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Sample records for alpine tectonic evolution

  1. The Alpine-Carpathian-Dinaridic orogenic system: correlation and evolution of tectonic units

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schmid, S.M.; Bernoulli, D.; Fügenschuh, B.; Matenco, L.C.; Schefer, S.; Schuster, R.; Tischler, M.; Ustaszewski, K.

    2008-01-01

    A correlation of tectonic units of the Alpine-Carpathian-Dinaridic system of orogens, including the substrate of the Pannonian and Transylvanian basins, is presented in the form of a map. Combined with a series of crustal-scale cross sections this correlation of tectonic units yields a clearer

  2. In Review (Geology): Alpine Landscape Evolution Dominated by Cirque Retreat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oskin, Michael; Burbank, Doug

    2005-01-01

    Despite the abundance in alpine terrain of glacially dissected landscapes, the magnitude and geometry of glacial erosion can rarely be defined. In the eastern Kyrgyz Range, a widespread unconformity exhumed as a geomorphic surface provides a regional datum with which to calibrate erosion. As tectonically driven surface uplift has progressively pushed this surface into the zone of ice accumulation, glacial erosion has overprinted the landscape. With as little as 500 m of incision into rocks underlying the unconformity, distinctive glacial valleys display their deepest incision adjacent to cirque headwalls. The expansion of north-facing glacial cirques at the expense of south-facing valleys has driven the drainage divide southwards at rates up to 2 to 3 times the rate of valley incision. Existing ice-flux-based glacial erosion rules incompletely model expansion of glacial valleys via cirque retreat into the low-gradient unconformity remnants. Local processes that either directly sap cirque headwalls or inhibit erosion down-glacier appear to control, at least initially, alpine landscape evolution.

  3. Crustal-scale alpine tectonic evolution of the western Pyrenees - eastern Cantabrian Mountains (N Spain) from integration of structural data, low-T thermochronology and seismic constraint

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeFelipe, I.; Pedreira, D.; Pulgar, J. A.; Van der Beek, P.; Bernet, M.; Pik, R.

    2017-12-01

    The Pyrenean-Cantabrian Mountain belt extends in an E-W direction along the northern border of Spain and resulted from the convergence between the Iberian and European plates from the Late Cretaceous to the Miocene, in the context of the Alpine orogeny. The main aim of this work is to characterize the tectonic evolution at a crustal-scale of the transition zone from the Pyrenees to the Cantabrian Mountains, in the eastern Basque-Cantabrian Basin (BCB). We integrate structural work, thermochronology (apatite fission track and zircon (U-Th)/He) and geophysical information (shallow seismic reflection profiles, deep seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection profiles and seismicity distribution) to propose an evolutionary model since the Jurassic to the present. During the Albian, hyperextension related to the opening of the Bay of Biscay yielded to mantle unroofing to the base of the BCB. This process was favored by a detachment fault that connected the mantle in its footwall with the base of a deep basin in its hanging wall. During this process, the basin experienced HT metamorphism and fluid circulation caused the serpentinization of the upper part of the mantle. There is no evidence of seafloor mantle exhumation before the onset of the Alpine orogeny. The thermochronological study points to a N-vergent phase of contractional deformation in the late Eocene represented by the thin-skinned Leiza fault system followed in the early Oligocene by the S-vergent, thick-skinned, Ollín thrust. Exhumation rates for the late Eocene-early Oligocene are of 0.2-0.7 km/Myr. After that period, deformation continues southwards until the Miocene. The crustal-scale structure resultant of the Alpine orogeny consists of an Iberian plate that subducts below the European plate. The crust is segmented into four blocks separated by three S-vergent crustal faults inherited from the Cretaceous extensional period. The P-wave velocities in this transect show anomalous values (7.4 km/s) in the

  4. Metamorphic evolution of the eastern part

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Faryad Shah Wali

    1999-06-01

    Full Text Available The Inner to Central parts of the Western Carpathians consist of several tectonic units that provide unique opportunity to investigate Alpine and Pre-Alpine tectonothermal evolution in the Western Carpathians. Lithological and geochemical composition of sedimentary and igneous rocks indicate the presence of Alpine-Meliata and Pre-Alpine Rakovec suture zones. The Meliata blueschists are the only evidence of subducted Triassic Meliata-Hallstatt oceanic basin and adjacent continental wedge which occurred during the Jurassic time. These processes were followed by the Cretaceous collision that suffered not only the Gemer but also the Vepor Belts. Since Alpine and Variscan metamorphism occurred in most tectonic units under similar pressure and/or temperature conditions, for reconstruction of Alpine development is necessary to understand Pre-Alpine history of each tectonic unit. The Field Meeting is aimed to comprehend Alpine and Pre-Alpine tectonothermal evolution in the eastern parts of the Western Carpathians with a special respect to subduction and exhumation history of the Jurassic Meliata blueschists, as well as of Cretaceous collision in the Western Carpathians. In order to clear metamorphic characteristic and geological position of each unit a brief outline on structure and metamorphism of the Central Western Carpathians is given in the excursion guide. The manuscript of this work was improved by helpful suggestions of S. Jacko, D. Plašienka and M. Janák. This work was supported by Slovak Academic Agency, project WEGA-1/5003/98

  5. The significance of Gosau-type basins for the Late Cretaceous tectonic history of the Alpine-Carpathian Belt.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Willingshofer, E.; Neubauer, F.; Cloetingh, S.A.P.L.

    1999-01-01

    A key feature of Late Creataceous tectonics throughout the Alpine-Carpathian-Pannonian (ALCAPA) region is the synchronous formation of sedimentary basins (Gosau basins) and exhumation of metamorphic domes. Initial subsidence, spatially varying in time (Cenomanian-Santonian), within Gosau-type basins

  6. New Constraints for Tectono-Thermal Alpine Evolution of the Pyrenees: Combining Zircon Fission-Track and (U-Th)/He Analyses with Raman Spectrometry and In-Situ K-Ar Geochronology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldner, M.; Bellahsen, N.; Mouthereau, F.; Pik, R.; Bernet, M.; Scaillet, S.; Rosenberg, C.

    2017-12-01

    The pyrenean range was formed by the convergence of European and Iberian plates following the inversion of the Mesozoic rifting in the north of Pyrenees. In the Axial Zone, the collision caused an antiformal nappe-stacking of tectonic units. Recent studies pointed out the importance of pre-collision structural and thermal inheritance that may play a major role for orogeny such as: 1) Paleozoic Variscan inheritance; 2) Mesozoic rift-related high geothermal gradients, which are maintained during the onset of convergence in the North Pyrenean Zone. From a mineralogical point of view, pre-collision feldspars have been destabilized and influenced the development of alpine phyllonite in brittle-ductile conditions which suggests a weak crustal behavior during the formation of the orogenic wedge. Our aim is to get a better understanding of alpine deformation and exhumation by coupling different thermochronological, geochronological and thermometric methods. We document the thermal evolution of each tectonic unit by using low-temperature thermochronometers (Zircon Fission Tracks, U-Th/He on zircons including laser ablation profiles). Our data on vertical profiles combined to existing dataset on apatite allows to model alpine exhumation across the Axial zone. Structural observations through alpine thrusts coupled to geochronology (in situ K/Ar on phengites), Raman and chlorite-phengite thermo(baro)metry provide new key data to unravel the alpine evolution of the Pyrenees. According to preliminary ZFT results on granite massifs in the central part of Pyrenean Axial zone (near ECORS profile), exhumation ages potentially indicates a migration of exhumation towards the south. Exhumation ages of the northern massifs seems to have preserved the North Pyrenean Cretaceous rift evolution. Further south, the onset of exhumation is as old as Paleocene, which precedes the Eocene ages of the literature. The low burial estimated in the northern massifs may indicate a high thermal gradient

  7. MEVTV Workshop on Early Tectonic and Volcanic Evolution of Mars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frey, H.

    1988-01-01

    Although not ignored, the problems of the early tectonic and volcanic evolution of Mars have generally received less attention than those later in the evolution of the planet. Specifically, much attention was devoted to the evolution of the Tharsis region of Mars and to the planet itself at the time following the establishment of this major tectonic and volcanic province. By contrast, little attention was directed at fundamental questions, such as the conditions that led to the development of Tharsis and the cause of the basic fundamental dichotomy of the Martian crust. It was to address these and related questions of the earliest evolution of Mars that a workshop was organized under the auspices of the Mars: Evolution of Volcanism, Tectonism, and Volatiles (MEVTV) Program. Four sessions were held: crustal dichotomy; crustal differentiation/volcanism; Tharsis, Elysium, and Valles Marineris; and ridges and fault tectonics

  8. Tectonic evolution of mercury; comparison with the moon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, P.G.; Masson, P.

    1983-01-01

    With regard to the Earth or to Mars, the Moon and Mercury look like tectonicless planetary bodies, and the prominent morphologies of these two planets are due to impact and volcanic processes. Despite these morphologies, several types of tectonic activities may be shown. Statistical studies of lineaments direction indicate that Mercury, as well as the Moon, have a planet wide lineament pattern, known as a ''grid''. Statistical studies of Mercury scarps and the Moon grabens indicate an interaction between planetary lithospheric evolution and large impact basins. Detailed studies of the largest basins indicate specific tectonic motions directly or indirectly related to impacts. These three tectonic types have been compared on each planet. The first tectonic type seems to be identical for Mercury and the Moon. But the two other types seem to be different, and are consistent with the planets' thermal evolution

  9. Tectonic evolution of the Sicilian Maghrebian Chain inferred from stratigraphic and petrographic evidences of Lower Cretaceous and Oligocene flysch

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Puglisi Diego

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The occurrence of a Lower Cretaceous flysch group, cropping out from the Gibraltar Arc to the Balkans with a very similar structural setting and sedimentary provenance always linked to the dismantling of internal areas, suggests the existence of only one sedimentary basin (Alpine Tethys s.s., subdivided into many other minor oceanic areas. The Maghrebian Basin, mainly developed on thinned continental crust, was probably located in the westernmost sector of the Alpine Tethys. Cretaceous re-organization of the plates triggered one (or more tectonic phases, well recorded in almost all the sectors of the Alpine Tethys. However, the Maghrebian Basin seems to have been deformed by Late- or post-Cretaceous tectonics, connected with a “meso-Alpine” phase (pre-Oligocene, already hypothesized since the beginning of the nineties. Field geological evidence and recent biostratigraphic data also support this important meso- Alpine tectonic phase in the Sicilian segment of the Maghrebian Chain, indicated by the deformations of a Lower Cretaceous flysch sealed by Lower Oligocene turbidite deposits. This tectonic development is emphasized here because it was probably connected with the onset of rifting in the southern paleomargin of the European plate, the detaching of the so-called AlKaPeCa block (Auct.; i.e. Alboran + Kabylian + Calabria and Peloritani terranes and its fragmentation into several microplates. The subsequent early Oligocene drifting of these microplates led to the progressive closure of the Maghrebian Basin and the opening of new back-arc oceanic basins, strongly controlled by extensional processes, in the western Mediterranean (i.e. Gulf of Lion, Valencia Trough, Provençal Basin and Alboran Sea.

  10. Pre-Alpine contrasting tectono-metamorphic evolutions within the Southern Steep Belt, Central Alps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roda, Manuel; Zucali, Michele; Li, Zheng-Xiang; Spalla, Maria Iole; Yao, Weihua

    2018-06-01

    In the Southern Steep Belt, Italian Central Alps, relicts of the pre-Alpine continental crust are preserved. Between Valtellina and Val Camonica, a poly-metamorphic rock association occurs, which belongs to the Austroalpine units and includes two classically subdivided units: the Languard-Campo nappe (LCN) and the Tonale Series (TS). The outcropping rocks are low to medium grade muscovite, biotite and minor staurolite-bearing gneisses and micaschists, which include interlayered garnet- and biotite-bearing amphibolites, marbles, quartzites and pegmatites, as well as sillimanite-bearing gneisses and micaschists. Permian intrusives (granitoids, diorites and minor gabbros) emplaced in the metamorphic rocks. We performed a detailed structural, petrological and geochronological analysis focusing on the two main lithotypes, namely, staurolite-bearing micaschists and sillimanite-bearing paragneisses, to reconstruct the Variscan and Permian-Triassic history of this crustal section. The reconstruction of the tectono-metamorphic evolution allows for the distinction between two different tectono-metamorphic units during the early pre-Alpine evolution (D1) and predates the Permian intrusives, which comprise rocks from both TS and LCN. In the staurolite-bearing micaschists, D1 developed under amphibolite facies conditions (P = 0.7-1.1 GPa, T = 580-660 °C), while in the sillimanite-bearing paragneisses formed under granulite facies conditions (P = 0.6-1.0 GPa, T> 780 °C). The two tectono-metamorphic units coupled together during the second pre-Alpine stage (D2) under granulite-amphibolite facies conditions at a lower pressure (P = 0.4-0.6 GPa, T = 620-750 °C) forming a single tectono-metamorphic unit (Languard-Tonale Tectono-Metamorphic Unit), which comprised the previously distinguished LCN and TS. Geochronological analyses on zircon rims indicate ages ranging between 250 and 275 Ma for D2, contemporaneous with the emplacement of Permian intrusives. This event developed under

  11. Long-term evolution of the Campine area in Northern Belgium: past and expected future evolution of tectonics and climate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Craen, M.; Beerten, K.; Brassinnes, S.; Wouters, L.

    2012-01-01

    relatively thin Quaternary sediments. The Campine Basin is part of the tectonic framework of western and central Europe, which is mainly determined by the European Cenozoic Rift System in the Alpine fore-land. Within this tectonic framework, the evolution of the Campine area was closely related to the evolution of the Roer Valley Graben, which is a tectonically active graben system. Hence, this graben system is one of the most seismically active regions in 'stable' continental Northwest Europe. Earthquakes were often associated with the re-activation of NW-SE oriented Palaeozoic faults, cross-cutting younger Mesozoic layers, often up to the top of the Cretaceous. During the Cenozoic, new tectonic activity reactivated some of the pre-existing faults some of which occasionally reach the surface. In the west of this graben system, the Campine region is known as a zone of limited tectonic activity and low seismic activity. Uplift and subsidence were the most important tectonic processes, albeit at a relatively slow rate. Estimated uplift/subsidence rates in the Mol area were less than 0.1 mm/yr during the last 10 Ma. It is expected that the overall extensional regime within this tectonic framework will persist in the future 1 Ma. Hence, it is expected that the future evolution of the Roer Valley Graben will continue to determine the long-term internal geodynamic evolution of the Campine area. Future seismic activity and earthquakes are expected to occur in the Roer Valley Graben, and to a lesser extent in the adjacent Campine area, but it is impossible to predict location, magnitude and return periods. Large palaeo-earthquakes with a maximum magnitude of MS=6.7 have been estimated in the Roer Valley Graben, and such large earthquakes may possibly also occur in the future. Future earthquakes may induce the re-activation of pre-existing faults. Subsidence and uplift are expected to be the dominant tectonic processes, with vertical movements less than 100 m within the considered

  12. Volatile organic compounds in alpine valleys: sources, evolutions and transformations; Les composes organiques volatils dans les vallees alpines: sources, evolutions et transformations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Colomb, A.

    2002-12-01

    Dynamic and chemical specificity in alpine valleys was the principal goal during the POVA project (Pollution des Vallees Alpines). Volatile Organic Compounds emissions in troposphere have important impacts on animal lives and environment. Then, the aim of this work was the improvement of the biogenic or anthropogenic VOC sources determination, of VOC transformation and evolution in mountain areas. During this project, the realisation of a daily continuous measurements campaign of a few chemical compounds allowed the understanding of the seasonal variations of these compounds. The goals of intensive field campaigns, realised in August 2000 and January 2001, were to understand photochemical process in a temporal and geographic small scale and to follow diurnal variation of different pollutants in summer and winter. Moreover, the VOC data would be used to develop and validate coupled atmospheric dynamic/chemical model. Therefore, these VOC measures give answer to two lacks of knowledge in alpine valleys about: - Biogenic and anthropogenic VOC respective part, and their main sources, - VOC photochemical reactions in alpine valleys, according to seasonal and diurnal cycles. Finally, we presented two atypical days results, in Maurienne valley during a Saharan episode in August 2000. This episode permitted to understand mass air transport mechanism in mountain region. (author)

  13. Cenozoic structures and the tectonic evolution of the eastern North Sea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, O.R.; Nielsen, S.B.; Egholm, D.L.

    2011-01-01

    Abundant seismic sections and well data from the Cenozoic succession in the eastern North Sea area generally reveal normal faulting, salt tectonics and localized tectonic inversion. However, inferences on the Cenozoic dynamic evolution of the region require thorough analysis of interactions between...... or cover tectonism took place. Our objectives are thus 1) to analyze the interaction between basement and cover structures, and if possible 2) to relate the structures to the regional tectonic evolution. The Zechstein evaporites pinch out onto the Ringkøbing-Fyn High, which in the eastern North Sea...... influencede.g. Miocene deposition and controlled the generation of second order faults. The latter detached along the top Chalk Group due to the topography generated during faulting, i.e. they are second order detachment surfaces. We conclude that the regional tectonic significance of the Cenozoic structures...

  14. Late-Variscan Tectonic Inheritance and Salt Tectonics Interplay in the Central Lusitanian Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nogueira, Carlos R.; Marques, Fernando O.

    2017-04-01

    Tectonic inheritance and salt structures can play an important role in the tectono-sedimentary evolution of basins. The Alpine regional stress field in west Iberia had a horizontal maximum compressive stress striking approximately NNW-SSE, related to the Late Miocene inversion event. However, this stress field cannot produce a great deal of the observed and mapped structures in the Lusitanian Basin. Moreover, many observed structures show a trend similar to well-known basement fault systems. The Central Lusitanian basin shows an interesting tectonic structure, the Montejunto structure, generally assigned to this inversion event. Therefore, special attention was paid to: (1) basement control of important observed structures; and (2) diapir tectonics (vertical maximum compressive stress), which can be responsible for significant vertical movements. Based on fieldwork, tectonic analysis and interpretation of geological maps (Portuguese Geological Survey, 1:50000 scale) and geophysical data, our work shows: (1) the Montejunto structure is a composite structure comprising an antiform with a curved hinge and middle Jurassic core, and bounding main faults; (2) the antiform can be divided into three main segments: (i) a northern segment with NNE-SSW trend showing W-dipping bedding bounded at the eastern border by a NNE-SSW striking fault, (ii) a curved central segment, showing the highest topography, with a middle Jurassic core and radial dipping bedding, (iii) a western segment with ENE-WSW trend comprising an antiform with a steeper northern limb and periclinal termination towards WSW, bounded to the south by ENE-WSW reverse faulting, (3) both fold and fault trends at the northern and western segments are parallel to well-known basement faults related to late-Variscan strike-slip systems with NNE-SSW and ENE-WSW trends; (4) given the orientation of Alpine maximum compressive stress, the northern segment border fault should be mostly sinistral strike-slip and the western

  15. Tectonic evolution of Lavinia Planitia, Venus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Squyres, Steven W.; Frank, Sharon L.; Mcgill, George E.; Solomon, Sean C.

    1991-01-01

    High resolution radar images from the Magellan spacecraft have revealed the first details of the morphology of the Lavinia Planitia region of Venus. Lavinia is a broad lowland over 2000 km across, centered at about 45 deg S latitude, 345 deg E longitude. Herein, the tectonic evolution of Lavinia is discussed, and its possible relationship to processes operating in the planet's interior. The discussion is restricted to the region from 37.3 to 52.6 deg S latitude and from about 340 to 0 deg E longitude. One of the most interesting characteristics of Lavinia is that the entire region possesses a regional tectonic framework of striking regularity. Lavinia is also transected by a complex pattern of belts of intense tectonic deformation known as ridge belts. Despite the gross topographic similarity of all of the ridge belts in Lavinia, they exhibit two rather distinct styles of near surface deformation. One is composed of sets of broad, arch-like ridges rising above the surrounding plains. In the other type, obvious fold-like ridges are rare to absent in the radar images. Both type show evidence for small amounts of shear distributed across the belts.

  16. Paleomagnetism and the alpine tectonics of Eurasia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Raven, Th.

    1964-01-01

    The following paper by Gregor and Zijderveld is the first of a series planned to report results of paleomagnetic investigations in the Alpine area from Italy to the Himalayas. These investigations are carried out in close collaboration between the well-equipped paleomagnetic laboratory of

  17. The Balearic Islands in the Alpine Orogeny

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bourrouilh, R.

    2016-10-01

    The place of the Balearic Islands in the Alpine orogeny is examined using detailed sedimentology studies, stratigraphical studies from the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) to modern times and a careful tectonic review of sedimentary formations from the Western Mediterranean. Despite being considered as the ultimate end of the north-eastern termination of the Betic Cordillera, the history of the Balearic archipelago seems to be closer to the tectonic opening of the Gulf of Valencia and to the Corsica-Sardinia rotation, and thus to the tectonic history of the Western Mediterranean Sea, than to the tectonics of the Betic Cordillera which appear as its symmetrical image with respect to this opening. (Author)

  18. Spatial distribution of the earthquakes in the Vrancea zone and tectonic correlations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bala, Andrei; Diaconescu, Mihai; Biter, Mircea

    2001-01-01

    The tectonic plate evolution of the whole Carpathian Arc and Pannonian back-arc Basin indicates that at least three tectonic units have been in contact and at the same time in relative motion: the East European Plate, the Moesian plate and the Intra-Alpine plate. There were plotted graphically all the earthquake hypocentres from the period 1982-2000 situated in an area which includes Vrancea zone. Because of the great number of events plotted, they were found to describe well the limits of the tectonic plate (plate fragment?) which is supposed to be subducted in this region down to 200 km depth. The hypothesis of a plate fragment delaminated from an older subduction can not be overruled. These limits were put in direct relations with the known geology and tectonics of the area. Available fault plane solutions for the crustal earthquakes are analyzed in correlation with the main faults of the area. A graphic plot of the sunspot number is correlated with the occurrence of the earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 5. (authors)

  19. The relationship between tectonic-thermal evolution and sandstone-type uranium ore-formation in Ordos basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Honggang

    2005-01-01

    The comprehensive study of the volcanic activities, the geothermal field, the thermal flow field, the paleogeo-thermal activity and the tectonic evolution of the Ordos basin indicates that the tectonic-thermal evolution of the Ordos basin has offered the basis for the fluid-fluid and fluid-rock mutual reactions, and has created favourable conditions for the formation of organic mineral resources and sandstone-type uranium deposits. Especially, the tectonic-thermal event during middle-Late Jurassic to Cretaceous played an important role in providing uranium source material, and assisting the migration, the concentration and precipitation of uranium and uranium ore-formation. (authors)

  20. Balanced Cross Section for Restoration of Tectonic Evolution in the Southwest Okinawa Trough

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Wu Shiguo; Ni Xianglong; Guo Junhua

    2007-01-01

    On the basis of the multi-channel seismic data and the other data, using 2DMove software,the tectonic evolution in three seismic profiles was restored since Pliocene. The tectonic restoration results show that: (1) the initial active center lay in the west slope and then was transferred to east and south via trough center during the evolution process; (2) several main normal faults controlled the evolution of the southern Okinawa Trough; (3) since Late Pliocene, the southern Okinawa Trough has experienced two spreading stages. The early is depression in Early-Middle Pleistocene and the late is back-arc spreading in Late Pleistocene and Holocene, which is in primary oceanic crust spreading stage.

  1. U-Pb thermochronology of rutile from Alpine Corsica: constraints on the thermal evolution of the European margin during Jurassic continental breakup

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ewing, T. A.; Beltrando, M.; Müntener, O.

    2017-12-01

    U-Pb thermochronology of rutile can provide valuable temporal constraints on the exhumation history of the lower crust, given its moderate closure temperature and the occurrence of rutile in appropriate lithologies. We present an example from Alpine Corsica, in which we investigate the thermal evolution of the distal European margin during Jurassic continental rifting that culminated in the opening of the Alpine Tethys ocean. The Belli Piani unit of the Santa Lucia nappe (Corsica) experienced minimal Alpine overprint and bears a striking resemblance to the renowned Ivrea Zone lower crustal section (Italy). At its base, a 2-4 km thick gabbroic complex contains slivers of granulite facies metapelites that represent Permian lower crust. Zr-in-rutile temperatures and U-Pb ages were determined for rutile from three metapelitic slivers from throughout the Mafic Complex. High Zr-in-rutile temperatures of 850-950 °C corroborate textural evidence for rutile formation during Permian granulite facies metamorphism. Lower Zr-in-rutile temperatures of 750-800 °C in a few grains are partly associated with elongate strings of rutile within quartz ribbons, which record recrystallisation of some rutile during high-temperature shearing. Zr thermometry documents that both crystallisation and re-crystallisation of rutile occurred above the closure temperature of Pb in rutile, such that the U-Pb system can be expected to record cooling ages uncomplicated by re-crystallisation. Our new high-precision single-spot LA-ICPMS U-Pb dates are highly consistent between and within samples. The three samples gave ages from 160 ± 1 Ma to 161 ± 2 Ma, with no other age populations detected. The new data indicate that the Santa Lucia lower crust last cooled through 550-650 °C at 160 Ma, coeval with the first formation of oceanic crust in the Tethys. The new data are compared to previous depth profiling rutile U-Pb data for the Belli Piani unit1, and exploited to cast light on the tectonothermal

  2. Overview of geology and tectonic evolution of the Baikal-Tuva area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gladkochub, Dmitry; Donskaya, Tatiana

    2009-01-01

    This chapter provides the results of geological investigations of the main tectonic units of the Baikal-Tuva region (southwestern part of Siberia) during the last decades: the ancient Siberian craton and adjacent areas of the Central Asian Orogenic belt. In the framework of these main units we describe small-scale blocks (terranes) with focus on details of their inner structure and evolution through time. As well as describing the geology and tectonics of the area studied, we give an overview of underwater sediments, neotectonics, and some phenomena of history and development of the Baikal, Khubsugul, Chargytai, and Tore-Chol Lakes basins of the Baikal-Tuva region. It is suggested that these lakes' evolution was controlled by neotectonic processes, modern seismic activity, and global climate changes.

  3. Transformation of graphite by tectonic and hydrothermal processes in an active plate boundary fault zone, Alpine Fault, New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirilova, Matina; Toy, Virginia; Timms, Nicholas; Halfpenny, Angela; Menzies, Catriona; Craw, Dave; Rooney, Jeremy; Giorgetti, Carolina

    2017-04-01

    Graphite is a material with one of the lowest frictional strengths, with coefficient of friction of 0.1 and thus in natural fault zones it may act as a natural solid lubricant. Graphitization, or the transformation of organic matter (carbonaceous material, or CM) into crystalline graphite, is induced by compositional and structural changes during diagenesis and metamorphism. The supposed irreversible nature of this process has allowed the degree of graphite crystallinity to be calibrated as an indicator of the peak temperatures reached during progressive metamorphism. We examine processes of graphite emplacement and deformation in the Alpine Fault Zone, New Zealand's active continental tectonic plate boundary. Raman spectrometry indicates that graphite in the distal, amphibolite-facies Alpine Schist, which experienced peak metamorphic temperatures up to 640 ◦C, is highly crystalline and occurs mainly along grain boundaries within quartzo-feldspathic domains. The subsequent mylonitisation in the Alpine Fault Zone resulted in progressive reworking of CM under lower temperature conditions (500◦C-600◦C) in a structurally controlled environment, resulting in spatial clustering in lower-strain protomylonites, and further foliation-alignment in higher-strain mylonites. Subsequent brittle deformation of the mylonitised schists resulted in cataclasites that contain over three-fold increase in the abundance of graphite than mylonites. Furthermore, cataclasites contain graphite with two different habits: highly-crystalline, foliated forms that are inherited mylonitic graphite; and lower-crystallinity, less mature patches of finer-grained graphite. The observed graphite enrichment and the occurrence of poorly-organised graphite in the Alpine Fault cataclasites could result from: i) hydrothermal precipitation from carbon-supersaturated fluids; and/or ii) mechanical degradation by structural disordering of mylonitic graphite combined with strain-induced graphite

  4. The evolution of dwarf shrubs in alpine environments: a case study of Alchemilla in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gehrke, Berit; Kandziora, Martha; Pirie, Michael D

    2016-01-01

    Alpine and arctic environments worldwide, including high mountains, are dominated by short-stature woody plants (dwarf shrubs). This conspicuous life form asserts considerable influence on local environmental conditions above the treeline, creating its own microhabitat. This study reconstructs the evolution of dwarf shrubs in Alchemilla in the African tropical alpine environment, where they represent one of the largest clades and are among the most common and abundant plants. Different phylogenetic inference methods were used with plastid and nuclear DNA sequence markers, molecular dating (BEAST and RelTime), analyses of diversification rate shifts (MEDUSA and BAMM) and ancestral character and area reconstructions (Mesquite). It is inferred that African Alchemilla species originated following long-distance dispersal to tropical East Africa, but that the evolution of dwarf shrubs occurred in Ethiopia and in tropical East Africa independently. Establishing a timeframe is challenging given inconsistencies in age estimates, but it seems likely that they originated in the Pleistocene, or at the earliest in the late Miocene. The adaptation to alpine-like environments in the form of dwarf shrubs has apparently not led to enhanced diversification rates. Ancestral reconstructions indicate reversals in Alchemilla from plants with a woody base to entirely herbaceous forms, a transition that is rarely reported in angiosperms. Alchemilla is a clear example of in situ tropical alpine speciation. The dwarf shrub life form typical of African Alchemilla has evolved twice independently, further indicating its selective advantage in these harsh environments. However, it has not influenced diversification, which, although recent, was not rapid. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY AND SYNDEPOSITIONAL TECTONICS OF THE JURASSIC-CRETACEOUS SUCCESSION AT THE TRANSITION BETWEEN PROVENÇAL AND DAUPHINOIS DOMAINS (MARITIME ALPS, NW ITALY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LUCA BARALE

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The Provençal and Dauphinois Mesozoic successions cropping out at the southeastern margin of the Argentera Massif (Maritime Alps, NW Italy were deposited at the transition between the Provençal platform and the Dauphinois basin, marked in the study area by a partly preserved Mesozoic palaeoescarpment. These successions show important lateral variations occurring over relatively short distances, probably related to syndepositional tectonics. Different stratigraphic intervals of the pelagic-hemipelagic Dauphinois succession contain resedimented deposits, made up of both intra- and extrabasinal material, which provide a twofold evidence of syndepositional tectonics indicating both tectonically-triggered gravitational processes and a tectonically-driven evolution of the source areas. Two stages of syndepositional tectonics have been recognized: the first in the earliest Cretaceous, which is related to the deposition of carbonate breccias in the Dauphinois succession and to hydrothermal dolomitization of the Middle Triassic-Jurassic Provençal carbonates, and the second in the Late Cretaceous, which triggered the deposition of different detrital lithozones in the Upper Cretaceous Puriac Limestone. The cited evidence indicates that syndepositional tectonics continued to influence the evolution of the Alpine Tethys European passive margin long after the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic syn-rift stage, which caused the differentiation between the Dauphinois basin and the Provençal platform.

  6. Dynamic evolution of shear - extensional tectonics in South China and uranium resource exploration strategic analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Shiyi; Tao Zhijun; Han Qiming

    2012-01-01

    A variety of multi- types, multi-level, multi-era shear - extensional tectonics in south China is developed, the main form of shear-extensional tectonics, and developmental characteristics and metallogenic geodynamic evolution is discovered, and thus uranium resource exploration strategic analysis is conducted

  7. Sediment storage quantification and postglacial evolution of an inner-alpine sedimentary basin (Gradenmoos, Schober Mountains, Austria)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Götz, J.; Buckel, J.; Otto, J. C.; Schrott, L.

    2012-04-01

    Knickpoints in longitudinal valley profiles of alpine headwater catchments can be frequently assigned to the lithological and tectonical setting, to damming effects through large (rockfall) deposits, or to the impact of Pleistocene glaciations causing overdeepened basins. As a consequence various sedimentary sinks developed, which frequently interrupt sediment flux in alpine drainage basins. Today these locations may represent landscape archives documenting a sedimentary history of great value for the understanding of alpine landscape evolution. The glacially overdeepened Gradenmoos basin at 1920 m a.s.l. (an alpine lake mire with adjacent floodplain deposits and surrounding slope storage landforms; approx. 4.1 km2) is the most pronounced sink in the studied Gradenbach catchment (32.5 km2). The basin is completely filled up with sediments delivered by mainly fluvial processes, debris flows, and rock falls, it is assumed to be deglaciated since Egesen times and it is expected to archive a continuous stratigraphy of postglacial sedimentation. As the analysis of denudation-accumulation-systems is generally based on back-calculation of stored sediment volumes to a specific sediment delivering area, most reliable results will be consequently obtained (1) if sediment output of the system can be neglected for the investigated period of time, (2) if - due to spatial scale - sediment storage can be assessed quantitatively with a high level of accuracy, and (3) if the sediment contributing area can be clearly delimited. All three aspects are considered to be fulfilled to a high degree within the Gradenmoos basin. Sediment storage is quantified using geophysical methods, core drillings and GIS modelling whereas postglacial reconstruction is based on radiocarbon dating and palynological analyses. Subject to variable subsurface conditions, different geophysical methods were applied to detect bedrock depth. Electrical resistivity surveying (2D/3D) was used most extensively as it

  8. Formation and evolution of mesozoic volcanic basins in Gan-Hang tectonic belt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Xingpu

    1999-01-01

    The author mainly discusses the principle model for the formation and the evolution of Mesozoic volcanic basins in the Gan-Hang Tectonic Belt, and describes the distinct evolution features between the internal and external sites of volcanic basins, the natural relation between the down-warped, down-faulted, collapse volcanic basins and volcanic domes, the relationship between the formation of inter layered fractured zones of the volcanic cover and the evolution of volcanic basins

  9. Morphological expression of active tectonics in the Southern Alps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robl, Jörg; Heberer, Bianca; Neubauer, Franz; Hergarten, Stefan

    2015-04-01

    Evolving drainage pattern and corresponding metrics of the channels (e.g. normalized steepness index) are sensitive indicators for tectonic or climatic events punctuating the evolution of mountain belts and their associated foreland basins. The analysis of drainage systems and their characteristic properties represents a well-established approach to constrain the impact of tectonic and climatic drivers on mountainous landscapes in the recent past. The Southern Alps (SA) are one of the seismically most active zones in the periphery of northern Adria. Recent deformation is caused by the ongoing convergence of the Adriatic and European plate and is recorded by numerous earthquakes in the domain of the SA. Deformation in the SA is characterized by back-thrusting causing crustal thickening and should therefore result in uplift and topography formation. The vertical velocity field determined by GPS-data clearly indicates a belt of significant uplift in the south South alpine indenter between Lake Garda in the west and the Triglav in the east and strong subsidence of the foreland basin surrounding the Mediterranean Sea near Venice, although subsidence is often related to ongoing subduction of the Adriatic microplate underneath Appennines. Despite of these short term time series, timing, rates and drivers of alpine landscape evolution are not well constrained and the linkage between crustal deformation and topographic evolution of this highly active alpine segment remains unclear for the following reasons: (1) The eastern Southern Alps were heavily overprinted by the Pleistocene glaciations and tectonic signals in the alpine landscape are blurred. Only the transition zone to the southern foreland basin remained unaffected and allows an analysis of a glacially undisturbed topography. (2) The major part of this domain is covered by lithology (carbonatic rocks) which is unsuitable for low temperature geochronology and cosmogenic isotope dating so that exhumation and erosion

  10. Gneiss Macuira: tectonic evolution of Paleozoic metamorphic rocks of the Alta Guajira, Colombia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez I; A Julian; Zuluaga C; A, Carlos

    2012-01-01

    The Macuira Gneiss is a Paleozoic metamorphic unit that outcrops in the Simarua, Jarara and Macuira ranges, Alta Guajira. It is composed by a lithologies metamorphosed under amphibolite facies P-T conditions and consist of amphibolitic and quartz feldspathic gneisses, amphibolites, schists, pegmatites, calc-silicated rocks and marbles, with migmatization evidences in gneisses and amphibolites. Five foliations (S1-5) and three folding events (F1-3) were identified and interpreted as product of two metamorphic events, developed in a progressive barrovian metamorphic gradient of intermediate pressure with intermediate P-T ratio, interpreted as product of continental collision tectonics. This unit is important in understanding of the tectonic evolution of the Alta Guajira and Caribbean because it records different deformational phases pre-, syn- and post-migmatitic, that could be related with different tectonic episodes: the first associated with the collision between Laurasia and Gondwana (Alleghanian Orogeny - Late Paleozoic), and the second related with the Caribbean Plate evolution (Andean Orogeny - Meso-Cenozoic).

  11. Tectonic activity and the evolution of submarine canyons: The Cook Strait Canyon system, New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Micallef, Aaron; Mountjoy, Joshu; Barnes, Philip; Canals, Miquel; Lastras, Galderic

    2016-04-01

    Submarine canyons are Earth's most dramatic erosional features, comprising steep-walled valleys that originate in the continental shelf and slope. They play a key role in the evolution of continental margins by transferring sediments into deep water settings and are considered important biodiversity hotspots, pathways for nutrients and pollutants, and analogues of hydrocarbon reservoirs. Although comprising only one third of continental margins worldwide, active margins host more than half of global submarine canyons. We still lack of thorough understanding of the coupling between active tectonics and submarine canyon processes, which is necessary to improve the modelling of canyon evolution in active margins and derive tectonic information from canyon morphology. The objectives of this study are to: (i) understand how tectonic activity influences submarine canyon morphology, processes, and evolution in an active margin, and (2) formulate a generalised model of canyon development in response to tectonic forcing based on morphometric parameters. We fulfil these objectives by analysing high resolution geophysical data and imagery from Cook Strait Canyon system, offshore New Zealand. Using these data, we demonstrate that tectonic activity, in the form of major faults and structurally-generated tectonic ridges, leaves a clear topographic signature on submarine canyon location and morphology, in particular their dendritic and sinuous planform shapes, steep and linear longitudinal profiles, and cross-sectional asymmetry and width. We also report breaks/changes in canyon longitudinal slope gradient, relief and slope-area regression models at the intersection with faults. Tectonic activity gives rise to two types of knickpoints in the Cook Strait Canyon. The first type consists of low slope gradient, rounded and diffusive knickpoints forming as a result of short wavelength folds or fault break outs and being restored to an equilibrium profile by upstream erosion and

  12. Tectonic Evolution of the Çayirhan Neogene Basin (Ankara), Central Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behzad, Bezhan; Koral, Hayrettin; İşb&idot; l, Duygu; Karaaǧa; ç, Serdal

    2016-04-01

    Çayırhan (Ankara) is located at crossroads of the Western Anatolian extensional region, analogous to the Basin and Range Province, and suture zone of the Neotethys-Ocean, which is locus of the North Anatolian Transform since the Late Miocene. To the north of Çayırhan (Ankara), a Neogene sedimentary basin comprises Lower-Middle Miocene and Upper Miocene age formations, characterized by swamp, fluvial and lacustrine settings respectively. This sequence is folded and transected by neotectonic faults. The Sekli thrust fault is older than the Lower-Middle Miocene age formations. The Davutoǧlan fault is younger than the Lower-Middle Miocene formations and is contemporaneous to the Upper Miocene formation. The Çatalkaya fault is younger than the Upper Miocene formation. The sedimentary and tectonic features provide information on mode, timing and evolution of this Neogene age sedimentary basin in Central Turkey. It is concluded that the region underwent a period of uplift and erosion under the influence of contractional tectonics prior to the Early-Middle Miocene, before becoming a semi-closed basin under influence of transtensional tectonics during the Early-Middle Miocene and under influence of predominantly extensional tectonics during the post-Late Miocene times. Keywords: Tectonics, Extension, Transtension, Stratigraphy, Neotectonic features.

  13. Recent crustal movements and geophysical interpretation of geodynamic processes in the Alpine mountain belt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gubler, E.; Kahle, H. G.

    It is a well-known fact that the surface phenomena of global plate tectonics are most convincingly seen and felt along the boundaries of the moving lithospheric plates. These boundaries are morphologically expressed as mild-ocean ridges or as subduction zones such as deep sea trenches or Himalayan/Alpine fold belts, the latter of which are the subject of this paper. On a global scale, there are kinematic models giving an idea of what kind of rates can be expected. This is due to the fact that magnetic sea floor spreading anomalies are missing in the Alpine environment. On the other hand, the structure and kinematics of the Apulian microplate are of major interest to Switzerland because its northern boundary seems to be formed by the Alpine chain. In Switzerland there are some 14 special study groups actively working in this field of geodynamics. This paper is restricted to the geodetic and gravity studies. With emphasis on the assumed northern boundary of the Apulian microplate, the kinematics of relative plate movements in the Alpine area were investigated. A simplified tectonic map of this region is shown.

  14. Tectonic evolution of Mars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wise, D.U.; Golombek, M.P.; McGill, G.E.

    1979-01-01

    Any model for the tectonic evolution of Mars must account for two major crustal elements: the Tharsis bulge and the topographically low and lightly crated northern third of the planet. Ages determined by crater density indicate that both of these elements came into existence very early in Martian history, a conclusion that holds no matter which of the current crater density versus age curves is used. The size of these two major crustal elements and their sequential development suggest that both may be related to a global-scale internal process. It is proposed that the resurfacing of the northern third of Mars is related to subcrustal erosion and isostatic foundering during the life of a first-order convection cell. With the demise of the cell, denser segregations of metallic materials began to coalesce as a gravitatively unstable layer which finally overturned to form the core. In the overturn, lighter crustal materials was shifted laterally and underplated beneath Tharsis to cause rapid and permanent isostatic rise. This was followed by a long-lived thermal phase produced by the hot underplate and by the gravitative energy of core formation slowly making its way to the surface to produce the Tharsis volcanics

  15. Sedimentologic indicators of the Miocene tectonic evolution in the Nunchia syncline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramirez Arias, Juan Carlos; Mora, Andres; Parra, Mauricio

    2010-01-01

    The study area corresponds to the Nunchia syncline, which is located in the eastern foothills of the eastern cordillera of Colombia. This structure is bounded by the Yopal thrust to the east, and Guaicaramo thrust to the west. This syncline has mostly outcrops of Miocene units, which belong to the Carbonera (C1-C5), Leon and Guayabo formations. Here we use sedimentologic data, especially in the Guayabo Formation, in order to determine the influence of active tectonics during its deposition. Petrographic analyses of sandstones indicate the presence of components associated with upper Cretaceous - Paleocene formations in the eastern cordillera. Paleocurrent orientation shows a preferential trend towards the se during the deposition of most of the studied formations, with a reversal in flow direction towards the W-NW during the deposition of the middle Guayabo Formation preserved in the Nunchia syncline. The collected data allows establishing a structural evolution in the Nunchia syncline which was therefore active during most of the Miocene. This evolution appears to be continuous, although fragmentation of the geological record shows more specific periods of tectonic activity.

  16. NW Africa post-rift tectonics: fieldwork constraints from an "unfitting" anticline in west Morocco

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Blanco, David; Gouiza, Mohamed

    2015-04-01

    The evolution of the Moroccan Atlantic rifted margin is marked by a period of abnormal and excessive early post-rift subsidence during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous affecting the proximal coastal basins, the continental shelf and the distal deep basins, which acted coevally to km-scale uplift and erosion of large domains to the east. The tectonics of the uplift event are still unclear, as it took place 30 to 50 Myr after lithospheric breakup between Morocco and Nova Scotia and prior to the Atlas/Alpine contraction, which gave rise to the Atlas and the Rif mountain belts. The Essaouira-Haha basin, located on the coastal plain of the Atlantic rifted margin of Morocco, and bounded by two uplifted Paleozoic basement highs (i.e. the Massif Ancien of Marrakech, to the east, and the Jebilet, to the northeast), is an ideal location to investigate the tectonic processes that might have triggered these vertical movements. Although most of the deformation observed in the basin is classically attributed to Upper Cretaceous halokinesis and Neogene Atlas contraction, recent works have shown the existence of contractional structures. We carry out a structural analysis of the Jbel Amsittene Anticline, located in the middle of the Essaouira-Haha basin to investigate the tectonics of its formation and its relationship with the above-mentioned exhumation. We show structural field data along several cross-sections transecting the anticline, and characterize a salt-cored fault propagation fold verging north, with a Triassic salt acting as a detachment plane. Regional kinematic indicators and structures show overall NNW-SSE to NNE-SSW shortening and active tectonics during the postrift phase, as indicated by syn-tectonic wedges seen for the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous period. These facts discard the "salt-drives-tectonics" theory to let "tectonic-drives-salt" one to rise, and point to factors other than small-cell mantle convection acting during the evolution of the Moroccan

  17. Phanerozoic tectonic evolution of the Circum-North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nokleberg, Warren J.; Parfenov, Leonid M.; Monger, James W.H.; Norton, Ian O.; Khanchuk, Alexander I.; Stone, David B.; Scotese, Christopher R.; Scholl, David W.; Fujita, Kazuya

    2000-01-01

    The Phanerozoic tectonic evolution of the Circum-North Pacific is recorded mainly in the orogenic collages of the Circum-North Pacific mountain belts that separate the North Pacific from the eastern part of the North Asian Craton and the western part of the North American Craton. These collages consist of tectonostratigraphic terranes that are composed of fragments of igneous arcs, accretionary-wedge and subduction-zone complexes, passive continental margins, and cratons; they are overlapped by continental-margin-arc and sedimentary-basin assemblages. The geologic history of the terranes and overlap assemblages is highly complex because of postaccretionary dismemberment and translation during strike-slip faulting that occurred subparallel to continental margins.We analyze the complex tectonics of this region by the following steps. (1) We assign tectonic environments for the orogenic collages from regional compilation and synthesis of stratigraphic and faunal data. The types of tectonic environments include cratonal, passive continental margin, metamorphosed continental margin, continental-margin arc, island arc, oceanic crust, seamount, ophiolite, accretionary wedge, subduction zone, turbidite basin, and metamorphic. (2) We make correlations between terranes. (3) We group coeval terranes into a single tectonic origin, for example, a single island arc or subduction zone. (4) We group igneous-arc and subduction- zone terranes, which are interpreted as being tectonically linked, into coeval, curvilinear arc/subduction-zone complexes. (5) We interpret the original positions of terranes, using geologic, faunal, and paleomagnetic data. (6) We construct the paths of tectonic migration. Six processes overlapping in time were responsible for most of the complexities of the collage of terranes and overlap assemblages around the Circum-North Pacific, as follows. (1) During the Late Proterozoic, Late Devonian, and Early Carboniferous, major periods of rifting occurred along

  18. The tectonic evolution of the southeastern Terceira Rift/São Miguel region (Azores)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiß, B. J.; Hübscher, C.; Lüdmann, T.

    2015-07-01

    The eastern Azores Archipelago with São Miguel being the dominant subaerial structure is located at the intersection of an oceanic rift (Terceira Rift) with a major transform fault (Gloria Fault) representing the westernmost part of the Nubian-Eurasian plate boundary. The evolution of islands, bathymetric highs and basin margins involves strong volcanism, but the controlling geodynamic and tectonic processes are currently under debate. In order to study this evolution, multibeam bathymetry and marine seismic reflection data were collected to image faults and stratigraphy. The basins of the southeastern Terceira Rift are rift valleys whose southwestern and northeastern margins are defined by few major normal faults and several minor normal faults, respectively. Since São Miguel in between the rift valleys shows an unusual W-E orientation, it is supposed to be located on a leaky transform. South of the island and separated by a N120° trending graben system, the Monacco Bank represents a N160° oriented flat topped volcanic ridge dominated by tilted fault blocks. Up to six seismic units are interpreted for each basin. Although volcanic ridges hamper a direct linking of depositional strata between the rift and adjacent basins, the individual seismic stratigraphic units have distinct characteristics. Using these units to provide a consistent relative chrono-stratigraphic scheme for the entire study area, we suggest that the evolution of the southeastern Terceira Rift occurred in two stages. Considering age constrains from previous studies, we conclude that N140° structures developed orthogonal to the SW-NE direction of plate-tectonic extension before ~ 10 Ma. The N160° trending volcanic ridges and faults developed later as the plate tectonic spreading direction changed to WSW-ENE. Hence, the evolution of the southeastern Terceira Rift domain is predominantly controlled by plate kinematics and lithospheric stress forming a kind of a re-organized rift system.

  19. Meso-Cenozoic tectonic evolution and uranium potential evaluations of basins in Beishan-Gansu corridor region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Qingyin; Chen Zuyi; Liu Hongxu; Yu Jinshui

    2006-01-01

    Beishan-Gansu Corridor region is located at the intersection of the plates of Tarim, North China, Kazakhstan, Siberia and Qaidam. During the Meso-Cenozoic, the region experienced movements of Indo-sinian, Yanshanian, Sichuanian, North China, Himalayan and Neotectonic, and over 20 medium-small size superimposed continental basins were formed. On the basis of analyzing the tectonic stress field, sediment-filling and structure-deformation; the general trending of tectonic evolution in the Meso-Cenozoic is summarized as three-time compressional uplifting and two-time extensional down-faulting. The different evolution of basins under the above mentioned setting can be divided into six stages according to characteristics of filled sediment. The sand bodies developed in down-faulted basins are favorable for uranium ore-formation as they are formed under humid paleoclimates, and rich in reducing matter. Therefore, the Lower-Middle Jurassic is selected as the main target horizon for sandstone-hosted uranium deposit, and the Lower Cretaceous as the minor one. Although the tectonic reactivation of the target horizon after its deposition was generally strong, the slopes formed in some basins could be favorable for the infiltration of uranium-and oxygen-bearing groundwater into sand bodies and form uranium deposits. According to the favorable sand bodies and tectonic reactivation, the northern parts of Chaoshui and Bayingobi basins are regarded as potential regions which are worthy of further exploration. (authors)

  20. Post-Palaeozoic evolution of weathered landsurfaces in Uganda by tectonically controlled deep weathering and stripping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, R. G.; Howard, K. W. F.

    1998-11-01

    A model for the evolution of weathered landsurfaces in Uganda is developed using available geotectonic, climatic, sedimentological and chronological data. The model demonstrates the pivotal role of tectonic uplift in inducing cycles of stripping, and tectonic quiescence for cycles of deep weathering. It is able to account for the development of key landforms, such as inselbergs and duricrust-capped plateaux, which previous hypotheses of landscape evolution that are based on climatic or eustatic controls are unable to explain. Development of the Ugandan landscape is traced back to the Permian. Following late Palaeozoic glaciation, a trend towards warmer and more humid climates through the Mesozoic enabled deep weathering of the Jurassic/mid-Cretaceous surface in Uganda during a period of prolonged tectonic quiescence. Uplift associated with the opening South Atlantic Ocean terminated this cycle and instigated a cycle of stripping between the mid-Cretaceous and early Miocene. Deep weathering on the succeeding Miocene to recent (African) surface has occurred from Miocene to present but has been interrupted in the areas adjacent to the western rift where development of a new drainage base level has prompted cycles of stripping in the Miocene and Pleistocene.

  1. Geometry and kinematics of Majiatan Fold-and-thrust Belt, Western Ordos Basin: implication for Tectonic Evolution of North-South Tectonic Belt

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, D.

    2017-12-01

    The Helan-Chuandian North-South Tectonic Belt crossed the central Chinese mainland. It is a boundary of geological, geophysical, and geographic system of Chinese continent tectonics from shallow to deep, and a key zone for tectonic and geomorphologic inversion during Mesozoic to Cenozoic. It is superimposed by the southeastward and northeastward propagation of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in late Cenozoic. It is thus the critical division for West and East China since Mesozoic. The Majiatan fold-and-thrust belt (MFTB), locating at the central part of HCNSTB and the western margin of Ordos Basin, is formed by the tectonic evolution of the Helan-Liupanshan Mountains. Based on the newly-acquired high-resolution seismic profiles, deep boreholes, and surface geology, the paper discusses the geometry, kinematics, and geodynamic evolution of MFTB. With the Upper Carboniferous coal measures and the pre-Sinian ductile zone as the detachments, MFTB is a multi-level detached thrust system. The thrusting was mainly during latest Jurassic to Late Cretaceous, breaking-forward in the foreland, and resulting in a shortening rate of 25-29%. By structural restoration, this area underwent extension in Middle Proterozoic to Paleozoic, which can be divided into three phases of rifting such as Middle to Late Proterozoic, Cambiran to Ordovician, and Caboniferous to early Permian. It underwent compression since Late Triassic, including such periods as Latest Triassic, Late Jurassic to early Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous to early Paleogene, and Pliocene to Quaternary, with the largest shortening around Late Jurassic to early Cretaceous period (i.e. the mid-Yanshanian movement by the local name). However, trans-extension since Eocene around the Ordos Basin got rise to the formation the Yingchuan, Hetao, and Weihe grabens. It is concluded that MFTB is the leading edge of the intra-continental Helan orogenic belt, and formed by multi-phase breaking-forward thrusting during Late Jurassic to Cretaceous

  2. Analytically based forward and inverse models of fluvial landscape evolution during temporally continuous climatic and tectonic variations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goren, Liran; Petit, Carole

    2017-04-01

    Fluvial channels respond to changing tectonic and climatic conditions by adjusting their patterns of erosion and relief. It is therefore expected that by examining these patterns, we can infer the tectonic and climatic conditions that shaped the channels. However, the potential interference between climatic and tectonic signals complicates this inference. Within the framework of the stream power model that describes incision rate of mountainous bedrock rivers, climate variability has two effects: it influences the erosive power of the river, causing local slope change, and it changes the fluvial response time that controls the rate at which tectonically and climatically induced slope breaks are communicated upstream. Because of this dual role, the fluvial response time during continuous climate change has so far been elusive, which hinders our understanding of environmental signal propagation and preservation in the fluvial topography. An analytic solution of the stream power model during general tectonic and climatic histories gives rise to a new definition of the fluvial response time. The analytic solution offers accurate predictions for landscape evolution that are hard to achieve with classical numerical schemes and thus can be used to validate and evaluate the accuracy of numerical landscape evolution models. The analytic solution together with the new definition of the fluvial response time allow inferring either the tectonic history or the climatic history from river long profiles by using simple linear inversion schemes. Analytic study of landscape evolution during periodic climate change reveals that high frequency (10-100 kyr) climatic oscillations with respect to the response time, such as Milankovitch cycles, are not expected to leave significant fingerprints in the upstream reaches of fluvial channels. Linear inversion schemes are applied to the Tinee river tributaries in the southern French Alps, where tributary long profiles are used to recover the

  3. Metallogenic relationships to tectonic evolution - the Lachlan Orogen, Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bierlein, Frank P.; Gray, David R.; Foster, David A.

    2002-08-01

    Placing ore formation within the overall tectonic framework of an evolving orogenic system provides important constraints for the development of plate tectonic models. Distinct metallogenic associations across the Palaeozoic Lachlan Orogen in SE Australia are interpreted to be the manifestation of interactions between several microplates and three accretionary complexes in an oceanic back-arc setting. In the Ordovician, significant orogenic gold deposits formed within a developing accretionary wedge along the Pacific margin of Gondwana. At the same time, major porphyry Cu-Au systems formed in an oceanic island arc outboard of an evolved magmatic arc that, in turn, gave rise to granite-related Sn-W deposits in the Early Silurian. During the ongoing evolution of the orogen in the Late Silurian to Early Devonian, sediment-hosted Cu-Au and Pb-Zn deposits formed in short-lived intra-arc basins, whereas a developing fore-arc system provided the conditions for the formation of several volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits. Inversion of these basins and accretion to the Australian continental margin triggered another pulse of orogenic gold mineralisation during the final consolidation of the orogenic belt in the Middle to Late Devonian.

  4. Geomorphology, active tectonics, and landscape evolution in the Mid-Atlantic region: Chapter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pazzaglia, Frank J.; Carter, Mark W.; Berti, Claudio; Counts, Ronald C.; Hancock, Gregory S.; Harbor, David; Harrison, Richard W.; Heller, Matthew J.; Mahan, Shannon; Malenda, Helen; McKeon, Ryan; Nelson, Michelle S.; Prince, Phillip; Rittenour, Tammy M.; Spotilla, James; Whittecar, G. Richard

    2015-01-01

    In 2014, the geomorphology community marked the 125th birthday of one of its most influential papers, “The Rivers and Valleys of Pennsylvania” by William Morris Davis. Inspired by Davis’s work, the Appalachian landscape rapidly became fertile ground for the development and testing of several grand landscape evolution paradigms, culminating with John Hack’s dynamic equilibrium in 1960. As part of the 2015 GSA Annual Meeting, the Geomorphology, Active Tectonics, and Landscape Evolution field trip offers an excellent venue for exploring Appalachian geomorphology through the lens of the Appalachian landscape, leveraging exciting research by a new generation of process-oriented geomorphologists and geologic field mapping. Important geomorphologic scholarship has recently used the Appalachian landscape as the testing ground for ideas on long- and short-term erosion, dynamic topography, glacial-isostatic adjustments, active tectonics in an intraplate setting, river incision, periglacial processes, and soil-saprolite formation. This field trip explores a geologic and geomorphic transect of the mid-Atlantic margin, starting in the Blue Ridge of Virginia and proceeding to the east across the Piedmont to the Coastal Plain. The emphasis here will not only be on the geomorphology, but also the underlying geology that establishes the template and foundation upon which surface processes have etched out the familiar Appalachian landscape. The first day focuses on new and published work that highlights Cenozoic sedimentary deposits, soils, paleosols, and geomorphic markers (terraces and knickpoints) that are being used to reconstruct a late Cenozoic history of erosion, deposition, climate change, and active tectonics. The second day is similarly devoted to new and published work documenting the fluvial geomorphic response to active tectonics in the Central Virginia seismic zone (CVSZ), site of the 2011 M 5.8 Mineral earthquake and the integrated record of Appalachian

  5. Distinct phases of eustatic and tectonic forcing for late Quaternary landscape evolution in southwest Crete, Greece

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Mouslopoulou

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The extent to which climate, eustasy and tectonics interact to shape the late Quaternary landscape is poorly known. Alluvial fans often provide useful indexes that allow the decoding of information recorded on complex coastal landscapes, such as those of the eastern Mediterranean. In this paper we analyse and date (using infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL dating a double alluvial fan system on southwest Crete, an island straddling the forearc of the Hellenic subduction margin, in order to constrain the timing and magnitude of its vertical deformation and discuss the factors contributing to its landscape evolution. The studied alluvial system is exceptional because each of its two juxtaposed fans records individual phases of alluvial and marine incision, thus providing unprecedented resolution in the formation and evolution of its landscape. Specifically, our analysis shows that the fan sequence at Domata developed during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS 3 due to five distinct stages of marine transgressions and regressions and associated river incision, in response to sea-level fluctuations and tectonic uplift at averaged rates of  ∼ 2.2 mm yr−1. Interestingly, comparison of our results with published tectonic uplift rates from western Crete shows that uplift during 20–50 kyr BP was minimal (or even negative. Thus, most of the uplift recorded at Domata must have occurred in the last 20 kyr. This implies that eustasy and tectonism impacted the landscape at Domata over mainly distinct time intervals (e.g. sequentially and not synchronously, with eustasy forming and tectonism preserving the coastal landforms.

  6. Relief Evolution in Tectonically Active Mountain Ranges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whipple, Kelin X.

    2004-01-01

    The overall aims of this 3-yr project, as originally proposed were to: (1) investigate quantitatively the roles of fluvial and glacial erosion in the evolution of relief in mountainous regions, and (2) test rigorously the quality and accuracy of SRTM topographic data in areas of rugged relief - both the most challenging and of greatest interest to geomorphic, neotectonic, and hazards applications. Natural laboratories in both the western US and the Southern Alps of New Zealand were identified as most promising. The project has been both successful and productive, despite the fact that no SRTM data for our primary field sites in New Zealand were released on the time frame of the work effort. Given the delayed release of SRTM data, we pursued the scientific questions of the roles of fluvial and, especially, glacial erosion in the evolution of relief in mountainous regions using available digital elevation models (DEMs) for the Southern Alps of New Zealand (available at both 25m and 50m pixel sizes), and USGS 10m and 30m DEMs within the Western US. As emphasized in the original proposal, we chose the emphasis on the role of glacial modification of topographic relief because there has been little quantitative investigation of glacial erosion processes at landscape scale. This is particularly surprising considering the dramatic sculpting of most mid- and high-latitude mountain ranges, the prodigious quantities of glacially-derived sediment in terrestrial and marine basins, and the current cross-disciplinary interest in the role of denudational processes in orogenesis and the evolution of topography in general. Moreover, the evolution of glaciated landscapes is not only a fundamental problem in geomorphology in its own right, but also is at the heart of the debate over Late Cenozoic linkages between climate and tectonics.

  7. Alpine tourism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Macchiavelli

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The spectacular increase in tourism in the Alps in recent decades has been founded mainly on the boom in skiing, resulting in both strong real estate development and an increasing array of infrastructures and ski runs. Today the ski market seems to have virtually reached saturation point and the winter sports sector needs to diversify its offer through innovation. After a review of the main factors of change in mountain tourism, the paper presents a grid for interpreting the life cycle of alpine destinations, identifying the phases that characterize their evolution. The conditions that may favour innovation in alpine tourism are then identified, as well as the contradictions that frequently accompany them. In most cases, innovation is the result of a process that begins within the alpine community, frequently encouraged and supported by national and international institutions and with whose help structural difficulties are successfully overcome.La forte croissance qu’ont connue les pays alpins dans les dernières décennies a surtout été fondée sur l’offre des activités du ski, avec comme conséquence, un massif développement immobilier et la multiplication d’infrastructures et de pistes. Aujourd’hui, le marché du ski semble arriver à saturation, la Convention alpine a mis un frein à la poursuite du développement des domaines skiables et on observe donc avec intérêt la diversification de l’offre soutenue par l’innovation. Après avoir rappelé les facteurs de changement en cours les plus significatifs dans le tourisme montagnard, l’article présente une grille interprétative de l’évolution des destinations touristiques alpines, identifiant les phases qui ont caractérisé son développement. Ensuite, l’article propose une réflexion sur certaines conditions qui peuvent favoriser l’innovation dans le tourisme alpin, ainsi que sur les contradictions qui accompagnent souvent ces conditions. Dans la plupart des cas

  8. Syn-kinematic palaeogeographic evolution of the West European Platform: correlation with Alpine plate collision and foreland deformation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sissingh, W.

    Sequence stratigraphic correlations indicate that intermittent changes of the kinematic far-field stress-field regimes, and the associated geodynamic re-organisations at the plate-tectonic contacts of the African, Apulian, Iberian and European plates, affected the Tertiary palaeogeographic evolution

  9. Tectonic-thermal evolution from the northeast region of Minas Gerais and South of Bahia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Litwinski, N.

    1985-01-01

    The northeast region of Minas Gerais and South Bahia are centered to the east of 42 0 00 ' WGr, between parallels 15 0 and 18 0 . Its tectonic-thermal evolution is presented here with the support of stratigraphy/lithology, structural analysis, petrography, petrochemistry, regional metamorphism/retro metamorphism and radio chronology. It is pointed out that the evolution occurred in a mobile belt initiating its history in the terminal Archean up to Inferior Proterozoic. The northeast of the region attained crustal stability during 1700 My up to 1800 My (Sao Francisco Craton) meanwhile the rest of the zone kept mobilized till upper proterozoic times. Radio chronological studies suggest for the post tectonic granitic rocks, ages from the brasiliano cycle as well as for those pre-existing rocks which suffered isotopic regeneration and metamorphose in that same cycle an original age from Archean to inferior proterozoic times, except for those which are situated in the northeast part of the region. Petrochemical data point to an origin from sedimentary processes for the majority of the metamorphosed rocks in this region. (author)

  10. Crustal Magnetic Field Anomalies and Global Tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storetvedt, Karsten

    2014-05-01

    A wide variety of evidence suggests that the ruling isochron (geomagnetic polarity versus age) hypothesis of marine magnetic lineations has no merit - undermining therefore one of the central tenets of plate tectonics. Instead, variable induction by the ambient geomagnetic field is likely to be the principal agent for mega-scale crustal magnetic features - in both oceanic and continental settings. This revitalizes the fault-controlled susceptibility-contrast model of marine magnetic lineations, originally proposed in the late 1960s. Thus, the marine magnetic 'striping' may be ascribed to tectonic shearing and related, but variable, disintegration of the original iron-oxide mineralogy, having developed primarily along one of the two pan-global sets of orthogonal fractures and faults. In this way, fault zones (having the more advanced mineral alteration) would be characterized by relatively low susceptibility, while more moderately affected crustal sections (located between principal fault zones) would be likely to have less altered oxide mineralogy and therefore higher magnetic susceptibility. On this basis, induction by the present geomagnetic field is likely to produce oscillating magnetic field anomalies with axis along the principal shear grain. The modus operandi of the alternative magneto-tectonic interpretation is inertia-driven wrenching of the global Alpine age palaeo-lithosphere - triggered by changes in Earth's rotation. Increasing sub-crustal loss to the upper mantle during the Upper Mesozoic had left the ensuing Alpine Earth in a tectonically unstable state. Thus, sub-crustal eclogitization and associated gravity-driven delamination to the upper mantle led to a certain degree of planetary acceleration which in turn gave rise to latitude-dependent, westward inertial wrenching of the global palaeo-lithosphere. During this process, 1) the thin and mechanically fragile oceanic crust were deformed into a new type of broad fold belts, and 2) the continents

  11. Seismic studies of crustal structure and tectonic evolution across the central California margin and the Colorado Plateau margin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howie, John Mark

    This thesis presents results from two integrated deep-crustal seismic-reflection and wide-angle-reflection/refraction studies that improve our understanding of crustal structure and tectonic evolution in two tectonically active areas of the western United States. A multi-faceted approach to the study of crustal structure includes the use of compressional and shear wave seismic data. Supplementing the controlled source seismic observations with seismicity, gravity, heat flow, laboratory measurements and available geologic information allows a much improved understanding of crustal structure and tectonic evolution than would be available from the seismic data alone. Chapter 1 introduces the data integration strategy applied to the studies completed. In Chapter 2, an integrated crustal-velocity model across the south-central California margin west of the San Adreas fault is presented. The crustal structure defines tectonostratigraphic terranes 15 to 20 km thick underlain by a 6-km-thick high-velocity layer (6.8-7.0 km/s) interpreted as tectonically underplated oceanic crust. Structures defined in the oceanic crust indicate significant compressional and strike-slip deformation within the oceanic crust that probably formed during the final stages of subduction from 24-16 Ma. In Chapter 3, the crustal model from Chapter 2 is used as a constraint for models of the tectonic evolution of the Pacific-North American transform plate boundary. By combining the crustal structure with thermal models for asthenospheric upwelling associated with a slab-free window, I find that the mantle lithosphere east of the coast beneath south-central California probably delaminated from the oceanic crust, stranding the oceanic crust beneath the margin. In Chapter 4, results from a high-resolution reflection experiment in central Arizona across the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau address the relationship between strength of the crust and localization of extensional tectonism. A low

  12. Miocene to recent tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Anaximander Seamounts; eastern Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cranshaw, Jennifer

    This thesis is focused on the Messinian to Recent tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Anaximander Mountains and surrounding environs in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is based on processing of high-resolution seismic reflection data and the interpretation and mapping of seismic reflection profiles collected from this area during the 2001 and 2007 research cruises. The data show that the greater Anaximander Mountains region experienced a short interval of tectonic quiescence during the Messinian when a thin evaporite unit was deposited across a major erosional surface. This phase of limited tectonic activity ended in the latest Miocene and was replaced by an erosional phase. Major unconformities in the area are interpreted to develop during the desiccation of the eastern Mediterranean associated with the so-called Messinian salinity crisis. During the early Pliocene, the region experienced an increase in tectonic activity, dominated by transpression. Small amounts of growth observed in Pliocene-Quaternary sediments suggested that the tectonic activity remained low during the early Pliocene-Quaternary. However, the extensive growth strata wedges developed in older sediments indicate a period of accelerated tectonic activity during the mid-late Pliocene-Quaternary. This study suggests that the Anaximander Mountain (sensu stricto ) and the Anaximenes Mountain developed during the Pliocene-Quaternary as the result of a crustal-scale thick-skinned linked imbricate thrust fan. The development of back thrusts in both mountains heightened the seafloor morphology of these submarine mountains and brought Eocene-Oligocene sediments into the core of these mountains. The Sim Erinc Plateau represents a 30-40 km wide transpressional fault zone developed during the Pliocene-Quaternary. In this region the corrugated seafloor morphology observed in the multibeam bathymetry map is the reflection of high-angle faults. It is speculated that this transpressional fault zone

  13. Le tourisme alpin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Macchiavelli

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available La forte croissance qu’ont connue les pays alpins dans les dernières décennies a surtout été fondée sur l’offre des activités du ski, avec comme conséquence, un massif développement immobilier, la multiplication d’infrastructures et l’extension des domaines. Aujourd’hui, le marché du ski semble arriver à saturation, la Convention alpine a mis un frein à la poursuite du développement des domaines skiables et on observe donc avec intérêt la diversification de l’offre soutenue par l’innovation. Après avoir rappelé les facteurs de changement en cours les plus significatifs dans le tourisme montagnard, l’article présente une grille interprétative de l’évolution des destinations touristiques alpines, identifiant les phases qui ont caractérisé son développement. Puis il propose une réflexion sur certaines conditions qui peuvent favoriser l’innovation dans le tourisme alpin, ainsi que sur les contradictions qui les accompagnent souvent. Dans la plupart des cas l’innovation est le résultat d’un processus qui a été lancé et qui s’est développé au sein de la communauté alpine, souvent favorisé et soutenu par des institutions nationales et internationales, et grâce auquel les difficultés structurelles qui ont déjà été abordées précédemment ont pu être surmontées avec succès.The spectacular increase in tourism in the Alps in recent decades has been founded mainly on the boom in skiing, resulting in both strong real estate development and an increasing array of infrastructures and ski runs. Today the ski market seems to have virtually reached saturation point and the winter sports sector needs to diversify its offer through innovation. After a review of the main factors of change in mountain tourism, the paper presents a grid for interpreting the life cycle of alpine destinations, identifying the phases that characterize their evolution. The conditions that may favour innovation in alpine

  14. Tectonic evolution of the Anadyr Basin, northeastern Eurasia, and its petroleum resource potential

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antipov, M. P.; Bondarenko, G. E.; Bordovskaya, T. O.; Shipilov, E. V.

    2009-09-01

    The published data on the sedimentation conditions, structure, and tectonic evolution of the Anadyr Basin in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic are reviewed. These data are re-examined in the context of modern tectonic concepts concerning the evolution of the northwestern Circum-Pacific Belt. The re-examination allows us not only to specify the regional geology and tectonic history, but also to forecast of the petroleum resource potential of the sedimentary cover based on a new concept. The sedimentary cover formation in the Anadyr Basin is inseparably linked with the regional tectonic evolution. The considered portion of the Chukchi Peninsula developed in the Late Mesozoic at the junction of the ocean-type South Anyui Basin, the Asian continental margin, and convergent zones of various ages extending along the Asia-Pacific interface. Strike-slip faulting and pulses of extension dominated in the Cenozoic largely in connection with oroclinal bending of structural elements pertaining to northeastern Eurasia and northwestern North America against the background of accretion of terranes along the zone of convergence with the Pacific oceanic plates. Three main stages are recognized in the formation of the sedimentary cover in the Anadyr Basin. (1) The lower portion of the cover was formed in the Late Cretaceous-Early Eocene under conditions of alternating settings of passive and active continental margins. The Cenomanian-lower Eocene transitional sedimentary complex is located largely in the southern Anadyr Basin (Main River and Lagoonal troughs). (2) In the middle Eocene and Oligocene, sedimentation proceeded against the background of extension and rifting in the northern part of the paleobasin and compression in its southern part. The compression was caused by northward migration of the foredeep in front of the accretionary Koryak Orogen. The maximum thickness of the Eocene-Oligocene sedimentary complex is noted mainly in the southern part of the basin and in the Central and

  15. Contribution of the fission-track method to the study of the Alpine chains: relationship between tectonics and metamorphism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carpena, J.

    1984-01-01

    The fission-track method allows geologists to date rocks and to get information on the thermal history of rocks. Fission tracks in minerals are essentially due to the spontaneous fission of uranium 238. The knowledge of the density of tracks and the concentration of uranium 238 lead to the determination of the age of the rock. The irradiation in a neutron flux of a sample of the rock allows the determination of the concentration of uranium. The age obtained is in fact an apparent age that does not take into account possible geological annealing process that may erase fission tracks, some corrections are then necessary. The first part of this work details the fission-track method, its scope and limitations. It is shown that fission-track method on apatites can reveal the thermal evolution of the rock and that the same method used on zircons can give information of the setting of volcanic rocks. The second part is dedicated to the contribution of the fission-track method to a both dating and thermal evolution study of a french-italian part of the Alpine chain

  16. Leucogranites in Lhozag, southern Tibet: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the eastern Himalaya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chunmei; Zhao, Zhidan; Li, Guangming; Zhu, Di-Cheng; Liu, Dong; Shi, Qingshang

    2017-12-01

    Petrogenesis of the Himalayan leucogranite is strongly influenced by conditions which are associated with the tectonic evolution of Himalayan orogen. In this article, we present petrological, geochronological and geochemical results of the Lhozag leucogranites that crop out alongside the South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS) in the east of Himalaya. Zircon U-Pb dating revealed three episodes of leucogranitic magmatism in Lhozag at 17.8 ± 0.1 Ma, 15.1 ± 0.1 Ma, and 12.0 ± 0.1 Ma, respectively. The Lhozag leucogranites show relatively low εNd(t), low zircon εHf(t) and high initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios, which are similar to the High Himalayan Crystalline Series (HHCS), indicating that they were derived from the HHCS. The characteristics of relatively high Na2O and Rb contents, high Rb/Sr ratios and low CaO, MgO, TFe2O3, TiO2, and Sr contents indicate that both the ca. 18 Ma Lhozag tourmaline leucogranites and the ca. 15 Ma Lhozag two-mica granites were derived from fluid-absent muscovite-dehydration melting of metasediments. The opposite geochemistry characteristics of the ca. 12 Ma Khula Kangri two-mica granites imply that these granites are derived from fluid-present melting of metasediments. Four Khula Kangri two-mica granite samples with relatively lower TiO2, TFe2O3, MgO, and CaO contents, higher Rb concentrations and Rb/Sr ratios could be evolved from the Khula Kangri two-mica granites with relatively lower Rb/Sr ratios. The melting behaviors of the Lhozag leucogranites varied from fluid-absent melting to fluid-present melting, implying that there were P-T-XH2O variations in the deep crust. The tectonic evolution would give rise to variation of P-T-XH2O variation, and subsequent transformation of melting behavior. Our new results display the transformation of melting behavior of the Lhozag leucogranites, which implies the tectonic evolution from earlier N-S extension to later E-W extension in the eastern Himalaya at ca. 12 Ma.

  17. The evolution of volcanism, tectonics, and volatiles on Mars - An overview of recent progress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimbelman, James R.; Solomon, Sean C.; Sharpton, Virgil L.

    1991-01-01

    Significant results of the 'Mars: Evolution of Volcanism, Tectonics, and Volatiles' (MEVTV) project are presented. The data for the project are based on geological mapping from the Viking images, petrologic and chemical analyses of SNC meteorites, and both mapping and temporal grouping of major fault systems. The origin of the planet's crustal dichotomy is examined in detail, the kinematics and formation of wrinkle ridges are discussed, and some new theories are set forth. Because the SNC meteorites vary petrologically and isotopically, the sources of the parental Martian magma are heterogeneous. Transcurrent faulting coupled with the extensional strains that form Valles Marineris suggest early horizontal movement of lithospheric blocks. A theory which connects the formation of the crustal dichotomy to the Tharsis region associates the horizontal motions with plate tectonics that generated a new lithosphere.

  18. Plate tectonics

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Chaubey, A.K.

    's continental drift theory was later disproved, it was one of the first times that the idea of crustal movement had been introduced to the scientific community; and it has laid the groundwork for the development of modern plate tectonics. In the early... of the structure of the atom was to physical sciences and the theory of evolution was to the life sciences. Tectonics is the study of the forces within the Earth that give rise to continents, ocean basins, mountain ranges, earthquake belts and other large-scale...

  19. New constraints on the tectonic and thermal evolution of the Central-Western Carpathians

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelluccio, Ada; Andreucci, Benedetta; Grigo, Domenico; Jankowski, Leszek; Ketcham, Richard A.; Mazzoli, Stefano; Szaniawski, Rafal; Zattin, Massimiliano

    2014-05-01

    The Central-Western Carpathians have been studied for long time but they are a still matter of discussion. In addition, they are one of the principal East European targets for oil and gas exploration. Understanding the tectonic evolution and the spatial and temporal variation of the thermal regime is crucial for this purpose. This orogene formed after the collision between the European Platform and the ALCAPA and Tisza-Dacia microplates from the Upper Jurassic to the Neogene. The widely accepted interpretation suggests the occurrence of the oceanic lithosphere subducting under the two microplates and the development of the oceanic suture in the Pieniny Klippen Belt area during the Paleocene. The subduction ends when the accretionary wedge reaches its present-day position on top of the southern border of the European Platform. The Carpathian arc can be subdivided into three tectonic domains: • Outer Carpathians made up of Upper Jurassic to Lower Miocene siliciclastic deposits intercalated with shales and sandstones; • Pieniny Klippen Belt formed by Mesozoic olistoliths and olistostromes in a sandy-clay Cretaceous sheared matrix; • Inner Carpathians consisting in Variscan allochthonous crystalline basement with its Mesozoic cover involved in the late Cretaceous folding and thrusting These deposits are unconformably overlain by the undeformed Central Carpathian Paleogene Basin successions. Cross-section balancing and sequential restoration integrated with low-temperature thermochronometry (apatite fission track and apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He analysis) can better constrain the tectonic evolution of this area and, in particular, its exhumation history. Seven balanced sections have been constructed across the Polish and Ukrainian Carpathians. The sequential restoration shows a thick-skinned tectonics during the Upper Cretaceous, involving the Inner Carpathian basin. The erosion of the Mesozoic basement cover and the sedimentation of these deposits in the foreland basin

  20. Is plate tectonics needed to evolve technological species on exoplanets?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert J. Stern

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available As we continue searching for exoplanets, we wonder if life and technological species capable of communicating with us exists on any of them. As geoscientists, we can also wonder how important is the presence or absence of plate tectonics for the evolution of technological species. This essay considers this question, focusing on tectonically active rocky (silicate planets, like Earth, Venus, and Mars. The development of technological species on Earth provides key insights for understanding evolution on exoplanets, including the likely role that plate tectonics may play. An Earth-sized silicate planet is likely to experience several tectonic styles over its lifetime, as it cools and its lithosphere thickens, strengthens, and becomes denser. These include magma ocean, various styles of stagnant lid, and perhaps plate tectonics. Abundant liquid water favors both life and plate tectonics. Ocean is required for early evolution of diverse single-celled organisms, then colonies of cells which specialized further to form guts, appendages, and sensory organisms up to the complexity of fish (central nervous system, appendages, eyes. Large expanses of dry land also begin in the ocean, today produced above subduction zones in juvenile arcs and by their coalescence to form continents, although it is not clear that plate tectonics was required to create continental crust on Earth. Dry land of continents is required for further evolution of technological species, where modification of appendages for grasping and manipulating, and improvement of eyes and central nervous system could be perfected. These bioassets allowed intelligent creatures to examine the night sky and wonder, the beginning of abstract thinking, including religion and science. Technology arises from the exigencies of daily living such as tool-making, agriculture, clothing, and weapons, but the pace of innovation accelerates once it is allied with science. Finally, the importance of plate

  1. History and Evolution of Precambrian plate tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Ria; Gerya, Taras

    2014-05-01

    Plate tectonics is a global self-organising process driven by negative buoyancy at thermal boundary layers. Phanerozoic plate tectonics with its typical subduction and orogeny is relatively well understood and can be traced back in the geological records of the continents. Interpretations of geological, petrological and geochemical observations from Proterozoic and Archean orogenic belts however (e.g., Brown, 2006), suggest a different tectonic regime in the Precambrian. Due to higher radioactive heat production the Precambrian lithosphere shows lower internal strength and is strongly weakened by percolating melts. The fundamental difference between Precambrian and Phanerozoic tectonics is therefore the upper-mantle temperature, which determines the strength of the upper mantle (Brun, 2002) and the further tectonic history. 3D petrological-thermomechanical numerical modelling experiments of oceanic subduction at an active plate at different upper-mantle temperatures show these different subduction regimes. For upper-mantle temperatures 250 K above the present day value no subduction occurs any more. The whole lithosphere is delaminating and due to strong volcanism and formation of a thicker crust subduction is inhibited. This stage of 200-250 K higher upper mantle temperature which corresponds roughly to the early Archean (Abbott, 1994) is marked by strong volcanism due to sublithospheric decompression melting which leads to an equal thickness for both oceanic and continental plates. As a consequence subduction is inhibited, but a compressional setup instead will lead to orogeny between a continental or felsic terrain and an oceanic or mafic terrain as well as internal crustal convection. Small-scale convection with plume shaped cold downwellings also in the upper mantle is of increased importance compared to the large-scale subduction cycle observed for present temperature conditions. It is also observed that lithospheric downwellings may initiate subduction by

  2. Plate tectonics and planetary habitability: current status and future challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korenaga, Jun

    2012-07-01

    Plate tectonics is one of the major factors affecting the potential habitability of a terrestrial planet. The physics of plate tectonics is, however, still far from being complete, leading to considerable uncertainty when discussing planetary habitability. Here, I summarize recent developments on the evolution of plate tectonics on Earth, which suggest a radically new view on Earth dynamics: convection in the mantle has been speeding up despite its secular cooling, and the operation of plate tectonics has been facilitated throughout Earth's history by the gradual subduction of water into an initially dry mantle. The role of plate tectonics in planetary habitability through its influence on atmospheric evolution is still difficult to quantify, and, to this end, it will be vital to better understand a coupled core-mantle-atmosphere system in the context of solar system evolution. © 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.

