Crustal Inheritance Research Articles

On the delayed expression of mantle inheritance–controlled strain localization during rifting

Abstract In this paper, we explore the relative impact mantle inheritance can have on the evolution of magma-poor rift systems during the early stages of rift localization. To this end, we revisit the tectonic history of the Mesozoic Northeast Atlantic and its North Sea subdomain, analyzing these observations through comparison with results from recent analogue tectonic modeling work. Our analysis suggests that initial broadly distributed rift basin formation may be controlled by crustal inheritance, whereas the subsequent localization of deformation along deeper mantle inheritance may have caused the overprinting of previous rift basin trends in the Northeast Atlantic. This overprinting became possible as soon as the thinning of the ductile crust during progressive rifting allowed for sufficient coupling between the mantle and the upper crust. Importantly, we suggest that no changes in plate motion direction due to large-scale reorganization of the plate tectonic system are needed for differently oriented basin trends overprinting each other to develop. With these insights, we propose an updated scenario for rift kinematics in the North Sea involving continuous E-W plate divergence and provide a framework to rethink the evolution of other rift systems around the world during their early stages of rift localization.

Spatiotemporal distribution of magmatism and crustal inheritance within an extensional–rotational environment: an updated geochronology of the Miocene and Quaternary magmatism of the South Apuseni Mountains

Extension-related magmatism with arc-like features was active in the South Apuseni Mountains, Romania during the Neogene and Quaternary. The current chronological framework is primarily restricted to K–Ar dates. We present here new laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U–Pb zircon age data for 20 subvolcanic and volcanic rocks from eight different Cenozoic volcanic–intrusive complexes and from Jurassic and Cretaceous lava flows. Our results support magmatic ages between c. 14 and c. 7 Ma, with Uroi, an alkaline intrusion, occurring significantly later at c. 1.5 Ma. Revising the timeline for the South Apuseni Mountains palaeomagnetic rotations shows that most of the clockwise vertical-axis rotation of these mountains (54.4° ± 10.7°) took place between c. 14 and 11 Ma, the age interval when the majority of the magmas were emplaced. Xenocrystic zircon dates show differences in the age populations between individual volcanic–intrusive complexes. A Permo-Triassic population is almost ubiquitous, indicating that basement Permo-Triassic igneous rocks are more widespread than previously thought, or that they were significantly involved in the generation of Neogene magmas. However, other observed age populations, such as Triassic or Paleogene, have no clear correspondence in the known geological record, indicating the presence of a cryptic component interacting with Neogene magmas. Supplementary material: Full analytical details and age calculations for the U–Pb age data collected during this study, rock samples and separated zircon fraction descriptions and the palaeomagnetic and age databases are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6951429

A top-down control on upper crustal inheritance on the south-eastern Tibetan Plateau

Mantle tectonics, such as asthenospheric upwelling and lithospheric decoupling, usually controls subsequent fluid formation and migration from deep to shallow levels in the lower lithosphere and promotes rock failure and deformation. Based on the concept whereby the fluid migration location defines the structural inheritance, we aim to relate crustal processes to mantle tectonics using fluids revealed by a new magnetotelluric (MT) array across the Ailao Shan-Red River belt. As imaged via a 3D resistivity model, two lower-lithospheric conductive anomalies are determined as consistent with the Dian-Qiong (DQ) suture and Song Da (SD) belt and interpreted to contain interconnected melt. Because potassic magmatism was enabled by partial melting in the lower lithosphere, we could infer that the DQ and SD have reworked as the major fluid migration channels. Fluid migration is considered to drive lithospheric decoupling at a low-viscosity conductive layer, which is inferred feeding by aqueous and melt fluids originating from the two channels and diffusing at depths from 15 to 20 km. Constrained by the geochronology results, this weak layer could have provided convenience to induce the entirely upper crustal translation-rotation within the time interval between potassic magmatism and strike-slip of the Red River fault. This translation-rotation process is inherited from the underlying mantle processes and may further be remotely affected by the upper crustal movement of the Tibetan Plateau, conforming with the crustal rotation observed to the north of our study region. This work provides a compelling example of the tectonic control of the mantle on inherited responses in the crust.Plain Language Summary Crustal deformation is usually controlled by mantle tectonic processes, especially the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Some models have proposed that lithospheric shearing and lower-crustal flow have controlled the crustal deformation in the Cenozoic. However, crustal rotation models show less possibility of a channel flow and relate the crustal deformation to the remote effect of India-Asia collision. Our study investigates above hypotheses by imaging the electrical resistivity of rocks beneath the major Red River Fault area in southeastern Tibet, using magnetotelluric data with high quality in a dense array. The lithosphere of the study area is interpreted to have been divided into two horizontal systems by a fluid diffusion layer at the bottom of upper crust. Resistivity low in the lower lithosphere is inferred due to partial melting of deep lithosphere and reworking of the paleo sutures in the Late Cenozoic, which have spread at the bottom of upper crust. Rather than the channel flow, this fluid migration process sensitively reflected in our model relates the mantle tectonics to crustal rotation by providing rheological conditions. We, hence, propose an inherited structure model featured by lithospheric decoupling and upper-crustal translation-rotation that may occur before the major strike-slip event.

