Influence of Lithosphere Rheology on Seismicity in an Intracontinental Rift: The Case of the Rhine Graben

Denis Anikiev,Judith Bott,Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth,Mauro Cacace,Maria Laura Gomez Dacal

doi:10.3389/feart.2020.592561

Abstract

The Upper Rhine Graben (URG), as a part of the wider European Cenozoic Rift System, is a tectonically active area that has been extensively investigated for its geothermal energy potential. In this study, we carry out a first investigation of the present-day thermo-mechanical stability of the area as based on a detailed 3D geological and thermal model. The overall goal is, therefore, to assess how the lithospheric strength varies within the URG in response to the natural tectonic setting as well as the internal thermal configuration, and how those variations can be related to the recorded seismicity. The results from the modelling indicate that there is a spatial correlation between the predictions for the graben-wide rheological configuration with both the deep thermal field and the configuration of the crystalline crust. We find that the regional characteristics of the long-term strength of the lithosphere match the spatial distribution of seismicity, indicating that the mechanical stability of the area is primarily controlled by resolved strength variations. By cross-plotting the modelled strength distribution with available seismicity catalogues, our results suggest that seismicity in the graben area is shallower and of lower intensity due to a hotter and weaker crust compared to its surrounding areas. In contrast, seismic energy release appears to occur at deeper levels and being of larger magnitudes east of the graben and in the adjacent Lower Rhine Graben to the north. These results demonstrate the relevance of a proper quantification of the lithospheric rheological configuration and its spatial variability in response to its tectonic inheritance as an asset to interpret the pattern and distribution of seismicity observed in the area.

Highlights

The Upper Rhine Graben (URG) is a continental rift that extends for roughly 320 km in a NNE-SSW direction (Mayer et al, 1997; Lopes Cardozo and Granet, 2005; Barth et al, 2015) along the FrenchGerman border in Central Europe (Figures 1A,B)
The model has originally been developed to assess the geothermal potential based on the variability in predicted temperatures, to overcome the lack of direct observables for the deeper crust and mantle. This structural and thermal model has been input into a rheological module (Cacace and Scheck-Wenderoth, 2016) to compute the steady strength distribution for the study area describing the long-term background rheological configuration
As discussed in the introduction, the main goal of this study is to investigate whether a correlation between the seismicity distribution and the internal thermal and rheological configuration exists in the study area

Summary

Introduction

The Upper Rhine Graben (URG) is a continental rift that extends for roughly 320 km in a NNE-SSW direction (Mayer et al, 1997; Lopes Cardozo and Granet, 2005; Barth et al, 2015) along the FrenchGerman border in Central Europe (Figures 1A,B) It formed as a part of European Cenozoic Rift System (Ziegler, 1992) on a heterogeneous crust which was consolidated during the Variscan orogeny in the Latest Paleozoic and subsequently affected by regional subsidence during the Mesozoic (Ziegler, 1990; Franke, 2000). The model has originally been developed to assess the geothermal potential based on the variability in predicted temperatures, to overcome the lack of direct observables for the deeper crust and mantle This structural and thermal model has been input into a rheological module (Cacace and Scheck-Wenderoth, 2016) to compute the steady strength distribution for the study area describing the long-term background rheological configuration

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion