Kinematic evolution and structural styles of fold-and-thrust belts

Poblet, Josep; Lisle, Richard J.

doi:10.1144/sp349.1

Cited by 89 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 72 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…We therefore regard these systems as Mercury's equivalent of fold-and-thrust belts (FTBs) on Earth 22 and Venus 23 , which in their simplest terms are linear, regionally contiguous sets of thrust faults with associated hanging-wall anticlines that have a single predominant sense of vergence. Many FTBs on Earth feature an extensive décollement at depth 24,25 ; whether this structural arrangement exists for Mercury's FTBs remains to be tested, but detachments have been proposed to underlie individual, highly arcuate large lobate scarps on the planet 26 .…”

Section: Regional-scale Crustal Deformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury’s global contraction much greater than earlier estimates

et al. 2014

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Mercury, a planet with a lithosphere that forms a single tectonic plate, is replete with tectonic structures interpreted to be the result of planetary cooling and contraction. However, the amount of global contraction inferred from spacecraft images has been far lower than that predicted by models of the thermal evolution of the planet's interior. Here we present a synthesis of the global contraction of Mercury from orbital observations acquired by the MESSENGER spacecraft. We show that Mercury's global contraction has been accommodated by a substantially greater number and variety of structures than previously recognized, including long belts of ridges and scarps where the crust has been folded and faulted. The tectonic features on Mercury are consistent with models for large-scale deformation proposed for a globally contracting Earth-now obsolete-that pre-date plate tectonics theory. We find that Mercury has contracted radially by as much as 7 km, well in excess of the 0.8-3 km previously reported from photogeology and resolving the discrepancy with thermal models. Our findings provide a key constraint for studies of Mercury's thermal history, bulk silicate abundances of heat-producing elements, mantle convection and the structure of its large metallic core.G lobal contraction as a result of interior cooling was invoked as an explanation for mountain building and tectonic deformation on Earth in the nineteenth century 1,2 , but the idea was abandoned even before the recognition of the horizontal mobility of tectonic plates 3 , with the realization that contraction cannot account for the amount, style and distribution of deformation on the Earth's surface 4 . Large-scale deformational systems on Earth are localized along plate margins, unlike the quasihomogenous distribution of shortening structures predicted for a contracting planet 3 . However, other worlds in the Solar System do not exhibit plate tectonics today, so the intriguing possibility exists that some of the old concepts of contraction theory for global tectonics, long obsolete for Earth, may be valid for one-plate planets. Mercury, in particular, displays no evidence of plate boundaries that segment its globally continuous lithosphere. Yet observations made by the Mariner 10 and MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft have shown that the innermost planet displays myriad landforms-lobate scarps, wrinkle ridges and high-relief ridges-that have been interpreted as the tectonic result of horizontal shortening of the lithosphere as Mercury contracted in response to secular cooling of its interior 5-9 . Still, important details of Mercury's contraction, such as the timing, duration and spatial concentration of surface deformation, have remained elusive. Until the MESSENGER flybys of Mercury in [2008][2009], an entire hemisphere of Mercury had yet to be imaged, so inferences made on the basis of Mariner 10 data could not reliably be generalized globally. Furthermore, widespread topographic data for the planet we...

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Section: Regional-scale Crustal Deformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury’s global contraction much greater than earlier estimates

et al. 2014

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“…The oceanward-verging folds and thrusts are developed in accretionary complexes, whereas the landward-verging thrusts are formed on the continental side under the Alpine-type compressional orogen (e.g., Beaumont et al 1996;Poblet and Lisle 2011) such as Alps and Himalaya .…”

Section: Tectonic Implication Of the Low-angle Southward-dipping Thrustmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Paleozoic low-angle southward-dipping thrust in the Züünharaa area, Mongolia: tectonic implications for the geological structures in the Sayan-Baikal and Hangai-Daur belts

Gantumur

Tsukada

2017

Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch)

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low-angle southward-dipping thrusts, similar to the present study, are widely distributed in the Haraa terrane of the Hangai-Daur belt and in terranes of the Sayan-Baikal belt. Whereas, the contemporaneous southeast-verging composite folds and northward-dipping thrusts are developed in the accretionary complexes, which are exposed at south of the Haraa terrane. These contrasting structures suggest a couple of "landward-verging" and "oceanward-verging" structures and may correspond to the "doubly vergent asymmetric structure" of Alpine-type compressional orogen.

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“…Inherited structures such as basement highs and seamounts can affect the evolution of the compressional domain, e.g., in the Niger Delta DW-FTB, the Charcot fracture zone divided the fold-and-thrust system into two separate lobes [Corredor et al, 2005]. The magnitude of gravitational processes may also be affected by lateral variations in the distribution of sedimentary loads [e.g., Poblet and Lisle, 2011] or the efficiency of the basal detachment [e.g., Mahanjane and Franke, 2014].…”

Section: Along-strike Width Variation Of Dw-ftbmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Lamu Basin deepwater fold‐and‐thrust belt: An example of a margin‐scale, gravity‐driven thrust belt along the continental passive margin of East Africa

Cruciani

Barchi

2016

Tectonics

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In recent decades, advances in seismic processing and acquisition of new data sets have revealed the presence of many deepwater fold-and-thrust belts (DW-FTBs), often developing along continental passive margins. These kinds of tectonic features have been intensively studied, due to their substantial interest. This work presents a regional-scale study of the poorly explored Lamu Basin DW-FTB, a margin-scale, gravity-driven system extending for more than 450 km along the continental passive margin of Kenya and southern Somalia (East Africa). A 2-D seismic data set was analyzed, consisting of both recently acquired high-quality data and old reprocessed seismic profiles, for the first detailed structural and stratigraphic interpretation of this DW-FTB. The system originated over an Early to mid-Cretaceous shale detachment due to a mainly gravity-spreading mechanism. Analysis of synkinematic strata indicates that the DW-FTB was active from the Late Cretaceous to the Early Miocene, but almost all of the deformation occurred before the Late Paleocene. The fold-and-thrust system displays a marked N-S variation in width, the northern portion being more than 150 km wide and the southern portion only a few dozen kilometers wide; this along-strike variation is thought to be related to the complex tectonosedimentary evolution of the continental margin at the Somalia-Kenya boundary, also reflected in the present-day bathymetry. Locally, a series of volcanic edifices stopped the basinward propagation of the DW-FTB. A landward change in the dominant structural style, from asymmetric imbricate thrust sheets to pseudo-symmetric detachment folds, is generally observed, related to the landward thickening of the detached shales.

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Kinematic evolution and structural styles of fold-and-thrust belts

Cited by 89 publications

References 72 publications

Mercury’s global contraction much greater than earlier estimates

Mercury’s global contraction much greater than earlier estimates

Late Paleozoic low-angle southward-dipping thrust in the Züünharaa area, Mongolia: tectonic implications for the geological structures in the Sayan-Baikal and Hangai-Daur belts

The Lamu Basin deepwater fold‐and‐thrust belt: An example of a margin‐scale, gravity‐driven thrust belt along the continental passive margin of East Africa

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