Kinematic evolution of thrusts wedge and erratic line length balancing: insights from deformed sandbox models

Kinematic evolution of fold-thrust structures has been investigated by analogue models that include syntectonic sedimentation. Different decollement dips and basement thicknesses produced different wedge geometries and propagating characteristics. A model with one decollement level was characterized by a closely spaced thrust system during early stages of shortening as compared to the late stages. The frequency of fault nucleation was rapid during the early stages of deformation. Conversely, the frequency of fault nucleation was low and thrust spacing was significantly wider in a model with two decollement levels. Individual faults became locked at steep dips and deformation stepped forward as a new fault nucleated in-sequence in front of the older locked structure. Once the thrust system was established up to 27 % overall shortening, an overlying bed was introduced to simulate syntectonic deformation. Model sand wedge did not grow self similarly but rather its length and height increased episodically with deformation. Restoration of deformed models show that layer parallel shortening accommodated for approximately half of the total model shortening across the multilayers. Calculated error in apparent layer shortening from the restored layers revealed a direct relation with depth of the layers in the models. The experimental results are comparable to a natural example from the Northern Apennines fold-and-thrust belts.     

A kinematic evolutionary model for the Penninic sector of the central Ligurian Alps

The nappe pile presently cropping out in the central sector of the Ligurian Alps, is represented by some principal groups of tectonic units. Starting from the foreland, the outer and lower, weakly metamorphic (up to 0.3 GPa) Briançonnais units support the high-pressure (up to 1.3 GPa) ensemble of inner Briançonnais nappes, in turn overridden by the Prepiedmont units, sourced from the European continental margin. Prepiedmont units form two superposed groups. The lower is composed only of a pre-Namurian basement (Alpine metamorphism up to 0.6 GPa); and the upper is mainly composed of a slightly metamorphic (greenschist facies) post-Namurian cover. At the top lie the high-pressure metamorphosed (up to 0.8 GPa in the sector here considered) ophiolitic units. The group of the non-metamorphic Helminthoid Flysch nappes (original stratigraphic cover of the ophiolitic units) has travelled the greatest distance and is presently mainly set onto the outer part of the chain. Only events up to the stacking of the nappe pile are discussed, disregarding late-stage deformation. As the examined sector is located at a considerable distance from the collisional zone, late processes did not change the overall order of superposition formerly acquired. The model proposes the development of two major, subhorizontal detachment surfaces. The first, shallower one confines at the base a very thin-skinned set of nappes, nearly totally made up of Prepiedmont sedimentary covers that are bounded at their top by the Helminthoid Flysch units. Both these groups underwent a mainly horizontal outwards transport. In contrast, the underlying Prepiedmont crust and the adjoining Briançonnais inner sector (separated by the second, deeper major detachment surface) were progressively dragged into the subduction zone under the ophiolitic units and duplexes were generated. Exhumation of the metamorphic units occurred along the subduction channel, as did stacking of the nappe pile.     

Imaging of Vp, Vs, and Poisson’s ratio anomalies beneath Kyushu, southwest Japan: Implications for volcanism and forearc mantle wedge serpentinization

We determine detailed 3-D V_p and V_s structures of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the Kyushu Island, southwest Japan, using a large number of arrival times from local earthquakes. From the obtained V_p and V_s models, we further calculate Poisson’s ratio images beneath the study area. By using this large data set, we successfully image the 3-D seismic velocity and Poisson’s ratio structures beneath Kyushu down to a depth of 150 km with a more reliable spatial resolution than previous studies. Our results show very clear low V_p and low V_s anomalies in the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the northern volcanoes, such as Abu, Kujyu and Unzen. Low-velocity anomalies are seen in the mantle beneath most other volcanoes. In contrast, there are no significant low-velocity anomalies in the crust or in the upper mantle between Aso and Kirishima. The subducting Philippine Sea slab is imaged generally as a high-velocity anomaly down to a depth of 150 km with some patches of normal to low seismic wave velocities. The Poisson’s ratio is almost normal beneath most volcanoes. The crustal seismicity is distributed in both the high- and low-velocity zones, but most distinctly in the low Poisson’s ratio zone. A high Poisson’s ratio region is found in the forearc crustal wedge above the slab in the junction area with Shikoku and Honshu; this high Poisson’s ratio could be caused by fluid-filled cracks induced by dehydration from the Philippine Sea slab. The Poisson’s ratio is normal to low in the forearc mantle in middle-south Kyushu. This is consistent with the absence of low-frequency tremors, and may indicate that dehydration from the subducting crust is not vigorous in this region.     

