Lithosphere-asthenosphere Boundary Research Articles

Probabilistic Assessment of Antarctic Thermomechanical Structure: Impacts on Ice Sheet Stability

AbstractUncertainty in present‐day glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) rates represents at least 44% of the total gravity‐based ice mass balance signal over Antarctica. Meanwhile, physical couplings between solid Earth, sea level and ice dynamics enhance the dependency of the spatiotemporally varying GIA signal on three‐dimensional variations in mantle rheology. Improved knowledge of thermomechanical mantle structure is therefore required to refine estimates of current and projected ice mass balance. Here, we present a Bayesian inverse method for self‐consistently mapping shear‐wave velocities from high‐resolution adjoint tomography into thermomechanical structure using calibrated parameterisations of anelasticity at seismic frequency. We constrain the model using regional geophysical data sets containing information on upper mantle temperature, attenuation and viscosity structure. Our treatment allows formal quantification of parameter covariances, and naturally permits propagation of material parameter uncertainties into thermomechanical structure estimates. We find that uncertainty in steady‐state viscosity structure at 150 km depth can be reduced by 4–5 orders of magnitude compared with a forward‐modeling approach neglecting covariance between viscoelastic parameters. By accounting for the dependence of apparent viscosity on loading timescale, we find good agreement between our estimates of mantle viscosity beneath West Antarctica, and those derived from satellite GPS. Direct access to temperature structure allows us to estimate lateral variations in lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary (LAB) depth, geothermal heat flow (GHF), and associated uncertainties. We find evidence for shallow LAB depths (63 ± 13 km), and high GHF (76 ± 7 mW m−2) beneath West Antarctica that, combined with low asthenospheric viscosities, indicate a highly dynamic response to ice mass loss.

Thermobarometry of diamond inclusions: Mantle structure and evolution beneath Archean cratons and mobile belts worldwide

Thermobarometric calculations for mineral inclusions in diamonds provide a systematic comparison of P-T-fO2 conditions for different cratons and mobile belts worldwide, using a database of 4440 mineral EPMA analyses. Beneath all cratons, the cold branch of the mantle geotherm (35-32 mWm−2) relates to PT estimates for sub-calcic garnets and rare omphacitic diamond inclusions, referring to major continental growth events in Archean. High-temperature plume-related geotherms are common in Proterozoic kimberlites such as Premier, Mesozoic-Roberts Victor etc. and are common in Slave and Siberian cratons. Eclogitic and pyroxenitic pyroxenes and garnets and Fe- and Ca-enriched pyrope diamond inclusions prevail in mobile belts like Limpopo, Magondi, Ural, Khapchan and in the marginal parts of cratons (Kimberly in Australia) They refer to diamondiferous eclogite-pyroxenite lens in the mididdle parts of lithospheric mantle. Eclogitic garnets and clinopyroxenes show trends of joint decreasing Mg# and pressures due to differentiation of rising melts. Dunitic Ca pyropes giving high-pressure estimates prevail in the central parts of cratons. The PT for the chromites reflect conditions just above the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary formed due to interaction with the hydrous plume protokimberlite melts. Archean diamond Ca-enrich pyropes inclusions from Wawa province Canada give low-temperature conditions. Inclusions from younger kimberlites in Superior and Slave, Siberian and East European cratons show complex high-temperature geotherms due to plumes influence. Peridotite garnets beneath the Amazonian craton indicate complex layering in the lithosphere base and a pyroxene layer in the middle part of mantle lithosphere. Diamond inclusions from the Kimberley Craton of Australia show the greatest variations in the temperatures and composition. The mobile belts and marginal parts of cratons are favorable for the finding of the abundant colored diamonds. The huge plume influence for hydrated and eclogite-rich mantle like in Premier, Venetia and other kimberlites brings to the formation of giant diamonds. Diamond inclusion reveal the huge variations of PT conditions formed by different agents due to long complex stories of craton deciphered using thermobarometry and trace element and isotopic geochemistry.

