Contractional Deformation Research Articles

Late Paleogene paleotopographic evolution of the northern Cordilleran orogenic front: Implications for demise of the orogen

The paleotopographic history of the North American Cordilleran orogen holds the key to understanding mechanisms of orogenesis and subsequent orogenic collapse. It has been suggested that the orogenic front in western Montana (USA) and Alberta (Canada) was more than 4 km high during Late Cretaceous−early Eocene contractional deformation and during the initial phase of extension in the middle Eocene; however, the late Eocene−Oligocene topographic evolution during continued extensional collapse remains poorly constrained. Here we extend the paleotopographic record in the Kishenehn Basin in northwestern Montana and southeastern British Columbia (Canada) to the late Oligocene by studying δ18O values of fossil mollusks and cement and paleosol carbonates. The molluscan taxa changed from three sympatric groups with preferred habitats ranging from tropical wet, semi-arid subtropical, and temperate during the middle and late Eocene, to mainly a single group associated with temperate environment during the Oligocene, reflecting a decline in molluscan biodiversity induced by climate cooling across the Eocene−Oligocene transition. Reconstructed δ18O values of alpine snowmelt and basinal precipitation decreased by 1.4‰ and 3.8‰, respectively, from the middle to late Eocene, reflecting climate cooling and ∼1 km surface uplift of the basin floor. The reconstructed alpine snowmelt δ18O values then increased by 2.9‰ in the Oligocene suggesting a ∼0.5 km drop in elevation of the orogenic front. Collectively, the results of our new and previously published δ18O data chronicle the paleotopographic response to the change from flat-slab subduction to slab rollback over a 45 m.y. period. These data suggest that the orogenic front was characterized by high elevation (>4 km) in the ancestral Lewis-Clark-Livingston ranges during latest Cretaceous−early Eocene (ca. 75−52 Ma) contraction. The initial phase of extension related to the Kishenehn Basin created a lowland basin with a surface elevation of only ∼1.5 km during the early middle Eocene (ca. 46−44 Ma) whereas the ranges remained >4 km high. The high range elevations were sustained for at least 12 m.y. in the middle to late Eocene concurrent with extension, while the basin floor elevation was uplifted to ∼2.5 km by the latest Eocene (ca. 36−34 Ma). Basin aggradation can explain at most half of the 1 km basin floor uplift. The remaining amount (at least 0.5 km) and sustained high range elevation suggest that range denudation and crustal extension was compensated by the isostatic and thermal effects of slab rollback and/or passage of a slab window and infusion of hot asthenosphere beneath the continent. The range elevation in the orogenic front decreased ∼0.5 km by the late Oligocene (ca. 28 Ma), associated with a decrease in rock uplift rate associated with extension. A post-Oligocene elevation drop of ∼1 km resulted in both the ranges and basin floor reaching modern topography in the Kishenehn Basin drainage, likely due to the regional effect of Neogene Basin and Range extension. This study, along with the previous investigation of the Kishenehn Basin by Fan et al. (2017), are the first studies that systematically investigate paleorelief of the orogenic belt by reconstructing paleoelevations of the mountains and the basin at the same time. The results highlight that the Cordilleran orogenic front of northern Montana and southern British Columbia sustained its high elevation edifice for at least 12 m.y. after the start of extension. We suggest that initial crustal extension did not result in orogenic demise because of concurrent thermal and isostatic uplift.

What controls salt‐detached contraction in the translational domain of the outer Kwanza Basin, offshore Angola?