Simulated changes in the atmospheric water balance over South Asia in the eight IPCC AR4 coupled climate models

This paper evaluates the performance of eight state-of-art IPCC-AR4 coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models in their representation of regional characteristics of atmospheric water balance over South Asia. The results presented here are the regional climate change scenarios of atmospheric water balance components, precipitation, moisture convergence and evaporation (P, C and E) up to the end of the twenty-second century based on IPCC AR4 modelling experiments conducted for (A1B) future greenhouse gas emission scenario. The AOGCMs, despite their relatively coarse resolution, have shown a reasonable skill in depicting the hydrological cycle over the South Asian region. However, considerable biases do exist with reference to the observed atmospheric water balance and also inter-model differences. The monsoon rainfall and atmospheric water balance changes under A1B scenario are discussed in detail. Spatial patterns of rainfall change projections indicate maximum increase over northwest India in most of the models, but changes in the atmospheric water balance are generally widespread over South Asia. While the scenarios presented in this study are indicative of the expected range of rainfall and water balance changes, it must be noted that the quantitative estimates still have large uncertainties associated with them.     

Syntheses of the regional stress fields of the Japanese islands

The principal stresses in northern Honshu and in central-southwest Japan are synthesized on the basis of the ridge push, slab pull and across-arc variation of differential forces due to crust/plate structural variation. Assuming a more compressive north–south horizontal stress in central Japan-northern Honshu than that of southwest Japan, the calculated principal stress profiles explain the observed stress fields in these areas: namely, a strike–slip fault type for southwest-central Japan and a reverse fault type for northern Honshu, both having east–west σ_Hmax. Kyushu is characterized by the gradient of horizontal stresses both in the east–west and north–south directions, which cannot be explained by simple plate interactions or by crust/plate structural variation. Combined with other lines of evidence for existence of mantle upwelling in the East China Sea west of Kyushu, it is proposed that the stress gradient is produced by the viscous drag exerted by the flow spread laterally from the upwelling plume. The eastward movement of Kyushu and southwest Japan relative to Eurasia revealed by the recent Global Positioning System measurements conducted by the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan would be partly explained by this basal drag.     

Seismic anisotropy in the wedge above the Philippine Sea slab beneath Kanto and southwest Japan derived from shear wave splitting

We conduct shear wave splitting measurements on waveform data from the Hi-net and the broadband F-net seismic stations in Kanto and SW Japan generated by shallow and intermediate-depth earthquakes occurring in the subducting Philippine Sea and Pacific slabs. We obtain 1115 shear wave splitting parameter pairs. The results are divided into those from the shallow (depth < 50 km) and the deep (depth > 50 km) events. The deep events beneath Kanto are further divided into PHS1 and PHS2 (upper and lower planes of the double seismic zone in the Philippine Sea slab, respectively), PAC1 and PAC2 (western and eastern Pacific slab, respectively) events. The results from the shallow events represent the crustal anisotropy, and their fast directions are more or less aligned in the σ_Hmax directions, implying that the anisotropy is produced by the alignment of the vertical cracks in the crust induced by the compressive stresses. In Kanto, Kii Peninsula and Kyushu regions, the results from the deep events suggest a contribution from the mantle wedge anisotropy. Events from all groups beneath Kanto show NW, NE and EW fast directions. This complex pattern seems to be produced by the corner flows induced by both the WNW PAC plate subduction and the oblique NNW PHS slab subduction with the associated olivine lattice-preferred orientations (LPOs), and the anisotropy frozen in the PHS slab. The deep events beneath Kii Peninsula show NE and NW fast directions and may be produced by the corner flow produced by the NNW PHS slab subduction with the associated olivine LPOs. The NE directions might also be produced by the segregated melts in the thin layers parallel to the PHS slab subduction. The deep events beneath N Kyushu show NNW fast directions, which may result from the southeastward flow in the upper mantle inferred from the stresses in the upper plate. Results from the deep events beneath middle-south Kyushu show dominantly E–W fast directions, in both the fore- and back-arcs. They may be produced by the corner flow of the westward PHS slab subduction with the olivine LPOs. Because the source regions with multiple fast directions are not resolved in this study, further detailed analyses of shear wave splitting are necessary for a better understanding of the stress state, the induced mantle flow, and the melt-segregation processes.     

When and why the continental crust is subducted: Examples of Hindu Kush and Burma

The Indian subcontinent has been colliding against Asia along the Himalayas. Hindu Kush and Burma in this collision zone have intermediate-depth seismicities beneath them, with most of the continental crust subducted into a few hundred km depth. The subduction, not collision, in these regions is an enigma long time. We show that the continental lithosphere subducted beneath Hindu Kush and Burma traveled over the Reunion and Kerguelen hotspots from 100 Ma to 126 Ma and is likely to have been metasomatized by upwelling plumes beneath those hotspots. The devolatilization of the metasomatized lithosphere impinging on the collision boundary would have provided a high pore fluid pressure ratio at the thrust zones and made the subduction of the continental lithosphere in these regions possible. The subducted lithosphere could give intermediate-depth seismicities by devolatilization embrittlement. Such subduction of hotspot-affected lithosphere without accompanying any oceanic plate would be one candidate for producing ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks by deep subduction of the continental crust.     