  3. The pre-Cenozoic evolution of the Apuseni Mountains (Romania) in the light of new (thermo)geochronological data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiser, Martin; Schuster, Ralf; Spikings, Richard; Tropper, Peter; Fügenschuh, Bernhard

    2013-04-01

    , although a possible minor influence of later normal faulting on the age distribution cannot be fully excluded and needs further evaluation. In contrast, fission track data show only minor differences between these two units (see Kounov and Schmid, 2012) and point to their mutual evolution since the late Upper Cretaceous. The known and exclusively brittle Cenozoic tectonic evolution did not substantially modify the pre-Cenozoic age (and thermal) pattern of the Tisza and Dacia units. References: Dallmeyer, R.D., Paná, D.I., Neubauer, F., & Erdmer, P. (1999): Tectonothermal Evolution of the Apuseni Mountains, Romania: Resolution of Variscan versus Alpine Events with 40Ar/39Ar Ages. Journal of Geology, 107: 329-352. Kounov, A and Schmid, S.M. (2012): Fission-track constraints on the thermal and tectonic evolution of the Apuseni Mountains (Romania). International Journal of Earth Sciences, DOI: 10.1007/s00531-012-0800-5. Schmid, S. M., D. Bernoulli, B. Fügenschuh, L. Matenco, S. Schaefer, R. Schuster, M. Tischler and K. Ustaszewski (2008): The Alps-Carpathians-Dinaridic orogenic system: correlation and evolution of tectonic units. Swiss Journal of Geosciences, 101, 139-18.

  4. ON TECTONIC PROBLEMS OF THE OKINAWA TROUGH

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2001-01-01

    The Okinawa Trough is a very active tectonic zone at the margin of the Northwest Pacific and is typical of back-arc rifting at the young stage of tectonic evolution. Many scientists from Japan, China, Germany, France, the U.S.A. and Russia have done a lot of geologic and geophysical investigations there. It is well known that the Okinawa Trough is an active back-arc rift with extremely high heat flow, very strong hydrothermal circulation, strong volcanic and magmatic activity, frequent earthquakes, rapid subsidence and rifting, well-developed fault and central graben. But up to now, there are still some important tectonic problems about the Okinawa Trough that require clarification on some aspects such as the type of its crust, its forming time, its tectonic evolution, the distribution of its central grabens, the relationship between its high heat flow and tectonic activity. Based on the data obtained from seismic survey, geomagnetic and gravity measurements, submarine sampling and heat flow measurements in the last 15 years, the author discusses the following tectonic problems about the Okinawa Trough: (1) If the Okinawa Trough develops oceanic crust or not. (2) Is the South Okinawa Trough tectonically more active than the North Okinawa Trough with shallower water and few investigation data on it. (3) The formation time of the Okinawa Trough and its tectonic evolution. The Okinawa Trough has a very thin continental crust. Up to now, there is no evidence of oceanic crust in the Okinawa Trough. The North, Middle and South Okinawa Trough are all very strongly active areas. From 6 Ma B.P., the Okinawa Trough began to form. Since 2 Ma, the Okinawa Trough has been very active.

  5. An improved low-frequency earthquakes catalogue in the vicinity of the late-interseismic central Alpine Fault, Southern Alps, New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baratin, Laura-May; Chamberlain, Calum J.; Townend, John; Savage, Martha K.

    2017-04-01

    Characterising the seismicity associated with slow deformation in the vicinity of the Alpine Fault may provide constraints on the state of stress of this major transpressive margin prior to a large (≥M8) earthquake. Here, we use recently detected tectonic tremor and low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) to examine how slow tectonic deformation is loading the Alpine Fault toward an anticipated large rupture. We initially work with a continous seismic dataset collected between 2009 and 2012 from an array of short-period seismometers, the Southern Alps Microearthquake Borehole Array. Fourteen primary LFE templates, found through visual inspection within previously identified tectonic tremor, are used in an iterative matched-filter and stacking routine. This method allows the detection of similar signals and establishes LFE families with common locations. We thus generate a 36 month catalogue of 10718 LFEs. The detections are then combined for each LFE family using phase-weighted stacking to yield a signal with the highest possible signal to noise ratio. We found phase-weighted stacking to be successful in increasing the number of LFE detections by roughly 20%. Phase-weighted stacking also provides cleaner phase arrivals of apparently impulsive nature allowing more precise phase picks. We then compute non-linear earthquake locations using a 3D velocity model and find LFEs to occur below the seismogenic zone at depths of 18-34 km, locating on or near the proposed deep extent of the Alpine Fault. To gain insight into deep fault slip behaviour, a detailed study of the spatial-temporal evolution of LFEs is required. We thus generate a more extensive catalogue of LFEs spanning the years 2009 to 2016 using a different technique to detect LFEs more efficiently. This time 638 synthetic waveforms are used as primary templates in the match-filter routine. Of those, 38 templates yield no detections over our 7-yr study period. The remaining 600 templates end up detecting between 370

  6. Alpine research today

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Jacques Brun

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Alpine research benefits from several international coordination networks, only one of which – ISCAR (the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps – works solely in the Alpine arc. The creation of ISCAR is a consequence of the input and involvement of various Alpine partners around the Alpine Convention. Alpine research now aims to promote an integrated vision of Alpine territories focusing on creating and maintaining spatial and temporal networks of sustainable relationships between humans and the other components of the ecosphere. It combines resource usage with conservation of the biological and cultural diversity that makes up the Alpine identity. This article aims to show: (1 how international Alpine research coordination is organised; (2 the role played by the Alpine Convention as a framework of reference for specifically Alpine research; and (3 the role that the ISCAR international commit-tee and the Interreg “Alpine Space” programmes play in uniting research around territorial challenges relating to biodiversity conservation and territorial development.La recherche sur les Alpes bénéficie de plusieurs réseaux de coordination internationaux dont un seul, le comité international recherche alpine (ISCAR, se consacre exclusivement à l’arc alpin. La création de l’ISCAR est une retombée de la mobilisation des divers partenaires alpins autour de la mise en place de la Convention alpine. Aujourd’hui, la recherche alpine vise à promouvoir une vision intégrée des territoires centrée sur la création et le maintien d’un réseau spatial et temporel de relations durables entre les hommes et les autres composantes de l’écosphère. Elle associe étroitement la mise en valeur des ressources et la conservation des diversités biologiques et culturelles qui constituent l’identité alpine. Cet article a pour ambition de montrer : (1 comment s’organise la coordination internationale des recherches sur les

  7. The tectonometamorphic evolution of the Apuseni Mountains (Romania): Geodynamic constraints for the evolution of the Alps-Carpathians-Dinaride system of orogens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiser, Martin; Schuster, Ralf; Fügenschuh, Bernhard

    2015-04-01

    New structural, thermobarometric and geochronological data allow integrating kinematics, timing and intensity of tectonic phases into a geodynamic model of the Apuseni Mountain, which provides new constraints for the evolution of the Alps-Carpathians-Dinaride system of orogens. Strong differences in terms of deformation directions between Early and Late Cretaceous events provide new constraints on the regional geodynamic evolution during the Cretaceous. Geochronological and structural data evidence a Late Jurassic emplacement of the South Apuseni Ophiolites on top of the Biharia Nappe System (Dacia Mega-Unit), situated in an external position at the European margin. Following the emplacement of the ophiolites, three compressive deformation phases affected the Apuseni Mountains during Alpine orogeny: a) NE-directed in-sequence nappe stacking and regional metamorphic overprinting under amphibolite-facies conditions during the Early Cretaceous ("Austrian Phase"), b) NW-directed thrusting and folding, associated with greenschist-facies overprinting, during the early Late Cretaceous ("Turonian Phase") and c) E-W internal folding together with brittle thrusting during the latest Cretaceous ("Laramian Phase"). Major tectonic unroofing and exhumation at the transition from Early to Late Cretaceous times is documented through new Sm-Nd Grt, Ar-Ar Ms and Rb-Sr Bt ages from the study area and resulted in a complex thermal structure with strong lateral and vertical thermal gradients. Nappe stacking and medium-grade metamorphic overprinting during the Early Cretaceous exhibits striking parallels between the evolution of the Tisza-Dacia Mega-Units and the Austroalpine Nappes (ALCAPA Mega-Unit) and evidences a close connection. However, Late Cretaceous tectonic events in the study area exhibit strong similarities with the Dinarides. Thus, the Apuseni Mountains represent the "missing link" between the Early Cretaceous Meliata subduction (associated with obduction of ophiolites

  8. ON TECTONIC PROBLEMS OF THE OKINAWA TROUGH

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    李乃胜

    2001-01-01

    The Okinawa Trough is a very active tectonic zone at the margin of the Northwest Pacific and is typical of back-arc rifting at the young stage of tectonic evolution. Many scientists from Japan,China, Germany, France, the U. S.A. and Russia have done a lot of geologic and geophysical investigations there. It is well known that the Okinawa Trough is an active back-arc rift with extremely high heat flow, very strong hydrothermal circulation, strong volcanic and magmatic activity, frequent earthquakes,rapid subsidence and rifting, well-developed fault and central graben. But up to now, there are still some important tectonic problems about the Okinawa Trough that require clarification on some aspects such as the type of its crust, its forming time, its tectonic evolution, the distribution of its central grabens, the relationship between its high heat flow and tectonic activity. Based on the data obtained from seismic sur-vey, geomagnetic and gravity measurements, submarine sampling and heat flow measurements in the last 15 years, the author discusses the following tectonic problems about the Okinawa Trough: (1) If the Okinawa Trough develops oceanic crust or not. (2) Is the South Okinawa Trough tectonically more active than the North Okinawa Trough with shallower water and few investigation data on it. (3) The formation time of the Okinawa Trough and its tectonic evolution. The Okinawa Trough has a very thin continental crust. Up to now, there is no evidence of oceanic crust in the Okinawa Trough. The North, Middle and South Okinawa Trough are all very strongly active areas. From 6 Ma B.P. , the Okinawa Trough began to form. Since 2 Ma, the Okinawa Trough has been very active.

  9. Geothermal appearances in connection with the neo-tectonics and magmatism at the territory of the Republic of Macedonia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arsovski, Milan; Stojanov, Risto

    1995-01-01

    The region of the Republic of Macedonia, as a part of the Alpine orogenic zone in late Alpine period was included by intensive neotectonic destructive movements, which is reflected on the high seismic activity in all the geo tectonic units: Serbo Macedonian massif. the Vardar zone, the Pelagonian massif and the West Macedonian zone, but of different intensity. The thermal and hydrothermal springs in Macedonia are connected to the activations of lineal neo tectonic fault structure with the Vardar immeridional direction of extension, as well as with the recently formed dislocations with vertical extension (in a form of orthogonal system) in the marginal parts of the depressions with positive morpho structures. According to the recent studies of the tectonic-magmatic factors, as well as the known thermal and thermo mineral springs in Macedonia, the most potential areas are the east boundary pails of the Vardar zone with the S. M. massif (the Rodopian mass) and the inner parts of the Vardar zone, particularly the marginal parts of the depressions, in the West Macedonia, the marginal parts of the Polog valley and the area of Debar. (Original)

  10. Tectonic Evolution of Jabal Tays Ophiolite Complex, Eastern Arabian Shield, Saudi Arabia

    Science.gov (United States)

    AlHumidan, Saad; Kassem, Osama; Almutairi, Majed; Al-Faifi, Hussain; Kahal, Ali

    2017-04-01

    Microstructural analysis is important for investigation of tectonic evaluation of Jable Tays area. Furthermore, the Jable Tays ophiolite complex is effected by Al Amar -Idsas fault. The nature of the Al Amar-Idsas fault is a part of the Eastern Arabian Shield, which was subjected to multiple interpretations. Through fieldwork investigation, microscopic examination, and microstructural analysis, we aim to understand the evolution and tectonic setting of the Jable Tays area. Finite-strain data displays that the Abt schist, the metavolcanics and the metagranites are highly to moderately deformed. The axial ratios in the XZ section range from 1.40 to 2.20. The long axes of the finite-strain ellipsoids trend NW- SE and W-E in the Jable Tays area while, their short axes are subvertical to subhorizontal foliations. The strain magnitude does not increase towards the tectonic contacts between the Abt schist and metavolcano-sedimentary. While majority of the obtained data indicate a dominant oblate with minor prolate strain symmetries in the Abt schist, metavolcano-sedimentary and metagranites. The strain data also indicate flattening with some constriction. We assume that the Abt schist and the metavolcano-sedimentry rocks have similar deformation behavior. The finite strain in the studied rocks accumulated during the metamorphism that effected by thrusting activity. Based on these results, we finally concluded that the contact between Abt schist and metavolcano-sedimentary rocks were formed during the progressive thrusting under brittle to semi-ductile deformation conditions by simple shear that also involved a component of vertical shortening, causing subhorizontal foliation in Jable Tays area.

  11. The Alpine loop of the tethys zone

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bemmelen, R.W. van

    The Alpine loop in Europe results from semi-autochthonous crustal movements which are restricted to the mobile Tethys zone. Its evolution cannot be explained by a uniform northward drift and push of the African continent; it has to be sought, in the first place, in geodynamic processes occurring in

  12. Quantifying the role of mantle forcing, crustal shortening and exogenic forcing on exhumation of the North Alpine Foreland Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Hagke, C.; Luijendijk, E.; Hindle, D.

    2017-12-01

    In contrast to the internal zones of orogens, where the stacking of thrust sheets can overwhelm more subtle signals, foreland basins can record long-wavelength subsidence or uplift signals caused by mantle processes. We use a new and extensive compilation of geological and thermochronology data from the North Alpine Foreland Basin to understand the dynamics of foreland basins and their interaction with surface and geodynamic processes. We quantify cooling and exhumation rates in the basin by combining published and new vitrinite reflectance, apatite fission track and U-Th/He data with a new inverse burial and thermal history model, pybasin. No correlation is obvious between inferred cooling and exhumation rates and elevation, relief or tectonics. Uncertainty analysis shows that thermochronometers can be explained by cooling starting as early as the Miocene or as late as the Pleistocene. We compare derived temperature histories to exhumation estimates based on the retro-deformation of Molasse basin and the Jura mountains, and to exhumation caused by drainage reorganization and incision. Drainage reorganization can explain at most 25% of the observed cooling rates in the basin. Tectonic transport of the basin's sediments over the inclined basement of the alpine foreland as the Jura mountains shortened can explain part of the cooling signal in the western part of the basin. However, overall a substantial amount of cooling and exhumation remains unexplained by known tectonic and surface processes. Our results document basin wide exhumation that may be related to slab roll-back or other lithospheric processes. We suggest that new (U-Th)/He data from key areas close to the Alpine front may provide better constraints on the timing of exhumation.

  13. Quaternary Tectonic Tilting Governed by Rupture Segments Controls Surface Morphology and Drainage Evolution along the South-Central Coast of Chile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Echtler, H. P.; Bookhagen, B.; Melnick, D.; Strecker, M.

    2004-12-01

    The Chilean coast represents one of the most active convergent margins in the Pacific rim, where major earthquakes (M>8) have repeatedly ruptured the surface, involving vertical offsets of several meters. Deformation along this coast takes place in large-scale, semi-independent seismotectonic segments with partially overlapping transient boundaries. They are possibly related to reactivated inherited crustal anisotropies; internal seismogenic deformation may be accommodated by structures that have developed during accretionary wedge evolution. Seismotectonic segmentation and the identification of large-scale rupture zones, however, are based on limited seismologic und geodetic observations over short timespans. In order to better define the long-term behavior and deformation rates of these segments and to survey the tectonic impact on the landscape on various temporal and spatial scales, we investigated the south-central coast of Chile (37-38S). There, two highly active, competing seismotectonic compartments influence the coastal and fluvial morphology. A rigorous analysis of the geomorphic features is a key for an assessment of the tectonic evolution during the Quaternary and beyond. We studied the N-S oriented Santa María Island (SMI), 20 km off the coast and only ~70km off the trench, in the transition between the two major Valdivia (46-37S) and Concepción (38-35S) rupture segments. The SMI has been tectonically deformed throughout the Quaternary and comprises two tilt domains with two topographic highs in the north and south that are being tilted eastward. The low-lying and flat eastern part of the island is characterized by a set of emergent Holocene strandlines related to coseismic uplift. We measured detailed surface morphology of these strandlines and E-W traversing ephemeral stream channels with a laser-total station and used these data to calibrate and validate high-resolution, digital imagery. In addition, crucial geomorphic markers were dated by the

  14. Plate tectonic model for the oligo-miocene evolution of the western Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Curtis R.

    1980-10-01

    This paper outlines a plate tectonic model for the Oligo-Miocene evolution of the western Mediterranean which incorporates recent data from several tectonic domains (Corsica, Sardinia, the Kabylies, Balearic promontory, Iberia, Algero-Provençal Basin and Tunisian Atlas). Following late Mesozoic anticlockwise rotation of the Iberian peninsula (including the Balearic promontory and Sardinia), late Eocene collision occurred between the Kabylies and Balearic promontory forming a NE-trending suture with NW-tectonic polarity. As a result of continued convergence between the African and European plates, a polarity flip occurred and a southward-facing trench formed south of the Kabylie—Balearic promontory suture. During late Oligocene time an E-W-trending arc and marginal basin developed behind the southward-facing trench in the area of the present-day Gulf of Lion. Opening of this basin moved the Corsica—Sardinia—Calabria—Petit Kabylie—Menorca plate southward, relative to the African plate. Early Miocene back-arc spreading in the area between the Balearic promontory and Grand Kabylie emplaced the latter in northern Algeria and formed the South Balearic Basin. Coeval with early Miocene back-arc basin development, the N-S-extension in the Gulf of Lion marginal basin changed to a more NW-SE direction causing short-lived extension in the area of the present-day Valencia trough and a 30° anticlockwise rotation of the Corsica-Sardinia-Calabria—Petit Kabylie plate away from the European plate. Early—middle Miocene deformation along the western Italian and northeastern African continental margins resulted from this rotation. During the early late Miocene (Tortonian), spreading within a sphenochasm to the southwest of Sardinia resulted in the emplacement of Petit Kabylie in northeastern Algeria.

  15. Alpine ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    P.W. Rundel; C.I. Millar

    2016-01-01

    Alpine ecosystems are typically defined as those areas occurring above treeline, while recognizing that alpine ecosystems at a local scale may be found below this boundary for reasons including geology, geomorphology, and microclimate. The lower limit of the alpine ecosystems, the climatic treeline, varies with latitude across California, ranging from about 3500 m in...

  16. Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectonic evolution and its relation to sandstone-type uranium mineralization in northern Tarim area--Evidence from apatite fission track

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Hongxu; Dong Wenming; Liu Zhangyue; Chen Xiaolin

    2009-01-01

    The apatite fission track dating and inversion result of geological thermal history of four rock specimens from Sawafuqi area and Talike area in northern Tarim Basin show that two areas uplifted at different ages. The apatite fission track ages of Sawafuqi range from 3.5 to 3.9 Ma, while the ages of Talike range from 53 to 59 Ma. The thermal history recorded by rock samples reveals that there are at least three prominent cooling phases since Late Cretaceous epoch. Detailed study was made on the division of uplifting stages during Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonic evolution with the existing data in northern Tarim area. And new ideas on tectonic evolution and sandstone-type uranium mineralization have been put forward by combining with the sandstone-type uranium mineralization ages in this area.(authors)

  17. Tectonic evolution of the continental crust of South America and its importance in the characterization of uraniferous provinces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cordani, U.G.

    1981-01-01

    The tectonic evolution of the South American Continent and its relationship with uranium mineralization is discussed. During the Phanerozoic at least three phases are identified as related to the Andean chain, namely, in the lower Palaeozoic, in the upper Palaeozoic and in the Meso-Cenozoic. Recent systematic age dating of the Precambrian indicates the period of 450-700 million years (m.y.) (Brazilian Cycle) as one of the most important tectonic events in South America. Another age-dating cluster corresponds to the 1700-2100 m.y. interval (Transamazonic Cycle). An even older event within the Archean is identified with datings older than 2600 m.y. in Venezuela (Estado Bolivar), Surinam and Brazil (Bahia, Santa Catarina, Goias). All the Brazilian uranium deposits related to the Brazilian platform, such as Amorinopolis, are located on the eastern border of the platform where the Brazilian tectonic cycle is dominant. The uranium source rocks are of alkaline granitic nature. Other deposits (Itataia, Campos Belos) are associated with polycyclic rocks belonging to the basement of the Brazilian Cycle but were affected by the 450-700 m.y. tectonic event; these amphibolitic facies rocks show alkaline metamorphism and magmatization processes which indicate large geochemical mobility during which important uranium mobilization has taken place. Finally, the Pocos de Caldas deposit is excellent evidence of the important relationship of tectonic reactivations and uranium enrichments within the Brazilian platform. (author)

  18. Multi-phase structural and tectonic evolution of the Andaman Sea Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masterton, Sheona; Hill, Catherine; Sagi, David Adam; Webb, Peter; Sevastjanova, Inga

    2017-04-01

    opening of the South China Sea to the east. Consequently, the obliquity of plate convergence along this margin increased, ultimately resulting in a change from minor strain partitioning to hyper oblique convergence and full strain partitioning by the mid-Miocene. Investigation into the effects of slab-steepening and dynamic subsidence in the Indochina region could be used as further tests of our proposed tectonic evolution of the Andaman Sea.

  19. 3D decompaction and sequential restoration: a tool to quantify sedimentary and tectonic control on elusive Quaternary structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Ambrogi, Chiara; Emanuele Maesano, Francesco

    2015-04-01

    the Po Basin provided a set of detailed pictures that show the topography and the evolution of the infilling at different point during time. As a matter of fact the resulting 3D surfaces describe the basin configuration and the changes and migration of regional depocentres controlled by thrust activity up to the Pleistocene but also allow to highlight the interference of active tectonic and sedimentation in the central portion of the Po basin, an area considered less affected by the main structures (e.g. the Emilia and Ferrara-Romagna arcs). In the analysis of this structure also the foreland tilting has been subtracted from the topography resulting after unfolding and decompaction, for the 6 time intervals; we obtained a residual signal related to the growing anticline, and the uplift rate of the structure during its Pleistocene evolution. The project GeoMol is co-funded by the Alpine Space Program as part of the European Territorial Cooperation 2007-2013. The project integrates partners from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland and runs from September 2012 to June 2015. Further information on www.geomol.eu

  20. Geologic-tectonic evolutional characteristics and prospecting potential for ISL-amenable sandstone-type uranium deposits; in Sichuan basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Jianhua; Zhu Xiyang; Wang Sili; Wei Jisheng

    2005-01-01

    Through the analysis on geologic-tectonic evolution of Sichuan basin, authors of this paper suggest: because of the heterogeneity of the basin basement and cover structures resulting from the lateral dividing, those segments in the basin that experienced only weak tectonic activation, and those that were uplifted and eroded earlier have not been intensely deformed, and have not experienced long-period burying. Rocks in those segments are poorly consolidated and there exist conditions for the formation of large-area artesian slope at the transitional sites between uplifted and subsided areas, possessing favourable hydrogeologic conditions for long-term infiltration of groundwater. These areas must be the targets for prospecting for ISL-amenable sandstone-type uranium deposits. Correspondingly, the Triassic and Jurassic where loose sand bodies are hosted are prospecting target horizons for uranium. (authors)

  1. The revised tectonic history of Tharsis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouley, Sylvain; Baratoux, David; Paulien, Nicolas; Missenard, Yves; Saint-Bézar, Bertrand

    2018-04-01

    Constraining the timing of the emplacement of the volcano-tectonic province of Tharsis is critical to understanding the evolution of mantle, surface environment and climate of Mars. The growth of Tharsis had exerted stresses on the lithosphere, which were responsible for tectonic deformation, previously mapped as radial or concentric faults. Insights into the emplacement history of Tharsis may be gained from an analysis of the characteristics and ages of these tectonic features. The number, total length, linear density of extensional or compressional faults in the Tharsis region and deformation rates are reported for each of the following 6 stages: Early and Middle Noachian (stage 1); Late Noachian (stage 2); Early Hesperian (stage 3); Late Hesperian (stage 4), Early Amazonian (stage 5) and Middle Amazonian to Late Amazonian (stage 6). 8571 Tharsis-related tectonic features (radial or concentric to the center of Tharsis) were assigned to one of these periods of time based on their relationship with stratigraphic units defined in the most recent geological map. Intense faulting at Tempe Terra, Claritas and Coracis Fossae and Thaumasia Planum confirms that tectonic deformation started during the Noachian. However, we report a peak in both compressive and extensive rates of deformation during the Early Hesperian whereas the quantitative indicators for compressional and extensional tectonics vary within less than one order of magnitude from the Late Noachian to the Late Hesperian. These observations indicate a protracted growth of Tharsis during the first quarter of Mars evolution and declining from 3 Gyrs ago.

  2. Post-Jurassic tectonic evolution of Southeast Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahirovic, Sabin; Seton, Maria; Dietmar Müller, R.; Flament, Nicolas

    2014-05-01

    The accretionary growth of Asia, linked to long-term convergence between Eurasia, Gondwana-derived blocks and the Pacific, resulted in a mosaic of terranes for which conflicting tectonic interpretations exist. Here, we propose solutions to a number of controversies related to the evolution of Sundaland through a synthesis of published geological data and plate reconstructions that reconcile both geological and geophysical constraints with plate driving forces. We propose that West Sulawesi, East Java and easternmost Borneo rifted from northern Gondwana in the latest Jurassic, collided with an intra-oceanic arc at ~115 Ma and subsequently sutured to Sundaland by 80 Ma. Although recent models argue that the Southwest Borneo core accreted to Sundaland at this time, we use volcanic and biogeographic constraints to show that the core of Borneo was on the Asian margin since at least the mid Jurassic. This northward transfer of Gondwana-derived continental fragments required a convergent plate boundary in the easternmost Tethys that we propose gave rise to the Philippine Archipelago based on the formation of latest Jurassic-Early Cretaceous supra-subduction zone ophiolites on Halmahera, Obi Island and Luzon. The Late Cretaceous marks the shift from Andean-style subduction to back-arc opening on the east Asian margin. Arc volcanism along South China ceased by ~60 Ma due to the rollback of the Izanagi slab, leading to the oceanward migration of the volcanic arc and the opening of the Proto South China Sea (PSCS). We use the Apennines-Tyrrhenian system in the Mediterranean as an analogue to model this back-arc. Continued rollback detaches South Palawan, Mindoro and the Semitau continental blocks from the stable east Asian margin and transfers them onto Sundaland in the Eocene to produce the Sarawak Orogeny. The extrusion of Indochina and subduction polarity reversal along northern Borneo opens the South China Sea and transfers the Dangerous Grounds-Reed Bank southward to

  3. The evolution of Tharsis: Implications of gravity, topography, and tectonics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banerdt, W.B.; Golombek, M.P.

    1990-01-01

    Dominating the Western Hemisphere of Mars, the Tharsis rise is an elongate area centered on Syria Planum that ascends as much as 8 to 10 km above the datum. It is intensely fractured by long, narrow grabens that extend radially hundreds of kilometers beyond the rise and is ringed by mostly concentric wrinkle ridges that formed over 2,000 km from the center of the rise. Its size, involving a full hemisphere of Mars, gives it a central role in the thermo-tectonic evolution of the planet and has stimulated a number of studies attempting to determine the sequence of events responsible for this feature. The constraints that gravity and topography data place on the current structure of Tharsis, along with insights into its development derived from comparisons of detailed regional mapping of faulting with theoretical deformation models are reviewed. Finally, a self-consistent model for the structure of Tharsis is proposed

  4. Late Carboniferous to early Permian sedimentary–tectonic evolution of the north of Alxa, Inner Mongolia, China: Evidence from the Amushan Formation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haiquan Yin

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The late Paleozoic evolution of the Wulijishanhen (WSH-Shangdan (SD area near to the Chaganchulu Ophiolite belt is reinterpreted. Analysis of the upper Carboniferous to lower Permian sedimentary sequence, biological associations, detrital materials, sandstone geochemistry and volcanic rocks indicates that the SD area was an epicontinental sea and rift during the late Paleozoic rather than a large-scale ocean undergoing spreading and closure. This study reveals that the actual evolution of the study area is from the late Carboniferous to the early Permian. The fusulinids Triticites sp. and Pseudoschwagerina sp. in the limestones demonstrate that the Amushan Formation develops during the late Carboniferous to the early Permian. The limestones at the base of the SD section indicate that it is a stable carbonate platform environment, the volcanic rocks in the middle of the sequence support a rift tectonic background, and the overlying conglomerates and sandstones are characteristic of an epicontinental sea or marine molasse setting. The rift volcanism made the differences in the fossil content of the SD and WSH sections and led to two sections expose different levels within the Amushan Formation and different process of tectonic evolution. Moreover, the geochemical characteristics and detrital materials of the sandstones show that the provenance and formation of the sandstones were related to the setting of active continental margin. The quartz-feldspar-lithic fragments distribution diagram indicates that the material source for the sandstones was a recycled orogenic belt. Thus, the source area of the sandstones may have been an active continental margin before the late Carboniferous–early Permian. The characteristics of the regional tectonic evolution of the area indicate that the region may form a small part of the Gobi–Tianshan rift of southern Mongolia.

  5. Cenozoic sedimentation in the Mumbai Offshore Basin: Implications for tectonic evolution of the western continental margin of India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, Nisha; Pandey, Dhananjai K.

    2018-02-01

    Interpretation of multichannel seismic reflection data along the Mumbai Offshore Basin (MOB) revealed the tectonic processes that led to the development of sedimentary basins during Cenozoic evolution. Structural interpretation along three selected MCS profiles from MOB revealed seven major sedimentary sequences (∼3.0 s TWT, thick) and the associated complex fault patterns. These stratigraphic sequences are interpreted to host detritus of syn- to post rift events during rift-drift process. The acoustic basement appeared to be faulted with interspaced intrusive bodies. The sections also depicted the presence of slumping of sediments, subsidence, marginal basins, rollover anticlines, mud diapirs etc accompanied by normal to thrust faults related to recent tectonics. Presence of upthrusts in the slope region marks the locations of local compression during collision. Forward gravity modeling constrained with results from seismic and drill results, revealed that the crustal structure beneath the MOB has undergone an extensional type tectonics intruded with intrusive bodies. Results from the seismo-gravity modeling in association with litholog data from drilled wells from the western continental margin of India (WCMI) are presented here.

  6. Structure and tectonic evolution of the southwestern Trinidad dome, Escambray complex, Central Cuba: Insights into deformation in an accretionary wedge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Despaigne-Díaz, Ana Ibis; García Casco, Antonio; Cáceres Govea, Dámaso; Wilde, Simon A.; Millán Trujillo, Guillermo

    2017-10-01

    The Trinidad dome, Escambray complex, Cuba, forms part of an accretionary wedge built during intra-oceanic subduction in the Caribbean from the Late Cretaceous to Cenozoic. The structure reflects syn-subduction exhumation during thickening of the wedge, followed by extension. Field mapping, metamorphic and structural analysis constrain the tectonic evolution into five stages. Three ductile deformation events (D1, D2 and D3) are related to metamorphism in a compressional setting and formation of several nappes. D1 subduction fabrics are only preserved as relict S1 foliation and rootless isoclinal folds strongly overprinted by the main S2 foliation. The S2 foliation is parallel to sheared serpentinised lenses that define tectonic contacts, suggesting thrust stacks and underthrusting at mantle depths. Thrusting caused an inverted metamorphic structure with higher-grade on top of lower-grade nappes. Exhumation started during D2 when the units were incorporated into the growing accretionary wedge along NNE-directed thrust faults and was accompanied by substantial decompression and cooling. Folding and thrusting continued during D3 and marks the transition from ductile to brittle-ductile conditions at shallower crustal levels. The D4-5 events are related to extension and contributed to the final exhumation (likely as a core complex). D4 is associated with a regional spaced S4 cleavage, late open folds, and numerous extension veins, whereas D5 is recorded by normal and strike-slip faults affecting all nappes. The P-t path shows rapid exhumation during D2 and slower rates during D3 when the units were progressively incorporated into the accretionary prism. The domal shape formed in response to tectonic denudation assisted by normal faulting and erosion at the surface during the final stages of structural development. These results support tectonic models of SW subduction of the Proto-Caribbean crust under the Caribbean plate during the latest Cretaceous and provide

  7. La recherche alpine aujourd’hui

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Jacques Brun

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Alpine research benefits from several international coordination networks, only one of which – ISCAR (the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps – works solely in the Alpine arc. The creation of ISCAR is a consequence of the input and involvement of various Alpine partners around the Alpine Convention. Alpine research now aims to promote an integrated vision of Alpine territories focusing on creating and maintaining spatial and temporal networks of sustainable relationships between humans and the other components of the ecosphere. It combines resource usage with conservation of the biological and cultural diversity that makes up the Alpine identity. This article aims to show: (1 how international Alpine research coordination is organised; (2 the role played by the Alpine Convention as a framework of reference for specifically Alpine research; and (3 the role that the ISCAR international commit-tee and the Interreg “Alpine Space” programmes play in uniting research around territorial challenges relating to biodiversity conservation and territorial development.La recherche sur les Alpes bénéficie de plusieurs réseaux de coordination internationaux dont un seul, le comité international recherche alpine (ISCAR, se consacre exclusivement à l’arc alpin. La création de l’ISCAR est une retombée de la mobilisation des divers partenaires alpins autour de la mise en place de la Convention alpine. Aujourd’hui, la recherche alpine vise à promouvoir une vision intégrée des territoires centrée sur la création et le maintien d’un réseau spatial et temporel de relations durables entre les hommes et les autres composantes de l’écosphère. Elle associe étroitement la mise en valeur des ressources et la conservation des diversités biologiques et culturelles qui constituent l’identité alpine. Cet article a pour ambition de montrer : (1 comment s’organise la coordination internationale des recherches sur les

  8. Plants in alpine environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Germino, Matthew J.

    2014-01-01

    Alpine and subalpine plant species are of special interest in ecology and ecophysiology because they represent life at the climate limit and changes in their relative abundances can be a bellwether for climate-change impacts. Perennial life forms dominate alpine plant communities, and their form and function reflect various avoidance, tolerance, or resistance strategies to interactions of cold temperature, radiation, wind, and desiccation stresses that prevail in the short growing seasons common (but not ubiquitous) in alpine areas. Plant microclimate is typically uncoupled from the harsh climate of the alpine, often leading to substantially warmer plant temperatures than air temperatures recorded by weather stations. Low atmospheric pressure is the most pervasive, fundamental, and unifying factor for alpine environments, but the resulting decrease in partial pressure of CO2 does not significantly limit carbon gain by alpine plants. Factors such as tree islands and topographic features create strong heterogeneous mosaics of microclimate and snow cover that are reflected in plant community composition. Factors affecting tree establishment and growth and formation of treeline are key to understanding alpine ecology. Carbohydrate and other carbon storage, rapid development in a short growing season, and physiological function at low temperature are prevailing attributes of alpine plants. A major contemporary research theme asks whether chilling at alpine-treeline affects the ability of trees to assimilate the growth resources and particularly carbon needed for growth or whether the growth itself is limited by the alpine environment. Alpine areas tend to be among the best conserved, globally, yet they are increasingly showing response to a range of anthropogenic impacts, such as atmospheric deposition.

  9. Theory of denudation tectonics and practice in prospecting. Pt.1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tong Hangshou

    1994-01-01

    The theory of denudation tectonics--earth science frontiers--upsurged in the 1980's of the century and a great mass fervor of its research has spread to the uranium geology. For the studying and applying the theory of denudation tectonics and on the invitation of the Editorial Department of 'Uranium Geology', this paper has been written and will be published in several issues with the following contents accordingly: (1) New progress in the research on denudation tectonics in China; (2) The evolution of denudation tectonics' concept and layer zoning of the Earth; (3) The fundamental implication of the denudation tectonics and relevant tectonic terminology; (4) Discussion on dynamics of the formation of denudation tectonics; (5) Definition and discrimination of denudation tectonics; (6) Research method of denudation tectonics; (7) Ore control theory of denudation tectonics and prospecting; (8) Outlook on the research of denudation tectonics

  10. The Cenozoic fold-and-thrust belt of Eastern Sardinia: Evidences from the integration of field data with numerically balanced geological cross section

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arragoni, S.; Maggi, M.; Cianfarra, P.; Salvini, F.

    2016-06-01

    Newly collected structural data in Eastern Sardinia (Italy) integrated with numerical techniques led to the reconstruction of a 2-D admissible and balanced model revealing the presence of a widespread Cenozoic fold-and-thrust belt. The model was achieved with the FORC software, obtaining a 3-D (2-D + time) numerical reconstruction of the continuous evolution of the structure through time. The Mesozoic carbonate units of Eastern Sardinia and their basement present a fold-and-thrust tectonic setting, with a westward direction of tectonic transport (referred to the present-day coordinates). The tectonic style of the upper levels is thin skinned, with flat sectors prevailing over ramps and younger-on-older thrusts. Three regional tectonic units are present, bounded by two regional thrusts. Strike-slip faults overprint the fold-and-thrust belt and developed during the Sardinia-Corsica Block rotation along the strike of the preexisting fault ramps, not affecting the numerical section balancing. This fold-and-thrust belt represents the southward prosecution of the Alpine Corsica collisional chain and the missing link between the Alpine Chain and the Calabria-Peloritani Block. Relative ages relate its evolution to the meso-Alpine event (Eocene-Oligocene times), prior to the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Tortonian). Results fill a gap of information about the geodynamic evolution of the European margin in Central Mediterranean, between Corsica and the Calabria-Peloritani Block, and imply the presence of remnants of this double-verging belt, missing in the Southern Tyrrhenian basin, within the Southern Apennine chain. The used methodology proved effective for constraining balanced cross sections also for areas lacking exposures of the large-scale structures, as the case of Eastern Sardinia.

  11. Alpine Serpentinite Geochemistry As Key To Define Timing Of Oceanic Lithosphere Accretion To The Subduction Plate Interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilio, M.; Scambelluri, M.; Agostini, S.; Godard, M.; Pettke, D. T.; Angiboust, S.

    2016-12-01

    Isotopic (Pb, Sr and B) and trace element (B, Be, As, Sb, U, Th) signatures of serpentinites are useful geochemical tools to assess element exchange and fluid-rock interactions in subduction zone settings. They help to unravel geological history and tectonic evolution of subduction serpentinites and associated meta-oceanic crust. Sedimentary-derived fluid influx within HP plate interface environments strongly enriches serpentinites in As, Sb, B, U and Th and resets their B, Sr and Pb isotopic compositions. This HP metasomatic signature is preserved during exhumation and/or released at higher PT through de-serpentinization, fueling partial melting in the sub-arc mantle and recycling such fingerprint into arc magmas. This study focuses on the subduction recrystallization, geochemical diversity and fluid-rock interaction recorded by high- to ultra-high pressure (HP, UHP) Alpine serpentinites from the subducted oceanic plate (Cignana Unit, Zermatt-Saas Complex, Monviso and Lanzo Ultramafic Massifs). The As and Sb compositions of the HP-UHP Alpine ophiolitic rocks reveal the interaction between serpentinite and crust-derived fluids during their emplacement along the plate interface. This enables to define a hypothetical architecture of the Alpine subduction interface, considering large ultramafic slices. In this scenario, the Lanzo peridotite and serpentinite retain an As-Sb composition comparable to DM and PM: i.e. they experienced little exchange with sediment-derived fluids. Lanzo thus belonged to sections of the subducting plate, afar from the plate interface. Serpentinites from the Lago di Cignana Unit and Monviso and Voltri are richer in As and Sb, showing moderate to strong interaction with sediment- and crust-derived fluids during subduction (i.e. they behaved as open systems). These serpentinite slices accreted at the plate interface and exchanged with slab-derived fluids at different depths during Alpine subduction: Voltri accreted at shallower conditions (50

  12. The role of the Anaxagoras Mountain in the Miocene to Recent tectonic evolution of the eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colbourne, Mark; Hall, Jeremy; Aksu, Ali; Çifçi, Günay

    2014-05-01

    The Anaximander Mountains are one of the many enigmatic structures situated along the morphologically and structurally complicated junction between the Hellenic and Cyprus Arcs, in the eastern Mediterranean. Interpretation of ~750 km of marine multi-channel seismic reflection data show that the present day Anaximander Mountains underwent several distinct phases of tectonic activity since Miocene. During the mid-late Miocene, a protracted, contractional tectonic regime produced the east-west trending, south-verging fold-thrust belt observed in the area. The Messinian was a period of relatively low tectonic activity, and is marked by the deposition of an evaporite layer. This phase lasted until the latest Miocene - earliest Pliocene, when a major erosional event associated with the Messinian salinity crisis occurred. Beginning in the early-mid Pliocene-Quaternary a transpressional and rotational tectonic regime prevailed over the area. The Anaximander Mountain (sensu stricto) and Anaximenes Mountain developed in the Pliocene-Quaternary associated with the reactivation, uplift and rotation of a linked, thick skinned pre-Messinian imbricate thrust fan. Back thrusting in the region accentuated the morphology of these mountains. The Anaxagoras Mountain differs both lithologically and morphologically from the Anaximander Mountain (sensu stricto) and the Anaximenes Mountain. It is probably developed associated with the emplacement of the ophiolitic Antalya Nappe Complex. Faulting in the Anaxagoras region is characterized by southwest striking thrust and/or oblique thrust faults. Due to the similarities in morphology between the Isparta Angle of southwestern Turkey and the Anaximander Mountains (sensu lato), it is hypothesized that the tectonic evolution of the two regions are similar in nature. The Anaximander Mountains (sensu lato) can thus be considered the offshore replication of the Isparta Angle, produced by similar mechanisms, but being of a younger age.

  13. Dynamic computer model for the metallogenesis and tectonics of the Circum-North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scotese, Christopher R.; Nokleberg, Warren J.; Monger, James W.H.; Norton, Ian O.; Parfenov, Leonid M.; Khanchuk, Alexander I.; Bundtzen, Thomas K.; Dawson, Kenneth M.; Eremin, Roman A.; Frolov, Yuri F.; Fujita, Kazuya; Goryachev, Nikolai A.; Pozdeev, Anany I.; Ratkin, Vladimir V.; Rodinov, Sergey M.; Rozenblum, Ilya S.; Scholl, David W.; Shpikerman, Vladimir I.; Sidorov, Anatoly A.; Stone, David B.

    2001-01-01

    The digital files on this report consist of a dynamic computer model of the metallogenesis and tectonics of the Circum-North Pacific, and background articles, figures, and maps. The tectonic part of the dynamic computer model is derived from a major analysis of the tectonic evolution of the Circum-North Pacific which is also contained in directory tectevol. The dynamic computer model and associated materials on this CD-ROM are part of a project on the major mineral deposits, metallogenesis, and tectonics of the Russian Far East, Alaska, and the Canadian Cordillera. The project provides critical information on bedrock geology and geophysics, tectonics, major metalliferous mineral resources, metallogenic patterns, and crustal origin and evolution of mineralizing systems for this region. The major scientific goals and benefits of the project are to: (1) provide a comprehensive international data base on the mineral resources of the region that is the first, extensive knowledge available in English; (2) provide major new interpretations of the origin and crustal evolution of mineralizing systems and their host rocks, thereby enabling enhanced, broad-scale tectonic reconstructions and interpretations; and (3) promote trade and scientific and technical exchanges between North America and Eastern Asia.

  14. Modelling channel incision and alpine hillslope development using laser altimetry data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Anders, N.S.; Seijmonsbergen, A.C.; Bouten, W.

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a new approach to simulate drainage basin evolution and demonstrates that high resolution elevation data can be used as useful tool for a dynamic simulation of Alpine landscape development, in which channel incision is incorporated in high spatial detail. A vector channel

  15. Meso-Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the SE Brazilian continental margin: Petrographic, kinematic and dynamic analysis of the onshore Araruama Lagoon Fault System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souza, Pricilla Camões Martins de; Schmitt, Renata da Silva; Stanton, Natasha

    2017-09-01

    The Ararauama Lagoon Fault System composes one of the most prominent set of lineaments of the SE Brazilian continental margin. It is located onshore in a key tectonic domain, where the basement inheritance rule is not followed. This fault system is characterized by ENE-WSW silicified tectonic breccias and cataclasites showing evidences of recurrent tectonic reactivations. Based on field work, microtectonic, kinematic and dynamic analysis, we reconstructed the paleostresses in the region and propose a sequence of three brittle deformational phases accountable for these reactivations: 1) NE-SW dextral transcurrence; 2) NNW-SSE dextral oblique extension that evolved to NNW-SSE "pure" extension; 3) ENE-WSW dextral oblique extension. These phases are reasonably correlated with the tectonic events responsible for the onset and evolution of the SE onshore rift basins, between the Neocretaceous and Holocene. However, based on petrographic studies and supported by regional geological correlations, we assume that the origin of this fault system is older, related to the Early Cretaceous South Atlantic rifting. This study provides significant information about one of the main structural trends of the SE Brazilian continental margin and the tectonic events that controlled its segmentation, since the Gondwana rifting, and compartmentalization of its onshore sedimentary deposits during the Cenozoic.

  16. Tectonic and metallogenic model for northeast Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parfenov, Leonid M.; Nokleberg, Warren J.; Berzin, Nikolai A.; Badarch, Gombosuren; Dril, Sergy I.; Gerel, Ochir; Goryachev, Nikolai A.; Khanchuk, Alexander I.; Kuz'min, Mikhail I.; Prokopiev, Andrei V.; Ratkin, Vladimir V.; Rodionov, Sergey M.; Scotese, Christopher R.; Shpikerman, Vladimir I.; Timofeev, Vladimir F.; Tomurtogoo, Onongin; Yan, Hongquan; Nokleberg, Warren J.

    2011-01-01

    This document describes the digital files in this report that contains a tectonic and metallogenic model for Northeast Asia. The report also contains background materials. This tectonic and metallogenic model and other materials on this report are derived from (1) an extensive USGS Professional Paper, 1765, on the metallogenesis and tectonics of Northeast Asia that is available on the Internet at http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1765/; and (2) the Russian Far East parts of an extensive USGS Professional Paper, 1697, on the metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far East, Alaska, and the Canadian Cordillera that is available on the Internet at http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1697/. The major purpose of the tectonic and metallogenic model is to provide, in movie format, a colorful summary of the complex geology, tectonics, and metallogenesis of the region. To accomplish this goal four steps were taken: (1) 13 time-stage diagrams, from the late Neoproterozoic (850 Ma) through the present (0 Ma), were adapted, generalized, and transformed into color static time-stage diagrams; (2) the 13 time-stage diagrams were placed in a computer morphing program to produce the model; (3) the model was examined and each diagram was successively adapted to preceding and subsequent diagrams to match the size and surface expression of major geologic units; and (4) the final version of the model was produced in successive iterations of steps 2 and 3. The tectonic and metallogenic model and associated materials in this report are derived from a project on the major mineral deposits, metallogenesis, and tectonics of the Northeast Asia and from a preceding project on the metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far East, Alaska, and the Canadian Cordillera. Both projects provide critical information on bedrock geology and geophysics, tectonics, major metalliferous mineral resources, metallogenic patterns, and crustal origin and evolution of mineralizing systems for this region. The major

  17. Extending Whole-earth Tectonics To The Terrestrial Planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, V. R.; Maruyama, S.; Dohm, J. M.

    Based on the need to explain a great many geological and geophysical anomalies on Mars, and stimulated by the new results from the Mars Global Surveyor Mission, we propose a conceptual model of whole-EARTH (Episodic Annular Revolving Thermal Hydrologic) tectonics for the long-term evolution of terrestrial planets. The theory emphasizes (1) the importance of water in planetary evolution, and (2) the physi- cal transitions in modes of mantle convection in relation to planetary heat produc- tion. Depending on their first-order geophysical parameters and following accretion and differentiation from volatile-rich planetessimals, terrestrial planets should evolve through various stages of mantle convection, including magma ocean, plate tectonic, and stagnant lid processes. If a water ocean is able to condense from the planet's early steam atmosphere, an early regime of plate tectonics will follow the initial magma ocean. This definitely happened on earth, probably on Mars, and possibly on Venus. The Mars history led to transfer of large amounts of water to the mantle during the pe- riod of heavy bombardment. Termination of plate tectonics on Mars during the heavy bombardment period led to initiation of superplumes at Tharsis and Elysium, where long-persistent volcanism and water outbursts dominated much of later Martian his- tory. For Venus, warming of the early sun made the surface ocean unstable, eliminating its early plate-tectonic regime. Although Venus now experiences stagnant-lid convec- tion with episodic mantle overturns, the water subducted to its lower mantle during the ancient plate-tectonic regime manifests itself in the initation of volatile-rich plumes that dominate its current tectonic regime.

  18. Landscapes of human evolution: models and methods of tectonic geomorphology and the reconstruction of hominin landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailey, Geoffrey N; Reynolds, Sally C; King, Geoffrey C P

    2011-03-01

    This paper examines the relationship between complex and tectonically active landscapes and patterns of human evolution. We show how active tectonics can produce dynamic landscapes with geomorphological and topographic features that may be critical to long-term patterns of hominin land use, but which are not typically addressed in landscape reconstructions based on existing geological and paleoenvironmental principles. We describe methods of representing topography at a range of scales using measures of roughness based on digital elevation data, and combine the resulting maps with satellite imagery and ground observations to reconstruct features of the wider landscape as they existed at the time of hominin occupation and activity. We apply these methods to sites in South Africa, where relatively stable topography facilitates reconstruction. We demonstrate the presence of previously unrecognized tectonic effects and their implications for the interpretation of hominin habitats and land use. In parts of the East African Rift, reconstruction is more difficult because of dramatic changes since the time of hominin occupation, while fossils are often found in places where activity has now almost ceased. However, we show that original, dynamic landscape features can be assessed by analogy with parts of the Rift that are currently active and indicate how this approach can complement other sources of information to add new insights and pose new questions for future investigation of hominin land use and habitats. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Exhumation of the North Alpine Foreland Basin- Quantitative insights from structural analysis, thermochronology and a new thermal history model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luijendijk, Elco; von Hagke, Christoph; Hindle, David

    2016-04-01

    Due to a wealth of geological and thermochronology data the northern foreland basin of the European Alps is an ideal natural laboratory for understanding the dynamics of foreland basins and their interaction with surface and geodynamic processes. We present an unprecedented compilation of thermochronological data from the basin and quantify cooling and exhumation rates in the basin by combining published and new vitrinite reflectance, apatite fission track and U-Th/He data with a new inverse burial and thermal history model. No correlation is obvious between inferred cooling and exhumation rates and elevation, relief or tectonics. We compare derived temperature histories to exhumation estimates based on the retro-deformation of Molasse basin and the Jura mountains, and to exhumation caused by drainage reorganization and incision. Drainage reorganization can explain at most 25% of the observed cooling rates in the basin. Tectonic transport of the basin's sediments over the inclined basement of the alpine foreland as the Jura mountains shortened can explain part of the cooling signal in the western part of the basin. However, overall a substantial amount of cooling and exhumation remains unexplained by known tectonic and surface processes. Our results document basin wide exhumation that may be related to slab roll-back or other lithospheric processes. Uncertainty analysis shows that thermochronometers can be explained by cooling and exhumation starting as early as the Miocene or as late as the Pleistocene. New (U-Th)/He data from key areas close to the Alpine front may provide better constraints on the timing of exhumation.

  20. Active Tectonics Revealed by River Profiles along the Puqu Fault

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ping Lu

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The Puqu Fault is situated in Southern Tibet. It is influenced by the eastward extrusion of Northern Tibet and carries the clockwise rotation followed by the southward extrusion. Thus, the Puqu Fault is bounded by the principal dynamic zones and the tectonic evolution remains active alongside. This study intends to understand the tectonic activity in the Puqu Fault Region from the river profiles obtained from the remotely sensed satellite imagery. A medium resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM, 20 m was generated from an Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER stereo pair of images and the stream network in this region was extracted from this DEM. The indices of slope and drainage area were subsequently calculated from this ASTER DEM. Based on the stream power law, the area-slope plots of the streams were delineated to derive the indices of channel concavity and steepness, which are closely related to tectonic activity. The results show the active tectonics varying significantly along the Puqu Fault, although the potential influence of glaciations may exist. These results are expected to be useful for a better understanding of tectonic evolution in Southeastern Tibet.

  1. Tectonic evolution of the outer Izu-Bonin-Mariana fore arc system: initial results from IODP Expedition 352

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurz, W.; Ferre, E. C.; Robertson, A. H. F.; Avery, A. J.; Kutterolf, S.

    2015-12-01

    During International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 352, a section through the volcanic stratigraphy of the outer fore arc of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) system was drilled to trace magmatism, tectonics, and crustal accretion associated with subduction initiation. Structures within drill cores, borehole and site survey seismic data indicate that tectonic deformation in the outer IBM fore arc is mainly post-magmatic. Extension generated asymmetric sediment basins such as half-grabens at sites 352-U1439 and 352-U1442 on the upper trench slope. Along their eastern margins the basins are bounded by west-dipping normal faults. Deformation was localized along multiple sets of faults, accompanied by syn-tectonic pelagic and volcaniclastic sedimentation. The lowermost sedimentary units were tilted eastward by ~20°. Tilted beds were covered by sub-horizontal beds. Biostratigraphic constraints reveal a minimum age of the oldest sediments at ~ 35 Ma; timing of the sedimentary unconformities is between ~ 27 and 32 Ma. At sites 352-U1440 and 352-U1441 on the outer fore arc strike-slip faults are bounding sediment basins. Sediments were not significantly affected by tectonic tilting. Biostratigraphy gives a minimum age of the basement-cover contact between ~29.5 and 32 Ma. The post-magmatic structures reveal a multiphase tectonic evolution of the outer IBM fore arc. At sites 352-U1439 and 352-U1442, shear with dominant reverse to oblique reverse displacement was localized along subhorizontal fault zones, steep slickensides and shear fractures. These were either re-activated as or cut by normal-faults and strike-slip faults. Extension was also accommodated by steep to subvertical mineralized veins and extensional fractures. Faults at sites 352-U1440 and 352-U1441 show mainly strike-slip kinematics. Sediments overlying the igneous basement(maximum Late Eocene to Recent age), document ash and aeolian input, together with mass wasting of the fault-bounded sediment ponds.

  2. Lithospheric stresses due to radiogenic heating of an ice-silicate planetary body - Implications for Ganymede's tectonic evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuber, M. T.; Parmentier, E. M.

    1984-01-01

    Thermal evolution models of differentiated and undifferentiated ice-silicate bodies containing long-lived radiogenic heat sources are examined. Lithospheric sresses arise due to volume change of the interior and temperature change in the lithosphere. For an undifferentiated body, the surface stress peaks early in the evolution, while in the differentiated case, stresses peak later and continue to accumulate for longer periods of time. The variation of near-surface stress with depth shows that stresses for the undifferentiated body initially penetrate to great depths, but rapidly concentrate within a few kilometers of the surface. For the differentiated body, elastic stresses never accumulate at a depth greater than a few kilometers. These models are applied to consider long-term rdioactive heating as a possible mechanism of tectonic activity and bright terrain formation on Ganymede.

  3. Thermo chronology by fission tracks of the conjugated rift margins of the Liguro-Provencal basin: Corsica and the Maures-Tanneron Massif

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jakni, B.

    2000-01-01

    We have employed apatite fission-track (AFT) thermo-chronology on granitic and metamorphic samples taken from Corsican and Maures-Tanneron basement rocks as well as alpine 'schistes lustres' units in Corsica, in order to constrain the cooling histories and the tectonic evolution of the Liguro-Provencal basin margins. The AFT data indicate that: -) the Tanneron massif (AFT ages 145- 150 My) appears to record the earliest cooling history, reflecting thermal relaxation related to opening of the Tethys; -) the Maures basement (AFT ages 20-25 My) clearly records a thermo- tectonic evolution associated with Liguro-Provencal rifting; -) the island of Corsica, which was the main focus of this work and which shows a complex geomorphology and a poly-phased tectonic evolution. shows a remarkable zoning in the distribution of AFT ages, reflecting the signature of at least two post-Oligocene thermal events. Those events are related to the opening of Liguro-Provencal basin (20-25 My) in the west, and exhumation of the Hercynian basement related to Tyrrhenian extension (12- 16 My) in the east. In the east-Tenda shear zone, which forms the contact between the alpine units and Hercynian basement in northern Corsica, our results indicate that the Tenda Massif was being exhumed from about 21 Ma onwards. (author)

  4. Crustal thickness controlled by plate tectonics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Artemieva, Irina M.; Meissner, Rolf

    2012-01-01

    /gabbro–eclogite phase transition in crustal evolution and the links between lithosphere recycling, mafic magmatism, and crustal underplating. We advocate that plate tectonics processes, togetherwith basalt/gabbro–eclogite transition, limit crustal thickness worldwide by providing effective mechanisms of crustal...

  5. Early to Middle Jurassic tectonic evolution of the Bogda Mountains, Northwest China: Evidence from sedimentology and detrital zircon geochronology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Hongjie; Tao, Huifei; Wang, Qi; Qiu, Zhen; Ma, Dongxu; Qiu, Junli; Liao, Peng

    2018-03-01

    The Bogda Mountains, as an important intracontinental orogenic belt, are situated in the southern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), and are a key area for understanding the Mesozoic evolution of the CAOB. However, the tectonic evolution of the Bogda Mountains remains controversial during the Mesozoic Era, especially the Early to Middle Jurassic Periods. The successive Lower to Middle Jurassic strata are well preserved and exposed along the northern flank of the Western Bogda Mountains and record the uplift processes of the Bogda Mountains. In this study, we analysed sedimentary facies combined with detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology at five sections of Lower to Middle Jurassic strata to detect the tectonic evolution and changes of provenance in the Bogda area. During Early to Middle Jurassic times, the fluvial, deltaic and lacustrine environments dominated in the western section of the Bogda area. The existence of Early Triassic peak age indicates that the Bogda Mountains did not experience uplift during the period of early Badaowan Formation deposition. The Early Triassic to Late Permian granitoid plutons and Carboniferous volcanic rocks from the Barkol and Santanghu areas were the main provenances. The significant change in the U-Pb age spectrum implies that the Eastern Bogda Mountains initiated uplift in the period of late Badaowan Formation deposition, and the Eastern Junggar Basin and the Turpan-Hami Basin were partially partitioned. The Eastern Bogda Mountains gradually became the major provenance. From the period of early Sangonghe to early Toutunhe Formations deposition, the provenance of the sediments and basin-range frame were similar to that of late Badaowan. However, the Eastern Bogda Mountains suffered intermittent uplift three times, and successive denudation. The uplifts respectively happened in early Sangonghe, late Sangonghe to early Xishanyao, and late Xishanyao to early Toutunhe. During the deposition stage of Toutunhe Formation, a

  6. Pan-African tectonic evolution in central and southern Cameroon: transpression and transtension during sinistral shear movements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngako, V.; Affaton, P.; Nnange, J. M.; Njanko, Th.

    2003-04-01

    Kinematic analysis of the central Cameroon shear zone (CCSZ) and its Sanaga fault relay, indicate early sinistral shear movement (phase D 2) that was later followed by a dextral shear movement (phase D 3) during the Pan-African orogeny. The correlation of tectonic events among the CCSZs, thrusting of the Yaounde Group and the deformation in the Lom Group indicate a diachronous deposition history of these groups, where the Yaounde Group is pre-kinematic while the sedimentary and magmatic rocks of the Lom basin are syn-kinematic. Sinistral shear movements along the CCSZ and Sanaga faults are correlated with metamorphism and thrusting of the Yaounde granulites onto the Congo craton, on one hand, and to the opening of the Lom pull-apart basin, oblique to the shear zone, on the other. Kinematic interactions between shear and thrust movements characterize transpression, whereas interactions between shear and oblique normal fault movements characterize transtension. Resulting kinematic indicators show that the Lom basin represents a sinistral transtensional relay of the Sanaga fault. Greenschist-facies metamorphism in the Lom Group rocks dominantly affected by a monophase tectonic evolution were achieved during the late dextral shear movements along the Sanaga fault.

  7. Tectonic microplates in a wax model of sea-floor spreading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katz, Richard F; Ragnarsson, Rolf; Bodenschatz, Eberhard

    2005-01-01

    Rotating, growing microplates are observed in a wax analogue model of sea-floor spreading. Wax microplates are kinematically similar to sea-floor tectonic microplates in terms of spreading rate and growth rate. Furthermore, their spiral pseudofault geometry is quantitatively consistent with Schouten's oceanic microplate model. These results suggest that Schouten's edge-driven microplate model captures the kinematics of tectonic microplate evolution on Earth. Based on the wax observations, a theory for the nucleation of overlapping spreading centres, the precursors of tectonic microplates, is developed

  8. Quantitative analysis of the tectonic subsidence in the Potiguar Basin (NE Brazil)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopes, Juliana A. G.; de Castro, David L.; Bertotti, Giovanni

    2018-06-01

    The Potiguar Basin, located in the Brazilian Equatorial Margin, evolved from a complex rifting process implemented during the Atlantic Ocean opening in the Jurassic/Cretaceous. Different driving mechanisms were responsible for the onset of an aborted onshore rift and an offshore rift that initiated crustal rupture and the formation of a continental transform margin. Therefore, we applied the backstripping method to quantify the tectonic subsidence during the rift and post-rift phases of Potiguar Basin formation and to analyze the spatial variation of subsidence during the two successive and distinct tectonic events responsible for the basin evolution. The parameters required to apply this methodology were extracted from 2D seismic lines and exploratory well data. The tectonic subsidence curves present periods with moderate subsidence rates (up to 300 m/My), which correspond to the evolution of the onshore Potiguar Rift (∼141 to 128 Ma). From 128-118 Ma, the tectonic subsidence curves show no subsidence in the onshore Potiguar Basin, whereas subsidence occurred at high rates (over 300 m/My) in the offshore rift. The post-rift phase began ca. 118 Ma (Aptian), when the tectonic subsidence drastically slowed to less than 35 m/My, probably related to thermal relaxation. The tectonic subsidence rates in the various sectors of the Potiguar Rift, during the different rift phases, indicate that more intense faulting occurred in the southern portion of the onshore rift, along the main border faults, and in the southeastern portion of the offshore rift. During the post-rift phase, the tectonic subsidence rates increased from the onshore portion towards the offshore portion until the continental slope. The highest rates of post-rift subsidence (up to 35 m/My) are concentrated in the central region of the offshore portion and may be related to lithospheric processes related to the continental crust rupture and oceanic seafloor spreading. The variation in subsidence rates and

  9. Plate tectonic reconstruction of the Carpathian-Pannonian region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Csontos, L.; Vörös, A.

    2003-04-01

    Plate tectonics of the Carpathian area is controlled by microcontinents between the European and African margins and the relative movements of these margins. Beside the generally accepted Apulian (Austroalpine, West Carpathian, Dinaric) microcontinents two others: the Bihor-Getic (Tisza) and Drina-Ivanjica are introduced. The first was attached to the European margin, the second to the Apulian microcontinent. During Permian a major ocean was obliquely subducted south of the Apulian microcontinents. Drina-Ivanjica rifted off the Apulian microcontinent in the Late Permian-Middle Triassic, as a consequence of back-arc rifting. Short-lived oceans subducted by the end of Jurassic, causing Drina-Ivanjica to collide with the internal Dinaric-West Carpathian and Bihor-Getic margins. An external Penninic-Váhic ocean tract began opening in the Early Jurassic, separating the East Alpine-West Carpathian microcontinent (and its fauna) from the European shelf. Further south, the Severin-Ceahlau-Magura also began opening in the Early Jurassic, but final separation of the Bihor-Getic (and its fauna) from the European shelf did not take place until the Middle-Late Jurassic. Two oroclinal bends: the Alcapa on the Dinaric margin and the Tisza-Dacia on the South Carpathian-Getic margin are essential elements of these reconstructions. Their bending (Aptian and Albian-Maastrichtian, respectively) are suggested by paleomagnetic and tectonic transport data. The two oroclinal bends are finally opposed and pushed into the Carpathian embayment by the Paleogene. In Miocene a back-arc basin develops on older tectonic elements. Differential rotations affect the wealded microcontinents.

  10. Magnetostratigraphy and 230Th dating of a drill core from the southeastern Qaidam Basin: Salt lake evolution and tectonic implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    An-Dong Chen

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The Qarhan Salt Lake area is the Quaternary depocenter of the Qaidam Basin, and carries thick lacustrine sediments, as well as rich potassium and magnesium salt deposits. The abundant resources and thick sediments in this lake provide an ideal place for the study of biogas formation and preservation, salt lake evolution, and the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we attempt to construct a paleomagnetic and 230Th age model and to obtain information on tectonic activity and salt lake evolution through detailed studies on a 1300-m-long drill core (15DZK01 from the northwestern margin of the Qarhan Salt Lake area (Dongling Lake. Based on gypsum 230Th dating, the age of the uppermost clastic deposit was calculated to be around 0.052 Ma. The polarity sequence consist of 13 pairs of normal and reversed zones, which can be correlated with subchrons C2r.1r-C1n of the geomagnetic polarity timescale (GPTS 2012 (from ∼2.070 Ma to ∼0.052 Ma. Sedimentary characteristics indicate that Dongling Lake witnessed freshwater environment between ∼2.070 Ma and 1.546 Ma. During this period, the sedimentary record reflects primarily lakeshore, shallow-water and swamp environments, representing favourable conditions for the formation of hydrocarbon source rocks. Between 1.546 Ma and ∼0.052 Ma, the Dongling Lake was in sulphate deposition stage, which contrasts with the central Qarhan Salt Lake area, where this stage did not occur in the meantime. During this stage, Dongling Lake was in a shallow saltwater lake environment, but several periods of reduced salinity occurred during this stage. During the late Pleistocene at ∼0.052 Ma, the Dongling Lake experienced uplift due to tectonic activity, and saltwater migrated through the Sanhu Fault to the central Qarhan Salt Lake area, resulting in the absence of halite deposition stage. The residual saline water was concentrated into magnesium-rich brine due to the lack of freshwater, and few

  11. Constraints on the topographic evolution of Corsica and Sardinia from geological and geomorphic analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quye-Sawyer, Jennifer; Whittaker, Alexander; Roberts, Gareth; Rood, Dylan

    2017-04-01

    The western Mediterranean Sea and its surroundings form part of a well-studied region whose geodynamic history is broadly known. However, how the topography of this area has responded to its tectonic and geodynamic influences is not fully understood. In particular, the relative importance of convergent, extensional and dynamic process is not known. Here we focus on the islands of Corsica, France, and Sardinia, Italy, which have played an important role in Alpine-Apennine system. They experienced a similar kinematic history during the Cenozoic, however their different positions on the Tethyan margin allow the relative effects of Alpine collision and rates of back-arc stretching to be compared. In particular, the two stages of back-arc extension (Liguro-Provençal basin to the west and Tyrrhenian Sea on the east) can provide information about how rollback-induced extension developed with time from the late Oligocene to the present. The two islands are historically tectonically quiescent, however they still preserve evidence of collision and subsequent extension from slab roll-back. In this study we have used a combination of geological and geomorphic techniques to provide new constraints into the vertical motions of Corsica and Sardinia. To quantify the spatial and temporal landscape evolution we have integrated stratigraphic, structural and thermochronological data and re-evaluated these alongside present-day geomorphic and geophysical observations. In addition, we have used digital elevation models to acquire 2030 fluvial longitudinal profiles for both islands. Knickpoints identified on these longitudinal profiles have been compared to geological maps to test the influence of rock strength on erosion. Our analysis reveals the presence of non-lithologically controlled knickpoints which we interpret to have been created by Miocene to Recent changes in uplift rate of the landscape. The longitudinal profiles were subsequently used in drainage inversion modelling, whose

  12. Fracture patterns of the drainage basin of Wadi Dahab in relation to tectonic-landscape evolution of the Gulf of Aqaba - Dead Sea transform fault

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shalaby, Ahmed

    2017-10-01

    Crustal rifting of the Arabian-Nubian Shield and formation of the Afro-Arabian rifts since the Miocene resulted in uplifting and subsequent terrain evolution of Sinai landscapes; including drainage systems and fault scarps. Geomorphic evolution of these landscapes in relation to tectonic evolution of the Afro-Arabian rifts is the prime target of this study. The fracture patterns and landscape evolution of the Wadi Dahab drainage basin (WDDB), in which its landscape is modeled by the tectonic evolution of the Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea transform fault, are investigated as a case study of landscape modifications of tectonically-controlled drainage systems. The early developed drainage system of the WDDB was achieved when the Sinai terrain subaerially emerged in post Eocene and initiation of the Afro-Arabian rifts in the Oligo-Miocene. Conjugate shear fractures, parallel to trends of the Afro-Arabian rifts, are synthesized with tensional fracture arrays to adapt some of inland basins, which represent the early destination of the Sinai drainage systems as paleolakes trapping alluvial sediments. Once the Gulf of Aqaba rift basin attains its deeps through sinistral movements on the Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea transform fault in the Pleistocene and the consequent rise of the Southern Sinai mountainous peaks, relief potential energy is significantly maintained through time so that it forced the Pleistocene runoffs to flow via drainage systems externally into the Gulf of Aqaba. Hence the older alluvial sediments are (1) carved within the paleolakes by a new generation of drainage systems; followed up through an erosional surface by sandy- to silty-based younger alluvium; and (2) brought on footslopes of fault scarps reviving the early developed scarps and inselbergs. These features argue for crustal uplifting of Sinai landscapes syn-rifting of the Gulf of Aqaba rift basin. Oblique orientation of the Red Sea-Gulf of Suez rift relative to the WNW-trending Precambrian Najd faults; and

  13. Pre-Alpine evolution of the Seckau Complex (Austroalpine basement/Eastern Alps): Constraints from in-situ LA-ICP-MS Usbnd Pb zircon geochronology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandl, Magdalena; Kurz, Walter; Hauzenberger, Christoph; Fritz, Harald; Klötzli, Urs; Schuster, Ralf

    2018-01-01

    The Variscan European Belt is a complex orogen with its southern margin partly obscured by Alpine tectonics and metamorphism. We present a study of one of the units, the Seckau Complex, that constitute the southern part of the Variscan European Belt in the Eastern Alps in order to clarify its origin, age and lithostratigraphy. The magmatic and geochronological evolution of this Complex in the northwestern part of the Seckau Nappe (as part of the Austroalpine Silvretta-Seckau Nappe System) was investigated by zircon Usbnd Pb dating of paragneisses and metagranitoids coupled with petrological and geochemical data. This reveals the distinction of three newly defined lithostratigraphic/lithodemic sub-units: (1) Glaneck Metamorphic Suite, (2) Hochreichart Plutonic Suite and (3) Hintertal Plutonic Suite. The Glaneck Metamorphic Suite is mainly composed of fine-grained paragneisses that yield Usbnd Pb zircon ages in the range between 2.7 Ga and 2.0 Ga, as well as concordia ages from 572 ± 7 Ma to 559 ± 11 Ma. All of these ages are interpreted as detrital zircon ages originating from an igneous source. The paragneisses are the host rock for the large volumes of metagranitoids of the Hochreichart Plutonic Suite and the Hintertal Plutonic Suite. The Hochreichart Plutonic Suite comprises highly fractionated melts with mainly S-type characteristics and late Cambrian to Early Ordovician Usbnd Pb zircon ages (508 ± 9 Ma to 486 ± 9 Ma), interpreted as magmatic protolith ages. The Hintertal Plutonic Suite is composed of metagranitoids with Late Devonian to early Carboniferous (365 ± 11 Ma and 331 ± 10 Ma) protolith ages, that intruded during an early phase of the Variscan tectonometamorphic event. The metagranitoids of the Hintertal Plutonic Suites define a magmatic fractionation trend, seen in variable Rb/Sr ratios. On this base they can be further subdivided into (a) the Griessstein Pluton characterized by S-type metagranitoids and (b) the Pletzen Pluton distinguished by

  14. Early Cretaceous I-type granites in the Tengchong terrane: New constraints on the late Mesozoic tectonic evolution of southwestern China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Fang

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The Early Cretaceous granitoids that are widespread in the Tengchong terrane of Southwest China play a critical role in understanding the tectonic framework associated with the Tethyan oceans. In this study, we present a detailed description of zircon U–Pb ages, whole-rock geochemistry and Hf isotopes for the Laoxiangkeng pluton in the eastern Tengchong terrane and elucidate their petrogenesis and geodynamic implications. Zircon U–Pb dating of the Laoxiangkeng pluton yields ages of 114 ± 1 Ma and 115 ± 1 Ma, which imply an Early Cretaceous magmatic event. The Laoxiangkeng pluton enriched in Si and Na, is calc-alkaline and metaluminous, and has the characteristics of highly fractionated I-type granites. Zircons from the pluton have calculated εHf(t values of −12.7 to −3.7 and two-stage model ages of 1327–1974 Ma, respectively, indicating a mixed source of partial melting of Paleo-Neoproterozoic crust-derived compositions with some inputs of mantle-derived magmas. By integrating all available data for the regional tectonic evolution of the eastern Tethys tectonic domain, we conclude that the Early Cretaceous magmatism in the Tengchong terrane was produced by the northeastward subduction of the Meso-Tethyan Bangong–Nujiang Ocean.

  15. Tectonic predictions with mantle convection models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coltice, Nicolas; Shephard, Grace E.

    2018-04-01

    Over the past 15 yr, numerical models of convection in Earth's mantle have made a leap forward: they can now produce self-consistent plate-like behaviour at the surface together with deep mantle circulation. These digital tools provide a new window into the intimate connections between plate tectonics and mantle dynamics, and can therefore be used for tectonic predictions, in principle. This contribution explores this assumption. First, initial conditions at 30, 20, 10 and 0 Ma are generated by driving a convective flow with imposed plate velocities at the surface. We then compute instantaneous mantle flows in response to the guessed temperature fields without imposing any boundary conditions. Plate boundaries self-consistently emerge at correct locations with respect to reconstructions, except for small plates close to subduction zones. As already observed for other types of instantaneous flow calculations, the structure of the top boundary layer and upper-mantle slab is the dominant character that leads to accurate predictions of surface velocities. Perturbations of the rheological parameters have little impact on the resulting surface velocities. We then compute fully dynamic model evolution from 30 and 10 to 0 Ma, without imposing plate boundaries or plate velocities. Contrary to instantaneous calculations, errors in kinematic predictions are substantial, although the plate layout and kinematics in several areas remain consistent with the expectations for the Earth. For these calculations, varying the rheological parameters makes a difference for plate boundary evolution. Also, identified errors in initial conditions contribute to first-order kinematic errors. This experiment shows that the tectonic predictions of dynamic models over 10 My are highly sensitive to uncertainties of rheological parameters and initial temperature field in comparison to instantaneous flow calculations. Indeed, the initial conditions and the rheological parameters can be good enough

  16. Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Adaptive Evolution of Notopterygium incisum and Notopterygium franchetii, Two High-Alpine Herbal Species Endemic to China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun Jia

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The extreme conditions (e.g., cold, low oxygen, and strong ultraviolet radiation of the high mountains provide an ideal natural laboratory for studies on speciation and the adaptive evolution of organisms. Up to now, few genome/transcriptome-based studies have been carried out on how plants adapt to conditions at extremely high altitudes. Notopterygium incisum and Notopterygium franchetii (Notopterygium, Apiaceae are two endangered high-alpine herbal plants endemic to China. To explore the molecular genetic mechanisms of adaptation to high altitudes, we performed high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq to characterize the transcriptomes of the two species. In total, more than 130 million sequence reads, 81,446 and 63,153 unigenes with total lengths of 86,924,837 and 62,615,693 bp, were generated for the two herbal species, respectively. OrthoMCL analysis identified 6375 single-copy orthologous genes between N. incisum and N. franchetii. In total, 381 positively-selected candidate genes were identified for both plants by using estimations of the non-synonymous to synonymous substitution rate. At least 18 of these genes potentially participate in RNA splicing, DNA repair, glutathione metabolism and the plant–pathogen interaction pathway, which were further enriched in various functional gene categories possibly responsible for environment adaptation in high mountains. Meanwhile, we detected various transcription factors that regulated the material and energy metabolism in N. incisum and N. franchetii, which probably play vital roles in the tolerance to stress in surroundings. In addition, 60 primer pairs based on orthologous microsatellite-containing sequences between the both Notopterygium species were determined. Finally, 17 polymorphic microsatellite markers (SSR were successfully characterized for the two endangered species. Based on these candidate orthologous and SSR markers, we detected that the adaptive evolution and species divergence

  17. Palaeomagnetic Constrains on the Timing and the Geographical Distribution of Tectonic Rotations in the Betic Chain, Southern Spain. A Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osete, M. L.; Villalain, J. J.; Pavon-Carrasco, F. J.; Palencia, A.

    2009-05-01

    The Betic Cordillera is the northern branch of the Betic-Rifean orogen, the westernmost segment of the Mediterranean Alpine orogenic system. Several palaeomagnetic studies have enhanced the important role that block rotations about vertical axes have played in the tectonic evolution of the region. In this work we present a review of published palaeomagnetic data. According with the rotational deformation, the Betics are divided into the central-western area and the eastern Betics. A sequence of rotations for the two regions is also proposed. In central and western Subbetics almost constant clockwise rotations of about 60 are documented in Jurassic limestones. The existence of a pervasive remagnetization of Jurassic limestones, which was coeval with the folding of the studied units and dated as post-Palaeogene, constrains the timing of tectonic rotations in western Subbetics. New palaeomagnetic data from Neogene sedimentary sequences in central Betics indicate that palaeomagnetic clockwise rotations continued after late Miocene. A similar pattern of 40 CW rotations occurred after 20-17 Ma was obtained from the study of the Ronda-Malaga peridotites (western Internal Betics). In eastern Subbetics a more heterogeneous pattern, including very high CW rotations has been observed. But recent rotational deformation in the Internal part of eastern Betics is CCW and related to the left-lateral strike-slip fault systems. Proposed kinematics models for the Betics are discussed under the light of the present available palaeomagnetic information.

  18. Strain partitioning in the footwall of the Somiedo Nappe: structural evolution of the Narcea Tectonic Window, NW Spain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutiérrez-Alonso, Gabriel

    1996-10-01

    The Somiedo Nappe is a major thrust unit in the Cantabrian Zone, the external foreland fold and thrust belt of the North Iberian Variscan orogen. Exposed at the Narcea Tectonic Window are Precambrian rocks below the basal decollement of the Somiedo Nappe, which exhibit a different deformation style than the overlying Paleozoic rocks above the basal decollement. During Variscan deformation, folding and widespread subhorizontal, bedding-parallel decollements were produced in the hanging wall within the Paleozoic rocks. Vertical folding, with related axial-planar cleavage at a high angle to the decollement planes, developed simultaneously in the upper Proterozoic Narcea Slates of the footwall, below the detachment. The relative magnitude of finite strain, measured in the footwall rocks, diminishes towards the foreland. These observations indicate that (1) significant deformation may occur in the footwall of foreland fold and thrust belts, (2) the shortening mechanism in the footwall may be different from that of the hanging wall, and (3) in this particular case, the partitioning of the deformation implies the existence of a deeper, blind decollement surface contemporaneous with the first stages of the foreland development, that does not crop out in the region. This implies a significant shortening in the footwall, which must be taken into account when restoration and balancing of cross-sections is attempted. A sequential diagram of the evolution of the Narcea Tectonic Window with a minimum shortening of 85 km is proposed, explaining the complete Variscan evolution of the foreland to hinterland transition in the North Iberian Variscan orogen.

  19. Explaining plant-soil diversity in Alpine ecosystems: more than just time since ecosystem succession started

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lane, Stuart; Baetz, Nico; Borgeaud, Laure; Verrecchia, Eric; Vittoz, Pascal

    2014-05-01

    Ecosystem succession in Alpine environments has been a focus of research for many decades. Following from the classic ideas of Jenny (1941, 1961), following perturbation, an ecosystem (flora, fauna and soil) should evolve as a function of time at a rate conditioned by external variables (relief, climate, geology). More recently, biogeomorphologists have focused upon the notion of co-evolution of geomorphic processes with ecosystems over very short through to very long (evolutionary) time-scales. Alpine environments have been a particular focus of models of co-evolution, as a means of understanding the rate of plant colonization of previously glaciated terrain. However, work in this field has tended to adopt an over simplified view of the relationship between perturbation and succession, including: how the landform and ecosystem itself conditions the impact of a perturbation to create a complex spatial impact; and how perturbations are not simply ecosystem destroyers but can be a significant source of ecosystem resources. What this means is that at the within landform scale, there may well be a complex and dynamic topographic and sedimentological template that co-evolves with the development of soil, flora and fauna. In this paper, we present and test conceptual models for such co-evolution for an Alpine alluvial fan and an Alpine piedmont braided river. We combine detailed floristic inventory with soil inventory, survey of edaphic variables above and below ground (e.g. vertical and lateral sedimentological structure, using electrical resistance tomography) and the analysis of historical aerial imagery. The floristic inventory shows the existence of a suite of distinct plant communities within each landform. Time since last perturbation is not a useful explanatory variable of the spatial distribution of these communities because: (1) perturbation impacts are spatially variable, as conditioned by the extent distribution of topographic, edaphic and ecological

  20. Tectonic forward modelling of positive inversion structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandes, C. [Leibniz Univ. Hannover (Germany). Inst. fuer Geologie; Schmidt, C. [Landesamt fuer Bergbau, Energie und Geologie (LBEG), Hannover (Germany)

    2013-08-01

    Positive tectonic inversion structures are common features that were recognized in many deformed sedimentary basins (Lowell, 1995). They are characterized by a two phase fault evolution, where initial normal faulting was followed by reverse faulting along the same fault, accompanied by the development of hanging wall deformation. Analysing the evolution of such inversion structures is important for understanding the tectonics of sedimentary basins and the formation of hydrocarbon traps. We used a 2D tectonic forward modelling approach to simulate the stepwise structural evolution of inversion structures in cross-section. The modelling was performed with the software FaultFold Forward v. 6, which is based on trishear kinematics (Zehnder and Allmendinger, 2000). Key aspect of the study was to derive the controlling factors for the geometry of inversion structures. The simulation results show, that the trishear approach is able to reproduce the geometry of tectonic inversion structures in a realistic way. This implies that inversion structures are simply fault-related folds that initiated as extensional fault-propagation folds, which were subsequently transformed into compressional fault-propagation folds when the stress field changed. The hanging wall deformation is a consequence of the decrease in slip towards the tip line of the fault. Trishear angle and propagation-to-slip ratio are the key controlling factors for the geometry of the fault-related deformation. We tested trishear angles in the range of 30 - 60 and propagation-to-slip ratios between 1 and 2 in increments of 0.1. Small trishear angles and low propagation-to-slip ratios produced tight folds, whereas large trishear angles and high propagation-to-slip ratios led to more open folds with concentric shapes. This has a direct effect on the size and geometry of potential hydrocarbon traps. The 2D simulations can be extended to a pseudo 3D approach, where a set of parallel cross-sections is used to describe

  1. A combined rigid/deformable plate tectonic model for the evolution of the Indian Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, J. G.; Glover, C. T.; Adriasola Munoz, A. C.; Harris, J. P.; Goodrich, M.

