Mass-wasting Deposits Research Articles

New insights into the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the southern Stappen High and its transition to Bjørnøya Basin, SW Barents Sea

Within the context of the southwestern Barents Sea, the southern Stappen High and its transition to the Bjørnøya Basin are still underexplored. Improved quality seismic reflection data are utilised to describe new insights into the Paleozoic to early Cenozoic tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the area, as well as to discuss the structural inheritance and the rift development. Well-defined syn-rift wedges and better resolution images for both the deep Carboniferous and Permian successions are revealed. In particular, both the mid-Carboniferous and Late Permian-earliest Triassic extensional phases are characterized by widespread NE-SW oriented normal faults that are mostly westward dipping. Although Triassic is mostly considered as a tectonically stable period in the Barents Sea, in the southern Stappen High there is clear identification of a localised depocentre (named herein “Intra Stappen Basin”) where syn-tectonic geometries characterize the upper Paleozoic and Triassic deposits. Regional correlation to Middle and Upper Triassic outcrops in southwestern Svalbard reveals possible progradation from a west-northwest Northeast Greenland provenance as a western sediment source area during the Triassic, in addition to the well-known eastern sediment source area. Thin but distinct Jurassic sequences are expected to be present on Stappen High associated with prominent regional NW-SE extension throughout Late Jurassic that culminated during the earliest Cretaceous. Furthermore, structural and stratigraphic relations are observed within the study area that clearly indicate a distinct early Aptian rift phase with increasing evidence for its occurrence in the southwestern Barents Sea. Upper Cretaceous sequences bounded by major low-angle west-dipping detachment faults are observed in southwest Stappen High. During early Cenozoic, the study area was located at the proximity of the paleo-coastline and paleo-shelf edge for both Paleocene and Eocene gravity mass-waste deposits. These are most probably related to a progressively evolving steep bathymetric gradient between the developing margin, mainly towards the west and to the south, and the uplifted Stappen High.

Crustal Architecture at the Collision Zone Between Rivera and North American Plates at the Jalisco Block: Tsujal Project

Processing and analysis of new multichannel seismic records, coincident with wide-angle seismic profiles, acquired in the framework of the TsuJal project allow us to investigate in detail the complex structure of the oceanic domain in the collision zone between Rivera Plate and Block Jalisco at its northern termination. The subducting Rivera Plate, which is overridden by the North American Plate–Jalisco Block, is clearly identified up to 21.5°N (just south of Maria Magdalena Island) as a two clear reflections that we interpret as the interplate and Moho discontinuities. North of the Tres Marias Islands the seismic images display a different tectonic scenario with structures that are consistent with large faulting and rifted margin. A two-dimensional velocity approach for the crustal geometry is achieved using joint refraction/reflection travel time tomography, the uncertainty of the results is assessed by means of Monte Carlo analysis. Our results show an average oceanic crustal thickness of 6–7 km with a moderate increase towards the Jalisco Block, an anomalous thick layers (~3.0 km) displaying a relatively low velocity (~5.5 km/s) underneath Maria Magdalena Rise, and an estimated Moho depth deeper than 15 km in the collision zone between Rivera Plate and Jalisco Block. We have also determined an anomalous crust on the western flank of the Tres Marias Islands, which may be related to the initial phases of continental breakup of the Baja California Peninsula and Mexico mainland. High-resolution bathymetry provides remarkable images of intensive slope instabilities marked by relatively large slides scars of more than 40 km2 extent, and mass-wasting deposits probably triggered by the intense seismicity in the area.

Historical seismicity of the Mont Dore volcanic province (Auvergne, France) unraveled by a regional lacustrine investigation: New insights about lake sensitivity to earthquakes