Land subsidence along the Ionian coast of SE Sicily (Italy), detection and analysis via Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) multitemporal differential SAR interferometry

The paper presents the results of a multi‐temporal, differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) analysis aiming to identify active surface deformation phenomena in south‐eastern Sicily. The study area has been chosen because of its strong seismicity, high concentration of industrial and agricultural activities, and high density of people living in the coastal area. Furthermore, the morphology, lithology and climatic features of this sector of the Hyblean foreland are suitable for an interferometric analysis, providing a high coherence over the area. The Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) multitemporal DInSAR technique was used to calculate mean ground velocity maps and displacement time series from a large data set of European Remote Sensing Satellites (ERS 1–2) images spanning the time period 1992–2000. The reliability of the DInSAR results was tested calculating the East_SAR and Up_SAR values over two permanent global positioning system (GPS) stations in the area, and comparing them with the East_GPS and Up_GPS values. The residuals between GPS and DInSAR velocities were 1 and 0.6 mm/yr for the Up and East components, respectively. Four main subsiding areas, previously undetected, have been identified, corresponding with the towns of Augusta, Siracusa, Priolo, and Villasmundo. The observed deformation phenomena are located within coastal structural basins, filled with Pleistocene and Holocence deposits, except the Villasmundo land subsidence, which is located on the Hyblean plateau. The measured deformation rates reach values up to ?18 mm/yr in Augusta, –6 mm/yr in Siracusa, –5 mm/yr in Villasmundo and ?4.5 mm/yr in Priolo. The examination of velocity profiles, time series, and geological data allows us to relate all the detected deformation patterns primarily to groundwater over‐exploitation. A multi‐dimensional interpolation with kriging was performed to obtain a field subsidence map. A first‐order elastic deformation model was used to simulate the peculiar features of the Villasmundo subsidence. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tectonic evolution of the triple junction off central Honshu for the past 1 million years

We discuss several models of the evolution of the trench-trench-trench triple junction off central Honshu during the past 1 m.y. on the basis of plate kinematics, morphology, gravity and seismic reflection profile data available for the area. The study area is characterized by large basins, 7–8 km deep on the inner lower trench slope on the Philippine Sea side and the deep (9 km) Izu-Bonin Trench to the east. Between the basins and the trench, there are 6–7 km-deep basement highs. The triple junction is unstable due to the movement of the Philippine Sea plate at a velocity of 3 cm/yr in WNW direction with respect to Eurasia (Northeast Japan), subparallel to the strike of the Sagami Trough. Generally we can expect the boundary area between the Philippine Sea and Pacific plates to be extended because the Pacific plate is unlikely to follow the retreating Philippine Sea plate due to the obstruction of the southeastern corner of Eurasia. The above peculiar morphology of the junction area could have resulted from this lack of stability. However, there are several possible ways to explain the above morphology.

Our gravity model across the trench-basement high-basin area shows that the basement highs are made of low-density materials (1.8–2 g/cm³). Thus we reject the mantle diapir model which proposes that the basement highs have been formed by diapiric injection of serpentinites between the retreating Philippine Sea plate and the Pacific plate.

The stretched basin model proposes that the basins have been formed by stretching of the Philippine Sea plate wedge. We estimated the extension to be about 10 km at the largest basin. We reconstructed the morphology at 1 Ma by moving the Philippine Sea plate 20 km farther to the east after closing the basins, and thus obtained 8 km depth of the 1 Ma trench, which is similar to that of the present Japan Trench to the north. Although this stretched basin model can explain the formation of the basins and the deep trench, other models are equally possible. For instance, the eduction model explains the origin of the basin by the eduction of the Philippine Sea basement from beneath the basement high, while the accretion model explains the basement highs by the accretion of the Izu-Bonin trench wedge sediments. In both of these models we can reconstruct the 1 Ma trench depth as about 8 km, similar to that of the stretched basin model.

The deformation of the basement of the basins constitutes the best criterion to differentiate between these models. The multi-channel seismic reflection profiles show that the basement of the largest basin is cut by normal faults, in particular at its eastern edge. This suggests that the stretched basin model is most likely. However, the upper part of the sediments shows that the basement high to the east has been recently uplifted. This uplift is probably due to the recent (0.5 Ma) start of accretion of the trench wedge sediments beneath this basement high.