Global volcanic arc magma composition correlates with thickness of both arc crust (Moho depth) and arc lithosphere (LAB depth): A revealing message on arc basement histories and arc magmatism

Past fifty years have seen mounting publications on the genesis of volcanic arc magmas. While details remain debated, it is generally agreed that arc magmas result from slab-dehydration induced mantle wedge melting followed by crustal level differentiation of varying extent and sophistication. Two recent arc magma studies deserve particular attention because they attempt to discuss globally unifying controls on arc magma composition. Both Harvard study (Turner and Langmuir, 2015a,b) and Rice study (Farner and Lee, 2017) show correlations of arc magma composition with crustal thickness and both ascribe the crustal thickness as the principal control on their observed magma compositional variations, yet the physical role of the crustal thickness in their interpretations is markedly different because of (1) the ambiguous use of “crust” and (2) their different magma compositional ranges chosen in discussion. The Harvard study only uses basaltic samples corrected to MgO = 6.0 wt.% to discuss mantle processes and interprets the arc crustal thickness as restricting the mantle wedge melting, i.e., the extent of melting decreases with increasing crustal thickness. The Rice study uses samples of all compositions (basaltic to rhyolitic), whose extent of differentiation increases with increasing crustal thickness, interpreted as Moho-crossing mantle wedge melts travelling greater vertical distance with greater degree of cooling and erupting more evolved compositions above thicker crust than melts erupted above thinner crust without need of invoking mantle wedge processes. We commend these efforts and approve their different approaches but emphasize that the unifying understanding of global arc magmatism requires clearly defined Moho (the base of the crust) and LAB (the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary) and their intrinsic controls on mantle wedge melting (Harvard Study model) and crustal level magma differentiation (Rice Study model) beneath global arcs. In this study, we use chemical compositions of 36,945 global arc volcanic samples provided by the Rice study together with the literature data on seismic Moho and LAB depths of these sample locations to establish (1) the correlation of crustal thickness interval averaged magma composition with crustal thickness and (2) the correlation of lithosphere thickness interval averaged magma composition with lithosphere thickness. These correlations reaffirm our understanding that the lithospheric mantle must exist beneath volcanic arc crust with a globally averaged LAB/Moho depth ratio of 3.26 ± 0.63, i.e., the arc crust is on average about 31.8% ± 6.1% of the lithosphere thickness. This knowledge forms a solid constraint essential for models of global arc magmatism.

Magnetotelluric support for edge-driven convection and shear-driven upwelling in the Newer Volcanics Province

Intraplate volcanic provinces present significant natural hazards to many populated regions globally but their origins are poorly understood. Though hypotheses involving mantle plumes are predominant, the Newer Volcanics Province of southeast Australia—a relatively young (< 4.5 Ma), EW trending collection of over 400 volcanic centres—is increasingly attributed to some combination of edge-driven convection (EDC) and shear-driven upwelling (SDU). In this paper, we provide magnetotelluric (MT) data in support of these geodynamic processes. Three-dimensional inversion of 49 new broadband MT sites, in combination with 143 previously collected broadband, long-period, and geomagnetic depth soundings, reveals an elongate zone of moderately low resistivity (∼ 10–300 Ω m) spanning the Mt Gambier subprovince at a depth of between 20 and 40 km. The newly defined Gambier Conductor is contiguous to, and orientationally aligned with, significant step in the seismically-defined lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) presented by earlier studies. Moderately low resistivity is interpreted as fluid-catalysed alteration of iron-bearing crust resulting from percolating magmatic volatiles. We argue that localised low resistivity (< 10 Ω m) at ~ 25 km depth in the mid-lower crust is associated with 1.2–3.6% partial melt. Supporting evidence indicates possible crustal thickening from 5.8 Ma at a rate comparable to estimates of SDU-induced surface eruptions and previous NVP production rate estimates.