AbstractIt is now well‐established that base‐salt relief drives complex deformation patterns in the mid‐slope domain of salt‐bearing passive margins, in a location classically thought to be dominated by simple horizontal translation. However, due to a lack of detailed studies drawing on high‐quality, 3D seismic reflection data, our understanding of how base‐salt relief controls four‐dimensional patterns of salt‐related deformation in natural systems remains poor. We here use 3D seismic reflection data from, and structural restorations of the Outer Kwanza Basin, offshore Angola to examine the controls on the evolution of variably oriented salt anticlines, rollers, and walls, and related normal and reverse faults. We show that the complex geometries and kinematics of predominantly contractional salt structures reflect up to 22 km of seaward flow of salt and its overburden across prominent base‐salt relief. More specifically, this contractional deformation occurs where the seaward flow of salt is inhibited due to: (a) it flowing being forced to flow up, landward‐dipping ramps; (b) it encountering thicker, slower‐moving salt near the base of seaward‐dipping ramps; or (c) the formation of primary salt welds at the upper hinge of seaward‐dipping ramps. The rate at which salt and its overburden translates seaward varies along strike due to corresponding variations in the magnitude of base‐salt relief and, at a larger, more regional scale, primary salt thickness. As a result of these along‐strike changes in translation rate, overburden rotation accompanies bulk contraction. Our study improves our understanding of salt‐related deformation on passive margins, highlighting the key role of base‐salt relief, and showing contraction, extension and rotation are fundamental processes controlling the structural style of the mid‐slope translational domains of salt basins.

Inverted Basins by Africa–Eurasia Convergence at the Southern Back-Arc Tyrrhenian Basin

The southern part of Tyrrhenian back-arc basin (NW Sicily), formed due to the rifting and spreading processes in back-arc setting, is currently undergoing contractional tectonics. The analysis of seismic reflection profiles integrated with bathymetry, magnetic data and seismicity allowed us to map a widespread contractional tectonics structures, such as positive flower structures, anticlines and inverted normal faults, which deform the sedimentary sequence of the intra-slope basins. Two main tectonic phases have been recognised: (i) a Pliocene extensional phase, active during the opening of the Vavilov Basin, which was responsible for the formation of elongated basins bounded by faulted continental blocks and controlled by the tear of subducting lithosphere; (ii) a contractional phase related to the Africa-Eurasia convergence coeval with the opening of the Marsili Basin during the Quaternary time. The lithospheric tear occurred along the Drepano paleo-STEP (Subduction-Transform-Edge-Propagator) fault, where the upwelling of mantle, intruding the continental crust, formed a ridge. Since Pliocene, most of the contractional deformation has been focused along this ridge, becoming a good candidate for a future subduction initiation zone.

Episodic Crustal Extension and Contraction Characterizing the Late Mesozoic Tectonics of East China: Evidence From the Jiaodong Peninsula, East China

AbstractDuring the Late Mesozoic, East China is characterized by widespread magmatism, thrusting and folding, extensional doming, strike‐slip faulting, and block rotation. The Jiaodong Peninsula provides a key area located in East China to understand the episodic intracontinental extension and contraction and associated granitoid emplacement. Based on our structural analysis, magnetic fabric measurement, and gravity modeling, polyphase deformation and magma emplacement have been recognized within the Queshan‐Kunyushan‐Yuangezhuang‐Sanfoshan (QKYS) massif of the central Jiaodong Peninsula. A significant Late Jurassic D1 event, developed in the northern margin of the massif, was expressed by a high‐temperature, top‐to‐the‐NE shearing. Late Jurassic plutons display magnetic fabrics corresponding to the D1 structural fabrics and several NW–SE‐trending feeder zones at depth. These results link the syn‐kinematic emplacement of Late Jurassic plutons with regional NE–SW extensional tectonics. In the south of the massif, a lower‐temperature, top‐to‐the‐SW contractional deformation (D2) resulted from NE–SW contraction. The D3 shear zone with a top‐to‐the‐WNW kinematics is a rolling‐hinge type detachment fault that exhumed the massif, indicating NW–SE regional extension. Finally, Early Cretaceous plutons emplaced into the upper crust with a fast‐cooling rate and formed inverted drop shapes with concentric magnetic foliations and variably oriented magnetic lineations. In light of the previous geochronological results, the timing of these tectonic events is discussed. The tectonic evolution of the QKYS massif indicates a process from crustal thickening to lithospheric foundering in response to the Late Mesozoic plate convergences.

