Oblique Plate Convergence Research Articles

Neogene uplift and deformation in the northeastern Bird’s Head Peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia: consequences of oblique plate convergence

ABSTRACT Since ~ 25 Ma ago the plate margin between the Australian plate and the Philippine Sea and Pacific-Caroline plates in northwestern New Guinea has been undergoing oblique convergence and resulted in various uplifts and compressional deformation in the Bird’s Head Peninsula. These reflect partitioning into north-northeast compression and east-west sinistral strike-slip faulting analogous to that in the Sumatran active margin. We present new data on the provenance of the upper Miocene to lower Pliocene succession in the northeastern Bird’s Head Peninsula and its structure that has enabled a new tectonic synthesis. Initiation of oblique convergence resulted in development of the sinistral strike-slip Sorong Fault and docking of the Oligocene Arfak Volcanics from the southern Philippine Sea Plate. At ~ 15–12 Ma the compressional component initiated 40 km of dextral offset of the Sorong Fault along the northwest-trending Ransiki Fault. Subsequently, sinistral movement along the Sorong Fault was impeded by formation of a restraining bend at the Ransiki Fault, with uplift shown by the provenance of the local upper Miocene to lower Pliocene conglomerates. Further compressional deformation in the late Pliocene to Pleistocene caused widespread uplift and folding in the adjacent upper Miocene to lower Pliocene succession.

Ransiki earthquakes, northeastern Bird’s Head Peninsula, northwestern New Guinea, Indonesia: Deformation partitioning in oblique plate convergence

The plate boundary between the Pacific-Caroline and Australian plates in northwestern New Guinea is associated with a geographic concentration of earthquakes developed in the Ransiki region of the northeastern Bird’s Head Peninsula (West Papua, northwestern New Guinea) at the intersection of the Ransiki and Yapen faults. We examine these earthquakes based on regional geomorphological and lithostratigraphical frameworks, field observations of surface ruptures and liquefaction phenomena, and focal mechanisms of historical earthquakes. The Ransiki earthquakes are a set of 29 earthquakes from the Global Centroid Moment Tensor catalogue in the period 1977–2019 (magnitudes of Mw4.9 to Mw7.5). In the east, focal mechanisms show sinistral movement along the east-west trending Yapen Fault including the Mw6.7 earthquake on 21 April 2012. The largest earthquake was on 10 October 2002 (Mw7.5) and along with other earthquakes mainly in the southwest were associated with dextral movement indicated by focal mechanism solutions on the northwest trending Ransiki Fault south of its intersection with the Yapen Fault. The southern part of the Ransiki Fault therefore indicates local north-northeast compression that is also evident in the newly recognised Wainoei Fault south of Yapen Island. The two largest earthquakes (10 October 2002, 21 April 2012) show ground effects associated with liquefaction, indicated by surface offsets, open fissures, and sand blows, that all occurred in saturated sediments of the Ransiki delta. Earthquakes in the Ransiki region show that west-southwest oblique plate convergence between the Australian and Pacific-Caroline plates is partitioned into east-west sinistral strike-slip motion along the Yapen Fault and north-northeast compression associated with the Ransiki Fault.

Early Paleozoic oblique convergence from subduction to collision: Insights from timing and structural style of the transpressional dextral shear zone in the Qilian orogen, northern Tibet of China