Lake sediments are relevant natural seismographs over long time scale. However, because tectonic events are not systematically recorded in lake sediments, one forthcoming challenge for paleoseismology is to better assess lake sensitivity to earthquakes. To this end, a limnogeological investigation, including hydroacoustic mapping techniques, core sampling and multi-proxy sediment analyses, has been conducted within four small volcanic lakes located in the Mont Dore province (Auvergne, France), an area with a moderate seismo-tectonic activity. Results show the existence of several gravity reworking processes in the lakes over the last millennium. Around AD 1300, the occurrence of synchronous events in lakes Pavin, Chauvet, Montcineyre and Guéry (100km2 area) highlights an undocumented earthquake as a common trigger for slope failures in disconnected basins. At regional scale, the record of this tectonic event may have been favored by human-induced increase in sediment load (Chauvet and Montcineyre) and/or after an abrupt lake-level drop (Pavin) affecting the sediment stability. In addition, synchronous turbidites and mass-wasting deposits (MWD) recorded in lakes Pavin and Guéry provide evidence for a seismic activity during the XIXth century. Potential triggers are historical earthquakes that occurred either in the Mont Dore area or in the southern part of the Limagne fault at this time. Despite moderate seismic activity in this intraplate volcanic domain, these results highlight the role of tectonics as a major trigger in the sedimentary processes dominating these lacustrine infills. Within the diversity of studied sites, it appears that lake sensitivity to earthquakes was not constant over time. This sensitivity can be expressed as a combination of external factors, namely earthquake magnitude and lake-epicenter distance and internal factors such as lake morphology, nature of sediment, lake-level fluctuations and human-induced changes in catchment sedimentary load.

Components of an Antarctic trough-mouth fan: examples from the Crary Fan, Weddell Sea

Trough-mouth fans (TMFs) are large depocentres of glacially influenced sediments formed at the mouths of some glacially carved cross-shelf troughs (Vorren et al. 1989). They develop in front of ice streams grounded at, or near to, the shelf edge, which transported large volumes of glacigenic sediment to the outer shelf and upper slope. The main components of TMFs are prograding outer shelf–upper slope strata which are constructed largely of foresets comprising debris-flow units. They are commonly capped by topsets that may include subglacially deposited tills (Fig. 1f). Mass-wasting deposits, gullies and channels may also occur in conjunction with or within the TMFs.

Sedimentary records of past earthquakes in Boraboy Lake during the last ca 600 years (North Anatolian Fault, Turkey)

Abstract Multiproxy sedimentological analyses along 4.9 m-long sequence of Boraboy Lake, which is located on the central eastern part of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF), reveal the sedimentary traces of past large earthquakes in the region. The lake has a relatively large catchment area (10 km2) compared to its size (0.12 km2), which renders sedimentation sensitive to heavy rain/storm events. Accordingly, the background sedimentation, which is composed of faintly laminated reddish/yellowish brown clayey silt, is frequently interrupted by organic-rich intercalations probably due to heavy rain/storm events transporting terrestrial plant remains from the densely vegetated catchment. In addition to frequent organic-rich intercalations, the background sedimentation is interrupted by four mass-wasting deposits (MWD) of which thickness range is between 15 and 50 cm. High-resolution ITRAX μXRF data confirms higher homogeneity along the MWDs (E1–E4) compared to the background sedimentation. Based on 137Cs and 210Pbxs dating and radiocarbon chronology, three MWDs detected in Boraboy sequence (E2, E3 and E4) temporally correlate with large historical earthquakes along the NAF; the 1943 Tosya (Ms = 7.6) and/or 1942 Niksar-Erbaa (Ms = 7.1), the 1776 Amasya-Merzifon and the 1668 North Anatolian (Ms = 7.9) earthquakes. The youngest MWD in the sequence (E1), which is dated to early 2000s, does not correlate with any strong earthquake in the region. This MWD was probably a single mass-wasting event due to routine overloading and oversteepening on the delta front formed by the main inlet of the lake. In subaqueous paleoseismology, coevality of multi-location mass-wasting events is used as a criterion to assign a seismic triggering mechanism, and to rule out mass-wasting events due to routine overloading/oversteepening of subaqueous slopes. Within this context, Boraboy sequence provides a valuable example to discuss sedimentological imprints of single- vs. multi-source MWDs.