Equilibration depth and temperature of Neogene alkaline lavas in the Cordillera of Alaska and Canada as a constraint on the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary

We have estimated the geochemical equilibration depth and temperature of the widespread Neogene alkaline basalts in the Cordillera of Alaska, Northwest Canada, and in Mexico using geobarometry on bulk compositions that have been minimally differentiated in upward transit. The method has uncertainties of about ±10 km and &lt;70 °C. The regional averages of geochemical equilibration depth for 12 sites in Alaska vary from 50 ± 10 to 84 ± 2 km, somewhat broader than those from the Cordillera in western Canada, western USA, and Mexico. There are no associations of depth with terranes or geological provinces. The final equilibration depth of lavas with the surrounding mantle is concluded to be where partial melt percolating from greater depths’ ponds at the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) until it becomes gravitationally unstable and moves upward in conduits. The top of the low velocity zone from seismic receiver functions, taken to be the LAB in regions of Alaska where Neogene volcanism occurs, varies from 60 to 85 km, covering the range of geochemical equilibration depths of the alkaline lavas. A mean lava equilibration depth of 65 ± 10 km occurs in 24 of 36 alkaline volcanic centers from Alaska to Mexico, and several other global locations, suggesting the LAB may be controlled to a first order by the change in H2O storage capacity and viscosity across the garnet–spinel peridotite phase change at this depth. The scatter and variation in equilibration depths and temperatures are a factor of 2 greater than the recognized uncertainties, and are not yet explained.

Origin and Petrogenesis of Magmatism in Collision-Related Environments: Evidence from the Melikler Volcanics on the Kars Plateau-Turkey in the Turkish-Iranian High Plateau

Abstract The temporal distribution of enriched source components and magmatism in continental collision zones provides critical information about mantle dynamic processes in collision-related environments. This paper presents petrology, mineralogy, K-Ar ages and whole-rock major and trace elements, as well as Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopic compositions of Melikler volcanism in Kars Plateau (KP) in the East Anatolia Collision Zone, NE Turkey, with the aim to understand the role of the subducting slab, the origin of magmatism and the geodynamic evolution in the collision-related environments. Our K-Ar dating results show the Melikler volcanism erupted between 5.29 and 1.7 Ma and allows us to divide it into an early (5.29–2.53 Ma) and a late (2.24–1.7 Ma) stage. Major-trace element abundances, isotopic compositions, EC(R) AFC (energy-constrained recharge, assimilation, and fractional crystallisation) and MELTS model calculations of both stages indicate that the least evolved samples were not affected by significant crustal contamination and fractional crystallisation. More evolved samples of the late stage underwent AFC processes with up to 6–9% crustal assimilation; however, those of the early stage were differentiated from a parental magma composition via AFC (up to 2–7.5% crustal assimilation) and experienced magma replenishment at pressure of 0.5 kbar; thus, both early and late stages have experienced open system conditions. The least evolved samples of both stages across the KP have arc-enriched geochemical and isotopic signatures, characterised by prevalent negative Nb–Ta anomalies and moderately radiogenic Sr, unradiogenic Nd-Hf and highly radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions. These primary melts could be derived from a depleted MORB mantle source metasomatised by sediment melt from the subducting Neotethys oceanic slab. Combined trace elemental and isotopic modelling results suggest that the least evolved samples of the early stage were formed by 2–4% melting of an amphibole-bearing garnet lherzolitic mantle source, which was metasomatised by 0.3–0.5% contribution of subducted slab component with a ratio of sediment melt/AOC (altered oceanic crust) melt about 90:10. A depleted lherzolitic mantle source containing apatite and garnet through inputs of 0.6–0.8% melts derived from the subducted oceanic slab, with 5–10% partial melting degree, could produce the least evolved samples of the late stage. Thermobarometric calculations reveal that the least evolved samples of the late stage are derived from the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary at a depth of 77–82 km; in contrast, those of the early stage are produced from the lithosphere at a depth of 66–69 km. Literature data and the findings obtained from this study indicate that the onset of the Arabian-Eurasian collision may have occurred in the Oligocene and lithospheric dripping caused by the hard collision that occurred around the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene may produce the Melikler volcanic rocks.