Tracking a magmatic arc within a confined orogen: New evidence from the Araçuaí orogen (SE Brazil)

By comparison with igneous rock assemblages of well-exposed modern magmatic arcs and their typical calc-alkaline, magnesian, I-type signatures, many deeply eroded magmatic arcs have been characterized worldwide, unraveling ancient plate margins. Since the 1980's, different assemblages of Ediacaran to Cambrian magmatic rocks have been systematically mapped and characterized according to their distinctive petrographic, structural, lithochemical, geochronologic, and isotopic features, allowing to establish the pre-collisional, collisional, and post-collisional stages of the Araçuaí orogen (SE Brazil). Among them, the tonalitic-granodioritic batholiths and stocks with calc-alkaline, magnesian, I-type signatures, rich in dioritic to mafic enclaves, and related metavolcano-sedimentary successions compose a magmatic arc formed in the early Ediacaran, the Rio Doce magmatic arc. Extending for more than 1000 km along the Araçuaí-Ribeira Orogenic System (AROS), the Rio Doce arc shows a hybrid isotopic signature and crustal inheritance, compatible with modern magmatic arcs built on continental active margins. We present new field, petrographic, and lithochemical studies, coupled with U–Pb (LA-ICPMS) geochronology and isotopic (in-zircon Lu–Hf and whole-rock Sm–Nd) analysis, unraveling the least evolved isotopic signatures ever found for tonalitic-granodioritic plutons of the Rio Doce magmatic arc, and a comprehensive data comparison with modern magmatic arcs. The studied Santa Tereza and Jequitibá suites comprise tonalitic-granodioritic and Opx-bearing charnockitic rocks, with calcic-to-alkali-calcic-magnesian I-type signature, associated with gabbroic rocks. Zircon U–Pb data yielded Concordia ages of 612 ± 3 Ma (Santa Tereza) and 594 ± 3 Ma (Jequitibá) for magmatic crystallization, and 580 ± 5 Ma to 571 ± 3 Ma for metamorphic recrystallization, with associated εNd(612Ma) values from −0.06 to −7.05 (TDM model ages: 1.4–2.04 Ga), and εNd(594Ma) values from −6.67 to −8.8 (TDM model ages: 1.64–1.87 Ga). The zircon εHf(t) (+2.3 to −4.8) and Hf TDM model ages (1.33–1.65 Ga) assigned a moderately juvenile to evolved signature for the Santa Tereza suite, while the Jequitibá suite (εHf(t): −1.7 to −36.4; TDM model ages: 1.33–3.21 Ga) shows a more evolved signature. Altogether, data from the Rio Doce arc are similar to typical continental-margin magmatic arcs with the involvement of mantle melts and/or melting of juvenile crust, suggesting a westward slab retreat during ocean-floor subduction within the Araçuaí confined orogen.

Redefinition of the Petersburg batholith and implications for crustal inheritance in the Dinwiddie terrane, Virginia, USA

Field relations as well as geochemical and petrologic studies of meta-igneous rocks assigned to the Pennsylvanian–Permian Petersburg batholith identify at least two distinct rock types: foliated metagranitoid gneiss and massive to porphyritic granite. Foliated metagranitoid gneiss of mostly granodioritic composition is geochemically distinct from associated massive and porphyritic granitic rocks. These gneissic rocks yield radiometric ages from ca. 425 Ma to ca. 403 Ma and document that many of the rocks assigned to the late Paleozoic Petersburg batholith are 100 m.y. older than the youngest portions of the composite batholith and are part of an earlier infrastructural terrane. Two samples of massive equigranular granite southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, yield ages of ca. 321 Ma and ca. 317 Ma, which are 15–20 m.y. older than ca. 300 Ma ages for porphyritic granite, massive granite, and monzodiorite near Richmond, Virginia. Geologic mapping shows that the Early Pennsylvanian granite southwest of Petersburg is separated from Late Pennsylvanian to early Permian granite near Richmond by a map-scale septum of Silurian–Devonian foliated metagranitoid gneiss, referred to herein as the informal Pocoshock Creek gneiss. Laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry data from one sample of a quartz-muscovite felsic schist xenolith show a peak age mode of ca. 529 Ma that we interpret to be the maximum depositional age. Inherited zircons from foliated metagranitoid gneiss and massive equigranular granite range from ca. 631 Ma to ca. 376 Ma, but many are Cambrian. Neoproterozoic–Cambrian quartz-muscovite felsic schist and amphibolite, Silurian–Devonian Pocoshock Creek gneiss, and Pennsylvanian–Permian granite comprise a fault-bounded terrane referred to herein as the Dinwiddie terrane. Ages of inherited cores in zircon from igneous rocks and limited detrital zircon geochronology suggest the terrane is of peri-Gondwanan affinity. U/Pb ages of healed fractures in zircon grains from foliated metagranitoid gneiss indicate low-grade deformation of the gneiss at ca. 378–376 Ma, while ca. 320–280 Ma rims on many grains record intrusion of late Paleozoic granite. The temperature-time-deformation history of the Dinwiddie terrane is distinct from the adjacent Goochland and Roanoke Rapids terranes. Orogen-scale dextral transpression likely translated the Dinwiddie terrane southward during the Alleghanian orogeny, at which time they were intruded by Pennsylvanian to Permian granite.