Transpressional shear zones commonly occur in ancient and modern convergent plate boundaries to accommodate oblique plate convergence. The early Paleozoic Qilian orogen in northeastern Tibet records the subduction of Proto-Tethyan Ocean lithosphere and the accretion-collision of various magmatic arcs and continental terranes. This study focused on the Datong ductile shear zone, which represents the central part of the WNW-ESE−striking ductile shear zone along the northern margin of the Qilian block in the Qilian orogen. This structure bears key information about the evolution of oblique convergence during the early Paleozoic orogeny. The kinematics and timing of the Datong ductile shear zone were investigated via field-based, microstructural, and mica 40Ar/39Ar dating analyses. Mesostructural and microstructural data showed predominantly dextral strike-slip shearing within the Datong ductile shear zone. Microstructural features and quartz c-axis crystallographic preferred orientation patterns indicated that dextral ductile shearing occurred under lower-amphibolite-facies conditions (∼500−550 °C and ∼5.6 kbar) within the shear zone. Microstructures of quartz showed subgrain rotation (SGR) and grain boundary migration (GBM), suggesting dislocation creep−dominated deformation. A strain rate of 10−12 s−1 and a differential stress of 25−39 MPa were estimated by the rheological flow law and quartz paleopiezometry. Finite strain measurements indicated that all deformed rocks of the Datong ductile shear zone exhibit a weakly oblate ellipsoid near the plane strain. Kinematic vorticity (ranging 0.47−0.83) analysis suggested the coexistence of simple shear and pure shear strains within the Datong ductile shear zone, indicating a transpressional setting. Biotite and muscovite 40Ar/39Ar data showed that transpressional shearing deformation started in the Ordovician (before 453 Ma) and lasted to the Silurian (ca. 430 Ma). Our new data combined with regional geological data show that the deformation type, kinematics, and dynamics of the Datong ductile shear zone were controlled by the southward oblique subduction of the Paleo-Qilian Ocean (Proto-Tethyan Ocean) and the following oblique collision between the Qilian block and the Alxa block. The intensive transpressional deformation along the northern Qilian block may reflect strong coupling between the subducting Paleo-Qilian oceanic slab and the overriding Qilian block as well as a high degree of convergence obliquity during the ongoing early Paleozoic convergence.

Oblique plate convergence along arcuate trenches on a spherical Earth. An example from the Western Sunda Arc

We propose a new definition of oblique plate convergence. Our model considers arc-trench curvature on a spherical Earth, and defines obliquity as the angle between the direction of plate convergence and the azimuth from the central point along the arc to the center of curvature of the arcuate trench. We also show how this model may be extended to multiple-arc trenches.We apply this definition to the Western Sunda Arc, which has been traditionally considered the prime example of oblique plate convergence, particularly the segment corresponding to Sumatra. We define eight arc-like segments along this arc-trench system. Obliquity angles on these arc-like segments vary from 92° in the northernmost (Burmese) arc to 7° offshore the Sunda strait (between Sumatra and Java). The angle of obliquity offshore Sumatra is 31°, almost within the definition of slightly oblique convergence. Given the low angle of obliquity, partitioning along the Sumatran fault, in the southern portion of the Western Sunda Arc, is difficult to explain by oblique plate convergence alone. We suggest that the entire segment (or forearc) inboard of the Western Sunda Arc be dragged from the Burmese arc, where overriding and subducting plates are completely coupled and oblique plate convergence is high.

Drainage and sedimentary response of the Northern Andes and the Pebas system to Miocene strike‐slip tectonics: A source to sink study of the Magdalena Basin

AbstractMiocene strike‐slip tectonics was responsible for creating and closing short‐lived (ca. 6 Ma) passages and the emergence of isolated topography in the Northern Andes. These geological events likely influenced the migration and/or isolation of biological populations. To better understand the paleogeography of the Miocene hinterland and foreland regions in the Northern Andes, we conducted a source‐to‐sink approach in the Magdalena Basin. This basin is located between the Central and Eastern Cordilleras of Colombia and contains an ample Miocene record, which includes Lower Miocene fine‐grained strata and Middle Miocene to Pliocene coarsening‐up strata. Our study presents a new data set that includes detrital U–Pb zircon ages (15 samples), sandstone petrography (45 samples) and low‐temperature thermochronology from the Southern Central Cordillera (19 dates); which together with previously published data were used to construct a paleogeographical model of the Miocene hinterland and foreland regions in the Northern Andes. The evolution of the Magdalena Basin during the Miocene was characterized by playa and permanent lake systems at ca. 17.5 Ma, which may be related to a marine incursion into NW South America and western Amazonia. The appearance of Eocene to Miocene volcanic sources in the Honda Group after ca. 16 Ma suggests the development of fluvial passages, which connected the Pacific with the western Amazonia and Caribbean regions. These passages were synchronous with a time of Miocene exhumation and topographic growth (ca. 16 to 10 Ma) in the Central Cordillera and the transition from lacustrine to fluvial deposition in the Magdalena Basin. Middle to Late Miocene strike‐slip deformation promoted by oblique plate convergence and the oblique collision of the Panamá‐Chocó Block likely explains the synchronous along‐strike fragmentation and exhumation in the Central Cordillera.