Influencia de cuerpos discordantes de distinta cohesión en la geometría estructural de fajas plegadas y corridas: aproximación sobre la base de un modelamiento analógico

Lithological heterogeneities in a rock series deformed by the development of a fold-and-thrust belt (FTB) affects the pattern of the resulting structures. We present a series of analogue experiments to determine the effect caused on the deformation pattern of a FTB by the presence of cohesive bodies, like plutons or basement blocks that oppose greater resistance than the host rocks to contractional deformation. The influence of these bodies on the deformation pattern of the FTB was studied by incorporating discordant bodies with different cohesions within a stratified granular sequence with negligible cohesion. We describe two sets of experiments in which the inserted body presents low (Co1) and high (Co2) cohesion respectively. The experiments show a tendency of the structural pattern to curve around the inserted body and to migrate towards the deformation front or the foreland, even when the cohesive body is not exposed. In the first case (Co1) the thrusts cut across the cohesive body, while in the second one (Co2) the cohesive body is not faulted, but transferred towards the deformation front along a basal detachment. Comparison of these results with natural examples at different scales shows a high degree of coincidence in the structural patterns recognized in both cases. Two of the main characteristics of these patterns are the tendency of the thrust faults traces to avoid the cohesive body and adopt the geometry of its distal edge. In order to explain curvatures in natural structural patterns in fold-and-thrust belts, we suggest consider the presence of unexposed bodies with higher strength than their environment.

Has the Tibetan Plateau risen in the Early/Mid-Miocene? Constraints from plate-motion reconstructions and seismicity of the Indian Ocean lithosphere

SUMMARYMagnetization records and seismic stratigraphy of the Indian Ocean lithosphere indicate that the Early/Mid-Miocene onset of diffuse contractional deformation coincided with slowdowns of the Indian and Capricorn plate motions. At present day, such deformation is evidenced by the seismicity of the Indian Ocean floor. Deformation onset and past plate-motion slowdowns have been interpreted as consequences of a sudden uplift of the Tibetan Plateau by 1–2 km, as this—following previous estimates—would generate a tectonically significant force between 4 × 1012 and 8 × 1012 N m−1. However, this view remains at odds with palaeoaltimetry estimates from geological and geochemical data, which indicate no increase in plateau altitude throughout the Miocene. Here, I use well-established models of viscous/brittle dynamics in inverse mode in order to constrain the amount of force that should be delivered by the Tibetan region to the Indian tectonic setting in order to explain the observations above. Results constrain such a force within the range from 4.3 × 1011 to 3.5 × 1012 N m−1. By comparison with previous estimates of the force associated with topography increase, these analyses suggest that the Early/Mid-Miocene onset of contractional deformation and plate-motion slowdowns within the Indian Ocean require minimal uplift of the Tibet Plateau of a few hundred metres. The seemingly contradicting inferences on Early/Mid-Miocene Tibetan uplift that come from geophysical and geological/geochemical observations can be reconciled by noting that the required uplift amount is less than what is resolvable by modern palaeoaltimetry techniques.

Timing of hydrocarbon entrapment in the eastern foothills of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia

The eastern foothills in the Colombian Eastern Cordillera have been an important oil-producing region since the discovery of the Cupiagua and Cusiana fields. Three organic-rich units are considered to be the main source rocks. The Aptian Fómeque and the Cenomanian-Coniacian Chipaque Formations comprise a siliciclastic to locally carbonate shallow marine shelf succession with type-II kerogen, whereas the Paleocene Los Cuervos Formation consists of marginal marine to nonmarine siliciclastic rocks with type-III kerogen. We modeled the petroleum systems of these three source units to characterize the hydrocarbon generation-accumulation processes within the basin. The structural record of the Eastern Cordillera shows that the most important tectonic event began in early Oligocene with contractional deformation along the Soapaga through Guaicaramo faults during early Miocene, culminating during the Pliocene with the Cusiana and Yopal faults. These variable rates of burial and exhumation resulted in contrasting time-temperature histories for each of the source rocks. The Fómeque Formation reached the oil window during the Paleocene in the south and the Eocene to the north. In contrast, the Chipaque Formation generation started during Early Oligocene in the south and by Late Oligocene to the north. Conversely, maturation for the Los Cuervos Formation was uniform along the foothills, reaching the oil window during Late Oligocene. Charge history modeling suggested that the Albian sandstones reservoirs were filled between Oligocene to Miocene. In contrast, the proven reservoirs in the area (the Upper Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Eocene sandstones) were filled by late Miocene, with a second episode of recent charge in the Eocene reservoirs, and perhaps active, from the Los Cuervos Formation. The results of this work proved that petroleum system modeling is useful not only to characterize generation-migration processes but it also can be used as a prediction tool in structurally complex areas such as the Colombian foothills.

A structural analysis of the Washita Valley Fault in the southeast Anadarko Basin

We propose that the Washita Valley Fault in the southeast Anadarko Basin originated when Precambrian-Cambrian preexisting rift-related faults became reactivated as a rotational stress field reached a favorable orientation for strike-slip displacement. During the Early to Middle Pennsylvanian, contractional deformation dominated as a Precambrian-Cambrian failed rift underwent structural inversion along a northeast-directed stress field. Structures that developed in the basin consisted primarily of thin-skinned fold-thrust structures resulting from slip along two main detachment levels. By the Late Pennsylvanian, stress rotated toward the east–northeast causing left-lateral strike-slip displacement along east–west-oriented structures. During this time, the Washita Valley Fault originated from an east–west-oriented preexisting basement fault. The Washita Valley Fault formed as a near-vertical segment cutting through the earlier fold-thrust structures. Movement was accompanied by oblique normal slip allowing grabens to develop that were subsequently filled with Virgilian-age sediment. A left step of the Washita Valley Fault allowed for a significant graben to develop near the east end of the study area resulting in a thick Virgilian-age growth section validating the timing of the fault movement. The Wichita Mountain Fault also underwent a component of left-lateral strike-slip displacement during the Late Pennsylvanian highlighting its continuous movement and deformation history in a rotating stress field. Although much of the published literature on the Washita Valley Fault is limited to the Arbuckle Uplift, our study documents its subsurface architecture, timing, and structural history in the southeast Anadarko Basin using a modern 3D seismic data set in relation to evolving Pennsylvanian tectonics.

Variations of thick-skinned deformation along tumuxiuke thrust in Bachu uplift of Tarim Basin, northwestern China

The curved Tumuxiuke thrust is the northeastern boundary of the Bachu uplift in the Tarim Basin. Based on the interpretation of 2D seismic reflection sections, thick-skinned deformation along the Tumuxiuke structural belt is characterized by monoclinal fault-propagation folds that alternate with push-up structures. The localization and patterns of thick-skinned deformation were controlled by pre-existing normal faults. The forward trishear modeling process further revealed the existence of short-cut thrusts branched from pre-existing normal faults and tested their effect on folding deformation. Monoclines decapitated by low-angle short-cut thrusts coexist with anticlines decapitated by high-angle inverted faults due to the selective inversion of pre-existing normal fault segments. Furthermore, the fault propagation to fault slip ratio (P/S) and the combined effect of multiple propagating thrusts determine the variations in the fold amplification rate and the growth-stratal architecture. The coeval activity of the western Kunlun orogen and the Tumuxiuke thrust in the Cenozoic indicates the far-field transmission of orogenic stress into the distal foreland. Under the approximately N–S-directed compressive stress, inverted structures in nearly W-E-striking segments exhibit monoclinal fault-propagation folds controlled by forethrusts; for the oblique NW-SE-striking segments, the transpressional deformation was partitioned into the frontal contractional deformation zone and the backlimb strike-slip zone.