Control of crustal strength, tectonic inheritance, and stretching/ shortening rates on crustal deformation and basin reactivation: insights from laboratory models

Abstract. Geological settings characterized by multiple coeval tectonic regimes provide a unique opportunity to understand complex interactions among different geodynamic processes. However, they remain comparatively less studied from an experimental point of view than areas with more simple patterns of deformation resulting from primary plate–boundary interactions. Here, we carried out analog experiments involving simultaneous shortening and orthogonal extension under different rheological conditions, including the effect of crustal inheritance. We performed brittle experiments and brittle–ductile experiments to simulate cases of “strong” and “weak” crusts, respectively. We present two types of experiments: (i) one-stage experiments with either shortening only or synchronous orthogonal shortening and stretching and (ii) two-stage experiments with a first stage of stretching and a second stage with either shortening only or synchronous orthogonal shortening and stretching. In our models, deformation is accommodated by a combination of normal, thrust, and strike-slip faults with structure location depending on boundary conditions and crustal inheritance. For brittle models, we show that the three types of structures can develop at the same time for intermediate ratios of stretching (extension) over shortening rates (1.4<Ve/Vs<2). For lower ratios, deformation is accommodated by in-sequence shortening-orthogonal thrust faults and stretching-orthogonal normal faults at the edges of the model (when Ve>0). For larger ratios and for the same amount of stretching, deformation is accommodated by normal faults at edges and in the center of the model as well as by conjugate strike-slip faults at the edges of the model. For brittle–ductile models, we always observe strike-slip faults that crosscut the entire model. They are associated with shortening-orthogonal thrust faults for models with low Ve/Vs and no initial extensional stage or stretching-orthogonal normal faults for models with high Ve/Vs and an initial extensional stage. Whatever the crustal strength, the past deformation history, and the stretching / shortening ratio, both normal and thrust faults remain with similar orientations, i.e., stretching-orthogonal and shortening-orthogonal, respectively. Instead, strike-slip faults exhibit orientations with respect to the shortening direction that vary between ∼0 and ∼65∘. Strike-slip faults parallel to the shortening direction develop in previously extended portions of models with a brittle–ductile crust, while strike-slip faults with a high angle form at the boundaries of the brittle model, their orientation being to some extent influenced by pre-existing or newly forming graben in the center of the model. We also show that extensional structures formed during a first stage of deformation are never inverted under orthogonal shortening but can be reactivated as normal or strike-slip faults depending on Ve/Vs. Our experiments reproduce V-shaped conjugate strike-slip systems and normal faulting during compression similar to structures observed in the Tibetan Plateau, the eastern Alps, western Anatolia, and the Central Asia orogen. Models with two-stage deformation show variable extensional to strike-slip reactivation of former extensional basins during basin-parallel shortening, which resembles synorogenic foreland transtensional reactivations documented in the Baikal and Golfo de San Jorge basins.