Geodetic modelling of the 2022Mw 6.6 Menyuan earthquake: insight into the strain-partitioned northern Qilian Shan fault system and implications for regional tectonics and seismic hazards

SUMMARYStrain partitioning between strike-slip faults in mountains and thrust faults in the foreland is a typical mountain building process to accommodate oblique plate convergence. Studying the geometry and movement of such strain-partitioned fault systems is key to understanding the mountain building process and related seismic hazards. The 2022 Mw 6.6 Menyuan earthquake is the largest strike-slip earthquake to have ruptured the northern Qilian Shan fault system in the modern geodetic era. We combined satellite and field observations to determine the fault geometry and coseismic slip distribution in the Menyuan earthquake, and link the distribution of coseismic slip with the pattern of interseismic strain accumulation within the northern Qilian Shan from our geodetic slip model. We find that the Menyuan earthquake ruptured a 25 km-long section of the left-lateral Longlongling Fault between the surface and 7 km depth. The maximum slip was 4 m at 3–4 km depth. Damage to a high-speed railway tunnel recorded a fault offset of 2.7 m at a depth of 200 m compared to 2.5–3.0 m on the surface, suggesting that dispersion of the rupture through unconsolidated shallow sediments was limited, at least at the tunnel site. We also determined the pattern of interseismic deformation prior to the earthquake using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar and Global Navigation Satellite System data. We found the interseismic geodetic data can be explained by the oblique movement of a low-angle décollement beneath the Qilian Shan rather than a strain partitioning fault system. We suggested that the strike-slip faults and foreland thrusts are separated by a creeping décollement, which would act as a barrier to stop the cascading rupture of the strike-slip and thrust fault.

Frontal expansion of an accretionary wedge under highly oblique plate convergence: Southern Indo-Burman Ranges, Myanmar

The formation of accretionary wedges with oversteepened slopes and uplifted axial zones has been demonstrated to be potentially associated with highly oblique plate convergence by numerical and analog studies. The direct role of this mechanism, or other factor(s) in producing the described structural and morphological features in nature, however, has yet to be confirmed. We used seismic reflection sections, detrital zircon U-Pb ages, and detrital apatite fission-track thermochronological data to examine the effects of highly oblique convergence and sediment reworking on accretionary wedge growth in the Indo-Burma Subduction Zone. A detailed subsurface structural analysis of a two-dimensional seismic survey from the outer wedge of the southern Indo-Burman Ranges, Myanmar, yielded three primary characteristics. These are (1) a narrow, steep deformation front (average width 15.6 km) and a vast, low-relief shelf terrace (average width 49 km); (2) a comparatively long-lived growth thrust fault (FT1) with a convex-up geometry at the rear of the deformation front that controlled the vertical stack of the progradational sequences in the shelf terrace; and (3) a group of NE-striking transtensional faults that cut through entire outer-wedge successions and displays as a series of negative flower-like structures. These characteristic features are roughly consistent with the results of laboratory analog modeling of highly oblique plate convergence but significantly differ from those of natural accretionary wedges that formed under highly oblique convergence conditions, such as those in the Sumatra, Hikurangi, Chile, and Cascadia. We further analyzed the sediment provenance of the southern Indo-Burman Ranges and discovered that the outer-wedge rocks are a product of sediment reworking of the hinterland wedge that began to be uplifted and exhumed in the early Miocene (22−12 Ma) due to transpressional motion between the Indian plate and West Burma Terrane. Our analyses indicate that active sedimentation behind the major growth thrust fault (FT1) provided additional basal shear stress that strengthened the coupling of the interface between the wedge base and décollement and promoted the vertical expansion of the outer wedge of the southern Indo-Burman Ranges from the Neogene to the present day. In contrast, the outer wedge of the central Indo-Burman Ranges has experienced stronger forward accretion since the late Miocene, which could be explained by a smaller degree of obliquity and weaker sediment reworking. Our findings demonstrate that both highly oblique plate convergence and sediment reworking were the primary driving forces that triggered vertical development of accretionary wedges. The results of this research have significant implications for understanding the structures and kinematic evolution of wedge systems at other convergent plate margins, in which seamount passage or subduction erosion is often interpreted as the cause of the steeply tapered wedges.