Successive collapses of the El Estribo volcanic complex in the Pátzcuaro Lake, Michoacán, Mexico

The El Estribo volcanic complex is located in the north-central part of Michoacán State (Mexico) within the Michoacán–Guanajuato Volcanic Field. It consists of a ~126kr shield volcano crowned by a cinder cone, separated by a paleosol dated at 28,360±170BP. The shield volcano has been cut by the E–W normal Pátzcuaro fault that exposes 200-m of piled up lavas flows. Our field reconstruction suggests that two collapses have been originated from this fault. Two debris avalanche deposits with hummocky topography are exposed between this fault and the southern shore of the Pátzcuaro Lake. The basal debris avalanche deposit (BDAD) covers lacustrine sediments and is covered by a paleosol that at 28,110±720yrBP yielding a minimum age for the event. It had a maximum run out of 3.2km with a H/L of 0.0062. The upper debris avalanche deposit (UDAD) is overlain by a paleosol dated at 14,110±60yrBP that yields a minimum age of the event. It had a maximum run out of 2.3km with a H/L of 0.0086. No pyroclastic deposits have been found in association with these debris avalanches and the shield volcano rocks show signs of intense hydrothermal alteration or abundant clay minerals for which we assume that failure was triggered by seismic–tectonic activity.The older debris avalanche was more mobile because it moved on water and on top of water-saturated sediments deforming them and likely originating a tsunami across the lake. Instead, the younger debris avalanche moved across the previous rugged hummocky topography of the basal avalanche resulting in a more restricted dispersion.These collapse events of El Estribo, the morphology of the scarp and historic and modern seismicity indicate that a future failure represents a serious threat to the surrounding communities of the Pátzcuaro Lake. Consequently, some preventive measurements as seismic and deformation rate monitoring are necessary. Today five villages with circa 1500 inhabitants live upon the mass waste deposits.

Imprint of the Rheasilvia impact on Vesta – Geologic mapping of quadrangles Gegania and Lucaria

We produced two 1:250,000 scale geologic maps of the adjacent quadrangles Av-6 Gegania and Av-7 Lucaria, located in the equatorial region of (4) Vesta (0–144°E, 22°S to 22°N). The mapping is based on clear and color filter images of the Framing Camera (FC) onboard the Dawn spacecraft, which has captured the entire illuminated surface of Vesta with high spatial resolution (up to ∼20m/pixel), and on a digital terrain model derived from FC imagery. Besides the geologic mapping itself, a secondary purpose of this work is to investigate one of the most prominent morphological features on Vesta, namely the aggregation of several giant equatorial troughs termed the Divalia Fossae, most probably formed during the Rheasilvia impact near Vesta’s south pole. The up to 465km long and 22km wide troughs show height differences of up to 5km between adjacent troughs and ridges. Another imprint of the Rheasilvia impact is the >350km long and ∼250km wide swath of ejecta crossing quadrangle Av-6 Gegania. This lobe shows a distinct appearance in FC color ratios and a high albedo in FC images, indicating a mineralogical similarity to material typically found within the Rheasilvia basin, in particular composed of diogenite-rich howardites. Almost the entire northern half of the mapping area shows the oldest surface, being dominated by upper crustal basaltic material. To the south, increasingly younger formations related to the Rheasilvia impact occur, either indicated by the troughs formed by Rheasilvia or by the Rheasilvia ejecta itself. Only medium sized impact craters with diameters less than 22km occur within the two mapped quadrangles. Some of the craters exhibit ejecta blankets and/or distinctly dark or bright ejecta material in ejecta rays outside and exposures within the crater, and mass-wasting deposits down crater slopes, forming the youngest surfaces.

Depositional characteristics and spatial distribution of deep-water sedimentary systems on the northwestern middle-lower slope of the Northwest Sub-Basin, South China Sea

Based upon 2D seismic data, this study confirms the presence of a complex deep-water sedimentary system within the Pliocene-Quaternary strata on the northwestern lower slope of the Northwest Sub-Basin, South China Sea. It consists of submarine canyons, mass-wasting deposits, contourite channels and sheeted drifts. Alongslope aligned erosive features are observed on the eastern upper gentle slopes ( 2°), where weaker alongslope currents are probably dominated by downslope depositional processes on these unstable slopes. The NNW–SSE oriented slope morphology changes from a three-stepped terraced outline (I–II–III) east of the investigated area, into a two-stepped terraced (I–II) outline in the middle, and into a unitary steep slope (II) in the west, which is consistent with the slope steepening towards the west. Such morphological changes may have possibly led to a westward simplification of composite deep-water sedimentary systems, from a depositional complex of contourite depositional systems, mass-wasting deposits and canyons, on the one hand, to only sliding and canyon deposits on the other hand.