Causes of Variable Shortening and Tectonic Subsidence During Changes in Subduction: Insights From Flexural Thermokinematic Modeling of the Neogene Southern Central Andes (28–30°S)

AbstractThe Andes of western Argentina record spatiotemporal variations in morphology, basin geometry, and structural style that correspond with changes in crustal inheritance and convergent margin dynamics. Above the modern Pampean flat‐slab subduction segment (27–33°S), retroarc shortening generated a fold‐thrust belt and intraforeland basement uplifts that converge north of ∼29°S, providing opportunities to explore the effects of varied deformation and subduction regimes on synorogenic sedimentation. We integrate new detrital zircon U‐Pb and apatite (U‐Th)/He analyses with sequentially restored, flexurally balanced cross sections and thermokinematic models at ∼28.5–30°S to link deformation with resulting uplift, erosion, and basin accumulation histories. Tectonic subsidence, topographic evolution, and thermochronometric cooling records point to (a) shortening and distal foreland basin accumulation at ∼18–16 Ma, (b) thrust belt migration, changes in sediment provenance, and enhanced flexural subsidence from ∼16 to 9 Ma, (c) intraforeland basement deformation, local flexure, and drainage reorganization at ∼12–7 Ma, and (d) out‐of‐sequence shortening and exhumation of foreland basin fill by ∼8–2 Ma. Thrust belt kinematics and the reactivation of basement heterogeneities strongly controlled tectonic load configurations and subsidence patterns. Geo/thermochronological data and model results resolve increased shortening and combined thrust belt and intraforeland basement loading in response to ridge collision and Neogene shallowing of the subducted oceanic slab. Finally, this study demonstrates the utility of integrated flexural thermokinematic and erosion modeling for evaluating the geometries, rates, and potential drivers of retroarc deformation and foreland basin evolution during changes in subduction.

Tectonic juxtaposition of plume and subduction derived magmatic sequences in the Bababudan greenstone terrane, western Dharwar Craton, India: Constraining crustal accretion processes in a Neoarchean subduction-collision orogeny

Archean greenstone belts in the Western Dharwar Craton preserve important clues on Early Earth geodynamics. Here we investigate the ultramafic-mafic metavolcanic rock sequences from the Santaveri Formation of Bababudan greenstone terrane to address the tectonic evolution, mantle dynamics and crustal growth processes of western Dharwar Craton. The ultramafic volcanic rocks are geochemically classified as komatiite-picrite-basanites, whereas the mafic volcanic rocks correspond to magnesian andesite -Niobium-enriched basaltic andesite association. The pristine mineralogy for these ultramafic volcanic rocks is overprinted by tremolite-actinolite-biotite assemblage marking greenschist facies of metamorphism. The komatiites include Al-undepleted, Al-depleted and Ti-enriched types and share overlapping geochemical characteristics with the picrites. The basanites are distinguished as alkaline ultramafic rocks with total alkali content >3 wt% and MgO > 18 wt%. The coherent association of komatiite-picrite-basanite suggests pervasive plume-lithosphere interaction and complies with polybaric melting of a chemically heterogeneous mantle plume through a subduction-modified sub-continental lithospheric mantle at a rifted cratonic margin. Our results substantiate the role of an Archean mantle refertilized by subduction-driven recycling of Mesoarchean supracrustals concurrent with the onset of subduction event at ≥3.2 Ga. The mafic rocks were derived through melting of a hot oceanic slab and mantle hybridization. The xenocrystic zircon grains from komatiite suggest lower crustal inheritance and reworking of basement gneisses by ascending ultramafic melts. The 3177 Ma magmatic age obtained from these zircon grains indicate a Mesoarchean magmatic event in the genesis of the basement gneisses. The emplacement of komatiite-picrite-basanite association and magnesian andesite -Niobium-enriched basaltic andesite lithologies envisages a post 3.1 Ga Neoarchean crustal growth over Mesoarchean protocontinent of WDC. This crust generation episode can be translated in terms of plume-driven bottom-up and subduction-driven top-down tectono-magmatic processes at continental rift and ocean-continent convergence set-up respectively. Geochemical characteristics and petrogenetic aspects suggest that the studied volcanic supracrustals of Bababudan greenstone terrane encapsulate a Neoarchean subduction-collision orogenic system comprising plume-derived komatiite-picrite-basanite and subduction-derived magnesian andesite -niobium-enriched basaltic andesite magmatic sequences tectonically juxtaposed during Neoarchaen (~2.7 Ga) subduction-accretion-collision event.

New constraints on the age, geochemistry, and environmental impact of High Arctic Large Igneous Province magmatism: Tracing the extension of the Alpha Ridge onto Ellesmere Island, Canada