    2012-04-01

    Plate tectonic reconstructions are essential for placing geological information in its correct spatial context, understanding depositional environments, defining basin dimensions and evolution, and serve as a basis for palaeogeographic mapping and for palaeo-climate modelling. Traditional 'rigid' plate reconstructions often result in misfits (overlaps and underfits) in the geometries of juxtaposed plate margins when restored to their pre-rift positions. This has been attributed to internal deformation pre- and/or syn- continental break-up. Poorly defined continent-ocean boundaries add to these problems. To date, few studies have integrated continental extension within a global model. Recent plate tectonic reconstructions based on the relative motions of Africa, Madagascar, India and Antarctica during the break-up of eastern Gondwana have not taken into account the effects of deformation; particularly between India and Madagascar, and India and the Seychelles. A deformable plate model is in development that builds on the current rigid plate model to describe the complex multiphase break-up history between Africa, Madagascar, Seychelles and India, the associated magmatic activity and subsequent India/Eurasia collision. The break-up of eastern Gondwana occurred in the mid Jurassic by rifting between Africa and the India-Madagascar-Australian-Antarctica plates, followed by the Late Jurassic drift of India away from Australia and the Cretaceous break-up of Australia and Antarctica. The northwards drift of the Seychelles-India block in the Tertiary was accommodated by the opening of the Laxmi Basin. This was followed by the eruption of the extensive Deccan flood basalts and the separation of India and the Seychelles. Crustal domains on volcanic margins can be very difficult to define due to the accretion of magmatic material. On these margins, there is much speculation on the position of the continent-ocean boundary and the timing of rifting and sea-floor spreading. The

  2. The role of the memory inherited by the system from the Cretaceous-Tertiary evolution of convergent margins into the build-up of the Source area (Apuseni Mountains, Romania).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiser, Martin; Fügenschuh, Bernhard; Schuster, Ralf

    2010-05-01

    The Apuseni mountains in Romania take a central position in the Alpine Carpathian Dinaride system and separate the Pannonian basin in the west from the Transsylvanian basin in the east. The Cretaceous age nappe stack involves from bottom to top Tisza- (Bihor and Codru) and Dacia-derived units (Biharia, according to Schmid et al., 2008) overlain by the South Apuseni and Transylvanian ophiolite belt. This study tries to provide new and additional information on the structural and metamorphic evolution of these units from the Jurassic obduction to neotectonic activity. This also comprises information on their interaction with the neighbouring basins. The objective is to show the impact of large scale (plate) tectonics (f.i. in terms of its thermal configuration and strengths profile) and the impact of early-formed tectonic features for the further evolution, specifically the formation of the surrounding basins together with its feedback with topography. This approach includes investigation of kinematics along first order contacts during distinct events together with the thermotectonic characterization of the involved units. While the early "high-grade" evolution will be geochronologically addressed by Sm/Nd, Rb/Sr and Ar/Ar dating, fission track analysis on zircon and apatite will be used to constrain the low-temperature part of the story. Already available data by Sanders (1998), Schuller (2004), Merten (in preparation) and Kounov (in preparation) together with new own data will be used to provide a 4D model for the late-stage thermal evolution of the Apuseni mountains. Thermal modelling will be compared and integrated with numerical modelling of the landscape evolution. The hereby generated data and information on erosion and exhumation will be further used in associated partner projects of the Source to Sink research network which addresses the evolution of the Danube system from the hinterland to the Black Sea. References: Sanders, C. A. E. (1998), Tectonics and

  3. Consequences of Chixculub Impact for the Tectonic and Geodynamic Evolution of the Gulf of Mexico North Carribean Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangin, C.; Crespy, A.; Martinez-Reyes, J.

    2013-05-01

    The debate for Pacific exotic origin versus in situ inter American plate Atlantic origin of the Caribbean plate is active in the scientific community since decades. Independently of the origin of this plate, its fast motion towards the east at a present rate of 2cm/yr is accepted to have been initiated during the early-most Cenozoic. The Paleocene is a key period in the global evolution of Central America mainly marked also by the Chicxulub multiring meteor impact in Yucatan. We question here the genetic relationship between this impact event and the incipient tectonic escape of the Caribbean plate. The mostly recent published models suggest this impact has affected the whole crust down to the Moho, the upper mantle being rapidly and considerably uplifted. The crust was then fragmented 600km at least from the point of impact, and large circular depressions were rapidly filled by clastic sediments from Cantarell to Western Cuba via Chiapas and Belize. North of the impact, the whole Gulf of Mexico was affected by mass gravity sliding, initiated also during the Paleocene in Texas, remaining active in this basin up to present time. South of the impact, in the Caribbean plate, the Yucatan basin was rapidly opened, indicating a fast escape of the crustal material towards the unique free boundary, the paleo-Antilles subduction zone. Shear waves velocity data below the Caribbean plate suggest this crustal tectonic escape was enhanced by the fast eastward flowing mantle supporting a fragmented and stretched crust. The proposed model suggests Chicxulub impact (but also the hypothetic Beata impact) have fragmented brittle crust, then easily drifted towards the east. This could explain the Paleogene evolution of the Caribbean plate largely stretched during its early evolution. Geologically, this evolution could explain the absence of evident Paleogene oblique subduction along the Caribbean plate northern and southern margins, marked only by Mid Cretaceous dragged volcanic

  4. DELP Symposium: Tectonics of eastern Asia and western Pacific Continental Margin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eastern Asia and the western Pacific make up a broad region of active plate tectonic interaction. The area is a natural laboratory for studying the processes involved in the origin and evolution of volcanic island arcs, marginal basins, accretionary prisims, oceanic trenches, accreted terranes, ophiolite emplacement, and intracontinental deformation. Many of our working concepts of plate tectonics and intraplate deformation were developed in this region, even though details of the geology and geophysics there must be considered of a reconnaissance nature.During the past few years researchers have accumulated a vast amount of new and detailed information and have developed a better understanding of the processes that have shaped the tectonic elements in this region. To bring together scientists from many disciplines and to present the wide range of new data and ideas that offer a broader perspective on the interrelations of geological, geochemical, geophysical and geodetic studies, the symposium Tectonics of Eastern Asia and Western Pacific Continental Margin was held December 13-16, 1988, at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan, under the auspicies of DELP (Dynamics and Evolution of the Lithosphere Project).

  5. ALPINE MAGMATIC-METALLOGENIC FORMATIONS OF THE NORTHWESTERN AND CENTRAL DINARIDES

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    Jakob Pamić

    1997-12-01

    Full Text Available In the paper are presented basic geological, petrologieca1, geochemi-cal and mineral deposit data for five main magmatic-metallogenic formations of the northwestern and central Dinarides: (lThe Permo Triassic rifting related andesite-diorite formations; (2 The Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous accretionary (ophiolite formations; (3 The Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene subduction related basalt-rhyohite formations; (4 The Paleogene collisional granite formations, and (5 The Oligo-cene-Neogene postsubduction andesite formations. All these magmatic-metallogenic formations originated in different geotectonic settings during the Alpine evolution of the Dinaridic parts of thc Tethys and the postorogenic evolution of the Paratethys and the Pannonian Basin, respectively.

  6. Interaction of tectonic and depositional processes that control the evolution of the Iberian Gulf of Cadiz margin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maldonado, A.; Nelson, C.H.

    1999-01-01

    This study provides an integrated view of the growth patterns and factors that controlled the evolution of the Gulf of Cadiz continental margin based on studies of the tectonic, sedimentologic and oceanographic history of the area. Seven sedimentary regimes are identified, but there are more extensive descriptions of the late Cenozoic regimes because of the larger data base. The regimes of the Mesozoic passive margin include carbonate platforms, which become mixed calcareous-terrigenous deposits during the Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary. The Oligocene and Early Miocene terrigenous regimes developed, in contrast, over the active and transcurrent margins near the African-Iberian plate boundary. The top of the Gulf of Cadiz olistostrome, emplaced in the Late Miocene, is used as a key horizon to define the 'post-orogenic' depositional regimes. The Late Miocene progradational margin regime is characterized by a large terrigenous sediment supply to the margin and coincides with the closing of the Miocene Atlantic-Mediterranean gateways. The terrigenous drift depositional regime of the Early Pliocene resulted from the occurrence of high eustatic sea level and the characteristics of the Mediterranean outflow currents that developed after the opening of the Strait of Gibraltar. The Late Pliocene and Quaternary regimes are dominated by sequences of deposits related to cycles of high and low sea levels. Deposition of shelf-margin deltas and slope wedges correlate with regressive and low sea level regimes caused by eustasy and subsidence. During the highstand regimes of the Holocene, inner shelf prograding deltas and deep-water sediment drifts were developed under the influence of the Atlantic inflow and Mediterranean outflow currents, respectively. A modern human cultural regime began 2000 years ago with the Roman occupation of Iberia; human cultural effects on sedimentary regimes may have equalled natural factors such as climate change. Interplay of tectonic and

  7. Evolution of Golpazari-Huyuk karst system (Bilecik-Turkey: indications of morpho-tectonic controls

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    Ekmekci Mehmet

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available The Golpazari-Huyuk karst system is located in the Central Sakarya Basin whose geomorphologic evolution is mainly controlled by the Post-Miocene epirogenic continental rise. Drastic change in the drainage pattern and dissection of the carbonate platform were the major consequences of this tectonic movement. Rapid incision of the Sakarya river changed the position of the erosion base which consequently distorted the direction of surface and subsurface flow. The Golpazari and Huyuk plains are two topographically distinct, flat bottomed geomorphic features separated by a carbonate rock relief. The difference in elevation between these 10 km distant plains is 350 m. Morphological, geological and hydrological behavior of the plains suggests that the both have functioned as closed basins connected to each other through subsurface flow paths. Drainage has changed from subsurface to surface after the emplacement of the Sakarya river into its modern course. In this study, the authors suggest a conceptual model to reconstruct the hydrological-geomorphological processes that have been effective in the evolution of this karst area. The methodology is based on the records preserved in the morphological and sedimentological archives as well as the hydrogeological setting in the study area. According to the suggested model, the present landscape which exhibits a late stage of karstification has evolved in three main phases, after an initial stage attributed to Lower Miocene. The first phase represents karstification of carbonate rocks of Jurassic age at the Huyuk area and the limestone of Paleocene age at the Golpazari area. This region must have been significantly elevated from the karstification (erosion base. The geomorphologic and drainage setting reveal that the karstification was controlled mainly by major drainage elements in Late Miocene-Early Pliocene.The second phase is characterized by the uplift of the region and the subsequent rapid incision of

  8. Tectonics vs. Climate efficiency in triggering detrital input in sedimentary basins: the Po Plain-Venetian-Adriatic Foreland Basin (Northern Italy)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amadori, Chiara; Di Giulio, Andrea; Toscani, Giovanni; Lombardi, Stefano; Milanesi, Riccardo; Panara, Yuri; Fantoni, Roberto

    2017-04-01

    The relative efficiency of tectonics respect to climate in triggering erosion of mountain belts is a classical but still open debate in geosciences. The fact that data both from tectonically active and inactive mountain regions in different latitudes, record a worldwide increase of sediment input to sedimentary basins during the last million years concomitantly with the cooling of global climate and its evolution toward the modern high amplitude oscillating conditions pushed some authors to conclude that Pliocene-Pleistocene climate has been more efficient than tectonics in triggering mountain erosion. Po Plain-Venetian-Adriatic Foreland System, made by the relatively independent Po Plain-Northern Adriatic Basin and Venetian-Friulian Basin, provides an ideal case of study to test this hypothesis and possibly quantify the difference between the efficiency of the two. In fact it is a relatively closed basin (i.e. without significant sediment escape) with a fairly continuous sedimentation (i.e. with a quite continuous sedimentary record) completely surrounded by collisional belts (Alps, Northern Apennines and Dinarides) that experienced only very weak tectonic activity since Calabrian time, i.e. when climate cooling and cyclicity increased the most. We present a quantitative reconstruction of the sediment flow delivered from the surrounding mountain belts to the different part of the basin during Pliocene-Pleistocene time. This flow was obtained through the 3D reconstruction of the Venetian-Friulian and Po Plain Northern Adriatic Basins architecture, performed by means of the seismic-based interpretation and time-to-depth conversion of six chronologically constrained surfaces (seismic and well log data from courtesy of ENI); moreover, a 3D decompaction of the sediment volume bounded by each couple of surfaces has been included in the workflow, in order to avoid compaction-related bias. The obtained results show in both Basins a rapid four-folds increase of the

  9. Geomorphic controls on Pleistocene knickpoint migration in Alpine valleys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leith, Kerry; Fox, Matt; Moore, Jeffrey R.; Brosda, Julian; Krautblatter, Michael; Loew, Simon

    2014-05-01

    Recent insights into sub-glacial bedrock stress conditions suggest that the erosional efficiency of glaciers may reduce markedly following a major erosional cycle [Leith et al., 2013]. This implies that the formation of large glacial valleys within the Alps is likely to have occurred shortly after the onset of 100 ky glacial-interglacial cycles (at the mid-Pleistocene Revolution (MPR)). The majority of landscape change since this time may have therefore been driven by sub-aerial processes. This hypothesis is supported by observations of hillslope and channel morphology within Canton Valais (Switzerland), where major tributary valleys display a common morphology along their length, hinting at a shared geomorphic history. Glaciers currently occupy the headwaters of many catchments, while the upper reaches of rivers flow across extensive alluvial planes before abruptly transitioning to steep channels consisting of mixed bedrock and talus fan deposits. The rivers then converge to flow out over the alluvial plane of the Rhone Valley. Characteristically rough topographies within the region are suggested to mark the progressive transition from a glacial to fluvially-dominated landscape, and correlate well with steepened river channel sections determined from a 2.5 m resolution LiDAR DEM. We envisage a landscape in which ongoing tectonic uplift drives the emergence of Alpine bedrock through massive sedimentary valley infills (currently concentrated in the Rhone Valley), whose elevation is fixed by the consistent fluvial baselevel at Lake Geneva. As fluvial incision ceases at the onset of glaciation, continued uplift causes the formation of knickpoints at the former transition from bedrock to sedimentary infill. These knickpoints will then propagate upstream during subsequent interglacial periods. By investigating channel morphologies using an approach based on the steady-state form of the stream power equation, we can correlate steepened channel reaches (degraded

  10. Plate tectonics, habitability and life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spohn, Tilman; Breuer, Doris

    2016-04-01

    The role of plate tectonics in defining habitability of terrestrial planets is being increasingly discussed (e.g., Elkins-Tanton, 2015). Plate tectonics is a significantly evolved concept with a large variety of aspects. In the present context, cycling of material between near surface and mantle reservoirs is most important. But increased heat transport through mixing of cold lithosphere with the deep interior and formation of continental crust may also matter. An alternative mechanism of material cycling between these reservoirs is hot-spot volcanism combined with crust delamination. Hot-spot volcanism will transport volatiles to the atmosphere while delamination will mix crust, possibly altered by sedimentation and chemical reactions, with the mantle. The mechanism works as long as the stagnant lithosphere plate has not grown thicker than the crust and as long as volcanic material is added onto the crust. Thermal evolution studies suggest that the mechanism could work for the first 1-2 Ga of planetary evolution. The efficiency of the mechanism is limited by the ratio of extrusive to intrusive volcanism, which is thought to be less than 0.25. Plate tectonics would certainly have an advantage by working even for more evolved planets. A simple, most-used concept of habitability requires the thermodynamic stability of liquid water on the surface of a planet. Cycling of CO2between the atmosphere, oceans and interior through subduction and surface volcanism is an important element of the carbonate-silicate cycle, a thermostat feedback cycle that will keep the atmosphere from entering into a runaway greenhouse. Calculations for a model Earth lacking plate tectonics but degassing CO2, N, and H2O to form a surface ocean and a secondary atmosphere (Tosi et al, 2016) suggest that liquid water can be maintained on the surface for 4.5Ga. The model planet would then qualify as habitable. It is conceivable that the CO2 buffering capability of its ocean together with silicate

  11. Active tectonics and drainage evolution in the Tunisian Atlas driven by interaction between crustal shortening and slab pull

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camafort, Miquel; Booth-Rea, Guillermo; Pérez-Peña, Jose Vicente; Melki, Fetheddine; Gracia, Eulalia; Azañón, Jose Miguel; Ranero, César R.

    2017-04-01

    Active tectonics in North Africa is fundamentally driven by NW-SE directed slow convergence between the Nubia and Eurasia plates, leading to a region of thrust and strike-slip faulting. In this paper we analyze the morphometric characteristics of the little-studied northern Tunisia sector. The study aimed at identifying previously unknown active tectonic structures, and to further understand the mechanisms that drive the drainage evolution in this region of slow convergence. The interpretation of morphometric data was supported with a field campaign of a selection of structures. The analysis indicates that recent fluvial captures have been the main factor rejuvenating drainage catchments. The Medjerda River, which is the main catchment in northern Tunisia, has increased its drainage area during the Quaternary by capturing adjacent axial valleys to the north and south of its drainage divide. These captures are probably driven by gradual uplift of adjacent axial valleys by reverse/oblique faults or associated folds like El Alia-Teboursouk and Dkhila faults. Our fieldwork found that these faults cut Holocene colluvial fans containing seismites like clastic dikes and sand volcanoes, indicating recent seismogenic faulting. The growth and stabilization of the axial Medjerda River against the natural tendency of transverse drainages might be caused by a combination of dynamic topography and transpressive tectonics. The orientation of the large axial Medjerda drainage that runs from eastern Algeria towards northeastern Tunisia into the Gulf of Tunis, might be the associated to negative buoyancy caused by the underlying Nubia slab at its mouth, together with uplift of the Medjerda headwaters along the South Atlassic dextral transfer zone.

  12. Seismic Interpretation of the Nam Con Son Basin and its Implication for the Tectonic Evolution

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    Nguyen Quang Tuan

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available DOI:10.17014/ijog.3.2.127-137The Nam Con Son Basin covering an area of circa 110,000 km2 is characterized by complex tectonic settings of the basin which has not fully been understood. Multiple faults allowed favourable migration passageways for hydrocarbons to go in and out of traps. Despite a large amount of newly acquired seismic and well data there is no significant update on the tectonic evolution and history of the basin development. In this study, the vast amount of seismic and well data were integrated and reinterpreted to define the key structural events in the Nam Con Son Basin. The results show that the basin has undergone two extentional phases. The first N - S extensional phase terminated at around 30 M.a. forming E - W trending grabens which are complicated by multiple half grabens filled by Lower Oligocene sediments. These grabens were reactivated during the second NW - SE extension (Middle Miocene, that resulted from the progressive propagation of NE-SW listric fault from the middle part of the grabens to the margins, and the large scale building up of roll-over structure. Further to the SW, the faults of the second extentional phase turn to NNE-SSW and ultimately N - S in the SW edge of the basin. Most of the fault systems were inactive by Upper Miocene except for the N - S fault system which is still active until recent time.

  13. Constraints on the evolution of the Naga Hills: from disparate origins to tectonic amalgamation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aitchison, J. C.; Clarke, G. L.; Ireland, T. R.; Ao, A.; Bhowmik, S. K.; Kapesa, L.; Roeder, T.; Stojanovic, D.; Kachovich, S.

    2016-12-01

    structural architecture differ markedly from that seen in classic Himalayan transects. New detrital zircon U/Pb studies reveal a fascinating history that suggests derivation of some units from Sibumasu rather than the Lhasa or Qiangtang terranes. Detailed study of this area sheds important light on the tectonic evolution of the SE Asia region.

  14. Provenance and evolution of miocene turbidite sedimentation in the central Apennines, Italy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiocchini, Ugo; Cipriani, Nicola

    1992-05-01

    A study of the siliciclastic detritus within the calcareous Miocene turbidite sandstones of the central Apennines has elucidated the provenance of these sandstones. Three ratios: Q/(Q+F), K/F, and Mc/M, have been used and binary correlations of these parameters show that: (1) the sandstones of the Marnoso-Arenacea are characterized by a northern Alpine supply, mainly derived from metamorphic rocks and subordinately from granitic rocks; (2) a secondary supply of western provenance, interbedded within the Marnoso-Arenacea, shows a typical arkosic composition and suggests that granitic rocks of Alpine-type were associated with the Ligurides; (3) the Urbania and Serraspinosa sandstones consist of detritus derived from sources almost identical to those supplying the Marnoso-Arenacea; (4) all the sandstones of the remaining central Apennine basins are characterized by a siliciclastic supply similar to the arkosic one; the rare carbonate fragments can be referred to the Apennine units. The continuity of the Alpine are in the Tyrrhenian area strongly suggests a connection between the western crystalline units and turbidite sedimentation in the basins examined. The crystalline units are associated with a segment of the Alpine chain tectonically linked to the Liguride nappes (Apennine source areas) during the eastwards migration of the Apennines deformation. The crystalline units were gradually eroded during the Burdigalian to Early Pliocene interval when the Laga basin was completely filled. Currently the term "Alpine" is used as synonymous with northern provenance. However, a detailed study carried out over ten years, revealed a western Alpine supply associated with an Apennine source area; we therefore suggest that it is necessary to distinguish a northern Alpine provenance from a western Alpine supply.

  15. The potential for retreating alpine glaciers to alter alpine ecosystems in the Colorado Front Range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, E.; Baron, J.

    2013-12-01

    Glaciers are retreating at an unprecedented rate. In mid-latitude alpine ecosystems the presence of glaciers and rock glaciers govern rates and ecology of alpine and sub-alpine ecosystems. Changes in the thermal environment due to the loss of isothermal habitat and inputs from glacier melt chemistry are altering alpine ecosystems in unpredictable ways. In particular, glacier may be a source of nitrogen that is altering alpine ecosystem dynamics. Loch Vale Watershed (LVWS) located within Rocky Mountain National Park. LVWS contains a surface glacier (Andrew's glacier) and a rock glacier (Taylor's glacier) at the headwater of each of the two drainages within the watershed. We collected precipitation from a National Atmospheric Deposition Site and surface water from multiple alpine lakes and streams during a particularly high and low snow year in the Colorado Front Range. We also sampled stream and lake sediments at each site to analyze the associated microbial community. Concentrations of nitrate and ammonium, relative abundance of amoA (the gene responsible for a key step in the microbial nitrification pathway), and the dual isotope signal to nitrate all point to snow melt as a key deliverer of nitrogen to ecosystems along the Colorado Front Range. However, late summer surface water chemistry is isotopically similar to the chemistry of glacial ice. This suggests that retreating glacier may be an additional source of N to alpine ecosystems and have the potential to alter microbial community composition, biogeochemical rate processes, and ecosystem function. These dynamics are most likely not unique to the Colorado Front Range and should be globally distributed as glaciers continue to retreat in high altitude ecosystems around the world.

  16. Les Nouvelles Traversées Alpines : la “cité-Europe” à l’épreuve de l’acceptabilité alpine ? The New alpine crossings : The “city-Europe” faces up to the alpine acceptability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin Sutton

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available La pensée des traversées alpines est indissociable de celle des réseaux urbains alpins et, au-delà, européens. La nouvelle phase de percée des tunnels de base le réaffirme : les “Nouvelles Traversées Alpines” se retrouvent au coeur de l’enjeu de connexion des réseaux ferroviaires européens à grande vitesse. L’invention de la “cité-Europe” passe ainsi par la réinvention d’un pacte alpin autour du dessein de franchissement entre les villes de piedmonts et les communautés montagnardes traversées. Ces dernières ont, en effet, la capacité de bloquer un projet par leur refus. L’exemple du projet Lyon-Turin l’illustre, en contre-point de la réussite du tunnel de base du Lötschberg. La réussite suisse semble tenir à la capacité de conjuguer les inventions technique et sociale du tunnel, ne niant pas la dimension territoriale de cet objet réticulaire.It is impossible to think about the alpine crossings without thinking about the alpine and European urban nets. The construction of the basis tunnels recalls it: the “New Alpine Crossings” are the kernel of the connection issue between the European high-speed railways nets. The invention of a “city-Europe” needs a reinvented pact, between the cities of the plains and the alpine communities, based on the reaffirmation of a common crossing destiny. The alpine communities can thwart the project by refusing it, as the example of the Lyon-Turin project shows, in contrast to the successful Lötschberg basis tunnel. The Swiss success seems to come from the capacity to mix technical and social inventions, replacing the territorial dimension in the reticular fundament.

  17. The asymmetric evolution of the Colombian Eastern Cordillera. Tectonic inheritance or climatic forcing? New evidence from thermochronology and sedimentology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez-Arias, Juan Carlos; Mora, Andrés; Rubiano, Jorge; Duddy, Ian; Parra, Mauricio; Moreno, Nestor; Stockli, Daniel; Casallas, Wilson

    2012-11-01

    New thermochronological data, facies, paleocurrents and provenance allow us to refine the chronology of deformation in the central segment of the Colombian Eastern Cordillera. Based on a new extensive AFT dataset, we document the spatial evolution of active deformation, from the axial zone of the Eastern Cordillera at about 50 Ma in to active growth of the frontal thin skinned structures in Late Miocene time. Paleocurrents allow us to push backwards into the Middle to Early Late-Miocene the emergence of the easternmost frontal thrust; whereas careful assessment of exposure gates tied to AFT data enable to refine the unroofing history for Eocene to Miocene times. Based on that, we produced a kinematically restored cross section with higher resolution than previous assessments. Using these datasets, we compare the evolution of the central segment of the Eastern Cordillera in this region with the evolution of adjacent areas in the context of climatic forcing of orogenic evolution. We find that in this region and, in the Eastern Cordillera in general, tectonic inheritance and transpression exert an initial dominant control on the initial orogen asymmetry, which is later enhanced due to an orographically-focused erosion. We therefore suggest that it is not climate alone the factor controlling orogenic asymmetry in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia.

  18. Late Mesozoic basin and range tectonics and related magmatism in Southeast China

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    Dezi Wang

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available During the Late Mesozoic Middle Jurassic–Late Cretaceous, basin and range tectonics and associated magmatism representative of an extensional tectonic setting was widespread in southeastern China as a result of Pacific Plate subduction. Basin tectonics consists of post-orogenic (Type I and intra-continental extensional basins (Type II. Type I basins developed in the piedmont and intraland during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic, in which coarse-grained terrestrial clastic sediments were deposited. Type II basins formed during intra-continental crustal thinning and were characterized by the development of grabens and half-grabens. Graben basins were mainly generated during the Middle Jurassic and were associated with bimodal volcanism. Sediments in half-grabens are intercalated with rhyolitic tuffs and lavas and are Early Cretaceous in age with a dominance of Late Cretaceous–Paleogene red beds. Ranges are composed of granitoids and bimodal volcanic rocks, A-type granites and dome-type metamorphic core complexes. The authors analyzed lithological, geochemical and geochronological features of the Late Mesozoic igneous rock assemblages and proposed some geodynamical constraints on forming the basin and range tectonics of South China. A comparison of the similarities and differences of basin and range tectonics between the eastern and western shores of the Pacific is made, and the geodynamical evolution model of the Southeast China Block during Late Mesozoic is discussed. Studied results suggest that the basin and range terrane within South China developed on a pre-Mesozoic folded belt was derived from a polyphase tectonic evolution mainly constrained by subduction of the western Pacific Plate since the Late Mesozoic, leading to formation of various magmatism in a back-arc extensional setting. Its geodynamic mechanism can compare with that of basin and range tectonics in the eastern shore of the Pacific. Differences of basin and range

  19. Extensional tectonics on continents and the transport of heat and matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neugebauer, H. J.

    1985-01-01

    Intracontinental zones of extensional tectonic style are commonly of finite width and length. Associated sedimentary troughs are fault-controlled. The evolution of those structures is accompanied by volcanic activity of variable intensity. The characteristic surface structures are usually underlaid by a lower crust of the transitional type while deeper subcustal areas show delayed travel times of seismic waves especially at young tectonic provinces. A correspondence between deep-seated processes and zones of continental extension appears obvious. A sequential order of mechanisms and their importance are discussed in the light of modern data compilations and quantitative kinematic and dynamic approaches. The Cenozoic exensional tectonics related with the Rhine River are discussed.

  20. Tectonics, orbital forcing, global climate change, and human evolution in Africa: introduction to the African paleoclimate special volume.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maslin, Mark A; Christensen, Beth

    2007-11-01

    The late Cenozoic climate of Africa is a critical component for understanding human evolution. African climate is controlled by major tectonic changes, global climate transitions, and local variations in orbital forcing. We introduce the special African Paleoclimate Issue of the Journal of Human Evolution by providing a background for and synthesis of the latest work relating to the environmental context for human evolution. Records presented in this special issue suggest that the regional tectonics, appearance of C(4) plants in East Africa, and late Cenozoic global cooling combined to produce a long-term drying trend in East Africa. Of particular importance is the uplift associated with the East African Rift Valley formation, which altered wind flow patterns from a more zonal to more meridinal direction. Results in this volume suggest a marked difference in the climate history of southern and eastern Africa, though both are clearly influenced by the major global climate thresholds crossed in the last 3 million years. Papers in this volume present lake, speleothem, and marine paleoclimate records showing that the East African long-term drying trend is punctuated by episodes of short, alternating periods of extreme wetness and aridity. These periods of extreme climate variability are characterized by the precession-forced appearance and disappearance of large, deep lakes in the East African Rift Valley and paralleled by low and high wind-driven dust loads reaching the adjacent ocean basins. Dating of these records show that over the last 3 million years such periods only occur at the times of major global climatic transitions, such as the intensification of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (2.7-2.5 Ma), intensification of the Walker Circulation (1.9-1.7 Ma), and the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution (1-0.7 Ma). Authors in this volume suggest this onset occurs as high latitude forcing in both Hemispheres compresses the Intertropical Convergence Zone so that East Africa

  1. Alpine deformations in Donbass: Periodicity, character of stresses, and their probable sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kopp, M. L.; Korchemagin, V. A.; Kolesnichenko, A. A.

    2010-09-01

    The periodicity, dynamics, and kinematics of the insufficiently studied Cenozoic (Alpine) movements in the Donets Fold Edifice and its framework are considered. The synthesis of the available data on the Donets Basin (Donbass) and the adjacent territories of the Russian and Scythian plates shows that the Early Alpine, or Laramian epoch of deformation in the Paleocene and the Late Alpine, or recent epoch of deformation in the early Miocene-Quaternary were divided by a tectonic pause in the Eocene and Oligocene. Judging from macrostructural pattern and results of mesotectonic observations, both epochs were characterized by meridional compression and latitudinal extension but substantially differed in the scope of deformation and the style of structure. The former developed to the west of the Donbass and resulted in compression of diapirs in the Dnieper-Donets Aulacogen, whereas the latter created the recent Donets-Azov Swell and brought about right-lateral strike-slip faulting along the North Donets and Persianovsky faults bounding the Donbass. The recent movements and related deformation in the eastern area, including the substantial role of right-lateral strike-slip faulting, more intense deformation in comparison with Laramian movements, and the mobilization of the basement not only in the Dnieper-Donets Aulacogen but also far beyond its limits allow us to connect these phenomena with coeval orogeny in the Greater Caucasus. The nature of the moderate Laramian movements confined to the axial zone of the aulacogen is more questionable; however, it can be explained in terms of within-plate reactivation of western and part of eastern Europe as a response to plate collision in the Alps, Dinarides, and Pontides in combination with coeval onset of spreading in the North Atlantic and Arctic, which created counter-pressure from the north. The eventual result of both processes was inversion and compression of some European aulacogens, including the Dnieper-Donets Aulacogen.

  2. Tectonic evolution of a part of the Tethyside orogenic collage: The Kargi Massif, northern Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tüysüz, Okan

    1990-02-01

    The central part of the Rhodope-Pontide fragment, one of the major tectonic units in Turkey, provides critical data for evaluating the Cimmeride and Alpide evolution of the Mediterranean Tethysides. Tectonic events that affected the central part of the Rhodope-Pontide fragment since the end of the Paleozoic, generated east-west trending belts with the event of every episode redeforming and partly obliterating the structures of previous episodes. This evolution may be conveniently described in terms of three major episodes: (1) Two different realms of pre-Dogger oceanic rocks are present in the area. The northern realm coincided with main branch of Paleo-Tethys that was being actively destroyed by south dipping subduction. The southern realm, the Karakaya ocean, a back arc basin related to this subduction, began opening by rifting of a retroarc carbonate platform during the Permo-Triassic. To the west a continental domain with sparse magmatism seperated the two oceanic areas. Toward the east the two oceans become united by the wedging out of the continental domain. These two pre-Dogger oceans closed during the Lias, and their remnants were emplaced between the southern margin of Laurasia and the fragments of the Cimmerian continent. (2) The second episode partly overlapped the first with rifting south of the Cimmerian continent fragment during the Lias. This rifting was followed by a transgression which covered the ruins of the Cimmeride orogenic belt by the Malm. This rifting concurrently led to the development of the northern branch of the Neo-Tethys and a south facing Atlantic-type continental margin. A southerly thickening sedimentary prism developed on this margin during the Lias to early Cretaceous interval. (3) The floor of the northern branch of Neo-Tethys began to be consumed along the north dipping subduction zone beneath the previosly constructed continental margin. This convergent margin generated a magmatic arc to the north and to the south a subduction

  3. Assessment of relative active tectonics, south central Alborz (north Iran)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khavari, R.; Ghorashi, M.; Arian, M.

    2009-04-01

    The paper present a method for evaluating relative active tectonics based on geomorphic indices useful in evaluating morphology and topography. Indices used include: stream length-gradient index (SL), drainage basin asymmetry (Af), hypsometric integral (Hi), ratio of valley-floor width to valley height (Vf), index of drainage basin shape (Bs), and index of mountain front sinuosity (Smf). Results from the analysis are accumulated and expressed as an index of relative active tectonics (Iat), which we divide into four classes from relatively low to highest tectonic activity. The study area along the south flank of the central Alborz mountain range in north Iran is an ideal location to test the concept of an index to predict relative tectonic activity on a basis of area rather than a single valley or mountain front. The recent investigations show that neotectonism has played a key role in the geomorphic evolution of this part of the Alborz mountain range. Geomorphic indices indicate the presence of differential uplifting in the geological past. The area surrounding the Amirkabir lake shows very high relative tectonic activity.

  4. End Late Paleozoic tectonic stress field in the southern edge of Junggar Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Ju

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the end Late Paleozoic tectonic stress field in the southern edge of Junggar Basin by interpreting stress-response structures (dykes, folds, faults with slickenside and conjugate joints. The direction of the maximum principal stress axes is interpreted to be NW–SE (about 325°, and the accommodated motion among plates is assigned as the driving force of this tectonic stress field. The average value of the stress index R′ is about 2.09, which indicates a variation from strike-slip to compressive tectonic stress regime in the study area during the end Late Paleozoic period. The reconstruction of the tectonic field in the southern edge of Junggar Basin provides insights into the tectonic deformation processes around the southern Junggar Basin and contributes to the further understanding of basin evolution and tectonic settings during the culmination of the Paleozoic.

  5. WAVE TECTONICS OF THE EARTH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana Yu. Tveretinova

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available In the Earth's lithosphere, wavy alternation of positive and negative heterochronous structures is revealed; such structures are variable in ranks and separated by vergence zones of fractures and folds. In the vertical profile of the lithosphere, alternating are layers characterized by relatively plastic or fragile rheological properties and distinguished by different states of stress. During the Earth’s evolution, epochs of compression and extension are cyclically repeated, including planetary-scale phenomena which are manifested by fluctuating changes of the planet’s volume. Migration of geological and geophysical (geodynamic processes takes place at the Earth's surface and in its interior. The concept of the wave structure and evolution of the Earth's lithosphere provides explanations to the abovementioned regularities. Wavy nature of tectonic structures of the lithosphere, the cyclic recurrence of migration and geological processes in space and time can be described in terms of the multiple-order wave geodynamics of the Earth's lithosphere that refers to periodical variations of the state of stress. Effects of structure-forming tectonic forces are determined by «interference» of tangential and radial stresses of the Earth. The tangential stresses, which occur primarily due to the rotational regime of the planet, cause transformations of the Earth’s shape, redistributions of its substance in depths, the westward drift of the rock mass in its upper levels, and changes of structural deformation plans. The radial stresses, which are largely impacted by gravity, determine the gravitational differentiation of the substance, vertical flattening and sub-horizontal flow of the rock masses, and associated fold-rupture deformation. Under the uniform momentum geodynamic concept proposed by [Vikulin, Tveritinova, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008], it is possible to provide consistent descriptions of seismic and volcanic, tectonic and geological processes

  6. Tectonic and environmental factors controlling on the evolution of Oligo-Miocene shallow marine carbonate factories along a tropical SE Circum-Caribbean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva-Tamayo, J. C.; Lara, M. E.; Nana Yobo, L.; Erdal, Y. D.; Sanchez, J.; Zapata-Ramirez, P. A.

    2017-10-01

    The evolution of the Cenozoic Circum-Caribbean shallow marine carbonate factories and ecosystems has been for long attributed to major global climatic and environmental changes. Although temporal variations in the Cenozoic shallow marine carbonate factories in this region seem to follow global trends, the potential effects of regional processes, such tectonic activity and local environmental change, on the evolution of the shallow marine carbonate factories are not well established. Here we present detailed sedimentologic and stratigraphic information from Middle Oligocene - Middle Miocene (Chattian-Burdigalian) shallow marine carbonate successions of the Siamana Formation in the Cocinetas sub-basin, Alta Guajira Basin, Guajira Peninsula, northern Colombia. We document the potential effects of regional tectonics and local environmental deterioration on the evolution of the Oligocene-Miocene tropical shallow marine carbonate factories along the SE Circum-Caribbean. Our results show that mixed heterozoan-photozoan biotic associations dominated the shallow marine carbonate factories during the Chattian, while purely photozoan biotic associations constituted the primary carbonate factory during the Aquitanian-Burdigalian transition. The Chattian mixed heterozoan/photozoan biotic association is associated with the development of mixed carbonate/siliciclastic shelves along which detached patchy reef areas occur. The onset of the Aquitanian-Burdigalian purely photozoan biotic associations parallels the increase in coral diversity as well as the occurence of rimmed/detached carbonate platforms in the northern part of the basin. The development of the rimmed/detached platforms coincides with a time of increased basin subsidence and increased silicilcastic input along the southernmost part of the basin. A significant change in the carbonate factory occurs in the Late Burdigalian, when purely heterozoan (rodalgal) biotic associations constituted the main shallow marine

  7. Continental tectonics and continental kinetics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allegre, C.J.; Jaupart, C.; Paris-7 Univ., 75

    1985-01-01

    We present a model of continental growth which combines the results of geochemical studies and tectonic ideas about the evolution of continents through geological time. The process of continental growth is mainly controlled by surface phenomena. Continental material is extracted from the mantle along subduction zones at the periphery of oceans, and is destroyed in collision zones where it is remobilized and made available for subduction. We derive an equation for S, the portion of the Earth's surface occupied by continents, which reads as follows: dS/dt=a . √(1-S)-b . S. Coefficients a and b depend on the geometry of plates, on their number and on their velocities. We assume that they decrease exponentially with time with the same time-scale α. This model satisfies both geochemical and tectonic constraints, and allows the integration of several current observations in a single framework. (orig.)

  8. Aerogeophysical survey over Sør Rondane Mountains and its implications for revealing the tectonic evolution of East Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mieth, Matthias; Steinhage, Daniel; Ruppel, Antonia; Damaske, Detlef; Jokat, Wilfried

    2013-04-01

    We are presenting new magnetic and gravity data of a high-resolution aerogephysical survey over the area of the Sør Rondane Mountains in the eastern Dronning Maud Land (DML). The aircraft survey is part of the joint geological and geophysical GEA campaign (Geodynamic Evolution of East Antarctica) of the Federal Agency for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), in cooperation with the Universities of Ghent, Bremen and Bergen. It was completed during the Antarctic summer season 2012/13, covering an area of more than 100000 square kilometer with a line spacing of 5 km. The data will be correlated with geological structures exposed in the mountain range as well as matched and merged with the data sets of the eastern and southern DML (acquired by AWI during the last decade) for comparison and discussion in the greater context of the tectonic evolution of East Antarctica. Preliminary results show that the magnetic anomaly pattern over the Sør Rondane Mountains differs from the pattern found over the central DML mountains as well as from the low amplitude pattern in between both regions, indicating a significant difference in the evolution of this region, which is in accordance with latest geological findings in this region.

  9. Late Tharsis tectonic activity and implications for Early Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouley, S.; Baratoux, D.; Paulien, N.; Missenard, Y.; Saint-Bezar, B.

    2017-12-01

    Constraining the timing of Tharsis volcanism is critical to understanding the planet's evolution including its climate, surface environment and mantle dynamics. The tectonic history of the Tharsis bulge was previously documented from the distribution and ages of related tectonic features [1]. Here we revisit the ages of 7493 Tharsis-related tectonic features based on their relationship with stratigraphic units defined in the new geological map [2]. Conversely to previous tectonic mapping [1], which suggested that Tharsis growth was nearly achieved during the Noachian, we find a protracted growth of Tharsis during the Hesperian. Faulting at Tempe Terra, Claritas and Coracis Fossae and Thaumasia Planum confirms that tectonic deformation started during the Noachian. Accumulated tectonic deformation was maximum in the Early Hesperian for compressional strain (Solis, Lunae and Ascuris Planum) and extended over time from Noachian to Amazonian for extensional strain (Noctis Labyrinthus and Fossae, Sinai Planum and Tractus, Ulysses and Fortuna fossae, Alba Patera). This new scenario is consistent with a protracted growth of Tharsis dome during the Hesperian and with the timing a large Tharsis-driven true polar wander post-dating the incision of Late Noachian/Hesperian valley networks[3]. References:[1] Anderson et al. JGR-Planets 106, E9, 20,563-20,585 (2001).[2] Tanaka, K.L. et al. Geologic map of Mars (2014). [3] Bouley et al. Nature doi:10.1038 (2016)

  10. Working toward integrated models of alpine plant distribution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlson, Bradley Z; Randin, Christophe F; Boulangeat, Isabelle; Lavergne, Sébastien; Thuiller, Wilfried; Choler, Philippe

    2013-10-01

    Species distribution models (SDMs) have been frequently employed to forecast the response of alpine plants to global changes. Efforts to model alpine plant distribution have thus far been primarily based on a correlative approach, in which ecological processes are implicitly addressed through a statistical relationship between observed species occurrences and environmental predictors. Recent evidence, however, highlights the shortcomings of correlative SDMs, especially in alpine landscapes where plant species tend to be decoupled from atmospheric conditions in micro-topographic habitats and are particularly exposed to geomorphic disturbances. While alpine plants respond to the same limiting factors as plants found at lower elevations, alpine environments impose a particular set of scale-dependent and hierarchical drivers that shape the realized niche of species and that require explicit consideration in a modelling context. Several recent studies in the European Alps have successfully integrated both correlative and process-based elements into distribution models of alpine plants, but for the time being a single integrative modelling framework that includes all key drivers remains elusive. As a first step in working toward a comprehensive integrated model applicable to alpine plant communities, we propose a conceptual framework that structures the primary mechanisms affecting alpine plant distributions. We group processes into four categories, including multi-scalar abiotic drivers, gradient dependent species interactions, dispersal and spatial-temporal plant responses to disturbance. Finally, we propose a methodological framework aimed at developing an integrated model to better predict alpine plant distribution.

  11. Semenic Mountains’ alpine skiing area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petru BANIAȘ

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The present paper presents, after a short history of alpine skiing which describes apparition, necessity, utility and universality of skiing during time, a comparative study referring to the alpine skiing domain in the Semenic Mountains area. In the paper are also presented general notions about alpine skiing methodology together with an ample description of the plateau area form Semenic Mountains, describing localization and touristic potential. Based on the SWOT analysis made for each slope, was realized a complex analysis of the entire skiing domain, an analysis which includes technical, financial, climatic and environmental aspects, along with an analysis of the marketing policy applied for the specific zone.

  12. The Carboniferous to Jurassic evolution of the pre-Alpine basement of Crete: Constraints from U-Pb and U-(Th)-Pb dating of orthogneiss, fission-track dating of zircon, structural and petrological data

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Romano, S. S.; Brix, M. R.; Dörr, K.; Fiala, Jiří; Krenn, E.; Zulauf, G.

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 260, - (2006), s. 69-90 ISSN 0375-6440 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Keywords : tectonic-evolution * Carboniferous * Jurassic * uranium-lead-dating * orthogneiss * fission-track-dating * zircon * structural-geology * petrology * metamorphism * high-temperature Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy

  13. Brittle deformation during Alpine basal accretion and the origin of seismicity nests above the subduction interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menant, Armel; Angiboust, Samuel; Monié, Patrick; Oncken, Onno; Guigner, Jean-Michel

    2018-04-01

    Geophysical observations on active subduction zones have evidenced high seismicity clusters at 20-40 km depth in the fore-arc region whose origin remains controversial. We report here field observations of pervasive pseudotachylyte networks (interpreted as evidence for paleo-seismicity) in the now-exhumed Valpelline continental unit (Dent Blanche complex, NW. Alps, Italy), a tectonic sliver accreted to the upper plate at c. 30 km depth during the Paleocene Alpine subduction. Pre-alpine granulite-facies paragneiss from the core of the Valpelline unit are crosscut by widespread, mm to cm-thick pseudotachylyte veins. Co-seismic heating and subsequent cooling led to the formation of Ti-rich garnet rims, ilmenite needles, Ca-rich plagioclase, biotite microliths and hercynite micro-crystals. 39Ar-40Ar dating yields a 51-54 Ma age range for these veins, thus suggesting that frictional melting events occurred near peak burial conditions while the Valpelline unit was already inserted inside the duplex structure. In contrast, the base of the Valpelline unit underwent synchronous ductile and brittle, seismic deformation under water-bearing conditions followed by a re-equilibration at c. 40 Ma (39Ar-40Ar on retrograded pseudotachylyte veins) during exhumation-related deformation. Calculated rheological profiles suggest that pseudotachylyte veins from the dry core of the granulite unit record upper plate micro-seismicity (Mw 2-3) formed under very high differential stresses (>500 MPa) while the sheared base of the unit underwent repeated brittle-ductile deformation at much lower differential stresses (<40 MPa) in a fluid-saturated environment. These results demonstrate that some of the seismicity clusters nested along and above the plate interface may reflect the presence of stiff tectonic slivers rheologically analogous to the Valpelline unit acting as repeatedly breaking asperities in the basal accretion region of active subduction zones.

  14. LOWLID FORMATION AND PLATE TECTONICS ON EXOPLANETS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stamenkovic, V.; Noack, L.; Breuer, D.

    2009-12-01

    The last years of astronomical observation have opened the doors to a universe filled with extrasolar planets. Detection techniques still only offer the possibility to detect mainly Super-Earths above five Earth masses. But detection techniques do steadily improve and are offering the possibility to detect even smaller planets. The observations show that planets seem to exist in many possible sizes just as the planets and moons of our own solar system do. It is only a natural question to ask if planetary mass has an influence on some key habitability factors such as on plate tectonics, allowing us to test which exoplanets might be more likely habitable than others, and allowing us to understand if plate tectonics on Earth is a stable or a critical, instable process that could easily be perturbed. Here we present results derived from 1D parameterized thermal evolution and 2D/3D computer models, showing how planetary mass influences the propensity of plate tectonics for planets with masses ranging from 0.1 to 10 Earth masses. Lately [2, 3] studied the effect of planetary mass on the ability to break plates and hence initiate plate tectonics - but both derived results contradictory to the other. We think that one of the reasons why both studies [2, 3] are not acceptable in their current form is partly due to an oversimplification. Both treated viscosity only temperature-dependent but neglected the effect pressure has on enlarging the viscosity in the deep mantle. More massive planets have therefore a stronger pressure-viscosity-coupling making convection at high pressures sluggish or even impossible. For planets larger than two Earth masses we observe that a conductive lid (termed low-lid) forms above the core-mantle boundary and thus reduces the effective convective part of the mantle when including a pressure-dependent term into the viscosity laws as shown in [1]. Moreover [2, 3] use time independent steady state models neglecting the fact that plate tectonics is a

  15. Polyphase tectono-magmatic and fluid history related to mantle exhumation in an ultra-distal rift domain: example of the fossil Platta domain, SE Switzerland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epin, Marie-Eva; Manatschal, Gianreto; Amann, Méderic; Lescanne, Marc

    2017-04-01

    Despite the fact that many studies have investigated mantle exhumation at magma-poor rifted margins, there are still numerous questions concerning the 3D architecture, magmatic, fluid and thermal evolution of these ultra-distal domains that remain unexplained. Indeed, it has been observed in seismic data from ultra-distal magma-poor rifted margins that top basement is heavily structured and complex, however, the processes controlling the morpho-tectonic and magmatic evolution of these domains remain unknown. The aim of this study is to describe the 3D top basement morphology of an exhumed mantle domain, exposed over 200 km2 in the fossil Platta domain in SE Switzerland, and to define the timing and processes controlling its evolution. The examined Platta nappe corresponds to a remnant of the former ultra-distal Adriatic margin of the Alpine Tethys. The rift-structures are relatively well preserved due to the weak Alpine tectonic and metamorphic overprint during the emplacement in the Alpine nappe stack. Detailed mapping of parts of the Platta nappe enabled us to document the top basement architecture of an exhumed mantle domain and to investigate its link to later, rift/oceanic structures, magmatic additions and fluids. Our observations show a polyphase and/or complex: 1) deformation history associated with mantle exhumation along low-angle exhumation faults overprinted by later high-angle normal faults, 2) top basement morphology capped by magmato-sedimentary rocks, 3) tectono-magmatic evolution that includes gabbros, emplaced at deeper levels and subsequently exhumed and overlain by younger extrusive magmatic additions, and 4) fluid history including serpentinization, calcification, hydrothermal vent, rodingitization and spilitization affecting exhumed mantle and associated magmatic rocks. The overall observations provide important information on the temporal and spatial evolution of the tectonic, magmatic and fluid systems controlling the formation of ultra

  16. Tectonic controls on the geomorphic evolution of alluvial fans in the ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    hierarchy and chronological scheme for these surfaces. The oldest .... calculated in. GIS. The tectonic tilt of the fan was calculated following the methodology proposed Pinter and ... except for landslides and talus deposits, which are convex in ...

  17. Frost resistance in alpine woody plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuner, Gilbert

    2014-01-01

    This report provides a brief review of key findings related to frost resistance in alpine woody plant species, summarizes data on their frost resistance, highlights the importance of freeze avoidance mechanisms, and indicates areas of future research. Freezing temperatures are possible throughout the whole growing period in the alpine life zone. Frost severity, comprised of both intensity and duration, becomes greater with increasing elevation and, there is also a greater probability, that small statured woody plants, may be insulated by snow cover. Several frost survival mechanisms have evolved in woody alpine plants in response to these environmental conditions. Examples of tolerance to extracellular freezing and freeze dehydration, life cycles that allow species to escape frost, and freeze avoidance mechanisms can all be found. Despite their specific adaption to the alpine environment, frost damage can occur in spring, while all alpine woody plants have a low risk of frost damage in winter. Experimental evidence indicates that premature deacclimation in Pinus cembra in the spring, and a limited ability of many species of alpine woody shrubs to rapidly reacclimate when they lose snow cover, resulting in reduced levels of frost resistance in the spring, may be particularly critical under the projected changes in climate. In this review, frost resistance and specific frost survival mechanisms of different organs (leaves, stems, vegetative and reproductive over-wintering buds, flowers, and fruits) and tissues are compared. The seasonal dynamics of frost resistance of leaves of trees, as opposed to woody shrubs, is also discussed. The ability of some tissues and organs to avoid freezing by supercooling, as visualized by high resolution infrared thermography, are also provided. Collectively, the report provides a review of the complex and diverse ways that woody plants survive in the frost dominated environment of the alpine life zone.

  18. Frost resistance of alpine woody plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilbert eNeuner

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This report provides a brief review of key findings related to frost resistance in alpine woody plant species, summarizes data on their frost resistance, highlights the importance of freeze avoidance mechanisms, and indicates areas of future research.Freezing temperatures are possible throughout the whole growing period in the alpine life zone. Frost severity, comprised of both intensity and duration, becomes greater with increasing elevation and, there is also a greater probability, that small statured woody plants, may be insulated by snow cover.Several frost survival mechanisms have evolved in woody alpine plants in response to these environmental conditions. Examples of tolerance to extracellular freezing and freeze dehydration, life cycles that allow species to escape frost, and freeze avoidance mechanisms can all be found. Despite their specific adaption to the alpine environment, frost damage can occur in spring, while all alpine woody plants have a low risk of frost damage in winter. Experimental evidence indicates that premature deacclimation in Pinus cembra in the spring, and a limited ability of many species of alpine woody shrubs to rapidly reacclimate when they lose snow cover, resulting in reduced levels of frost resistance in the spring, may be particularly critical under the projected changes in climate.In this review, frost resistance and specific frost survival mechanisms of different organs (leaves, stems, vegetative and reproductive over-wintering buds, flowers and fruits and tissues are compared. The seasonal dynamics of frost resistance of leaves of trees, as opposed to woody shrubs, is also discussed. The ability of some tissues and organs to avoid freezing by supercooling, as visualized by high resolution infrared thermography, are also provided. Collectively, the report provides a review of the complex and diverse ways that woody plants survive in the frost dominated environment of the alpine life zone.

  19. Low-Frequency Earthquakes Associated with the Late-Interseismic Central Alpine Fault, Southern Alps, New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baratin, L. M.; Chamberlain, C. J.; Townend, J.; Savage, M. K.

    2016-12-01

    Characterising the seismicity associated with slow deformation in the vicinity of the Alpine Fault may provide constraints on the state of stress of this major transpressive margin prior to a large (≥M8) earthquake. Here, we use recently detected tremor and low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) to examine how slow tectonic deformation is loading the Alpine Fault toward an anticipated large rupture. We initially work with a continous seismic dataset collected between 2009 and 2012 from an array of short-period seismometers, the Southern Alps Microearthquake Borehole Array. Fourteen primary LFE templates are used in an iterative matched-filter and stacking routine. This method allows the detection of similar signals and establishes LFE families with common locations. We thus generate a 36 month catalogue of 10718 LFEs. The detections are then combined for each LFE family using phase-weighted stacking to yield a signal with the highest possible signal to noise ratio. We found phase-weighted stacking to be successful in increasing the number of LFE detections by roughly 20%. Phase-weighted stacking also provides cleaner phase arrivals of apparently impulsive nature allowing more precise phase and polarity picks. We then compute improved non-linear earthquake locations using a 3D velocity model. We find LFEs to occur below the seismogenic zone at depths of 18-34 km, locating on or near the proposed deep extent of the Alpine Fault. Our next step is to estimate seismic source parameters by implementing a moment tensor inversion technique. Our focus is currently on generating a more extensive catalogue (spanning the years 2009 to 2016) using synthetic waveforms as primary templates, with which to detect LFEs. Initial testing shows that this technique paired up with phase-weighted stacking increases the number of LFE families and overall detected events roughly sevenfold. This catalogue should provide new insight into the geometry of the Alpine Fault and the prevailing stress

  20. Mesozoic evolution of the Tisza Mega-unit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haas, János; Péró, Csaba

    The south-eastern part of the basement of the Pannonian Basin is made up of Variscan crystalline complexes and early Mesozoic formations showing striking affinity with the corresponding formations in the southern margin of the European Plate. This large composite structural unit, which is actually an exotic terrane of European Plate origin, has been named the Tisza Mega-unit. Based upon relevant data of the pre-Tertiary basement of southern Hungary the reconstruction of the position of the Tisza Terrane in the early Alpine evolutionary stages, the process of its separation and break-off from the European Plate, and results of its Eo-Alpine deformations are summarised in the present paper. In the Variscan and early Alpine evolutionary stages the area of the later Tisza Mega-unit was located at the margin of the European Plate. During Variscan orogeny terrane accretion led to intensive deformation and metamorphism in this belt. This was followed by transpressional tectonics and the development of molasse basins in the late and post-Variscan stages, and passive margin evolution after the Neotethys opening in the Middle Triassic. The separation of the Tisza Mega-unit began with incipient continental rifting along the axis of the later Ligurian-Penninic-Vahic oceanic branch in the Late Triassic. The end of terrigenous material deposition in the most external zones, and a coeval change in fossil assemblage, point to the separation of the Tisza Block from the European Plate in the Early Bathonian. Significant rotation of the Tisza Mega-unit and coeval paroxysm of alkaline rift-type basalt volcanism took place in the Early Cretaceous. In the mid-Cretaceous, due to the northward motion of the Adria Block and the related closure of the westernmost Neotethys basin, the extensional regime changed to a compressional one, leading to onset of the nappe stacking and low-grade regional metamorphism within the Tisza microplate. In the foreland of the nappe systems flexural basins

  1. How cushion communities are maintained in alpine ecosystems: A review and case study on alpine cushion plant reproduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianguo Chen

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Cushion species occur in nearly all alpine environments worldwide. In past decades, the adaptive and ecosystem-engineering roles of such highly specialized life forms have been well studied. However, the adaptive strategies responsible for cushion species reproductive success and maintenance in severe alpine habitats remain largely unclear. In this study, we reviewed the current understanding of reproductive strategies and population persistence in alpine cushion species. We then present a preliminary case study on the sexual reproduction of Arenaria polytrichoides (Caryophyllaceae, a typical cushion species inhabiting high elevations of the Himalaya Hengduan Mountains, which is a hotspot for diversification of cushion species. Finally, we highlight the limitations of our current understanding of alpine cushion species reproduction and propose future directions for study.

  2. Linking the tectonic evolution with fluid history in magma-poor rifted margins: tracking mantle- and continental crust-related fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto, V. H. G.; Manatschal, G.; Karpoff, A. M.

    2014-12-01

    The thinning of the crust and the exhumation of subcontinental mantle is accompanied by a series of extensional detachment faults. Exhumation of mantle and crustal rocks is intimately related to percolation of fluids along detachment faults leading to changes in mineralogy and chemistry of the mantle, crustal and sedimentary rocks. Field observation, analytical methods, refraction/reflection and well-core data, allowed us to investigate the role of fluids in the Iberian margin and former Alpine Tethys distal margins and the Pyrenees rifted system. In the continental crust, fluid-rock interaction leads to saussuritization that produces Si and Ca enriched fluids found in forms of veins along the fault zone. In the zone of exhumed mantle, large amounts of water are absorbed in the first 5-6 km of serpentinized mantle, which has the counter-effect of depleting the mantle of elements (e.g., Si, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Ni and Cr) forming mantle-related fluids. Using Cr-Ni-V and Fe-Mn as tracers, we show that in the distal margin, mantle-related fluids used detachment faults as pathways and interacted with the overlying crust, the sedimentary basin and the seawater, while further inward parts of the margin, continental crust-related fluids enriched in Si and Ca impregnated the fault zone and may have affected the sedimentary basin. The overall observations and results enable us to show when, where and how these interactions occurred during the formation of the rifted margin. In a first stage, continental crust-related fluids dominated the rifted systems. During the second stage, mantle-related fluids affected the overlying syn-tectonic sediments through direct migration along detachment faults at the future distal margin. In a third stage, these fluids reached the seafloor, "polluted" the seawater and were absorbed by post-tectonic sediments. We conclude that a significant amount of serpentinization occurred underneath the thinned continental crust, that the mantle-related fluids

  3. Fission track thermochronology : reconstructing the thermal and tectonic evolution of the crust

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gleadow, A.J.W.

    1990-01-01

    The basis and current status of fission track analysis is reviewed showing the kinds of patterns of fission track parameters which result from a variety of thermal and tectonic histories. Fission track thermochronology is a well established method for reconstructing the thermal histories of rocks with particularly important applications in tectonic studies. Quantitative modelling of the thermal annealing of tracks in apatite shows that distinctive profiles of apparent fission track age can be related to a number of simple thermal history styles. The main types of profiles observed tend to be either an essentially linear decrease of apparent age with increasing depth, which relates to continuous uplift and denudation, or a concave-upwards profile produced by partial annealing in environments of tectonic stability or burial. More complex thermal histories produce compound profiles which are essentially just combinations of these two elements. Track length information allows the apparent age profiles to be interpreted in much greater detail. Examples of the major profile types have been identified in various geological environments and can be analysed to give information about, for example, uplift and denudation rates, the timing of uplift or low-grade thermal events and maximum palaeotemperatures experienced during burial. 25 refs., 8 figs

  4. Focal mechanisms and inter-event times of low-frequency earthquakes reveal quasi-continuous deformation and triggered slow slip on the deep Alpine Fault

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baratin, Laura-May; Chamberlain, Calum J.; Townend, John; Savage, Martha K.

    2018-02-01

    Characterising the seismicity associated with slow deformation in the vicinity of the Alpine Fault may provide constraints on the stresses acting on a major transpressive margin prior to an anticipated great (≥M8) earthquake. Here, we use recently detected tremor and low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) to examine how slow tectonic deformation is loading the Alpine Fault late in its typical ∼300-yr seismic cycle. We analyse a continuous seismic dataset recorded between 2009 and 2016 using a network of 10-13 short-period seismometers, the Southern Alps Microearthquake Borehole Array. Fourteen primary LFE templates are used in an iterative matched-filter and stacking routine, allowing the detection of similar signals corresponding to LFE families sharing common locations. This yields an 8-yr catalogue containing 10,000 LFEs that are combined for each of the 14 LFE families using phase-weighted stacking to produce signals with the highest possible signal-to-noise ratios. We show that LFEs occur almost continuously during the 8-yr study period and highlight two types of LFE distributions: (1) discrete behaviour with an inter-event time exceeding 2 min; (2) burst-like behaviour with an inter-event time below 2 min. We interpret the discrete events as small-scale frequent deformation on the deep extent of the Alpine Fault and LFE bursts (corresponding in most cases to known episodes of tremor or large regional earthquakes) as brief periods of increased slip activity indicative of slow slip. We compute improved non-linear earthquake locations using a 3-D velocity model. LFEs occur below the seismogenic zone at depths of 17-42 km, on or near the hypothesised deep extent of the Alpine Fault. The first estimates of LFE focal mechanisms associated with continental faulting, in conjunction with recurrence intervals, are consistent with quasi-continuous shear faulting on the deep extent of the Alpine Fault.

  5. Geologic map of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin and a new tectonic interpretation of the Basque Arc

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ábalos, B.

    2016-11-01

    A new printable 1/200.000 bedrock geological map of the onshore Basque-Cantabrian Basin is presented, aimed to contribute to future geologic developments in the central segment of the Pyrenean-Cantabrian Alpine orogenic system. It is accompanied in separate appendixes by a historic report on the precedent geological maps and by a compilation above 350 bibliographic citations of maps and academic reports (usually overlooked or ignored) that are central to this contribution. Structural scrutiny of the map permits to propose a new tectonic interpretation of the Basque Arc, implementing previously published partial reconstructions. It is presented as a printable 1/400.000 tectonic map. The Basque Arc consists of various thrust slices that can expose at the surface basement rocks (Palaeozoic to Lower Triassic) and their sedimentary cover (uppermost Triassic to Tertiary), from which they are detached by intervening (Upper Triassic) evaporites and associated rocks. The slice-bounding thrusts are in most cases reactivated normal faults active during Meso-Cenozoic sedimentation that can be readily related to basement discontinuities generated during the Hercynian orogeny.

  6. Post-tectonic landscape evolution in NE Iberia using staircase terraces: Combined effects of uplift and climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Claudia J.; Sancho, Carlos; McDonald, Eric V.; Peña-Monné, José Luis; Pueyo, Emilio L.; Rhodes, Edward; Calle, Mikel; Soto, Ruth

    2017-09-01

    River incision into bedrock resulting from the combined effects of tectonic uplift and climate governs long-term regional landscape evolution. We determined spatial and temporal patterns of post-orogenic stream incision from a sequence of well-preserved staircase terraces developed over the last 1 Ma in the Central Pyrenees and its southern foreland Ebro basin (NE Spain). Extensive remnants of ten vertically separated terraces (Qt1 to Qt10, from oldest to youngest) were mapped along 170 km of the Cinca River valley, transverse to the Pyrenean mountain belt. Multiple outcrops appear in the upper reach of the valley (Ainsa sector, 50 km from headwaters) as well as in the lower reach (Albalate sector, 125 km from headwaters). Fluvial incision into bedrock was calculated using (i) differentially corrected GPS measurements of the altitude of straths and (ii) numerical dating of alluvial sediments from the lower terraces (Qt5 to Qt9) by Optically Stimulated Luminescence, previously reported by Lewis et al. (2009), and supplemented with new dates for the upper terraces (Qt1, Qt2 and Qt3) based on paleomagnetism and supported by soil development. Considering altitude differences and the elapsed time between successive well preserved terrace couples (Qt3-Qt7, Qt7-Qt9 and Qt9-Active channel), mean bedrock incision rates ranged from 0.76 to 0.38 m ka- 1, at the upper reach of the valley (Ainsa section), and from 0.61 to 0.20 m ka- 1, at the lower reach (Albalate section). River incision along the valley produced vertically separated, near-parallel longitudinal terrace profiles evidencing a rapid near-uniform regional uplift as response to (i) the tectonic lithospheric thickening in NE Iberia and (ii) the erosional download rebound related to the Ebro basin exorheism. Moreover, a subtle upstream divergence of strath profiles may have been a consequence of an increase in uplift rate toward the head of the valley. Additionally, incision rates changed over time as indicate

  7. Three-phase tectonic evolution of the Andaman backarc basin

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    KameshRaju, K.A.

    , very smooth t o- po graphic plane on either side characterizes segment C. Si n- gle - channel seismic reflection data over this segment depict a thick pile of sediments, with expressions of e x- tensional tectonics. Seismic eviden ce indicates... that there is more than 2 km thick sediment overburden over this spreading segment 2,8 . The axial trough along the entire length of segment C is well maintained in spite of high sediment influx in the region. Flanks of the spreading segment A, define a fan...

  8. Soil Fauna Affects Dissolved Carbon and Nitrogen in Foliar Litter in Alpine Forest and Alpine Meadow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Shu; Yang, Wanqin; Tan, Yu; Peng, Yan; Li, Jun; Tan, Bo; Wu, Fuzhong

    2015-01-01

    Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) are generally considered important active biogeochemical pools of total carbon and nitrogen. Many studies have documented the contributions of soil fauna to litter decomposition, but the effects of the soil fauna on labile substances (i.e., DOC and TDN) in litter during early decomposition are not completely clear. Therefore, a field litterbag experiment was carried out from 13th November 2013 to 23rd October 2014 in an alpine forest and an alpine meadow located on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Litterbags with different mesh sizes were used to provide access to or prohibit the access of the soil fauna, and the concentrations of DOC and TDN in the foliar litter were measured during the winter (the onset of freezing, deep freezing and thawing stage) and the growing season (early and late). After one year of field incubation, the concentration of DOC in the litter significantly decreased, whereas the TDN concentration in the litter increased. Similar dynamic patterns were detected under the effects of the soil fauna on both DOC and TDN in the litter between the alpine forest and the alpine meadow. The soil fauna showed greater positive effects on decreasing DOC concentration in the litter in the winter than in the growing season. In contrast, the dynamics of TND in the litter were related to seasonal changes in environmental factors, rather than the soil fauna. In addition, the soil fauna promoted a decrease in litter DOC/TDN ratio in both the alpine forest and the alpine meadow throughout the first year of decomposition, except for in the late growing season. These results suggest that the soil fauna can promote decreases in DOC and TDN concentrations in litter, contributing to early litter decomposition in these cold biomes.

  9. Larch dwarf mistletoe not found on alpine larch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert L. Mathiasen; Brian W. Geils; Clinton E. Carlson; Frank G. Hawksworth

    1995-01-01

    Reports of larch dwarf mistletoe parasitizing alpine larch are based on two collections of this host/parasite combination made by J.R. Weir in Montana during the early 1900s. Examination of host material from these collections indicates that the host is western larch, not alpine larch as previously reported. Attempts to locate larch dwarf mistletoe on alpine larch were...

  10. Interpretation of recent alpine landscape system evolution using geomorphic mapping and L-band InSAR analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imaizumi, Fumitoshi; Nishiguchi, Takaki; Matsuoka, Norikazu; Trappmann, Daniel; Stoffel, Markus

    2018-06-01

    Alpine landscapes are typically characterized by inherited features of past glaciations and, for the more recent past, by the interplay of a multitude of types of geomorphic processes, including permafrost creep, rockfalls, debris flows, and landslides. These different processes usually exhibit large spatial and temporal variations in activity and velocity. The understanding of these processes in a wide alpine area is often hindered by difficulties in their surveying. In this study, we attempt to disentangle recent changes in an alpine landscape system using geomorphic mapping and L-band DInSAR analyses (ALOS-PALSAR) in the Zermatt Valley, Swiss Alps. Geomorphic mapping points to a preferential distribution of rock glaciers on north-facing slopes, whereas talus slopes are concentrated on south-facing slopes. Field-based interpretation of ground deformation in rock glaciers and movements in talus slopes correlates well with the ratio of InSAR images showing potential ground deformation. Moraines formed during the Little Ice Age, rock glaciers, and talus slopes on north-facing slopes are more active than landforms on south-facing slopes, implying that the presence of permafrost facilitates the deformation of these geomorphic units. Such deformations of geomorphic units prevail also at the elevation of glacier termini. For rock cliffs, the ratio of images indicating retreat is affected by slope orientation and elevation. Linkages between sediment supply from rock cliffs and sediment transport in torrents are different among tributaries, affected by relative locations between sediment supply areas and the channel network. We conclude that the combined use of field surveys and L-band DInSAR analyses can substantially improve process understanding in steep, high-mountain terrain.

  11. Geodynamics of kimberlites on a cooling Earth: Clues to plate tectonic evolution and deep volatile cycles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tappe, Sebastian; Smart, Katie; Torsvik, Trond; Massuyeau, Malcolm; de Wit, Mike

    2018-02-01

    Kimberlite magmatism has occurred in cratonic regions on every continent. The global age distribution suggests that this form of mantle melting has been more prominent after 1.2 Ga, and notably between 250-50 Ma, than during early Earth history before 2 Ga (i.e., the Paleoproterozoic and Archean). Although preservation bias has been discussed as a possible reason for the skewed kimberlite age distribution, new treatment of an updated global database suggests that the apparent secular evolution of kimberlite and related CO2-rich ultramafic magmatism is genuine and probably coupled to lowering temperatures of Earth's upper mantle through time. Incipient melting near the CO2- and H2O-bearing peridotite solidus at >200 km depth (1100-1400 °C) is the petrologically most feasible process that can produce high-MgO carbonated silicate melts with enriched trace element concentrations akin to kimberlites. These conditions occur within the convecting asthenospheric mantle directly beneath thick continental lithosphere. In this transient upper mantle source region, variable CHO volatile mixtures control melting of peridotite in the absence of heat anomalies so that low-degree carbonated silicate melts may be permanently present at ambient mantle temperatures below 1400 °C. However, extraction of low-volume melts to Earth's surface requires tectonic triggers. Abrupt changes in the speed and direction of plate motions, such as typified by the dynamics of supercontinent cycles, can be effective in the creation of lithospheric pathways aiding kimberlite magma ascent. Provided that CO2- and H2O-fluxed deep cratonic keels, which formed parts of larger drifting tectonic plates, existed by 3 Ga or even before, kimberlite volcanism could have been frequent during the Archean. However, we argue that frequent kimberlite magmatism had to await establishment of an incipient melting regime beneath the maturing continents, which only became significant after secular mantle cooling to below

  12. Within-season variability of fighting behaviour in an Australian alpine grasshopper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muschett, Giselle; Umbers, Kate D L; Herberstein, Marie E

    2017-01-01

    Throughout the breeding season, changing environmental and biological conditions can lead to variation in the reproductive landscape of many species. In alpine environments temperature is a key driver of behaviour for small ectotherms such as insects, but variable biotic factors such as mate quality and availability can also influence behaviour. Kosicuscola tristis is a small semelparous grasshopper of the Australian alpine region. In a rare behaviour among grasshoppers, K. tristis males engage in vigorous fights over access to females, involving mandible displays, kicking, biting and grappling. In this study we describe the variation in fighting behaviour of K. tristis throughout the breeding season and test several hypotheses related to temperature, body size, mating behaviour, and female quality. We show that K. tristis males are more aggressive toward each other at the end of the breeding season than at the beginning. This increased aggression is associated with decreased daily average temperatures (from ~20°C to ~9°C), decreased mating activity, increased female fecundity, and an unexpected trend toward an increase in female-to-male aggression. These results suggest that K. tristis is likely under increased selective pressure to time key life cycle events with favourable biological and climatic conditions. The stochastic nature of alpine environments combined with a relatively short life span and breeding season, as well as limited mating opportunities toward the end of the season may have contributed to the evolution of this extraordinary mating system.

  13. Study on dynamics of tectonic evolution in the Fushun Basin, Northeast China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    WU; Chonglong(吴冲龙); WANG; Xinqing(汪新庆); LIU; Gang(刘刚); LI; Shaohu(李绍虎); MAO; Xiaoping(毛小平); LI; Xing(李星)

    2002-01-01

    The updated study shows that the taphrogenesis of basement of the Fushun Basin is not a kind of instantaneous process. It intensified gradually and went to extreme in the sedimentary stage of the Guchengzi formation, and then, it weakened rapidly and stopped soon afterwards; the depression did not take place after the taphrogenesis. On the contrary, it almost happened simultaneously with the taphrogenesis. The depression went at a high speed from the beginning of the sedimentary period of the Xilutian formation, and then weakened gradually in the sedimentary period of the Gengjiajie formation. The evolution course of the synsedimentary structure of the Fushun Basin can be summarized as the following six stages: slow taphrogenesis and high speed depression to accelerated taphrogenesis and high speed depression to high speed taphrogenesis and high speed depression to retarded taphrogenesis and high speed depression to gradual halt of taphrogenesis and reduced depression to slow depression and gradual halt of depression. The tectonic evolution resulted in the formation of the "lower taphrogenesis and upper depression" structure. The formation of the binary structure might be due to the suspension of taphrogenesis and the change of the regional structure stress field, but the depression kept going. The result of calculation combining the analysis of the synsedimentary structural frame, the back-stripping method of the subsidence history of the basin basement and the simulation of thermo-settlement history indicates that the great sedimentary space required by the "upper depression part" consists of two parts, namely, 40% from compaction of sediments and 60% from slow depression of the basin basement during a long period of time. Gradual halt of the depression in the Fushun Basin may be attributed to the reversal of the lithosphere hot-recession and gravity isostasy adjustment which may be the result of new hot-events in the depths and accompanied invasion of extremely

  14. Modelling atmospheric circulations for the study of Alpine valleys pollution; Modelisation des circulations atmospheriques pour l'etude de la pollution des vallees alpines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brulfert, G

    2004-11-15

    Local weather phenomena observed in alpine valleys frequently lead to the accumulation of emitted anthropogenic airborne species in the low layers of the atmosphere. The development of a numerical model allows reproducing the chemical evolution of air mass during POVA intensive period of observations. In Chamonix and Maurienne valley, computations of photochemical indicators (NO{sub y}, O{sub 3}/NO{sub z}, H{sub 2}O{sub 2}/HNO{sub 3}) prove the ozone regime to be control by volatile organic compounds. Moreover simulation highlighted that the major part of this secondary pollutant is regionally produced. The development of an indicator who localised ozone production sites can help to define abatement scenarios. The chemical mechanism RACM allows describing the evolution of many species. It is possible to conclude that in winter road traffic and heating are the main sources of volatile organic compounds. (author)

  15. Alpine vegetation communities and the alpine-treeline ecotone boundary in New England as biomonitors for climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenneth D. Kimball; Douglas M. Weihrauch

    2000-01-01

    This study mapped and analyzed the alpine-treeline ecotone (ATE) boundary and alpine plant communities on the Presidential Range, New Hampshire and Mount Katahdin, Maine. These are sensitive biomonitoring parameters for plant community responses to climatic change. The ATE boundary spans a considerable elevational range, suggesting that shorter growing seasons with...

  16. Modelling atmospheric circulations for the study of Alpine valleys pollution; Modelisation des circulations atmospheriques pour l'etude de la pollution des vallees alpines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brulfert, G.

    2004-11-15

    Local weather phenomena observed in alpine valleys frequently lead to the accumulation of emitted anthropogenic airborne species in the low layers of the atmosphere. The development of a numerical model allows reproducing the chemical evolution of air mass during POVA intensive period of observations. In Chamonix and Maurienne valley, computations of photochemical indicators (NO{sub y}, O{sub 3}/NO{sub z}, H{sub 2}O{sub 2}/HNO{sub 3}) prove the ozone regime to be control by volatile organic compounds. Moreover simulation highlighted that the major part of this secondary pollutant is regionally produced. The development of an indicator who localised ozone production sites can help to define abatement scenarios. The chemical mechanism RACM allows describing the evolution of many species. It is possible to conclude that in winter road traffic and heating are the main sources of volatile organic compounds. (author)

  17. Crustal structure and evolution of the NW Zagros Mountains (Iran): Insights from numerical modeling of the interplay between surface and tectonic processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saura, Eduard; Garcia-Castellanos, Daniel; Casciello, Emilio; Vergés, Jaume

    2014-05-01

    Protracted Arabia-Eurasia convergence resulted in the closure of the >2000 km wide Neo-Tethys Ocean from early Late Cretaceous to Recent. This process was controlled by the structure of the NE margin of the Arabian plate, the NE-dipping oceanic subduction beneath Eurasia, the obduction of oceanic lithosphere and the collision of small continental and volcanic arc domains of the SW margin of Eurasia. The evolution of the Zagros Amiran and Mesopotamian foreland basins is studied in this work along a ~700 km long transect in NW Zagros constrained by field, seismic and published data. We use the well-defined geometries and ages of the Amiran and Mesopotamian foreland basins to estimate the elastic thickness of the lithosphere and model the evolution of the deformation to quantitatively link the topographic, tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the system. Modelling results show two major stages of emplacement. The obduction (pre-collision) stage involves the thin thrust sheets of the Kermanshah complex together with the Bisotun basement. The collision stage corresponds to the emplacement of the basement duplex and associated crustal thickening, coeval to the out of sequence emplacement of Gaveh Rud and Imbricated Zone in the hinterland. The geodynamic model is consistent with the history of the foreland basins, with the regional isostasy model, and with a simple scenario for the surface process efficiency. The emplacement of Bisotun basement during obduction tectonically loaded and flexed the Arabian plate triggering deposition in the Amiran foreland basin. The basement units emplaced during the last 10 My, flexed the Arabian plate below the Mesopotamian basin. During this stage, material eroded from the Simply Folded belt and the Imbricated zone was not enough to fill the Mesopotamian basin, which, according to our numerical model results, required a maximum additional sediment supply of 80 m/Myr. This additional supply had to be provided by an axial drainage system

  18. Sedimentary evolution of the Mesozoic continental redbeds using geochemical and mineralogical tools: the case of Upper Triassic to Lowermost Jurassic Monte di Gioiosa mudrocks (Sicily, southern Italy)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perri, Francesco; Critelli, Salvatore; Mongelli, Giovanni; Cullers, Robert L.

    2011-10-01

    The continental redbeds from the Internal Domains of the central-western Mediterranean Chains have an important role in the palaeogeographic and palaeotectonic reconstructions of the Alpine circum-Mediterranean orogen evolution since these redbeds mark the Triassic-Jurassic rift-valley stage of Tethyan rifting. The composition and the sedimentary evolution of the Middle Triassic to Lowermost Jurassic continental redbeds of the San Marco d'Alunzio Unit (Peloritani Mountains, Southern Italy), based on mineralogical and chemical analyses, suggests that the studied mudrock sediments share common features with continental redbeds that constitute the Internal Domains of the Alpine Mediterranean Chains. Phyllosilicates are the main components in the mudrocks. The 10 Å-minerals (illite and micas), the I-S mixed layers, and kaolinite are the most abundant phyllosilicates. The amount of illitic layers in I-S mixed layers coupled with the illite crystallinity values (IC) are typical of high degree of diagenesis, corresponding to a lithostatic/tectonic loading of about 4-5 km. The mineralogical assemblage coupled with the A-CN-K plot suggest post-depositional K-enrichments. Palaeoweathering proxies (PIA and CIW) record intense weathering at the source area. Further, the studied sediments are affected by reworking and recycling processes and, as consequence, it is likely these proxies monitor cumulative effect of weathering. The climate in the early Jurassic favoured recycling and weathering occurred under hot, episodically humid climate with a prolonged dry season. The source-area is the low-grade Paleozoic metasedimentary basement. Mafic supply is minor but not negligible as suggested by provenance proxies.

  19. Evolution: from cosmogenesis to biogenesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lukacs, B.; Berczi, Sz.; Molnar, I.; Paal, G.