Condor seamount (Azores, NE Atlantic): A morpho-tectonic interpretation

High-resolution datasets collected by multibeam and acoustic backscatter surveys were used to produce fine-scale seafloor nature and morpho-tectonic interpretations of the Condor seamount. Condor constitutes an elongated volcanic ridge that extends for 39km and rises more than 1800m from the surrounding seafloor. Constructive morphologies include (i) linear eruptive centres, (ii) volcanic cones with or without summit depressions, (iii) lava flows and (iv) hummocky sectors. Eruptive type is interpreted to vary with depth. On the deeper seamount extremities, the predominance of highly acoustically backscattering volcanic cones and hummocky terrain is interpreted to result from effusive eruptions not yet covered by sediment deposits. In contrast, the smoother relief of the central seamount flanks is interpreted as draping and infilling of the underlying effusive relief by (i) primary volcaniclastic deposits produced by explosive eruptions on the shallowest parts of the ridge, together with (ii) secondary volcanigenic sediments resulting from truncation of the seamount top by swell erosion and (iii) sediments resulting from biogenic production.A set of WNW–ESE to NW–SE trending volcano-tectonic structures are shown to control most of the fissural volcanism that formed the ridge. A network of NNW–SSE trending faults is identified on the sea-floor around Condor but they show little relation with the distribution of volcanic edifices or with post-emplacement dismantling of the seamount. These fault sets are related to the transtensional regime acting on the Azorean segment of the Eurasia–Nubia plate boundary.Erosional features include (i) palaeo wave-cut platforms on the seamount summit, (ii) landslide scars produced by lateral collapses of the NE and SW-facing flanks, (iii) gullies and turbidity current channels and (iv) mass-wasting deposits. Iceberg drag and bump marks are also identified on the seamount upper flanks, representing the first reference to such features in the Azores and an additional low latitude record.Given the lack of major erosional and tectonic dismantling, Condor is suggested to be a relatively young seamount. A revised factoring of eustatic, erosional and isostatic processes does not exclude that the summit may have been eroded as late as the Last Glacial Maximum.

Mass-movement and flood-induced deposits in Lake Ledro, southern Alps, Italy: implications for Holocene palaeohydrology and natural hazards

Abstract. High-resolution seismic profiles and sediment cores from Lake Ledro combined with soil and riverbed samples from the lake's catchment area are used to assess the recurrence of natural hazards (earthquakes and flood events) in the southern Italian Alps during the Holocene. Two well-developed deltas and a flat central basin are identified on seismic profiles in Lake Ledro. Lake sediments have been finely laminated in the basin since 9000 cal. yr BP and frequently interrupted by two types of sedimentary events (SEs): light-coloured massive layers and dark-coloured graded beds. Optical analysis (quantitative organic petrography) of the organic matter present in soil, riverbed and lacustrine samples together with lake sediment bulk density and grain-size analysis illustrate that light-coloured layers consist of a mixture of lacustrine sediments and mainly contain algal particles similar to the ones observed in background sediments. Light-coloured layers thicker than 1.5 cm in the main basin of Lake Ledro are synchronous to numerous coeval mass-wasting deposits remoulding the slopes of the basin. They are interpreted as subaquatic mass-movements triggered by historical and pre-historical regional earthquakes dated to AD 2005, AD 1891, AD 1045 and 1260, 2545, 2595, 3350, 3815, 4740, 7190, 9185 and 11 495 cal. yr BP. Dark-coloured SEs develop high-amplitude reflections in front of the deltas and in the deep central basin. These beds are mainly made of terrestrial organic matter (soils and lignocellulosic debris) and are interpreted as resulting from intense hyperpycnal flood event. Mapping and quantifying the amount of soil material accumulated in the Holocene hyperpycnal flood deposits of the sequence allow estimating that the equivalent soil thickness eroded over the catchment area reached up to 5 mm during the largest Holocene flood events. Such significant soil erosion is interpreted as resulting from the combination of heavy rainfall and snowmelt. The recurrence of flash flood events during the Holocene was, however, not high enough to affect pedogenesis processes and highlight several wet regional periods during the Holocene. The Holocene period is divided into four phases of environmental evolution. Over the first half of the Holocene, a progressive stabilization of the soils present through the catchment of Lake Ledro was associated with a progressive reforestation of the area and only interrupted during the wet 8.2 event when the soil destabilization was particularly important. Lower soil erosion was recorded during the mid-Holocene climatic optimum (8000–4200 cal. yr BP) and associated with higher algal production. Between 4200 and 3100 cal. yr BP, both wetter climate and human activities within the drainage basin drastically increased soil erosion rates. Finally, from 3100 cal. yr BP to the present-day, data suggest increasing and changing human land use.

