Mid-Eocene-Early Oligocene Sinistral Transcurrent Faulting in Puerto Rico Associated with Formation of the Northern Caribbean Plate Boundary Zone

Erikson, Johan P.; Pindell, James; Larue, D. K.

doi:10.1086/629410

Cited by 29 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Northwest-striking thrust faults within the serpentinite are geographically associated and kinematically compatible with the ESE-striking left-lateral faults in the serpentinite (Laó-Dávila and Anderson, 2009). Many of these structures have oblique slip indicators and show strain compatibility with late Eocene-early Oligocene structures recorded in the Cerrillos belt (Glover, 1971;Erikson et al, 1990;Laó-Dávila, 2002;Laó-Dávila and Anderson, 2009), suggesting that some structures that formed during the Maastrichtian-Paleocene transpression were reactivated and that new structures formed during late Eocene-early Oligocene transpression. This evidence suggests two periods of early Cenozoic deformation in SW Puerto Rico: (1) an older transpressional event during the MaastrichtianPaleocene that was responsible for the second emplacement of the serpentinite belts, and (2) a younger late Eocene-early Oligocene transpression event, manifested principally in the Cerrillos belt, that formed new faults in the serpentinite belts and also reactivated old faults, as shown by stratigraphic relations and our fi eld investigation.…”

Section: Tectonic Modelmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The NW-striking Northern and Southern Puerto Rico fault zones divide the pre-Oligocene rocks on the island into three blocks: the Northeast block, the Central block, and the Southwest block (Briggs and Akers, 1965;Pease, 1968aPease, , 1968bGlover, 1971;Erikson et al, 1990Erikson et al, , 1991. The Northeast and Central blocks contain Early Cretaceous vol cani clastic, sedimentary, and volcanic rocks, the oldest in Puerto Rico, which are part of a primitiveisland-arc suite of rocks (Jolly et al, 2006).…”

Section: Puerto Ricomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cretaceous-Paleogene thrust emplacement of serpentinite in southwestern Puerto Rico

Laó‐Dávila

Llerandi-Román

Anderson

2012

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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Section: Tectonic Modelmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Puerto Ricomentioning

confidence: 99%

Cretaceous-Paleogene thrust emplacement of serpentinite in southwestern Puerto Rico

Laó‐Dávila

Llerandi-Román

Anderson

2012

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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“…In recent years, geologic investigations have been extended by members and coworkers from the Geology Department, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (Joyce, 1986;Joyce et al, 1987a,b;Erikson et al, 1990Erikson et al, , 1991Joyce, 1991;Larue et al, 1991a,b;Schellekens et al, 1991;Larue, 1994), and numerous additional thesis and dissertation studies (Tzeng, 1976;Barabas, 1982;Joyce, 1985;Curet, 1976Curet, , 1986Kazcor, 1987;Sampayo, 1992;Santos, 1990;Schellekens, 1993;Weiland, 1988). The work included multidisciplinary investigation (Larue, 1991) of Eocene strata recovered from a drill core at Toa Baja on the north shore sedimentary platform (Erikson et al, 1991;Frost and Schellekens, 1991;Montgomery et al, 1991;Reid et al, 1991).…”

Section: Sources Of Puerto Rican Geologic Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The boundary between the central and western volcanic provinces is formed by the complex and poorly understood Southern Puerto Rico Fault Zone (SPRFZ) (Glover, 1971;Glover and Mattson, 1973). While there is general agreement that a major tectonic feature separates the two provinces, the origin of the boundary is so controversial that even its location is a matter of considerable debate (Briggs and Akers, 1965;Mattson, 1967;Glover, 1971;Glover and Mattson, 1973;Krushensky, 1978;Krushensky and Curet, 1984;Joyce, 1985;Erikson et al 1990Erikson et al , 1991Larue et al, 1991a,b;Schellekens, 1993;Larue, 1994). The boundary selected for use in Figure 1 subdivides the two provinces along a line separating Cariblanco-Coamo-Jacaguas strata on the east from the Anón Formation and equivalents on the west, such that the only unit appearing on both sides is the late-stage Guayo conglomerate.…”

Section: Tectonic Subdivisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The complex sequence of interfingering volcanic facies in Puerto Rico was complicated by intense strike-slip faulting (Briggs and Akers, 1965;Pease, 1968c;Glover, 1971;Seiders, 1971c;Erikson et al, 1990Erikson et al, , 1991. Because of this deformation, correlation of stratigraphic units across fault boundaries is not always possible, and a proliferation of stratigraphic names resulted (Fig.…”