Source Model and Characteristics of the 27 July 2022 MW 7.0 Northwestern Luzon Earthquake, Philippines

The geometry and kinematics of the causative fault of the 27 July 2022 moment magnitude (Mw) 7.0 earthquake, which is one of the strongest to hit northern and central Luzon in the past 30 years, were estimated through inverse modeling of line-of-sight interferometric synthetic aperture radar deformation. We modeled rupture along multiple candidate faults based on fit with the pattern of line-of-sight deformation, consistency with focal mechanisms, and compatibility with the known kinematics of the mapped active faults in the region. Our preferred fault model, located west of and parallel to the Abra River Fault (ARF), exhibits localized reverse-slip (average 67° rake) at 15-35 km down-dip. Peak slip occurs at 13-16 km depth, with 95 cm of pure reverse-slip. The existence of a reverse-slip dominated ARF-parallel fault rupture is consistent with a complex shear partitioning model, wherein the NW-SE oblique plate convergence is accommodated not only by the sinistral strike-slip Philippine Fault Zone and the major subduction zones, but also by minor faults in intervening crustal blocks.

Sinistral shear during Middle Jurassic emplacement of the Matancilla Plutonic Complex in northern Chile (25.4° S) as evidence of oblique plate convergence during the early Andean orogeny

Arc magmatism in a continental subduction zone facilitates rheological weakening of the rigid upper plate, and can accommodate the partitioned trench-parallel component of oblique subduction into an intra-arc shear zone. We document a shear zone at latitude 25.4° S near Taltal, Chile that was associated with intrusion of the Matancilla Plutonic Complex at ∼169 Ma to evaluate intra-arc deformation and possible tectonic plate configurations during this time period. Polyphase folding of Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks is overprinted by mylonitic fabrics that are most extensive in a zone up to 1.4 km wide in the thermal aureole of the granodioritic Matancilla pluton, where contact metamorphic andalusite porphyroblasts are synkinematic with fabric development. Mylonite in metasedimentary rocks is overprinted by a ∼130 Ma granodiorite (zircon U–Pb) and by ∼133 Ma postkinematic monazite (U–Pb). Within the Jurassic Matancilla granodiorite, pervasive ductile shear occurs along the intrusive contact while centimeter-scale discrete high-strain zones throughout the pluton are associated with focused hydrothermal alteration and reaction weakening. Mylonitic foliation in the metasedimentary rocks and within the pluton strikes N- to NE and dips steeply, while stretching lineations are subhorizontal on average. Kinematic indicators record dominantly sinistral shear, though some dextral or symmetric indicators and S > L fabrics suggest a component of coaxial strain and flattening. Sinistral strike-slip kinematics in the Matancilla shear zone may indicate that Middle Jurassic convergence had sinistral obliquity that was locally partitioned into the contemporaneous magmatic arc. Sinistral-oblique convergence would require the Phoenix-Farallon spreading center to be north of ∼25° S in the Middle Jurassic, providing a constraint to plate reconstructions during the early Andean orogeny.