Comment on “Reconstructing the architectural evolution of volcanic islands from combined K/Ar, morphologic, tectonic, and magnetic data: The Faial Island example (Azores)” by Hildenbrand et al. (2012) [J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 241–242 (2012) 39–48

Hildenbrand et al. (2012) have presented a model for the geological evolution of Faial Island. In their interpretation, the oldest volcanic system extended much further than the present-day eastern part of the subaerial island, with a ridge-like morphology, into the Faial–S. Jorge channel. Furthermore, the western side of the system was suggested to have been later destroyed by mass-wasting. Based on now extensive multibeam bathymetry collected surrounding Faial Island, we find no evidence supporting such interpretations. The geometry of the shelf edge suggests that a near-circular edifice occupied the eastern part of the present-day subaerial island. In addition, the submarine morphology does not show massive mass-wasting deposits around the base of the edifice. Rather, bathymetric gradients and morphology suggest that the submarine slopes were formed from volcanic emplacements or from material displaced in only small-scale mass-movements or sedimentary flows, and have not failed catastrophically. Evidence that a ridge-like feature extended into the Faial–S. Jorge channel is also lacking. These observations highlight the potentially valuable information that sonar data can provide to evaluating ocean island evolution from the more limited extend of outcrops on land.

Recent glacially influenced sedimentary processes on the East Greenland continental slope and deep Greenland Basin

This paper presents the morpho-sedimentary characterization and interpretations of the assemblage of landforms of the East Greenland continental slope and Greenland Basin, based on swath bathymetry and sub-bottom TOPAS profiles. The interpretation of landforms reveals the glacial influence on recent sedimentary processes shaping the seafloor, including mass-wasting and turbidite flows. The timing of landform development points to a predominantly glacial origin of the sediment supplied to the continental margin, supporting the scenario of a Greenland Ice Sheet extending across the continental shelf, or even to the shelf-edge, during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Major sedimentary processes along the central section of the eastern Greenland Continental Slope, the Norske margin, suggest a relatively high glacial sediment input during the LGM that, probably triggered by tectonic activity, led to the development of scarps and channels on the slope and debris flows on the continental rise. The more southerly Kejser Franz Josef margin has small-scale mass-wasting deposits and an extensive turbidite system that developed in relation to both channelised and unconfined turbidity flows which transferred sediments into the deep Greenland Basin.

Geothermal and rheological regime in the Po plain sector of Adria (Northern Italy)

The early to middle Miocene erosive plate boundary preserved in the Northern Apennines NW of the Sillaro Line is formed by two distinct units - the Sestola-Vidiciatico Tectonic Unit and the Subligurian Units. These two units occupy, respectively, the SE and the NW portions of the studied area. Upon closer examination, the features that distinguish these mapped units do not reflect differing plate boundary processes, but rather the incorporation or non-incorporation of forearc-toe mass-wasting deposits into the active subduction channel. In other respects, these two units document similar subduction channel processes, including the contemporaneous activity of multiple sub-parallel slip surfaces. This mode of subduction channel deformation leads to the ‘laminar' incorporation of distinct stacked slices within the channel.