Catastrophic craton destruction via wholesale lithosphere delamination

Abstract The nuclei of continents, manifested as cratons, are the most long-lived parts of Earth’s lithosphere. However, ancient cratons in some areas can be substantially destroyed through mechanisms that are not fully understood. We used experimentally calibrated geobarometers to calculate the equilibrium pressures of mafic magmas in the North China craton, which directly constrain the evolving depth of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary beneath the craton through time. We show that the lithospheric thickness of the eastern part of the craton decreased from ~200 km to ~35 km in the Early Cretaceous. This intense destruction took place within a short time interval of ~10 m.y., at least locally. Following this destruction, the lithosphere gradually rethickened and stabilized as the upwelling asthenosphere cooled and formed a juvenile lithosphere. We suggest that this catastrophic lithosphere thinning resulted from wholesale lithosphere delamination. As a consequence of this catastrophic loss of thick mantle roots, the eastern part of the North China craton may have undergone rapid crustal rebound and surface uplift, as recorded by the regional unconformities formed between 130 and 120 Ma in the destructed area.

Amphibole stability, water storage in the mantle, and the nature of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary

Amphibole could potentially be an important host of water in the upper mantle. Moreover, the decomposition of amphibole has been invoked as a possible cause of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary. However, amphibole stability has been experimentally studied mostly under water-saturated conditions, which are unrealistic for most of the mantle that may contain only traces of water. Experiments with low nominal water contents yielded controversial results and were properly hampered by problems in controlling water activity. We have solved this problem with a novel experimental approach. We carried out piston cylinder experiments from 900 to 1350°C and 2 to 4.5 GPa using a peridotitic composition coexisting with an excess H2O-N2 fluid phase. The dilution by inert N2 was used to precisely control water fugacity to values realistic for the upper mantle. Numerous reversed experiments were carried out to circumvent problems with the metastable formation of amphibole. Our data show a dual effect of water fugacity on the stability of amphibole. With decreasing water activity, the stability field is simultaneously displaced to lower pressures, and expanded to higher temperatures. This behavior is due to two different decomposition reactions with dehydration involving only solid phases at low temperature, but melting at high temperature. Along a continental geotherm, amphibole will never be stable for typical upper mantle water contents. However, for a mantle containing 150 – 200 ppm of water, traces of amphibole may form in a narrow pressure interval along an oceanic geotherm. Here, amphibole may contribute significantly to bulk water storage, although most of the water still resides in nominally anhydrous minerals. However, even if amphibole is stable in a restricted depth range, it cannot account for the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, since decomposition proceeds through a solid-state reaction and does not involve melting for realistic mantle water contents.

Undulating electrical lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary beneath Northeast China; as revealed by long–period magnetotelluric data

The geometry of continental lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) significantly affects the movements of tectonic plates and flow of the upper mantle. However, the properties and geometry of this boundary beneath tectonically active regions in Phanerozoic continents are mysterious and elusive. Ninety–three long–period magnetotelluric (LMT) observations across Northeast China (NEC) provide a unique opportunity to image the shape of the LAB. Probabilistic resistivity–depth model inversion was employed to obtain the one–dimensional resistivity structure beneath each LMT site. The depth of the electrical LAB is constrained by the most probable interface at which the resistivity changes rapidly from high to low. The inversion results show that the electrical LAB is undulating beneath NEC. The North–South Gravity Lineament marks the transition from deep to shallow LAB. The thickest lithosphere occurs beneath the Great Xing'an Range (GXAR), where the LAB is ∼200 km deep. The electrical lithosphere is relatively thin in the east, with the thinnest lithosphere (∼50 km) being found beneath the Changbai Mountain volcano. We speculate that melt depletion, together with possible mantle downwelling are the likely causes for the formation of the thick GXAR lithosphere. The unresolved lithosphere beneath the northern Songliao Basin could be ascribed to the strong attenuation of electromagnetic waves in highly conductive sedimentary layers or the weak difference in the resistivity of the lithosphere and asthenosphere. The lithosphere steps that can form the edge-driven convection in the asthenosphere may play key roles in forming the widely-spread intraplate magmatism in NEC.