    1990-11-01

    The volume contains the material of an interdisciplinary evolution symposium. The purpose was to shed some light on possible connections between steps of evolution of matter on different levels of organisation. The topics involved are as follow: cosmogenesis; galactic and stellar evolution; formation and evolution of the solar system; global atmospheric and tectonic changes of Earth; viral evolution; phylogeny and evolution of terrestrial life; evolution of neural system; hominization. The material also includes some discussions of the underlying phenomena and laws of nature. (author)

  20. Semaine alpine 2008 : innover (dans) les Alpes

    OpenAIRE

    Bourdeau, Philippe; Bourdeau, Philippe; Corneloup, Jean; Corneloup, Jean; Finger-Stich, Andréa; Finger-Stich, Andréa; Giraut, Frédéric; Giraut, Frédéric; Kohler, Yann; Kohler, Yann; Macchiavelli, Andrea; Macchiavelli, Andrea; Scheurer, Thomas; Scheurer, Thomas; Ullrich, Aurelia

    2009-01-01

    Ce premier dossier en ligne se penche sur une question de grande actualité : l’innovation, pour interroger les conceptions et mises en œuvre de démarches innovantes dans les contextes montagnards. Ces textes sont issus de la « Semaine alpine », qui s’est déroulée en juin 2008 à l’Argentière-La Bessée, dans les Hautes-Alpes (France). Ces « Semaines alpines », en alternance avec les « Forums alpins », rassemblent tous les deux ans des chercheurs et des acteurs locaux de l’ensemble de l’arc alp...

  1. A Distributed Snow Evolution Modeling System (SnowModel)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liston, G. E.; Elder, K.

    2004-12-01

    A spatially distributed snow-evolution modeling system (SnowModel) has been specifically designed to be applicable over a wide range of snow landscapes, climates, and conditions. To reach this goal, SnowModel is composed of four sub-models: MicroMet defines the meteorological forcing conditions, EnBal calculates surface energy exchanges, SnowMass simulates snow depth and water-equivalent evolution, and SnowTran-3D accounts for snow redistribution by wind. While other distributed snow models exist, SnowModel is unique in that it includes a well-tested blowing-snow sub-model (SnowTran-3D) for application in windy arctic, alpine, and prairie environments where snowdrifts are common. These environments comprise 68% of the seasonally snow-covered Northern Hemisphere land surface. SnowModel also accounts for snow processes occurring in forested environments (e.g., canopy interception related processes). SnowModel is designed to simulate snow-related physical processes occurring at spatial scales of 5-m and greater, and temporal scales of 1-hour and greater. These include: accumulation from precipitation; wind redistribution and sublimation; loading, unloading, and sublimation within forest canopies; snow-density evolution; and snowpack ripening and melt. To enhance its wide applicability, SnowModel includes the physical calculations required to simulate snow evolution within each of the global snow classes defined by Sturm et al. (1995), e.g., tundra, taiga, alpine, prairie, maritime, and ephemeral snow covers. The three, 25-km by 25-km, Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX) mesoscale study areas (MSAs: Fraser, North Park, and Rabbit Ears) are used as SnowModel simulation examples to highlight model strengths, weaknesses, and features in forested, semi-forested, alpine, and shrubland environments.

  2. Digital Tectonic Tools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Anne Marie Due

    2005-01-01

    Tectonics has been an inherent part of the architectural field since the Greek temples while the digital media is new to the field. This paper is built on the assumption that in the intermediate zone between the two there is a lot to be learned about architecture in general and the digital media...... in particular. A model of the aspects in the term tectonics – epresentation, ontology and culture – will be presented and used to discuss the current digital tools’ ability in tectonics. Furthermore it will be discussed what a digital tectonic tool is and could be and how a connection between the digital...... and tectonic could become a part of the architectural education....

  3. Réflexions sur la tectonique globale Reflections on Global Tectonics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burollet P. F.

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Comme conclusion des communications présentées au cours de la journée, on peut tenter un bilan de la tectonique globale. Cette hypothèse rend compte correctement d'un grand nombre de faits géologiques et géophysiques tels que la différence de nature de la croûte sous les continents et les océans, la dérive des continents, les caractères physiographiques et lithologiques du fond des océans, la sismicité des ceintures mobiles et des chaînes médio-océaniques, etc. Les points faibles principaux concernent les mouvements verticaux, spécialement le long des marges de distension, la forme et la genèse des chaînes de type alpin avec la complexité de leurs boucles et arcs, les zones de transition qui les entourent (chaînes intermédiaires et mosaïque de blocs, les bassins profonds subsidents du Néogène supérieur comme les bassins méditerranéens ou la mer Noire, la structure et l'histoire de l'océan Glacial Arctique au droit de l'Alaska et de la Sibérie, etc. Certainement 70 % des hypothèses récentes de la Tectonique globale seront confirmées et acceptées, mais à l'inverse, elles seront enrichies par de nouvelles directions et des interprétations de la géologie : limites de l'actualisme, discussion de la solidarité entre croûte et lithosphère sous-jacente dans les chaînes mobiles ou à l'entour, mûrissement et ségrégation des deux types de croûte au cours de l'histoire de la terre, etc. As a conclusion ta the papers presented, the author attempts ta make an evaluation of global tectonics. This hypothesis conveniently explains a great deal of geological and geophysical data such as the différence in the crustal nature below oceans and continents, continental drift, physiographic and lithologic features of the main oceans, seismicity of mobile belts and mid-oceanic ridges. Major inconsistencies are related ta vertical movements (especially along distension margins, shape and formation of Alpine type belts with

  4. Combining sediment fingerprinting and a conceptual model for erosion and sediment transfer to explore sediment sources in an Alpine catchment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, A.; Stutenbecker, L.; Anghileri, D.; Bakker, M.; Lane, S. N.; Molnar, P.; Schlunegger, F.

    2017-12-01

    In Alpine basins, sediment production and transfer is increasingly affected by climate change and human activities, specifically hydropower exploitation. Changes in sediment sources and pathways significantly influence basin management, biodiversity and landscape evolution. We explore the dynamics of sediment sources in a partially glaciated and highly regulated Alpine basin, the Borgne basin, by combining geochemical fingerprinting with the modelling of erosion and sediment transfer. The Borgne basin in southwest Switzerland is composed of three main litho-tectonic units, which we characterised following a tributary-sampling approach from lithologically characteristic sub-basins. We analysed bulk geochemistry using lithium borate fusion coupled with ICP-ES, and we used it to discriminate the three lithologic sources using statistical methods. Finally, we applied a mixing model to estimate the relative contributions of the three sources to the sediment sampled at the outlet. We combine results of the sediment fingerprinting with simulations of a spatially distributed conceptual model for erosion and transport of fine sediment. The model expresses sediment erosion by differentiating the contributions of erosional processes driven by erosive rainfall, snowmelt, and icemelt. Soil erodibility is accounted for as function of land-use and sediment fluxes are linearly convoluted to the outlet by sediment transfer rates for hillslope and river cells, which are a function of sediment connectivity. Sediment connectivity is estimated on the basis of topographic-hydraulic connectivity, flow duration associated with hydropower flow abstraction and permanent storage in hydropower reservoirs. Sediment fingerprinting at the outlet of the Borgne shows a consistent dominance (68-89%) of material derived from the uppermost, highly glaciated reaches, while contributions of the lower part (10-25%) and middle part (1-16%), where rainfall erosion is predominant, are minor. This result is

  5. Miocene uplift of the NE Greenland margin linked to plate tectonics: Seismic evidence from the Greenland Fracture Zone, NE Atlantic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Døssing Andreasen, Arne; Japsen, Peter; Watts, Anthony B.

    2016-01-01

    Tectonic models predict that, following breakup, rift margins undergo only decaying thermal subsidence during their post-rift evolution. However, post-breakup stratigraphy beneath the NE Atlantic shelves shows evidence of regional-scale unconformities, commonly cited as outer margin responses to ...... by plate tectonic forces, induced perhaps by a change in the Iceland plume (a hot pulse) and/or by changes in intra-plate stresses related to global tectonics.......Tectonic models predict that, following breakup, rift margins undergo only decaying thermal subsidence during their post-rift evolution. However, post-breakup stratigraphy beneath the NE Atlantic shelves shows evidence of regional-scale unconformities, commonly cited as outer margin responses...... backstripping. We explain the thermo-mechanical coupling and the deposition of contourites by the formation of a continuous plate boundary along the Mohns and Knipovich ridges, leading to an accelerated widening of the Fram Strait. We demonstrate that the IMU event is linked to onset of uplift and massive shelf...

  6. Some aspects of the role of rift inheritance on Alpine-type orogens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tugend, Julie; Manatschal, Gianreto; Mohn, Geoffroy; Chevrot, Sébastien

    2017-04-01

    Processes commonly recognized as fundamental for the formation of collisional orogens include oceanic subduction, arc-continent and continent-continent collision. As collisional belts result from the closure of oceanic basins and subsequent inversion of former rifted margins, their formation and evolution may also in theory be closely interlinked with the initial architecture of the former rifted margins. This assumption is indeed more likely to be applicable in the case of Alpine-type orogens, mainly controlled by mechanical processes and mostly devoid of arc-related magmatism. More and more studies from present-day magma-poor rifted margins illustrate the complex evolution of hyperextended domains (i.e. severely thinned continental crust (images across the Pyrenees (PYROPE) and the Alps (CIFALPS) reveal a surprisingly comparable present-day overall crustal and lithospheric structure. Based on the comparison between the two orogens we discuss: (1) the nature and depth of decoupling levels inherited from hyperextension; (2) the implications for restorations and interpretations of orogenic roots (former hyperextended domains vs. lower crust only); and (3) the nature and major role of buttresses in controlling the final stage of collisional processes. Eventually, we discuss the variability of the role of rift-inheritance in building Alpine-type orogens. The Pyrenees seem to represent one extreme, where rift-inheritance is important at different stages of collisional processes. In contrast, in the Alps the role of rift-inheritance is subtler, likely because of its more complex and polyphase compressional deformation history.

  7. A new plate tectonic concept for the eastern-most Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huebscher, C.; McGrandle, A.; Scaife, G.; Spoors, R.; Stieglitz, T.

    2012-04-01

    Owing to the seismogenic faults bordering the Levant-Sinai realm and the discovery of giant gas reservoirs in the marine Levant Basin the scientific interest in this tectonically complex setting increased in recent years. Here we provide a new model for the Levant Basin architecture and adjacent plate boundaries emphasizing the importance of industrial seismic data for frontier research in earth science. PSDM seismics, residual gravity and depth to basement maps give a clear line of evidence that the Levant Basin, formerly considered as a single tectonic entity, is divided into two different domains. Highly stretched continental crust in the southern domain is separated from deeper and presumably Tethyan oceanic crust in the north. A transform continuing from southwest Cyprus to the Carmel Fault in northern Israel is considered as the boundary. If this interpretation holds, the Carmel-Cyprus Transform represents a yet unknown continent-ocean boundary in the eastern Mediterranean, thus adding new constrains for the Mediterranean plate tectonic puzzle. The Eratosthenes Seamount, considered as the spearhead of incipient continental collision in the eastern Mediterranean, is interpreted as a carbonate platform that developed above a volcanic basement. NW-SE trending strike-slip faults are abundant in the entire Levant region. Since this trend also shapes the topography of the Levant hinterland including Quaternary deposits their recent tectonic activity is quite likely. Thus, our study supports previous studies which attributed the evolution of submarine canyons and Holocene triggering of mass failures not only to salt tectonics or depositional processes, but also to active plate-tectonics.

  8. Role of pre-existing structures in controlling the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the eastern Tibetan plateau: New insights from analogue experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Ming; Yin, An; Yan, Danping; Ren, Hongyu; Mu, Hongxu; Zhu, Lutao; Qiu, Liang

    2018-06-01

    Pre-existing weakness due to repeated tectonic, metamorphic, and magmatic events is a fundamental feature of the continental lithosphere on Earth. Because of this, continental deformation results from a combined effect of boundary conditions imposed by plate tectonic processes and heterogeneous and anisotropic mechanical strength inherited from protracted continental evolution. In this study, we assess how this interaction may have controlled the Cenozoic evolution of the eastern Tibetan plateau during the India-Asia collision. Specifically, we use analogue models to evaluate how the pre-Cenozoic structures may have controlled the location, orientation, and kinematics of the northwest-striking Xianshuihe and northeast-striking Longmen Shan fault zones, the two most dominant Cenozoic structures in eastern Tibet. Our best model indicates that the correct location, trend, and kinematics of the two fault systems can only be generated and maintained if the following conditions are met: (1) the northern part of the Songpan-Ganzi terrane in eastern Tibet has a strong basement whereas its southern part has a weak basement, (2) the northern strong basement consists of two pieces bounded by a crustal-scale weak zone that is expressed by the Triassic development of a northwest-trending antiform exposing middle and lower crustal rocks, and (3) the region was under persistent northeast-southwest compression since ∼35 Ma. Our model makes correct prediction on the sequence of deformation in eastern Tibet; the Longmen Shan right-slip transpressional zone was initiated first as an instantaneous response to the northeast-southwest compression, which is followed by the formation of the Xianshuihe fault about a half way after the exertion of northeast-southwest shortening in the model. The success of our model highlights the importance of pre-existing weakness, a key factor that has been largely neglected in the current geodynamic models of continental deformation.

  9. Glucose homeostasis and cardiovascular disease biomarkers in older alpine skiers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dela, F; Niederseer, David; Patsch, Wolfgang

    2011-01-01

    Alpine skiing and ski training involves elements of static and dynamic training, and may therefore improve insulin sensitivity. Healthy men and women who where beginners/intermediate level of alpine skiing, were studied before (Pre) and immediately after (Post) 12 weeks of alpine ski training. Af...

  10. Origin and tectonic evolution of early Paleozoic arc terranes abutting the northern margin of North China Craton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Hao; Pei, Fu-Ping; Zhang, Ying; Zhou, Zhong-Biao; Xu, Wen-Liang; Wang, Zhi-Wei; Cao, Hua-Hua; Yang, Chuan

    2017-12-01

    The origin and tectonic evolution of the early Paleozoic arc terranes abutting the northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC) are widely debated. This paper presents detrital zircon U-Pb and Hf isotopic data of early Paleozoic strata in the Zhangjiatun arc terrane of central Jilin Province, northeast (NE) China, and compares them with the Bainaimiao and Jiangyu arc terranes abutting the northern margin of the NCC. Detrital zircons from early Paleozoic strata in three arc terranes exhibit comparable age groupings of 539-430, 1250-577, and 2800-1600 Ma. The Paleoproterozoic to Neoarchean ages and Hf isotopic composition of the detrital zircons imply the existence of the Precambrian fragments beneath the arc terranes. Given the evidences from geology, igneous rocks, and detrital zircons, we proposed that the early Paleozoic arc terranes abutting the northern margin of the NCC are a united arc terrane including the exotic Precambrian fragments, and these fragments shared a common evolutionary history from Neoproterozoic to early-middle Paleozoic.

  11. Tectonic evolution of the Paranoá basin: New evidence from gravimetric and stratigraphic data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins-Ferreira, Marco Antonio Caçador; Campos, José Eloi Guimarães; Von Huelsen, Monica Giannoccaro

    2018-06-01

    Field gravimetric and stratigraphic surveys were conducted with the aim to constraint the mechanisms responsible for the initiation of the Stenian-Tonian Paranoá basin, central Brazil, a subject not yet studied in detail. The Paranoá Group crops out in the external zone of the Brasília Belt, a Neoproterozoic orogen in the western margin of the São Francisco Craton. Detailed geological mapping confirmed the existence of a regional scale fault that controlled sedimentation of the Paranoá Group during the deposition of its basal formations, revealing important details about basin initiation and early evolution. Gravimetric modeling indicates the existence of paleorift structures beneath the Paranoá sequence in the study area. Results from both stratigraphic and gravimetric surveys show strong evidence of mechanical subsidence by faulting during basin initiation. Unsorted, angular, clasts cut by quartz veins and brecciated boulders present in the basal conglomerate, support this hypothesis. Basin initiation faults coincide with deeper paleorift faults and are thus interpreted as reactivations of the older Statherian Araí Rift. The reactivations favored an initial regime of mechanical subsidence, dominated by the development of epirogenic arches subsiding at different rates. Apart from faulting activity, the post-basal sequence presents no evidence of rift environment in the strict sense. Besides, the great lateral continuity and relatively constant thickness of facies, indicate that an initial mechanic subsidence rapidly gave way to flexural subsidence during subsequent stages of basin evolution. The Paranoá Group do not present reliable characteristics that would allow its strict classification as a passive margin. Its main stratigraphic characteristics, tectonic location and basement architecture, indicate that the Paranoá Group was deposited in a cratonic margin basin, and may have been either connected to a passive margin basin at times of sea level rise

  12. Spatial distribution and environmental analysis of the alpine flora in the Pyrenees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Gómez

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available On the basis of the digital edition of the “Atlas of the vascular flora of the Pyrenees” (www.florapyrenaea. org, the alpine flora of this mountain range is delimited in order to know its diversity and the different patterns of its spatial distribution, along with some other environmental characteristics. The Pyrenean alpine flora is made up of 645 taxa (630 species and 15 subspecies. All the administrative regions harbour more than 60% of the alpine plants, with Catalonia and Aragon reaching the highest values (around 90%. Along the altitudinal gradient, the highest plant diversity is found between 2300 and 2600 m. a. s. l., although 25% of the total alpine flora goes beyond 3000 m. On the other hand, a remarkable number of alpine plants live in the lowlands, and thus more than 300 alpine plants can be found below 1500 m. The average altitude range of the alpine plants is 1369 m, 300 m wider than that observed for the whole Pyrenean flora. Life-forms, habitat distribution and habitat naturalness of alpine plants are significantly different from those of the whole Pyrenean flora. Distribution of abundance categories also shows values of rarity significantly lower among alpine plants than for the whole flora. More than half the Pyrenean endemic plants are present in the alpine flora. High diversity and wide ecological amplitude of the alpine flora must be taken into account either when considering vulnerability of alpine plants facing “global change” or when addressing conservation policies for the whole Pyrenees from a common perspective.

  13. The Latemar: A Middle Triassic polygonal fault-block platform controlled by synsedimentary tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preto, Nereo; Franceschi, Marco; Gattolin, Giovanni; Massironi, Matteo; Riva, Alberto; Gramigna, Pierparide; Bertoldi, Luca; Nardon, Sergio

    2011-03-01

    Detailed field mapping of a Middle Triassic carbonate buildup, the Latemar in the western Dolomites, northern Italy, has been carried out. The Latemar is an isolated carbonate buildup that nucleates on a fault-bounded structural high (horst) cut into the underlying late Anisian carbonate bank of the Contrin Fm. This study demonstrates that extensional synsedimentary tectonics is the main factor controlling its geometry and provides an age for this tectonic phase. In an early phase, slopes were mostly composed of well bedded, clinostratified grainstones and rudstones. In a later stage, the deposition of grainstones was accompanied by the emplacement of clinostratified megabreccias. The upper portion of slopes is a microbial boundstone with abundant Tubiphytes and patches or lenses of grainstone. Boundstones may occasionally expand into the platform interior and downward to the base of the slope. The depositional profile was that of a mounded platform. The buildup is dissected by a dense framework of high angle fractures and faults, and by magmatic and sedimentary dikes, exhibiting two principal directions trending NNW-SSE and ENE-WSW. Faults trending WNW-ESE were also observed. Magmatic dikes are related to the emplacement of the nearby Predazzo intrusion and are thus upper Ladinian. Kinematic indicators of strike-slip activity were observed on fault planes trending NNE-SSW and NNW-SSE, that can be attributed to Cenozoic Alpine tectonics. Faults, magmatic dikes and sedimentary dikes show systematic cross-cutting relationships, with strike-slip faults cutting magmatic dikes, and magmatic dikes cutting sedimentary (neptunian) dikes. ENE-WSW and WNW-ESE faults are cut by all other structures, and record the oldest tectonic activity in the region. Structural analysis attributes this tectonic phase to an extensional stress field, with a direction of maximum extension oriented ca. N-S. Several lines of evidence, including sealed faults and growth wedge geometries allow us

  14. Tectonic resemblance of the Indian Platform, Pakistan with the Moesian Platform, Romania and strategy for exploration of hydrocarbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Memon, A.D.

    1994-01-01

    There is a remarkable tectonic resemblance between the indian Platform (Pakistan) and the Moesian Platform (Romania). As viewed in global tectonic perspective Moeslan and Indian Plates have played important role in Alpine Himalayan Orogeny; Moesian and Indian Platforms are extension of these respective plates. Characteristics features of both the platforms are block faulting which has effected not only the general tectonic framework but has also played important role in oil accumulation. Main producing rocks in the Moesian platform are Jurassic sandstones and cretaceous limestones while in the indian platform cretaceous sandstones are important reservoirs. The average geothermal gradient in the indian platform is 2.45 C/100m with the higher gradients in the central gas producing region. Geothermal gradients in the Moesian platform have an average value of 3 C/100m with higher gradients in the northern in the northern part. Some of the producing structures in both the platforms are remarkably similar, traps associated with normal faults are very important. Extensive exploration carried in the Moesian Platform makes it very important oil producing region of Romania. After the discovery of oil lower Sindh, serious exploration is being carried in the Indian platform. The paper deals with the similarities between these two important platforms. In the light of the studies of the Moesian platform, strategies or exploration of oil and gas in the Indian Platform are suggested. (author)

  15. Post-Pan-African tectonic evolution of South Malawi in relation to the Karroo and recent East African rift systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castaing, C.

    1991-05-01

    Structural studies conducted in the Lengwe and Mwabvi Karroo basins and in the basement in South Malawi, using regional maps and published data extended to cover Southeast Africa, serve to propose a series of geodynamic reconstructions which reveal the persistence of an extensional tectonic regime, the minimum stress σ3 of which has varied through time. The period of Karroo rifting and the tholeiitic and alkaline magmatism which terminated it, were controlled by NW-SE extension, which resulted in the creation of roughly NE-SW troughs articulated by the Tanganyika-Malawi and Zambesi pre-transform systems. These were NW-SE sinistral-slip systems with directions of movement dipping slightly to the Southeast, which enabled the Mwanza fault to play an important role in the evolution of the Karroo basins of the Shire Valley. The Cretaceous was a transition period between the Karroo rifting and the formation of the Recent East African Rift System. Extension was NE-SW, with some evidence for a local compressional episode in the Lengwe basin. Beginning in the Cenozoic, the extension once more became NW-SE and controlled the evolution in transtension of the Recent East African Rift System. This history highlights the major role of transverse faults systems dominated by strike-slip motion in the evolution and perpetuation of the continental rift systems. These faults are of a greater geological persistence than the normal faults bounding the grabens, especially when they are located on major basement anisotropies.

  16. Tectonic-stratigraphic evolution of Espirito Santo Basin - Brazil; Evolucao tectono-estratigrafica da Bacia do Espirito Santo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, Eric Zagotto; Fernandes, Flavio L.; Lobato, Gustavo; Ferreira Neto, Walter Dias [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia (COPPE). Lab. de Modelagem de Bacias (LAB2M); Petersohn, Eliane [Agencia Nacional do Petroleo, Gas Natural e Biocombustiveis (ANP), Brasilia, DF (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    This paper documents the analysis of seismic data of the Espirito Santo basin obtained during the project realized through partnership between COPPE/UFRJ/Lab2M with the Agencia Nacional do Petroleo, Gas Natural e Biocombustiveis (ANP) during 2006 and 2007. The major objective of the seismic data interpretation in the project was to define the main structural and stratigraphic features in order to build a sedimentation model and a tectonic-stratigraphic evolution model of the Espirito Santo basin. Thus, the sedimentary package has been divided into eight genetic units (UN), grouped into five third order stratigraphic sequences, namely: UN-B, represented by siliciclastics rocks of the rift stage and evaporitic sag-rift stage, deposited during the Aptian; UN-C, which represents the carbonatic rocks deposited in a marine environment, and siliciclastics rocks located in the proximal portions during the Albian; and UN-D, represented by sediments, composed mainly by pelites, deposited in between the Cenomanian and Recent, and includes the Eocene volcanic event, which one changed the sedimentation pattern of the basin. (author)

  17. The role of post-collisional strike-slip tectonics in the geological evolution of the late Neoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary Guaratubinha Basin, southern Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barão, Leonardo M.; Trzaskos, Barbara; Vesely, Fernando F.; de Castro, Luís Gustavo; Ferreira, Francisco J. F.; Vasconcellos, Eleonora M. G.; Barbosa, Tiago C.

    2017-12-01

    The Guaratubinha Basin is a late Neoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary basin included in the transitional-stage basins of the South American Platform. The aim of this study is to investigate its tectonic evolution through a detailed structural analysis based on remote sensing and field data. The structural and aerogeophysics data indicate that at least three major deformational events affected the basin. Event E1 caused the activation of the two main basin-bounding fault zones, the Guaratubinha Master Fault and the Guaricana Shear Zone. These structures, oriented N20-45E, are associated with well-defined right-lateral to oblique vertical faults, conjugate normal faults and vertical flow structures. Progressive transtensional deformation along the two main fault systems was the main mechanism for basin formation and the deposition of thick coarse-grained deposits close to basin-borders. The continuous opening of the basin provided intense intermediate and acid magmatism as well as deposition of volcaniclastic sediments. Event E2 characterizes generalized compression, recorded as minor thrust faults with tectonic transport toward the northwest and left-lateral activation of the NNE-SSW Palmital Shear Zone. Event E3 is related to the Mesozoic tectonism associated with the South Atlantic opening, which generated diabase dykes and predominantly right-lateral strike-slip faults oriented N10-50W. Its rhomboidal geometry with long axis parallel to major Precambrian shear zones, the main presence of high-angle, strike-slip or oblique faults, the asymmetric distribution of geological units and field evidence for concomitant Neoproterozoic magmatism and strike-slip movements are consistent with pull-apart basins reported in the literature.

  18. The relationship between soil physical properties and alpine plant diversity on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Tang

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Through a large-scale research, we examined the heterogeneity of soil properties and plant diversity, as well as their relationships across alpine grassland types on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The soil pH and EC value increased with the constant deepening of the soil in all the three alpine grassland types which in order of absolute value in every soil layer were alpine desert steppe, alpine steppe and alpine meadow. Among the three grassland types, the alpine meadow possessed the highest SM but the lowest SBD. For plant diversity, alpine meadow was the highest, alpine desert steppe ranked the second and alpine steppe was the last. SM and SBD were the highest influential soil physical properties to species richness, but with opposite effects.

  19. Tectonic Geomorphology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bull, William B.

    1984-01-01

    Summarizes representative quantitative tectonic-geomorphology studies made during the last century, focusing on fault-bounded mountain-front escarpments, marine terraces, and alluvial geomorphic surfaces (considering stream terraces, piedmont fault scarps, and soils chronosequences). Also suggests where tectonic-geomorphology courses may best fit…

  20. Preliminary integration study of Precambrian with tectonic events in Brazilian sedimentary basins (Republication); Estudo preliminar de integracao do Pre-Cambriano com os eventos tectonicos das bacias sedimentares brasileiras (Republicacao)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cordani, Umberto G.; Neves, Benjamim B. Brito; Fuck, Reinhard A.; Porto, Roberto; Thomaz Filho, Antonio; Cunha, Francisco M. Bezerra da

    2008-11-15

    The various successive episodes of vertical cratogenic evolution modelling the geo tectonic features of the basement were correlated with the internal structure, shape, origin and geologic evolution of the sedimentary basin. A systematic petrologic and geochronological investigation of all available drill core samples was carried out, and the pertinent geophysical data regarding basement structure were taken into consideration. Specific geo tectonic analyses, were carried out along the borders of the sedimentary basins, within the adjacent basement. The main boundaries between Precambrian tectonic provinces, the main tectonic sutures with polycyclic evolution, and the ancient intracratonic rifts were identified wherever possible. Their extensions under the sedimentary basins were inferred, corroboration being sought from structural information and data obtained from the drill core samples. It was found that many of the identified basement discontinuities had a direct influence on the depositional history of each of the sedimentary basins, demonstrating the distinct tectonic inheritance. The subject was treated on a reconnaissance scale, 1:1.000.000 or smaller,owing to its complexity. (author)

  1. Structural evolution and tectonic style of the Tunisian central Atlas; role of inherited faults in compressive tectonics (Ghoualguia anticline)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briki, Haithem; Ahmadi, Riadh; Smida, Rabiaa; Rekhiss, Farhat

    2018-04-01

    Geological mapping, field cross sections, structural analyses and new subsurface data were used to characterize the geometry and tectonic setting of the Ghoualguia structure, which is an E-W-trending anticline located between the Kalaa Khasba and Rouhia troughs of the central Tunisian Atlas. The results show an important NE-SW extensional phase during the Mesozoic, as demonstrated by synsedimentary normal faults (NW-SE and E-W) and thickness variations. In the Aouled Mdoua area, the absence of Paleocene-Eocene rocks indicates that the eastern and western parts of the Ghoualguia structure were separated by high topography. In addition, the angular unconformity observed between the Upper Cretaceous unit (Abiod Fm.) and the upper Eocene series (Souar Fm.) provide evidence of a tilted-block structure delineated by North-South faults. A major compressional phase during the middle to late Miocene created various detachment levels that originated mainly in the Triassic and Cretaceous deposits. Faults were reactivated as thrust and strike-slip faults, creating fault-related fold structures. In the core of the Ghoualguia fold, an original S-dipping normal fault underwent reverse movement as a back thrust. Fault-slip data indicate that the area records a major NE-SW extensional phase that took place during the late Miocene and Pliocene. A balanced cross section provides insight into the existence of two main detachment levels rooted in the Triassic (depth ± 6 km) and the lower Cretaceous (depth ± 2.5 km). The balanced cross section highlights a shortening of about 2.5 km along cross section and 1.5 km in the central part of the Ghoualguia anticline. This work underlines the predominant role of the inherited Mesozoic structures during the evolution of the Atlassic range and their influence on the geometry of the central Tunisian atlas.

  2. Exhumation and topographic evolution of the Namche Barwa Syntaxis, eastern Himalaya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Rong; Herman, Frédéric; Fellin, Maria Giuditta; Maden, Colin

    2018-01-01

    The Namche Barwa Syntaxis, as one of the most tectonically active regions, remains an appropriate place to explore the relationship between tectonics, surface processes, and landscape evolution. Two leading models have been proposed for the formation and evolution of this syntaxis, including the tectonic aneurysm model and the syntaxis expansion model. Here we use a multi-disciplinary approach based on low-temperature thermochronometry, numerical modeling, river profile and topographic analyses to investigate the interactions between tectonics, erosion, and landscape evolution and to test these models. Our results emphasize the presence of young cooling ages (i.e., River, to the north of the syntaxis. Using numerical modeling we argue that a recent increase in exhumation rate is required to expose these young ages. Our river analysis reveals spatial variations in channel steepness, which we interpret to reflect the rock uplift pattern. By establishing the relationship between erosion rates and topographic features, we find that erosion rates are poorly to weakly correlated with topographic features, suggesting that the landscape is still evolving. Altogether, these results seem better explained by a mechanism that involves a northward expansion of the syntaxis, which causes high rock uplift rates to the north of the syntaxis and a transient state of topography adjusting to an evolving tectonic setting.

  3. Geomorphology and Neogene tectonic evolution of the Palomares continental margin (Western Mediterranean)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez de la Peña, Laura; Gràcia, Eulàlia; Muñoz, Araceli; Acosta, Juan; Gómez-Ballesteros, María; R. Ranero, César; Uchupi, Elazar

    2016-10-01

    The Palomares continental margin is located in the southeastern part of Spain. The margin main structure was formed during Miocene times, and it is currently part of the wide deformation zone characterizing the region between the Iberian and African plates, where no well-defined plate boundary occurs. The convergence between these two plates is here accommodated by several structures, including the left lateral strike-slip Palomares Fault. The region is characterized by sparse, low to moderate magnitude (Mw shallow instrumental earthquakes, although large historical events have also occurred. To understand the recent tectonic history of the margin we analyze new high-resolution multibeam bathymetry data and re-processed three multichannel seismic reflection profiles crossing the main structures. The analysis of seafloor morphology and associated subsurface structure provides new insights of the active tectonic features of the area. In contrast to other segments of the southeastern Iberian margin, the Palomares margin contains numerous large and comparatively closely spaced canyons with heads that reach near the coast. The margin relief is also characterized by the presence of three prominent igneous submarine ridges that include the Aguilas, Abubacer and Maimonides highs. Erosive processes evidenced by a number of scars, slope failures, gullies and canyon incisions shape the present-day relief of the Palomares margin. Seismic images reveal the deep structure distinguishing between Miocene structures related to the formation of the margin and currently active features, some of which may reactivate inherited structures. The structure of the margin started with an extensional phase accompanied by volcanic accretion during the Serravallian, followed by a compressional pulse that started during the Latemost Tortonian. Nowadays, tectonic activity offshore is subdued and limited to few, minor faults, in comparison with the activity recorded onshore. The deep Algero

  4. Northeastern Brazilian margin: Regional tectonic evolution based on integrated analysis of seismic reflection and potential field data and modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaich, Olav A.; Tsikalas, Filippos; Faleide, Jan Inge

    2008-10-01

    Integration of regional seismic reflection and potential field data along the northeastern Brazilian margin, complemented by crustal-scale gravity modelling, is used to reveal and illustrate onshore-offshore crustal structure correlation, the character of the continent-ocean boundary, and the relationship of crustal structure to regional variation of potential field anomalies. The study reveals distinct along-margin structural and magmatic changes that are spatially related to a number of conjugate Brazil-West Africa transfer systems, governing the margin segmentation and evolution. Several conceptual tectonic models are invoked to explain the structural evolution of the different margin segments in a conjugate margin context. Furthermore, the constructed transects, the observed and modelled Moho relief, and the potential field anomalies indicate that the Recôncavo, Tucano and Jatobá rift system may reflect a polyphase deformation rifting-mode associated with a complex time-dependent thermal structure of the lithosphere. The constructed transects and available seismic reflection profiles, indicate that the northern part of the study area lacks major breakup-related magmatic activity, suggesting a rifted non-volcanic margin affinity. In contrast, the southern part of the study area is characterized by abrupt crustal thinning and evidence for breakup magmatic activity, suggesting that this region evolved, partially, with a rifted volcanic margin affinity and character.

  5. [Progresses of alpine treeline formation mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cong, Yu; He, Hong Shi; Gu, Xiao Nan; Xu, Wen Ru; Liu, Kai; Zong, Sheng Wei; Du, Hai Bo

    2016-09-01

    Alpine treelines represent one of the most distinct vegetation boundaries between canopy closed montane forest and treeless alpine vegetation. This transitional ecotone is highly sensitive to global and regional climate change and is considered as an ideal indicator of such changes. Treeline studies have evolved from morphological description to various hypotheses of treeline formation. Although individual hypothesis may provide reasonable explanation locally, a generalized hypothesis that is applicable on the global scale is still lacking. Temperature is considered the limited factor controlling the distribution of alpine treeline as low temperature restricts biochemical processes of tree growth. However, which particular biochemical processes are affected by low temperature remains unknown. This paper summarized the mechanisms of treeline formation with a focus on how low temperature affects photosynthesis characteristics, nutrient characteristics, non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) and antioxidant system. We also reviewed the key issues and future perspectives in treeline research.

  6. U-Pb Detrital Zircon Ages from Sarawak: Changes in Provenance Reflecting the Tectonic Evolution of Southeast Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breitfeld, H. T.; Galin, T.; Hall, R.

    2014-12-01

    Sarawak is located on the northern edge of Sundaland in NW Borneo. Five sedimentary basins are distinguished with ages from Triassic to Cenozoic. New light mineral, heavy mineral and U-Pb detrital zircon ages show differences in provenance reflecting the tectonic evolution of the region. The oldest clastic sediments are Triassic of the Sadong-Kuching Basin and were sourced by a Carnian to Norian volcanic arc and erosion of Cathaysian rocks containing zircons of Paleoproterozoic age. Sandstones of the Upper Jurassic to Cretaceous Bau-Pedawan Basin have distinctive zircon populations indicating a major change of tectonic setting, including initiation of subduction below present-day West Sarawak in the Late Jurassic. A wide range of inherited zircon ages indicates various Cathaysian fragments as major source areas and the arrival of the SW Borneo Block following subduction beneath the Schwaner Mountains in the early Late Cretaceous. After collision of the SW Borneo Block and the microcontinental fragments with Sundaland in the early Late Cretaceous, deep marine sedimentation (Pedawan Formation) ceased, and there was uplift forming the regional Pedawan-Kayan unconformity. Two episodes of extension were responsible for basin development on land from the latest Cretaceous onwards, probably in a strike-slip setting. The first episode formed the Kayan Basin in the Latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to Early Paleocene, and the second formed the Ketungau Basin and the Penrissen Sandstone in the Middle to Late Eocene. Zircons indicate nearby volcanic activity throughout the Early Cenozoic in NW Borneo. Inherited zircon ages indicate an alternation between Borneo and Tin Belt source rocks. A large deep marine basin, the Rajang Basin, formed north of the Lupar Line fault. Zircons from sediments of the Rajang Basin indicate they are of similar age and provenance as the contemporaneous terrestrial sediments to the south suggesting a narrow steep continental Sundaland margin at the

  7. Thermotectonic evolution of the Apuseni mountains (Romania) based on structural and geothermochronological data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiser, M. K.; Fügenschuh, B.; Schuster, R.

    2012-04-01

    The Apuseni Mountains in Romania take a central position in the Alpine Carpathian Dinaride system between the Pannonian basin in the West and the Transylvanian basin in the East. Following the final Mid-Cretaceous obduction of the East Vardar ophiolite a NW-vergent nappe stack formed, which involves from bottom to top: Tisza- (Bihor and Codru) and Dacia-derived (Biharia) units, overlain by the South Apuseni or Transylvanian ophiolite belt (see Schmid et al, 2008). This study tries to provide new and additional information on the complex structural and metamorphic evolution of these units, from the onset of obduction during Jurassic times, to the (final?) exhumation processes observed during the Eocene (according to Merten, 2011). Based on observed stretching lineations, kinematic indicators such as porphyroclasts, shearbands etc. were analyzed to establish a relative chronological order of deformation and tectonic transport. Microstructural studies provided additional data on the relative succession of events and the relevant synkinematic temperatures. A thermochronological study, based on the integration of newly aquired Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, Ar-Ar and fission track ages with existing data allowed the construction of a time-temperature deformation path. Our data indicate three major events, a Late Jurassic-Earliest Cretaceous exhumation event, which cannot be directly constrained by structural data so far. Yet the position of the Transsylvanian ophiolites tectonically overlying the Biharia unit as well as distinct thermochronological data are self-explaining. The second event ("Austrian Phase" in local nomenclature), documented by structural and thermochronological data, is related to the top to the NE thrusting (i.e. in present-day coordinates) of Tisza over Dacia during the Mid-Cretaceous. This penetrative event in the Biharia unit is overprinted at the contact between nappes by a third, top to the NW event during the Turonian, which relates to the NW directed

  8. Textile Tectonics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mossé, Aurélie

    2008-01-01

    of the discipline. Inspiring time gathering some of the most exciting architects of the moment, Lars Spuybroeck, Mark Burry, Evan Douglis, Michael Hensel and Cecil Balmond were invited to discuss their understanding of tectonics. Full text available at http://textilefutures.co.uk/exchange/bin/view/TextileFutures/TextileTectonics...

  9. The tectonics of Mercury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melosh, H.J.; Mckinnon, W.B.

    1988-01-01

    The probable tectonic history of Mercury and the relative sequence of events are discussed on the basis of data collected by the Mariner-10 spacecraft. Results indicate that Mercury's tectonic activity was confined to its early history; its endogenic activity was principally due to a small change in the shape of its lithosphere, caused by tidal despinning, and a small change in area caused by shrinkage due to cooling. Exogenic processes, in particular the impact activity, have produced more abundant tectonic features. Many features associated with the Caloris basin are due to loading of Mercury's thick lithosphere by extrusive lavas or subsidence due to magma withdrawal. It is emphasized that tectonic features observed on Mercury yield insight into the earliest tectonic events on planets like Mars and, perhaps, the earth, where subsequent events obscured or erased the most ancient tectonic records

  10. Sensitivity of Alpine Snow and Streamflow Regimes to Climate Changes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasouli, K.; Pomeroy, J. W.; Marks, D. G.; Bernhardt, M.

    2014-12-01

    Understanding the sensitivity of hydrological processes to climate change in alpine areas with snow dominated regimes is of paramount importance as alpine basins show both high runoff efficiency associated with the melt of the seasonal snowpack and great sensitivity of snow processes to temperature change. In this study, meteorological data measured in a selection of alpine headwaters basins including Reynolds Mountain East, Idaho, USA, Wolf Creek, Yukon in Canada, and Zugspitze Mountain, Germany with climates ranging from arctic to continental temperate were used to study the snow and streamflow sensitivity to climate change. All research sites have detailed multi-decadal meteorological and snow measurements. The Cold Regions Hydrological Modelling platform (CRHM) was used to create a model representing a typical alpine headwater basin discretized into hydrological response units with physically based representations of snow redistribution by wind, complex terrain snowmelt energetics and runoff processes in alpine tundra. The sensitivity of snow hydrology to climate change was investigated by changing air temperature and precipitation using weather generating methods based on the change factors obtained from different climate model projections for future and current periods. The basin mean and spatial variability of peak snow water equivalent, sublimation loss, duration of snow season, snowmelt rates, streamflow peak, and basin discharge were assessed under varying climate scenarios and the most sensitive hydrological mechanisms to the changes in the different alpine climates were detected. The results show that snow hydrology in colder alpine climates is more resilient to warming than that in warmer climates, but that compensatory factors to warming such as reduced blowing snow sublimation loss and reduced melt rate should also be assessed when considering climate change impacts on alpine hydrology.

  11. Evidence of Variscan and Alpine tectonics in the structural and thermochronological record of the central Serbo-Macedonian Massif (south-eastern Serbia)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antić, Milorad D.; Kounov, Alexandre; Trivić, Branislav; Spikings, Richard; Wetzel, Andreas

    2017-07-01

    The Serbo-Macedonian Massif (SMM) represents a composite crystalline belt within the Eastern European Alpine orogen, outcropping from the Pannonian basin in the north to the Aegean Sea in the south. The central parts of this massif (south-eastern Serbia) consist of the medium- to high-grade Lower Complex and the low-grade Vlasina Unit. Outcrop- and micro-scale ductile structures in this area document three major stages of ductile deformation. The earliest stage D1 is related to isoclinal folding, commonly preserved as up to decimetre-scale quartz-feldspar rootless fold hinges. D2 is associated with general south-eastward tectonic transport and refolding of earlier structures into recumbent metre- to kilometre-scale tight to isoclinal folds. Stages D1 and D2 could not be temporally separated and probably took place in close sequence. The age of these two ductile deformation stages was constrained to the Variscan orogeny based on indirect geological evidence (i.e. ca. 408-ca. 328). During this period, the SMM was involved in a transpressional amalgamation of the western and eastern parts of the Galatian super-terrane and subsequent collision with Laurussia. Outcrop-scale evidence of the final stage D3 is limited to spaced and crenulation cleavage, which are probably related to formation of large-scale open upright folds as reported previously. 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology was applied on hornblende, muscovite, and biotite samples in order to constrain the age of tectonothermal events and activity along major shear zones. These 40Ar/39Ar data reveal three major cooling episodes affecting the central SMM. Cooling below greenschist facies conditions in the western part of the Vlasina Unit took place in a post-orogenic setting (extensional or transtensional) in the early Permian (284 ± 1 Ma). The age of activity along the top-to-the-west shear zone formed within the orthogneiss in the Božica area of the Vlasina Unit was constrained to Middle Triassic (246 ± 1 Ma). This

  12. Current deformation in the Tibetan Plateau: a stress gauge in the large-scale India-Asia collision tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capitanio, F. A.

    2017-12-01

    The quantification of the exact tectonic forces budget on Earth has remained thus far elusive. Geodetic velocities provide relevant constraints on the current dynamics of the coupling between collision and continental tectonics, however in the Tibetan plateau these support contrasting, non-unique models. Here, we compare numerical models of coupled India-Asia plate convergence, collision and continent interiors tectonics to the geodetically-constrained motions in the Tibetan Plateau to provide a quantitative assessment of the driving forces of plate tectonics in the area. The models develop a range of long-term evolutions remarkably similar to the Asian tectonics in the Cenozoic, reproducing the current large-scale motions pattern under a range of conditions. Balancing the convergent margin forces, following subduction, and the far-field forcing along the trail of the subducting continent, the geodetic rates in the Tibetan Plateau can be matched. The comparisons support the discussion on the likely processes at work, allowing inferences on the drivers of plateau formation and its role on the plate margin-interiors tectonics. More in general, the outcomes highlight the unique role of the Tibetan Plateau as a pressure gauge for the tectonic forces on Earth.

  13. Serpentinite-driven Exhumation of the UHP Lago di Cignana Unit in the Fossil Alpine Plate Interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scambelluri, M.; Gilio, M.; Angiboust, S.; Godard, M.; Pettke, T.

    2015-12-01

    The Lago di Cignana Unit (LCU) is a coesite- [1] and diamond-bearing [2] slice of oceanic-derived eclogites and metasediments recording Alpine UHP metamorphism at 600 °C-3.2 GPa (~110 km depth) [3]. The LCU is tectonically sandwiched between the eclogitic Zermatt-Saas Zone (ZSZ; 540 °C-3.2 GPa) [4] and the blueschist Combin Zone (400 °C-0.9 GPa) [5] along a tectonic structure joining HP units recording a ~1.2 GPa (40 km) pressure difference. So far, the ZSZ has been attributed to normal HP conditions and the mechanism driving exhumation and accretion of the LCU in its present structural position is not fully understood.We performed petrography and bulk-rock trace element analyses of rocks from LCU and ZSZ serpentinites. We observed that, while serpentinites in the core of the ZSZ show normal subduction zone trace elements and REE's patterns, the Ol+Ti-chu+Chl veins and host serpentinites enveloping the LCU are strongly enriched in sediment-derived fluid-mobile elements (U, Th, Nb, Ta, Ce, Y, As, Sb) and REE's: their patterns well match those of the closely associated LCU-UHP rocks.The presence of extremely enriched Ol+Ti-chu+Chl veins in the serpentinites at direct contact with the UHP Lago di Cignana Unit suggests that fluid exchange between serpentinite and LCU crustal rocks occurred at peak metamorphic conditions. Their coupling therefore occurred during subduction burial and/or peak UHP conditions. As such, the buoyancy force originating from the relatively light serpentinites fuelled the exhumation of the Lago di Cignana Unit. In this contest, the tectonic contact between the Zermatt-Saas Zone and the Combin Zone evolved into a true tectonic plate interface surface.1. Reinecke (1998). Lithos 42(3), 147-189; 2. Frezzotti et al. (2011). Nat. Geosci. 4(10), 703-706; 3. Groppo et al. (2009). J. Metam. Geol. 27(3), 207-231; 4. Angiboust et al. (2009). Terra Nova 21(3), 171-180; 5. Reddy et al. (1999). J. Metam. Geol. 17, 573-590.

  14. Tectonic regime and evolution of exogenous uranium ore formation in sedimentary rocks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Danchev, V.I.; Shumlyanskij, V.A.; AN Ukrainskoj SSR, Kiev. Inst. Geokhimii i Fiziki Mineralov)

    1981-01-01

    Regularities of the formation and location of exogenous uranium deposits are studied depending on the tectonics regime. It is shown that the successive alternation of sedimentogenous deposits by diagenetic and, subsequently, catogene ones takes place from early Proterozoic to Cenozoic, i.e. exogenous ore formation in the history of the Earth proceeds from early to late stages of lithogenesis [ru

  15. The onset of alpine pastoral systems in the Eastern Alps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oeggl, Klaus; Festi, Daniela; Putzer, Andreas

    2015-04-01

    Since the discovery of the Neolithic glacier mummy "Ötzi" in the nival belt of the main Alpine ridge, the onset of alpine pasture is matter of a highly controversial debate both in archaeology and in palaeo-ecology of the Eastern Alps. The implication is that his sojourn in the high-altitudes of the Alps is considered to be connected with pastoral nomadism. Regrettably any archaeological evidence for the existence of such Neolithic alpine pastoral systems is missing up to now and the assumption is based on palynological data only. However, also the palynological record is ambiguous, because pasture indicators in the alpine regions react positive on grazing as well as on fertilization induced by a higher runoff of precipitation. Thus alpine pasture indicators reflect both grazing pressure and climatic change. Anyhow, alpine pastoral systems are a common practice in Alpine animal husbandry, but from an economic point of view such a seasonal vertical transhumance is costly. There are three main reasons for its practice: i) climatic, ii) economic (mainly in connection with population pressure or mining activities), and iii) cultural ideology. In this study we tested the above mentioned reasons in an interdisciplinary study on the beginning of pastoral activities in high altitudes in the central part of the Eastern Alps. This is conducted by palynological analyses of peat deposits situated in the vicinity of the timberline (1600 - 2400 m a.s.l.) combined with archaeological surveys. The investigated sites are located in traditional Alpine transhumance regions and aligned on a transect through the central part of the Eastern Alps. The studies reveal that grazing pressure is reflected since the Bronze Age, which is corroborated by archaeological findings in the vicinity of the investigated sites.

  16. Anterior cruciate ligament injury/reinjury in alpine ski racing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jordan, Matthew J; Aagaard, Per; Herzog, Walter

    2017-01-01

    and return to sport after ACL injury in alpine ski racing. Given that most of the scientific studies on ACL injuries in alpine ski racing have been descriptive, and that very few studies contributed higher level scientific evidence, a nonsystematic narrative review was employed. Three scholarly databases...... were searched for articles on ACL injury or knee injury in alpine ski racing. Studies were classified according to their relevance in relation to epidemiology, etiology, risk factors, and return to sport/reinjury prevention. Alpine ski racers (skiers) were found to be at high risk for knee injuries...... injuries in development-level skiers, there was limited scientific data on ACL injury risk factors among elite skiers. Based on expert opinion, research on injury risk factors should focus on equipment design, course settings/speed, and athlete factors (eg, fitness). While skiers seem to make a successful...

  17. Cenozoic exhumation and tectonic evolution of the Qimen Tagh Range, northern Tibetan Plateau: Insights from the heavy mineral compositions, detrital zircon U-Pb ages and seismic interpretations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, W.; Wu, C.; Wang, J.; Zhou, T.; Zhang, C.; Li, J.

    2017-12-01

    The Qaidam Basin is the largest intermountain basin within the Tibetan Plateau. The Cenozoic sedimentary flling characteristics of the basin was significantly influenced by the surrounding tectonic belt, such as the Altyn Tagh Range to the north-west and Qimen Tagh Range to the south. The tectonic evolution of the Qimen Tagh Range and the structural relationship between the Qaidam Basin and Qimen Tagh Range remain controversial. To address these issues, we analyzed thousands of heavy mineral data, 720 detrital zircon ages and seismic data of the Qaidam Basin. Based on the regional geological framework and our kinematic analyses, the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Qimen Tagh Range can be divided into two stages. From the Early Eocene to the Middle Miocene, the Devonian (400-360 Ma) and Permian to Triassic (300-200 Ma) zircons which were sourced from the Qimen Tagh Range and the heavy mineral assemblage of zircon-leucoxene-garnet-sphene on the north flank of the Qimen Tagh Range indicated that the Qimen Tagh Range has been exhumed before the Eocene and acted as the primary provenance of the Qaidam Basin. The Kunbei fault system (i.e. the Kunbei, Arlar and Hongliuquan faults) in the southwest of the Qaidam Basin, which can be seen as a natural study window of the Qimen Tagh Range, was characterized by left-lateral strike-slip faults and weak south-dipping thrust faults based on the seismic sections. This strike-slip motion was generated by the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau caused by the onset of the Indian-Eurasian collision. Since the Middle Miocene, the primary mineral assemblages along the northern flank of the Qimen Tagh Range changed from the zircon-leucoxene-garnet-sphene assemblage to the epidote-hornblende-garnet-leucoxene assemblage. Simultaneously, the Kunbei fault system underwent intense south-dipping thrusting, and a nearly 2.2-km uplift can be observed in the hanging wall of the Arlar fault. We attributed these variations to the rapid uplift event of

  18. Gan-Hang tectonic belt and its geologic significance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng Jiarui; Zhang Zhiping.

    1989-01-01

    Gan-Hang tectonic belt is predominantly controlled by Gan-Hang fracture zone. It is mainly composed of Yongfeng-Zhuji downwarping zone, Gan-Hang volcanic activity structural belt and Gan-Hang red basin downfaulted zone. Gan-Hang fracture zone is derived from evolution and development of Shaoxing-Jiangshan deep fracture. It is mainly composed of three deep and large fracture and Fuzhou-Yongfeng large fracture. The fracture zone is a long active belt, but in each active period the geologic structural patterns intensity, depth and forming time were not same. Gan-Hang tectonic belt possesses obvious inheritance. It has always maintained the character of the relative depression or low land since the Caledonian movement. This specific structural environment is favourable for uranium mineralization. At any rate, the formation of this uranium minerogenetic zone has been experiencing a long and complicated processes which were closely associated with long activity of Gan-Hang fracture zone

  19. Chronology of Miocene-Pliocene deposits at Split Mountain Gorge, Southern California: A record of regional tectonics and Colorado River evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorsey, R.J.; Fluette, A.; McDougall, K.; Housen, B.A.; Janecke, S.U.; Axen, G.J.; Shirvell, C.R.

    2007-01-01

    Late Miocene to early Pliocene deposit at Split Mountain Gorge, California, preserve a record of basinal response to changes in regional tectonics, paleogeography, and evolution of the Colorado River. The base of the Elephant Trees Formation, magnetostratigraphically dated as 8.1 ?? 0.4 Ma, provides the earliest well-dated record of extension in the southwestern Salton Trough. The oldest marine sediments are ca. 6.3 Ma. The nearly synchronous timing of marine incursion in the Salton Trough and northern Gulf of California region supports a model for localization of Pacific-North America plate motion in the Gulf ca. 6 Ma. The first appearance of Colorado River sand at the Miocene-Pliocene boundary (5.33 Ma) suggests rapid propagation of the river to the Salton Trough, and supports a lake-spillover hypothesis for initiation of the lower Colorado River. ?? 2007 Geological Society of America.

  20. From the valley floor to the peaks: Stratigraphy and landscape evolution of the Alpine Lateglacial in the Kitzbühel Alps (Tyrol, Austria)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dippenaar, Elijah; Reitner, Jürgen

    2017-04-01

    Our understanding of Alpine landscape evolution and more specifically, chronology of glacier activity during the Alpine Lateglacial (ALG; c. 19 - 11.7 ka) i.e. the timespan between the Würmian Pleniglacial (= Alpine Last Glacial Maximum; AlpLGM) and the beginning of the Holocene, is based on the evidence of only few areas in the Alps. In order to get a better understanding of glaciation and palaeoclimate during this phase, N-S and E-W transects are needed. The Kitzbühel Alps, which are currently not glaciated, span an area of 1700km2 and have peaks that reach c. 2400m a.s.l. They lie at the center of the Eastern Alps on the northern rim, which is more humid than the relatively dry central parts. A modern geological investigation of the ALG record is missing in the Kitzbühel Alps. In order to overcome this gap of knowledge and to gain a more complete understanding of the ALG landscape development, a pioneering study has been performed in the area of Langer Grund Valley, a tributary valley of the Kelchsau Valley. This was done through detailed field mapping, thereby describing the shape and sediment composition of Quaternary morphological features, such as moraines, landslides and rock glacier deposits. Sedimentary evidence of one short glacial advance and two glacial stadials were identified. In chronological order they were named the: Frommbach advance, the Arnbach (glacier) halt and the Küharn halt. Where possible, palaeoglaciers were constructed using ArcGIS. With the palaeoglaciers, equlibrium line altitudes (ELA) were calculated and compared to ELA values of known glacial stadials in an attempt to correlate the relative local stratigraphy to the Lateglacial stratigraphy. Four methods to calculate ELAs were used; Maximum Elevation of Lateral Moraines (MELM), Toe to Headwall Altitude Ratio (THAR), Area x Altitude (AA) and Accumulation Area Ratio (AAR). Furthermore, the glacial sedimentary sequence of the study area was compared to that of the Gschnitz Valley

  1. The Tectonic Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Anne Marie Due

    has the consequence that it is difficult to create architecture where the technical concerns are an inherent part of the architectural expression. The aim of the thesis is to discuss the role of digital tools in overcoming the distance between the professional specializations and thereby support...... a tectonic practice. The project develops a framework to understand the role of digital tools in the tectonic practice from and discusses how and in which areas the tectonic practice could become supported by digital tools....

  2. TERRAIN TECTONICS OF THE CENTRAL ASIAN FOLDED BELT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. M. Buslov

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The terrain analysis concept envisages primarily a possibility of approximation of fragments / terrains of various geodynamic settings which belong to different plates. The terrain analysis can supplement the theory of plate tectonics in solving problems of geodynamics and tectonics of regions of the crust with complex structures. The Central Asian belt is among such complicated regions. Terrain structures occurred as a result of combined movements in the system of 'frontal' and/or oblique subduction – collision. In studies of geological objects, it is required first of all to prove their (vertical and horizontal autochthony in relations to each other and then proceed to paleogeodynamic, paleotectonic and paleogeographic reconstructions. Obviously, such a complex approach needs data to be obtained by a variety of research methods, including those applied to study geologic structures, stratigraphy, paleontology, paleogeography, lithothlogy, geochemistry, geochronology, paleomagnetism etc. Only by correlating such data collected from inter-disciplinary studies of the regions, it is possible to establish reliable characteristics of the geological settings and avoid mistakes and misinterpretations that may be associated with the 'stratigraphic' approach to solutions of both regional and global problems of geodynamics and tectonics of folded areas. The terrain analysis of the Central Asian folded belt suggests that its tectonic structure combines marginal continental rock complexes that were formed by the evolution of two major oceanic plates. One of them is the plate of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. As the analogue of the current Indo-Atlantic segment of Earth, it is characterised by the presence of continental blocks in the composition of the oceanic crust and the formation of oceanic basins resulting from the breakup of Rodinia and Gondvana. In the course of its evolution, super-continents disintegrated, and the blocks were reunited into the Kazakhstan

  3. Photochemistry and aerosol in alpine region: mixing and transport; Photochimie et aerosol en region alpine: melange et transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chaxel, E

    2006-11-15

    The Alpine arc deeply interacts with general circulation of atmosphere. By studying configurations in summer and winter over various Alpine areas, this work explains how mixing and transport of airborne pollutants happen, both gaseous and particulate matter, from their emission sources to free troposphere. Using observational results and a comprehensive Eulerian modelling system, one focuses on mechanisms of pollution by ozone in summer and by particulate matter and benzene in winter. After having validated the modelling system using datasets from field experiments POVA, GRENOPHOT and ESCOMPTE, it is applied on two periods with principal interest in the Grenoble area: one is the heat-wave August 2003 and the other is a long episode of thermal inversion in February 2005. Uncertainties are also calculated. One finishes by applying the modelling chain to understand how a stratospheric intrusion following a tropopause fold affected the Alpine region in July 2004. (author)

  4. Evolution of the Altaid tectonic collage and Palaeozoic crustal growth in Eurasia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Şengör, A. M. C.; Natal'in, B. A.; Burtman, V. S.

    1993-07-01

    A new tectonic model, postulating the growth of giant subduction-accretion complexes along a single magmatic arc now found contorted between Siberia and Baltica, shows that Asia grew by 5.3 million square kilometres during the Palaeozoic era. Half of this growth may have occurred by the addition of juvenile crust newly extracted from the mantle, supporting models of considerable continental growth continuing throughout the Phanerozoic eon.

  5. Late Quaternary displacement rate, paleoseismicity, and geomorphic evolution of the Alpine Fault : evidence from Hokuri Creek, south Westland, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutherland, R.; Norris, R.J.

    1995-01-01

    A 400 ± 100 m offset of Lake McKerrow, South Westland, New Zealand, combined with dated (15.6 ka) glacial lake silts, requires an Alpine Fault displacement rate of 26 ± 7 mm/yr. Moraines associated with Hokuri Creek (assumed to be 17 ± 2 ka) are offset by 440 ± 40 m and require a displacement rate on the Alpine Fault of 26 ± 6 mm/yr. Slickensides, fault exposure, and offset topography are consistent with an almost pure dextral sense of movement on a vertical or subvertical fault. Locally, a small vertical component of up-to-the-west movement is observed. Folding in late Quaternary sediments indicates active tilting of sediments at up to 0.4 degrees/ka and variations in local uplift/subsidence rates of up to 4 mm/yr. At one locality c.1 km northwest of the Alpine Fault and near the core of an anticline, uplifted shells require an uplift rate of 1.4 ± 0.5 mm/yr relative to sea level. Displaced river channels provide estimates of the last two coseismic displacements on the fault of 9 m (penultimate) and 8 m. This suggests characteristic earthquake behaviour with a recurrence interval of 330 ± 90 yr and probable M w > 7.5. Radiocarbon dating suggests the last coseismic displacement occurred just after 370 ± 150 cal yr B.P. (author). 34 refs., 10 figs., 3 tabs

  6. Analysis of the seismicity of Southeastern Sicily: a proposed tectonic interpretation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. S. Barbano

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available Southeastern Sicily is one of the Italian regions with high seismic risk and is characterised by the occurrence in the past of large destructive events (MS = 6.4-7.3 over a territory which is densely urbanised today. The main earthquakes were analysed and some minor damaging shocks reviewed to investigate the main seismogenic features of the region. The comparison between the pattern of seismicity and evidence of Quaternary tectonics allowed us to propose a first tentative, tectonic interpretation of the earthquakes. On the whole, the seismicity of SE Sicily seems distributed along regional fault systems which have had a role in the recent geodynamic evolution of the area. The Malta escarpment, the only structure whose late Quaternary-recent activity is currently known, appears the most probable source for earthquakes with about 7 magnitude. Although no evidence of tectonics subsequent to the middle Pleistocene is available for them, the Scicli line and the NE-SW fault system delimiting the northern sector of the Hyblean plateau seem seismically active with events with maximum magnitude of 5.2 and 6.4, respectively.

  7. Origin, mobility, and temporal evolution of arsenic from a low-contamination catchment in Alpine crystalline rocks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pili, Eric, E-mail: Eric.Pili@cea.fr [CEA, DAM, DIF, F-91297 Arpajon (France); Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris-Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, 1 rue Jussieu, F-75238 Paris cedex 05 (France); Tisserand, Delphine, E-mail: Delphine.Tisserand@obs.ujf-grenoble.fr [Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre) Université Joseph Fourier and CNRS, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble cedex 9 (France); Bureau, Sarah, E-mail: Sarah.Bureau@obs.ujf-grenoble.fr [Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre) Université Joseph Fourier and CNRS, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble cedex 9 (France)

    2013-11-15

    Highlights: ► δ{sup 34}S{sub SO4} vs. [As] and δ{sup 18}O{sub SO4} vs. As{sup V}/As{sup III} correlations provide new tools even for low [As]. ► Long-term and high-resolution monitoring shows droughts enhance pyrite dissolution. ► Major effect of 2003 European heatwave on pyrite dissolution and [As] increase. -- Abstract: The reduction to 10 μg/l of the limit for arsenic in drinking water led many resource managers to deal with expensive treatments. In the very common case of arsenic levels close to the recommended maximum concentration, knowing the origin and temporal evolution of As has become of great importance. Here we present a case study from an alpine basin. Arsenic speciation, isotopic compositions of pyrite, sulfate and water, and concentrations of major and trace elements demonstrate a geogenic source for arsenic linked to the dissolution of pyrite. We provide new tools to further study As at low concentrations where many processes may be masked. The observed negative correlation between δ{sup 34}S{sub SO4} and [As] is interpreted as a Rayleigh-type sulfur-isotope fractionation during increasing pyrite dissolution. The observed positive correlation between δ{sup 18}O{sub SO4} and As{sup V}/As{sup III} could help to retrieve initial redox conditions. A 3-year long monitoring at high-resolution demonstrated that drought conditions enhance pyrite dissolution whose degradation products are scavenged by recharge water. An increase in As in groundwater may result from droughts due to enhanced oxygen entry in the unsaturated zone. The 2003 European heatwave had a major effect.

  8. Local and regional minimum 1D models for earthquake location and data quality assessment in complex tectonic regions: application to Switzerland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Husen, S.; Clinton, J. F.; Kissling, E.

    2011-01-01

    One-dimensional (1D) velocity models are still widely used for computing earthquake locations at seismological centers or in regions where three-dimensional (3D) velocity models are not available due to the lack of data of sufficiently high quality. The concept of the minimum 1D model with appropriate station corrections provides a framework to compute initial hypocenter locations and seismic velocities for local earthquake tomography. Since a minimum 1D model represents a solution to the coupled hypocenter-velocity problem it also represents a suitable velocity model for earthquake location and data quality assessment, such as evaluating the consistency in assigning pre-defined weighting classes and average picking error. Nevertheless, the use of a simple 1D velocity structure in combination with station delays raises the question of how appropriate the minimum 1D model concept is when applied to complex tectonic regions with significant three-dimensional (3D) variations in seismic velocities. In this study we compute one regional minimum 1D model and three local minimum 1D models for selected subregions of the Swiss Alpine region, which exhibits a strongly varying Moho topography. We compare the regional and local minimum 1D models in terms of earthquake locations and data quality assessment to measure their performance. Our results show that the local minimum 1D models provide more realistic hypocenter locations and better data fits than a single model for the Alpine region. We attribute this to the fact that in a local minimum 1D model local and regional effects of the velocity structure can be better separated. Consequently, in tectonically complex regions, minimum 1D models should be computed in sub-regions defined by similar structure, if they are used for earthquake location and data quality assessment. (authors)

  9. Local and regional minimum 1D models for earthquake location and data quality assessment in complex tectonic regions: application to Switzerland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Husen, S.; Clinton, J. F. [Swiss Seismological Service, ETH Zuerich, Zuerich (Switzerland); Kissling, E. [Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zuerich, Zuerich (Switzerland)

    2011-10-15

    One-dimensional (1D) velocity models are still widely used for computing earthquake locations at seismological centers or in regions where three-dimensional (3D) velocity models are not available due to the lack of data of sufficiently high quality. The concept of the minimum 1D model with appropriate station corrections provides a framework to compute initial hypocenter locations and seismic velocities for local earthquake tomography. Since a minimum 1D model represents a solution to the coupled hypocenter-velocity problem it also represents a suitable velocity model for earthquake location and data quality assessment, such as evaluating the consistency in assigning pre-defined weighting classes and average picking error. Nevertheless, the use of a simple 1D velocity structure in combination with station delays raises the question of how appropriate the minimum 1D model concept is when applied to complex tectonic regions with significant three-dimensional (3D) variations in seismic velocities. In this study we compute one regional minimum 1D model and three local minimum 1D models for selected subregions of the Swiss Alpine region, which exhibits a strongly varying Moho topography. We compare the regional and local minimum 1D models in terms of earthquake locations and data quality assessment to measure their performance. Our results show that the local minimum 1D models provide more realistic hypocenter locations and better data fits than a single model for the Alpine region. We attribute this to the fact that in a local minimum 1D model local and regional effects of the velocity structure can be better separated. Consequently, in tectonically complex regions, minimum 1D models should be computed in sub-regions defined by similar structure, if they are used for earthquake location and data quality assessment. (authors)

  10. Evolution of the Niger Delta, present dynamics and the future ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Evolution of the Niger Delta is closely linked to the geodynamics related to the separation of the African and South American continents and the tectonics of the formation of the Benue Trough. Tectonic activities, climate and eustasy are the major factors responsible for transgression and regression through the entrant point ...

  11. The microbially mediated soil organic carbon loss under degenerative succession in an alpine meadow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yuguang; Liu, Xiao; Cong, Jing; Lu, Hui; Sheng, Yuyu; Wang, Xiulei; Li, Diqiang; Liu, Xueduan; Yin, Huaqun; Zhou, Jizhong; Deng, Ye

    2017-07-01

    Land-cover change has long been recognized as having marked effect on the amount of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the microbially mediated processes and mechanisms on SOC are still unclear. In this study, the soil samples in a degenerative succession from alpine meadow to alpine steppe meadow in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau were analysed using high-throughput technologies, including Illumina sequencing and geochip functional gene arrays. The soil microbial community structure and diversity were significantly (p carbon degradation genes (e.g., pectin and hemicellulose) was significantly higher in alpine steppe meadow than in alpine meadow, but the relative abundance of soil recalcitrant carbon degradation genes (e.g., chitin and lignin) showed the opposite tendency. The Biolog Ecoplate experiment showed that microbially mediated soil carbon utilization was more active in alpine steppe meadow than in alpine meadow. Consequently, more soil labile carbon might be decomposed in alpine steppe meadow than in alpine meadow. Therefore, the degenerative succession of alpine meadow because of climate change or anthropogenic activities would most likely decrease SOC and nutrients medicated by changing soil microbial community structure and their functional potentials for carbon decomposition. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Pargo Chasma and its relationship to global tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghail, R. C.

    1993-01-01

    Pargo Chasma was first identified on Pioneer Venus data as a 10,000 km long lineation extending from Atla Regio in the north terminating in the plains south of Phoebe Regio. More recent Magellan data have revealed this feature to be one of the longest chains of coronae so far identified on the planet. Stofan et al have identified 60 coronae and 2 related features associated with this chain; other estimates differ according to the classification scheme adopted, for example Head et al. identify only 29 coronae but 43 arachnoids in the same region. This highlights one of the major problems associated with the preliminary mapping of the Magellan data: there has been an emphasis on identifying particular features on Venus without a universally accepted scheme to classify those features. Nevertheless, Pargo Chasma is clearly identified as a major tectonic belt of global significance. Together with the Artemis-Atla-Beta tectonic zone and the Beta-Phoebe rift belt, Pargo Chasma defines a region on Venus with an unusually high concentration of tectonic and volcanic features. Thus, an understanding of the processes involved in the formation of Pargo Chasma may lend significant insight into the evolution of the region and the planet as a whole. I have produced a detailed 1 to 10 million scale map of Pargo Chasma and the surrounding area from preliminary USGS controlled mosaiced image maps of Venus constructed from Magellan data. In view of the problems highlighted above in relation the efforts already made at identifying a particular set of features I have mapped the region purely on the basis of the geomorphology visible in the magellan data without any attempt at identifying a particular set or class of features. Thus, the map produced distinguishes between areas of different brightness and texture. This has the advantage of highlighting the tectonic fabric of Pargo Chasma and clearly illustrates the close inter-relationship between individual coronae and the surrounding

  13. Peculiarity of the Relationship between the Seismicity and Tectonic Structure of the Pyrenees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukk, A. A.; Shevchenko, V. I.

    2018-05-01

    The geotectonic position of the Pyrenees mountain massif in the Alpine-Indonesian mobile belt is considered. The geological data testify to the formation of the structure of the Pyrenees in the setting of a subhorizontal compression perpendicular to the ridge. The commonly accepted interpretation considers this compression in the context of plate tectonic notions related to the collision between the Iberian and Eurasian lithospheric plates resulting from the convergence of the Eurasian and African plates. However, this interpretation is challenged by the the geodetic and seismological measurements. The GPS measurements suggest a certain cross-strike spreading rather than shortening of the Earth's crust; the focal mechanisms of the earthquakes indicate the predominance of a subhorizontal extension perpendicular to the strike of the Pyrenees mountain range. The processes of the gravitational collapse of the mountain chain during the isostatic upwelling of the orogenic crust are considered as the most probable cause of this spreading by a number of the authors.

  14. Tourism and Water: Themes of the Alpine Convention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imhof, R.

    2012-04-01

    1) The contribution reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the point of view of the Permanent Secretariat. The Alpine Convention is a multilateral framework treaty signed in 1991 by the eight states of the Alpine bow as well as the European Community. Its main objectives are the sustainable development of the Alpine territory and the safeguarding of the interests of the people living within it, embracing the environmental, social and economic dimensions in the broadest sense. In order to achieve its objectives, over the years the Framework Convention has been equipped with a large number of thematic protocols, e.g. on tourism. The overall objective of the Protocol on Tourism, which first came into force in 2002, is to contribute to sustainable development in the Alpine region within the existing institutional framework, by encouraging environmentally-friendly tourism through specific measures and recommendations which take the interests of both the local population and tourists into account. The provisions of the Protocol on Tourism primarily concern tourism management and controlling tourist flows, structural developments such as ski lifts and ski slopes, accommodation and the balanced development of economically weak areas. Guidelines, development plans, sectoral plans have to be adopted at the appropriate territorial level in order to enable to assess the impact of tourism development on, inter alia, water. This extends also to ski slopes developments. For example the production of artificial snow production may be authorized only if the location's hydrological, climatic and ecological conditions allow. Water is listed among the twelve themes in relation to which the Contracting Parties are supposed to take measures and coordinate their policies (Article 2 of the Framework Convention). The Alpine Convention aims to preserve and re-establish healthy water systems, especially keeping waters clean and protecting the natural

  15. Fission track dating of mesozoic sandstones and its tectonic significance in the Eastern Sichuan Basin, China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen Chuanbo; Mei Lianfu; Xu Sihuang

    2009-01-01

    To establish the tectonic evolution of the eastern Sichuan basin, apatite fission track dating and time-temperature thermal history modeling were carried to analyze on 11 samples collected from Jurassic sandstones. The results indicate that the cooling and exhumation process of the eastern Sichuan basin can be divided into three stages since Cretaceous, (1) a rapid cooling phase between ∼100 and ∼70 Ma, (2) following by a period of relative thermal stability phase between ∼70 and ∼15 Ma, (3) and then a new rapid cooling stage after ∼15 Ma. Two rapid cooling events imply that the eastern Sichuan basin once underwent two tectonic movements since Cretaceous. The first rapid cooling is associated with Mesozoic tectonic reactivation beginning at 100 Ma, which result in folds and faults of the eastern Sichuan basin. The second tectonic movement occurred at 15 Ma, which is related to denudation by compression resulting from the eastward growth of Tibetan plateau uplift.

  16. A tectonically uplifted marine shoreline deposit, Knights Point, Westland, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooper, A.F.; Kostro, F.

    2006-01-01

    An 11 m thick subhorizontal beach deposit rests on steeply dipping Cretaceous bedrock. Sediments, ranging from a basal boulder bed to upper sands, are poorly sorted and negatively skewed, indicating pronounced winnowing of fine material. Impact features on quartz grain surfaces attest to high-energy turbulent environments, and are similar to those found on clasts from modern nearby beaches. The Haast River was source to some of the sand and gravel. Heavy minerals from the Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt were transported 85 km by fluvial/glacial and longshore drift processes, necessitating caution when using apparent lateral separation of source material for estimating strike-slip displacement rates on the Alpine Fault. An optical luminescence age estimate of 123 ± 7 ka for Knights Point beach sands dates to the last interglacial (MIS 5e). A shore-platform altitude of 113 m a.s.l. requires tectonic uplift of the Australian plate of 0.86 mm/yr, an order of magnitude less than the nearby Pacific plate. (author). 66 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs

  17. [A large-scale accident in Alpine terrain].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wildner, M; Paal, P

    2015-02-01

    Due to the geographical conditions, large-scale accidents amounting to mass casualty incidents (MCI) in Alpine terrain regularly present rescue teams with huge challenges. Using an example incident, specific conditions and typical problems associated with such a situation are presented. The first rescue team members to arrive have the elementary tasks of qualified triage and communication to the control room, which is required to dispatch the necessary additional support. Only with a clear "concept", to which all have to adhere, can the subsequent chaos phase be limited. In this respect, a time factor confounded by adverse weather conditions or darkness represents enormous pressure. Additional hazards are frostbite and hypothermia. If priorities can be established in terms of urgency, then treatment and procedure algorithms have proven successful. For evacuation of causalities, a helicopter should be strived for. Due to the low density of hospitals in Alpine regions, it is often necessary to distribute the patients over a wide area. Rescue operations in Alpine terrain have to be performed according to the particular conditions and require rescue teams to have specific knowledge and expertise. The possibility of a large-scale accident should be considered when planning events. With respect to optimization of rescue measures, regular training and exercises are rational, as is the analysis of previous large-scale Alpine accidents.

  18. Geochronology of the basement rocks, Amazonas Territory, Venezuela and the tectonic evolution of the western Guiana Shield

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaudette, H E; Olszewski, Jr, W J

    1985-01-01

    The Amazonas Territory of Venezuela is a large area of Precambrian basement rocks overlain in some locales by the supracrustal sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Roraima Formation. The basement rocks are medium to high grade gneisses with both igneous and sedimentary protoliths, plutonic rocks ranging in composition from granite to tonalite, and meta-volcanic rocks. Rb-Sr whole rock, and U-Pb isotopic analyses of zircons indicate a period of medium to high grade metamorphism and intrusion from 1860 to 1760 Ma. Post-tectonic plutonic activity continued to 1550 Ma. The volcanic rocks of the Roraima Formation in Venezuela give an age of 1746 Ma comparable to volcanic rocks of the Roraima Formation in other parts of the Guiana Shield. The ages and distribution of the basement rocks suggest the presence of a tectonic zone, approximately coincident with the Venezuelan-Colombian border, representing an active orogenic boundary between distinct tectonic provinces. The rocks to the northeast of this zone are part of the Trans-Amazonian of the Guiana Shield, while to the southwest and in adjacent Brazil and Colombia, new younger continental crust has been developed and cratonized. We suggest a model of collision and subduction followed by a chan0140n tectonic style to extensional-vertical to produce the basement rocks of the western Guiana Shield in the Amazonas Territory. (Auth.). 20 refs.; 13 figs.; 2 tabs.

  19. Evidences of a tangential proterozoic tectonic from Quadrilatero Ferrifero, Minas Gerais state, Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belo de Oliveira, O.A.; Teixeira, W.

    1990-01-01

    Radiometric Rb/Sr ages of 2,1 - 2,2 Ga determined for milonites of the Caete complex, combined with tectonic relationships among the sequences of the Espinhaco, Minas and Rio das Velhas Supergroups, suggest that the thrust and fold tectonic style observed around Caete results from two deformation episodes, with similar vergence and style. The parautochthonous domain in Caete Region has been affected by both deformations episodes (Early Proterozoic and Upper Proterozoic) whereas the allochthonous domain apparently was affected only by the younger episode. A preliminary analysis of the Quadrilatero Ferrifero as a whole, considering these two major deformation episodes, is compatible, at least in part, with the large scale features observed in maps. In an effort to understand the tectonic framework of Q.F. an speculation is made on av evolutive model, considering also the existence of two district extensional events (Late Archean and Middle Proterozoic), respectively related to the deposition of Minas and Espinhaco Supergroups in a rift/aulacogen systems. (author)

  20. Biomechanical aspects of new techniques in alpine skiing and ski-jumping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Erich; Schwameder, Hermann

    2003-09-01

    There have been considerable changes in equipment design and movement patterns in the past few years both in alpine skiing and ski-jumping. These developments have been matched by methods of analysing movements in field conditions. They have yielded new insights into the skills of these specific winter sports. Analytical techniques have included electromyography, kinetic and kinematic methods and computer simulations. Our aim here is to review biomechanical research in alpine skiing and ski-jumping. We present in detail the techniques currently used in alpine skiing (carving technique) and ski-jumping (V-technique), primarily using data from the authors' own research. Finally, we present a summary of the most important results in biomechanical research both in alpine skiing and ski-jumping. This includes an analysis of specific conditions in alpine skiing (type of turn, terrain, snow, speed, etc.) and the effects of equipment, materials and individual-specific abilities on performance, safety and joint loading in ski-jumping.

  1. Alpine Windharvest: development of information base regarding potentials and the necessary technical, legal and socio-economic conditions for expanding wind energy in the Alpine Space - Alpine Space wind map - Modeling approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schaffner, B.; Remund, J. [Meteotest, Berne (Switzerland)

    2005-07-01

    This report presents describes the development work carried out by the Swiss meteorology specialists of the company METEOTEST as part of a project carried out together with the Swiss wind-energy organisation 'Suisse Eole'. The framework for the project is the EU Interreg IIIB Alpine Space Programme, a European Community Initiative Programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The project investigated the use of digital relief-analysis. The series of reports describes the development and use of a basic information system to aid the investigation of the technical, legal and socio-economical conditions for the use of wind energy in the alpine area. This report discusses two modelling approaches investigated for use in the definition of a wind map for the alpine area. The method chosen and its application are discussed. The various sources of information for input to the model are listed and discussed.

  2. Cenozoic landforms and post-orogenic landscape evolution of the Balkanide orogen: Evidence for alternatives to the tectonic denudation narrative in southern Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunnell, Y.; Calvet, M.; Meyer, B.; Pinna-Jamme, R.; Bour, I.; Gautheron, C.; Carter, A.; Dimitrov, D.

    2017-01-01

    progressed at a mean velocity of 3 to 4 km/Ma. The Neogene horst-and-graben mosaic that defines the modern landscape (Phase 3) has completely overprinted the earlier fabrics of Phases 1 and 2, and has been the prime focus of tectonic geomorphologists working in the region. The new narrative proposed here for linking the geodynamic evolution of SE Europe with surface landform assemblages raises issues in favour of better documenting the regional sedimentary record of existing Paleogene basins, which constitute a poorly documented missing link to the thermochronological evidence presented here.

  3. Minimal erosion of Arctic alpine topography during late Quaternary glaciation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gjermundsen, Endre F.; Briner, Jason P.; Akçar, Naki; Foros, Jørn; Kubik, Peter W.; Salvigsen, Otto; Hormes, Anne

    2015-10-01

    The alpine topography observed in many mountainous regions is thought to have formed during repeated glaciations of the Quaternary period. Before this time, landscapes had much less relief. However, the spatial patterns and rates of Quaternary exhumation at high latitudes--where cold-based glaciers may protect rather than erode landscapes--are not fully quantified. Here we determine the exposure and burial histories of rock samples from eight summits of steep alpine peaks in northwestern Svalbard (79.5° N) using analyses of 10Be and 26Al concentrations. We find that the summits have been preserved for at least the past one million years. The antiquity of Svalbard’s alpine landscape is supported by the preservation of sediments older than one million years along a fjord valley, which suggests that both mountain summits and low-elevation landscapes experienced very low erosion rates over the past million years. Our findings support the establishment of northwestern Svalbard’s alpine topography during the early Quaternary. We suggest that, as the Quaternary ice age progressed, glacial erosion in the Arctic became inefficient and confined to ice streams, and high-relief alpine landscapes were preserved by minimally erosive glacier armour.