Methane-seep brachiopod fauna within turbidites of the Sinaia Formation, Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Romania

This study elucidates the paleoecology and paleobiogeography of the Early Cretaceous brachiopod Peregrinella known in museum collections from a few localities in Romania, supplemented with new material from a rediscovered locality first mentioned in the 1870s. Most Peregrinella fossils are enclosed in mass waste deposits, but at two sites authigenic limestones with assemblages of brachiopods preserved in life position have been recognized. Paleontological, petrographic, stable isotopic, and organic geochemical investigations of these brachiopod-bearing limestones from the Upper Sinaia Formation, Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Romania, confirm Peregrinella as having lived at methane seeps in a siliciclastic-dominated flysch basin. The seeps developed on the slope of the External Dacides Basin. The new collections of Peregrinella indicate that shells derived from contemporaneous intrabasin methane seeps and were transported downslope by turbidity currents. Previous paleoecological models that consider Peregrinella to be solely derived from transport downslope from shelf environments are questionable especially as Peregrinella has never been recovered from typical shelf faunas; in the instance documented here from the External Dacides Basin methane-seep faunas with Peregrinella are likely to be the origin of such allochthonous faunas. The Sinaia Formation was deposited in a deep-water marine basin, derived from an intracontinental rift that developed during Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous extension. The fractured and faulted basin margin provided the backdrop for the development of the methane seepage and the associated fauna. Foraminifera from background sediments in the sequence with turbidites confirm a late Hauterivian to early Barremian age for Peregrinella within the Sinaia Formation. This is significant because it indicates that Peregrinella ranged through into the Barremian, whereas it has typically been considered to range only as high as the Hauterivian.

A sedimentary record of Holocene surface runoff events and earthquake activity from Lake Iseo (Southern Alps, Italy)

This study presents a record of Holocene surface runoff events and several large earthquakes, preserved in the sediments of pre-Alpine Lake Iseo, northern Italy. A combination of high-resolution seismic surveying, detailed sediment microfacies analysis, non-destructive core-scanning techniques and AMS 14C dating of terrestrial macrofossils was used to detect and date these events. Based on this approach, our data shed light on past seismic activity in the vicinity of Lake Iseo and the influence of climate variability and human impact on allochthonous detrital matter flux into the lake. The 19 m long investigated sediment sequence of faintly layered lake marl contains frequent centimetre- to decimetre-scale sandy-silty detrital layers. During the early to mid Holocene, these small-scale detrital layers, reflecting sediment supply by extreme surface runoff events, reveal a distinct centennial-scale recurrence pattern. This is in accordance with regional lake-level highstands and minima in solar activity and thus apparently mainly climate-controlled. After c. 4200 cal. yr BP, intervals of high detrital flux occasionally also correlate with periods of enhanced human settlement activity. In consequence, deposition of small-scale detrital layers during the late Holocene apparently reflects a rather complex interplay between climatic and anthropogenic influences on catchment erosion processes. Besides the small-scale detrital layers, five up to 2.40 m thick large-scale detrital event layers, composed of basal mass-wasting deposits overlain by large-scale turbidites, were identified, which are supposed to be triggered by strong earthquakes. The uppermost large-scale event layer can be correlated to a documented Mw=6.0 earthquake in ad 1222 in Brescia. The four other large-scale event layers are supposed to correspond to previously undocumented local earthquakes. These occurred around 350 bc, 570 bc, 2540 bc and 6210 bc and most probably also reached magnitudes in the order of Mw = 5.0–6.5.

Concepts in halokinetic-sequence deformation and stratigraphy

Abstract Halokinetic sequences are unconformity-bound packages of thinned and folded strata adjacent to passive diapirs. Hook halokinetic sequences have narrow zones of deformation (50–200 m), >70° angular discordance, common mass-wasting deposits and abrupt facies changes. Wedge halokinetic sequences have broad zones of folding (300–1000 m), low-angle truncation and gradual facies changes. Halokinetic sequences have thicknesses and timescales equivalent to parasequence sets and stack into composite halokinetic sequences (CHS) scale-equivalent to third-order depositional cycles. Hook sequences stack into tabular CHS with sub-parallel boundaries, thin roofs and local deformation. Wedge sequences stack into tapered CHS with folded, convergent boundaries, thicker roofs and broad zones of deformation. The style is determined by the ratio of sediment-accumulation rate to diapir-rise rate: low ratios lead to tabular CHS and high ratios result in tapered CHS. Diapir-rise rate is controlled by the net differential load on deep salt and by shortening or extension. Similar styles of CHS are found in different depositional environments but the depositional response varies. CHS boundaries (unconformities) develop after prolonged periods of slow sediment accumulation and so typically fall within transgressive systems tracts in shelf settings and within highstand systems tracts in deepwater settings. Sub-aerial settings may lead to erosional unroofing of diapirs and consequent upward narrowing of halokinetic deformation zones.

Tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the frontal part of an ancient subduction complex at the transition from accretion to erosion: The case of the Ligurian wedge of the northern Apennines, Italy

Subduction can be associated either with accretion or with removal of material from the overriding plate. These two processes can either coexist or alternate in time along the same margin. Their inception has the potential to change the dynamic equilibrium of a marginal wedge resulting in the development of out-of-sequence thrusts, normal and strike-slip faults, or large submarine landslides in the frontal part of the subduction zone. In this work we investigate the effects of the transition from frontal accretion to frontal erosion on the stability of a subduction complex through the study of an ancient example from the northern Apennines (Ligurian subduction complex). New structural data suggest that in the early Neogene (Aquitanian), the removal and underthrusting of the toe of the wedge, formed by both the accreted oceanic sediments and the overlying wedge-top basin fill (i.e., the Subligurian units), implied a process of frontal tectonic erosion. The presence, on top of the subduction complex, of a complete succession of mid-late Eocene to late Miocene slope-apron sediments—i.e., the Epiligurian succession—facilitates a reconstruction of the sedimentary response to this event. In the Aquitanian, large areas of the wedge were denuded from the lower-slope sedimentary cover through extensive gravitational mass movements. The subsequent deposition of a thick body of submarine debris flows is documented. The mass-wasting deposits are interpreted as the sedimentary response to the underthrusting of the frontal part of the Ligurian subduction complex formed by the Subligurian units.

Miocene evolution of the western edge of the Nevadaplano in the central and northern Sierra Nevada: palaeocanyons, magmatism, and structure

The Sierra Nevada of California is the longest and tallest mountain range in the co-terminus USA, and has long been regarded as topographically very young ( < 6 Ma); however, recent work has provided evidence that the range is very old (>80 Ma), and represents the western shoulder of a Tibetan-like plateau (the Nevadaplano) that was centred over Nevada. A great deal of effort has been invested in applying modern laboratory and geophysical techniques to understanding the Sierra Nevada, yet some of the most unambiguous constraints on the Sierran landscape evolution are derived from field studies of dated strata preserved in the palaeochannels/palaeocanyons that crossed the range in Cenozoic time. Our work in the Sierra Nevada suggests that neither end-member model is correct for the debate regarding youth vs. antiquity of the range. Many features of the Cenozoic palaeocanyons and palaeochannels reflect the shape of the Cretaceous orogen, but they were also affected by Miocene tectonic and magmatic events. In the central Sierra Nevada, we infer that the inherited Cretaceous landscape was modified by three Miocene tectonic events, each followed by ∼2–5 Myr of subduction-induced magmatism and sedimentation during a period of relative tectonic quiescence. The first event, at about 16 Ma, corresponds to the westward sweep of the Ancestral Cascades arc front into the Sierra Nevada and adjacent western Nevada. We suggest that this caused thermal uplift and extension. The second event, at about 11–10 Ma, records the birth of the ‘future plate boundary’ by transtensional faulting and voluminous high-K volcanism at the western edge of the Walker Lane belt. The third event, at about 8–7 Ma, is associated with renewed range-front faulting in the central Sierra, and rejuvenation and beheading of the palaeocanyons. Volcanic pulses closely followed all three events, and we tentatively infer that footwall uplift of the Sierra Nevada occurred during all three events. By analogy with the ∼11 Ma event, we speculate that high-K volcanic rocks in the southern part of the range mark the inception of yet a fourth pulse of range-front faulting at 3–3.5 Ma, which resulted in a fourth tilting and crestal uplift event. Cenozoic rocks along the western edge of the Nevadaplano record the following variation, from the central to the northern Sierra: decrease in crustal thickness (and presumably palaeoelevation), decrease in palaeorelief and attendant decrease in coarse-grained fluvial- and mass-wasting deposits, and greater degree of encroachment by Walker Lane-related faults beginning at 10–11 Ma. By mapping and dating Cenozoic strata in detail, we show that what is now the Sierra Nevada was, at least in part, shaped by the Miocene structural and magmatic events.