Experimental Study on Cracking Behaviour and Strength Properties of an Expansive Soil under Cyclic Wetting and Drying

Expansive soil is characterized by its unique structural morphology and drastic volume change. With infrastructure increasingly constructed in expansive soil areas, engineering problems caused by the properties of expansive soils have attracted more attention. Cyclic wetting‐drying and shear testing were accordingly conducted on an expansive soil from Chengdu area in China. Crack development and shear strength change were analyzed using the Mohr–Coulomb equation for shear strength by fitting the experimental data. The results show the following: (1) With the increase in wetting‐drying cycles, the crack ratio increases, the shear strength decreases, and the shear strength parameters gradually decrease at the same rate of change. The applied vertical load reduces the weakening effect of the wetting‐drying cycles on the soil structure and strength by restraining the expansion and contraction deformation. (2) By analyzing the number of wetting‐drying cycles and the crack images, the crack development (length, direction, etc.) of the expansive soil can be predicted and described. (3) There is a specific linear correlation between the crack ratio and strength that approached a limit value with ongoing wetting‐drying cycles. The strength of the expansive soil can therefore be obtained based on crack development, improving the ability of designers to account for the behaviour of expansive soils.

Changing tectonic regimes in the central Costa Rica forearc between the Paleogene and the present: Insights from structural analysis and focal mechanisms

We discuss the Cenozoic history of the Central Costa Rica forearc, between 10° and 9°30′N, based on geological mapping, fault slip data and seismological records.The temporal variability in the regional stress-field suggests a variable and complex deformation pattern. The first stage of deformation, from the Paleogene to early Miocene, was controlled by an extensional regime in the forearc. Afterwards, a change to orthogonal convergence triggered a contractional deformation and subsequent inversion of the sedimentary extensional basins in the middle-upper Miocene. Finally, a transpressive regime has been developed since the Pliocene.

Late Pleistocene to Recent Deformation in the Thick‐Skinned Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt of Northwestern Argentina (Central Calchaquí Valley, 26°S)

AbstractThe thick‐skinned fold‐and‐thrust belt on the eastern flank of the Andean Plateau in northwestern Argentina (NWA) is a zone of active contractional deformation characterized by fault‐bounded mountain ranges with no systematic spatiotemporal pattern of tectonic activity. In contrast, the thin‐skinned Subandean fold‐and‐thrust belt of northern Argentina and southern Bolivia is characterized primarily by in‐sequence (i.e., west to east) fault progression, with a narrow zone of Quaternary deformation focused at the front of the orogenic wedge. To better understand how recent deformation is accommodated across these mountain ranges and the Argentinian portion of the orogen in particular, estimating and comparing deformation rates and patterns across different timescales is essential. We present Late Pleistocene shortening rates for the central Calchaquí intermontane valley in NWA associated with at least three episodes of deformation. Global Positioning System data for the same region reveal a gradual decrease in horizontal surface velocities from the Eastern Cordillera toward the foreland, which contrasts with the rapid velocity gradient associated with a locked décollement in the Subandean Ranges of southern Bolivia. Our new results represent a small view of regional deformation that, when considered in combination with the shallow crustal seismicity and decadal‐scale surface velocities, support the notion that strain release in NWA is associated with numerous slowly deforming structures that are distributed throughout the orogen.