Abstract The High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP) represents extensive Cretaceous magmatism throughout the circum-Arctic borderlands and within the Arctic Ocean (e.g., the Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge). Recent aeromagnetic data shows anomalies that extend from the Alpha Ridge onto the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. To test this linkage we present new bulk rock major and trace element geochemistry, and mineral compositions for clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and olivine of basaltic dykes and sheets and rhyolitic lavas for the stratotype section at Hansen Point, which coincides geographically with the magnetic anomaly at northern Ellesmere Island. New U-Pb chronology is also presented. The basaltic and basaltic-andesite dykes and sheets at Hansen Point are all evolved with 5.5–2.5 wt% MgO, 48.3–57.0 wt% SiO2, and have light rare-earth element enriched patterns. They classify as tholeiites and in Th/Yb vs. Nb/Yb space they define a trend extending from the mantle array toward upper continental crust. This trend, also including a rhyolite lava, can be modeled successfully by assimilation and fractional crystallization. The U-Pb data for a dacite sample, that is cut by basaltic dykes at Hansen Point, yields a crystallization age of 95.5 ± 1.0 Ma, and also shows crustal inheritance. The chronology and the geochemistry of the Hansen Point samples are correlative with the basaltic lavas, sills, and dykes of the Strand Fiord Formation on Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada. In contrast, a new U-Pb age for an alkaline syenite at Audhild Bay is significantly younger at 79.5 ± 0.5 Ma, and correlative to alkaline basalts and rhyolites from other locations of northern Ellesmere Island (Audhild Bay, Philips Inlet, and Yelverton Bay West; 83–73 Ma). We propose these volcanic occurrences be referred to collectively as the Audhild Bay alkaline suite (ABAS). In this revised nomenclature, the rocks of Hansen Point stratotype and other tholeiitic rocks are ascribed to the Hansen Point tholeiitic suite (HPTS) that was emplaced at 97–93 Ma. We suggest this subdivision into suites replace the collective term Hansen Point volcanic complex. The few dredge samples of alkali basalt available from the top of the Alpha Ridge are akin to ABAS in terms of geochemistry. Our revised dates also suggest that the HPTS and Strand Fiord Formation volcanic rocks may be the hypothesized subaerial large igneous province eruption that drove the Cretaceous Ocean Anoxic Event 2.

Spatiotemporal Variations in Upper Crustal Extension Across the Different Basement Terranes of the Lake Tanganyika Rift, East Africa

AbstractPreexisting crustal heterogeneities are shown to influence rift process at a variety of scales. However, our understanding of how crustal inheritance influences rift‐scale spatiotemporal kinematics of faulting in magma‐poor rift environments is still very limited. Studies of active continental rifts can provide high‐fidelity assessments of extensional processes and structures that are not possible through examination of ancient rifts that have undergone subsequent deformation events or are buried deeply beneath passive margins. We examine the influence of crustal inheritance on active rifting through balancing and restoring a series of regional cross sections across the Lake Tanganyika Rift in the Western Branch of the East African Rift System. The cross sections are produced using legacy seismic reflection data, reprocessed through prestack depth migration. This type example of a young, magma‐poor continental rift transects several different basement terranes, including an Archean/Paleoproterozoic craton, and Proterozoic mobile belts. The Lake Tanganyika Rift exhibits two classic bell‐shaped profiles of extension along strike, reaching a maximum of 7.15 km. A spatiotemporal integration of the extension data, and comparison with the various basement terranes the rift transects, reveals that extension in cratonic blocks is more widely distributed compared to mobile belt terranes, where strain rapidly localizes onto border faults by later rift stages. These results reveal how crustal inheritance exerts a fundamental control on the evolution of extension localization, ultimately impacting the geometry and structural architecture of rift basins.

Segmentation of Rifts Through Structural Inheritance: Creation of the Davis Strait

AbstractMesozoic‐Cenozoic rifting between Greenland and North America created the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay, while leaving preserved continental lithosphere in the Davis Strait, which lies between them. Inherited crustal structures from a Palaeoproterozoic collision have been hypothesized to account for the tectonic features of this rift system. However, the role of mantle lithosphere heterogeneities in continental suturing has not been fully explored. Our study uses 3‐D numerical models to analyze the role of crustal and subcrustal heterogeneities in controlling deformation. We implement continental extension in the presence of mantle lithosphere suture zones and deformed crustal structures and present a suite of models analyzing the role of local inheritance related to the region. In particular, we investigate the respective roles of crust and mantle lithospheric scarring during an evolving stress regime in keeping with plate tectonic reconstructions of the Davis Strait. Numerical simulations, for the first time, can reproduce first‐order features that resemble the Labrador Sea, Davis Strait, Baffin Bay continental margins, and ocean basins. The positioning of a mantle lithosphere suture, hypothesized to exist from ancient orogenic activity, produces a more appropriate tectonic evolution of the region than the previously proposed crustal inheritance. Indeed, the obliquity of the continental mantle suture with respect to extension direction is shown here to be important in the preservation of the Davis Strait. Mantle lithosphere heterogeneities are often overlooked as a control of crustal‐scale deformation. Here, we highlight the subcrust as an avenue of exploration in the understanding of rift system evolution.