Fluidization of buried mass-wasting deposits in lake sediments and its relevance for paleoseismology: Results from a reflection seismic study of lakes Villarrica and Calafquén (South-Central Chile)

A dense grid of very-high resolution seismic profiles on Lake Villarrica provides a quasi-3D view on intercalated lenses of low-amplitude reflections, which are connected by acoustic wipe-out patches and fractures to an underlying voluminous mass-wasting deposit. The lenses are interpreted as being created by earthquake-triggered liquefaction in this buried mass-wasting deposit and subsequent sediment fluidization and extrusion at the paleo-lake bottom. These sediment volcanoes are mapped in detail. They have a rather uniform circular geometry and show a linear relationship between apparent width and maximum thickness on a seismic section. The largest sediment volcanoes are up to 80 m wide and 1.9 m thick. Their slope angles designate a syn- to post-depositional sagging of most sediment volcanoes. Sediment volcano detection and mapping from nearby Lake Calafquén further strengthen the revealed geometrical relationships. Locally, some of the sediment/fluid escape structures extend to a higher position in the stratigraphy, which points to a polyphase escape process associated with multiple multi-century spaced strong earthquakes. Thickness and morphology of the source layer seem to exert a dominant control in the production of sediment/fluid extrusions. This study shows that reflection seismic profiling allowed recognizing 4 different seismic events in the studied stratigraphic interval, which are evidenced by mass-wasting deposits and/or fluidization features.

Liquification and soft-sediment deformation in a limestone megabreccia: The Ayabacas giant collapse, Cretaceous, southern Peru

In the back-arc basin of southern Peru, the bulk of the mid-Cretaceous carbonate platform collapsed near the Turonian–Coniacian boundary (~ 90–89 Ma), due to slope creation and resulting oversteepening. The resulting mass-wasting deposits, namely the Ayabacas Formation, consist of a megabreccia which is organised from NE to SW in relation with two major fault systems. Facies of sediment reworking (such as brecciation, liquification, sedimentary dykes and soft-sediment deformation) are described and four types of resedimentation facies are define. In the northeastern part of the study area, deposits mainly consist of a mixture of very heterometric clasts and blocks (millimetric to kilometric in size), mainly carbonate but also sandy–marly in nature, floating in sandy–marly matrix that exhibits features of liquification (sedimentary dykes and flows) and plastic deformation. Here, resedimentation facies are characterized by deformations and a brecciated facies at each observation scale (from aerial photographs to thin sections) and are therefore defined as fractal or multi-scale breccias. Some clasts and large amounts of the matrix were derived from the underlying clay-rich sandstones of the Murco Formation. These materials were prone to liquification and plastic deformation, allowing them to act as a sliding sole that facilitated the slides and the downslope movement of large limestone rafts. In the southwestern part of the study area, only limestone breccias are observed, in alternation with well-stratified levels. The sliding sole of plastically deformable siliciclastic sediments that previously acted as a lubricating layer was not present here, as materials were more deeply buried. Variations in the degree of sediment lithification from northeast to southwest are inferred to have existed before the collapse and also within the sedimentary succession in the northeastern part. In particular, limestones were well-cemented at the base of the carbonate succession and formed a cap that prevented water to escape from the underlying siliciclastic materials. Such a succession allowed the formation of limestone clasts and of a slide sole constituted by water-saturated siliciclastic materials. In the southern part of the study area, the slide surface was located within the Murco Formation in the upper part of the collapse and just above the Murco Formation downslope. The collapse was frontally confined as it was blocked downslope by a topographic high that folded the whole limestone succession. In the northern part of the study area, the slide surface was also within the Murco Formation in the upper part, but occurs within the limestone succession downslope, due to higher subsidence that buried the sediments more deeply. The compressional structures affecting the limestone succession in the south are not observed there, suggesting that the toe of the collapse was not blocked here.