Source localized modelling to estimate the depth of anisotropy beneath eastern Himalaya using spatial coherency of shear-wave splitting parameters

The present study focuses on the source localization and depth estimation of anisotropy beneath the eastern Himalaya ranging from Nepal in the west to Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis at the north eastern flank of the Indian region. Although previous literatures on anisotropy suggest the possible deformation patterns and their mechanisms beneath the eastern Himalayan region, a compressive analysis of the source and depth localization of anisotropy is missing, which is addressed in tghis study. A comprehensive analysis of the central depth of anisotropy beneath this complex orogeny is carried out using the Spatial coherency method. This technique is based on the Fresnel-zone principle with a more generalized use of variation factor as a function of fast axis polarization and delay time beneath a particular station. A total of 435 splitting measurements from the entire eastern Himalayan region are utilized to model the anisotropy source localization and depth estimation beneath three major tectonic domains like Nepal Himalaya, Arunachal Himalaya and the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis to understand the source of anisotropy and the deformation mechanism. Spatial coherency analysis of splitting parameters beneath the Nepal Himalaya suggests that the source of anisotropy is at about 180 km depth, which coincides with the region's lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB). This emphasizes the asthenospheric source in controlling the deformation parallel to the absolute plate motion (APM) of the Indian plate. For both the Arunachal Himalaya and the Eastern Himalaya Syntaxis, the source of anisotropy corresponds to the depth of 135 km and 150 km respectively, suggestive of a lithospheric source in dominating the deformation patterns in these regions.

Advances in the modeling of the Iberian thermal lithosphere and perspectives on deep geothermal studies

Renewable energy sources are key to achieve the transition toward clean energy system. Among them, the geothermal energy has a production whose effectiveness requires sufficient understanding of the temperature distribution and fluid circulation at depth, as well as of the lithological and petrophysical properties of the crust. The focus of this paper is twofold: first, we summarize the main advances in the development of new methodologies and numerical codes to characterize the properties of the thermal lithosphere in terms of its, temperature, density and composition; second, based on the compilation of available thermal modelling results, we present the depth of the thermal Lithosphere–Asthenosphere Boundary (LAB) of the Iberian Peninsula and the temperature distribution at crustal depths of 5, 10, and 20 km, in addition to at Moho level. At 5 km depth, the temperature is above 110 °C with local anomalies (> 130 °C) located in the Iberian Massif and Cenozoic volcanic provinces. A similar pattern is observed at 10 and 20 km depth, where temperatures are above 190 °C and 350 °C, respectively. At 20 km depth, anomalies above > 500 °C, delineate the SE and NE Cenozoic volcanic provinces. At Moho depths, temperature ranges from 450 to 800 °C with hot regions mainly located along the Iberian Massif and the SE and NE volcanic provinces. The compiled results do not show any lithospheric anomaly that could give rise to high temperatures at shallow depths, but they do show an acceptable exploitation potential at intermediate depths. With regard to the direct use of district and greenhouse heating and for industrial processes, the potential is great throughout the Peninsula, the main challenges being the availability of groundwater and drilling costs.

Trans-dimensional Bayesian joint inversion of magnetotelluric and geomagnetic depth sounding responses to constrain mantle electrical discontinuities

SUMMARYJoint inversion of magnetotelluric (MT) and geomagnetic depth sounding (GDS) responses can constrain the crustal and mantle conductivity structures. Previous studies typically use either deterministic inversion algorithms that provide limited information on model uncertainties or using stochastic inversion algorithms with a predetermined number of layers that is generally not known a priori. Here, we present a new open-source Bayesian framework for the joint inversion of MT and GDS responses to probe 1D layered Earth’s conductivity structures. Within this framework, model uncertainties can be accurately estimated by generating numerous models that fit the observed data. A trans-dimensional Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method is employed to self-parametrize the model parameters, where the number of layers is treated as an inversion parameter that is determined automatically by the data. This adaptability can overcome the under or over-parametrization problem and may be able to automatically detect the conductivity discontinuities in the Earth’s interior. To accelerate the computations, a large number of Markov chains with different initial states can be run simultaneously using the MPI parallel technique. Synthetic data sets are used to validate the feasibility of our method and illustrate how separate and joint inversions, as well as various priors affect the posterior model distributions. The trans-dimensional MCMC algorithm is then applied to jointly invert the MT and GDS responses estimated at the Tucson geomagnetic observatory, North America. Our results not only contain model uncertainty estimates but also indicate two distinct conductivity discontinuities at around 85 and 440 km, which are likely related to the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary and the upper interface of the mantle transition zone, respectively.