Magmatic record of the Mesozoic geology of Hainan Island and its implications for the Mesozoic tectonomagmatic evolution of SE China: effects of slab geometry and dynamics in continental tectonics

AbstractOur field-based geochemical studies of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous granitoids on Hainan Island indicate that their magmas had different geochemical affinities, changing from alkaline in the Triassic through ocean island basalt (OIB) in the Jurassic, to calc-alkaline in the Cretaceous. We show that these changes in the geochemical affinities of the Mesozoic granitoids on Hainan and in SE China reflect different melt sources and melt evolution patterns through time. Our new geodynamic model suggests that: (1) Triassic geology was controlled by flat-slab subduction of the palaeo-Pacific plate beneath SE China. This slab dynamics resulted in strong coupling between the lower and upper plates, causingpush-over tectonicsand contractional deformation in SE China. Flat subduction-induced edge flow and aesthenospheric uprising led to the production of high-K granites, syenites and mafic rocks. (2) Slab foundering, accelerated subduction rates and subduction hinge retreat in the Early Jurassic caused rapid rollback of the downgoing slab. Strong decoupling of the upper and lower plates resulted inpull-away tectonics, producing extensional deformation in SE China. Decompression melting of the upwelling aesthenosphere produced OIB-type melts, which interacted with the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) to form A- and I-type granitoids. (3) Segmentation of the palaeo-Pacific plate in the Early Cretaceous resulted in steeply dipping slabs and their faster rollback, facilitating lithospheric-scale extension and oceanward migration of calc-alkaline magmatism. This extensional deformation played a significant role in the formation of metamorphic core complexes, widespread crustal melting and development of a Basin and Range-type tectonics and landscape evolution in SE China.

Thermally induced deformation of coarse-grained soils under nearly zero vertical stress

In the last few decades, the deformation of soils induced by temperature variations has received increasing attention due to the limited understanding of its governing mechanisms and variables, and the rising significance of such phenomenon for science and engineering. This paper provides new competence on this subject, with a focus on coarse-grained soils. Specifically, this study presents experimental laboratory investigations and discrete element simulations addressing the thermally induced deformation of coarse-grained soils at different length scales. For the first time, the influence of relative density has been studied considering minimal levels of applied vertical stress. The results show expansive deformation of coarse-grained soils upon heating and contractive deformation upon cooling for all relative densities. The magnitude of the contraction is more significant than the expansion, leading to a residual contractive deformation over one heating–cooling cycle. Microscopic insights drawn from numerical simulations highlight an increase in grain rearrangement through inter-particle sliding during both heating and cooling. These results also show that denser soils exhibit larger heating expansion and particle sliding, corroborating the existence of expansive grain rearrangement that can be linked to a mobilisation of dilatancy arising from thermally induced deviatoric stress.

Stable and transient isotopic trends in the crustal evolution of Zealandia Cordillera

Abstract We present >500 zircon δ18O and Lu-Hf isotope analyses on previously dated zircons to explore the interplay between spatial and temporal magmatic signals in Zealandia Cordillera. Our data cover ~8500 km2 of middle and lower crust in the Median Batholith (Fiordland segment of Zealandia Cordillera) where Mesozoic arc magmatism along the paleo-Pacific margin of Gondwana was focused along an ~100 km wide, arc-parallel zone. Our data reveal three spatially distinct isotope domains that we term the eastern, central, and western isotope domains. These domains parallel the Mesozoic arc-axis, and their boundaries are defined by major crustal-scale faults that were reactivated as ductile shear zones during the Early Cretaceous. The western isotope domain has homogenous, mantle-like δ 18O (Zrn) values of 5.8 ± 0.3‰ (2 St.dev.) and initial εHf (Zrn) values of +4.2 ± 1.0 (2 St.dev.). The eastern isotope domain is defined by isotopically low and homogenous δ18O (Zrn) values of 3.9 ± 0.2‰ and initial εHf values of +7.8 ± 0.6. The central isotope domain is characterized by transitional isotope values that display a strong E-W gradient with δ18O (Zrn) values rising from 4.6 to 5.9‰ and initial εHf values decreasing from +5.5 to +3.7. We find that the isotope architecture of the Median Batholith was in place before the initiation of Mesozoic arc magmatism and pre-dates Early Cretaceous contractional deformation and transpression. Our data show that Mesozoic pluton chemistry was controlled in part by long-lived, spatially distinct isotope domains that extend from the crust through to the upper mantle. Isotope differences between these domains are the result of the crustal architecture (an underthrusted low-δ18O source terrane) and a transient event beginning at ca. 129 Ma that primarily involved a depleted-mantle component contaminated by recycled trench sediments (10–20%). When data showing the temporal and spatial patterns of magmatism are integrated, we observe a pattern of decreasing crustal recycling of the low-δ18O source over time, which ultimately culminated in a mantle-controlled flare-up. Our data demonstrate that spatial and temporal signals are intimately linked, and when evaluated together they provide important insights into the crustal architecture and the role of both stable and transient arc magmatic trends in Cordilleran batholiths.