A new interpretation of the metamorphic core in the Taiwan orogen: A regional-scale, left-lateral shear zone that accommodated highly oblique plate convergence in the Plio-Pleistocene

In the past decades, the arc-continent collision in Taiwan was commonly interpreted as a relatively continuous process with an invariant plate convergence vector for at least the last 6–5 Ma. This steady convergence, including the rate and the obliquity, between the subducting continental margin and the plate boundary suggest a propagating collision with a space-time equivalence along the developing orogen. More recently, detailed low-temperature geochronologic and plate reconstructions suggest that the plate convergence changed from highly oblique to nearly orthogonal in the last 2 to 1 Ma. This early phase of oblique convergence, driven primarily by the northward motion of the Philippine Sea Plate wrt the Eurasian Plate, implies a significant ‘fossil’ component of left-lateral, strike-slip motion along the presumably north-trending plate boundary. A synthesis of available data compiled in this study suggests that previously uncharacterized zones of strike-slip deformation exist in the Tailuko Belt, and here we document: 1) the distribution of horizontal shear, 2) the kinematics of deformation, 3) the age of deformation, and 4) regional consistency between geologic studies and plate reconstructions. Horizontal shear may also be recorded at shallow structural levels in southern Taiwan by brittle faults and block rotations. Integration of these new data with previously published kinematic data across strike also suggests plate convergence was partitioned with strike-slip motion in the retrowedge (i.e., the Tailuko Belt) and shortening in the prowedge (i.e., the Slate Belt).

Oblique Convergence Causes Both Thrust and Strike‐Slip Ruptures During the 2021 M 7.2 Haiti Earthquake

AbstractA devastating magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Southern Haiti on 14 August 2021. The earthquake caused severe damage and over 2000 casualties. Resolving the earthquake rupture process can provide critical insights into hazard mitigation. Here we use integrated seismological analyses to obtain the rupture history of the 2021 earthquake. We find the earthquake first broke a blind thrust fault and then jumped to a disconnected strike‐slip fault. Neither of the fault configurations aligns with the left‐lateral tectonic boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates. The complex multi‐fault rupture may result from the oblique plate convergence in the region, so that the initial thrust rupture is due to the boundary‐normal compression and the following strike‐slip faulting originates from the Gonâve microplate block movement, orienting SW‐NE direction. The complex rupture development of the earthquake suggests that the regional deformation is accommodated by a network of segmented faults with diverse faulting conditions.

Orogen-scale transpression accounts for GPS velocities and kinematic partitioning in the Southern Andes

The Southern Andes are regarded as a typical subduction orogen formed by oblique plate convergence. However, there is considerable uncertainty as to how deformation is kinematically partitioned in the upper plate. Here we use analogue experiments conducted in the MultiBox (Multifunctional analogue Box) apparatus to investigate dextral transpression in the Southern Andes between 34 °S and 42 °S. We find that transpression in our models is caused mainly by two prominent fault sets; transpression zone-parallel dextral oblique-slip thrust faults and sinistral oblique-slip reverse faults. The latter of these sets may be equivalent to northwest-striking faults which were believed to be pre-Andean in origin. We also model variable crustal strength in our experiments and find that stronger crust north of 37 °S and weaker crust to the south best reproduces the observed GPS velocity field. We propose that transpression in the Southern Andes is accommodated by distributed deformation rather than localized displacements on few margin-parallel faults.

Kinematic partitioning in the Southern Andes (39\xb0 S\u201346\xb0 S) inferred from lineament analysis and reassessment of exhumation rates

The Southern Andes are often viewed as a classic example for kinematic partitioning of oblique plate convergence into components of continental margin-parallel strike-slip and transverse shortening. In this regard, the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault Zone, one of Earth’s most prominent intra-arc deformation zones, is believed to be the most important crustal discontinuity in the Southern Andes taking up margin-parallel dextral strike-slip. Recent structural studies, however, are at odds with this simple concept of kinematic partitioning, due to the presence of margin-oblique and a number of other margin-parallel intra-arc deformation zones. However, knowledge on the extent of such zones in the Southern Andes is still limited. Here, we document traces of prominent structural discontinuities (lineaments) from the Southern Andes between 39° S and 46° S. In combination with compiled low-temperature thermochronology data and interpolation of respective exhumation rates, we revisit the issue of kinematic partitioning in the Southern Andes. Exhumation rates are maximal in the central parts of the orogen and discontinuity traces, trending predominantly N–S, WNW–ESE and NE–SW, are distributed across the entire width of the orogen. Notably, discontinuities coincide spatially with large gradients in Neogene exhumation rates and separate crustal domains characterized by uniform exhumation. Collectively, these relationships point to significant components of vertical displacement on these discontinuities, in addition to horizontal displacements known from published structural studies. Our results agree with previously documented Neogene shortening in the Southern Andes and indicate orogen-scale transpression with maximal vertical extrusion of rocks in the center of the transpression zone. The lineament and thermochronology data call into question the traditional view of kinematic partitioning in the Southern Andes, in which deformation is focused on the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault Zone.

