The position of continental flood basalts in rift zones and its bearing on models of rifting

Abstract

Two models of rifting—“pure shear” and “simple shear”—are at present being widely discussed. In this paper attention is drawn to the fact that continental flood basalts (CFB), associated with rifts, usually display a strong asymmetry relative to the rift axis. The Karroo, the Parana, and the Deccan basalts, as well as the Ethiopian flood basalts and the basalts of the Arabian Shield are concentrated mainly on one side of the respective rifts. Structural data indicate that the eruptions occurred on the “upper plates”, if the low-angle, simple-shear model of Wernicke (1985) is accepted. It is suggested that the asymmetry of eruptions is caused by the asymmetric position of the asthenopheic rise predicted by this model. The low-angle detachment may serve as a conduit for magmatic fluid. This fits well with data on the existence of large magmatic reservoirs of CFB at subcrustal or crustal levels and explains why eruptions are concentrated in the rift and on one of its shoulders, while being restricted on the other. This asymmetry of volcanism supports models of continental rifting associated with low-angle simple-shear detachment.