Theoretical Analysis of the Distortion Tensors During the Formation Of 90° <110> Reorientation Nanobands in the Course of Plastic Deformation of Nickel on Bridgman Anvils

Based on the results of electron microscopy examinations, a theoretical study of the distortion tensors of strain localization nanobands with a 90° reorientation of the crystal lattice is performed. The analysis is carried out in the direct-plus-reverse model of FCC→BCC→FCC martensitic transformations in an approximation of the linear theory of small strains. Using the atomic model of martensitic transformations based on a system of cooperative thermal fluctuations of planes in the BCC lattice, the distortion tensors of the contraction and shear deformation modes are estimated and so is their contribution to the total distortion of the reversible martensitic transformation.

SHRIMP U-Pb ages and REE patterns for zircon from an anatectic Variscan two-mica granite from the Bemposta Migmatite Complex (Central Iberian Zone)

ABSTRACT The Variscan Bemposta Migmatite Complex (BMC) in northern Portugal (Central Iberian Zone) is a NE–SW-trending high-grade metamorphic core complex comprising upper-amphibolite- to lower-granulite-facies metapelites and metagreywackes of Ediacaran-Cambrian age and subordinate Ordovician orthogneisses showing evidence of intense migmatization. The available petrological data indicate that these rocks attained peak metamorphic conditions at the end of the first Variscan contractional deformation event (D1), followed an isothermal decompression path during D2 crustal extension, and underwent subsequent retrogression during D3 shearing. The whole BMC complex hosts numerous concordant intrusive bodies (sheets several meters thick) of syn-D2 two-mica granites, genetically linked to the leucosomes, suggesting that the emplacement of these magmas was synchronous with core complex extension. U-Pb SHRIMP ages obtained from zircons from one of these syn-D2 tabular plutons (the Faia d'Água Alta granite) yielded a crystallization age of 324 ± 3 Ma, providing a good estimate for the age of the D2 anatectic event in the region.

Analysis of the effect of dam impoundment at the Baihetan site using coupled fluid-mechanical elasto-plastic simulations

Contractional valley deformation is a phenomenon quite specific to high dams in the southwest of China. Numerical simulations with coupling of stress and seepage were performed to study the mechanisms of valley deformation after impoundment and to determine whether and when valley contraction could develop at the Baihetan site. The initial generic study highlighted two competing mechanisms, a “Mattress Effect” and a “Swelling Effect”, associated with dam impoundment. The comprehensive FLAC3D model incorporates detailed rock mass property values, a grout curtain, an impounding plan, and the drainage volumes. The large-scale coupled seepage-mechanical simulations show that the convergence mechanism is activated by fluid diffusion in the valley. At sites upstream and up to about 400 m downstream of the dam, the valley deformation occurs shortly after the impoundment water level is raised; this behaviour reflects the impact of the mattress effect caused by the weight change of the standing impoundment water. However, deformation also occurs during periods when the impoundment level remains the same; this behaviour is caused by the large-scale water seepage associated with pore-pressure changes under and around the dam in the valley banks. The maximum convergence along the monitoring lines does not exceed 5 cm in the simulations, where affected by the presence of faults and bedding planes.

