Pervasive detachment faults within the slow spreading oceanic crust at the poorly coupled Antilles subduction zone

Boris Marcaillou,Jean-Frédéric Lebrun,David Graindorge,Kingsley Ezenwaka,Mireille Laigle,Aurélien Gay,Serge Lallemand,Laure Schenini,Milton Boucard,Muriel Laurencin,Frauke Klingelhoefer

doi:10.1038/s43247-021-00269-6

Abstract

Oceanic crust formed at slow-spreading ridges is currently subducted in only a few places on Earth and the tectonic and seismogenic imprint of the slow-spreading process is poorly understood. Here we present seismic and bathymetric data from the Northeastern Lesser Antilles Subduction Zone where thick sediments enable seismic imaging to greater depths than in the ocean basins. This dataset highlights a pervasive tectonic fabric characterized by closely spaced sequences of convex-up Ridgeward-Dipping Reflectors, which extend down to about 15 km depth with a 15-to-40° angle. We interpret these reflectors as discrete shear planes formed during the early stages of exhumation of magma-poor mantle rocks at an inside corner of a Mid-Atlantic Ridge fracture zone. Closer to the trench, plate bending could have reactivated this tectonic fabric and enabled deep fluid circulation and serpentinization of the basement rocks. This weak serpentinized basement likely explains the very low interplate seismic activity associated with the Barbuda-Anegada margin segment above.

Highlights

Oceanic crust formed at slow-spreading ridges is currently subducted in only a few places on Earth and the tectonic and seismogenic imprint of the slow-spreading process is poorly understood
Oceanic basement formed at slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges (MORs), exhibits remarkable variations in crustal thickness, seismic velocity and tectonic fabric, as previously inferred from bathymetric data[1,2,3], paleomagnetic studies[4,5] sampling and drilling of outcrops of deep-seated rocks[6,7] and numerical modelling[8,9]
Reston et al.[11] argue that more closely spaced faulting may result from a tectonic sequence where a detachment fault forms, slips, flexes and becomes inactive when a new detachment fault develops nearby

Summary

Introduction

Oceanic crust formed at slow-spreading ridges is currently subducted in only a few places on Earth and the tectonic and seismogenic imprint of the slow-spreading process is poorly understood. In every seismic line perpendicular to the trench (Ant[01 07, 10, 11, 12, 14], and 50) reflectors of the seafloor, oceanic sediments, and the basement top step down westward along steep fault planes that dominantly dip toward the margin (Fig. 2A).

Results

Conclusion