  4. Mio-Pliocene to Pleistocene paleotopographic evolution of Brittany (France) from a sequence stratigraphic analysis: relative influence of tectonics and climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brault, N.; Bourquin, S.; Guillocheau, F.; Dabard, M.-P.; Bonnet, S.; Courville, P.; Estéoule-Choux, J.; Stepanoff, F.

    2004-01-01

    The Mio-Pliocene in Western Europe is a period of major climatic and tectonic change with important topographic consequences. The aim of this paper is to reconstruct these topographic changes (based on sedimentological analysis and sequence stratigraphy) for the Armorican Massif (western France) and to discuss their significance. The Mio-Pliocene sands of the Armorican Massif (Red Sands) are mainly preserved in paleovalleys and are characterized by extensive fluvial sheetflood deposits with low-preservation and by-pass facies. This sedimentological study shows that the Red Sands correspond to three main sedimentary environments: fluvial (alluvial fan, low-sinuosity rivers and braided rivers), estuarine and some rare open marine deposits (marine bioclastic sands: "faluns" of French authors). Two orders of sequences have been correlated across Brittany with one or two minor A/ S cycles comprised within the retrogradational trend of a major cycle. The unconformity at the base of the lower cycle is more marked than the unconformity observed at the top, which corresponds to a re-incision of the paleovalley network. A comparison of the results of the sequence stratigraphy analysis with eustatic variations and tectonic events during the Mio-Pliocene allows (1) to discuss their influence on the evolution of the Armorican Massif and (2) to compare the stratigraphic record with other west-European basins. The unconformity observed at the base of the first minor cycle may be attributed to Serravallian-Tortonian tectonic activity and/or eustatic fall, and the unconformity of the second minor cycle may be attributed to Late Tortonian-Early Messinian tectonic activity. The earlier unconformity is coeval with the development of a "smooth" paleovalley network compared to the jagged present-day relief. A single episode of Mio-Pliocene deformation recorded in Brittany may be dated as Zanclean, thus explaining the lack of the maximum flooding surface except in isolated areas. From

  5. Tectonic setting of the Seychelles, Mascarene and Amirante Plateaus in the Western Equatorial Indian Ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mart, Y.

    1988-01-01

    A system of marine plateaus occurs in the western equatorial Indian Ocean, forming an arcuate series of wide and shallow banks with small islands in places. The oceanic basins that surround the Seychelles - Amirante region are of various ages and reflect a complex seafloor spreading pattern. The structural analysis of the Seychelle - Amirante - Mascarene region reflects the tectonic evolution of the western equatorial Indian Ocean. It is suggested that due to the seafloor spreading during a tectonic stage, the Seychelles continental block drifted southwestwards to collide with the oceanic crust of the Mascarene Basin, forming an elongated folded structure at first, and then a subduction zone. The morphological similarity, the lithological variability and the different origin of the Seychelles Bank, the Mascarene Plateau and the Amirante Arc emphasizes the significant convergent effects of various plate tectonic processes on the development of marine plateaus

  6. Seismic sequence stratigraphy of Miocene deposits related to eustatic, tectonic and climatic events, Cap Bon Peninsula, northeastern Tunisia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gharsalli, Ramzi; Zouaghi, Taher; Soussi, Mohamed; Chebbi, Riadh; Khomsi, Sami; Bédir, Mourad

    2013-09-01

    The Cap Bon Peninsula, belonging to northeastern Tunisia, is located in the Maghrebian Alpine foreland and in the North of the Pelagian block. By its paleoposition, during the Cenozoic, in the edge of the southern Tethyan margin, this peninsula constitutes a geological entity that fossilized the eustatic, tectonic and climatic interactions. Surface and subsurface study carried out in the Cap Bon onshore area and surrounding offshore of Hammamet interests the Miocene deposits from the Langhian-to-Messinian interval time. Related to the basin and the platform positions, sequence and seismic stratigraphy studies have been conducted to identify seven third-order seismic sequences in subsurface (SM1-SM7), six depositional sequences on the Zinnia-1 petroleum well (SDM1-SDM6), and five depositional sequences on the El Oudiane section of the Jebel Abderrahmane (SDM1-SDM5). Each sequence shows a succession of high-frequency systems tract and parasequences. These sequences are separated by remarkable sequence boundaries and maximum flooding surfaces (SB and MFS) that have been correlated to the eustatic cycles and supercycles of the Global Sea Level Chart of Haq et al. (1987). The sequences have been also correlated with Sequence Chronostratigraphic Chart of Hardenbol et al. (1998), related to European basins, allows us to arise some major differences in number and in size. The major discontinuities, which limit the sequences resulted from the interplay between tectonic and climatic phenomena. It thus appears very judicious to bring back these chronological surfaces to eustatic and/or local tectonic activity and global eustatic and climatic controls.

  7. Do cratons preserve evidence of stagnant lid tectonics?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Derek Wyman

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Evidence for episodic crustal growth extending back to the Hadean has recently prompted a number of numerically based geodynamic models that incorporate cyclic changes from stagnant lid to mobile lid tectonics. A large part of the geologic record is missing for the times at which several of these cycles are inferred to have taken place. The cratons, however, are likely to retain important clues relating to similar cycles developed in the Mesoarchean and Neoarchean. Widespread acceptance of a form of plate tectonics by ∼3.2 Ga is not at odds with the sporadic occurrence of stagnant lid tectonics after this time. The concept of scale as applied to cratons, mantle plumes and Neoarchean volcanic arcs are likely to provide important constraints on future models of Earth's geodynamic evolution. The Superior Province will provide some of the most concrete evidence in this regard given that its constituent blocks may have been locked into a stagnant lid relatively soon after their formation and then assembled in the next global plate tectonic interval. Perceived complexities associated with inferred mantle plume – volcanic arc associations in the Superior Province and other cratons may be related to an over estimation of plume size. A possible stagnant lid episode between ∼2.9 Ga and ∼2.8 Ga is identified by previously unexplained lapses in volcanism on cratons, including the Kaapvaal, Yilgarn and Superior Province cratons. If real, then mantle dynamics associated with this episode likely eliminated any contemporaneous mantle plume incubation sites, which has important implications for widespread plumes developed at ∼2.7 Ga and favours a shallow mantle source in the transition zone. The Superior Province provides a uniquely preserved local proxy for this global event and could serve as the basis for detailed numerical models in the future.

  8. Transient magmatic control in a tectonic domain: the central Aeolian volcanic arc (South Italy)

    KAUST Repository

    Ruch, Joel; Vezzoli, Luigina; Di Lorenzo, Riccardo; De Rosa, Rosanna; Acocella, Valerio

    2015-01-01

    The background stress field in volcanic areas may be overprinted by that produced by transient magmatic intrusions, generating local faulting. These events are rarely monitored and thus not fully understood, generating debate about the role of magma and tectonics in any geodynamic setting. Here we carried out a field structural analysis on the NNW-SSE strike-slip system of the central Aeolian Arc, Italy (Lipari and Vulcano islands) with ages constrained by stratigraphy to better capture the tectonic and magmatic evolution at the local and regional scales. We consider both islands as a single magmatic system and define 5 principal stratigraphic units based on magmatic and tectonic activity. We collected >500 measurements of faults, extension fractures and dikes at 40 sites, mostly NNE-SSW to NNW-SSE oriented with a dominant NS orientation. These structures are governed quasi exclusively by pure dip-slip motion, consistent with an E-W extension direction, with minor dextral and sinistral slip, the latter being mostly related to old deposits (>50 ka). We further reconstructed the evolution of the Vulcano-Lipari system during the last ~20 ka and find that it consists of an overall half-graben-like structure, with faults with predominant eastward dips. Field evidence suggests that faulting occurs often in temporal and spatial relation with magmatic events, suggesting that most of the observable deformation derived from transient magmatic activity, rather than from steady regional tectonics. To explain the dominant magmatic and episodic extension in a tectonic dominant domain, we propose a model where the regional N-S trending maximum horizontal stress, responsible for strike-slip activity, locally rotates to vertical in response to transient pressurization of the magmatic system and magma rise below Lipari and Vulcano. This has possibly generated the propagation of N-S trending dikes in the past 1 ka along a 10 km long by 1 km wide crustal corridor, with important

  9. Transient magmatic control in a tectonic domain: the central Aeolian volcanic arc (South Italy)

    KAUST Repository

    Ruch, Joel

    2015-04-01

    The background stress field in volcanic areas may be overprinted by that produced by transient magmatic intrusions, generating local faulting. These events are rarely monitored and thus not fully understood, generating debate about the role of magma and tectonics in any geodynamic setting. Here we carried out a field structural analysis on the NNW-SSE strike-slip system of the central Aeolian Arc, Italy (Lipari and Vulcano islands) with ages constrained by stratigraphy to better capture the tectonic and magmatic evolution at the local and regional scales. We consider both islands as a single magmatic system and define 5 principal stratigraphic units based on magmatic and tectonic activity. We collected >500 measurements of faults, extension fractures and dikes at 40 sites, mostly NNE-SSW to NNW-SSE oriented with a dominant NS orientation. These structures are governed quasi exclusively by pure dip-slip motion, consistent with an E-W extension direction, with minor dextral and sinistral slip, the latter being mostly related to old deposits (>50 ka). We further reconstructed the evolution of the Vulcano-Lipari system during the last ~20 ka and find that it consists of an overall half-graben-like structure, with faults with predominant eastward dips. Field evidence suggests that faulting occurs often in temporal and spatial relation with magmatic events, suggesting that most of the observable deformation derived from transient magmatic activity, rather than from steady regional tectonics. To explain the dominant magmatic and episodic extension in a tectonic dominant domain, we propose a model where the regional N-S trending maximum horizontal stress, responsible for strike-slip activity, locally rotates to vertical in response to transient pressurization of the magmatic system and magma rise below Lipari and Vulcano. This has possibly generated the propagation of N-S trending dikes in the past 1 ka along a 10 km long by 1 km wide crustal corridor, with important

  10. ON THE NOTION OF WELL-DEFINED TECTONIC REGIMES FOR TERRESTRIAL PLANETS IN THIS SOLAR SYSTEM AND OTHERS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lenardic, A.; Crowley, J. W.

    2012-01-01

    A model of coupled mantle convection and planetary tectonics is used to demonstrate that history dependence can outweigh the effects of a planet's energy content and material parameters in determining its tectonic state. The mantle convection-surface tectonics system allows multiple tectonic modes to exist for equivalent planetary parameter values. The tectonic mode of the system is then determined by its specific geologic and climatic history. This implies that models of tectonics and mantle convection will not be able to uniquely determine the tectonic mode of a terrestrial planet without the addition of historical data. Historical data exists, to variable degrees, for all four terrestrial planets within our solar system. For the Earth, the planet with the largest amount of observational data, debate does still remain regarding the geologic and climatic history of Earth's deep past but constraints are available. For planets in other solar systems, no such constraints exist at present. The existence of multiple tectonic modes, for equivalent parameter values, points to a reason why different groups have reached different conclusions regarding the tectonic state of extrasolar terrestrial planets larger than Earth ( s uper-Earths ) . The region of multiple stable solutions is predicted to widen in parameter space for more energetic mantle convection (as would be expected for larger planets). This means that different groups can find different solutions, all potentially viable and stable, using identical models and identical system parameter values. At a more practical level, the results argue that the question of whether extrasolar terrestrial planets will have plate tectonics is unanswerable and will remain so until the temporal evolution of extrasolar planets can be constrained.

  11. Landscape Evolution Modelling-LAPSUS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baartman, J. E. M.; Temme, A. J. A. M.; Schoorl, J. M.; Claessens, L.; Viveen, W.; Gorp, W. van; Veldkamp, A.

    2009-07-01

    Landscape evolution modelling can make the consequences of landscape evolution hypotheses explicit and theoretically allows for their falsification and improvement. ideally, landscape evolution models (LEMs) combine the results of all relevant landscape forming processes into an ever-adapting digital landscape (e.g. DEM). These processes may act on different spatial and temporal scales. LAPSUS is such a LEM. Processes that have in different studies been included in LAPSUS are water erosion and deposition, landslide activity, creep, solidification, weathering, tectonics and tillage. Process descriptions are as simple and generic as possible, ensuring wide applicability. (Author) 25 refs.

  12. Landscape Evolution Modelling-LAPSUS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baartman, J. E. M.; Temme, A. J. A. M.; Schoorl, J. M.; Claessens, L.; Viveen, W.; Gorp, W. van; Veldkamp, A.

    2009-01-01

    Landscape evolution modelling can make the consequences of landscape evolution hypotheses explicit and theoretically allows for their falsification and improvement. ideally, landscape evolution models (LEMs) combine the results of all relevant landscape forming processes into an ever-adapting digital landscape (e.g. DEM). These processes may act on different spatial and temporal scales. LAPSUS is such a LEM. Processes that have in different studies been included in LAPSUS are water erosion and deposition, landslide activity, creep, solidification, weathering, tectonics and tillage. Process descriptions are as simple and generic as possible, ensuring wide applicability. (Author) 25 refs.

  13. Temporal evolution of fault systems in the Upper Jurassic of the Central German Molasse Basin: case study Unterhaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budach, Ingmar; Moeck, Inga; Lüschen, Ewald; Wolfgramm, Markus

    2018-03-01

    The structural evolution of faults in foreland basins is linked to a complex basin history ranging from extension to contraction and inversion tectonics. Faults in the Upper Jurassic of the German Molasse Basin, a Cenozoic Alpine foreland basin, play a significant role for geothermal exploration and are therefore imaged, interpreted and studied by 3D seismic reflection data. Beyond this applied aspect, the analysis of these seismic data help to better understand the temporal evolution of faults and respective stress fields. In 2009, a 27 km2 3D seismic reflection survey was conducted around the Unterhaching Gt 2 well, south of Munich. The main focus of this study is an in-depth analysis of a prominent v-shaped fault block structure located at the center of the 3D seismic survey. Two methods were used to study the periodic fault activity and its relative age of the detected faults: (1) horizon flattening and (2) analysis of incremental fault throws. Slip and dilation tendency analyses were conducted afterwards to determine the stresses resolved on the faults in the current stress field. Two possible kinematic models explain the structural evolution: One model assumes a left-lateral strike slip fault in a transpressional regime resulting in a positive flower structure. The other model incorporates crossing conjugate normal faults within a transtensional regime. The interpreted successive fault formation prefers the latter model. The episodic fault activity may enhance fault zone permeability hence reservoir productivity implying that the analysis of periodically active faults represents an important part in successfully targeting geothermal wells.

  14. Easy handling of tectonic data: the programs TectonicVB for Mac and TectonicsFP for Windows™

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortner, Hugo; Reiter, Franz; Acs, Peter

    2002-12-01

    TectonicVB for Macintosh and TectonicsFP for Windows TM operating systems are two menu-driven computer programs which allow the shared use of data on these environments. The programs can produce stereographic plots of orientation data (great circles, poles, lineations). Frequently used statistical procedures like calculation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors, calculation of mean vector with concentration parameters and confidence cone can be easily performed. Fault data can be plotted in stereographic projection (Angelier and Hoeppener plots). Sorting of datasets into homogeneous subsets and rotation of tectonic data can be performed in interactive two-diagram windows. The paleostress tensor can be calculated from fault data sets using graphical (calculation of kinematic axes and right dihedra method) or mathematical methods (direct inversion or numerical dynamical analysis). The calculations can be checked in dimensionless Mohr diagrams and fluctuation histograms.

  15. Digital Tectonics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Karl; Borup, Ruben; Søndergaard, Asbjørn

    2014-01-01

    Digital Tectonics treats the architectonical possibilities in digital generation of form and production. The publication is the first volume of a series, in which aspects of the strategic focus areas of the Aarhus School of Architecture will be disseminated.......Digital Tectonics treats the architectonical possibilities in digital generation of form and production. The publication is the first volume of a series, in which aspects of the strategic focus areas of the Aarhus School of Architecture will be disseminated....

  16. Low-grade metamorphism in the eastern Southern Alps: Distribution, conditions, timing and implications for the tectonics of the Alps and NW Dinarides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neubauer, Franz; Heberer, Bianca; Genser, Johann; Friedl, Getrude

    2014-05-01

    main body of the Alpine orogen exposed north of the E-trending Periadriatic fault. In previous interpretations, the eastern Southalpine unit was considered to differ in many respects from Alpine units north of the Periadriatic fault including (1) no Alpine metamorphic overprint and, therefore, (2) also no Alpine ductile deformation in contrast to amphibolite- and even eclogite- grade metamorphism (ca. 100 - 85 Ma) in Austroalpine units north of the fault, and by (3) S- to SW-, Adria-directed vergency of the deformation of mostly Eocene to Neogene age in contrast to all units basically directed to the north and northwest, towards the stable European plate. The Southalpine unit is considered as back-thrust of the Middle-Late Eocene plate collision between Stable Europe and the Alpine thrust wedge (Doglioni & Bosellini, 1987). The new data from the eastern part of the Southalpine unit challenge this view and imply a steadily but slowly growing Adria-directed thrust wedge between Maastrichtian and Early Eocene times. Acknowledement: The work has been supported by the Austrian Science Fund (project no. 22,110). References Borojević Šoštarić, S. Neubauer, F., Handler, R., Palinkaš, L. A., 2012. Variscan vs. Alpine tectonothermal events in NW-Dinarides: constraints from 40Ar/39Ar dating. Geologica Carpathica, 63, 441-452. Doglioni, C., Bosellini, A., 1987. Eoalpine and mesoalpine tectonics in the Southern Alps. Geologische Rundschaus, 76, 735-754. Feijth, J., 2002. Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonometamorphic development and geochronology of the Orobic chain (Southern Alps, Lombardy, Italy). PhD thesis, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Geosciences, Technical University of Berlin, 136 p. Ilić, A., Neubauer, F., Handler, R. (submitted). Formation of a structural dome due to transpression: The Lim unit in Central Dinarides. Journal of Structural Geology. Läufer, A.L., Frisch, W., Steinitz, G., Loeschke, J., 1997. Exhumed fault-bounded Alpine blocks along the Periadriatic

  17. Dinosaur tectonics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Graversen, Ole; Milàn, Jesper; B. Loope, David

    2007-01-01

    A dinosaur trackway in the Middle Jurassic eolian Entrada Sandstone of southern Utah, USA, exposes three undertracks that we have modeled as isolated tectonic regimes showing the development of fold-thrust ramp systems induced by the dinosaur's feet. The faulted and folded sequence is comparable...... to crustal scale tectonics associated with plate tectonics and foreland fold-thrust belts. A structural analysis of the dinosaur tracks shows the timing and direction of the forces exercised on the substrate by the animal's foot during the stride. Based on the structural analysis, we establish a scenario...... the back. As the body accelerated, the foot was forced backward. The rotated disc was forced backward along a detachment fault that was bounded by lateral ramps. The interramp segment matches the width of the dinosaur's foot which created an imbricate fan thrust system that extended to the far end...

  18. Stress state reconstruction and tectonic evolution of the northern slope of the Baikit anteclise, Siberian Craton, based on 3D seismic data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moskalenko, A. N.; Khudoley, A. K.; Khusnitdinov, R. R.

    2017-05-01

    In this work, we consider application of an original method for determining the indicators of the tectonic stress fields in the northern Baikit anteclise based on 3D seismic data for further reconstruction of the stress state parameters when analyzing structural maps of seismic horizons and corresponded faults. The stress state parameters are determined by the orientations of the main stress axes and shape of the stress ellipsoid. To calculate the stress state parameters from data on the spatial orientations of faults and slip vectors, we used the algorithms from quasiprimary stress computation methods and cataclastic analysis, implemented in the software products FaultKinWin and StressGeol, respectively. The results of this work show that kinematic characteristics of faults regularly change toward the top of succession and that the stress state parameters are characterized by different values of the Lode-Nadai coefficient. Faults are presented as strike-slip faults with normal or reverse component of displacement. Three stages of formation of the faults are revealed: (1) partial inversion of ancient normal faults, (2) the most intense stage with the predominance of thrust and strike-slip faults at north-northeast orientation of an axis of the main compression, and (3) strike-slip faults at the west-northwest orientation of an axis of the main compression. The second and third stages are pre-Vendian in age and correlate to tectonic events that took place during the evolution of the active southwestern margin of the Siberian Craton.

  19. Satellite Gravity Transforms Unmask Tectonic Pattern of Arabian-African Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eppelbaum, Lev; Katz, Youri

    2017-04-01

    tectonic structures: (1) stable zones of continental and oceanic crust, and (2) mobile geotectonic belts. First type is characterized by homogeneous character of gravity field pattern (for instance, East Arabian Craton), whereas second type is characterized by mosaic and variable behavior of gravity field (especially, active rift zones). It should be noted that 'youngest' mobile structure (Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt and active rift systems of the Red Sea - East Africa) significantly differs in the gravity field pattern from the Mesozoic terrane belt and Neoproterozoic belt. In this investigation six satellite gravity transforms (SGT) are described: multidimensional statistical analysis (MSA) by the use of sliding window, low-pass filtering, informational approach, gradient operator, entropy processing by sliding window of adaptive form, and 3D inverse methods. Application of the MSA enabled not only to delineate geodynamical parameters of the studied region (collision zone at the boundary between the Arabian and Eurasian Plates, and active rift zones between the Arabian, Nubian and Somalian Plates, etc.), but also to estimate generalized properties of the Earth's crust. Results of MSA employment clearly show zone of development of the oceanic crust of the Easternmost Mediterranean and zone of oceanic crust of the Gulf of Aden and eastern (oceanic) part of the Somalian Plate. Besides this, in this map the Arabian and East African active rift zones and collision zone between the Arabian and Eurasian Plates are visibly traced. Applied low-pass gravity field filtering enabled to recognize the most contrast crust-mantle structures. For example, the Afar triangle zone is clearly detected. Zones of the Neotethys closing Eastern Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, Zagros Fault Zone and South Caspian Basin can be easily identified. Subduction zones associated with the plate boundaries are reflected by elongated gradient pattern. These nonstable zones are conjugated with large mobile

  20. Modelling of Aerodynamic Drag in Alpine Skiing

    OpenAIRE

    Elfmark, Ola

    2017-01-01

    Most of the breaking force in the speed disciplines in alpine skiing is caused by the aerodynamic drag, and a better knowledge of the drag force is therefore desirable to gain time in races. In this study a complete database of how the drag area (CDA) changes, with respect to the different body segments, was made and used to explain a complete body motion in alpine skiing. Three experiments were performed in the wind tunnel at NTNU, Trondheim. The database from a full body measurement on an a...

  1. Active Tectonics Around Almaty and along the Zailisky Alatau Rangefront

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grützner, C.; Walker, R. T.; Abdrakhmatov, K. E.; Mukambaev, A.; Elliott, A. J.; Elliott, J. R.

    2017-10-01

    The Zailisky Alatau is a >250 km long mountain range in Southern Kazakhstan. Its northern rangefront around the major city of Almaty has more than 4 km topographic relief, yet in contrast to other large mountain fronts in the Tien Shan, little is known about its Late Quaternary tectonic activity despite several destructive earthquakes in the historical record. We analyze the tectonic geomorphology of the rangefront fault using field observations, differential GPS measurements of fault scarps, historical and recent satellite imagery, meter-scale topography derived from stereo satellite images, and decimeter-scale elevation models from unmanned aerial vehicle surveys. Fault scarps ranging in height from 2 m to >20 m in alluvial fans indicate that surface rupturing earthquakes occurred along the rangefront fault since the Last Glacial Maximum. Minimum estimated magnitudes for those earthquakes are M6.8-7. Radiocarbon dating results from charcoal layers in uplifted river terraces indicate a Holocene slip rate of 1.2-2.2 mm/a. We find additional evidence for active tectonic deformation all along the Almaty rangefront, basinward in the Kazakh platform, and in the interior of the Zailisky mountain range. Our data indicate that the seismic hazard faced by Almaty comes from a variety of sources, and we emphasize the problems related to urban growth into the loess-covered foothills and secondary earthquake effects. With our structural and geochronologic framework, we present a schematic evolution of the Almaty rangefront that may be applicable to similar settings of tectonic shortening in the mountain ranges of Central Asia.

  2. Geomorphology, tectonics, and exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabins, F. F., Jr.

    1985-01-01

    Explorationists interpret satellite images for tectonic features and patterns that may be clues to mineral and energy deposits. The tectonic features of interest range in scale from regional (sedimentary basins, fold belts) to local (faults, fractures) and are generally expressed as geomorphic features in remote sensing images. Explorationists typically employ classic concepts of geomorphology and landform analysis for their interpretations, which leads to the question - Are there new and evolving concepts in geomorphology that may be applicable to tectonic analyses of images?

  3. Staying cool: preadaptation to temperate climates required for colonising tropical alpine-like environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berit Gehrke

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Plant species tend to retain their ancestral ecology, responding to temporal, geographic and climatic changes by tracking suitable habitats rather than adapting to novel conditions. Nevertheless, transitions into different environments or biomes still seem to be common. Especially intriguing are the tropical alpine-like areas found on only the highest mountainous regions surrounded by tropical environments. Tropical mountains are hotspots of biodiversity, often with striking degrees of endemism at higher elevations. On these mountains, steep environmental gradients and high habitat heterogeneity within small spaces coincide with astounding species diversity of great conservation value. The analysis presented here shows that the importance of in situ speciation in tropical alpine-like areas has been underestimated. Additionally and contrary to widely held opinion, the impact of dispersal from other regions with alpine-like environments is relatively minor compared to that of immigration from other biomes with a temperate (but not alpine-like climate. This suggests that establishment in tropical alpine-like regions is favoured by preadaptation to a temperate, especially aseasonal, freezing regime such as the cool temperate climate regions in the Tropics. Furthermore, emigration out of an alpine-like environment is generally rare, suggesting that alpine-like environments – at least tropical ones – are species sinks.

  4. Tectono-sedimentary events and geodynamic evolution of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins of the Alpine Margin, Gulf of Tunis, north-eastern Tunisia offshore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melki, Fetheddine; Zouaghi, Taher; Chelbi, Mohamed Ben; Bédir, Mourad; Zargouni, Fouad

    2010-09-01

    The structural pattern, tectono-sedimentary framework and geodynamic evolution for Mesozoic and Cenozoic deep structures of the Gulf of Tunis (north-eastern Tunisia) are proposed using petroleum well data and a 2-D seismic interpretation. The structural system of the study area is marked by two sets of faults that control the Mesozoic subsidence and inversions during the Paleogene and Neogene times: (i) a NE-SW striking set associated with folds and faults, which have a reverse component; and (ii) a NW-SE striking set active during the Tertiary extension episodes and delineating grabens and subsiding synclines. In order to better characterize the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Gulf of Tunis structures, seismic data interpretations are compared to stratigraphic and structural data from wells and neighbouring outcrops. The Atlas and external Tell belonged to the southernmost Tethyan margin record a geodynamic evolution including: (i) rifting periods of subsidence and Tethyan oceanic accretions from Triassic until Early Cretaceous: we recognized high subsiding zones (Raja and Carthage domains), less subsiding zones (Gamart domain) and a completely emerged area (Raouad domain); (ii) compressive events during the Cenozoic with relaxation periods of the Oligocene-Aquitanian and Messinian-Early Pliocene. The NW-SE Late Eocene and Tortonian compressive events caused local inversions with sealed and eroded folded structures. During Middle to Late Miocene and Early Pliocene, we have identified depocentre structures corresponding to half-grabens and synclines in the Carthage and Karkouane domains. The north-south contractional events at the end of Early Pliocene and Late Pliocene periods are associated with significant inversion of subsidence and synsedimentary folded structures. Structuring and major tectonic events, recognized in the Gulf of Tunis, are linked to the common geodynamic evolution of the north African and western Mediterranean basins.

  5. Understanding the Tectonic Features in the South China Sea By Analyzing Magnetic Anomalies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, L.; Meng, X.; Shi, L.; Yao, C.

    2011-12-01

    The South China Sea (SCS) is surrounded by the Eurasia, Pacific and India-Australia plates. It formed during Late Oligocene-Early Miocene, and is one of the largest marginal seas in the Western Pacific. The collision of Indian subcontinent and Eurasian plate in the northwest, back-arc spreading in the centre and subduction beneath the Philippine plate along Manila trench in the east and along Palawan trough in the south had produced the complex tectonic features in the SCS that we can see today. In the past few decades, a variety of geophysical methods were conducted to study geological tectonics and evolution of the SCS. Here, we analyzed the magnetic data of this area using new data enhancement techniques to understand the regional tectonic features. We assembled the magnetic anomalies data with a resolution of two arc-minute from the World Digital Magnetic Anomaly Map, and then gridded the data on a regular grid. Then we used the method of reduction to the pole at low latitude with varying magnetic inclinations to stably reduce the magnetic anomalies. Then we used the preferential continuation method based on Wiener filtering and Green's equivalence principle to separate the reduced-to-pole (RTP) magnetic anomalies, and subsequently analyze the regional and residual anomalies. We also calculated the directional horizontal derivatives and the tilt-angle derivative of the data to derive clearer geological structures with more details. Then we calculated the depth of the magnetic basement surface in the area by 3D interface inversion. From the results of the preliminary processing, we analyzed the main faults, geological structures, magma distribution and tectonic features in the SCS. In the future, the integrated interpretation of the RTP magnetic anomalies, Bouguer gravity anomalies and other geophysical methods will be performed for better understanding the deep structure , the tectonic features and evolution of the South China Sea. Acknowledgment: We

  6. Preliminary analysis on tectonic movement and uranium metallization in Kang-Dian the earth's axis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo Yiyue; Wei Mingji; Ma Guangzhong

    1998-01-01

    On the basis of analyzing available data the authors expounds the regional geology, tectonic movement, as well as the relationship between geological evolution and uranium metallization in Kang-Dian the earth's axis and propose that the Jinning Period (960-1006 Ma) is the first metallogenic epoch of uranium in Kang-Dian the earth's axis

  7. Evolutionary diversification of cryophilic Grylloblatta species (Grylloblattodea: Grylloblattidae in alpine habitats of California

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roderick George K

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Climate in alpine habitats has undergone extreme variation during Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs, resulting in repeated expansion and contraction of alpine glaciers. Many cold-adapted alpine species have responded to these climatic changes with long-distance range shifts. These species typically exhibit shallow genetic differentiation over a large geographical area. In contrast, poorly dispersing organisms often form species complexes within mountain ranges, such as the California endemic ice-crawlers (Grylloblattodea: Grylloblattidae: Grylloblatta. The diversification pattern of poorly dispersing species might provide more information on the localized effects of historical climate change, the importance of particular climatic events, as well as the history of dispersal. Here we use multi-locus genetic data to examine the phylogenetic relationships and geographic pattern of diversification in California Grylloblatta. Results Our analysis reveals a pattern of deep genetic subdivision among geographically isolated populations of Grylloblatta in California. Alpine populations diverged from low elevation populations and subsequently diversified. Using a Bayesian relaxed clock model and both uncalibrated and calibrated measurements of time to most recent common ancestor, we reconstruct the temporal diversification of alpine Grylloblatta populations. Based on calibrated relaxed clock estimates, evolutionary diversification of Grylloblatta occurred during the Pliocene-Pleistocene epochs, with an initial dispersal into California during the Pliocene and species diversification in alpine clades during the middle Pleistocene epoch. Conclusions Grylloblatta species exhibit a high degree of genetic subdivision in California with well defined geographic structure. Distinct glacial refugia can be inferred within the Sierra Nevada, corresponding to major, glaciated drainage basins. Low elevation populations are sister to alpine populations

  8. Study of the metamorphic belts and tectonics; Henseitai kenkyu to tectonics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Watanabe, T. [Hokkaido University, Sapporo (Japan)

    1997-10-25

    Study of metamorphic belts and tectonics is introduced. Minerals supposedly originating in the transitional zone and the lower mantle, that is, inclusions in diamond in kimberlite, are deemed to carry information about the depth level of 670km and lower. The place of origin of peridotite, Alpe Arami of Switzerland, is again estimated at a level of 300km or deeper. In the tectonic cross section in this region, the oceanic crust is bent and folded, and such a structure enables the supposition that fragments off the transitional zone may be carried upward to the ground surface. This region is now being limelighted, with plume tectonics enjoying popularity. The split of Pangaea is related with the ascent of plume. In the eastern part of Australia, there are alkali rocks attributable to the plume that was supposedly active at the end of the Proterozoic. Zircon U-Pb dating by SHRIMP offers a new approach to the tectonics of metamorphic rocks, and is reinforcing the position of metamorphic petrology relative to the study of collision and split of continents. 64 refs., 10 figs.

  9. Microstructures imply cataclasis and authigenic mineral formation control geomechanical properties of New Zealand's Alpine Fault

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuck, B.; Janssen, C.; Schleicher, A. M.; Toy, V. G.; Dresen, G.

    2018-05-01

    The Alpine Fault is capable of generating large (MW > 8) earthquakes and is the main geohazard on South Island, NZ, and late in its 250-291-year seismic cycle. To minimize its hazard potential, it is indispensable to identify and understand the processes influencing the geomechanical behavior and strength-evolution of the fault. High-resolution microstructural, mineralogical and geochemical analyses of the Alpine Fault's core demonstrate wall rock fragmentation, assisted by mineral dissolution, and cementation resulting in the formation of a fine-grained principal slip zone (PSZ). A complex network of anastomosing and mutually cross-cutting calcite veins implies that faulting occurred during episodes of dilation, slip and sealing. Fluid-assisted dilatancy leads to a significant volume increase accommodated by vein formation in the fault core. Undeformed euhedral chlorite crystals and calcite veins that have cut footwall gravels demonstrate that these processes occurred very close to the Earth's surface. Microstructural evidence indicates that cataclastic processes dominate the deformation and we suggest that powder lubrication and grain rolling, particularly influenced by abundant nanoparticles, play a key role in the fault core's velocity-weakening behavior rather than frictional sliding. This is further supported by the absence of smectite, which is reasonable given recently measured geothermal gradients of more than 120 °C km-1 and the impermeable nature of the PSZ, which both limit the growth of this phase and restrict its stability to shallow depths. Our observations demonstrate that high-temperature fluids can influence authigenic mineral formation and thus control the fault's geomechanical behavior and the cyclic evolution of its strength.

  10. The contribution of weathering of the main Alpine rivers on the global carbon cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donnini, Marco; Probst, Jean-Luc; Probst, Anne; Frondini, Francesco; Marchesini, Ivan; Guzzetti, Fausto

    2013-04-01

    classification of Meybeck (1986, 1987). Then for each basin we computed Rsil weighted average considering the surface and the mean precipitation for the surface area of each lithology. Lastly, we estimated the (Ca+Mg) originating from carbonate weathering as the remaining cations after silicate correction. Depending on time-scales of the phenomena (shorter than about 1 million year i.e., correlated to the short term carbon cycle, or longer than about 1 million years i.e., correlated to the long-term carbon cycle), we considered different equations for the quantification of the atmospheric CO2 consumed by weathering (Huh, 2010). The results show the net predominance of carbonate weathering on fixing atmospheric CO2 and that, considering the long-term carbon cycle, the amount of atmospheric CO2 uptake by weathering is about one order of magnitude lower than considering the short-term carbon cycle. Moreover, considering the short-term carbon cycle, the mean CO2 consumed by Alpine basins is of the same order of magnitude of the mean CO2 consumed by weathering by the 60 largest rivers of the world estimated by Gaillardet et al. (1999). References Amiotte-Suchet, P. "Cycle Du Carbone, Érosion Chimique Des Continents Et Transfert Vers Les Océans." Sci. Géol. Mém. Strasbourg 97 (1995): 156. Amiotte-Suchet, P., and J.-L. Probst. "Origins of dissolved inorganic carbon in the Garonne river waters: seasonal and interannual variations." Sci. Géologiques Bull. Strasbourg 49, no. 1-4 (1996): 101-126. Berner, E.K., and R.A. Berner. The Global Water Cycle. Geochemistry and Environment. Prentice Halle. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ, 1987. Drever, J.L. The Geochemistry of Natural Waters. Prentice Hall, 1982. Gaillardet, J., B. Dupré, P. Louvat, and C.J. Allègre. "Global Silicate Weathering and CO2 Consumption Rates Deduced from the Chemistry of Large Rivers." Chemical Geology 159 (1999): 3-30. Garrels, R.M., and F.T. Mackenzie. Evolution of Sedimentary Rocks. New York: W.W. Nortonand, 1971. Huh, Y

  11. Crustal structure and composition to the S of the Spanish Central System: Effect of Alpine reactivation in an internal Variscan domain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayarza, Puy; Carbonell, Ramón; Ehsan, Siddique; Martí, David; Palomeras, Immaculada; Martínez Poyatos, David

    2016-04-01

    The ALCUDIA Project has acquired vertical incidence and wide-angle reflection seismic data in the Variscan Central Iberian Zone of Spain. The NE-SW, ~300 km long profiles sample an area going from the suture between the Variscan Central Iberian and the Ossa-Morena Zones in the S to the boundary between the former and the Alpine Central System to the N. Although crustal thickness appears to be fairly constant along most of the Central Iberian Zone, a gradual increase of 3-5 km in the northern half of the profile is clearly imaged by the wide-angle data. This increase in the Moho depth is accompanied by a decrease in the thickness of the layered lower crust from the Toledo Anatectic Complex to the N. Right in this area, the amount of Variscan metasediments diminish and the surface geology is characterized by granites, migmatites and by the Madrid Basin, a foreland basin of the Alpine Central System that is part of the bigger Tagus Basin. The increase in crustal thickness identified in the neighborhood of the Central System is also accompanied by a slight increase in the Poisson ratio values, which even though still below 0.25, they are higher than those observed in the southern part of the profile, far from the influence of the late Variscan melting episode and of that of the Alpine tectonics. Two scenarios are considered to take part in the Moho deepening near the Central System: Firstly, the Alpine reactivation causing this mountain belt has increased the crustal load giving rise to a foreland basin and a moderate crustal thickening. Also, a gradual change in crustal composition to the N, incorporating denser and more basic rocks, might also play a role in the average crustal density and contribute to Moho deepening by isostatic readjustment. The importance of each of these process is, as yet, unknown. However, the next acquisition of the CIMDEF project wide-angle reflection dataset across the central part of the Iberian Peninsula, crossing the Central System, will

  12. Polyphase tertiary fold-and-thrust tectonics in the Belluno Dolomites: new mapping, kinematic analysis, and 3D modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chistolini, Filippo; Bistacchi, Andrea; Massironi, Matteo; Consonni, Davide; Cortinovis, Silvia

    2014-05-01

    The Belluno Dolomites are comprised in the eastern sector of the Southern Alps, which corresponds to the fold-and-thrust belt at the retro-wedge of the Alpine collisional orogen. They are characterized by a complex and polyphase fold-and-thrust tectonics, highlighted by multiple thrust sheets and thrust-related folding. We have studied this tectonics in the Vajont area where a sequence of Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary units have been involved in multiple deformations. The onset of contractional tectonics in this part of the Alps is constrained to be Tertiary (likely Post-Eocene) by structural relationships with the Erto Flysch, whilst in the Mesozoic tectonics was extensional. We have recognized two contractional deformation phases (D1 and D2 in the following), of which only the second was mentioned in previous studies of the area and attributed to the Miocene Neoalpine event. D1 and D2 are characterized by roughly top-to-WSW (possibly Dinaric) and top-to-S (Alpine) transport directions respectively, implying a 90° rotation of the regional-scale shortening axis, and resulting in complex thrust and fold interference and reactivation patterns. Geological mapping and detailed outcrop-scale kinematic analysis allowed us to characterize the kinematics and chronology of deformations. Particularly, relative chronology was unravelled thanks to (1) diagnostic fold interference patterns and (2) crosscutting relationships between thrust faults and thrust-related folds. A km-scale D1 syncline, filled with the Eocene Erto Flysch and "decapitated" by a D2 thrust fault, provides the best map-scale example of crosscutting relationships allowing to reconstruct the faulting history. Due to the strong competence contrast between Jurassic carbonates and Tertiary flysch, in this syncline spectacular duplexes were also developed during D2. In order to quantitatively characterize the complex interference pattern resulting from two orthogonal thrusting and folding events, we

  13. Modelling Geomorphic Systems: Landscape Evolution

    OpenAIRE

    Valters, Declan

    2016-01-01

    Landscape evolution models (LEMs) present the geomorphologist with a means of investigating how landscapes evolve in response to external forcings, such as climate and tectonics, as well as internal process laws. LEMs typically incorporate a range of different geomorphic transport laws integrated in a way that simulates the evolution of a 3D terrain surface forward through time. The strengths of LEMs as research tools lie in their ability to rapidly test many different hypotheses of landscape...

  14. Tectonic Characteristics and its Effects on the Control of the Oil and Gas Accumulation in Bayanhushu Depression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tan Zhaobin

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, it makes full use of seismic and Wells in the single well data on the basis of predecessors’ research. On the basis of structural geology theory as the instruction, the detailed characteristics of structure and fracture were studied in this paper. Based on the fracture characteristics, the authors studied the basement depth and the development of hydrocarbon source rocks characteristics, and the restoration method of sag tectonic evolution characteristics are analyzed as well. The authors also discussed the construction control of the oil and gas distribution rules. Through this research, the authors found out the regional tectonic framework, the fault distribution and the tectonic evolution stage, illustrated the structure of oil and gas accumulation conditions, the accumulation mode, and the distribution rule of control law. Through prototype basin restoration, the authors given concerns about the early depression and tectonic background of stuck faults control source, the distribution of sand body, the western steep slope fan delta and gentle slope belt of eastern braided river delta front sand body is favorable reservoir. Depression after Nantun group and the end of the Yimin group at the end of the reversal of the two big changes, ring between the concave structure development, favorable traps formed early reverse changes, late reverse change on the early formation of trap destruction; reservoir by the late Nantun group is formed by the reverse change control in the construction of the steep slope belt wing structure oil and gas enrichment.

  15. MicroRNAs of the mesothorax in Qinlingacris elaeodes, an alpine grasshopper showing a wing polymorphism with unilateral wing form.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, R; Jiang, G F; Ren, Q P; Wang, Y T; Zhou, X M; Zhou, C F; Qin, D Z

    2016-04-01

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are now recognized as key post-transcriptional regulators in regulation of phenotypic diversity. Qinlingacris elaeodes is a species of the alpine grasshopper, which is endemic to China. Adult individuals have three wing forms: wingless, unilateral-winged and short-winged. This is an ideal species to investigate the phenotypic plasticity, development and evolution of insect wings because of its case of unilateral wing form in both the sexes. We sequenced a small RNA library prepared from mesothoraxes of the adult grasshoppers using the Illumina deep sequencing technology. Approximately 12,792,458 raw reads were generated, of which the 854,580 high-quality reads were used only for miRNA identification. In this study, we identified 49 conserved miRNAs belonging to 41 families and 69 species-specific miRNAs. Moreover, seven miRNA*s were detected both for conserved miRNAs and species-specific miRNAs, which were supported by hairpin forming precursors based on polymerase chain reaction. This is the first description of miRNAs in alpine grasshoppers. The results provide a useful resource for further studies on molecular regulation and evolution of miRNAs in grasshoppers. These findings not only enrich the miRNAs for insects but also lay the groundwork for the study of post-transcriptional regulation of wing forms.

  16. Geoprospective study of a nuclear waste repository. Prospective tectonics: convergent and divergent episodes, evolution of stress during the next 100,000 years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gros, Y.

    1985-01-01

    Within the frame of a contract with the CEC, dealing with storage and disposal of radioactive wastes in geological formations, the B.R.G.M. has been involved in a research on prospective tectonics. Within the Western European continental plate, since Mesozoic times, one sees the alternation or succession of convergent and divergent tectonic episodes. These tectonic episodes, although representing geologically discontinuous phenomena, still have time periods of between 4 to 40 millions years. These tectonic phenomena are the cause of the formation or reactivation, at all scales in the continental plate, of brittle, fault-like structures. Tectonic analysis and the in situ measures of stress and the earthquake focal phenomena show that, from the lower Quaternary to the present, the Western European continental plate has been subjected to NNW to SSE convergent stress. A study of the arrangement of European and African plates in the Western Mediterranean shows that the entire region, is undergoing a period of continental collision. The change in the process implies a westerly continental drift of the Spanish plate, a movement which would take several million years. On the Western European scale, the most likely hypothesis during the next 100,000 years is the persistance of the present stress trending approximately N-5. On the other hand, on a local scale, reorganisations of this stress are possible, owing to the presence of tectonic or lithological heterogeneities

  17. Towards a Tectonic Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvejsel, Marie Frier; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning; Mortensen, Sophie Bondgaard

    2015-01-01

    through this transformation is inevitably a tectonic question. By analyzing three historical examples, Adolf Loos’ Villa Moller, Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Johnson Wax Administration Building, chosen for their tectonic ability to exploit the technical ‘principle’ defining...

  18. Elysium region, mars: Tests of lithospheric loading models for the formation of tectonic features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, J.L.; Solomon, S.C.; Head, J.W.

    1986-01-01

    The second largest volcanic province on Mars lies in the Elysium region. Like the larger Tharsis province, Elysium is marked by a topographic rise and a broad free air gravity anomaly and also exhibits a complex assortment of tectonic and volcanic features. We test the hypothesis that the tectonic features in the Elysium region are the product of stresses produced by loading of the Martian lithosphere. We consider loading at three different scales: local loading by individual volcanoes, regional loading of the lithosphere from above or below, and quasi-global loading by Tharsis. A comparison of flexural stresses with lithospheric strength and with the inferred maximum depth of faulting confirms that concentric graben around Elysium Mons can be explained as resulting from local flexure of an elastic lithosphere about 50 km thick in response to the volcano load. Volcanic loading on a regional scale, however, leads to predicted stresses inconsistent with all observed tectonic features, suggesting that loading by widespread emplacement of thick plains deposits was not an important factor in the tectonic evolution of the Elysium region. A number of linear extensional features oriented generally NW-SE may have been the result of flexural uplift of the lithosphere on the scale of the Elysium rise. The global stress field associated with the support of the Tharsis rise appears to have influenced the development of many of the tectonic features in the Elysium region, including Cerberus Rupes and the systems of ridges in eastern and western Elysium. The comparisons of stress models for Elysium with the preserved tectonic features support a succession of stress fields operating at different times in the region

  19. Ethnobotany of medicinal plants among the communities of Alpine and Sub-alpine regions of Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kayani, Sadaf; Ahmad, Mushtaq; Sultana, Shazia; Khan Shinwari, Zabta; Zafar, Muhammed; Yaseen, Ghulam; Hussain, Manzoor; Bibi, Tahira

    2015-04-22

    To best of our knowledge it is first quantitative ethno-botanical study from Alpine and Sub-alpine, Western Himalaya of Pakistan. The study aims to report, compare the uses and highlight the ethno-botanical significance of medicinal plants for treatment of various diseases. A total of 290 (278 males and 12 females) informants including 14 Local Traditional Healers (LTHs) were interviewed. Information was collected using semi-structured interviews, analyzed and compared by quantitative ethno-botanical indices such as Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), Relative frequency of citation (RFC), use value (UV), Fidelity Level (FL) and Jaccard index (JI). A total of 125 plant species (Gymnosperms 7 species, Monocotyledons 2 and 116 Di-cotyledons) belonging to 41 families are collected, identified and ethno-botanically assessed. The most dominant family is Ranunculaceae (20 species) followed by Rosaceae (14 species). In diseases treated, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) diseases have highest proportion (27.5%) followed by respiratory diseases (20%) in the mountain communities. The most dominant life form of plants used is herbs (78%) followed by shrubs (19%) while the most commonly used plant parts are leaves (44 reports) followed by underground part, the roots (37 reports). The highest ICF (0.68) is found for ear, nose and eye disease category followed by respiratory disorders (0.46). There are 15 medicinal plants having 100% FL. Use value (UV) and Relative frequency of citation (RFC) range from 0.03 to 0.53 and 0.04 to 0.23 respectively. In comparison, maximum similarity index is found in the studies with JI 19.52 followed by 17.39. Similarity percentage of plant uses range from 1.69% to 19.52% while dissimilarity percentage varies from 0% to 20%. The Alpine and Sub-alpine regions of Pakistan are rich in medicinal plants and still need more research exploration. On the other hand, ethno-botanical knowledge in study areas is decreasing day by day due to high emigration rates

  20. Area burned in alpine treeline ecotones reflects region-wide trends

    Science.gov (United States)

    C. Alina Cansler; Donald McKenzie; Charles B. Halpern

    2016-01-01

    The direct effects of climate change on alpine treeline ecotones – the transition zones between subalpine forest and non-forested alpine vegetation – have been studied extensively, but climate-induced changes in disturbance regimes have received less attention. To determine if recent increases in area burned extend to these higher-elevation landscapes, we analysed...

  1. A simple spatial model exploring positive feedbacks at tropical alpine treelines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bader, M.; Rietkerk, M.; Bregt, A.K.

    2008-01-01

    Climate change could cause alpine treelines to shift in altitude or to change their spatial pattern, but little is known about the drivers of treeline dynamics and patterning. The position and patterns of tropical alpine treelines are generally attributed to land use, especially burning. Species

  2. Landslide susceptibility assessment in the Peloritani Mts. (Sicily, Italy and clues for tectonic control of relief processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. De Guidi

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Many destructive shallow landslides hit villages in the Peloritani Mountains area (Sicily, Italy on 1 October 2009 after heavy rainfall. The collection of several types of spatial data, together with a landslide inventory, allows the assessment of the landslide susceptibility by applying a statistical technique. The susceptibility model was validated by performing an analysis in a test area using independent landslide information, the results being able to correctly predict more than 70% of the landslides. Furthermore, the susceptibility analysis allowed the identification of which combinations of classes, within the different factors, have greater relevance in slope instability, and afterwards associating the most unstable combinations (with a short–medium term incidence with the endogenic processes acting in the area (huge regional uplift, fault activity. Geological and tectonic history are believed to be key to interpreting morphological processes and landscape evolution. Recent tectonic activity was found to be a very important controlling factor in landscape evolution. A geomorphological model of cyclical relief evolution is proposed in which endogenic processes are directly linked to superficial processes. The results are relevant both to risk reduction and the understanding of active geological dynamics.

  3. Petrologic perspectives on tectonic evolution of a nascent basin (Okinawa Trough) behind Ryukyu Arc:A review

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    YAN Quanshu; SHI Xuefa

    2014-01-01

    Okinawa Trough is a back-arc, initial marginal sea basin, located behind the Ryukyu Arc-Trench System. The formation and evolution of the Okinawa Trough is intimately related to the subduction process of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate since the late Miocene. The tectonic evolution of the trough is similar to other active back-arcs, such as the Mariana Trough and southern Lau Basin, all of which are experiencing the initial rifting and subsequent spreading process. This study reviews all petrologic and geochemical data of mafic volcanic lavas from the Okinawa Trough, Ryukyu Arc, and Philippine Sea Plate, combined with geophysical data to indicate the relationship between the subduction sources (input) and arc or back-arc magmas (output) in the Philippine Sea Plate-Ryukyu Arc-Okinawa Trough system (PROS). The results obtained showed that several components were variably involved in the petrogenesis of the Oki-nawa Trough lavas:sub-continental lithospheric mantle underlying the Eurasian Plate, Indian mid-oceanic ridge basalt (MORB)-type mantle, and Pacific MORB-type mantle. The addition of shallow aqueous fluids and deep hydrous melts from subducted components with the characteristics of Indian MORB-type mantle into the mantle source of lavas variably modifies the primitive mantle wedge beneath the Ryukyu and sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the Okinawa Trough. In the northeastern end of the trough and arc, instead of Indian MORB-type mantle, Pacific MORB-type mantle dominates the magma source. Along the strike of the Ryukyu Arc and Okinawa Trough, the systematic variations in trace element ratios and isotopic compositions reflect the first-order effect of variable subduction input on the magma source. In general, petrologic data, combined with geophysical data, imply that the Okinawa Trough is experiencing the“seafloor spreading”process in the southwest segment,“rift propagation”process in the middle seg-ment, and

  4. SECULAR CHANGES IN RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PLATE-TECTONIC AND MANTLE-PLUME ENGENDERED PROCESSES DURING PRECAMBRIAN TIME

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. V. Mints

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Paradoxically, the lists of “proxies” of both plate- and plume-related settings are devoid of even a mention of the high-grade metamorphic rocks (granulite, amphibolite and high-temperature eclogite facies. However, the granulite-gneiss belts and areas which contain these rocks, have a regional distribution in both the Precambrian and the Phanerozoic records. The origin and evolution of the granulite-gneiss belts correspond to the activity of plumes expressed in vigorous heating of the continental crust; intraplate magmatism; formation of rift depressions filled with sediments, juvenile lavas, and pyroclastic flow deposits; and metamorphism of lower and middle crustal complexes under conditions of granulite and high-temperature amphibolite facies that spreads over the fill of rift depressions also. Granulite-gneiss complexes of the East European Craton form one of the main components of the large oval intracontinental tectonic terranes of regional or continental rank. Inclusion of the granulite-gneiss complexes from Eastern Europe, North and South America, Africa, India, China and Australia in discussion of the problem indicated in the title to this paper, suggests consideration of a significant change in existing views on the relations between the plate- and plume-tectonic processes in geological history, as well as in supercontinent assembly and decay. The East European and North American cratons are fragments of the long-lived supercontinent Lauroscandia. After its appearance at ~2.8 Ga, the crust of this supercontinent evolved under the influence of the sequence of powerful mantle plumes (superplumes up to ~0.85 Ga. During this time Lauroscandia was subjected to rifting, partial breakup and the following reconstruction of the continent. The processes of plate-tectonic type (rifting with the transition to spreading and closing of the short-lived ocean with subduction within Lauroscandia were controlled by the superplumes. Revision of the

  5. Coincidence of the alpine-nival ecotone with the summer snowline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gottfried, M; Toechterle, R; Grabherr, G; Hantel, M; Maurer, C; Pauli, H

    2011-01-01

    The alpine-nival ecotone is the transition between the lower located alpine grassland/tundra zone and the upper located sparsely vegetated nival zone in the mountains. Its characteristics are qualitatively known. Here we study the dynamics of the ecotone through a quantitative approach based on plant data (from Mt Schrankogel, 3497 m, observations 1994 and 2004) and snow data (from 268 routine climate stations in the Alps, observations 1975-2004). We introduce the nivality index as the area ratio of nival and alpine plants, and the snow duration as the length of the summer snow cover. We fit a nonlinear probabilistic model to our field data; it yields state functions of both quantities. The nivality index curve comprises the entire information of the plant data in one analytical function; the snow duration curve represents the equivalent for the full snow data set. Thus all relevant parameters of both quantities follow from the respective state function. We find that the analytical profile of the alpine-nival ecotone at Mt Schrankogel (based on nivality index observations from the altitude interval 2910-3090 m) happens to sit right in the center of the independently determined summer snow profile across the entire Alps; specifically, the central altitude of the Schrankogel ecotone coincides almost perfectly with the central altitude of Alpine snow duration. Both state functions show extreme temperature sensitivity at 2967 m (vegetation) and 2897 m (snow), and both altitudes exhibit a positive trend during the measurement period.

  6. Coincidence of the alpine-nival ecotone with the summer snowline

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gottfried, M; Toechterle, R; Grabherr, G [Research Platform Mountain Limits, University of Vienna, Faculty Center of Biodiversity, Rennweg 14, Wien 1030 (Austria); Hantel, M; Maurer, C [Research Platform Mountain Limits, University of Vienna, Theoretical Meteorology Research Forum, Berggasse 11, Wien 1090 (Austria); Pauli, H, E-mail: michael.hantel@univie.ac.at [Institute of Mountain Research (IGF), Austrian Academy of Sciences, c/o Faculty Center of Biodiversity, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030 Wien (Austria)

    2011-01-15

    The alpine-nival ecotone is the transition between the lower located alpine grassland/tundra zone and the upper located sparsely vegetated nival zone in the mountains. Its characteristics are qualitatively known. Here we study the dynamics of the ecotone through a quantitative approach based on plant data (from Mt Schrankogel, 3497 m, observations 1994 and 2004) and snow data (from 268 routine climate stations in the Alps, observations 1975-2004). We introduce the nivality index as the area ratio of nival and alpine plants, and the snow duration as the length of the summer snow cover. We fit a nonlinear probabilistic model to our field data; it yields state functions of both quantities. The nivality index curve comprises the entire information of the plant data in one analytical function; the snow duration curve represents the equivalent for the full snow data set. Thus all relevant parameters of both quantities follow from the respective state function. We find that the analytical profile of the alpine-nival ecotone at Mt Schrankogel (based on nivality index observations from the altitude interval 2910-3090 m) happens to sit right in the center of the independently determined summer snow profile across the entire Alps; specifically, the central altitude of the Schrankogel ecotone coincides almost perfectly with the central altitude of Alpine snow duration. Both state functions show extreme temperature sensitivity at 2967 m (vegetation) and 2897 m (snow), and both altitudes exhibit a positive trend during the measurement period.

  7. Snow, ice and water in alpine regions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baumgartner, H.

    2009-01-01

    This article takes a look at how climate change will have a deep impact on alpine regions. The findings discussed at a conference organised by the Swiss Hydrologic Commission are presented and discussed. Flooding incidents that occurred 'once in a century' are now becoming more frequent and were considered at the conference as being an indicator of climate change. Changing hydrological factors are also discussed and the influence of climate factors in alpine regions on the water quantities in the rivers are looked at. Also, the spontaneous emptying of glacial lakes as has already happened in Switzerland and the consequences to be drawn from such incidences are discussed.

  8. Miocene tectonic history of the Central Tauride intramontane basins, and the paleogeographic evolution of the Central Anatolian Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koç, Ayten; Kaymakci, Nuretdin; Van Hinsbergen, Douwe J. J.; Kuiper, Klaudia F.

    2017-11-01

    suggest that the extension we documented in the Central Tauride intramontane basins are in part responsible for the major topography that characterizes the Central Taurides today. The causes of extension remain engmatic, but we suggest that the tomographically imaged Antalya Slab may have caused the contemporaneous formation of NE-SW trending syn-contractional basins in the west and NW-SE trending Central Tauride intramontane basins in the east by slab retreat. Our study highlights that the Neogene deformation history, and perhabs even active tectonics, may be strongly affected by complex slab geometry in SW Turkey, and that crustal deformation plays an important role in generating the Miocene Tauride topography. The role of this crustal deformation needs to be taken into account in attempts to explain the ride of the Taurides and the evolution of the Anatolian Plateau.

  9. Reconstructing the tectonic history of Fennoscandia from its margins: The past 100 million years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muir Wood, R.

    1995-12-01

    In the absence of onland late Mesozoic and Cenozoic geological formations the tectonic history of the Baltic Shield over the past 100 million years can most readily be reconstructed from the thick sedimentary basins that surround Fennoscandia on three sides. Tectonic activity around Fennoscandia through this period has been diverse but can be divided into four main periods: a. pre North Atlantic spreading ridge (100-60 Ma) when transpressional deformation on the southern margins of Fennoscandia and transtensional activity to the west was associated with a NNE-SSW maximum compressive stress direction; b. the creation of the spreading ridge (60-45 Ma) when there was rifting along the western margin; c. the re-arrangement of spreading axes (45-25 Ma) when there was a radial compression around Fennoscandia, and d. the re-emergence of the Iceland hot-spot (25-0 Ma) when the stress-field has come to accord with ridge or plume 'push'. Since 60 Ma the Alpine plate boundary has had little influence on Fennoscandia. The highest levels of deformation on the margins of Fennoscandia were achieved around 85 Ma, 60-55 Ma, with strain-rates around 10 -9 /year. Within the Baltic Shield long term strain rates have been around 10 -1 1/year, with little evidence for evidence for significant deformations passing into the shield from the margins. Fennoscandian Border Zone activity, which was prominent from 90-60 Ma, was largely abandoned following the creation of the Norwegian Sea spreading ridge, and with the exception of the Lofoten margin, there is subsequently very little evidence for deformation passing into Fennoscandia. Renewal of modest compressional deformation in the Voering Basin suggest that the 'Current Tectonic Regime' is of Quaternary age although the orientation of the major stress axis has remained approximately consistent since around 10 Ma. The past pattern of changes suggest that in the geological near-future variations are to be anticipated in the magnitude rather

  10. Reconstructing the tectonic history of Fennoscandia from its margins: The past 100 million years

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muir Wood, R [EQE International Ltd (United Kingdom)

    1995-12-01

    In the absence of onland late Mesozoic and Cenozoic geological formations the tectonic history of the Baltic Shield over the past 100 million years can be reconstructed from the thick sedimentary basins that surround Fennoscandia on three sides. Tectonic activity around Fennoscandia through this period has been diverse but can be divided into four main periods: a. pre North Atlantic spreading ridge (100-60 Ma) when transpressional deformation on the southern margins of Fennoscandia and transtensional activity to the west was associated with a NNE-SSW maximum compressive stress direction; b. the creation of the spreading ridge (60-45 Ma) when there was rifting along the western margin; c. the re-arrangement of spreading axes (45-25 Ma) when there was a radial compression around Fennoscandia, and d. the re-emergence of the Iceland hot-spot (25-0 Ma) when the stress-field has come to accord with ridge or plume `push`. Since 60 Ma the Alpine plate boundary has had little influence on Fennoscandia. The highest levels of deformation on the margins of Fennoscandia were achieved around 85 Ma, 60-55 Ma, with strain-rates around 10{sup -9}/year. Within the Baltic Shield long term strain rates have been around 10{sup -1}1/year, with little evidence for significant deformations passing into the shield from the margins. Fennoscandian Border Zone activity, which was prominent from 90-60 Ma, was largely abandoned following the creation of the Norwegian Sea spreading ridge, and with the exception of the Lofoten margin, there is subsequently little evidence for deformation passing into Fennoscandia. Renewal of modest compressional deformation in the Voering Basin suggest that the `Current Tectonic Regime` is of Quaternary age although the orientation of the major stress axis has remained consistent since around 10 Ma. The past pattern of changes suggest that in the geological near-future variations are to be anticipated in the magnitude rather than the orientation of stresses.

  11. Paleomagnetism and tectonic evolution of the Pan-African Damara Belt, southern Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    McWilliams, M. O.; KröNer, A.

    1981-06-01

    Paleomagnetic results are reported from the Nosib, Otavi, and Mulden groups of the Damara Supergroup, a late Precambrian shelf sequence on the southern margin of the Congo craton in Namibia. Three magnetizations were isolated in the Nosib group samples. In order of decreasing blocking temperature they are NQ1 (n = 6 sites, λ = 28°N, ϕ = 323°E, α95 = 15°), NQ2 (n = 7 sites, λ = 51°S, ϕ = 213°E, α95 = 12°), and NQ3 (n = 13 samples, λ = 09°N, ϕ = 295°E, α95 = 13°). Overall precision of all three magnetizations upon tectonic correction suggests that they predate Pan-African (650-450 Ma) folding. Two magnetizations were isolated in the Otavi group samples, above the Nosib in stratigraphic sequence. The DC1 component of possible prefolding age (n = 4 sites, λ = 52°S, ϕ = 186°E, α95 = 35°) has been over-printed by the DC2 magnetization (n = 10 sites, λ = 55°S, ϕ = 044°E, α95 = 15°) of probable postfolding age. A single magnetization of probable pre-folding age was isolated in the overlying Mulden Group samples (n = 6 sites, λ = 12°S, ϕ = 090°E, α95 = 16°). Together with previously published paleomagnetic data from Africa, the new data showed that no great relative movements have occurred between the Congo and Kalahari cratons during the interval of Pan-African tectonism in the Damara belt (McElhinny and McWilliams, 1977). Continental collision preceded by large relative displacements and closure of a wide ocean (e.g., a Himalayan analog) is effectively ruled out for the Damara belt. We develop an alternative model consistent with the available paleomagnetic and geologic data, which invokes rifting, heating, and stretching of the lithosphere underneath the Damara belt, followed by delamination of the subcrustal lithosphere. Hot asthenospheric material rises to take the place of the detached and sinking lithospheric base, inducing subduction and interstacking of continental crust. The much thickened continental crust is partially melted

  12. UAS applications in high alpine, snow-covered terrain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bühler, Y.; Stoffel, A.; Ginzler, C.

    2017-12-01

    Access to snow-covered, alpine terrain is often difficult and dangerous. Hence parameters such as snow depth or snow avalanche release and deposition zones are hard to map in situ with adequate spatial and temporal resolution and with spatial continuous coverage. These parameters are currently operationally measured at automated weather stations and by observer networks. However such isolated point measurements are not able to capture the information spatial continuous and to describe the high spatial variability present in complex mountain topography. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have the potential to fill this gap by frequently covering selected high alpine areas with high spatial resolution down to ground resolutions of even few millimeters. At the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF we test different photogrammetric UAS with visual and near infrared bands. During the last three years we were able to gather experience in more than 100 flight missions in extreme terrain. By processing the imagery applying state-of-the-art structure from motion (SfM) software, we were able to accurately document several avalanche events and to photogrammetrically map snow depth with accuracies from 1 to 20 cm (dependent on the flight height above ground) compare to manual snow probe measurements. This was even possible on homogenous snow surfaces with very little texture. A key issue in alpine terrain is flight planning. We need to cover regions at high elevations with large altitude differences (up to 1 km) with high wind speeds (up to 20 m/s) and cold temperatures (down to - 25°C). Only a few UAS are able to cope with these environmental conditions. We will give an overview on our applications of UAS in high alpine terrain that demonstrate the big potential of such systems to acquire frequent, accurate and high spatial resolution geodata in high alpine, snow covered terrain that could be essential to answer longstanding questions in avalanche and snow hydrology

  13. The 'Guetsch' Alpine wind power test site; Alpine Test Site Guetsch. Handbuch und Fachtagung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cattin, R.

    2008-12-15

    This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) takes a look at the influence of icing-up on the operation of wind turbines in mountainous areas. Within the Swiss research project 'Alpine Test Site Guetsch', extensive icing studies were carried out at the Guetsch site near Andermatt, Switzerland. This document deals with the following subjects: Information about ice formation on structures, in particular with respect to wind turbines, standards and international research activities, wind measurements under icing-up conditions, estimation of the frequency of icing-up conditions, effects of icing-up on wind turbines, ice detection, measures available for de-icing and anti-icing as well as ice throw. A list of factors to be taken into account by the planners and operators of wind turbines in alpine environments is presented.

  14. SEA in local land use planning - first experience in the Alpine States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiricka, Alexandra; Proebstl, Ulrike

    2008-01-01

    In the Alpine area, planning decisions can result in far-reaching consequences because of the high sensitivity of the Alpine ecosystems. This article is based on two hypotheses: (1) The Alpine states/regions were aware of their sensitive environment and therefore recognized the necessity of introducing a comparable instrument to assess local land use planning. (2) By introducing this differentiated assessment tool, namely SEA, an increase in costs may be the consequence. However, better and more transparent planning can contribute to the enhancement of planning standards. To reveal the validity of these assumptions the legal implementation in the Alpine countries Austria, Germany, Italy and France was examined as well as first practical experience resulting from the determined procedures. The results of the implementation process in the four states were compared and discussed on the basis of selected process steps of SEA

  15. Photochemistry and aerosol in alpine region: mixing and transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaxel, E.

    2006-11-01

    The Alpine arc deeply interacts with general circulation of atmosphere. By studying configurations in summer and winter over various Alpine areas, this work explains how mixing and transport of airborne pollutants happen, both gaseous and particulate matter, from their emission sources to free troposphere. Using observational results and a comprehensive Eulerian modelling system, one focuses on mechanisms of pollution by ozone in summer and by particulate matter and benzene in winter. After having validated the modelling system using datasets from field experiments POVA, GRENOPHOT and ESCOMPTE, it is applied on two periods with principal interest in the Grenoble area: one is the heat-wave August 2003 and the other is a long episode of thermal inversion in February 2005. Uncertainties are also calculated. One finishes by applying the modelling chain to understand how a stratospheric intrusion following a tropopause fold affected the Alpine region in July 2004. (author)

  16. 3-D Simulation of Tectonic Evolution in Mariana with a Coupled Model of Plate Subduction and Back-Arc Spreading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashima, A.; Matsu'Ura, M.

    2006-12-01

    We obtained the expressions for internal deformation fields due to a moment tensor in an elastic-viscoelastic layered holf-space. This unified formulation of internal deformation fields for shear faulting and crack opening enabled us to deal with the problem of tectonic deformation at a composite type of plate boundary zones. The tectonic deformation can be ascribed to mechanical interaction at plate boundaries, which make a closed circuit with the mode of relative plate motion changing from divergence to convergence through transcurrent motion. One of the rational ways to represent mechanical interaction at plate boundaries is specifying the increase rates of normal or tangential displacement discontinuity across plate interfaces. On the basis of such a basic idea we developed a 3-D simulation model for the nonlinear, coupled system of plate subduction and back-arc spreading in Mariana. Through numerical simulations we revealed the evolution process of back-arc spreading. At the first stage, steady plate subduction (shear faulting at a plate interface) gradually forms tensile stress fields in the back-arc region of the overriding plate. When the accumulated tensile stress reaches a critical level, back-arc spreading (crack opening) starts at a structurally weak portion of the overriding plate. The horizontal motion of the frontal part of the overriding plate due to back-arc spreading pushes out the plate boundary toward the oceanic plate. In steady-state plate subduction the shear stress acting on a plate interface must balance with the maximum frictional resistance (shear strength) of the plate interface. Therefore, the increase of shear stress at the plate interface leads to the increase of slip rate at the plate interface. The local increase of slip rate at the plate interface produces the additional tensile stress in the back-arc region. The increased tensile stress must be canceled out by the additional crack opening. Such a feedback mechanism between plate

  17. Tectonic and sedimentary inheritance on the structural framework of Provence (SE France): Importance of the Salon-Cavaillon fault

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molliex, Stéphane; Bellier, Olivier; Terrier, Monique; Lamarche, Juliette; Martelet, Guillaume; Espurt, Nicolas

    2011-03-01

    Using field data, balanced cross-sections, gravity and reprocessed seismic reflection data, a detailed structural study has been realized on the Salon-Cavaillon fault (SCF) area, in Provence region (SE France). This fault separates two main ridges (the Alpilles to the west and the Luberon to the east). Field data and balanced cross-sections allow us to characterize the present-day structures and the post-Oligocene deformation that significantly differ on either sides of the SCF. Our structural study shows a post-Oligocene southward displacement of the structures on the two sides of the SCF. The Luberon ridge is a fault propagation-fold developed on a S-verging ramp. The anticline is bent as a drag fold in the vicinity of the dextral strike-slip SCF. The Alpilles ridge is a less developed fault propagation fold. Its eastern termination was affected by a counter-clockwise rigid block rotation around a vertical axis. The differences between the two ridges in terms of structural architecture are explained by the deep geometry of their ramp, inherited from the Late Cretaceous to Middle Eocene Pyrenean tectonic phase. The décollement level is shallow to the western side of the SCF (2-3 km), probably in the Lower Cretaceous or Upper Jurassic marls, than in the eastern side, the fault is rooted in Triassic layers at a depth > 5 km. The deep rooting favoured a large-scale fault propagation type of folding, whereas shallow-seated rooting favoured a small-scale fault propagation type of folding and block rotations. To image the sub-surface structures to the west of the SCF, we also included gravity data and reprocessed seismic reflection. It allows us to refine the regional tectonic framework and to detect several hidden E-trending S-verging folds. The main shortening episode in Provence occurred during the Pyrenean phase, with 65% of the total shortening to the east of the SCF and 95% to the west. From the Miocene to the present, Alpine shortening decreases strongly to the

  18. Establishing a multi-proxy approach to alpine blockfield evolution in south-central Norway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philipp Marr

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Blockfields in high latitude mountain areas are a wide spread proxy for glaciation history. Their origin is debated since decades, especially in south-central Norway, where glaciation had a major global climate implication. Some authors explain old blockfield features by protection of cold-based ice, others claim they persisted as nunataks during the LGM (~20 kyr, or were formed throughout the Holocene. In order to clarify the origin of alpine blockfields we established a multi-method approach to combining lichenometry, stratigraphy, granulometry, and geochemistry (XRD, XRF. Our lichenometric dating results in conjunction with our factors indicate landscape stability for at least ~12.5 kyr. Frequent climatic shifts are evident in our profiles by varying color, LOI content and grain sizes. On the basis of geochemical analyses we were able to identify a long-term (chemical weathering history and in situ blockfield formation. The field evidences and the climatic setting of the study area leave the possibility that our location was not covered by cold-based ice during the Late-Quaternary.

  19. Numerical model of the transition from continental rifting to oceanization: the case study of the Ligure-Piemontese ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roda, M.; Marotta, A. M.; Conte, K.; Spalla, M. I.

    2015-12-01

    The transition from continental rifting to oceanization has been investigated by mean of a 2D thermo-mechanical numerical model in which the formation of oceanic crust by mantle serpentinization, due to the hydration of the uprising peridotite, as been implemented. Model predictions have been compared with natural data related to the Permian-Triassic thinning affecting the continental lithosphere of the Alpine domain, in order to identify which portions of the present Alpine-Apennine system, preserving the imprints of Permian-Triassic high temperature (HT) metamorphism, is compatible, in terms of lithostratigraphy and tectono-metamorphic evolution, with a lithospheric extension preceding the opening of the Ligure-Piemontese oceanic basin. At this purpose age, petrological and structural data from the Alpine and Apennine ophiolite complexes are compared with model predictions from the oceanization stage. Our comparative analysis supports the thesis that the lithospheric extension preceding the opening of the Alpine Tethys did not start on a stable continental lithosphere, but developed by recycling part of the old Variscan collisional suture. The HT Permian-Triassic metamorphic re-equilibration overprints an inherited tectonic and metamorphic setting consequent to the Variscan subduction and collision, making the Alps a key case history to explore mechanisms responsible for the re-activation of orogenic scars.

  20. Inventory of the Alpine Flora of Haramosh and Bagrote Valleys (Karakoram Range) District Gilgit, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, S. W.; Abbas, Q.; Khatoon, S.; Raza, G.; Hussain, A.

    2016-01-01

    Inventorying of plant biodiversity of Haramosh and Bugrote valleys (District Gilgit, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan) was done for fourteen years from 2001- 2014. The fourteen years inventorying revealed a rich plant biodiversity consisting of 232 species belonging to 106 genera and 34 families of flowering plants. The Alpine zone had 18 genera with 4 or more species; Pedicularis with 10 species was the largest genus of this zone, followed by Potentilla and Carex (each with 9 species) and Draba (8 species). Genera containing 9 or 10 species occurred only in Alpine zone. In the Alpine zone, 15 of the larger families were represented by 189 species, forming 81.46 percent of the Alpine flora. Although the highest number of species belonging to these larger families was present in the subalpine zone, but in terms of percentage their contribution was the highest in the Alpine flora. Percentage-wise the contribution of these families gradually increased from Desert zone to Alpine zone, because of their particular distribution patterns. Although the total number of species was the highest in the Subalpine zone, but in the species specific to any one zone, the Alpine zone had the highest number, that is, 96 of the total 232 species of Alpine zone were exclusively found in this zone only. Out of these 96 species specific to the Alpine zone, 53 belonged to such 22 genera that were exclusively found in the Alpine zone only. The Alpine zone was characterized by herbs and low shrubs, with Potentilla species as the dominants. A clear trend of migration of certain species both from lower to higher latitudes and altitudes was observed. The species richness index of Alpine zone however showed increasing trend probably due to species migrations towards the alpine zone. The major threats to the plant biodiversity were recognized as the deforestation and habitat loss due to over-exploitation of species, over-grazing by livestock, and climate changes due to global warming, which were

  1. Integrating EarthScope Data to Constrain the Long-Term Effects of Tectonism on Continental Lithosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, R. C.; van der Lee, S.

    2017-12-01

    One of the most significant products of the EarthScope experiment has been the development of new seismic tomography models that take advantage of the consistent station design, regular 70-km station spacing, and wide aperture of the EarthScope Transportable Array (TA) network. These models have led to the discovery and interpretation of additional compositional, thermal, and density anomalies throughout the continental US, especially within tectonically stable regions. The goal of this work is use data from the EarthScope experiment to better elucidate the temporal relationship between tectonic activity and seismic velocities. To accomplish this, we compile several upper-mantle seismic velocity models from the Incorporated Research Institute for Seismology (IRIS) Earth Model Collaboration (EMC) and compare these to a tectonic age model we compiled using geochemical ages from the Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance: EarthChem Database. Results from this work confirms quantitatively that the time elapsed since the most recent tectonic event is a dominant influence on seismic velocities within the upper mantle across North America. To further understand this relationship, we apply mineral-physics models for peridotite to estimate upper-mantle temperatures for the continental US from tomographically imaged shear velocities. This work shows that the relationship between the estimated temperatures and the time elapsed since the most recent tectonic event is broadly consistent with plate cooling models, yet shows intriguing scatter. Ultimately, this work constrains the long-term thermal evolution of continental mantle lithosphere.

  2. Stagnant lids and mantle overturns: Implications for Archaean tectonics, magmagenesis, crustal growth, mantle evolution, and the start of plate tectonics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean H. Bédard

    2018-01-01

    probability that oceanic crustal segments could founder in an organized way, producing a gradual evolution of pre-subduction convergent margins into modern-style active subduction systems around 2.5 Ga. Plate tectonics today is constituted of: (1 a continental drift system that started in the Early Archaean, driven by deep mantle currents pressing against the Archaean-age sub-continental lithospheric mantle keels that underlie Archaean cratons; (2 a subduction-driven system that started near the end of the Archaean.

  3. Seafloor Tectonic Fault Fabric and the Evolution of the Walvis Ridge-Rio Grande Rise Hot Spot Twins in the South Atlantic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sager, W. W.; Engfer, D.; Thoram, S.; Koppers, A. A. P.; Class, C.

    2015-12-01

    Walvis Ridge (WR) and Rio Grande Rise (RGR) are Cretaceous-Cenozoic large igneous provinces (LIPs) formed by the Tristan-Gough hot spot interacting with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). Although hot spot-ridge interaction has long been considered a primary factor controlling WR-RGR morphology, details are fuzzy owing to sparse geophysical data. We examined tectonic fabric revealed in satellite altimetry-derived gravity data to infer details about RGR-WR evolution. Plate tectonic reconstructions indicate that the main RGR plateau and large N-S plateau in the eastern WR erupted at the same point at ~90 Ma. Over the next ~8 Myr, these conjunct LIPs formed a "V" shape with a basin in between. Curved fracture zones within the basin imply the two LIPs formed around a microplate. The prominent rift in the middle of RGR formed nearly perpendicular to the RGR-WR intersection, suggesting an extensional microplate boundary. Hot spot eruptions continued at the MAR, emplacing the eastern WR and two main RGR plateaus until ~60 Ma. During this period, the N-S trending Eastern Rio Grande Rise (ERGR) was erupted along the MAR. Both the ERGR and WR formed bathymetric lineaments parallel to seafloor fault fabric and were likely connected. This resulted in WR seamounts with a "tadpole" shape, the head being small to medium seamounts on the WR track and the tails being low, spreading-fabric-parallel ridges extending up to ~150 km northward. Similar, small seamounts are found in the contemporaneous ERGR. Another critical observation is that the WR-RGR formed at a large crustal discontinuity (~700 km at anomaly C33, ~84 Ma) at one or more fracture zone offsets. By late Cenozoic time (anomaly C5, ~10 Ma), the offset was reduced by half while several new fracture zones formed at the junction between RGR and WR. This implies a connection between ridge reorganization and RGR-WR volcanism that may have resulted from the fracture zones becoming oblique to the spreading direction as Euler poles

  4. Tectonics control over instability of volcanic edifices in transtensional tectonic regimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norini, G.; Capra, L.; Lagmay, A. M. F.; Manea, M.; Groppelli, G.