The interplay of a fault zone and a volcanic reservoir from 3D elasto-plastic models: Rheological conditions for mutual trigger based on a field case from the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone

The Southern Andes margin hosts active and fossil volcanic, geothermal, and mineralized systems documenting intense geofluid migration through the crust. Fluid flow is also spatially associated with crustal faults that accommodate the bulk deformation arising from oblique plate convergence. Although recognized, the precise local mechanical interaction between faults and crustal reservoirs is yet to be better understood. Here we present 3D numerical models of a magmatic reservoir and a fault zone set about 4 km apart, inspired by the Tatara-San Pedro volcanic complex in the Southern Volcanic Zone (~36°S), which displays a geothermal field and a margin-parallel dextral active fault zone constrained by published magnetotelluric profiles and crustal seismicity respectively. We investigate elasto-plastic deformation and stress patterns in the intermediate bedrock space between the reservoir and the fault zone and test how shear stress, volumetric strain, and plastic strain develop. We also test the potential of enabling brittle failure of their counterpart by imposing either (1) a strike-slip displacement along the fault zone, or (2) a magmatic overpressure at the cavity walls. Parametric tests of Young's modulus and frictional strength provide the conditions for macro-scale brittle failure and show the development of diffuse domains of dilational strain of the order of 10−5 –10−3 in the intervening bedrock. This dilation is a proxy to the opening of voids or volumetric cracking in the bedrock, which tends to increase porosity and permeability allowing over-pressurized geofluids to migrate within these domains. Our results show that a minimum of 60 m of fault displacement is required to trigger brittle failure of an upper crustal cavity if the bedrock is stiff, whereas, for a more compliant bedrock, more than 100 m of localized slip motion is required. This implies that it is rather the accumulated effect of repeated crustal fault displacement that potentially favors fluid pathways upwards, rather than a single seismic event. On the other hand, a minimum of 7.5 MPa of fluid overpressure is required for a mid-crustal cavity (15 km depth) to trigger brittle failure of the fault zone. This threshold overpressure increases up to 50 MPa when the cavity is shallower (6 km depth). Our results show that in general, shallow reservoirs must be very close to fault zones (less than 1–2 km apart) to reactivate them. The models show that localized strike-slip tectonics and magma intrusions build a dilational stress field at the scale of several kilometers, that promotes fluid pathways to the surface. Further combining this interaction with the regional transpressional stress field may explain observations of transient fluid pathways on seemingly independent timescales along the Andean margin.

Seismic velocity and anisotropy tomography of southern Sumatra

In this study new isotropic P- and S-wave velocity models as well as the P-wave azimuthally anisotropic model of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath southern Sumatra are derived from regional earthquake data by using the eikonal equation-based seismic tomography method. All the tomographic results reveal a clear high-velocity (high-V) belt in the uppermost mantle that represents the subducting Indo-Australian slab. In the mantle wedge, relatively low velocity (low-V) anomalies are clearly imaged, which may be related to the ascending fluids and partial melts caused by slab dehydration. The P-wave azimuthally anisotropic model shows complex patterns in the upper crust, which may be due to the effects of the maximum horizontal compressive stress and/or geological structure. Trench-normal fast velocity directions (FVDs) prevail in the lower crust, which may be associated with the plastic flow induced by the oblique plate convergence. Predominant trench-parallel FVDs in the fore-arc and volcanic-arc mantle wedge and trench-normal FVDs in the back-arc mantle wedge are observable, which are possibly related to 2-D slab-driven corner flow and/or 3-D complex mantle flow. The subducting slab generally displays trench-parallel FVDs, suggesting that the slab may keep the original fossil anisotropy.