Absence of water content contrast between lithosphere and asthenosphere in subduction zone

The distribution of water between the rigid lithosphere and ductile asthenosphere is crucial for our understanding of the Earth's dynamics because it has been proposed that the origin of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB; i.e., the bottom of the tectonic plate) is related to a possible elevated water content in the asthenosphere. However, obtaining the depth profile of water content using mantle xenoliths is still challenging because of the rapid diffusive loss of hydrogen during magma ascent and eruption. In this study, we present diffusion profiles of water determined by FTIR mapping and SIMS line analysis for olivine and orthopyroxene of peridotite xenoliths from Ichinomegata maar in Northeast Japan. Extensive analysis of water contents in 17 xenolith samples revealed that these xenoliths exhibit a variety of zoning patterns, from which the timescale of diffusive loss was estimated. The xenoliths from Ichinomegata underwent only limited diffusive water loss (<1h duration), because of the low temperature of andesitic host magma and rapid quench in the maar deposit. Water contents of the mantle value are well-preserved in the homogeneous core parts of large olivine and pyroxene grains. The water contents of olivine suggest clear correlations with petrogenetic factors excepting those marking anomalous high values, implying hydrous metasomatism by a water-rich fluid. Combining the estimated water contents of the minerals and depth estimation of the xenolith samples, for the first time, we obtained the depth profile of water content of the mantle, including the LAB, down to ∼55 km. Our results show that olivine, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene in the lithospheric mantle (depth range in 28–38 km) contain 21 ± 2, 302 ± 64, and 616 ± 99 wt. ppm H2O, respectively, which are similar to those in the top of the asthenosphere (depth range in 39–52 km) that contain 20 ± 2, 258 ± 38, and 561 ± 80 wt. ppm H2O. In the region which has experienced local metasomatism, higher water contents are recorded (30 ± 4, 414 ± 48, and 741 ± 43 wt. ppm H2O). This study verifies that there is no water content contrast across the LAB in our studied area. Therefore, we support the ‘partial-melting model’ for the origin of the LAB rather than the ‘olivine-water model’ in the western Pacific Plate subduction zone.

Surface wave phase velocity variations underneath the Indian Ocean geoid low

The Indian plate has undergone a long tectonic journey since its separation from the Gondwanaland. Its protracted rift-drift motion has rendered several enigmatic features in the Indian Ocean. One such feature is the large geoid deficit (−106 m), observed in the south of Sri Lanka that is known as the Indian Ocean geoid low (IOGL). A broad consensus about plausible explanations behind the IOGL anomaly still remains elusive. For the first time, 17 Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBSs) were deployed in the IOGL region to characterize the subsurface structural variations. Here, we examine the inter-station Rayleigh wave phase velocity variations within the period range of 15–197 s. We construct 1-D velocity-depth sections down to c.a.380 km or less along with N-S and E-W profiles, using ≥5.2 magnitudes (Mw) earthquake data that occurred at a depth ≤ 100 km at regional/teleseismic distances. Our result demarcates the regional Moho depths varying from c.a.11.6 ± 0.8 km to c.a.19.8 ± 1.2 km along the OBS array from south to north respectively. A thickened oceanic crust (c.a.9–10 km) is attributed to magmatic underplating in the lower crust near the aseismic Comorin ridge. The lithospheric thickness ranges between c.a.47.6 ± 2.9 km and c.a. 75.1 ± 3.6 km along a south-north profile. We observe a c.a. 20–23 km thick lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB). The depth interval between c.a.87 km and c.a. 280 km is characterized by a distinct low-velocity zone (LVZ). A thick LVZ appears to be associated with a thin lithosphere, which implies a hot thermal regime in the upper mantle. We envisage a possible connection of this hot thermal regime with the African LLSVP (large low shear velocity province) and/or a vertically deep mantle upwelling directly beneath the IOGL region. Our findings have significant implications for deciphering the possible causes behind the source of mantle upwelling, the large geoid anomaly and extensive lithospheric deformation across this region.