    2009-04-01

    We present the results of analogue modeling designed to investigate the interactions between volcanic edifices and transtensional basement faulting. Three sets of experiments were run to account for three examples of stratovolcanoes in active transtensive tectonics regimes, the Nevado de Toluca and Jocotitlan volcanoes in Mexico, and the Mayon volcano in the Philippines. All these volcanoes show different behavior and relationship among volcanism, instability of the volcanic edifice, and basement tectonics. Field geological and structural data gave the necessary constrains to the models. The modeling apparatus consisted of a sand cone on a sheared basal layer. Injections of vegetable oil were used to model the rising of magma inside the deformed analogue cones. Set 1: In the case of a volcano directly on top of a basal transtensive shear producing a narrow graben, as observed on the Nevado de Toluca volcano, the analogue models reveal a strong control of the basement faulting on the magma migration path and the volcano instability. Small lateral collapses are directed parallel to the basal shear and affect a limited sector of the cone. Set 2: If the graben generated by transtensive tectonics is bigger in respect to the volcanic edifice and the volcano sits on one boundary fault, as in the case of Mayon volcano, the combined normal and transcurrent movements of the analogue basement fault generate a sigmoidal structure in the sand cone, inducing major sector collapses directed at approx 45° relative to the basement shear toward the downthrown block. Set 3: For volcanoes located near major transtensive faults, as the Jocotitlan volcano, analogue modelling shows an important control of the regional tectonics on the geometry of the fractures and migration paths of magma inside the cone. These structures render unstable the flanks of the volcano and promote sector collapses perpendicular to the basement shear and directed toward the graben formed by the transtensive

  5. Drainage Characteristics of Tectonically Active Areas: An Example from Rajasthan, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SWATI JAIN

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The morphotectonic studies help in deciphering the role of tectonics and neotectonics in morphological evolution of drainage basins. On the basis of remote sensing technique, the relationship between morphology and tectonics have been investigated in Bundi-Indergarh sector of southeast Rajasthan. The area selected for present study is drained by Mej river and its tributaries and occupies the southeastern part of the Aravalli Mountain Range (AMR. The course of Mej river is mostly controlled by the Great Boundary Thrust (GBT and associated tectonic elements. GBT separates the folded, faulted and metamorphosed older rocks of the AMR in the west and relatively undeformed Vindhyan rocks in the east. This study has been carried out using digital and hard copy product of IRS 1C/1D LISS III geocoded FCC data. The morphometric and morphotectonic aspects have been studied for identification of present day tectonic activities in the area. The remote sensing data interpretation indicates that the landforms of the area are structurally controlled and mainly covered by linear and parallel strike ridges and valleys. These valleys indicate sign of stream rejuvenation and occasional presence of dynamic ravines. General morphometric parameters, bifurcation ratio, stream length and shape parameters have been computed. Longitudinal river profiles can be quantified by normalizing the elevation and the distance along rivers. Several parameters such as profile shape (concavity, gradient fluctuations, river grade and valley incision have been derived from longitudinal river profile. These quantified parameters and their interrelations are useful in comparing different drainage basins and also help drawing inferences on neotectonism. The computed values suggest that the area is covered by resistant rock and drainage network, affected by tectonic distur-bance. The valley floor ratio is very low, indicating channel down cutting vis-a-vis ground uplift. The gradient index

  6. Impact of climatic change on alpine ecosystems: inference and prediction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nigel G. Yoccoz

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Alpine ecosystems will be greatly impacted by climatic change, but other factors, such as land use and invasive species, are likely to play an important role too. Climate can influence ecosystems at several levels. We describe some of them, stressing methodological approaches and available data. Climate can modify species phenology, such as flowering date of plants and hatching date in insects. It can also change directly population demography (survival, reproduction, dispersal, and therefore species distribution. Finally it can effect interactions among species – snow cover for example can affect the success of some predators. One characteristic of alpine ecosystems is the presence of snow cover, but surprisingly the role played by snow is relatively poorly known, mainly for logistical reasons. Even if we have made important progress regarding the development of predictive models, particularly so for distribution of alpine plants, we still need to set up observational and experimental networks which properly take into account the variability of alpine ecosystems and of their interactions with climate.Les écosystèmes alpins vont être grandement influencés par les changements climatiques à venir, mais d’autres facteurs, tels que l’utilisation des terres ou les espèces invasives, pourront aussi jouer un rôle important. Le climat peut influencer les écosystèmes à différents niveaux, et nous en décrivons certains, en mettant l’accent sur les méthodes utilisées et les données disponibles. Le climat peut d’abord modifier la phénologie des espèces, comme la date de floraison des plantes ou la date d’éclosion des insectes. Il peut ensuite affecter directement la démographie des espèces (survie, reproduction, dispersion et donc à terme leur répartition. Il peut enfin agir sur les interactions entre espèces – le couvert neigeux par exemple modifie le succès de certains prédateurs. Une caractéristique des

  7. Measurements concerning the immission load in the Alpine region with passive samplers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirchner, M.; Suppan, P.

    1994-02-01

    This project deals with measurements concerning the nuisance situation in various areas of the Alpine region using selected passive collectors for ozone and NO 2 . In a first partial step (phase I) a comparative experiment, building on a pilot test, with the use of different passive collectors in sites in the Alpine region was carried through. In a second stage of the project (Phase II) two types of passive collectors were used at suitable altitude profiles in the Alpine region to measure ozone levels. In this way, more detailed knowledge on the vertical distribution of ozone in areas with a varied orography was to be obtained. The study is a joint project of numerous scientific tasks forces from several countries and a number of institutions participating in the 'ARGE ALP' working group of Alpine countries. Results of the first project phase are reported. (orig./KW) [de

  8. Tectonic Storytelling with Open Source and Digital Object Identifiers - a case study about Plate Tectonics and the Geopark Bergstraße-Odenwald

    Science.gov (United States)

    Löwe, Peter; Barmuta, Jan; Klump, Jens; Neumann, Janna; Plank, Margret

    2014-05-01

    The communication of advances in research to the common public for both education and decision making is an important aspect of scientific work. An even more crucial task is to gain recognition within the scientific community, which is judged by impact factor and citation counts. Recently, the latter concepts have been extended from textual publications to include data and software publications. This paper presents a case study for science communication and data citation. For this, tectonic models, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), best practices for data citation and a multimedia online-portal for scientific content are combined. This approach creates mutual benefits for the stakeholders: Target audiences receive information on the latest research results, while the use of Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) increases the recognition and citation of underlying scientific data. This creates favourable conditions for every researcher as DOI names ensure citeability and long term availability of scientific research. In the developed application, the FOSS tool for tectonic modelling GPlates is used to visualise and manipulate plate-tectonic reconstructions and associated data through geological time. These capabilities are augmented by the Science on a Halfsphere project (SoaH) with a robust and intuitive visualisation hardware environment. The tectonic models used for science communication are provided by the AGH University of Science and Technology. They focus on the Silurian to Early Carboniferous evolution of Central Europe (Bohemian Massif) and were interpreted for the area of the Geopark Bergstraße Odenwald based on the GPlates/SoaH hardware- and software stack. As scientific story-telling is volatile by nature, recordings are a natural means of preservation for further use, reference and analysis. For this, the upcoming portal for audiovisual media of the German National Library of Science and Technology TIB is expected to become a critical service

  9. Extensional Tectonic Regime of Garut Basin based on Magnetotelluric Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lina Handayani

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available DOI: 10.17014/ijog.v8i3.162Garut Basin are is part of Bandung-Garut Greater Basin (Bandung Zone characterized by a large basin surrounded by mountain ranges. Active volcanoes had distributed their material as pyroclastic deposits around the outer border of the zone and as lava flow deposit separating the two basins. Bouguer gravity anomaly data had also indicated the presence of several low anomaly closures at about the area of Bandung and Garut Basins that were surrounded by high gravity anomaly zones. Two magnetotelluric surveys were completed to acquire the subsurface model that might explain the tectonic evolution of studied area. The first stage was characterized sby the presence of horst - graben structures that might imply an extensional regime of the area. The next stage of evolutionwas indicated by the horizontal layering correlated to the relative non-active tectonic. In addition, a most recent structure that appeared near the surface might suggest a possible extension force as the current stage.

  10. Climatic warming strengthens a positive feedback between alpine shrubs and fire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camac, James S; Williams, Richard J; Wahren, Carl-Henrik; Hoffmann, Ary A; Vesk, Peter A

    2017-08-01

    Climate change is expected to increase fire activity and woody plant encroachment in arctic and alpine landscapes. However, the extent to which these increases interact to affect the structure, function and composition of alpine ecosystems is largely unknown. Here we use field surveys and experimental manipulations to examine how warming and fire affect recruitment, seedling growth and seedling survival in four dominant Australian alpine shrubs. We found that fire increased establishment of shrub seedlings by as much as 33-fold. Experimental warming also doubled growth rates of tall shrub seedlings and could potentially increase their survival. By contrast, warming had no effect on shrub recruitment, postfire tussock regeneration, or how tussock grass affected shrub seedling growth and survival. These findings indicate that warming, coupled with more frequent or severe fires, will likely result in an increase in the cover and abundance of evergreen shrubs. Given that shrubs are one of the most flammable components in alpine and tundra environments, warming is likely to strengthen an existing feedback between woody species abundance and fire in these ecosystems. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. The role of solar UV radiation in the ecology of alpine lakes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sommaruga, R

    2001-09-01

    Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR, 290-400 nm) is a crucial environmental factor in alpine lakes because of the natural increase of the UVR flux with elevation and the high water transparency of these ecosystems. The ecological importance of UVR, however, has only recently been recognized. This review, examines the general features of alpine lakes regarding UVR, summarizes what is known about the role of solar UVR in the ecology of alpine lakes, and identifies future research directions. Unlike the pattern observed in most lowland lakes, variability of UV attenuation in alpine lakes is poorly explained by differences in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, and depends mainly on optical characteristics (absorption) of the chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM). Within the water column of lakes with low DOC concentrations (0.2-0.4 mg l(-1)), UV attenuation is influenced by phytoplankton whose development at depth (i.e. the deep chlorophyll maximum) causes important changes in UV attenuation. Alpine aquatic organisms have developed a number of strategies to minimize UV damage. The widespread synthesis or bioaccumulation of different compounds that directly or indirectly absorb UV energy is one such strategy. Although most benthic and planktonic primary producers and crustacean zooplankton are well adapted to high intensities of solar radiation, heterotrophic protists, bacteria, and viruses seem to be particularly sensitive to UVR. Understanding the overall impact of UVR on alpine lakes would need to consider synergistic and antagonistic processes resulting from the pronounced climatic warming, which have the potential to modify the UV underwater climate and consequently the stress on aquatic organisms.

  12. Gravitational and tectonic forces controlling the post-collisional deformation and present-day stress of the Alps. Insights from numerical modelling.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jimenez-Munt, I.; Garcia-Gastellanos, D.; Negredo, A.; Platt, J.

    2005-01-01

    We perform numerical modeling to investigate the mechanisms leading to the postcollisional tectonic evolution of the Alps. We model the lithospheric deformation as a viscous thin sheet with vertically averaged rheology and coupled with surface mass transport. The applied kinematic boundary

  13. The Caucasian-Arabian segment of the Alpine-Himalayan collisional belt: Geology, volcanism and neotectonics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Sharkov

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The Caucasian-Arabian belt is part of the huge late Cenozoic Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt formed by collision of continental plates. The belt consists of two domains: the Caucasian-Arabian Syntaxis (CAS in the south and the EW-striking Greater Caucasus in the north. The CAS marks a zone of the indentation of the Arabian plate into the southern East European Craton. The Greater Caucasus Range is located in the south of the Eurasian plate; it was tectonically uplifted along the Main Caucasian Fault (MCF, which is, in turn, a part of a megafault extended over a great distance from the Kopetdag Mts. to the Tornquist-Teisseyre Trans-European Suture Zone. The Caucasus Mts. are bounded by the Black Sea from the west and by the Caspian Sea from the east. The SN-striking CAS is characterized by a large geophysical isostatic anomaly suggesting presence of mantle plume head. A 500 km long belt of late Cenozoic volcanism in the CAS extends from the eastern Anatolia to the Lesser and Greater Caucasus ranges. This belt hosts two different types of volcanic rocks: (1 plume-type intraplate basaltic plateaus and (2 suprasubduction-type calc-alkaline and shoshonite-latite volcanic rocks. As the CAS lacks signatures of subduction zones and is characterized by relatively shallow earthquakes (50–60 km, we suggest that the “suprasubduction-type” magmas were derived by interaction between mantle plume head and crustal material. Those hybrid melts were originated under conditions of collision-related deformation. During the late Cenozoic, the width of the CAS reduced to ca. 400 km due to tectonic “diffluence” of crustal material provided by the continuing Arabia-Eurasia collision.

  14. The Ecology of Urban Tectonics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beim, Anne; Hvejsel, Marie Frier

    2016-01-01

    This paper is related to previous research by the authors that examine the phenomenon of tectonics as architectural design theory and method. These studies have shown that the notion of tectonics at large is associated with exclusive architecture, and that, as a profession architects have...... to develop methods for applying tectonic knowledge extracted from significant existing examples for developing future practical methods (Frampton 2002: 81). The specific intention of this paper is to push the understanding of tectonics further, into the scale of the urban context and thereby to discuss...... using Hansen’s work as a case study. (Beim & Madsen (ed.) 2014) Methodologically this has been done by applying the notion of ‘urban tectonics’ inspired by the work of Eduard F. Sekler, as a critical lens. (Sekler 1964, Sekler 1965) Through this lens we study how Hansen was able to treat culture...

  15. The Agost Basin (Betic Cordillera, Alicante province, Spain): a pull-apart basin involving salt tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martín-Martín, Manuel; Estévez, Antonio; Martín-Rojas, Ivan; Guerrera, Francesco; Alcalá, Francisco J.; Serrano, Francisco; Tramontana, Mario

    2018-03-01

    The Agost Basin is characterized by a Miocene-Quaternary shallow marine and continental infilling controlled by the evolution of several curvilinear faults involving salt tectonics derived from Triassic rocks. From the Serravallian on, the area experienced a horizontal maximum compression with a rotation of the maximum stress axis from E-W to N-S. The resulting deformation gave rise to a strike-slip fault whose evolution is characterized progressively by three stages: (1) stepover/releasing bend with a dextral motion of blocks; (2) very close to pure horizontal compression; and (3) restraining bend with a sinistral movement of blocks. In particular, after an incipient fracturing stage, faults generated a pull-apart basin with terraced sidewall fault and graben subzones developed in the context of a dextral stepover during the lower part of late Miocene p.p. The occurrence of Triassic shales and evaporites played a fundamental role in the tectonic evolution of the study area. The salty material flowed along faults during this stage generating salt walls in root zones and salt push-up structures at the surface. During the purely compressive stage (middle part of late Miocene p.p.) the salt walls were squeezed to form extrusive mushroom-like structures. The large amount of clayish and salty material that surfaced was rapidly eroded and deposited into the basin, generating prograding fan clinoforms. The occurrence of shales and evaporites (both in the margins of the basin and in the proper infilling) favored folding of basin deposits, faulting, and the formation of rising blocks. Later, in the last stage (upper part of late Miocene p.p.), the area was affected by sinistral restraining conditions and faults must have bent to their current shape. The progressive folding of the basin and deformation of margins changed the supply points and finally caused the end of deposition and the beginning of the current erosive systems. On the basis of the interdisciplinary results

  16. Seedling recruitment of forb species under experimental microhabitats in alpine grassland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, S. S.; Yu, L.; Lin, W. G.; Pingi, T. F.

    2015-01-01

    Which factors limit plant seedling recruitment in alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), China? This study examined the relative influence of seed mass and microsites (resulted from grazing disturbance) on field seedling emergence and survival of nineteen alpine herbaceous species with a range of traits in QTP. Seed mass had significant effects on seedling emergence and survival eliminating influence of light and nutrient variances among these species. The larger-seed species had more advantageous than the smaller-seed species in seedling survival, but it was disadvatage for seedling emergence, especially under high nutrient availability and low light intensity conditions. Light had obvious effects on seedling survival, but less effects on seedling emergence for these species. Moreover, nutrient and light treatments altered the regression relationships of seed mass and seedling emergence and survival and the order of significances was L25>L50>L100>L10>L4. These results suggested that seed mass may restrict seedling recruitment processes, however, light and nutrient availability all have significant effects on seedling emergence and survival for these alpine species. Moderate light intensity was propitious to seedling emergence and survival in alpine grassland. This suggests that ecological factors in alpine grassland provide a stochastic influence on different seed-mass species. These trends may help to explain why many small-seeded species of Asteraceae and Gramineae tend to be more abundant in disturbed habitats. (author)

  17. Dairy cattle on Norwegian alpine rangelands – grazing preferences and milk quality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sickel, H; Abrahamsen, R K; Eldegard, K; Lunnan, T; Norderhaug, A; Petersen, M.A.; Sickel, M.; Steenhuisen, F.; Ohlson, M.

    2014-01-01

    The results from the study ‘Effects of vegetation and grazing preferences on the quality of alpine dairy products’ will be presented. The main objective of the project was to investigate the connections bet - ween alpine rangeland vegetation, landscape use and grazing preferences of free ranging

  18. Pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica O:3 isolated from a hunted wild alpine ibex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joutsen, S; Sarno, E; Fredriksson-Ahomaa, M; Cernela, N; Stephan, R

    2013-03-01

    Occurrence of Yersinia spp. in wild ruminants was studied and the strains were characterized to get more information on the epidemiology of enteropathogenic Yersinia in the wildlife. In total, faecal samples of 77 red deer, 60 chamois, 55 roe deer and 27 alpine ibex were collected during 3 months of the hunting season in 2011. The most frequently identified species was Y. enterocolitica found in 13%, 10%, 4% and 2% of roe deer, red deer, alpine ibex and chamois, respectively. Interestingly, one Y. enterocolitica O:3 strain, isolated from an alpine ibex, carried the important virulence genes located on the virulence plasmid (yadA and virF) and in the chromosome (ail, hreP, myfA and ystA). Most of the Y. enterocolitica strains belonged to biotype 1A of which 14 were ystB positive. Further studies are needed to clarify the importance of alpine ibex as a reservoir of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica.

  19. The effect of tectonic evolution on lacustrine syn-rift sediment patters in Qikou Sag, Bohaiwan Basin, eastern China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Y.; Wang, H.; Xu, W.

    2013-12-01

    Normal fault arrays and associated relay ramps between two overlapping en-echelon normal faults are well known to control the deposition and distribution of sediments in alluvial, fluvial and deltaic systems in rift settings. The influence of transfer zones or relay ramps on sediment routes and dispersal patterns in subaqueous (deeper marine/lacustrine), however, is barely studied and hence less clear. Previous experimental studies indicate that subaqueous relay ramps may act as sediment transportation pathways if certain conditions are available. In this study, we integrate detailed structural and stratigraphic analysis with three-dimensional seismic data and limited well log data from the Qikou Sag to examine the tectonic evolution and the syn-rift sediment patterns response to fault growth and linkage in an active rift setting. Qikou Sag is located at the center of Huanghua Depression, Bohaiwan Basin of eastern China. Structurally, it is a typical continental rift basin characterized by a linked system of two NEE-SWW-striking half-grabens and one E-W-striking graben. Qikou sag is filled with Eocene-Oligocene syn-rift sediments and Miocene to Quaternary post-rift sediments. The Eocene-Oligocene rifting stage can be divided into early rifting period (43-36.5 Ma, the third member and second member of Shahejie Formation, Es3 and Es2), stable rifting period (36.5-29Ma, the first member of Shaehejie Formation, Es1) and fault-depressed diversionary period (29-24.6Ma, the Dongying Formation, Ed). This study focus on the early syn-rift, the third and second member of Shehejie Formation, which is mostly dark-grey mudstone interbedded with fine to coarse-grained sandstone deposited by large-scale turbidity currents in deep-lake. In particular, we use a combination of thickness variability and facies distributions, onlap patterns within a high-resolution sequence stratigraphic framework, integrated with structural geometry, fault activity and subsidence history analysis to

  20. Innovation in the plural of the alpine cre-actors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andréa Finger-Stich

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The capacity to innovate for a sustainable development of alpine territories cannot depend only on economic, legal and political conditions defined by the State at national and international levels. It depends also on local conditions that situate historically and geographically the actors in a continuity of social and ecological relationships. This approach highlights the collective – thus organisational – dimensions of the innovation process, including the imagination, the development, the implementation and even the diffusion of a new practice. Our point of view is that for contributing to the sustainable development of the Alps, innovations need to change the ecological, political, social and cultural relationships engaging the actors in these territories. This change affects as much the object territory as the subject actor of the territory. This is why innovating in the Alps means also innovating the Alps and the alpine actors (Cosalp, 2008. Based on a research about local people’s participation in the management of alpine communal forests, the article shows the importance of local interactions involving actors of diverse occupation, gender, age and origins1.La capacité d’innovation pour un développement durable des territoires alpins ne peut dépendre uniquement de conditions économiques, légales et politiques définies par les Etats aux échelles nationale et internationale. Elle dépend aussi de conditions locales, qui situent historiquement et géographiquement les acteurs dans une continuité de relations sociales et écologiques. Cette perspective accentue l’importance de la dimension collective, donc organisationnelle, du processus d’innovation, allant de l’imagination, puis au développement, à la réalisation – voire la diffusion – d’une nouvelle pratique. Le point de vue de cet article est qu’une innovation, pour contribuer au développement durable des Alpes, doit changer les relations

  1. L’innovation au pluriel des cré-acteurs alpins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andréa Finger-Stich

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available La capacité d’innovation pour un développement durable des territoires alpins ne peut dépendre uniquement de conditions économiques, légales et politiques définies par les Etats aux échelles nationale et internationale. Elle dépend aussi de conditions locales, qui situent historiquement et géographiquement les acteurs dans une continuité de relations sociales et écologiques. Cette perspective accentue l’importance de la dimension collective, donc organisationnelle, du processus d’innovation, allant de l’imagination, puis au développement, à la réalisation – voire la diffusion – d’une nouvelle pratique. Le point de vue de cet article est qu’une innovation, pour contribuer au développement durable des Alpes, doit changer les relations écologique, politique, sociale et culturelle, qui engagent les acteurs du territoire. Ce changement affecte tant l’objet territoire que le sujet acteur du territoire. C’est pourquoi, innover dans les Alpes revient aussi à innover les Alpes et les acteurs alpins(Cosalp, 2008. Sur la base d’une recherche sur la participation des populations locales dans la gestion de forêts communales alpines, l’article relève l’importance des interactions locales impliquant les acteurs d’occupations, genres, âges et origines divers1.The capacity to innovate for a sustainable development of alpine territories cannot depend only on economic, legal and political conditions defined by the State at national and international levels. It depends also on local conditions that situate historically and geographically the actors in a continuity of social and ecological relationships. This approach highlights the collective - thus organisational - dimensions of the innovation process, including the imagination, the development, the implementation and even the diffusion of a new practice. Our point of view is that for contributing to the sustainable development of the Alps, innovations need to

  2. REE, Sm-Nd and U-Pb zircon study of eclogites from the Alpine External Massifs (Western Alps): Evidence for crustal contamination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paquette, J.L.; Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule, Zurich; Menot, R.P.; Peucat, J.J.

    1989-01-01

    A geochemical and geochronological study of the Alpine External Crystalline Massifs (AECM) of Aiguilles Rouges, Belledonne and Argentera was undertaken in order to constrain the geodynamic evolution of this segment of the Variscan foldbelt. Another aim of the study is to characterize the behaviour of isotopic markers, in particular the U-Pb zircon system, under high-grade metamorphic conditions. The whole-rock geochemistry of eclogites and amphibolites was investigated using major and trace element (including the REE) analytical techniques; isotopic studies were performed by application of the Sm-Nd whole-rock and U-Pb zircon methods. In terms of regional geological history, the early development of metamorphic and magmatic activity in the AECM is typical of the extensional tectonic regime observed throughout the Variscan foldbelt during the Cambro-Ordovician (i.e. basic magmatism dated at 475-450 Ma). The composition of the metabasic rocks is closely similar to tholeiites emplaced into thinned continental crust which are generally associated with the initial stages of oceanic rifting. The source regions for these metabasics are characterized by initial ε Nd values between +6 and +8, suggesting depleted mantle sources influenced by a weak crustal component and/or the existence of a metasomatised lithosphere. The multi-stage eclogite-facies metamorphism is dated at 425-395 Ma (i.e. Silurian). An application of the U-Pb method, associated with the artificial abrasion of zircon grains, has led to the recognition of a weak crustal contamination in the metabasic protoliths. This is implied by the Archaean and Lower Proterozoic upper intercepts on Concordia - devoid of geological significance - which reflect the presence of a pre-existing basement to the AECM. (orig./WL)

  3. Simulation of three-dimensional tectonic stress fields and quantitative prediction of tectonic fracture within the Damintun Depression, Liaohe Basin, northeast China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Peng; Yao, Leihua; Ren, Desheng

    2016-05-01

    Tectonic fractures are important factors that influence oil and natural gas migration and accumulation within "buried hill" reservoirs. To obtain a quantitative forecast of the development and distribution of reservoir fractures in the Damintun Depression, we analyzed the characteristics of regional structural evolution and paleotectonic stress field setting. A reasonable geological model of the research area was built based on an interpretation of the geological structure, a test for rock mechanics, and experiment on acoustic emission. Thereafter, a three-dimensional paleotectonic stress field during the Yanshan movement was simulated by the finite element method. Rock failure criterion and comprehensive evaluation coefficient of fractures were used to determine the quantitative development of fractures and predict zones that are prone to fracture development. Under an intense Yanshan movement, high stress strength is distributed in the south and northeast parts of the study area, where stress is extremely high. The fracture development zones are mainly controlled by the tectonic stress field and typically located in the same areas as those of high maximum principal and shear stresses. The predicted areas with developed fractures are consistent with the wells with high fracture linear density and in locations with high-producing oil and gas wells.

  4. Scheme of fault tectonic and tectonic activity manifestation in the region of the Crimea nuclear power plant construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasynkov, A.L.

    1989-01-01

    Characteristic of fault tectonics and tectonic activity manifestation in the region of the Crimea nuclear power plant construction is presented. Mosaic-block structure of the area, predetermined by the development of diagonal systems of activated tectonic dislocations with different displacement amplitudes and different stratigraphic ranges of manifestation, was established. Strained-stressed state of the region is determined by the presence of the South-Azov zone of deep fault and Krasnogorsk-Samarlinks fault system. The presented scheme can be used as tectonic basis of seismogenic activity of the region

  5. Uranium-series dating of fossil bones from alpine caves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leitner-Wild, E.; Steffan, I.

    1993-01-01

    During the course of an investigation of fossil cave bear populations the uranium-series method for absolute age determination has been applied to bone material. The applicability of the method to bone samples from alpine caves is demonstrated by the concordance of U/Th and U/Pa ages and cross-checks with the radiocarbon method. Stratigraphic agreement between bone ages and carbonate speleothem ages also indicates the potential of the uranium-series method as a suitable tool for the age determination of fossil bones from alpine cave environments. (Author)

  6. Analysis of topography and relief as a function of the tectonic - geomorphologic evolution of the Eastern Alps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bungies, Nadin; Rosenberg, Claudio

    2014-05-01

    Alpine topography and relief vary regionally (Frisch et al., 1997), even on the scale of tens of kilometers. The causes of these differences are the aim of this work that is based on a geomorphological study of the eastern Alps. Earlier investigations on the topography of the Central Alps (Rosenberg & Garcia, 2013) show, by using 50 km, 75 km, and 100 km swath profiles, that the relief northward of the Insubric Line increases westward, whereas the relief southwards of the Insubric Line decreases eastward. This trend reflects collisional shortening trends recently observed in the Central Alps (Rosenberg & Kissling, 2013). In this work, we analyse the topography of the eastern Alps from the Brenner Area in the west to the Steiermark Area in the east, based on satellite images and digital terrain models, that cover an area of 36 000 km2 in the Austrian and Italian Alps. Based on these data, new GIS-aided datasets containing selected relief factors have been derived. These data are set in relationship to the eastward decrease in collisional shortening to test whether the latter trend has a geomorphic expression. In order to assess such a relationship north-south striking profiles, subparallel to the shortening direction and in addition to an E-W profile are investigated. It can be shown that the total relief of 3100 m (500-3600 m asl.) in the west of the working area is more pronounced than the total relief of 2300 m (700-3000 m asl) in the east of the working area. Furthermore slopes have higher amplitudes in the west when compared to the east. In the west approximately 65% of the slope profile show slopes larger than 50° while in the east approximately 40% of slopes are larger than 50° (based on 30 m topographic data). The evaluation of potential influencing factors will be achieved by conducting spatial and statistical data analysis and interpretation and is complemented by local studies investigating the evolution of relief for selected geologic units. Here

  7. Tectonic evolution of the central-eastern sector of Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt and its influence on the eruptive history of the Nevado de Toluca volcano (Mexico)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellotti, F.; Capra, L.; Groppelli, G.; Norini, G.

    2006-11-01

    The Nevado de Toluca is an andesitic to dacitic stratovolcano of Late Pliocene-Holocene age located within the central and eastern sectors of the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt. Morphostructural analysis, aerial photograph and satellite image interpretation, structural analysis and geological fieldwork were methods used to investigate the relationship between the evolution of the volcano and the tectonic framework of its basement. The study revealed that the area of Nevado de Toluca is affected by three main fault systems that intersect close to the volcanic edifice. These are from oldest to youngest, the Taxco-Querétaro, San Antonio and Tenango fault systems. The NNW-SSE Taxco-Querétaro fault system was active in the area since Early Miocene, and is characterized by right-lateral transtensive movement. Its reactivation during Early to Middle Pleistocene was responsible for the emplacement of andesitic to dacitic lava flows and domes of La Cieneguilla Supersynthem. The NE-SW San Antonio fault system was active during Late Pliocene, before the reactivation of the Taxco-Querétaro fault system, and is characterized by extensional left-lateral oblique-slip kinematics. The youngest is the E-W Tenango fault system that has been active since Late Pleistocene. This fault system is characterized by transtensive left-lateral strike-slip movement, and partly coeval with the youngest eruptive phase, the Nevado Supersynthem, which formed the present summit cone of the Nevado de Toluca volcano. The stress re-orientation from the Taxco-Querétaro to the Tenango fault system during Late Pleistocene is responsible for the ˜ 1 Ma hiatus in the magmatic activity between 1.15 Ma and 42 ka. After this period of repose, the eruptive style drastically changed from effusive to explosive with the emission of dacitic products. The methodology presented here furnish new data that can be used to better assess the complex structural evolution of this sector of the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt

  8. The tectonic plates are moving!

    CERN Document Server

    Livermore, Roy

    2018-01-01

    Written in a witty and informal style, this book explains modern plate tectonics in a non-technical manner, showing not only how it accounts for phenomena such as great earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, but also how it controls conditions at the Earth’s surface, including global geography and climate, making it suitable for life. The book presents the advances that have been made since the establishment of plate tectonics in the 1960s, highlighting, on the fiftieth anniversary of the theory, the contributions of a small number of scientists who have never been widely recognized for their discoveries. Beginning with the publication of a short article in Nature by Vine and Matthews, the book traces the development of plate tectonics through two generations of the theory. First-generation plate tectonics covers the exciting scientific revolution of the 1960s, its heroes, and its villains. The second generation includes the rapid expansions in sonar, satellite, and seismic technologies during the 1...

  9. Drainage - Structure Correlation in tectonically active Regions: Case studies in the Bolivian and Colombian Andes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeilinger, Gerold; Parra, Mauricio; Kober, Florian

    2017-04-01

    It is widely accepted, that drainage patterns are often controlled by tectonics/climate and geology/rheology. Classical drainage patterns can be found 1) in fault-and-thrust belt, where rives follow the valleys parallel or cut perpendicular to strike trough the ridges, forming a trellis pattern, 2) at dome structures where the drainage form a radial pattern or 3) rectangular patterns in strongly fractured regions. In this study, we focus on fault-and-thrust belts, that undergone different phases of tectonic activity. According to classical models, the deformation is propagating into the foreland, hence being youngest at the frontal part and getting successively older towards the axis of the orogen. Drainage patterns in the more interior parts of the orogenic wedge should be then less influenced by the direction of structures, as landscape evolution is changing to a tectonic passive stage. This relationship might represent the transience and maturity of drainage pattern evolution. Here we study drainage patterns of the Bolivian and the eastern Colombian Andes by comparing the relative orientation of the drainage network with the orogen structural grain. The drainage is extracted from Digital Elevation Models (SRTM 30 m) and indexed by their Strahler Order. Order 1 channels have an upstream area of 1 km2. The direction of all segments is analyzed by linear directional mean function that results in the mean orientation of input channels with approx. 500 m average length. The orientation of structures for different structural domains is calculated using the same function on digitized faults and fold-axis. Rose diagrams show the length-weighted directional distribution of structures, of higher (>= 4) and of lower order (<= 3) channels. The structural trend in the Bolivian Andes is controlled by the orocline, where a predominant NW-SE trend turns into an N-S trend at 18°S and where the eastern orogen comprise from west to east, the Eastern Cordillera (EC), the

  10. Barrel organ of plate tectonics - a new tool for outreach and education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broz, Petr; Machek, Matěj; Šorm, Zdar

    2016-04-01

    Plate tectonics is the major geological concept to explain dynamics and structure of Earth's outer shell, the lithosphere. In the plate tectonic theory processes in the Earth lithosphere and its dynamics is driven by the relative motion and interaction of lithospheric plates. Geologically most active regions on Earth often correlate with the lithospheric plate boundaries. Thus for explaining the earth surface evolution, mountain building, volcanism and earthquake origin it is important to understand processes at the plate boundaries. However these processes associated with plate tectonics usually require significant period of time to take effects, therefore, their entire cycles cannot be directly observed in the nature by humans. This makes a challenge for scientists studying these processes, but also for teachers and popularizers trying to explain them to students and to the general public. Therefore, to overcome this problem, we developed a mechanical model of plate tectonics enabling demonstration of most important processes associated with plate tectonics in real time. The mechanical model is a wooden box, more specifically a special type of barrel organ, with hand painted backdrops in the front side. These backdrops are divided into several components representing geodynamic processes associated with plate tectonics, specifically convective currents occurring in the mantle, sea-floor spreading, a subduction of the oceanic crust under the continental crust, partial melting and volcanism associated with subduction, a formation of magmatic stripes, an ascent of mantle plume throughout the mantle, a volcanic activity associated with hot spots, and a formation and degradation of volcanic islands on moving lithospheric plate. All components are set in motion by a handle controlled by a human operator, and the scene is illuminated with colored lights controlled automatically by an electric device embedded in the box. Operation of the model may be seen on www

  11. A kinematic and kinetic study of alpine skiing technique in slalom

    OpenAIRE

    Reid, Robert C.

    2010-01-01

    Avhandling (doktorgrad) - Norges idrettshøgskole, 2010. Despite a large body of lay and professional literature covering numerous aspects of alpine skiing technique, only a limited number of published scientific investigations have examined the relationship between skier technical and tactical characteristics and racing performance. As a consequence, our scientific understanding of how the underlying mechanics of alpine ski racing technique relate to performance is surprisin...

  12. High solar radiation hinders tree regeneration above the alpine treeline in northern Ecuador

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bader, M.Y.; Geloof, I. van; Rietkerk, M.G.

    2007-01-01

    Many tropical alpine treelines lie below their climatic potential, because of natural or anthropogenic causes. Forest extension above the treeline depends on the ability of trees to establish in the alpine environment. This ability may be limited by different factors, such as low

  13. Sedimentary and tectonic evolution of the southern Qiangtang basin: Implications for the Lhasa-Qiangtang collision timing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Anlin; Hu, Xiumian; Garzanti, Eduardo; Han, Zhong; Lai, Wen

    2017-07-01

    The Mesozoic stratigraphic record of the southern Qiangtang basin in central Tibet records the evolution and closure of the Bangong-Nujiang ocean to the south. The Jurassic succession includes Toarcian-Aalenian shallow-marine limestones (Quse Formation), Aalenian-Bajocian feldspatho-litho-quartzose to feldspatho-quartzo-lithic sandstones (shallow-marine Sewa Formation and deep-sea Gaaco Formation), and Bathonian outer platform to shoal limestones (Buqu Formation). This succession is truncated by an angular unconformity, overlain by upper Bathonian to lower Callovian fan-delta conglomerates and litho-quartzose to quartzo-lithic sandstones (Biluoco Formation) and Callovian shoal to outer platform limestones (Suowa Formation). Sandstone petrography coupled with detrital-zircon U-Pb and Hf isotope analysis indicate that the Sewa and Gaaco formations contain intermediate to felsic volcanic detritus and youngest detrital zircons (183-170 Ma) with ɛHf(t) ranging widely from +13 to -25, pointing to continental-arc provenance from igneous rocks with mixed mantle and continental-crust contributions. An arc-trench system thus developed toward the end of the Early Jurassic, with the southern Qiangtang basin representing the fore-arc basin. Above the angular unconformity, the Biluoco Formation documents a change to dominant sedimentary detritus including old detrital zircons (mainly >500 Ma ages in the lower part of the unit) with age spectra similar to those from Paleozoic strata in the central Qiangtang area. A major tectonic event with intense folding and thrusting thus took place in late Bathonian time (166 ± 1 Ma), when the Qiangtang block collided with another microcontinental block possibly the Lhasa block.

  14. Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Resulting From Tourism Travel in an Alpine Setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rainer Unger

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Tourism—with its social, economic, and ecological dimensions—can be an important driver of sustainable development of alpine communities. Tourism is essential for local people's incomes and livelihoods, but it can also have a major impact on the local environment, landscape aesthetics, and (mainly through tourist transport global climate change. A project currently underway is developing the Austrian mountain municipality of Alpbach into a role model for competitive and sustainable year-round alpine tourism using an integrated and spatially explicit approach that considers energy demand and supply related to housing, infrastructure, and traffic in the settlement and the skiing area. As the first outcome of the project, this article focuses on the development of the Model of Alpine Tourism and Transportation, a geographic information system–based tool for calculating, in detail, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions resulting from travel to a single alpine holiday destination. Analysis results show that it is crucial to incorporate both direct and indirect energy use and emissions as each contributes significantly to the climate impact of travel. The study fills a research gap in carbon impact appraisal studies of tourism transport in the context of alpine tourism at the destination level. Our findings will serve as a baseline for the development of comprehensive policies and agendas promoting the transformation toward sustainable alpine tourism.

  15. Geochronology and geochemistry of Mesozoic intrusive rocks in the Xing'an Massif of NE China: Implications for the evolution and spatial extent of the Mongol-Okhotsk tectonic regime

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yu; Xu, Wen-Liang; Tang, Jie; Pei, Fu-Ping; Wang, Feng; Sun, Chen-Yang

    2018-04-01

    This study presents new zircon U-Pb-Hf and whole-rock geochemical data for intrusive rocks in the Xing'an Massif of NE China, with the aim of furthering our understanding of the evolution and spatial influence of the Mongol-Okhotsk tectonic regime. Zircon U-Pb dating indicates that five stages of Mesozoic magmatism are recorded in the Xing'an Massif, namely during the Middle Triassic ( 237 Ma), the Late Triassic ( 225 Ma), the Early Jurassic ( 178 Ma), the Middle Jurassic ( 168 Ma), and the late Early Cretaceous ( 130 Ma). The Middle Triassic-Early Jurassic intrusive rocks in the Xing'an Massif are dominantly granodiorites, monzogranites, and syenogranites that formed from magma generated by partial melting of newly accreted continental crust. Geochemistry of the Middle Triassic-Early Jurassic granitoid suites of the Xing'an Massif indicates their formation at an active continental margin setting, related to the southwards subduction of the Mongol-Okhotsk oceanic plate. The Middle Jurassic monzogranites in the Xing'an Massif are geochemically similar to adakites and have εHf(t) values (+3.8 to +5.8) and Hf two-stage model ages (TDM2; 979-850 Ma) that are indicative of derivation from magma generated by partial melting of thickened juvenile lower crust. The Middle Jurassic monzogranites formed in a compressional setting related to the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean. The late Early Cretaceous intrusive rocks in the Xing'an Massif are dominated by A-type granitoids that are associated with bimodal volcanic rocks, suggesting their formation in an extensional environment related to either (i) delamination of a previously thickened region of the crust, associated with the Mongol-Okhotsk tectonic regime; (ii) the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate; or (iii) the combined influence of these two tectonic regimes.

  16. Increasing alpine transit traffic through Switzerland will considerably enhance high altitude alpine pollutant levels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prevot, A S.H.; Dommen, J; Furger, M; Graber, W K [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

    1999-08-01

    Within the EU-Project VOTALP (Vertical Ozone Transports in the Alps), we have shown that deep alpine valleys like the Mesolcina Valley very efficiently transport air out of the polluted valley up to altitudes between 2000 and near 4000 m asl (above sea level). Pollutants emitted in these valleys are very efficiently transported up to high altitudes. (author) 2 figs., 1 tab., 2 refs.

  17. Ultra-hot Mesoproterozoic evolution of intracontinental central Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weronika Gorczyk

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The Musgrave Province developed at the nexus of the North, West and South Australian cratons and its Mesoproterozoic evolution incorporates a 100 Ma period of ultra-high temperature (UHT metamorphism from ca. 1220 to ca. 1120 Ma. This was accompanied by high-temperature A-type granitic magmatism over an 80 Ma period, sourced in part from mantle-derived components and emplaced as a series of pulsed events that also coincide with peaks in UHT metamorphism. The tectonic setting for this thermal event (the Musgrave Orogeny is thought to have been intracontinental and the lithospheric architecture of the region is suggested to have had a major influence on the thermal evolution. We use a series of two dimensional, fully coupled thermo-mechanical-petrological numerical models to investigate the plausibility of initiating and prolonging UHT conditions under model setup conditions appropriate to the inferred tectonic setting and lithospheric architecture of the Musgrave Province. The results support the inferred tectonic framework for the Musgrave Orogeny, predicting periods of UHT metamorphism of up to 70 Ma, accompanied by thin crust and extensive magmatism derived from both crustal and mantle sources. The results also appear to be critically dependent upon the specific location of the Musgrave Province, constrained between thicker cratonic masses.

  18. Climate change and alpine stream biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hotaling, Scott; Finn, Debra S.; Joseph Giersch, J.

    2017-01-01

    micro- to macroscopic organisms and genes to communities. Herein, we describe the current state of alpine stream biology from an organism-focused perspective. We begin by reviewing seven standard and emerging approaches that combine to form the current state of the discipline. We follow with a call...

  19. Response of alpine vegetation growth dynamics to snow cover phenology on the Tibetan Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, X.; Wu, C.

    2017-12-01

    Alpine vegetation plays a crucial role in global energy cycles with snow cover, an essential component of alpine land cover showing high sensitivity to climate change. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) has a typical alpine vegetation ecosystem and is rich of snow resources. With global warming, the snow of the TP has undergone significant changes that will inevitably affect the growth of alpine vegetation, but observed evidence of such interaction is limited. In particular, a comprehensive understanding of the responses of alpine vegetation growth to snow cover variability is still not well characterized on TP region. To investigate this, we calculated three indicators, the start (SOS) and length (LOS) of growing season, and the maximum of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVImax) as proxies of vegetation growth dynamics from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data for 2000-2015. Snow cover duration (SCD) and melt (SCM) dates were also extracted during the same time frame from the combination of MODIS and the Interactive Multi-sensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS) data. We found that the snow cover phenology had a strong control on alpine vegetation growth dynamics. Furthermore, the responses of SOS, LOS and NDVImax to snow cover phenology varied among plant functional types, eco-geographical zones, and temperature and precipitation gradients. The alpine steppes showed a much stronger negative correlation between SOS and SCD, and also a more evidently positive relationship between LOS and SCD than other types, indicating a longer SCD would lead to an earlier SOS and longer LOS. Most areas showed positive correlation between SOS and SCM, while a contrary response was also found in the warm but drier areas. Both SCD and SCM showed positive correlations with NDVImax, but the relationship became weaker with the increase of precipitation. Our findings provided strong evidences between vegetation growth and snow cover phenology, and changes in

  20. Anterior cruciate ligament injury/reinjury in alpine ski racing: a narrative review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Matthew J; Aagaard, Per; Herzog, Walter

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the present review was to: 1) provide an overview of the current understanding on the epidemiology, etiology, risk factors, and prevention methods for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in alpine ski racing; and 2) provide an overview of what is known pertaining to ACL reinjury and return to sport after ACL injury in alpine ski racing. Given that most of the scientific studies on ACL injuries in alpine ski racing have been descriptive, and that very few studies contributed higher level scientific evidence, a nonsystematic narrative review was employed. Three scholarly databases were searched for articles on ACL injury or knee injury in alpine ski racing. Studies were classified according to their relevance in relation to epidemiology, etiology, risk factors, and return to sport/reinjury prevention. Alpine ski racers (skiers) were found to be at high risk for knee injuries, and ACL tears were the most frequent diagnosis. Three primary ACL injury mechanism were identified that involved tibial internal rotation and anteriorly directed shear forces from ski equipment and the environment. While trunk muscle strength imbalance and genetics were found to be predictive of ACL injuries in development-level skiers, there was limited scientific data on ACL injury risk factors among elite skiers. Based on expert opinion, research on injury risk factors should focus on equipment design, course settings/speed, and athlete factors (eg, fitness). While skiers seem to make a successful recovery following ACL injury, there may be persistent neuromuscular deficits. Future research efforts should be directed toward prospective studies on ACL injury/reinjury prevention in both male and female skiers and toward the effects of knee injury on long-term health outcomes, such as the early development of osteoarthritis. International collaborations may be necessary to generate sufficient statistical power for ACL injury/reinjury prevention research in alpine ski racing

  1. Facilitation among plants in alpine environments in the face of climate change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabien eAnthelme

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available While there is a large consensus that plant–plant interactions are a crucial component of the response of plant communities to the effects of climate change, available data remain scarce, particularly in alpine systems. This represents an important obstacle to making consistent predictions about the future of plant communities. Here, we review current knowledge on the effects of climate change on facilitation among alpine plant communities and propose directions for future research. In established alpine communities, while warming seemingly generates a net facilitation release, earlier snowmelt may increase facilitation. Some nurse plants are able to buffer microenvironmental changes in the long term and may ensure the persistence of other alpine plants through local migration events. For communities migrating to higher elevations, facilitation should play an important role in their reorganization because of the harsher environmental conditions. In particular, the absence of efficient nurse plants might slow down upward migration, possibly generating chains of extinction. Facilitation–climate change relationships are expected to shift along latitudinal gradients because (1 the magnitude of warming is predicted to vary along these gradients, and (2 alpine environments are significantly different at low vs. high latitudes. Data on these expected patterns are preliminary and thus need to be tested with further studies on facilitation among plants in alpine environments that have thus far not been considered. From a methodological standpoint, future studies will benefit from the spatial representation of the microclimatic environment of plants to predict their response to climate change. Moreover, the acquisition of long-term data on the dynamics of plant–plant interactions, either through permanent plots or chronosequences of glacial recession, may represent powerful approaches to clarify the relationship between plant interactions and

  2. Facilitation among plants in alpine environments in the face of climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthelme, Fabien; Cavieres, Lohengrin A; Dangles, Olivier

    2014-01-01

    While there is a large consensus that plant-plant interactions are a crucial component of the response of plant communities to the effects of climate change, available data remain scarce, particularly in alpine systems. This represents an important obstacle to making consistent predictions about the future of plant communities. Here, we review current knowledge on the effects of climate change on facilitation among alpine plant communities and propose directions for future research. In established alpine communities, while warming seemingly generates a net facilitation release, earlier snowmelt may increase facilitation. Some nurse plants are able to buffer microenvironmental changes in the long term and may ensure the persistence of other alpine plants through local migration events. For communities migrating to higher elevations, facilitation should play an important role in their reorganization because of the harsher environmental conditions. In particular, the absence of efficient nurse plants might slow down upward migration, possibly generating chains of extinction. Facilitation-climate change relationships are expected to shift along latitudinal gradients because (1) the magnitude of warming is predicted to vary along these gradients, and (2) alpine environments are significantly different at low vs. high latitudes. Data on these expected patterns are preliminary and thus need to be tested with further studies on facilitation among plants in alpine environments that have thus far not been considered. From a methodological standpoint, future studies will benefit from the spatial representation of the microclimatic environment of plants to predict their response to climate change. Moreover, the acquisition of long-term data on the dynamics of plant-plant interactions, either through permanent plots or chronosequences of glacial recession, may represent powerful approaches to clarify the relationship between plant interactions and climate change.

  3. Experimental Warming Aggravates Degradation-Induced Topsoil Drought in Alpine Meadows of The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, X.

    2017-12-01

    Climatic warming is presumed to cause topsoil drought by increasing evapotranspiration and water infiltration, and by progressively inducing land degradation in alpine meadows of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, how soil moisture and temperature patterns of degraded alpine meadows respond to climate warming remains unclear. A six-year continuous warming experiment was carried out in both degraded and undegraded alpine meadows in the source region of the Yangtze River. The goal was to identify the effects of climatic warming and land degradation on soil moisture (θ), soil surface temperature (Tsfc), and soil temperature (Ts). In the present study, land degradation significantly reduced θ by 4.5-6.1% at a depth of 0-100 cm (P soil surface. Experimental warming aggravated topsoil drought caused by land degradation, intensified the magnitude of degradation, and caused a positive feedback in the degraded alpine meadow ecosystem. Therefore, an immediate need exists to restore degraded alpine meadow grasslands in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in anticipation of a warmer future.

  4. Tomography images of the Alpine roots and surrounding upper mantle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plomerova, Jaroslava; Babuska, Vladislav

    2017-04-01

    -processed, mostly the ISC-bulletin data (Babuska et al., Tectonophysics 1990). Calculated relative travel-time residuals have been assigned to source clusters and filtered relative to the residual mean of each cluster of events. We expect that future 3D studies of the mantle velocities and mantle fabrics with the use of body-wave anisotropic parameters from the AlpArray data will shed a new light on tectonic development of the complex Alpine region and its surroundings.

  5. Architecture and evolution of an Early Permian carbonate complex on a tectonically active island in east-central California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Calvin H.; Magginetti, Robert T.; Stone, Paul

    2015-01-01

    The newly named Upland Valley Limestone represents a carbonate complex that developed on and adjacent to a tectonically active island in east-central California during a brief interval of Early Permian (late Artinskian) time. This lithologically unique, relatively thin limestone unit lies within a thick sequence of predominantly siliciclastic rocks and is characterized by its high concentration of crinoidal debris, pronounced lateral changes in thickness and lithofacies, and a largely endemic fusulinid fauna. Most outcrops represent a carbonate platform and debris derived from it and shed downslope, but another group of outcrops represents one or possibly more isolated carbonate buildups that developed offshore from the platform. Tectonic activity in the area occurred before, probably during, and after deposition of this short-lived carbonate complex.

  6. Geochronologic constraints of the uplift and metamorphism along the Alpine Fault, South Island, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chamberlain, C.P.; Zeitler, P.K.; Cooper, A.F.

    1995-01-01

    Geochronological studies of pegmatites and Alpine Schist exposed east of the Alpine Fault, South Island, New Zealand, reveal a complex history beginning with magmatism and metamorphism at c. 68 m.y. ago and ending with rapid uplift and exhumation in the last 5 m.y. Pegmatites exposed in the Mataketake Range give conventional U-Pb monazite and SHRIMP ion-probe zircon ages of 68 ± 2.6 Ma and 67.9 ± 2.5 Ma, respectively. Inasmuch as petrologic and isotopic data indicate that the Alpine pegmatites are melts derived from the Alpine Schist, the age of the pegmatites suggests that, at least locally, the high-grade metamorphism is considerably younger than previously assumed. We tentatively suggest that metamorphism, in at least some areas of the Alpine Schist, may be associated with Late Cretaceous transtension rather than resulting from the consequences of collision during the Rangitata Orogeny. 40 Ar/ 39 Ar studies of hornblendes from the Alpine Schist, collected from the Haast River to the Franz Josef Glacier area, reveal highly disturbed spectra. Despite this complexity, these analyses define a systematic decrease in ages both across-strike toward the Alpine Fault (Haast River traverse) and northwards along-strike towards Mt Cook. This pattern of decreasing 40 Ar/ 39 Ar hornblende ages is also observed in lower closure temperature systems such as zircon and apatite fission-track ages. We interpret the decrease in ages toward the fault to be the result of deeper exhumation in the immediate vicinity of the Alpine Fault, whereas we interpret the northward younging of fault-proximal samples to be a result of both more recent and possibly more extensive exhumation than occurred in areas to the south. (author). 55 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

  7. Southern Brasilia Belt (SE Brazil): tectonic discontinuities, K-Ar data and evolution during the Neoproterozoic Brasiliano orogeny

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valeriano, Claudio Morrison de; Teixeira, Wilson; Simoes, Luiz Sergio Amarante; Heilbron, Monica

    2000-01-01

    This paper focuses the tectonic evolution of the southern brasilia belt, with emphasis on the Furnas segment, along the 21 deg C S parallel. The uppermost structural unit (Passos Nappe - PN) comprises a highly deformed metasedimentary succession interpreted as a fragment of the Neoproterozoic passive margin of western Sao francisco craton. An inverted metamorphic gradient ranging from greensvhits to lower granulite facies of medium to high-pressure regime characterizes the PN as relict of a subduction zone. The External Domain display a complex imbrication of basement rocks (Archean Piumhi greenstones, a turbiditic gaywacke succession and a calc-alkaline granitoid suite) with undated siliciclast low-grade metasedimentary rocks. The Sao Francisco Craton (SFC) comprises pre-1.8 Ga basement rocks covered by anchimetamorphic Neoproterozoic carbonatic shallow marine platform deposits of the Bambui group. The Brasiliano thrust stacking generated a coarse clastic influx of molassic character on the foreland zone of Sao Francisco Craton, coeval with the exhumation of the External Domain thrust sheets. New K-Ar determinations on mineral separates are presented an interpreted among previous data. The SFC basement rocks display Paleo-to Meesoproterozoic cooling ages. The allochthonous units, in contrast, display K-Ar ages within the 560-675 Ma range. Brasiliano thrust stacking is therefore interpreted to have taken place onto a cold Sao Francisco craton foreland, in a thin-skinned style, as basement rocks were not heated enough to have their-K-ar systems reset during the allochthony. (author)

  8. High solar radiation hinders tree regeneration above the alpine treeline in northern Ecuador

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bader, M.; Geloof, van I.; Rietkerk, M.

    2007-01-01

    Many tropical alpine treelines lie below their climatic potential, because of natural or anthropogenic causes. Forest extension above the treeline depends on the ability of trees to establish in the alpine environment. This ability may be limited by different factors, such as low temperatures,

  9. Combined Flow Abstraction and Climate Change Impacts on an Aggrading Alpine River

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakker, M.; Costa, A.; Silva, T. A.; Stutenbecker, L.; Girardclos, S.; Loizeau, J.-L.; Molnar, P.; Schlunegger, F.; Lane, S. N.

    2018-01-01

    Recent climatic warming and associated glacial retreat may have a large impact on sediment release and transfer in Alpine river basins. Concurrently, the sediment transport capacity of many European Alpine streams is affected by hydropower exploitation, notably where flow is abstracted but the sediment supply downstream is maintained. Here, we investigate the combined effects of climate change and flow abstraction on morphodynamics and sediment transfer in the Borgne River, Switzerland. From photogrammetrically derived historical Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), we find considerable net aggradation of the braided river bed (up to 5 m) since the onset of flow abstraction in 1963. Reaches responded through bed level steepening which was strongest in the upper most reach. Widespread aggradation however did not commence until the onset of glacier retreat in the late 1980s and the dry and warm years of the early 1990s. Upstream flow intake data shows that this aggradation coincided with an increase in sediment supply, although aggradation accounts for no more than 25% of supplied material. The remainder was transferred through the studied reaches. Estimations of bed load transport capacity indicate that flow abstraction reduces transport capacity by 1-2 orders of magnitude. While residual transport rates vary with morphological evolution, they are in the same order of magnitude as the sediment supply rates, which is why significant transport remains. However, the reduction in transport capacity makes the system more sensitive to short-term (annual) changes in climate-driven hydrological variability and climate-induced changes in intake management and sediment delivery rates.

  10. Alpine hydropower schemes and their 'remote influence' on lakes and rivers downstream

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wuest, A.

    2003-01-01

    This article discusses the effect that alpine dams and reservoirs have on lakes and rivers in the lowlands. Not only the contribution of Swiss alpine hydropower installations to Switzerland's electricity generation capacity is mentioned, but also the way they 'export' ecological deficits to lower-lying regions. Examples of this are quoted, including, for example, the filtering-out of around 50% of water-borne particles in the river Rhone by the dams in its catchment area. The consequences of such effects for the ecology of lakes and rivers are discussed. Further examples of how the alpine dams hold back nutrients and regulate the flow and temperature of rivers are given and the resulting ecological effects are commented on

  11. Tectonic vocabulary and materialization: Discourse on the future of tectonic architectural research in the Nordic countries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beim, Anne; Bundgaard, Charlotte; Hvejsel, Marie Frier

    2015-01-01

    By referring to the fundamental question of how we unite aesthetics and technology – tectonic theory is necessarily a focal point in the development of the architectural discipline. However, a critical reconsideration of the role of tectonic theory seems necessary when facing the present everyday....... On the occasion of the Second International Conference on Structures & Architecture held in July 2013 in Portugal the authors organized a special session entitled From open structures to the cladding of control bringing together researchers from the Nordic countries to discuss this issue. Likewise the initiative...... to establish a Nordic Network for Research and Teaching in Tectonics is currently forming. This paper seeks to jointly reflect upon these initiatives in order to bring them further, with the intention to clad a discourse on the future of tectonic architectural research that addresses the conditions of everyday...

  12. Formwork tectonics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manelius, Anne-Mette

    2012-01-01

    På engelsk: Based on the concept of techné and framed in architectural studies of tectonics and an experimental practice of making, this paper investigates the multiple technological roles of textiles in fabric formwork for concrete in four analytical studies of experimental data of the author......’s doctoral dissertation Fabric Formwork for Concrete – Investigations into Formwork Tectonics and Stereogeneity in Architectural Constructions. In the paper only textile roles are discussed but it is suggested that a study of multiple technological roles of key formwork elements will emphasize...... their potential as ‘common denominators’ between architects, engineers and builders. Findings include textile used for the ‘textilization’ of concrete and the ‘concretization’ of textiles as two opposite starting points in fabric-forming. Recent research into thin-shell construction using fabric formwork is shown...

  13. Spiral tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan Asadiyan, Mohammad

    2014-05-01

    Spiral Tectonics (ST) is a new window to global tectonics introduced as alternative model for Plate Tectonics (PT). ST based upon Dahw(rolling) and Tahw(spreading) dynamics. Analogues to electric and magnetic components in the electromagnetic theory we could consider Dahw and Tahw as components of geodynamics, when one component increases the other decreases and vice versa. They are changed to each other during geological history. D-component represents continental crust and T-component represents oceanic crust. D and T are two arm of spiral-cell. T-arm 180 degree lags behind D-arm so named Retard-arm with respect to D or Forward-arm. It seems primary cell injected several billions years ago from Earth's center therefore the Earth's core was built up first then mantel and finally the crust was build up. Crust building initiate from Arabia (Mecca). As the universe extended gravitation wave swirled the earth fractaly along cycloid path from big to small scale. In global scale (order-0) ST collect continents in one side and abandoned Pacific Ocean in the other side. Recent researches also show two mantels upwelling in opposite side of the Earth: one under Africa (tectonic pose) and the other under Pacific Ocean (tectonic tail). In higher order (order-1) ST build up Africa in one side and S.America in the other side therefore left Atlantic Ocean meandered in between. In order-n e.g. Khoor Musa and Bandar-Deylam bay are seen meandered easterly in the Iranian part but Khoor Abdullah and Kuwait bay meandered westerly in the Arabian part, they are distributed symmetrically with respect to axis of Persian Gulf(PG), these two are fractal components of easterly Caspian-wing and westerly Black Sea-wing which split up from Anatoly. Caspian Sea and Black Sea make two legs of Y-like structure, this shape completely fitted with GPS-velocity map which start from PG and split up in the Catastrophic Point(Anatoly). We could consider PG as remnants of Ancient Ocean which spent up

  14. Signatures of Late Pleistocene fluvial incision in an Alpine landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leith, Kerry; Fox, Matthew; Moore, Jeffrey R.

    2018-02-01

    Uncertainty regarding the relative efficacy of fluvial and glacial erosion has hindered attempts to quantitatively analyse the Pleistocene evolution of alpine landscapes. Here we show that the morphology of major tributaries of the Rhone River, Switzerland, is consistent with that predicted for a landscape shaped primarily by multiple phases of fluvial incision following a period of intense glacial erosion after the mid-Pleistocene transition (∼0.7 Ma). This is despite major ice sheets reoccupying the region during cold intervals since the mid-Pleistocene. We use high-resolution LiDAR data to identify a series of convex reaches within the long-profiles of 18 tributary channels. We propose these reaches represent knickpoints, which developed as regional uplift raised tributary bedrock channels above the local fluvial baselevel during glacial intervals, and migrated upstream as the fluvial system was re-established during interglacial periods. Using a combination of integral long-profile analysis and stream-power modelling, we find that the locations of ∼80% of knickpoints in our study region are consistent with that predicted for a fluvial origin, while the mean residual error over ∼100 km of modelled channels is just 26.3 m. Breaks in cross-valley profiles project toward the elevation of former end-of-interglacial channel elevations, supporting our model results. Calculated long-term uplift rates are within ∼15% of present-day measurements, while modelled rates of bedrock incision range from ∼1 mm/yr for low gradient reaches between knickpoints to ∼6-10 mm/yr close to retreating knickpoints, typical of observed rates in alpine settings. Together, our results reveal approximately 800 m of regional uplift, river incision, and hillslope erosion in the lower half of each tributary catchment since 0.7 Ma.

  15. Spreading continents kick-started plate tectonics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rey, Patrice F; Coltice, Nicolas; Flament, Nicolas

    2014-09-18

    Stresses acting on cold, thick and negatively buoyant oceanic lithosphere are thought to be crucial to the initiation of subduction and the operation of plate tectonics, which characterizes the present-day geodynamics of the Earth. Because the Earth's interior was hotter in the Archaean eon, the oceanic crust may have been thicker, thereby making the oceanic lithosphere more buoyant than at present, and whether subduction and plate tectonics occurred during this time is ambiguous, both in the geological record and in geodynamic models. Here we show that because the oceanic crust was thick and buoyant, early continents may have produced intra-lithospheric gravitational stresses large enough to drive their gravitational spreading, to initiate subduction at their margins and to trigger episodes of subduction. Our model predicts the co-occurrence of deep to progressively shallower mafic volcanics and arc magmatism within continents in a self-consistent geodynamic framework, explaining the enigmatic multimodal volcanism and tectonic record of Archaean cratons. Moreover, our model predicts a petrological stratification and tectonic structure of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle, two predictions that are consistent with xenolith and seismic studies, respectively, and consistent with the existence of a mid-lithospheric seismic discontinuity. The slow gravitational collapse of early continents could have kick-started transient episodes of plate tectonics until, as the Earth's interior cooled and oceanic lithosphere became heavier, plate tectonics became self-sustaining.

  16. Abiotic and biotic controls of spatial pattern at alpine treeline

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malanson, George P.; Xiao, Ningchuan; Alftine, K.J.; Bekker, Mathew; Butler, David R.; Brown, Daniel G.; Cairns, David M.; Fagre, Daniel; Walsh, Stephen J.

    2000-01-01

    At alpine treeline, trees and krummholz forms affect the environment in ways that increase their growth and reproduction. We assess the way in which these positive feedbacks combine in spatial patterns to alter the environment in the neighborhood of existing plants. The research is significant because areas of alpine tundra are susceptible to encroachment by woody species as climate changes. Moreover, understanding the general processes of plant invasion is important. The importance of spatial pattern has been recognized, but the spatial pattern of positive feedbacks per se has not been explored in depth. We present a linked set of models of vegetation change at an alpine forest-tundra ecotone. Our aim is to create models that are as simple as possible in order to test specific hypotheses. We present results from a model of the resource averaging hypothesis and the positive feedback switch hypothesis of treelines. We compare the patterns generated by the models to patterns observed in fine scale remotely sensed data.

  17. Archean evolution of Enderby Land (Antarctica) and isotope-geochronological evidences for its ancient history

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krylov, D.P.; Belyatskij, B.V.

    1987-01-01

    Revew of published isotope-geochronological data on Ender by Land (Antarctica), which is the region of highly metamorphic formations predominant development which includes ancient rock relicts, is presented. Three tectonic-thermal events present the Archeau evolution in the region. Correlation of isotope-geochronological (U-Pb, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd) data with micro textural processing allows to estimate tectonic-thermal events age: 3000-3100 about 2900 and about 2500 million years. Metamorphism of 3000-3100 million years age has essentially modified all the isotope systems, while model calculations for evolution of U-Pb, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd systems have shown that rocks primary formation accurred 3500-3900 million years ago

  18. Cosmic ray exposure dating of geo-morphic surface features using in situ-produced 10Be: tectonic and climatic implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siame, L.; Bellier, O.; Sebrier, M.; Braucher, R.; Bourles, D.L.

    2001-01-01

    The evolution of continental landforms is mainly modulated by the impact of climatic and tectonic processes. Because of their distinctive morphology and the periodicity of their deposition, climatically induced landforms such as alluvial fans or terraces are well suited to infer rates of tectonic and continental climatic processes. Within tectonically active regions, an important step consists in dating displaced geomorphic features to calculate slip rates on active faults. Dating is probably the most critical tool because it is generally much more simpler to measure deformation resulting from tectonic activity than it is to accurately date when that deformation occurred. Recent advances in analytical chemistry and nuclear physics (accelerator mass spectrometry) now allow quantitative abundance measurements of the extremely rare isotopes produced by the interaction of cosmic rays with surface rocks and soils, the so-called in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides ( 3 He, 10 Be, 21 Ne, 26 Al, 36 Cl), and allow to directly date the duration that a landform has been exposed to cosmic rays at the Earth's surface (Lal, 1991; Nishiizumi et al., 1993; Cerling and Craig, 1994; Clark et al., 1995]. In fact, the abundance of these cosmo-nuclides is proportional to landscape stability and, under favorable circumstances, their abundance within surface rocks can be used as a proxy for erosion rate or exposure age. These cosmo-nuclides thus provide geomorphologists with the opportunity to constrain rates of landscape evolution. This paper presents a new approach that combines cosmic ray exposure (CRE) dating using in situ-produced 10 Be and geomorphic as well as structural analyse. This approach has been applied on two active strike-slip and reverse faults located in the Andean fore-land of western Argentina. These two case studies illustrate how CRE dating using in situ-produced 10 Be is particularly well suited for geomorphic studies that aim to estimate the respective control of

  19. Alpine treeline and timberline dynamics during the Holocene in the Northern Romanian Carpathians

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anca GEANTĂ

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available High altitude environments (treeline and alpine communities are particularly sensitive to climate changes, disturbances and land-use changes due to their limited tolerance and adaptability range, habitat fragmentation and habitat restriction. The current and future climate warming is anticipated to shift the tree- and timberlines upwards thus affecting alpine plant communities and causing land-cover change and fragmentation of alpine habitats. An upslope movement of some trees, shrubs and cold adapted alpine herbs as a response to the current climate warming has already been noted in many montane and subalpine regions.Four Holocene peat and lacustrine sediment sequences located between 1670 and 1918 m a.s.l. (Fig.1, in the Rodna Mountains (Northern Romania, Eastern Carpathians are used with the aim to determine: i the sensitivity of high mountain habitats to climate, fire and land use changes; ii tree- and timberline shifts: and iii the influence of landscape topography on trees and shrubs.

  20. Towards a Tectonic Sustainable Building Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bech-Danielsen, Claus

    and environmental problems? The objective of the project is to analyse and develop the tectonic practice based on case studies, in relation to: • Cultural anchoring and identity creation • Building culture and creative processes • Sustainability, lifecycle and resource management The research project is divided...... into a main project and various subprojects, respectively, two levels that mutually feed each other.The main project, which constitutes the general level, seeks to identify a coherent strategy towards a new tectonically sustainable building culture.The subprojects look at partial issues and go into specific......Can a tectonic building practice be strengthened through new creation processes, where resources are used more purposefully, deliberately and systematically? Which new measures are necessary if we are to develop a strong tectonic building practice with due consideration for increasing climate...

  1. Tectonically controlled sedimentation: impact on sediment supply and basin evolution of the Kashafrud Formation (Middle Jurassic, Kopeh-Dagh Basin, northeast Iran)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sardar Abadi, Mehrdad; Da Silva, Anne-Christine; Amini, Abdolhossein; Aliabadi, Ali Akbar; Boulvain, Frédéric; Sardar Abadi, Mohammad Hossein

    2014-11-01

    The Kashafrud Formation was deposited in the extensional Kopeh-Dagh Basin during the Late Bajocian to Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) and is potentially the most important siliciclastic unit from NE Iran for petroleum geology. This extensional setting allowed the accumulation of about 1,700 m of siliciclastic sediments during a limited period of time (Upper Bajocian-Bathonian). Here, we present a detailed facies analysis combined with magnetic susceptibility (MS) results focusing on the exceptional record of the Pol-e-Gazi section in the southeastern part of the basin. MS is classically interpreted as related to the amount of detrital input. The amount of these detrital inputs and then the MS being classically influenced by sea-level changes, climate changes and tectonic activity. Facies analysis reveals that the studied rocks were deposited in shallow marine, slope to pro-delta settings. A major transgressive-regressive cycle is recorded in this formation, including fluvial-dominated delta to turbiditic pro-delta settings (transgressive phase), followed by siliciclastic to mixed siliciclastic and carbonate shoreface rocks (regressive phase). During the transgressive phase, hyperpycnal currents were feeding the basin. These hyperpycnal currents are interpreted as related to important tectonic variations, in relation to significant uplift of the hinterland during opening of the basin. This tectonic activity was responsible for stronger erosion, providing a higher amount of siliciclastic input into the basin, leading to a high MS signal. During the regressive phase, the tectonic activity strongly decreased. Furthermore, the depositional setting changed to a wave- to tide-dominated, mixed carbonate-siliciclastic setting. Because of the absence of strong tectonic variations, bulk MS was controlled by other factors such as sea-level and climatic changes. Fluctuations in carbonate production, possibly related to sea-level variations, influenced the MS of the siliciclastic

  2. Continental Transform Boundaries: Tectonic Evolution and Geohazards

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Steckler

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Continental transform boundaries cross heavily populated regions, and they are associated with destructive earthquakes,for example, the North Anatolian Fault (NAFacross Turkey, the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault in Haiti,the San Andreas Fault in California, and the El Pilar fault in Venezuela. Transform basins are important because they are typically associated with 3-D fault geometries controlling segmentation—thus, the size and timing of damaging earthquakes—and because sediments record both deformation and earthquakes. Even though transform basins have been extensively studied, their evolution remains controversial because we don’t understand the specifics about coupling of vertical and horizontal motions and about the basins’long-term kinematics. Seismic and tsunami hazard assessments require knowing architecture and kinematics of faultsas well as how the faults are segmented.

  3. Preliminary sequence stratigraphy and tectonic evolution of the Tokar Delta, (Southern Sudanese Red Sea)

    OpenAIRE

    Yagoub, Abbas Musa

    2007-01-01

    The study area comprises about 2500sq.Kms. From the seismic data acquired by the Oil Companies (Chevron 1975-76 Total 1980 and IPC 1992), thirty two seismic lines were selected Fig (2). Also synthetic seismograms of Suakin-1, Bashayer-1 A and Bashayer-2A wells are used. The stratigraphy and sedimentation of the Sudanese Red Sea can be placed into four major tectonic phases, Pre-rifting stratigraphy, Syn-Rift Pre-Salt Stratigarphy, Salt Phase and Syn-Rift Post Salt Stratigraphy. Basic conce...

  4. Introgression from domestic goat generated variation at the major histocompatibility complex of Alpine ibex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Grossen

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The major histocompatibility complex (MHC is a crucial component of the vertebrate immune system and shows extremely high levels of genetic polymorphism. The extraordinary genetic variation is thought to be ancient polymorphisms maintained by balancing selection. However, introgression from related species was recently proposed as an additional mechanism. Here we provide evidence for introgression at the MHC in Alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex. At a usually very polymorphic MHC exon involved in pathogen recognition (DRB exon 2, Alpine ibex carried only two alleles. We found that one of these DRB alleles is identical to a DRB allele of domestic goats (Capra aegagrus hircus. We sequenced 2489 bp of the coding and non-coding regions of the DRB gene and found that Alpine ibex homozygous for the goat-type DRB exon 2 allele showed nearly identical sequences (99.8% to a breed of domestic goats. Using Sanger and RAD sequencing, microsatellite and SNP chip data, we show that the chromosomal region containing the goat-type DRB allele has a signature of recent introgression in Alpine ibex. A region of approximately 750 kb including the DRB locus showed high rates of heterozygosity in individuals carrying one copy of the goat-type DRB allele. These individuals shared SNP alleles both with domestic goats and other Alpine ibex. In a survey of four Alpine ibex populations, we found that the region surrounding the DRB allele shows strong linkage disequilibria, strong sequence clustering and low diversity among haplotypes carrying the goat-type allele. Introgression at the MHC is likely adaptive and introgression critically increased MHC DRB diversity in the genetically impoverished Alpine ibex. Our finding contradicts the long-standing view that genetic variability at the MHC is solely a consequence of ancient trans-species polymorphism. Introgression is likely an underappreciated source of genetic diversity at the MHC and other loci under balancing selection.

  5. [Effects of altitudes on soil microbial biomass and enzyme activity in alpine-gorge regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Rui; Wu, Fu Zhong; Yang, Wan Qin; Xu, Zhen Feng; Tani, Bo; Wang, Bin; Li, Jun; Chang, Chen Hui

    2016-04-22

    In order to understand the variations of soil microbial biomass and soil enzyme activities with the change of altitude, a field incubation was conducted in dry valley, ecotone between dry valley and mountain forest, subalpine coniferous forest, alpine forest and alpine meadow from 1563 m to 3994 m of altitude in the alpine-gorge region of western Sichuan. The microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, and the activities of invertase, urease and acid phosphorus were measured in both soil organic layer and mineral soil layer. Both the soil microbial biomass and soil enzyme activities showed the similar tendency in soil organic layer. They increased from 2158 m to 3028 m, then decreased to the lowest value at 3593 m, and thereafter increased until 3994 m in the alpine-gorge region. In contrast, the soil microbial biomass and soil enzyme activities in mineral soil layer showed the trends as, the subalpine forest at 3028 m > alpine meadow at 3994 m > montane forest ecotone at 2158 m > alpine forest at 3593 m > dry valley at 1563 m. Regardless of altitudes, soil microbial biomass and soil enzyme activities were significantly higher in soil organic layer than in mineral soil layer. The soil microbial biomass was significantly positively correlated with the activities of the measured soil enzymes. Moreover, both the soil microbial biomass and soil enzyme activities were significantly positively correlated with soil water content, organic carbon, and total nitrogen. The activity of soil invertase was significantly positively correlated with soil phosphorus content, and the soil acid phosphatase was so with soil phosphorus content and soil temperature. In brief, changes in vegetation and other environmental factors resulting from altitude change might have strong effects on soil biochemical properties in the alpine-gorge region.

  6. Introgression from Domestic Goat Generated Variation at the Major Histocompatibility Complex of Alpine Ibex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grossen, Christine; Keller, Lukas; Biebach, Iris; Croll, Daniel

    2014-01-01

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a crucial component of the vertebrate immune system and shows extremely high levels of genetic polymorphism. The extraordinary genetic variation is thought to be ancient polymorphisms maintained by balancing selection. However, introgression from related species was recently proposed as an additional mechanism. Here we provide evidence for introgression at the MHC in Alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex). At a usually very polymorphic MHC exon involved in pathogen recognition (DRB exon 2), Alpine ibex carried only two alleles. We found that one of these DRB alleles is identical to a DRB allele of domestic goats (Capra aegagrus hircus). We sequenced 2489 bp of the coding and non-coding regions of the DRB gene and found that Alpine ibex homozygous for the goat-type DRB exon 2 allele showed nearly identical sequences (99.8%) to a breed of domestic goats. Using Sanger and RAD sequencing, microsatellite and SNP chip data, we show that the chromosomal region containing the goat-type DRB allele has a signature of recent introgression in Alpine ibex. A region of approximately 750 kb including the DRB locus showed high rates of heterozygosity in individuals carrying one copy of the goat-type DRB allele. These individuals shared SNP alleles both with domestic goats and other Alpine ibex. In a survey of four Alpine ibex populations, we found that the region surrounding the DRB allele shows strong linkage disequilibria, strong sequence clustering and low diversity among haplotypes carrying the goat-type allele. Introgression at the MHC is likely adaptive and introgression critically increased MHC DRB diversity in the genetically impoverished Alpine ibex. Our finding contradicts the long-standing view that genetic variability at the MHC is solely a consequence of ancient trans-species polymorphism. Introgression is likely an underappreciated source of genetic diversity at the MHC and other loci under balancing selection. PMID:24945814

  7. Climate change links fate of glaciers and an endemic alpine invertebrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhlfeld, Clint C.; Giersch, J. Joseph; Hauer, F. Richard; Pederson, Gregory T.; Luikart, Gordon; Peterson, Douglas P.; Downs, Christopher C.; Fagre, Daniel B.

    2011-01-01

    Climate warming in the mid- to high-latitudes and high-elevation mountainous regions is occurring more rapidly than anywhere else on Earth, causing extensive loss of glaciers and snowpack. However, little is known about the effects of climate change on alpine stream biota, especially invertebrates. Here, we show a strong linkage between regional climate change and the fundamental niche of a rare aquatic invertebrate—themeltwater stonefly Lednia tumana—endemic toWaterton- Glacier International Peace Park, Canada and USA. L. tumana has been petitioned for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act due to climate-change-induced glacier loss, yet little is known on specifically how climate impacts may threaten this rare species and many other enigmatic alpine aquatic species worldwide. During 14 years of research, we documented that L. tumana inhabits a narrow distribution, restricted to short sections (∼500 m) of cold, alpine streams directly below glaciers, permanent snowfields, and springs. Our simulation models suggest that climate change threatens the potential future distribution of these sensitive habitats and persistence of L. tumana through the loss of glaciers and snowfields. Mountaintop aquatic invertebrates are ideal early warning indicators of climate warming in mountain ecosystems. Research on alpine invertebrates is urgently needed to avoid extinctions and ecosystem change.

  8. Paleomagnetic and geochronologic constraints on the geodynamic evolution of the Central Dinarides

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Leeuw, Arjan; Mandic, Oleg; Krijgsman, Wout; Kuiper, Klaudia; Hrvatović, Hazim

    2013-04-01

    The geodynamic evolution of the Dinaride Mountains of southeastern Europe is relatively poorly understood, especially in comparison with the neighbouring Alps and Carpathians. We have constructed a new chronostratigraphy for the post-orogenic intra-montane basins of the Central Dinarides based on paleomagnetic and 40Ar/39Ar age data. Our results provide time constraints on the formation of these basins and elucidate their subsequent evolution. This is a fundamental step towards a better understanding of the late stage geodynamic evolution of the Central Dinarides. Our paleomagnetic results moreover indicate that the Dinarides have not experienced significant tectonic rotation since the late Oligocene. This implies that the Dinarides were decoupled from the adjacent Adria and the Tisza-Dacia Mega-Units that both underwent major rotation. We provide a reference frame for our rotation results through a review of Late Jurassic to Miocene paleomagnetic data, which elucidates spatial and tectonic rotation patterns in the Adria-Dinarides collision zone. The obtained results significantly improve our insight in the evolution of the Central Dinarides and help reconcile structural geological and paleomagnetic rotation estimates.

  9. Tectonic evolution of the Qumran Basin from high-resolution 3.5-kHz seismic profiles and its implication for the evolution of the northern Dead Sea Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubberts, Ronald K.; Ben-Avraham, Zvi

    2002-02-01

    The Dead Sea Basin is a morphotectonic depression along the Dead Sea Transform. Its structure can be described as a deep rhomb-graben (pull-apart) flanked by two block-faulted marginal zones. We have studied the recent tectonic structure of the northwestern margin of the Dead Sea Basin in the area where the northern strike-slip master fault enters the basin and approaches the western marginal zone (Western Boundary Fault). For this purpose, we have analyzed 3.5-kHz seismic reflection profiles obtained from the northwestern corner of the Dead Sea. The seismic profiles give insight into the recent tectonic deformation of the northwestern margin of the Dead Sea Basin. A series of 11 seismic profiles are presented and described. Although several deformation features can be explained in terms of gravity tectonics, it is suggested that the occurrence of strike-slip in this part of the Dead Sea Basin is most likely. Seismic sections reveal a narrow zone of intensely deformed strata. This zone gradually merges into a zone marked by a newly discovered tectonic depression, the Qumran Basin. It is speculated that both structural zones originate from strike-slip along right-bending faults that splay-off from the Jordan Fault, the strike-slip master fault that delimits the active Dead Sea rhomb-graben on the west. Fault interaction between the strike-slip master fault and the normal faults bounding the transform valley seems the most plausible explanation for the origin of the right-bending splays. We suggest that the observed southward widening of the Dead Sea Basin possibly results from the successive formation of secondary right-bending splays to the north, as the active depocenter of the Dead Sea Basin migrates northward with time.

  10. Miocene shale tectonics in the Moroccan margin (Alboran Sea)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Do Couto, D.; El Abbassi, M.; Ammar, A.; Gorini, C.; Estrada, F.; Letouzey, J.; Smit, J.; Jolivet, L.; Jabour, H.