Architecture and Tectono-magmatic evolution of the Campos Rifted Margin: Control of OCT structure by basement inheritance

Abstract The formation of rifted margins involves the deformation of pre-existing lithosphere whose rheological and mechanical behavior during extension is complex since it is the product of numerous earlier tectonic events. In this work we investigate the Campos Rifted Margin (CRM) architecture, with the aim of exploring the role of basement inheritance and early magmatism on margin evolution. We present a new compilation of high resolution aeromagnetic data, integrated with seismic interpretation and crustal thickness from 3D gravity inversion, to resolve margin architecture, ocean-continent transition (OCT) structure and the oceanward extent of continental basement. We examine the lateral variation of crustal rheology, necking geometry and rift segmentation, revealing striking spatial heterogeneities that separate three distinct sectors along the Campos margin. The basement of the Campos Rifted Margin consists of Precambrian/Eo-Paleozoic Ribeira Belt (RB) and the easternmost Cabo Frio Tectonic Domain (CFTD) whose Neoproterozoic-Cambrian nappes and thrusts are well preserved offshore and give a rheologically layered crust. This pre-rift basement configuration, along with the Mesozoic magmatism, has resulted in different crustal responses to extension which vary from north to south. It influenced the temporal and spatial distribution of deformation, and as a consequence, the necking geometry, subsidence and sedimentary evolution of the margin. We show that the Campos basin evolution was controlled by crustal inheritance corresponding to that observed in onshore basement terranes. The more massive basement of the northern Campos basin can be correlated with the post-collisional Cambro-Ordovician magmatic province of the Aracuai belt that partially obliterated the earlier orogenic structures. The lack of a structured crust localized the strain generating the observed narrow necking zone. In addition, its more mafic composition resulted in a competent crust which also influenced the rifting processes. In contrast the basement of the central and southern Campos margin, represented by the Cabo Frio Tectonic Domain, is structurally and petrologically distinct from the Aracuai Belt and has layered orogenic crust which responded differently to rifting stresses forming the observed wide necking zone. We propose that the Campos Rifted Margin evolved from a pre-rift complex inherited rheology which dominated the first stages of rifting. However once the crust was highly extended, the deformation was nearly synchronous regionally, leading to giant salt basin formation and breakup.

Crustal inheritance and a top-down control on arc magmatism at Mount St Helens

In a subduction zone, the volcanic arc marks the location where magma, generated via flux melting in the mantle wedge, migrates through the crust and erupts. While the location of deep magma broadly defines the arc position, here we argue that crustal structures, identified in geophysical data from the Washington Cascades magmatic arc, are equally important in controlling magma ascent and defining the spatial distribution and compositional variability of erupted material. As imaged by a three-dimensional resistivity model, a broad lower-crustal mush zone containing 3–10% interconnected melt underlies this segment of the arc, interpreted to episodically feed upper-crustal magmatic systems and drive eruptions. Mount St Helens is fed by melt channelled around a mid-Tertiary batholith also imaged in the resistivity model and supported by potential–field data. Regionally, volcanism and seismicity are almost exclusive of the batholith, while at Mount St Helens, along its margin, the ascent of viscous felsic melt is enabled by deep-seated metasedimentary rocks. Both the anomalous forearc location and composition of St Helens magmas are products of this zone of localized extension along the batholith margin. This work is a compelling example of inherited structural control on local stress state and magmatism. Crustal structures are as important as deep mantle melting in controlling magma ascent and the composition and distribution of erupted material, according to 3D resistivity modelling, geophysical data and the distribution of Quaternary volcanism.

Lateral Variations in Foreland Flexure of a Rifted Continental Margin: The Aquitaine Basin (SW France)

AbstractRift inheritance can play a key role in foreland basin geometry and behavior. If the foreland basin initiates soon after rifting, thermal cooling can also contribute significantly to subsidence. We investigate the effects of crustal inheritance (Aptian‐Cenomanian rifting) on the evolution of the Campanian to middle Miocene flexural Aquitaine foreland basin, northern Pyrenees, France. Surface and subsurface data define rifted crustal geometry and postrift thermal subsidence. Analysis of Bouguer gravity anomalies coupled with flexural modeling constrains the lateral variations of elastic thickness, plate flexure, and controlling loads. The Aquitaine foreland is divided along‐strike into three sectors. The relative role of surface and subsurface (i.e., buried) loading varies along‐strike, and the elastic thickness values decrease from the northeast (25 km) to the southwest (7 km) where the plate is the most stretched. The eastern foreland crust was not rifted and underwent a simple flexural subsidence in response to orogenesis. The central sector was affected by crustal stretching. Here the basin is modeled by combining topographic and buried loads, with postrift thermal subsidence. In the western sector, the foreland basin was created mainly by postrift thermal subsidence. The eastern and central sectors are separated by the Eastern Crustal Lineament, which is one of a series of inherited transverse faults that segment the orogen.