Stepwise Lithospheric Delamination Leads to Pulsed Cenozoic Uplifts of Central Tien Shan

Abstract The Tien Shan provides an ideal site to study mechanism of intracontinental orogeny due to distant effect of Indo-Asian collision. We investigate lithospheric structures, in particular the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB), of Central Tien Shan (CTS) using S wave receiver functions. The results show distinct structures across the orogen. Under the southern CTS, the LAB is shallower than that of the Tarim Basin; a 50 km vertical offset implies that part of the lithosphere has been delaminated. Under the middle CTS, two phases of negative velocity gradient are obtained, which may indicate a new LAB and an ongoing delamination underneath. Under the northern CTS and Kazakh Shield northward, the lithosphere is stable although the LAB inclines southward slightly. The two periods of lithospheric delamination under the southern and middle CTS account well for pulsed uplifts of the Tien Shan at ~11-8 Ma and ~5-0 Ma, respectively.

Spatiotemporal distributions of afterslip and locking on the plate interface associated with the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake using a 3-D temperature and strain rate-dependent heterogeneous viscosity model

We introduced a novel approach to produce a 3D heterogeneous viscosity distribution model of the upper mantle below Northeast Japan. The viscoelastic relaxation constitutes a significant portion of the postseismic deformation associated with a megathrust earthquake. Our viscosity distribution was based on a 3D simulation of thermomechanical modeling with realistic 3D oceanic plate geometry and subduction velocity of the Pacific plate in the upper mantle. After obtaining the thermal and strain-rate distributions obtained from the thermomechanical modeling, 3D viscosity distribution was calculated. We used the resulting viscosity distribution in a viscoelastic relaxation model to calculate the viscoelastic response associated with the MW 9.0 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, using a finite element method. We found it necessary to include an elastic cold nose in the mantle wedge and a low-viscosity layer at the subducted lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary to reproduce the observed onshore uplifts and landward horizontal displacements of the seafloor, respectively. We then divided the calculated viscoelastic displacements into 7 one-year intervals and subtracted them from the corresponding observed postseismic displacements to obtain yearly residual displacements. Assuming the residual displacements were the result of afterslip and subduction fault locking on the plate interface, we employed a time-dependent inversion to estimate the spatiotemporal distributions of afterslip and subduction fault locking. Our results showed decrease in the afterslip amount and extent over time, which primarily occurred during the first two years following the 2011 event, which is followed by gradual extension of the subduction fault locking region. We concluded that the plate interface off Northeast Japan is gradually entering an interseismic stage of interplate coupling and elastic strain accumulation within several years after the occurrence of the Tohoku-Oki earthquake.

Zinc on the edge—isotopic and geophysical evidence that cratonic edges control world-class shale-hosted zinc-lead deposits

The North Australian Zinc Belt is the largest zinc-lead province in the world, containing three of the ten largest known individual deposits (HYC, Hilton-George Fisher, and Mount Isa). The Northern Cordillera in North America is the second largest zinc-lead province, containing a further two of the world’s top ten deposits (Red Dog and Howards Pass). Despite this world-class endowment, exploration in both mineral provinces during the past 2 decades has not been particularly successful, yielding only two significant discoveries (Teena, Australia, and Boundary, Canada). One of the most important aspects of exploration is to choose mineral provinces and districts within geological belts that have the greatest potential for discovery. Here, we present results from these two zinc belts that highlight previously unused datasets for area selection and targeting. Lead isotope mapping using analyses of mineralized material has identified gradients in μ (238U/204Pb) that coincide closely with many major deposits. Locations of these deposits also coincide with a gradient in the depth of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary determined from calibrated surface wave tomography models converted to temperature. Furthermore, gradients in upward-continued gravity anomalies and a step in Moho depth correspond to a pre-existing major crustal boundary in both zinc belts. A spatial association of deposits with a linear mid- to lower-crustal resistivity anomaly from magnetotelluric data is also observed in the North Australian Zinc Belt. The change from thicker to thinner lithosphere is interpreted to localize prospective basins for zinc-lead mineralization and to control the gradient in lead isotope and geophysical data. These data, when combined with data indicative of paleoenvironment and changes in plate motion at the time of mineralization, provide new exploration criteria that can be used to identify prospective mineralized basins and define the most favorable parts of these basins.