    2011-12-01

    The Betic (Southern Spain) and Rif (Morocco) mountains form an arcuate belt that represents the westernmost termination of the peri-mediterranean Alpine mountain chain. The Miocene Alboran Basin and its subbasins is located in the hinterland of the Betic-Rif belt. It is considered to be a back-arc basin that developed during the coeval westward motion of the Alboran domain and the extensional collapse of previously thickened crust of the Betic-Rif belt. The Western Alboran Basin (WAB) is the major sedimentary depocenter with a sediment thickness in excess of 10 km, it is bordered by the Gibraltar arc, the volcanic Djibouti mounts and the Alboran ridge. Part of the WAB is affected by shale tectonics and associated mud volcanism. High-quality 2D seismic profiles acquired on the Moroccan margin of the Alboran Basin during the last decade reveal the multiple history of the basin. This study deals with the analysis of a number of these seismic profiles that are located along and orthogonal to the Moroccan margin. Seismic stratigraphy is calibrated from industrial wells. We focus on the interactions between the gravity-driven tectonic processes and the sedimentation in the basin. Our seismic interpretation confirms that the formation of the WAB began in the Early Miocene (Aquitanian - Burdigalian). The fast subsidence of the basin floor coeval to massive sedimentation induced the undercompaction of early miocene shales during their deposition. Downslope migration of these fine-grained sediments initiated during the deposition of the Langhian siliciclastics. This gravity-driven system was accompanied by continuous basement subsidence and induced disharmonic deformation in Mid Miocene units (i.e. not related to basement deformation). The development of shale-cored anticlines and thrusts in the deep basin is the result of compressive deformation at the front of the gravity-driven system and lasted for ca. 15 Ma. The compressive front has been re-activated by strong

  11. Polycyclic evolution of the Quadrilatero Ferrifero: an analysis based on the actual knowledge of the U-Pb geochronology and Sm-Nd isotopic geochemistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carneiro, Mauricio Antonio; Noce, Carlos Mauricio; Teixeira, Wilson

    1995-01-01

    The tectonic evolution of the Quadrilatero Ferrifero region, based on geochronological U-Pb, Pb-Pb, Sm-Nd, Rb-Sr e K-Ar data, is characterized by several processes of crustal growth, which began in Middle Archean. The Lower Archean geological evolution of the Quadrilatero Ferrifero was finished by the Rio de Velhas tectono-thermal event around 2,78 Ga. After this, during the proterozoic era, three tectono-sedimentary cycles took place on this Lower Archean crustal fragment, whose products are represented by the meta sedimentary sequences of the Minas Supergroup, Itacolomi Group and Espinhaco Supergroup. The Transamazonico Event (ca. 2,0 Ga) ended the geological evolution of Minas Supergroup, but its geological records did not have the same size imprints throughout region. Many places, such as the Bonfim Metamorphic Complex, were not affected by this tectonic event. Later tectonic event. Later tectonic events (e.g. Brasiliano) had even more discrete geological occurred during the Proterozoic era, when many sedimentary basins developed (e.g. Espinhaco and Sao Francisco basins). (author)

  12. SHRIMP zircon dating of granitoids from Myanmar: constraints on the tectonic evolution of Southeast Asia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barley, M.E.; Pickard, A.L.; Zaw, K.; University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS

    1999-01-01

    Full text: Situated south of the eastern syntaxis of the Himalayas, Myanmar occupies a key position in the tectonic evolution of Southeast Asia. However, there is almost no modern geochronology for this region. In this contribution we present new SHRIMP zircon dates for granitoids from the Shan Scarp (Mogok Metamorphic Belt), Taninthayi (Tenasserim) Region in the Myeik (Mergui) Archipelago and Central Valley (Western Myanmar) regions of Myanmar. The oldest ages obtained were from Jurassic granitoids, gneisses and amphibolites interlayered with marbles that were metamorphosed and deformed during the Eocene-Oligiocene and Miocene in the Mogok Metamorphic Belt. The occurrence of mid-Jurassic metamorphosed igneous rocks in the Mogok Metamorphic Belt is similar to that in the Hunza Karakoram and confirms interpretations that the southern margin of Asia became an Andean-type convergent margin at that time. Ages between 120 and 80 Ma for l-type granitoids intruding the Mogok Metamorphic Belt, Myeik Archipelago and Western Myanmar confirm that an up to 200km wide mid Cretaceous magmatic belt extended along the Eurasian margin from Tibet to Sumatra. Fractionated l-Type granitoids, that locally host Sn-W mineralisation, were emplaced in the Myeik Archipelago (and adjacent Thailand) in the latest Cretaceous to Early Eocene (80 to 50 Ma). These granitoids formed a wide convergent margin magmatic belt as the Indian plate rapidly approached Eurasia. Deformation and high-grade metamorphism occurred in the Mogok Metamorphic Belt during the Eocene-Oligiocene as the collision between India and Eurasia initiated crustal thickening prior to extrusion, or rotation, of Indochina and northward movement of Western Myanmar. Arc magmatism continued in Western Myanmar with emplacement of granitoids in the Central Valley. Deformation, extensional uplift and further granitoid magmatism occurred in the Mogok Metamorphic Belt during the Early Miocene northward movement of Western Myanmar

  13. Cenozoic tectonic jumping and implications for hydrocarbon accumulation in basins in the East Asia Continental Margin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suo, Yanhui; Li, Sanzhong; Yu, Shan; Somerville, Ian D.; Liu, Xin; Zhao, Shujuan; Dai, Liming

    2014-07-01

    Tectonic migration is a common geological process of basin formation and evolution. However, little is known about tectonic migration in the western Pacific margins. This paper focuses on the representative Cenozoic basins of East China and its surrounding seas in the western Pacific domain to discuss the phenomenon of tectonic jumping in Cenozoic basins, based on structural data from the Bohai Bay Basin, the South Yellow Sea Basin, the East China Sea Shelf Basin, and the South China Sea Continental Shelf Basin. The western Pacific active continental margin is the eastern margin of a global convergent system involving the Eurasian Plate, the Pacific Plate, and the Indian Plate. Under the combined effects of the India-Eurasia collision and retrogressive or roll-back subduction of the Pacific Plate, the western Pacific active continental margin had a wide basin-arc-trench system which migrated or ‘jumped’ eastward and further oceanward. This migration and jumping is characterized by progressive eastward younging of faulting, sedimentation, and subsidence within the basins. Owing to the tectonic migration, the geological conditions associated with hydrocarbon and gashydrate accumulation in the Cenozoic basins of East China and its adjacent seas also become progressively younger from west to east, showing eastward younging in the generation time of reservoirs, seals, traps, accumulations and preservation of hydrocarbon and gashydrate. Such a spatio-temporal distribution of Cenozoic hydrocarbon and gashydrate is significant for the oil, gas and gashydrate exploration in the East Asian Continental Margin. Finally, this study discusses the mechanism of Cenozoic intrabasinal and interbasinal tectonic migration in terms of interplate, intraplate and underplating processes. The migration or jumping regimes of three separate or interrelated events: (1) tectonism-magmatism, (2) basin formation, and (3) hydrocarbon-gashydrate accumulation are the combined effects of the

  14. Problems of the active tectonics of the Eastern Black Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javakhishvili, Z.; Godoladze, T.; Dreger, D. S.; Mikava, D.; Tvaliashvili, A.

    2016-12-01

    The Black Sea Basin is the part of the Arabian Eurasian Collision zone and important unit for understanding the tectonic process of the region. This complex basin comprises two deep basins, separated by the mid-Black Sea Ridge. The basement of the Black Sea includes areas with oceanic and continental crust. It was formed as a "back-arc" basin over the subduction zone during the closing of the Tethys Ocean. In the past decades the Black Sea has been the subject of intense geological and geophysical studies. Several papers were published about the geological history, tectonics, basement relief and crustal and upper mantle structure of the basin. New tectonic schemes were suggested (e. g. Nikishin et al 2014, Shillington et al. 2008, Starostenko et al. 2004 etc.). Nevertheless, seismicity of the Black Sea is poorly studied due to the lack of seismic network in the coastal area. It is considered, that the eastern basin currently lies in a compressional setting associated with the uplift of the Caucasus and structural development of the Caucasus was closely related to the evolution of the Eastern Black Sea Basin. Analyses of recent sequence of earthquakes in 2012 can provide useful information to understand complex tectonic structure of the Eastern Black Sea region. Right after the earthquake of 2012/12/23, National Seismic monitoring center of Georgia deployed additional 4 stations in the coastal area of the country, close to the epicenter area, to monitor aftershock sequence. Seismic activity in the epicentral area is continuing until now. We have relocated approximately 1200 aftershocks to delineate fault scarf using data from Georgian, Turkish and Russian datacenters. Waveforms of the major events and the aftershocks were inverted for the fault plane solutions of the events. For the inversion were used green's functions, computed using new 1D velocity model of the region. Strike-slip mechanism of the major events of the earthquake sequence indicates extensional

  15. The Geomorphological Evolution of a Landscape in a Tectonically Active Region: the Sennwald Landslide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aksay, Selçuk; Ivy-Ochs, Susan; Hippe, Kristina; Graemiger, Lorenz; Vockenhuber, Christof

    2016-04-01

    The Säntis nappe is a fold-and-thrust structure in eastern Switzerland consisting of numerous tectonic discontinuities that make rocks vulnerable to rock failure. The Sennwald landslide is one of those events that occurred due to the failure of Lower Cretaceous Helvetic limestones. This study reveals the surface exposure age of the event in relation to geological and tectonic setting, earthquake frequency of the Central Alps, and regional scale climate/weather influence. Our study comprises detailed mapping of landform features, thin section analysis of landslide boulder lithologies, landslide volume estimation, numerical DAN-3D run-out modelling, and the spatial and temporal relationship of the event. In the Sennwald landslide, 92 million m3 of limestones detached from the south-eastern wall of the Säntis nappe and slid with a maximum travel distance of ~4'500 m and a "fahrboeschung" angle of 15° along the SE-dipping sliding plane almost parallel to the orientation of the bedding plane. Numerical run-out modelling results match the extent and the thickness of landslide deposits as observed in the field. The original bedrock stratigraphy was preserved as geologically the top layer in the bedrock package travelled the farthest and the bottom layer came to rest closest to the release bedrock wall during the landslide. Velocities of maximum 90 m/s were obtained from the numerical run-out modelling. Total Cl and 36Cl were determined at ETH AMS facility with isotope dilution methods defined in the literature (Ivy-Ochs et al., 2004). Surface exposure ages of landslide deposits in the accumulation area are revealed from twelve boulders. The distribution of limestone boulders in the accumulation area, the exposure ages, and the numerical run-out modelling support the hypothesis that the Sennwald landslide was a single catastrophic event. The event is likely to have been triggered by at least light to moderate earthquakes (Mw=4.0-6.0). The historical and the last 40-year

  16. Characterisation of alpine skis

    OpenAIRE

    Wikerman, Fredrik

    2016-01-01

    Skiing is a fast and competitive sport where skiers must push their performance limit to win medals, the di↵erence can be within hundreds of a second. Therefore, technical improvements are essential for assisting in the skier’s improvement. This thesis project is a joint project between KTH and the Swedish Ski Association and Swedish Ski Team with the purpose of obtaining a better understanding of the structural properties of alpine skis, aiming to improve the individual selection process of ...

  17. The crustal velocity field mosaic of the Alpine Mediterranean area (Italy): Insights from new geodetic data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farolfi, Gregorio; Del Ventisette, Chiara

    2016-04-01

    A new horizontal crustal velocity field of Alpine Mediterranean area was determined by continuous long time series (6.5 years) of 113 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) permanent stations. The processing was performed using state-of-the-art absolute antenna phase center correction model and recomputed precise IGS orbits available since April 2014. Moreover, a new more accurate tropospheric mapping function for geodetic applications was adopted. Results provide a new detailed map of the kinematics throughout the entire study area. This area is characterized by a complex tectonic setting driven by the interaction of Eurasian and African plates. The eastern Alps, Corsica, Sardinia and the Tyrrhenian Sea (which is covered only by interpolation data) show small velocity residuals with respect to the Eurasian plate. The whole Apennines axis discriminates two different velocity patterns, the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian area. The area around Messina Strait, which separates peninsular Italy and Sicily, represents a poorly understood region. Results identify an important boundary zone between two different domains, Calabria and Sicily, which are characterized by different crustal motions. The northeastern part of Sicily and Calabria move like Adriatic area, whilst the rest of Sicily, Malta and Lampedusa are dominated by African motion.

  18. Geologic map of Mészáros revisited: Pioneering tectonic mapping of the Transdanubian Range in the early 1980s

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zámolyi, A.; Horváth, F.; Kovács, G.; Timár, G.; Székely, B.

    2009-04-01

    Rocks, even in tectonically active areas are very solid compared to the changes within the scientific theories that occured especially in Eastern Europe as the political landscape changed and the separation into socialist and capitalist countries started to fade. While in Western Europe, Wegener's mobilistic approach gained widespread acceptance in the 1960-ies, in the countries of Eastern Europe (partly due to political reasons) fixistic ideas were supported. Despite the fact that most important early concepts in Hungarian tectonics were born about a century ago as a results of exploration of the Lake Balaton and its surroundings conducted by Lajos Lóczy, initiatives to integrate various geodynamic observations were rare exceptions in the second half of the 20th century. The high priority of economic geologic prospection in order to find raw materials resulted in an enormous amount of observations. In the central Transdanubian Range (TR), hosting bauxite, coal and manganese deposits, extensive surveying was carried out according to fixistic tectonic concepts. Although the recognition of faults was of vital importance in mining, mapped faults were rarely integrated into a global geodynamic model. A pioneering approach was presented by Mészáros (1983), who compiled a 1: 100 000 scale structural and economic-geologic map of large parts of TR. The map focuses on the Bakony hills that are of key importance for the geodynamic understanding of the formation of PB. TR forms inselbergs with well preserved outcrops, which is rare in PB, thus allowing for direct measurements of fault striations and fault plane orientations. Prinz (1926) maintained the theory that the TR is a rigid block and named it Tisia block. An alternative to this approach was the monograph of Uhlig (1907) proposing mobilistic concepts. Csontos et al (1991) reviewed the evolution of neogene stress-fields in the Carpatho-Pannonian region observing microtectonic faults in TR. The authors conclude that

  19. Glacial isostatic uplift of the European Alps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mey, Jürgen; Scherler, Dirk; Wickert, Andrew D.; Egholm, David L.; Tesauro, Magdala; Schildgen, Taylor F.; Strecker, Manfred R.

    2016-01-01

    Following the last glacial maximum (LGM), the demise of continental ice sheets induced crustal rebound in tectonically stable regions of North America and Scandinavia that is still ongoing. Unlike the ice sheets, the Alpine ice cap developed in an orogen where the measured uplift is potentially attributed to tectonic shortening, lithospheric delamination and unloading due to deglaciation and erosion. Here we show that ∼90% of the geodetically measured rock uplift in the Alps can be explained by the Earth’s viscoelastic response to LGM deglaciation. We modelled rock uplift by reconstructing the Alpine ice cap, while accounting for postglacial erosion, sediment deposition and spatial variations in lithospheric rigidity. Clusters of excessive uplift in the Rhône Valley and in the Eastern Alps delineate regions potentially affected by mantle processes, crustal heterogeneity and active tectonics. Our study shows that even small LGM ice caps can dominate present-day rock uplift in tectonically active regions. PMID:27830704

  20. Geological Evolution of the Ganiki Planitia Quadrangle (V14) on Venus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosfils, E. B.; Drury, D. E.; Hurwitz, D. M.; Kastl, B.; Long, s. M.; Richards, J. W.; Venechuk, E. M.

    2005-01-01

    The Ganiki Planitia quadrangle (25-50degN, 180-210degE) is located north of Atla Regio, south of Vinmara Planitia, and southeast of Atalanta Planitia. The region contains a diverse array of volcanic-, tectonic- and impact-derived features, and the objectives for the ongoing mapping effort are fivefold: 1) explore the formation and evolution of radiating dike swarms within the region, 2) use the diverse array of volcanic deposits to further test the neutral buoyancy hypothesis proposed to explain the origin of reservoir-derived features, 3&4) unravel the volcanic and tectonic evolution in this area, and 5) explore the implications of 1-4 for resurfacing mechanisms. Here we summarize our onging analysis of the material unit stratigraphy in the quadrangle, data central to meeting the aforementioned objectives successfully.

  1. Fragile areas in the Alpine region: a reading between innovation and marginality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federica Corrado

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper proposes a reading and description of fragile Alpine areas that overturns the conventional standpoint, according to which marginality is often synonymous with handicap. The paper starts form a different point of view, able to recognize specific local potentialities that can still be activated with a specific creative effort. The reading regards fragile Alpine areas in the Provinces of Turin and Cuneo and is based on an empirical analysis of the actions underlying current micro-territorial innovative development trends.Cet article propose une lecture et une description des territoires alpins fragiles, en jetant un autre regard, où le concept de fragilité est associé à celui de handicap, c’est-à-dire un autre regard sur l’identification des potentiels locaux spécifiques qui peuvent être encore activés à travers une force créatrice propre aux Alpes. La lecture est effectuée en fonction des territoires alpins fragiles qui font partie des provinces de Turin et Coni et se base sur une analyse empirique des initiatives qui enclenchent en quelque façon des dynamiques micro-territoriales de développement innovant.

  2. PALEOMAGNETISM OF SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN VOLCANICS FROM THE CHINGIZ ISLAND ARC, KAZAKHSTAN, AND ITS BEARING ON TECTONIC EVOLUTION OF THE URAL-MONGOL BELT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia M. Levashova

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The tectonic and paleogeographic evolution of the Ural-Mongol belt between the cratons of Baltica, Siberia, and Tarim is the key to the formation of the Eurasian supercontinent during Paleozoic time, but the views on this complicated process remain very disparate and sometimes controversial. Three volcanic formations of the Middle Silurian, LowertoMiddle Devonian and Middle Devonian age from the southwestern boundary of the Chingiz Range (NE Kazakhstan yields what are interpreted as primary paleomagnetic directions that help clarify the evolution of the belt. A singlepolarity characteristic component in midSilurian andesites yields a positive intraformational conglomerate test, whereas dualpolarity prefolding components are isolated from the two Devonian collections. These new data were evaluated together with previously published paleomagnetic results from Paleozoic rocks in the Chingiz Range, and allow us to establish with confidence the hemisphere in which the area was located at a given time. We conclude that NE Kazakhstan was steadily moving northward crossing the equator in Silurian time. These new paleomagnetic data from the Chingiz range also agree with and reinforce the hypothesis that the strongly curved volcanic belts of Kazakhstan underwent oroclinal bending between Middle Devonian and Late Carboniferous time. A comparison of the Chingiz paleolatitudes with those of Siberia shows similarities between the northward motion and rotational history of the Chingiz unit and those of Siberia, which imposes important constraints on the evolving paleogeography of the Ural-Mongol belt.

  3. Mesozoic and Cenozoic structural evolution of North Oman: New insights from high-quality 3D seismic from the Lekhwair area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bazalgette, Loïc; Salem, Hisham

    2018-06-01

    This paper highlights the role of Triassic-Jurassic extension and late Cretaceous compression in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic (Alpine) structuring of North Oman. The syn/post-Mesozoic regional structural evolution is usually documented as a succession of two stages of deformation. The Alpine 1 phase, late Cretaceous in age, occurred in association with two ophiolite obduction stages (Semail and Masirah ophiolites). It was characterised by strike slip to extensional deformation in the North Oman foreland basin sub-surface. The Alpine 2 phase, Miocene in age, was related to the continental collision responsible for both the Zagros orogen and the uplift of the Oman Mountains. The Alpine 2 deformation was transpressional to compressional. Observation and interpretation of good quality 3D seismic in the Lekhwair High area enabled the distinction of two earlier phases. Early Mesozoic extension occurred concomitantly with the regional Triassic to Jurassic rifting, developing Jurassic-age normal faults. Late Cretaceous compression occurred prior to the main Alpine 1 phase and triggered the inversion of Jurassic-seated normal faults as well as the initiation of compressional folds in the Cretaceous overburden. These early phases have been ignored or overlooked as part of the North Oman history although they are at the origin of structures hosting major local and regional hydrocarbon accumulations.

  4. Evaluation of storage and filtration protocols for alpine/subalpine lake water quality samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    John L. Korfmacher; Robert C. Musselman

    2007-01-01

    Many government agencies and other organizations sample natural alpine and subalpine surface waters using varying protocols for sample storage and filtration. Simplification of protocols would be beneficial if it could be shown that sample quality is unaffected. In this study, samples collected from low ionic strength waters in alpine and subalpine lake inlets...

  5. Identification and climatology of Alpine pumping from a regional climate simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maximilian eGraf

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The thermally driven circulation between the European Alps and the alpine foreland - named Alpine pumping – occurs regularly under clear and calm weather conditions. While previous studies focused on the impact of Alpine pumping on moist convection and transport of air pollutants, this study was motivated by its ventilation effect for Munich, located about 50 km north of the Alps in undulating and only slightly inclined terrain, where local thermal circulations are weak. Hourly data from a reanalysis driven regional climate simulation with COSMO-CLM model for the period 1989 to 2008 were analysed to identify days with Alpine pumping and to determine the mean diurnal characteristics of this regional thermal circulation. Four literature derived combinations of meteorological criteria were tested to identify days favorable for Alpine pumping from COSMO-CLM results. The first criterion selects days with a daily sum of solar radiation ≥20 MJ/m2 and has been used in an earlier observational study. On average 60 d/y are fulfilling the criterion in the model simulation, which compares well to the 67 d/y determined from observations. The other three criteria combinations consider a maximum wind velocity at 850 hPa, a maximum daily precipitation sum, and/or a maximum mean cloud cover. The mean annual number of selected days is lower for these criteria combinations and ranges between 20 and 52. Diurnal wind reversals occur on 77 to 81% of the selected days, depending on the criteria combinationThe daily solar radiation sum of 20 MJ/m2 is only exceeded during April to September, while days satisfying the criteria combinations without the radiation threshold occur all year round. In agreement with observations, the simulated regional thermally driven wind field extends up to ~100 km north of the Alps with average near-surface wind speeds of 0.5-1.5 m/s in the Munich area. With increasing distance from the Alps, the diurnal cycle of Alpine pumping is

  6. Geotectonic evolution of lunar LQ-4 region based on multisource data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianping Chen

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The Sinus Iridum region, the first choice for China's “Lunar Exploration Project” is located at the center of the lunar LQ-4 area and is the site of Chang'e-3 (CE-3's soft landing. To make the scientific exploration of Chang'e-3 more targeted and scientific, and to obtain a better macro-level understanding of the geotectonic environment of the Sinus Iridum region, the tectonic elements in LQ-4 region have been studied and the typical structures were analyzed statistically using data from CE-1, Clementine, LRO and Lunar Prospector missions. Also, the mineral components and periods of mare basalt activities in the study area have been ascertained. The present study divides the tectonic units and establishes the major tectonic events and sequence of evolution in the study area based on morphology, mineral constituents, and tectonic element distribution.

  7. Seasonal variations in carbon dioxide exchange in an alpine wetland meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Zhao

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Alpine wetland meadow could functions as a carbon sink due to it high soil organic content and low decomposition. However, the magnitude and dynamics of carbon stock in alpine wetland ecosystems are not well quantified. Therefore, understanding how environmental variables affect the processes that regulate carbon fluxes in alpine wetland meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is critical. To address this issue, Gross Primary Production (GPP, Ecosystem Respiration (Reco, and Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE were examined in an alpine wetland meadow using the eddy covariance method from October 2003 to December 2006 at the Haibei Research Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Seasonal patterns of GPP and Reco were closely associated with leaf area index (LAI. The Reco showed a positive exponential to soil temperature and relatively low Reco occurred during the non-growing season after a rain event. This result is inconsistent with the result observed in alpine shrubland meadow. In total, annual GPP were estimated at 575.7, 682.9, and 630.97 g C m−2 in 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively. Meanwhile, the Reco were equal to 676.8, 726.4, 808.2 g C m−2, and thus the NEE were 101.1, 44.0 and 173.2 g C m−2. These results indicated that the alpine wetland meadow was a moderately source of carbon dioxide (CO2. The observed carbon dioxide fluxes in the alpine wetland meadow were higher than other alpine meadow such as Kobresia humilis meadow and shrubland meadow.

  8. Alpine dams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alain Marnezy

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Les barrages-réservoirs de montagne ont été réalisés initialement dans les Alpes pour répondre à la demande d’énergie en période hivernale. Une certaine diversification des usages de l’eau s’est ensuite progressivement développée, en relation avec le développement touristique des collectivités locales. Aujourd’hui, la participation des ouvrages d’Électricité De France à la production de neige de culture représente une nouvelle étape. Dans les régions où les aménagements hydroélectriques sont nombreux, les besoins en eau pour la production de neige peuvent être résolus par prélèvements à partir des adductions EDF. Les gestionnaires de stations échappent ainsi aux inconvénients liés à la construction et à la gestion des « retenues collinaires ». Cette évolution, qui concerne déjà quelques régions alpines comme la haute Maurienne ou le Beaufortin, apparaît comme une forme renouvelée d’intégration territoriale de la ressource en eau.Mountain reservoirs were initially built in the Alps to meet energy needs in the winter. A certain diversification in the uses of water then gradually developed, related to tourism development in the local communities. Today, the use of facilities belonging to EDF (French Electricity Authority to provide water for winter resorts to make artificial snow represents a new phase. By taking water from EDF resources to supply snow-making equipment, resort managers are thus able to avoid the problems related to the construction and management of small headwater dams. This new orientation in the use of mountain water resources already affects a number of alpine regions such as the Upper Maurienne valley and Beaufortain massif and represents a renewed form of the territorial integration of water resources.

  9. Tectonic Constraints on the Evolution of Geothermal Systems in the Central Andean Volcanic Zone (CAVZ)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veloso, E. E.; Tardani, D.; Aron, F.; Elizalde, J. D.; Sanchez-Alfaro, P.; Godoy, B.

    2017-12-01

    South of 19°S, geothermal fields and Pliocene-to-Holocene volcanic centers of the Central Andean Volcanic Zone are spatially associated with distinct, large-scale fault systems disrupting the volcanic arc, which control the architecture and dynamics of the fluids reservoirs at shallow crustal levels. Based on an extensive compilation of structural, lithological and isotopic data, and satellite imagery band-ratio analyses, we produced detailed maps of 13 areas comprising 19 identified and/or potential geothermal fields, to examine if particular local-scale tectonic configurations are associated to fluids migrating from different crustal levels. We defined three main tectonic environments according to the specific, kilometer-scale structural arrangement and its spatial relation to the geothermal surface manifestations. T1, dominated by left-lateral, pure strike-slip motion on a NW-trending duplex-like geometry with geothermal fields located along the faults - in turn distributed into five major subparallel zones cutting across the orogenic belt between ca. 20° and 27°S. T2, dominated by shortening on a series of N-trending thrust faults and fault-propagated folds, cut and displaced by the above mentioned NW-trending faults, with geothermal fields hosted at fault intersections and at fold hinges. And T3, characterized by transtension accommodated by NW-to-WNW-trending left-lateral/normal faults, with hot-springs lying along the fault traces. Interestingly, each of the independently defined tectonic environments has distinctive helium (in fluids) and strontium (in lavas) isotopic signatures and estimated geothermal reservoir temperatures. T1 shows a large 4He contribution, low 87Sr/86Sr ratio and temperatures varying between ca. 220°-310°C; T3 low 4He and high 87Sr/86Sr ratio and temperature (260°-320°C); T2 isotopic values fall between T1 and T3, yet showing the lowest (130°-250°C) temperatures. We suggest that these particular isotopic signatures are due to

  10. Transoceanic Dispersal and Plate Tectonics Shaped Global Cockroach Distributions: Evidence from Mitochondrial Phylogenomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourguignon, Thomas; Tang, Qian; Ho, Simon Y W; Juna, Frantisek; Wang, Zongqing; Arab, Daej A; Cameron, Stephen L; Walker, James; Rentz, David; Evans, Theodore A; Lo, Nathan

    2017-04-01

    Following the acceptance of plate tectonics theory in the latter half of the 20th century, vicariance became the dominant explanation for the distributions of many plant and animal groups. In recent years, however, molecular-clock analyses have challenged a number of well-accepted hypotheses of vicariance. As a widespread group of insects with a fossil record dating back 300 My, cockroaches provide an ideal model for testing hypotheses of vicariance through plate tectonics versus transoceanic dispersal. However, their evolutionary history remains poorly understood, in part due to unresolved relationships among the nine recognized families. Here, we present a phylogenetic estimate of all extant cockroach families, as well as a timescale for their evolution, based on the complete mitochondrial genomes of 119 cockroach species. Divergence dating analyses indicated that the last common ancestor of all extant cockroaches appeared ∼235 Ma, ∼95 My prior to the appearance of fossils that can be assigned to extant families, and before the breakup of Pangaea began. We reconstructed the geographic ranges of ancestral cockroaches and found tentative support for vicariance through plate tectonics within and between several major lineages. We also found evidence of transoceanic dispersal in lineages found across the Australian, Indo-Malayan, African, and Madagascan regions. Our analyses provide evidence that both vicariance and dispersal have played important roles in shaping the distribution and diversity of these insects.

  11. Late Quaternary river channel migrations of the Kura River in Transcaucasia - tectonic versus climatic causes

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Suchodoletz, Hans; Gärtner, Andreas; Hoth, Silvan; Umlauft, Josefine; Godoladze, Tea; Faust, Dominik

    2015-04-01

    Large-scale river channel migrations either in the form of avulsions or combing, i.e. progressive lateral migrations, are global phenomena during the Late Quaternary. Such channel migrations were triggered by tectonics, climate change, human activity or a combination of those factors. River channel migrations have the potential to cause significant human and economic losses. Thus, a more thorough knowledge about underlying causes and process rates is essential. Furthermore, such studies will elucidate the sensitivity or robustness of rivers to different external and internal forcing-agents, i.e. they help to identify the dominant drivers of regional landscape evolution. The Caucasus region is part of the active collision zone between the Africa-Arabian and the Eurasian plates, and is characterized by high current tectonic activity. Furthermore, significant environmental changes took place during the Late Quaternary, i.e. the shrinking or even disappearance of glaciers in the Greater and Lesser Caucasus or fundamental changes of the vegetation cover varying between woodland and grassland-dominated vegetation. The Kura River is the main gaining stream of the Transcaucasian Depression located between the Greater Caucasus Mountains in the north and the Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south, and receives several tributaries from both mountain ranges. This study focusses on the middle course of the Kura River in eastern Georgia, SE of the city of Tbilisi. Integration of fluvial geomorphology, geochronology, heavy mineral analyses and seismo-tectonic analyses demonstrates that this part of the Kura River underwent large-scale channel migrations up to >10 km during Late Pleistocene and Holocene. It is interpreted that these movements followed both tectonic and climatic triggers: Whereas SW-ward migrations were caused by tectonic uplift in and SW-directed advance of the Kura fold and thrust belt as part of the Greater Caucasus, NE-ward migrations occurred during cold

  12. Topographic evolution of a continental indenter: The eastern Southern Alps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robl, Jörg; Heberer, Bianca; Prasicek, Günther; Neubauer, Franz; Hergarten, Stefan

    2017-04-01

    The topographic evolution of the eastern Southern Alps (ESA) is controlled by the Late Oligocene - Early Miocene indentation of the Adriatic microplate into an overthickened orogenic wedge emplaced on top of the European plate. Rivers follow topographic gradients that evolve during continental collision and in turn incise into bedrock counteracting the formation of topography. In principle, erosional surface processes tend to establish a topographic steady state so that an interpretation of topographic metrics in terms of the latest tectonic history should be straightforward. However, a series of complications impede deciphering the topographic record of the ESA. The Pleistocene glaciations locally excavated alpine valleys and perturbed fluvial drainages. The Late Miocene desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea and the uplift of the northern Molasse Basin led to significant base level changes in the far field of the ESA and the Eastern Alps (EA), respectively. Among this multitude of mechanisms, the processes that dominate the current topographic evolution of the ESA and the ESA-EA drainage divide have not been identified and a number of questions regarding the interaction of crustal deformation, erosion and climate in shaping the present-day topography remain. We demonstrate the expected topographic effects of each mechanism in a 1-dimensional model and compare them with observed channel metrics. Modern uplift rates are largely consistent with long-term exhumation in the ESA and with variations in the normalized steepness index (ksn) indicating a stable uplift and erosion pattern since Miocene times. We find that ksn increases with uplift rate and declines from the indenter tip in the northwest to the foreland basin in the southeast. The number and magnitude of knickpoints and the distortion in longitudinal channel profiles similarly decrease towards the east. Most knickpoints probably evolved during Pleistocene glaciation cycles, but may represent the incrementally

  13. New tectonic data constrain the mechanisms of breakup along the Gulf of California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bot, Anna; Geoffroy, Laurent; Authemayou, Christine; Graindorge, David

    2014-05-01

    The Gulf of California is resulting from an oblique-rift system due to the separation of the Pacific and the North American plates in the ~N110E to ~N125E trend. The age, nature and orientation of strain which ended with continental break-up and incipient oceanization at ~3.6 Ma, is largely misunderstood. It is generally proposed that early stages of extension began at around 12 Ma with strain partitioning into two components: a pure ENE directed extension in the Gulf Extensional Province (which includes Sonora and the eastern Baja California Peninsula in Mexico) and a dextral strike-slip displacement west of the Baja California Peninsula along the San Benito and Tosco-Abreojos faults. This evolution would have lasted ~5-6 Ma when a new transtensional strain regime took place. This regime, with extension trending ~N110E +/-10° , led to the final break-up and the subsequent individualization of a transform-fault system and subordoned short oceanic ridges. This two-steps interpretation has recently been challenged by authors suggesting a continuous transtensional extension from 12Ma in the trend of the PAC-NAM plates Kinematic. We question both of those models in term of timing and mode of accommodation basing ourselves on field investigations in Baja California Sur (Mexico). The volcano-sedimentary formations of the Comondù group dated 25 to 20 Ma exhibit clear examples of syn-sedimentary and syn-magmatic extensive deformations. This extension, oriented N65° E+/-15° , is proposed to initiate during the Magdalena Plate subduction. It would be related to the GOC initialization. In addition to this finding, we present tectonic and dating evidences of complex detachment-faulting tectonics varying in trend and kinematics with time and space for the development to the south of Baja California Sur. The extension associated with the early detachment-fault system trended ~N110E. From ~17 Ma to, probably, ~7-8 Ma, this extension controlled the early development of the San

  14. Iapetus: Tectonic structure and geologic history

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croft, Steven K.

    1991-01-01

    Many papers have been written about the surface of Iapetus, but most of these have discussed either the nature of the strongly contrasting light and dark materials or the cratering record. Little has been said about other geologic features on Iapetus, such as tectonic structures, which would provide constraints on Iapetus' thermal history. Most references have suggested that there is no conclusive evidence for any tectonic activity, even when thermal history studies indicate that there should be. However, a new study of Iapetus' surface involving the use of stereo pairs, an extensive tectonic network has been recognized. A few new observations concerning the craters and dark material were also made. Thus the geology and geologic history of Iapetus can be more fully outlined than before. The tectonic network is shown along with prominent craters and part of the dark material in the geologic/tectonic sketch map. The topology of crater rims and scarps are quite apparent and recognizable in the different image pairs. The heights and slopes of various features given are based on comparison with the depths of craters 50 to 100 km in diameter, which are assumed to have the same depths as craters of similar diameter on Rhea and Titania.

  15. Environment and Climate of Early Human Evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levin, Naomi E.

    2015-05-01

    Evaluating the relationships between climate, the environment, and human traits is a key part of human origins research because changes in Earth's atmosphere, oceans, landscapes, and ecosystems over the past 10 Myr shaped the selection pressures experienced by early humans. In Africa, these relationships have been influenced by a combination of high-latitude ice distributions, sea surface temperatures, and low-latitude orbital forcing that resulted in large oscillations in vegetation and moisture availability that were modulated by local basin dynamics. The importance of both climate and tectonics in shaping African landscapes means that integrated views of the ecological, environmental, and tectonic histories of a region are necessary in order to understand the relationships between climate and human evolution.

  16. Meso-cenozoic extensional tectonics and uranium metallogenesis in southeast China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Yuehui; Chen Zuyi; Cai Yuqi; Fu Jin; Feng Quanhong; Shi Zuhai

    1998-12-01

    Through a systematic study on Meso-Cenozoic extensional tectonics in Southeast China, the authors point out that there are three major types of extensional tectonics such as taphrogenic thermo-upwelling, and gravitational extensional tectonics. The characteristics of structural forms, combination patterns, movement style and syn-tectonic magmatism of different extensional tectonics are studied. Then according to the known isotope age data of uranium mineralizations in the area, the relations between the process of extensional tectonics and regional uranium metallogenesis, as well as the corresponding relations in space and time between extensional tectonics and uranium deposits of different types are analyzed. In conclusion, the authors suggest that the uranium mineralizations of different types in Southeast China are characterized by an united ore-forming mechanism due to the apparent control of extensional tectonics to the regional uranium metallogenesis

  17. Everyday Tectonics?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beim, Anne; Hvejsel, Marie Frier

    2016-01-01

    Frascari and Kenneth Frampton (Harris & Berke 1997, Read 2000, Frascari 1984, Frampton 1995kilder). Whereas the focus upon everyday architecture seems to have lost its momentum too quickly, tectonic theory in architecture has been steadily growing as a field of research in architecture, especially related...

  18. Presentation of new tectonic map (and accompanying sections) of Trinidad and Tobago

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Persad, K.M.

    1984-04-01

    The Geologic Map of Trinidad, compiled by H.G. Kugler and published in 1961, is currently out of print. While it is the most widely available geologic map, it is confined to onshore Trinidad. This map remains an important reference source, but there have been significant increases in our knowledge of Trindad and Tobago geology since its publication. In particular, there has been: (1) considerable geophysical work, on land and offshore, including 20,000 km (12,400 mi) of seismic lines; (2) approximately 1000 exploration and development wells drilled, including wells in the previously unexplored north and east coast of Trinidad; and (3) significant advances in our understanding of the tectonic evolution of the area, which has resulted largely from the development of the plate tectonic theory. The following items, which take into account many of these new data and concepts, have been compiled. (1) A geologic tectonic map of the entire territory of Trinidad and Tobago, at a scale of 1:200,000. Apart from the surface geology of the land areas, this map shows the major faults and their displacements and locations, total depths and status of exploration wells, and the positions of major petroleum fields. (2) Five accompanying geologic sections at the same scale. (3) A new stratigraphic correlation chart. These new compilations attempt to fill the gap in the published literature on the petroleum geology of Trinidad and Tobago.

  19. The consequences of elevated CO² and land use in alpine ecosystems

    OpenAIRE

    Inauen, Nicole

    2014-01-01

    The consequences of elevated CO2 and land use in alpine ecosystems This PhD thesis addresses two main aspects of Global Change and their impacts on alpine vegetation and eco-hydrology, (1) the steadily increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere as well as (2) land use and its current decline across the Alps. Current and future rises of atmospheric CO2 concentration are commonly expected to stimulate photosynthesis and to reduce carbon limitation of plant growth. Whether this hypoth...

  20. Cenozoic uplift of the Tibetan Plateau: Evidence from the tectonic–sedimentary evolution of the western Qaidam Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yadong Wang

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Geologists agree that the collision of the Indian and Asian plates caused uplift of the Tibet Plateau. However, controversy still exists regarding the modes and mechanisms of the Tibetan Plateau uplift. Geology has recorded this uplift well in the Qaidam Basin. This paper analyzes the tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the western Qaidam Basin using sub-surface seismic and drill data. The Cenozoic intensity and history of deformation in the Qaidam Basin have been reconstructed based on the tectonic developments, faults growth index, sedimentary facies variations, and the migration of the depositional depressions. The changes in the sedimentary facies show that lakes in the western Qaidam Basin had gone from inflow to still water deposition to withdrawal. Tectonic movements controlled deposition in various depressions, and the depressions gradually shifted southeastward. In addition, the morphology of the surface structures in the western Qaidam Basin shows that the Cenozoic tectonic movements controlled the evolution of the Basin and divided it into (a the southern fault terrace zone, (b a central Yingxiongling orogenic belt, and (c the northern fold-thrust belt; divided by the XI fault (Youshi fault and Youbei fault, respectively. The field data indicate that the western Qaidam Basin formed in a Cenozoic compressive tectonic environment caused by the India–Asia plate collision. Further, the Basin experienced two phases of intensive tectonic deformation. The first phase occurred during the Middle Eocene–Early Miocene (Xia Ganchaigou Fm. and Shang Ganchaigou Fm., 43.8–22 Ma, and peaked in the Early Oligocene (Upper Xia Ganchaigou Fm., 31.5 Ma. The second phase occurred between the Middle Miocene and the Present (Shang Youshashan Fm. and Qigequan Fm., 14.9–0 Ma, and was stronger than the first phase. The tectonic–sedimentary evolution and the orientation of surface structures in the western Qaidam Basin resulted from the Tibetan

  1. Simulation of wind-induced snow transport in alpine terrain using a fully coupled snowpack/atmosphere model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vionnet, V.; Martin, E.; Masson, V.; Guyomarc'h, G.; Naaim-Bouvet, F.; Prokop, A.; Durand, Y.; Lac, C.

    2013-06-01

    In alpine regions, wind-induced snow transport strongly influences the spatio-temporal evolution of the snow cover throughout the winter season. To gain understanding on the complex processes that drive the redistribution of snow, a new numerical model is developed. It couples directly the detailed snowpack model Crocus with the atmospheric model Meso-NH. Meso-NH/Crocus simulates snow transport in saltation and in turbulent suspension and includes the sublimation of suspended snow particles. A detailed representation of the first meters of the atmosphere allows a fine reproduction of the erosion and deposition process. The coupled model is evaluated against data collected around the experimental site of Col du Lac Blanc (2720 m a.s.l., French Alps). For this purpose, a blowing snow event without concurrent snowfall has been selected and simulated. Results show that the model captures the main structures of atmospheric flow in alpine terrain, the vertical profile of wind speed and the snow particles fluxes near the surface. However, the horizontal resolution of 50 m is found to be insufficient to simulate the location of areas of snow erosion and deposition observed by terrestrial laser scanning. When activated, the sublimation of suspended snow particles causes a reduction in deposition of 5.3%. Total sublimation (surface + blowing snow) is three times higher than surface sublimation in a simulation neglecting blowing snow sublimation.

  2. Identifying key conservation threats to Alpine birds through expert knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedrini, Paolo; Brambilla, Mattia; Rolando, Antonio; Girardello, Marco

    2016-01-01

    Alpine biodiversity is subject to a range of increasing threats, but the scarcity of data for many taxa means that it is difficult to assess the level and likely future impact of a given threat. Expert opinion can be a useful tool to address knowledge gaps in the absence of adequate data. Experts with experience in Alpine ecology were approached to rank threat levels for 69 Alpine bird species over the next 50 years for the whole European Alps in relation to ten categories: land abandonment, climate change, renewable energy, fire, forestry practices, grazing practices, hunting, leisure, mining and urbanization. There was a high degree of concordance in ranking of perceived threats among experts for most threat categories. The major overall perceived threats to Alpine birds identified through expert knowledge were land abandonment, urbanization, leisure and forestry, although other perceived threats were ranked highly for particular species groups (renewable energy and hunting for raptors, hunting for gamebirds). For groups of species defined according to their breeding habitat, open habitat species and treeline species were perceived as the most threatened. A spatial risk assessment tool based on summed scores for the whole community showed threat levels were highest for bird communities of the northern and western Alps. Development of the approaches given in this paper, including addressing biases in the selection of experts and adopting a more detailed ranking procedure, could prove useful in the future in identifying future threats, and in carrying out risk assessments based on levels of threat to the whole bird community. PMID:26966659

  3. Identifying key conservation threats to Alpine birds through expert knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan E. Chamberlain

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Alpine biodiversity is subject to a range of increasing threats, but the scarcity of data for many taxa means that it is difficult to assess the level and likely future impact of a given threat. Expert opinion can be a useful tool to address knowledge gaps in the absence of adequate data. Experts with experience in Alpine ecology were approached to rank threat levels for 69 Alpine bird species over the next 50 years for the whole European Alps in relation to ten categories: land abandonment, climate change, renewable energy, fire, forestry practices, grazing practices, hunting, leisure, mining and urbanization. There was a high degree of concordance in ranking of perceived threats among experts for most threat categories. The major overall perceived threats to Alpine birds identified through expert knowledge were land abandonment, urbanization, leisure and forestry, although other perceived threats were ranked highly for particular species groups (renewable energy and hunting for raptors, hunting for gamebirds. For groups of species defined according to their breeding habitat, open habitat species and treeline species were perceived as the most threatened. A spatial risk assessment tool based on summed scores for the whole community showed threat levels were highest for bird communities of the northern and western Alps. Development of the approaches given in this paper, including addressing biases in the selection of experts and adopting a more detailed ranking procedure, could prove useful in the future in identifying future threats, and in carrying out risk assessments based on levels of threat to the whole bird community.

  4. Molecular phylogeny and timing of diversification in Alpine Rhithrogena (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vuataz, Laurent; Rutschmann, Sereina; Monaghan, Michael T; Sartori, Michel

    2016-09-21

    Larvae of the Holarctic mayfly genus Rhithrogena Eaton, 1881 (Ephemeroptera, Heptageniidae) are a diverse and abundant member of stream and river communities and are routinely used as bio-indicators of water quality. Rhithrogena is well diversified in the European Alps, with a number of locally endemic species, and several cryptic species have been recently detected. While several informal species groups are morphologically well defined, a lack of reliable characters for species identification considerably hampers their study. Their relationships, origin, timing of speciation and mechanisms promoting their diversification in the Alps are unknown. Here we present a species-level phylogeny of Rhithrogena in Europe using two mitochondrial and three nuclear gene regions. To improve sampling in a genus with many cryptic species, individuals were selected for analysis according to a recent DNA-based taxonomy rather than traditional nomenclature. A coalescent-based species tree and a reconstruction based on a supermatrix approach supported five of the species groups as monophyletic. A molecular clock, mapped on the most resolved phylogeny and calibrated using published mitochondrial evolution rates for insects, suggested an origin of Alpine Rhithrogena in the Oligocene/Miocene boundary. A diversification analysis that included simulation of missing species indicated a constant speciation rate over time, rather than any pronounced periods of rapid speciation. Ancestral state reconstructions provided evidence for downstream diversification in at least two species groups. Our species-level analyses of five gene regions provide clearer definitions of species groups within European Rhithrogena. A constant speciation rate over time suggests that the paleoclimatic fluctuations, including the Pleistocene glaciations, did not significantly influence the tempo of diversification of Alpine species. A downstream diversification trend in the hybrida and alpestris species groups

  5. Comparative seed germination traits in alpine and subalpine grasslands: higher elevations are associated with warmer germination temperatures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Pascual, E; Jiménez-Alfaro, B; Bueno, Á

    2017-01-01

    Seed germination traits in alpine grasslands are poorly understood, despite the sensitivity of these communities to climate change. We hypothesise that germination traits predict species occurrence along the alpine-subalpine elevation gradient. Phylogenetic comparative analyses were performed using fresh seeds of 22 species from alpine and subalpine grasslands (1600-2400 m) of the Cantabrian Mountains, Spain (43° N, 5° W). Laboratory experiments were conducted to characterise germinability, optimum germination temperature and effect of cold and warm stratification on dormancy breaking. Variability in these traits was reduced by phylogenetic principal component analysis (phyl.PCA). Phylogenetic generalised least squares regression (PGLS) was used to fit a model in which species average elevation was predicted from their position on the PCA axes. Most subalpine species germinated in snow-like conditions, whereas most alpine species needed accumulation of warm temperatures. Phylogenetic signal was low. PCA1 ordered species according to overall germinability, whilst PCA2 ordered them according to preference for warm or cold germination. PCA2 significantly predicted species occurrence in the alpine-subalpine gradient, as higher elevation species tended to have warmer germination preferences. Our results show that germination traits in high-mountain grasslands are closely linked to the alpine-subalpine gradient. Alpine species, especially those from stripped and wind-edge communities, prefer warmer germination niches, suggesting that summer emergence prevents frost damage during seedling establishment. In contrast, alpine snowfield and subalpine grassland plants have cold germination niches, indicating that winter emergence may occur under snow to avoid drought stress. © 2016 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  6. Seismic anisotropy in the vicinity of the Alpine fault, New Zealand, estimated by seismic interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takagi, R.; Okada, T.; Yoshida, K.; Townend, J.; Boese, C. M.; Baratin, L. M.; Chamberlain, C. J.; Savage, M. K.

    2016-12-01

    We estimate shear wave velocity anisotropy in shallow crust near the Alpine fault using seismic interferometry of borehole vertical arrays. We utilized four borehole observations: two sensors are deployed in two boreholes of the Deep Fault Drilling Project in the hanging wall side, and the other two sites are located in the footwall side. Surface sensors deployed just above each borehole are used to make vertical arrays. Crosscorrelating rotated horizontal seismograms observed by the borehole and surface sensors, we extracted polarized shear waves propagating from the bottom to the surface of each borehole. The extracted shear waves show polarization angle dependence of travel time, indicating shear wave anisotropy between the two sensors. In the hanging wall side, the estimated fast shear wave directions are parallel to the Alpine fault. Strong anisotropy of 20% is observed at the site within 100 m from the Alpine fault. The hanging wall consists of mylonite and schist characterized by fault parallel foliation. In addition, an acoustic borehole imaging reveals fractures parallel to the Alpine fault. The fault parallel anisotropy suggest structural anisotropy is predominant in the hanging wall, demonstrating consistency of geological and seismological observations. In the footwall side, on the other hand, the angle between the fast direction and the strike of the Alpine fault is 33-40 degrees. Since the footwall is composed of granitoid that may not have planar structure, stress induced anisotropy is possibly predominant. The direction of maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) estimated by focal mechanisms of regional earthquakes is 55 degrees of the Alpine fault. Possible interpretation of the difference between the fast direction and SHmax direction is depth rotation of stress field near the Alpine fault. Similar depth rotation of stress field is also observed in the SAFOD borehole at the San Andreas fault.

  7. Estimating tectonic history through basin simulation-enhanced seismic inversion: Geoinformatics for sedimentary basins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tandon, K.; Tuncay, K.; Hubbard, K.; Comer, J.; Ortoleva, P.

    2004-01-01

    A data assimilation approach is demonstrated whereby seismic inversion is both automated and enhanced using a comprehensive numerical sedimentary basin simulator to study the physics and chemistry of sedimentary basin processes in response to geothermal gradient in much greater detail than previously attempted. The approach not only reduces costs by integrating the basin analysis and seismic inversion activities to understand the sedimentary basin evolution with respect to geodynamic parameters-but the technique also has the potential for serving as a geoinfomatics platform for understanding various physical and chemical processes operating at different scales within a sedimentary basin. Tectonic history has a first-order effect on the physical and chemical processes that govern the evolution of sedimentary basins. We demonstrate how such tectonic parameters may be estimated by minimizing the difference between observed seismic reflection data and synthetic ones constructed from the output of a reaction, transport, mechanical (RTM) basin model. We demonstrate the method by reconstructing the geothermal gradient. As thermal history strongly affects the rate of RTM processes operating in a sedimentary basin, variations in geothermal gradient history alter the present-day fluid pressure, effective stress, porosity, fracture statistics and hydrocarbon distribution. All these properties, in turn, affect the mechanical wave velocity and sediment density profiles for a sedimentary basin. The present-day state of the sedimentary basin is imaged by reflection seismology data to a high degree of resolution, but it does not give any indication of the processes that contributed to the evolution of the basin or causes for heterogeneities within the basin that are being imaged. Using texture and fluid properties predicted by our Basin RTM simulator, we generate synthetic seismograms. Linear correlation using power spectra as an error measure and an efficient quadratic

  8. Fission track dating: methodology and thermo-chronological applications in alpine and continental margin contexts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabil, N.

    1995-06-01

    The fission track dating method has proved to be unique in thermo-chronology by its capability to describe the final phases of the cooling history and denudation of metamorphic massifs, like the thermal history of sedimentary formations or the dating of some volcanic materials. In this work we describe this method and present a series of new analytic techniques and calibrations which we realised in the aim of further use in geology. We discuss a few examples of such applications. In the french Occidental Alps, the analysis of fission track on apatite samples from the granites of the Sept Laux (Belledonne massif), in the Eau d' Olle valley, suggests that this method could bring a contribution to the actual discussion about the origin of some alpine valleys. The fission track method suggests that the opening of this valley could be the consequence of an active faulting from the middle Miocene until the present. The characterization of fluvial deposits through their detrital apatites fission tracks record could eventually be used to study river captures related to changes tectonic regimes. Therefore we studied the apatites of a paleo-delta located in the Isere middle valley at the sub-alpine 'sillon' level, and of two valleys, those of the Arc and of the Breda, located up the delta. The distribution of the fission track ages of those mineraIs has not confirmed a previously suggested model, which proposed that the studied paleo-delta could be associated with a paleo-Arc rather than a paleo-Breda. In the Moroccan Occidental Meseta, three granitic massifs located in the Rehamna have been selected for a thermo-chronological study. The analysis of the fission track in zircons and apatites of these granites recorded the thermo-tectonic events which have affected the Meseta ever since the opening of the Central Atlantic Ocean some 200 Ma ago. We show how a numerical simulation model recently (1994) proposed for the analysis of fission track in apatites allows us to specify

  9. Ecological and physical barriers shape genetic structure of the Alpine porcini (Boletus reticuloceps).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Bang; Liu, Jian Wei; Xu, Jianping; Zhao, Kuan; Ge, Zai Wei; Yang, Zhu L

    2017-04-01

    The Alpine porcini, Boletus reticuloceps, is an ectomycorrhizal mushroom distributed in subalpine areas of Southwest China, central China, and Taiwan Island. This distribution pattern makes it an ideal organism to infer how ectomycorrhizal fungi have reacted to historical tectonic and climatic changes, and to illustrate the mechanism for the disjunction of organisms between Southwest China and Taiwan. In this study, we explored the phylogeographic pattern of B. reticuloceps by microsatellite genotyping, DNA sequencing, ecological factor analysis, and species distribution modeling. Three genetic groups from the East Himalayas (EH), northern Hengduan Mountains (NHM), and southern Hengduan Mountains (SHM), were identified. The earlier divergent SHM group is found under Abies in moister environments, whereas the EH and NHM groups, which are physically separated by the Mekong-Salween Divide, are found mainly under Picea in drier environments. Samples from Taiwan showed a close relationship with the SHM group. High mountains did not form dispersal barriers among populations in each of the EH, NHM, and SHM groups, probably due to the relatively weak host specificity of B. reticuloceps. Our study indicated that ecological heterogeneity could have contributed to the divergence between the SHM and the NHM-EH groups, while physical barriers could have led to the divergence of the NHM and the EH groups. Dispersal into Taiwan via Central China during the Quaternary glaciations is likely to have shaped its disjunct distribution.

  10. Microbes and Microstructure: Dust's Role in the Snowpack Evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieblappen, R.; Courville, Z.; Fegyveresi, J. M.; Barbato, R.; Thurston, A.

    2017-12-01

    Dust is a primary vehicle for transporting microbial communities to polar and alpine snowpacks both through wind distribution (dry deposition) and snowfall events (wet deposition). The resulting microbial community diversity in the snowpack may then resemble the source material properties rather than its new habitat. Dust also has a strong influence on the microstructural properties of snow, resulting in changes to radiative and mechanical properties. As local reductions in snowpack albedo lead to enhanced melting and a heterogeneous snow surface, the microbial communities are also impacted. Here we study the impact of the changing microstructure in the snowpack, its influence on microbial function, and the fate of dust particles within the snow matrix. We seek to quantify the changes in respiration and water availability with the onset of melt. Polar samples were collected from the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica in February, 2017, while alpine samples were collected from Silverton, CO from October to May, 2017 as part of the Colorado Dust on Snow (CDOS) network. At each site, coincident meteorological data provides temperature, wind, and radiative measurements. Samples were collected immediately following dust deposition events and after subsequent snowpack evolution. We used x-ray micro-computed tomography to quantify the microstructural evolution of the snow, while also imaging the microstructural distribution of the dust within the snow. The dust was then collected and analyzed for chemical and microbial activity.

  11. Enzymatic milk clotting activity in artichoke (Cynara scolymus) leaves and alpine thistle (Carduus defloratus) flowers. Immobilization of alpine thistle aspartic protease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esposito, Marilena; Di Pierro, Prospero; Dejonghe, Winnie; Mariniello, Loredana; Porta, Raffaele

    2016-08-01

    Two different milk clotting enzymes, belonging to the aspartic protease family, were extracted from both artichoke leaves and alpine thistle flowers, and the latter was covalently immobilized by using a polyacrylic support containing polar epoxy groups. Our findings showed that the alpine thistle aspartic protease was successfully immobilized at pH 7.0 on Immobeads IB-150P beads and that, under these experimental conditions, an immobilization yield of about 68% and a recovery of about 54% were obtained. Since the enzyme showed an optimal pH of 5.0, a value very similar to the one generally used for milk clotting during cheese making, and exhibited a satisfactory stability over time, the use of such immobilized vegetable rennet for the production of novel dairy products is suggested. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  12. Correlations of cave levels, stream terraces and planation surfaces along the River Mur-Timing of landscape evolution along the eastern margin of the Alps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Thomas; Fritz, Harald; Stüwe, Kurt; Nestroy, Othmar; Rodnight, Helena; Hellstrom, John; Benischke, Ralf

    2011-11-01

    The transition zone of the Eastern Alps to the Pannonian Basin provides one of the best sources of information on landscape evolution of the Eastern Alpine mountain range. The region was non-glaciated during the entire Pleistocene. Thus, direct influence of glacial carving as a landscape forming process can be excluded and relics of landforms are preserved that date back to at least the Late Neogene. In this study, we provide a correlation between various planation surfaces across the orogen-basin transition. In particular, we use stream terraces, planation surfaces and cave levels that cover a vertical spread of some 700 m. Our correlation is used to show that both sides of the transition zone uplifted together starting at least about 5 Ma ago. For our correlation we use recently published terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) burial ages from cave sediments, new optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of a stream terrace and U-Th ages from speleothems. Minimum age constraints of cave levels from burial ages of cave sediments covering the last ~ 4 Ma are used to place age constraints on surface features by parallelizing cave levels with planation surfaces. The OSL results for the top section of the type locality of the Helfbrunn terrace suggest an Early Würm development (80.5 ± 3.7 to 68.7 ± 4.0 ka). The terrace origin as a penultimate gravel deposit (in classical Alpine terminology Riss) is therefore questioned. U-series speleothem ages from caves nearby indicate formation during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5c and 5a which are both interstadial warm periods. As OSL ages from the terrace also show a time of deposition during MIS 5a ending at the MIS 5/4 transition, this supports the idea of temperate climatic conditions at the time of deposition. In general, tectonic activity is interpreted to be the main driving force for the formation and evolution of these landforms, whilst climate change is suggested to be of minor importance. Obvious hiatuses

  13. Effect of degradation intensity on grassland ecosystem services in the alpine region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lu Wen

    Full Text Available The deterioration of alpine grassland has great impact on ecosystem services in the alpine region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, the effect of grassland degradation on ecosystem services and the consequence of grassland deterioration on economic loss still remains a mystery. So, in this study, we assessed four types of ecosystem services following the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment classification, along a degradation gradient. Five sites of alpine grassland at different levels of degradation were investigated in Guoluo Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. The species composition, aboveground biomass, soil total organic carbon (TOC, and soil total nitrogen (TN were tested to evaluate major ecological services of the alpine grassland. We estimated the value of primary production, carbon storage, nitrogen recycling, and plant diversity. The results show the ecosystem services of alpine grassland varied along the degradation gradient. The ecosystem services of degraded grassland (moderate, heavy and severe were all significantly lower than non-degraded grassland. Interestingly, the lightly degraded grassland provided more economic benefit from carbon maintenance and nutrient sequestration compared to non-degraded. Due to the destruction of the alpine grassland, the economic loss associated with decrease of biomass in 2008 was $198/ha. Until 2008, the economic loss caused by carbon emissions and nitrogen loss on severely degraded grassland was up to $8 033/ha and $13 315/ha, respectively. Urgent actions are required to maintain or promote the ecosystem services of alpine grassland in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

  14. Effect of degradation intensity on grassland ecosystem services in the alpine region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Lu; Dong, Shikui; Li, Yuanyuan; Li, Xiaoyan; Shi, Jianjun; Wang, Yanlong; Liu, Demei; Ma, Yushou

    2013-01-01

    The deterioration of alpine grassland has great impact on ecosystem services in the alpine region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, the effect of grassland degradation on ecosystem services and the consequence of grassland deterioration on economic loss still remains a mystery. So, in this study, we assessed four types of ecosystem services following the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment classification, along a degradation gradient. Five sites of alpine grassland at different levels of degradation were investigated in Guoluo Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. The species composition, aboveground biomass, soil total organic carbon (TOC), and soil total nitrogen (TN) were tested to evaluate major ecological services of the alpine grassland. We estimated the value of primary production, carbon storage, nitrogen recycling, and plant diversity. The results show the ecosystem services of alpine grassland varied along the degradation gradient. The ecosystem services of degraded grassland (moderate, heavy and severe) were all significantly lower than non-degraded grassland. Interestingly, the lightly degraded grassland provided more economic benefit from carbon maintenance and nutrient sequestration compared to non-degraded. Due to the destruction of the alpine grassland, the economic loss associated with decrease of biomass in 2008 was $198/ha. Until 2008, the economic loss caused by carbon emissions and nitrogen loss on severely degraded grassland was up to $8 033/ha and $13 315/ha, respectively. Urgent actions are required to maintain or promote the ecosystem services of alpine grassland in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

  15. Human behaviour towards climatic change during the 4th millennium BC in the Swiss Alpine forelands

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karg, Sabine

    Human behaviour towards climatic change during the 4th millennium BC in the Swiss Alpine forelands.......Human behaviour towards climatic change during the 4th millennium BC in the Swiss Alpine forelands....

  16. Geochemistry and geochronology of ore-bearing and barren intrusions in the Luanchuan ore fields of East Qinling metallogenic belt, China: Diverse tectonic evolution and implications for mineral exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Fei; Wang, Gongwen; Santosh, M.; Yang, Fan; Shen, Zhiwei; Kong, Liang; Guo, Nana; Zhang, Xuhuang; Jia, Wenjuan

    2018-05-01

    The Luanchuan ore fields form part of the East Qinling metallogenic belt in central China. In this study, we compare two ore-bearing intrusions, the Shibaogou granitic pluton (SBG) and the Zhongyuku granitic pluton (ZYK), with the ore-barren Laojunshan intrusion (LJS) from the Luanchuan ore field. Geochemically, all the three intrusions are characterized by high-Si, high-K, and alkalis, together with moderate-ASI, exhibiting I-type granite features. The rocks, especially the ore-related plutons also show enrichment in LREEs. Mineral chemistry of biotite from the intrusions exhibits similar features of high Si and Mg, and low Al and Fe. Zircon grains from the ZYK intrusion yielded a U-Pb age of 149.6 ± 2.4 Ma. The zircon grains show εHf (t) values and two stage model ages (TDM2) in the range of -16.8 to -19.7 and 1998-2156 Ma respectively. The biotite composition and Hf isotopic data indicate that the magma was derived by re-melting of deep crustal material with minor input of mantle components. We evaluate the results to understand the physico-chemical conditions, petrogenesis, and tectonic setting, and their implications for mineral exploration. The ore-bearing plutons show wide ranges of temperature and oxygen fugacity, favoring Mo-W mineralization. In addition, estimates on pressure and depth of emplacement suggest that lower solidification pressure in a decompressional setting contributed to the evolution of magmatic hydrothermal deposits. Our data suggest that the ZYK has the highest potential for Mo-W mineralization. The ore-bearing plutons of ZYK and SBG were formed in a transitional tectonic setting from compression to extension, with the large-scale metallogeny triggered by slab melts at ca. 145 Ma. However, the ore-barren LJS batholith formed in an extension-related geodynamic setting at ∼115 Ma. Our study shows that different tectonic settings and consequent physico-chemical conditions dictated the ore potential of the intrusions in the Luanchuan ore

  17. Temperature-driven flower longevity in a high-alpine species of Oxalis influences reproductive assurance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arroyo, Mary T K; Dudley, Leah S; Jespersen, Gus; Pacheco, Diego A; Cavieres, Lohengrin A

    2013-12-01

    How high-alpine plants confront stochastic conditions for animal pollination is a critical question. We investigated the effect of temperature on potential flower longevity (FL) measured in pollinator-excluded flowers and actual FL measured in pollinated flowers in self-incompatible Oxalis compacta and evaluated if plastically prolonged potential FL can ameliorate slow pollination under cool conditions. Pollinator-excluded and hand-pollinated flowers were experimentally warmed with open-top chambers (OTCs) on a site at 3470 m above sea level (asl). Flower-specific temperatures, and pollinator-excluded and open-pollination flower life-spans were measured at six alpine sites between 3100 and 3470 m asl. Fruit set was analyzed in relation to inferred pollination time. Warming reduced potential FL. Variable thermal conditions across the alpine landscape predicted potential and actual FL; flower senescence was pollination-regulated. Actual FL and potential FL were coupled. Prolonged potential FL generally increased fruit set under cooler conditions. Plastic responses permit virgin flowers of O. compacta to remain open longer under cooler temperatures, thereby ameliorating slow pollination, and to close earlier when pollination tends to be faster under warmer conditions. Plastic potential FL provides adaptive advantages in the cold, thermally variable alpine habitat, and has important implications for reproductive success in alpine plants in a warming world. © 2013 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2013 New Phytologist Trust.

  18. Soft Plate and Impact Tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tikoff, Basil

    In the field of tectonics, most of our ideas are published in journals. This is not true of other fields, such as history, in which ideas are primarily published in books. Within my own field of structural geology, I can recall only one book, Strain Fades by E. Hansen (Springer-Verlag, 1971), which presents a new idea in book form. However, even this book is more useful for its philosophical approach and particular methodology of determining directions of folding, than for its overarching idea.Enter Soft Plate and Impact Tectonics, a new book with an interesting hypothesis that has been informally discussed in the geoscience community: A fundamental tenet of plate tectonics is incorrect—namely, that the plates are rigid. This assertion is evident when looking at any mountain range, and is perhaps most clearly stated in Molnar [1988].

  19. Pyrenean hyper-extension : breaking, thinning, or stretching of the crust ? A view from the central north-Pyrenean zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Saint Blanquat, Michel; Bajolet, Flora; Boulvais, Philippe; Boutin, Alexandre; Clerc, Camille; Delacour, Adélie; Deschamp, Fabien; Ford, Mary; Fourcade, Serge; Gouache, Corentin; Grool, Arjan; Labaume, Pierre; Lagabrielle, Yves; Lahfid, Abdeltif; Lemirre, Baptiste; Monié, Patrick; de Parseval, Philippe; Poujol, Marc

    2017-04-01

    The geology of the North Pyrenean Zone in the central Pyrenees allows for the observation in the field of the entire section of the Pyrenean rift, from the mantle to the crust and the Mesozoic cover (pre, syn and post rift). The good knowledge we have of the pre-Alpine history of the Pyrenees allows us to properly constrain the Alpine geological evolution of the pre-Triassic rocks which record both Variscan and Alpine orogenic cycles. The mantle outcrop as kilometric to centimetric fragments of peridotite dispersed within a carbonate metamorphic breccia. The study of peridotite serpentinisation shows several events of low-temperature serpentinisation, in contact with seawater. In some locallities, we can observe a mixture of fragments of variously serpentinized peridotites. This suggests a tectonic context where fragments of peridotites from different structural levels were sampled more or less synchronously. The granulitic basement is characterized by a Variscan syndeformational HT event (300-280 Ma). So far we have not found any trace of a Cretaceous HT event (> 500°C). On the other hand, the basement is affected by a regional metasomatism that began during the Jurassic and became more spatially focused with time until it was restricted to the Pyrenean rift during the Aptien, Albian and Cenomanian. The talc-chlorite metasomatism (120-95 Ma) shows an evolution from a static toward a syn-deformation hydrothermal event, under a more or less normal geothermal gradient. Extensional deformation is recorded by the reworking of several inherited low-angle Variscan tectonic contacts, but also by dispersed high-angle extensional shear zones formed under greenshist conditions. The metamorphic Mesozoic cover of the basement massifs, which constitute the so-called Internal Metamorphic Zone, is an allochtonous unit made of lenses of Mesozoic rocks enclosed into the breccia, which locally contains peridotite and basement clasts. The Mesozoic metamorphic carbonates show a first

  20. Geologic drivers of late ordovician faunal change in laurentia: investigating links between tectonics, speciation, and biotic invasions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David F Wright

    Full Text Available Geologic process, including tectonics and global climate change, profoundly impact the evolution of life because they have the propensity to facilitate episodes of biogeographic differentiation and influence patterns of speciation. We investigate causal links between a dramatic faunal turnover and two dominant geologic processes operating within Laurentia during the Late Ordovician: the Taconian Orogeny and GICE related global cooling. We utilize a novel approach for elucidating the relationship between biotic and geologic changes using a time-stratigraphic, species-level evolutionary framework for articulated brachiopods from North America. Phylogenetic biogeographic analyses indicate a fundamental shift in speciation mode-from a vicariance to dispersal dominated macroevolutionary regime-across the boundary between the Sandbian to Katian Stages. This boundary also corresponds to the onset of renewed intensification of tectonic activity and mountain building, the development of an upwelling zone that introduced cool, nutrient-rich waters into the epieric seas of eastern Laurentia, and the GICE isotopic excursion. The synchronicity of these dramatic geologic, oceanographic, and macroevolutionary changes supports the influence of geologic events on biological evolution. Together, the renewed tectonic activity and oceanographic changes facilitated fundamental changes in habitat structure in eastern North America that reduced opportunities for isolation and vicariance. They also facilitated regional biotic dispersal of taxa that led to the subsequent establishment of extrabasinal (=invasive species and may have led to a suppression of speciation within Laurentian faunas. Phylogenetic biogeographic analysis further indicates that the Richmondian Invasion was a multidirectional regional invasion event that involved taxa immigrating into the Cincinnati region from basins located near the continental margins and within the continental interior.

  1. Mesozoic Alpine facies deposition as a result of past latitudinal plate motion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muttoni, Giovanni; Erba, Elisabetta; Kent, Dennis V; Bachtadse, Valerian

    2005-03-03

    The fragmentation of Pangaea as a consequence of the opening of the Atlantic Ocean is documented in the Alpine-Mediterranean region by the onset of widespread pelagic sedimentation. Shallow-water sediments were replaced by mainly pelagic limestones in the Early Jurassic period, radiolarian cherts in the Middle-Late Jurassic period, and again pelagic limestones in the Late Jurassic-Cretaceous period. During initial extension, basin subsidence below the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) is thought to have triggered the transition from Early Jurassic limestones to Middle-Late Jurassic radiolarites. It has been proposed that the transition from radiolarites to limestones in the Late Jurassic period was due to an increase in calcareous nannoplankton abundance when the CCD was depressed below the ocean floor. But in modern oceans, sediments below the CCD are not necessarily radiolaritic. Here we present palaeomagnetic samples from the Jurassic-Cretaceous pelagic succession exposed in the Lombardian basin, Italy. On the basis of an analysis of our palaeolatitudinal data in a broader palaeogeographic context, we propose an alternative explanation for the above facies tripartition. We suggest that the Lombardian basin drifted initially towards, and subsequently away from, a near-equatorial upwelling zone of high biosiliceous productivity. Our tectonic model for the genesis of radiolarites adds an essential horizontal plate motion component to explanations involving only vertical variations of CCD relative to the ocean floor. It may explain the deposition of radiolarites throughout the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern region during the Jurassic period.

  2. Alpine Fault, New Zealand, SRTM Shaded Relief and Colored Height

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-01-01

    The Alpine fault runs parallel to, and just inland of, much of the west coast of New Zealand's South Island. This view was created from the near-global digital elevation model produced by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and is almost 500 kilometers (just over 300 miles) wide. Northwest is toward the top. The fault is extremely distinct in the topographic pattern, nearly slicing this scene in half lengthwise. In a regional context, the Alpine fault is part of a system of faults that connects a west dipping subduction zone to the northeast with an east dipping subduction zone to the southwest, both of which occur along the juncture of the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. Thus, the fault itself constitutes the major surface manifestation of the plate boundary here. Offsets of streams and ridges evident in the field, and in this view of SRTM data, indicate right-lateral fault motion. But convergence also occurs across the fault, and this causes the continued uplift of the Southern Alps, New Zealand's largest mountain range, along the southeast side of the fault. Two visualization methods were combined to produce this image: shading and color coding of topographic height. The shade image was derived by computing topographic slope in the northwest-southeast (image top to bottom) direction, so that northwest slopes appear bright and southeast slopes appear dark. Color coding is directly related to topographic height, with green at the lower elevations, rising through yellow and tan, to white at the highest elevations. Elevation data used in this image were acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on Feb. 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect 3-D measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data

  3. The Nysa-Morava Zone: an active tectonic domain with Late Cenozoic sedimentary grabens in the Western Carpathians' foreland (NE Bohemian Massif)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Špaček, P.; Bábek, O.; Štěpančíková, Petra; Švancara, J.; Pazdírková, J.; Sedláček, J.

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 104, č. 4 (2015), s. 963-990 ISSN 1437-3254 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP210/12/0573; GA MŠk LM2010008 Institutional support: RVO:67985891 Keywords : Bohemian Massif * Upper Morava Basin * tectonic evolution * seismicity * sedimentary grabens Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 2.133, year: 2015

  4. Analyses on the Bayintala basin tectonic movement control of the uranium mineralization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Funeng; Yao Rongyan; Cai Jianfang; Zhou Wenbo

    2014-01-01

    Ban Tara tectonic evolution, analysis of the relationship between depression of ore-bearing layer deposition system and epigenetic alteration and uranium mineralization, forms of uranium precipitation and enrichment in each movement stage, thus mineralization regularity in the area and oreprospecting direction. Depression experienced extensional Early Cretaceous warped fault, pull-apart sedimentary, four main stages of evolution inversion uplifting since the late Cretaceous sedimentary and. Deposition of the Tenggeer group and the Saihan group two prospecting target layer, the fan delta Tenggeer formation is sand body and Saihan group of braided river facies sand body, as the main prospecting target layer. According to the analysis of faulted depression-depression sedimentary stage of the formation of the grey clastic rocks are the important ore-bearing horizon, and inversion uplifting the strata with relatively open environment, to provide the necessary conditions for the later formation of uranium deposits. (authors)

  5. Anterior cruciate ligament injury/reinjury in alpine ski racing: a narrative review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jordan MJ

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Matthew J Jordan,1 Per Aagaard,2 Walter Herzog1 1Human Performance Laboratory, The University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; 2Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Muscle Research Cluster (SMRC, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark Abstract: The purpose of the present review was to: 1 provide an overview of the current understanding on the epidemiology, etiology, risk factors, and prevention methods for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL injury in alpine ski racing; and 2 provide an overview of what is known pertaining to ACL reinjury and return to sport after ACL injury in alpine ski racing. Given that most of the scientific studies on ACL injuries in alpine ski racing have been descriptive, and that very few studies contributed higher level scientific evidence, a nonsystematic narrative review was employed. Three scholarly databases were searched for articles on ACL injury or knee injury in alpine ski racing. Studies were classified according to their relevance in relation to epidemiology, etiology, risk factors, and return to sport/reinjury prevention. Alpine ski racers (skiers were found to be at high risk for knee injuries, and ACL tears were the most frequent diagnosis. Three primary ACL injury mechanism were identified that involved tibial internal rotation and anteriorly directed shear forces from ski equipment and the environment. While trunk muscle strength imbalance and genetics were found to be predictive of ACL injuries in development-level skiers, there was limited scientific data on ACL injury risk factors among elite skiers. Based on expert opinion, research on injury risk factors should focus on equipment design, course settings/speed, and athlete factors (eg, fitness. While skiers seem to make a successful recovery following ACL injury, there may be persistent neuromuscular deficits. Future research efforts should be directed toward prospective studies on ACL injury/reinjury prevention in both

  6. Tectonic-stratigraphic evolution of mini-basins and salt provinces of Espirito Santo Basin-Brazil; Analise da evolucao tectono sedimentar de mini-bacias e provincias de sal da Bacia do Espirito Santo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferreira Neto, Walter Dias; Fernandes, Flavio Luis [Petroleum Geoscience Technology Ltda. (PGT), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Mohriak, Webster [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    The Espirito Santo Basin integrates the group of basins along the eastern Brazilian continental margin. It is located between 18 deg and 21 deg S, encompassing an area of approximately 220,000 km{sup 2}, onshore and offshore the Espirito Santo State. Its geological limit with the Campos Basin to the south is defined by a Precambrian basement high (Vitoria Arch), and its northern limit with the Mucuri Basin is defined by a geopolitical limit. The study of salt tectonics processes in the Espirito Santo Basin allowed the deformational analysis and interpretation of the chronological evolution of the mini-basins developed between salt diapirs. We observe an intrinsic relationship between halokinesis and creation of subsidence troughs that may be important for trapping hydrocarbon reservoirs, and consequently form oil and gas accumulations in this portion of the basin. This geodynamics evolution of these structures is marked by a strong linkage between salt movement and coeval sedimentation in the interdomal basins, forming structures and stratigraphic traps that may constitute important aspects for the petroleum geology. (author)

  7. Relation between extinction and assisted colonization of plants in the arctic-alpine and boreal regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pykälä, Juha

    2017-06-01

    Assisted colonization of vascular plants is considered by many ecologists an important tool to preserve biodiversity threatened by climate change. I argue that assisted colonization may have negative consequences in arctic-alpine and boreal regions. The observed slow movement of plants toward the north has been an argument for assisted colonization. However, these range shifts may be slow because for many plants microclimatic warming (ignored by advocates of assisted colonization) has been smaller than macroclimatic warming. Arctic-alpine and boreal plants may have limited possibilities to disperse farther north or to higher elevations. I suggest that arctic-alpine species are more likely to be driven to extinction because of competitive exclusion by southern species than by increasing temperatures. If so, the future existence of arctic-alpine and boreal flora may depend on delaying or preventing the migration of plants toward the north to allow northern species to evolve to survive in a warmer climate. In the arctic-alpine region, preventing the dispersal of trees and shrubs may be the most important method to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. The purported conservation benefits of assisted colonization should not be used to promote the migration of invasive species by forestry. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

  8. Growth responses of low-alpine dwarf-shrub heath species to nitrogen deposition and management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Britton, Andrea J.; Fisher, Julia M.

    2008-01-01

    Nitrogen deposition is a continuing problem in European alpine regions. We hypothesised that, despite climatic limitations, low-alpine Calluna heathland would respond to nitrogen addition with increased shoot growth and flowering and that fire and grazing would modify responses. In a five-year study, 0-50 kg N ha -1 y -1 were added, combined with burning (+/-) and clipping (+/-). Calluna vulgaris responded with increased shoot extension, but effects on flowering were variable. Burning enhanced the positive effect of nitrogen addition and negative effects of clipping. Sub-dominant shrubs generally did not respond to nitrogen. C. vulgaris shoot extension was stimulated by nitrogen addition of 10 kg N ha -1 y -1 (above background) supporting suggestions that alpine heathlands are sensitive to low levels of nitrogen deposition. Increased C. vulgaris growth could negatively impact on important lichen components of this vegetation through increased shading and competition. Climatic factors constrain productivity in this community, but do not prevent rapid responses to nitrogen deposition by some species. - Low levels of N deposition increase productivity in alpine dwarf-shrub heath despite strong climatic constraints

  9. Source-to-sink constraints on tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the western Central Range and Cenderawasih Bay (Indonesia)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babault, Julien; Viaplana-Muzas, Marc; Legrand, Xavier; Van Den Driessche, Jean; González-Quijano, Manuel; Mudd, Simon M.

    2018-05-01

    The island of New Guinea is the result of continent-arc collision that began building the island's Central Range during the late Miocene. Recent studies have shown that rapid subduction, uplift and exhumation events took place in response to rapid, oblique convergence between the Pacific and the Australian plates. The tectonic and sedimentary evolution of Cenderawasih Bay, in the northwestern part of the New Guinea Island is still poorly understood: this bay links a major structural block, the Kepala Burung block, to the island's Central Ranges. Previous studies have shown that Cenderawasih Bay contains a thick (>8 km) sequence of undated sediments. One hypothesis claims that the embayment resulted from a 3 Ma opening created by anticlockwise rotation of the Kepala Burung block with respect to the northern rim of the Australian plate. Alternatively, the current configuration of Cenderawasih Bay could have resulted from the southwest drift of a slice of volcanics and oceanic crust between 8 and 6 Ma. We test these hypotheses using (i) a geomorphologic analysis of the drainage network dynamics, (ii) a reassessment of available thermochronological data, and (iii) seismic lines interpretation. We suggest that sediments started to accumulate in Cenderawasih Bay and onshore in the Waipoga Basin in the late Miocene since the inception of growth of the Central Range, beginning at 12 Ma, resulting in sediment accumulation of up to 12,200 m. This evidence is more consistent with the second hypothesis, and the volume of sediment accumulated means it is unlikely that the embayment was the result of recent (2-3 Ma) rotation of structural blocks. At first order, we predict that infilling is mainly composed of siliciclastics sourced in the graphite-bearing Ruffaer Metamorphic Belt and its equivalent in the Weyland Overthrust. Ophiolites, volcanic arc rocks and diorites contribute minor proportions. From the unroofing paths in the Central Range we deduce two rates of solid phase

  10. Stress field sensitivity analysis within Mesozoic successions in the Swiss Alpine foreland using 3-D-geomechanical-numerical models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiter, Karsten; Hergert, Tobias; Heidbach, Oliver

    2016-04-01

    The in situ stress conditions are of key importance for the evaluation of radioactive waste repositories. In stage two of the Swiss site selection program, the three siting areas of high-level radioactive waste are located in the Alpine foreland in northern Switzerland. The sedimentary succession overlays the basement, consisting of variscan crystalline rocks as well as partly preserved Permo-Carboniferous deposits in graben structures. The Mesozoic sequence represents nearly the complete era and is covered by Cenozoic Molasse deposits as well as Quaternary sediments, mainly in the valleys. The target horizon (designated host rock) is an >100 m thick argillaceous Jurassic deposit (Opalinus Clay). To enlighten the impact of site-specific features on the state of stress within the sedimentary succession, 3-D-geomechanical-numerical models with elasto-plastic rock properties are set up for three potential siting areas. The lateral extent of the models ranges between 12 and 20 km, the vertical extent is up to a depth of 2.5 or 5 km below sea level. The sedimentary sequence plus the basement are separated into 10 to 14 rock mechanical units. The Mesozoic succession is intersected by regional fault zones; two or three of them are present in each model. The numerical problem is solved with the finite element method with a resolution of 100-150 m laterally and 10-30 m vertically. An initial stress state is established for all models taking into account the depth-dependent overconsolidation ratio in Opalinus Clay in northern Switzerland. The influence of topography, rock properties, friction on the faults as well as the impact of tectonic shortening on the state of stress is investigated. The tectonic stress is implemented with lateral displacement boundary conditions, calibrated on stress data that are compiled in Northern Switzerland. The model results indicate that the stress perturbation by the topography is significant to depths greater than the relief contrast. The

  11. Rift architecture and evolution: The Sirt Basin, Libya: The influence of basement fabrics and oblique tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdunaser, K. M.; McCaffrey, K. J. W.

    2014-12-01

    zones and adjoining highs. Late Eocene rocks exposed in the western part of the basin exhibit a complex network of branching segmented normal and strike-slip faults, generally with a NNW-SSE structural orientations. Many surface structural features have been interpreted from satellite images which confirm sinistral strike-slip kinematics. Relay ramp structures, numerous elongate asymmetric synclines associated with shallow west limbs and steeper dipping east limbs are developed in the hangingwalls adjacent to west downthrowing normal faults. These structural patterns reflect Cretaceous/Tertiary extensional tectonics with additional control by underlying pre-existing Pan-African basement fabrics and ENE-WSW trending Hercynian structures. We relate the Sirt Basin rift development as exemplified in our study area to the break-up of Gondwana represented by the structural evolution of the West-Central African rift system, and the South and Central Atlantic, the Tethys and the Indian Oceans.

