Ridge collision tectonics in terrane development

Abstract

Some allochthonous terranes form along active continental margins when slivers of forearc crust (or more extensive crust) are displaced along arc-parallel strike-slip faults. Such faults can be generated or reactivated in response to either oblique subduction or ridge collision (collision between an oceanic spreading ridge and the leading edge of the forearc). The mechanical and thermal effects of ridge collision are important factors in the origin crustal development of some forearc sliver terranes. Some of the effects of ridge collision are well illustrated in the South American forearc near the Chile triple junction (46° S) where the Chile Rise is colliding today. Impingement of the Chile Rise, in conjuction with oblique subduction, has caused an elongate forearc sliver terrane to move northward away from an extensional zone at the collision site. The terrane is bounded on the east by the arc-parallel Liquiñe-Ofqui fault system (LOF) which coincides roughly with the forearc-arc boundary, and on the south by the Golfo de Penas extensional basin. Fault fabrics, recent seismicity, and paleomagnetic results indicate a component of right-lateral strike-slip movement on the LOF. Neotectonic geomorphology and pre- and post-seismic vertical strain data from the 1960 Concepcíon earthquake indicate a west-down dip-slip component of movement. Three-dimensional finite element models of ridge collision in this region substantiate these shear strains and development of an arc-parallel fault at about 150–200 km from the trench.Development of the forearc crust during Miocene and younger collision also involved intrusion of silicic magmas and emplacement of the Pliocene(?) Taitao ophiolite within about 15 km of the trench. The ophiolite and the silicic magmas constitute anomalous additions to the forearc crust, and record tectonic events leading to the origin of the allochthonous terrane carrying them. Similar ophiolite/silicic plutonic associations may help unravel the origin of other allochthonous terranes.