Eocene magmatism in the Himalaya: Response to lithospheric flexure during early Indian collision?

Abstract Eocene mafic magmatism in the Himalaya provides a crucial window for probing the evolution of crustal anatexis processes within the lower plate in a collisional orogen. We report geochemical data from the earliest postcollision ocean-island basalt–like mafic dikes intruding the Tethyan Himalaya near the northern edge of the colliding Indian plate. These dikes occurred coeval, and spatially overlap, with Eocene granitoids in the cores of gneiss domes and were likely derived from interaction between melts from the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary and the Indian continental lithosphere. We propose that these mafic magmas were emplaced along lithospheric fractures in response to lithospheric flexure during initial subduction of the Indian continent and that the underplating of such mafic magmas resulted in orogen-parallel crustal anatexis within the Indian continent. This mechanism can explain the formation of coeval magmatism and the geologic evolution of a collisional orogen on both sides of the suture zone.

Geophysical‐Petrological Model for Bidirectional Mantle Delamination of the Adria Microplate Beneath the Northern Apennines and Dinarides Orogenic Systems

AbstractThis study presents a geophysical‐geochemical integrated model of the thermochemical structure of the lithosphere and uppermost mantle along a transect from the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea to the Pannonian Basin, crossing the northern Apennines, the Adriatic Sea, and the Dinarides fold‐thrust belt. The objectives are to image crustal thickness variations and characterize the different mantle domains. In addition, we evaluate the topographic response of opposed subductions along this transect and discuss their implications in the evolution of the region. Results show a more complex structure and slightly higher average crustal density of Adria compared to Tisza microplate. Below the Tyrrhenian Sea and Western Apennines, Moho lays at &lt;25 km depth while along the Eastern Apennines it is as deep as 55 km. The modeled lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary (LAB) below the Tyrrhenian Sea and Pannonian Basin is flat lying at ∼75 and 90 km, respectively. Below the External Apennines and Dinarides the LAB deepens to 150 km, slightly shallowing toward the Adriatic foreland basin at 125 km depth. Our results are consistent with the presence of two mantle wedges, resulting from the rollback of the Ligurian‐Tethys and Vardar‐NeoTethys oceanic slabs followed by continental mantle delamination of the eastern and western distal margins of Adria. These two opposed slabs beneath the Apennines and Dinarides are modeled as two thermal sublithospheric anomalies of −200°C. Most of the elevation along the profile is under thermal isostasy and departures can be explained by regional isostasy with an elastic thickness between 10 and 20 km.

Lithospheric S-velocity structure of the on-shore Potiguar Basin, NE Brazil: High heat-flow in an aborted rift

The lithospheric structure of the on-shore Potiguar Basin has been investigated through velocity-depth profiles developed from the joint inversion of receiver functions and surface-wave dispersion at 16 seismic stations in and around the basin. The Potiguar Basin is an aborted rift basin that formed during the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean in the Lower Cretaceous, and is characterized by an unusual surface heat-flow with values as high as 101 mW/m2. Our results reveal: (i) A relatively thin crust of ∼30 km below the on-shore Potiguar Basin and a relatively thicker crust of ∼32 km around the basin; (ii) the existence of an anomalous uppermost mantle of ∼4.3 km/s at 30–40 km depth under most seismic stations; and (iii) the presence of a negative velocity gradient centered at ∼125 km depth, which probably represents a shallow Lithosphere Asthenosphere Boundary (LAB). We argue that the anomalous uppermost mantle is associated with magmatic intrusions just below the Moho, deeper than previously postulated from independent heat-flow studies, and that those intrusions result from heating by an active, hot sublithospheric mantle under the basin that keeps the lithosphere thin. We further argue that heating from the magmatic intrusions, along with direct heating from the sublithospheric mantle, may explain the unusually elevated heat flow observed at the surface.