  12. Tectonic Vocabulary & Materialization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvejsel, Marie Frier; Beim, Anne; Bundgaard, Charlotte

    2015-01-01

    . On the occasion of the Second International Conference on Structures & Architecture held in July 2013 in Portugal the authors organized a special session entitled From open structures to the cladding of control bringing together researchers from the Nordic countries to discuss this issue. Likewise the initiative......By referring to the fundamental question of how we unite aesthetics and technology – tectonic theory is necessarily a focal point in the development of the architectural discipline. However, a critical reconsideration of the role of tectonic theory seems necessary when facing the present everyday...... conditions of the built environment. We see an increasing number of square meters in ordinary housing, in commercial buildings and in public buildings such as hospitals and schools that are dealt with as performative structural frameworks rather than qualitative spaces for habitation and contemplation...

  13. The lithospheric-scale 3D structural configuration of the North Alpine Foreland Basin constrained by gravity modelling and the calculation of the 3D load distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Przybycin, Anna M.; Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena; Schneider, Michael

    2014-05-01

    The North Alpine Foreland Basin is situated in the northern front of the European Alps and extends over parts of France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria. It formed as a wedge shaped depression since the Tertiary in consequence of the Euro - Adriatic continental collision and the Alpine orogeny. The basin is filled with clastic sediments, the Molasse, originating from erosional processes of the Alps and underlain by Mesozoic sedimentary successions and a Paleozoic crystalline crust. For our study we have focused on the German part of the basin. To investigate the deep structure, the isostatic state and the load distribution of this region we have constructed a 3D structural model of the basin and the Alpine area using available depth and thickness maps, regional scale 3D structural models as well as seismic and well data for the sedimentary part. The crust (from the top Paleozoic down to the Moho (Grad et al. 2008)) has been considered as two-parted with a lighter upper crust and a denser lower crust; the partition has been calculated following the approach of isostatic equilibrium of Pratt (1855). By implementing a seismic Lithosphere-Asthenosphere-Boundary (LAB) (Tesauro 2009) the crustal scale model has been extended to the lithospheric-scale. The layer geometry and the assigned bulk densities of this starting model have been constrained by means of 3D gravity modelling (BGI, 2012). Afterwards the 3D load distribution has been calculated using a 3D finite element method. Our results show that the North Alpine Foreland Basin is not isostatically balanced and that the configuration of the crystalline crust strongly controls the gravity field in this area. Furthermore, our results show that the basin area is influenced by varying lateral load differences down to a depth of more than 150 km what allows a first order statement of the required compensating horizontal stress needed to prevent gravitational collapse of the system. BGI (2012). The International

  14. Cuticular waxes in alpine meadow plants: climate effect inferred from latitude gradient in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Yanjun; Guo, Na; He, Yuji; Gao, Jianhua

    2015-09-01

    Alpine meadow ecosystems are susceptible to climate changes. Still, climate impact on cuticular wax in alpine meadow plants is poorly understood. Assessing the variations of cuticular wax in alpine meadow plants across different latitudes might be useful for predicting how they may respond to climate change. We studied nine alpine meadows in a climate gradient in the east side of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, with mean annual temperature ranging from -7.7 to 3.2°C. In total, 42 plant species were analyzed for cuticular wax, averaged 16 plant species in each meadow. Only four plant species could be observed in all sampling meadows, including Kobresia humilis,Potentilla nivea,Anaphalis lacteal, and Leontopodium nanum. The amounts of wax compositions and total cuticular wax in the four plant species varied among sampling meadows, but no significant correlation could be observed between them and temperature, precipitation, and aridity index based on plant species level. To analyze the variations of cuticular wax on community level, we averaged the amounts of n-alkanes, aliphatic acids, primary alcohols, and total cuticular wax across all investigated plant species in each sampling site. The mean annual temperature, mean temperature in July, and aridity index were significantly correlated with the averaged amounts of wax compositions and total cuticular wax. The average chain length of n-alkanes in both plant and soil linearly increased with increased temperature, whereas reduced with increased aridity index. No significant correlation could be observed between mean annual precipitation and mean precipitation from June to August and the cuticular wax amounts and average chain length. Our results suggest that the survival of some alpine plants in specific environments might be depended on their abilities in adjusting wax deposition on plant leaves, and the alpine meadow plants as a whole respond to climate change, benefiting the stability of alpine meadow ecosystem.

  15. The use of invertebrates as indicators of environmental change in alpine rivers and lakes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khamis, K.; Hannah, D.M.; Brown, L.E.; Tiberti, R.; Milner, A.M.

    2014-01-01

    In alpine regions climatic change will alter the balance between water sources (rainfall, ice-melt, snowmelt, and groundwater) for aquatic systems, particularly modifying the relative contributions of meltwater, groundwater and rain to both rivers and lakes. While these changes are expected to have implications for alpine aquatic ecosystems, little is known about potential ecological tipping points and associated indicator taxa. We examined changes in biotic communities along a gradient of glacier influence for two study systems: (1) a stream network in the French Pyrénées; and (2) a network of lakes in the Italian Alps, with the aim of identifying potential indicator taxa (macroinvertebrates and zooplankton) of glacier retreat in these environments. To assess parallels in biotic responses across streams and lakes, both primary data and findings from other publications were synthesised. Using TITAN (Threshold Indicator Taxa ANalysis) changes in community composition of river taxa were identified at thresholds of < 5.1% glacier cover and < 66.6% meltwater contribution. Below these thresholds the loss of cold stenothermic benthic invertebrate taxa, Diamesa spp. and the Pyrenean endemic Rhyacophila angelieri was apparent. Some generalist taxa including Protonemura sp., Perla grandis, Baetis alpinus, Rhithrogena loyolaea and Microspectra sp. increased when glacier cover was < 2.7% and < 52% meltwater. Patterns were not as distinct for the alpine lakes, due to fewer sampling sites; however, Daphnia longispina grp. and the benthic invertebrate groups Plectopera and Planaria were identified as potential indicator taxa. While further work is required to assess potential indicator taxa for alpine lake systems, findings from alpine river systems were consistent between methods for assessing glacier influence (meltwater contribution/glacier cover). Hence, it is clear that TITAN could become a useful management tool, enabling: (i) the identification of taxa particularly

  16. The use of invertebrates as indicators of environmental change in alpine rivers and lakes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khamis, K.; Hannah, D.M. [School of Geography Earth and Environmental Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT (United Kingdom); Brown, L.E. [School of Geography/water@leeds, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT (United Kingdom); Tiberti, R. [DSTA, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell' Ambiente, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Alpine Wildlife Research Centre, Gran Paradiso National Park, Degioz 11, I-1101 Valsavarenche, Aosta (Italy); Milner, A.M., E-mail: a.m.milner@bham.ac.uk [School of Geography Earth and Environmental Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT (United Kingdom); Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775 (United States)

    2014-09-15

    In alpine regions climatic change will alter the balance between water sources (rainfall, ice-melt, snowmelt, and groundwater) for aquatic systems, particularly modifying the relative contributions of meltwater, groundwater and rain to both rivers and lakes. While these changes are expected to have implications for alpine aquatic ecosystems, little is known about potential ecological tipping points and associated indicator taxa. We examined changes in biotic communities along a gradient of glacier influence for two study systems: (1) a stream network in the French Pyrénées; and (2) a network of lakes in the Italian Alps, with the aim of identifying potential indicator taxa (macroinvertebrates and zooplankton) of glacier retreat in these environments. To assess parallels in biotic responses across streams and lakes, both primary data and findings from other publications were synthesised. Using TITAN (Threshold Indicator Taxa ANalysis) changes in community composition of river taxa were identified at thresholds of < 5.1% glacier cover and < 66.6% meltwater contribution. Below these thresholds the loss of cold stenothermic benthic invertebrate taxa, Diamesa spp. and the Pyrenean endemic Rhyacophila angelieri was apparent. Some generalist taxa including Protonemura sp., Perla grandis, Baetis alpinus, Rhithrogena loyolaea and Microspectra sp. increased when glacier cover was < 2.7% and < 52% meltwater. Patterns were not as distinct for the alpine lakes, due to fewer sampling sites; however, Daphnia longispina grp. and the benthic invertebrate groups Plectopera and Planaria were identified as potential indicator taxa. While further work is required to assess potential indicator taxa for alpine lake systems, findings from alpine river systems were consistent between methods for assessing glacier influence (meltwater contribution/glacier cover). Hence, it is clear that TITAN could become a useful management tool, enabling: (i) the identification of taxa particularly

  17. Evolution of passive continental margins and initiation of subduction zones

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cloetingh, Sierd

    1982-01-01

    The initiation of subduction is a key element in plate tectonic schemes for the evolution of the Earth's lithosphere. Nevertheless, up to present, the underlying mechanism has not been very well understood (e.g. Dickinson and Seely, 1979; Hager, 1980; Kanamori, 1980). The insight into the initiation

  18. Evolution of passive continental margins and initiation of subduction zones

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cloetingh, S.A.P.L.

    1982-01-01

    The initiation of subduction is a key element in plate tectonic schemes for the evolution of the Earth's lithosphere. Nevertheless, up to present, the underlying mechanism has not been very well understood (e.g. Dickinson and Seely, 1979; Hager, 1980; Kanamori, 1980). The insight into the

  19. Alpine forest-tundra ecotone response to temperature change,Sayan Mountains, Siberia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranson, K Jon; Kharuk, Vyetcheslav I.

    2007-01-01

    Models of climate change predict shifts of vegetation zones. Tree response to climate trends is most likely observable in the forest-tundra ecotone, where temperature mainly limits tree growth. There is evidence of vegetation change on the northern treeline However, observations on alpine tree line response are controversial. In this NEESPI related study we show that during the past three decades in the forest-tundra ecotone of the Sayan Mountains, Siberia, there was an increase in forest stand crown closure, regeneration propagation into the alpine tundra, and transformation of prostrate Siberian pine and fir into arboreal forms. We found that these changes occurred since the mid 1980s, and strongly correlates with positive temperature (and to a lesser extent, precipitation) trends. Improving climate for forest growth( i.e., warmer temperatures and increased precipitation) provides competitive advantages to Siberian pine in the alpine forest-tundra ecotone, as well as in areas typically dominated by larch, where it has been found to be forming a secondary canopy layer. Substitution of deciduous conifer, larch, for evergreen conifers, decreases albedo and provides positive feedback for temperature increase.

  20. Tectonic Evolution of Chinese Petroleum Basins Évolution tectonique des bassins pétroliers chinois

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhu X.

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Petroleum basins in China are closely related to the tectonic regimes in different stages of geological evolution. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins were controlled by the deformation of the lithosphere of the Chinese plate in the course of subductions y neighboring plates situated in opposite directions. The crustal position may be a decisive factor for the different styles of basin development. Paleozoic (including Sinian and parts of Triassic basins, on the other hand, might have been related to the fragmentation and reunification as well as the accretion of the ancient platform. The superposition of basins of different regimes or different generations brought about a complex set of depositional and structural characteristics influencing both constructively and destructivelythe mode of distribution of oil and gas. Les bassins pétroliers de la Chine ont une liaison étroite avec les régimes tectoniques des différents étages de l'évolution géologique. Les bassins mésozoiques et cénozoïques ont été affectés par la déformation de la lithosphère de la plaque chinoise au cours de subduction des plaques voisines situées en directions opposées. La position de la croûte est peut-être un facteur déterminant pour les styles différents du développement du bassin. Les bassins paléozoïques (y compris le Sinien et une partie du Trias sont d'autre part liés à la fragmentation et la réunification, de même que l'accrétion des plates-formes anciennes. La superposition des bassins à régimes différents ou à générations différentes a créé une série sédimentaire et influence constructivement et destructivement le mode de distribution et de redistribution du pétrole et du gaz.

  1. The alternative concept of global tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anokhin, Vladimir; Kholmyansky, Mikhael

    2016-04-01

    The existing plate tectonic paradigm becomes more questionable in relation to the new facts of the Earth. The most complete to date criticism of plate tectonics provisions contained in the article (Pratt, 2000). Authors can recall a few facts that contradict the idea of long-range movement of plates: - The absence of convection cells in the mantle, detected by seismic tomography; - The presence of long-lived deep regmatic network in the crust, not distorted by the movement of plates; - The inability of linking the global geometry of the of mutual long-distance movement of plates. All this gives reason to believe that correct, or at least a satisfactory concept of global tectonics are not exist now. After overcoming the usual inertia of thinking the plate paradigm in the foreseeable future will replace by different concept, more relevant as the observable facts of the Earth and the well-known physical laws. The authors suggest that currently accumulated sufficient volume of facts and theoretical ideas for the synthesis of a new general hypothesis of the structure and dynamics of the Earth. Analysis of the existing tectonic theory suggests that most of their provisions are mutually compatible. Obviously, plume tectonics perfectly compatible with any of classical models. It contradicts the only plate tectonics (movement of hot spots in principle not linked either with each other or with the general picture of the plate movements, the presence of mantle convection and mantle streams are mutually exclusive, and so on). The probable transfer of the heated material down up within the Earth may occur in various forms, the simplest of which (and, consequently, the most probable) are presented plumes. The existence in the mantle numerous large volumes of decompressed substances (detected seismic tomography), can be correlated with the bodies of plumes at different stages of uplift. Plumes who raise to the bottom of the lithosphere, to spread out to the sides and form a set

  2. Structural analysis and Miocene-to-Present tectonic evolution of a lithospheric-scale, transcurrent lineament: The Sciacca Fault (Sicilian Channel, Central Mediterranean Sea)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fedorik, Jakub; Toscani, Giovanni; Lodolo, Emanuele; Civile, Dario; Bonini, Lorenzo; Seno, Silvio

    2018-01-01

    Seismo-stratigraphic and structural analysis of a large number of multichannel seismic reflection profiles acquired in the northern part of the Sicilian Channel allowed a 3-D reconstruction of a regional NS-trending transfer zone which displays a transcurrent tectonic regime, and that is of broad relevance for its seismotectonic and geodynamic implications. It is constituted of two major transcurrent faults delimiting a 30-km-wide, mostly undeformed basin. The western fault (Capo Granitola) does not show clear evidence of present-day tectonic activity, and toward the south it is connected with the volcanic area of the Graham Bank. The eastern fault (Sciacca) is structurally more complex, showing active deformation at the sea-floor, particularly evident along the Nerita Bank. The Sciacca Fault is constituted of a master and splay faults compatible with a right-lateral kinematics. Sciacca Fault is superimposed on an inherited weakness zone (a Mesozoic carbonate ramp), which borders to the east a 2.5-km-thick Plio-Quaternary basin, and that was reactivated during the Pliocene. A set of scaled claybox analogue models was carried out in order to better understand the tectonic processes that led to the structural setting displayed by seismic data. Tectonic structures and uplift/subsidence patterns generated by the models are compatible with the 3-D model obtained from seismic reflection profiles. The best fit between the tectonic setting deriving from the interpretation of seismic profiles and the analogue models was obtained considering a right-lateral movement for the Sciacca Fault. Nevertheless, the stress field in the study area derived from GPS measurements does not support the present-day modelled right-lateral kinematics along the Sciacca Fault. Moreover, seismic events along this fault show focal mechanisms with a left-lateral component. We ascribe the slip change along the Sciacca Fault, from a right-lateral transcurrent regime to the present-day left

  3. Off-axis volcano-tectonic activity during continental rifting: Insights from the transversal Goba-Bonga lineament, Main Ethiopian Rift (East Africa)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corti, Giacomo; Sani, Federico; Agostini, Samuele; Philippon, Melody; Sokoutis, Dimitrios; Willingshofer, Ernst

    2018-03-01

    The Main Ethiopian Rift, East Africa, is characterized by the presence of major, enigmatic structures which strike approximately orthogonal to the trend of the rift valley. These structures are marked by important deformation and magmatic activity in an off-axis position in the plateaus surrounding the rift. In this study, we present new structural data based on a remote and field analysis, complemented with analogue modelling experiments, and new geochemical analysis of volcanic rocks sampled in different portions of one of these transversal structures: the Goba-Bonga volcano-tectonic lineament (GBVL). This integrated analysis shows that the GBVL is associated with roughly E-W-trending prominent volcano-tectonic activity affecting the western plateau. Within the rift floor, the approximately E-W alignment of Awasa and Corbetti calderas likely represent expressions of the GBVL. Conversely, no tectonic or volcanic features of similar (E-W) orientation have been recognized on the eastern plateau. Analogue modelling suggests that the volcano-tectonic features of the GBVL have probably been controlled by the presence of a roughly E-W striking pre-existing discontinuity beneath the western plateau, which did not extend beneath the eastern plateau. Geochemical analysis supports this interpretation and indicates that, although magmas have the same sub-lithospheric mantle source, limited differences in magma evolution displayed by products found along the GBVL may be ascribed to the different tectonic framework to the west, to the east, and in the axial zone of the rift. These results support the importance of the heterogeneous nature of the lithosphere and the spatial variations of its structure in controlling the architecture of continental rifts and the distribution of the related volcano-tectonic activity.

  4. Plain formation on Mercury: tectonic implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, P.

    1980-01-01

    Four major plain units, plus intermediates, are distinguished on Mercury. The chronologic relationships between these plains indicate that plains formation was a permanent process on Mercury. Their location and morphology seem to indicate a possible volcanic origin for these plains. The relationships between tectonism and volcanism seems to indicate the global contraction is not the only tectonic process on Mercury. (Auth.)

  5. Biological modulation of tectonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sleep, N. H.; Bird, D. K.

    2008-12-01

    Photosynthesis has had geologic consequences over the Earth's history. In addition to modifying Earth's atmosphere and ocean chemistry, it has also modulated tectonic processes through enhanced weathering and modification of the nature and composition of sedimentary rocks within fold mountain belts and convergent margins. Molecular biological studies indicate that bacterial photosynthesis evolved just once and that most bacterial clades descend from this photosynthetic common ancestor. Iron-based photosynthesis (ideally 4FeO + CO2 + H2O = 2Fe2O3 + CH2O) was the most bountiful anoxygenic niche on land. The back reaction provided energy to heterotrophic microbes and returned FeO to the photosynthetic microbes. Bacterial land colonists evolved into ecosystems that effectively weathered FeO-bearing minerals and volcanic glass. Clays, sands, and dissolved cations from the weathering process entered the ocean and formed our familiar classes sedimentary rocks: shales, sandstones, and carbonates. Marine photosynthesis caused organic carbon to accumulate in black shales. In contrast, non-photosynthetic ecosystems do not cause organic carbon to accumulate in shale. These evolutionary events occurred before 3.8 Ga as black shales are among the oldest rock types (Rosing and Frei, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 217, 237-244, 2004). Thick sedimentary sequences deformed into fold mountain belts. They remelted at depth to form granitic rocks (Rosing et al., Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 232, 99-11, 2006). Regions of outcropping low-FeO rocks including granites, quartzites, and some shales were a direct result. This dearth of FeO favored the evolution of oxic photosynthesis of cyanobacteria from photosynthetic soil bacteria. Black shales have an additional modulation effect on tectonics as they concentrate radioactive elements, particularly uranium (e.g. so that the surface heat flow varies by a factor of ca. 2). Thick sequences of black shales at continental rises of passive margins are

  6. Tectonic evolution of the Pan-African arc assemblage in Southern Sinai An example from the Sa'al-Zaghra belt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, M.; Fowler, A.; Hassan, I.; Abu-Alam, T.; Stüwe, K.

    2012-04-01

    The southern Sinai basement is part of the broader Neoproterozoic Arabian-Nubian Shield, which occupies parts of northeastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The Sinai exposures of the shield are uniquely located as they form a bridge between the two halves of the shield that are elsewhere separated by the Red Sea rift. For shield terrain fragments are exposed in Sinai: the Feiran-Solaf, Kid, Taba-Elat and Sa'al-Zaghra metamorphic belts. Of these, the Sa'al Zaghra terrain has received the least attention. The four terrains are separated from each other by vast areas of syn- and post tectonic granitoids that complicate the correlation and have led to numerous controversies with respect to their interpretation. In this project structural, petrological and age dating will be carried out to clarify the evolution of the Sa'al Zaghra terrain in order to establish the relationship between it and the other terrains. Preliminary work already undertaken during this research suggests that the Sa'al-Zaghra and Kid terrains have much in common with respect to their lithological assemblages, as well as their structural and metamorphic histories. The same may be said of the Feiran-Solaf and Taba-Elat terrains. Juxtaposition of these paired terrains presents an enigma in that the Sa'al-Zaghra and Kid terrains appear to separate the Feiran-Solaf and Taba-Elat terrains from each other. There are possibilities of ancient transform systems that may explain this configuration.

  7. Grazing exclusion increases soil CO2 emission during the growing season in alpine meadows on the Tibetan Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Na; Wang, Aidong; Allan Degen, A.; Deng, Bin; Shang, Zhanhuan; Ding, Luming; Long, Ruijun

    2018-02-01

    Soil CO2 emission is a key part of the terrestrial carbon cycle. Grazing exclusion by fencing is often considered a beneficial grassland management option to restore degraded grassland, but its effect on soil CO2 emission on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau is equivocal and is the subject of this study. Using a closed static chamber, we measured diurnal soil CO2 flux weekly from July, 2008, to April, 2009, in response to grazing and grazing exclusion in the alpine meadow and alpine shrub meadow. Concomitantly, soil temperature was measured at depths of 5 cm, 10 cm, 15 cm and 20 cm with digital temperature sensors. It emerged that: 1) non-grazed grasslands emitted more soil CO2 than grazed grasslands over the growing season; 2) the alpine shrub meadow emitted more soil CO2 than the alpine meadow; the annual cumulative soil CO2 emissions of alpine meadow and alpine shrub meadow were 241.5-326.5 g C/m2 and 429.0-512.5 g C/m2, respectively; 3) seasonal patterns were evident with more soil CO2 flux in the growing than in the non-growing season; and 4) the diurnal soil CO2 flux exhibited a single peak across all sampling sites. In addition, soil CO2 flux was correlated positively with soil temperature at 5 cm, but not at the other depths. We concluded that grazing exclusion enhanced soil CO2 emission over the growing season, and decreased carbon sequestration of alpine meadow and alpine shrub meadow on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Since an increase in soil temperature increased soil CO2 flux, global warming could have an effect on soil CO2 emission in the future.

  8. Analysis of the influence of tectonics on the evolution of valley networks based on SRTM DEM, Jemma River basin, Ethiopia

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kusák, Michal; Kropáček, J.; Vilímek, V.; Schillaci, C.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 39, č. 1 (2016), 37-50 ISSN 1724-4757 Institutional support: RVO:67985891 Keywords : valley network * tectonic lineaments * Jemma River basin * Ethiopian Highlands Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography

  9. Is There a Tectonically Driven Supertidal Cycle?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, J. A. M.; Molloy, J. L.; Davies, H. S.; Duarte, J. C.

    2018-04-01

    Earth is 180 Myr into the current supercontinent cycle, and the next supercontinent is predicted to form in 250 Myr. The continuous changes in continental configuration can move the ocean between resonant states, and the semidiurnal tides are currently large compared to the past 252 Myr due to tidal resonance in the Atlantic. This leads to the hypothesis that there is a "supertidal" cycle linked to the supercontinent cycle. Here this is tested using new tectonic predictions for the next 250 Myr as bathymetry in a numerical tidal model. The simulations support the following hypothesis: a new tidal resonance will appear 150 Myr from now, followed by a decreasing tide as the supercontinent forms 100 Myr later. This affects the dissipation of tidal energy in the oceans, with consequences for the evolution of the Earth-Moon system, ocean circulation and climate, and implications for the ocean's capacity of hosting and evolving life.

  10. Relationships between stocking rate, livestock production systems and Alpine grasslands management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enrico Sturaro

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted in order to identify the relationships between stocking rate, management system, topographic conditions and weed encroachment of summer pastures in “Lessinia”, a pre-Alpine area in the Veneto region (North-Eastern Italy. Using the data from a field survey on 46 summer pastures (30 with dairy cows and 16 with other bovine categories, various ANOVA/ANCOVA models were used to test the effects on stocking rate of livestock category, supplementary concentrate feeding, and pasture weed encroachment, slope and elevation. Stocking rate was higher in summer pastures with dairy cows than in those with other bovine categories, and in pastures with moderate slopes than in those with higher ones, but was unaffected by supplementary concentrate feeding, altitude and weed encroachment. This indicates that in the considered areas stocking rate is not constrained by pasture productivity and is kept at sub-optimal levels. Future research is needed to make more clear the effects that the present management status may have on the evolution of pastures productivity and biodiversity value.

  11. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs in the atmospheres of two French alpine valleys: sources and temporal patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Marchand

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Alpine valleys represent some of the most important crossroads for international heavy-duty traffic in Europe, but the full impact of this traffic on air quality is not known due to a lack of data concerning these complex systems. As part of the program "Pollution des Vallées Alpines" (POVA, we performed two sampling surveys of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs in two sensitive valleys: the Chamonix and Maurienne Valleys, between France and Italy. Sampling campaigns were performed during the summer of 2000 and the winter of 2001, with both periods taking place during the closure of the "Tunnel du Mont-Blanc". The first objective of this paper is to describe the relations between PAH concentrations, external parameters (sampling site localization, meteorological parameters, sources, and aerosol characteristics, including its carbonaceous fraction (OC and EC. The second objective is to study the capacity of PAH profiles to accurately distinguish the different emission sources. Temporal evolution of the relative concentration of an individual PAH (CHR and the PAH groups BghiP+COR and BbF+BkF is studied in order to differentiate wood combustion, gasoline, and diesel emissions, respectively. The results show that the total particulate PAH concentrations were higher in the Chamonix valley during both seasons, despite the cessation of international traffic. Seasonal cycles, with higher concentrations in winter, are also stronger in this valley. During winter, particulate PAH concentration can reach very high levels (up to 155 ng.m-3 in this valley during cold anticyclonic periods. The examination of sources shows the impact during summer of heavy-duty traffic in the Maurienne valley and of gasoline vehicles in the Chamonix valley. During winter, Chamonix is characterized by the strong influence of wood combustion in residential fireplaces, even if the temporal evolution of specific PAH ratios are difficult to interpret. Information on sources

  12. Hydrologic and Isotopic Sensitivity of Alpine Lakes to Climate Change in the Medicine Bow Mountains, Wyoming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liefert, D. T.; Shuman, B. N.; Mercer, J.; Parsekian, A.; Williams, D. G.

    2017-12-01

    Climate reconstructions show that global average temperatures were 0.5°C higher than today during the mid-Holocene, falling well within projections for increases in global average temperature presented in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. Despite the consensus for the prediction of a warmer climate, however, it is unclear how snowmelt from high-elevation watersheds will be affected by such a change. Snowmelt contributes substantially to major rivers in the western United States, and much of the water flows through lakes in the highest-elevation watersheds. Our water balance models show that modern alpine lakes with seasonably unstable water levels can desiccate primarily through groundwater outflow, resulting in increased groundwater storage that likely sustains baseflow in mountain streams once snowmelt has subsided in late summer. However, contribution of freshwater from alpine lakes to streams may vary over time as changes in climate alters snowpack, rates of evaporation, and the abundance of snowmelt-fed lakes. As such, alpine lakes with seasonally unstable water levels today may have dried out entirely during the mid-Holocene warm period and may dry out in the future as temperatures increase. To investigate the response of alpine lakes to temperatures of the mid-Holocene, we collected 9 sediment cores from closed-basin alpine lakes in the Medicine Bow Mountains of southern Wyoming that lose most their volumes each summer. We use radiocarbon-dating of charcoal in basal sediments to determine lake formation age, abundance of conifer needles to infer relative forest cover, and a δ18O carbonate record to determine changes in the ratio of evaporation to precipitation in an alpine lake that existed throughout the Holocene. Warming likely changed watershed hydrology through a) decreased snowpack and earlier snowmelt, b) increased evaporation, and c) increased transpiration associated with expanded forest cover and longer growing seasons

  13. Tectonic and metamorphic discontinuities in the Greater Himalayan Sequence in Central Himalaya: in-sequence shearing by accretion from the Indian plate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carosi, Rodolfo

    2016-04-01

    The Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) is the main metamorphic unit of the Himalayas, stretching for over 2400 km, bounded to the South by the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and to the North by the South Tibetan Detachment (STD) whose contemporanous activity controlled its exhumation between 23 and 17 Ma (Godin et al., 2006). Several shear zones and/or faults have been recognized within the GHS, usually regarded as out of sequence thrusts. Recent investigations, using a multitechnique approach, allowed to recognize a tectonic and metamorphic discontinuity, localized in the mid GHS, with a top-to-the SW sense of shear (Higher Himalayan Discontinuity: HHD) (Carosi et al., 2010; Montomoli et al., 2013). U-(Th)-Pb in situ monazite ages provide temporal constraint of the acitivity of the HHD from ~ 27-25 Ma to 18-17 Ma. Data on the P and T evolution testify that this shear zone affected the tectono-metamorphic evolution of the belt and different P and T conditions have been recorded in the hanging-wall and footwall of the HHD. The HHD is a regional tectonic feature running for more than 700 km, dividing the GHS in two different portions (Iaccarino et al., 2015; Montomoli et al., 2015). The occurrence of even more structurally higher contractional shear zone in the GHS (above the HHD): the Kalopani shear zone (Kali Gandaki valley, Central Nepal), active from ~ 41 to 30 Ma (U-Th-Pb on monazite) points out to a more complex deformation pattern in the GHS characterized by in sequence shearing. The actual proposed models of exhumation of the GHS, based exclusively on the MCT and STD activities, are not able to explain the occurrence of the HHD and other in-sequence shear zones. Any model of the tectonic and metamorphic evolution of the GHS should account for the occurrence of the tectonic and metamorphic discontinuities within the GHS and its consequences on the metamorphic paths and on the assembly of Himalayan belt. References Godin L., Grujic D., Law, R. D. & Searle, M. P. 2006

  14. Viscous relaxation as a prerequisite for tectonic resurfacing on Ganymede: Insights from numerical models of lithospheric extension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bland, Michael T.; McKinnon, William B.

    2018-05-01

    Ganymede's bright terrain formed during a near-global resurfacing event (or events) that produced both heavily tectonized and relatively smooth terrains. The mechanism(s) by which resurfacing occurred on Ganymede (e.g., cryovolcanic or tectonic), and the relationship between the older, dark and the younger, bright terrain are fundamental to understanding the geological evolution of the satellite. Using a two-dimensional numerical model of lithospheric extension that has previously been used to successfully simulate surface deformation consistent with grooved terrain morphologies, we investigate whether large-amplitude preexisting topography can be resurfaced (erased) by extension (i.e., tectonic resurfacing). Using synthetically produced initial topography, we show that when the total relief of the initial topography is larger than 25-50 m, periodic groove-like structures fail to form. Instead, extension is localized in a few individual, isolated troughs. These results pose a challenge to the tectonic resurfacing hypothesis. We further investigate the effects of preexisting topography by performing suites of simulations initialized with topography derived from digital terrain models of Ganymede's surface. These include dark terrain, fresh (relatively deep) impact craters, smooth bright terrain, and a viscously relaxed impact crater. The simulations using dark terrain and fresh impact craters are consistent with our simulations using synthetic topography: periodic groove-like deformation fails to form. In contrast, when simulations were initialized with bright smooth terrain topography, groove-like deformation results from a wide variety of heat flow and surface temperature conditions. Similarly, when a viscously relaxed impact crater was used, groove-like structures were able to form during extension. These results suggest that tectonic resurfacing may require that the amplitude of the initial topography be reduced before extension begins. We emphasize that viscous

  15. Improve earthquake hypocenter using adaptive simulated annealing inversion in regional tectonic, volcano tectonic, and geothermal observation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ry, Rexha Verdhora, E-mail: rexha.vry@gmail.com [Master Program of Geophysical Engineering, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesha No.10, Bandung 40132 (Indonesia); Nugraha, Andri Dian, E-mail: nugraha@gf.itb.ac.id [Global Geophysical Research Group, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesha No.10, Bandung 40132 (Indonesia)

    2015-04-24

    Observation of earthquakes is routinely used widely in tectonic activity observation, and also in local scale such as volcano tectonic and geothermal activity observation. It is necessary for determining the location of precise hypocenter which the process involves finding a hypocenter location that has minimum error between the observed and the calculated travel times. When solving this nonlinear inverse problem, simulated annealing inversion method can be applied to such global optimization problems, which the convergence of its solution is independent of the initial model. In this study, we developed own program codeby applying adaptive simulated annealing inversion in Matlab environment. We applied this method to determine earthquake hypocenter using several data cases which are regional tectonic, volcano tectonic, and geothermal field. The travel times were calculated using ray tracing shooting method. We then compared its results with the results using Geiger’s method to analyze its reliability. Our results show hypocenter location has smaller RMS error compared to the Geiger’s result that can be statistically associated with better solution. The hypocenter of earthquakes also well correlated with geological structure in the study area. Werecommend using adaptive simulated annealing inversion to relocate hypocenter location in purpose to get precise and accurate earthquake location.

  16. Alpine Windharvest: development of information base regarding potentials and the necessary technical, legal and socio-economic conditions for expanding wind energy in the Alpine Space - Digital relief analysis - Abstract of work package 7

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schaffner, B.; Cattin, R. [Meteotest, Berne (Switzerland)

    2005-07-01

    This report presents an abstract of the development work carried out by the Swiss meteorology specialists METEOTEST as part of a project carried out together with the Swiss wind-energy organisation 'Suisse Eole'. The framework for the project is the EU Interreg IIIB Alpine Space Programme, a European Community Initiative Programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The project investigated the use of digital relief-analysis. The series of reports describes the development and use of a basic information system to aid the investigation of the technical, legal and socio-economical conditions for the use of wind energy in the alpine area. This report presents an abstract of the work done as part of the Work Package 7 of the Alpine Windharvest project.

  17. Radon emanation in tectonically active areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    King, C.Y.

    1980-01-01

    Subsurface radon emanation has been continuously monitored for up to three years by the Track Etch method in shallow dry holes at more than 60 sites along several tectonic faults in central California and at 9 sites near the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. The measured emanation in these tectonically active areas shows large long-term variations that may be related mainly to crustal strain changes

  18. PRESENTDAY STRESS STATE OF THE SHANXI TECTONIC BELT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Kaiying

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The Shanxi tectonic belt is a historically earthquakeabundant area. For the majority of strong earthquakes in this area, the distribution of earthquake foci was controlled by the N–S oriented local structures on the tectonic belt. Studies of the present stress state of the Shanxi tectonic belt can contribute to the understanding of the relationship between strong earthquakes’ occurrence and their structural distribution and also facilitate assessments of regional seismic danger and determination of the regions wherein strong earthquakes may occur in future. Using the Cataclastic Analysis Method (CAM, we performed stress inversion based on the focal mechanism data of earthquakes which took place in the Shanxi tectonic belt from 1967 to 2010. Our results show that orientations of the maximum principal compressive stress axis of the Shanxi tectonic belt might have been variable before and after the 2001 Kunlun MS=8.1 strong earthquake, with two different superior trends of the NW–SE and NE–SW orientation in different periods. When the maximum principal compressive stress axis is oriented in the NE–SW direction, the pattern of the space distribution of the seismic events in the Shanxi tectonic belt shows a trend of their concentration in the N–S oriented tectonic segments. At the same time, the stress state is registered as horizontal shearing and horizontal extension in the N–S and NE–SW oriented local segments in turn. When the maximum principal compressive stress axis is NW–SE oriented, the stress state of the N–S and NE–SW oriented tectonic segments is primarily registered as horizontal shearing. Estimations of plunges of stress axes show that seismicity in the Shanxi belt  corresponds primarily to the activity of lowangle faults, and highangle stress sites are located in the NE–SW oriented extensional tectonic segments of the Shanxi belt. This indicates that the stress change of the Shanxi belt is

  19. The 'Alpine Windharvest' project - Overview; Projekt Alpine Windharvest - Schlussbericht

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schaffner, B.; Kunz, S. [Suisse Eole, Meteotest, Berne (Switzerland)

    2005-07-01

    This short introduction forms part of a final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) that presents the results of a project carried out by the Swiss wind-energy organisation 'Suisse Eole' and the meteorology specialists of the company METEOTEST. The project investigated the use of digital relief-analysis and formed part of a European wind-energy project that investigated the technical, legal and socio-economical aspects of the use of wind energy. The work-package 7 included the identification of wind-energy areas using comparative Geographic Information System (GIS) methods. An overview is provided of the wind-energy potential in the whole of the alpine region and five areas in which measurements are to be made, including GIS analyses, are defined.

  20. Relationship between alpine tourism demand and hot summer air temperatures associated with climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rebetez, M.; Serquet, G.

    2010-09-01

    We quantified the impacts of hot summer air temperatures on tourism in the Swiss Alps by analyzing the relationship between temperature and overnight stays in 40 Alpine resorts. Several temperature and insolation thresholds were tested to detect their relationship to summer tourism. Our results reveal significant correlations between the number of nights spent in mountain resorts and hot temperatures at lower elevations. Alpine resorts nearest to cities are most sensitive to hot temperatures. This is probably because reactions to hot episodes take place on a short-term basis as heat waves remain relatively rare. The correlation in June is stronger compared to the other months, probably because school holidays and the peak domestic tourist demand in summer usually takes place in July and August. Our results suggest that alpine tourist resorts could benefit from hotter temperatures at lower elevations under future climates. Tourists already react on a short-term basis to hot days and spend more nights in hotels in mountain resorts. If heat waves become more regular, it seems likely that tourists choose to stay at alpine resorts more frequently and for longer periods.

  1. Generic Regional Development Strategies from Local Stakeholders' Scenarios - an Alpine Village Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolfgang Loibl

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses the participatory elaboration of strategies for sustainable regional development in an Alpine tourist region in Austria to cope with global change effects evolving locally, considering climate change, economic change as well as (local societal change. Local stakeholders in an Alpine village in the Montafon region contributed in workshops to achieve the final results: participant teams conducted system analyses of the regional system to explore key elements of the region. Narrative scenarios described possible positive and negative development trends and indicated the critical issues controlling future development; 3D-images of landscape transition simulations show the consequences of certain development directions. Alternative development directions supported the local stakeholders to elaborate regional development strategies. In the end, the scientist team derived generic strategies for Alpine regions based on the locally developed strategy bundle. The article presents the intention, progress and outcome of the participatory approach and elaborates the potential to derive generic strategies from local ones and discusses the possibly occurring conflicts regarding cross-scale transfers of these local strategies. Overall, tourism was seen as a key element for future regional development, which can on the one hand derogate Alpine regions and is on the other hand threatened by climate change and diminution of landscape attractiveness. The suggested development strategies will help to cope with global change issues mitigating the negative consequences on the local society and environment.

  2. Metamorphic and tectonic evolution of the Greater Himalayan Crystalline Complex in Nyalam region, south Tibet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jia-Min; Zhang, Jin-Jiang; Rubatto, Daniela

    2016-04-01

    Recent studies evoke dispute whether the Himalayan metamorphic core - Greater Himalayan Crystalline Complex (GHC) - was exhumed as a lateral crustal flow or a critical taper wedge during the India-Asia collision. This contribution investigated the evolution of the GHC in the Nyalam region, south Tibet, with comprehensive studies on structural kinematics, metamorphic petrology and geochronology. The GHC in the Nyalam region can be divided into the lower and upper GHC. Phase equilibria modelling and conventional thermobarometric results show that peak temperature conditions are lower in the lower GHC (~660-700°C) and higher in the upper GHC (~740-780°C), whereas corresponding pressure conditions at peak-T decrease from ~9-13 kbar to ~4 kbar northward. Monazite, zircon and rutile U-Pb dating results reveal two distinct blocks within the GHC of the Nyalam region. The upper GHC underwent higher degree of partial melting (15-25%, via muscovite dehydration melting) that initiated at ~32 Ma, peaked at ~29 Ma to 25 Ma, possibly ended at ~20 Ma. The lower GHC underwent lower degree of melting (0-10%) that lasted from 19 to 16 Ma, which was produced mainly via H2O-saturated melting. At different times, both the upper and lower blocks underwent initial slow cooling (35 ± 8 and 10 ± 5°C/Myr, respectively) and subsequent rapid cooling (120 ± 40°C/Myr). The established timescale of metamorphism suggests that high-temperature metamorphism within the GHC lasted a long duration (~15 Myr), whereas duration of partial melting lasted for ~3 Myr in the lower GHC and lasted for 7-12 Myr in the upper GHC. The documented diachronous metamorphism and discontinuity of peak P-T conditions implies the presence of the Nyalam Thrust in the study area. This thrust is probably connected to the other thrusts in Nepal and Sikkim Himalaya, which extends over ~800 km and is named the "High Himalayan Thrust". Timing of activity along this thrust is at ~25-16 Ma, which is coeval with active

  3. Framework for Tectonic Thinking, a Conceptual Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Garritzmann, Udo

    2017-01-01

    This research paper is a contribution to the field of architectural design theory in the area of tectonics. From the designer’s point of view, it will develop an overarching conceptual framework for tectonic thinking (FTT), which will serve as a tool for the comparative analysis and interpretation...

  4. Tectonics: The meaning of form

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Karl; Brandt, Per Aage

    Tectonics – The meaning of form deals with one of the core topics of architecture: the relationship between form and content. In the world of architecture, form is not only made from brick, glass and wood. Form means something. When a material is processed with sufficient technical skill and insi...... perspectives. You can read the chapters in any order you like – from the beginning, end or the middle. There is no correct order. The project is methodologically inductive: the more essays you read, the broader your knowledge of tectonics get....

  5. Deep genetic divergence between disjunct Refugia in the Arctic-Alpine King's Crown, Rhodiola integrifolia (Crassulaceae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric G DeChaine

    Full Text Available Despite the strength of climatic variability at high latitudes and upper elevations, we still do not fully understand how plants in North America that are distributed between Arctic and alpine areas responded to the environmental changes of the Quaternary. To address this question, we set out to resolve the evolutionary history of the King's Crown, Rhodiola integrifolia using multi-locus population genetic and phylogenetic analyses in combination with ecological niche modeling. Our population genetic analyses of multiple anonymous nuclear loci revealed two major clades within R. integrifolia that diverged from each other ~ 700 kya: one occurring in Beringia to the north (including members of subspecies leedyi and part of subspecies integrifolia, and the other restricted to the Southern Rocky Mountain refugium in the south (including individuals of subspecies neomexicana and part of subspecies integrifolia. Ecological niche models corroborate our hypothesized locations of refugial areas inferred from our phylogeographic analyses and revealed some environmental differences between the regions inhabited by its two subclades. Our study underscores the role of geographic isolation in promoting genetic divergence and the evolution of endemic subspecies in R. integrifolia. Furthermore, our phylogenetic analyses of the plastid spacer region trnL-F demonstrate that among the native North American species, R. integrifolia and R. rhodantha are more closely related to one another than either is to R. rosea. An understanding of these historic processes lies at the heart of making informed management decisions regarding this and other Arctic-alpine species of concern in this increasingly threatened biome.

  6. Exploring the Potential of Aerial Photogrammetry for 3d Modelling of High-Alpine Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legat, K.; Moe, K.; Poli, D.; Bollmannb, E.

    2016-03-01

    High-alpine areas are subject to rapid topographic changes, mainly caused by natural processes like glacial retreat and other geomorphological processes, and also due to anthropogenic interventions like construction of slopes and infrastructure in skiing resorts. Consequently, the demand for highly accurate digital terrain models (DTMs) in alpine environments has arisen. Public administrations often have dedicated resources for the regular monitoring of glaciers and natural hazard processes. In case of glaciers, traditional monitoring encompasses in-situ measurements of area and length and the estimation of volume and mass changes. Next to field measurements, data for such monitoring programs can be derived from DTMs and digital ortho photos (DOPs). Skiing resorts, on the other hand, require DTMs as input for planning and - more recently - for RTK-GNSS supported ski-slope grooming. Although different in scope, the demand of both user groups is similar: high-quality and up-to-date terrain data for extended areas often characterised by difficult accessibility and large elevation ranges. Over the last two decades, airborne laser scanning (ALS) has replaced photogrammetric approaches as state-of-the-art technology for the acquisition of high-resolution DTMs also in alpine environments. Reasons include the higher productivity compared to (manual) stereo-photogrammetric measurements, canopy-penetration capability, and limitations of photo measurements on sparsely textured surfaces like snow or ice. Nevertheless, the last few years have shown strong technological advances in the field of aerial camera technology, image processing and photogrammetric software which led to new possibilities for image-based DTM generation even in alpine terrain. At Vermessung AVT, an Austrian-based surveying company, and its subsidiary Terra Messflug, very promising results have been achieved for various projects in high-alpine environments, using images acquired by large-format digital

  7. Project SHARE Sustainable Hydropower in Alpine Rivers Ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mammoliti Mochet, Andrea

    2010-05-01

    SHARE - Sustainable Hydropower in Alpine Rivers Ecosystems is a running project early approved and co funded by the European regional development fund in the context of the European Territorial Cooperation Alpine Space programme 2007 - 2013: the project is formally ongoing from August 2009 and it will end July 2012. Hydropower is the most important renewable resource for electricity production in alpine areas: it has advantages for the global CO2 balance but creates serious environmental impacts. RES-e Directives require renewable electricity enhance but, at the same time, the Water Framework Directive obliges member States to reach or maintain a water bodies "good" ecological status, intrinsically limiting the hydropower exploitation. Administrators daily face an increasing demand of water abstraction but lack reliable tools to rigorously evaluate their effects on mountain rivers and the social and economical outputs on longer time scale. The project intends to develop, test and promote a decision support system to merge on an unprejudiced base, river ecosystems and hydropower requirements. This approach will be led using existing scientific tools, adjustable to transnational, national and local normative and carried on by permanent panel of administrators and stakeholders. Scientific knowledge related to HP & river management will be "translated" by the communication tools and spent as a concrete added value to build a decision support system. In particular, the Multicriteria Analysis (MCA) will be applied to assess different management alternatives where a single-criterion approach (such as cost-benefit analysis) falls short, especially where environmental, technical, economic and social criteria can't be quantified by monetary values. All the existing monitoring databases will be used and harmonized with new information collected during the Pilot case studies. At the same time, all information collected will be available to end users and actors of related

  8. Les barrages alpins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alain Marnezy

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Les barrages-réservoirs de montagne ont été réalisés initialement dans les Alpes pour répondre à la demande d’énergie en période hivernale. Une certaine diversification des usages de l’eau s’est ensuite progressivement développée, en relation avec le développement touristique des collectivités locales. Aujourd’hui, la participation des ouvrages d’Électricité De France à la production de neige de culture représente une nouvelle étape. Dans les régions où les aménagements hydroélectriques sont nombreux, les besoins en eau pour la production de neige peuvent être résolus par prélèvements à partir des adductions EDF. Les gestionnaires de stations échappent ainsi aux inconvénients liés à la construction et à la gestion des « retenues collinaires ». Cette évolution, qui concerne déjà quelques régions alpines comme la haute Maurienne ou le Beaufortin, apparaît comme une forme renouvelée d’intégration territoriale de la ressource en eau.Mountain reservoirs were initially built in the Alps to meet energy needs in the winter. A certain diversification in the uses of water then gradually developed, related to tourism development in the local communities. Today, the use of facilities belonging to EDF (French Electricity Authority to provide water for winter resorts to make artificial snow represents a new phase. By taking water from EDF resources to supply snow-making equipment, resort managers are thus able to avoid the problems related to the construction and management of small headwater dams. This new orientation in the use of mountain water resources already affects a number of alpine regions such as the Upper Maurienne valley and Beaufortain massif and represents a renewed form of the territorial integration of water resources.

  9. Vascular plant flora of the alpine zone in the southern Rocky Mountains, U.S.A

    Science.gov (United States)

    James F. Fowler; B. E. Nelson; Ronald L. Hartman

    2014-01-01

    Field detection of changes in occurrence, distribution, or abundance of alpine plant species is predicated on knowledge of which species are in specific locations. The alpine zone of the Southern Rocky Mountain Region has been systematically inventoried by the staff and floristics graduate students from the Rocky Mountain Herbarium over the last 27 years. It is...

  10. Active tectonics on Lanzarote (Canary Islands) from the analysis of CGPS data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riccardi, Umberto; Arnoso, Jose; Benavent, María Teresa; Velez, Emilio; Tammaro, Umberto; González Montesinos, Fuensanta

    2017-04-01

    , a careful study is preliminarily carried out on the time series of the daily solutions aimed at characterizing and filtering out the seasonal periodicities related to "non-tectonic" sources. A tentative strain field is reconstructed through the analysis of the time evolution of the web of the possible baselines ranging the stations. Finally, we try to interpret the observed displacement and strain field in the framework of the known tectonic setting coming from previous and ongoing geophysical studies.

  11. Seasonality in the alpine water logistic system on a regional basis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanham, D.; Fleischhacker, E.; Rauch, W.

    2007-08-01

    In this study the water logistic system is defined as the interaction of the subsystems water resources, water supply and water demand in terms of water flow. The analysis of a water balance in alpine regions is strongly influenced by both temporal and spatial seasonal fluctuations within these elements, the latter due to the vertical dimension of mountainous areas. Therefore the determination of different seasons plays a key role within the assessment of alpine water logistic systems. In most studies a water balance for a certain region is generated on an annual, monthly or classic 4-seasonal basis. This paper presents a GIS-based multi criteria method to determine an optimal winter and summer period, taking into account different water demand stakeholders, alpine hydrology and the characteristic present day water supply infrastructure of the Alps. Technical snow-making and (winter) tourism were identified as the two major seasonal water demand stakeholders in the study area, which is the Kitzbueheler region in the Austrian Alps. Based upon the geographical datasets mean snow cover start and end date, winter was defined as the period from December to March, and summer as the period from April to November.

  12. Rapid response of alpine timberline vegetation to the Younger Dryas climate oscillation in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reasoner, M.A.; Jodry, M.A.

    2000-01-01

    Paleobotanical records from two high-altitude (>3,300 m) sites in Colorado show a clear and immediate response to the Younger Dryas climate oscillation. The Black Mountain Lake and Sky Pond records indicate that alpine timberline migrated upslope to near-modern elevations during the late Bolling-Allerod (13.6--12.9 ka). Subsequent declines in arboreal pollen percentages and accumulation rates during the Younger Dryas interval (12.9--11.7 ka) reflect a downslope displacement of the alpine timberline ecotone of 60--120 m in elevation. This change translates to a cooling of summer temperature by ∼0.4--0.9 C and is consistent with proposed Younger Dryas advances of alpine glaciers in the Rocky Mountains to positions close to Little Ice Age maxima. Alpine timberline readvanced upslope to elevations above both sites between 11.7 and 11.4 ka. The concomitant response of temperature-sensitive alpine timberline vegetation in Colorado and late-glacial changes in North Atlantic thermohaline circulating implicates a rapid, widespread atmospheric transmission of the Younger Dryas climate oscillation

  13. Rapid response of alpine timberline vegetation to the Younger Dryas climate oscillation in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reasoner, M.A.; Jodry, M.A.

    2000-01-01

    Paleobotanical records from two high-altitude (>3,300 m) sites in Colorado show a clear and immediate response to the Younger Dryas climate oscillation. The Black Mountain Lake and Sky Pond records indicate that alpine timberline migrated upslope to near-modern elevations during the late Bolling-Allerod (13.6--12.9 ka). Subsequent declines in arboreal pollen percentages and accumulation rates during the Younger Dryas interval (12.9--11.7 ka) reflect a downslope displacement of the alpine timberline ecotone of 60--120 m in elevation. This change translates to a cooling of summer temperature by {approximately}0.4--0.9 C and is consistent with proposed Younger Dryas advances of alpine glaciers in the Rocky Mountains to positions close to Little Ice Age maxima. Alpine timberline readvanced upslope to elevations above both sites between 11.7 and 11.4 ka. The concomitant response of temperature-sensitive alpine timberline vegetation in Colorado and late-glacial changes in North Atlantic thermohaline circulating implicates a rapid, widespread atmospheric transmission of the Younger Dryas climate oscillation.

  14. The dehydration, rehydration and tectonic setting of greenstone belts in a portion of the northern Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanreenen, D. D.; Barton, J. M., Jr.; Roering, C.; Vanschalkwyk, J. C.; Smit, C. A.; Debeer, J. D.; Stettler, E. H.

    1986-01-01

    High-grade gneiss terranes and low-grade granite-greenstone terranes are well known in several Archaean domains. The geological relationship between these different crustal regions, however, is still controversial. One school of thought favors fundamental genetic differences between high-grade and low-grade terranes while others argue for a depth-controlled crustal evolution. The detailed examination of well-exposed Archaean terranes at different metamorphic grades, therefore, is not only an important source of information about the crustal levels exposed, but also is critical to the understanding of the possible tectonic and metamorphic evolution of greenstone belts with time. Three South African greenstone belts are compared.

  15. Simulating the Evolution of Fluid Underpressures in the Great Plains, by Incorporation of Tectonic Uplift and Tilting, with a Groundwater Flow Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amjad M. J. Umari

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Underpressures (subhydrostatic heads in the Paleozoic units underlying the Great Plains of North America are a consequence of Cenozoic uplift of the area. Based on tectonostratigraphic data, we have developed a cumulative uplift history with superimposed periods of deposition and erosion for the Great Plains for the period from 40 Ma to the present. Uplift, deposition, and erosion on an 800 km geologic cross-section extending from northeast Colorado to eastern Kansas is represented in nine time-stepped geohydrologic models. Sequential solution of the two-dimensional diffusion equation reveals the evolution of hydraulic head and underpressure in a changing structural environment after 40 Ma, culminating in an approximate match with the measured present-day values. The modeled and measured hydraulic head values indicate that underpressures increase to the west. The 2 to 0 Ma model indicates that the present-day hydraulic head values of the Paleozoic units have not reached steady state. This result is significant because it indicates that present-day hydraulic heads are not at equilibrium, and underpressures will increase in the future. The pattern uncovered by the series of nine MODFLOW models is of increased underpressures with time. Overall, the models indicate that tectonic uplift explains the development of underpressures in the Great Plains.

  16. The development and evolution of landform based on neotectonic movement: The Sancha river catchment in the southwestern China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Lingmin; Xu, Mo; Yang, Yanna; Wang, Xingbing

    2018-02-01

    Neotectonics has changed the coupled process of endogenic and exogenic geological dynamics, which mold the modern landform. Geomorphologic analysis is essential for identifying and understanding the tectonic activity and indicates the responsive mechanism of the landform to tectonic activity. At first, this research reconstructed the twisted Shanpen period planation surface, computed the valley floor width-to-height ratio of Sancha river and extracted the cross sections marking the river terraces to analyze the characteristics of the neotectonics. And then, the relation between neotectonic movement and landform development was analyzed by dividing the landform types. At last, the spatial variation of landform evolution was analyzed by extracting the Hypsometric Integral of sub-catchments. The Sancha river catchment's neotectonic movement presents the tilt-lift of earth's crust from NW to SE, which is characterized by the posthumous activity of Yanshan tectonic deformation. The spatial distribution of river terraces indicates that Sancha river catchment has experienced at least four intermittent uplifts and the fault blocks at both the sides of Liuzhi-Zhijin basement fault have differentially uplifted since the late Pleistocene. As the resurgence of Liuzhi-Zhijin basement fault, the Sancha river catchment was broken into two relative independent landform units. The spatial variations of the landform types near the Sancha river and the sub-catchments' landform evolution are characterized by periodic replacement. The styles of geological structure have controlled the development of landform far away from the Sancha River and influenced the landform evolution. The posthumous activities of the secondary structure have resulted in the spatial variation of sub-catchments' landform evolution, which presents periodic replacement with local exceptions. The present study suggests that spatial variations of the development and evolution of modern landform of Sancha River

  17. Holocene Evolution of Qing'ao Embayment, Southern China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Switzer, A. D.; Yu, F.; Chen, B.; Zheng, Z.; Wang, D.

    2012-12-01

    The Holocene evolution of the Qing'ao embayment, Nan'ao Island, southern China, is primarily the result of the interaction of tectonic activity, climate variation and changes in relative sea level. Characterizing the evolutionary history of the relatively small Qing'ao embayment during the Holocene will help improve our understanding of the driving mechanisms of coastal evolution in the area. To reconstruct the Holocene evolution history we analyzed the grain size, loss on ignition (LOI) and carbonate content of modern and core samples. Modern environmental analogs were examined in surface samples ranging from the coastal sand dunes through to offshore. The results of these modern samples suggest that dune sand (mean size of ~2.33Phi) are slightly finer than beach sand (mean size of 2.13Phi), and nearshore sediment is much coarser than offshore sediment (mean size of 5.90Phi). This modern analogs were then applied to 8 percussion cores from the Qing'ao embayment. A chronological framework obtained from 11 radiocarbon samples suggests that the embayment started to accept deposition since early Holocene, ~8500 cal. yr. BP. Three main phases of Holocene evolution were identified. A basin wide shell-rich sand sheet forms the basal Holocene facies and overlies clay rich presumably Pleistocene sediments or bedrock. This facies records an initial sedimentation phase associated with the early Holocene transgression into the embayment (~8500-6000 cal. yr. BP). The basal facies grades upward to a mixed sandy-mud facies which includes lagoonal clayey-silts, flood tide delta sands and records an estuarine phase lasting from ~6000-1000 cal. yr. BP that appears coincident with falling regional sea levels. Coincident with the estuarine phase is a period of coastal dune building recorded as yet undated massive sands that are found in the upper fill. Toward the end of the estuarine phase it is apparent that dune migration has restricted the lagoon entrance and that this was

  18. Carbon sequestration in Himalaya's alpine meadows: Mitigating cropping encroachment on pastures in Northern Pakistan

    OpenAIRE

    Rueff, Henri; Syed Rehman, Aziz; Rahim, Inam; Maselli, Daniel; Nafees, Mohammad; Wiesmann, Urs

    2011-01-01

    Rangelands store about 30% of the world’s carbon and support over 120 million pastoralists globally. Adjusting the management of remote alpine pastures bears a substantial climate change mitigation potential that can provide livelihood support for marginalized pastoralists through carbon payment. Landless pastoralists in Northern Pakistan seek higher income by cropping potatoes and peas over alpine pastures. However, tilling steep slopes without terracing exposes soil to erosion. Moreover, yi...

  19. Earth's glacial record and its tectonic setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eyles, N.

    1993-09-01

    clearly established glacial parentage. The same remarks apply to many successions of laminated and thin-bedded facies interpreted as "varvites". Despite suggestions of much lower values of solar luminosity (the weak young sun hypothesis), the stratigraphic record of Archean glaciations is not extensive and may be the result of non-preservation. However, the effects of very different Archean global tectonic regimes and much higher geothermal heat flows, combined with a Venus-like atmosphere warmed by elevated levels of CO 2, cannot be ruled out. The oldest unambiguous glacial succession in Earth history appears to be the Early Proterozoic Gowganda Formation of the Huronian Supergroup in Ontario; the age of this event is not well-constrained but glaciation coincided with regional rifting, and may be causally related to, oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere just after 2300 Ma. New evidence that oxygenation is tectonically, not biologically driven, stresses the intimate relationship between plate tectonics, evolution of the atmosphere and glaciation. Global geochemical controls, such as elevated atmospheric CO 2 levels, may be responsible for a long mid-Proterozoic non-glacial interval after 2000 Ma that was terminated by the Late Proterozoic glaciations just after 800 Ma. A persistent theme in both Late Proterozoic and Phanerozoic glaciations is the adiabatic effect of tectonic uplift, either along collisional margins or as a result of passive margin uplifts in areas of extended crust, as the trigger for glaciation; the process is reinforced by global geochemical feedback, principally the drawdown of atmospheric CO 2 and Milankovitch "astronomical" forcing but these are unlikely, by themselves, to inititiate glaciation. The same remarks apply to late Cenozoic glaciations. Late Proterozoic glacially-influenced strata occur on all seven continents and fall into two tectonostratigraphic types. In the first category are thick sucessions of turbidites and mass flows deposited along

  20. Devonian through early Carboniferous (Mississippian) metallogenesis and tectonics of northeast Asia, Chapter 6 in Metallogenesis and tectonics of northeast Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badarch, Gombosuren; Dejidmaa, Gunchin; Gerel, Ochir; Obolenskiy, Alexander A.; Prokopiev, Andrei V.; Timofeev, Vladimir F.; Nokleberg, Warren J.

    2010-01-01

    The major purposes of this chapter are to provide (1) an overview of the regional geology, tectonics, and metallogenesis of Northeast Asia for readers who are unfamiliar with the region, (2) a general scientific introduction to the succeeding chapters of this volume, and (3) an overview of the methodology of metallogenic and tectonic analysis used in this study. We also describe how a high-quality metallogenic and tectonic analysis, including construction of an associated metallogenic-tectonic model will greatly benefit other mineral resource studies, including synthesis of mineral-deposit models; improve prediction of undiscovered mineral deposit as part of a quantitative mineral-resource-assessment studies; assist land-use and mineral-exploration planning; improve interpretations of the origins of host rocks, mineral deposits, and metallogenic belts, and suggest new research. Research on the metallogenesis and tectonics of such major regions as Northeast Asia (eastern Russia, Mongolia, northern China, South Korea, and Japan) and the Circum-North Pacific (the Russian Far East, Alaska, and the Canadian Cordillera) requires a complex methodology including (1) definitions of key terms, (2) compilation of a regional geologic base map that can be interpreted according to modern tectonic concepts and definitions, (3) compilation of a mineral-deposit database that enables a determination of mineral-deposit models and clarification of the relations of deposits to host rocks and tectonic origins, (4) synthesis of a series of mineral-deposit models that characterize the known mineral deposits and inferred undiscovered deposits in the region, (5) compilation of a series of metallogenic-belt belts constructed on the regional geologic base map, and (6) construction of a unified metallogenic and tectonic model. The summary of regional geology and metallogenesis presented here is based on publications of the major international collaborative studies of the metallogenesis and

  1. A new approach for surveying the Alpine Salamander (Salamandra atra in Austria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ursula Reinthaler-Lottermoser

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The Alpine Salamander is a small pitch black amphibian which is endemic to the European Alps and the Dinarides. It is strictly protected according to the European FFH guidelines. Despite its central role in the alpine ecosystem our actual published record in Austria is small. In order to resolve this shortcoming our project explores its distribution in Austria. It uses a participatory and community based approach to gather data. Everybody can enter and look at Alpine Salamander observations on our website www.alpensalamander.eu. This approach also allows us to establish an “oral history” of Salamander observations in the past 50 years by conducting interviews in the local community. Since July 2009 the website and salamander report database are online. From the actual data (more than 5600 records we already obtained an overview about the present distribution and data quality. The data are an excellent basis for detailed scientific studies on these remarkable amphibians. With this new and highly interactive approach science and education are combined to initiate protection measures with the public.

  2. Continuous recording of seismic signals in Alpine permafrost

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hausmann, H.; Krainer, K.; Staudinger, M.; Brückl, E.

    2009-04-01

    Over the past years various geophysical methods were applied to study the internal structure and the temporal variation of permafrost whereof seismic is of importance. For most seismic investigations in Alpine permafrost 24-channel equipment in combination with long data and trigger cables is used. Due to the harsh environment source and geophone layouts are often limited to 2D profiles. With prospect for future 3D-layouts we introduce an alternative of seismic equipment that can be used for several applications in Alpine permafrost. This study is focussed on controlled and natural source seismic experiments in Alpine permafrost using continuous data recording. With recent data from an ongoing project ("Permafrost in Austria") we will highlight the potential of the used seismic equipment for three applications: (a) seismic permafrost mapping of unconsolidated sediments, (b) seismic tomography in rock mass, and (c) passive seismic monitoring of rock falls. Single recording units (REFTEK 130, 6 channels) are used to continuously record the waveforms of both the seismic signals and a trigger signal. The combination of a small number of recording units with different types of geophones or a trigger allow numerous applications in Alpine permafrost with regard to a high efficiency and flexible seismic layouts (2D, 3D, 4D). The efficiency of the light and robust seismic equipment is achieved by the simple acquisition and the flexible and fast deployment of the (omni-directional) geophones. Further advantages are short (data and trigger) cables and the prevention of trigger errors. The processing of the data is aided by 'Seismon' which is an open source software project based on Matlab® and MySQL (see SM1.0). For active-source experiments automatic stacking of the seismic signals is implemented. For passive data a program for automatic detection of events (e.g. rock falls) is available which allows event localization. In summer 2008 the seismic equipment was used for the

  3. Classification of the eastern alpine vegetation of Lesotho | Morris ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Five vegetation communities in the alpine catchment of Lesotho were identified by hierarchical classification of the botanical composition data. Discriminant analysis indicated that these communities occupy particular topographic positions. The community-environmental relationships identified in this study were similar to ...

  4. Quantitative ecological relationships in the alpine grassland of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A survey, based on 56 000 points at 102 sampling sites in the Tsehlanyane valley of the Oxbow (Madibamatso) Dam catchment in the alpine grassland of Lesotho, indicates that the area is generally in good condition. Physiographic and floristic criteria were measured and the association between pairs of criteria statistically ...

  5. Alpine Skiing With total knee ArthroPlasty (ASWAP)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, M.; Pötzelsberger, B.; Scheiber, P.

    2015-01-01

    We investigated the effect of alpine skiing for 12 weeks on skeletal muscle characteristics and biomarkers of glucose homeostasis and cardiovascular risk factors. Twenty-three patients with a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) were studied 2.9 ± 0.9 years (mean ± SD) after the operation. Fourteen...

  6. The geologic evolution of the planet Mars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masson, P.

    1982-01-01

    A brief summary of our knowledge on the Martian geology is presented here based on the results published by the members of Mariner 9 and Viking Orbiter Imaging Teams, the NASA Planetary Geology Principal Investigators and the scientists involved in the Mars Data Analysis Program. A special emphasis is given to the geologic evolution (volcanism and tectonism) related to our knowledge on the internal structure of the planet

  7. Dendrochronological potential of the alpine shrub Rhododendron nivale on the south-eastern Tibetan Plateau.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Eryuan; Eckstein, Dieter

    2009-09-01

    Shrubs and dwarf shrubs are wider spread on the Tibetan Plateau than trees and hence offer a unique opportunity to expand the present dendrochronological network into extreme environments beyond the survival limit of trees. Alpine shrublands on the Tibetan Plateau are characterized by rhododendron species. The dendrochronological potential of one alpine rhododendron species and its growth response to the extreme environment on the south-east Tibetan Plateau were investigated. Twenty stem discs of the alpine snowy rhododendron (Rhododendron nivale) were collected close to the tongue of the Zuoqiupu Glacier in south-east Tibet, China. The skeleton plot technique was used for inter-comparison between samples to detect the growth pattern of each stem section. The ring-width chronology was developed by fitting a negative exponential function or a straight line of any slope. Bootstrapping correlations were calculated between the standard chronology and monthly climate data. The wood of snowy rhododendron is diffuse-porous with evenly distributed small-diameter vessels. It has well-defined growth rings. Most stem sections can be visually and statistically cross-dated. The resulting 75-year-long standard ring-width chronology is highly correlated with a timberline fir chronology about 200 km apart, providing a high degree of confidence in the cross-dating. The climate/growth association of alpine snowy rhododendron and of this timberline fir is similar, reflecting an impact of monthly mean minimum temperatures in November of the previous year and in July during the year of ring formation. The alpine snowy rhododendron offers new research directions to investigate the environmental history of the Tibetan Plateau in those regions where up to now there was no chance of applying dendrochronology.

  8. The Origin of The Piz Terri-Lunschania zone (Central Alps, Switzerland)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galster, Federico; Stockli, Daniel

    2017-04-01

    The Piz Terri-Lunschania zone (PTLZ) represents a band of metasedimentary rocks embedded in a crucial knot at the NE border of the Lepontine dome, at the intersection of the Gotthard, Lucomagno, Simano, Adula and Grava nappes. Its origin and its position in the tectonostratigraphy of the Central Alps are still not completely understood. A better understanding of this sedimentary zone and its tectonic position could shed lights on the Helvetic-Penninic connection and facilitate the disentanglement of the Lepontine dome tectonics. In this study we combine structural and stratigraphic observations with detrital zircon (DZ) and detrital rutile (DR) U-Pb geochronology as well as mineral trace element data from Permian, Triassic and Jurassic sandstones. We compare these data with those from adjacent tectonic units and coeval strata in other portions of the Alpine chain. Maximal depositional ages, abrupt changes in provenances and stratigraphic correlations based on new DZ and DR U-Pb and trace element data allow for a better understanding of the sedimentary evolution of the Terri basin and its palaeogeographic position along the northern margin of the Alpine Tethys. In particular the DZ U-Pb signatures, with its abundant 260-280 Ma zircons and the scarcity of 290-350 Ma zircons, corroborates an Ultra-Adula origin of the PTLZ as proposed by Galster et al (2010; 2012) based on stratigraphic arguments and reinforces the notion of a Briançonnais influence on the stratigraphic record of this complex zone, a fact that has important tectonic and Palaeogeographic implications. Galster F, Cavargna-Sani M, Epard J-L, Masson H (2012) New stratigraphic data from the Lower Penninic between the Adula nappe and the Gotthard massif and consequences for the tectonics and the paleogeography of the Central Alps. Tectonophysics 579:37-55. doi: 10.1016/j.tecto.2012.05.029 Galster F, Epard J-L, Masson H (2010) The Soja and Luzzone-Terri nappes: Discovery of a Briançonnais element below the

  9. 78 FR 28273 - Alpine Investors IV SBIC, LP; Notice Seeking Exemption Under Section 312 of the Small Business...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-14

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [License No. 09/09-0461] Alpine Investors IV SBIC, LP; Notice... hereby given that Alpine Investors IV SBIC, LP, 3 Embarcadero Center, Suite 2330, San Francisco, CA, a...'') Rules and [[Page 28274

  10. Alpins and thibos vectorial astigmatism analyses: proposal of a linear regression model between methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuliano de Oliveira Freitas

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available PURPOSE: To determine linear regression models between Alpins descriptive indices and Thibos astigmatic power vectors (APV, assessing the validity and strength of such correlations. METHODS: This case series prospectively assessed 62 eyes of 31 consecutive cataract patients with preoperative corneal astigmatism between 0.75 and 2.50 diopters in both eyes. Patients were randomly assorted among two phacoemulsification groups: one assigned to receive AcrySof®Toric intraocular lens (IOL in both eyes and another assigned to have AcrySof Natural IOL associated with limbal relaxing incisions, also in both eyes. All patients were reevaluated postoperatively at 6 months, when refractive astigmatism analysis was performed using both Alpins and Thibos methods. The ratio between Thibos postoperative APV and preoperative APV (APVratio and its linear regression to Alpins percentage of success of astigmatic surgery, percentage of astigmatism corrected and percentage of astigmatism reduction at the intended axis were assessed. RESULTS: Significant negative correlation between the ratio of post- and preoperative Thibos APVratio and Alpins percentage of success (%Success was found (Spearman's ρ=-0.93; linear regression is given by the following equation: %Success = (-APVratio + 1.00x100. CONCLUSION: The linear regression we found between APVratio and %Success permits a validated mathematical inference concerning the overall success of astigmatic surgery.

  11. Raft tectonics in northern Campos Basin; Tectonica de jangada (raft tectonics) na area norte da Bacia de Campos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Castro, Marilia R. de [Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense (UENF), Campos dos Goytacases, RJ (Brazil)]|[PETROBRAS, Macae, RJ (Brazil). Unidade de Negocio da Bacia de Campos; Fugita, Adhemar M. [Universidade do Estado, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Recursos Humanos da ANP

    2004-07-01

    In the northern area of Campos Basin salt gliding/spreading processes promoted the break-up and transport of Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks overlying the evaporites. This process is known as raft tectonics, and it represents the most extreme form of thin-skinned extension above the salt decollement surface. Three distinct geotectonic domains were recognized that formed in response to the raft tectonics. The first one, confined to the shallower shelf portion of the basin, is characterized by minor extension (pre-raft domain), probably because of small salt thickness and low gradient. In the second domain (or disorganized rafts domain), located in distal platformal and slope areas, seismic sections show the occurrence of blocks or rafts with angular shapes, sometimes imbricated and frequently discontinuous. In the third domain, or domain of organized rafts, located in bacinal region, seismic sections show a more continuous raft pattern, often folded because of salt compression in the distal portions of the basin. The main purposes of this work is to characterize these three tectonic domains distinguished by raft tectonics, as well as their importance in hydrocarbon accumulations in calcarenites. (author)

  12. Glacial refugia, recolonization patterns and diversification forces in Alpine-endemic Megabunus harvestmen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wachter, Gregor A; Papadopoulou, Anna; Muster, Christoph; Arthofer, Wolfgang; Knowles, L Lacey; Steiner, Florian M; Schlick-Steiner, Birgit C

    2016-06-01

    The Pleistocene climatic fluctuations had a huge impact on all life forms, and various hypotheses regarding the survival of organisms during glacial periods have been postulated. In the European Alps, evidence has been found in support of refugia outside the ice shield (massifs de refuge) acting as sources for postglacial recolonization of inner-Alpine areas. In contrast, evidence for survival on nunataks, ice-free areas above the glacier, remains scarce. Here, we combine multivariate genetic analyses with ecological niche models (ENMs) through multiple timescales to elucidate the history of Alpine Megabunus harvestmen throughout the ice ages, a genus that comprises eight high-altitude endemics. ENMs suggest two types of refugia throughout the last glacial maximum, inner-Alpine survival on nunataks for four species and peripheral refugia for further four species. In some geographic regions, the patterns of genetic variation are consistent with long-distance dispersal out of massifs de refuge, repeatedly coupled with geographic parthenogenesis. In other regions, long-term persistence in nunataks may dominate the patterns of genetic divergence. Overall, our results suggest that glacial cycles contributed to allopatric diversification in Alpine Megabunus, both within and at the margins of the ice shield. These findings exemplify the power of ENM projections coupled with genetic analyses to identify hypotheses about the position and the number of glacial refugia and thus to evaluate the role of Pleistocene glaciations in driving species-specific responses of recolonization or persistence that may have contributed to observed patterns of biodiversity. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. From Plate Tectonic to Continental Dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molnar, P. H.

    2017-12-01

    By the early 1970s, the basics of plate tectonics were known. Although much understanding remained to be gained, as a topic of research, plate tectonics no longer defined the forefront of earth science. Not only had it become a foundation on which to build, but also the methods used to reveal it became tools to take in new directions. For me as a seismologist studying earthquakes and active processes, the deformation of continents offered an obvious topic to pursue. Obviously examining the deformation of continents and ignoring the widespread geologic evidence of both ongoing and finite deformation of crust would be stupid. I was blessed with the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with two of the best, Paul Tapponnier and Clark Burchfiel. Continental deformation differed from plate tectonics both because deformation was widespread but more importantly because crust shortens (extends) horizontally and thickens (thins), processes that can be ignored where plate tectonics - the relative motion of rigid plates - occurs. Where a plate boundary passes into a continent, not only must the forces that move plates do work against friction or other dissipative processes, but where high terrain is created, they must also do work against gravity, to create gravitational potential energy in high terrain. Peter Bird and Kenneth Piper and Philip England and Dan McKenzie showed that a two-dimensional thin viscous sheet with vertically averaged properties enabled both sources of resistance to be included without introducing excessive complexity and to be scaled by one dimensionless number, what the latter pair called the Argand number. Increasingly over the past thirty years, emphasis has shifted toward the role played by the mantle lithosphere, because of both its likely strength and its negative buoyancy, which makes it gravitationally unstable. Despite progress since realizing that rigid plates (the essence of plate tectonics) provides a poor description of continental

  14. A half century of change in alpine treeline patterns at Glacier National Park, Montana, U.S.A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klasner, F.L.; Fagre, D.B.

    2002-01-01

    Using sequential aerial photography, we identified changes in the spatial distribution of subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) habitat at the alpine treeline ecotone. Six 40-ha study sites in the McDonald Creek drainage of Glacier National Park contained subalpine fir forests that graded into alpine tundra. Over a 46-yr period, altitudinal changes in the location of alpine treeline ecotone were not observed. However, over this 46-yr period the area of krummholz, patch-forest, and continuous canopy forest increased by 3.4%, and tree density increased within existing patches of krummholz and patch-forest. Change in subalpine fir vegetation patterns within 100 m of trails was also compared to areas without trails. Within 100 m of trails, the number of small, discrete krummholz stands increased compared to areas without trails, but there was no significant change in total krummholz area. We used historical terrestrial photography to expand the period (to 70 yr) considered. This photography supported the conclusions that a more abrupt ecotone transition developed from forest to tundra at alpine treeline, that tree density within forested areas increased, and that krummholz became fragmented along trails. This local assessment of fine-grained change in the alpine treeline ecotone provides a comparative base for looking at ecotone change in other mountain regions throughout the world.

  15. [Nitrogen bio-cycle in the alpine tundra ecosystem of Changbai Mountain and its comparison with arctic tundra].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Jing; Zhao, Jing-zhu; Deng, Hong-bing; Wu, Gang; Hao, Ying-jie; Shang, Wen-yan

    2005-03-01

    The nitrogen bio-cycle was discussed in the alpine tundra ecosystem of Changbai Mountain through compartment model. The alpine tundra of Changbai Mountain was compared with Arctic tundra by the common ratio of genus and species in this paper. It was found that the 89.3% of genus and 58.6% of species was the common between Changbai alpine tundra and Arctic tundra while 95.5% of lichen genus and 58.7% lichen species, 82.1% of moss genus and 76.3% of moss species, 93.1% of vascular bundle genus and 40.5% of vascular bundle species were the common, respectively, which made vegetation type or community to be similar between Changbai alpine tundra and Arctic tundra. The total storage of nitrogen was 65220.6 t in the vegetation-plant system of Changbai Mountain, of which soil pool amounted to 99.3%. The nitrogen storage of each compartment was as follows: the vegetation pool, litterfall pool and soil pool were 237.4 t, 145.3 t and 64837.9 t respectively. The transferable amounts of nitrogen were 131.7 t x a(-1), 58 t/a and 73.7 t x a(-1) in the aboveground plant, belowground root system and litterfall of alpine tundra ecosystem of Changbai Mountain.

  16. Summary of the stretching tectonics research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Dagan

    1994-01-01

    The rise of stretching tectonics is established on the basis of recent structural geology theory, the establishment of metamorphic nucleus complex structural model on one hand plays an important promoting art to the development of stretching structure, on the other hand, it needs constant supplement and perfection in practice. Metamorphic nucleus complex is the carrier of comparatively deep geological information in vertical section of the crust and has wide distribution in the era of south China. Evidently, it can be taken as the 'key' to understanding the deep and studying the basement, Strengthening the study will play the important promoting role to the deep prospecting. The study of stretching tectonics is not only limited within the range of structure and metamorphism, but combine with the studies of sedimentation, magmatism, metamorphism and mineralization, thus form a new field of tectonic geology of self-developing system

  17. Potential of cold-adapted microorganisms for bioremediation of oil-polluted Alpine soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Margesin, R.

    2000-01-01

    The environmental contamination by organic pollutants is a widespread problem in all climates. The most widely distributed pollution can be attributed to oil contamination. Bioremediation methods can provide efficient, inexpensive and environmentally safe cleanup tools. The role of cold-adapted microorganisms for the bioremediation of experimentally and chronically oil-contaminated Alpine soils was evaluated in the studies described. The results demonstrated that there is a considerable potential for oil bioremediation in Alpine soils. Oil biodegradation can be significantly enhanced by biostimulation (inorganic nutrient supply), but a complete oil elimination is not possible by employing biological decontamination alone. (Author)

  18. Imaging the Alpine Fault: preliminary results from a detailed 3D-VSP experiment at the DFDP-2 drill site in Whataroa, New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lay, Vera; Bodenburg, Sascha; Buske, Stefan; Townend, John; Kellett, Richard; Savage, Martha; Schmitt, Douglas; Constantinou, Alexis; Eccles, Jennifer; Lawton, Donald; Hall, Kevin; Bertram, Malcolm; Gorman, Andrew

    2017-04-01

    The plate-bounding Alpine Fault in New Zealand is an 850 km long transpressive continental fault zone that is late in its earthquake cycle. The Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) aims to deliver insight into the geological structure of this fault zone and its evolution by drilling and sampling the Alpine Fault at depth. Previously analysed 2D reflection seismic data image the main Alpine Fault reflector at a depth of 1.5-2.2 km with a dip of approximately 48° to the southeast below the DFDP-2 borehole. Additionally, there are indications of a more complex 3D fault structure with several fault branches which have not yet been clearly imaged in detail. For that reason we acquired a 3D-VSP seismic data set at the DFDP-2 drill site in January 2016. A zero-offset VSP and a walk-away VSP survey were conducted using a Vibroseis source. Within the borehole, a permanently installed "Distributed Acoustic Fibre Optic Cable" (down to 893 m) and a 3C Sercel slimwave tool (down to 400 m) were used to record the seismic wavefield. In addition, an array of 160 three-component receivers with a spacing of 10 m perpendicular and 20 m parallel to the main strike of the Alpine Fault was set up and moved successively along the valley to record reflections from the main Alpine Fault zone over a broad depth range and to derive a detailed 3D tomographic velocity model in the hanging wall. We will show a detailed 3D velocity model derived from first-arrival traveltime tomography. Subsets of the whole data set were analysed separately to estimate the corresponding ray coverage and the reliability of the observed features in the obtained velocity model. By testing various inversion parameters and starting models, we derived a detailed near-surface velocity model that reveals the significance of the old glacial valley structures. Hence, this new 3D model improves the velocity model derived previously from a 2D seismic profile line in that area. Furthermore, processing of the dense 3C data

  19. Vegetation Structure and Temperature Regimes of Tropical Alpine Treelines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bader, M.Y.; Rietkerk, M.G.; Bregt, A.K.

    2007-01-01

    Alpine treeline ecotones can be gradual transitions, abrupt boundaries, or patchy mosaics, and these different patterns may indicate important processes and dynamic properties. We present observed spatial patterns of a wide range of tropical treelines and try to explain these patterns. Treelines

  20. Vegetation structure and temperature regimes of tropical alpine treelines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bader, M.; Rietkerk, M.; Bregt, A.K.

    2007-01-01

    Alpine treeline ecotones can be gradual transitions, abrupt boundaries, or patchy mosaics, and these different patterns may indicate important processes and dynamic properties. We present observed spatial patterns of a wide range of tropical treelines and try to explain these patterns. Treelines