Fast Holocene slip and localized strain along the Liqui\xf1e-Ofqui strike-slip fault system, Chile

In active tectonic settings dominated by strike-slip kinematics, slip partitioning across subparallel faults is a common feature; therefore, assessing the degree of partitioning and strain localization is paramount for seismic hazard assessments. Here, we estimate a slip rate of 18.8 ± 2.0 mm/year over the past 9.0 ± 0.1 ka for a single strand of the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault System, which straddles the Main Cordillera in Southern Chile. This Holocene rate accounts for ~ 82% of the trench-parallel component of oblique plate convergence and is similar to million-year estimates integrated over the entire fault system. Our results imply that strain localizes on a single fault at millennial time scale but over longer time scales strain localization is not sustained. The fast millennial slip rate in the absence of historical Mw > 6.5 earthquakes along the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault System implies either a component of aseismic slip or Mw ~ 7 earthquakes involving multi-trace ruptures and > 150-year repeat times. Our results have implications for the understanding of strike-slip fault system dynamics within volcanic arcs and seismic hazard assessments.

Evolution of the Ecuador offshore nonaccretionary-type forearc basin and margin segmentation

Forearc basins have developed along accretionary and nonaccretionary convergent margins. Here, we investigate the evolution of an offshore nonaccretionary-type forearc basin that has developed along the Ecuadorian convergent margin. We used 2D-Multichannel Seismic Reflection profiles to recognize five seismic units overlying the acoustic basement. The units were dated by correlation with wells and regional stratigraphy. They recorded the structural evolution of the margin into North, Central-North and Central-South margin segments identified from Gravity Free Air Anomalies. Intersegment transition zones accommodated deformation related to the margin segmentation, contributing to the development of shelf forearc depocenters. An offshore forearc basin (subunit L1a) developed on accreted oceanic terranes during the middle-to-late Eocene. The basin was affected by normal faulting during the Oligocene to early-middle Miocene (subunit L1b). This extension stage initiated during the rifting and oblique subduction of the Farallon plate beneath the Ecuador margin. The basin underwent an early-middle Miocene uplift outlined by unconformity U1 potentially associated with the subduction of the young Nazca plate, in a less oblique plate convergence environment. During the early-Pliocene, the Central-South margin segment individualized by uplift during the formation of unconformity U2. The Manta anticline, which developed in the intersegment transition zone, accommodated the segmentation. This event is associated with the arrival of the Carnegie ridge in the subduction. The North segment individualized by uplift during the Pliocene early-Pleistocene formation of the Pedernales structural high, which may coincide with a reactivation of the Canandé fault. Synchronously, unit L3 sediment recorded the subsidence of the Central-North segment, and strike-slip tectonics in the area of the Jama-Bahía depocenter. A mosaic of middle-to-late Pleistocene unit L5 depocenters that alternate with uplifted zones along the shelf likely recorded the subduction of the topographically irregular Carnegie ridge. The study provides a remarkable example of the evolution of a non-accretionary-type forearc basin.

The Bunce Fault and Strain Partitioning in the Northern Lesser Antilles

AbstractStrain partitioning related to oblique plate convergence has long been debated in Northern Lesser Antilles. Geophysical data acquired during the ANTITHESIS cruises highlight that the sinistral strike‐slip Bunce Fault develops along the vertical, long, and linear discontinuity between the sedimentary wedge and a more rigid backstop. The narrowness of the 20‐ to 30‐km‐wide accretionary wedge and its continuity over ~850 km is remarkable. The Bunce Fault extends as far south as 18.5°N where it anastomoses within the accretionary prism where the sharp increase in convergence obliquity possibly acts as a mechanical threshold. Surface traces related to subducting seamounts suggest that 80% of the lateral component of the convergent motion is taken up by internal deformation within the accretionary prism and by the Bunce Fault. The absence of crustal‐scale, long‐term tectonic system south of the Anegada Passage casts doubt upon the degree of strain partitioning in the Northern Lesser Antilles.