Section: Character and Subdivision Of Volcanic Stratamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Volcanism, tectonics, and stratigraphic correlations in Puerto Rico

Jolly¹,

Lidiak²,

Schellekens³

et al. 1998

Tectonics and Geochemistry of the Northeastern Caribbean

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Island arc volcanic strata in Puerto Rico, ranging in age from Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) to Eocene and dating from about 120 to 45 Ma, represent one of the longest oceanic arc sequences preserved in the world. Detailed and systematic mapping by the U.S. Geological Survey published between 1959 and 1986 reveal that, although postvolcanic sedimentary platform deposits consisting of limestone and other detrital materials ring the island and cover extensive parts of the arc platform, representative strata of the entire sequence are exposed. The island is subdivided into three volcanic provinces all containing strata without correlative units elsewhere; they are (1) a northeastern volcanic province, separated from the central province by the Cerro Mula Fault, a left-lateral strike-slip fault of mid-Santonian age with displacement of at least 50 km; (2) a central volcanic province, dominated by volcanic debris accumulated during sequential development of five east-west-oriented volcanic belts, and (3) a western volcanic province, with a northwest-southeast-trending boundary of uncertain origin, containing remnants of two sequential island arc volcanic belts of CampanianMaastrichtian and Eocene age.Additionally, in the southwestern corner of the island, the Sierra Bermeja Complex consists of a tectonic melange of partly serpentinized ultramafic rocks representing the lithospheric upper mantle originally composed of spinel-bearing peridotites, including lherzolite, harzburgite, and dunite. The melange incorporates rafts, blocks, and boulder-sized clasts of (1) Lower Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous pelagic sediments (Mariquita Chert), including radiolarian chert of Pacific provenance and later siliceous volcanogenic strata, representing pre-island arc oceanic deposits; and (2) altered mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like basalts (Cajul Basalt) and amphibolites (Las Palmas amphibolite melange) of probable Lower Jurassic age, representing pre-island arc oceanic crust. Serpentinized peridotite bodies, containing amphibolite, altered MORB-like basalt, and chert, protruded the arc platform in a cold state at several places in the western province. The largest of these, the Monte del Estado Peridotite, was emplaced during the Maastrichtian, through crustal extension associated with left-lateral strike-slip faulting along the Cordillera fault.Volcanic strata preserved in the central province are subdivided into five major volcanic phases on the basis of stratigraphic and geochemical relations. Basalts evolved progressively from early primitive island arc tholeiites in phase I, to calcalkaline basalts in phase II, and finally to incompatible element-enriched shoshonite Jolly, W. T.

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What drives microplate motion and deformation in the northeastern Caribbean plate boundary region?

2014

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The north Caribbean plate boundary zone is a broad deformation zone with several fault systems and tectonic blocks that move with different velocities. The indentation by the Bahamas Platform (the "Bahamas Collision") is generally invoked as a cause of this fragmentation. We propose that a second driver of deformation is the western edge of the south dipping Puerto Rico slab moving sideways with the North America plate. The westward motion of the slab edge results in a push on the Caribbean plate farther west. We refer to this second mechanism for deformation as "Slab Edge Push." The motion of the North America plate relative to the Caribbean plate causes both drivers to migrate from east to west. The Bahamas Collision and Slab Edge Push have been operating simultaneously since the Miocene. The question is the relative importance of the two mechanisms. We use mechanical finite element models that represent the two mechanisms from the late Oligocene (30 Ma) to the present. For the present, both models successfully reproduce observed deformation, implying that both models are viable. Back in time the Slab Edge Push mechanism better reproduces observations. Neither mechanism successfully reproduces the observed Miocene counterclockwise rotation of Puerto Rico. We use this rotation to tune a final model that includes fractional contributions of both mechanisms. We find that the Slab Edge Push was the dominant driver of deformation in the north Caribbean plate boundary zone since 30 Ma.

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Mid-Eocene-Early Oligocene Sinistral Transcurrent Faulting in Puerto Rico Associated with Formation of the Northern Caribbean Plate Boundary Zone

Cited by 29 publications

References 28 publications

Cretaceous-Paleogene thrust emplacement of serpentinite in southwestern Puerto Rico

Cretaceous-Paleogene thrust emplacement of serpentinite in southwestern Puerto Rico

Volcanism, tectonics, and stratigraphic correlations in Puerto Rico

What drives microplate motion and deformation in the northeastern Caribbean plate boundary region?

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