Accretion, Soft and Hard Collision: Similarities, Differences and an Application from the Newfoundland Appalachian Orogen

We argue there is no distinction between accretion and collision as a process, except when accretion is used in the sense of incorporating small bodies of sedimentary and/or volcanic rocks into an accretionary wedge by off-scraping or underplating. There is also a distinction when these terms are used in classifying mountain belts into accretionary and collisional orogens, although such classifications are commonly based on a qualitative assessment of the scale and nature of the accreted terranes and continents involved in formation of mountain belts. Soft collisions occur when contractional deformation and associated metamorphism are principally concentrated in rocks of the leading edge of the partially pulled-down buoyant plate and the upper plate forearc terrane. Several young arc-continent collisions show evidence for partial or wholesale subduction of the forearc such that the arc is structurally juxtaposed directly against lower plate rocks. This process may explain the poor preservation of forearcs in the geological record. Soft collisions generally change into hard collisions over time, except if the collision is rapidly followed by formation of a new subduction zone due to step-back or polarity reversal. Thickening and metamorphism of the arc's suprastructure and retro-arc part of upper plate due to contractional deformation and burial are the characteristics of a hard collision or an advancing Andean-type margin. Strong rheological coupling of the converging plates and lower and upper crust in the down-going continental margin promotes a hard collision. Application of the soft–hard terminology supports a structural juxtaposition of the Taconic soft collision recorded in the Humber margin of western Newfoundland with a hard collision recorded in the adjacent Dashwoods block. It is postulated that Dashwoods was translated dextrally along the Cabot-Baie Verte fault system from a position to the north of Newfoundland where the Notre Dame arc collided ca. 10 m.y. earlier with a wide promontory in a hyperextended segment of the Laurentian margin.

Upper-crustal architecture and record of Famatinian arc activity in the Sierra de Narváez and Sierra de Las Planchadas, NW Argentina

The 495 to 450 Ma Famatinian orogen, exposed throughout central and northwestern Argentina, formed from east-directed subduction under the Gondwanan margin. The Sierra de Narváez and Sierra de Las Planchadas preserve a rare upper-crustal section of the Famatinian arc. New mapping, structural analysis, detrital U–Pb zircon geochronology, as well as major and trace element geochemistry in the Sierra de Narváez – Las Planchadas are presented to give a comprehensive geodynamic portrait of the volcano-sedimentary, igneous, and deformational processes acting within the top of the Famatinian arc in the Ordovician.Field observations and bulk rock geochemistry agree with previous work indicating that the top of the Famatinian arc consisted of volcanic centers, mafic and felsic feeders, and plutons built into continental crust in a shallow marine arc setting, characterized by fossil-bearing, fine-grained marine sediments interbedded with coarse-grained volcanic-clastic material. Trace element chemistry is consistent with the Sierra de Narváez – Las Planchadas region being a continuation along the main arc axis from the more southerly Sierra de Famatina, not a back arc setting as previously interpreted. Detrital zircon geochronology in Permian and Carboniferous sedimentary units unconformably overlying Ordovician units adds further constraints to the duration of Famatinian arc activity and the source of sedimentary material. Two peaks in detrital zircon ages within Carboniferous and Permian strata at 481 Ma and from 474 to 469 Ma, record periods of enhanced magma addition during Famatinian arc activity. Structural analysis establishes both Famatinian and post-Famatinian (largely Andean) deformation; contractional deformation in the Ordovician, although small relative to middle- to lower-crustal levels of the Famatinian orogen, caused crustal thickening and likely initiated surface uplift. Unlike the Famatinian middle to lower crust, however, where widespread ductile deformation is ubiquitous, shortening here is accommodated by open folding, pressure solution, and likely localized brittle faulting. We briefly speculate on the implications of variable shortening recorded at different crustal levels.