Active Faulting Geometry and Stress Pattern Near Complex Strike‐Slip Systems Along the Maghreb Region: Constraints on Active Convergence in the Western Mediterranean

AbstractThe Maghreb region (from Tunisia to Gibraltar) is a key area in the western Mediterranean to study the active tectonics and stress pattern across the Africa‐Eurasia convergent plate boundary. In the present study, we compile comprehensive data set of well‐constrained crustal stress indicators (from single focal mechanism solutions, formal inversion of focal mechanism solutions, and young geologic fault slip data) based on our and published data analyses. Stress inversion of focal mechanisms reveals a first‐order transpression‐compatible stress field and a second‐order spatial variation of tectonic regime across the Maghreb region, with a relatively stable SHmax orientation from east to west. Therefore, the present‐day active contraction of the western Africa‐Eurasia plate boundary is accommodated by (1) E‐W strike‐slip faulting with reverse component along the Eastern Tell and Saharan‐Tunisian Atlas, (2) a predominantly NE trending thrust faulting with strike‐slip component in the Western Tell part, and (3) a conjugate strike‐slip faulting regime with normal component in the Alboran/Rif domain. This spatial variation of the present‐day stress field and faulting regime is relatively in agreement with the inferred stress information from neotectonic features. According to existing and newly proposed structural models, we highlight the role of main geometrically complex shear zones in the present‐day stress pattern of the Maghreb region. Then, different geometries of these major inherited strike‐slip faults and its related fractures (V‐shaped conjugate fractures, horsetail splays faults, and Riedel fractures) impose their component on the second‐ and third‐order stress regimes. Neotectonic and smoothed present‐day stress map (mean SHmax orientation) reveal that plate boundary forces acting on the Africa‐Eurasia collisional plates control the long wavelength of the stress field pattern in the Maghreb. The current tectonic deformations and the upper crustal stress field in the study area are governed by the interplay of the oblique plate convergence (i.e., Africa‐Eurasia), lithosphere‐mantle interaction, and preexisting tectonic weakness zones.

Imaging the Growth of Recent Faults: The Case of 2016–2017 Seismic Sequence Sea Bottom Deformation in the Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean)

AbstractThe Eurasian‐African NW‐SE oblique plate convergence produces shortening and orthogonal extension in the Alboran Sea Basin (westernmost Mediterranean), located between the Betic and Rif Cordilleras. A NNE‐SSW broadband of deformation and seismicity affects the Alboran central part. After the 1993–1994 and 2004 seismic series, an earthquake sequence struck mainly its southern sector in 2016–2017 (main event Mw = 6.3, 25 January 2016). The near‐surface deformation is investigated using seismic profiles, multibeam bathymetry, gravity and seismicity data. Epicenters can be grouped into two main alignments. The northern WSW‐ENE alignment has reverse earthquake focal mechanisms, and in its epicentral region recent mass transport deposits occur. The southern alignment consists of a NNE‐SSW vertical sinistral deformation zone, with early epicenters of higher‐magnitude earthquakes located along a narrow band 5 to 10‐km offset westward of the Al Idrisi Fault. Here near‐surface deformation includes active NW‐SE vertical and normal faults, unmapped until now. Later, epicenters spread eastward, reaching the Al Idrisi Fault, characterized by discontinuous active NNE‐SSW vertical fractures. Seismicity and tectonic structures suggest a westward propagation of deformation and the growth at depth of incipient faults, comprising a NNE‐SSW sinistral fault zone in depth that is connected upward with NW‐SE vertical and normal faults. This recent fault zone is segmented and responsible for the seismicity in 1993–1994 in the coastal area, in 2004 onshore, and in 2016–2017 offshore. Insights for seismic hazard assessment point to the growth of recent faults that could produce potentially higher magnitude earthquakes than the already formed faults.