Petrology and crustal inheritance of the Cloudy Bay Volcanics as derived from a fluvial conglomerate, Papuan Peninsula (Papua New Guinea): An example of geological inquiry in the absence of in situ outcrop

In regions of enhanced weathering and erosion, such as Papua New Guinea, our ability to examine a complete geological record can become compromised by the absence of in situ outcrops. In this study...

Identifying mantle lithosphere inheritance in controlling intraplate orogenesis

AbstractCrustal inheritance is often considered important in the tectonic evolution of the Wilson Cycle. However, the role of the mantle lithosphere is usually overlooked due to its difficulty to image and uncertainty in rheological makeup. Recently, increased resolution in lithosphere imaging has shown potential scarring in continental mantle lithosphere to be ubiquitous. In our study, we analyze intraplate deformation driven by mantle lithosphere heterogeneities from ancient Wilson Cycle processes and compare this to crustal inheritance deformation. We present 2‐D numerical experiments of continental convergence to generate intraplate deformation, exploring the limits of continental rheology to understand the dominant lithosphere layer across a broad range of geological settings. By implementing a “jelly sandwich” rheology, common in stable continental lithosphere, we find that during compression the strength of the mantle lithosphere is integral in generating deformation from a structural anomaly. We posit that if the continental mantle is the strongest layer within the lithosphere, then such inheritance may have important implications for the Wilson Cycle. Furthermore, our models show that deformation driven by mantle lithosphere scarring can produce tectonic patterns related to intraplate orogenesis originating from crustal sources, highlighting the need for a more formal discussion of the role of the mantle lithosphere in plate tectonics.

Deciphering the geochronology of a large granitoid pluton (Karkonosze Granite, SW Poland): an assessment of U–Pb zircon SIMS and Rb–Sr whole-rock dates relative to U–Pb zircon CA-ID-TIMS

Granitoid plutons are often difficult to radiometrically date precisely due to the possible effects of protracted and complex magmatic evolution, crustal inheritance, and/or partial re-setting of radiogenic clocks. However, apart from natural/geological issues, methodological and analytical problems may also contribute to blurring geochronological data. This may be exemplified by the Variscan Karkonosze Pluton (SW Poland). High-precision chemical abrasion (CA) ID-TIMS zircon data indicate that the two main rock types, porphyritic and equigranular, of this igneous body were both emplaced at ca. 312 Ma, while field evidence points to a younger age for the latter. This is in contrast to the earlier reported SIMS (SHRIMP) zircon dates that scattered mainly between ca. 322 and 302 Ma. In an attempt to overcome this dispersion, at least in part caused by radiogenic lead loss, the CA technique was used before SHRIMP analysis. The 206Pb/238U age obtained in this way from a sample of porphyritic granite is 322 ± 3 Ma, ~16 Ma older than the untreated zircons; another porphyritic sample yielded a mean age of 319 ± 3 Ma, and the mean age was 318 ± 4 Ma for an equigranular granite sample – all three somewhat older than the age obtained by ID-TIMS. Older SIMS dates of ca. 318–322 Ma might indicate either faint inheritance or that zircon domains crystallized during earlier stages of Karkonosze igneous evolution. The ID-TIMS results have been used to re-assess the whole-rock Rb–Sr data. Excluding a porphyritic granite with excess radiogenic 87Sr, it appears that isotopic homogeneity was achieved for most samples during the 312 Ma event, as shown by a pooled 21-point isochron with an age of 311 ± 3 Ma and an initial 86Sr/86Sr of 0.7067 ± 4. Local crustal contamination by stopping of metapelitic material might account for the more radiogenic Sr isotope signature observed in biotite-rich schlieren. A critical re-evaluation of all available SHRIMP data using the ID-TIMS age of 312 Ma as a benchmark suggests that the observed scatter may be partly attributed to analytical and methodological problems, in particular failing to distinguish subtly discordant spots from truly concordant ones, which is a serious limitation of the microbeam analytical approach. Other likely pitfalls contributing to geochronological scatter are identified in the published Re–Os ages on molybdenite and the 40Ar/39Ar data on micas. A scenario postulating a 15–20 milliion year evolution of the Karkonosze Pluton cannot be established on the basis of available geochronological data, which rather supports a brief igneous event, although a more protracted pre-emplacement evolution is possible. A short timescale for crystallization of large igneous bodies, as suggested by the ID-TIMS data from the Karkonosze Granite, is in line with models of transport of granitic magmas through dikes to form large plutons.

