity, and low Bouguer gravity signatures associated with the low velocity zones likely indicate that this subcreted material is composed of dominantly (meta)sedimentary material that has been emplaced through successive subcretion events over geologic timescales. Furthermore, the anomalously low velocities and spatial correlation with high non-volcanic tremor (NVT) density and short slow slip recurrence intervals indicate that these regions are fluid-rich. While first-order variations in the fluids that control NVT and slow slip likely result from differences in the permeability of the downgoing slab as inferred from its stress state and the distribution of intraslab seismicity, these subcreted packages likely represent thick, vertically-impermeable regions in the lower crust that further accentuate this correlation. Variability in the amount of subcretion explains patterns of exhumation and uplift along the Cascadia margin and the resulting forearc topography over geologic timescales, and is likely controlled by some combination plate interface geometry/rheology and overriding plate architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]