Neoarchean greenstone volcanism and continental growth, Dharwar craton, southern India: Constraints from SIMS U–Pb zircon geochronology and Nd isotopes

We present SIMS U–Pb zircon ages and Nd isotope data for the felsic volcanic rocks from seven Neoarchean greenstone belts of the Eastern Dharwar craton (EDC) and from the Chitradurga greenstone belt in the Western Dharwar craton (WDC). Zircon ages show bimodal age distribution of felsic volcanism. The ca. 2.70–2.65Ga felsic volcanic event is contemporaneous with 2.7Ga mafic greenstone volcanism and emplacement of juvenile tonalitic to granodioritic crust, while 2.58–2.54Ga felsic volcanics are coeval and spatially (and probably genetically in some cases) linked to the major episode calc-alkaline magmatic accretion in the EDC. The Chitradurga and Veligallu greenstone belts host felsic volcanics of the first generation, the latter showing inheritance at ca. 2.95Ga. Four of the five greenstone belts hosting the second generation of felsic volcanics (Chitradurga, Kolar, Kadiri, Hutti) show crustal inheritance at ca. 2.6, 2.7, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1 and 3.3Ga. ɛNdt indicate derivation of the felsic volcanics from juvenile sources or short-lived crustal sources with minor influence of older crust.The new and existing data are consistent with two-stage growth of the Dharwar craton in the Neoarchean. First-stage accretion led to the growth of a 2.7–2.6Ga juvenile crustal province of mafic volcanics and felsic plutons along the eastern margin of the WDC. Second-stage accretion (2.58–2.52Ga) led to the emplacement of TTG and calc-alkaline plutons and felsic volcanics throughout the Eastern Dharwar craton. An active margin context could apply for the two-stage accretion scenario considering a west-dipping subducting slab beneath the craton in the framework of long-lived ultra-hot accretionary orogen. But the great width of influence of magmatic accretion and/or reworking, particularly during the second stage, would suggest large-scale mantle flow reorganization that would have generated large plume(s).

A preliminary geochemical study of zircons and monazites from Deccan felsic dikes, Rajula, Gujarat, India: Implications for crustal melting

Zircons of 10–100μm size and monazites of up to 10μm size are present in rhyolite and trachyte dikes associated with Deccan basalts around Rajula in the southern Saurashtra Peninsula of Gujarat. On the basis of structural conformity of the felsic and basaltic dikes, K-Ar ages and trace element considerations, a previous study concluded that the felsic rocks are coeval with the Deccan Volcanics and originated by crustal anatexis. The felsic rocks contain two populations of zircons and monazites, one that crystallized from the felsic melt and the other that contains inherited crustal material. Trace element variations in the rhyolites and trachytes indicate that zircons and monazites crystallized from the felsic melts, but compositional analysis of a zircon indicates the presence of a small core possibly inherited from the crust. Hf compositional zoning profile of this zircon indicates that it grew from the host rhyolitic melt while the melt differentiated, and Y and LREE contents suggest that this zircon crystallized from the host melt. Pb contents of some monazites also suggest the presence of inherited crustal cores. Hence, any age determination by the U-Th-Pb isotopic method should be interpreted with due consideration to crustal inheritance. Temperatures estimated from zircon and monazite saturation thermometry indicate that the crust around Rajula may have been heated to a maximum of approximately 900°C by the intruding Deccan magma. Crustal melting models of other workers indicate that a 1–2 million year emplacement time for the Deccan Traps may be appropriate for crustal melting characteristics observed in the Rajula area through the felsic dikes.

Morphology of the Casper Mountain uplift and related, subsidiary structures, central Wyoming: Implications for Laramide kinematics, dynamics, and crustal inheritance

The general east-west trend of the regional-scale, fault-related Cas per Mountain uplift in central Wyoming reflects a preexisting Pre cambrian fabric along which there was Laramide compressional re activation. Initial fault displacement on the south-dipping Casper Mountain fault zone probably predates displacement on the inter secting, northwest-trending, northeast-dipping Casper arch thrust that forms the northeastern border of the Wind River basin. Later phase, incremental, Laramide displacements occurred along both fault zones: left-oblique slip on the Casper Mountain fault zone, dip slip on the crosscutting Casper arch thrust. Basement-involved thrust generation of the subsidiary Laramide, northwest-trending Iron Creek and Emigrant Gap anticlines along the north (footwall) side of the Casper Mountain fault zone also occurred during this later phase Laramide deformation. Perturbation of far-field, northeast-southwest, Laramide max imum horizontal paleostress trajectories (s1) to local, nearly fault-normal orientation at Casper Mountain, together with strain par titioning, is proposed to explain the apparent coeval development of divergent hanging-wall and footwall, basement-involved, fault-related structures. This kinematic and dynamic interpretation may be applied conditionally to other east-west-trending Laramide up lifts in the central Rocky Mountain foreland province.